Zhu Xuanji's brow furrowed and did not relax.
Just now, he had taken on three opponents alone, defeating Ning Zhuo, Sun Lingtong, and Yang Chanyu, feeling little joy in his achievement.
He had always been careful to conceal his true combat strength. Very few outsiders were aware of the Divine Skills like the Golden Mountain Stance and Jade Pillar Body.
This time, as it concerned the Lava Fairy Palace and the legacy of Refining Void Great Power, he was willing to strike publicly, revealing a portion of his own strength.
"Ning Jiufan fights Zheng Shuanggou, Meng Chong, the Golden Core True Inheritor of the Meng Family. Ning Jiufan is defeated and eliminated, Zheng Shuanggou is defeated and eliminated!"
This seemingly simple piece of news contained no simple information.
After pondering for a moment, Zhu Xuanji understood the truth, "The Zheng Family has betrayed the tri-alliance I had formed."
He had anticipated this possibility.
Indeed, he could even guess why the Zheng Family betrayed the alliance and secretly aligned with the Meng Family—
The Taiqing Palace was like a sword hanging over the Zheng Family's head, ready to fall at any moment.
The Zheng Family was on the brink of collapse!
Under such intense pressure, with the Southern Bean Royal Family maintaining a vague stance, not clearly decreeing their protection of the Zheng Family, they naturally had to save themselves, frantically seeking a way to survive.
City Lord Meng Kun must have made some promises, making the Zheng Family cling to them like a lifeline, firmly casting their lot with the Meng Family and betraying the alliance.
As for the alliance oath Zhu Xuanji had signed with them, it was naturally dissolved behind the scenes by the Meng Family.
Where there is poison, there is antidote. Where there is an oath, there are ways to annul it.
Zhu Xuanji silently assessed the situation.
"Zhou Nongying, Ning Jiufan, the Golden Core True Inheritor of Purple Dawn Pavilion, Zheng Shuanggou, Yang Chanyu, Shuzhong Jun, and Ning Zhuo have all been eliminated."
"Now, only I, Zheng Danlian, Meng Chong and the Golden Core Body Cultivator of the Meng Family, as well as Song Fuli and Sun Lingtong remain in the Secret Pavilion of Transition."
"The greatest threat to me is likely Zheng Danlian! His Night Rain Demon Soldiers cannot be judged by common sense."
"Besides that, there is the potential unity of these peoples."
"Once they realize my strength is too high, they will quickly unite against me."
This was in fact one of the reasons why Zhu Xuanji had always kept his true combat strength hidden.
"Who else can I ally with at the moment?"
"Song Fuli?"
Zhu Xuanji was of royal blood, capable of discerning the situation and forming strategic alliances.
In fact, when he first came to Fire Persimmon Immortal City alone, no one except himself helped him.
Zhu Xuanji first utilized the strong justification of investigating a case to openly borrow manpower and material resources from the City Lord's Mansion. Even City Lord Meng Kun, during the early stages, harbored slim hopes and expectations towards the royal family and Zhu Xuanji.
Afterward, Zhu Xuanji used his status to comply with the situation and formed a three-family alliance with the Zhou Family, the Zheng Family, and the Ning Family.
He not only utilized the power of the local forces but also avoided being forced into an awkward situation of fighting multiple enemies, thereby preventing the premature exposure of his true combat strength.
Although the Zheng Family turned against him, to tell the truth, it was not Zhu Xuanji's fault.
The blame could only be placed on the Southern Bean Royal Family for not issuing their decree in time.
"In fact, the royal family's failure to issue any decree for such a long time has already shown their stance!"
Zhu Xuanji was able to get this far, not merely by relying on his status and innate talent; he was also constantly employing his own strategies.
Zhu Xuanji thought for a while and did not decide to seek an alliance with Song Fuli.
In his view: The timing of Song Fuli and the Cloud Merchant's appearance was somewhat coincidental.
He could ally with Song Fuli, but couldn't City Lord Meng Kun do the same? If it came to outbidding for support, Zhu Xuanji was certain he could not compete with Meng Kun.
If both sides vied for Song Fuli, the likelihood of him being the losing party was high.
Given that, Zhu Xuanji, who had only recently been backstabbed by Ning Zhuo, preferred to keep his distance from Song Fuli.
Of course, the main reason for all these decisions was Zhu Xuanji's confidence.
He was confident that he alone could withstand the combined forces of the others.
The only thing that truly worried him was not their union, but rather the dispersal of everyone!
...
"Zhu Xuanji fights entrance standard, Yang Chanyu, Ning Zhuo. Yang Chanyu is defeated and eliminated, Ning Zhuo concedes and is eliminated?"
Similar to Zhu Xuanji's situation, Meng Chong and the Golden Core Body Cultivator of the Meng Family also featured in the battle reports of others.
"Why did Ning Zhuo go after Zhu Xuanji?" Meng Chong was surprised, then exclaimed, "Divine Hunter Zhu Xuanji is formidable! To have been pushed to just the Foundation Establishment Stage and still defeat so many people. Can't Sun Lingtong use that Mechanical Monkey she has?"
The Golden Core Body Cultivator scoffed and said with a thoughtful and solemn tone, "If Sun Lingtong could use her Mechanical Monkey, then Zhu Xuanji's true combat strength must be quite terrifying."
"The Bukong Sect should still be hiding another Mechanical Puppet of Foundation Establishment Level," he mused. "It wears a cone hat and can command ghosts."
The City Lord's Mansion, of course, had gathered intelligence from the tri-family war.
Even without this information, Ning Zhuo had repeatedly arranged for the Golden Blood Battle Ape, Dasheng, and Netherworld Envoy, Qi Bai, to disguise themselves as part of a trial stage, blocking the Trial Disciples many times.
Therefore, the City Lord's Mansion had long anticipated the Netherworld Envoy, Qi Bai, as a hidden trump card.
"Don't forget, with the weakening of the prohibition, we can all use our personal items. Although Ning Zhuo is just at the middle level of Qi Refinement, nearly equal in cultivation level to you, my lord, he certainly has a Golden Core Level Mechanical Monkey with him."
"Even if the Mechanical Monkey is suppressed by the prohibition and brought down to Foundation Establishment Level, it remains a significant threat."
"Also consider the Bukong Sect's Golden Core True Disciple, Yang Chanyu..."
"Zhu Xuanji actually defeated these three; his strength is quite formidable! He usually conceals it very well."
Meng Chong nonchalantly placed his hands behind his head, "Why guess so much? Why don't we just have a direct fight with Zhu Xuanji and then everything will become clear?"
The Golden Core Body Cultivator of the Meng Family felt a surge of weariness, hastily waving his hand, "The outcome of war is unpredictable; the best option is naturally to avoid it if possible. As the saying goes, 'The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.' We should avoid combat as much as possible and strive to secure victory in the most stable manner."
"Not to fight Zhu Xuanji?!" Meng Chong's eyes widened. He was sincerely looking forward to this battle, but now he was being told not to fight?
Meng Chong immediately argued, "Such a great opportunity we have here. Zhu Xuanji is suppressed to the Foundation Establishment Stage, I could match him with my Immortal Aptitude. If we really fight, how exhilarating that would be."
The Golden Core Body Cultivator of the Meng Family shook his head repeatedly, "No no no, young master, you seem to have forgotten. To seize the position of Palace Master of the Immortal Palace, we must find the most correct path in the Secret Pavilion of Transition, and the first to enter the main hall and sit on the throne will become the Palace Master of the Lava Fairy Palace."
"What you need to focus on is this task, not a battle with Zhu Xuanji of uncertain outcome."
"If we must fight, it would be Zheng Danlian and I joining forces to intercept Zhu Xuanji and buy you time."
But Meng Chong's eyes were shining, "It's precisely because there's no certainty that it would be more interesting to fight. This could be a rare opportunity for our Meng Family to measure up against the Royal Family of the Zhu Family! I want to see just what basis the Zhu Family has to rule over us and act as the Royal Family of a country."
So tiring.
The Golden Core Body Cultivator of the Meng Family sighed inwardly. Seeing that he couldn't dissuade Meng Chong, he had no choice but to bring up Meng Kui.
"Young master, rein yourself in."
"Our mission is arduous, and these arrangements aren't made by me, but are part of a strategy personally devised by your grandfather."
"Will you listen to City Lord Meng Kui's words?"
This time it was Meng Chong's turn to sigh, "Ah! Listen, of course, I have to listen to grandfather's words."
His face was full of regret.
The Golden Core Body Cultivator of the Meng Family finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Even the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit breathed a huge sigh of relief. It had been keeping a close watch on Meng Chong, and when it saw his reckless desire to challenge Zhu Xuanji, it almost wanted to slap him hard on the head!
Do you have a brain?!
Zhu Xuanji with three Divine Skills! Is such an opponent something you, a young Cultivator in the middle stage of Qi Refinement, can handle?!
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit observed several battles with a keen eye, quite certain that Zhu Xuanji was the strongest contender in this palace exam. The only potential threat to him was the Night Rain Demon Weapon.
"Most of them have already moved on."
"Next, it's time for a small change, to shuffle the positions in this Secret Pavilion again."
"Under my command, Meng Chong might find his way out of the Secret Pavilion of Transition and be the first to enter the main hall!"
Snap snap snap...
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit pondered within its shell.
Around it, dozens of fire whips kept lashing at it.
With the prohibition weakened, it could cheat and secretly tell Meng Chong which direction to take, like indicating the door on the left or the one straight ahead.
It still couldn't reveal any information about other Cultivators.
It would still suffer severe whipping if caught cheating! And if it were more severe, a flame chopper would form to behead it!
"Ning Zhuo is out of the running."
"After the small change, Zhu Xuanji and Meng Chong are now at a distance; Meng Chong can't be stopped from breaking out of the Secret Pavilion."
Never before had the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit felt so close to success.
"As long as Meng Chong becomes the Palace Master, everything I've sacrificed will be worth it!" it encouraged itself silently.
The Lava Fairy Palace.
The light ring spat out Sun Lingtong.
He had just come out when he heard a beast roar. A Flame Demon Beast pounced at him.
Sun Lingtong was startled and was about to raise his dagger when the Flame Demon Beast's head was chopped off, and its hot blood gushed like a fountain from the neck.
Sun Lingtong swiftly stepped back to avoid being splattered by the blood.
"Yang Chanyu!" Sun Lingtong saw his fellow disciple who had just saved him by killing the Flame Demon Beast.
Yang Chanyu didn't look very good, her complexion pale as gold-paper, and her breath was very weak.