: I Don't Want to Be on the Leaderboard!

Lava Immortal Palace.

Preparation Room.

Ning Zhuo jogged over to the five-sided stone pillar. He discovered leaderboards on each of the five facets: the Qi Refining Leaderboard, the Essence Refining Leaderboard, the Spirit Refining Leaderboard, the Trial Progress Leaderboard, and the Stage Speedrun Leaderboard.

Damn, his name was on the Speedrun Leaderboard too, and he was the only one listed.

Ning Zhuo didn't have time to ponder the hidden implications of these leaderboards or why he was the only name listed. Right now, he just wanted to know one thing: how could he get his name removed!

"The four major factions can't even protect geniuses in the Qi Refining stage. If I get exposed, the consequences are hard to imagine."

"Senior Sanzong probably set up these leaderboards to increase competition, to spur and motivate everyone. But a small fry like me can't handle that kind of pressure!"

Ning Zhuo circled the five-sided pillar. As the pillar rotated, he moved with it. The characters for "Ning Zhuo" on the pillar were raised in relief, protruding outward.

"Can I just grind it off?"

Ning Zhuo jumped up, but couldn't reach his name. Since he was the only person on the entire leaderboard, he was ranked first, so his name was also at the very top.

Hanging Ring, activate!

*Ding.*

The blue-purple rhombus-shaped彩钻 shot up to the ceiling, fusing with it securely. The large headpiece clamped onto the wooden ring. The ring spun internally, retracting a long section of thin thread and pulling Ning Zhuo's body upwards rapidly.

With his head tilted to the side, Ning Zhuo rose until he was level with his own name. He reached out, attempting to grind away the characters, but found he couldn't even produce a speck of stone dust. The pillar was extremely sturdy!

Ning Zhuo reviewed his available methods. His only technique, Embrace Ice Art, definitely wouldn't work either, so there was no point wasting time and spiritual power.

"I have to, I absolutely have to solve this problem!"

Knowing he couldn't manage it alone, Ning Zhuo, while still hanging, tilted his head and looked around the room. Only now did he properly begin to observe this unique chamber.

According to the information provided, this was the Preparation Room, which was different from Rooms One, Two, and Three.

Ning Zhuo saw that this was indeed the case. The entire Preparation Room was square in structure. The room's walls and ceiling were still made of copper, but it was azurite.

Light emanated from an unknown source, filling the room with a faint, shimmering sea-blue glow.

The five-sided stone pillar stood in the center of the Preparation Room. Several mechanism pedestals were stacked against the walls, and many mechanical components hung on the walls, a dazzling array. There were also several workbenches equipped with complete sets of mechanism tools.

Seeing these facilities and tools, hope rekindled in Ning Zhuo's heart.

"Perhaps I can use these tools to grind off my name."

Ning Zhuo manipulated the Hanging Ring, lengthening the thin thread to lower himself back to the ground. Dragging the slender thread behind him, he jogged over to one wall and reached for a torch hanging there.

The moment he touched the torch, a stream of information reached his mind: using the torch required payment! The specific fee was calculated based on duration.

Ning Zhuo was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly understood: "No wonder the spirit stone rewards for clearing the rooms keep increasing! In these trials, the spirit stones aren't just a source of spiritual power; they're also currency."

Ning Zhuo mentally agreed to the payment and finally successfully removed the torch. The torch was called a Welding Torch, one of the common tools used in mechanism creation.

Clutching the Welding Torch, Ning Zhuo ran back towards the center of the Preparation Room. After a few steps, he forcefully pushed off the ground, coordinating with the spinning of the wooden ring around his neck. The thin thread rapidly retracted.

Ning Zhuo's neck tilted sideways again as his whole body was hoisted up. Swinging through the air using the momentum from his jump, he returned to the height level with his name.

Then, he extended the torch forward, channeled his spiritual power, and infused it into the torch. The torch immediately ignited spontaneously. At its tip was a duck-egg-red flame.

Ning Zhuo increased the spiritual power infusion. The flame surged upwards like an angry crown. At the very tip of the flame, the fire quickly turned a bright blue-purple.

Ning Zhuo aimed the fiery tip directly at his name, applying the full heat.

However, after burning it for a good while, there wasn't even a trace of scorching on the characters. They remained just as eye-catching and outstanding as before.

Gritting his teeth, Ning Zhuo had no choice but to give up.

The Hanging Ring, clamped under his chin, spun with a whirring sound, lengthening the thin thread. Ning Zhuo descended once more.

When he was hoisted back up again, the Welding Torch was gone from his hand, replaced by a file.

This was the Grinding Fang Demon-Sound File. Made primarily from a fierce beast's canine tooth, when spiritual power is channeled into it, it emits a piercing noise. The noise's volume and range can be adjusted, and it's used for polishing in many situations. Not only can it polish external surfaces, but because the noise can penetrate, it can also make the interiors of objects very smooth and even.

Ning Zhuo attempted to use the Grinding Fang Demon-Sound File on his name.

At the same time...

Main Hall of the Lava Immortal Palace.

On the throne, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit yawned boredly. The previous exploration had brought it much amusement thanks to Ning Zhuo. So, when the Fire Spirit noticed that Ning Zhuo's soul had recuperated sufficiently, it impatiently pulled Ning Zhuo's soul back in.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit wanted more entertainment from Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo's strange appearance hanging in Room Two during his second exploration of the palace, and his狼狈 state after being beaten up by the Kung Fu Mannequin, had both pleased the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit quite a bit.

But now, Ning Zhuo wasn't progressing. Instead, he was single-mindedly focused on grinding his name off the leaderboard. This bored the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit immensely.

It directly transmitted a message – Damaging the Leaderboard Stone Pillar is forbidden!

Receiving this message, Ning Zhuo's movements paused slightly.

If this were before, he might have stopped.

But the issue of his name being displayed was far too critical. Ning Zhuo would absolutely not give up so easily.

He gritted his teeth secretly and continued using the Demon-Sound File on his name.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit snorted, exhaling a puff of火星 in annoyance.

The next moment, it directly activated its supernatural ability, Life Thread Suspension.

Instantly, Ning Zhuo was immobilized.

After one breath, he regained his ability to move and had no choice but to stop.

Looking back at his name, the two large characters "Ning Zhuo" remained just as eye-catching and outstanding as ever.

"What should I do?" A feeling of despair gradually spread through Ning Zhuo's heart.

"No, I can't just give up like this."

This time, after landing, Ning Zhuo didn't go for the smaller tools. He set his sights on the various pedestals.

The pedestals came in all shapes and sizes.

Ning Zhuo passed by the Motion Balance Bed and the Array Carving Table, skipped over the Spiritual Power Compression Bed and the White Tiger Blade Sharpening Wheel, and finally stopped before the Thousand Jun Heavy Hammer Pedestal. (Jun: a unit of weight, ~30 catties/~15kg)

"The Lava Immortal Palace's control over me lasts only an instant. I'll set up a simple mechanism. I only need to trigger the initial action, and then the heavy hammer can smash into the stone tablet!"

Ning Zhuo's large head immediately thought of a clever workaround.

He began bustling about, first selecting mechanical components, then dragging out the Thousand Jun Heavy Hammer Platform, gradually assembling a catapult.

(End of )