Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely Chapter 1331 - 434: Making Friends, Departure, Beining Sword Master, Arrival at Jinyang

Of the seven people gathered right now, Lu Yun is clearly the one struck the hardest.

This year, Lu Yun is twenty-one and has trained under Lu Yang for close to five years. He holds the record as the longest disciple, and when it comes to strength, he reigns supreme among Lu Yang’s seven students without question.

His second junior brother Han Li, who came on board last year, is two years his senior. Han Li’s cultivation sits at Mid-stage Cold Resistance with 5 tufts of strength, nearly matching Lu Yun’s, but they clashed once in East Ridge, where Han Li ended up narrowly defeated.

One could argue that Lu Yun’s claim to senior brother status in East Ridge rests mainly on his superior power.

After almost five years with Master Lu Yang, he’s explored beyond Jingxi District and visited Beishuo City multiple times. Exposed to countless same-age prodigies and battling several over the years, Lu Yun’s self-assurance has ballooned lately.

In particular, this April, Beishuo countered the Great Xia Martial Arts Competition’s buzz by having the Inspectorate host a martial arts tournament, pulling in all under-25 talents from the town and seven districts.

Lu Yun joined in and clinched 12th place sporting 4 tufts of strength. Besides the Yang Family and a handful of town nobles’ elites, he bested every young talent from Beishuo’s seven districts.

His master Lu Yang’s fame has surged in Beishuo these past years, peaking last March when he crushed Zhu Yang, Jingxi District’s dean, in just three moves, snagging the Beining Sword Master moniker.

Riding his master Lu Yang’s rising star, Lu Yun as the top disciple grabbed 12th in Beishuo’s contest this year, earning the nickname Little Sword Chief of Beining from gossipers.

All this has skyrocketed Lu Yun’s ego in no time.

This May, when Master Lu Yang disclosed his Great Xia background to them and announced plans to bring them for the Martial Arts Competition, Lu Yun thumped his chest, vowing to push for a top-three spot or at worst top ten, boosting his master’s name in Great Xia.

His master just gave a strange smile back then. Lu Yun didn’t get it at the moment. But now, post-competition with results revealed, it all clicks.

Boasting top three with his meager power was pure hubris. His master sparing him ridicule right there already showed mercy.

78th place!

"If we judge solely by cultivation, even my 78th spot feels overstated. Second junior brother’s 5 tufts match mine closely, but he placed 99th. And don’t get me started on those past 100th—some boast over 5 tufts, so my ranking owes to martial skills and battle flair."

As Lu Yun uttered those words, silence fell over the rest.

Han Li shook his head with a wry grin and replied, "Senior brother, you don’t know yet that Great Xia’s contestants in the Martial Arts Competition faced strength limits. Without those, their power would jump another thirty percent."

"What?"

Han Peng’s revelation jolted not just Lu Yun but Zhu Baixu and the other five to their feet, eyes wide in shock.

"Junior uncle Lu Dong spilled this to me straight during the Martial Arts Competition. No way he’d lie about it."

Hearing that, Lu Yun and the other six went quiet.

What does a thirty percent strength boost mean?

Zhu Baixu and the five others missing the top hundred isn’t the shock; it’s Lu Yun and Han Peng—without restrictions on Great Xia heirs, they’d likely miss it too.

"Why are you all frozen like statues?"

While the seven sat stunned, Lu Dong strode in from the side hall door, clad in black. A warm smile lit his face as he stepped inside, glancing swiftly at the six besides Han Peng.

"Greetings, junior uncle!"

Within the hall, Lu Yun and the other seven spotted Lu Dong entering and swiftly offered their respects with deep bows. As Lu Yang serves as their master, by rank, Lu Dong merited the title of junior uncle from them.

Once the formal greeting concluded, aside from Han Peng who had prior acquaintance with Lu Dong, Lu Yun and the remaining six lifted their gazes to closely examine their junior uncle—a man younger than themselves yet wielding strength too profound to gauge.

Donning black summer garments, Lu Dong lacked the longsword from the tournament at his side. A subtle smile graced his features; no aura radiated from him, nor did any trace of haughtiness appear, yet thoughts of his dominant display in the arena and his status as youth group champion stirred feelings of inadequacy in Lu Yun and the other six, prompting their heads to dip unconsciously.

"Brother Han, didn’t we agree just now? Why are you calling me junior uncle again?"

Lu Dong spoke once more, teasing Han Peng in a lighthearted manner at first, then turning a warm smile toward Lu Yun and the six others as he added, "You’re all my brother’s disciples; he’s him, and I’m me. We’re not much apart in age, so let’s refer to each other as brothers henceforth. Don’t call me junior uncle anymore; you’re making me feel old."

Such warm and approachable words instantly won over Lu Yun and the seven, particularly as they noted the striking seven-tenths similarity between his face and their master Lu Yang’s youthful appearance, evoking an inexplicable bond of familiarity.

"On the ring, I only had brief contact with Brother Han, and it’s my first time meeting the rest of you, so let me guess you are Brother Lu, Brother Zhu, Brother Bai, Brother Wan, Brother Nie, Brother Yang—isn’t that right?"