Although Cold Beasts are large, each one provides plenty of hides and fur.
But the camp's demand is also large!
Bruce's outfit used Cold Beast Skin, Demon Sheep fur, and Frost Wolf fur, with many additional materials, obviously taking a lot of effort.
Everyone wants to wear something like this, but it's clearly not possible now, and they admit they're not qualified.
But judging by the amount of Beast Skin used, making a full outfit requires the skin and fur of at least two adult Cold Beasts.
Besides, clothing is not a particularly scarce resource.
Those living in the camp stay near the Iron Refining Furnace for long periods, so temperature isn't an issue.
The more significant use of the Beast Skin Skirts is to avoid being naked.
The vast amount of Beast Skin needed for clothing and the non-scarce nature of the resource clearly indicates that when Bruce said everyone could wear them, it means it will take a long time for that to happen.
Being able to wear it one day sooner is certainly the best.
So, everyone eagerly anticipated Bruce's next words.
"Edward, the ground stakes will take approximately another four months to finish, during this time, take some spare time to make fifteen sets of clothes with your people."
"Yes, Leader!"
Bruce first gave Edward an order, then turned to face everyone and spoke with a smile, "You all heard, the first batch will have fifteen sets. The first ten to break through to the Earthripper Realm, and the first five to break through to the Axebreaker Realm, each gets a set. Whether you can wear it depends on yourselves!"
Almost the moment Bruce finished speaking, those originally circling around him, whether from the Hunting Team, Logging Team, or the reserved forces, immediately dispersed and went to cultivate individually.
In moments, the sound of continuous punching echoed from inside and outside the wooden huts.
Those who hadn't consumed Cold Beast Meat quickly prepared themselves a meal, just as obviously intending to train right after eating.
This sudden change made the smile on Bruce's face grow wider, and his heart was filled with new ideas.
Due to the inertia from his past life, Bruce believed that unity and cohesion were the most crucial aspects of the camp.
He would intentionally or unintentionally downplay the notion of hierarchy and class in the camp.
Although he knew in his heart that a sense of hierarchy would naturally develop due to the differences in cultivation and the varying roles individuals played, and that this sense would deepen as the gap in cultivation widened,
Bruce believed that the existence and deepening of this notion would eventually lead to a lack of unity and integrity in the camp, affecting overall cohesion.
So, he chose to downplay it as much as possible.
Just as when Edward brought out the wooden chair and clothes made for him, his first reaction wasn't to accept them but to resist, which was his way of downplaying and resisting this notion.
However, at this moment, the scene before him made him realize that the existence of this hierarchy was not entirely a bad thing.
At the very least, it made these people more motivated to cultivate.
The gap between the Earthripper Realm and the Axebreaker Realm, and the ordinary people, with different levels of cultivation playing different roles, differentiation was always present.
Since this notion was unavoidable, it could only be accepted.
Bruce reminded himself once more internally that this was not his previous life; the harshness of the Ice Abyss World far surpassed even the collapse of order described by the phrase 'rebellion against decorum.' Holding onto the mindset of a civilized society would eventually lead to a great loss.
"One outfit could spark such a big motivational response; the wooden hut being built soon, the Golden Sore Powder, the weapons, and the martial arts in my mind all seem like things that could be leveraged…"
Seeing the enthusiasm for cultivation rise even higher compared to before, and realizing there were many more things to use to his advantage, Bruce's eyes shone with a newfound spirit.
From the night when the distribution standard of the fifteen sets of clothes was set, almost everyone in the camp was training tirelessly, the whole camp plunged into a frenzy of cultivation.
Especially when Bruce returned from hunting every night, wearing those clothes as he walked back to the wooden hut in front of everyone, he clearly felt the vigor in everyone's punching increase in strength and intensity.
The members of the Hunting and Axebreaker Teams were even more motivated.
The cultivation in the Axebreaker Realm and the Earthripper Realm involves consuming energy and absorbing the essence contained in Cold Beast Meat, and hunting and Axebreaker are themselves extremely effective ways of expending energy.
Therefore, when outside, they worked noticeably harder than before, and naturally, their harvest increased significantly in tandem, visibly stocking up more material in the camp's mine warehouse and speeding up the stake-driving process considerably.
Two months later, the first person, besides Bruce, to gain the qualification to wear a complete outfit finally appeared.
Surprisingly, this person didn't come from the Hunting Team or the logging Team but from the reserves.
Moreover, he was someone Bruce was relatively familiar with.
William's son, Flash.
Flash was the first to break through to the Axebreaker Realm, and the happiest of all was William.
Although a long time had passed, William's body had improved significantly, but a root cause of lifelong disability remained.
Now, he could at most walk around the valley.
Recovering his strength was out of the question, let alone cultivating.
Having been a leader for so many years, William naturally couldn't resign himself to idleness, especially when most people in the camp were madly training, and he could only watch from the sidelines.
Fortunately, his archery skills were still intact.
Although he couldn't demonstrate them to others due to his lack of cultivation, he could still offer some guidance.
Moreover, the camp now had eleven bows and arrows, and many needed archery guidance, so he had found something to do.
Teaching archery, William found where his value lay.
Besides, his primary concern was urging his son Flash to train.
Having been a leader, William clearly understood the camp's hierarchical structure.
Although Harper's current strength far exceeded that of the former Tayler, the core remained unchanged.
Cultivation determines value; value determines status.
This was the case in every camp.
This was why, even though he was crippled, William kept looking for things to do.
Urging his son to train was partly for his son himself, and partly for the hundred-plus people from the former Tayler Camp.
Currently, Harper consists of over nine hundred people, strictly speaking, merged from five groups.
Under the indiscriminate Cold Beast Meat system, the camp had considerable cohesion, but the five groups still experienced some differentiation internally.
It was apparent from where each group resided in the wooden house.
The closest to the stove were the initial members of the Harper; next were the over one hundred from Rogel Camp; and then those from Tayler, Samsung, and Banana Camps were on the outermost layer, with Tayler people seated the furthest back.
These signs didn't indicate a split in the camp.
Humans are sentimental and naturally gravitate towards familiar people.
This is a natural order, unchangeable by rising camp cohesion.
Just like they would stick with familiar people, as the leader, Bruce naturally gravitated towards the initial members of Harper.
Although he treated everyone equally in distributing Cold Beast Meat, he inevitably showed favoritism in everyday details.
Currently, the highest status among the camp's five groups belonged to the initial members of the Harper, justified by factors such as strength and Bruce;
Secondly, there were over a hundred people from Rogel Camp, featuring fifteen Axebreaker Realm members like Aaron and controlling eight out of fifteen spots in the Hunting Team; Jason, the Axebreaker Team captain, and Edward, the Craftsman Workshop master, were also from their ranks.
Then there were the camps of Samsung and Banana, with a total of ten Axebreaker Realm members, and Sam, Ben, and Martin joined the Hunting Team, while the remaining seven were in the Logging Team.
Only the hundred-plus people from Tayler had no Axebreaker Realm members, let alone anyone in the Hunting or Axebreaker Teams.
William wasn't worried that Bruce would marginalize the Tayler people.
The critical issue was that this group brought no value to the camp, leading to inevitable marginalization if it continued.
The development of Harper had visibly gained traction, advancing rapidly.
Such marginalization could later evolve into being ignored and losing influence, missing out on benefits.
Therefore, William watched anxiously.
Now a cripple, William had no say in camp development, so he pinned hopes on Flash—not just Flash, but any young recruit from Tayler he could supervise.
Fortunately, Flash surprised him by breaking through to the Axebreaker Realm first among the more than three hundred recruits.
This breakthrough not only gave William face.
According to Bruce's earlier standard, the first five recruits to break through to the Axebreaker Realm would receive a set of clothes.
Thus, it was both fame and fortune.
Watching Flash receive that outfit from Bruce and wear it.
Though the attire wasn't as refined as Bruce's, it was a complete set—jacket, fur hat, coat, trousers, and boots—and it looked striking on him.
Onlookers in the wooden house all cast envious glances at Flash, including Hunting and Logging Team members.
William's sixteen, seventeen-year-old son already showed hints of adult demeanor.
Feeling emotionally stirred, William remembered his tragically deceased wife and two brothers, bringing tears to his eyes.
"Uncle William, you have someone to carry on your legacy. Congratulations!"
Awakened by Bruce's congratulatory voice, William snapped back to reality, bowing respectfully, "Nothing would be possible without our leader bravely hunting. Flash wouldn't have this fortune."
Bruce smiled faintly and said softly, "Uncle William, don't worry. Currently, all nine hundred plus people are cramped together, and space in the wooden house is limited, so some will inevitably be inside, and some outside.
In a few months, when the new dwelling is done, accommodation arrangements will be unified. As I said before, I treat everyone equally. Do you still distrust me?"
Hearing these words, William paused.
William instinctively wanted to explain.
But Bruce shook his head, signaling that William need not explain.
Bruce understood William's concerns.
To be precise, the camp was so small that people essentially stayed in the wooden house; if anything happened and he paid attention, he could find out.
Regarding the camp's current factional division, Bruce instinctively recalled the saying "shallow waters can't accommodate many turtles, small temples attract shady winds," initially finding it laughable, worrying about its impact on camp unity.
But upon reflection, he realized that wasn't necessarily the case.
In any organization reaching a certain size, factions emerge unavoidably.
After all, any human group will develop factions based on closeness or differences in ideas or interests.
Factions mean competition, which, when malignant, can disrupt unity or even lead to severe splits; but beneficial competition is essential for Ice Abyss, a world that highly values martial power and respects might.
The key issue lies in whether these differences are allowed to grow or are promptly addressed.
As long as the core—Bruce—can properly handle these differences, this inter-faction competition is positive.
This healthy competition not only won't damage the camp's unity but will urge camp members to cultivate, boosting development speed.
He didn't give William a chance to explain because of this principle; within controllable limits, Bruce could accept factional competition.
Flash being the first to break through to the Axebreaker Realm and donning new clothes clearly stirred others.
After congratulating Wulliam, everyone resumed their frenzied training, eagerly eyeing the remaining fourteen outfits.
Bruce sat on his exclusive seat, scanning the wooden house.
Observing the Qi Muscle changes in everyone's breaths, he smiled.
Others might have seen only Flash's breakthrough.
But Bruce saw more.
The recruits had been fed Cold Beast Meat simultaneously; even with age and talent differences, their breakthrough gaps wouldn't be large.
One breakthrough signaled others were close too.
The boom period was near!
Indeed, as Bruce anticipated.
The next day, two more broke through to the Axebreaker Realm;
On the third day, another; the fourth and fifth days…
Within the following month, the Axebreaker Realm members in Harper sprouted like mushrooms after rain, and even the Hunting Team saw breakthroughs.