[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades":3,"chapter-endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-485":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Endless Winter: My Camp Infinitely Upgrades",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2266911,4425,"Chapter 485: The Prison in Xia Yu","endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-485",485,"\u003Cp>In the 12th year of Great Xia, December 26, as the cold sun was about to set\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the deepest part of the inner city, the Zhaixing Palace, with its carved beams and painted rafters, glowed with opulence under the lantern light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the entire palace hung halfway up a hundred-meter-high eastern cliff, those on the ground looked up and saw it as a luminous celestial palace amid the clouds, even more mysterious and noble; the occasional shadows moving along its eaves and windows stirred endless imagination and an inexplicable yearning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the lord’s residence, Zhaixing Palace was unquestionably sacred and solemn in the hearts of all Great Xia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to incomplete records, since its completion in September of the second year of Great Xia, over ten years later, fewer than twenty people in all of Great Xia had entered it, besides the lord’s family and maidservants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the third year of Great Xia, meeting the lord, Xia Hong, had gradually become a matter of great honor in the hearts of the Xia people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was not hard to understand: Xia Hong, the lord, had long held a supreme status in the hearts of the Xia people, with emotions like fanaticism, reverence, and worship nearly filling every Xia heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then came the Hongmen Battle in the eighth year of Great Xia, when Xia Hong, before the eyes of all, defeated Yang Zun, seized the title of the strongest in the Nine Towns, sacrificed the Twelve Beasts, and imposed his dominance over the Eight Towns of the Southern Slope, formally ascending to the throne of Southern Slope overlord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Added to that was last year’s Chuishan Rift, when Lady Li Xuan’s spirit sword slew Duan Hong and annihilated the Duan clan—not only aiding the Mu clan’s seizure of power, but also forcefully establishing the Nine Towns Alliance, with Lord Xia Hong now ruling the Southern Slope as its official leader.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These two consecutive events pushed Xia Hong’s reputation and image to an even higher pinnacle; it could be said that describing the Xia people’s attitude toward him as “worshiping him as a god” was no exaggeration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet precisely because of this exalted status, since his first prolonged seclusion in September of the third year of Great Xia, Xia Hong had rarely appeared in public.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, meeting him had become an extremely difficult thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the saying goes, rarity increases value: outside the outer towns, take Xia Cheng as an example—among millions, fewer than one in five had seen Xia Hong, and most of those were Xia Army soldiers who had merely glimpsed him from afar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who had seen Xia Hong up close, actually interacted with him, or spoken to him, were vanishingly few—no more than two or three thousand people, and most of them had done so in the early years of Great Xia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, nobles granted titles by Great Xia could, during the annual Cold Yuan Banquet, bring their families to the Council Hall to see him; but since the ninth year of Great Xia, even the Cold Yuan Banquet was no longer held.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rarity increases value: so few in Xia Cheng had ever seen Xia Hong that simply laying eyes on him became a credential to boast about.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to meeting the lord, entering Zhaixing Palace was even harder than climbing to heaven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some enthusiasts had counted: among all of Great Xia, only the lord’s younger brother, Chancellor Xia Chuan’s family, plus the eight department heads, had entered Zhaixing Palace—everyone else numbered less than the fingers on one hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Hong’s supreme status and mysterious unknowability had draped Zhaixing Palace in another layer of sanctity; combined with Xiang Mudong’s recent expansion and renovation of the palace during last year’s inner city enlargement, which added even more opulence and authority, the Xia people’s curiosity and awe toward the building grew even stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, curiosity counted for nothing—now, not only could no one enter Zhaixing Palace, but even getting close to it was extremely difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last year’s inner city expansion extended deep toward the east; Xiang Mudong led countless craftsmen to carve into the rock walls of Shuanglong Mountain, doubling the inner city’s size—its total area now exceeded thirty square kilometers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lord’s hall, the eight department halls, the Alchemy, Weapon, and Martial Arts Pavilions, and the deepest Great Xia ancestral temple—including Zhaixing Palace perched above the cliff—all now lay enclosed by towering black earth walls, forming a city-within-a-city roughly two kilometers in diameter: what the Xia people now called the Great Xia Imperial City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the core seat of power in Great Xia, the Imperial City was naturally off-limits to ordinary people; only officials of third rank or higher, carrying personal tokens, could enter and exit without prior notice; all others, regardless of status, required formal notification and permission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Imperial City’s walls stood nine meters high; standing outside, one could not see any of the halls within—only from a distance could one barely glimpse the upper portions of the inner buildings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhaixing Palace, however, suspended a hundred meters above the cliff, was visible to anyone in the inner city who looked up; people always felt a stronger urge to explore what they could see but not reach—another reason for their enduring curiosity and longing for Zhaixing Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet curiosity aside, Zhaixing Palace was, in truth, merely a residence—its allure came solely from Xia Hong’s lordly aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who could have imagined that this palace, which everyone in Great Xia flocked to as a celestial abode, was, in the eyes of its young master, nothing but a prison—one growing increasingly suffocating?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Second Prince, good news—you can go to Ruhu Forest as soon as night falls.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the western training ground of Zhaixing Palace, Xia Yusheng, clad in a tailored black martial suit, wielded a silver longsword, locked in fierce combat with a seven-meter-long Intermediate Lei Kui; upon hearing Han Yue’s words, his expression froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reached out a small hand and tapped the Lei Kui’s forehead; the once-fierce Intermediate Lei Kui’s green pupils instantly stiffened, then burst into a flash of light—when the light faded, the Lei Kui vanished, leaving only a motionless Cold Beast Post standing in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Yusheng walked to the edge of the training ground, picked up a sweat towel, wiped his body, then looked up at Han Yue with a skeptical frown: “Didn’t Mother say we had to wait until the 28th to go to Ruhu Forest? Can we go today? Han Yue Auntie, you’re not fooling me, are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Xia Yusheng’s precocious demeanor, Han Yue couldn’t help smiling and nodded warmly: “It’s true. Lady Li Xuan sent me to notify you—hurry and change clothes. We’ll depart after dark. The Dragon Guard cleared and secured Ruhu Forest last night. Before I came, I sent Han Shuang to inform the First Prince, the Second Prince, and your friends—they’ve probably already set out, and the Dragon Guard is waiting at the North City Gate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wow, that’s amazing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Han Yue’s words and confirming the news was real, Xia Yusheng’s skepticism vanished instantly; his pupils filled with delight, and he leapt three feet into the air, his handsome little face flushed red from excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll change clothes right away—I’ll be quick, Han Yue Auntie, wait for me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Yusheng remained excited for over a dozen breaths before snapping to attention, then dashed toward the rear chambers to change clothes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Second Prince, slow down, don’t fall…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Xia Yusheng rush toward the chambers, Han Yue worried he might trip and called out—but she stopped herself mid-sentence, a strange expression crossing her face, then hurried after him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Xia Yusheng’s back, Han Yue’s eyes held deep affection, profound pride, and a faint trace of melancholy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The First Prince and the Second Prince were both born on the fifth day of the eighth month in the third year of Great Xia; they are now nine years, four months, and twenty-one days old—exactly 3,381 days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lord Xia Hong has been in prolonged seclusion since the year the two princes were born—the third year of Great Xia—and has not returned since his departure in the ninth year;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Li Xuan was slightly better, but not by much—especially since the lord left; except when traveling to handle affairs, she spent nearly all her time in seclusion on Zhaixing Terrace, emerging only once every two months under normal circumstances.\u003C\u002Fp>",1396,"2026-06-19T20:30:17.581Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","b545b21bb27ddc5db9f90298e24b426d955bfac770a5a018a42dc0e0eaed91a7","endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-486","endless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-chapter-484",521,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fendless-winter-my-camp-infinitely-upgrades-cover.jpg"]