Chapter 134: The Entire Hunting Team Breaks Through

The panic brought by the strange creature spread visibly through the camp.

Even though everyone knew the valley’s perimeter was guarded by congealed fire oil, fear still crept uncontrollably into their hearts.

Those who hadn’t yet broken through the Woodcutting Realm and were only assigned to guard the camp felt this way—how much more so for the members of the Woodcutting and Gathering Teams who had to go out?

There was no helping it; the trauma left by the wooden puppet strange had cast shadows over everyone’s minds. Even their leader, Xia Hong, felt unease—how much more so for them?

Aside from a few naive children, everyone’s hearts felt shrouded in gloom, their moods no longer as light as before.

Under these circumstances, the entire camp naturally lost much of its laughter and cheer, the atmosphere growing tense and oppressive.

Xia Hong was not surprised by this atmosphere.

When he had ordered Xia Chuan to announce the strange creature’s presence, he had already anticipated this.

This tense, oppressive atmosphere, in the short term, brought many benefits.

First, the caution displayed by the Woodcutting and Gathering Teams when venturing out had increased dramatically compared to before; they took congealed fire oil and torches without needing any reminder from the Camp Supply Office.

When going out, they strictly followed Xia Hong’s rule of ten per group and never strayed beyond each other’s sight—problems had become far fewer than before.

Second, the camp’s overall vigilance had risen rapidly.

The gate guards were now rigorously enforcing checks, astonishingly strict; a dedicated patrol team had been formed to circle the valley; anyone returning from outside underwent layer upon layer of inspections, tightened to the extreme.

There was no choice—fear of the strange creature had been carved into their bones.

Better safe than sorry; the experiences of the Great Xia, Great Shi, and Luo Yuan camps were still fresh in memory. If a strange creature slipped in, it wouldn’t be a matter of just a few deaths.

Finally, there was cultivation.

This tense, oppressive atmosphere made Xia Hong and the eight Earth-Digging Realm cultivators, along with the Hunting, Woodcutting, Gathering, and Reserve teams, cultivate with far greater diligence and effort than before—from top to bottom, everyone in the camp.

The number of people breaking through to Earth-Digging Realm in the following days proved it.

Upon learning of the new strange creature on the seventeenth of the first month, after ordering Xia Chuan to spread the news, Xia Hong immediately gathered all existing Earth-Digging Realm cultivators in the camp and went straight to the forge.

Whether due to the pressure from the news or not, Hong Gang, who was expected to break through in about ten days, broke through the very next day.

Before Hong Gang’s breakthrough was even settled, two days later, Li Pingkai, Ying Xuan, and Yue Feng broke through simultaneously.

When the news spread, the Earth-Digging Realm cultivators in the forge erupted into heated discussion.

“These four were all estimated to take ten days—yet they broke through in just three.”

“The Hunting Team has fifteen members—now only Qiu Peng, Zhu Shun, and Zou Yuankai haven’t broken through!”

“Twelve Earth-Digging Realm cultivators—once the leader breaks through Cold-Resisting Level, even the Mirror Immortal Camp won’t scare us.”

“Many have also broken through Woodcutting Realm recently—I estimate we’re close to three hundred now?”

“Not quite—283. But the trend suggests it’s coming soon!”

Hearing Xia Chuan report 283 Woodcutting Realm cultivators, Yuan Cheng’s spirits lifted. He turned to Xia Hong, still hammering at the bow blank, and suggested: “Leader, we can enter the inner zone and check out the mid-tier cold beasts.”

At his words, everyone turned to look, their faces filled with anticipation.

They all knew the key to breaking through Cold-Resisting Level was the blood of a mid-tier cold beast.

Everyone understood: whether it was the aggressive, boastful Mirror Immortal Camp or this newly appeared, unknown strange creature, Great Xia’s current strength was utterly insufficient to handle either.

That’s why everyone had been frantically cultivating and improving during this time.

But cultivation aside, they also knew Great Xia’s total population was limited—no matter how many Earth-Digging or Woodcutting Realm cultivators they had, one Cold-Resisting Level master was worth more than all of them.

In short, not just these people, but every single member of the camp was now eagerly awaiting Xia Hong’s breakthrough to Cold-Resisting Level.

It can be said that right now, not just these people, but everyone in the camp is eagerly awaiting Xia Hong’s breakthrough to the Cold-Resistant Rank.

Hearing Yuan Cheng’s words, Xia Hong kept hammering without pause, only replying in a low, steady voice: “Entering Redwood Ridge isn’t urgent. Wait a few more days—first finish forging the bows. Mid-tier cold beasts aren’t something to joke about.”

At his words, everyone remembered the Rat King they’d seen before and nodded.

Judging by the power the Rat King had displayed after being poisoned, hunting a mid-tier cold beast would likely be extraordinarily difficult. Without proper preparation, they might not just fail—they might die.

Xia Hong suppressed everyone’s urge to leave and stayed in the camp, spending each day between the forge and the mine.

The twelve Earth-Digging Realm cultivators, whether mining or forging, were now far more efficient than before; even without his direct participation, the system’s iron ore reserves increased by over 400 units daily.

Four days later, on the twenty-fourth of the first month, Great Xia Year One.

Something even more astonishing happened.

“Leader! Good news!”

“Come in.”

Xia Hong, training on the third floor, heard Xia Chuan’s voice outside and immediately stopped. He sat down on the main seat.

The door opened, and Xia Chuan walked in, beaming, followed by three others.

Seeing the three, Xia Hong didn’t wait for Xia Chuan to speak—he rose from his chair at once.

Before Xiaochuan could speak, Xiaohong had already guessed upon seeing the three men, and immediately stood up from his chair.

“Leader, we’ve fulfilled our duty!” The three bowed deeply, their voices filled with excitement.

The three Xia Chuan brought were Zou Yuankai, Qiu Peng, and Zhu Shun—the last three members of the Hunting Team who hadn’t broken through.

Xia Hong had previously suspected that, aside from the first six, the remaining Hunting Team members had roughly equal starting points, and their breakthroughs wouldn’t differ greatly in timing.

Sure enough, their breakthroughs came just four days after the previous group.

“Good. Xia Chuan, notify all Hunting Team members to collect their bows from the Camp Supply Office. Tonight, we head to Redwood Ridge—together, we’ll see what mid-tier cold beasts are like.”

“Good, Xiaochuan, go notify all members of the hunting team to collect bows from the camp supply office; tonight, come with me to Redwood Ridge and experience firsthand the intermediate cold beasts.”

Xia Chuan nodded eagerly—he’d been waiting long enough.

Zou Yuankai and the other two, having just broken through and now joining Xia Hong to enter the inner zone and witness mid-tier cold beasts, were even more thrilled.

Luo Yuan, Yuan Cheng, the Zhao Long brothers, Huang Yong… the entire Hunting Team quickly gathered at the second-floor Camp Supply Office warehouse upon Xia Chuan’s call.

“Collect bows? Isn’t it just applying congealed fire oil and carrying a few torches? We already have five-stone bows—why collect more?”

Hong Gang, hot-tempered as ever, blurted out. Beside him, Yue Feng and the others who broke through with him also looked puzzled.

Since the last time they forged the ten-thousand-jin iron-core bow, the Camp Supply Office had standardized measurements: one stone = one thousand jin. A five-thousand-jin iron-core bow was called a five-stone bow; ten thousand jin was ten stones. Hong Gang and the others had already used these terms within days.

But Luo Yuan, Yuan Cheng, and Zhao Long chuckled quietly—they’d spent days with Xia Hong in the forge and knew more than Hong Gang.

“Gentlemen, the bows, congealed fire oil, and torches are all ready.”

Shi Ping walked out with several Camp Supply Office staff, distributing fifteen pitch-black iron-core bows and a quiver of arrows to everyone.

The instant Hong Gang took his bow, his expression froze.

“Hahahaha! Now that you’ve broken through Earth-Digging Realm, five-stone bows won’t cut it. The leader ordered you to collect ten-stone bows—and these arrows are specially made, seven jin each.”

The later-breakthrough Earth-Digging Realm cultivators, including Hong Gang, finally understood. They ran their hands over their new bows, faces alight with excitement.

“Don’t get too excited yet. These ten-stone iron-core bows are only temporary loans for hunting. If you want to keep them, you’ll need to exchange them for contribution points like everyone else—2,000 points. Not a single point less!”

Xia Chuan’s words instantly silenced everyone. All turned simultaneously toward Luo Yuan, their eyes filled with envy.

“Don’t get too excited—these ten-stone iron-body bows are only temporarily issued for hunting purposes; if you want to keep them, you’ll have to exchange them for contribution points like everyone else—2,000 points, not a single point less!”

Luo Yuan grinned slyly and deliberately displayed his bow to the group.

“Don’t get cocky. Tonight, if we take down a few low-tier cold beasts, my contribution points will be enough to exchange for a ten-stone iron-core bow.”

Luo Yuan grinned slyly and deliberately showed off his bow to everyone.

The Zhao Long brothers were the most eager for the ten-stone bow. Seeing Luo Yuan show off, they couldn’t help but speak up.

“Enough. Make sure you’ve packed everything. The monthly rental fee for a ten-stone iron-core bow is 50 contribution points. Keep it safe out there—don’t lose it.”

Hearing the rental fee, no one cared.

The five-stone bow cost 10 points monthly. Though the ten-stone bow’s fee was five times higher, its effectiveness was far greater.

From their previous battle against the rodent swarm, they knew: with proper use, even two men with ten-stone bows could cooperate to hunt low-tier cold beasts.

A single low-tier cold beast yielded at least two to three hundred contribution points.

At that rate, a 50-point monthly rental was an incredible bargain.

A low-level cold beast is worth at least two to three hundred contribution points.

Xia Chuan suddenly looked toward the door, his expression turning solemn.

Everyone turned at the sound and saw Xia Hong entering from outside. They immediately fell silent and bowed respectfully.

Xia Hong, his waist adorned with the ceremonial knife, nodded to the group, then stepped forward to take a bow and arrows, applied congealed fire oil, and turned to ask:

The others turned at the sound and saw Xiaohong walking in from outside; they immediately fell silent and respectfully bowed to him.

Xiaohong, with his ceremonial saber hanging at his waist, first nodded to everyone, then stepped forward to take a bow and arrows, slung them over his back, applied the flame-gel oil, and turned to ask the group:

“Tonight, we’ll enter Redwood Ridge—possibly deeper than a thousand paces. Stay alert. I won’t tolerate any mishaps. You’ve only seen the long-tailed Rat King among mid-tier cold beasts; others may be just as strong. Be cautious inside. Follow my orders. Understood?”

“Understood!”

The fifteen Earth-Digging Realm cultivators shouted in unison, their voices thunderous, shaking the wooden walls of the room.

These fifteen men had hunted together for over half a year—Xia Hong trusted them completely.

Normally, to venture beyond a thousand paces into Redwood Ridge in search of mid-tier cold beasts, the group should be smaller. But because he trusted them, Xia Hong brought all fifteen.

Moreover, Xia Hong’s goal wasn’t merely to find mid-tier cold beasts.

Normally, to venture deeper than a thousand meters into Redwood Ridge in search of intermediate cold beasts, the group should be kept small; if not for his trust in them, Xiaohong wouldn’t have brought so many people along at once.

Otherwise, why had he forged thirteen ten-thousand-jin iron-core bows all at once?

“Alright. Let’s go!”

Xia Hong gave the order and led the way downstairs.

The fifteen fully equipped men hurried after him.

Amid the admiring and envious gazes of everyone in the camp, the sixteen departed the valley, vanishing into the night, swiftly heading toward Redwood Ridge.

(End of Chapter)

Amid the envious and reverent gazes of everyone in the camp, the sixteen walked out of the valley together, blending into the night, swiftly moving toward Hongmu Ridge.

(End of Chapter)