Chapter 160: The Vanished Cold Beasts, the Surge of Breakthrough

The Xia Army base, second floor of the wooden hut.

At the entrance of the Supply Office, dozens of people had gathered, gazing up at the three wooden boards before them, discussing them with keen interest.

The three boards were labeled at the top with coal-stone markings: Wood Rank, Coal Rank, Iron Rank; beneath each were dense lists of names and the amounts of resources each had gathered during this period.

Wood Rank (1 point = 1, 00 jin):

Rank 1, Bai Dongying, 724

Rank 2, Cheng Feng, 689

Rank 3, Liu Yuan, 674

Rank 4, Xu An, 663

Rank 5, Bai Wuting, 647

…………

Coal Rank (1 point = 20 jin):

Rank 1, Yuan Cheng, 1520

Rank 2, Yue Feng, 1480

Rank 3, Hong Gang, 1470

Rank 4, Ying Xuan, 1380

Rank 5, Qiu Peng, 1370

…………

Iron Rank (1 point = 10 jin):

Rank 1, Luo Yuan, 3217

Rank 2, Xia Chuan, 3195

Rank 3, Zhao Long, 2995

Rank 4, Zhao Hu, 2871

Rank 5, Huang Yong, 2862

………………

Those gathered here were all Woodcutting Realm cultivators, and their focus was naturally on the first list; anyone who saw their name among the top thirty wore expressions of surprise and delight.

"The team leader's still incredible—only forty-eight days since the contest began, and he's got 724 points. That's over 180 trees, averaging three trees every night. Damn…"

Hearing this, the others calculated in their minds and couldn't help but gasp in awe.

The mining contest began on the twenty-seventh of the first month; today was the forty-eighth day. Outside the perimeter, the smaller trees averaged four to five thousand jin each, worth four to five points.

That meant, at minimum, three trees per night.

"Three trees? In the past ten days, haven't you noticed the small trees around the perimeter are all gone? What's left now has trunks at least six or seven meters in diameter."

"That's right—I saw it. Last night, Team Leader Bai pushed back a tree with a wheelbarrow; its trunk was over ten meters wide. That one tree alone must've weighed over ten thousand jin."

"Wow, no comparison, no comparison. Look at the thirtieth place—Lin Wan, with 542 points, and she's a woman. We can't even match her!"

"I remember, Lin Wan is the wife of Commander Yue Feng of the Hunting Team. Her brother, Lin Kai, recently broke through to Earth-Digging Realm and joined the Hunting Team too. This whole family's ruthless!"

"Didn't you notice? In the past few days, the Wood Rank has barely shifted. The final results will probably be almost identical to now."

"Obviously. For the past ten days, everyone's been confined within one kilometer of the valley. The wood in the outer midsection of Redwood Ridge has likely been stripped bare. Nine days ago, Hong Mu's squad even startled a Cold Beast while cutting trees—had the Hunting Team not arrived in time, someone might've died."

"It wasn't just that time. In recent days, the number of trees available for cutting has kept shrinking. There's no choice left. Many who spot Cold Beasts now return first to notify the Hunting Team—kill the beast before cutting."

"Thankfully, the Cold Beasts around the perimeter are all low-grade. No need for the leader to intervene—Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and the others can handle them."

"I've been exhausted for a month and a half, and I've only got a bit over 500 points. Top thirty? Looks impossible."

"Same here. I've observed everyone—frequency of outings, cutting tools, transport tools—all identical. The real difference lies in cutting efficiency. Ultimately, it's all about strength."

"Exactly. Cutting wood and mining ore follow the same principle: the higher your base strength, the more you extract. This ranking is essentially an alternate strength chart!"

"No wonder my rank is just slightly lower than yours—I've got exactly two hundred jin less base strength."

………………

"What are you all doing gathered here? What time is it? If you've got time to chat, use it to cultivate!"

Xia Chuan, accompanied by Luo Yuan and Yuan Cheng, hurried up to the second floor and spotted the crowd gathered at the Supply Office entrance. He immediately rebuked them.

Most of the Xia Army's affairs were already under Xia Chuan's management. Since the one-kilometer ban was imposed, Xia Hong had become even more reclusive, and Xia Chuan's authority and prestige in the base had grown daily.

Hearing his voice, the crowd, reminded of the base's current situation, lowered their heads slightly.

"My lord, they've just returned from cutting wood and only gathered here briefly to glance at the rankings!"

Shi Ping happened to be coming down from the third floor. Seeing Xia Chuan's grim expression, he quickly stepped in to smooth things over, nodding toward the crowd as he spoke.

The crowd, receiving the signal, immediately dispersed.

Xia Chuan paid it no mind and turned to Shi Ping:

"Has the leader returned?"

"Just came back. Tonight he brought back two Frost Wolves and one Tengjiao. I delivered the beast blood upstairs—he's already entered seclusion."

Seeing the urgency on Xia Chuan's and the others' faces, Shi Ping sensed something was amiss and asked quickly: "My lord, do you need to speak with the leader?"

Upon hearing Xia Hong had begun seclusion, Xia Chuan and the others all showed hesitation.

"It probably isn't serious. Should we really disturb the leader?"

"Maybe we've hunted too hard lately—they've all been scared off."

"The one-kilometer zone only covers the outer five hundred meters of Redwood Ridge. For the past half-month, all cutting and hunting has been concentrated there. We've killed over twenty low-grade Cold Beasts. Their disappearance is normal."

"The trees are nearly all gone too. Without suitable places to settle, the Cold Beasts have moved elsewhere. That's normal."

…………

Hearing Luo Yuan and Yuan Cheng's words, Shi Ping finally understood.

The low-grade Cold Beasts in the outer five hundred meters had vanished.

After a moment's thought, Shi Ping agreed with their assessment.

The one-kilometer ban, in essence, extended one kilometer westward from the Xia Valley—toward Redwood Ridge. All recent activities were confined to this fan-shaped zone.

From the valley to Redwood Ridge was five hundred meters, meaning the furthest anyone could go for cutting, gathering, or hunting was five hundred meters into Redwood Ridge.

In the old Xia Army, this range would've been more than sufficient.

But the current Xia Army was different.

Five hundred Woodcutting Realm cultivators—even with rotation—produced staggering daily cutting volumes. Low-grade Cold Beasts were even easier: no need for Xia Hong to act; several in the Hunting Team could hunt them alone.

Moreover, everyone knew resources could help Xia Hong break through to Cold-Resisting Realm. The threat from Mirror Immortal Base loomed close. Since the ban was issued on the third of the third month, twelve days had passed—and all twelve days, everyone had pushed themselves to the limit.

Thus, the sudden depletion of resources in that small five-hundred-meter zone was understandable.

Shi Ping thought this way. Luo Yuan and Yuan Cheng thought the same.

Only Xia Chuan remained silent, his head bowed in thought.

Clearly, he held a different view.

"Yuan Cheng, do you remember when the base was on the slope, and the Wooden Puppet Demon infiltrated our camp with a Demon Sheep?"

Hearing Xia Chuan's question, Yuan Cheng froze, then recalled the incident—his expression changed instantly.

"You mean this is the same as last time?"

"What are you two talking about?"

Luo Yuan, confused, spoke up immediately.

Shi Ping beside him also looked puzzled.

Yuan Cheng quickly explained to both of them.

In the early days, when the Xia base was on the slope, the Wooden Puppet Demon had controlled a Demon Sheep to storm into the cave where the base was hidden. Amid the chaos, it killed a Xia man named Wang Ping, took over his corpse, infiltrated the cave, and even launched a surprise attack on Xia Hong at the last moment.

Fortunately, Xia Hong had been prepared in advance and had coated himself in Congealed Fire Oil—the demon ultimately failed. Upon hearing this, Luo Yuan and Shi Ping's faces turned pale.

They were now part of the Xia Army and well understood the properties of the Iron Furnace, torches, and Congealed Fire Oil. They instantly grasped the implication.

The Iron Furnace's fire terrified demons—but Cold Beasts didn't fear it.

Not only did they not fear it—they were almost crazily drawn to it.

So far, they'd only used torches to lure them, and the Cold Beasts had reacted so fiercely. What would happen if they saw the Iron Furnace itself?

"Are you saying the Cold Beasts haven't vanished—they've gathered together, possibly summoned by the demon from Mirror Immortal Base, with the intent to attack our camp?"

As Shi Ping spoke, Yuan Cheng and Luo Yuan both frowned, their pupils flickering with dread.

"We must report this to the leader immediately!"

Yuan Cheng spoke, but Xia Chuan immediately shook his head.

"It's only my suspicion. We've indeed extracted resources from the outer zone too heavily—it could simply be that reason causing the Cold Beasts to disappear."

Hearing this, the three fell into thought.

"Too bad we can't go out. If we could expand the zone and check the distribution of Cold Beasts elsewhere, we'd be able to judge better!"

=9+Book_bar

Luo Yuan's tone carried regret. The one-kilometer ban was still in force; unless Xia Hong lifted it, they couldn't venture out.

It wasn't that they feared disobeying Xia Hong—they were mainly wary of Mirror Immortal Base possibly watching from the edge. If it were only Mirror Immortal Base's people, they might risk sneaking out to investigate. But if demons were involved, they couldn't act recklessly.

"This is serious. We should report it to the leader. We lack the strength to risk going out, but the leader is powerful—he might be able to investigate. Once we confirm the situation, we can prepare properly!"

Hearing Yuan Cheng's words, Xia Chuan paused, then nodded.

But Shi Ping now wore a look of hesitation.

He looked at Xia Chuan with uncertainty and said:

"My lord, today the leader told me to deliver all the beast blood collected earlier—1, 50 jin total. He's clearly entering seclusion to formally break through to Cold-Resisting Realm. When I delivered it, he specifically instructed me not to disturb him unless it was truly urgent."

Shi Ping's words made Xia Chuan and the other two freeze in surprise.

Since the ban was issued, Xia Hong had never entered a prolonged meditation.

Asking Shi Ping to deliver all 1, 50 jin of beast blood at once, and giving such specific instructions, clearly suggested Shi Ping's guess was likely correct.

Xia Hong is truly in seclusion, formally attempting to break through to the Cold-Resisting Level!

This matter could be trivial or grave—if Xia Chuan's suspicion is right, and it's the anomaly behind Mirror Immortal Camp behind this, then notifying Xia Hong is entirely justified.

But if it's just a false alarm, then the notification was pointless, and worse, it disrupted Xia Hong's cultivation.

Luo Yuan, Yuan Cheng, and Shi Ping all looked troubled, none daring to decide, their eyes all turning to Xia Chuan.

After a long hesitation, Xia Chuan's face hardened with resolve.

"When something's ambiguous, we shouldn't bother the leader with every little thing—if everything needs his decision, what are we here for?"

After pausing, he continued:

"Whether it's real or not, we must prepare first…"

"Hahaha, I broke through! I broke through!"

Before Xia Chuan could finish speaking, a thrilled voice suddenly rang out from the third floor.

Xia Chuan, interrupted, instead broke into a smile.

"That's Hong Gang's son, Hong Mu, right?"

"Even that kid broke through!"

"That's the sixth one today."

"Six today?"

Hearing Shi Ping say Hong Mu was the sixth breakthrough today, Xia Chuan and the other two's expressions brightened further.

"Too bad Brother's been in cultivation lately—if he knew, he'd be even happier!"

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

On the third day of the third month, when the one-kilometer ban officially took effect, the camp's activity zone shrank, meaning fewer people were needed for logging.

The surplus personnel couldn't just idle.

Especially now, with the threat from Mirror Immortal Camp looming, boosting the camp's overall strength was urgent.

By Xia Hong's orders, any camp member nearing ten thousand jin of strength could enter the training ground first.

The training ground had officially opened last month on the 20th; initially, to ensure fairness and conserve resources, a queue system was used—anyone willing to pay 20 contribution points per day could take their turn.

Special circumstances called for special treatment.

With the camp's strength needing immediate enhancement, Xia Hong's order met no opposition.

As a result, almost from the next day onward—March 4th—

the camp experienced a surge of breakthroughs into the Digging Earth Level.

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

Tong Xinglong, Ying Yi, and Li Longkai broke through the next day.

After that, nearly every day saw two or three more breakthroughs.

Today, six broke through at once!

"Most people in the camp still don't know—those who broke through to Digging Earth still set aside time every day to chop wood, just to avoid dropping on the logging leaderboard. If they weren't holding back to avoid outpacing others too much, their logging efficiency alone would leave these Logging Level folks dead tired and still far behind."

Shi Ping glanced at the logging leaderboard behind him, his expression slightly odd.

Xia Chuan followed his gaze and saw that nearly all the top twenty names on the logging leaderboard had broken through to Digging Earth. After a moment's thought, his brow tightened.

"You mean these people who broke through to Digging Earth still spend part of each day chopping wood, rather than focusing fully on mining?"

Seeing Xia Chuan's darkened face, Shi Ping shrank back, a touch of nervousness on his face, and nodded.

He himself was one of them, ranked seventh on the logging leaderboard.

"Shi Ping, go notify everyone who broke through to Digging Earth to report to the southern mine for iron ore. Yuan Cheng, go tell the hunting team to gather at the forge—I'll wait for them there."

Shi Ping sensed the coldness in Xia Chuan's tone and dared not ask further; he turned and left immediately to notify others.

Yuan Cheng nodded and also turned away.

Luo Yuan stood where he was, frowning slightly. "We've gathered plenty of iron ore lately—all sent to the leader. Why do we need them to mine it fully now?"

"Prepare."

Xia Chuan answered with only three words. Luo Yuan pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up—he understood.

(End of Chapter)