Chapter 280: Submission!
The Fire Serpent suffered a heavy blow and grew thoughts of retreat.
Its wings flapped as it quickly dived into the thick lava, leaving behind a trail of flames along the way.
"Unfortunately, I didn't foresee its death." Meng Kui's pupils returned to normal, he coughed a few times, and his face turned pale.
The recent deadly strike had also consumed a lot of his energy.
With the Fire Serpent's retreat, the Scarlet Flame Beasts were thrown into chaos, and their morale plummeted.
Many beasts immediately fled, imitating the Nascent Soul-level Fire Serpent by diving directly into the lava.
On the other hand, the human cultivators shouted in unison, sweeping away the gloom.
They pursued the victory, various magical tools, treasures, and spells raining down. The infiltrating Fire Serpents, without further reinforcement, gradually became unsustainable.
Not long after, they all fell on the battlefield.
Ning Zhuo stood on high ground, scanning the area.
Looking at the devastated battlefield, his mood was heavy.
What kind of change would his merit points have after this reckoning?
His heart sank as he checked his merit points—exactly three hundred and twenty-seven.
Thanks to the full effort of the three reconstruction teams, Ning Zhuo's merit points were not negative. After turning positive, they skyrocketed to over three hundred.
"But when it comes to the final reckoning, my small accumulation of merit will likely be just a drop in the ocean."
"Without enough merit, I won't rank among the top. How will I get into the Palace Examination?"
Ning Zhuo felt deeply worried.
"No, I must find a way!"
"Should I make connections with the City Lord's Mansion? Use their power?"
No.
Ning Zhuo's three positions, corresponding to three mechanical buildings, were almost fully occupied below him.
Apart from these, he couldn't enjoy any merit share from other mechanical buildings.
"Should I use my soul to enter the Immortal Palace again and take on other positions?"
Ning Zhuo realized that this path was also blocked for him.
On the one hand, the three-family alliance included him, banning him from using his soul to enter the Immortal Palace during this period.
On the other hand, the trials of the Three Sect Lords didn't follow a winner-takes-all approach but instead considered everyone, even giving opportunities to monsters like Yuan Dasheng.
Ning Zhuo had learned that even if he cleared the trials again and took a position, the previous identical path of authority would be considered automatically forfeited.
In other words, through the trials, a disciple could at most hold three positions.
The Three Sect Lords encouraged fairer competition, wanting to leave opportunities for latecomers.
After pondering for a long time, Ning Zhuo finally decided to focus on mechanisms and exploit the demon tide for merit.
He predicted the situation and judged that the Nascent Soul-level Fire Serpent was highly likely to strike again.
If he could find a more efficient way to eliminate the Scarlet Flame Beasts and protect the Lava Immortal Palace, he would gain a considerable amount of merit.
Ning Zhuo, with his deep expertise in mechanisms, quickly found a direction. That was to modify the Explosive Monkeys, allowing them to steal the core from inside the Fire Serpent.
The core was the Fire Serpent's lifeline. If it were stolen, its combat power would drop by ninety-nine percent.
In this regard, Ning Zhuo was inspired by Yuan Dasheng's "Backhand Grab" and "Sun Crushing Hand."
Just as Ning Zhuo expected.
In the following days, the Nascent Soul-level Fire Serpent frequently attacked.
The Fire Serpent horde continued to infiltrate.
Clearing the Fire Serpents became a tiring task for the cultivators of the Immortal Palace.
Ning Zhuo's plan to improve the Explosive Monkeys made slow progress.
In the actual development process, he discovered too many problems that needed to be solved, with many steps requiring experiments and new composite materials to be tested.
He was confident of success, but the key was time!
He was running out of time.
However, he didn't come out of this grueling process empty-handed.
He obtained the belongings of Zheng Jian.
His subordinates from the black market showed their value.
But he didn’t get much of Ning Xiaohui's belongings. It was said that Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother was deeply affected, seemingly going mad, and spent all day and night curled up in Ning Xiaohui’s room, obsessively keeping everything related to her close by.
She would gaze at the items and think of her, sometimes crying her eyes out, sometimes screaming madly. Both the sobbing and shouting were terrifying to hear.
In the critical care room, Ning Zhuo cremated the relics of the two people.
He successfully restored Zheng Jian’s spirit to its full potential.
There were few of Ning Xiaohui’s relics, and he could only restore the spirit of the Frost Jade Hand to sixty percent.
Sixty percent spirit… although it could still activate the Ice Jade Hand, it could only be used once. According to Ning Zhuo’s estimate, after one activation, the Frost Jade Hand's spirit would greatly diminish, nearing destruction.
In addition, he also gained something from Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu.
Under Ning Zhuo’s care, the merit points of Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu continued to soar rapidly.
The number of slots for the Palace Examination was limited. If Ning Zhuo could help the two of them make it onto the list, it would also be of great help to him.
"The key issue now is still my merit!"
Once again, the Nascent Soul-level Fire Serpent attacked.
Meng Kui repelled it.
Originally, everyone thought this was a gradually familiar victory.
But with the collapse of a key building, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit in the main hall suddenly burst into wild laughter.
"Hahaha, I did it, I finally did it!"
The golden barrier surrounding the Lava Immortal Palace suddenly showed multiple gaping holes.
No matter how much mana was poured in, these holes couldn’t be repaired.
As soon as the holes appeared, a flood of Scarlet Flame Beasts surged in like a torrent.
The cultivators, caught off guard and vastly outnumbered, could only watch as many buildings collapsed under the beast tide.
Some were even smashed into pieces, with stones and broken wood flying everywhere.
Building after building fell into ruin, and fierce flames spread rapidly, seemingly intent on consuming everything within the Immortal Palace!
Zhu Xuanji let out a deep cry, stepping forward at the critical moment to take on the role of the battlefield commander.
Under his command, the cultivators barely managed to form a defensive line, slightly curbing the momentum of the Scarlet Flame Beasts.
However, looking down at the Lava Immortal Palace, more than half of the outer circle had fallen, becoming a domain of rampant beasts.
The situation had taken a dramatic turn for the worse!
Inside the main hall of the Lava Immortal Palace.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was so ecstatic that it danced with joy: "Indeed, indeed, the Palace Examination has also been brought forward!"
This was traceable.
In past years, whenever the Lava Immortal Palace was damaged to a certain extent, it would automatically lower the selection criteria for cultivators by one level.
It would be lowered from the top, Nascent Soul, Golden Core, Foundation Establishment, Qi Refining... all the way down to now. The Palace Examination, which had once been some distance away, had also been greatly brought forward due to the dire situation of the Immortal Palace.
"Ning Zhuo, just wait to be eliminated!"
"Once the Palace Examination starts, all merit will be settled in advance. You have no hope at all!"
"Hahaha, you blew up the Immortal Palace with your Explosive Monkeys, and even used the Five Elements Artillery Towers to blow it up further..."
"Hahaha!"
"You’ve fallen into my trap. No matter how cunning or insidious you are, you’ve still fallen into the scheme of me, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit."
At the same time.
Ning Zhuo suddenly felt a tightness in his left index finger.
Zheng Jian’s innate ability, "Heart Piercing Insight," suddenly activated.
Ning Zhuo, worried about his merit, was startled when the ability triggered.
"Not good!"
"The Lava Immortal Palace is in grave danger. The Palace Examination is likely to be brought forward."
"My merit is insufficient. I fear I will be excluded from the list for the Palace Examination."
"What should I do?"
Ning Zhuo gritted his teeth: "It seems I have only one option left."
"I must submit my Buddha Heart Demon Seal!!!"
A teleportation circle appeared, and Ning Zhuo resolutely took out the treasure seal.
In an instant, his mother’s voice echoed in his ears: "Ning Zhuo, my son, this treasure seal has been imbued with the techniques of the Feiyun Kingdom by your mother, making it very close to you. You must take good care of it. Its high quality will be a great aid in your future cultivation."
"No, no!" The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was horrified at that moment.
Although it had long known that Ning Zhuo possessed the Buddha Heart Demon Seal, it had never thought that, without any prompting, Ning Zhuo would submit
the seal early!
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit fiercely resisted, wishing it could roar in Ning Zhuo’s ear: "What are you submitting for? This treasure seal is so good, and you're giving it up? Are you betraying your mother?!"
Ning Zhuo’s eyes gleamed with a look of resolute determination.
"If I can even gamble my life, why would I hesitate over a mere treasure?"
"Submit, submit, submit!"
The Buddha Heart Demon Seal was thrown into the teleportation circle and swiftly vanished before Ning Zhuo’s eyes.
In an instant, Ning Zhuo felt an empty void in his heart.
He clenched his teeth, gripping his fists tightly, silently enduring the intense emotional upheaval within him.
A moment later.
A message was transmitted directly into everyone's minds—
The Lava Immortal Palace's Palace Examination is now open!
The merit has been settled, with the top thirty-three ranked individuals selected.
The list is as follows:
Zhu Xuanji.
Booklord.
…
Yang Chanyu.
Ning Zhuo.
…
Meng Chong.
…
Zhou Zhenshen.
Zhou Zhu.
…
Entry standards.
(End of this chapter)