Chapter 262: Mission, Powerlessness, Screening in Progress

Does Da Xia Year 2, April 29th, nightfall.

Since the Camp Supplies Department started selling land plots in May last year, Does Da Xia had officially entered the era of separate living by family unit.

Early land prices were relatively high, and few people could afford to buy them and build their own houses—mostly high-level members like Xia Chuan, Yu Wentao, Yuan Cheng, and Luo Yuan. But now that a year had passed, the situation was naturally different.

Centered on the main building, both sides of the three wide main roads were packed with houses. Except for differences in exterior decoration, the styles were basically the same, so they looked clean, neat, and extremely orderly at a glance.

At the entrance to the inner city, young Xiang Liang led a massive crowd, slowly passing through the iron gate and entering the inner city.

"Don't crowd, walk forward slowly!"

"There are still many people behind, come one by one, don't crowd."

…………

Xiang Liang walked along the side of the team to maintain order. After entering the inner city, seeing the houses on both sides of the street, his face was full of envy. Then, thinking of something, he spoke loudly to the crowd:

"You've been here for a few days. It's not easy to get into the inner city once. You can take a good look at both sides. The houses in here are much better than those in the outer city!"

Sure enough, hearing Xiang Liang's words, everyone turned to look at the inner city houses.

At this look, the previously chaotic team immediately quieted down.

"Why are so many of these houses golden?"

"Jin Lin Wood. These should be houses made of Jin Lin Wood."

"Hiss... those houses are all made of Jin Lin Wood!"

"Look quickly at that one. Why is there a layer of blue blanket on the roof?"

"What blue blanket? That's a lot of frostwolf skins sewn together."

"Covering the whole roof, so big, how many skins must it take?"

"What's beast skin? Look at that one in front. Not only is the roof covered with a large beast skin, but the doors and windows are also made of iron."

"No, no, look over there. That house, not only the doors and windows, but even the eaves are made of iron. And the white cold beast sculptures at the eaves, those are carved from beast bones."

………………

In the team, exclamations came one after another.

Listening to these people's exclamations, Xiang Liang wasn't surprised at all.

Before bringing these Beehive people into the inner city, he had already guessed it.

Because four months ago, when he first came to the Does Da Xia Valley and saw these wooden houses in the inner valley, his reaction wasn't much stronger than these Beehive people in front of him.

Over the previous three nights, a total of 14,000 people had come from the Beehive, all of whom were arranged to live in three temporary wooden houses in the outer city.

According to Xiang Liang's observation, this batch of people who had just migrated from the Beehive had actually received quite a shock during their first few days in the outer city.

"It seems that even as giant camps, living standards vary. From the clothes these Beehive people wear and the things they use, one can roughly tell. Father also said that the Beehive's Earth-Digging Realm members only add up to over 700 people. Compared to our Does Da Xia, the difference is really too far!"

Four months ago, due to his contribution in offering Cold Marrow Iron, Xiang Liang's four relatives were all exempted from corvée labor. The family of five successfully became members of Does Da Xia.

His father, Xiang Ping, had Earth-Digging Realm cultivation and successfully joined a low-level hunting team four months ago. Relying solely on the contribution points his father earned in the hunting team, their whole family didn't lack beast meat for cultivation.

Not to mention that he himself had entered the Logging Department, and relying on the income from logging and gathering, he could also maintain his own cultivation expenses.

Originally, Xiang Liang was already very satisfied with such days.

But ever since he tasted Beast Origin Pills and salt once; learned of the existence of the Martial Arts Hall; and knew that Does Da Xia's youngest Earth-Digging Realm member was a person named Hong Shaojun, fifteen years and one month old.

After learning all this, Xiang Liang's thoughts changed instantly.

He was already almost seventeen this year, and his basic strength was only 5,900 jin. According to current progress, he had calculated that it would take him at least nineteen or even twenty years old to break through to the Earth-Digging Realm.

Not to mention comparing with Hong Shaojun, after observation, Xiang Liang found that the young people in the camp who had broken through to the Earth-Digging Realm could be roughly divided into three tiers: before sixteen, before seventeen, and before eighteen.

In other words, if he followed the routine, his aptitude wouldn't even make it into the camp's third tier.

For Xiang Liang, who thought highly of himself, this was extremely difficult to accept.

So he had to find a way to earn more contribution points to exchange for resources that would improve his cultivation speed, allowing himself to break through to the Earth-Digging Realm as soon as possible.

But the problem was, he only had Logging Realm cultivation, and relying on logging and gathering every night, he couldn't earn many contribution points at all. Salt, aged wine, Beast Origin Pills, and the cultivation quotas for the Martial Arts Hall—these hot resources, relying on himself, would take a long time to save up for once.

Nine days ago, the Secretary transferred a large number of people to Longyou. Xiang Liang saw that the Camp Supplies Department was short of people and immediately volunteered to help. Unexpectedly, he stumbled into it.

For three consecutive nights, over 10,000 people who came from the Beehive had to be accepted and arranged by the people of the Camp Supplies Department. Xiang Liang happened to be one of them. At this moment, the team following him had about 500 people, and he was specifically responsible for them.

Accepting newcomers into the camp wasn't just about arranging temporary accommodation for them. It was necessary to explain Does Da Xia's rules and regulations, including contribution points, as well as things to pay attention to in the camp, clearly to them.

To put it bluntly, it was to let these newcomers from the Beehive integrate into Does Da Xia as quickly as possible and return to normal hunting and gathering life.

There were twenty-eight other people who took on this task like him. They had a captain above them. After this matter ended, the captain would reward them with varying contribution points based on the integration of the teams they led.

With contribution points as a reward, Xiang Liang was naturally very hardworking. In order to let these 500 people quickly understand and adapt to the camp, for the previous three nights, he had been eating and living with these people in the temporary wooden houses in the outer city and was already quite familiar with them.

Seeing that everyone was still staring intently at the various houses in the inner city, Xiang Liang coughed lightly and said: "Last night I told you that the land price in the outer city is currently around 1,500 contribution points. Guess how much contribution points the land was worth when the inner city was just planned?"

"3,000?"

"Should be more, 3,500?"

"I guess 4,000."

………………

These people were very familiar with Xiang Liang and also made bold guesses.

It's just that no one guessed correctly. Xiang Liang shook his head, denied everyone's answers, and then said: "Minimum 4,000, maximum 7,000!"

Hiss...

Hearing this, everyone gasped in unison.

Xiang Liang had said before that a Logging Realm member, without unexpected gains, could earn at most 1 to 3 contribution points per night by logging and gathering.

Hearing the land price in the outer city last night, they were already very desperate.

Hearing the land price in the inner city now, which was at least 4,000, they immediately wilted like eggplants hit by frost.

"Don't worry, you have basically no chance with the inner city. All 4,200 plots of land in the inner city have owners and are already full of houses. Look, is there any empty land left in the inner city?"

Hearing Xiang Liang's words, everyone immediately scanned around and found that except for the streets, there was indeed no empty land in the inner city. Their expressions were immediately shocked.

"For a Logging Realm member to want to buy land by themselves is basically impossible. According to what this Lord Xiang said last night, only by breaking through to the Earth-Digging Realm and joining a hunting team is there hope of saving up so many contribution points. All 4,200 plots of land in the inner city have owners. What does this mean?"

"Does Da Xia has over 4,200 Earth-Digging Realm members?"

"This... how is that possible!"

…………

Hearing the whispers below, Xiang Liang's expression moved slightly, but he didn't explain.

He had entered the Camp Supplies Department and knew the current number of Earth-Digging Realm members in Does Da Xia. The total was about 3,000, not yet 4,200.

Not explaining was still for his own task.

Xiang Liang knew very well that people admire strength. The best way to let a group of newcomers quickly integrate into the camp was to let them feel Does Da Xia's strength.

As long as they felt Does Da Xia's strength, they would naturally integrate actively.

Rather than telling them plainly that Does Da Xia was strong, it was better to let them imagine and guess wildly like this. The effect would certainly be stronger.

"Alright, don't just look at the houses, keep walking forward."

Xiang Liang urged, and everyone immediately accelerated.

Soon, the majestic and solemn giant main building came into view. Everyone stopped, and their breathing seemed to stagnate for a moment.

The three-story main building was about fifteen meters high and two hundred meters long, like a giant abyss beast lying in the valley.

Compared to four months ago, the main building was more black, clearly because of the increased proportion of iron materials. Although the overall appearance was still gold and black, black now had the upper hand, having a bit more solemnity than before.

At the top of the wooden building, a banner was fluttering in the cold wind. The flag was golden, with a large black "Xia" character in the middle.

Under the eaves of each floor of the wooden building, forty or fifty coal stoves were hanging. The dragon and phoenix patterns carved at the corners of the eaves and the beast bone sculptures as crystal clear as white jade were all illuminated by the stove fire, making them lifelike and making people unable to help but feel dazzled.

All three floors of the wooden building were brightly lit. Human figures could be vaguely seen on the first and second floors, but the third floor was too high, and nothing could be seen clearly, but the brightness was the strongest.

"Heh... ha..."

In front of the wooden building, there was a group of teenagers, about two thousand in number, who were punching with their upper bodies bare. Every time they threw a punch, they shouted loudly. The momentum was magnificent, especially when combined with the main building behind them that looked like a giant beast lying on the ground, the momentum was even more magnificent.

"Am I seeing things? Those hundred or so in the front row are all in the Logging Realm?"

"How old are they? At most eleven or twelve, right?"

"What eleven or twelve? At most just over ten."

………………

The shock brought by the main building hadn't ended, and everyone was scared by the young people of Does Da Xia practicing martial arts in front of the main building. Logging Realm members just over ten years old, and not just one or two, but hundreds.

The Beehive people weren't ignorant!

They were also a giant camp, and what they had seen wasn't necessarily less than Does Da Xia.

There were also Logging Realm members just over ten years old in the Beehive.

But hundreds of them, and appearing at the same time...

"Gulp..."

Seeing the dumbfounded performance of everyone in the team, Xiang Liang looked at the group of teenagers in front of the main building, especially the leaders Liu Peng, Lu Dong, and Zhao Yuanwu. A trace of complexity flashed in his eyes.

There was envy, jealousy, and more, powerlessness!

Although he hadn't entered the Martial Arts Hall yet, he knew a lot about what was inside.

These three had all broken the breakthrough record of the Logging Realm. Liu Peng was eleven, Lu Dong was ten years and ten months, and Zhao Yuanwu was ten years and nine months.

If Xiang Liang remembered correctly, Zhao Yuanwu's record had been maintained until November of last year, and it was finally broken by his cousin Zhao Yuannu, ten years and six months. He hadn't been to the Martial Arts Hall for four months, so he didn't know if the current record holder was still Zhao Yuannu.

In other words, Liu Peng in front of him was only twelve this year, and Lu Dong and Zhao Yuanwu were only eleven.

Thinking of the age gap between himself and the three, Xiang Liang naturally felt a deep sense of powerlessness. He was almost seventeen, and his basic strength was 5,900, while these three, who were four to five years younger than him, also had a basic strength of over 5,000.

Comparing people really makes one angry!

Xiang Liang shook his head slightly, quickly led the crowd around the group of teenagers, and then came to the bottom of the main building.

Looking at the four-legged square tripod under the main building, Xiang Liang was stunned and subconsciously looked up at the main hall on the top floor of the main building.

Four months ago, he had gone to the top-floor main hall of the main building to offer treasure. Although what he saw at that time was a three-legged round tripod, he could clearly perceive that this larger four-legged square tripod in front of him should be the same thing as what he saw at that time, just that he didn't know why it had changed shape.

This square tripod should be placed in the top-floor main hall. Why was it placed here!

"Everyone, come over one by one to touch the Sacred Tripod. After touching, leave from the other side. Don't miss anyone. Start!"

The order Xiang Liang received tonight was to bring his team to the front of the main building in the inner city. At first, he thought it was only his team, but later he found that all 10,000+ people from the Beehive had to come. He even thought it was to mobilize these 10,000+ newcomers and announce their official joining of Does Da Xia.

But hearing the captain of the Camp Supplies Department at this moment, he realized it wasn't what he thought.

"Touch the Sacred Tripod, what does this mean?"

Xiang Liang couldn't help but mutter in his heart, but thinking of his task, he honestly arranged for personnel to start touching the Sacred Tripod one after another.

After a team of over 500 people, including himself, had all touched the Sacred Tripod, Xiang Liang realized that not only the 10,000+ people from the Beehive, but all Does Da Xia people in the inner city and outer city had come.

Everyone was lined up on the main street, touching the Sacred Tripod in turn, and then leaving from the side passage.

"What is this for?"

"I don't know either. The Director notified us."

"Touch the Sacred Tripod, could it be a blessing?"

"Maybe. The leader just came back, it must be his idea."

"Then there's nothing to say. I've always wanted to see the Sacred Tripod. This time it's not easy to get my hands on it, I must feel it well."

"Hahaha, that's right. The Sacred Tripod is usually placed on the top floor, we can't even see it. We must seize the opportunity today."

………………

With Xia Hong's current prestige, his words would almost unconditionally be followed by everyone in the camp. Moreover, the Cold Ruins Tripod already had this supreme status in the hearts of Does Da Xia people.

Qiu Peng deliberately turned this screening into a ritual similar to religious worship, clearly deliberately targeting these newcomers from the Beehive, letting them form an initial impression of worship for the Cold Ruins Tripod. In the future, if there were any other miracles, they could accept them faster, and at the same time, they would likely be more respectful and fanatical toward the Cold Ruins Tripod and the leader Xia Hong.

Just touching it wasn't too cumbersome, and there were always people maintaining order, so the efficiency was fast.

But even so, the 50,000+ people in the camp made this screening last until the second half of the night.

"You take people directly to the outer city gate. I will move the Cold Ruins Tripod there. That batch of people from Mirror Valley should be arriving soon. It will be like this for the next few days. Everyone who comes from Mirror Valley must touch the Cold Ruins Tripod before entering the city."

In the Alchemy Workshop, Xia Hong was listening to Cheng Feng. Sensing that the screening work at the main building had ended, he immediately interrupted Cheng Feng and gave the order to Qiu Peng first.

"Yes, Leader, I'll go now!"

About 5,000 people could arrive in one night. There were about 50,000 more to come, at least ten nights, meaning it wouldn't be until May 9th that all migration would be finished.

After Xia Hong calculated, he immediately turned to look at Cheng Feng and said:

"Continue, how many formulas have been synthesized during this time? Bring the pills for me to see."

Cheng Feng immediately took out four porcelain bottles from his bosom, his expression excited.

"Leader, please look..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 263 =====