Chapter 348: Zhu Ridge in a difficult situation, Eight Camps competition, betting for five years

Mo'ao Era 131, September 15th

North Ning Mountain, Zhu Ridge Village

Zhu Ridge has always considered itself the head of the eight villages of North Ning Mountain, and there is some truth to it.

North Ning Mountain is located along the cliff line on the west side of Twin Dragon Mountain, so there are no outposts to the west; its southernmost section is also a cliff, with no way to go; its east side is the uncrowned king of this area, Beishuocheng.

Looking at it this way, the only outposts that can survive near North Ning Mountain are in this area to the north.

This is indeed the case. There may be many outposts along the North Ning Mountain line, but only eight have reached the village scale, and they are all gathered on the northern periphery. And Zhu Ridge Village is the earliest established among these eight.

There is a rumor that Zhu Tong's ancestors once held high positions in Beishuocheng, but later, as they grew older and their cultivation could not advance, their status gradually declined, and the Zhu clan declined accordingly.

Zhu Tong's lineage is just a branch. More than eighty years ago, they were sent out by the family to open up territory and make achievements for North Shuo. However, due to their poor initial strength, they never achieved much.

It was not until the generation of Zhu Tong's grandfather, Zhu Ting, that things finally improved.

Zhu Ting was very talented. He broke through to the Cold-Resisting Realm in his thirties and led Zhu Ridge from a large outpost to a giant outpost. He also occupied the best piece of land on the north side of North Ning Mountain, which laid the village-level foundation for Zhu Ridge;

Zhu Tong's father, Zhu Hong, could be considered to have picked up a ready-made situation. When he took office, the outpost had already reached the village scale. He hadn't been the leader for many years when North Shuo issued a town decree and rewarded them with town-village artifacts. Zhu Ridge successfully promoted to a village-level outpost;

Then, more than twenty years ago, Zhu Tong took over the position of Lord, and Zhu Ridge Village became even more glorious. Both in terms of strength and name, it became the head of the seven villages.

Within the jurisdiction of Beishuocheng, the village level is already the peak. One cannot create a town city. The nine towns of Mo'ao all have clear laws and regulations: any village-level outpost cannot have a population exceeding 100,000. Once the population exceeds the upper limit, one-third of the population must move into the town city.

North Shuo does not pick this one-third of the population randomly.

Out of 100,000 people, one-third is about 30,000 people. These 30,000 people include two-thirds of the outpost's Cold-Resisting Realm people and one-half of the Earth-Digging Realm people, along with their families. As for the remaining extra quotas, they are basically picked based on high talent.

According to this selection method, it basically means that any outpost's population, once it reaches the 100,000 limit, will immediately have most of its elites drained by North Shuo.

According to this decree, these village-level outposts have a rather complicated view on the population exceeding the 100,000 limit.

On the one hand, they certainly want to enter Beishuocheng to live a better life;

But on the other hand, once they are taken away, they cannot continue to stay in the original outpost to act as tyrants. Everyone understands the principle of "better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix."

Therefore, for the Zhu Ridge outpost, with a population of 60,000 to 70,000 and strength that crowns the entire North Ning Mountain area, not only does it suppress the six outposts of the same level, but it can also intervene in the internal affairs of all outposts in the region. Such a state is simply the best.

As the current leader of Zhu Ridge Village, Zhu Tong has indeed been sparing no effort to maintain this state. He has maintained it quite well over the years. Except for Hongyuan Village, almost all outposts in the surrounding area respect Zhu Ridge.

However, in the last four years, the situation has begun to take a sharp turn for the worse!

Four years ago, that is, Mo'ao Era 127, an Dongling outpost suddenly appeared in an area 15 kilometers deep on the periphery of North Ning Mountain.

That Dongling leader, Lu Yang, claimed to be from the north, and his outpost suffered a trickster disaster, with only him escaping with more than 500 elites.

Clearly, they were refugees, but their strength was ridiculously strong. More than twenty Cold-Resisting Realm people, and the remaining nearly 500 people were all at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm. While the outposts of North Ning Mountain were greatly shocked, they couldn't help but feel uneasy.

If they suffered a trickster disaster and some of the people who escaped had this strength, how strong must the outpost where Lu Yang was previously located be? The key is, if such a powerful outpost was destroyed, wouldn't the strength of that trickster be even more terrifying?

These puzzles at most made the people in the North Ning Mountain area more wary of Dongling, but they were not enough to make them afraid. After all, they still had the more powerful existence of Beishuocheng standing behind them.

Lu Yang was a newcomer and originally a rootless tree. Without a town decree, he annexed the Bai Song outpost without authorization. After discovering this, Zhu Tong immediately reported the situation to the North Shuo Inspector He Wuyang with excitement.

And for so many years, the status quo of North Ning Mountain respecting Zhu Ridge Village began to change from here.

Annexing other outposts without authorization without a town decree is a serious crime according to North Shuo law. The light punishment is the execution of the leader, and the heavy punishment is the dissolution of the entire outpost, and all Cold-Resisting Realm and Earth-Digging Realm people must go to be mine slaves.

The reason Zhu Tong was happy was that he thought he could rely on this matter to eliminate Dongling. Not to mention that Dongling itself was very strong, the location where Dongling took root happened to be the hunting area of Zhu Ridge Village, so the two naturally had conflicts.

But no one expected the subsequent development. Inspector He Wuyang actually accepted Lu Yang's bribe, not only helping Dongling cover up the crime, but also personally working to get a North Shuo town decree for Lu Yang to build the village. At the same time, he spoke highly of Dongling at the North Shuo Inspectorate. After these three moves, Dongling's crime was not only not punished, but it also successfully took root in North Ning Mountain.

What's more fatal is that Inspector He Wuyang has since been in cahoots with the Dongling outpost. With him as a backer, Dongling is no longer a rootless tree. Relying on its strong strength, Lu Yang has been working against Zhu Ridge everywhere. In just three years, it has had the trend of replacing Zhu Ridge as the head of North Ning Mountain.

Slap…………

"In these three years, Dongling's hunting team has been constantly encroaching on our hunting area on the periphery. The iron mine discovered at the beginning of the year was clearly within the sphere of influence of our Zhu Ridge, but Lu Yang didn't even say a word and occupied it directly!"

"He Wuyang, as an inspector, sits idly by and ignores it, letting Lu Yang act recklessly. That's fine, but he actually covered for Dongling in Beishuocheng, saying that our Zhu Ridge's strength is not good, and instead of occupying such a large area, it is better to give up a part to Dongling so that more resources can be contributed to North Shuo."

"I don't know what kind of ecstasy Lu Yang fed this He Wuyang to make him so partial to Dongling. It is rare to be so muddled!"

"We have been operating for so long, but the Inspectorate refuses to replace He Wuyang and turns a blind eye to the evidence of his crimes. What else can we do?"

…………

Inside the council hall of Zhu Ridge Village, more than ten Cold-Resisting Realm senior officials of Zhu Ridge Village, including Zhu Da and Zhu Mai, gathered together to denounce Dongling's crimes over the past three years. It was just that they had been talking for a long time without seeing any reaction from the leader Zhu Tong at the head, so their voices gradually died down.

Zhu Tong's eyes were also extremely gloomy at this moment. When it comes to opinions on Dongling, how could these people below have more than him? But as a leader, his greatest responsibility is to consider countermeasures, not to vent his emotions at will.

"In these three years, Lu Yang has been bullying people too much. Relying on Dongling's strong strength, he not only encroached on our territory but also pulled Hongyuan and Ziqiang to openly defy us. Now even Yanggu and Wanxing are a bit shaken. If this continues, our position as the village head will really have to be handed over to Dongling!"

After Zhu Tong said this in a deep voice, he paused slightly, turned his head to look outside the hall, and found that it was about to be night. He continued to sneer, "The year before last and last year, Dongling pulled Hongyuan and Ziqiang to not participate in the Eight Camps competition. This year, when they heard that a big shot in Beishuocheng wanted to take an apprentice, they immediately sent people here. I just want to take this opportunity to properly fix them!"

The Eight Camps competition held on September 15th every year was created by Zhu Tong himself. Of course, it was the Seven Camps competition before Dongling came.

There are three purposes for holding this competition.

One is to demonstrate the strength of Zhu Ridge. After all, Zhu Ridge has won the championship in previous years;

The second is to reduce the burden of Zhu Ridge's contribution to Beishuocheng. The amount of materials contributed by village-level outposts to Beishuocheng is fixed, once every six months, each time being 60 jin of jade bones, 1,000 jin of beast blood, 10 million jin of iron ore, and 15 million jin of coal.

When Zhu Tong held the competition in his early years, he stipulated that each competition would reduce 70% of the annual contribution materials of the first place according to the ranking of the outpost, which would be shared by the following six, the second place would pay 5%, the third and fourth would each bear 10%, the fifth would bear 15%, and the last place would bear the most, 30%;

As for the third purpose, it can be basically seen from the second one, which is Zhu Ridge's obedience test for the other six.

The 60% contribution indicator for the whole year, if calculated carefully, is 72 jin of jade bones, 1,200 jin of beast blood, 12 million jin of iron ore, and 18 million jin of iron ore. If 30% of it is shared, it is still a bit painful, but the 5% or even 10% of the second and third place belongs to being painless. It is definitely uncomfortable to spend it, but it is within the acceptable range.

In the early years, of course, some people were unconvinced and went to Beishuocheng to complain, saying that the Zhu Ridge outpost was bullying people. But under Zhu Tong's operation, Beishuocheng did not pursue it, and even expressed approval in the end, believing that this move was conducive to promoting mutual competition among the village-level outposts below.

In fact, thinking about it, they are village-level outposts that may be considered very strong in the surrounding area, but for Beishuocheng, they are nothing at all. Including the materials they contribute, it may be a drop in the bucket for North Shuo. As long as they can obediently hand it over every year, North Shuo is too lazy to care about the rest.

To put it bluntly, North Shuo recognized the status of Zhu Ridge Village as the head.

So, the next thing is simple.

Since it is a competition, there are rules, and Zhu Ridge, which hosts the competition, is naturally the rule-maker. In most cases, they can control the final ranking by relying on strength far exceeding the other six.

Through the annual competition, Zhu Ridge can not only save a large amount of resources to improve its own strength and widen the gap with the other six, but also take the opportunity to suppress other outposts and make other outposts obedient.

The disobedient Hongyuan and Ziqiang, who are the last and second to last every year, are bloody examples.

It just so happens that the two families have no strength and courage to refuse. After all, once they refuse, they will be subjected to more intense suppression by Zhu Ridge and the other four.

It was not until three years ago, when Dongling built the village, that the situation was different.

Dongling first refused the invitation to the competition in the first year, and in the second year, it actually pulled Hongyuan and Ziqiang to refuse together.

Zhu Tong was so angry that his teeth itched. He pulled the other four to start blocking and suppressing the three Dongling families openly and secretly, but the results all ended in failure without exception.

There is no way, Dongling's strength is really too strong. At the beginning of building the village, there were twenty-four Cold-Resisting Realm people, and there were more and more in the three years that followed. When the conflict occurred because of that iron mine at the beginning of the year, the number of Cold-Resisting Realm people Lu Yang brought was as high as 29.

Just as Zhu Tong said just now, if he doesn't find a way to suppress them, it will only be a matter of a year or two before the position of Zhu Ridge village head is handed over to others.

Today's Eight Camps competition is an excellent opportunity for suppression!

Zhu Tong clenched his fists slightly, and a cold light appeared in his eyes.

The people in the hall clearly understood this point. Zhu Tong's second brother, Zhu Da, sneered twice and said, "That Lu Yang has been arrogant for these years. I said Dongling has no one and dare not participate in the competition, and he actually took the bait."

The third brother, Zhu Mai, also sneered, "It may not be all because of your provocation. I am sure that He Wuyang told Lu Yang the news that Dean Huang wants to take an apprentice. The first place in this competition can go to Beishuocheng to compete for the quota of Dean Huang's disciple with geniuses from other villages. Lu Yang has racked his brains for these years to cling to big shots in Beishuocheng. Now that he finally has a chance, how could he easily let it go?"

After he paused, he continued proudly, "This is a clear hook. If he wants to participate in the competition, he must accept the conditions proposed by the leader and share all the materials contributed to Beishuocheng by the top three in the next three years with the other four. He is really bold, actually daring to agree to this!"

"Hahaha, the Bai Song outpost originally had our people. He probably doesn't know yet that we are well aware of everyone in Dongling under the age of fifteen. Dreaming of competing for the Dean's disciple quota with those trash!"

Hearing his two younger brothers, Zhu Tong also felt a sense of pride in his eyes. He sneered and said, "We have suffered so many losses at the hands of Dongling in the past three years. It is time to collect some interest. The contribution materials for three years are also a considerable amount. Let them spit out the micro iron mine that Dongling snatched at the beginning of the year in one breath. Let's see if Lu Yang feels heartache!"

The people in the hall sneered one after another upon hearing this.

The total output of a micro iron mine is at most 100,000 tons. The scale of the iron mine at the beginning of the year was not large. They estimated at that time that the total mining volume was at most 50,000 to 60,000 tons. The materials contributed by village-level outposts to North Shuo every year, not to mention other items, just iron ore is 10,000 tons. In the next three years, that would be 30,000 tons.

This time, the last five will bear the contribution share of the top three for the next three years. Even if the value of the materials shared is much higher than this iron mine.

Whether Lu Yang feels heartache, the answer is obvious!

"With a burden of materials several times higher, Dongling's development speed in the next three years will inevitably slow down. And we, by saving the materials contributed to North Shuo in the next three years, can take the opportunity to develop vigorously. After three years, Dongling will definitely not be our opponent. At that time, let's see how Lu Yang can still be arrogant in front of my Zhu Ridge!"

Hearing Zhu Tong's words, Zhu Da immediately nodded and continued, "The two families of Yanggu and Wanxing are double-dealing and swaying left and right, which is really hateful. This time, taking advantage of the competition, we must properly knock them down and let Yang Quan and Wan Tianhe see clearly who is in charge of the eight families of North Ning Mountain!"

The original betting chips for the Seven Camps competition were for the last six to bear 70% of the first place's contribution materials for one year. This time, not only were the chips increased, changed to all contribution materials for the next three years, but the division rules were also changed, with the last five bearing the top three.

This change was clearly prepared for the five families of Dongling, Hongyuan, Ziqiang, Yanggu, and Wanxing.

"My Zhu Ridge's spies are all over all the outposts on the north side of North Ning Mountain. I know exactly who the geniuses under fifteen are in the other seven families and what their strength is. Even if Dongling turns the sky over, it is absolutely impossible for them to enter the top five. No, judging from the paper strength, they are basically just at the bottom!"

Zhu Tong's eyes were low. Thinking of the situation of the Dongling outpost reported back by the spies, he sneered a few times.

Dongling's strength is indeed good, but it is basically concentrated at the high level, that is, the Cold-Resisting Realm and the Earth-Digging Realm limit. There is no lack of young geniuses among these people, but their ages are basically over twenty.

There are only two geniuses under fifteen in Dongling, and they are both people from the original Bai Song outpost, with a basic strength of only 18,000 jin.

This strength is not even worth comparing with Zhu Ridge, and it is not as good as the other six families.

Thinking of this, Zhu Tong looked at his second brother Zhu Da and asked in a deep voice, "Let Bai Xu and the other five all be prepared. Dongling is not to be feared, but the other families have a few good seedlings. Be careful and don't capsize in the gutter."

Zhu Da nodded immediately upon hearing this, "The leader is overthinking. I estimate that Bai Xu doesn't even need to make a move. Liu Yan, who currently has the worst strength among the five, has a basic strength of 21,000 jin. He doesn't even need any fighting skills. Just relying on strength is enough to crush the other seven families!"

"Don't be careless. Be careful and sail the ship for ten thousand years. Hong Fan's youngest son, Hong Yang, has good strength, and the two families of Bai Yuan and Longhe also have two good seedlings each. If possible, I hope the other seven families will not win a single game."

Hearing Zhu Tong's last sentence, Zhu Da was stunned for a moment, but soon realized that his eldest brother wanted to deter the other seven families through this competition. He nodded heavily and said, "Since that's the case, I will prepare 5 Blood Qi Pills for each of Bai Xu and the others, and then give them a heavy exhortation. It should be possible!"

The Eight Camps competition adopts a ring system. Each family sends five people. There are three rings in total. First, draw lots to randomly select three ring masters. Everyone else has two chances to attack the ring. The first three ring masters only have one chance after leaving the ring. Players who have used up their attack chances are eliminated.

Success in defending and attacking the ring can earn one point. The final ranking of the eight villages depends on the total points accumulated by their own five players.

Adopting this rule, wheel battles are unavoidable.

Under normal circumstances, it is almost impossible for the other seven families not to win a single game. But if there is the blessing of the Blood Qi Pill, the healing holy product produced by North Shuo, and Zhu Baixu and the other five are more cautious, it is still possible to do it.

"Alright, it's about to be dark. Zhu Da, go and notify Bai Xu and the other five to go to the ring and prepare first. Zhu Mai, go and notify He Wuyang to come over. The rest of you follow me to the entrance of the outpost. Those seven families should be here soon!"

The people in the hall stood up one after another and acted according to Zhu Tong's orders.

………………

The eight villages of North Ning Mountain are actually not far from each other and are all under the jurisdiction of North Shuo. Although there are frictions, there is no worry of mutual annexation. Therefore, the specific locations of the eight villages are known to each other.

After nightfall, Zhu Tong only waited at the entrance for less than half an hour before Bai Yuan leader Bai Bo and Longhe leader Nie Ying arrived with a small team of people each.

After all, they were in someone else's outpost. Even if the relationship between the two and Zhu Tong was good, and even if both families clearly wanted to respect Zhu Ridge, except for the five participating players, the two still brought four Cold-Resisting Realm people each. Clearly, there were safety considerations.

Zhu Tong didn't say anything, just scanned the five young people brought by the two, a smile appeared on his face, and he reached out and smiled, "There are still five families who haven't arrived. The two leaders and Zhu are here, how about waiting for a while?"

"Yanggu and Wanxing are closer than us, why didn't they arrive first?"

After Bai Bo finished speaking, seeing Zhu Tong's face darken immediately, he realized that he had asked the wrong question and hurriedly closed his mouth.

"Betting on the contribution materials for the next three years in one breath, it seems that Brother Zhu is determined to win this time. That Lu Yang has been relying on Lord He's protection for these three years, and he is indeed too arrogant. If he is not cured, I am afraid he will cause a big mess."

Nie Ying clearly had a much higher level of speaking. After Zhu Tong finished listening, his dark face immediately eased a lot. He was about to speak, but his eyes suddenly lifted to look outside the outpost. He found something, and his pupils suddenly rose with a look of anger.

"It's Yang Quan and Wan Tianhe who have arrived..."

"Not just them, don't you see there is a big group of people?"

"Hong Fan and Zi Jing are both here, and the leader... is Lu Yang!"

"Coming with Lu Yang, are Yanggu and Wanxing not planning to pretend anymore?" ===== CHAPTER 349 =====