Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 441 The Six-Rank System: Touching Moments and Breakthroughs, Direction

The name Evergreen Valley is something most people would find incomprehensible.

Valleys usually refer to low-lying and narrow areas between two mountains, such as Shuanglong Valley in Daxia, Hulu Valley in Hanqiong, or Yinhe Valley in Jinshan Town.

Strictly speaking, Yinhe Valley is somewhat misnamed. Although it is located in the low-lying area of ​​Mo'ao Mountain, its width on the east and west sides is as high as 30 kilometers. Unless viewed from high altitude, it is difficult to identify its valley landscape.

Evergreen Valley, that's even more exaggerated.

Its average width on the east and west sides is at least 40 kilometers, and even if its north-south depth is more than 200 kilometers, it can only be barely called a valley.

The name "Gu" doesn't quite fit the description, but the name "Changqing" does have some significance.

Affected by the winds of the Bone-Eroding Path, the snowflakes and cold air above the valley were blown away before they even landed. In addition, due to the low-lying terrain, the temperature inside the valley was 20% to 30% higher than outside.

A temperature rise of 20% to 30% may not be a dramatic change for humans, but it's a different story for vegetation.

Because there was no snow accumulation, and the temperature rose by 20-30%, the trees in the valley grew exceptionally tall, especially a kind of giant green tree with lush foliage. If someone flew over from above, they would find that compared to the snow-covered outside, the valley was indeed dominated by green.

This is the origin of the word "evergreen"!
With such a wide terrain, the valley is naturally not flat. It contains many mountains, some of which are two or three thousand meters high, comparable to Shuanglong Mountain.

These mountains are not connected and most of them stand alone, naturally becoming hunting and gathering grounds for humans in the valley.

boom…………

Six kilometers north of the Bone-Eating Path, in the dense forest, a brown bear-like beast, over eight meters long and with a ferocious face, collapsed to the ground with a thud. Two iron arrows were stuck in the bear's eyes, and bright red blood was still gushing from its vulnerable parts such as its neck and armpits.

"It's done!"

A young man dressed in a gray cotton coat and holding a long knife jumped onto the head of the brown bear from the side. After confirming that the brown bear was completely dead, he couldn't help but shout excitedly, his face full of excitement and agitation.

The young man was none other than Su Zhi, the third of the four siblings in the Su family.

"A mid-level yellow-armored bear has a strength of about 1.5 mane. The third brother can now hunt it alone!"

Suddenly, three young people—two men and one woman—jumped down from a nearby tree. They were the eldest, Su Jing; the second, Su Xu; and the youngest, Su Xing'er.

The three men each carried a powerful bow, clearly indicating that they had shot out the brown bear's eyes.

"Third Brother is already so powerful after just breaking through; I need to break through too!"

Su Xing'er happily slung the longbow behind her back, quickly took out several leather bags from her body, and brought them to the brown bear's wound to collect animal blood.

Su Jing looked down at his younger sister and asked in a low voice, "Fourth brother, you're only two thousand jin away from achieving the ultimate battle physique. Is there really no hope?"

Upon hearing this, Su Xu and Su Zhi, who were standing nearby, immediately turned to look at Su Xing'er, their faces full of anticipation.

Facing the expectant eyes of her three older brothers, Su Xing'er naturally felt a lot of pressure, but after thinking for a moment, she still answered softly, "Now even high-level beast blood is not working, I should have reached my limit."

Upon hearing this, Su Jing and the other two all showed a hint of regret on their faces.

"With top-tier combat physique qualifications, one can directly register as a civilian after being certified by the local authorities; once one's strength reaches a certain level, converting to military status is also easy; if one can become a disciple of a powerful figure and rise to a noble status, it is not impossible."

Hearing the second brother's words, the three of them looked even more regretful. They nodded and sighed softly.

“I’ve heard the leader say before that those who have been transferred to military status basically live in the county town. There are more than 120 million people in the entire Changqing Valley, but there are less than 300 people with military status and only more than 5000 people with civilian status. They are basically the core circle of each village.”

After Su Jing finished speaking, he sighed softly.

Caiqiu's management model strictly follows the household registration system.

First, all people within the territory were divided into six classes: noble, military, civilian, slave, and lowly. Then, detailed regulations were made for these six classes, from the smallest details like clothing, food, housing, and transportation, their activity areas, to the medium details like their occupations and professions, and to the major details like etiquette and behavior. No one was allowed to overstep these rules. Finally, these registers were uniformly managed by the local authorities, and promotions, deregistrations, and even removals from the register all had to go through their hands.

For everyone living in Caiqiu, household registration is of paramount importance. It is not only proof of your identity but also the standard for all your actions. Violation of this rule is a serious crime.

In fact, besides the sixth class of the household registration, there is another class of livestock registration that is not classified, which includes the more than 120 million people living in the Changqing Valley area, including Su Jing and his four siblings.

The term "livestock register" reveals that the Caiqiu military governor basically did not treat them as human beings. Apart from collecting annual tribute or sending people down to collect servants and laborers out of a charity mentality, they were basically ignored.

That's not right either. For example, if the Bone-Eating Path needs someone to die, they will still think of them.

Thinking of this, Su Jing revealed a self-deprecating smile.

He remembered very clearly that three years ago, his family of six was only one step away from becoming citizens. His father had already reached the level of a five-mane (a unit of weight) and met the standards for citizenship. However, because he wanted to bring his mother and the four siblings with him to become citizens, he had to pay an extra fee of 13000 taels of silver, so he did not become a citizen.

It was precisely because of the need to raise this money that the parents chose to take a risk and increased the frequency of hunting, ultimately resulting in their deaths while on the hunt.

"Big brother, do you think Lord Hong Yu will always be with us?"

Su Jing was suddenly interrupted. He turned to look at Su Xing'er, whose face was full of hope. He couldn't bear to extinguish her hope, so he nodded and smiled and said, "He definitely will. It's been more than four months. Not only has the master given us so many good things, but he has also taught us fist techniques and knife techniques. Didn't he also teach you sword techniques? He's been so good to us. He will definitely continue to take care of us."

"I knew it! Lord Hong Yu is the best!"

Hearing this, Su Xing'er was overjoyed, her eyes immediately crinkling into crescent moons with laughter. Of course, not only her, but also the two brothers, Su Xu and Su Zhi, couldn't help but smile as well.

More than four months have passed since they were rescued at the Bone-Eating Pass.

For the past four months, the four siblings had been living in paradise. Looking back now, the high-level red-maned tiger they encountered four months ago was just the beginning.

High-grade beast meat, beast blood, refined salt, Blood Spirit Pills, Blood Essence Pills, Yang Essence Pills, Golden Wound Pills... Xia Hong is not only strong, but he also hunts back a high-grade cold beast every now and then. The small yellow bundle he carries with him seems to contain endless precious cultivation resources, which he takes out from time to time to reward them, allowing their cultivation to advance at a speed of thousands of miles per day.

The supplies were secondary; the key was that Xia Hong's attitude towards them was much better than at the beginning. He not only guided their cultivation and taught the four of them a profound boxing technique, but also imparted a set of martial arts skills based on their individual characteristics.

Half a month ago, Su Jing broke through to the Cold Resistance level with a basic strength of just over 10 jin; then came the second brother, Su Xu, with 11 jin; until two days ago, the third brother, Su Zhi, also reached his limit and successfully broke through with a basic strength of just over 10 jin.

During the four months they spent with Xia Hong, they would occasionally have a blissful illusion, as if everything had returned to three years ago, before their parents' accident, and they had a solid new support.

Life's ups and downs are so absurd. One second they were almost thrown into the Bone-Eating Road by the county guards to die, and the next second they were living a life of unimaginable privilege, which included both material and emotional benefits.

Their feelings for Xia Hong gradually transformed from initial fear and apprehension to respect and admiration, and now into a deep dependence.

That's why Su Xing'er asked that question.

Tonight's outing was originally intended to test Su Zhi's breakthrough strength. Now that the test is complete, the four of them packed up their prey and immediately set off back.

Su Jing, carrying the prey with his two younger brothers, hadn't walked far when he turned to his younger sister, Su Xing'er, and said, "The master has been going out more and more frequently these past few days. He must be almost fully recovered from his injuries and has started scouting the roads. Xing'er, if you're sure you've reached your limit, then hurry up and break through. I estimate we'll be setting off soon."

"I know, brother!"

Upon hearing this, Su Xing'er immediately nodded emphatically in agreement.

More than four months ago, Xia Hong told them in front of them that he was going to Linchu County and told them to break through to the Cold Resistance level as soon as possible so as not to delay him.

"I'm going to try to break through tonight; I can't waste your time!"

Su Xing'er cheered herself up and quickened her pace.

"There's a fire in the cave! The adults are back!"

The area where the four were hunting was less than ten kilometers from the cave, and they arrived there quickly.

It was nighttime, and seeing a campfire in the cave, they knew Xia Hong had returned. The four of them immediately smiled and quickened their pace.

But as soon as they stepped into the cave, all four of them froze.

Beside the campfire, Xia Hong was bleeding a small blue snake.

The small, bluish-green snake was only as thick as a thumb, its skin translucent and its body length estimated to be less than a meter. Yet, the blood it released filled the entire wooden basin, weighing at least a hundred pounds. Moreover, the bones exposed at the cut-open part of its body were pure gold...

"My lord, is this little snake a powerful, high-level cold beast?"

Xia Hong, who was bleeding the snake, looked up at Su Xing'er, who was looking at him with curiosity, and deliberately decided to tease her. He nodded and handed her the little snake.

Although Su Xing'er was young, she had been hunting for a long time, so she was not afraid of a small snake and caught it with her right hand.

But as soon as she caught him, she stumbled and fell to the ground. When she looked up at Xia Hong, her face immediately fell, and she looked miserable.

"Hahahaha, this is a Beast King-level Azure Jade Serpent. It looks small, but after bleeding it out, it weighs seventy or eighty thousand catties. You still dare to catch it with one hand."

Xia Hong was overjoyed and reached out to take the little snake as he spoke.

"Beast King!"

Upon hearing this, Su Xing'er quickly got up, patted her bottom, and moved closer to Xia Hong, her eyes filled with curiosity and shock.

Of course, it wasn't just her. The three Su brothers, who had just put down the yellow-armored bear, also shuddered upon hearing this and quickly came over.

The four siblings had never even heard of the Beast King, let alone seen him, but they could get a general idea from the name alone.

"Sir, may we eat this little snake tonight?"

Xia Hong turned to look at Su Xing'er and saw her staring at the Azure Jade Serpent with a greedy look on her face. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "Go ahead and eat some, but you can't eat too much. Cut off one-fifth and we five can share it."

"Wow, sir, you're so kind!"

Su Xing'er immediately jumped for joy, almost clapping her hands.

Xia Hong turned to look at the three Su brothers and found them looking at him with gratitude on their faces. They were clearly about to bow and express their thanks, so Xia Hong lost interest and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, you guys go and pack up first!"

People are probably all a little bit perverse, and Xia Hong is no exception.

As the lord of the Great Xia Dynasty, he had experienced countless emotions of gratitude, fervor, and reverence in Xia City, and was completely accustomed to them. Therefore, although he could understand the frequent reactions of the Su Jing brothers, he was quite immune to them.

On the contrary, Su Xing'er, because of her young age and carefree and innocent nature, showed little fear of him after more than four months of getting to know him. She often asked him questions and would occasionally be playful. This natural and casual way of getting along, which was not disrespectful but rather casual, coupled with the dependence she inadvertently revealed, reminded him of his daughter Yu Yao.

Su Xing'er was only fifteen years old, just over eight years older than his daughter Xia Yuyao. Because of his affection for her, he naturally felt more favorably toward Su Xing'er than the three Su brothers, who were usually very respectful to him.

"128 days. Today should be the fourth day of the first month of the tenth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, which happens to be the Cold Yuan Festival. I haven't been back for almost half a year. The two little ones must miss me, right?"

To be honest, this was Xia Hong's first time away from Xia City in almost half a year. Although he didn't miss home that quickly, he still felt a bit worried about his two children who had just turned six. "Phew... I don't want to think about it too much. My injuries have healed, and it's time to officially go out and see Cai Qiu's strength!"

Xia Hong suppressed his worries, pondered for a moment, then looked up at the four siblings roasting meat around the campfire and said with a smile, "Three superior battle bodies and a strength of more than 2 manes are enough. Next, we only need you."

Su Xing'er noticed Xia Hong's gaze and hurriedly said, "My lord, please don't think I'm slow. Xing'er can try to break through tonight."

Xia Hong smiled and shook his head, saying, "I didn't complain that you were slow..."

At this point, he pointed to the basin of Teng Snake blood he had just collected and continued, "Your skin membrane is almost at its limit. Ordinary beast blood won't work. Next, we'll use this Teng Snake blood. You should be able to reach 2000 jin."

Upon hearing this, Su Jing and the other two were stunned for a moment, then realized that Xia Hong had gone out to hunt this beast king-level Teng Snake tonight so that his younger sister, Su Xing'er, could improve her top-grade battle physique. The three of them were immediately moved.

Su Xing'er was even more upset. When she looked at Xia Hong, her nose suddenly stung, and tears streamed down her cheeks in no time.

"My lord...my lord...you are too good to Xing'er. I'm afraid I can never repay you in this lifetime, sob sob sob..."

Su Xing'er's cries were so infectious that they made the eyes of the three Su brothers slightly red. However, they still held back their tears, knowing that Xia Hong did not like being worshipped. The three of them could only respectfully bow down.

The eldest brother, Su Jing, looked up, a resolute look in his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "We four siblings can never repay your kindness in this lifetime. Su Jing and his younger siblings hereby swear that if you ever give us any orders, even if it means our death, we four siblings will not hesitate. If we break this oath in this life or the next, may we four siblings be forever condemned to the bottom of the Ice Abyss."

“Su Xu, like his elder brother, will be condemned to eternal damnation at the bottom of the icy abyss if he breaks this oath.”

“Su Zhi…”

"Xing'er, like her three older brothers, wishes to serve you forever."

Upon hearing the four siblings' sincere vow, a glimmer of light flashed in Xia Hong's eyes, but he then shook his head and waved his hand, saying, "You are still far from being strong enough. Focus on your cultivation first!"

It's no exaggeration to say that the resources Xia Hong invested in his four siblings over the past four months would have caused a huge uproar in Xia City.

It's impossible to say that there was no purpose at all.

Thinking of the special location of Changqing Valley and the six-rank system of Caiqiu, a dark look flashed in Xia Hong's eyes. Seeing that the meat on the rack was already cooked, he smiled and invited the four of them to start eating.

The flesh and blood of the Beast King-level Azure Jade Serpent naturally possessed considerable energy; even a small bite would be enough to burst someone at the Earth-Digging Realm. Fortunately, Su Jing and the other two had all broken through. Although Su Xing'er had not broken through, she still possessed nearly 15 jin of basic strength, which was not much different from that of an ordinary Cold-Resistant Realm cultivator, so she was able to hold on.

The four quickly finished eating the flesh and blood. Su Jing and the other two hurriedly ran to the cave entrance to practice boxing to release the turbulent blood and qi in their bodies. Su Xing'er took two catties of Teng Snake blood and went to the makeshift wooden compartment inside the cave to continue reshaping the skin membrane.

"what…………"

Reshaping the skin membrane with the blood of a Beast King naturally involves enduring more pain. Soon, Su Xing'er's faint screams could be heard from inside the wooden compartment.

However, Xia Hong was used to it, so he didn't waste any time. He closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and began to cultivate.

About two hours later, as dawn broke outside, Su Xing'er's screams from the wooden cubicle subsided slightly, and then she was heard running out with great joy.

"148700! I lifted 700 pounds in one go! That's fantastic!"

Su Jing and the other two were already waiting outside. Upon hearing their sister's words, their faces were naturally full of smiles.

"As expected, the better the talent, the more beast blood is needed. I just touched this beast king-level blood, and its intensity far exceeds that of high-grade beast blood. If I were to use it to reshape my skin when I was at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm, I probably wouldn't even be able to use a pound. Xing'er was able to use two pounds at once."

“Xing’er’s talent is much higher than ours. Before, we could only use 4 to 5 catties of ordinary beast blood at most, but she could use 8 catties at a time.”

"She gained 700 jin of strength in one go. Xing'er's top-grade battle physique is definitely guaranteed. That's great."

Hearing her three older brothers' praise, Su Xing'er's face was naturally full of joy. Turning her head, she found Xia Hong looking at her. She was a little shy at first, and then asked as if possessed, "How old were you when you broke through to the Cold Resistance level, sir? How many kilograms of beast blood did you use at once when you broke through? Can you tell Xing'er?"

Upon hearing this, Su Jing and the other two looked at Xia Hong with curiosity.

Xia Hong's strength goes without saying, but the key is that he's young. Putting aside his temperament and demeanor, just his face alone makes him look younger than the other three.

So young and so strong, her talent is beyond question. Moreover, Xia Hong himself said that in his opinion, Su Xing'er's talent is at most just good.

So the four siblings were very curious about how many kilograms of beast blood he could use at once when he broke through to the Cold Resistance level.

Of course, they were also quite interested in Xia Hong's age.

Upon hearing Su Xing'er's two questions, Xia Hong's expression immediately became somewhat strange. He stared at her for a few seconds, and upon discovering something odd hidden deep in the girl's eyes, he immediately shook his head and said, "I'm old enough to be your father..."

This year marks the tenth year of the Great Xia Dynasty. If you calculate carefully, Xia Hong has been in this world for almost thirteen years, and his actual age is 30.

Su Xing'er is only 15 years old, which is old enough for him to be her father.

Thinking of this, Xia Hong smiled and added, "Your personality is a bit like my daughter's; she's only eight years younger than you."

Upon hearing this answer, Su Xing'er's pupils dimmed considerably, but she concealed it very well, and apart from Xia Hong, neither Su Jing nor the other two noticed.

"As for how many kilograms of beast blood can be used at one time..."

Recalling his early experience of breaking through to the cold resistance level, Xia Hong immediately shook his head with a smile and continued, "About 100 jin!"

Upon hearing this number, the expressions of Su Jing and his three siblings instantly froze.

In the following days, Su Xing'er continuously used the blood of the Teng Snake to reshape her skin membrane and continue to improve it. On the seventh day, her basic strength had just broken through 15 jin when the skin membrane reached its limit and could no longer be suppressed, and it broke through directly.

Su Xing'er had the strength of a 3-mane expert as soon as she broke through, which meant that in terms of basic strength, she immediately surpassed her three older brothers.

Su Jing and the other two were overjoyed.

It was daytime, so the three of them took the little girl out of the cave.

This was Su Xing'er's first time experiencing the world during the day, and she was still in a state of excitement even after returning to the cave at night.

"Come on! Come and have a drink with me. All four of you have broken through to the next level. Consider this pot of Qingyang wine as a celebration for you all."

As soon as the four entered the cave, they smelled the aroma of wine. Upon hearing Xia Hong's words, their eyes lit up immediately.

Cai Qiu also had wine, but unfortunately, none of the four of them were qualified to drink it, nor did they have the money to buy it, so they had never tasted it.

The four of them quickly walked to the table and sat down.

Xia Hong poured a glass for each of them.

"Thank you for the wine, sir!"

Su Jing picked up his wine glass first, thanked Xia Hong, and poured it directly into his mouth.

"Hey, slow down..."

Before Xia Hong could finish speaking, Su Jing downed his drink in one gulp.

This is top-grade Qingyang wine, specially made for those at the Xianyang level. Those at the Yuhan level can barely taste it. Su Jing picked it up and drank it all in one gulp; the consequences are predictable.

His face instantly flushed red, and then a dazed look appeared in his eyes. In less than a breath, his body suddenly fell to the ground.

boom…………

Before Su Xu and the other two could even react, they hurriedly got up to help their eldest brother up after he fell.

"It's alright, it's alright, he'll be fine after a nap."

Upon hearing Xia Hong's words, the three quickly moved him to the wooden bed, then sat back down, smelling the aroma of the wine, and under Xia Hong's guidance, began to sip it slowly.

"This wine can help my flesh and blood grow!"

"It has the effect of improving cultivation!"

"No wonder, no wonder only naturalized citizens can buy alcohol."

Upon hearing Su Zhi's last words, Xia Hong thought of Cai Qiu's six-tier household registration system and shook his head slightly.

He had learned about this so-called six-tier household registration system from the soldiers of the county garrison more than four months ago, and with the addition of Su Jing and four other locals during this period, he had a basic understanding of it.

"You told me before that the entire Evergreen Valley has more than 120 million people, of which at most there are more than 5000 people with civilian or military status. Moreover, those with military status have long since moved to the county town and basically never come back. There are also 7 to 8 people who are either slaves or of low social status, either working as servants or doing lowly or shady jobs in the city. Where did you hear these numbers? Are they accurate?"

The three drank slowly and were only slightly tipsy. When they heard Xia Hong's question, they looked at each other for a while, and then the third brother, Su Zhi, nodded and replied, "These are things we heard in our original village. The chief told us that our chief's whole family had been registered as civilians and had settled in Qinghua City. Even if there are some discrepancies in these figures, they shouldn't be too big."

Qinghua City is a city located at the exit of Changqing Valley. It is under the jurisdiction of Baishui County. As can be seen from its name and location, it was set up to control Changqing Valley. Its status is quite special. There are fewer than ten similar cities in the entire Caiqiu vassal state.

"There are six categories of household registration: hereditary, noble, military, commoner, slave, and lowly. The first category, hereditary, includes the family of the governor of Caiqiu and the six surnames. They can wear brocade, three silver ornaments, and a ring and two jade pendants. The second category, noble, includes high-ranking officials and families from various prefectures and cities, as well as generals in the army. They can wear silk, two silver ornaments, and a ring and a jade pendant."
The third-class military registration was basically military households, who could wear satin, a silver ornament, and a jade pendant; the fourth-class civilian registration wore silk; the fifth-class slave registration wore brocade; the sixth-class lowly registration wore linen...

Recalling the six-tiered household registration system that his four siblings had described to him, including the corresponding behavioral norms and numerous constraints and restrictions, Xia Hong smiled slightly, raised his wine glass, looked at his three siblings who were already a little tipsy, and asked softly, "What do you think of Caiqiu's six-tiered household registration system?"

Upon hearing this question, all three of them were taken aback.

Su Xu was the first to put down his wine glass and said in a deep voice, "Of course it's bad for us people with animal registration! But it's different for those above us. There are some professions that only they can do; many of them can even receive money every year without doing anything; they can move around freely, hunting and gathering everywhere, but the quota they hand over is much lower than ours; and as for cultivation resources, the higher the household registration level, the more they can buy, while we non-registered people can't buy them even if we have money..."

After Su Xu finished speaking at length, Su Zhi couldn't help but chime in: "This is a top-down exploitation. The better the better, the worse the worse. Ordinary people like us without any background either become servants to others or are classified as lowly. There is no other way. But if you really take these two paths, you will have to be subservient to others if you want to turn your life around."

Su Xing'er nodded, her expression somber, and said, "Our parents lost their lives trying to obtain citizenship."

Hearing what the three siblings said, Xia Hong nodded slightly.

They weren't completely confused; the merits of the six-class system truly depended on the individual.

For Su Jing and his siblings, as well as the vast majority of the more than 120 million people in Changqing Valley who do not have household registration, it is certainly very bad; but for those with civilian or higher household registration, it is completely different. And for those with military, noble, and hereditary household registration, it is a completely different world. These people will probably fight tooth and nail to maintain this six-tier household registration system.

"The four regional military commands of Caiqiu, Chencang, Hezang, and Weibo all basically used this household registration system, and the remaining Lulong is most likely the same. Therefore, the systems of camps in the same region are likely to be similar..."

After a moment of contemplation, a glint of shrewdness flashed in Xia Hong's eyes.

"Then the rest is simple. Just take a look at the population proportions of these six-class registration systems, and you can roughly guess the quality of these regional military governors. Where there is exploitation, there will be resistance. Maintaining such a system is not easy!"

(End of this chapter)