Chapter 463: Foreign Martial Worlds, Independent Factions

Goryeo, which is today’s North Korea and South Korea.
Due to its small population and limited territory, Goryeo’s resources are equivalent to those of a single province. However, it has a large youth population who are highly enthusiastic about entertainment, especially the emerging Eastern martial arts culture and the Goryeo martial arts system based on historical documents and various resources!
There aren’t many renowned gangs in Goryeo…
The more notable ones include the Yi Jian Gate, the Swift Wind Path, and the Listening to Rain Pavilion!
The former is led by Master Yi Jian “Fu Cailin,” who is renowned throughout the martial arts world as one of the greatest masters. It is said that his chess and swordsmanship skills are both unparalleled.
Although the latter two are not as famous as the Yi Jian Gate, they are still very strong.
Fusang and Daying refer to present-day Japan…
Since the Tang Dynasty, the islands have adopted many martial arts from the Central Plains, with various forms of swordsmanship and sword techniques being popular. There is also karate, which originated from Shaolin. Occasionally, a few exceptionally talented masters emerge!
Thailand and Vietnam are poor and underdeveloped, but their tropical rainforest climate has produced some highly resilient masters. Their boxing styles are aggressive and forceful, like a bucket of explosives ready to explode at any moment—completely different from the grand, balanced, and inclusive style and cultural heritage of the Central Plains.
In later times, these two small countries also had periods of glory, with several of their fighters making it into the top 100 in global swordsmanship competitions held on Mount Hua…
…
“Now that the martial world has settled, the three major forces divide the world among themselves. Our Mu family is caught in between and cannot develop freely. Breakthroughs are necessary, but we certainly don’t intend to make a foolish move that forces the Lingxiao Palace to ally with the Yipin Hall. I’m afraid Mengyun hopes we’ll do just that… Given Qin Qing’s steady and cautious nature, she wants no one to disturb her as she develops peacefully. Attacking the Lingxiao Palace now would be suicide for a weaker faction, while the Xiyi Gate or Yipin Hall would be hesitant to act…” Feng Wu Caiyi’s words pulled Happy back from his memories of the past. She nodded in approval:
“Being able to see this shows you already have a broad understanding of the Central Plains martial world. If you become independent in the future, you’ll do even better than before.”
Hearing this, Feng Wu Caiyi quickly shook her head:

“The past is the past; the present is now. I’m not a child—how could I not see that? It’s best for the Mu Family to stay united! If they split, it could give Yipin Tang the chance to take them down one by one. Moreover, for the Mu Family to become the fourth top gang, it needs a large number of members, multiple branches, and top-notch experts—splitting would mean losing all deterrence.” After a pause, she glanced around and said solemnly, “So, from now on, there will be no Caiyi Gate anymore—only Caiyi Hall…”
“…”
Kai Xin looked at Feng Wu Cai Yi deeply, feeling that after going through so much, this girl had indeed become more mature and steady, gradually developing the ability and insight to handle things on her own.
“We came here this time with another path and proposal, but it was rejected by Brother Lei…” After a pause, Feng Wu Cai Yi showed determination: “But we think that while Brother Lei is indeed on the right track, our plan isn’t reckless. So we plan to discuss it with you. If you think it’s suitable, help us persuade Brother Lei as well.”
“Hm?”
Hearing that it wasn’t about taking over Lingxiao Palace’s territory, Kai Xin became interested:
“Go on.”
Feng Wu Cai Yi, Jimo Sanlang, and Yu Chazhe sat up straight: “It’s like this—after discussing it, we plan to send a small group to the Western Regions to establish an independent branch there.”
“An independent branch?”
Kai Xin frowned slightly:
As the name implies, it’s a self-sufficient stronghold separate from the main protection network.
Although it has the name and deterrence of the Mu Family, the distance is so great that its deterrence is greatly reduced—possibly even less than that of a local large gang.
“What’s the reason?”
“I want to test the practical combat skills of our Mu Family’s Battle Hall,” Feng Wu Cai Yi explained. “The experts of Yipin Tang are almost all at the Life and Death Realm! We’ve calculated that, from the Life and Death Realm to the Liberation Realm—excluding accidents and outliers like ‘One Emperor’—it takes at least nine months, or even longer, for an expert to reach the Liberation Realm, because mastering the martial arts of the Life and Death Realm alone takes about three months per person…”
“…”
“So, in the time to come, it will likely be the era of experts at the Life and Death Realm—whomever is stronger will rise to power. It’s a transition from realm to actual ability, including equipment, martial arts, pills, and other aspects.”
Kai Xin recalled the situation in his past life:
Exactly!

Over three years, only a handful of people reached the Liberation Realm… And the difference between the Liberation Realm and the Life and Death Realm isn’t significant… Experts at the Life and Death Realm with over 500 or 600 points of internal energy are already extremely powerful, as if they had mastered top-tier martial arts of that realm. With level 4 equipment, they may not be able to single-handedly defeat experts at the Wuwei Realm, but they do have the ability to protect themselves. To truly emerge from the Liberation Realm, one still needs to practice related martial arts for at least half a year.

So, at least until Happy left, during the period when the “Global Swordsmanship Competition on Huashan” took place, it was still the era of the Life and Death Realm.

Feng Wu Caiyi and the others’ assumptions and deductions were correct…

Due to numerous plot tasks, martial arts secrets, equipment, pills, and battles, no one could devote one or two years solely to training, ignoring everything else to boost their internal energy.

“Why choose the Western Regions? There’s a branch of the First-Class Hall there, and it’s unstable, far from our reach…” Happy was somewhat convinced, but still couldn’t help asking, “Where can’t one train practical combat skills?”

“In the Central Plains, there are many hidden experts. Moreover, battles between players are the norm. But frequent fights can drag gangs into trouble. If you accidentally encounter someone like Lu Mingyue, who has inherited their skills, it becomes a problem. But on the borders, it’s different. Competitive battles between countries are common. Foreign players who enter the Western Regions are usually quite strong, on par with our elite, so there’s no need to hesitate when fighting them. As for the First-Class Hall, their people can’t come to help quickly, so we might not be at a disadvantage in a fight!”

After a pause, Feng Wu Caiyi gave her second reason: “Also, these days, foreign players are all coming for the task systems in our Central Plains, especially those peerless martial arts. I’m not happy about that. They don’t go for them in their own countries but come here instead. What’s the meaning of that? Isn’t it outright theft? So, we must drive them back! Not a single one should get in!”

Happy was persuaded… By both reasons!

“I’ll tell Lei Zhan later to make you the second master of the Mu Family! You’re in charge of setting up the independent branch. I know you want to go in person, and I won’t stop you, but remember—be careful.”

Hearing Happy’s firm reply, Feng Wu Caiyi was initially pleased but quickly shook her head: “No, the second master position is reserved for Lei Zhan, according to him.”

Happy laughed immediately.

“There’s no need. Everyone knows now that I belong to the Mu family. Whether I have that title or not makes no difference. But you truly qualify to take that position and help Brother Lei share his burdens. He’s going through a tough time right now, and since I’m away for so long, I can only rely on you.”
“As you command!”
Feng Wu Caiyi stood up happily: “I promise not to bring shame to the Mu family!”