The Zhu La Great Forest was indeed terrifyingly vast.
After wandering in the forest for five to six days, Bai Ye finally emerged and saw the regional boundary line at its edge.
For a moment, Bai Ye felt like crying. It had been too difficult.
Nearly a week had passed. How many monsters had he slain? He was dust-covered from his journey, and even the Five Spirits Disk had completed its spirit gathering cycle!
Five Spirits Disk, Spirit Gathering (2000/2000)
"You have completed Spirit Gathering cultivation. Your Strength, Speed, Stamina, and Spirit stats have increased by 5 points."
"You have completed Spirit Gathering cultivation. Your Five Spirits Curses have been enhanced."
"Due to the enhancement of your Five Spirits Curses, Earth Curse has evolved into Flying Rock Technique."
Flying Rock Technique: Manipulate gravel with mental power to smash targets or for defense.
After completing spirit gathering, Bai Ye's physical attributes had improved again. Concurrently, his Earth Curse had finally evolved into Flying Rock Technique. This time, there were no more bizarre deviations; the Earth Curse transforming into Flying Rock Technique now possessed an offensive capability, while also being usable for defense.
The spirit gathering points had increased to 3000, though Bai Ye's current spirit gathering was 1178/3000.
After all, to complete the hidden quest, he had killed so many pig-headed men, and then he had gone on a killing spree to leave the Zhu La Great Forest. His spirit gathering speed had naturally been swift.
Soon, Bai Ye stepped over the regional boundary line, and then...
"Huh?"
Looking at the scene that appeared before him, Bai Ye couldn't help but frown.
The feeling was completely different from the Zhu La Great Forest. Everything before him exuded...
Desolation!
Before Bai Ye lay a dilapidated ancient road.
On both sides of the ancient road were withered and yellowed weeds. Bai Ye even spotted the dry bones of livestock amongst them.
Occasionally, the wind would blow, stirring up dust that stung the eyes.
Then...
Bai Ye looked up towards the distance and his expression froze.
"What is this?" Bai Ye exclaimed in astonishment. "The Great Wall?"
At the end of the ancient road, a towering city wall stretched as far as the eye could see in both directions, winding over mountains and ridges like a long dragon.
Bai Ye tried to search his memory for any region associated with the Great Wall, but at that moment...
"City of Sin (Gotham) is about to open. Do you wish to teleport in?"
A light screen suddenly appeared before Bai Ye. The number of entry tickets for the City of Sin had reached 300/300.
There was nothing to hesitate about. The matter of the Great Wall could wait; the hidden restricted area opening was far more important.
Bai Ye decisively chose to teleport.
The allotted time for everyone to choose was 60 seconds, so a brief wait was necessary. When the time ended, the participant count remained 300/300. Since no one had dropped out, the teleportation commenced smoothly.
A vast expanse of white light appeared around Bai Ye, enveloping him. The surrounding scenery gradually faded and blurred, and then...
"Honk!"
When the white light dissipated, before Bai Ye could even observe his surroundings, he first heard the sound of car horns.
This was a bustling street with heavy traffic.
At the intersection, cars continuously drove past. The streets on both sides were lined with numerous high-end shops selling all sorts of luxury goods, clothing, bags, watches, gold, and jewelry.
The people walking around were mostly dressed in suits and elegant attire!
But at this moment...
Several men in jackets, worn-out jeans, and disheveled hair quickly crossed the street, their appearance starkly out of place with everything around them.
Then...
The men simultaneously donned ski masks, pulled out rifles from their duffel bags, and began firing at a shop's glass display case.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang...
Accompanied by the gunfire, the glass display shattered, screams erupted from the surroundings, and then the men frantically rushed into the shop.
"Put the money in your pockets, hurry, or I'll shoot you!"
As the men spoke, they smashed the counters and stuffed jewelry into their bags.
Bai Ye watched it all unfold and couldn't help but laugh.
That's more like it!
This was the City of Sin he was familiar with!
Bai Ye chuckled as he crossed the street and walked into an alley. A light screen then appeared before him.
"Welcome to the City of Sin."
"You have been assigned to the Sin Faction. Your current Sin Score: 0/1000."
"When your Sin Score reaches 1000, the Restricted Area Quest will be issued."
"Gentlemen, let the madness begin."
"Let this city tremble for you."
...
Bai Ye curled his lips and said, "Good, the Sin Faction seems to suit me."
As a hidden restricted area, the City of Sin was slightly more complex than ordinary restricted areas. After 300 chosen individuals entered, they would be divided into two factions.
These were the Order Faction and the Sin Faction.
Or, one could directly understand them as the righteous side and the criminals.
The so-called Sin Score was earned by committing wrongdoings in the City of Sin. Once the Sin Score was full, the Restricted Area Quest would appear. Completing the quest would allow one to leave. The Sin Score would then become the reward for the City of Sin. Similar to the previous "City in Chaos" event, after completing the Restricted Area Quest, there would be an interface for exchanging items, but this time the currency would be Sin Score instead of money.
It was worth noting that the difficulty of the City of Sin was much higher than City in Chaos. If the Sin Score was not met, or if the subsequent Restricted Area Quest could not be completed, one would be trapped in the City of Sin forever, unless...
Death!
The Order Faction was similar to the Sin Faction, except that Sin Score was replaced by Order Score. Members of the Order Faction needed to apprehend criminals and maintain order in the City of Sin. Once their Order Score was full, a quest would appear, and completing it would allow them to leave. The Order Score would then become the currency for item exchange after leaving.
Bai Ye was very satisfied with being a chosen one in the Sin Faction.
Having visited the City of Sin in his previous life, Bai Ye was well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of both.
The advantage of the Order Faction was that they could use their righteous identity to leverage more resources to combat crime.
And the Sin Faction?
Destruction was always easier than construction, wasn't it?
Bai Ye enjoyed the freedom to act as he pleased. Rather than being a righteous enforcer, he preferred to be a criminal, destroying this pathetic city.
As Bai Ye mused, he left the alley and walked along the street. He happened to see the robbers who had just looted the jewelry store leaving and heading in his direction. Their target seemed to be...
Following their path, Bai Ye looked across the street and saw an old black van parked there.
...