Chapter 404: An Unshakable Empire — Baokang

Lei Zhan naturally had no idea that the leaders of the four gangs had already learned four days earlier from the Mu Family, through their inquiries about magical crystals, that Tie Wuxin was deeply immersed in seclusion, striving hard to reach the fourth-tier equipment level.
They had high expectations for the Mu Family’s top blacksmith, hoping that by leveraging the first fourth-tier masterpiece, the Mu Family could establish itself as a powerful gang on par with Yipin Tang, Xiayi Men, and Lingxiao Palace…
But unexpectedly!
For several days, nothing unusual happened at the Mu Family, and when Tie Wuxin emerged from seclusion, the list of divine weapons remained unchanged, with no fourth-tier masterpieces appearing.
It was obvious…
The attempt to reach the fourth tier had failed.
This wasn’t surprising—although there were now several blacksmiths, their failure rate was astonishingly high.
The four major gangs in Baokang County were all disappointed, but none of them brought up this distressing matter to Lei Zhan. Instead, they took advantage of this Blood River Nine Heavens event to host another banquet, with “Looking Up at the Swans,” the leader of Xiayi Men’s branch, bringing it up.
Noticing the concerned looks from his old friends, Lei Zhan was stunned for a few seconds before finally realizing.
“Oh, so that’s what you’re talking about…”
Lei Zhan forced a laugh, his expression awkward. “There’s nothing to say. Besides, the Mu Family hasn’t spent all the money they made last time.”
“…” The others all showed skeptical expressions.
Although the Mu Family had made bold moves in the past two times, this one was no less significant—at least seven sets of fourth-tier materials and seven third-tier first-class masterpieces. If all failed, that would amount to 2 billion silver taels…
For the many large gangs in the martial world today, few could easily gather 2 billion silver taels in resources, let alone lose it all at once.
They were worried that the Mu Family might suffer a setback from this failure. Lin Xiao of Xiayi Men was especially anxious and offered to take on some of the risks for the Mu Family for a while.
The other three gangs also suggested that the payment for this transaction could be made in installments—after all, they weren’t as wealthy as Xiayi Men.
“Hehe, I appreciate everyone’s kindness. If I really need help, I’ll definitely ask for it. For now, I’m overthinking it. The Mu Family still has over a billion in liquid assets, and their gang warehouses contain thousands of masterpieces of various tiers—totaling no less than 2 billion in resources. As you all know, the income keeps coming in every day. Money really isn’t a problem.”

Lei Zhan’s explanation finally eased the four of them a bit. The Mu family’s ability to survive this disaster gave them relief, and with the resources from Baokang Shenlongjia, such losses could be made up in less than half a month.
“By the way, Lao Lei, how is Kai Xin now? I heard he was still at the Wangling yesterday. Does he also plan to give up the mission at Guangmingding?”
The conversation shifted from the Mu family’s finances to Kai Xin, and everyone showed interest.
A few days ago, Kai Xin had entered the Life and Death Realm and was ranked midway on the Dragon List. As a renowned martial artist who had always covered the most significant news in the martial world and the first to single-handedly defeat an NPC at the Liberation Realm, many believed Kai Xin surely wouldn’t miss the plot mission of “The Final Battle at Guangmingding.”
However, some thought Kai Xin might be too afraid to appear at Guangmingding…
The three top figures of Yipin Hall were all inheritors of peerless martial arts skills and were currently very popular!
In the past two days, all three had equipped themselves with third-tier top-tier weapons. Some said that Bloodclothes’ “Star Siphon Technique” allowed him to absorb enemies’ internal energy and use it for himself, enabling him to easily take on any martial artist, including the legendary first and second-ranked figures on the Dragon List—Yi Di and Zhou Yu.
Although Deputy Hallmaster Huang Sha had lost his life once and suffered a significant drop in strength, his “King of the Underworld Skill” was still formidable. A few days ago, he had boldly killed an NPC at the Liberation Realm, boosting his reputation instead of lowering it. Rumors suggested that once he regained his peak strength, his power would rival that of Bloodclothes.
As for Meng Yun…
After being knocked off the top spot of the Phoenix List by Shadow, he had regained his position in recent days, reportedly due to improvements in his “Flame Divine Skill.” Yet his fame seemed to be overshadowed by the two deputy hallmasters.
Under these circumstances, Yipin Hall had clearly recovered from the setbacks of its branch being destroyed and Huang Sha’s death. A group of people who wanted chaos to reign spread rumors that Yipin Hall might take this opportunity to attack the Mu family, as well as rumors that Kai Xin might give up Guangmingding and directly assault Yipin Hall’s headquarters.
It was for this reason that the relationship between the Mu family and Yipin Hall seemed to be pushed back to the forefront of attention.
Faced with the questions from people like Hu Yanluan, Lei Zhan helplessly shrugged:
“We’re not sure yet. The threat from Yipin Hall can’t be ignored. If they really wanted to attack us, Kai Xin would definitely come to our aid.”
“How many more experts does the Mu family have? Xiao Bei, Silver Fox, and the newly joined Yaoshi Wanneng are all capable of reaching Guangmingding.”
“They won’t go.”
This time, Lei Zhan answered decisively.

“With them around, Yipin Hall still has some concerns. After all, the strength of Yinhu and Xiao Bei isn’t something they can ignore. Unless Yipin Hall completely gives up Guangmingding… If even they leave, Yipin Hall will surely attack the Mu family without hesitation. After all, right now, nearly half of the Mu family’s forces aren’t ready for battle, and there aren’t many skilled fighters. Once these few leave, they’ll be completely disorganized…”
The four of them nodded at each other:
“Don’t worry. From now on, our people will set up spies every 200 li outside Baokang County, taking turns monitoring the main roads to watch for any Yipin Hall disciples or large groups of strangers approaching Shenlongjia. This will continue until the mission at Guangmingding is completed.”
“That would be greatly appreciated.”
Lei Zhan was overjoyed.
This was an excellent suggestion. Extending the surveillance range by 200 li would not only give the Mu family more time to react and organize their forces but also allow them to use various terrains to set ambushes, take the initiative to attack, and seize advantageous positions—which was very important.
“It’s everyone’s shared wish for the Five Sect Alliances to stabilize. If we don’t help you, who will?” Hu Yanluan laughed mockingly. “The martial world has only been around for a little over half a year, yet Yipin Hall already considers itself the leader. Everyone disapproves of that. We actually hope they’ll come to Baokang. The Xiyimen sect has established several branches in nearby cities, with over 4,000 permanent members. Together with our four major sects, it won’t be a problem to wipe out Yipin Hall.”
“Yipin Hall isn’t worth dealing with.”
Tian E, the leader of Xiyimen, snorted coldly. “Regarding the matter of Caiyi Men, our vice leader Lin and the leader Hongchen have already tolerated it for a long time. The branches nearby are all made up of our elite fighters. Unless Yipin Hall sends all its forces, they won’t stand a chance in battle. But even then, it would cause great damage to Yipin Hall itself. They’d have to guard against us, Xiyimen, and Lingxiao Palace. If they send just a few thousand people to Baokang, it might be easy for them to get in, but getting out again? Hmph…”
“Difficult!”
Hearing the information Tian E inadvertently revealed, the four of them were immediately moved.