Chapter 192: Xia Hong, the Stimulated Xiao Heng, New House

First Year of Does Does Da Xia, Fifth Day of the Fifth Month

"A new record is out: an eleven-year-old in the Woodcutting Realm."

"How long has it been? The new record was only half a month old, and it's been broken again?"

"Eleven years old, a year younger than the previous one. This is too fast."

"Impressive!"

……

Inside the martial arts hall behind the wooden building in the valley, Xiao Heng was practicing punches, volatilizing the beast meat energy in his body. Hearing the sudden commotion ahead, he was immediately curious.

"Someone broke through again?"

"Who is it?"

"Seems to be Liu Peng. This time, he broke the Woodcutting Realm record."

"Lord Qiu Peng is here; he personally awarded 500 contribution points!"

"Tsk tsk, 500 points—enough to practice in the martial arts hall for ten days."

……

Hearing about the 500-point reward, Xiao Heng and Xiao Lin beside him exchanged glances, envy flowing in their eyes.

"500 contribution points. Uncle Cheng, Father, and the others only get about 300 points for hunting a low-grade cold beast. Split between twenty people, that's only 15 points per person. 500 points—relying solely on hunting, they might not even earn that in a month."

Xiao Lin's father was Xiao Yuan, so he was very clear about the situation of the hunting squad. 500 contribution points were indeed a large sum for an individual.

"Today is the fifth, and Father and the others have only hunted three cold beasts in total. It's much better than back at Five Apes Mountain, but compared to other squads, it seems a bit lacking."

Xiao Lin nodded and said, "I checked yesterday. The five squads—Dragon Slaughter, Falcon Hunt, Steel Mane, Golden Eagle, and Zhao Long—have already completed their minimum quota for this month. How exaggerated is that!"

Hearing this, Xiao Heng couldn't help but be shocked.

The minimum quota was fifteen cold beasts. Since Xiao Lin checked yesterday, didn't that mean these five squads could hunt an average of four cold beasts a day?

"Terrifying, right? I heard from Father that the captains of these five squads all went hunting with the leader early on. Not only are they strong, but they know the habits of cold beasts like the back of their hands, and their hunting experience is very rich. Those of us who came later from Five Apes Mountain simply can't compare to them."

"I know. Father has been frequently visiting Yuan Cheng, the captain of the Dragon Slaughter squad, during this time to understand the habits of various cold beasts and the key points of hunting them."

Xiao Lin loved to join in the fun. Seeing everyone gathered ahead discussing it, he greeted Xiao Heng and went over to listen.

Xiao Heng stayed where he was, continuing to practice his punches. Remembering Yuan Cheng coming to see his father yesterday and the conversation his father had with him after Yuan Cheng left, his expression grew much heavier.

"Still playing around every day? Do you know how old this Yuan Cheng is this year?"

"How old?"

"Eighteen! The same age as your future brother-in-law. His base strength is already 29,000 jin, and he can soon use beast blood to prepare for breaking through to the Cold-Resisting Realm. You brat are still happy every day, thinking you're amazing just because you broke through to the Woodcutting Realm. If you don't hurry up and practice, let alone compare with those of the same age in Does Does Da Xia, I estimate even your two sisters will leave you far behind."

The words of his father, Xiao Kangcheng, were like a heavy hammer striking Xiao Heng's heart.

At Five Apes Mountain and the Xiao River camp, he was a fifteen-year-old Woodcutting Realm genius, pinned with high hopes by everyone in the camp, pampered by his parents and two sisters.

But upon arriving in Does Does Da Xia, he discovered he was nothing.

Especially in the last few days, his father and Uncle Yuan invested money to let him and Xiao Lin enter the martial arts hall to practice. As he met more people and learned more, he realized even more that his talent was not worth mentioning in Does Does Da Xia.

If he still had a chance to catch up to Yuan Cheng, then his future brother-in-law Xia Chuan and the current Hunting Department Commandant Director Yu Wen Tao were basically unreachable existences for him.

An eighteen-year-old at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm, already starting to use beast blood, about to break through to the Cold-Resisting Realm.

Not to mention, at the very top, there was still the leader, Xia Hong.

When he learned a few days ago that the leader was only twenty, he was stunned.

It was no wonder his father had to use Yuan Cheng to stimulate him.

If he had used those three, it wouldn't be stimulation, but a blow.

Xiao Lin also found out the situation and walked over excitedly.

"A-Heng, I found out. That Liu Peng who just broke through, his brother Liu Yuan is a member of the Cloud Dragon squad. I heard that Liu Yuan is filthy rich and often sends his brother to the martial arts hall to practice. No wonder he broke through so fast!"

Hearing that Liu Yuan was a member of the Cloud Dragon squad, Xiao Heng's expression shook.

"That's not surprising. Members of the Cloud Dragon squad are not short of contribution points at all. I heard from Eldest Sister that the Commandant's squad is very likely to become our Does Does Da Xia's first intermediate hunting squad. I heard they have already successfully hunted two intermediate cold beasts."

Xiao Lin immediately nodded and said, "I also heard from Father that the first intermediate hunting squad will either be the Cloud Dragon squad or the Dragon Martial squad."

As he spoke, Xiao Lin thought of something, a trace of envy appearing in his eyes, and teased, "Hehe, you still call him Commandant? You have to call him brother-in-law."

Xiao Heng was stunned upon hearing this, said nothing, and began to continue practicing his punches.

He could naturally see the envy in Xiao Lin's eyes.

He probably also knew what the other person was thinking. Those of them who were sprinting toward the Earth-Digging Realm were currently most concerned about the situation of each hunting squad. After all, once they broke through to the Earth-Digging Realm, they would have to enter the Hunting Department and would have to choose a squad to join.

Xiao Lin probably felt that with Xia Chuan as his brother-in-law, he would definitely be able to enter the Cloud Dragon squad in the future.

To say he didn't want to enter would definitely be a lie.

But Xiao Heng had other plans.

His father, Xiao Kangcheng, also created a squad named Xiao Mountain. It was originally intended to be called Xiao River, but the Hunting Department issued a regulation forbidding the use of the original camp names, so he changed one character to call it Xiao Mountain.

The Xiao Mountain squad was obviously founded by his father to commemorate the Xiao River camp.

Although it was very weak now and didn't rank among the twenty-three hunting squads, Xiao Heng saw his father's hard work.

So, barring any accidents, once he broke through to the Earth-Digging Realm, he would definitely join the Xiao Mountain squad to help his father.

Thinking about the breakthrough, Xiao Heng immediately asked, "A-Lin, what is the current record age for breaking through to the Earth-Digging Realm?"

Xiao Lin loved to inquire about these things most and immediately answered, "Fifteen years and nine months, named Li Yuanqing."

Fifteen years and nine months.

Hearing this number, Xiao Heng felt a bit frustrated.

He was already fifteen years and seven months old, and his base strength was 7,400 jin. According to the current training progress, it was almost impossible to break through to the Earth-Digging Realm within the next two months and break this record.

"A-Heng, don't think about it. The life we lived before was too bitter. Our cultivation talent and physical foundation cannot compare to that group of people in Does Does Da Xia. For example, this Liu Peng who just broke through to the Woodcutting Realm, do you think he is very powerful? I just went over and heard them discussing that Liu Peng's record will probably be gone in two days."

Xiao Heng was puzzled. Breaking through to the Woodcutting Realm at eleven was already exaggerated enough. What did it mean that it would be gone in two days?

"There are several children in their early teens who are all pushing to reach the Woodcutting Realm. Among them, one named Lu Dong is already on the verge of a breakthrough; a new record is certain."

Xiao Heng was already a bit numb.

He broke through to the Woodcutting Realm at thirteen, which caused a sensation in the camp for several months. His father also said that in the Five Apes Mountain area, there was probably no younger Woodcutting Realm practitioner than him.

Early tens, Woodcutting Realm!

"A-Lin, we must hurry up and practice. Don't waste time. 50 contribution points a day is not cheap. Use it well. I don't know when we will be able to come in next time."

Xiao Heng felt a sense of urgency and immediately threw himself into practice after speaking.

The martial arts hall only had 200 spots every day. It wasn't that you could come in and practice just because you had contribution points.

The Camp Needs Department divided the spots in the martial arts hall into three parts according to cultivation: the Earth-Digging Realm had the most, occupying 120; the Woodcutting Realm had 50; and below the Woodcutting Realm had 30.

On this basis, they still had to rotate, which showed how tight the spots were.

There were now more than 4,000 people in the Woodcutting Realm in the camp. Relying on those 50 Woodcutting Realm spots, Xiao Lin would need at least three months to come in once.

He himself was a bit better because his aptitude was good, and the Camp Needs Department would take special care of him. But even so, it would take more than a month to come in once.

In the last few days, he and Xiao Lin were able to come in to practice not only because the contribution points were paid by their respective fathers, but even the spots were their fathers'.

Such a situation was not a special case in the camp. Many older Earth-Digging Realm practitioners would do this.

The Camp Needs Department recently issued a written regulation for this: the spots for the martial arts hall could be transferred, but only among blood relatives.

In this way, not only he and Xiao Lin, but others who replaced their fathers or relatives to come in and practice were also very diligent.

"Time is up, everyone go out!"

Time passed slowly. As the person in charge of the martial arts hall reminded them, everyone who had practiced for a day walked out one after another.

Xiao Heng and Xiao Lin were also among the crowd. Feeling that their base strength had improved a lot, the two were excited but also felt a bit reluctant.

"If only we could stay in the martial arts hall and practice all the time."

"Not realistic. It's not just us who want to become stronger..."

Xiao Heng shook his head slightly and pointed to the front of the martial arts hall after speaking.

Outside the martial arts hall, two hundred people who were already prepared immediately filled in after their group walked out.

Xiao Lin shrugged and walked toward the wooden building with Xiao Heng following the crowd.

It was the last moment before dawn. As the two walked, they discovered that a small part of the crowd bypassed the wooden building and walked to the side.

"What are they going to do?"

Xiao Lin's curious nature was immediately exposed. He quickly went to the front row to follow them, not forgetting to pull Xiao Heng along.

The two followed the crowd around the wooden building to the front of the wooden building, which was the west side. As several wooden houses came into view, the discussion of the crowd ahead just happened to reach their ears.

"Is that the one already built the Commandant's house?" "Of course, the one being built on the side is the house of Lord Yuan Cheng, captain of the Dragon Slaughter squad."

"Besides these two, there are eight more being built. So many?"

"Aren't the owners' names written on those houses? See for yourselves."

"No. 3 Luo Yuan, No. 4 Zhao Long, No. 5 Zhao Hu, No. 6 Zhao Bao, No. 7 Huang Yong, No. 8 Hong Gang, No. 9 Ying Xuan, No. 10 Watching Yue Feng. How can these eight people have so many contribution points? I remember that the No. 11 plot alone cost 5,000 points. Plots 3 to 10 are closer to the wooden building, shouldn't they be more expensive?"

"Nonsense. Lord Luo Yuan is the captain of the Tiger Leopard squad; Lords Zhao Long, Zhao Hu, and Zhao Bao are also the captains of the Falcon Hunt, Steel Mane, and Golden Eagle squads respectively; Lord Huang Yong is the captain of the Zhao Long squad. You wouldn't know these five hunting squads, would you?"

"So it was them. No wonder."

"That's not right. Commandant, Lord Yuan, and these five captains—their hunting squads are strong, and it's understandable that they have many contribution points. But what about the other three?"

"I remember Lord Watching Yue Feng's Mountain River squad was just founded last month, and its strength shouldn't be very strong. Hong Gang and Ying Xuan are not captains of any hunting squad either. How could they have so many contribution points?"

"You don't understand this. Watching Yue Feng, Hong Gang, and Ying Xuan are all members of Does Does Da Xia's first batch of hunting squads. I heard that early on, they went out hunting with the leader and earned a lot of contribution points that they didn't use, which is why they have so many."

"So that's it. I was just saying, the Dragon Martial squad's strength is also very strong, why didn't I see Deputy Commandant Director Yu Wen buy a plot to build a house? He also joined the Does Does Da Xia camp last month, his contribution points should not be enough yet."

Please... collect 6... 9... books...!

"Hehe, look at the sign in front of the No. 11 plot."

Hearing that person's words, Xiao Heng and Xiao Lin hurriedly turned their heads to look.

A sign stood directly in front of the No. 11 plot, with the three characters "Director Yu Wen Tao" written on it. It was obviously already taken.

"Deputy Commandant is truly fierce. I heard he only came to the Does Does Da Xia camp on the 19th of the third month, and it only took him a month and a half to found the Dragon Martial squad. He was actually able to take out 5,000 contribution points. How many cold beasts must he have hunted?"

"After all, it's one of the only two hunting squads that can hunt intermediate cold beasts. I heard that if the Dragon Martial squad hadn't been transferred to guard the Border Valley recently, maybe they would have promoted to intermediate faster than the Cloud Dragon squad."

"The Cloud Dragon squad hasn't promoted to intermediate yet, right?"

"Not yet, but it's coming soon. They have already hunted one intermediate Snow Mane and one intermediate Magic Sheep, and they are still missing three types of intermediate cold beasts."

………………

Xiao Heng and Xiao Lin looked at the two houses built not far away and the other eight under construction, their eyes full of envy.

Neither of them had the heart to listen to the discussion on the side, only full of longing.

"A-Lin, you say, when will we also be able to move out and build a house of our own."

Xiao Lin pondered for a moment and answered, "5,000 contribution points. My dad said it would take at least four months to save up."

The camp is currently under control regarding iron ore, so only wood is allowed for building houses, and wood can be cut from outside by oneself. Therefore, the highest cost is the plot. Besides that, it's nothing more than paying the Craftsman Department a little labor fee. Someone has already calculated that as long as it is less than 300 points, compared to the price of the plot, this is almost negligible.

This answer obviously did not satisfy Xiao Heng.

He shook his head and said, "I mean a house that belongs entirely to us, not one your father helped you build."

Hearing these words, Xiao Lin stood frozen on the spot.

Just then, the sound of a group of children playing and making noise came from beside the wooden building.

"Luo An, when will your house be finished?"

"My dad said it will be done the day after tomorrow. Then I can move in with my mom. Finally, I don't have to squeeze inside, haha."

"Wow, that's so good. I also want to move out."

"Zou Ping, let your dad go outside to build one too."

"My dad said the contribution points are still a bit short, probably will take a few days."

"That's fast too. Zhao Quan, your house is almost done too, right?"

"My dad said it will be done in three days, right next door to your house."

"Hahaha, then we can practice and play together."

…………

Hearing the voices of a group of six or seven-year-old children, Xiao Lin's face flushed red.

"Did you hear that, A-Lin? Only these children rely on their fathers for everything. We are not young anymore. I heard from Father that two years ago, the leader was eighteen and the Commandant was sixteen. At that time, the Does Does Da Xia camp only had a hundred people and only one Woodcutting squad, and they all died at the hands of monsters.

The leader and the Commandant, two brothers, were entrusted with the task in a moment of crisis. In just two years, not only did their strength become so strong that they killed the monsters and avenged their father, but they also developed the Does Does Da Xia camp to be so prosperous today. If we two encountered such a situation, do you think we could do it?"

Let alone not being able to do it, in such a predicament, whether they could survive was another matter.

Xiao Lin shook his head directly. He had never seen a monster until now and only heard about it from his father's mouth. That was an extremely terrifying creature, and once encountered, death was certain.

"So, we must work hard. Does Does Da Xia has such good conditions. If we are still like before, we will definitely be left far behind by others. I don't ask to compare with geniuses like the leader and the Commandant and Deputy Commandant, but at the very least, we cannot be left too far behind by our peers."

"I know, A-Heng!"

Hearing the solemnity in Xiao Heng's tone, Xiao Lin nodded heavily, and his heart gained some determination.

Speaking of which, his aptitude was not as good as Xiao Heng's. Even Xiao Heng felt so much pressure after coming to Does Does Da Xia. If he didn't work hard, he could still live a good life now by relying on his father, but it would be hard to say in the future.

Everything in Does Does Da Xia speaks with strength. If you want something, you have to exchange it with contribution points, and contribution points are actually a quantitative indicator of strength.

"Xiao Heng, why are you standing outside? Hurry back with me."

A soft voice suddenly sounded behind Xiao Heng. He hurriedly turned his head and saw Eldest Sister Xiao Ning standing behind him, immediately revealing a smile.

"Eldest Sister, you are back!"

"Just returned from hunting. Father and the others went to the Camp Needs Department to hand over the prey and asked me to come back first. I happened to run into you."

Hearing that Father and everyone were back, Xiao Heng revealed a smile on his face, pulled Xiao Lin beside him, and returned to the wooden building together.

The Xiao Mountain squad also had to go out hunting every night. It was almost dawn now, which was indeed the time for them to return to the camp.

Xiao Ning followed behind, looking at Xiao Heng, a trace of relief appearing in her eyes.

Back in the Five Apes Mountain period, with Xiao Heng's personality, those words just now could never have come out of his mouth.

It had only been half a month since coming to the Does Does Da Xia camp, and her younger brother's changes were truly too great.

"If Father knew, he would definitely be very happy too."

…………

Xiao Kangcheng, his wife, and three children—the whole family had five people.

Although he also led a hunting squad and had a special relationship with Commandant Xia Chuan, his status in the camp was not low, but he did not enjoy any special treatment.

When the houses were divided on the 21st of last month, their family was also assigned a room with eight other households according to Xia Chuan's household registration system.

However, they were assigned to the third floor of the wooden building.

The rooms separated on the first and second floors of the wooden building were 10 meters long, which was 100 square meters, while the third floor was 20 meters long because only 100 rooms were separated, which was a full 400 square meters.

This could also be considered a special treatment, but it was not aimed at Xiao Kangcheng's family, but at all the Earth-Digging Realm practitioners in the camp.

Nine households living together, it was naturally impossible to live mixed.

Because there was enough space, and they were all Earth-Digging Realm families and were relatively well-off, they simply got wooden boards themselves, left two one-meter-wide aisles horizontally and vertically, and directly separated the large room into nine independent small rooms.

Xiao Kangcheng's family lived in the west room of No. 96 on the third floor.

Xiao Ning took Xiao Heng and Xiao Lin to the third floor. Before they reached home, they saw a large crowd surrounding their door.

"Congratulations, congratulations, Captain Xiao."

"Where are your eldest daughter and second daughter? The Commandant has been here for so long, why haven't the two girls arrived yet?"

"Probably shy and dare not see anyone, hahaha!"

"Commandant, what is this part called? Proposing, right?"

"It is proposing. Didn't you hear the Commandant just say it? Propose first, and after agreement, set a date for the wedding, and finally get married."

"Is this whole process called Xia Rites?"

"No, no, this is just a part of the wedding in the Rites section of the Xia Rites. Didn't the Commandant say that he is just making a template today? Whether to follow this in the future depends on ourselves."

"Then I have to take a good look. What is the difference between having a wedding and not having one, hahahaha."

"Setting the date today, many girls came to see. I heard it's very interesting."

………………

As soon as she approached and heard the discussion of the crowd, vaguely realizing something, Xiao Ning's face turned red instantly, and for a moment she didn't dare to approach her home.

"Silly girl, what are you standing there for? Come over, come over."

Lin Lan, with sharp eyes, saw her eldest daughter behind the crowd at a glance, immediately walked over with a smile, and pulled Xiao Ning back home from the crowd.

"The eldest daughter is back, the eldest daughter is back."

"Commandant, the object of the proposal has arrived."

"Hahaha, it's here, it's here."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 193 =====