After the Small Bonfire upgraded into an Iron Smelting Furnace, its utility had actually increased by this much.
The temperature range expanded from within ten meters to a hundred meters.
Its deterrence and lethality improved substantially, though the exact benchmark remained unclear for now.
It could burn coal directly for blacksmithing.
The functions of the Small Torch still remained.
And most importantly, there was the newly added special item, Fire Condensing Oil.
It ignited the moment it touched a ghoul!
The memory of summoning the Small Bonfire for the first time and burning the counterfeit Xia Ding into ashes in an instant resurfaced in Xia Hong's mind, and he instantly grew immensely excited about the function of the Fire Condensing Oil.
This Fire Condensing Oil was simply an peerless sharp weapon for dealing with ghouls!
To be honest, despite having gone to Redwood Ridge many times during this period, Xia Hong still felt a bit uneasy in his heart every single time.
As for the frost beasts they could encounter on the outer perimeter, with more and more people at the Lumbering Realm in the camp, he basically feared none of them; the only exception was ghouls, as he still felt uncertain about them.
Of course, the Small Torch could also be used, but the problem was that its quantity was limited, and at most it could only be held in hand to scare ghouls—he certainly couldn't expect a ghoul to just stand there motionlessly and let him burn it.
Moreover, the burning time of the Small Torch was also limited, lasting only fifteen minutes.
The Fire Condensing Oil was different; the liquid was not only easy to carry, but also unassuming.
The most crucial part was that it was harmless to humans and ignited upon touching a ghoul.
These eight characters alone were enough to make a huge fuss over.
As the flames shrank, the makeshift fire pit previously pieced together with clods of earth had somehow turned into a circular fire furnace over a meter in diameter and two meters tall.
"Huh, how did this bonfire turn into a furnace?"
The first person to see it immediately let out a startled cry, drawing everyone over to watch. Crowding close to the furnace, the people felt the warmth radiating from it, and when they looked at Xia Hong again, their gazes clearly carried much more fanaticism.
Earlier when disaster struck the cave, that scene where Xia Hong summoned flames out of thin air had only been witnessed by a few people, but through word of mouth, almost everyone in the camp knew about it.
Yet after all, the vast majority of people had only heard rumors, and quite a few still felt it was fabricated, not taking it to heart at all.
This time, however, was different; the bonfire turning into a furnace was accomplished right before everyone's eyes, and in this instant, Xia Hong's status in everyone's hearts rose by yet another massive notch.
Naturally, Xia Hong would not bother explaining anything.
Although manufacturing a god was undesirable, it depended on the circumstances.
Under such desperate conditions where the Great Xia Camp was on the verge of ruin at every moment, a leader with powerful and unfathomable means could play an extremely vital role, whether in rallying the collective or strengthening everyone's confidence in facing the future.
The people in the camp were actually doing alright; Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and those seven from the Lumber Team, having witnessed the might of the Small Torch and the martial prowess he displayed against frost beasts, held fanatic feelings toward him that were only higher than those of the people present.
Without realizing it, everyone in the Great Xia Camp silently formed a concept in their hearts:
Xia Hong possessed formidable strength and controlled some kind of profound, mysterious power. Not only could he hunt frost beasts, but he could even defeat and repel ghouls; furthermore, he was generous, willing to increase everyone's crystal fruit quota so that everyone could eat their fill; at the same time, he was utterly selfless, willing to bring out frost beast meat to share with everyone and enhance their strength.
And following this concept, everyone spontaneously arrived at a shared consensus:
Only with Xia Hong as leader could they live longer and better.
Xia Hong possessed no mind-reading skills and naturally remained unaware of what everyone was thinking in their hearts, but from the gazes others directed at him, he could easily discern two points:
One was that his standing in these people's hearts was continuously rising at a terrifying speed.
The other was that everyone in the camp—whether his younger brother Xia Chuan, the few members of the Lumber Team, or the other ordinary folk, ranging from middle-aged adults down to children—gradually held a yearning for life and hope for the future in their eyes.
In the days that followed, Xia Hong no longer led a team to Redwood Ridge.
Even though upgrading into an Iron Smelting Furnace doubled the average daily consumption of burning wood compared to before, consuming 4 units of wood every day, Xia Hong's current wood resources were already in surplus to begin with.
With 470 units of wood resources, even without going out, it was enough to sustain them for over three months. Coupled with the crystal fruits hoarded previously, there were still over ten thousand catties remaining, so staying in for a short period of time posed absolutely no problem.
Xia Hong had also considered searching near Tower Mountain to see if he could locate the position of the Big Stone Camp and check on their situation.
However, thinking that that ghoul was likely lurking nearby, he ultimately abandoned the idea.
For one thing, although he knew for sure that the Big Stone Camp was over by Tower Mountain, the concealment of each camp was extremely high. Even if he went over, the probability of him finding it was low, and even if he did find it, in case their camp hadn't suffered any trouble, he wouldn't be able to explain himself then and it would easily provoke conflicts.
Secondly, it stemmed from apprehension toward that ghoul.
During that previous encounter, the opponent should have been hiding in the shadows manipulating the counterfeit Xia Ding, so strictly speaking, up until now Xia Hong still didn't even know what that ghoul actually looked like.
Despite having the means to deal with ghouls now, his understanding of that ghoul was far too scant, and rash contact would definitely result in getting the short end of the stick.
With various reasons compounding, Xia Hong could only patiently remain in the camp, leading everyone in cultivation on one hand while studying methods to deal with ghouls on the other.
"When you follow me to practice the Long Fist, besides helping you improve the efficiency of absorbing the essence of frost beast meat, there is an even more important function, and that is enhancing your combat capability!"
Beside the furnace, Xia Hong stood shirtless, continuously throwing punches with a relatively small amplitude. Accompanied by sharp whistling gales of wind, he explained the essentials of the Ancestral Long Fist to the people gathered around.
"No matter what martial art it is, when all is said and done, you practice only two things: reaction speed and explosive force. These two items are your greatest reliance and confidence when facing an enemy.
Reaction speed refers to the advance anticipation of danger. Taking a frost beast as an example, when it has not yet raised its claws, you can judge which side it will attack from and make a timely reaction; that way, it cannot cause you any harm.
As for explosive force, it is the maximum power generated at the fastest speed within the shortest possible time. This is the strongest means to inflict damage on an enemy, whether bare-handed or wielding a weapon—the logic remains the same."
Xia Hong's punching speed gradually grew slightly faster, and the fierce wind of his punches fanned the furnace into a roaring blaze. At the same time, he continued:
"Although the basic strength of the Lumbering Realm is five thousand catties, that is static basic strength. Being able to lift a five-thousand-catty object does not mean you can throw a five-thousand-catty punch.
In actual combat, due to physical reaction and movement restrictions, it is hard for you to unleash the full five thousand catties of force, so you must practice unceasingly to constantly improve your muscles and grow accustomed to throwing punches; only then can you unleash your maximum power."
"The greater an individual's range of motion, the more muscles are mobilized, and the greater the impact on punching speed and power will be. Therefore, among the four routines of the Ancestral Long Fist—Small Battle, Grand Battle, Scattered Hands, and Combined Battle—the simplest one is Small Battle close combat."
Though Xia Hong's punching movements were fast, their amplitude was restricted within a mere square inch. Even so, the fist momentum generated by his strikes still produced a fierce, roaring sound as it rubbed against the air.
"You haven't been practicing the Small Battle routine for long, so at most you can only unleash half of your basic strength. But as long as you practice diligently, you'll be able to unleash eighty percent of your fist momentum, just like me.
Once you master Small Battle, I will teach you the Grand Battle routine. The triple-combination of fist, foot, and waist not only lets you casually unleash one hundred percent of your fist momentum, but when practiced to a profound level, it can even erupt with power that surpasses the limits of the body."
Xia Chuan and the others nodded with stirred expressions. They had all ventured outside with Xia Hong and witnessed firsthand him demonstrating the three routines of Small Battle, Grand Battle, and Scattered Hands, so they were well aware of how formidable this boxing technique was.
"Actually, the most powerful aspect of the Long Fist is when it is paired with weap—"
Thud, thud, thud...
Mid-sentence, a sound of earth-shaking commotion suddenly erupted beneath their feet. Xia Hong's expression instantly shifted as he looked up toward the cave entrance.
Everyone in the camp clustered around the furnace also stood up in a split second, turning their heads in unison to look toward the entrance.
"Is something rushing over?"
"Such a huge commotion, it sounds like a frost beast?"
"We blocked the cave entrance, how could a frost beast discover us?"
"It's daytime right now; if we're really discovered by a frost beast, we're done for!"
Despair instantly crept across the faces of the vast majority of people in the camp.
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