Everyone was astonished and envious.
But on another mountain path, Monkey Has Iron Rod stared in utter disbelief.
He had been raising his wine cup to the sky and the two moons on the Scroll, lamenting how awesome the Cave Master was, when he saw his own ranking.
Third? Me?
What was Brook-Facing Stone? What was Mustard Seed Stone?
Completely bewildered, he opened his inventory and found two stones among a pile of junk.
They were from the pig cage he'd been locked in when he first entered the Secret Realm. They'd dug into him, but the bars were too close together to throw them out, so he'd had no choice but to put them in his inventory...
Damn instance! You've screwed me over!
He'd already thought he'd been way too conspicuous these past few days!
Monkey Has Iron Rod panicked.
The Scroll showed everyone's rank, from first place to five thousand seven hundredth.
But fewer than a thousand people had Life Stones, and more than two thousand had even come out of the Secret Realm with negative gains.
Once the rankings were fully revealed, the chat exploded even louder.
The rankings didn't matter, but the gap was just too huge!
They'd been looting posts, while someone else had collected every manual!
"How'd they get over two thousand points? Even if every zombie came with its hands tied and lined up to be killed, I couldn't kill that many!"
"Resentment"
"Is growing"
"Jealousy is turning me square."
"Upstairs, jealousy is turning you square. Too much jealousy will make you meet a Dao Discussion Card."
"..."
Moon: "The Secret Realm summary is over. I imagine everyone gained quite a lot. But that's not today's main topic.
"The beginner protection period has come to a complete end, and the first rankings are about to be officially released. Are you ready to claim the grand prize? This isn't some paltry resource like the announcement rewards!"
With a single sentence, Moon made the already noisy chat explode all over again.
There were rankings too? Did their usual travels count toward their scores? Were there rewards?
Moon might be unreliable, but a "super grand prize" couldn't possibly be anything ordinary, could it?
Everyone rubbed their hands together, eager to get started.
Even Zhu Jiusi perked up, his breathing involuntarily quickening.
Starting now, there would be a ranking every month. The top ten would all receive rewards, with better prizes the higher they ranked.
Moon hadn't lied. The rewards were substantial, and the higher the rank, the better they got.
Moon didn't keep them in suspense any longer. It announced the list right away.
Beginner Period, Number One: Master of Cloud Stack Cave, distance 641 li. Wealth 3,324, special items ★★★★★
Number Two: Monkey Has Iron Rod, distance 357 li, wealth 5,342, special items ★★★☆
Number Three: Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword, distance li, wealth 1,774, special items ★★★
Number Four: Sparrow, distance 1,132 li, wealth 921, special items ★★...
With each name Moon announced, gasps rang out. Zhu Jiusi studied the list.
There were quite a few familiar faces in the top ten. Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword, Scholar of Orchid Pavilion, and White Beard's Fist had all frequently made the top ten in the previous round.
But Monkey Has Iron Rod—he'd ranked near the top in both the Secret Realm Instance and the beginner period, yet Zhu Jiusi had never heard of him in his previous life!
That wasn't normal. Had he only emerged this time around?
His distance was pitifully low. He'd only just barely completed the daily task.
He had the best vehicle, yet had barely passed on distance. His fame came purely from his wealth.
And then there were his special items. Zhu Jiusi had the Cursed Map, the Mountain Master, and the hidden Six Ren Divine Mechanism Disk, yet he'd only earned five stars. This guy already had three and a half.
Zhu Jiusi stroked his chin. Should I merge paths with him sometime and rob him?
Just as he was thinking this, a private message came through.
"Big shot, help! I can share all my resources. Could you spare me a Dao Discussion Card so you can rescue me anytime? Or let me come to you if I run into danger..." Monkey Has Iron Rod sent a terrified emoji.
He'd already regretted showing off his wealth and wanted to keep a low profile, but Journey Survival had stabbed him in the back right after.
Two rankings, and he'd placed near the top in both.
This was going to kill him!
Zhu Jiusi considered it briefly. "Sure. I want a House-Guarding Stone and Tiger Bone Glue. But I'll need to assess the danger. If it's too high, I won't come."
Monkey Has Iron Rod: "Sobs, big shot, I don't have either of those..."
Assessing the danger was fair. If Zhu Jiusi had agreed to come without asking for anything, he'd have been even more afraid. But he'd never even heard of those two things!
Zhu Jiusi sent a smiling face. "That's fine. You can give them to me once you get them. But if you still don't have them by the time I level up, you'll have to replace them with the materials needed for my next upgrade."
"No problem! Don't worry, big shot. Even if I can't find them, I'll trade for them!"
"Deal!"
At that moment, Monkey Has Iron Rod wasn't just contacting Zhu Jiusi. He'd also reached out to Sword Seven, Scholar, and even White Beard. He contacted everyone whose character he could vouch for.
He valued his life more than anyone.
Zhu Jiusi closed the chat and went to check the reward options after the rankings. The monthly ranking went down to the top hundred, but only the top ten received prizes.
The first-place prize was the best, with rewards decreasing by rank.
Moon hovered there, asking if he wanted to claim his reward now.
Metal ×1000, wood ×1000, stone ×1000, assorted food ×30, drinking water ×30, Mustard Seed Stone ×1, Moon Essence Dew ×2, Basic Healing Pill ×5.
He'd struck it rich!
Just one look at the list told Zhu Jiusi he'd struck it rich. He'd never fought such a well-funded battle in his life!
And this was only the beginner-period ranking. Combat score hadn't even been counted yet. The full-moon ranking on the fifteenth of next month would have even bigger rewards!
He claimed everything at once and stored the basic supplies in his inventory. Then he took out the Mustard Seed Stone.
It was a treasure. One Mustard Seed Stone could expand an inventory by ten storage slots.
That was exactly what Zhu Jiusi needed. Most of his things were now stuffed into the nest, and carrying them around made everything inconvenient.
The Mustard Seed Stone didn't require any extra steps. He just had to select the option to expand while it was in his inventory.
Moon Essence Dew enhanced one's attributes. He just had to drink it, sleep, and let his body absorb it naturally. The effects varied according to each person's attributes.
Simply put, the lower the attribute, the better the effect.
He'd better wait for now. He couldn't take it yet.
Moon was up to something again.
After announcing the rankings on the Scroll, Moon didn't leave. Instead, it watched them with a surveying gaze.
"O young Path Seekers, given your poor performance, Journey Survival hasn't even officially begun, yet the population of District 66 has already been reduced by more than half.
"In seven days, District 66 will merge with the other districts. Whether District 66 keeps its name after the merger will depend on your performance!
"Here's a little secret: whichever district name survives, Path Seekers from that district will get a 10% increase in drop rates, and they might even encounter more Gourds every day!"
"So tremble! Get moving! Build your wealth, you little rookies! You only have two days left!"
After it finished speaking, the entire moon went bang and vanished. The Scroll returned to normal.
The Path Seekers silently pondered the news it had brought, when the moon abruptly appeared again.
"Oh, right. Today, I'm Number Thirteen!"
With that, it vanished once more.
Path Seekers: "..."
What a lunatic!
Zhu Jiusi stroked his chin. So it was time for the districts to merge.
Not ideal!
Last time, District 66 had more than six thousand people left when they completed the first Secret Realm Instance and it was time to merge.
This time, they were short by a whole thousand!
Even so, after the last merger, they'd lost their district number and become District 33. For a long time afterward, they'd remained District 33.
With fewer people this time, things would be even worse...
And District 33 was on its way.
In Zhu Jiusi's previous round, his regular stress-relief partner had come from District 33.
As for looks, Zhu Jiusi's human form was still pretty easy on the eyes. His stress-relief partner had been a beauty who scored a solid nine out of ten.
If she saw him looking like this, she wouldn't agree to it, would she?
Zhu Jiusi smiled and looked up at the moon before climbing into his nest.
The beginner protection period had ended. The roads were dangerous at night.
Fog rolled on both sides. Something was about to emerge.
Before you continue