**: Elimination**

Author: Gu Zhenren

Date: 2024-09-25

The first minor shift, the second minor shift...

The cultivators gradually deduced the mechanism of the palace examination, gaining much more understanding of the Shifting Mechanism Secret Chambers.

Zhu Xuanji moved nimbly, navigating through mechanical traps while pondering secretly: "Judging from the palace examination rules, the way to victory is to find the correct path, leave this mechanical maze, step into the main hall, and sit on the throne."

"But in reality, there are many secret chambers. Once everyone accumulates thirty-six attempts, the sequence is reshuffled."

"The paths taken before are completely changed; it all starts over from the beginning."

"So..."

"On one hand, I must rush through the challenges at full speed. If others pass three chambers while I pass six, it means my chance of finding the correct path is significantly higher than others."

"On the other hand, I need to eliminate as many others as possible! The ideal scenario is that only I remain. Then all thirty-six exploration opportunities belong to me alone."

"Hmm?"

Thinking this, Zhu Xuanji's heart stirred, and he deduced a conclusion: "This proves that within thirty-six attempts, there must exist a path that allows me to break out of the Shifting Mechanism Secret Chambers and enter the main hall!"

The cultivators who made it to the third round of the palace examination were almost all quick-witted individuals. Many, like Zhu Xuanji, realized the true nature of the third round –

It seemed like searching for the correct path, heavily reliant on luck.

But in reality, one must eliminate others to exchange for more exploration opportunities for oneself, making it more likely to escape the Shifting Mechanism Secret Chambers!

In one secret chamber.

A battle had just ended.

Shu Zhongjun stood in the center of the battlefield, hands behind his back. Around him were several mechanical constructs. Some were smashed, some broken, and others were sealed, unable to move.

Shu Zhongjun was an elite from the All Books Pavilion, well-read in classics. The breadth and complexity of his methods were among the top of all cultivators.

He had won the battle, but there was no trace of joy on his face.

"The situation is unfavorable for me."

"In the previous ranking list, I was consistently in second place. This makes others view me as a major threat."

Shu Zhongjun always kept a clear list of the palace examination participants in his mind.

"Including me, there are thirteen cultivators, but not thirteen factions."

"There are only four."

"The alliance of cultivation families from Huoshi Immortal City, led by Zhu Xuanji, is the largest faction."

"The City Lord's Residence Meng Family and the Bukong Sect are next."

"The last faction is me, Song Fuli, and the Golden Core True Inheritor of Zixiao Pavilion. We are quite scattered."

If others encountered each other, they might not fight; they could directly join forces due to faction ties.

In other words, Shu Zhongjun might encounter two or even more enemies.

A more troublesome point was that everyone's cultivation was suppressed to the Qi Refinement stage. This made it very difficult for Shu Zhongjun to fight one against two.

Shu Zhongjun quickly cleaned the battlefield, dismantling many components from the mechanical puppets.

He didn't have methods like the "Demon Tainted Blood Tendon Skill" and couldn't directly demonically taint the mechanical puppets like Ning Zhuo.

"The second secret chamber I explored earlier was a place specifically for assembling mechanisms, with many suitable mechanical tools."

"I'll return there first and use these spoils to assemble a mechanical puppet for protection."

Shu Zhongjun chose to return the way he came.

Although he couldn't use storage equipment, he had a temporary storage spell. After casting it, his hands were empty as he pushed open the small door.

But the next moment, he froze in place.

"Zhu Xuanji!" Shu Zhongjun exclaimed inwardly, seeing the cultivator in the room.

Zhu Xuanji also noticed him immediately.

Both sides became fully alert, and the atmosphere tensed up instantly.

"Lord Zhu, since the third round began, you are the first fellow Daoist I've encountered." Shu Zhongjun said with a smile, on one hand wary of his surroundings, on the other trying his best to ease the atmosphere.

What slightly reassured him was that he didn't see any other cultivators.

In this room, it was only him and Zhu Xuanji.

This situation wasn't the worst.

Zhu Xuanji also smiled at Shu Zhongjun. After exchanging a few words, Shu Zhongjun immediately bid farewell.

Zhu Xuanji hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn't make a move, allowing Shu Zhongjun to leave.

Based on the second round, Shu Zhongjun was strong, with endless methods, a true all-rounder.

This could be considered a characteristic of a major force like the All Books Pavilion. Because they collected so many texts, their cultivators were generally well-rounded without obvious weaknesses.

"What a pity. If I could meet one of my own, we could advance and retreat together."

"Meeting Shu Zhongjun alone, I should have taken action to eliminate this major threat early!"

Zhu Xuanji felt regretful. Fighting Shu Zhongjun alone, the outcome was uncertain, the prospects unclear.

If he could use his full Golden Core level power, he might have acted.

But there was no helping it; the Shifting Mechanism Secret Chambers constrained his strength to the Qi Refinement level, making Zhu Xuanji very cautious and unwilling to start a fight lightly.

"I still need to regroup with the others as soon as possible." Zhu Xuanji stepped forward to continue exploring.

Sun Lingtong frowned tightly: "The Molten Immortal Palace is truly powerful, it can even suppress my marriage contract!"

Before the third round, Sun Lingtong had received intelligence provided by Ning Zhuo and had some understanding of the exam content.

He leaked it to Yang Chanyu.

The two discussed using the marriage contract between them to sense each other and regroup quickly.

But after actually trying, Sun Lingtong tasted failure.

"Sigh, where exactly is the Young Master? I hope he doesn't run into others prematurely." The Meng Family Golden Core cultivator hurried along.

Zheng Shuang Gou was also rushing, wanting to regroup with Zheng Dan Lian quickly.

As for Zheng Dan Lian, his eyes were bloodshot as he tore apart the Blazing Flame Beast guarding the path.

His inner irritability kept accumulating. He muttered: "Why, why ban my Night Rain Demon Weapon!"

Without his mechanical sickle in hand, he felt a strong emptiness constantly tormenting him.

As for regrouping, Zheng Dan Lian had no such thought.

He only wanted to hold the mechanical sickle, to be closely together with it every moment.

Ning Zhuo was leisurely and calm.

"The situation is quite favorable for me."

The number of demonically tainted puppets following him had increased to five.

At the same time, a box floating in mid-air closely followed him.

This was another mechanical construct Ning Zhuo had acquired, and one he was very familiar with – the Little Flying Box.

This storage component contained several mechanical parts Ning Zhuo had accumulated.

Ning Zhuo didn't master any storage spells. With him barely able to carry anything, the appearance of the Little Flying Box solved his pressing need.

The situation was indeed advantageous for him.

Or rather, it might be the most advantageous.

The reason was that others had limited options for regrouping.

Ning Zhuo could potentially join up with any of these four: Zhu Xuanji, Ning Jiufan, Yang Chanyu, Sun Lingtong.

If the scope was slightly expanded, Zheng Shuang Gou, Zheng Dan Lian, and Zhou Nongying were also possibilities.

There were only thirteen cultivators in total in the third round. He could potentially ally with as many as seven of them.

"In fact, I've met Shu Zhongjun once before, thanks to Fei Si's letter of introduction."

"I've also had transactions with Song Fuli."

"I'm just not very familiar with the Golden Core True Inheritor of Zixiao Pavilion."

Looking around, Ning Zhuo had decent relationships with the other cultivators.

Furthermore, in the second round, Ning Zhuo had demonstrated his strength, ensuring that when everyone was suppressed to the Qi Refinement level, he wouldn't be seen as a soft target!

"However, I still can't trust the Golden Core Ancestors of the Zheng and Zhou families too much."

Ning Zhuo hadn't forgotten his previous deductions.

Although they had all signed alliances, there were ways to counter such things.

The possibility of shifting alliances always existed. Ning Zhuo never forgot that these two families might have secretly cooperated with the City Lord's Residence.

The sound of mechanisms rang out again, and the secret chambers trembled slightly.

All the cultivators became very solemn and cautious.

Because this was already the third shift. According to the information, this was no longer the third minor shift, but the first major shift.

Everyone understood the minor shifts by now.

But what was the major shift?

Meng Chong pushed the door open and entered.

The next moment, he saw Zhou Nongying.

Zhou Nongying's pupils constricted. He nodded expressionlessly: "So it's you, Meng Chong. Go ahead. Our two sides have an agreement; I won't trouble you for now. No one on the list has been eliminated yet. It's the right strategy to first eliminate outsiders like Shu Zhongjun and the Bukong Sect."

"If you encounter your Meng Family Golden Core cultivator, inform him of this strategy as well, alright?"

Meng Chong, however, clenched his fists, with faint electric sparks flickering on them: "No good!"

He outright refused.

Meng Chong stared at Zhou Nongying, his face full of excited fighting spirit: "We're both at the Qi Refinement level, Senior Zhou. This opportunity is too rare. I really want to spar with you."

Zhou Nongying's face darkened: "Brat, you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."

Meng Chong's eyes lit up: "If I remember correctly, Senior Zhou seems to lack innate talent, right?"

Immortal Talent – Galloping Thunderbolt!

The next moment, Meng Chong shot forward like lightning, fiercely attacking Zhou Nongying.

He was incredibly bold and ambitious, actually initiating a fight.

Since the third round began, this was the first battle between cultivators.

Before this, even if cultivators encountered each other, they acted like Zhu Xuanji and Shu Zhongjun, exercising restraint and caution, not rashly making a move.

But under the boost of Galloping Thunderbolt, Meng Chong found the distance between him and Zhou Nongying increasing.

Meng Chong was shocked and puzzled.

Zhou Nongying stood with his hands behind his back, sneering: "Let me inform you, after the second shift, I stayed behind in this secret chamber and haven't left."

"I set up a formation here in advance to guard against the risks of the major shift."

"Meng Chong, I let you off, but you didn't know what was good for you. You deserve to be eliminated."

The next moment, Zhou Nongying pointed a finger.

The formation roared.

Meng Chong was restrained, like an insect in amber, unable to move.

Then, the immense power of the formation descended upon him! If it landed, Meng Chong would undoubtedly be eliminated.

But the next moment, Meng Chong channeled his magic power into a token in his embrace.

The token flew out and blocked the formation's divine might.

On the token were two large characters – Truce!

The mechanical component: Truce Token!

Under the effect of the Truce Token, Meng Chong's figure slowly dissipated on the spot – he was teleported away.

Zhou Nongying snorted coldly, displeased: "There's such a mechanism? Why haven't I encountered it?"

Meng Chong's body flashed into existence, appearing in his previous secret chamber.

"Damn, I used my only Truce Token."

"Zhou Nongying!!"

Unlike the choices of other cultivators, Meng Chong grew furious and actually chose the same door again, stepping through to face Zhou Nongying once more.

Zhou Nongying: "You're back again?!"

He was also angered.

He was being looked down upon so much: "Let me see how many more Truce Tokens you have!"

Meng Chong grinned: "None, just that one."

"But I have other things!"

Saying this, he retched dryly, vomiting out a large string of mechanical props from within his body.

Zhou Nongying's expression turned serious; the number of mechanical props Meng Chong took out was rather excessive.

"So the major shift greatly increases the probability of us meeting each other." Shu Zhongjun understood.

He smiled at the Song Fuli before him: "Brother Song, meeting you is my good fortune."

Song Fuli nodded repeatedly: "Yes, our faction is the weakest. We shouldn't fight; we should join forces instead."

Basically, the cultivators in the exam weren't stupid.

What Shu Zhongjun thought of, Song Fuli also realized.

These two outsider cultivators didn't fight and immediately chose to ally.

In contrast, Meng Chong and Zhou Nongying from Huoshi Immortal City started a battle.

At the same time, deep within the clouds and mist atop Huoshi Mountain.

A burly, tiger-backed man strode up to Meng Kui: "Cousin, long time no see, hahaha."

Meng Kui showed a smile: "Meng Hu, it's good that you've come."

One of the Four Great Families of the Meng Family, the Nascent Soul level Meng Hu, had arrived quietly!

The time it takes to drink a cup of tea later.

Electric light filled the entire Shifting Mechanism Secret Chamber.

Zhou Nongying looked down in disbelief at the huge wound on his chest.

Then, he slowly looked up at the blood-soaked Meng Chong standing opposite him, grinning foolishly.

"I... actually lost?!" Zhou Nongying muttered.

"Hahaha!" Meng Chong put his hands on his hips, ignoring the blood spraying from his wounds, laughed heartily up at the sky, extremely pleased.

The information was quickly transmitted, shocking everyone – "Meng Chong vs Zhou Nongying, the latter is eliminated from the exam!"

(End of )