Chapter 31: I Don't Want to Be on the List!

Magma Fairy Palace.

In the preparation room.

Ning Zhuo jogged all the way to the front of the five-sided stone pillar.

He discovered that each of the five surfaces of the pillar had a list. They were the Qi Refinement List, the Refined Essence List, the Refining Spirit List, the Assessment Progress List, and the Stage Speedrun List.

Oh boy, his name appeared on the Stage Speedrun List, and he was the only one on it.

Ning Zhuo didn't care to think about the hidden messages within these lists or why he was the only one listed. Right now, he only wanted to know how he could remove his name!

"The four great forces can't even protect a genius in the Qi Refinement Realm. If I'm exposed, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"The Three Ancestral Masters probably set up these rankings to increase competition, motivate, and inspire. But my little frame can't handle this."

Ning Zhuo circled the five-sided stone pillar. As the pillar rotated, he rotated with it.

The name "Ning Zhuo" on the pillar was engraved in relief, protruding outward.

"Can I grind it off?"

Ning Zhuo jumped up but couldn't reach his name. He was the only one on the leaderboard, and because he was in first place, his name was at the highest position.

Hangman's Noose!

Ding.

A blue and purple rhomboid crystal shot to the ceiling, melting seamlessly into the roof, extremely secure.

His large head was caught by a wooden ring. The inside of the ring rotated, retracting a long length of thin string, and quickly pulled Ning Zhuo's body upwards.

Ning Zhuo tilted his head as he ascended until he was level with his name.

He reached out to try and grind off his name but found he couldn't even produce a bit of stone dust.

The stone pillar was extremely tough!

Ning Zhuo reviewed his means; the only technique he had, the Embrace Ice Technique, definitely wouldn't work, so there was no need to waste time and spiritual power on it.

"I must, must solve this problem!"

Ning Zhuo knew he couldn't do it on his own, so he dangled from the noose and tilted his head to look around.

At this moment, he took a good look at this unique room.

According to the information, this was a preparation room, different from Rooms 1, 2, and 3.

He saw that this was indeed the case.

The entire preparation room was square-shaped.

The room's walls and ceiling were still made of copper, but it was blue copper.

The light emanated from somewhere unknown, casting a faint ocean-blue glow throughout the room.

In the center of the preparation room stood the five-sided stone pillar, and along the walls were five or six mechanism pedestals, each covered with numerous mechanism parts, dazzling in variety. There were also several workbenches equipped with an array of tools for mechanism crafting.

Seeing these facilities and tools reignited Ning Zhuo's hope.

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

Ning Zhuo manipulated the hangman's noose, extending the thin string to let himself down to the ground again.

He dragged the slender string, jogged to a wall, and reached for a torch hanging there.

As soon as he touched the torch, a message transmitted to his mind.

Using the torch required a fee!

The specific fee was calculated based on usage time.

Ning Zhuo was momentarily stunned, then understood, "No wonder the spirit stone rewards for passing through the rooms kept increasing!"

"During the assessment, these spirit stones are not only a source of spiritual power but also currency."

Ning Zhuo agreed to the fee in his heart, then successfully took the torch.

The torch was named a welding torch, a common tool for mechanism crafting.

Ning Zhuo grabbed the welding torch and ran towards the center of the preparation room.

After a few steps, he suddenly kicked the ground, using the rotation of the wooden ring on his neck, and the thin string swiftly retracted.

Ning Zhuo's neck crooked sideways as he was lifted again.

Swinging in mid-air, he used the momentum to return to the level of his name once more.

Then, he extended the torch forward and channeled his spiritual power into it.

The torch immediately ignited, with an egg-yolk red flame at its tip.

Ning Zhuo increased the infusion of spiritual power, and the flame burst forth, like an enraged figure's hair standing on end. The tip of the flame quickly turned a bright blue-purple.

Ning Zhuo aimed the flame's tip at his name and began to burn it with all his might.

But after quite a while, not even a singed mark appeared on his name. It still stood out, as prominent as ever.

Ning Zhuo gritted his teeth and had no choice but to give up.

The hangman's noose holding his chin rotated with a whooshing sound, extending the thin string. Ning Zhuo was lowered again.

This time, when he was lifted back up, the welding torch was replaced by a file in his hand.

This was the Fang-Grinding Devilish File.

Made primarily from the teeth of fierce beasts, once infused with spiritual power, it could emit an ear-piercing noise. The noise's intensity and range were adjustable and used for grinding various surfaces.

Not only external objects but also internal structures, as the noise could penetrate, allowing even the interior to be ground smooth and flat.

Ning Zhuo tried using the Fang-Grinding Devilish File to get rid of his name.

Meanwhile.

In the main hall of the Magma Fairy Palace,

on the throne, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit yawned with boredom.

In the last exploration, Ning Zhuo had brought it much amusement. So when the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit noticed that Ning Zhuo's soul had mostly recovered, it couldn't wait to pull Ning Zhuo's soul into the palace.

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

On Ning Zhuo's second exploration of the Immortal Palace, his strange actions in Room 2, hanging himself, and being bashed by the Kung Fu Doll had all made the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit quite happy.

But now, Ning Zhuo was fixated on erasing his name and not moving on, making the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit bored out of its mind.

It transmitted a direct message: Do not destroy the leaderboard stone pillar!

Ning Zhuo received the message and paused slightly.

Previously, he might have given up at this point.

But this was too important, Ning Zhuo couldn't just let it go.

He gritted his teeth in determination and continued to use the devilish file on his name.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit harrumphed and angrily spat out a spark.

The next moment, it directly controlled the Divine Power Life Thread.

Instantly, Ning Zhuo was immobilized.

After a breath's time, he regained his mobility and had to stop.

Looking at his name, "Ning Zhuo," it was still so prominent and outstanding.

"What should I do now?" A feeling of despair began to spread in Ning Zhuo's heart.

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

This time, Ning Zhuo landed and stopped using the small tools.

He set his sights on the pedestals.

The pedestals came in various forms.

Ning Zhuo walked past the Exercise Balance Bed, the Array Pattern Engraving Table, skipped over the Spiritual Power Compression Bed, the White Tiger Sharp Edge Wheel, and finally stopped in front of the Thousand-Pound Hammer Pedestal.

"The control exerted by the Magma Fairy Palace on me is instantaneous."

"If I set up a simple mechanism, I only need to trigger the initial action, and the hammer can strike the stone pillar!"

Ning Zhuo's brain immediately came up with a cunning plan.

He began to work busily, first selecting the mechanism parts, then dragging out the Thousand-Pound Hammer pedestal, gradually building a trebuchet.