In the Lava Immortal Palace.
Inside the preparation room, Ning Zhuo ran up to the five stone pillars.
He discovered that the five facets of the stone pillars each had a list. They were the Qi Refining List, the Essence Refining List, the Spirit Refining List, the Assessment Progress List, and the Speedrun List.
Lo and behold, his name was on the Speedrun List, and he was the only one listed.
Ning Zhuo couldn't care less about the hidden information on these lists or why he was the only one on them. All he wanted to know now was how to remove his name!
"The Four Major Powers can't protect geniuses in the Qi Refining Stage. If I get exposed, who knows what could happen."
"The superiors of the three sects likely set up these rankings to encourage competition, motivate, and inspire. But my small frame can't handle it."
Ning Zhuo circled around the five stone pillars. As the pillar rotated, he rotated along with it.
The characters for "Ning Zhuo" on the stone pillar were in relief, protruding outwards.
"Can I grind it off?"
Ning Zhuo jumped up but couldn't reach his name. He was the only one on the list and held the top spot, so his name was positioned at the highest point.
He hooked onto a hanging ring!
Ding.
A blue-violet rhomboid crystal shot up to the ceiling and fused with the roof, becoming extremely secure.
His large head was caught in the wooden ring. The inside of the ring rotated, retracting a long, thin line and swiftly lifting Ning Zhuo's body upward.
Ning Zhuo's head tilted as he gradually rose until he was level with his name.
He reached out, attempting to grind off his name, but found that he couldn't even manage to produce a single stone chip.
The stone pillar was extremely sturdy!
Reflecting on his abilities, Ning Zhuo knew that his only technique, the Ice-Embracing Technique, would be useless, so there was no need to waste time and spiritual power.
"I must, I must solve this problem!"
Knowing that he had no way out, Ning Zhuo hung in midair, tilting his head to look around.
At that moment, he began to carefully observe the unique room he was in.
According to the information, this was a preparation room, different from rooms one, two, and three.
Upon examining it, he found this to be true.
The entire preparation room was square, forming a perfect square.
The walls and ceiling of the room were made of copper, but it was blue copper.
The light in the room seemed to emanate from nowhere, casting a faint sea-blue shimmer.
In the center of the preparation room were five stone pillars, and along the walls were five or six mechanical pedestals. The walls were adorned with a plethora of mechanical components, an array of dazzling items. There were also several workbenches, each equipped with an array of mechanical tools.
Seeing these facilities and tools rekindled Ning Zhuo's hope.
"Perhaps, I can use these tools to grind off my name."
Ning Zhuo manipulated the hanging ring, lengthened the thread, and landed back on the ground.
He trailed the slender thread, jogging over to one of the walls, reaching for a torch hanging there.
As soon as he touched the torch, a message conveyed itself to his mind.
Using the torch came with a fee!
The specific fee was calculated based on the duration of use.
Ning Zhuo was momentarily stunned before he suddenly understood, "No wonder the spirit stone rewards for passing each room keep increasing!"
"In this assessment, these spirit stones aren't just a source of spiritual power, but also serve as currency."
Ning Zhuo agreed to the fee in his mind, which allowed him to successfully remove the torch.
The torch, named a welding torch, was one of the common tools used in mechanical crafting.
Ning Zhuo grasped the welding torch and ran towards the center of the preparation room.
After running a few steps, he stomped the ground and, together with the rotation of the wooden ring around his neck, the thin thread retracted swiftly.
Ning Zhuo tilted his head once again, and his whole body was hoisted into the air.
He swung in midair, using the momentum to return to the level of his name.
Then, he extended the torch forward, channeling his spiritual power into it.
The torch immediately ignited, with a flame that was duck-egg red at its tip.
Ning Zhuo increased the spiritual power input, and the flame surged up, resembling an enraged outburst. At the tip of the flame, the fire swiftly turned a bright blue-purple color.
Ning Zhuo aimed the tip of the flame at his name, burning it with all his might.
However, after burning for quite a while, there wasn't even a trace of scorching on the name—it remained just as prominent and noticeable.
Ning Zhuo gritted his teeth and had no choice but to give up.
The hanging ring clasped his chin, and as he spun rapidly, he lengthened the thread. Ning Zhuo landed back down.
When he returned to the hanging ring, the torch was gone, replaced by a file.
It was the Teeth-Grinding Demon Sound File.
Using the canine teeth of a fierce beast as the main material, once infused with spiritual power, it emitted a piercing noise. The noise could be adjusted for volume and range, and was used for grinding in many places.
It wasn't just for the exterior of objects; because the noise could penetrate, the interior of objects could also be polished to be extremely smooth and even.
Ning Zhuo attempted to use the "Teeth-Grinding Demon Sound File" on his own name.
At the same time.
In the main hall of the Lava Immortal Palace.
On the throne, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit yawned out of boredom.
During the last exploration, Ning Zhuo had brought it much amusement. So, when the Dragon Turtle Fire
Spirit noticed that Ning Zhuo's soul was nearly restored, it couldn't wait to draw Ning Zhuo's soul back in.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit wanted to amuse itself with Ning Zhuo again.
During Ning Zhuo's second exploration of the Immortal Palace, his strange appearance when he hanged himself in Room Two and his wretched state after being beaten by the Kung Fu Puppet had both entertained the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit.
But now, Ning Zhuo wasn't moving and was intent on polishing away his name. This made the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit feel extremely bored.
It directly transmitted a message— "Do not destroy the ranking stone pillar!"
Ning Zhuo paused slightly upon receiving this message.
In the past, he might have stopped.
But the matter of his name was too important for Ning Zhuo to simply give up.
He secretly gritted his teeth and continued to use the "Teeth-Grinding Demon Sound File" on his name.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit scoffed and angrily spat out a spark of fire.
In the next moment, it directly used the divine ability, "Life Hanging by a Thread".
Instantly, Ning Zhuo couldn't move.
After a breath, he regained his mobility but had to stop.
Looking again at his name, the two large characters "Ning Zhuo" remained as prominent and outstanding as ever.
"What should I do?" A feeling of despair slowly spread in Ning Zhuo's heart.
"No, I can't just give up like this."
This time, after landing, Ning Zhuo didn't use small tools anymore.
He set his sights on the pedestals.
The shapes of the pedestals were varied.
Ning Zhuo walked past the motion balance bed, the formation pattern engraving table, skipped the spiritual power compression bed, the White Tiger Blade Sharpening Wheel, and eventually arrived at the "Thousand-Jin Heavy Hammer Pedestal".
"The Lava Immortal Palace's control over me happens in an instant."
"I'll set up a simple mechanism. As long as the first press is made, the heavy hammer will strike the stele!"
Ning Zhuo's large head immediately thought of a clever trick.
He started to busy himself, first selecting the mechanical parts, then dragging out the "Thousand-Jin Heavy Hammer Platform" and gradually assembling a catapult.