Chapter 281: Palace Examination!
Thirty-three person leaderboard!
A stone stirred a thousand waves.
At the same time, the cultivators who received this information were all stunned on the spot.
Zhu Xuanji was greatly shocked: "Palace Examination?!"
His first thought was: "Does passing the Palace Examination mean I can obtain the position of Palace Master?"
He was a detective, renowned throughout the country, meticulous in his thinking, able to deduce much from any critical information.
"The Lava Immortal Palace has a mechanism, a standard for selecting an heir, which rises and falls according to the state of the Immortal Palace."
"Now, with the Immortal Palace severely damaged, this mechanism has been triggered, and thus the Palace Examination begins!"
"This Palace Examination is highly likely to select the next Palace Master."
"The information is very clear—there are thirty-three people on the Palace Examination list! That means my main opponents are the other thirty-two people."
Zhu Xuanji began to carefully study the list.
The first name he saw was his own.
He wasn't surprised to be ranked first. After repairing the Mechanical Demon General, knowing he had no hope of retrieving the true Demon Dao scripture in a short time, he handed it over.
Because of this, he earned a huge amount of merit.
This was also why, not long ago, he had taken out the Golden Phoenix Mirror and given it to Ning Xiaohui.
"The second is Booklord."
"The Full Book Tower…"
Zhu Xuanji's gaze deepened. This neutral sect had quietly made it to this point.
If not for this leaderboard, Zhu Xuanji wouldn’t have known that Booklord had disguised himself so well, already making such significant progress, yet everyone seemed to have forgotten about him.
The third was Zheng Jianlian.
"Zheng Jianlian had been entering and leaving the Lava Immortal Palace for a long time, so his accumulation of merit had started long ago."
"Not only did he have a foundation, but he now possesses a powerful weapon of slaughter."
"That demonic weapon, Night Rain, is very unusual, helping him recently slay the most Golden Core level Scarlet Flame monsters, thus earning him a large amount of merit."
"Being ranked third is understandable."
Zhu Xuanji then looked at the fourth, fifth, and sixth names.
These three positions were also occupied by Golden Core cultivators, but the names were quite unfamiliar.
Zhu Xuanji sneered, fully aware in his heart: these three, and the few after them, were all reinforcements brought by the Meng family.
Though the names, origins, and cultivation methods seemed unconnected, from their actions and performances, Zhu Xuanji had already identified their faction.
These people's names were unimportant, and in Zhu Xuanji’s mind, they automatically turned into Meng Family Golden Core A, Meng Family Golden Core B, Meng Family Golden Core C, D, E...
After that, Zhu Xuanji saw Zheng Shuanggou, Zhou Nongying, several other Golden Core rogue cultivators A, B, C, and Ning Jiufan.
"Ning Jiufan’s ranking is quite low, indicating he hasn’t been in the Lava Immortal Palace for long."
He also saw the Golden Core True Transmission Disciple of Zixiao Pavilion, Zhu Zhen, and Song Fuli.
It wasn't surprising to see a Golden Core True Transmission Disciple of Zixiao Pavilion listed here.
Zhu Zhen himself was highly skilled in mechanics, and since he came to assist Zhu Xuanji, he had undoubtedly given his all. Thus, he gained a lot of merit, as reflected in this leaderboard.
The reason he ranked lower was simply that he hadn’t been around long and lacked the prior accumulation of the other Golden Core cultivators.
Song Fuli was in the same situation, suffering from a lack of previous accumulation, so his ranking was low.
Zhu Xuanji noticed that among these Yun Traders, it wasn’t just Song Fuli who made it in; there were two others as well.
These two names were also automatically replaced by Yun Trader Golden Core A and Yun Trader Golden Core B in Zhu Xuanji’s mind.
The last Golden Core cultivator on the list was Yang Chanyu.
Seeing this name, Zhu Xuanji snorted coldly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"No-Void Sect, Yang Chanyu, I will do everything in my power to bring you to justice!"
He looked further down.
"Ning Zhuo?"
Ning Zhuo’s ranking was right next to Yang Chanyu’s.
"I didn’t expect it to be this kid, becoming the top of the trial disciples. Where is Meng Chong?"
Zhu Xuanji smiled faintly.
Although he was somewhat surprised, he wasn’t too shocked. After all, he had already deeply understood Ning Zhuo’s mechanical skills.
This junior had been recognized by Li Leifeng in his childhood and had displayed a remarkable talent for mechanics from a very young age!
Zhu Xuanji continued reading and found that there were several people between Meng Chong and Ning Zhuo.
These individuals were all Foundation Establishment cultivators, some slightly renowned mechanical cultivators from Huoshi Immortal City.
It was worth mentioning that many of these individuals had appeared on the investigation lists Zhu Xuanji had previously compiled.
"In general, the Golden Core cultivators firmly occupied the top spots on the leaderboard, closely grouped together, with no Foundation Establishment or Qi Refining cultivators in between."
Cultivation level remained the primary factor.
"Next, the second-tier main force is made up of members of the four factions' modified cultivation teams. The identity of trial disciples is still quite useful."
"Finally, there are a few Foundation Establishment mechanical cultivators, some from the various factions of Huoshi Immortal City, others rogue cultivators. These people are the fewest, and most of them have prior accumulation."
"If the Palace Examination had appeared later, these individuals would have been squeezed out by the trial disciples."
"Hmm?"
At the very end, Zhu Xuanji’s gaze fixed on the "entry standard."
His expression gradually became ugly.
Elsewhere.
A tall youth with tiger-like eyes was glaring: "What’s going on with this leaderboard?!"
"Among all the trial disciples, I’m not first?!"
Meng Chong was deeply shocked.
"Ning Zhuo?"
"This guy ranks higher than me, interesting, I’ll have to find a chance to meet him!"
Since Meng Chong left the trial checkpoint and entered the Immortal Palace, he had been advancing fiercely, his merit rising steadily.
He personally possessed immortal potential, was powerful, and had the full backing of the City Lord’s Mansion. Originally, he had been confident in his progress, but the appearance of the leaderboard had completely slapped him in the face.
Shocked as he was, Meng Chong quickly accepted this fact and developed a strong sense of competitiveness towards Ning Zhuo.
Finally.
Meng Chong saw the "entry standard."
"Why is there also an 'entry standard' here?" Meng Chong’s mouth twitched as he was about to laugh.
But in the next moment, his smile froze on his face.
He stared dumbfounded, then carefully counted the names on the list, realizing that there were thirty-three people, and besides the "entry standard," there were thirty-two others.
In other words, this "entry standard" was actually someone’s name?!
"If this Palace Examination leaderboard is like this, then what about the leaderboard in the trial checkpoint?"
Thinking of this, Meng Chong immediately forgot about Ning Zhuo.
His breathing quickened, his chest heaved, his breathing became heavy, and bloodshot veins appeared in his eyes.
"I’ve been played!"
"I’ve been played!!"
"So, from beginning to end, I’ve been second on this whole line of entering the Immortal Palace?!"
"The first was this damned 'entry standard'!"
From childhood to now, Meng Chong had never been humiliated like this.
Thinking back to the many times he had smugly felt satisfied with his ranking as "first," he was overcome with intense shame and anger.
"Good 'entry standard,' I want to fight this person."
"How despicable, how sinister! You played me like a monkey, didn’t you?!"
"Don’t let me catch you, don’t let me catch you!!" Meng Chong clenched his fists, his face turning red, like an enraged bull.
Ning Zhuo’s higher ranking than Meng Chong soon became unnoticed.
Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zhenshen were also discussing.
"Didn’t expect that in the end, Ning Zhuo still became the first among us Qi Refining cultivators. This result surprises me, yet doesn’t." Zhou Zhenshen sighed.
Zhou Zhu quietly agreed: "I wouldn’t accept anyone else being first, but Ning Zhuo, he’s indeed impressive, helping a lot of people."
"The Zhou and Zheng families were both promoted thanks to him, quickly gaining positions."
"He’s this one."
As he spoke, Zhou Zhu raised his thumb.
Due to his efforts, Ning Zhuo’s reputation among the three families’ modified cultivation teams had reached a certain pinnacle!
Zhou Zhenshen’s expression turned somber: "The problem now is whether this last place, 'entry standard,' is the same as the one we saw on the five-faced stone pillars in the trial room!"
Zhou Zhu thought for a moment, then slowly nodded, his expression just as heavy as his mood.
Zhou Zhenshen gritted his teeth: "I think the same as you. So, the three families, along with the City Lord’s Mansion, were all played by this 'entry standard'!"
"He should be Sun Lingtong."
"Hmph, it’s almost certain!"
"No-Void Sect has been laying low for many years, who would have thought they infiltrated the Lava Immortal Palace to this extent!"
"They can even change
their name like this, this is complete cheating, really devious, too devious!" Zhou Zhenshen stamped his foot in hatred.
No one would feel good after discovering they had been tricked so badly.
And the real "entry standard," Ning Zhuo, let out a sigh of relief.
Seeing this leaderboard had frightened him into a cold sweat.
Ning Zhuo’s ranking just barely made it into the final spot.
"My Buddha Heart Demon Seal represents one-third of the power of the Lava Immortal Palace and will definitely be heavily rewarded for merit."
"But I didn’t expect that even after handing it over, my merit still ranked behind people like Zhou Zhu."
"It shows how much trouble I caused by triggering the beast tide and destroying the historical pavilion!"
"Additionally, Ning Xiaohui and Zheng Jian’s deaths were key factors. If they were alive, I might have been squeezed out of this list."
Ning Zhuo was very grateful he had eliminated some competitors in advance.
That wasn’t his intention.
It was purely fate.
"Perhaps it’s because I planted the Life Hanging by a Thread on them early, and their fate was tied to me."
Fortunately, the ring had reminded him in time, or Ning Zhuo would have missed this only opportunity!
"Brother Zheng Jian, I owe you a debt of gratitude," Ning Zhuo secretly thanked him.
"Looking at it this way, even though I handed over my Buddha Heart Demon Seal, the name change has already happened, so my name didn’t change."
This was undoubtedly relatively good news for Ning Zhuo.
The name Ning Zhuo was now being used by Sun Lingtong.
This was part of Ning Zhuo’s prior arrangement.
"Could the public's misconception benefit me in the upcoming Palace Examination?"
"Having an extra layer of concealment doesn't seem like a bad thing!"
On the other side.
Yang Chanyu stared at Sun Lingtong: "So, you're the 'entry standard'?"
"How exactly did you change your name?"
Sun Lingtong giggled: "That’s my secret. Now you understand why I’m confident in competing for the Lava Immortal Palace, right?"
Yang Chanyu shook her head: "I only know you’ve played the entire upper echelon of Huoshi Immortal City for fools. You’re doomed; they must hate you now. You better not let them catch you afterward."
Sun Lingtong's smile stiffened a bit.
(End of the chapter)