Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 936: Chapter 348: Schemes and Counter-Schemes, the Five of East Ridge, Zhu Yang’s Threat, The Dust Settles (Part 6)

Lu Yang thought of something and laughed, “Besides, I remember that both of Lord Zhao’s children are exceptional. In the second year of Great Xia in the Logging Realm, they were ranked seventh and eighth in their group. They should be seventeen or eighteen by now. Haven’t they started using Beast Blood yet?”

Hearing Lu Yang mention his children far away in Xia City, Zhao Hu, who usually had a bad temper, rarely showed a gentle expression on his face.

And, of course, pride.

Yuanwu and Yuankong had already started using Beast Blood to reshape their skin last year. Even if their talent was slightly behind Luo An, the gap wasn’t that significant.

……

Bang! Bang!

While Lu Yang and the others were chatting, the results were out on stage 12.

Lin Qiang was presumably a civilian genius. After losing to Zou Ping, his expression turned somewhat gloomy, but he didn’t have much of a reaction; he just silently walked off the stage.

However, the reaction of Zhu Baixu, the prodigy from Zhu Ling, was much more noticeable.

He seemed to start doubting himself, standing below the stage with his face changing between pale and ashen, looking somewhat distracted.

Soon, the results for stage 3 were also out.

Zi Yang won!

The total score of Zi Qiang Camp increased by 1 point to 7 points, ranking third.

The results are out!

Zhu Baixu and Lin Qiang could certainly try to defeat Zi Yang on stage 3, but even if they win, they could only add 1 point, leading to a tie with Zi Qiang at 7 points.

Don’t forget, Zi Jin’s son Zi Ning still has an opportunity to challenge.

Will East Ridge not make room for him?

Lost!

He actually lost…

For the next five years, all the tribute materials that East Ridge, Hong Yuan, and Zi Qiang owe to Beishuo Town will be shared by Zhu Ling, Wanxing, Long River, Yanggu, and Bai Yuan.

At this moment, not only Zhu Tong and the Cold Resistance Level members from Zhu Ling were stunned, but the expressions of the other six families also froze.

Despite the excitement, Hong Fan and Zi Jin, who were the victorious leaders, quickly calmed themselves after a moment’s reflection, and then looked up at the elder in white on the top stand, Zhu Yang, Dean Zhu.

Zhu Tong lowered his head, his expression changing repeatedly for a long time, continuously mumbling “five years” to himself, and finally clenched his fist hard, turning sharply to salute Zhu Yang above, and shouted sternly,

“Dean Zhu, these five people from East Ridge have unclear backgrounds. I suspect they are spies sent by the other Eight Towns and must be captured and taken back to Beishuo for a thorough investigation.”

……

Zhu Da, Zhu Mai, and other Cold Resistance Level members, including Nie Ying, Bai Bo, Wan Tianhe, and Yang Quan, finally reacted as well. They all saluted and spoke up to Zhu Yang:

“Indeed, East Ridge has been in Beining Mountain for less than three years. How could they produce five such talented young people? There must be something suspicious!”

“The talent of these five people could only be nurtured by the Eight Towns. Dean Zhu, these five people are definitely spies of the Eight Towns and must be thoroughly investigated!”

“On close examination, East Ridge’s own background is somewhat unclear, and it’s hard to say if they’re truly loyal to our Beishuo. These five people must be investigated thoroughly.”

……

“Shameless, shameless, shameless!”

Before Lu Yang could speak, He Wuyang, standing behind Zhu Yang, couldn’t help but scold everyone.

“If you had won, would you say such things about East Ridge? Losing the competition and then refusing to admit defeat, shameless! What do you take Lord Zhu for?

Just before the start of the competition, Lord Zhu stated clearly that every word and action here today represents the Inspectorate. If you think he will help you frame East Ridge Village, then you are gravely mistaken!”

He Wuyang’s words directly put Zhu Yang on the spot.

Lu Yang below remained silent the entire time, even when faced with the brazen framing by the leaders of the five families. He didn’t show any signs of anger, only a smile appeared on his face as he looked up at Zhu Yang after He Wuyang’s words, clearly waiting for his response.

Actually, Lu Yang already knew the answer without waiting for Zhu Yang to respond.

Zhu Yang didn’t have the confidence to fall out with them, and his relationship with Zhu Tong was not worth the risk of offending Gu Tianxiong and Institute Chief Huang to forcefully frame East Ridge.

Having entered Beishuo City several times over the years, Lu Yang knew quite a lot.

Previous hints from He Wuyang about Zhu Yang’s assignment to the Jingxi District didn’t surprise Lu Yang, as he had already predicted it.

Zhu Yang, now over ninety, was the oldest among the seven Deans of the Beishuo Inspection Office. Given his age, breaking through to Xianyang was unlikely for him, so being marginalized was inevitable.

Of the seven major districts in Beishuo, Jingxi was the most peripheral, lacking space for expansion to the west or east. Although there was potential for northern expansion, the current focus was on Zhongyang, Dongchuan, and Heya. Jingxi’s weak strength and border with Double Dragon Cliff, coupled with its remote location from Beishuo and less favorable environment, meant this route was blocked.

As a result, the lack of attention to Jingxi District was entirely normal.

Since Jingxi wasn’t prioritized, it was only natural that the dean in charge of Jingxi would be the least regarded among the seven.

“Gu Tianxiong is only in his sixties and still in his prime. When he broke through to the Peak of Cold Resistance last year, I anticipated his reassignment. Sending Zhu Yang here indicates that this branch of the Zhu Family is completely declining in Beishuo. Therefore, further suppressing East Ridge at the risk of offending Gu Tianxiong and Institute Chief Huang would be a thankless task. Besides…”

Lu Yang’s smile grew as he looked at Zhu Tong and his two brothers standing behind Zhu Yang.

Zhu Yang and Zhu Tong’s grandfather, Zhu Ting, were indeed cousins, but that was four or five generations ago. If Zhu Yang truly valued Zhu Ling Camp, he would have stepped in for Zhu Tong’s three men much earlier.

So, no matter how you looked at it, Zhu Yang wouldn’t…

“Leader Lu, where it’s possible to forgive, forgive. Your East Ridge may be powerful today, but that doesn’t mean it will be forever. How about granting this old man a favor and reducing the five-year tribute to one year, giving Zhu Ling’s five families a path to survival?”

He really plans to intervene…

Lu Yang was momentarily stunned by Zhu Yang’s words, and then he saw He Wuyang behind Zhu Yang nodding at him, clearly signaling him to accept Zhu Yang’s proposal. Lu Yang raised an eyebrow.

He didn’t even consider much, just said with a cold sneer, “If East Ridge had lost today, I wonder if Dean Zhu would have asked Zhu Tong and the others to repay your favor by reducing five years to one year?”

Zhu Yang was initially stunned by this retort. Then, realizing Lu Yang didn’t intend to give him face, his expression turned into a hint of anger.

Lu Yang didn’t continue to press aggressively, simply saying, “Since Dean Zhu intends to impose by power, East Ridge is small, naturally we must comply. But this grievance, I, for one, will never swallow. I don’t believe there is no one in Beishuo City who can uphold justice for East Ridge!”

With that, he turned, flicked his sleeve in frustration, and addressed the people of East Ridge beside him, “Let’s go, tomorrow we’ll head to the Beishuo Prosecution Office!”

“Good, good, good. Leader Lu indeed has courage; since this old man’s face doesn’t matter to East Ridge, then this matter today is left for the eight families to handle on their own!”

Having been brushed off, Zhu Yang’s voice became noticeably angry, and he turned to leave toward the camp’s exit. As he passed by the people of East Ridge, he glanced at Luo Cheng and the five young juniors with a frosty gaze, and said in a low voice,

“Leader Lu, while youthful exuberance is fine, there should be limits. Though old, I may not be much in Beishuo City, yet your East Ridge Camp is worth even less. As the supervisor of Jingxi going forward, I’ll have plenty of time to play with you East Ridge, hmph!”

With a cold snort, Zhu Yang skimmed over the snow and left the area.

The eight leaders remained where they were, everyone looking up at Lu Yang as if expecting him to show some fear or apprehension.

“Old men will be old men, full of bluster but incapable of action!”

With one sentence from Zhao Hu, everyone’s hopes were dashed.

“Alright then, since Dean Zhu isn’t intervening, there’s nothing more to say. For the next five years, the tribute materials East Ridge, Hong Yuan, and Zi Qiang families owe to Beishuo Town will be covered by the five from Zhu Ling, with no objections, right?”

Hearing Lu Yang’s slightly amused inquiry, the expressions of Zhu Tong, Nie Ying, Bai Bo, Wan Tianhe, and Yang Quan froze momentarily.