Chapter 292: Ning Zhuo vs. Meng Chong (Seeking Monthly Votes)
"Bombard the Golden Furnace?" Ning Zhuo shook his head and decisively rejected the suggestion of the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, "Although I can do that, the loss would be too great!"
"The Golden Furnace is the essence of the Gourd Fire Furnace Forest. If I bombard it, my merits will be deducted into negative points again."
"It's not appropriate, not appropriate at all!"
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit grew anxious, urging him with all its might: "But that's just a ruined Golden Furnace, young master. A complete Golden Furnace has strong defenses and might survive the bombardment!"
Ning Zhuo shook his head again: "You're not certain of that either. It's too risky!"
"Then are we just going to let Zhu Xuanji get the clues to the Golden Furnace?!" The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit widened its eyes, unable to understand why Ning Zhuo was so calm.
Ning Zhuo replied, "Be patient, I have already made arrangements. Just wait and see!"
Soon, a large number of mechanical constructs began to move, forming several forces that actively charged toward the invading group of Scarlet Flame Demon Beasts.
This scene left Zhu Xuanji and his group in shock.
They had already considered this scenario in advance and instructed all the assigned repair team members from the Command Platform to minimize their defense tasks for the Gourd Fire Furnace Forest.
Zhu Xuanji and his group hurried to contact the cultivators in charge of relevant duties.
But they found that none of them had made such military arrangements.
Zhu Xuanji quickly believed what they said.
The reason was simple: a mobilization of such a large force was unprecedented. The cultivator responsible for this must hold a high position.
With the mechanical puppets blocking them, the Scarlet Flame Demon Beast group was intercepted outside and could not approach the Gourd Fire Furnace Forest.
Zhu Xuanji and the others found it inconvenient to make a move.
Ning Zhuo then moved the Five Elements Cannon Tower and conducted continuous bombardment.
Even though many mechanical constructs were within the bombardment range, Ning Zhuo was willing to make that sacrifice.
After all, these were not cultivators but mechanical constructs.
If they were destroyed, they could simply be rebuilt.
In fact, these mechanical constructs, which were cannon fodder, had truly fulfilled their value by being sacrificed here!
With the Command Platform deploying forces and the long-range bombardment from the Five Elements Cannon Tower, Ning Zhuo quickly resolved the crisis in the Gourd Fire Furnace Forest.
Zhu Xuanji's hopes were dashed, but he did not show any signs of disappointment.
He gazed at the Command Platform with interest.
After this battle, he fully understood that the Command Platform had also been infiltrated by enemies. And the ones responsible were most likely from the No-Void Sect!
"The cultivators controlling all of this from the shadows don't even need to enter the Cannon Tower or the Command Platform to control everything."
"Do they hold high-ranking positions, or have they uncovered vulnerabilities within the Lava Immortal Palace?"
"It doesn't matter whether they have a high position or know the loopholes; I now understand that there's definitely an important clue hidden here!"
"The enemy is wary of my talents and my Trace Back Art, so they are doing everything they can to obstruct me."
"Interesting, hehehe."
Ning Zhuo's actions only further fueled Zhu Xuanji's determination to search the Golden Furnace ruins and uncover clues.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit paced around the main hall.
It sighed in relief, feeling much less pressure, though it still felt as if a heavy stone was weighing down on it.
As long as Zhu Xuanji remained alive, or the Golden Furnace ruins remained intact, its grand plan for freedom would always be in jeopardy.
"Ning Zhuo actually did something reliable for once!"
"But it's still unstable."
"Why not just fire the cannons and destroy the Golden Furnace ruins directly? One decisive strike would be best!"
Thus, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit contacted Ning Zhuo again, bringing up this suggestion.
Ning Zhuo shook his head: "I’ve already handed over the Buddha Heart Demon Seal. If I don’t become the Palace Lord, I definitely won’t be able to get it back."
"I must become the master of the Lava Immortal Palace!"
"Once I become the Palace Lord, the entire Lava Immortal Palace will be mine. The Golden Furnace is too valuable; how could I destroy my own treasure?"
These words left the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit speechless.
It grumbled internally, "At what level are you? You're just in the Qi Refining stage! Where do you get the confidence to believe you can achieve final victory with so many strong enemies surrounding you?"
"Ning Zhuo, you're way too overconfident."
"No, perhaps it's not confidence. It's that this gambler has lost all sense of reason."
"He’s bet the Buddha Heart Demon Seal, bet his life, and he can only gamble on winning in the end!"
"This damned gambler!!"
"You gamble with your life, but don't drag me, the Dragon Turtle, into it."
At this moment, Ning Zhuo sent a message again: "Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, I need your help!"
"In the upcoming days, many schemes aimed at me will surely arise."
"Since the Lava Immortal Palace is your territory, you need to keep a close watch on anything and anyone that might harm me. Report to me immediately!"
"If I’m caught off guard and ambushed, it will be your fault."
"You need to perform well and help me seize the Palace Lord position. Have confidence, the future belongs to us!"
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit snorted angrily.
It felt that Ning Zhuo was becoming more and more commanding. He used to discuss things, but now he was issuing orders directly.
"If he really becomes the Palace Lord, commanding me every day here and there, how could I possibly have any peace?"
At the thought of such a situation, even a fire spirit felt a chill run through its heart.
Ning Zhuo continued, "Did you hear me? We must cooperate fully."
"You alert me, and I’ll fend off Zhu Xuanji. At the same time, I can anticipate any schemes targeting me."
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit yelled in frustration, "So annoying!"
It took several deep breaths before pretending to be weak, agreeing to Ning Zhuo’s plan, and encouraging him to do his best to win the Palace Lord position soon.
The second round of the grand exam.
The eighth trial.
Ning Zhuo passed through the teleportation light and stepped onto the arena, immediately spotting his opponent.
Today's first opponent turned out to be Meng Chong.
Meng Chong also saw Ning Zhuo and gritted his teeth: "It's you! You narrowly won the last few times, but this time I'll make you taste defeat!"
Meng Chong’s skill in mechanical arts was quite low, so naturally, he had lost every battle against Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo cupped his hands and smiled: "Brother Meng Chong, it’s an honor to meet you in the first round today. I'm quite fortunate."
Meng Chong waved dismissively, "Spare me your useless, hypocritical nonsense. Huh? I can see you?"
This was still the preparation phase, but the view was completely clear.
Ning Zhuo nodded slightly: "It seems today's rules have changed slightly."
Each trial’s content would undergo small changes.
Over the past few days, the cultivators had grown accustomed to this.
Sure enough, new information came through, announcing that this trial would not obscure the crafting process and could be observed by others.
The grand exam officially began!
Meng Chong took a quick step to his table and immediately began analyzing and inspecting the materials.
Ning Zhuo, on the other hand, leisurely walked over, his hands behind his back, sweeping his gaze over the materials and also observing the surroundings.
The materials varied in quantity, some being Qi Refining level materials, others being Foundation Establishment level.
The supply of materials had clearly evolved through successive changes.
Celestial Talent—Wild Sprint Thunderclap!
After completing his inspection, Meng Chong unleashed his most powerful trump card.
His entire body flickered with electric light, doubling the speed of his every movement!
Whether it was smelting or cutting, each action was accelerated by his celestial talent.
In the same amount of time, others could only craft a single mechanical puppet, with perhaps a little extra time left. But Meng Chong could create two.
It was this trump card that allowed him to often win by a two-on-one advantage.
"His celestial talent has already been developed to this extent, truly worthy of being called a favored son of heaven."
Even though Ning Zhuo had long known about Meng Chong’s abilities, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of admiration at this moment.
Crafting mechanical constructs required many steps and details, all of which demanded meticulous control.
Meng Chong had achieved that level of control, even at double speed.
His progress in developing his celestial talent was truly astonishing.
Ning Zhuo still clearly remembered that when Meng Chong first used Wild Sprint Thunderclap, he could only charge in a straight line. Unable to stop himself, his entire puppet body collided with the trap wires, slicing it into countless pieces.
But now, he handled it with ease.
"However, you still don’t want to use your brain, do you?"
"Today's trial isn’t about being the fastest." Ning Zhuo’s lips curled slightly, his whole demeanor relaxed.
Meng Chong’s movements were swift, his progress far ahead of Ning Zhuo’s. The entire crafting process was clearly visible to Ning Zhuo.
As a result, Ning Zhuo adjusted his design accordingly, creating components specifically to counter Meng Chong’s mechanical constructs.
Once the battle began, Ning Zhuo fought two-on-one, using the specially crafted components to counter Meng Chong’s constructs, winning easily.
"Ar
gh!" Meng Chong grabbed his hair, almost going mad.
He had hoped to defeat Ning Zhuo and redeem his repeated losses, but he hadn’t expected to lose even more decisively this time!
"Fine, fine, Ning Zhuo! Next time, we’ll settle this again!" Meng Chong was not discouraged and left the arena with harsh words.
This scene was witnessed by several cultivators below the stage.
One of them was from the Meng family.
He frowned, "This Qi Refining junior, Ning Zhuo, seems to be winning a bit too often."
Realizing this, he quickly checked the battle records and was astonished to find that this wasn't just his imagination—Ning Zhuo’s personal battle record was indeed among the top!
Ning Zhuo’s previous fights had always been close calls, often ending in narrow victories, which made him easy to overlook.
But this time, defeating Meng Chong so decisively had caught the attention of certain individuals.
That night.
Ning Zhuo received bad news: there had been multiple security incidents in the black market. Even with the Ning family’s former stewards acting collectively, they had been repelled by fierce attackers.
The black market was in chaos, with many merchants and vendors suffering losses.
These individuals quickly banded together to demand compensation from the black market authorities!
In the face of such immense pressure, with the city lord's mansion also holding them accountable, no one from the black market could make a decision. They had no choice but to send a message to Ning Zhuo.
Seeing the letter, Ning Zhuo’s thoughts became clear: "It seems someone has finally noticed my outstanding battle record."
Although he had wanted to keep a low profile, his extraordinary talent in mechanics could no longer be hidden.
(End of Chapter)