```
Imperial Examination!
The ranking board of thirty-three people!
A single stone stirred up a thousand ripples.
At the same time, cultivators who received this information were almost all shocked in place.
```
Zhu Xuanji's heart trembled greatly, "Imperial Examination?!"
His first thought was, "By passing the Imperial Examination, could one obtains the position of the Palace Master?"
He was the Divine Hunter, renowned throughout the country, with meticulous thoughts, able to infer much from any key information.
"The mechanism of the Lava Fairy Palace has one standard, the criteria for selecting an heir rise and fall with the state of the Immortal Palace."
"Now, with the Immortal Palace greatly damaged, this mechanism has been activated, thus initiating the Imperial Examination!"
"This Imperial Examination is very likely to select the next Palace Master."
"The information is very clear—the list for the Imperial Examination includes a total of thirty-three people! This means, my main opponents are the other thirty-two people."
Zhu Xuanji began to carefully study this list.
He first saw his own name.
He wasn't surprised to be ranked first. Having repaired the Mechanical Demon General, when he realized that he could not recover the Demon Path True Scripture in a short time, he handed it over.
For this, he obtained a huge amount of merits.
This was also why he had taken out the Golden Phoenix Mirror to give to Ning Xiaohui not long ago.
"Second is Shuzhong Jun."
"The Complete Book Pavilion, huh..."
Zhu Xuanji's gaze was profound. This neutral major faction had quietly advanced to this stage.
If not for this ranking list, Zhu Xuanji wouldn't have known Shuzhong Jun had disguised so well and made such great progress, as if everyone had forgotten about him.
The third was Zheng Danlian.
"Zheng Danlian himself had been in and out of the Lava Fairy Palace, so his accumulation of personal merits started quite early."
"He has not only the old merit foundation, but now also has an additional sharp killing tool at his disposal."
"His Night Rain Demon Weapon is very unusual and helped him kill the most Golden Core Level Flame Demon Beasts recently, thus gaining a large amount of merits."
"Being ranked third is understandable."
Zhu Xuanji looked towards the fourth, fifth, and sixth.
These three spots were also occupied by Golden Core Cultivators, but their names were relatively unfamiliar.
Zhu Xuanji sneered. He knew very well: these three, including a few others behind them, were all reinforcements orchestrated by the Meng Family.
Despite their unconnected names, origins, and cultivation techniques, Zhu Xuanji had already determined their camp based on their actions and performances.
Their names weren't important. In Zhu Xuanji's mind, they automatically became Meng Family Golden Core A, Meng Family Golden Core B, Meng Family Golden Core C, D, E...
After this, Zhu Xuanji saw Zheng Shuanggou, Zhou Nongying, several Golden Core Loose Cultivators A, B, C, and Ning Jiufan.
"Ning Jiufan's ranking is lower, indicating that he hasn't been in the Lava Fairy Palace for a long time."
He also saw the Purple Dawn Pavilion Golden Core True Disciple, Zhu Zhen, Song Fuli.
It was not surprising that a disciple of Purple Dawn Pavilion Golden Core True Transmission was among the ranks.
Zhu Zhen himself possessed Mechanical Techniques and came to support Zhu Xuanji. He definitely gave his all, thus gaining many merits. This ranking showed it.
He was ranked lower only because he had not been here long, compared to other Golden Core Cultivators, lacking their previous accumulations.
Song Fuli was the same. Without previous accumulation, his ranking was subsequently lower.
Zhu Xuanji noticed that among this group of Cloud Merchants, it was not just Song Fuli who was a Golden Core Level cultivator; two others were also selected.
These two names were automatically replaced by Zhu Xuanji as: Cloud Merchant Golden Core A, Cloud Merchant Golden Core B.
The last name among the Golden Core Cultivators was Yang Chanyu.
Upon seeing this name, Zhu Xuanji snorted coldly in his heart, his eyes flashing with sharpness.
"Bukong Sect, Yang Chanyu, I must make full effort to bring you to justice!"
He looked further down.
"Ning Zhuo?"
Ning Zhuo's ranking was right behind Yang Chanyu.
"It turns out to be this youngster who has become the top among the Trial Disciples. Where is Meng Chong?"
Zhu Xuanji smiled faintly.
While he was a bit surprised, it wasn't too unexpected. After all, he had previously come to a deep understanding of Ning Zhuo's Mechanical Techniques.
Even as a youth, Ning Zhuo was recognized by Li Leifeng, displaying an astonishing talent for Mechanical Techniques from a young age!
As Zhu Xuanji read on, he found that between Meng Chong and Ning Zhuo, there were several people.
These individuals were all at the Foundation Establishment Stage, being somewhat renowned Mechanism Cultivators from the Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
Of note, many among them were on the inspection list once set by Zhu Xuanji.
"In general, the ranking board is solidly dominated by Golden Core Cultivators at the forefront, tightly packed, with no Foundation Establishment or Qi Refining Cultivators in between."
Cultivation Level is still the primary factor.
"Secondly, the main force of the second echelon consists of members from the four-direction Renovation Teams. The identity of a Trial Disciple is still very useful."
"Lastly, some are Foundation Establishment Mechanism Cultivators, some are members from the four directions of Fire Persimmon Immortal City, others are Loose Cultivators. These people are the least in number, and basically all have old merit accumulation."
"If the appearance of the Imperial Examination had been delayed a bit longer, their rankings would have been pushed down by the Trial Disciples."
"Hm?"
At the very end, Zhu Xuanji's gaze fixated on the "entry standard."
His complexion gradually turned ugly.
Elsewhere.
A burly youth was glaring with his tiger-like eyes: "What's the meaning of this ranking board?!"
"Among all the Trial Disciples, I'm actually not the first!"
Meng Chong felt extremely surprised.
```
"Ning Zhuo?"
"This guy's ranking is even higher than mine, interesting. I'll find an opportunity to meet him!"
Meng Chong, since leaving the trial challenge and entering the Immortal Palace, had always advanced boldly and diligently, with his achievements climbing step by step.
He possessed immortal aptitude and was formidable in strength, and with the entire City Lord's Mansion as a powerful aid, he was originally full of confidence in his own progress. But when the ranking list came out, it completely slapped him in the face.
Surprised, he quickly accepted this reality and developed a strong desire to compete with Ning Zhuo.
At last,
Meng Chong saw the "Entry Standard."
"How come there's an 'Entry Standard' here too?" Meng Chong's mouth twitched, just about to laugh.
But the next moment, his smile froze on his face.
He stood dumbfounded, then carefully counted the list and found that there were thirty-three people on the ranking list, with thirty-two people excluding the "Entry Standard."
Does this mean that "Entry Standard" is actually the name of a person?!
"Is the ranking in this palace trial like this, then what about the ranking list in the trial challenge?"
As soon as he thought of this, Meng Chong immediately put Ning Zhuo out of his mind.
His breathing quickly became rough, his chest puffed out, his breathing grew heavier, and bloodshot appeared in his eyes.
"I've been played!"
"I've been played!!"
"So, on the path of Soul Entering Immortal Palace, I've been in second place all along?!"
"The first place is this damned 'Entry Standard'!"
Meng Chong had never felt such humiliation from childhood to adulthood.
The thought that he once felt satisfied with his "first" ranking, flaunting it, now filled him with a strong sense of shame and anger.
"What a 'Entry Standard,' I want to fight this person."
"What a lowly trick, what cunning! Playing me for a fool, huh?!"
"Don't let me catch you, don't let me catch you!!" Meng Chong clenched his fists, his entire face turning crimson, like an enraged bull.
Ning Zhuo's ranking was higher than Meng Chong's, but this situation soon stopped attracting attention.
Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zeshen were also discussing it.
"Unexpectedly, Ning Zhuo still became the number one among us Qi Refining Cultivators. This result surprises me, yet it doesn't." Zhou Zeshen sighed.
Zhou Zhu agreed in a muffled voice, "Others, first, I won't accept. But Ning Zhuo, he is indeed impressive, helping many."
"People from the Zhou and Zheng families, all got promoted quickly because of him."
"He is this."
Saying that, Zhou Zhu gave a thumbs up.
Due to his full efforts, Ning Zhuo's reputation had reached a peak in the three families' Renovation Team!
Zhou Zeshen's face immediately darkened, "The problem now is whether this last 'Entry Standard' is the one we saw on the five stone columns in the trial room!"
Zhou Zhu thought for a moment and slowly nodded, his face as heavy as his mood.
Zhou Zeshen gritted his teeth, "I think the same as you. That means, our three families, along with the City Lord's Mansion, have all been played by this 'Entry Standard'!"
"He must be Sun Lingtong."
"Humph, it's almost certain!"
"The Bukong Sect has been cultivating for many years, I didn't expect their infiltration into the Lava Fairy Palace to be so deep!"
"To be able to change names like this, it's completely cheating, such deceit. Too cunning!!" Zhou Zeshen stomped with hatred.
Finding oneself deceived to such an extent is a bitter pill for anyone to swallow.
Meanwhile, the real "Entry Standard," Ning Zhuo, breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing this ranking list, he too broke out in a cold sweat.
Ning Zhuo's own ranking was just enough to make the last spot.
"The Buddha Heart Demon Seal represents one-third of the power of the Lava Fairy Palace and is sure to be rewarded with great achievements."
"But I did not expect that after submitting it, my achievements would still rank behind Zhou Zhu and the others."
"It just shows how big the pit I dug when I triggered the Demon Beast Tide and destroyed the Historical Records Pavilion!"
"Furthermore, the deaths of Ning Xiaohui and Zheng Jian were also key factors. If they had been alive, I might have been excluded from the list."
Ning Zhuo was very grateful that he had eliminated some competitors in advance.
This was not his intention from the beginning.
Purely the workings of fate.
"Perhaps, this is also because I planted the Life Hanging Threads on them early, and their lifespans fell to me."
Luckily, the ring reminded him in time, otherwise, Ning Zhuo would have truly missed this unique opportunity!
"Brother Zheng Jian, thank you." Ning Zhuo silently expressed his gratitude.
"It seems that even though I submitted my Buddha Heart Demon Seal and changing my name has become a fact, so my name did not change."
For Ning Zhuo, this was, without a doubt, relatively good news.
The one fixating on his "Ning Zhuo" name was Sun Lingtong.
This was a setup Ning Zhuo had made previously.
"Would the public's misconception about this benefit me in the upcoming palace trials?"
"One more layer of concealment seems not to be a bad thing!"
Elsewhere.
Yang Chanyu stared at Sun Lingtong, "So, are you the 'Entry Standard'?"
"How exactly did you change your name?"
Sun Lingtong giggled, "That's my secret. Now you see why I was confident in competing for the Lava Fairy Palace, right?"
Yang Chanyu shook her head, "All I know is, you've made a fool of the entire Fire Persimmon Immortal City's leadership. You're in trouble; they must utterly loathe you. After this, you better not get caught by them."
Sun Lingtong's smile became a bit stiff.