Merging Districts

After nearly twenty days in Journey Survival, he finally had a proper attack skill.

He wouldn't have to jab people with his tusks anymore. The feeling of blood filling his mouth had been awful.

It made him sick!

Zhu Jiu Si charged left and right, testing it two or three times in the forest. He was very satisfied with the attack power of his horn.

With his size and strength, a simple charge was already nearly unbeatable. The horn's Assault was destructive, too. When it smashed into a tree trunk, spiritual power burst out and detonated instantly.

Savage, brutal, without a hint of frills.

Zhu Jiu Si really liked this way of attacking.

Night fell.

Today was the fifteenth of the eighth month, the night of the Mid-Autumn full moon. But dark clouds filled the sky, and he couldn't see his own trotters in front of him.

In this completely lightless environment, even a wild boar's night vision was limited. He could see about as well as a human on a heavily overcast day.

Zhu Jiu Si's nest was in the deep forest beside the road.

The Mid-Autumn wind was strong, and the many trees in the forest offered relatively good shelter.

He spread open a Rain Canopy and managed to cover his nest with it.

Without hands, nothing was convenient. Zhu Jiu Si had gone to great lengths to get it set up, and it still looked all crumpled.

The weather in Journey Survival changed too quickly, without any transition.

It wasn't that clouds gathered, thunder rumbled, and then rain fell. Instead, the sky could go from cloudless to overcast in an instant, and from blazing sunshine one moment to a torrential downpour the next. There was no transition at all.

Perhaps it was instinct, but under the cloudy sky, Zhu Jiu Si still felt compelled to set up the Rain Canopy.

Even if it only blocked the wind and kept him warm, that was worthwhile.

He pushed open the canopy and squeezed into the nest. Leather lined the inside, making it very comfortable.

Actually, the Rain Canopy wasn't meant for monster nests. It was for human vehicles.

A Rain Canopy for a human vehicle could be fixed directly to the outside of its carriage.

For nests, the most suitable parts would be ones discovered along the road that could be modified and fitted onto them.

It was already the middle of the eighth month. People should start finding parts like that before long.

With money in hand, he wouldn't have to worry about winter. As long as someone found one, he could buy it.

Lost in thought, Zhu Jiu Si gradually drifted off to sleep.

Three nuisances had kept him up all night the night before. Tonight, he'd make up for it with a good, long sleep.

Before long, snores filled the air. The wild boar slept deeply.

Perhaps his confidence had grown from winning several battles?

Over the past few days, Zhu Jiu Si had noticed that his sleep was much better than before.

When a person had no fear, he could do as he pleased.

This sleep was wonderfully comfortable, too. Little hands still pressed and kneaded his pig's head.

The effects of the Moon Essence Dew hadn't worn off yet. It gently nourished his brain.

He slept soundly through the night, until the glaring sunlight shone through the Rain Canopy and into his nest.

Zhu Jiu Si shook his head and came to his senses.

Constitution +1

That refreshed feeling, as if his mind were crystal clear, came over him once again.

His Constitution had reached 8.

Excellent!

Zhu Jiu Si crawled out of the nest, stretched, then rubbed his itchy body hard against a tree trunk.

Only when he turned around did he notice the circles of wolf paw prints around his nest.

By his rough count, at least eight or nine wolves had circled his nest while he slept, but none had managed to get past the nest's protection. He hadn't noticed a thing!

There was even a pool of green liquid on a nearby branch, like snot.

This pack of wolves wasn't ordinary. They were genuine monsters.

Zhu Jiu Si shook his head vigorously, making his ears slap his face and giving himself several hard smacks.

Something was wrong!

How had his vigilance just vanished like that?

Was it a side effect of the Moon Essence Dew?

It was lucky that monsters had come. If other Path Seekers had shown up, wouldn't he have been in danger?

Zhu Jiu Si let out a long breath to jolt himself awake, then dragged the Rain Canopy into his nest and bundled it up. He shrank the nest and strapped it back onto his back before setting off again.

As he traveled, he split his attention three ways: making progress, absorbing spiritual energy, and searching for food.

His luck was excellent throughout the day. After covering thirty li, he came across six Gourds, all of them bronze.

Only one released a monster: a Green-Haired Zombie.

The moment it hit the ground, Zhu Jiu Si charged into it. His horn pierced straight into the zombie's chest, and when he slammed it to the side, its entire chest exploded into pieces.

Aside from getting a noseful of stench, Zhu Jiu Si was completely unharmed.

Seven or eight days ago, when he'd first entered the Secret Realm, he'd had to be extremely cautious just to fight a White-Haired Zombie.

He hadn't been able to take on a Green-Haired Zombie head-on. But after seven or eight days, he had no problem fighting one.

Even in sheer strength, this Green-Haired Zombie couldn't match him.

It felt great to grow stronger day by day!

In a good mood, he made better time on the road. By afternoon, he'd already covered a day's journey.

After a short rest and a bite to eat, Zhu Jiu Si took out his basic supplies, ate them, and set off at a gallop.

He couldn't travel at night anymore, so daylight had become especially important.

He galloped until evening, when the swollen feeling inside him finally faded.

Vitality +1

Zhu Jiu Si stood on the mountain road, tilting his head in thought.

This time, the swelling had been much weaker than before.

It wasn't that the Mountain Master had become less effective at improving his physique. Rather, he had a strange feeling: he was gaining finer control over his body.

As his Constitution rose, so did his control over his physical form.

In his previous life, his spellcraft had far surpassed his physical strength. He fought by casting spells or wielding a flying sword, and had never experienced what it was like to have a body that was too powerful.

But if the Mountain Master could steadily improve his physique, then he would have to do everything in his power to raise his Constitution.

The days passed like this, absorbing spiritual energy and consuming basic resources.

The Moon Essence Dew worked wonderfully. Almost every other day, he could raise his Constitution by 1 point.

Then, on the twentieth of the eighth month, his Constitution increased for the last time.

Constitution 10

Zhu Jiu Si could feel that the Moon Essence Dew inside him had been completely used up.

It was time to drink the next bottle.

After a day on the road, the sun set and darkness fell in an instant.

Zhu Jiu Si stretched his body and contacted Sword Seven, planning to ask her to help open the Moon Essence Dew bottle.

Just then, the Scroll suddenly blazed with light.

When the light faded, the moon appeared.

"Hey! Young Path Seekers. Congratulations on surviving your first district merger. More Scroll functions have now been unlocked."

Everyone looked up. The heading on the Scroll had changed.

Journey Survival: 66th Dao-Seeking District of the Immortal Seeking Realm, Population: 12708

The districts had merged, and they had kept the number of District 66.

The chat section immediately erupted in noise. The population had doubled, and messages were flying by much faster.

Single Guy No. 3: "Less than thirteen thousand people? Doesn't that mean District 66 had only a little over five thousand?"

Before the merger, District 66 had only 5,434 people left.

Single Guy No. 4: "With so few people, your overall strength is way higher than ours. How'd you get so strong?"

Barefoot Great Physician: "Made a fortune, that's how! The rankings are up. Take a look and you'll see."

Ever since the first rankings had appeared, the leaderboard had stayed on the Scroll and could be checked at any time.

Now that the two districts had merged, their leaderboards had naturally combined and appeared side by side.

The top three were all from the original District 66.

No. 1: Master of Cloud Stack Cave

No. 2: Monkey Has Iron Rod

No. 3: Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword

No. 4: Mist Gatherer

No. 5: River Suppressing Marquis

The leaderboard was quite interesting. The top three were still from the original District 66, but positions four through nine were all from District 33.

It wasn't until tenth place that the two districts' names began alternating again.

River Suppressing Marquis: "The top three big shots in our district sure are imposing! They've left everyone else way behind, haven't they?"

Cloud Traveler: "We've seen the big shot Master of Cloud Stack Cave and this big shot Sword Seven in the district-wide announcements. Who's this big shot Monkey? Could someone introduce him?"

The first to speak were two people from District 33. But the moment they did, something about their words felt off.

No Bottle: "@River Suppressing Marquis, @Cloud Traveler, stop pretending to be civilized. You open your mouths and immediately try to pit District 66's big shots against everyone else. You're just trying to pull the same old trick again, aren't you? @Everyone, watch out for these lowlifes with their overly respectable names. District 33's top-ranked player was killed by their dirty tricks! These people have no bottom line!"

"@Master of Cloud Stack Cave, be careful! They've brought you up more than once in their old district!"