Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1330: Chapter 433: End of the Martial Arts Competition, Cat Demon and Bearing, The Defeat of the East Ridge Disciples (Part 4)

Fu Tiandu heard Xia Hong’s question, and his body instantly stiffened. He recalled the oversight when he first entered the hall, a bitter expression slowly appearing on his face.

He opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something, but the words swallowed back, his face full of hesitation and conflict.

“Enough, if you don’t want to say, forget it. Lin Kai, take him to Hongmen, find those infected by the cat plague, and also use the Yellow Candle to check them again. We can’t let any trouble occur in the city.”

“At your command!”

Lin Kai immediately bowed, picked up Fu Tiandu, and was about to walk out.

Just as he reached the hall entrance, he seemed to remember something. He turned to Xia Hong and asked, “Lord, if Fu Tiandu himself has issues, should his ninth place ranking in the youth group Martial Arts also be voided?”

Fu Tiandu, who was being carried, heard these words and a hint of bitterness appeared on his face. But thinking about finally getting rid of that Cat Demon, he still felt a slight relief in his heart.

To gain is fortunate, to lose is…

“No need, his talent and strength are indeed good, the ninth place was earned by his own skill, there is no reason to void it…”

Upon hearing this, Fu Tiandu’s expression froze instantly. He thought he had misheard and looked up sharply at Xia Hong.

“Didn’t he owe 1 million taels of silver? The reward can be calculated against the debt, which means he’s already partially repaid, and the rest can be paid back slowly.”

Xia Hong really did not void his ranking, and was even willing to convert the reward into silver, counting towards his debt repayment…

Fu Tiandu looked at Xia Hong, his face full of emotion.

“I understand!”

He wanted to say more, but Lin Kai didn’t give him the chance. After bowing to Xia Hong, Lin Kai directly led him out of the hall.

“Alright, you all can go down now!”

Xia Hong sat back in the main seat and waved his hand to dismiss Lu Dong, Luo An, and the others.

After the young people left, he spoke to Xia Chuan, “There was not a hint of surprise when he entered the hall, stayed so long with the Deceitful Monster and still is fine, this Fu Tiandu’s background should not be simple. Keep an eye on him, see when he’s willing to speak honestly.”

“Understood!”

Xia Chuan immediately nodded and agreed, he had also noticed Fu Tiandu’s abnormality; even if Xia Hong hadn’t mentioned it, he would follow up to observe.

“Alright, the Martial Arts Competition is over, I need to make a trip out, you all…”

Upon hearing Xia Hong starting to give instructions before his departure, Xia Chuan and the others showed no sign of surprise, evidently already mentally prepared.

……

Inner City, Lu Mansion side hall

Seven young people were gathered together, their faces full of frustration and unwillingness.

“All five of us, and yet none made it into the top hundred?”

“It’s not surprising, the cultivation difference is there. I watched the youths’ top hundred competition. Those ranked over 90, even if not at the Cold Resistance Level, their basic strength was at least above 1 zhaong, meaning they at least have Superior Battle Body talent. Among our five, the strongest, Senior Brother Zhu, only has a basic strength of over 98,000 jin now. How could we make it into the top hundred?”

“The juveniles are all too strong! Clearly of similar age, yet so different, don’t even mention the top ten, even those ranked over fifty, mostly have Cold Resistance Level cultivation, with strength at least 2 or 3 zhaong…”

“The gap is too big, Luo An, Luo Cheng, Zou Ping, Xiao Yan, thinking that we even competed against these four back then, now I fear even the five of us combined would lose to any one of them.”

“That year, among the five people brought by Master, there was also Zhao Yuanshan. I just checked the list, and Zhao Yuanshan was ranked 38th.”

“The young of Great Xia are hitting us with a dimensional strike, I doubt Beishuo Town can find that many talents like this?”

“No doubt, it can’t.”

After Zhu Baixu, Bai Wuji, Wan Qingyu, Nie Shen, and Yang He finished speaking, they all turned their heads to the two people seated above.

Finally, Bai Wuji couldn’t resist speaking, “First Senior Brother has a mid-stage Cold Resistance Level cultivation, 5 zhaong strength, yet only ranked 78th in the youth group. This is too outrageous.”

“Second Senior Brother’s strength is similar to his. It was tested in East Ridge, the difference between them is negligible, yet here he’s ranked 99th, nearly falling off the list.”

“Proves the competition is too fierce. I looked at the youth group’s list, except for the top ten monsters, the others’ strength doesn’t vary much, most are between 5 to 8 zhaong. It’s martial arts and combat talent that tip the balance. Often, it’s a single move that decides the outcome.”

Upon hearing the words of the five junior brothers below, Lu Yun and Han Li exchanged a glance, recalling the confidence before leaving East Ridge, and the promises made to their master Lu Yang to definitely enter the top three. They couldn’t help but shake their heads, faces full of bitterness and embarrassment.

“No wonder the Master always said we were far behind.”

“His younger brother, Lu Dong, is only eighteen this year.”

“The youth group champion, he’s the younger brother of the Master?”

“You didn’t know yet?”

“No surprise, now it all makes sense.”

Learning that the youth group champion Lu Dong is Master Lu Yang’s younger brother, Zhu Baixu and the five were first surprised, then showed a hint of realization, repeatedly expressing no surprise.