Frenzy

Night gradually fell, and muffled thuds came from all directions of Jingzhou City almost at the same time.

Thud, thud, thud...

It sounded like people were collapsing in droves.

Then screams erupted.

"Someone's dead!"

"Blood's pouring from their seven orifices... They're all dead!"

On the streets, in the alleys, and before the inns, corpses lay strewn everywhere.

Contract backlash.

With Yu Qingtian and Shen Chenzhou dead, all the players who had signed Deeds of Indenture were buried alongside them.

Talk about the boss running off and the employees getting collectively "laid off." They had been laid off thoroughly—straight into the grave.

Jingzhou City was suddenly more than half empty.

The surviving players stood amid piles of corpses, their faces white as paper.

"I almost signed yesterday..."

"This isn't a contract. It's a death warrant."

Some people's legs gave out and they slumped to the ground. Others scrambled toward the city gates. The person talking to you one second was dead the next—who could handle that?

West of the city, in an inconspicuous little courtyard.

Wan Zhenshan, Qi Changfa, and Yan Daping sat around a table. Their tea had long gone cold.

"Eldest Brother, Second Brother." Qi Changfa's face was grim. "Ding Dian can't be found, so the Secret of the Linked Cities..."

"It must be in that brat's hands." Wan Zhenshan said heavily, "Wang Xuan. He broke into the Death Prison and took Ding Dian away. The whole city knows by now."

Yan Daping slowly took a sip of cold tea. "The Skull-Crushing Hand! That brat's martial arts are too formidable. The Blood Blade Ancestor and the Four Wonders of the South all fell. You both saw what happened before the Heavenly Prison today..."

"If we face him head-on, the three of us tied together wouldn't be enough for one of his hands." Yan Daping set down his teacup. "We need another method."

Qi Changfa leaned closer. "Second Brother, you mean..."

"Poison." Yan Daping spat out the two words.

Wan Zhenshan frowned. "Poison? That brat's external cultivation has reached the pinnacle, and he has obtained the Divine Illumination Scripture. Ordinary poison..."

"Ordinary poison naturally won't do." Yan Daping smiled somewhat sinisterly. "We need something special."

He rose and paced a few steps. "I've loved tinkering with poisons these past years. I took a walk through the city today. Guess who I ran into?"

"Who?"

"Steward Gao from Ling Tuisi's residence." Yan Daping lowered his voice. "That old fool escaped the Heavenly Prison, provoked the Skull-Crushing Hand, and is now fleeing for his life. He's selling off his assets everywhere, including one treasure."

Qi Changfa's eyes lit up. "What treasure?"

"The Golden Wave Demon Flower." Yan Daping enunciated each word. "The deadliest poison in the world, brought from Tianzhu. Its fragrance makes people dizzy, and it enters through the skin upon contact. No matter how peerless your Divine Arts are, once you're poisoned, all your power disperses and your muscles and bones turn limp. You become no different from a pile of mud. There is no cure for this poison. Death is certain."

He pulled a small porcelain bottle from his robes.

Inside was powder ground from the Golden Wave Demon Flower. Once opened, its fragrance would spread freely, and anyone who smelled it would surely be poisoned.

"The goods are right here!" Yan Daping pointed at the porcelain bottle, a sly glint flashing through his eyes. The Golden Wave Demon Flower was not actually incurable. Ling Tuisi had cultivated it and inhaled its fragrance more than once, yet he was still alive and kicking. At this moment, however, Yan Daping concealed the antidote. (In the original novel, the Golden Wave Demon Flower had no cure.)

Wan Zhenshan stared at the porcelain bottle without speaking.

Yan Daping put the lid back on. "I paid a hefty price to buy the flower from Steward Gao. That old fool only wants to flee for his life now. Offer money, and he'll sell."

He looked at his two fellow disciples, his tone sincere. "The flower alone is useless. Wang Xuan's whereabouts are unpredictable. To get him poisoned, I can't manage this alone. The three of us brothers must join forces."

Qi Changfa immediately declared, "Second Brother is right! We'll join forces!"

Wan Zhenshan fell silent for a moment before slowly nodding. "Fine. Once it's done, we split the treasure equally."

"Right, equally!" Qi Changfa echoed.

Yan Daping smiled. "Good. Then it's settled."

He laughed coldly to himself.

Split it equally? Dream on! The treasure can only be mine!

With something as wonderful as the Golden Wave Demon Flower, only I have the antidote. Once the Skull-Crushing Hand, Wang Xuan, is poisoned, you two are next!

Three birds with one stone. Perfect.

Outside Jingzhou City, at Ten-Mile Slope.

Dozens of Martial Artists who had survived by sheer luck scrambled out through the city gates.

They had come to seize the treasure, but before even seeing it, they witnessed hell on earth.

Players inside the city had dropped dead in waves, blood streaming from their seven orifices, their deaths gruesome beyond words. Anyone who saw that scene would be traumatized. Those who had not gone insane on the spot already had strong mental fortitude.

"They've gone mad... They've all gone mad..."

"The Secret of the Linked Cities... I don't want it anymore..."

"Home. I want to go home..."

They staggered toward the outskirts, wanting only to get as far from Jingzhou City as possible.

But the moment they reached Ten-Mile Slope, their footsteps froze.

Before them was a true mountain of corpses and sea of blood.

Under the pale moonlight, the corpses of soldiers and players were piled layer upon layer. Blood had dyed the entire slope black. Severed hands and feet lay everywhere, while some corpses had been hacked beyond recognition. The stench of blood in the air was so thick it could not disperse, boring straight into their nostrils.

"Bleurgh..."

Someone vomited on the spot.

Someone's legs gave out, and they dropped to their knees.

Someone stared fixedly at the pile of corpses and began babbling nonsense.

"Dead... They're all dead..."

"Haha... The treasure... It's all mine..."

"Don't kill me... Don't kill me..."

They had gone mad.

Completely mad.

This group of Martial Artists who had escaped the city suffered a second shock at Ten-Mile Slope, and their mental defenses collapsed utterly.

They wandered crazily beyond Jing Prefecture, grabbing anyone they saw and spouting gibberish.

"Jingzhou City... It's full of dead people..."

"Wang Xuan... the Skull-Crushing Hand... Everyone has a watermelon for a head..."

"Smashing watermelons, one with each slap, red juice spilling everywhere..."

As they scattered, these mad ramblings spread far and wide through the martial world, becoming more outrageous with every retelling.

Inside Jingzhou City.

The surviving players gathered in several inns, each still shaken to the core.

"That was terrifying... Sign a contract, and someone else holds your life in their hands."

"The Royal Clan... They're ruthless."

"Good thing I didn't sign. Otherwise, I'd be lying there too."

Someone smiled bitterly. "The Royal Clan is wiped out, and everyone who signed contracts is dead too. The Kill Order? There's no one left to enforce it."

"Wang Xuan already completed the Main Quest. What are we still struggling for?"

"There's only one month left before this world ends."

"Let's train. At least we can scrape together a decent evaluation."

The players suddenly realized that they had inexplicably gained a period of "peaceful growth."

No oppression from the Royal Clan, no large-scale slaughter, no Kill Order.

Though it would only last one month.

Still, during that month, they could train in peace and prepare for their next entry into the Heavens Tower.

It felt a little like winning while lying down, though they had no idea how they had won.

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