First Kill

You have a god and don't choose him—you pass him by. You have a man and don't become one—you become a pig.

Blockhead!

Why was it insulting him, too? Zhu Jiusi froze. New words appeared on the scroll.

[Reward Notice: A Path Seeker has become the first to earn a title in Journey Survival. A reward is hereby granted!]

The scroll shimmered and spat out a silver gourd.

Zhu Jiusi's eyes lit up.

Gourds were treasure chests in Journey Survival! They contained all sorts of resources and treasures.

In his previous life, plenty of people had suspected that Journey Survival might really have been created by the Celestial Court—perhaps some powerful beings had read too many modern novels and thrown it together on a whim.

A lot of things took their cues from games and novels. Gourds came in different colors, too. From the lowest-grade wood gourd, they went up through bronze, silver, gold, crimson-purple, and mystic black.

During the first seven days, the novice protection period, there were no silver gourds along the roadside.

They only appeared as special rewards!

What a fine gourd!

But he couldn't open it yet. Besides supplies, gourds could also contain monsters.

Right now, he couldn't even stand properly, let alone fight monsters!

When he had first turned into a pig, he hadn't felt much while staying still. But as soon as he thought of moving, his feet gave way and he toppled to the ground.

Walking on four legs was nothing like he'd imagined, with hands and feet working together!

After struggling to adjust, Zhu Jiusi finally managed to stand. He put the gourd, cabbage, and sweet potato into his inventory.

Just like in a game, everyone entered Journey Survival with a basic inventory, but it only had fifteen slots.

Each type of item took up a separate slot.

Zhu Jiusi stood unsteadily, his four legs splayed out, and checked the title's effects.

Blockhead: Impulsive but powerful!

Journey Survival wasn't a game. There were very few things that were completely quantified. Even the same title could have subtle differences when worn by different people.

Blockhead reduced intelligence and increased attack power.

At the start, he needed his brains most, so he couldn't wear the title just yet.

He swayed as he got used to his body. The scroll shimmered, its writing changing again and again, before finally settling on [Daoist Name], waiting for Zhu Jiusi to confirm.

A Daoist name was really just a nickname. It also served as a kind of defense. Journey Survival had too many strange and bizarre abilities. It was commonplace for people to be cursed for no reason once others knew their real names.

Zhu Jiusi focused, and words appeared after Daoist Name:

Master of Cloud Stack Cave

That had been his Daoist name last time, and it fit his current identity even better!

Some things seemed to have been destined from the start.

Or should he change it to Son-in-law of Gao Village?

Zhu Jiusi couldn't help but chuckle.

Once he chose a Daoist name, he would truly have embarked on the Dao Path of Journey Survival.

The scroll shimmered, prompting him to claim the cave.

Zhu Jiusi acted as if he hadn't seen it.

Had the scroll gone mad? Claim a cave now? In Journey Survival, he had to keep moving forward every day.

The road beneath his feet was the Path Seekers' great road. But the beasts' nests were fixed in place. Once claimed, one would be stuck here, wasting it for nothing.

It was a massive trap!

After seven days, when the novice protection period ended, monsters would attack through the mist. Without a beast nest for protection, who knew how many demon cultivators would die that day?

Well... actually, not that many. Most demon cultivators had already died during the novice protection period. Thrust into beast bodies without warning, hardly any of them could make it the required distance.

First, he had to cover today's distance!

Zhu Jiusi tried moving his limbs, getting used to the mountain boar's body.

But he had barely taken one step before stumbling and falling to the ground.

His four hooves didn't each go their own way, but they weren't exactly obedient, either.

Zhu Jiusi struggled to his feet, then—fell down and got back up!

He fell again, then got back up again!

He didn't know how many times he fell, but at last he could stagger forward.

Like a baby learning to walk, except he was hauling around a body weighing several hundred pounds.

Every step was a struggle.

He kept moving forward.

The more he ran, the better he got. After running three or four li along Sheep Gut Mountain Path, he could finally manage a decent run.

But walking was still awkward. Running was easier.

Being able to jog was already a fine start. Zhu Jiusi jogged along, now darting left and right, now thrusting out his snout, now rolling on the ground.

His control over his body was improving rapidly.

He was probably making much better progress than the other demon cultivators.

Journey Survival held rankings every month. The higher one ranked, the better the rewards.

There were rankings, but also rules and regulations to uncover. Clearly figuring out even one of them could earn a grand prize.

Zhu Jiusi ran faster and faster. Then he suddenly stopped. A gourd vine swayed by the roadside, with a gourd hanging from it.

An ordinary, wood-colored gourd.

Zhu Jiusi bit down on its stem and yanked it off.

Wood gourds generally didn't contain powerful monsters. He pinned the gourd under a hoof, gripped its stopper in his teeth, and pulled it out.

Mist immediately poured from the gourd. A furtive, ratlike head poked out of it.

Before it could fully emerge, Zhu Jiusi rose onto his hind legs and brought his forehooves crashing down. One hoof stomped the rat's head.

Bang!

The rat's head, as big as a bowl, was crushed under his hoof.

It was a rat as big as a cat, and it died before it could even jump out.

Five pieces of stone also fell from the gourd. They were supplies.

Zhu Jiusi collected the stone and waited a moment, but the scroll gave no prompt. There was no first-kill reward.

It seemed someone had already killed a monster while he was getting used to his body.

Someone had claimed the wood gourd's first kill!

Zhu Jiusi suddenly felt a sense of urgency. He took the silver gourd from his inventory and pulled out its stopper the same way.

A cloud of mist burst from the gourd. A dog's head took shape inside it.

Zhu Jiusi lowered his head and butted it, sending the monster flying into the woods beside the path. It hit the ground and flapped its wings, just about to get up, when the mountain boar charged into it with a savage rush, knocking it into the thick mist beyond the woods.

"Congratulations on earning the silver gourd's first kill. Would you like to make a Myriad World Announcement?"

The scroll popped up with the question.

Journey Survival had eighty-one great realms, each with more than a thousand Dao-Seeking Districts.

Myriad World Announcements were exceedingly rare.

Once he'd entered Journey Survival, he shouldn't even think about hiding himself. Only the weak hid, and the more they hid, the weaker they became.

"Make the announcement!"

Announcements came with rewards, too.

[Myriad World Announcement: In the 66th Dao-Seeking District of the Immortal Seeking Realm, "Master of Cloud Stack Cave" has earned the silver gourd's first kill and received an announcement reward. May all Path Seekers press on and strive forward!]

"Announcement Reward: Stone ×25, Wood ×25, Metal ×25, Steamed Buns ×5"

Announcement rewards were mostly basic supplies. Especially for killing gourd monsters, something everyone would eventually be able to do, the rewards were fairly ordinary.

But every little bit added up, especially at the beginning of Journey Survival!

Zhu Jiusi shook his head and took off the Blockhead title.

The monster inside the silver gourd had been a bloodsucking bat the size of a watermelon. He absolutely couldn't let that thing get going.

It could fly, and it could fly without a sound. With Zhu Jiusi in his current state, fighting it would put him at a huge disadvantage.

He hadn't given the bloodsucking bat a chance to react. He'd equipped the title at once, gone all out, and knocked it into the mist.

Zhu Jiusi looked at the silver gourd on the ground. Besides the monster, it had also dropped a porcelain bottle.

A pill!

Zhu Jiusi was overjoyed. The scroll shone on it, immediately displaying the pill's information.

"Life Nourishing Pill ×1"

"Effect when consumed: Nature +1, Vitality +2"

Beautiful!

Pills that could improve one's nature and vitality were always in short supply in Journey Survival.

Vitality was easy enough to come by; it appeared every month or so. But nature was something one could only stumble upon by chance.

Zhu Jiusi didn't hesitate. He crushed the porcelain bottle under a hoof and swallowed the pill.

He felt around for a moment but didn't notice any major change. It was just as if someone had poured cool water over his brain—wonderfully refreshing.

His four hooves seemed to have gained strength.

He looked back at the scroll, where messages were flashing one after another.

The scroll was like a system interface, with all sorts of functions, including chat.

Sparrow: "Holy crap! I just turned into a bird and haven't even hopped a hundred meters, and some big shot's already killed a monster?"

Daoist Number 323: "What's a silver gourd? Big shot, come out and explain!"

One Step Won't Walk: "Did the big shot really adapt that fast? I've only just learned to use a unicycle."

Monkey Has Iron Rod: "You should be grateful! I was working out with my little aunt when I got sent here. I gave one thrust and, damn it, broke it!"

On a small path, a young man driving an ox cart stared blankly at the announcement on his scroll.

"An announcement... comes with rewards, too?"

He'd opened a gourd as soon as he entered Journey Survival and killed a rat. The scroll had told him his was the first kill in Journey Survival. But he hadn't made an announcement...

In an unfamiliar place, in a survival game, shouldn't he keep a low profile?

He'd missed out!

He was the one who'd gotten Journey Survival's first kill!