Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 342 The Changes in Li Hu and Yang Zhong, Hou's Opportunity, and Advice
The ninth day of the ninth month in the third year of the Great Xia Dynasty

The former Outer City South District, now known as East Second District, is the No. 188 residential building.

Whoosh... Clang...

In the martial arts arena on the first floor of the residence, Li Hu and Yang Zhong, each wielding a long-handled broadsword about ten feet long, were practicing martial arts moves against each other. Their cultivation levels were clearly evenly matched, and their reactions to the clash of blades, fists, and bodies were almost identical.

However, a closer look reveals that as the fight dragged on, Yang Zhong's breathing became noticeably faster.

Clang...

Finally, Yang Zhong was only a moment too slow in raising his sword, and Li Hu seized the opportunity to deliver a horizontal slash with his broadsword, causing Yang Zhong to lose his grip on the sword and fly three or four meters backward.

"Wait a minute, Tiger, why do we feel like our basic strength is more than 1200 jin short? Has your cultivation improved again?"

Yang Zhong stood up from the ground, picked up his longsword, and turned to look at Li Hu, his face full of surprise.

Three days ago, the two tested each other. Li Hu's basic strength was 43900 jin, while his was 42700 jin. During the fight just now, he clearly felt that the strength Li Hu displayed was more than 1200 jin greater than his own. The only explanation was that Li Hu's basic strength had improved again in the past three days.

However, his guess was clearly wrong.

Li Hu placed the Mo Dao on the weapon rack, turned around and smiled, "What can one improve in three days? Martial arts. My Long Fist Tai Zhan Style has already broken through to the minor completion stage."

Yang Zhong then realized what was happening, but his face still showed envy.

The Four Forms of Long Fist is a martial art practiced by everyone in the Great Xia Dynasty. The two of them came to Xia City last October and were exposed to it immediately.

Changquan is divided into four styles: Xiaozhan, Taizhan, Sanshou, and Hezhan. The last style, Hezhan, is suitable for multi-person attacks. Currently, only soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty are qualified to practice it. Others can only choose the first three styles to practice.

Like most people in the camp, Li Hu and I both practiced the Tai Zhan Style, which is mainly used for offense. In the same amount of time, I had only reached the entry level two months ago, while Li Hu had already reached the minor completion level, which obviously proved that the other party's martial arts talent was much higher than mine.

"The Qingyuan Jin can only increase explosive power by 10% at most, while the Changquan Taizhan Shi, when practiced to the highest level, can increase it by 30%. Not to mention combat talent, this 20% difference in explosive power is enough for us to crush other people of the same level. Such a precious technique, and the Great Xia is willing to make it available to all its people. With such courage, it's no wonder that they were able to unify Longyou in the end!"

Physical strength is not the same as explosive power. There are techniques to generating power and it requires constant practice. For someone without a training method, if they can improve their explosive power to 100% of their basic strength through long-term exploration, they are already considered very strong.

The Qingyuan Force was created by Li Tianhua, the former leader of Longshan. It is the only martial arts technique in Longshan. Previously, Longshan stipulated that only those who had reached the limit of the Digging Realm were qualified to cultivate it. Although Li Hu and Yang Zhong grew up in Longshan, they only came into contact with it after breaking through the limit of the Digging Realm last year.

The Qingyuan Jin, with its mere 10% increase in explosive power, has such high restrictions set by Longshan, while the Changquan Four Styles, with its 30% increase in explosive power, has no restrictions at all in Daxia. It can be exchanged for only 10 contribution points at the Camp Supply Department, and almost everyone in the camp can practice it.

Looking back now, it makes perfect sense that when the Longshan garrison was breached last year, so many people were powerless against the Yunjiao Army, even those at the limit of the Digging Realm with equal cultivation.

"The Li family and their ilk thought the Qingyuan Jin was a treasure and set such a high threshold for its cultivation. In the end, they still harmed themselves. This shows that working behind closed doors is actually self-castration. Only by opening our hearts and minds like the Great Xia, removing restrictions, and improving everyone's strength can we continuously strengthen our foundation and improve the overall strength of the camp. Only in this way can we develop and grow faster!"

Yang Zhong clearly didn't think as far ahead as Li Hu. After listening, he simply nodded and smiled, "It's not just Qingyuan Jin. The cultivation resources in Great Xia are much richer than those in Longshan. There are Beast Yuan Pills, Beast Spirit Pills, Blood Spirit Pills, and Yang Yuan Pills that we haven't seen before, as well as Blood Burst Pills to enhance strength, Blood Sore Pills to heal injuries, Qingyan Pills to detoxify, and Hot Wind Pills to dispel cold... There are at least dozens of kinds of pills alone."

There are also divine items like refined salt and fine wine, which can both enhance cultivation speed and satisfy one's appetite. Combined with such inexpensive beast meat and blood, cultivating in Xia City is a completely different experience from cultivating in Longshan; the two are utterly incomparable.

"And then there's that amazing Martial Arts Pavilion. Not only is the quality of life there worlds apart from the cultivation. Compared to the Great Xia, Longshan and the other eleven giant camps in Longyou are practically uncivilized."

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhong glanced around the room and his face was full of agreement.

Having been in Xia City for almost a year, the two were already extremely familiar with everything in the city. Thanks to the great merit they made last year, they were rewarded with a large amount of contribution points. Not only did their cultivation advance by leaps and bounds with the help of the training resources of the Logistics Department, but they also each purchased a piece of land in the East Second District and built their own independent residences.

Number 188 is Li Hu's home, and his home is number 194, which is nearby.

"By the way, how many contribution points do you have left?"

When asked about his contribution points, Yang Zhong immediately shook his head and sighed, "I only have a little over 3800 left. What about you?"

"5200 or so, not much more than yours."

The two looked at each other, both showing a hint of helplessness.

Logically speaking, their contribution points balance isn't actually that low now, but considering that last October, they were rewarded with 50,000 contribution points by the Chief Justice, plus 30,000 points converted from 300 military merits, their contribution points dropped from 80,000 to a few thousand. Looking at it this way, the consumption is truly astonishing.

Crucially, the two are not the type to sit around and do nothing. Last July, they established the Zhaoyuan Team in Longshan, and they go out hunting, gathering, and exploring every day without fail.

Under such circumstances, the contribution points can be consumed at an astonishingly fast rate.

"There's no other way. Buying the land and building the house cost over ten thousand. We also had high-grade beast meat, high-grade beast blood, Blood Spirit Pills, a hundred-forged Mo Dao, a hundred-forged Lei Kui Golden Armor, refined salt and fine wine, healing pills, a thirty-stone strong bow... Of course, we also spent a huge sum of money to bid for two extra days of training in the Martial Arts Pavilion. This alone cost us over six thousand contribution points. Although we have a lot of contribution points, it's not enough to cover our spending like this."

Upon hearing Yang Zhong's words, Li Hu immediately smiled and nodded.

Living in Xia City alone wouldn't require that many contribution points, but both of them were ambitious and unwilling to settle for mediocrity. How could they possibly resist seeing so many cultivation resources in the Logistics Department?
For the first eleven months, they went to the Supply Department almost every month and bought up all the cultivation resources they could afford, using only the highest-grade beast meat and blood; at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm, they could only afford 10 Blood Spirit Pills per month without fail; refined salt, aged wine, healing pills... they bought almost everything they could.

Not to mention the weapons, armor, and powerful bows that Yang Zhong just mentioned, as well as the elixirs that are essential for going out. Especially at the end of last year, when the two of them were selected for the first time and entered the martial arts hall for training, they could never forget the feeling of rapid improvement after they came out.

Last month, the lord used his supernatural powers to upgrade the martial arts hall into the martial arts pavilion, increasing the capacity to one thousand. In order to meet the needs of the people of Xia City, the logistics department would auction off 100 slots every day. The two of them couldn't resist and went to bid twice, spending more than 6000 points in one go.

No matter how many contribution points they have, it's not enough to keep up with how much they spend!

"Although it cost a lot, the improvement was also great. In just one year, my basic strength increased from the limit of 30,000 jin to almost 44,000 jin. If we were in Longshan, our cultivation speed would not be this fast."

Yang Zhong's expression brightened upon hearing this, and he nodded emphatically. Then, as if remembering something, he asked in a low voice, "Tiger, how far along is your skin membrane reconstruction? With such high martial arts talent, you must also have combat physique aptitude, right?"

The "Xia Li·Xiu Zhi Pian" notes that when the limit of the Digging Realm is broken through to the Cold Resistance level, there will be a difference between a combat body and a non-combat body, which is specifically determined by the upper limit of the basic strength in the reshaping membrane stage.

During the stage of reshaping the skin membrane, those whose basic strength can be increased to between 100,000 and 150,000 jin are considered superior combat bodies; those above 80,000 jin are considered medium; those above 60,000 jin are considered inferior; and non-combat bodies are limited to the standard limit of 50,000 jin.

Of course, there are also top-quality battle bodies weighing over 150,000 jin.

After breaking through to the Cold Resistance level, the basic strength can be doubled. So according to this calculation, even a lower-grade battle body will have a basic strength of at least 1.2 times that of a non-battle body at the Cold Resistance level, which is 20,000 jin higher than that of a non-battle body at the Cold Resistance level.

A difference of 20,000 jin in basic strength can basically determine life or death, not to mention that the gap between the two will continue to widen afterward.

Nowadays, there are quite a few people in Xia City at the Cold Resistance level, and you can even hear about someone breaking through from time to time. Unlike others who only focus on the breakthrough, the circle of people at the limit of the Earth Digging Realm focuses on the combat physique of the person who broke through.

Since both of them are in this industry, they naturally care about this.

Li Hu was naturally very clear about the contents of Xia Li's four chapters, especially the matter of the battle body. He was currently in this stage and had obviously learned a lot about it. He replied in a deep voice, "I feel that I am only about 20% of the stage of reshaping my skin membrane."

Upon hearing Li Hu's answer, Yang Zhong was stunned for a moment, then his expression lit up with immense joy as he said, "Two points is an increase of 14,000 jin, so doesn't that mean you still have an upper limit of 56,000 jin? 100,000 jin, you are a superior battle physique."

Li Hu's expression was clearly a little excited, but he was calm and quickly calmed down. He shook his head and said, "The cultivation chapter is very clear. The perception of the reshaping of the skin membrane is not 100% accurate. The further you go, the more difficult it becomes. Some people can't bear the pain and break through directly. Whether it is a superior battle body or not, we will only know when we break through."

Yang Zhong was much more optimistic than him, and continued, "Since you have a premonition, then it must be true. That's great! Superior combat physique. I've heard that there aren't many superior combat physiques in our Great Xia right now. There are only about fifty people in total, including Yuan Sizheng, Qiu Sizheng, Luo Fusizheng, Lin Kai, Lu Yang, Xu Ning, Yue Feng, Zhao Long, Zhao Hu, and so on."

Compared to Xia City's population of over 600,000, fifty or so is indeed extremely rare. Although Yang Zhong doesn't know exactly how many Cold Resistance level beings there are in Great Xia, he is certain that there are very few of them among the superior combat bodies.

His good friend Li Hu was also among them, so he was naturally overjoyed.

However, Li Hu's vision was clearly far superior to his. He shook his head and said, "I've heard that Yuan Sizheng, Qiu Sizheng, and the people you just mentioned all had a strength of over 2.5 jin after their breakthrough. This means that during their skin reshaping stage, their basic strength was over 125,000 jin. I can't compare to them at all, not to mention there are even more powerful ones above them..."

At this point, Li Hu paused slightly, his pupils revealing a look of horror as he said, "When I handed over the game at the Supply Department last time, I heard that once Yuwen Sizheng broke through, his basic strength reached more than five or even six, enough to crush ordinary late-stage Cold Resistance level experts; and the Director of the Department is even more terrifying, his basic strength was more than six upon breaking through. Even if we trained to death, we probably couldn't compare."

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhong's expression froze for a moment, then he shook his head and smiled bitterly.

To be honest, Li Hu's qualifications are really nothing special in Xia City.

He suddenly thought of something and whispered to Li Hu, "Hu Zi, what do you think our lord's base strength was when he broke through to the Cold Resistance level?"

Upon hearing this question, Li Hu frowned, then recalled the night Longshan was breached, and Xia Hong's superhuman feat of bending the iron wall with one leg. His eyes were still filled with uncontrollable horror.

"I don't know, but it's definitely beyond our imagination!"

They both remained silent for a moment, and then tacitly skipped the topic.

Li Hu suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, we're leaving for Dongling tomorrow night. Have you notified all the team members yet?"

"All eighteen team members have been notified."

After Yang Zhong finished answering, a hint of curiosity appeared on his face again. He asked, "Hanqiong was suddenly demoted to an ordinary garrison, and all seven departments were to move to Dongling. Instead of taking people directly from Hanqiong, Lord Lu specially went back to Xiacheng to draw five hundred men. Hu Zi, have you found out the reason?"

Upon hearing this, Li Hu frowned slightly, his face full of confusion, but he quickly shook his head and smiled, "No matter what the reason, it's definitely a good thing that our Zhaoyuan team can go to the new post with Lord Lu. Three days ago, when I went to the Logistics Department to receive the notice, I saw the list. Of the 500 people going, only our Zhaoyuan team is a low-level team. Of the remaining 480 people, 80 are members of the Dongyang and Gangzong teams, which are both high-level teams, and the remaining 400 are members of eight full-strength intermediate hunting teams."

Moreover, I heard from Lord Hong Tian that this opportunity to go to Dongling is extremely rare, and there's a high probability of earning military merit. Many mid-level squads in the East Second District are scrambling to go, but Lord Lu rejected them all, instead specifically naming our Zhaoyuan squad.”

Hong Tian is the head of the East Second District, and he is in charge of the recruitment this time.

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhong was stunned, and a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face.

The opportunity to earn military merit is indeed something many people would fight tooth and nail for.

After all, that was the only way to be granted a noble title.

Conferring a title grants the holder the right to attend court and meet the lord, along with various privileges associated with the title. Not to mention the extraordinary status gained after being conferred a title, the annual stipend alone is enough to drive everyone in Xia City crazy.

The two of them were no exception!
However, out of five hundred people, they were the only low-level squad.

Moreover, many intermediate teams were eliminated, and Zhaoyuan Team was singled out.

Why is that?
Yang Zhong lowered his head and pondered for a long time but couldn't figure out the reason, so he could only continue:
"I've never heard of the place name Dongling before. It's not marked on the map of the Great Xia territory displayed in the Logistics Department. It must be a newly discovered territory that allows access to other camps, thus providing an opportunity to earn military merits!"

Li Hu nodded emphatically, his expression excited, and said, "The two of us have accumulated 300 military merits. If we can gain another 200 military merits after being transferred to Dongling, we can be ennobled and enter the palace!"

Confer a title and ascend the throne!

Upon hearing these four words, Yang Zhong's face was filled with shock.

However, this time, he was unusually more sober than Li Hu.

"How could such a precious opportunity fall to us? Even if Lord Lu really needs a low-level hunting team, there are at least a dozen low-level teams in the East Second District that are stronger than us!"

Upon hearing this, Li Hu's eyes clearly flashed with some speculation, but he didn't say anything.

"Could it be..."

Yang Zhong realized what was happening, but before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by an old voice.

"What else could it be?"
The newly discovered Dongling outpost is of great strategic value. Anyone with eyes can see that going there will bring military merit. It's not just the people in the East Second District who are scrambling to go there; even many people in the inner city are looking for Lu Yang. If Lu Yang hadn't made it clear beforehand that he wouldn't be bringing any other high-level squads besides himself and Zhao Hu, his doorstep would probably have been worn down by the crowds.

"My wife gave me instructions beforehand, and I shamelessly asked him for help, which is how I managed to secure this opportunity for your Zhaoyuan team!" As the words fell, Li Tiancheng, dressed in white, stood in front of the two men. Li Tiancheng was clearly in a good mood recently. Even though his grandson and granddaughter were glaring at him, he showed no anger and always looked at them with a slight smile.

The hot-tempered Yang Zhong stepped forward without any regard for Li Tiancheng as his grandfather, and angrily said, "Article 18 of the Xia Law stipulates that no one in the city may trespass on private property. You..."

Article 19 of the Xia Law stipulates that when the Prison Department is investigating a case, it has the right to temporarily enter any private residence in Xia City;
Since you know Xia Lu so well, you must also be familiar with Xia Li.

The *Xia Li* (Rites of Xia) also stipulates that any commoner must perform a subordinate's salutation when meeting a person of noble rank; the section on filial piety in the *Li Zhi* (Rites of Xia) also stipulates that one must bow when meeting an elder relative. Since you so respect the Xia laws and rites, you surely will not disobey the regulations. Come! I await your bow.”

Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, Li Tiancheng interrupted him.

What Li Tiancheng said next made his face freeze instantly.

Yang Zhong then remembered that Li Tiancheng in front of him was now the Director of the Prison Department, one of the seven departments of the Great Xia Dynasty. Li Tiancheng himself had even participated in the compilation and formulation of the Xia Law.

Trying to compete with Li Tiancheng on Xia Lu? No way!

It was even more impossible for Xia Lishang, as he was Li Tiancheng's grandson and Li Hu was Li Tiancheng's cousin, so they were naturally inferior to each other.

But as the two spoke, their expressions suddenly became somewhat complicated.

They all knew Li Tiancheng's age.

"You have been in Xia City for almost a year, and you have not come to see me or my wife even once. This proves that you have some ambition. The Li family of Longshan is a thing of the past. Even if there is a Li family today, it can only be the Li family of Dongcheng in the Great Xia, or the Yang family of Dongcheng."

If you still harbor resentment towards the Li family for what they did back then, then strive to become stronger as soon as possible so that future Li or Yang families will not repeat the mistakes of Longshan.

"Your opportunity to go to Dongling this time was made possible by Madam. I don't have many years left to live, and from now on, Madam is the only one who can help you. Xia City is big, and it's not easy to live here. It's not easy to make a name for yourself here. Without a powerful backer, you can't even enter the inner city, let alone talk about being ennobled or attending court."

After hearing this, Li and Yang fell silent.

They're not stupid; they understood what Li Tiancheng meant.

In terms of blood relations, Li Xuanling is both Li Hu's aunt and Yang Zhong's cousin. It can be said that, whether the two of them like it or not, they will naturally be classified as her faction, and then they will be involved with the Longshan faction.

Having been in Xia City for so long, Li Hu and Yang Zhong had seen and heard quite a lot, so they instantly understood the meaning behind Li Tiancheng's words.

"Of the 500 people Lu Yang brought to the new post, nearly 70% are veterans from the Redwood Ridge faction, 20% are from the Mirror Valley faction, and the rest, besides your Zhaoyuan squad, are only the Golden Cold squad led by Hou Bing, the son of Hou Jing. You can tell from the personnel configuration that this posting at Dongling is of great importance. So you must not only seize the opportunity to make contributions to Great Xia, but also keep a close eye on the movements of the new post. If any important situation occurs, be sure to return in time to report to the lord and his wife."

Seeing the two men's expressions change from initial resistance to hesitation, Li Tiancheng smiled and didn't tease them any further. He simply turned and walked outside, leaving behind a single sentence.

"The new garrison commander of Hanqiong is Lord Zhang Jiuling, whom you know. If there is any important news from the Dongling garrison that you cannot leave, you can ask him to bring the news back to Xiacheng. That's all I have to say. If you really don't want this opportunity, you can go to the East Second District Logistics Department to decline it."

Li Tiancheng left, leaving only Li Hu and Yang Zhong standing there. The two looked at each other and both saw the struggle and hesitation in each other's eyes.

"no solution anymore!"

“As long as we live in Xiacheng, we can’t erase the mark of the Longshan system. If we continue to be so disobedient, people will talk behind our backs.”

“He’s right. The Li family of Longshan is a thing of the past. Our next goal is to make ourselves stronger and then establish our own Li and Yang families.”

"Then..."

"I don't want to miss such a great opportunity."

"Then let's go to Dongling together!"

………………

In the inner city, in an area far from the main building, in a 200-square-meter residence.

Hou Jing and his son Hou Bing sat facing each other.

Unlike Hou Jing, who was leisurely sipping wine with his eyes closed, Hou Bing's face was full of anxiety.

"Father, not only have Yu Bin, Dong Zhong, and Wu Ningyuan joined the Longshan faction, but now even Zhang Qingyuan, Lu Yin, Wang Lie, and Lin Ye, all of Zhaoyang's Yuhan-class, have rushed to curry favor with Li Tiancheng!"

Hou Jing opened his eyes and saw the anxious look on his son's face. He shook his head and smiled, "Li Tiancheng is one of the seven chief ministers and also the lord's father-in-law. These people will naturally do this for their future. What's the rush?"

Hou Bing was stunned for a moment, then looked up at Hou Jing with a puzzled expression. He didn't believe his father couldn't understand his implied meaning.

Hou Jing remained silent, so he could only grit his teeth and say bluntly, "Of the three factions that have come from Longyou, the Longshan faction is the largest and most powerful. Although the Beehive faction is smaller, it has the advantage of having joined earlier and is clearly more trusted by the lord than us. Our Longbei faction doesn't have many people to begin with, and now Yu Bin, Dong Zhong, Wu Ningyuan, and others have switched sides. Even Zhang Qingyuan and the other four non-Zhaoyang clan members of the Yuhan level have joined the Longshan faction. If this continues, our Longbei faction will really fall apart and slowly become marginalized."

"What Longbei faction? You and I only have one identity now: we are all from Great Xia. Would Li Tiancheng, Chen Yingyuan, and Peng Bo dare to say it openly in Xia City? You actually take those idle chatter of bored people seriously. How foolish!"

Hou Bing was stunned when he heard his father's reprimand. He wasn't afraid, but he didn't understand why his father was putting on such an act.

The fact that the three factions of Longyou in Xia City were already an open secret was that his father had never thought of uniting the Longbei faction to rise to the top of the Great Xia.

Something must have happened to cause such a drastic change in my father.

Hou Jing clearly understood the thought in his son's eyes and shook his head slightly:

"Don't even think about fighting Li Tiancheng anymore. With Lady Li Xuanling around, regardless of whether the Longshan faction exists or not, Yu Bin, Dong Zhong, and the others won't be able to continue following us. Not to mention Zhang Qingyuan, Lu Yin, and Lin Ye, even Hou Ming, Hou Quan, Hou Ying, Hou Tong, and Hou Ming will probably have to slowly go after Li Tiancheng. From now on, don't mention the Longbei faction again. Just focus on being a Great Xia citizen, cultivate and become stronger. As long as you have the strength, your time to rise above others will come sooner or later!"

Upon hearing this, Hou Bing fell silent.

Hou Jing knew his son was still unwilling to accept it, and sighed softly.

If Longbei could truly become a system, he wouldn't ignore it. It's just a pity that the foundation of the Longbei system is too weak. It's far inferior to the Longshan system, let alone the Beehive system.

Longbei faction seems to have more people than Beehive faction, but after all, he rebelled against Zhaoyang and defected to Daxia, so he was naturally not as well-liked by Xia Hong as Chen Yingyuan and Peng Bo. That's secondary. The key is that Hou Ming, Hou Quan and the other five nephews and nieces clearly also had objections to his rebellion. If his own family members were like this, what about Zhang Qingyuan and Lin Ye and the other four outsiders who were at the Yuhan level?

The Longbei faction lacked a foundation for unity, making its disintegration inevitable.

Fortunately, he is now quite old and not very power-hungry. In the year or so he has been in Daxia, he has been exposed to so many new things that he can spend his old age in peace.

Hou Jing knew his son had ambition, but he knew his son's abilities even better. With a low-grade battle physique, he was about to break through to the late stage of the Cold Resistance realm, but his basic strength was only slightly over five. Putting aside his mental strength and methods, even if he were forced to advance, it probably wouldn't end well.

Yuwen Tao, Yuan Cheng, Qiu Peng, Luo Yuan, Lin Kai, Yue Feng, the Zhao brothers, and so on... There are too many outstanding people in Xia City!
Of course, since his son was ambitious, he wouldn't just let him do whatever he wanted.

"I've found you a job in Dongling. You'd better prepare well. If you really want to climb the ladder, you should seize this opportunity, because you might not get such a good chance again!"

What's the job at Dongling?
Hou Bing was taken aback and asked in confusion, "It's just going to a new post, what kind of good opportunity could it be?"

Hou Jing shook his head and explained, "Didn't I give you the list of people going this time? Didn't you notice that 90% of the 500 people Lu Yang brought were elderly people from Great Xia?"

"So you found it? What does that prove?"

"This shows that he only trusts people. He doesn't trust the people who came from Longyou last year. This means that the Dongling outpost is extremely important. I only went to the Minister of Justice to ask for fifty places for your Jinhan team after I heard that Li Tiancheng had put his grandson and granddaughter's low-level squad called Zhaoyuan in.

The Chief Inspector only allowed Zhao Yuan and your Jin Han teams to enter, which is tantamount to a sign of trust—trust that your two teams can be treated the same as the other elders of the Great Xia. Therefore, you must perform well when you go to Dongling. As long as you can achieve merit, you will have caught the Chief Inspector's eye, and you won't have to worry about your future.

After listening to his father's explanation, Hou Bing suddenly understood, and his eyes gradually brightened.

He hadn't really thought about it that much before, but now, after hearing his father Hou Jing say it, he realized that this was an opportunity for the Hou family, a great opportunity to gain the trust of the Minister of Justice and even the lord.

If we can gain the trust of the Minister and the Lord, then the Longbei faction or not really doesn't matter.

"Father, I understand. I will definitely do my best when I go to Dongling this time!"

Hearing his son's words, Hou Jing nodded in satisfaction.

………………

On the second floor of the main building in the inner city, Lu Yang was being noisily surrounded by Yuan Cheng, Qiu Peng, Yue Feng, and others as he took his seat.

"The lord even bestowed the Frostwing Sword upon you?"

"This Frostwing Sword was specially forged by Mu Dong for the lord in May. It's made of ten thousand jin of refined iron, with two thousand jin of silver wrapped around the outer layer. Tsk tsk... there aren't many like it in the entire Great Xia!"

"You're even more impressive than Xu Ning!"

"There's no way around it. That's Dongling. Beining Mountain has over 400,000 people. Plus, with the discovery of Mo'ao Mountain and Beishuo Town, the other eight towns will probably be found soon as well. This achievement is truly immense."

"Ha ha ha ha…………"

Seeing the envious looks from everyone, Lu Yang was naturally very proud. Everyone present was an old man from the Great Xia Dynasty during the Tupo period, and they were very close friends. He could laugh heartily without any reservations.

Everyone knew he was leaving tomorrow. Yuan Cheng had specially rushed back from the North Slope Silver Mine, while Yue Feng had just returned from Longshan to report on his duties. As for Qiu Peng and the others, they had been staying at the camp.

Everyone already knew about Dongling from Xia Chuan, so they all understood how great Lu Yang's contribution was, and they kept congratulating him during the banquet.

However, after a few rounds of drinks, Lu Yang still showed a troubled expression.

Qiu Peng, who was sitting next to him, noticed his expression and immediately teased, "What's wrong? Are you starting to worry about what rank you need to be promoted to?"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Lu Yang chuckled, but still shook his head, saying, "I was just thinking, once I arrive at Dongling with five hundred men, how should I annex other large camps? Directly attacking them might not be a good idea, and it would cause trouble later. But going to negotiate would seem abrupt, and they probably wouldn't agree..."

"Hey, is that all?"

Upon hearing this, Yue Feng shook his head repeatedly. Seeing Lu Yang looking at him, he smiled and offered advice: "We have so many Cold-Resistant level troops in Xia City. You can just find a few people to play the villains, and annexing a few large camps will be a piece of cake."

Lu Yang's eyes lit up immediately. He picked up his glass, raised it to Yue Feng, and said gratefully, "Thank you so much for your advice, Brother Feng. I am extremely grateful. It's all in the wine. Come on, drink up! Tonight's vintage is on me!"

"atmosphere!"

"Yangzi is a remarkable person."

"Then I'll have to force him to drink two jin (1 kg) of it."

"Hahaha, Yangzi's struck it rich, we have to drink a good cup of wine from him."

………………

(End of this chapter)