After the first round of palace examinations, the rankings list was reduced to twenty-three places.
And there were significant changes in the order of the list.
Previously, Golden Core Cultivators had directly dominated the top half of the list, but now it was a mix of Cultivators, with the Qi Refinement Realm, Foundation Establishment Stage, and Golden Core Stage all jumbled together without order.
Of course, the majority were still Golden Core Cultivators, making up more than half of the entire list.
Looking at this, Golden Core Cultivators were clearly the main characters of the palace examinations, while the rest, those in the Foundation Establishment Stage and Qi Refinement Realm, were merely there to complete the numbers.
Ning Zhuo's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he saw a hope for circumventing the monitoring methods.
At this moment, new information came through.
It was the introduction to the second round of palace examinations.
Simply put, the second round of the palace examinations would adopt the form of a ranking competition, allowing each Cultivator to have a relatively fair contest with one another.
After this information was conveyed, the ground of the square in front of the palace started to shake.
Then, the floor tiles parted, swallowing up all the tables and cases, before spitting out ten circular arenas.
When these arenas were completely revealed, the floor tiles closed back up, forming a tightly neat ground once more.
The transportation light rings appeared again beside each person.
Many Cultivators took steps forward, quickly stepping into the light rings, seizing every second to prepare for the upcoming second round of the palace examinations.
There were also Cultivators who had been eliminated, who were reluctant to leave, but then suddenly found themselves unable to move. The transportation light ring beside them then actively expanded and engulfed them, forcibly transporting them away.
After stepping out of the transportation light ring, Ning Zhuo returned to his temporary residence.
He hurried out of the house, entered next door, and went to see Ning Jiufan.
"Great ancestor," Ning Zhuo said, "the second round of the palace examinations is coming up, and the competition will certainly be fiercer. But I have concerns that put me at risk of being secretly harmed."
Ning Jiufan stroked his beard, understanding what Ning Zhuo meant.
What Ning Zhuo referred to were the various monitoring methods that had been planted on him by a bunch of Golden Core Cultivators.
Ning Zhuo told Ning Jiufan that he had thought these monitoring methods were an amulet for him. Now that the situation had changed to this extent, were there any controlling backhands to worry about in these monitoring methods?
If there were indeed control and influencing backhands, it would be extremely detrimental for Ning Zhuo, who was about to enter the arena and battle.
Ning Jiufan said, "Then let me try to remove these methods for you."
Ning Zhuo, however, said, "There's no need for the great ancestor to take action. The second round of the palace examinations is imminent, and you are the greatest hope of our Ning Family!"
"I think, it's only fair that our Ning Family obtains the Lava Fairy Palace!"
"My idea is, why not seek help from Lord Zhu Xuanji and ask him to come forward and pressure to remove all the monitoring methods from me."
Ning Jiufan nodded slightly, "It's indeed a good idea. I will write a letter to inquire about Lord Zhu's intentions."
As Ning Jiufan wrote the letter, Zhu Xuanji was also writing one.
He was sending it to Meng Kui!
In the letter, Zhu Xuanji recorded all the fragmentary parts of the three Cultivation Techniques mentioned in the test questions: the Mirror Stand Spirit Communication Technique, the Demon-infused Bloodline Technique, and the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art.
He wanted to ask Meng Kui to calculate and see if these three Cultivation Techniques were related if they were part of the Three Superior Sect Techniques.
"Hope to get a reply as soon as possible."
Zhu Xuanji sighed deeply as he looked at the breach in the light shield and the Flame Demon Beasts constantly charging in.
With the departure of the Nascent Soul Level Runaway Fire Snake, the Flame Beast Tide became larger and more threatening than before.
Especially lately, because the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was exerting force in secret, leading to breaches in the light shield, allowing more Flame Demon Beasts to rush in.
This made the difficulty of storming the palace much less than before.
Such changes greatly stimulated the Flame Demon Beasts. The offenses they launched were more violent and more reckless.
As a result, it became more inconvenient for Cultivators to enter and leave the Lava Fairy Palace.
If it were in the past, perhaps Zhu Xuanji would have taken action personally because it was not far after all. He would have gone to see Meng Kui in person and urged him to perform the calculations in front of him.
Now, Zhu Xuanji preferred only to send out a Flying Message.
After all, he needed a lot of time to properly deal with the second round of palace examinations!
"Based on the information given earlier, the second round of the palace examinations is an individual battle."
"The so-called relative fairness, does it mean that those with higher Cultivation Levels will be suppressed by the Immortal Palace, reduced to the same actual performance level as those with lower Cultivation Levels?"
"After all, the rankings list includes Golden Core Cultivators, Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and Qi Refining Cultivators."
"The examinations specified that only Mechanical Techniques related methods are allowed. This scope description is actually quite vague."
"If I have a large amount of Mechanical Puppets, would I be able to use them directly in the arena?"
"If among these Mechanical Puppets, there are those with Golden Core Level combat power, what then?"
Zhu Xuanji was pondering when a letter from Ning Jiufan fluttered in front of him.
He unfolded the letter and saw it was about Ning Zhuo.
The worries expressed by Ning Jiufan in his heart were validated by Zhu Xuanji.
After consideration, the Divine Hunter realized that Ning Zhuo's issue was minor, yet it highlighted the major internal threats within the alliance of the three families— as the competition intensified, the once-united three major Cultivation clans would crumble and act for their own interests.
Clearly, this was not what Zhu Xuanji wanted to see.
He decided on the spot to use Ning Zhuo's request as a pretext to invite the Golden Core Cultivators from the three families to gather and discuss important matters in order to strengthen the alliance!
A moment later.
The Golden Core Cultivators from the three families surrounded Ning Zhuo and one after another removed the surveillance measures they had placed on him.
Throughout this process, Zhu Xuanji was invoking his Golden Eyes, observing from the sidelines.
Ning Jiufan breathed a sigh of relief.
If it were up to him alone to deal with these monitoring methods, he might not have been successful, and it would have been time-consuming and draining. Now, having these Golden Core Cultivators personally dismiss it was the best outcome.
In the end, at Ning Zhuo's own request, only the surveillance methods of Ning Jiufan and Zhu Xuanji remained on him.
Zheng Shuanggou suddenly made a trade offer to Ning Zhuo.
He wanted to buy the Mechanical Monkey held by Ning Zhuo.
It wasn't the Explosive Flame Monkey but the Mechanical Monkey of Golden Core Level that Ning Zhuo had been coordinating and preparing for a long time with great fanfare.
Naturally, Ning Zhuo was unwilling and prevaricated that it was not yet successfully crafted.
Zhu Xuanji, standing by, immediately saw through his lie.
Zheng Shuanggou was unconcerned, "Even if it's not fully constructed, it doesn't matter. My Zheng Family is willing to buy it at a high price, even if it's only half-complete."
This time, Ning Zhuo blatantly refused, provoking a cold snort from Zheng Danlian.
During this time, a reply from Meng Kui arrived in front of Zhu Xuanji.
The letter recounted that Meng Kui had personally calculated and confirmed that Zhu Xuanji's speculation was correct. The three Cultivation Techniques were indeed a set, belonging to the Three Superior Sect Techniques.
Meng Kui had also deduced the approximate power of the Demon-infused Bloodline Technique. The Mirror Stand Spirit Communication Technique involved forming mirrors within the Divine Ocean Dantian to directly communicate with sentient beings. At first, these mirrors could be counted on one hand, but as the Cultivation Level progressed, the number of mirrors would increase, and their quality would improve!
Zhu Xuanji, in an attempt to allure others, proactively shared the contents of the letter.
Ning Zhuo, watching from the sidelines, was astounded, fully realizing the profound understanding of Golden Core and Nascent Soul Levels towards Cultivation. Even just phrases could lead to the quick inference of profound essentials.
As news of the second round of the palace exam spread, Ning Zhuo began to actively prepare for battle.
But his days were not peaceful.
People continually approached him, offering a hefty sum, not just to buy his Golden Core Level materials for the Mechanical Monkey, but also to bribe him into throwing matches.
Ning Zhuo rejected them all, displaying a demeanor that even Ning Jiufan found quite surprising.
Gentleness first, force later.
Many people and forces, driven by the second round of the palace exam, began to employ even more intense measures.
A Foundation Establishment Level Loose Cultivator was killed tragically at night, his body not discovered until the following noon. His heart was pierced, and his soul had completely vanished.
The various industries of the Ning Family, Zheng Family, and Zhou Family were simultaneously targeted.
Even the stronghold of the Complete Book Pavilion within Fire Persimmon Immortal City suffered theft.
According to witnesses, the perpetrator was the Black Shadow Demon Cultivator.
However, it was clear that this targeted attack against a supreme sect was very likely the act of another supreme sect taking advantage of the situation!
"The second round of the palace exam..."
"Hmph, they seem to be enjoying themselves quite a bit."
"Why don't we also have a hand in it and get involved a bit, what do you say, Han Ming?"
Luo Shang, residing in the Immortal City, looked towards the direction of Persimmon Mountain Peak and chuckled coldly.
Han Ming, head bowed and eyebrows lowered, was extremely docile, "Lord Luo Shang, what would you like me to do?"
She felt helpless in her heart.
After hiding for so long, due to the Demon Beast attack, she ultimately revealed her whereabouts and was discovered by Luo Shang, who then forcibly recruited her and kept her by his side.
Luo Shang said, "Go contact the City Lord's Mansion."
"They will certainly be interested in your intelligence."
"Although Ning Zhuo is just a minor Qi Refining youngster, he has made it to the second round. If something happens to him, Meng Kui's side will be able to seize the opportunity and launch a major offensive against Zhu Xuanji's side."
"When two tigers fight, the scene will be all the more entertaining."
"Hahaha!"