Distinguished Guest

The man fled in critical condition, his companion reaching out with an iron hammer to assist, only to have his ankle seized by a firm grip.

The momentum of his forward charge caused him to slam violently into the ground.

Before he could even attempt to rise, he was hoisted into the air by his ankle. He dangled upside down, struggling to make out his assailant.

The man holding him stood at least two meters tall, sporting a crescent-shaped White Beard that bristled upward.

Before he could register his shock, the White Beard swung him by the ankle and slammed him downward, driving his head into the earth like a stake.

"Crack!"

With a crisp snap, the man's head was driven halfway into his own chest, and his breath vanished in an instant.

A Scroll flickered nearby, displaying his identity information.

Daoist Name: Cloud Traveler.

The three men who had yet to charge forward were struck with sudden terror; they turned to flee, only to freeze in their tracks.

Several figures had appeared behind them, though no one knew when.

Leading them was a giant Wild Boar with a shoulder height exceeding 1.2 meters.

Its tusks were bared, and a golden horn sprouted from the bridge of its nose.

A monster!

Monsters appeared during the night in Journey Survival, yet they had to show up at this very moment?

The boar glanced at them without uttering a word. Its form blurred as it charged, moving so fast it left afterimages behind.

The Wild Boar slammed into one man's waist, tossed him upward, and then impaled him.

Before the man could even hit the ground, his midsection exploded, transforming into a mist of blood that filled the air.

At the same time, a gurgling sound echoed as a human head rolled over from behind.

The man who had been intercepted by Sword Seven had already been decapitated by a single strike. His head rolled far down the hillside.

Only the half-crippled man under the Scholar's command remained alive, though he had completely lost the will to fight, begging frantically for mercy while fleeing in terror.

He panicked and blundered headlong into the mist, where he was swallowed up in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, only two of the six attackers remained alive; the pair stood trembling, staring at their surroundings in horror.

They had spent their days hunting geese only to be pecked by them—no, that wasn't right; these people from District 66 weren't geese, they had plunged headfirst into a nest of raptors!

"Separate them and interrogate them for accomplices. Whoever gives the least information, kill them on the spot!"

Zhu Jiusi's voice sounded as if it had risen from the depths of hell.

The returning Scholar and White Beard each grabbed one of the men and dragged them toward opposite sides of the road.

Zhu Jiusi's demonic voice rang out again: "Make them display their Scrolls. If they dare to use private chat to coordinate, kill them immediately!"

The two men's eyes widened in terror as they begged frantically for their lives.

Only then did Monkey Has Iron Rod manage to pry the substance off his mouth; it was a slime-like material that had been incredibly difficult to peel away.

Once his nose and mouth were clear, he took a deep breath and immediately looked at Zhu Jiusi.

"Cool! Where did you get that golden horn?"

The others were slightly stunned. Was this really the time to be asking about that? If we had arrived a minute later, you would be dead!

"Golden Gourd!" Zhu Jiusi replied.

Monkey gave a thumbs-up while scanning the area: "Thanks to everyone for this. I promise to deliver on what I pledged!"

He looked toward Sword Seven and Zhu Jiusi: "But what you two want, I don't have right now; I'll have to find someone to trade for it. Now that the two districts have merged, I should be able to run into more people. Don't worry, I will definitely find it!"

Sword Seven remained noncommittal, while Zhu Jiusi gave a slight nod. The golden horn, stained with a hint of blood, shimmered in the moonlight.

Monkey stared at the golden horn, envious to the point of distraction.

Zhu Jiusi's Scroll flickered slightly, indicating an incoming private message.

Rain Seeker: "Did you kill them?"

Zhu Jiusi replied: "It was a pure combat situation, so I didn't call you."

Rain Seeker was just a fish, and its ranking wasn't particularly high. Away from the water, it exhausted all its energy just traveling each day, so calling it over would have been dangerous.

Rain Seeker: "Too many people are watching the rankings today; a sudden change will cause unrest. If it was their fault, send the video directly to the chat area."

The rankings had already undergone a massive shift.

The top ten had lost three people, and among the four just slain, three of them had actually been in the top ten!

"Understood!" Zhu Jiusi replied.

Among a group of muscle-heads, having one person with a functioning brain was certainly a time-saver.

Perhaps he should have contacted Rain Seeker before making a move?

Zhu Jiusi decided to remedy the situation, reporting the details of today's operation to Rain Seeker.

There is no need for too much explanation as to why everyone was summoned to Monkey's path.

After all, Monkey was the only one among the top three who hadn't obtained a secret manual, making him look like the easiest target.

Rain Seeker sent a smiley face, reviewing the videos the others had privately sent her.

Only after confirming there were no issues did she have them post directly to the chat area.

In the midst of the bickering chat area, several key figures suddenly fell silent, and as others looked on, their avatars turned black one after another.

The chat area instantly exploded.

Just as everyone was wondering what had happened, several videos were posted.

These few videos could barely piece together a complete story.

A bright moon hung high, casting a layer of silver light across the ground. A young man stood on a mountain path when suddenly the environment shifted, and six people appeared.

As soon as these six appeared, they were immediately recognized.

The next moment, all six launched a simultaneous attack on that person. The video ended there, proving only that the six from District 33 had started it first.

The next video showed a fairy sword blocking a dagger, followed by two quick strikes that severed the tendons of an arm. With a flick of the blade, a head was sent flying.

The chat group was instantly flooded: "Hiss..."

"That swordswoman has such fine skills! And such a ruthless heart!"

"As expected, the more beautiful a woman is, the more ruthless she is!"

The next video showed a pig slamming into someone's waist and abdomen, shattering the person into pieces.

Several videos followed in succession, each showing a kill, and the Daoist titles displayed on the scrolls after each death could be cross-referenced with the names of those whose avatars had gone black.

For a time, the entire chat hall was as silent as cicadas in winter; no one dared to speak.

After a long while, Zhu Jiusi finally spoke: "Survival in this Journey Survival is already difficult enough. Let's have less of this killing for treasure without any grudges or conflicts of interest. If you walk the night path too often, you're bound to run into a ghost."

No one spoke for a long time, but the avatars of two more of the six went black.

Sparrow: "Big Boss is mighty! It's only after you start a killing spree that everyone remembers to silently follow the rules."

He sent a smiley face: "We are all struggling to survive in District 66. Let's stop with the underhanded schemes and stirring up trouble; people really die. @No Bottle."

One of the two factions stirring up trouble had already lost six of its core members and didn't dare utter a single word.

The other faction needed a warning as well. Everyone had been living in Journey Survival for nearly a month; where could one find a truly good person?

A saint couldn't survive in Journey Survival, whether they were a genuine saint or a hypocritical one.

Was No Bottle really being selfless and seeking justice for the Daoist he spoke of by targeting River Suppressing Marquis, Cloud Traveler, and the others?

Before Sparrow could finish his sentence, Zhu Jiusi had already received a private message from No Bottle.

It was just a long list of names.

"Cave Master, River Suppressing Marquis, Cloud Traveler, and their group have quite a few people. Since you've teamed up to kill six of them, be careful of retaliation."

Zhu Jiusi glanced at it and replied: "Many thanks."

No Bottle sent a shamed emoji: "You are too kind, Cave Master. I'm not a good person; there are just some things I can't stand. Of course, it's also for self-preservation. If these people all die by your hand, I can sleep soundly. To put it bluntly, I just can't beat them myself and am selfishly using you, Big Boss!"

He actually admitted it so bluntly!

Zhu Jiusi exchanged a few polite words, then turned to send the list from No Bottle, along with the list interrogated by Scholar and the others, to Rain Seeker.

Within a few breaths, Rain Seeker replied.

"No Bottle seems honest, but he is likely untrustworthy! Don't be misled by him."

Zhu Jiusi snorted like a pig: "It's not that he's likely untrustworthy; he is definitely untrustworthy!"

As Zhu Jiusi spoke, his gaze fell on an inconspicuous name on the list: Half Spoon Orange Juice.

How could she possibly be in a group with River Suppressing Marquis and the others, killing the old Ox Nose?

In reality, Orange Juice was a relative of Ox Nose!

Zhu Jiusi knew their relationship all too well.

She was his designated stress-relief partner from his past life!

They weren't lovers, just people who understood each other's character. When stress built up to a certain point, they would agree on a place to release it together.

This was someone Zhu Jiusi knew inside and out.

Someone who could never betray Ox Nose had appeared on the list.

PS: It wasn't good to break the chapter here, so I just posted it all at once. The updates for today are finished; there won't be any more tonight. It seems I can't add chapters recklessly with a new book... Wait for me to get familiar with the rules.