Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 434 Pricing of Mysterious Items, Extraordinary Skills, The Finale of the Martial Arts Tournament

The surprises Xia Hong received after emerging from seclusion were far from over.

After getting a general understanding of the situation of the eight departments in the council hall, Xia Hong immediately led Xia Chuan, Yuwen Tao, Yuan Cheng, Lin Kai, Yue Feng, and Lu Yang to the logistics department hall with Qiu Peng.

Deep inside the logistics department, there was a warehouse of about 200 square meters, filled with all sorts of dazzling supplies neatly categorized:

Thousands of weapons hung on the four walls, all made of silver and forged to a grade of ten thousand or higher; the iron weapons were forged to a grade of one hundred thousand or higher. Near the walls were hundreds of wine jars, their sealing quality indicating their considerable value. In front of the wine jars were shelves displaying only fifty-odd types of pills, including Dragon Carp, Green Cod, Black Fiend, Bone Condensation, and Bone Gathering pills—all currently the most precious items in the camp—along with other items such as top-grade animal hides, silk, and ores…

This warehouse was clearly used specifically to store valuable items.

Besides the other supplies, there was a table in the center of the warehouse with three conspicuous silver boxes on it.

Qiu Peng led Xia Hong and the others directly to the table, then opened the three boxes one by one and introduced them to Xia Hong:

"The strange objects in these three boxes were all handed over to headquarters by Hongmen City this year. We have named them Shadow Demon Worm, White Knife Willow, and Possession Bead respectively..."

At this point, Qiu Peng paused for a moment and turned to look at Lin Kai.

Upon receiving the signal, Lin Kai immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Since the opening of the port last year, people have been flocking to Hongmen City, and many strange creatures have infiltrated among them, committing numerous murders and causing many deaths. This year, I personally led the Ministry of Justice, and with the assistance of Chief Justice Yuwen and Chief Justice Yuan, we have solved three cases: the serial beheadings, the Snow Night Butcher, and the Daytime Door Breaking. These three items are what we obtained after slaying the strange creatures..."

As Xia Hong listened to Lin Kai recount the ins and outs of the three cases, he reached out and picked up the three items in the silver box to examine them, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

The Shadow Demon Insect is a black jade-colored insect egg that likes to hide in light sources and use the refracted shadows to kill people; the White Knife Willow is a willow branch that is more than 20 centimeters long and shaped like a knife. It is good at disguising itself as a knife-wielder to kill people in the snow; as for the last one, the blue Possession Bead, it can attach itself to different people at will. It prefers to act during the day and specifically targets the relatives and acquaintances of the possessed person. It has repeatedly broken into doors and committed crimes during the day.

"These three monsters specifically target those with the Cold Resistance skill level?"

Upon hearing Xia Hong's question, Lin Kai immediately nodded and said, "That's right. Although they killed some Earth-Digging Realm cultivators in the early stages, they killed only Cold-Controlling Realm cultivators later on. We've figured out the pattern: these monsters will choose more powerful targets to kill as their strength increases."

Upon hearing this, Xia Hong's brows immediately furrowed.

This rule clearly does not apply to the monsters he had dealt with before.

Wooden Puppet Ghost, Yin-Yang Mirror, White Dew Ghost, Sumeru Nightmare, Five Great Masters...

These monsters are basically indiscriminate killers on a large scale. Even the Sumeru Nightmare above Shuanglong Mountain indiscriminately captures a large number of cold beasts. They don't specifically target the strong ones.

After the Great Xia merged into the southern foothills of Mount Mo'ao, it actually learned a lot about the strange creatures, including the classification of their levels. However, the patterns by which these strange creatures killed people were still a bit of a mystery.

"Actually, we are also a bit confused. No matter what methods we use, these three monsters can only exert the strength of the Cold-resistant level. They are supposed to be mid-level monsters like the Mirror Immortal and the White Dew Monster, but they do not seem to have the ability to kill people on a large scale. They can only increase their strength by killing Cold-resistant level monsters."

Xia Chuan then spoke up. He had obviously studied these three strange creatures as well, and seeing Xia Hong's furrowed brows, he immediately guessed what Xia Hong was thinking.

Through exchanges and contact with the Eight Towns, Da Xia was no longer completely unfamiliar with monsters as before. They already knew that the three levels of monsters—low, medium, and high—corresponded to the three realms of human beings: digging underground, keeping warm, and manifesting sunlight.

"It seems that even monsters of the same level have varying abilities. When you encounter them in the future, be extra careful. Make it a habit to always carry three things with you: a small torch, fire-generating oil, and a yellow candle!"

Remembering that the Yin-Yang Mirror had been recognized by many strange creatures before, Xia Hong immediately shook his head, stopped thinking about it, and instead gave everyone a word of advice.

"I'll understand later!"

These strange creatures originated from the ancient Yuanji period, and figuring out the many secrets they contain is clearly beyond his current capabilities.

Hearing everyone's answers, Xia Hong turned to look at Lin Kai and asked with a smile, "Who killed each of these three monsters? Why is no one asking?"

"The Shadow Demon Insect was killed by my subordinate, the White Blade Willow was captured by Yuan Sizheng, and the last Possession Bead was killed by Yuwen Sizheng. Yuan Sizheng couldn't use it, and as for Yuwen Sizheng and me, the reason we didn't use it was..."

Lin Kai paused at this point, a slightly embarrassed expression on his face.

"They all look down on them!"

Xia Chuan answered for him with a smile, and then continued to explain: "They are all envious of the three great masters' organs that the lord brought back last year, thinking that they can fuse with those strange objects that can improve the aptitude of combat bodies in the future."

Xia Hong was taken aback upon hearing this. He shook his head and chuckled a few times, but then a hint of agreement appeared in his eyes. He nodded and said, "Talent is very important. It's certainly worth waiting."

This breakthrough to the mid-stage of the Manifestation Yang realm has once again shown Xia Hong the enormous gap that aptitude can create. At present, there are no pills in the Great Xia Dynasty that can improve aptitude, so it seems that the only way to improve aptitude is through strange objects.

Qiu Peng, Lin Kai, and Yue Feng are all veterans from the Great Xia Earth Slope era, and he naturally hopes that these three can go further in the future. Waiting is indeed no problem.

Qiu Peng suddenly remembered something and said with a smile, "Lord, the price of these three strange items has not been determined yet. The three of them have been waiting for a long time."

Upon hearing this, Xia Hong turned his head and saw Yuwen Tao, Yuan Cheng, and Lin Kai looking at him expectantly. He immediately smiled.

Since the price of the strange item hasn't been determined yet, the three of them naturally won't receive the corresponding contribution points.

He placed the three strange objects into the silver box and immediately fell into thought.

So far, the only strange items the Department of Supply has collected are the organs of the three great masters. He had previously set a price of 1000 million for each of them. The Shadow Demon Insect and the other two items are obviously not as valuable as the organs of the masters, so 1000 million is not appropriate.

“这样吧！今后营地斩获的所有诡物，低级定价50到200万之间；中级300到600万；高级700到1200万，具体价格，就由营需部根据猎杀难度来制定。”

The most difficult thing about dealing with monsters is not their strength, but their bizarre methods, some of which even have a strong ability to bewitch people. This makes hunting them much more difficult than hunting cold beasts, and the corresponding price should naturally be set higher.

Everyone nodded immediately upon hearing this, especially Yuwen Tao, Yuan Cheng, and Lin Kai, whose expressions were slightly excited. The intermediate-level monsters cost between 3 and 6 million points. Since they contributed the most to killing these three monsters, they could get at least 50% to 60% of the reward, which would earn them at least 1.5 million contribution points.

stomping on...

Suddenly, someone rushed in from outside.

"Greetings, Lord! Greetings, Your Excellencies!"

Upon seeing Xia Hong and the others, the man immediately bowed respectfully before approaching Lin Kai and bowing with his hands clasped, saying, "Lord Lin, the top 200 from both groups of the martial arts competition have entered the inner city. You should go and preside over the finals."

Upon hearing this, Lin Kai immediately looked up at Xia Hong.

"You go first, I'll go check it out later."

"Then I shall take my leave and await the Lord's arrival to watch the match!"

Upon hearing that Xia Hong would also be coming to see him later, Lin Kai's expression brightened slightly. He quickly cupped his hands in greeting and led the man out.

After Lin Kai left, Xia Hong turned to look at Xia Chuan and asked softly, "Lin Kai's integration of the three towns is progressing well. How about you? I asked you to facilitate the alliance of the nine towns. How much progress have you made so far, and how long do you expect it to take?"

Upon hearing this question, Xia Chuan's expression turned solemn, and he cupped his hands and said, "After the truth of the murder case in the Three Towns Chamber of Commerce came to light last year, Cai Qiu's name has spread throughout the Eight Towns, and the middle and lower-level people in each town have reacted quite strongly."

At the higher levels, the reaction was not intense, especially in the three northern towns. According to reports from scouts, Yang Zun, Qin Feng, and Shangguan Yang initially intended to downplay the negative impact of suppressing Caiqiu and strictly ordered the people in the towns not to discuss Caiqiu's regional power casually.

Including Duan Hong, but Chuishan is closer to us, and with the cooperation of the Mu family members and Mu Longhe's old subordinates, Chuishan is currently the most heavily infiltrated of the six northern towns. I have sent a large number of people to secretly push things along. Currently, the Chuishan town as a whole holds a hostile attitude towards foreign vassal states.

As for Cao Qianyang and Long Mingyuan, neither of them has made a specific statement yet. From my observation, these two act according to the overall attitude of the town. As long as we can find a way to persuade their middle and high-ranking officials, we can basically influence the thoughts of these two lords. Coincidentally, with our help, the middle and high-ranking officials of these two towns have become extremely wary of foreign forces..."

At this point, Xia Chuan paused, then continued, "In February and July of this year, I sent envoys twice to the six northern towns to persuade them, but I did not explicitly propose an alliance. I was just testing the waters first."

According to the messenger's report, Cao Qianyang and Long Mingyuan have some intention to form an alliance. Of the three northern towns, only Jinshan has a chance to win them over, while Beishuo and Wuchuan have both refused outright.

Needless to say, Chuishan is a different story. Duan Hong seems determined to follow Beishuo. News from Mulonghe's former subordinates reports that a large number of Beishuo troops have begun to garrison Chuishan, clearly intending to guard against Daxia!

After listening to this long passage, Xia Hong immediately lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

As for Muyin and Jiangxia, there's no need to say anything more. Ever since the integration of the three towns began, these two towns have had no other choice but to gradually integrate into the Great Xia.

According to Xia Chuan, most of the high-ranking officials in the six northern garrisons, as well as all the middle and lower ranks, are generally hostile to the foreign vassal states. This already provides the basis for an alliance. The only obstacle at present is the lords of the six garrisons.

It has to be said that in an environment like Ice Abyss, it's not uncommon for a camp to be ruled by the lord Qian Gang alone. In other words, even if all the lower and middle-level personnel are willing to form an alliance, as long as the lord and some core high-ranking members don't budge, there's still nothing that can be done in the end.

"Mu Longhe said last year that Yang Zun, Qin Feng, and Shangguan Yang had long been in contact with Chen Cang, and their relationship was probably quite good. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to invite those three Xianyang-level experts from Chen Cang last year."

The fact that they flatly refused and showed no intention of forming an alliance proves that Yang Zun and Qin Feng likely had some kind of dirty secret with the regional military governors long ago.

Since that's the case, let's ignore these two companies for now.

You should first do your best to win over Yangqu and Longgu towns.

I'll talk to Shangguan Yang when I have time.

"Have Mu Longhe continue to accelerate his infiltration. We must seize control of the entire Chuishan before Beishuo does. Once we confirm control of Chuishan, even if the Nine Towns Alliance fails, we can at least forge a Six or Seven Towns Alliance. Whether or not we form an alliance then will be out of Yang Zun's hands."

Xia Chuan and the others nodded emphatically, clearly understanding Xia Hong's meaning.

"By the way, Lord, we have found out the identity of the real culprit in last year's Three Towns Chamber of Commerce murder case. His alias in the Nine Towns is Chen Yiqing. On the surface, he is from Guyang Village in the Beishuo Dongchuan area, but in reality, he is from Chencang Prefecture. He is in the same group as that little princess of Chencang, Chu Yan'er, from last year. After that, he committed more than a dozen crimes near Hongmen, killing nearly two hundred people in total. Each time, he used the same method: after killing people, he would leave them alive and then tamper with their memories in an attempt to sow discord among the Nine Towns."

"How did you find out? You didn't kill him?"

Xia Hong frowned upon hearing this. Chen Yiqing had killed nearly two hundred people in succession just to incite conflict in the Nine Towns. He was clearly no good.

Xia Chuan immediately recounted in detail how Lin Kai had lured Chen Yiqing out, killed Chu Dongning, and what had happened to Ji Hong and his sister afterward.

Xia Hong frowned as he listened, and only after Xia Chuan finished speaking did he ask in a low voice, "So, Ji Hong probably broke through his methods, but was forced to go with him because he was being held hostage?"

Xia Chuan nodded immediately, then gestured to Lu Yang beside him.

Lu Yang immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to the lord, we can be certain that Ji Hong was kidnapped. He himself is perfectly fine. In mid-March, I received a message from Xia Cheng and immediately sent people to Guyang Village in Dongchuan to investigate the situation."

My spies got in touch with Ji Hong in April. Chen Yiqing was unaware that his identity had been exposed and was still living openly in Guyang Village. During this time, Ji Hong sent us a lot of useful information. Until a little over a month ago, in late June, Ji Hong sent us a message saying that Chen Yiqing wanted to take him back to Chencang Prefecture.

I originally intended to rescue Ji Hong, but he refused. Because of Ji Jiang's death, he hated Chen Cang to the core and volunteered to go infiltrate the area. I thought it would be good for someone to go and gather information about Chen Cang, so I didn't refuse him.

Thinking of the deep affection between the two siblings, Ji Hong and Ji Jiang, Xia Hong couldn't help but sigh softly.

"In order to instigate conflict between Bazhen and us, Chen Yiqing killed so many people, which can be considered a heinous crime. However, thanks to him, we were able to secretly fuel the flames. All the dirty deeds he did are now pinned on Cai Qiu. Bazhen now hates Cai Qiu to the bone, and Chen Yiqing has made a great contribution to this."

Hearing Xia Chuan's words, Xia Hong felt a little relieved.

"Alright, the martial arts competition should be nearing its end. You should go and take a look! I'm going back to the Star-Picking Hall to take care of some things, and I'll check on the competition later."

Suddenly, Xia Hong thought of something, said a few words, and then disappeared from everyone's sight.

"The lord should only have broken through to the mid-stage of the Manifestation Realm, right?"

"His strength seems to be more than twice as strong as before!"

"I estimate that if Yang Zun comes again, he probably won't last a single move against the lord."

"Definitely. When the lord just came out of seclusion, his aura was so oppressive that I could hardly breathe."

"The gap is widening. We need to hurry up and try to reach the Manifestation Sun level. If this continues, we might not even be able to catch a glimpse of the Lord."

Let us all strive together!

"Let's go, let's go see how those kids are doing."

"Yes, go and have a look."

........................

Star-Picking Platform, Enlightenment Lotus Platform
After leaving the main hall of the logistics department, Xia Hong returned here again.

[Resources: Timber 137261 million, Coal 110872 million, Iron 126251 million, Silver 6892 million]

Looking at the ample resource balance in the system, Xia Hong took a slight breath, and a gambler's unique gleam slowly appeared in his eyes.

"This is the sixth time. Don't disappoint me this time. Transcendence, just what exactly is transcendence? Let me see!"

After pondering for a moment, Xia Hong slowly closed his eyes. 10 silver resources in the system disappeared instantly. As the silver was consumed, the silver twelve-petaled lotus platform beneath him quickly emitted a burst of strong light.

[Special Function 4: Allows for extraordinary skill enhancement, limited to once per year, requiring 100000 silver points. The success rate can reach up to 20% depending on the user's skill level.]

The Enlightenment Lotus Platform has four special functions, the fourth of which Xia Hong still doesn't understand.

The Enlightenment Lotus Platform was successfully upgraded in the third year of the Great Xia Dynasty. In the first year, the silver resources on hand were tight, and with 10 points at once, Xia Hong naturally dared not use them recklessly.

But by the second year, the Great Xia Dynasty had a surplus of silver resources.

Based on the principle that everything produced by the system must be of high quality, Xia Hong naturally decided to start using it.

Who knew, his luck was just incredibly bad.

He tried it once a year, starting in the third year of the Great Xia Dynasty. He had already tried it five times, consuming a total of 50 silver resources, but still failed.

This is the sixth time.

I really don't want to fail again this time, I can't afford to lose!
Extraordinary skills...

According to Xia Hong's understanding, it should be similar to Chu Yan'er's painting skills, which can transform personal talents and skills into extraordinary abilities.

The problem is, he really doesn't know what his special talent is.
Painting, brewing wine, forging, mining, playing musical instruments, playing chess, calligraphy...

He knows a little bit of all these things, but he doesn't really have any special skills.

"My real strength that allows me to surpass others is cultivation. I can't possibly make my cultivation even more extraordinary and faster, can I?"

Xia Hong felt the white light emanating from the Enlightenment Lotus Platform continuously flowing into his sea of ​​consciousness, and to be honest, a look of anticipation appeared on his face.

If we could truly elevate our cultivation skills to an extraordinary level, perhaps...

hum!
Soon, the white light completely flooded into Xia Hong's sea of ​​consciousness.

As a voice emanated from his sea of ​​consciousness, Xia Hong was first taken aback, then his pupils burst with intense joy.

"It worked! The sixth time, it actually worked!"

[Imitation and Deconstruction of Law-Level Martial Arts]

The words suddenly popped into Xia Hong's mind, and his face was full of astonishment.

"That's right! My special talent is the martial arts ability I inherited from my previous life. I actually forgot about that..."

Xia Hong suddenly realized what was going on, and burst into laughter, shaking his head repeatedly.

[Law-Level Martial Arts Imitation: Upon seeing any martial arts move, one's eyes don't focus on the action itself, but rather on the trajectory of qi and blood circulation, the principle of power generation, and the rules governing the evolution of the body's meridians. One can instantly see through the core of the move and all its variations, achieving perfect replication, and even instantly pinpointing the original creator's mental limitations and flaws when creating the move.]

[Deconstruction of Law-Level Martial Arts: Not only can it perfectly replicate, but based on an understanding of the underlying rules, it can automatically optimize it to a perfect form, instantly deducing a flawless "perfect version" and unleashing even greater power.]

But soon, after seeing his extraordinary martial arts skills, Xia Hong's expression instantly became extremely excited.

"What... what is this? Invincible against opponents of equal strength? No, even against opponents stronger than me, as long as it's not a complete crushing defeat, I'm invincible!"

Perfectly replicating, or even replicating more perfect martial arts moves, is nothing special; the real skill is seeing through the core of the opponent's moves at a glance. That martial arts ability is simply heaven-defying!

This means that as soon as someone makes a move, Xia Hong knows exactly where they are going to attack him, and he has complete control over the subsequent moves.

"Transcendence, this transcendence is truly defying the heavens!"

Xia Hong's face was full of joy, but he suddenly realized something, looked up at the entrance of the Star-Picking Platform, and his expression froze slightly.

Dressed in palace attire, Li Xuanling looked at him with a worried expression and slowly said, "I want to go and see the vassal states."

Xia Hong sighed softly, his figure shifting slightly, and he appeared in front of Li Xuanling in the next second. He gently embraced her and whispered, "Don't rush. I came out of seclusion this time intending to go to the vassal states. You've just broken through, so stay home and consolidate your cultivation. Xia Chuan hasn't broken through yet, and he definitely can't manage alone. You'll need to keep an eye on things in Xia City..."

Seeing that Li Xuanling's expression remained unmoved, he changed the subject and continued, "Yu Yao and Yu Sheng are only six years old. Can you bear to leave them both in Xia City and let them cultivate on their own?"

Li Xuanling's expression softened slightly, but she still refused to give up and continued, "But Second Uncle can't wait much longer, I..."

"Don't worry, I'll be setting off in the next couple of days. If there really are any pills in Chencang and Caiqiu that can extend lifespan, I'll risk my life to get them for you, okay?"

Hearing this, Li Xuanling gritted her teeth and glared at Xia Hong, saying, "Are you really saying this? Why would I ask you to risk your life? Do it if you can, but if it's too difficult, forget it. I reckon Second Uncle won't last much longer..."

Xia Hong sighed softly as he recalled Li Tiancheng's condition. He looked down at Li Xuanling, whose beautiful eyes were already filled with tears, and couldn't help but tighten his grip on her arms a little more.

"Don't worry, as long as the local warlords have it, I'll get it for you."

………………

In front of the main hall of the inner city, two arenas are currently engaged in fierce battle.

As each contestant was eliminated, the two groups that advanced and the rankings for the later groups were determined.

"The top ten list for the junior group has been released: Luo An, Luo Cheng, Lu Dong, Liu Peng, Zhao Yuanwu, Murong Yan, Zou Ping, Xiao Yan, Chen Ping, and Jiang Yichen. Now it's time to see them compete for the top ten positions."

"The top ten list for the youth group has also been released: Zhao Yuanwu, Zhao Yuankong, Yuan Bai, Tie Xinchuan, Zhou Yalong, Xiahou Qingqing, Xiao Heng, Fu Tiandu, Zhou Ying, and Meng Qing."

"There are only four people in the outer town, right?"

"There are only four. Muyin has only Murong Yan; Jiangxia has Xiahou Qingqing and Jiang Yichen; and the last one, Fu Tian, ​​is from outside the region. I heard he only comes from a village-level camp. Amazing! He actually managed to make it into the top ten."

How will the final be conducted?

"Both groups will use a challenge-point system. First, three champions will be selected by drawing lots. Each of the three champions will have two chances to challenge. The remaining seven people will each have three chances to challenge. One point will be added for each successful defense or challenge, and no points will be added for failure. After the event, the rankings will be based on the total points."

"Isn't this unfair? What about a war of attrition?"

"You think you're so smart? The healing and blood-replenishing pills are right next to the arena. Use them if you need them, and no one will gain an advantage."

"I see."

"I estimate that the champion of the junior group will be either Luo An or Lu Dong. These two are too strong in terms of cultivation and strength. It will be difficult for the others."

What about the youth group?

"I'm not so sure about the youth group. It seems like all of them have a chance. Tie Xinchuan and Zhou Yalong have an advantage in age, but the siblings Zhao Yuanwu and Zhao Yuankong are a bit too strong. Xiao Heng is also good. I estimate that all five of them have a chance."

"Those four guys from the outer town have no chance of winning the championship?"

"Are you kidding? If someone from another town wins the championship in a competition organized by our Great Xia, what would happen?"

“That’s right. The lord and the other officials are probably watching. It would be unreasonable to let the children from other towns win the championship.”

"Look, it's starting! It's starting!"

(End of this chapter)