Chapter 272: Unexpected surprise, the rapidly growing Xu Ning

Going from Wu Shuang to Five Plains requires passing through Jinggu and Xia City.

Upon arriving at the two places, Xia Hong stayed quietly for a while, roughly looked at the selection situation of the Woodcutting Realm group in the two places, and finally shook his head in disappointment and left.

Similar to the situation seen in Wu Shuang, the vast majority of these Woodcutting Realm groups didn't even decide on a team leader, or if they did, there were still differences within the team before going on stage. Xia Hong could judge without looking that they couldn't advance.

Xia City was already in the seventh round of assessment, and only two groups had advanced.

This result made Xia Hong have no desire to watch at all.

"Five Plains is probably about the same, but let's take a look!"

Leaving Xia City, after traveling through the snowy night for more than ten minutes, Xia Hong soon arrived at Five Ape Mountain, which is now the Five Plains station of Great Xia.

The Five Plains station is on Middle Ape Peak, rebuilt on the basis of the original Three Tiger Camp station. Aside from internal cleaning, a closed wooden shed thirty meters wide and a hundred meters long was built along the mountain wall outside.

From afar, Xia Hong saw three iron cages outside the wooden shed.

Inside the three iron cages, each had a hundred-person squad hunting Cold Beasts; surrounded by more than twenty hundred-person square formations, clearly all Woodcutting Realm people participating in the competition; at the very front of the square formations, Xu Ning was holding a strong bow and staring at the three iron cages, likely preventing the Cold Beast from going berserk and accidents happening during the assessment.

"Eh…………"

Seeing the situation in the three iron cages from afar, Xia Hong's eyes instantly showed a touch of surprise, and then he found a position with a relatively open view to continue watching for a while, and his expression became more and more satisfied.

Unlike Xia City and the other four stations, in Five Plains, the three squads currently participating in the assessment in the iron cages not only had a team leader issuing orders, but the rest of the people, whether gathered or scattered, could clearly be seen to have their own formations.

Just this point alone was much stronger than Xia City and the other four stations.

"Xu Ning wouldn't be cheating, would he? Did he announce the assessment content in advance?"

Xia Hong frowned. The assessment goals for the Woodcutting Realm group were three items: courage, morale, and unity and cooperation.

Electing a team leader, solving team morale and internal conflicts, and finally finding ways to unite the team and gather people's hearts—these were the contents of the assessment itself. If Xu Ning told these people in advance, then this Martial Arts Meet would be meaningless.

It's no different from cheating!

"No, Xu Ning doesn't look like someone who would cheat. Let's listen first."

Xia Hong leaned closer, getting closer to those Woodcutting Realm people who hadn't participated in the assessment yet, specifically listening to what they were discussing.

"Hahaha, thanks to the Garrison Commander. When we don't need to pick fruits or cut wood on weekdays, he organizes us to go out with the hunting team. This time, the Martial Arts Meet actually tests hunting Cold Beasts."

"And it's hunting seriously injured Cold Beasts. A hundred Woodcutting Realm people working together, as long as the team leader's head is clear, there's absolutely no problem."

"The key is that those who have gone out with the hunting team are all at the peak of the Woodcutting Realm. This time they were all scattered into each group. Thirty-one squads, each squad has fifteen, as long as people in the team don't act stupid, advancing is no problem at all!"

"I didn't understand why the Garrison Commander did this before. Woodcutting Realm people going out with the hunting team, aside from doing chores, basically can't help much. Now I know he was planning ahead, hahaha."

"Xia City doesn't do it like our Five Plains. I guess the Woodcutting Realm people there are all stunned now. There will definitely be very few advancing this time."

"Hahaha, the Garrison Commander has too much foresight."

…………

After listening for a while, Xia Hong's furrowed brows immediately relaxed, and looking at Xu Ning at the front of the iron cages, his eyes were full of praise.

Having done the work in advance and accidentally hitting it, that can only be considered good luck, and of course, it doesn't count as cheating.

"Good luck will only favor those who are prepared in advance!"

Since the direction of the camp's expansion became Longyou, Xia Hong really hadn't paid much attention to the situation in Five Plains, and Xu Ning had always been deeply cultivating in Five Plains and rarely appeared in Xia City.

Being able to think of letting Woodcutting Realm people go out with the hunting team in advance to strengthen their hunting experience proved that Xu Ning's growth speed during the year or so he served as the Five Plains Garrison Commander far exceeded his imagination.

Xia Hong's brows flickered. He used his hand to break off an icicle the length of a thumb, and then flicked it lightly toward the treetop.

Whoosh…………

The movement of the Martial Arts Meet over at the station was very loud, and the sound of the snow falling from the treetop was almost inaudible, but Xia Hong noticed it at a glance. Xu Ning at the front of the iron cages had disappeared.

"Sneaky, who is it!"

Xu Ning's low drink and the big knife he slashed over reached Xia Hong's ears simultaneously.

Whoosh…………

The barrier blade, more than three meters long, slashed through the air. The strong force brought out a fierce wind from the surrounding airflow, cutting off all the icicles on the tree, and slashed fiercely toward the top of Xia Hong's head.

"Leader!"

The moment Xu Ning realized the person was Xia Hong, he had already withdrawn his knife.

But a giant weapon like a barrier blade is very difficult to withdraw once it is used, not to mention that Xu Ning had only broken through to the Frigid level for a short time, and his control over his own strength was clearly not very strong.

So the big knife still slashed down.

Seeing that he couldn't withdraw the big knife, Xia Hong didn't even pull out his own knife. Xu Ning's face was not only regretful but even a bit scared.

He was worried that he would really hurt Xia Hong.

Clang…………

But the next second, Xu Ning was directly stunned!

He didn't even see how Xia Hong moved. He only felt a huge force coming from his arm, and the next second he found that his barrier blade had been caught by a thin, narrow long knife.

Catching it wasn't the end. He felt that the force he had just slashed out was all rebounded back. The tiger's mouth cracked, his chest trembled endlessly, and he almost fell backward.

Chih…………

Xia Hong took the opportunity to bring the ceremonial knife down, unloading more than half of the force of the barrier blade, and then, the moment the barrier blade was about to slash the branches of the big tree, he lifted it hard again, intercepting Xu Ning's knife at a position less than an inch from the branch.

"Three manes, it's about the same as Yuan Cheng and Luo Yuan. Very good!"

"Xu Ning, pays respects to the leader!"

Xu Ning held the barrier blade and calmed down for three or four breaths. He first bowed respectfully to Xia Hong, then suppressed the surprise in his heart, and smiled bitterly.

"I was stupid. With my strength, how could I possibly hurt the leader."

When he first broke through to the Frigid level two months ago, Xu Ning thought that he must still have a gap with Xia Hong, but the gap shouldn't be too big, and if they really fought, it wouldn't be a problem to hold on for a while.

Thinking about it now, Xu Ning only felt his face burning.

Just in that confrontation, if Xia Hong hadn't brought it down and resolved the rebound force of the barrier blade, he would definitely have been sent flying with the knife. As for the result, the barrier blade would inevitably break, and even if he didn't die, he would be seriously injured.

Clearly, the basic strength was already over three manes, but the moment he crossed knives with Xia Hong, he still had an illusion, just like when he only had Woodcutting Realm cultivation before, using a sheep-horn chisel to plow the land and dig mines, not only was it useless, but the rebounded force was something he couldn't bear.

"The leader's basic strength is more than seven or eight times mine!"

If he knew Xu Ning's thoughts at this moment, Xia Hong would definitely shake his head helplessly.

He didn't lie just now. Xu Ning's strength of over three manes is absolutely considered good in Great Xia at present.

Aside from him, among the Frigid-level experts in the camp now, the one with the highest basic strength should be Peng Bo, who has eight manes, followed by Chen Yingyuan with seven manes; then Wu Tianxing and Chen Yingba, both with six manes;

Then there is Xia Chuan with over six manes; Director Yu Wen Dao with over five manes; Yuan Cheng, Luo Yuan, and Xu Ning in front of him are all three manes; and the others behind are basically between one and three manes.

Purely calculating strength is not enough. With four-level battle body qualifications, after breaking through to the Frigid level, the most important thing is potential.

Peng Bo and Chen Yingyuan are both in the late stage of the Frigid level.

When breaking through to the Frigid level, if the basic strength is over two manes, it is a superior battle body; over 1.6 manes is a medium battle body; over 1.2 manes is an inferior one.

That is to say, when they first broke through, their basic strength was basically only one to two manes. After Xia Hong observed, except for Peng Bo who is a superior battle body, among the remaining three, Chen Yingyuan is medium, and the remaining Chen Yingba and Wu Tianxing are only inferior. These four people, placed in this batch of Frigid-level experts in Great Xia, have low potential.

On the contrary, Xu Ning, who had over three manes upon breaking through, is a proper super-level battle body. In the future, as long as he breaks through to the middle stage and late stage step by step, his basic strength will soon exceed Peng Bo and Chen Yingyuan.

"Xia Chuan and Director Yu Wen Dao should be considered the first tier; Yuan Cheng, Luo Yuan, and Xu Ning are the second tier; the rest can only be considered the third tier. Great Xia currently has quite a few battle body qualifications, and this doesn't count the bonus of the holy patterns. In the future, Great Xia will definitely be much stronger than other camps in terms of Frigid-level experts!"

Xia Hong's low mood, which was caused by the Woodcutting Realm group Martial Arts Meet, improved instantly after seeing the selection situation in Five Plains and Xu Ning in front of him.

"Thanks to you knowing to train these Woodcutting Realm people in advance, Five Plains should be shining brightly in this Martial Arts Meet. How many groups have advanced so far?"

Hearing Xia Hong's praise, Xu Ning's face instantly showed a smile, and he replied:

"Five Plains doesn't have many Woodcutting Realm people, only divided into thirty-one groups. Seven rounds have been selected so far, and eleven squads have advanced. I roughly looked at it, and I estimate that fifteen squads will be able to advance in the end."

If this number is sent back to Xia City, it is estimated that Qiu Peng's teeth will be shocked off.

Thinking of this, Xu Ning's expression was very smug.

"Xia City and the other four stations have too poor a situation in this selection. You take time to go back and tell Qiu Peng well about how you cultivated the Woodcutting Realm people. If it is feasible, it will be promoted directly in the future."

Xu Ning nodded immediately, and at the same time, he was also curious about how bad the situation was in Xia City and the other four stations.

"The four families north of the mountain have been merged for almost half a year. What is the situation in that large piece of territory north of Five Plains now?"

After Xia Hong finished explaining, he didn't forget the purpose of his patrol and asked about the situation north of the mountain.

Hearing this, Xu Ning's expression instantly became spirited, and then he took out a map made of animal skin from his arms, unfolded it, and handed it to Xia Hong, saying:

"We have basically explored the original territory of the four families north of the mountain. We found two iron mines and four coal mines in total. In addition, there are quite a few rare fruit and medicinal plants. The Craftsmanship Department specifically explained that as long as they can be transplanted, they have already been sent to Xia City. As for the rest that are not easy to move, we will also regularly send people to patrol, and once they are mature, we will pick them immediately.

Leader, look here!"

Xu Ning first reported the situation in the territory north of the mountain, and then pointed his finger at the position further north on the map and reported: "Past the territory of those four families, it is the cliff. I have already brought back the people from the three small camps nearby. Further north, we have to go up Double Dragon Mountain!"

Xia Hong looked at the map, thought for a while, and nodded.

Five Ape Mountain is located on the north bank of the Xinghe, running east-west like the Xinghe, with a total length of fifteen kilometers and a width of five kilometers from north to south.

The earliest eleven camps of Xiao Kangcheng had actually only been active on the south side of Five Ape Mountain. Later, after Great Xia took over this place, they started to explore the north side of the mountain.

Xiao Kangcheng's group merged into the camp in April last year. Xu Ning led people to explore north for a full eight months before finding the four camps north of the mountain. Later, before the Cold Origin Festival this year, those four families were included in Great Xia.

Four months later, the exploration of the entire north of the mountain ended, and they reached the rock wall on the south side of Double Dragon Mountain. Further north, there is really nothing left to explore.

Going up Double Dragon Mountain was clearly Xu Ning's teasing remark.

Double Dragon Mountain rock walls are two or three thousand meters high, and they are either perennial solid ice or fog areas shrouded in cold air. Even Xia Hong himself dare not climb them casually, let alone others.

"Why, do you want to continue exploring to the east?"

Xia Hong turned his head and found that Xu Ning's gaze was fixed on the east side of Five Ape Mountain, and immediately teased with a smile.

Xu Ning nodded solemnly and said: "I won't hide it from you, leader. After I discovered that there was no exploration value on the north side of the mountain, I was thinking about this matter. Didn't you say before that Xinggu Pass is highly likely to be the only passage connecting us to the outside world? Such an important strategic thoroughfare—if we open it up a day earlier and hold it in our hands, we can avoid future changes!"

【Yinggu Pass】

Looking at the name he had personally given on the map, Xia Hong turned to look at the dense forest that kept rising from west to east, and a touch of ambition rose in his eyes.

But soon he calmed down and said in a low voice:

"Our strength is not strong. At the very least, there must be a gap with the Nine Towns of Mo Ao Mountain that Yang and Li mentioned before. Since that is the case, there is no need to rush to open the connection between the valley bottom and the outside world.

The most important thing at present is to take Longyou. We have already occupied two of the three most important resource places in the valley bottom, and only Longshan is left. As long as Longshan is completely grasped in our hands, the entire Pingxi Plain valley bottom world will eventually fall into the hands of Great Xia. At that time, it will be the best time for us to cast our eyes on the outside world!"

Hearing this, Xu Ning's expression shook slightly. He hadn't been to Longyou during this period, but he had been paying close attention to the situation there, so he immediately understood the meaning of Xia Hong's words.

Taking Longyou, controlling Longshan, occupying the three most important resource places in the valley bottom, and finally unifying Pingxi Plain—that is a matter of course.

Unifying Pingxi Plain!

Xu Ning recited these five words in his heart, and his expression gradually became spirited.

"Step by step is fine. You continue to preside over the preliminary matches of the Woodcutting Realm. It should be ending soon. After this side ends, you can just accompany me to the Xinghe. I came here this time to take a look at the Xinghe!"

Hearing that Xia Hong wanted to take a look at the Xinghe, Xu Ning subconsciously wanted to dissuade him, but remembering the confrontation with Xia Hong just now, he held back, nodded, and turned around to continue presiding over the preliminary matches.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 273 =====