Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 435 Shattered Star Sword, Yellow Mustard Bag, Pre-departure Preparations, Ranking and Rewards
The inner city was abuzz with excitement over the martial arts finals.

Meanwhile, Xia Hong had already quietly arrived at the Weapon Refining Pavilion.

Mu Dong was already waiting on the top floor of the weapon refining pavilion. When he saw Xia Hong arrive, he immediately led him to a quiet room deep inside.

Inside the quiet room, there were a total of ten weapons. Apart from the Dragon Sparrow and the Cold Blood, the remaining eight were three longswords, two long staffs, a ring-pommel saber, a long saber, and a long spear.

Mu Dong excitedly introduced to Xia Hong, "Since the year before last, the camp's silver reserves have been increasing. I thought about forging a few more suitable weapons for the lord. Last year, the lord brought back a lot of special ores from the dragon's nest. I selected the ten best materials and reforged the lord's Dragon Sparrow and Cold Blood swords, as well as the lady's Heavenly Transformation Sword. In addition, I also forged seven new weapons."

While Mu Dong was speaking, Xia Hong had already examined both of his reforged weapons.

Dragon Sparrow and Cold Blood are still at the 10-level forging stage.

However, unlike before, the dragon sparrow's appearance has turned light gold, and its weight has increased from just over a million catties to more than three million catties.
The appearance of the Cold Blood is still the same blood-jade-like amber color. It was originally forged from Cold Marrow Iron and can continuously increase its weight by absorbing the blood of cold beasts. When it was first reforged two years ago, Xia Hong used it to drive away the red carp monster in the Wuyuan Waters. Its weight was already more than 170 million catties. After this reforging, it is even more exaggerated, weighing more than 500 million catties.

"So heavy?"

Seeing the shock in Xia Hong's eyes, Mu Dong chuckled and said, "It's quite interesting. Among the batch of ore that the lord brought back from the dragon's nest last year, there was actually some cold marrow iron, and there were seven pieces. The lightest piece weighed 1200 jin, and the heaviest piece weighed more than 23,000 jin."

This reforged Frostblood Blade used a total of 5000 million catties of iron ore as its main material. In addition to 500 million catties of silver, the largest piece of Frost Marrow Iron was used as an auxiliary material. Furthermore, we coated the outer layer with hundreds of catties of Ink Pig Oil using intense heat. In the entire Nine Towns, you probably can't find a better weapon than Frostblood.

Hearing Mu Dong confidently utter those last words, Xia Hong couldn't help but lightly swipe the Frostblood Blade in his hand.

call…………

With a gentle wave of his hand, a strong wind suddenly swept through the quiet room, and Mu Dong was forced back several meters, almost being blown outside.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Seeing the embarrassment on Mu Dong's face, Xia Hong couldn't help but laugh and said, "I told you to hurry up and improve your strength last September. Now you know the difference, right? I won't be able to test my skills on you anymore."

Mu Dong said with a helpless expression, "I have made considerable progress this year, but the lord's strength is too great. I'm afraid that even if we spend our whole lives, we will never be able to catch up with the lord."

"Hahahaha!"

Hearing this flattery, Xia Hong couldn't help but laugh a few more times, but he didn't continue to criticize her.

Mu Dong only had 18 manes of strength last year, but now he has 25 manes. With his talent, he has improved by 7 manes in one year, which is indeed a significant improvement. It is clear that he has heeded his own admonition last year.

Xia Hong put Long Que and Han Xue back, then glanced at the remaining eight weapons, finally stopping at the last longsword.

"The Lady's Heavenly Transformation Sword was previously only at the ten-thousand-forge level. Rather than a reforging, it's more accurate to say it was reforged according to the original design. This new Heavenly Transformation Sword uses materials similar to the Lord's Dragon Sparrow Blade: 3000 million catties of iron ore, plus 300 million catties of silver. It also uses a special ore called Cold Light Iron, which the Lord brought back from the Flood Dragon's Nest. The outer layer is also coated with a layer of Ink Pig Oil. The Lady will be able to use it now that she has come out of seclusion..."

Mu Dong clearly noticed Xia Hong's gaze, but he still smiled and deliberately kept everyone in suspense, introducing all the other weapons and leaving the black longsword that Xia Hong had been paying attention to for last.

Seeing that he was deliberately keeping him in suspense, Xia Hong was not impatient. He simply continued to follow his introduction and looked through all six remaining weapons.

The other sword is named Duan Yue; the two long staffs are named Qing Tian and Pan Long respectively; the ring-pommel sword is named Bai Long, and the Mo Dao is named Po Jun; the last long spear is named Han Cang.

All six weapons are of the 100,000-forging grade. The main material is iron ore, but the auxiliary materials cost at least a million catties of silver. Moreover, they are all forged with special metal ores. Whether it is toughness, hardness or sharpness, they far surpass other weapons of the same grade.

It's finally the last game...

"As for the last one, the Shattering Star Sword, Lord, you should try it out yourself first."

Xia Hong walked up to the last black longsword, waiting for Mu Dong to introduce it to him, but unexpectedly, the other party pointed directly at the sword, indicating that he should pick it up and take a look.

He walked to the shelf with a strange expression and picked up the sword first.

"This weight..."

But as soon as he picked it up, Xia Hong's expression changed immediately.

According to his perception, the weight of the Shattering Star Sword was as high as more than 20 million catties!

"This Shattered Star Sword used 150 million catties of iron ore as its main material, supplemented by 10 million catties of silver, plus a metal ore called Mystic Light Iron that the lord brought back from the Flood Dragon's Nest. Starting last September, I mobilized more than 500 Cold-Resistant level blacksmiths, who worked in shifts for more than ten months without sleep, to forge a sword blank with a million-forging level..."

Mu Dong's expression was unusually excited, as if he had recalled the hardships of forging this longsword. His tone was slightly wistful as he said, "If it weren't for Si Cheng's help in casting a puppet specifically for hoisting the sword blank, we wouldn't even have been able to complete the subsequent forging..."

He paused slightly, then his expression turned excited as he said, "That Xuan Guang Iron not only enhances toughness and weight, but also greatly improves the sharpness of the blade. We've melted and cast a ring of Xuan Guang Iron around the sword body, and we've also focused on filling the blade area. I estimate its sharpness will be..."

laugh……

At this moment, Xia Hong slowly drew the Shattered Star Sword from its sheath.

The moment Xia Hong drew the Shattering Star Sword, he immediately sensed that the sword itself weighed just over 20 million jin, with the remaining 1 million jin being the weight of the scabbard.

That's right!

This Shattered Star Sword even has a scabbard made of iron of the 100,000-fold forging level.

The blade of the Shattered Star Sword is black, just like its scabbard, but its surface is covered with countless tiny, dazzling points of light, resembling the night sky after stars have shattered, truly living up to its name, Shattered Star.

Xia Hong looked up and subconsciously glanced at the other nine weapons.

Mu Dong immediately realized Xia Hong's idea and hurriedly dissuaded him, saying, "Lord, you mustn't! It's not too late to test your sword in the wilderness!"

"Haha, don't worry, I'm not that extravagant."

Xia Hong immediately laughed and reassured Mu Dong that forging a weapon of the 100,000-forging level would require a huge investment of manpower and resources for testing, which would be a purely extravagant act, and Great Xia does not yet have that kind of financial resources.

"My lord, please follow me!"

Xia Hong looked at the Shattered Star Sword and liked it more and more. In the end, he didn't put it on the shelf, but held it directly in his hand. Then, looking at the other nine weapons, he picked out the Coiled Dragon Staff separately.

After taking two weapons, Xia Hong followed Mu Dong to a table on the side of the quiet room. Upon seeing the items on the table, his expression immediately hardened.

On the table, a square yellow stone slab with sides measuring two meters was laid flat.

Visually, it was indeed a stone slab, but as Xia Hong looked at the entire slab, a sense of confusion inexplicably arose in his eyes. He couldn't help but touch it, and the texture was indeed stone.

What's causing this feeling of chaos?

Mu Dong's face was full of smiles. After Xia Hong finished touching the stone slab, he walked up directly, lifted the entire stone slab, and quickly folded it into the shape of a bundle.

The stone slabs were folded into bundles...

Upon seeing this, Xia Hong immediately had a guess in his mind, and asked with a happy expression, "This is not a stone slab, but a piece of cloth?"

Mu Dong nodded excitedly, then seemed to remember something. He took two ten-thousand-level giant axes from the other side of the quiet room and, in front of Xia Hong, stuffed them into his bundle.

The handles of those two giant axes were over two meters long, and with the blades included, the total length was at least ten feet, while the round bundle in Mu Dong's hand was at most one meter in diameter.

The giant axe was completely stuffed into the bundle.

Storage bags!
These three words flashed through Xia Hong's mind. He couldn't contain his excitement and quickly took the bundle from Mu Dong. Then, with an extremely excited expression, he reached into the bundle and felt for the giant axe inside.

"Among the many ores that the lord brought back from the dragon's nest, the most precious one should be this yellow mustard stone. It has the function of expanding space. The actual capacity of the loading device made from it is ten times its own volume."

The craftsmen's department has actually come up with storage bags!

Xia Hong looked at the storage bag in his hand, his face showing both astonishment and delight. He had already reached inside to explore the space, which was about 5 cubic meters, indeed about ten times the volume of the bundle.

"How much yellow mustard would it take to make one of these bundles?"

Xia Hong brought back so many ores from the dragon's nest last year that he even forgot what kind of yellow mustard stone it was. Thinking of the many uses of the storage bag, he immediately asked for the key information.

The helplessness on Mu Dong's face had already given him the answer.

"That piece of yellow mustard stone weighed only about 60 jin, this piece of yellow mustard cloth weighed about 10 jin, and we also forged three wine jugs for the lord, which used another 15 jin. Now we only have 36 jin left."

As if presenting a treasure, Mu Dong took three more gourd-shaped wine jugs of different colors from the side and put them directly into the bundle.

Xia Hong took out two giant axes from his bundle, then put the Shattering Star Sword and the Coiling Dragon Staff back in. He then turned to look at Mu Dong with a strange expression and said:

"You're pulling all these tricks because you know I'm going out, aren't you?"

"hey-hey!"

Mu Dong chuckled and then said, "Your subordinate didn't know that it was the Chief Secretary who gave me a few pointers. After you leave the pass this time, you will probably go alone to investigate the strength of the vassal states. The mountains are high and the roads are long, so you need to have something with you. With the yellow mustard bag and these three wine gourds, you can enjoy some summer wine from time to time while you are out and about. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"Thank you for your kind words. These two items are indeed quite good..."

Upon hearing this, Xia Hong smiled and gently lifted the yellow mustard bag twice to feel its weight. A knowing look immediately appeared in his eyes.

It's more like a storage bag than a storage pouch. Once the Shattered Star Sword and the Coiled Dragon Staff were put inside, the weight of the Yellow Mustard Bag immediately increased. This was far from the function of storage rings he knew from his previous life.

Even so, it's not bad.

Even a normal bundle, if it could hold two weapons, would be impossible to carry.

This mustard bag perfectly solved his travel problem.

"Alright, of the remaining eight weapons, besides the Dragon Sparrow, the Frostblood Sword, and the Heavenly Transformation Sword, the other five can be directly put into the camp's supplies warehouse. Have Qiu Peng lead his men to set a price, so that whoever in the camp breaks through to the Manifestation Yang level can use them." "Your subordinate obeys!"

A weapon of the million-forging level weighs at least tens of millions of jin (a unit of weight), meaning it is weighed in jun (another unit of weight). It goes without saying that even a newly advanced Xianyang-level weapon would find it a bit difficult to use.

Xia Hong is an exception. Normally, those in the early or even mid-stage of the Manifestation Yang level would mainly use weapons of the 100,000-forge level. Only those with at least a late-stage cultivation level would consider using weapons of the million-forge level.

Therefore, these five weapons are the perfect choice for Xia Chuan and the others after they break through to the Xianyang level.

"Weapons of the 100,000-forging grade don't need to be forged in advance for stockpiling, to avoid wasting too much unnecessary manpower and resources. From now on, we'll do it on a custom-made basis! Anyone starting to aim for the Manifest Sun grade can have them custom-made by the Craftsmen Department. You can discuss the price with Qiu Peng."

"My subordinate understands!"

After giving a brief explanation, Xia Hong turned to look at the east side of the weapon refining pavilion, a smile appearing in his eyes. He said, "The rankings are out. I was going to watch the competition, but it seems I'll miss it. Alright, I'll head over now."

"Your subordinate respectfully sees you off, Lord!"

Mu Dong bowed deeply, only to find that Xia Hong had disappeared when he looked up. Hearing the commotion coming from the front of the main hall, a look of regret appeared on his face.

"It's a great martial arts event. It's a pity that Yan'er and Feng'er are both over 25 this year. If they could participate and get a ranking, they could also show their faces in front of the lord."

His eldest son, Mu Yan, is 31 this year, and his second son, Mu Feng, is 28. Both of them have already passed the age limit for participating in the martial arts competition.

………………

In front of the main hall of the inner city, all the arenas have been removed, leaving only the one in the very center.

At this moment, 10 people stood on each side of the arena.

The 10 people on the left are noticeably younger, mostly under 20; the 10 people on the right look a bit older.

The main hall's top-floor porch extended outwards by a large section, upon which sat a golden chair, clearly prepared specifically for Lord Xia Hong. Unfortunately, it was currently empty.

In front of the seats, Xia Chuan, Yuwen Tao, Yuan Cheng, Xu Ning, Luo Yuan, and other high-ranking officials of the Great Xia Dynasty were all present, quietly discussing the events of the match that had just taken place.

"Everyone!"

Below, Lin Kai walked onto the arena, turned his head to look at the main hall above, and saw that Xia Hong was still not present. A hint of disappointment crossed his face, but he quickly composed himself, glanced around at the hundreds of thousands of spectators below, and smiled as he spoke:

"The standings for both groups are now available. I will now announce the rankings for the 8th Great Xia Martial Arts Tournament..."

Lin Kai paused, turned to look at the group of young people on his left and right, and raised his voice to continue:
"The first to tenth place in the junior group are: Lu Dong, Luo An, Liu Peng, Zou Ping, Zhao Yuanwu, Luo Cheng, Xiao Yan, Chen Ping, Murong Yan, and Jiang Yichen;
The top ten in the youth group are: Tie Xinchuan, Zhao Yuanwu, Yuan Bai, Xiao Heng, Zhou Ying, Zhao Yuankong, Zhou Yalong, Meng Qing, Fu Tiandu, and Xiahou Qingqing.

The release of the two lists instantly caused a stir among the commenters.

"As expected, all four from the outer town came in last place."

"Nonsense, those four people used up all three of their chances to challenge the champion, not only did they not get any points, but they also lasted the shortest time, so they can only be at the bottom."

"Unbelievable! Lu Dong actually won first place in the junior group."

"Lu Dong broke the record for the logging realm when he was just over ten years old. Last year, he broke through to the cold resistance level with his top-grade battle physique. He had more than 4 manes of strength as soon as he broke through. Now his strength is close to 8 manes. Isn't it normal for him to win the championship?"

"Lu Dong is impressive, but Luo An is no less so! He also possesses a top-grade battle physique and is currently close to level 8 in strength. It's just that his martial arts skills are a bit lacking, and he narrowly lost in one move."

"Liu Peng's strength is basically the same as theirs. Those who can enter the top three are all of similar talent and strength. What matters is their martial arts skills."

"Tsk tsk, these people are all under 20 years old, yet their strength is already at the seventh or eighth level. They're going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future!"

"Mu Rongyan of Muyin is nearly seven-mane strong, which is actually quite good. It's a pity that she encountered these geniuses of our Great Xia."

"Why are you all focusing on the junior group? The youth group is really scary. The champion, Tie Xinchuan, is already at the level of an 18-year-old, while the others aren't even 25 yet!"

"The younger they are, the greater their potential! In my opinion, the ten members of the junior group will achieve even greater things in the future than those of the youth group."

"Makes sense."

………………

"Lord Lu, your younger brother is amazing!"

"Hahaha, three members of the Zhao family made it onto the list, that's truly enviable."

"Luo An is Luo Sizheng's son, isn't he? Truly, like father, like son!"

"Two members of the Xiao family have also made the list. The father-in-law of the Vice Minister must be overjoyed this time."

"Xiao Heng is the brother-in-law of the Chief Minister, so we should also congratulate him."

"Hahaha, Luo Cheng, I remember you're Luo Ming's son, right?"

“That’s right. I remember Luo Cheng. He made it into the top 100 in the first martial arts competition with his Woodcutting Realm cultivation. I could tell back then that this kid would shine brightly in the future, and he was right.”

"That Chen Ping too, he's Chen Ying's son. I remember he'll be 20 soon. Although his strength is only 6, his combat talent is astonishing."

While the crowd below was in an uproar, Xia Chuan and a group of high-ranking officials of the Great Xia Dynasty were also engaged in heated discussions above the main hall.

At this moment, Lu Yang naturally became the object of everyone's congratulations.

Because his younger brother, Lu Dong, is this year's champion!
This year's martial arts competition is definitely more prestigious than in previous years. The introduction of young people from other towns is only a secondary reason. The key reason is that this year, for the first time, a rule of grouping by age group is adopted.

In previous years, the Great Xia Dynasty grouped its participants according to their cultivation level, generally into three groups: the Cold Resistance Level, the Limit of the Earth Digging Realm, and the Earth Digging Realm. To be honest, while this made the competition more exciting, it also made it less interesting to discuss.

Young people are definitely the group that all camps pay the most attention to;
Secondly, their pursuit of these rankings far exceeds that of ordinary people.

Geniuses are the center of attention, and the Great Xia Dynasty has provided all young people with a platform to showcase their talents in this way.

In an instant, everyone who had come to the inner city to watch the game was engulfed in heated discussion.

"Next up are the rewards for the top ten!"

However, the heated discussion was quickly interrupted.

As Lin Kai began to announce the rewards, everyone, including the 20 young people standing on the stage, couldn't help but breathe heavily.

“青年组冠军，白银50万两、阳元丹30枚、定制万锻兵器一件、精盐50斤、上品灵酒10斤、丝绸50米、兽王级血液5斤、兽肉20斤，镇诡玉1块；
亚军，白银40万两、阳元丹30枚、定制万锻兵器一件、精盐40斤、上品灵酒8斤、丝绸40米、兽王级血液4斤、兽肉15斤，镇诡玉1块。

Third place………………

少年组冠军，白银30万两，阳元丹30枚、定制万锻兵器一件、精盐50斤、上品灵酒10斤、丝绸50米、兽王级血液5斤、兽肉20斤，镇诡玉1块；
亚军，白银25万两、阳元丹30枚、定制万锻兵器一件、精盐40斤、上品灵酒8斤、丝绸40米、兽王级血液4斤、兽肉15斤，镇诡玉1块。

Third place...

The top ten rewards for the youth and junior groups are basically the same, except for the amount of silver reward. The higher the ranking, the richer the reward, and the rewards decrease accordingly. By the time you reach the tenth place, the silver reward is only 10 taels, and the other rewards are also greatly reduced.

Even so, after Lin Kai finished reading out the rewards, everyone below instantly fell into a deathly silence, their breathing becoming incredibly heavy.

The Great Xia Dynasty strictly controls silver resources, and no household is allowed to hoard silver. Therefore, unlike other camps, the Xia people still use contribution points to measure wealth.

In the current operations department, 1 tael of silver can be exchanged for 10 contribution points. This means that even if you rank tenth, the silver reward alone can be converted into 100 million contribution points. If you also convert the other eight items, the total value of this reward is at least around 200 million contribution points.

Tie Xinchuan, the champion of the youth group, earned at least 600 million points in one go!
Not to mention those listening below, even the 20 people standing on the arena at this moment were clearly not expected that the reward would be so amazing. Their expressions were instantly stunned.

After a long while, the 20 people suddenly reacted, bowed their heads in unison, and shouted in unison, "Greetings, Lord! Long live the Lord! Long live the Great Xia Dynasty!"

"Greetings, Lord! Long live the Lord! Long live the Great Xia Dynasty!"

If it were just the disciples of the Great Xia, that would be one thing, but now even Xiahou Qingqing and the other three from the outer town have followed suit and bowed down, and there is no sign of anything unusual on their faces.

This scene naturally made Lin Kai's smile grow even wider.

His expression suddenly froze, as if he had heard something. He quickly looked up at the top of the main hall and found that the chair was still empty. He immediately realized what was going on and laughed, "You 20 people are in good luck today. Go up to the hall and see the lord!"

Upon hearing Lin Kai's words, the expressions of the group of young people immediately became extremely excited.

Especially Lu Dong, Luo An, Liu Peng, Zou Ping, Zhao Yuanwu, Zhao Yuankong and other young people from the Great Xia Dynasty who had idolized Xia Hong since childhood, their faces flushed with excitement and they headed towards the main hall stairs without thinking.

Only the last member of the youth group had hesitation in his eyes.

Seeing that everyone was already walking quickly toward the main hall, the young man could only grit his teeth and follow.

"Don't go, you can't go up there."

"You're the one who forced me to participate in the competition. Now you're scared? Running away is out of the question; you'll only die faster. I have no other choice. You'd better hide well, or we're both doomed!"

Fu Tian followed behind the youth group, looking at the magnificent main hall. Unlike the others who were full of excitement, his face was full of tension and unease.

But besides all that, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope deep in his eyes.

However, he concealed this hope very well, making it almost impossible to detect.

(End of this chapter)