Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1327: Chapter 433: Martial Arts Competition Concludes—Cat Demon and Bearing, East Ridge’s Defeated People

Top floor, Political Debate Hall

Under the leadership of the two champions Lu Dong and Tie Xinchuan, two groups, totaling 20 people, formed two columns and walked in one after another from outside the hall.

Inside the hall were massive gold and silver dragon-entwined load-bearing pillars; a majestic circular golden dome above; exquisite Jade Bone sculptures on either side; and on the high platform inside, the golden chair symbolizing the pinnacle of power in Great Xia…

Everything in the grand hall, Lu Dong, Luo An, Liu Peng, Zhao Yuandao, and other titled families’ scions, were naturally familiar with. From the moment they walked in, their gaze remained on those high-ranking officials of Great Xia standing on either side of the hall;

While Tie Xinchuan, Yuan Bai, Zhou Yalong, the three ordinary scions of Great Xia, as well as Jiang Yichen, Murong Yan, Fu Tiandu, Xiahou Qingqing, the four scions from towns outside, were different.

When participating in the preliminaries and semi-finals in Hongmen City, they had already experienced the wealth of Great Xia. Today, when they entered the Inner City, they were shocked once again, thinking they had mentally prepared themselves.

But as they entered the main hall at this moment, they truly realized that all their prior mental preparations were nothing but a joke.

The eight load-bearing pillars, with a diameter of over three meters, clearly extended upward from the bottom of the main hall, including the depth of the ground pile, which meant a height of at least 40 meters. Although painted in pure gold on the outside, it was clear they were cast from Hundred Forged Iron.

Assuming a diameter of 3 meters and a height of 40 meters, entirely made of Hundred Forged Iron, even roughly calculated, each load-bearing pillar would have consumed tens of thousands of tons of iron ore, and the entire hall had eight of them.

This is almost the amount of a mini iron mine!

The key is that each of these eight load-bearing pillars is carved with a silver dragon, their twisted bodies coiled around the pillars, their heads converging at the dome, glaring down with red eyes, as if scrutinizing these 20 people, lifelike to the extreme.

“Silver dragons, each with no less than a 30-meter body, requiring at least over ten million pounds of silver for each. Adding in the efforts of casting and carving, leaving aside manpower and material resources, just the level of craftsmanship alone is beyond comparison with the other Eight Towns. So Hongmen is merely a display window for Great Xia. Only upon reaching Xia City or entering this hall can one glimpse their true pinnacle level!”

“Jade Bone is such an important cultivation resource, to be used as sculpture decorations, is in itself a manifestation of immense financial strength. No wonder they can dispatch so many hunting teams to Jiangxia Town to hunt; an Advanced Hunting Team is probably nothing in Great Xia.”

The youth group, Jiang Yichen, and the young adult group, Xiahou Qingqing, both held their breath as they took in everything within the hall. Just five meters apart, they couldn’t help but exchange glances, seeing amazement and shock in each other’s eyes.

What’s interesting is Murong Yan!

Murong Yan, upon first entering the hall, was captivated by the surroundings for a moment, but soon her gaze shifted to Yuwen Dao, standing second on the left side of the hall.

Her gaze was so blatant that Xia Chuan and others noticed it immediately, and they couldn’t help but exchange curious looks towards Yuwen Dao.

Yuwen Dao, however, remained calm. Despite feeling Murong Yan’s gaze, he continued to stare straight ahead, expression unchanged.

“Hahaha… these are this year’s outstanding talents from the Three Towns, quite impressive!”

Seeing Yuwen Dao maintaining such a serious demeanor, Xia Hong couldn’t help but laugh, but he quickly remedied it with a compliment.

“Greetings to the Lord, greetings to all the esteemed.”

The 20 people below also reacted at this moment, immediately bowing to Xia Hong and the others under the lead of Lu Dong, Luo An, and Tie Xinchuan.

“Lu Dong, Luo An, Zou Ping, Zhao Yuanwu, Luo Cheng… none of these are unfamiliar faces. I remember clearly, the year before the founding, you were all still at an age where you wet your pants, and in a blink of an eye, over ten years have passed. Now not only have you all grown up, but you also have Cold Resistance Level cultivation…”

Xia Hong looked at the front row of Lu Dong, Luo An, and Zou Ping, with genuine emotion on his face. Among these children, he had the deepest impression of Luo An and Zou Ping.

He remembered clearly, back when they hadn’t yet reached Cold Resistance Level, these two little ones were not even six years old and loved to peek at him practicing boxing. Now, ten plus years have passed in a blink, and the two are almost twenty, grown men now.

Hearing Xia Hong’s description of them wetting their pants, naturally, Lu Dong, Luo An, and the others showed a bit of embarrassment in front of their elders, but soon, they recovered. However, the sixth member of the youth group, Luo Cheng, looked up at Xia Hong above, his emotions exceptionally stirred.

Xia Hong quickly noticed Luo Cheng’s gaze and, remembering their brief master-disciple relationship in the Beehive, flashed a faint encouraging smile, first nodding slightly to him, then glancing at the 16 Great Xia scions below, and continued with a smile:

“The outcome of a competition doesn’t mean much. Cultivation lies in perseverance, Cold Resistance Level is just a starting point, how far you can go in the future, become stronger, surpass your elders, or even me, depends on your future performance. Sixteen top-grade War Bodies, talent-wise, you are not inferior to anyone. Resource-wise, today among the Nine Towns, there should be no one who can compare with you!”