Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1167: Chapter 397: Narrow Escape from Death, Shock, Emergence, and the Top-grade War Body (Part 4)

The third generation of the Xiahou Family is represented by Xiahou Ying, while the Jiang Family’s leading figures are Jiang Yuanlong and Jiang Yuandong, both of whom are around sixty years old, making them the regular upper echelon.

Then comes the fourth generation, among whom Jiang Shouping is one, around forty years old. Except for the very few with exceptional talent who have mingled into the upper echelon, the majority, like Jiang Shouping, serve as mainstays in various institutions of the town, forming the backbone of the young and strong in Jiangxia Town.

Xiahou Qingqing is Xiahou Zhang’s great-granddaughter, 21 years old this year, already belonging to the fifth generation.

"If that’s really the case, then the potential of Great Xia is incredibly high, isn’t it?"

"If these rumors are true, then it’s not surprising at all that those young people’s talents are so high!"

"I don’t believe it, it can’t be true, surely it’s just a rumor!"

......

"Alright, stop guessing wildly here. Why not just find someone to inquire about it when you get back? I also heard about it from others. Next time I go back to the town, I’ll also find someone to ask."

Jiang Shouping interrupted everyone’s speculations and noticed Xiahou Qingqing’s somewhat distracted expression. After a moment of thought, he said, "Qingqing, regardless of whether the rumors about Great Xia are true, at the very least, the more than fifty young people we just saw from Great Xia have many whose talents are probably stronger than yours. When you go back, you must train diligently. Jiangxia is already on the brink of collapse, and the Lord is counting on you talented young people to grow up quickly. Otherwise, whether we can maintain our current status in the future is uncertain..."

Upon hearing Jiang Shouping’s words, everyone’s expressions immediately turned more solemn.

"I understand, Uncle Ping!"

Xiahou Qingqing nodded with a serious expression and, glancing at her unconscious brother on her back, her eyes filled with increased determination.

The talents of those young people from Great Xia need not even be mentioned. Just the incident where her brother Xiahou Yong lost his left eye from this encounter in the Snow Forest was enough to leave an indelible mark on her heart.

"There are countless treasures in the Ice Abyss. It’s not impossible to restore the eyes. I must strive to train hard, and after becoming stronger, help my brother regain his left eye!"

After silently vowing, Xiahou Qingqing followed the group towards the Baisong Camp. As she exited the Snow Forest, Xiao Hen’s face inexplicably flashed in her mind.

"That Xiao Hen did save my life just now. When Uncle Ping visits He Yin later, I must go with him to thank Xiao Hen."

......

"Ji Hong, how much are you short of fifteen thousand pounds in your basic strength?"

"More than a hundred pounds, and I just can’t seem to increase it further!"

Inside the Snow Forest, after the people from Jiangxia left, Xiao Hen couldn’t help but ask Ji Hong, and upon hearing that Ji Hong was just over a hundred pounds short, a strong envy appeared on his face.

Of course, he’s not the only one.

Yuan Bai, Luo An, Liu Peng, Zou Ping, Lu Dong, and others, all the young people from Great Xia, basically had expressions of envy on their faces.

If Jiang Shouping’s earlier words had been heard by Xiao Hen and the others, they probably couldn’t help but commend Jiang Shouping for his accurate insight.

Jiang Shouping’s speculation was indeed correct. Twenty-four-year-old Ji Hong has been slow to break through to the Cold Resistance Level, as he is indeed aiming for the top-grade Battle Body qualification.

The fact that Ji Hong is striving for top-grade Battle Body qualification had long been spread, almost known by everyone in the Inner City.

Ji Hong was an old figure from the Mud Slope period of Great Xia and already had a decent reputation in the camp, but his cultivation speed was rather average, so he had always been lukewarm, just known to have existed.

In the first Martial Arts Competition of the second year of Great Xia, Ji Hong secured third place in the Logging Realm group, instantly gaining fame, and thus began his rise.

In just six years, he went from just breaking through the Earth-digging Realm, cultivating to the Earth-digging Realm Limit, and then started using Beast Blood to reshape his skin. That year, the first-place Tie Xinchuan and second-place Zhou Yalong from the same Martial Arts Competition group as him, both broke through with superior battle body qualifications, yet he remained stagnant.

Initially, everyone thought he had reached his talent limit.

Who would have thought that in this year’s Martial Arts Competition, in the Earth-digging Realm Limit group, he would continuously defeat dozens of opponents who had just broken through to the Cold Resistance Level, making it into the top hundred of that group, finishing at the 42nd place.

This year’s Great Xia Martial Arts Competition, now in its seventh session, has seen numerous changes to its rules over the years. With the increasing number of Cold Resistance Level and Earth-digging Realm participants in Great Xia, Qiu Peng added the Earth-digging Realm Limit group last year, so there are now four groups: Cold Resistance Level, Earth-digging Realm Limit, Earth-digging Realm, and Logging Realm.

All four groups take the top hundred participants. Given Great Xia’s current population and cultivation situation, anyone who makes it into the top hundred of any group can be called a "dragon among men", especially for the more competitive Earth-digging Realm Limit group, with Ji Hong’s rank being relatively high.

The rewards for the Martial Arts Competition every year are very generous, and now all the contestants have gotten smarter. Almost all come with cultivation just at the edge of a breakthrough, and many of them break through during the competition, just to get a good rank.

With Earth-digging Realm Limit cultivation, Ji Hong kept defeating so many opponents at the Cold Resistance Level who had just broken through, while he himself hasn’t. Observant people can naturally see that he deliberately avoided breaking through to aim for the top-grade Battle Body qualification.