Who the Hell is This Damned "Entry Standard"?!

2024-09-15 Author: Gu Zhenren

Who the Hell is This Damned "Entry Standard"?!

Palace Examination!

Thirty-three person ranking list!

A single stone stirs a thousand waves.

At the same time, almost all the cultivators who received this information were stunned on the spot.

Zhu Xuanji's heart was greatly shaken: "Palace Examination?!"

His first thought was: "Can passing the Palace Examination grant the position of Palace Master?"

As a Divine Constable famous throughout the country, with meticulous thinking, he could deduce a lot from any key information.

"The Molten Rock Immortal Palace has a mechanism where the standard for selecting a successor fluctuates with the palace's condition."

"Now, with the palace severely damaged, this mechanism activates, initiating the Palace Examination!"

"This Palace Examination is highly likely to select the next Palace Master."

"The information is clear—the examination list has thirty-three people! That means my main opponents are the other thirty-two."

Zhu Xuanji began carefully studying the list.

He first saw his own name.

Being ranked first didn't surprise him. After repairing the Mechanical Demon General and realizing he had no hope of retrieving the Demonic Path True Scripture soon, he had turned it in.

He received a huge amount of merit for this.

That was also why he had recently taken out the Golden Phoenix Mirror to give to Ning Xiaohui.

"Second is Shu Zhongjun."

"The Book Tower…"

Zhu Xuanji's gaze was profound. This neutral major faction had quietly progressed to this point.

Without this ranking list, Zhu Xuanji wouldn't have known Shu Zhongjun was disguised so well, having made such massive progress, while everyone seemed to have forgotten about him.

Third was Zheng Danlian.

"Zheng Danlian has been entering and leaving the Molten Rock Immortal Palace for a long time, so his merit accumulation started early."

"He not only has an old foundation but also now possesses a formidable weapon."

"That Night Rain Demonic Weapon of his is extraordinary, helping him slay the most Golden Core level Scarlet Flame Demonic Beasts recently, earning him a large amount of merit."

"Ranking third is understandable."

Zhu Xuanji looked further at fourth, fifth, and sixth.

These positions were also held by Golden Core cultivators, but their names were quite unfamiliar.

Zhu Xuanji sneered coldly, understanding perfectly: these three, and several after them, were reinforcements brought in by the Meng family.

Despite no apparent connection in name, origin, or techniques, Zhu Xuanji had confirmed their faction based on their actions and performance.

Their names were unimportant; in his mind, they automatically became Meng Family Golden Core A, B, C, D, E…

After that, Zhu Xuanji saw Zheng Shuang gou, Zhou Nongying, several rogue Golden Core cultivators A, B, C, and Ning Jiufan.

"Ning Jiufan's low ranking indicates he hasn't been in the Molten Rock Immortal Palace for long."

He also saw the Purple Heaven Pavilion Golden Core True Disciple, Zhu Zhen, and Song Fuli.

The Purple Heaven Pavilion Golden Core True Disciple's inclusion was unsurprising.

Zhu Zhen himself had mechanical expertise; he had absolutely gone all out to support Zhu Xuanji, thus earning a lot of merit, as shown by the ranking.

His lower position was simply because he hadn't been here long, lacking the historical accumulation of other Golden Core cultivators.

Song Fuli was the same, disadvantaged by lacking old accumulation, hence his low rank.

Zhu Xuanji noted that among these Cloud Merchants, it wasn't just Song Fuli; two other Golden Cores were selected.

Their names were also automatically replaced by Zhu Xuanji as: Cloud Merchant Golden Core A, Cloud Merchant Golden Core B.

The last among the Golden Core cultivators was Yang Chanyu.

Seeing this name, Zhu Xuanji inwardly snorted coldly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"Unhindered Gate, Yang Chanyu, I will exert my full strength to bring you to justice!"

He looked further down.

"Ning Zhuo?"

Ning Zhuo's rank was right after Yang Chanyu.

"Unexpectedly, this kid became the top among the trial disciples. Where is Meng Chong?"

Zhu Xuanji smiled slightly.

Though somewhat surprised, he wasn't too shocked. After all, he had already deeply understood Ning Zhuo's mechanical prowess.

This junior had received Li Leifeng's recognition in his childhood! He possessed astonishing talent for mechanics from a young age!

Zhu Xuanji looked down and found several people between Meng Chong and Ning Zhuo.

These were Foundation Establishment cultivators, some slightly renowned mechanical practitioners from Blazing Persimmon Immortal City.

It was worth mentioning that many of them had been on Zhu Xuanji's previously established screening list.

"Overall, Golden Core cultivators firmly occupy the top positions on the entire ranking list, forming a tight block with no Foundation Establishment or Qi Refining cultivators in between."

Cultivation level was still the primary factor.

"Secondly, the main force of the second echelon are the members of the Four Reform Teams. The status of trial disciple is still quite useful."

"Finally, there are some Foundation Establishment mechanical cultivators, some from the four major forces of Blazing Persimmon Immortal City, others are rogue cultivators. They are the fewest in number, mostly having some old accumulation."

"If the Palace Examination had appeared later, their positions would likely have been squeezed out by the trial disciples."

"Hmm?"

Finally, Zhu Xuanji's gaze fixed on the "Entry Standard."

His expression gradually darkened.

Elsewhere.

A burly youth was glaring with his tiger-like eyes: "What's with this ranking list?!"

"Among all the trial disciples, I'm actually not first!"

Meng Chong was greatly astonished.

"Ning Zhuo?"

"This guy actually ranks higher than me? Interesting. I'll find a chance to meet him!"

Since leaving the trial stage and entering the Immortal Palace, Meng Chong had been advancing courageously and vigorously, his merit rising steadily.

Personally possessing immortal aptitude, formidable strength, and with the entire City Lord's Mansion as strong support, he was originally fully confident in his progress. But the ranking list, once released, completely slapped him in the face.

After his initial surprise, he quickly accepted this fact and developed a strong competitive spirit towards Ning Zhuo.

Finally.

Meng Chong saw the "Entry Standard."

"Why is there an 'Entry Standard' here too?" Meng Chong's mouth twitched, about to laugh.

But the next moment, his smile froze on his face.

He stared blankly, then carefully counted the list, finding thirty-three people on the ranking list, thirty-two besides the "Entry Standard."

That meant this "Entry Standard" was actually a person's name?!

"If the Palace Examination ranking is like this, then what about the ranking list in the trial stage?"

Thinking of this, Meng Chong immediately forgot about Ning Zhuo.

His breathing quickly grew heavier, his chest swelled, his breaths intensified, and bloodshot veins appeared in his eyes.

"I've been tricked!"

"I've been tricked!!"

"So, on the Soul-Entering-Immortal-Palace track, I've always been second place?!"

"First place was this damned 'Entry Standard'!"

Meng Chong had never felt so humiliated in his entire life.

Remembering how he had often been smugly satisfied with his "first place" ranking成绩, he felt an intense shame and fury.

"What a fine 'Entry Standard.' I want to fight this person."

"So despicable, so sinister! Making a fool out of me, huh?!"

"Don't let me catch you, don't let me catch you!!" Meng Chong clenched his fists, his entire face flushed red like an angry bull.

Ning Zhuo's ranking was higher than Meng Chong's, but this situation soon ceased to be the focus.

Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zeshen were also discussing.

"Unexpectedly, Ning Zhuo ultimately became the first among our Qi Refining cultivators. This result both surprises me and doesn't." Zhou Zeshen sighed.

Zhou Zhu grunted in agreement: "If others were first, I wouldn't accept it. But Ning Zhuo is indeed impressive, he helped many people."

"Members of the Zhou and Zheng families received his support and quickly got positions."

"He's the one."

As he spoke, Zhou Zhu gave a thumbs-up.

Due to Ning Zhuo's full efforts, his reputation within the three families' reform teams had reached a certain peak!

Zhou Zeshen's expression then darkened: "The problem now is, is this last-placed 'Entry Standard' the same one we saw on the five-sided stone pillar in the trial room?!"

Zhou Zhu thought for a moment, slowly nodded, his expression and mood equally heavy.

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 tricked by this 'Entry Standard'!"

"It must be Sun Lingtong."

"Hmph, almost certainly!"

"The Unhindered Gate has been deeply entrenched for years; I didn't expect their infiltration of the Molten Rock Immortal Palace to reach this extent!"

"To actually change names like this, it's pure cheating, so cunning. So cunning!!" Zhou Zeshen stamped his foot in hatred.

Anyone discovering they'd been deceived so badly would feel awful.

Meanwhile, the real "Entry Standard," Ning Zhuo, breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing this ranking list had also given him a cold sweat.

His own ranking just barely made the last spot.

"My Buddha Heart Demon Seal represents one-third of the Molten Rock Immortal Palace's authority; turning it in was bound to reward a huge amount of merit."

"But I didn't expect that even after submitting it, my merit still ranked behind people like Zhou Zhu."

"It shows how deep the pit I dug by triggering the demonic beast tide and destroying the Historiography Pavilion really was!"

"Also, the deaths of Ning Xiaohui and Zheng Jian were a key factor. If they were still alive, I might well have been pushed off this list."

Ning Zhuo felt very fortunate to have eliminated some competitors in advance.

This wasn't his original intention in acting.

It was purely due to luck.

"Perhaps it's also because I planted the Thread of Human Fate on them early, so their fortune shifted to me."

Fortunately, the ring reminded him in time, otherwise Ning Zhuo would have truly missed this only opportunity!

"Brother Zheng Jian, thank you," Ning Zhuo silently expressed his gratitude.

"So it seems, even though I submitted my Buddha Heart Demon Seal, the name change had already taken effect, so the name didn't revert."

This was undoubtedly relatively good news for Ning Zhuo.

The one bearing his "Ning Zhuo" name was Sun Lingtong.

This was part of Ning Zhuo's previous arrangements.

"Will the public's mistaken perception be advantageous for my upcoming Palace Examination?"

"An extra layer of concealment doesn't seem bad!"

Elsewhere.

Yang Chanyu stared at Sun Lingtong: "So, the Entry Standard is you?"

"How exactly did you change your name?"

Sun Lingtong giggled: "That's my secret. Now you know why I'm confident about striving for the Molten Rock Immortal Palace, right?"

Yang Chanyu shook her head: "I only know you've made fools of the entire upper echelon of Blazing Persimmon Immortal City. You're in trouble; they must hate you to the core. Later, you'd better not get caught by them."

Sun Lingtong's smile couldn't help but stiffen slightly.

(End of )