Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1434 - 457: The Real and Fake Yang Zhun, Strength and Trials, Teaming Up Fiasco, Cai Qiu’s Hidden Depths (Part 6)

"Thank you, Young Prince, for your gracious invitation, but Shiqin didn’t plan to hunt advanced Cold Beasts this time, and I have to bring a few friends along, so I won’t keep you, Young Prince."

Upon hearing Cai Shiqin’s address, Su Xing’er immediately realized the identity of the person before her, the youngest of the Princely Heirs in the Prefectural Governor’s mansion in Lin Chu County, Cai Shiyan.

Cai Shiyan heard the voice, immediately lowered his head to glance at the four siblings of Su Xing’er, his brows slightly furrowed, planning to say something, but Su Xing’er spoke ahead of him.

"Sister Shiqin, the four of us are too weak. Being with you would only hold you back. The opportunity for the trial is rare; I can’t ruin it for you because of me."

Su Xing’er’s tone was full of sincerity. She didn’t even wait for Cai Shiqin to respond and gestured to Su Jing and the others, ready to leave.

"Xing’er..."

Unfortunately, Cai Shiqin grabbed her arm, speaking with a hint of teasing, clearly not intending to let her go.

"Who said you’re holding me back? I even said others hold me back! I don’t care if others don’t team up with me, but if you don’t, I’d rather not go for the trial!"

Su Xing’er turned her head at the voice, meeting Cai Shiqin’s extremely sincere gaze, feeling a touch of emotion on her face.

The title of Commandery Princess given to Cai Shiqin wasn’t undeserved. Though they were of similar age, both under seventeen, her strength had reached 52 manes, proving she places great importance on cultivation in her daily life.

But for her, she was willing to give up the trial quota.

Su Xing’er suddenly stiffened on the spot, showing difficulty on her face.

"Forget it, then I won’t participate! Just as there are other..."

Cai Shiqin noticed the difficulty on Su Xing’er’s face, indeed intending not to participate anymore, but before she could finish speaking, Cai Shiyan, who hadn’t left, spoke first.

"Shiqin, bringing along these four is no problem."

Cai Shiqin was stunned at the words, then joy flooded her face as she turned to Su Xing’er, her face full of hope and pleading.

At this point, Su Xing’er couldn’t say much more. Although noticing Cai Shiyan didn’t want to team up with them, she had no choice but to agree for Cai Shiqin.

The three Su Jing brothers turned their heads, seeing the over twenty young people on Cai Shiyan’s side, with unfriendly looks appraising them, their brows slightly furrowed.

"Trouble already before the trial even starts!"

"No way around it; we four were kind of thrown in halfway. Apart from us, more than 900 others have party members with the surname Cai, with the rest being descendants of the six noble families, all of whom are stronger and from better backgrounds than us. No matter who we team up with, we might face disdain."

"Still, we must thank Commandery Princess Shiqin. Without her, probably no one would team up with us four. It’s just how it is! If we lack strength, we’ll just be diligent, helping out wherever we can."

The three brothers quietly discussed for a while, quickly following behind Su Xing’er.

While everyone below busied about forming teams:

High above the county mansion entrance, at around three to four hundred meters altitude, over ten figures stood in mid-air, led by a broad-faced, robust middle-aged man in a blue brocade robe, a hint of pride in his tone as he inquired of Xia Hong beside him:

"How is it? Can the youth of Cai Qiu catch Brother Hong’s eye?"

At Cai Yunlan’s question, Xia Hong looked down at the thousand people below, a slight disdain showing in his eyes, yet he still replied politely, "Worthy of a noble family, feudal town strongman, the Cai family’s youth, indeed not bad!"

No comment at all; upon hearing Xia Hong’s perfunctory response, the thirteen people behind sharply frowned.

"Hahaha..."

However, Cai Yunlan maintained his usual demeanor, showing no response, laughed a few times, and continued, "Though these younger members have some talent, Brother Hong likely finds them lacking. It’s still better to follow Cai to Zhenyuan Camp, how about witnessing the might of Cai Qiu Army?"

"I can’t ask for more!"

A smile surfaced on Cai Yunlan’s face, seemingly anticipating Xia Hong’s expression upon witnessing Cai Qiu Army’s might. He nodded, extended his hand, then transformed into a stream of light, speeding towards the southern side of the county city.

The remaining thirteen immediately followed, while Xia Hong glanced at the four siblings of Su Xing’er below, then turned into a strong light, catching up.

Xia Hong almost instantly caught up with Cai Yunlan, while the thirteen behind struggled, trailing several hundred meters behind them.

Seeing Cai Yunlan to the side, a hint of intrigue rose in Xia Hong’s eyes.

Rules at Cai Qiu are somewhat unique; each of the four counties has five princely heir titles, but despite the equivalent titles, there’s a vast difference.

In summary, the status of the Eldest Prince is most exceptional, usually held by the most outstanding third-generation members, essentially the next Prefectural Governor; the Second and Third Princes are left to Xianyang Level members; finally, the Fourth Prince and Young Prince positions are for Cold Resistance Level members.

Note, the Eldest Prince position is typically held by the most outstanding third-generation members, and not necessarily by default, meaning one still needs strength to take the position.

And before him, Cai Yunlan clearly possessed this strength.

"Ranked 16th on the Heavenly List, nicknamed Red Shadow Sword God, peak cultivation in Visible Yang Realm, power at 42 Jun... No, the information on the list is from two years ago; his strength is now 45 Jun!"

Xia Hong’s eyes slightly moved, recognizing Cai Yunlan’s strength while his mind subtly shifted; evidently, others also have ways to enhance strength without relying on cultivation breakthroughs.

"Red Shadow Sword, said to be a weapon infused with Fire Tribulation Qi; what power does it possess? None have seen him wield it in previous hunts, but there should be a chance at Blood Miasma Plain this time..."

Xia Hong’s gaze subtly lingered on Cai Yunlan’s waist-red longsword, filled with curiosity about the Fire Tribulation Qi and Cai Yunlan’s strength.

"No rush, soon there’ll be a chance!"

As thoughts lingered, following Cai Yunlan southward they flew over two hundred kilometers.

Soon, from afar, appeared a hint of blood red.

As that hint of blood red gradually deepened, Xia Hong’s gaze slightly shook.

Blood Miasma Plain, they had arrived!