Chapter 728: Dragon Gate

“Lingxiao Palace presents its gifts!”
With the arrival of a group from Lingxiao Palace, chaos and turmoil ensued outside the branch hall. Various gangs hid themselves, bringing about a brief lull.
Although the establishment of the Mu Family’s branch hall made everyone skeptical about Lingxiao Palace’s situation, it still remained an overwhelming force that many gangs dared not challenge. They certainly wouldn’t want to get involved in this conflict!
Moreover, Lingxiao Palace had sent a group of experts, led personally by Qin Yun—a substantial force that made many gangs sense unrest in the air.
“So it’s Palace Master Qin who’s come in person. Yin Hu bows in respect.”
A clear and loud voice rang out from within the branch hall, reaching every ear outside. The noisy discussions outside instantly subsided.
Swish swish!
All eyes turned to the group stepping out of the branch hall with confident strides…
The man at the forefront wore a half-mask of tarnished silver-white, exuding an indescribable sense of dignity and authority that immediately captured everyone’s attention!
“Rumors say that this branch hall in Yangzhou is under Yin Hu’s direct control. At first, I didn’t believe it, but it turns out to be true… I wonder if the Mu Family has come to Yangzhou to teach Qin Yun a lesson.” Qin Yun’s face showed slight anger.
The Mu Family’s establishment of this branch hall in Yangzhou was like a fishbone stuck in Lingxiao Palace’s throat—how could it not cause discomfort?
Yin Hu remained calm, as cold and unshaken as ever:
“The Mu Family’s decisions and arrangements are always made by the family head. As subordinates, we never interfere.”
“So, establishing this branch hall in Yangzhou was an order you were happy to follow?”
Qin Yun grew increasingly annoyed.
Among the crowd, many also felt sympathy for her. After all, the Mu Family was growing stronger by the day, and not long ago, Qin Qing had given up her position as palace master for offending them—clearly putting her at a disadvantage. Now, seeing Yin Hu’s aggressive attitude and Qin Yun’s pitiful state, people naturally felt inclined to support her and express dissatisfaction.
“It’s not easy for Lingxiao Palace to be led by two women. Why does the Mu Family have to make things so difficult?”
“Exactly!”
“…”
From a superior position, Yin Hu glanced indifferently at Qin Yun and Qin Qing: “No one else has the right to know or interfere in the Mu Family’s decisions. It seems Palace Master Qin and your sister don’t understand this.”
“What do you mean?”

“It’s not interesting. I’m just reminding the two palace masters that not long ago, by the riverside of Yangzhou City, a disciple of Goryeo’s Yi Jian Gate named ‘Xue Rou’ tried to incite hatred among the martial artists of the Central Plains against our master in order to profit from it. When our master saw through this, he issued an order to capture and execute her, demanding that Xue Rou and her followers leave the Central Plains within 24 hours… You two palace masters should still remember this incident, right?” As soon as she finished speaking, everyone else was completely confused.
“…What does this have to do with your establishment of a branch in Yangzhou?”
The two women’s expressions changed; they didn’t expect Yin Hu to bring up this matter in public.
Yin Hu smiled indifferently: “There indeed is no connection between the two! But… as for why Lingxiao Palace gets involved in the personal grudge between our master and Xue Rou—providing shelter for the enemies of the Mu family and even interceding for a cunning Goryeo woman—tell me, what does this woman have to do with you?”
“She has business dealings with us. Since she came to us for help, we merely acted as intermediaries.”
“That’s not up to you to decide! How do we know she wasn’t sent by Lingxiao Palace to deal with our master?” Yin Hu’s expression turned cold. “Besides, the matter of the Three Dragons Society isn’t resolved yet, and you still haven’t given an explanation to our Mu family. Now, you’re interceding for an assassin—don’t you find that ridiculous?”
“…”
Qin Yun and Qin Qing suddenly felt their breath catch in their throats.
Behind them, Shangguan Lian, Hai Dongqing, Haotian, Li Qing, and others all showed expressions of surprise: “Three Dragons Society?”
“Weren’t those incidents already resolved last time?”
Obviously, they had never heard of it.
They thought the Qin sisters had already settled their differences with the Mu family…
Glancing at the surprised expressions of Lingxiao Palace’s high-ranking members, Yin Hu said, “It seems the two of you are either forgetful due to having too many patrons, or you simply ignored our conditions.”
“At that time, your master of the Qin Palace personally promised to capture the ringleader of the Three Dragons Society within a month and hand him over to our Mu family to completely resolve this matter. Now that the previous issue isn’t solved, you’re meddling in the Mu family’s affairs again. Are you trying to take advantage of the fact that our Mu family really dares not confront Lingxiao Palace?”
“But the members of the Three Dragons Society haven’t appeared in the Central Plains martial world again!” Qin Qing stepped forward from the crowd, her voice rising in anger. “How am I supposed to explain this to you?”
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone—whether it was Shangguan Lian, Hai Dongqing, and the experts from Lingxiao Palace, or the experts from various gangs around the branch—gasped in shock.
They began to faintly understand why the Mu family had entered Yangzhou…

One crisis after another! Lingxiao Palace still hasn’t resolved its own pile of problems, yet it insists on meddling, even voluntarily throwing itself at the mercy of the Mu family… If not you, then who? In short: too much trouble! Among the crowd, many who had been at the battle on the painted boat knew for sure that people from Goryeo’s Yi Jianmen were indeed there, and Qin Qing’s words amounted to an indirect admission that there was indeed someone interceding. Many who had previously defended Lingxiao Palace fell silent… Providing shelter for the enemy of the Mu family’s master was enough reason for Kai Xin to deal with Lingxiao Palace. Even the group from Longmen looked at each other helplessly after hearing all this. “How did these two reckless women end up among the four top gangs in the Central Plains?” asked a middle-aged man with a kind face, shaking his head in dismay. If Kai Xin were here, he would surely say: In the past world of martial arts in the Central Plains, there was no such thing as Lingxiao Palace, nor any so-called Qin sisters. But in reality, Lingxiao Palace itself knew that it was all due to a change in mindset… As Lingxiao Palace achieved greater success and gained more influence, Qin Qing was the first to lose her initial cautious and strategic approach. After all, she wasn’t as experienced as Meng Yun, who knew when to make the right choices and what was most needed. The glory of being one of the leaders of the four top gangs made her… lose some things! But Qin Yun still hadn’t fully grown up under her sister’s protection. With two leaders in one palace, Lingxiao Palace was in a very dangerous situation. Among the group from Longmen, the silent young man suddenly chuckled: “Old man! Before coming here, I kept wondering—whether a peaceful environment or a chaotic one would be more suitable for Longmen’s development. Now I’ve figured it out…”