Breaking the Tribulation

In that instant, everyone truly realized one thing—this was no longer the society governed by rule of law from before!

You can stir up trouble to attack me, then I can kill you in the flesh. No one will hold me accountable!

Especially after the image sent by the Master of Cloud Stack Cave.

Heart Without Darkness had his shoulder blade pierced, his right arm and leg broken, and his chest caved in; he was captured in a state of sheer terror as he was thrown into the mist.

He was still struggling for his life while suspended in mid-air, but he had certainly failed—his avatar had already gone dark!

With a single blood-soaked image, Zhu Jiusi told this group of people what kind of world Journey Survival truly was.

Orchid Pavilion Scholar: "@Daoist Number 323, @Mountains and Seas Affection, @Open and Aboveboard, @Filial Respect to Mother... speak up, let's keep cursing!"

No one spoke.

After a long while, someone finally posted.

Rain Seeker: "I have something to say! Master of the Cave, I just opened something, I want to trade it for food and water! Dao Discussion Card ×1"

She posted the information for a Dao Discussion Card in the chat area.

For the vast majority, this was their first time seeing a Dao Discussion Card.

But instead, the chat area fell completely silent. Not even a single person expressed amazement.

This place actually had items specifically for location tracking and surprise attacks!

Was it by relying on this that the Master of Cloud Stack Cave suddenly appeared on the road to Heart Without Darkness and killed him?

Before Zhu Jiusi had even reached the Mountain God Temple, he received a private message.

Daoist Number 323: "Boss of the Cave, I was wrong! I was incited by others!"

He quickly sent over several chat screenshots, detailing how Heart Without Darkness had instigated him to stir up trouble in the chat area together.

He even confessed who else was in their group.

Zhu Jiusi glanced at them and stopped looking.

Seeing no reply from Zhu Jiusi, after a long while, Daoist Number 323 sent over a pile of supplies.

Metal ×75, Wood ×65, Stone ×80, Yellow Steamed Bun ×4

An apology? How naive!

Zhu Jiusi sneered, Once I trade for that Dao Discussion Card and kill you, these will be mine anyway!

Daoist Number 323: "Image (empty backpack), Image (no hidden items on the road ahead). Boss of the Cave, this is everything I have. From now on, I will hand over half of all the Gourds I obtain as an act of atonement. Boss, is this acceptable?"

The attitude was sincere.

Zhu Jiusi was silent for a moment, then silently changed his title from "Blockhead" back to "Demon."

One must use their brain when doing things; he had almost rejected someone's good intentions.

Journey Survival had only just begun, and all the Path Seekers were dirt poor.

Judging by the future value of Dao Discussion Cards, running over now to rob everything would actually be a loss.

A steady stream is the best way to go.

Zhu Jiusi glanced at the Scroll and replied: "Fine!"

He unceremoniously accepted all the supplies.

This person definitely held some things back, but he shouldn't have been able to hide too much. This amount was roughly the limit for a normal Path Seeker.

At most, he had hidden away special items.

Zhu Jiusi had noticed that everyone should have obtained special items over these past few days.

Skateboards, Life Nourishing Pills, Dao Discussion Cards...

"Whew!"

On a narrow mountain path, a Flatbed Cart came to a stop. Seeing that Zhu Jiusi had accepted the supplies, Daoist Number 323 let out a sigh of relief.

His eyes darted around, and he reopened the chat board to send a public message.

Daoist Number 323: "Many thanks to the Boss of the Cave for your forgiveness. I was previously incited by Heart Without Darkness and did something wrong. Thank you, Boss, for being magnanimous and not holding a grudge against a small person like me."

Immediately following were the same chat logs he had sent to Zhu Jiusi, showing his interactions with Heart Without Darkness.

Rain Seeker: "..."

Sparrow: "..."

A chorus of ellipses.

Orchid Pavilion Scholar: "Suddenly, I don't even have the interest to curse you anymore."

Coward!

Private messages began to pop up on Zhu Jiusi's end.

Orchid Pavilion Scholar: "Cut the weeds and dig up the roots. If a person is willing to bow down, why keep him alive? Are you waiting to celebrate the New Year with him?"

Zhu Jiusi had yet to reply to the private message, but the public channel was already being flooded by one person.

Filial Respect to Mother: "Hahaha! @me? You want me to watch a clown? You killed some trash and think you're something special?"

"Nobody was on guard, you used a card to sneak up and ambush someone, and you call that an achievement? What are you showing off for?"

"Come on! @Master of Cloud Stack Cave, come and kill me. I was incited by Heart Without Darkness, but I just don't like the look of you, and I'm eyeing your resources. Come on! I was just looking to make a fortune!"

Looking at the messages on the chat board, Zhu Jiusi suddenly laughed in anger.

He stopped heading toward the Mountain God Temple and replied directly.

Master of Cloud Stack Cave: "As you wish!"

He also sent a private message back to Orchid Pavilion Scholar: "Accidents always arrive first; we kill this one first."

Filial Respect to Mother—Zhu Jiusi knew this person; they were old acquaintances.

During the previous round, he had been incredibly arrogant for a time, leaving District 66 unable to catch its breath.

By that time, they had already been in Journey Survival for over half a year, and somehow, Filial Respect to Mother had crossed paths with the top-ranked player of District 66.

The two had a public duel, but with just a single move from Filial Respect to Mother, the top-ranked player was thoroughly wiped out.

Back then, everyone stayed far away whenever they encountered Filial Respect to Mother.

It wasn't until he later faced Water Monarch and was killed by a counter-attack in one move that Zhu Jiusi learned Filial Respect to Mother had obtained an item at the very beginning of the game.

Every month, he could lock onto one person; as long as that person's Nature and Life stats did not exceed his own by more than three times, he could kill them in one strike.

Unfortunately for him, Water Monarch possessed the Kan Talisman. His base attributes were far more than three times his own.

To be acting so brazenly... had he already obtained that item at the start of this round?

When Water Monarch killed Filial Respect to Mother, Zhu Jiusi and Water Monarch were already acquainted, even if they hadn't formed a formal relationship yet. Zhu Jiusi had also seen the scroll that appeared after Filial Respect to Mother died.

This guy used to be a loan shark collector. He wasn't a professional fighter, and his combat prowess was low.

In Water Monarch's own words, he relied too heavily on items, and his combat techniques were a complete mess.

Now that they had just entered Journey Survival, most people's Nature and Life stats were around 6 to 7. Unless they were active-duty soldiers, they might reach 8 or 9.

Even if he was now at the human limit of 10, Zhu Jiusi wasn't intimidated.

Beat him to death!

Zhu Jiusi directly @Rain Seeker and traded for a Dao Discussion Card on the public board.

Locate.

Merge Paths.

The environment on both sides of the road shifted; the left side remained forest, but the right side turned into jagged, strange rocks.

On the main road, a bald, fat man with a bare chest and rolls of fat was grinning hideously while holding a baseball bat.

"A pig!" As soon as he saw Zhu Jiusi appear, he laughed even more unscrupulously, his tattoos shaking along with his laughter.

He flipped open a scroll, aimed it at Zhu Jiusi, and sent a message to the chat board: "Come, come, you idiots who lick the boots of the Master of Cloud Stack Cave, take a look. What kind of thing are you licking? He's a pig, and what are you? Piglets?"

He was livestreaming!

As soon as he sent the message, people immediately started hurling insults back.

Orchid Pavilion Scholar: "There are fools every year, but this year there are especially many. Do you think you can beat a wild boar?"

Brainless!

With just a baseball bat, he wanted to kill a wild boar that possessed human intelligence? Keep dreaming!

At this moment, instead of looking down on Zhu Jiusi's wild boar form, everyone began to feel envious.

Filial Respect to Mother: "He wants to win against me?"

He continued to livestream, smiling cruelly as he threw out an attribute panel.

[Dao Title: Filial Respect to Mother]

[Nature: 6]

[Life: 9]

Filial Respect to Mother: "Sorry, I already killed someone who merged paths with me today and snatched a pill to eat, Life +2."

Life could generally be considered physical fitness; with a Life of 9, he was a true powerhouse among ordinary people, at least on par with a long-term trained soldier.

The crowd watching the livestream whispered among themselves.

Only Orchid Pavilion Scholar sneered: "Very strong?"

He immediately threw out his own attributes, but only revealed one.

Life: 13

This single reveal truly shocked everyone.

This guy—was he a special forces soldier?

Zhu Jiusi saw the face of Filial Respect to Mother across from him turn black, followed by a twisted smile as he sent a message to the chat area: "It only takes one move to kill you!"

Orchid Pavilion Scholar: "If bragging could kill, I'd have died eight hundred times over."

Filial Respect to Mother grinned and casually tossed out a prop description.

[Destiny Breaker: Life Hunter]

[Capable of instantly killing any Path Seeker whose nature and life force do not exceed three times one's own.]

The chat room fell instantly silent.