Chapter 87: Team and New Dwelling

"Four sheep-horn chisels, ten saws, five hammers, three iron knives."

The sheep-horn chisels were for mining, the saws for felling trees, the hammers for forging tools and building shelters, the iron knives for daily cutting of cold beasts; these four tools lay before him, and Xia Hong’s eyes instantly flickered with a glint of light.

When he first used the polishing stone to forge tools, he had indeed considered crafting practical camp equipment, but the iron ore was limited, so he could only make do with weapons for now.

Iron tools may seem like small things, but using them was no easy feat; let alone popularizing them—that was even harder still.

The Luo Ge camp had possessed mining capability for over a decade, yet still had only these twenty-odd small tools, which spoke volumes.

Beside the twenty-odd tools lay neatly stacked 3,000 jin of iron ore and 4,500 jin of coal stone; Xia Hong pondered for a moment, then turned to Xia Chuan beside him and said:

"Chuan, go notify everyone in the camp with Woodcutting Realm cultivation to come here."

"Yes, leader."

The men moved the coal stone and iron ore to the side of the smelting furnace; Xia Hong tossed in the coal stone, placed the iron ore directly atop it to begin melting, then took the polishing stone and sat beside it, reviewing the cold beast scroll given by Luo Ming while waiting for the ore to melt.

Meanwhile, all the Woodcutting Realm cultivators from the camp gradually arrived.

On the left stood Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, Lin Kai, Qiu Peng, Lu Yang, Xu Ning, Xu An, Liu Yuan, and Li Yuankun—the original ten of Great Xia.

As the fifteen from Luo Ge camp all arrived, Xia Chuan introduced them to Xia Hong: Luo Yuan, Cheng Feng, Bai Wuting, Bai Dongying, Tong Xinglong, Li Yun, Li Ping and Li Long, the two brothers, Zou Yuankai, Ying Xuan and Ying Yi, the two brothers, Zhao Long, Zhao Hu, and Zhao Bao, the three brothers, and Lu Sheng.

Among the fifteen on the right, Xia Hong immediately recognized Luo Yuan—the very man who had led the questioning of his ability to deliver meat during the earlier distribution.

Luo Yuan and the three Zhao brothers each carried a large knife and a bow; the four Li and Ying brothers carried bows on their backs; the last bow was slung over Zou Yuankai’s shoulder.

Observing the positioning of the other fourteen, all standing one step behind Luo Yuan, clearly deferring to him, Xia Hong’s expression subtly shifted, a faint eyebrow raise betraying his thoughts.

"All of you, sit down."

Seeing the twenty-five seated on the ground, Xia Hong fiddled with the iron ore atop the furnace and said: "According to the previously established rules, only Earth-Digging Realm cultivators may join the hunting party—but clearly, that’s impossible now. So I’ll select some of you to join the hunting party first..."

Here, Xia Hong paused before continuing:

"Each hunting party member receives ten jin of cold beast meat per day."

Upon hearing this, the breathing of Xia Chuan and the other ten on the left grew heavier, their gazes burning with heat;

while on the right, Luo Yuan’s fifteen showed little reaction—clearly doubting Xia Hong could hunt so much meat.

Xia Hong knew exactly what Luo Yuan and the others thought, but he offered no explanation, continuing: "I’ll announce the selection method in three days. On the evening after that, Xu Ning, Qiu Peng, Luo Yuan, Zou Yuankai, the three Zhao brothers, the four Li and Ying brothers, and... Xia Chuan—twelve of you—will accompany me on the first hunt."

Upon hearing the first eleven names, Luo Yuan and the others showed no surprise; aside from himself and the three Zhao brothers’ large knives, the camp had only eleven bows total—and those bows were held precisely by the eleven he had named.

Only when he heard Xia Chuan’s name did their faces show a flicker of surprise—but seeing Xia Chuan, and remembering his relationship with Xia Hong, they said nothing, only lowered their heads in silence.

On the other side, Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, and the others not selected wore expressions of anxious frustration.

Seeing their anxious faces, Xia Hong waved a hand gently:

"Don’t rush. Huang Zhao and Da Chuan camp haven’t arrived yet—this isn’t the final list. In three days, when everyone’s here, I’ll hold a fair and impartial selection. Whether you make it or not will depend entirely on your strength."

After speaking, Xia Hong turned his gaze to Luo Yuan and the other three:

"But weapons are scarce. I’ll say this upfront: the camp has five large knives and eleven bows total. Aside from the knife I hold, the remaining thirteen weapons belong only to whoever joins the hunting party."

Hearing this, Luo Yuan and the others all changed expression.

Luo Yuan even stepped forward, as if to speak—but meeting Xia Hong’s gaze, he lowered his head and said nothing.

Public use of resources, no private property—this was standard in every camp, including Luo Ge’s before. Especially precious items like iron weapons.

The weapons Luo Ming left behind were not gifts for them.

Luo Yuan and his men had privately claimed these weapons; Xia Hong hadn’t called them out, but he certainly wouldn’t let them keep them.

"The remaining Woodcutting Realm cultivators will temporarily join the logging team. While we’re out hunting, your logging must not stop. From now on, harvesting crystal fruits also falls under the logging team. In the selection in three days, you’ll all participate—strength will determine one team leader. From then on, the leader will assign all logging and fruit-gathering duties, and will enjoy the same benefits as a hunting party member."

The system’s resource gap remained constant; wood accumulation could not be halted. Coal and iron ore were the same.

The Luo Ge camp had mined coal from Redwood Ridge; Luo Ming’s map clearly marked the location. Iron ore was even easier—it lay in a cave on the southern side of the valley, and sheep-horn chisels were already available. Logically, extraction of both resources should continue.

But now, Xia Hong was the only Earth-Digging Realm cultivator. Forging, hunting, and every small task in camp fell entirely on him. He could barely manage his own cultivation, let alone mining coal or digging iron.

One man simply couldn’t be everywhere at once—he had to prioritize.

He had already boasted before the entire camp: hunting was the most urgent matter now. Otherwise, when Huang Zhao and Da Chuan arrived, failing to supply enough cold beast meat would be a direct humiliation to himself.

"In the short term, improving hunting ability through cultivation is impossible. We must rely on iron tools."

Xia Hong stared at the iron ore nearly melted in the furnace, thought for a moment, then took the polishing stone in hand and began shaping it according to his plan.

He hadn’t worked long when Luo Yuan approached with another man.

"Leader, this is Mu Dong."

Xia Hong looked up. A middle-aged man, about forty, with a trustworthy face, stepped forward from behind Luo Yuan and bowed respectfully.

"Servant Mu Dong, bows before the leader."

Not knowing why they sought him, Xia Hong’s eyes held confusion.

"Leader, Mu Dong is our camp’s only remaining carpenter. He says this wooden hut has structural flaws and wishes to explain them to you personally."

Carpenter?

Hearing Luo Yuan’s words, Xia Hong’s eyes lit up, his gaze toward Mu Dong turning intensely interested.

"Leader, this hut was hastily built after the disaster, prioritizing speed over stability or concealment. The wood was chosen at random. Over time, even if cold beasts on the mountain don’t find it, the snow will crush it. It’s unfit for long-term habitation—we must build a new house quickly."

Xia Hong nodded. He had noticed the hut’s flaws himself, but with scarce wood, he’d planned to wait until more was gathered.

"Besides building wooden huts, what else can you do?"

Mu Dong looked uneasy and explained: "Leader, you jest. I don’t even have Woodcutting Realm strength—I can’t even lift those trees. How could I build a hut? I only studied under a master carpenter for a while and learned some basic wooden structure principles."

Seeing Xia Hong’s confusion, Luo Yuan quickly added: "Luo Ge camp previously had three Woodcutting Realm carpenters. Two died in the Wooden Puppet Ghost incident—one was Mu Dong’s master."

Xia Hong didn’t need to ask—he knew the third must have left with Luo Ming. After a moment’s thought, he said to Mu Dong: "From today, you join the logging team. Your benefits will match those of a logging member. Until you break through to Woodcutting Realm, stay in camp. As for the hut, I’ll first tell you my vision..."

Hearing he was now in the logging team, Mu Dong was already thrilled—especially the part about not having to leave camp until he broke through. He immediately strained to listen, utterly focused on Xia Hong’s next words.

Xia Hong had long held ideas for the new camp residence, but lacked a skilled craftsman to execute them, and himself was overwhelmed with duties. Now that he’d finally found a semi-expert, he intended to make full use of him.

(End of Chapter)