Chapter 46: The Map to Cangwu City

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"Why is there no task guidance for this sixth stage?"
Someone muttered quietly amidst the silent crowd.
But the weakest among the trial participants present had at least sixty years of cultivation, and everyone heard it clearly. Immediately, someone sneered, "Do you want a main quest and a side quest as well, idiot? Do you really think this is a game?"
"What did you say, you little brat? Step out and duel if you’ve got the guts!"
"Enough! This isn’t a game. The reason you think it is, is because the Immortal overseeing the trial set things up to suit the cognitive habits of us Earthlings. Now that we’re at the sixth stage, if you still can’t distinguish this, you might as well give up on the trial."
Zhou Wu finally roared, his authority not entirely lost, successfully suppressing both sides of the argument.
"Everyone, allow me a word."
A burly man with a beard covering his whole face and a fierce, bandit-like aura stepped forward. He was the leader of a team from East City, seemingly named Yang Yufeng, but he was a Spirit Swallow of sixty years’ cultivation.
Among all the trial participants, he was truly unique.
"The situation now is pretty clear—just one word: escape! The sooner we break out of these five hundred miles, the better. You all saw it, the Shadow Curse. Just hearing about it makes my scalp tingle! Especially since the curse accumulates over time—every day wasted, the consequences grow unimaginable."
"Escape? Can you really escape? Didn’t you see the dense array of Skill Transmission Monuments surrounding us? I bet we have to fight our way out step by step. If we just try to run, we’ll end up attracting a swarm of monsters chasing after us, and we won’t even know how we died."
Someone directly retorted. Yang Yufeng, with sixty years of cultivation, was best at running, but for the others, a panicked flight would surely end in total annihilation.
"Everyone, allow me to speak."
At this moment, a man stepped out from Zhou Wu’s side. He was Zhou Wu’s trusted companion, named Qin Douzi, with seventy years of Mountain-moving cultivation, and a celebrity from the previous stage.
"First, I believe you all witnessed the mirror image earlier. If we hold Cloud City for two hours, a reinforcement will arrive. But do you know where this reinforcement comes from?"
"In fact, Cloud City is merely a county. A thousand miles from here stands a city named Cangwu, a prefecture. The Lord of Cloud City is the fourth son of Cangwu’s City Lord, so the reinforcement comes from Cangwu."
"Therefore, if we’re to break out, we must head toward Cangwu. If we make it there, not only might we be re-enlisted and re-enter the main storyline, but we also have a great chance of meeting trial participants from other servers."
"Because merging zones will be the future trend. Maybe when we reach Cangwu, we’ll meet other trial participants from City P, just as we did in the fifth stage."
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"Let me repeat: Zhou Wu and I have strategized around Cloud City for nearly two months, and we even secured the map from Cloud City to Cangwu in advance. If not for our defeat in the fifth stage, Zhou Wu would already be a personal guard in the City Lord’s residence."
Qin Douzi’s words moved everyone, including Wei Cheng. Zhou Wu’s team was indeed formidable, having planned so far ahead—a true veteran player. What a pity, such a good hand wasted.
Yet even so, they still outmatched every other trial participant present, simply because Zhou Wu still held the map to Cangwu.
Who could refuse such an advantage?
"Then, we go to Cangwu. Does anyone object?"
Zhou Wu spoke in a deep voice, his authoritative gaze sweeping across the crowd. For a moment, silence reigned, not even Yang Yufeng shook his head.
Those Skill Transmission Monuments dotted all around, large and small, were no game map to leisurely explore. The Shadow Curse was the greatest threat: if they couldn’t break through five hundred miles within six days, its power would double.
"Very well. I admit, in the fifth stage, my deployment was wrong. I shouldn’t have only selected elites and abandoned the weaker ones. So, for this stage, I will uphold the principle of leaving no one behind. Everyone present is my comrade, and I hope for your full cooperation."
"However, with more than five hundred people, marching to war must be organized, not chaotic. I will now dissolve the old structure and re-form our five hundred thirty-two into twenty-six teams, each with twenty members; the remainder will join my team."
"I invite the captains of each team to step forward and freely select ten subordinates."
Zhou Wu’s words and actions left everyone speechless—facts were facts. Even though teams were being reorganized, the original captains remained, directly resolving the biggest conflict.
After all, each team’s captain was basically the strongest among them.
Soon, captains began picking their members swiftly, the atmosphere lively, with no one causing trouble.
Wei Cheng naturally didn’t want to serve under anyone. Without a word, Cheng An, Yu Liang, Wang Wei, Dong Fang, and Sun Yi immediately followed him, and Mei Renli tagged along as well.
"Wei, I was confused before. Please give me another chance," Han Dong came over, face full of shame. He’d previously joined another group, nearly eliminated in the fifth stage, and only now realized what he’d missed.
"No problem," Wei Cheng replied calmly, agreeing without a fuss. Cannon fodder, after all, didn’t bother him; anything more was out of the question.
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He had indeed intended to groom Han Dong, the Purple Glow, as a key member, but Han Dong’s own blindness due to the rarity of his role had ruined that.
As for Zhang Yong and the others, well, Wei Cheng hadn’t even spotted them in the crowd.
Five thousand had been eliminated, leaving only five hundred or so—how could they possibly be exceptions?
Just then, Wei Cheng saw Liu Sui dragging Xu Shan quickly toward him.
"Wei, need more people? How about the two of us?"
Wei Cheng was stunned, and so were many around him, especially Zhou Wu’s team—sharp, scrutinizing gazes shot over, the atmosphere suddenly tense.
"You two are serious?"
Wei Cheng looked puzzled at Liu Sui and Xu Shan. In reality, they’d only met once, and at most, he’d spoken to Xu Shan twice on the phone.
Yet at that moment, Liu Sui’s expression was calm, seemingly indifferent, but once he made up his mind, he rarely changed it.
Xu Shan, though cold-faced and seemingly unwilling, had an eager, mischievous look in her eyes—a woman who thrived on chaos.
"Very serious," Liu Sui said.
"Good, welcome aboard." Wei Cheng asked no further questions—there was no need.
Such a small matter, surely he could handle it?
After speaking, Wei Cheng suddenly sensed Zhou Wu looking over calmly. He flashed a toothy smile, as if to say, "Well met!"
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