Chapter 143: Mining Competition, Hunting Begins [Combined Triple Chapter]

All camp members, henceforth, when going out, will not receive contribution points.

The logging team must bring back at least ten thousand jin each night;

The gathering team, at least five thousand jin;

Personnel from the camp supply depot and the craftsman’s workshop, as long as they have no urgent tasks, must also go out to cut wood;

Including myself, all fifteen members of the hunting team, from now on, except when accompanying the leader on hunts, must spend all other time mining—even during meals and sleep, we must remain inside the mine…………

After leaving Xia Hong’s room, Xia Chuan immediately gathered Mu Dong, Cheng Feng, Bai Dongying, and all members of the hunting team.

All members of the hunting team attended, except Zou Yuankai, who was too severely injured to rise; even Zhu Shun, who could barely walk, showed up.

Upon hearing Xia Chuan’s new regulations, everyone’s faces showed confusion.

It wasn’t that the task was difficult—though Da Xia had not yet widely adopted iron tools, saws and axes for felling were still readily available.

Most logging team members already had one each.

Ten thousand jin of wood, calculated by the weight of the smallest trees in Hongmu Ridge, amounted to just two trees.

Cutting two trees in one night was not too hard for someone at the Logging Realm.

The problem was carrying the wood back; wood being such a massive object, even with two people working together, they could manage at most two round trips in a night—ten thousand jin, though not at the absolute limit of a Logging Realm cultivator, was close enough.

“Xia Chuan, aren’t we not short of wood resources?”

Bai Dongying was the first to speak—he was the logging team captain, and Xia Chuan’s decision needed to be communicated to all logging team members.

This sudden change meant he had to understand the reason clearly.

As soon as he spoke, Cheng Feng, captain of the gathering team, also spoke up:

“My lord, one tree is negligible for the gathering team, but given the camp’s current logging efficiency, if so many people cut trees recklessly, the valley will be completely filled in just a few days—will we even need that much wood?”

Though the fourteen hunting team members said nothing, most of their eyes held confusion—they clearly didn’t understand either.

Wood wasn’t lacking in the camp, and iron and coal mines shouldn’t require such frantic extraction; the previous frantic mining was due to the rodent swarms.

Lately, there hadn’t been any urgent need for such desperate extraction, had there?

No, there was something urgent lately.

Isn’t the leader currently breaking through to the Cold-Resistant Realm?

At this thought, all hunting team members suddenly froze, a suspicion rising in their hearts—they all looked up at Xia Chuan.

“Chuan, are these resources for the leader’s breakthrough?”

Not just Luo Yuan—everyone, remembering Xia Chuan had been the last to come down from the building, linked these resources directly to the leader’s breakthrough.

Cheng Feng and Bai Dongying were puzzled, but seeing the hunting team members’ serious expressions, they immediately realized there might be a connection and turned their gazes to Xia Chuan.

“That’s right!”

Xia Chuan had no intention of hiding it—he nodded directly and continued in a low voice:

“For the leader to break through to the Cold-Resistant Realm, besides needing massive quantities of mid-grade cold beast blood, he also requires vast resources—wood, coal, and iron all needed. During this period, all other camp activities may be paused; we need only focus on gathering the resources required for the leader’s breakthrough!”

Upon hearing this, Luo Yuan immediately nodded, his expression solemn: “Of course—we’ve already fallen out with the Mirror Immortal Camp, which has two Cold-Resistant Realm experts stationed there. The sooner the leader becomes a Cold-Resistant Realm expert, the stronger our own standing will be!”

Yuan Cheng also nodded heavily and said solemnly: “If it’s for the leader’s breakthrough, no further words are needed. Our hunting team members, when accompanying the leader on hunts, have always merely assisted him—mining has always been our main duty. If we can ease his burden, I won’t hesitate.”

All hunting team members nodded, their faces showing approval.

Indeed, whenever they went out hunting with Xia Hong, they could only serve as assistants, offering mere support—the real risk and direct combat with cold beasts always fell to Xia Hong.

Even when hunting low-grade cold beasts, Xia Hong only entrusted them with the task after ensuring they had all grown strong enough to handle it safely.

Compared to hunting cold beasts, their role in mining was inherently greater; now that Xia Hong needed resources for his breakthrough, they naturally must supply them with all their strength—it was merely tiring, but infinitely easier than Xia Hong risking his life against cold beasts.

“We in the logging team have always been useless. When wood overflowed, we feared we’d become irrelevant—but now, finally, we can contribute, and even help the leader break through! Once I inform everyone, they’ll all be thrilled. Xia Chuan, rest assured—the logging team will complete this mission perfectly.”

“Our gathering team is the same—we won’t hesitate to help the leader!”

Bai Dongying and Cheng Feng both stood up, their voices filled with excitement.

Although the camp had many Logging Realm cultivators, their status had been awkward, especially after wood overflowed and crystal fruits became useless.

During the rodent swarm incident, they’d still been able to contribute with bows—but after so long, they’d inevitably felt a sense of loss.

Now, Xia Chuan said the wood they cut daily could help the leader, Xia Hong, break through to the Cold-Resistant Realm.

Cheng Feng and Bai Dongying knew without thinking: once this news spread, every member of the gathering and logging teams would be eager to go out and cut wood.

Not even two trees a night—

Some would probably try to cut three.

“We train soldiers for a thousand days to use them for one moment. The leader has given so much to the camp—now, finally, we can repay him. Don’t let us fail.”

Besides, the leader’s breakthrough to the Cold-Resistant Realm is to resist the Mirror Immortal Camp and protect Hongmu Ridge’s territory—in the end, all of us will benefit.”

After Xia Chuan finished speaking, everyone nodded heavily.

Hongmu Ridge wasn’t just Xia Hong’s sacred possession—it was the same for all of Da Xia’s camp members.

To preserve Hongmu Ridge’s territory before the Mirror Immortal Camp’s two Cold-Resistant Realm experts, the only viable path now was for Xia Hong to break through quickly.

“Alright, go inform everyone. This new regulation will officially take effect at nightfall.

During this period, everyone in the camp must work—no one is allowed to slack off. The moment the leader breaks through, we can finally relax.

I won’t repeat harsh words—you each manage your subordinates. If problems arise, even if the leader doesn’t punish you, I’ll hold the three of you accountable. Understood?”

I won’t repeat myself—each of you manage your own people. If problems arise, even if the leader doesn’t hold you accountable, I’ll answer for the three of you. Understood?

Mu Dong, Cheng Feng, and Bai Dongying nodded heavily, sensing the seriousness in Xia Chuan’s tone and growing more attentive.

Watching Xia Chuan directly issue orders to Mu Dong and the others, Luo Yuan’s eyes flickered with something unusual.

Logically, Xia Chuan’s current camp position was equal in status to Mu Dong and the others—but the reality was clearly different.

Xia Chuan’s own strength, combined with his relationship to the leader, gave him an innate air of authority over the rest of the camp.

Especially since Xia Hong entrusted him with more and more tasks, this aura had grown increasingly pronounced—he had effectively become Xia Hong’s representative in the camp.

It wasn’t that anyone objected; in terms of strength and capability, Xia Chuan was unquestionably worthy of being the leader’s representative—no one else was more suitable or more qualified.

It’s not that anyone objects; whether by strength or by ability to handle affairs, Xia Hong’s representative, Xia Chuan, is more than worthy—he’s the most suitable, the most qualified.

The leader valued ability and efficiency, and he was fair—this was evident from how he had publicly selected the first hunting team members using the wooden dummy test.

Entrusting more tasks to Xia Chuan was partly because Xia Chuan was his younger brother, but more importantly, because Xia Chuan had demonstrated real value and capability.

Recalling when the camps first merged, Luo Yuan’s base strength had surpassed Xia Chuan’s, and Xia Hong had offered him plenty of guidance—but as time passed, Xia Chuan’s base strength surpassed his, his cultivation advanced beyond his, and even his role in the hunting team became greater than Luo Yuan’s.

As this continuous process of being surpassed unfolded, his status, both within the hunting team and across the entire camp, gradually fell behind Xia Chuan’s.

Now, Xia Chuan could openly issue orders to Mu Dong and the others, while Luo Yuan remained just a minor, unnoticed figure in the hunting team.

This was hard for the proud Luo Yuan to accept.

“I won’t say more to the hunting team—when the leader goes out hunting, I’ll notify you to rest. For the rest of the time, stay with me in the mine. Oh, and the leader himself might come too!”

Everyone nodded. Luo Yuan said nothing, turned on his heel, picked up a rodent chisel from beside the wall, descended the stairs, and walked out of the wooden hut—he clearly intended to head to the mine.

“Can’t let this kid get ahead—I’m going too.”

“Me too, me too, let’s go!”

“Don’t push, I’m going too.”

“Everyone go, hurry up!”

Seeing everyone rush to grab rodent chisels and head to the mine, Xia Chuan smiled faintly, picked up a chisel himself, and followed behind.

Seeing everyone rush to grab their chisels and head for the mine, Xia Chuan smiled faintly, picked up a chisel, and followed behind.

“The leader’s breakthrough to the Cold-Resistant Realm requires wood?”

“Is this true?”

“No way it’s false—I’ve seen it myself: when the leader touches wood, the wood vanishes—he can definitely absorb wood.”

“Not just wood—iron ore and coal stone too—I’ve seen that as well.”

“The captain wouldn’t lie to us.”

“Why didn’t the leader say this earlier? If I’d known, I’d have cut more before—I used to find it tiring and only brought back one tree per night.”

“Why didn’t the leader say so earlier? If I’d known, I’d have chopped more before. I used to find it tiring, so I’d only bring back one tree each night.”

Under Cheng Feng and others’ announcements, every Logging Realm cultivator in the camp now knew: Xia Hong needed vast resources to break through to the Cold-Resistant Realm.

As Xia Chuan had predicted, once the news spread, every Logging Realm cultivator in the camp erupted in agitation.

For a long time, Xia Hong’s contributions to the camp had been visible to all.

From the highest-ranking Digging Realm members of the hunting team down to ordinary children, every single person in Da Xia’s camp felt profound gratitude and reverence toward Xia Hong.

This emotion, fermented over time, had gradually turned into fanaticism.

Learning that Xia Hong’s breakthrough required wood, no reminder from Cheng Feng or Bai Dongying was needed—the logging and gathering teams, without hesitation, grabbed their saws the moment night fell and streamed out in waves.

Even personnel from the craftsman’s workshop and camp supply depot, after finishing their tasks, joined them.

The hunting team, of course, needed no urging.

The moment Xia Chuan spoke, everyone headed to the iron mine on the southern side of the valley.

Thirteen people working together, the continuous clang of mining echoed endlessly, nearly audible outside the mine.

Zou Yuankai couldn’t come yet, but Zhu Shun, despite his injured leg, had also arrived at the mine—if Xia Chuan and the others hadn’t strongly refused and insisted he rest first, Zhu Shun would have mined even while dragging his injured limb.

Throughout Da Xia’s camp, people were cutting wood or mining. From nightfall onward, everyone had burst into extraordinary enthusiasm for extraction.

Xia Chuan, feeling this enthusiasm still wasn’t enough, the next day discussed with Shi Ping and introduced a mining competition.

During the period before Xia Hong’s breakthrough to the Cold-Resistant Realm, all resources mined by Logging and Digging Realm cultivators in the entire camp would be recorded and ranked.

The rankings would be divided into three categories: wood, coal stone, and iron ore.

The top thirty in wood; the top five in iron ore and coal stone respectively.

The top-ranked wood miner would receive 800 contribution points; the top-ranked iron ore and coal stone miners would each receive 2000 contribution points, with points decreasing progressively thereafter.

The top rank in wood earns 800 contribution points; iron ore and coal stone rankings earn 2000 points, decreasing in sequence thereafter.

Anyone who makes the leaderboard receives a substantial reward of contribution points, and the higher the rank, the more points one earns.

As soon as the mining competition was announced, hearing of the high contribution point rewards, every member in the camp above the Woodcutting Realm burst into excitement.

Even setting aside the importance of Xia Hong’s breakthrough, the contribution point rewards alone were enough to drive everyone into a frenzy.

Take the hunting team as an example—they can only hunt low-grade cold beasts on their own, and even then, they need four to five people working together.

The contribution point value of a low-grade cold beast is generally between 200 and 400; divided among five people, each gets about 40 points. Even with Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan personally leading, they can kill at most two or three beasts in one night—meaning a single hunt yields at most 80 to 120 contribution points.

=9+book_yes

They can’t go hunting every day, and hunting itself carries great risk. Gold-Closing Powder now costs contribution points to obtain; iron-tough bows are currently owned only by Luo Yuan and the three Zhao brothers—everyone else must rent theirs using contribution points, and iron arrows, as consumables, also require contribution points to acquire.

The hunting team calculated that over a full month, assuming fifteen hunting trips, after deducting costs for renting bows and arrows and Gold-Closing Powder, they could earn at most around 1,000 points.

This competition’s first-place prize is 2,000 contribution points—nearly equal to their two-month income.

If the hunting team is this limited, how much harder must it be for the gathering team and woodcutting team, not to mention the craftsmen’s workshop and camp supply office? An immediate reward of 800 points is a windfall they could never dream of.

With this ultra-high incentive mechanism combined with the fact that it relates to their leader Xia Hong’s breakthrough, the team’s mining enthusiasm surged several-fold.

The entire Great Xia Camp’s atmosphere instantly changed.

Every day, the topic everyone discussed most was that day’s mining output;

At night, everyone streamed out in batches; Cheng Feng and Bai Dongying, concerned for safety and to avoid overcrowding, began planning to divide the woodcutting zones, spreading people out as much as possible.

To improve woodcutting efficiency, many people brainstormed, and new inventions gradually emerged in the camp.

The first to appear was the handcart.

A major reason for low woodcutting efficiency was the slow transport speed: although Redwood Ridge was less than a li from the valley, the trees were too large and heavy—even with several people carrying them, returning took considerable time.

After someone raised this issue with Xiang Mudong, the craftsmen’s workshop developed a human-powered handcart within two days.

Of course, the earliest version was crude—just a wooden board with a single wheel—but as people kept offering feedback, the cart was continuously improved and gradually became more practical.

Later came two-wheeled carts, and even a few people collaborated to build carts with more wheels and greater load capacity—though they required more manpower to pull.

To boost efficiency, people didn’t just focus on transport—they also improved woodcutting tools, giving rise to soft saws, two-person saws, and three-person saws.

Seeing woodcutting efficiency rise, the hunting team also pushed themselves hard to mine, fearing they’d fall behind; including Xia Chuan himself, everyone went without leaving the mine for four or five straight days, even receiving cold beast meat delivered by others.

…………

Xia Hong, who had remained upstairs training, was naturally unaware of the camp’s changes.

It wasn’t until the first day of the second month of Great Xia Year One that Xia Chuan came upstairs to report Zhu Shun’s injury was fully healed; after Xia Hong descended to use the system to collect resources, he learned of all the developments Xia Chuan had orchestrated.

【Resources: Wood 11200 Coal 580 Iron 1220 Silver 0 Gold 0】

He had issued the order for the entire camp to accelerate resource extraction on the twenty-seventh of the first month—only three days had passed, yet the resources had increased so dramatically.

The coal and iron extraction progress still fell within Xia Hong’s expectations.

With the Rodent Drill, a single Earth-Digging Realm cultivator could extract over 40 units per day of either coal or iron. Zhu Shun and Zou Yuankai were injured and couldn’t mine; the remaining thirteen people extracted a total of 1,800 units of coal and iron over three days—clearly working hard, but not excessively.

The real anomaly was the wood.

With over three hundred Woodcutting Realm cultivators, even at maximum capacity—two trees per person per night—total output would be roughly 8,000 catties. Since the system converts one unit per 1,000 catties, the camp’s daily wood gain could at most reach 2,500 units.

Over three days, that’s 7,500 units. Even if everyone pushed themselves to the limit, it wouldn’t exceed 10,000—there simply weren’t enough people.

Where did 11,200 units come from?

Xia Hong’s confusion vanished instantly when Xiang Mudong led him to the craftsmen’s workshop and saw the newly made iron saws and various-sized wooden-wheeled carts.

“Over this period, everyone came up with all sorts of strange new ideas to boost woodcutting efficiency—they really racked their brains!”

Hearing Xiang Mudong’s words, Xia Hong’s expression showed clear interest.

Pressure truly breeds innovation: when wood was abundant before, no one thought of these devices; now that resource pressure hit, everyone pooled their ideas and quickly produced many inventions.

Of course, alongside his interest, Xia Hong couldn’t help but feel moved.

Over three hundred cultivators above the Woodcutting Realm in the entire camp worked day and night, giving everything they had to extract resources—all for him, so he could break through to Cold-Resistant Rank sooner.

“Big brother, since you can freely collect resources, couldn’t we have the woodcutters just cut the trees and leave them where they fall, and you go directly to Redwood Ridge to collect them? Wouldn’t that work?”

Hearing Xia Chuan’s idea, Xia Hong’s expression turned peculiar—if it were that simple, why wait for Xia Chuan to suggest it now? He would’ve done it long ago.

“I already tried it before. When I collect resources, I must be within the radiation range of the iron-smelting furnace—no other location works.”

“Then move the iron-smelting furnace to…………”

Xia Chuan instinctively proposed another solution, but before he finished, he realized it wouldn’t work and stopped abruptly.

Xia Hong shook his head—he’d considered this too, and the answer was the same: impossible.

Given how powerfully the torch attracts cold beasts, bringing the iron-smelting furnace into Redwood Ridge could cause massive disruption—if it drew a large swarm of cold beasts, the consequences would be dire.

Moreover, the iron-smelting furnace’s most critical function is to repel supernatural entities.

Moving it means the entire camp must move with it.

Even without supernatural entities, Xia Hong dared not move the furnace lightly—much less now, when the Great Xia Camp has already been targeted by supernatural entities.

Recalling how Wang He had returned mysteriously missing last month on the seventeenth, only to be burned to death by Conflagration Oil, Xia Hong’s mind stirred, and he asked urgently:

“With so many people going out these past three days, has anything happened?”

Xia Chuan immediately shook his head. “No. Though we’ve divided outings into batches, each group maintains at least ten people, and everyone applies Conflagration Oil before leaving. Each group carries three torches—only to be lit when encountering supernatural entities. These past three days, nothing has occurred, and everyone who returned is perfectly normal.”

Over three hundred Woodcutting Realm cultivators have nearly all left the camp, yet the supernatural entities haven’t struck once—this is strange…

Xia Hong frowned, his expression puzzled.

No one getting hurt was, of course, good.

But given the supernatural entities’ insane bloodthirsty nature, their complete silence is far more terrifying.

It proves the supernatural entities likely know about Conflagration Oil—and their temperament is even more cautious than the previous Wood Puppet supernatural entity.

A supernatural entity hiding in the shadows, with such extreme caution, is undoubtedly far harder to deal with.

“If it won’t strike, we’ll treat it as nonexistent. As long as the iron-smelting furnace stands, it won’t dare enter the camp. Just remind everyone to stay cautious when going out. If problems arise, we’ll deal with them then!”

This was a reluctant compromise—without any knowledge of the supernatural entities, Xia Hong had no way to counter them.

Stopping resource extraction was impossible.

With the furnace present, the camp was safe;

With Conflagration Oil applied, the supernatural entities wouldn’t dare attack;

Confirming these two points was enough.

“For now, leave it like this. Notify Zhu Shun and all hunting team members: no mining today. Rest well. At nightfall, come with me.”

“Yes, Big Brother!”

Over three hundred people were pushing themselves to the limit to extract resources—all for his breakthrough to Cold-Resistant Rank. Seeing their dedication, Xia Hong naturally felt pressure.

Zou Yuankai’s injury would take more time to heal; losing one person wouldn’t matter much. With prior experience killing a mid-grade Snowmane, as long as he avoided other unfamiliar mid-grade cold beasts, Xia Hong still felt confident.

“The 4,900 catties of cold beast blood shortfall—must improve hunting efficiency. Traps, weapons, hunting tools—all need improvement…”

Thinking of the massive amount of cold beast blood he needed for his breakthrough, Xia Hong furrowed his brow, then finally let out a heavy sigh.

Meanwhile, the entire hunting team, mining in the mine, learned from Xia Chuan that Xia Hong would lead them out at night to hunt mid-grade cold beasts—and immediately burst into excitement.

Though mining earned decent contribution points, it paled next to hunting—especially hunting alongside Xia Hong.

Last time they killed the mid-grade Snowmane, Xia Hong set the reward at 10,000 contribution points and didn’t take any share, so each of the fifteen hunting team members received over 600 points.

One hunt yielding over 600 points—remember, this mining competition’s duration was unknown, and first place only awarded 2,000 points.

The lure of hunting with Xia Hong was obvious.

“Last time was the first mid-grade beast—leader deliberately set it high. This time it won’t be 10,000, but maybe 8,000?”

“I think not—probably 6,000!”

“You’re overthinking. The highest for a low-grade beast is currently Tengjiao at 380 points—I’d guess 5,000 is the max.”

“5,000’s still great! Fourteen of us, each gets over 300 points—heehee!”

…………

After a few moments of heated discussion, the hunting team all put down their Rodent Drills and returned to their rooms to rest and prepare.

At nightfall, without needing Xia Hong’s notice, all fourteen hunting team members arrived fully armed at the camp supply office entrance.

“All ready?”

“Ready, Leader!”

“Depart!”

Xia Hong said nothing more—he gave the order, and with the fourteen men, they left the camp and plunged straight into Redwood Ridge.

It was foreseeable that hunting frequency would increase in the coming days—but it remained unknown how long the hunting team’s excitement would last…

(End of Chapter)