Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

If it weren’t for Ning Xiaohui, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit would have really slipped away.

After hesitating for a moment, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit finally spoke honestly, “Young Master, each time we initiate a cannon strike, the Lava Immortal Palace consumes a large amount of Five Elements Mana.”

“If the minimum battle results are not achieved, the Lava Immortal Palace will consider that the loss of this cannon strike exceeds the gain, and the responsibility will fall on the one who fired the cannon. Consequently, merit will be deducted.”

“In fact, if you are in the medical pavilion, and you repair some important mechanisms but the final result turns out worse than before, merit will also be deducted.”

“Similarly, on the Commanding Platform, if your decision is wrong, your merit will be reduced during the post-battle assessment.”

Ning Zhuo nodded, feeling that this kind of regulation was quite reasonable. It effectively prevented incompetent people from occupying high positions.

A new question arose in his mind, and he continued to ask, “What happens if all the merit is deducted?”

“I mean, what if my current merit is negative? Will that affect my position?”

This was a critical question.

Upon hearing it, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit couldn’t help but sigh in its heart. This little monster, Ning Zhuo, always had a keen sense for key issues.

It had no choice but to answer once again, “If the negative merit continues for a period, the cultivator's rank will decline.”

“Young Master, the reason your previous negative merit didn’t affect your position is because you didn’t have any official position before.”

“But now, you hold three second-tier positions. If your merit remains negative when the time limit is reached, the rank of these positions will all drop significantly.”

Ning Zhuo immediately furrowed his brows. “So, when exactly is this deadline for my rank to drop?”

This was a big problem for him.

He had just signed a contract with Zhu Xuanji, and his soul couldn’t enter the Immortal Palace.

In other words, once his rank dropped, he wouldn’t be able to regain his second-tier positions by clearing checkpoints.

Thus, Ning Zhuo had to quickly erase his merit deficit before that time.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit thought for a moment, feeling that it was better to be honest, and told Ning Zhuo the exact date.

It turned out to be quite a long period. Ning Zhuo calculated and found that he had at least more than half a month.

“No, something’s wrong!” A sharp light flashed in Ning Zhuo's eyes.

Ning Zhuo paused for a moment, carefully choosing his words as he asked, “Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, the people who serve under my second-tier positions, do their merit contributions include a share for me?”

“For example, as the head of the medical pavilion, if others work under me, and I lead them to complete certain tasks, do I not get a share of their merit?”

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit trembled all over!

It disappointedly circled the throne, looking up at the ceiling of the main hall while muttering, “Ning Zhuo discovered it. He found out. In the end, he still figured it out!”

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit sighed deeply, looking desolate and somewhat anxious.

“Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit…” Ning Zhuo kept calling, but received no response.

He frowned slightly, a look of contemplation flashing in his eyes.

The fact that he realized this was thanks to Ning Xiaohui.

Several times, while Ning Xiaohui repaired the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape Dasheng in the medical pavilion, Ning Zhuo keenly noticed changes in his own merit.

Although the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit didn’t respond or give a clear answer, Ning Zhuo was almost certain this was the answer!

“In that case, my next task is actually to help others gain more positions.”

“And these positions must be related to the medical pavilion, the Commanding Platform, and the cannon towers.”

Ning Zhuo made a quick calculation.

If he handled the tasks himself, he could indeed gain a lot, but there were risks. If a task didn’t meet the standard, it could result in merit deductions.

However, if there were many people serving under his positions, and he only took a share of their merit, as long as the numbers were large enough, the accumulation speed would be very considerable, even far exceeding his personal efforts.

And what attracted him the most was that there was no risk in enjoying these merit shares; there wouldn’t be any merit deductions.

“Zhu Xuanji and others are my most threatening competitors.”

“But they are outsiders and cannot take up such positions.”

“So, as long as I nurture these modification team members well, while ensuring that the merit of any outstanding individuals among them doesn’t surpass mine, I’ll be fine!”

When Ning Zhuo returned to his residence, he heard members of the Ning family’s modification team discussing tasks.

He gathered them and briefly informed them about the contracts they would sign later.

After dismissing them, he entered his room alone and began his daily breathing exercises for cultivation.

Since several Golden Core cultivators had planted surveillance methods on him, he had to perform this routine every day to appear reasonable.

The next day.

Ning Zhuo opened his eyes. After freshening up, he left his residence alone.

He went to the edge of the Lava Immortal Palace.

Here, battles frequently broke out.

Some Crimson Flame Beasts would break through the protective shield and charge inside, only to be quickly killed by mechanical constructs.

Often after these battles, many new tasks would arise.

Ning Zhuo lingered behind the battlefield.

After the battle ended, some mechanical puppets limped back.

Ning Zhuo actively approached these broken puppets, holding his merit token, checking the details of the new tasks.

He then precisely selected the target tasks, reached out, and pulled the target mechanical puppet directly from the retreating line, repairing it on the spot.

He tried to dismantle these mechanical puppets as much as possible, examining their internal structures.

Very soon, he made a discovery: the mechanical components used in these puppets were all very familiar to him.

“These structures and components have all appeared in the trial checkpoints.”

For others, they might only be familiar with the components related to the Dao Gate path.

But Ning Zhuo had cleared three paths. He had received the checkpoint rewards multiple times, making him very familiar with these components.

However, on the surface, he still had to pretend to research them first.

Ning Zhuo’s solo morning actions attracted the attention of Zhu Xuanji and others.

When he returned, he was reprimanded by the Ning family’s Golden Core Ancestor.

The cultivators in the Immortal Palace, aside from facing life-threatening dangers from the beasts, were also under threat from other cultivators.

At this moment, there were still many unaffiliated cultivators in the Lava Immortal Palace.

Ning Jiufan didn’t want to see Ning Zhuo getting injured or even killed because of his solo actions.

That would be a considerable loss for the Ning family in the current situation.

Even though Ning Zhuo was currently just a Qi Refining stage cultivator.

Ning Zhuo accepted the criticism. Starting that afternoon, he set out with the main group.

In order to maximize the power of the Lava Immortal Palace, and considering that each position they controlled added to their control over the Immortal Palace, the Golden Core cultivators were very attentive.

As a result, every modification team had a Golden Core cultivator watching over them.

Zhu Xuanji and the others were very cautious. From their perspective, the culprit who fired the Five Elements Cannon at Mount Huoshi was still lurking in the shadows, not yet exposed.

Since the culprit could control the Five Elements Cannon, they were clearly ahead of the others on the Immortal Palace path.

The progress of the modification team posed a significant threat to this culprit.

It was highly likely they would strike first, killing the threat before it could grow!

The modification team members were mostly at the Qi Refining stage, their combat strength was weak, and they needed Golden Core cultivators to watch over them.

This arrangement made Ning Zhuo feel quite inconvenienced.

He could only suppress his growing impatience and slightly quickened the pace of his performance.

“Oh…”

“Amazing, so strong!”

“I didn’t expect Ning Zhuo’s mechanical skills to improve again. Impressive!”

Everyone was amazed by Ning Zhuo, showering him with praise.

Ning Zhuo’s exploration and mastery of these “unfamiliar” mechanisms quickly earned him admiration.

It was clear that he was on a completely different level from everyone else.

Ning Zhuo wanted to keep a low profile, but the situation forced him to stand out.

“I need to accumulate enough merit as soon as possible to be able to enter and exit the medical pavilion.”

“This way, I can stay in the medical pavilion all day, repairing a large number of mechanical puppets daily, giving the outside world a perfect explanation.”

As the head of the medical pavilion, Ning Zhuo naturally knew the minimum merit standard required for that position.

The Golden Core Ancestors kept a close eye on Ning Zhuo’s mechanical skills.

Among the modification team members, Ning Zhuo didn’t just stand out, he was leagues ahead, leading by a mile!

Even someone like Zhu Xuanji, who had seen many talented cultivators, couldn’t help but feel a little shaken by Ning Zhuo’s performance.

“This junior Ning Zhuo really has a talent for mechanical techniques!”

Zhu Xuanji made a mental comparison to Ning Xiaohui.

Ning Xiaohui possessed the Ice Jade Hand, a rare talent, making her abilities in healing and repairing mechanical puppets almost unfairly powerful.

But even so, Ning Xiaohui’s merit accumulation speed was still much slower than Ning Zhuo’s.

Z

hu Xuanji’s heart stirred slightly, and he recorded Ning Zhuo’s situation in a jade slip.

Then, with a casual toss, the jade slip transformed into light, flying towards Ning Xiaohui, stopping in front of her.

Ning Xiaohui took the jade slip, placed it against her forehead, and scanned it with her spiritual sense, feeling shocked inside.

“It’s Ning Zhuo?!”

“His progress is this rapid?!”

The jade slip contained Zhu Xuanji’s voice: “Do you think Ning Zhuo will reach the minimum merit standard for the medical pavilion before you?”

“I heard his recent goal is to compete for the position of a physician.”

Ning Xiaohui’s pupils contracted sharply, almost gritting her teeth: “Ning Zhuo!!!”

(End of this chapter)