True No. 1 on the List

The crowd was astonished and envious.

But on another mountain path, Monkey Has Iron Rod looked stunned.

He was just raising his wine cup toward the two moons in the sky and on the Scroll, lamenting the awesomeness of the Master of Cloud Stack Cave, when he saw his own ranking.

Third? Me?

What is a Brook-Facing Stone? What is a Mustard Seed Stone?

He opened his inventory in a daze and found two stones amidst a pile of scrap.

These were things from the pig cage he was locked in when he first entered the Secret Realm Instance; he had found them uncomfortable at the time, but since the cage bars were too dense to throw them out, he had just shoved them into his inventory...

Damn instance, you've ruined me!

He had already been worried that he was being too high-profile these past few days!

Monkey Has Iron Rod grew anxious at once.

The Scroll ignored his feelings, listing everyone from first to 5,700th place.

Yet, fewer than a thousand people possessed Life Stones, and there were even over two thousand people whose harvest in the Secret Realm was negative.

With the rankings fully revealed, the chat area exploded even more.

The ranking itself wasn't important, but the gap was too massive!

They were struggling to scrape by, yet someone had obtained all the secret manuals!

"Two thousand points, how is that even possible? Even if all the zombies cut off their own limbs and lined up for me to kill, I couldn't do it!"

"Resentment."

"Sprouting."

"Jealousy makes me square."

"To the person above, jealousy makes you square, but too much jealousy will make you acquainted with a Dao Discussion Card."

"..."

Moon: "The Secret Realm summary has concluded. I trust everyone has gained much. But this is not the main topic for today."

"The Newbie Protection Period has officially come to a complete end. The first official leaderboard is about to be released. Are you all ready to claim the grand prizes? And I don't mean those small resources like the announcement rewards!"

With a single sentence, Moon ignited the already noisy chat area even further.

There were more leaderboards? Did the usual travel count toward the score? And there were rewards?

Although this Moon was unreliable, a "super grand prize" shouldn't be anything ordinary, right?

A group of people began to rub their hands in anticipation.

Even Zhu Jiusi perked up, his breathing involuntarily quickening by a fraction.

Starting from this time, there would be a leaderboard every month. The top ten on the leaderboard would all receive rewards, and the higher the rank, the better.

Moon did not lie; the rewards for the leaderboard were substantial, and they grew larger the further down the list one went.

Moon didn't keep them in suspense any longer and announced the list directly.

Newbie Period, Rank 1: Master of Cloud Stack Cave, Mileage 641 li. Wealth 3324, Special Item ★★★★★

Rank 2: Monkey Has Iron Rod, Mileage 357 li, Wealth 5342, Special Item ★★★☆

Rank 3: Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword, Mileage [Data Missing], Wealth 1774, Special Item ★★★

Rank 4: Sparrow, Mileage 1132 li, Wealth 921, Special Item ★★...

Every time Moon announced a name, a gasp of astonishment followed. Zhu Jiusi examined the list.

There were many familiar faces in the top ten; Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword, Orchid Pavilion Scholar, and White Beard's Fist were all figures who frequently entered the top ten in the previous round.

But Monkey Has Iron Rod—he had ranked extremely high in both the Secret Realm Instance and the Newbie Period, yet he had never heard of him in his past life!

This wasn't normal. Did he only just erupt into prominence this time?

This guy's mileage was pitifully low, barely enough to complete the daily tasks.

He possessed the best vehicle, yet his mileage was only just passing. He was relying purely on wealth to boost his fame.

And then there were the special items. Zhu Jiusi had the Cursed Map, the Mountain Master, and the hidden Six Ren Divine Mechanism Disk, and he only got five stars. This guy already had three and a half stars.

Zhu Jiusi stroked his chin. Should he cross paths with him sometime and rob him?

Just as he was thinking this, a private message came through.

"Big Boss, save me! I can share all my resources. Can you keep a Dao Discussion Card and save me whenever I need it? Or allow me to come to you if I encounter danger..." Monkey Has Iron Rod sent a terrified emoji.

He had already regretted exposing his wealth and wanting to keep a low profile, only for the Journey Survival to backstab him immediately after.

Two rankings, and each one was higher than the last.

It was going to be the death of him!

Zhu Jiusi pondered for a moment: "I can, but I want the House-Guarding Stone and the Tiger Bone Glue. However, I will evaluate the situation; if the danger is too high, I won't come."

Monkey Has Iron Rod: "Crying, Big Boss, I don't have these two things..."

The danger assessment was normal, but because there were no conditions attached, he was actually afraid instead. Yet, he hadn't even heard of these two items!

Zhu Jiusi sent a smiley face: "It's fine, you can give them to me later when you have them. But if you still don't have them by the time I level up, you'll have to trade for the materials needed for the next upgrade instead."

"That's no problem! Rest assured, Big Boss, even if I have to trade for them, I'll get them!"

"Deal!"

At this moment, Monkey Has Iron Rod wasn't just reaching out to Zhu Jiusi; he was contacting Jian Qi, Scholar, and even White Beard—anyone whose character he could vouch for.

He cherished his life more than anyone else.

Zhu Jiusi closed the chat area and went to check the reward options after the rankings. Although he was in the top hundred for the monthly ranking, only the top ten received rewards.

The first-place reward was the best, decreasing in value as the rank went down.

The Moon was swaying, asking him if he wanted to claim them now.

Metal x1000, Wood x1000, Stone x1000, various food x30, drinking water x30, Mustard Seed Stone x1, Moon Essence Dew x2, Basic Healing Pill x5.

He was rich!

Looking at the list, Zhu Jiusi knew he had struck it rich; he had never fought such a wealthy battle in his life!

And this was just the novice period ranking, with combat power not even factored in yet. The full moon ranking on the fifteenth of next month would offer even greater rewards!

He claimed them immediately, storing the basic supplies in his pack. He took out the Mustard Seed Stone first.

This was a treasure; one Mustard Seed Stone could expand the pack by 10 storage slots.

This was a necessity for Zhu Jiusi. Right now, most of his things were stuffed into his nest, making it inconvenient to do anything while carrying them on his back.

The Mustard Seed Stone didn't require any extra steps; he just had to select "expand" while it was in his pack.

Moon Essence Dew was for enhancement; he just needed to consume it, sleep, and let it absorb naturally. Depending on individual stats, the enhancement effect would vary.

Simply put, the lower the stats, the better the enhancement effect.

He would hold off on this for now; he couldn't consume it just yet.

The Moon was stirring up trouble again.

After the list was announced on the Scroll, the Moon didn't retreat, but instead looked down with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Young Path Seekers, given your poor performance, the Journey Survival has not yet officially begun, and the population of District 66 has already been halved.

Seven days from now, District 66 will merge with other districts. Whether the name 'District 66' can be retained after the merger depends on your performance!

I'll tell you a secret: whichever district name is ultimately retained, the Path Seekers from that original district will receive a 10% increase in drop rates, and the number of Gourds encountered daily will increase!"

"So, tremble! Get moving! Accumulate wealth! You little newbies! You only have two days left!"

Once it finished speaking, the entire Moon exploded with a bang and vanished. The Scroll returned to silence.

The Path Seekers were all lost in silent thought about the news it brought, when the Moon abruptly popped out again.

"By the way, I'm called Thirteen today!"

It vanished again immediately after speaking.

Path Seekers: "..."

Are you insane!

Zhu Jiusi rubbed his chin; it was time for the district merger.

This was not ideal!

Last time, when District 66 completed the first Secret Realm Instance and was about to merge, there were still over six thousand people.

This time, there were a full thousand fewer!

Even so, after the last merger, the district number had been changed to District 33. For a long time afterward, they were District 33.

With fewer people this time, it was even more ominous...

Moreover, District 33 was coming.

In Zhu Jiusi's previous round, that regular stress-relief partner of his had come from District 33.

In terms of appearance, Zhu Jiusi's human form was still quite decent. His stress-relief partner was also a beauty who could easily score a nine.

If she saw him in his current state, she surely wouldn't agree to it, right?

Zhu Jiusi smiled. He looked at the Moon overhead and crawled into his nest.

The novice protection period had ended, and the roads at night were dangerous.

The mist rolled on both sides; something was about to come out.