Chapter 160: Disappearing Cold Beasts, Breakthrough Tide

Great Xia settlement, second floor of the wooden house.

At the entrance of the Camp Needs Office, dozens of people were gathered, looking up at the three wooden boards at the entrance, discussing with great interest.

The three wooden boards were marked with coal stones at the very top as Wood List, Coal List, and Iron List, and below were dense names and the amount of resources they had extracted during this period.

Wood List (1 point counts as 1,000 *jin*):

1st place, Bai Dongying, 724

2nd place, Cheng Feng, 689

3rd place, Liu Yuan, 674

4th place, Xu An, 663

5th place, Bai Wuting, 647

…………

Coal List (1 point counts as 20 *jin*):

1st place, Yuan Cheng, 1,520

2nd place, Yue Feng, 1,480

3rd place, Hong Gang, 1,470

4th place, Ying Xuan, 1,380

5th place, Qiu Peng, 1,370

…………

Iron List (1 point counts as 10 *jin*):

1st place, Luo Yuan, 3,217

2nd place, Xia Chuan, 3,195

3rd place, Zhao Long, 2,995

4th place, Zhao Hu, 2,871

5th place, Huang Yong, 2,862

………………

Those gathered here at this moment were all in the Woodcutting Realm. The focus was naturally on the first list. Anyone who saw their name enter the top thirty revealed a look of surprise.

"The captain is still powerful. From the start of the competition to now, it's only been forty-eight days, 724 points. Converting it, it's more than 180 trees. On average, he brings back three trees every night. *Hiss*..."

The crowd heard this and calculated in their hearts, and couldn't help but reveal a look of amazement.

The mining competition started on the 27th of the first month. Up to today, it has indeed been forty-eight days. Based on the smaller trees on the outer perimeter, averaging four or five thousand *jin* in weight, converted into four or five points.

Converting it, it is indeed a guaranteed minimum of three trees every night.

"It's not just three trees. In the last ten days or so, haven't you discovered that the smaller trees on the outer perimeter can't be found anymore? Now the ones left have a minimum diameter of six or seven meters."

"Right, I saw it. The giant tree Captain Bai pushed back last night had a diameter of more than ten meters. I estimate this one alone was over ten thousand *jin*."

"*Tsk tsk*, can't compare, can't compare. Look, the 30th place, Lin Wan, has 542 points, and she's a woman. We can't even compare to her!"

"I remember, Lin Wan is the wife of hunting team leader Yue Feng. His younger brother Lin Kai broke through to the Earth-Digging Realm not long ago and also entered the hunting team. This whole family is ruthless!"

"Haven't you discovered that in the last few days, the ranking changes on the Wood List have been very small? I estimate the final result will be about the same as it is now."

"Nonsense, these ten days, everyone cannot leave the one-kilometer range of the valley. The wood in the middle section of Red Wood Ridge has probably been cut by us. Nine days ago, Hong Mu's team even startled cold beasts while cutting trees. If the hunting team hadn't arrived in time, there would have been casualties."

"Not just that one time. In the last few days, the trees available for cutting have become fewer and fewer. There's basically no choice. Many people discover cold beasts and will first return to notify the hunting team to kill the cold beasts before cutting."

"Fortunately, these are all low-level cold beasts on the outer perimeter, no need for the leader to take action. Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and the other adults can clean them up."

"I've been exhausted to death this month and a half, and I only have 500 points. The top thirty, looking at it, is hanging."

"It's all the same. I've already observed that everyone's frequency of going out, logging tools, and transport tools are exactly the same. The main gap is still in logging efficiency. In the end, it's still related to strength."

"Right, logging and mining are essentially the same principle. The higher the basic strength, the greater the mining volume. This list is actually an alternative strength ranking!"

"No wonder, my ranking is just a bit lower than yours, and my basic strength is just happened to be two hundred *jin* less than yours."

………………

"What are you all gathered here for? What time is it now? If you have the mind to chat here, you might as well hurry up and cultivate!"

Xia Chuan led Luo Yuan and Yuan Cheng in a hurry to the second floor. Seeing the crowd gathered at the entrance of the Camp Needs Office, he immediately reprimanded them.

Most of Great Xia's current affairs were originally handled by Xia Chuan. Coupled with the implementation of the one-kilometer ban, Xia Hong had become more reclusive, and his right to speak in the camp had become stronger and stronger, and his majesty had become stronger day by day.

The crowd heard the sound, thought of the camp's recent situation, and lowered their heads slightly.

"Adult, they just returned from logging outside and gathered here for a while to look at the list!"

Shi Ping happened to come down from the third floor at this time. Seeing Xia Chuan's gloomy face, he hurriedly helped smooth things over, gesturing toward the crowd while speaking.

The crowd got the hint and dispersed immediately.

Xia Chuan didn't care and just asked Shi Ping:

"Has the leader returned?"

"Just returned. He brought back two Frost Wolves and one Soaring Dragon tonight. I just sent the beast blood up, and he has already started to retreat."

Seeing the anxious look on the faces of Xia Chuan and the other two, Shi Ping guessed that something was wrong and hurriedly asked: "Adult, do you have something to find the leader for?"

Hearing that Xia Hong had already started to retreat, Xia Chuan and the other three revealed expressions of hesitation.

"It shouldn't be a big situation, no need to tell the leader, right?"

"It might be that we hunted too ruthlessly during this period of time, and they were all scared away."

"One-kilometer range, that is, the outer five hundred meters of Red Wood Ridge. Recently, logging and hunting have all been concentrated in that area. In less than half a month, more than twenty low-level cold beasts have been killed. It's normal that there are none left."

"The trees have also been cut down. Those cold beasts have no place to occupy and went elsewhere. It's also normal."

…………

Hearing the conversation between Luo Yuan and Yuan Cheng, Shi Ping finally understood.

The cold beasts on the outer five hundred meters had disappeared.

Only after pondering for a moment did Shi Ping also agree with the two's views.

The one-kilometer ban, to put it simply, is to take the Great Xia valley

It is five hundred meters from the valley to Red Wood Ridge, which means that all logging, gathering, and hunting by the camp recently cannot exceed a depth of five hundred meters from Red Wood Ridge.

If it were the original Does Da Xia, such a large range would naturally be sufficient.

But the current Does Da Xia is different from the past.

With over five hundred Woodcutting Realm fighters, even if they go out in shifts, the daily logging volume is astonishing; not to mention low-level cold beasts, let alone needing Xia Hong to take action, several people in the hunting team can already hunt them individually.

In addition, everyone knows that resources can help Xia Hong break through to the Cold-Resisting Realm, and the threat from the Mirror Immortal camp is imminent. From the issuance of the ban on the third day of the third month to today, it has been twelve days in total, and everyone has been working hard to mine during these twelve days.

Given this, it is understandable that the small area five hundred meters in the outer middle section has undergone changes due to excessive resource extraction.

Shi Ping thinks so, and so do Luo Yuan and Yuan Cheng.

Only Xia Chuan did not speak, merely lowering his head in deep thought.

Clearly, he has a different view.

"Yuan Cheng, do you remember the experience of the Demon Sheep breaking into the camp when the settlement was on the hillside before?"

Hearing Xia Chuan's inquiry, Yuan Cheng was stunned for a moment, then recalled it, and his expression immediately changed.

"Are you saying that this time is the same as the last?"

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

Luo Yuan did not understand what the two were talking about and immediately asked.

Shi Ping on the side also looked puzzled.

Yuan Cheng hurriedly explained it to the two of them quickly.

In the early days when the Does Da Xia settlement was on the hillside, that Wood Puppet Strange had once controlled a Demon Sheep to break into the Does Da Xia settlement cave, taking advantage of the chaos in the camp to kill a person named Wang Ping in Does Da Xia, using the corpse to mix into the cave, and even ambushing Xia Hong at the last moment.

Unfortunately, Xia Hong had been prepared in advance and had coated his body with a layer of Condensing Fire Oil, so the strange monster ultimately failed. Hearing this, the expressions of Luo Yuan and Shi Ping changed immediately.

Both of them were now Does Da Xia people, and they were very familiar with the functions and attributes of the iron-smelting furnace, torches, and Condensing Fire Oil, so they understood immediately.

Strange monsters fear the fire of the iron-smelting furnace, but cold beasts do not!

Not only are they not afraid, but they also have a near-crazy obsession.

For such a long time, they had only used torches to lure them, and the cold beasts were already so crazy; if they saw the iron-smelting furnace, what kind of reaction would those cold beasts have?

"My lord, are you saying that the cold beasts in the outer perimeter haven't disappeared completely, but have gathered together, and it's very likely they were gathered by that strange monster in the Mirror Immortal camp, with the goal of attacking our camp?"

As soon as Shi Ping spoke, Yuan Cheng and Luo Yuan on the other side immediately furrowed their brows, horror flashing in their pupils.

"Then we must report this to the leader immediately!"

As soon as Yuan Cheng spoke, Xia Chuan immediately shook his head.

"This is just my guess. Recently, the camp's resource extraction from that small outer area has indeed been too severe; it cannot be ruled out that this is the reason why all the cold beasts have disappeared."

Hearing this, the three of them fell into thought.

"It's a pity we can't go out. If we could expand the range and see the distribution of cold beasts in other places, it would be easier to judge!"

=9+Book_Bar

Luo Yuan's tone was slightly regretful. The one-kilometer ban was still in effect, and before Xia Hong spoke to lift it, they certainly couldn't run around outside.

It wasn't that they were worried about disobeying Xia Hong's orders; it was mainly because the Mirror Immortal camp might be watching from the side. If it were just people from the Mirror Immortal camp, they could risk going out to take a look, but if it involved a strange monster, they couldn't act recklessly.

"This is no small matter. Let's report it to the leader first. Our strength is insufficient, and we dare not risk going out. The leader's strength is great; perhaps he can go take a look. Once the situation is truly confirmed, we can make preparations!"

Hearing Yuan Cheng's words, Xia Chuan thought for a moment and nodded.

However, Shi Ping showed a look of difficulty at this moment.

He hesitated, looked at Xia Chuan, and said:

"My lord, the leader asked me to send over all the 1850 jin of beast blood collected over the past period today. It looks like he is going into seclusion to officially break through to the Cold-Resisting Realm. When I just delivered it, he specifically instructed not to disturb him unless it was something very important."

Shi Ping's words made the three of them freeze.

Since the ban was issued, Xia Hong had not gone into long-term seclusion.

Asking Shi Ping to deliver all 1850 jin of beast blood at once and specifically giving such instructions clearly meant that Shi Ping's guess was highly likely to be correct.

Xia Hong is truly in seclusion, officially breaking through to the Cold-Resisting Realm!

This matter could be big or small. If it were truly as Xia Chuan guessed, caused by the strange monster behind the Mirror Immortal camp, then notifying Xia Hong would be justifiable.

But if it were a false alarm, not only would the notification be in vain, but it would also affect Xia Hong's seclusion and cultivation.

Luo Yuan, Yuan Cheng, and Shi Ping were in a difficult position, none of them daring to make a decision, all casting their gazes toward Xia Chuan.

Xia Chuan hesitated for a long time, then soon spoke with a look of determination:

"For such ambiguous matters, we cannot notify the leader. If he has to decide everything, then what are we here for!"

After setting the tone, he paused for a moment and continued:

"Whether it's true or false, we must make preparations first..."

"Hahahaha, I've broken through, I've broken through!"

Before Xia Chuan could finish speaking, an excited voice suddenly came from the third floor.

Xia Chuan, who had been interrupted, instead showed a smile on his face.

"This is Hong Gang's son, Hong Mu's voice, right?"

"Even that kid has broken through!"

"This is already the sixth one today."

"There are six today?"

Hearing Shi Ping say that Hong Mu was the sixth to break through today, the joy on the faces of Xia Chuan and the other two deepened.

"It's a pity that big brother has been cultivating during this time. If he knew, he would definitely be even happier!"

Xia Chuan looked up at Xia Hong's room on the third floor, his spirit greatly lifted.

The third day of the third month was when the one-kilometer ban was officially implemented, reducing the camp's activity area, and correspondingly, fewer people were needed for logging.

The extra people naturally couldn't be idle.

Especially now, facing the threat of the Mirror Immortal camp, improving the overall strength of the camp was an even more urgent matter.

Under Xia Hong's instruction, anyone in the camp whose basic strength approached ten thousand jin could have priority to enter the martial arts field for cultivation.

The martial arts field officially began operation on the 20th of last month. Initially, considering fairness and resource consumption, a queuing method was adopted; as long as you could afford 20 contribution points a day, you could go up when it was your turn.

Special circumstances naturally require special treatment.

Now that improving the camp's strength is imminent, once Xia Hong's order was issued, naturally no one opposed it.

As a result, almost starting from the next day, the fourth day of the third month.

The camp ushered in a wave of breakthroughs in the Earth-Digging Realm.

Bai Dongying, Bai Wuting, Lu Sheng, and Lu Yang broke through on the first day.

Tong Xinglong, Ying Yi, and Li Longkai on the second day.

Thereafter, almost every day, two to three people broke through.

Today, there were actually six at once!

"Most people in the camp don't know yet. Those who have broken through to the Earth-Digging Realm still set aside time every day to chop wood so as not to drop in the timber ranking. If it weren't for worrying about exceeding others too much, with their logging efficiency, these Woodcutting Realm people would probably be exhausted to death and still couldn't compare to them."

Shi Ping looked at the timber ranking behind him, his expression slightly strange.

Xia Chuan also followed his gaze, seeing that the top twenty or so on the timber ranking had almost all broken through to the Earth-Digging Realm. He thought for a moment, and his brows immediately furrowed.

"Are you saying that these people who have broken through to the Earth-Digging Realm still set aside part of their time every day to chop wood, instead of mining with all their might?"

Seeing Xia Chuan's dark face when asking, Shi Ping shrank his neck, nodded with a look of restraint.

He himself was one of them, ranked seventh on the timber ranking.

"Shi Ping, go notify everyone who has broken through to the Earth-Digging Realm to go to the south mine to mine iron ore for me. Yuan Cheng, go notify the hunting team to all come to the blacksmith shop; I'll be waiting for them there."

Shi Ping heard the coldness in Xia Chuan's tone and didn't dare to ask more, turning directly to notify the others.

Yuan Cheng nodded and also turned to leave.

Luo Yuan stood where he was, showing a look of confusion, and said: "We've collected enough iron ore recently, and it's all been sent to the leader. Why do we need them to mine iron with all their might?"

"To make preparations!"

Xia Chuan only answered with three words. Luo Yuan lowered his head and thought for a moment, then his eyes immediately brightened, understanding what he meant.

(End of chapter)