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First minor turning point, second minor turning point…

The cultivators gradually grasped the mechanism of the Palace Examination, gaining a deeper understanding of the Secret Chambers of Turning Points.

Zhu Xuanji nimbly leaped through traps and mechanisms, while silently contemplating: “From the rules of the Palace Examination, the way to victory is to find the correct path, leave this maze of mechanisms, step into the main hall, and sit on the throne.”

“But in reality, there are many Secret Chambers of Mechanisms. When everyone accumulates thirty-six times, the sequence will be shuffled again.”

“The path traversed before will completely change, everything starting anew.”

“So…”

“On one hand, I must progress at full speed. If others pass through three Secret Chambers, and I can pass six, it means my chances of finding the correct path are higher than others.”

“On the other hand, I need to eliminate others as much as possible! The ideal situation is that only I remain. All thirty-six exploration opportunities will be on me alone.”

“Hmm?”

Thinking of this, Zhu Xuanji’s heart stirred, and he deduced a conclusion: “This proves that within thirty-six attempts, there must be a path that allows me to break out of the Secret Chambers of Turning Points and enter the main hall!”

The cultivators who could enter the third round of the Palace Examination were almost all quick-witted. Many, like Zhu Xuanji, realized the true nature of the third round of the Palace Examination—

It seemed to be about finding the correct path, with a large element of luck.

But in reality, one must eliminate others to gain more exploration opportunities for oneself, to have a greater chance of escaping the Secret Chambers of Turning Points!

Within a Secret Chamber.

A battle had just ended.

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

Scholar-in-Book was an elite from the All-Book Tower, having read extensively. His comprehensive and intricate methods were among the best of all cultivators.

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

“The situation is unfavorable to me.”

“In the previous ranking list, I was always in second place. This makes others pay too much attention to me, viewing me as a major threat.”

In Scholar-in-Book’s mind, there was always a clear Palace Examination list.

“Including me, there are a total of thirteen cultivators, but not thirteen factions.”

“Only four.”

“The alliance of cultivation families from Fire Persimmon Immortal City, led by Zhu Xuanji, is the largest force.”

“The City Lord’s Mansion’s Meng family and the Boundless Gate are second.”

“The last faction is me, Song Fuli, and the Purple Cloud Pavilion’s Core Formation true disciple. We are quite scattered.”

Others meeting might not necessarily fight; they might even join forces directly due to their factions.

In other words, Scholar-in-Book was likely to encounter two or even more enemies.

A more troublesome point was that everyone’s cultivation was suppressed to the Qi Refining stage. This made it difficult for Scholar-in-Book to fight one against two.

Scholar-in-Book quickly cleaned up the battlefield, dismantling many parts from the mechanical puppets.

He did not have techniques like the “Demonic Blood Sinew Cultivation,” so he couldn’t directly demonize the mechanical puppets like Ning Zhuo.

“The second Secret Chamber I explored before was a place specifically for assembling mechanisms, with many applicable mechanical tools.”

“I’ll go back there first and use these spoils of war to assemble a mechanical puppet to protect myself.”

Scholar-in-Book chose to return the way he came.

He couldn’t use storage equipment, but he did have temporary storage spells. After casting them, his hands were empty, and he pushed open the small door.

The next moment, he froze in place.

“Zhu Xuanji!” Scholar-in-Book exclaimed in his heart, seeing the cultivator in the room.

Zhu Xuanji also immediately discovered him.

Both were on full alert, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

“Lord Zhu, since the third round of the Palace Examination began, you are the first fellow Daoist I have encountered.” Scholar-in-Book smiled, while remaining vigilant of his surroundings and doing his best to ease the atmosphere.

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

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

This situation was not the worst.

Zhu Xuanji also smiled at Scholar-in-Book. After a few pleasantries, Scholar-in-Book immediately took his leave.

Zhu Xuanji hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not attack, allowing Scholar-in-Book to leave.

Judging from the second round of the Palace Examination, Scholar-in-Book was powerful and possessed endless methods, a true all-rounder.

This could be considered a characteristic of the large force that was the All-Book Tower, as they had collected too many ancient texts, making the cultivators within generally well-rounded with no obvious weaknesses.

“What a pity, if only I could have met my own people and advanced together hand in hand.”

“Encountering Scholar-in-Book, who is alone, I should have attacked and eliminated this major threat in advance!”

Zhu Xuanji felt regret. Fighting Scholar-in-Book alone, the outcome was uncertain, and the future unclear.

If he could exert his full Core Formation stage strength, he might have made a move.

There was nothing he could do. The Secret Chambers of Turning Points had restricted his strength to the Qi Refining stage, making Zhu Xuanji extremely cautious and unwilling to start a fight easily.

“I still need to meet up with others as soon as possible.” Zhu Xuanji lifted his foot and continued his exploration.

Sun Lingtong frowned: “The Lava Immortal Palace is truly powerful, it can even suppress my engagement!”

Before the third round of the Palace Examination, Sun Lingtong had received information from Ning Zhuo and had some understanding of the contents of the examination.

He had leaked it to Yang Chanyu.

The two discussed that they could use their engagement to sense each other and meet up as soon as possible.

But after trying it out, Sun Lingtong tasted the bitterness of failure.

“Alas, where is the Young Master? Please, don’t let him encounter others in advance.” The Meng family’s Core Formation cultivator hurried along.

Zheng Shuang钩 was also rushing, he needed to meet up with Zheng Danlian as soon as possible.

And Zheng Danlian’s eyes were bloodshot, tearing apart the red flame monster guarding the path.

The irritable emotions in his heart were constantly accumulating, and he muttered: “Why, why was my Night Rain Demonic Saber forbidden!”

He couldn’t touch his mechanical saber, and he felt a strong sense of emptiness, which constantly tormented him.

As for meeting up or anything of the sort, Zheng Danlian had no such thoughts.

He only wanted to hold his mechanical saber and be closely together with it every moment.

Ning Zhuo was leisurely and calm.

“The situation is very favorable to me.”

The demonized puppets behind him had increased to five.

At the same time, there was a box floating in mid-air, following closely behind him.

This was another mechanical construct Ning Zhuo had obtained, one he was very familiar with – the Small Flying Box.

This storage type mechanical component stored several mechanical components that Ning Zhuo had accumulated.

Ning Zhuo didn’t possess any storage spells, and with almost everything being impossible to carry away, the appearance of the Small Flying Box solved his need.

The situation was indeed very favorable to him.

Or rather, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was the most favorable.

This was because others had limited options for meeting up.

Ning Zhuo could meet any of these four: Zhu Xuanji, Ning Jiufan, Yang Chanyu, or Sun Lingtong.

If the scope were slightly widened, Zheng Shuang钩, Zheng Danlian, and Zhou Nongying were also possible.

The total number of cultivators in the third round of the Palace Examination was only thirteen. He could ally with as many as seven.

“In fact, I have met Scholar-in-Book once, thanks to Fei Si’s letter of recommendation.”

“I also had a transaction with Song Fuli.”

“I’m only not very familiar with the Purple Cloud Pavilion’s Core Formation true disciple.”

Looking around, Ning Zhuo’s relationships with other cultivators were all quite good.

And in the second round of the Palace Examination, Ning Zhuo also demonstrated his strength, so when everyone was suppressed to the Qi Refining stage, they wouldn’t treat him as a soft persimmon to be easily squeezed!

“However, I cannot fully trust the Core Formation ancestors of the Zheng and Zhou families.”

Ning Zhuo did not forget his previous deductions.

Although they had signed alliances, such things could also be counteracted.

The possibility of forming alliances and opposing each other always existed, and Ning Zhuo never forgot the possibility of these two families secretly cooperating with the City Lord’s Mansion.

The sound of mechanisms rang out again, and the Secret Chamber vibrated slightly.

All cultivators were very serious and cautious.

This was because this time, it was the third round of changes. According to the information, this was no longer the third minor turning point, but the first major turning point.

Everyone understood the minor turning points.

What was a major turning point?

Meng Chong pushed open the door and entered.

The next moment, he saw Zhou Nongying.

Zhou Nongying’s pupils contracted slightly, and he nodded expressionlessly: “It’s you, Meng Chong. Go. We have an agreement. I won’t make things difficult for you for now. The list hasn’t changed. It’s the correct strategy to eliminate outsiders like Scholar-in-Book and the Boundless Gate first.”

“If you meet that Core Formation cultivator from your Meng family, please inform him of this strategy, alright?”

Meng Chong, however, clenched his fists, tiny electric arcs flashing on them: “Not alright!”

He outright refused.

Meng Chong stared at Zhou Nongying, his face filled with excited battle intent: “We are all at the Qi Refining stage, Senior Zhou. This opportunity is too rare. This junior would very much like to compete with you.”

Zhou Nongying’s face sank: “Youngster, you’re refusing a toast and choosing a forfeit.”

Meng Chong’s eyes lit up: “If I remember correctly, Senior Zhou seems to have no innate talent, right?”

Immortal Talent – Rushing Thunder!

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

He was incredibly bold and full of heroic spirit, actually taking the initiative to start a fight.

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

Before this, even if cultivators encountered each other, they were like Zhu Xuanji and Scholar-in-Book, restraining each other and being very cautious, not making a move rashly.

Under the enhancement of Rushing Thunder, Meng Chong’s distance from Zhou Nongying grew further and further.

Meng Chong was astonished and puzzled.

Zhou Nongying stood with his hands behind his back, sneering: “Let me tell you, after the second turning point, I stayed in this Secret Chamber and didn’t leave.”

“I set up a formation here in advance to guard against the risks of a major turning point.”

“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 a bug in amber, unable to move.

The next moment, the immense power of the formation descended from above! If this landed, Meng Chong would surely be eliminated.

But the next moment, Meng Chong used his magic power to infuse a token in his bosom.

The token flew out, blocking the divine might of the formation.

There were two large words on the token – “No Battle!”

The mechanical component – Battle-Free Token!

Under the activation of the Battle-Free Token, Meng Chong’s figure slowly dissipated in place – he was teleported away.

Zhou Nongying snorted coldly, his expression displeased: “There’s such a mechanism? Why haven’t I encountered it?”

Meng Chong’s body flickered into existence, appearing in the Secret Chamber he was in before.

“Damn it, I used my only Battle-Free Token.”

“Zhou Nongying!!”

Unlike the choices of other cultivators, Meng Chong’s anger surged, and he actually chose the previous door again, stepped in, and once again faced Zhou Nongying directly.

Zhou Nongying: “You’re coming back?!”

He was also angry.

To be underestimated like this: “I’d like to see how many Battle-Free Tokens you have left!”

Meng Chong grinned: “None, just one.”

“But I have other things!”

Saying this, he opened his mouth and retched, spitting out a large string of mechanical tools from his body.

Zhou Nongying’s expression solidified. The mechanical tools Meng Chong took out were a bit too many.

“So the major turning point greatly increased our chances of meeting.” Scholar-in-Book understood.

He smiled and looked at Song Fuli in front of him: “Brother Song, it’s my good fortune to meet you.”

Song Fuli nodded repeatedly: “Yes, our faction is the weakest. We shouldn’t fight, we should join forces instead.”

Essentially, the cultivators in the Palace Examination were not stupid.

What Scholar-in-Book thought of, Song Fuli also thought of.

These two outside cultivators did not make a move and immediately chose to unite.

On the contrary, Meng Chong and Zhou Nongying from Fire Persimmon Immortal City started fighting.

At the same time, at the peak of Mount Fire Persimmon, deep within the clouds.

A burly man with a broad back and a thick waist took large strides and walked up to Meng Kui: “Cousin, are you well? Hahaha.”

Meng Kui smiled: “Meng Hu, it’s good that you’re here.”

One of the four great families of the Meng family, Nascent Soul stage, Meng Hu, had arrived quietly!

After a cup of tea.

Electric light filled the entire Secret Chambers of Turning Points.

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

Then, he slowly raised his head and looked at Meng Chong, who was covered in blood opposite him, grinning foolishly.

“I, I actually lost?!” Zhou Nongying murmured.

“Hahaha!” Meng Chong put his hands on his hips, ignoring the blood spurting from his wound, and laughed heartily up at the sky, appearing extremely happy.

The information quickly spread, shocking everyone’s hearts – “Meng Chong fought against Zhou Nongying, the latter is eliminated!”

(End of This Chapter)