Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 353 The Path to Improving to the Peak of Cold Resistance Mo'ao Tenth Town, Beishuo Yang Fayan, Dongling Lu Yun
"Lu Yang and Zhao Hu, what a bunch of Dongling! A mere village camp dares to be so presumptuous! From now on, when I govern Jingxi, I will keep a close eye on Dongling!"

Zhu Yang, who had just left Zhuling and was hurrying back to Beishuo, had a livid face. He recalled the scene of Lu Yang threatening and refuting him, and his right hand holding the sword was trembling uncontrollably, which showed how angry he was.

But after a moment of contemplation, a hint of apprehension rose in his eyes.

He dared not tarnish the lord's reputation; Zhu Ling was not worth the risk; he dared not offend Gu Tianxiong and Huang Tianxing; he worried about losing his position as the head of the academy...

There are many reasons why he didn't dare to act up in Zhuling, but ultimately it comes down to the fact that Dongling's strength is too great, and he is not confident that he can directly suppress Lu and Zhao.

"That idiot Zhu Tong didn't even tell me about their strength beforehand. One is 17 manes, and the other is 19 manes. I didn't bring anyone with me..."

After angrily berating Zhu Tong, Zhu Yang's expression suddenly turned somewhat dejected.

People eventually have to accept getting old.

Although his basic strength was as high as twenty-seven, far surpassing Lu and Zhao, he was already old and his blood and energy had long since entered a period of decline. If Lu and Zhao joined forces, he really wasn't 100% confident that he could defeat them.

Moreover, at the advanced age of ninety-three, he didn't have many years left to live. He wanted to keep his old body so that he could seek more benefits for the younger generation of his clan in the Supervisory Council. Naturally, he wanted to take as little action as possible.

It's clearly not worth risking your life for a distant cousin who isn't even in Beishuo City, and who's four or five generations removed from you.

call…………

"what?"

A surge of scorching yang energy suddenly interrupted Zhu Yang's thoughts. He immediately stopped, realizing what was happening, and looked up at the sky with a look of horror on his face.

A man in black was floating above his head.

The man appeared to be middle-aged, with an unremarkable appearance. He had a slender, narrow knife hanging at his waist, and he was looking down at him with a smile.

Suspended high in the air; the surrounding temperature suddenly soared; such an astonishing sight...

After several thoughts flashed through Zhu Yang's mind, his body trembled violently, and without the slightest hesitation, he bowed his head and prostrated himself before the sky.
"Zhu Yang, the head of the Northern Shuo Supervisory Council, pays his respects to the senior!"

Xia Hong deliberately released his aura to save the rest of the steps. Seeing Zhu Yang bow, he slowly descended to a distance of only ten meters from him and asked with a smile, "Don't be nervous. I was just passing by and was curious about your physique. I have a few questions for you."

This is definitely a Yang-level expert!
It's not from Jinshan or Wuchuan, it should be from the six towns in the central and southern regions. How could a Xianyang-level official from the six towns in the central and southern regions come directly to Beishuo without giving any notice?

"As long as the matter you ask is not related to the secrets of Beishuo, I will answer everything I know!"

Although Zhu Yang's mind was racing, he was afraid that Xia Hong would get impatient, so he replied very quickly.

These people from Beishuo are quite loyal!
Seeing that Zhu Yang was already so frightened, yet still gave this answer that was both soft and hard, Xia Hong couldn't help but be a little surprised. He raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled, "Don't worry, I won't pry into your Northern Shuo secrets. Judging from your appearance, you should only have the aptitude of a lower-grade battle body and be at the peak of the Cold Resistance cultivation. You shouldn't have more than 13 manes of strength. How did you get your strength of 27 manes?"

During the skin remodeling stage, a base strength limit between 6 and 8 jin is considered a lower-grade battle body. In other words, when a lower-grade battle body breaks through to the Cold Resistance level, its base strength will not exceed 1.6 jin. Further down the line, the base strength at the peak of the Cold Resistance level will not exceed 12.8 jin. Zhu Yang's strength is clearly illogical.

Zhu Yang was already quite old; if anyone else had pointed out his inferior battle physique aptitude so openly, he would probably have been furious. But Xia Hong had so bluntly exposed him, yet he showed no displeasure. Instead, he paused for a moment, quickly glanced northward, and then explained:

"A few years ago, I spent a huge sum of money to buy 13 Tiger Power Pills from Jinshan Town."

"Tiger Power Pill?"

Although Xia Hong had already guessed, his eyes lit up when he heard the name of the pill, and he continued to question it.

It is not the Xianyang level of the Six Towns of Central and Southern China.

No, they're not even from Mount Mo'ao!

Seeing Xia Hong's reaction, Zhu Yang's mind raced, and he quickly came to this conclusion. He then continued, "Senior should know that after breaking through to the peak of the Cold Resistance level and completing three rounds of flesh and blood reorganization, the strength of the flesh and blood is basically at its limit. If you want to continue to increase your strength, you can only use the medicinal power to temper your bones and break through to the Manifest Yang level."

However, the process of tempering bones is extremely difficult and dangerous, and the resources consumed are terrifying. Many people spend their entire lives trying to break through it, so they can only try to continue to put more effort into their flesh and blood.

While the strength of flesh and blood cannot be increased, some have discovered that widening the meridians between the flesh and blood can also enhance physical strength. However, the strength of meridians at the Cold Resistance level is already far beyond that of ordinary people, so widening them is naturally not so easy.

Currently, there are only four ways to achieve this in the entire Mo'ao Nine Towns: the Tiger Power Pill from Jinshan Town, the Dragon Carp Pill from Jiangxia Town, the Green Cod Pill from Bashang Town, and the secret Twelve Blood Scripture Technique from Muyin Town.

Since it is a closely guarded secret, the method used in Muyin Town is naturally not applicable to the people of the other eight towns.

Tiger Power Pill, Dragon Carp Pill, Green Cod Pill...

Xia Hong silently recited the names of the three pills, his expression brightening slightly.

I'm not sure about the first one, Hulidan, but just by hearing the names of the latter two, and considering the location of Jiangxia and Bashang towns on the east bank of the Xinghe River, I can basically deduce that they are both related to aquatic species.

It seems I should also make time to go and see Xinghe!

"The three towns of Jinshan, Jiangxia, and Bashang are willing to sell these pills to the people of the other six towns. The price must be very high, right?"

The value of this elixir, which can break through the limitations of the peak of the Cold Resistance Battle Body and continue to improve strength, is self-evident. Thinking of Zhu Yang's recent statement that he had spent a huge sum of money to buy the Tiger Power Pill, Xia Hong immediately inquired about its price.

Zhu Yang smiled wryly and cupped his hands, saying, "Tiger Power Pills in Jinshan Town cost 100,000 taels of silver each; Dragon Carp Pills and Green Cod Pills are even more expensive, costing 150,000 taels each."

Gee...

Although he had guessed that the transaction would be conducted in silver, Xia Hong still couldn't help but gasp when he heard the price of Tiger Power Pill. 10 taels to 1 catty, 100,000 taels is 10,000 catties, and the key point is that this is only the price of one pill.

Dragon Carp Dan and Green Cod Dan are 50% more expensive.

After pondering for a moment, Xia Hong frowned slightly and asked, "Did you buy the Tiger Power Pill in Jinshan Town on your own, or did you buy it through the normal trading channels between the two towns?"

This question was obviously a bit sensitive. From Zhu Yang's slightly changed expression, Xia Hong could basically deduce the gist of it, but he didn't bring it up and continued to wait for his answer.

Zhu Yang was worried that Xia Hong would be angry, so he didn't dare to hesitate for too long and gritted his teeth to answer: "To be honest, senior, the Tiger Power Pills that our camp's merchant guild buys through normal trading channels will be sold to us at a 20% premium. I don't have enough money, so to save money, I bought 6 of them from underground merchants."

Hidden merchants?

Seeing Xia Hong's curious gaze, Zhu Yang wasn't surprised at all and immediately offered an explanation:

“The nine towns have open trading channels. Every year from September to October, each town opens a trade channel to facilitate the exchange of goods between them. These are called open merchants. The so-called dark merchants refer to some unscrupulous people who have access to the channels. They can obtain the extra goods traded by each town every year and resell them. Some can even obtain some strictly controlled items. Of course, the prices are ridiculously high.”

In the early years, these shady merchants were quite loosely organized and hadn't amounted to much. In fact, everyone knew that they were just mid-level personnel within their respective towns. So, although all nine towns were cracking down on them, the crackdowns were incomplete, which allowed these shady merchants to gradually collude with each other, form an organization, and eventually gain power.

In recent years, the Dark Merchant organization has become increasingly rampant, openly operating under the banner of the Tenth Town of Mo'ao, and even sending invitations from Yang City to the main cities of the Ninth Town. I myself only had the opportunity to contact the Dark Merchants after receiving an invitation from Yang City fifteen years ago!

The Dark Merchant Organization, the Tenth Town of Mo'ao, the Invitation Letter from Yang City...

Xia Hong pondered for a moment, his expression gradually becoming playful.

To put it bluntly, "underground merchants" and "open merchants" refer to smuggling and official transactions.

These two are inherently in conflict; smuggling infringes on the interests of the town, and all nine towns must crack down on it severely.

In the early years, only the middle-level members of each town participated, and the Nine Towns did not crack down on them thoroughly, so they became powerful. Now, this dark merchant organization has begun to openly infiltrate the main cities of each town under the banner of the Tenth Town of Mo'ao, and the Nine Towns still have not been able to eliminate it.

"With high-level involvement, it's highly likely that one or more towns are backing them up. These nine towns of Mo'ao are quite interesting!"

The Nine Towns have normal trading channels, which have been in place for many years. Considering this dark merchant organization, the information Lu Yang sent back three years ago is basically correct, except for the time span.

Over the past few decades, the nine towns have traded, intermarried, formed alliances, and made treaties with each other, creating a complex relationship where each is intertwined with the other. Anyone who dares to lightly threaten to destroy a town will inevitably cause a ripple effect and ignite the entire situation.

Currently, the Nine Towns maintain an extremely delicate balance. No one dares to make a rash move until they have the strength to absolutely crush the other eight towns.

This is clearly much more complicated than the situation in Longshan back then!
Will the arrival of the Great Xia Dynasty directly disrupt this balance?
Xia Hong suppressed the ambition that was growing deep in his eyes, then looked down at Zhu Yang, a hint of killing intent flashing across his face, but it quickly subsided, and he slowly spoke:

"You're a smart person, aren't you?"

"Don't worry, senior. I'm ninety-three years old this year and don't have many years left. It's better to avoid trouble than to cause trouble for myself. I didn't encounter anything today, nor did I mention anything to anyone!"

Zhu Yang immediately knelt on the ground, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. Although Xia Hong's murderous intent had vanished in an instant, he had still keenly sensed it.

He knew, of course, what Xia Hong was worried about.

Xia Hong's questions have already exposed his identity as someone from outside the region.

Even after repeatedly assuring him, he was still worried that Xia Hong might suddenly kill him, so he quickly knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing, begging, "Senior, spare my life..."

People really do get more afraid of death as they get older!

Seeing Zhu Yang's pathetic, pleading posture, Xia Hong immediately shook his head.

"Alright, I never intended to kill you. I advise you not to tell anyone about what happened today. Trust me, we'll have opportunities to deal with each other in the future!"

Xia Hong's last sentence was clearly laced with a threat.

He didn't care whether Zhu Yang on the ground understood or not. After speaking, he transformed into a streak of fire and flew into the sky, speeding away towards the east.

Zhu Yang clearly realized that Xia Hong had left, but he stubbornly continued to kneel on the ground for another hundred breaths. Only when he felt that Xia Hong was really far away did he slowly stand up from the ground.

"A Manifestation-level being from beyond this realm? I must have had the worst luck imaginable!"

His face still showed lingering fear, then he realized something and suddenly looked in the direction Xia Hong had left, his pupils filled with a hint of terror.

"Flying east, where is he planning to go? Could it be..."

He gritted his teeth, lifted his leg, and quickly followed to the east.

Xia Hong's trip is, of course, to Beishuo City!

According to the map sent back by Lu Yang, Beishuo City should be located due east-northeast of Beining Mountain, about 200 kilometers away from Dongling.

As Xia Hong flew towards Beishuo, he observed the route and the situation of the camps below. He noticed that some of the larger camps were connected by bluestone roads, and the roads were not covered by snow. His eyes lit up slightly.

“This bluestone road should be maintained in sections, with each camp responsible for its own small section. Although the construction and maintenance costs are higher than in the Great Xia, it would be much more cost-effective to distribute the work among so many camps!”

Actually, that calculation isn't correct either.

Things are different now. When the Great Xia builds straight roads, although it mainly uses wood, iron is still used for piling and key joints.

Moreover, Mu Dong's craftsmen department introduced a new regulation two years ago, which stipulates that when building straight roads, two different specifications of five meters and eight meters will be used depending on the importance of the station.

Five meters and eight meters both refer to the width of a straight road.

The wider the straight road, the more people it can accommodate, the larger the vehicles it can carry, and the more supplies and troops it can transport at once, which is easy to understand.

The Great Xia's current outposts are divided into two levels, large and small. Large outposts such as Longshan and Wuyuan have established eight subordinate offices. They send more supplies to Xia City every month and have more frequent personnel exchanges, so an eight-meter-wide straight road needs to be built.

Small outposts like Beehive, Xiling, and Songyuan don't supply as many materials to Xia City, so they only need a straight road that's five meters wide.

“The construction cost of an eight-meter-wide straight road may not be lower than that of this bluestone road. Moreover, the maintenance of the straight road requires the Great Xia to provide its own personnel, while the Northern Shuo can basically do without any maintenance of the bluestone road. So each has its advantages and disadvantages, right?”

and……

Xia Hong glanced at the surroundings below, a look of understanding flashing in his eyes.

The area of ​​Beishuo is mostly composed of bluestone mountains, and the construction of bluestone roads is obviously partly due to the availability of materials nearby.

"From the bluestone path, we can roughly see that this supervision system is actually about transferring some of the resource authority to these village-level camps so that they can be self-reliant while providing the town with a continuous supply of resources and sustenance."

With the town's reduced productivity, most of the resources that are transferred will eventually flow back to the town through transactions. The population cap of 100,000 also prevents these village-level camps from becoming too powerful.

This eliminates security concerns, saves significant management costs, reduces resource pressure on the town, and prevents the town's power from being unable to concentrate due to the large controlled territory, thus allowing more energy to be focused on improving the town's strength.

The system is indeed excellent; no wonder the other eight towns followed suit...

Unfortunately, this doesn't apply to the Great Xia Dynasty, or rather, it's not applicable at present.

The supervisory system was first created by Yang Zun. After Beishuo took the lead in applying it, the other eight towns saw that it was effective and followed suit.

Regardless of strength, in terms of the area of ​​its jurisdiction alone, Daxia is much larger than any of the Nine Towns, and should be more suitable for adopting a supervisory system.

Xia Hong said it was not applicable for three reasons:
Firstly, with the existence of the system, the efficiency of resource utilization in the Great Xia far exceeds that of the Nine Towns. Transferring resources to other camps is far less profitable than the Great Xia holding onto them directly.
Secondly, unlike the Nine Towns which are adjacent to each other and need to be wary of each other, the current territory of Great Xia has no security concerns, so there is no need to worry about the fact that the territory is too large and the power of Xia City will be too dispersed. The fact that Xia Chuan deliberately slowed down the pace of building up the army is clear evidence of this.
Thirdly, the biggest reason for adopting the supervisory system in the nine towns is to alleviate the resource pressure on the towns. To be honest, the Great Xia, which possesses three major resource areas—Longshan, Arrow Bamboo Forest, and Redwood Ridge—is not facing too much resource pressure at this stage. This is even with the Great Xia setting the prices of cultivation resources such as beast meat and beast blood extremely low. If the prices were tightened a little, it would definitely be more than enough to supply more than 800,000 people.

Just because something is not applicable at the present stage does not mean it will never be applicable in the future.

"According to the plan for the last round of expansion of Xia City, the population carrying capacity is about seven million. Even if Yangxu Cauldron continues to be upgraded and the range of its warming radiation can be expanded, Xia City cannot continue to expand indefinitely. There will eventually be an end to it. When Xia City can no longer expand, this monitoring system will probably come in handy!"

Just as when he first came into contact with the Hive Camp, Xia Hong immediately considered the advantages and disadvantages of the elite system. When he first set foot in the territory of Mo'ao Nine Towns, Xia Hong observed and pondered whether the surveillance system could be used by the Great Xia. He quickly came to his own conclusion.

Despite his past life experiences, Xia Hong was not about to blindly underestimate those who could survive in the cruel icy abyss.

Especially in places like Jiuzhen, which not only survived and continued to thrive but also developed into such a powerful place, there are definitely things that the Great Xia should learn from them.

No matter how clever Xia Hong is, his wisdom is limited. Only by constantly broadening his horizons, learning from the strengths of others, and taking into account the specific circumstances of the camp at this stage, can he find the system that is most conducive to the development of Great Xia.

When the other eight towns saw that Beishuo's supervisory system was good, didn't they all immediately follow suit and learn from it?
If they can do it, then so can the Great Xia.

While Xia Hong was pondering, his flight speed never decreased. Realizing that he had flown nearly two hundred kilometers to the east, he immediately landed on the ground, suppressed his aura, and continued to approach his destination on foot.

Lu Yang had already sent the complete map of the Northern Shuo territory, including the general maps of the other nine towns, back to Xia City, so Xia Hong knew the exact location of the Northern Shuo City very well. After walking another three or four kilometers, a majestic black iron city wall, roughly running north-south and about fifteen kilometers long, slowly came into view.

More than eight years have passed since Yang and Li visited Hongmuling.

Eight years later, Xia Hong finally saw the legendary Beishuo City with his own eyes. Although the city was still somewhat smaller than that of Daxia, it was the first time he had seen a town-level camp of the same scale as Daxia. Xia Hong was still slightly dazed.

"It's about five kilometers from here to the city wall. The main gate of Beishuo is on the east side, facing the direction of Mo'ao Mountain, so the west side should be the back gate. It shouldn't be difficult for me to sneak into the city from the north side of the city wall."

Although Lu Yang had already learned a lot about Bei Shuo, Xia Hong still wanted to see for himself, so he changed direction and went around to the north, and then continued to approach the city wall from the south.

However, after walking two kilometers, his expression suddenly froze slightly.

"Why is the size of this city wall still the same?"

The farther away something is, the larger it appears. Logically, the closer Xia Hong got, the larger the scale of the city wall should have seemed.

But now, after walking two kilometers forward, the north wall in his eyes is still the same size as before.

Xia Hong frowned, first observing the surrounding environment, then quickly leaping forward two kilometers before looking up at the city wall again, his eyes suddenly narrowing.

The surrounding environment has changed, but the size of the city wall remains the same.

What happened to the four kilometers he just walked?

Xia Hong suddenly realized something, and a faint light quietly gathered in his left eye.

call…………

However, before he could even get a good look, a violent, raging wind suddenly pressed down from above.

"Something's definitely fishy!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Xia Hong drew the narrow knife from his waist. Instead of holding it above his head to block, he revealed a fierce glint in his eyes, leaped into the air, and, facing the wind above, suddenly raised his hand and slashed.

A silver spear suddenly descended from the sky, its tip aimed directly at Xia Hong's head.

The power of the spear's owner was clearly terrifying, stirring up the airflow within a radius of two or three miles. Centered on the spear tip, it directly formed an arc-shaped vacuum zone. Not to mention the snowflakes, even all the surrounding trees were instantly destroyed by the shockwave and exploded in all directions.

However, Xia Hong forced back such a tremendous attack!
Xia Hong's upward slash was no less powerful than the long spear. The silver-white blade rose from the ground, sweeping up the snow and instantly raising a snow mist hundreds of meters high. Not only did it fill the vacuum created by the other man, but it also struck the handle of his long spear first.

The owner of the long spear clearly hadn't expected Xia Hong to be so strong. Just as the blade was about to strike, he suddenly twisted the spear, using the hardest part of the spearhead to catch Xia Hong's blow.

Clang...

After a clash of swords and spears in mid-air, the attacker was forced to retreat more than a hundred meters.

The shockwaves generated during the clash instantly dispelled all the snow mist that Xia Hong had just raised. The two, hovering in mid-air and only a hundred meters apart, naturally saw each other's faces clearly at this moment.

The owner of the long spear was a tall, thin middle-aged man. He wore a golden silk robe, had a calm face, sharp eyes, and an extraordinary demeanor.

The silver spear in his hand was about ten feet long. It was not the traditional horse spear that Xia Hong remembered. Instead, it was like a spear with a point, but with a half-meter-long, thick, heavy hammer at the front. The hammer was covered with silver spikes, and it was shaped like a mace, similar to the Zaoyang spear.

"His strength of over four hundred bristles isn't particularly strong. The fact that he can manipulate the airflow within a radius of several miles is thanks to the uniquely shaped long spear in his hand. It should be made of pure silver and weigh over a million catties!"

A silver weapon weighing over a million pounds, compressed to this size—Xia Hong could almost certainly conclude that the long spear in the opponent's hand was definitely of the 100,000-forge grade.

He looked down at the nick in the Dragon Sparrow Blade in his hand, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The original Dragon Sparrow sword had long been broken by Li Xuanling. The Dragon Sparrow sword that Xia Hong is holding now was personally forged by Mu Dong and his men three years ago.

"The outer layer was covered with 90,000 catties of silver, and the inside was made of 100,000-ton grade iron, with a total weight of more than 500,000 catties. A breach appeared after just one battle."

Thank goodness I didn't bring the Frostblood Blade with me; if I had, it would have been even more embarrassing.

"A surprise attack without any provocation—is this how Northern Shuo treats its guests?"

Seeing that the other party was staring at him warily, Xia Hong had some guesses about his identity, but he did not reveal them. Instead, he asked him why he had attacked him.

"Without any reason? Hmph, the Nine Towns have an agreement that anyone at the Xianyang level who crosses borders to another town must report to the other party in advance. You don't seem to be a newly advanced cultivator, so you must know the rules. You've come here to spy for no reason, and you're hiding your face and not daring to show your true identity. What right do you have to talk about the hospitality of my Northern Shuo?"

………………

Xia Hong's expression froze. After all, they were both at the Xianyang level, so he wasn't surprised that the other party saw through his disguise. What surprised him was that Jiuzhen actually had such an agreement in private.

He instantly remembered why Zhu Yang had made that expression when he appeared in front of him.

Xia Hong pondered for a moment, then removed the vermilion wooden mask from his face. With a hint of apology, he said, "Zhao Zheng of the Great Qin Dynasty is new to Mount Mo'ao and unfamiliar with the rules of the Nine Towns. Please forgive me!"

Upon hearing this, the man opposite him frowned slightly, carefully examined Xia Hong's face, and realized that he was not from Jiuzhen. His expression immediately became more vigilant.

“Yang Fa of Beishuo, since you are not from the Nine Towns, let’s just consider today’s matter a misunderstanding. However, I would like to advise you that if you are just passing through this area, you should not linger in any place and wantonly spy on other people’s city defenses. This is not a glorious act. If my brother were here today, you probably wouldn’t be able to leave so easily.”

But since Xia Hong had apologized first, Yang Fa thought for a moment, then cupped his hands and introduced himself. His subsequent words practically screamed "I'm not welcome," and he even went so far as to ask him to leave.

Xia Hong had just guessed that the person in front of him should be Yang Fa.

According to the news Lu Yang sent back, Beishuo was started by the three Yang brothers. The eldest brother, Yang Zun, was the first to break through to the Xianyang level and was also the strongest. The second brother, Yang Fa, broke through more than 20 years ago and was slightly weaker, but he was the one who actually led the government of Beishuo. The last one, the third brother, Yang Jian, is said to be 95 years old and probably has no hope of breaking through in this lifetime.

Yang Fa's vigilance was clearly at its peak. He had no intention of saying much to me, and he didn't seem interested in the Qin camp I had fabricated, nor did he ask any questions about it.

This rendered all of Xia Hong's previous preparations futile. After standing there for a moment in a daze, he shook his head and said, "Since Brother Yang is not welcoming, then I, Zhao, will leave now. However, I have a question in my mind. Could you please enlighten me, Brother Yang?"

Seeing Xia Hong's gaze sweep towards the city wall, Yang Fa was taken aback for a moment, but after thinking for a while, he still answered, "Just an ordinary nightmare. Brother Zhao, have you not encountered one in this Qin camp yet?"

This Yang Fa actually wanted to probe my background from the opposite direction...

Clearly, the other party didn't believe him at all when he introduced himself.

We really shouldn't underestimate the nine towns of Mo'ao!
Xia Hong's expression hardened slightly, and he said nothing more. He simply gave Yang Fa a deep look, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you for your explanation, Brother Yang. I'll be leaving now."

After saying that, he got up and flew away to the north.

Yang Fa stood there, watching Xia Hong leave, before a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.

"The name Zhao Zheng of Qin is most likely fabricated. This person is so strong, yet he doesn't know about the Nightmare Demon, which proves that the strength of his camp is not too strong. He's too impatient to start spying on my Northern Shuo in the south so early. I should advise my elder brother to expand the territory to the north as soon as possible. We should be dealing with this person again soon."

………………

"Nightmare creatures, are they related to nightmare spirits..."

Xia Hong flew north for more than ten kilometers to confirm that Yang Fa was not following him before changing course and flying west.

Although his trip to Beishuo was not smooth, it served as a wake-up call for him. He should not underestimate the Mo'ao Nine Towns. Unlike the conquest of Longyou in the second year of the Great Xia Dynasty, it was clear that it would not be so easy for the Great Xia to expand its territory to the Nine Towns.

Of course, he was thinking about the word "nightmare" that Yang Fa had just mentioned.

Yang Fadu has started to probe his background from the opposite direction. If he continues to ask, he will only expose more information, so he can only rely on guessing.

Xia Hong first learned about the specific classification of these five types of monsters—Craftsman, Nightmare, Fierce, God, and Demon—from Yang and Li. As Lu Yang and Bei Shuo had more and more contact over the past three years, Xia Hong has now gained a considerable understanding of these five types of monsters.

"Nightmare originated from the five most common dream contents of humans during the ancient Yuanji period: being trapped, getting lost, falling from a height, being chased, and beautiful women. The first three are related to the terrain and are often transformed by fierce earth spirits, while some are attached to some special objects."

The signs I just observed can be categorized into the first three types. In other words, the wall of Beishuo was most likely originally a Nightmare Demon, which Yang Zun killed and used as the wall of Beishuo?

A hint of curiosity immediately rose in Xia Hong's eyes. The function of the city wall was obviously not just to make people get lost. It should also have the function of preventing others from spying on it. It could even detect his cultivation level of Manifestation Yang.

Yang Fa's strength was inferior to his own. He was at least five kilometers away from Beishuo City, so Yang Fa definitely couldn't detect him. The only explanation was that the city wall had a very wide surveillance range, and it detected him before he even landed.

“It seems that each town-level camp has its own unique features, and we can no longer casually try to spy on them. Given Yang Fa’s cautious nature, I’ve already directly antagonized Bei Shuo. I probably won’t be able to sneak in again in the future. I need to learn from this lesson, otherwise, if I’ve already antagonized too many towns before even arriving, it will be even more difficult for Da Xia to expand eastward in the future.”

Xia Hong took a deep breath, looked at the faint light appearing in the sky, and continued heading towards Dongling.

………………

September 16th, 131st year of the Moo calendar.

Lu Yang and his group returned from Zhuling before dawn.

Of course, they weren't the only ones who returned.

There are also four hostages: Zhu Baixu, Bai Wuji, Wan Qingyu, and Nie Shen.

"Can we only live in the houses next to the main building?"

"We are all disciples of Chief Lu, and we can't even get into the main building?"

"Didn't you say we'd be treated the same? Why won't you let us into the main building?"

………………

At this moment, Zhu Baixu and his four hostages were in a room a hundred meters away from the main building, constantly grumbling.

The four of them were all sons of leaders, and they were used to being pampered in the camp. Although they came to Dongling as hostages, Lu Yang still gave them the status of disciples and personally promised that their cultivation resources would be the same as those in the camp.

When they arrived, they discovered that they had been assigned to a location far from the main building and were explicitly forbidden from entering it.

The main building is the most important place in all the camps and the core of power. Whether one can live there or come and go freely are all symbols of status. The four of them are all sons of lords, so how could they not understand this principle? That's why they are so indignant.

“The treatment was the same from the start. None of us could go to the main building. Only the leader and the eight officers, as well as the more than five hundred people who had fled from the north with him, could enter the main building.”

As the four were grumbling, a voice suddenly came from deep inside the room. When they looked up, they found that there was another person lying on the bed inside.

"It's not even a four-person room, it's a five-person room!"

Zhu Baixu was on the verge of a breakdown.

Bai Wuji glared fiercely at the person inside and asked sternly, "Who are you? Do you have the right to live with us?"

The person on the bed stood up gently and walked to the four people.

He looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old, with a mature air about him, and was noticeably more composed than Zhu Baixu and the other three.

Looking at the four of them, a smile appeared on his face. He cupped his hands and said, "I am your senior brother, Lu Yun. My four junior brothers, I look forward to your guidance in the future!"

Senior Brother, Lu Yun.

He is also Lu Yang's apprentice!
Zhu Baixu was about to continue questioning when Lu Yun spoke first, saying, "Since all four junior brothers have recently joined the sect, they should be ranked in order. How about we rank them by age?"

Upon hearing that the order should be based on age, the youngest, Wan Qingyu, immediately objected, saying, "We all make a living with our fists, how can we be ranked by age? Whoever is stronger should be ranked first."

"I think we can compare heights."

Bai Wuji, who was clearly much taller than the other three, immediately drew criticism from them as soon as he opened his mouth.

Lu Yun, who was originally at the center of the argument, now stood to the side, watching the four of them bicker and joke around, his face full of smiles.

"Master said that if I can change the original temperament of these four people within the next five years, I will be given the right to freely enter and leave the main building. I must do it. Only by entering the main building can I be considered a true Dongling person!"

The matter of the main building is not only a concern for Zhu Baixu and his three companions; almost all of the more than 10,000 people in Dongling are currently holding a grudge.

For the past three years, everyone could see that Lu Yang only considered the five hundred-plus people as his own. He barely paid attention to the rest of the people Bai Songhe had brought in, and even the distribution of animal meat was done outside the main building.

Only by entering the main building can one be considered a true Dongling person.

I don't know when it started, but this saying has been circulating in the camp.

"The five people who came here a while ago—Zhao Yuanshan, Xiao Yan, Luo Cheng, Luo An, and Zou Ping—could come and go from the main building at will. I originally thought they were all relying on connections, but it turns out they are all so strong!"

Lu Yun turned to look at Zhu Baixu and the other three, his pupils widening in shock as he recalled what he had just heard about Zhu Ling's martial arts competition the previous night.

His basic strength is only 28,000. The problem is that he is already eighteen years old this year. Not to mention compared with Luo An and the others, even compared with Zhu Baixu and the other three in front of him, his aptitude is obviously inferior.

The five people, including Zhao Yuanshan, who only arrived in Dongling last month, were all under the age of fifteen, yet they were able to defeat all the geniuses from the other seven families in Beining Mountain with an absolute crushing force. Just how strong must their talents be?
At this moment, Lu Yun finally understood why those five young men could freely enter and leave the main building.

"The strength of Master's original camp was unimaginably powerful. I heard that these five people also fled here later. Maybe there are still many strong people in that camp who are still alive. Master may go back to rebuild his home in the future. I must become stronger as soon as possible, otherwise Master will definitely not take me with him when he goes back!"

As Lu Yang's disciple, Lu Yun's understanding of his master far surpassed that of the others in the camp, so he already had his own plans in mind.

Lu Yun put aside his thoughts and continued to patiently guide Zhu Baixu and the other three.

………………

　There will be another chapter later, it's quite long, please forgive me!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)