Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

"Stronger than expected, a total of sixteen teams advanced."

In the South Slope Snow Forest of Five Ape Mountain, Xu Ning, who had just finished hosting the preliminary selection, rushed to find Xia Hong, carrying only a horizontal blade.

The preliminaries in Wuyuan were conducted simultaneously with Xia City, starting at night as well. The 31 teams spent over eight hours in total, which was considered fast.

It was just midnight now, the coldest time of the night.

"Sixteen teams advanced, 1600 people made it to the second round, not bad!"

Xu Ning nodded with a smile and said, "The second round uses the Earth-digging Realm rules. Each person competes in 10 matches, and 128 people are selected to participate in the finals. I noticed that there are more than 20 good prospects who are likely to make it to the finals."

Leading the way towards Xing River in the south, Xia Hong said, "Definitely more than that. From the first round, I could see the signs. The Logging Realm in Xia City and the other four camps differs greatly from your side here. I estimate that in the 128 finalists from the Logging Realm group, at least seventy percent will be from Wuyuan."

Over seventy percent would mean more than eighty people!

Xu Ning's face showed a flash of surprise, clearly a bit incredulous.

Xia Hong didn't offer much explanation, instead turning his gaze to Xing River, changing the topic and asking, "You've been stationed here for a year, have there been any special occurrences at Xing River?"

Upon hearing Xia Hong mention Xing River, Xu Ning's expression instantly grew more serious, shaking his head:

"Aside from the cold waves, no other special occurrences have happened. I have tried to approach before, but whenever I get within a hundred-meter range, an intense sense of fear rises in me. Just as the leader said, there must be some terrifying creature living inside, otherwise, I wouldn't feel this way for no reason!"

Xia Hong nodded. When Xu Ning came to Wuyuan to stand guard, he had advised him in advance not to approach Xing River casually.

Xing River itself was Xia Hong's first discovery.

On March 7th last year, before he had reached the Cold Resistance Level, he hunted in Redwood Ridge for a long time to gather enough Beast Blood for his breakthrough.

Upon returning, to facilitate future exploration by the camp's people in Five Ape Mountain, he had surveyed in advance. It was then that he first approached Xing River.

At that time, upon nearing a hundred-meter range, his heart started beating violently, leading him to surmise there must be some terrifying creature living in Xing River.

"Now my strength is worlds apart from before. I want to see if the feeling is still the same!"

Xia Hong walked south with Xu Ning for a long time, soon seeing the cold mist on the river surface and the shiny green water grass by the river bank from afar.

Unlike the first time, upon seeing the shiny green water grass this time, Xia Hong's expression was much more excited, and his pace quickened slightly.

Upon his first visit, Xia Hong had known the water grass was not simple.

Being able to survive smoothly in such a frigid environment like the Ice Abyss and growing in a place like Xing River that evokes inexplicable fear, it couldn't be ordinary green water grass.

The problem was his strength was too weak at the time, even slightly nearing the river bank would cause heart palpitations, forcing him to give up picking them.

It's different now. Even if he doesn't venture onto the river surface, he should at least pick some water grass and bring it back to the Alchemy Workshop for identification to see if they are good stuff.

Xia Hong continued moving forward with Xu Ning, soon reaching a position a hundred meters from the river surface. It was then that Xu Ning suddenly stopped.

"What, still feeling that heart-pounding sensation?"

Upon hearing Xia Hong's inquiry, Xu Ning nodded seriously with his eyes full of vigilance, aiming towards the cold mist above the river surface.

"You stay here and wait, while I go over and take a look!"

Having already experienced the heart-pounding sensation once before, Xia Hong didn't force Xu Ning to follow, ordering him to stay as he carefully proceeded forward alone.

"The stronger I am, the lesser the threat from the river's creatures, thus the heart-pounding feeling gradually disappears. It should be like this!"

Xia Hong took a deep breath and walked straight to the river bank. He didn't immediately pick the water grass but started observing the river surface.

Similar to his prior suspicions, the river surface was indeed covered with a thick layer of solid ice, presumably aged into white over the years, tightly concealing what lied beneath, making it completely invisible.

Bubbling...

Upon careful listening, Xia Hong's expression immediately shifted.

There was flowing water underneath.

Moreover, it's flowing westward!

"With no signs of the ice surface breaking, even if there are creatures underwater, it proves they have never surfaced. If that's the case, why are Cold Beasts afraid to approach here? And what is that heart-pounding sensation all about?"

Xia Hong gazed towards the river center, slight furrows forming between his brows.

The fog over the river center was even denser, completely obscuring the view, making it impossible to see anything.

"Why not go to the river center to take a look!"

The thought arose in Xia Hong's mind, prompting him to extend his right foot, but just as he was about to step onto the ice surface.

Bubbling... splashing...

Suddenly, from beneath the ice, came a massive sound of flowing water.

That heart-pounding sensation surged from within again, Xia Hong's expression changed dramatically, and swiftly drawing his Dragon Sparrow Saber from his waist, he didn't hesitate, vigorously chopping at the water grass on the bank, grabbing some, and rapidly retreating.

But his movements were still slow.

Crack...

Boom!

The solid ice surface instantly shattered, followed by an earth-shattering sound.