Chapter 8 - 8: Breaking Through the Logging Realm By the campfire, everyone at the Great Xia Camp was either lying down or leaning against something. A small number of the youngest ones, exhausted from the previous journey, had already fallen asleep. The majority of the people were wide awake, their eyes fixated on the left side of the fire, at a tall man wearing only a beast skin skirt, with a bare upper body. Looking closer, one realized that they were not staring at the man, but at the piece of meat he was holding. The meat in the man's hand was clearly freshly roasted, still sizzling with aroma. Almost without exception, those awake were constantly swallowing their saliva. The man was naturally Xia Hong. Having just arrived in a new environment, others might still need time to adapt, but he could not afford that luxury; he had to quickly enhance his strength and break through to the Logging Realm. "Five pounds at a time should be no problem!" Cold Beast Flesh contained incredibly strong energy, and eating too much at once could cause someone to explode. Xia Hong had eaten it before, so he understood; from his past experience, five pounds at a time should pose no issue for him. As the meat entered his stomach, the first wave he felt was satiety. As the feeling of fullness continued to swell, his blood began to boil, and a strong burning sensation suddenly erupted in his abdomen. Next, sweat began to pour crazily from his forehead, shoulders, back, lower limbs, even palms and the soles of his feet. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚 The muscles in his arms gradually bulged, while veins across his forehead, the back of his hands, and his legs began to protrude. Xia Hong's breathing became heavy, even carrying a burning sensation. His exhaled breath was unusually visible to all in the camp. Suddenly, Xia Hong moved. He clenched his fists, retracted them, then fiercely thrust his waist, a straight punch forward, his fists like cannonballs. Though the punch hit nothing, the air vibrated continuously; if someone were to meet the punch, the outcome could be imagined. "Watch closely, this is Long Fist, rising like a gale and striking like lightning, with the lead hand followed by the rear, both hands alternating as one relentless force. Once we have enough Cold Beast Flesh, regardless of gender, everyone in the camp will practice with me." Xia Hong demonstrated the Grand Ancestor Long Fist while explaining to the people in the camp. Crystal Fruit can only satisfy hunger; to train, one must have Cold Beast Flesh. It's easy to understand, eating enough just maintains basic bodily functions. But forging the body and improving physical functions requires eating meat. The cultivation method in this world is simple and brutal: consume large amounts of Cold Beast Flesh, and through venting, continuously absorb the flesh's energy, which steadily enhances bodily strength. In truth, no one in the camp doesn't want to train. But when survival is a problem, cultivation becomes even more of a luxury. Even now, with Xia Ding teaching them the Long Fist techniques, they could only lie quietly and listen. It's not that they don't want to get up, it's to move less, to conserve energy. "Chuan, was this Long Fist taught to Hong by Uncle Ding?" Watching the still vigorous Xia Hong in the field, Yuan Hong showed a hint of envy and turned to ask Xia Chuan beside him. Xia Chuan's face was full of pride as he whispered, "This is something my brother created a month ago. I tell you, practicing this Long Fist speeds up the absorption of Cold Beast Flesh energy." Upon hearing this, Yuan Hong's pupils shrank sharply. He had also eaten Cold Beast Flesh and knew what that meant. Absorbing the energy of Cold Beast Flesh would increase strength, and this process is cultivation; increasing the speed of energy absorption means increasing the speed of cultivation. "Really?" "Of course it's true, my brother taught me, and I tried it myself." "Great, then once we have Cold Beast Flesh, I want to practice too." "Don't worry, didn't you hear? My brother just said, once we have enough flesh and blood, he'll teach us." ...... In the following days, at the maximum body limits, Xia Hong regularly consumed five pounds each day, and indeed, his strength increased steadily. Before the camp was attacked, his basic strength was already four thousand pounds. Over the next five days, his strength increased by nearly a hundred pounds each day. Great Xia Camp's tool for measuring strength was a set of brown circular wooden stakes. There were twelve stakes in total, five of one hundred pounds, two of five hundred pounds, and five of one thousand pounds. Everyone in the camp watched Xia Hong measure his strength each day. From the first day's 4100 pounds to the seventh day's 4900 pounds. The crowd's enthusiasm grew, and as they looked at the sealed entrance, a glimmer of hope gradually rose in their eyes. In the past, when Xia Ding and the logging team were present, the entrance could be opened in the evenings for ventilation. Now sealed in year-round, they felt even more stifled. Critically, the Crystal Fruits were running low. Even with minimal rationing, there were only about seven hundred pounds. Among 154 people, over 500 pounds had been consumed in seven days. The remaining amount was not enough to last three days. All their hopes could only be pinned on Xia Hong. So on the evening of the eighth day, when Xia Hong approached the brown stakes, everyone's gaze focused intently on him. Fully aware of the camp's situation, Xia Hong understood their feelings. He said nothing, quietly stacking the five one-thousand-pound stakes together. Slowly crouching down, he wrapped his arms around the bottom stake. Taking a deep breath, he began to exert his strength. Five thousand pounds is a weight unimaginable to the average person. But for the people in this world, five thousand pounds is just a basic requirement. Lifting a five-thousand-pound object doesn't necessarily imply only a force of five thousand pounds can be exerted. Take Xia Ding, whose basic strength was over seven thousand pounds. But, as Xia Hong observed, when Xia Ding swung his axe, the force was definitely over ten thousand pounds. Force depends on personal technique, physique, and even the situation, but basic strength doesn't lie. Why does one need over five thousand pounds of basic strength just to log outside? Xia Hong had already asked Xia Ding this question. Xia Ding didn't answer; he merely tossed him a stone axe and told him to chop down a tree. The trees retrieved by the logging team from the outskirts of Redwood Ridge. At the time, Xia Hong's basic strength was just over two thousand pounds, and when he chopped down, his tiger's mouth cracked, his elbow joints even fractured directly. Understand that these trees were chopped down by Xia Ding and the logging team outside and brought back to the cave. They had been left for days, with the crystallized outer bark already dissolved. A basic strength of two thousand pounds couldn't even break the surface. Xia Hong immediately realized that both people and trees capable of surviving in such an extremely cold environment cannot be judged by common sense. Besides, a glance at the towering forests on the side of Redwood Ridge reveals that, compared to humans, these trees actually thrive better. "Five thousand pounds is only the first step!" Xia Hong shouted lowly, eyes wide with determination. He forcefully exerted his strength upwards, muscles all over his body bulging, and his blood seemed to boil. Under the hopeful gaze of everyone in the camp, the five one-thousand-pound stakes slowly lifted off the ground until they were raised above Xia Hong's head. "Brother, you've broken through." "Head, strong!" "Five thousand pounds, hahaha, the leader is amazing." "Hong, you've reached the Logging Realm." Bang... Xia Hong dropped the stakes onto the ground, causing a loud boom, then turned back to look at the crowd, finally showing a long-missed expression of relaxation. "Once it's dark, I'll go out to find Crystal Fruit!"