**The Lava Immortal Palace.**

Meng Chong entered the Refitting Chamber for the first time.

The five-sided stone pillar ranking was conspicuous, especially since it was constantly and slowly rotating on its own.

Meng Chong saw the stone pillar at a glance.

The Dragon-Tortoise Fire Spirit had been paying attention to him. Seeing Meng Chong enter the Refitting Chamber, its half-open eyelids widened slightly with excitement.

The Dragon-Tortoise Fire Spirit was in poor condition.

Previously, the Lava Immortal Palace had resisted a group attack by Crimson Flame Fiend Beasts, and its situation had been quite dangerous!

The Dragon-Tortoise Fire Spirit had personally taken action, diving into the Daoist’s automaton puppet to control and pilot it.

After a bitter battle, it had turned the tide and ultimately killed the Golden Core-level Fiery Molten Demon Ape.

Its spiritual essence had been greatly depleted, mainly because it was not at all compatible with the Daoist’s automaton construct.

Even now, many Crimson Flame Fiend Beasts were still besieging the Lava Immortal Palace. On one hand, the Dragon-Tortoise Fire Spirit had to organize automaton constructs to build a defensive line, and on the other hand, it had to arrange various repairs.

Moreover, it also had to oversee the trials of the Qi Refining stage disciples.

Such a complex and vast workload was a long-term and continuous drain on its spiritual essence.

Even so, seeing Meng Chong approach the ranking board, it couldn’t help but feel excited and transmitted key information.

In an instant, a fire whip materialized and lashed out at it.

The Dragon-Tortoise Fire Spirit tucked its head, dragon claws, and other appendages into its shell, enduring the pain.

Meng Chong, alerted, was invigorated. He realized that this was the Refitting Chamber and there wasn’t much danger.

He relaxed his guard slightly and walked to the five-sided stone pillar ranking board.

Following the Dragon-Tortoise Fire Spirit’s guidance, Meng Chong first touched the stone pillar and obtained the trial disciple’s mark.

Then, he looked up to observe the ranking board.

Qi Refining Ranking, Essence Refining Ranking, Spirit Refining Ranking, Progress Ranking, and Speedrun Ranking.

Of the five rankings, he was ranked second in the Qi Refining Ranking, Progress Ranking, and Speedrun Ranking.

The Essence Refining Ranking and Spirit Refining Ranking did not bear Meng Chong’s name.

Meng Chong felt disgruntled. From a young age, he had always strived for first place.

He possessed immortal talent, a genius among geniuses, and should have been above others, a figure occupying the peak.

How could he be content with second place?

But when Meng Chong saw the name at the top, he was relieved.

At the top of all five rankings was the same name: “Entry Standard.”

“Only by surpassing this standard can one be considered for entry into the Lava Immortal Palace?”

“The Venerable Ones of the Three Sects are indeed Nascent Divinity stage Great Experts. Each trial level is extremely difficult, and the entry standard is also so high.”

“Very good!”

“This only makes me more eager for a challenge!”

“Besides, there are rewards for being on the ranking board. Truly excellent!”

“Hahaha…”

Meng Chong’s fighting spirit soared. He studied the Refitting Chamber for a while before continuing to push open the door and enter Chamber Four.

**The Lava Immortal Palace – Main Hall.**

Inside its shell, the Dragon-Tortoise Fire Spirit trembled from the lashes of the fire whip, and simultaneously rolled its eyes at Meng Chong in exasperation.

It had clearly reminded him, specifically telling Meng Chong that he was “second place,” but Meng Chong hadn’t thought much about it and was laughing happily.

This made the Dragon-Tortoise Fire Spirit feel like it was about to vomit blood.

It had done everything it could, but Meng Chong couldn’t detect the strangeness of the situation at all.

This fire whipping was all for naught.

**Trial Chamber Two.**

After Meng Chong left, Ning Zech quickly crawled out of the automaton trap.

He first came to the first door, used his Buddha-Devil Mind Seal to push open a crack in the door, and looked into Chamber One.

Confirming that no one was coming, he closed the door and summoned the Gold-Blood Battle Ape, Da Sheng.

Things were different now than before.

Because there were more and more participants, it was inconvenient for Ning Zech himself to enter and leave the Lava Immortal Palace, let alone summon the Gold-Blood Battle Ape, Da Sheng.

The trend was obvious.

In the future, the risk of Ning Zech summoning the Gold-Blood Battle Ape, Da Sheng, would only increase.

A teleportation portal appeared, bringing Yuan Da Sheng to the puppet Ning Zech’s side.

“This humble general greets the Lord.”

The Gold-Blood Battle Ape, Da Sheng, knelt on one knee to Ning Zech.

Ning Zech was very interested in Yuan Da Sheng’s performance in the Intelligence Spirit stage.

But now was not the right time for detailed study.

“The Gold-Blood Battle Ape’s automaton body is much inferior to the Tree-Warrior Battle Ape.”

“But it is the only thing recognized by the Lava Immortal Palace that can freely enter and leave the Palace.”

“For this reason alone, the Gold-Blood Battle Ape is of extremely high value and irreplaceable.”

Ning Zech led Yuan Da Sheng through the second trial chamber and came to the second door.

To prevent Meng Chong from still being in Chamber Three, the puppet Ning Zech stayed where he was, and had Yuan Da Sheng push open the door to scout the situation first.

As a result, he found that Chamber Three was a mess, with the Kung Fu automatons scattered on the ground in heaps of broken pieces.

“As expected!”

Ning Zech pushed the door open and, seeing this scene, was not surprised at all.

He had thought of this before.

Every time Meng Chong was thwarted and hindered, when he returned, he would surely make great progress in his strength.

This was Immortal talent, and also destiny.

Ning Zech sighed and led Yuan Da Sheng through Chamber Three, arriving at the third door.

Again, the Gold-Blood Battle Ape, Da Sheng, pushed the door open.

He did not find Meng Chong.

Ning Zech did not rush to enter. Instead, he had the Gold-Blood Battle Ape, Da Sheng, retrieve the surveillance automaton component from the corner.

After examining it, Ning Zech learned the key information through Yuan Da Sheng.

He knew the entire process of Meng Chong’s activities here.

First, he was at the stone pillar ranking board, then he touched various automaton platforms and automaton crafting tools. Finally, Meng Chong left and entered the next trial chamber.

“Meng Chong obtained the trial disciple’s mark… Strange, it seems he already knew the detailed steps here. Without any attempts, he succeeded directly!”

Ning Zech passed the stone pillar ranking board.

There were now two names on the ranking board again.

Last time, it was still Yuan Da Sheng who made the list.

But as Yuan Da Sheng was schemed against and harmed by Ning Zech, and ultimately became his automaton construct, the ranking board once only had Ning Zech’s name.

Ning Zech had already given some thought to what name to change it to.
First, the name couldn’t be changed to that of anyone else in the Immortal City.

Once the City Lord’s Mansion and the other three major powers launched a full investigation, they could easily apprehend that person.

After cross-examination, the truth could be revealed.

And thus, it would be deduced that the names on the leaderboard could be altered, or that someone was cheating, which would be extremely detrimental to Ning Zhuo.

Secondly, the name couldn’t be changed to that of a dead person.

Because Yuan Dasheng had already been removed from the list.

This proved that deceased competitors would be eliminated.

If Ning Zhuo’s name were to remain on the list permanently, the flaw would be ridiculously obvious.

“Neither the names of the living nor the dead will work, so I can only resort to some clever trickery.”

That’s what Ning Zhuo thought at the time.

Finally, he changed his name to “Entry Standard.”

There were many advantages to doing so.

The first was that it concealed his identity as a competitor.

The second was that it corresponded with the Trial Disciple Mark, mutually ‘testifying’ for each other.

In Ning Zhuo’s personal assessment, since he could figure out the Trial Disciple Mark, others would most likely figure it out as well.

At that time, the Trial Disciple Marks would be Ning Zhuo’s best endorsement.

The third advantage was that it could accommodate future changes in his ranking.

Once the ‘Entry Standard’ was surpassed by others in the future, they would think—’I’ve met the standard! I’ve reached the standard to be promoted to an entry disciple!’

And once the “Entry Standard” surpassed others, others would realize—oh, the entry standard is flexible and changes with circumstances.

Like many family trials that only reward the top ten.

The Lava Immortal Palace’s entry standard also changes according to the situation of the Trial Disciples.

Ning Zhuo brushed past the stone pillar leaderboard.

It was still the Golden Blood Battle Ape, Dasheng, who kicked open the door and was the first to enter room number four.

Through the monitoring device parts, Ning Zhuo discovered that Meng Chong paused slightly after entering the room, and then took turns casting spells to collect the device parts that corresponded to each spell.

Ning Zhuo: “Strange, it’s as if Meng Chong knew all about this in advance, and found the answers directly without any exploration.”

Ning Zhuo sped forward with Yuan Dasheng.

Meng Chong’s figure was also absent from inside the fifth door.

The monitoring device parts displayed Meng Chong’s elegant posture when passing the level.

Ning Zhuo carefully examined it and once again confirmed that Meng Chong had made great progress; he was able to infuse his Immortal Endowment into his spells.

This made Ning Zhuo even more solemn.

Room number six.

Meng Chong laughed loudly: “This is more like it, Raging Bolt!”

He shouted, and his figure was as fast as lightning, dodging several spell strikes.

He then used his Immortal Endowment, this time infusing it into the Embrace Ice Technique and a Breath.

The Embrace Ice Technique and a Breath fused together, forming a straight stream of frozen air that quickly struck a magic puppet amid flashing electricity.

The magic puppet was instantly frozen.

Meng Chong created a gap, taking the opportunity to break out of the magic puppet’s encirclement.

However, just as he was about to feel proud, the Golden Blood Battle Ape, Dasheng, suddenly appeared.

“Ah, it’s you!”

Meng Chong was overjoyed at seeing his prey.

The Golden Blood Battle Ape, Dasheng, rushed up in a fiery rage, wanting to engage Meng Chong in close combat.

Meng Chong was fearless and even excited: “Last time, I was burned to death by flames, but this time I won’t be! I have spells to protect me!”

Meng Chong cast the Embrace Ice Technique and a Breath, and combined it with the Qi Release Ring, enveloping himself in a dense, freezing aura.

With the freezing aura offsetting the flames, Meng Chong was no longer afraid of being burned to death.

But the next moment, the Golden Blood Battle Ape, Dasheng, slammed his palm into Meng Chong’s chest.

Spell—Five Elements Chaos Qi Technique.

This was a reward after the Dao Gate’s three trials, claimed by Ning Zhuo and used for the first time in actual combat on Meng Chong.

As for the effect… exceptionally good.

In just an instant, the spiritual energy within Meng Chong’s body was completely disordered, changing from its previous orderly state to a tangled mess.

“I…”

Meng Chong’s body was unable to move, and at the same time, he had to suffer the backlash caused by the interruption of spells such as the Embrace Ice Technique.

The Golden Blood Battle Ape, Dasheng, then took action, gently removing Meng Chong’s wooden puppet head.

Then, with a strong force, he instantly crushed the wooden puppet head.

Meng Chong had no choice but to leave the palace with intense unwillingness, returning to his own body.

Inside the City Lord’s Mansion.

He suddenly opened his eyes, still in disbelief: “What kind of spell is this? It seems to be quite effective against the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art?”

“I lost again!”

“It doesn’t matter! This time I’ve gained a lot!”

Meng Chong had a strong expectation for his next entry into the palace, and he was full of fighting spirit.

“That’s right, send the latest information to Fei Si and Grandpa, and have them help me think of a faster way to pass the level!”