Chapter 760: The Shadow Steps onto the Stage

“Palace Master!”
“Our men are too far behind. If we chase after them now, I’m afraid it will be dangerous.”
“Nonsense!”
Qin Qing was raging at a group of elders on the walls of Yangzhou City: “Over 60,000 people surrounding a mere branch of the Mu Family, 20,000 dead, and yet some managed to escape. If word gets out, how will the Lingxiao Palace maintain its face?”
“But…”
A few of them dared to speak up:
“Palace Master, Kai Xin should be arriving in Yangzhou soon.”
“If we chase them out of Yangzhou now for a handful of survivors, the main palace will be in danger.”
“Kai Xin?”
Qin Qing’s expression changed. It was fine as long as these elders didn’t mention that name, but once they did, anger surged within her, making it hard for her to calm down. “The better! I’m already full of rage and have nowhere to vent it.”
Although she had been provoked by Longmen and Yipin Hall into going to war with the Mu Family, Kai Xin’s ruthless tactics still caught her off guard. The losses suffered by Lingxiao Palace’s dozens of branches in the southern coastal cities were like a huge piece of flesh torn from her body. With the situation in Yangzhou also turning unfavorable, she felt both fear and hatred toward Kai Xin—hating him enough to want to eat his flesh raw! Now that she heard Kai Xin was about to arrive in Yangzhou, she had no time to worry about anything else. Her first reaction was to mobilize all her forces to trap Kai Xin and his remaining troops in Yangzhou.
“…”
Hearing this, the group of Lingxiao Palace elders exchanged glances.
Do you really think the Mu Family is just a figurehead?
“Don’t worry. Right now, the Mu Family’s forces in the south are dealing with our former allies. The experts from the Yangtze River region and the main palace still need to defend against Yipin Hall’s advance. With so many troops lost at the Yangzhou branch, even if Kai Xin starts a war with us, he won’t be able to muster many troops. And according to reliable information, he’s coming alone, without any troops from other places… Hmph!” At this point, Qin Qing’s tone shifted. “With the help of our friends from Longmen and Yipin Hall, who are we afraid we can’t defeat Kai Xin?”
After hearing Qin Qing’s words, the elders of Lingxiao Palace took a deep breath, their minds suddenly becoming sharper.
If everything was indeed as Qin Qing said…
This battle could indeed be fought.
After all!
The main palace of Lingxiao Palace couldn’t be destroyed in just a short time. They had enough time to defend themselves and handle any situation…
“Send messages to Li Qing and Haotian. Tell them to bring their men to chase down the remnants of the Mu Family!”
“Understood.”
…
Feng Ling died…
Feng Zhi died…
Yin Hu was surrounded…
The Mu Family’s branch in Yangzhou City was destroyed…

Xiao Bei led the remaining brothers in a breakout attempt, only to be pursued relentlessly by a large force from the Lingxiao Palace! Thousands of brothers who fell in battle were trapped in the martial temples across Yangzhou, unable to leave, forcing them to log off temporarily… One bad news after another stirred the blood in Kai Xin’s chest, making it gradually boil hot before turning cold as snow. The only constant was that the speed of the pursuing forces remained at its absolute limit. It wasn’t far anymore! Yangzhou was getting closer and closer. After running from night till dawn, they were finally about to reach Yangzhou!! “Hold on!” Another half hour passed… A homing pigeon took off into the sky. … In a forest outside Yangzhou City, a graceful figure with a white veil covering her face turned her back to Wu Kuo and the others, slowly folding the letter in her hands. “Younger sister.” “Lord, how did it go?” The others asked anxiously, “What did he say in his reply?” These people were the high-ranking members of the Xifeng Tower. They had come to Yangzhou specifically for the Mu family. The shadowy figure slowly turned around. Her face was hidden by the white veil, making it impossible to read her expression, but a hint of joy in her eyes allowed Wu Kuo and the others to realize: It worked! “Gather our troops!” The shadowy figure ordered swiftly without hesitation, “Meet here…” She pointed to a road twenty li outside Yangzhou City on the map. As soon as she finished speaking, homing pigeons were released from Wu Kuo and the others’ hands. Then, Wu Kuo, unable to contain his excitement, pressed further, “What are the conditions?” The others also watched the shadowy figure nervously, eager to know how things had gone with Kai Xin. In fact, this trip by the Xifeng Tower was purely a gamble! With Yipin Hall striving to restore its influence and the Lingxiao Palace joining forces with Dragon Gate experts to target the Mu family, the Xifeng Tower—one of the three major gangs in the capital struggling to survive—found itself in a very awkward situation. The shadowy figure felt immense pressure and threats as well. But! Crises always hide some opportunities. She was very clever. As soon as the Lingxiao Palace and Yipin Hall allied, she deduced that war might break out in Yangzhou. Then, relying on her understanding of Kai Xin and her quick reactions, she saw a chance for rapid advancement amidst this great crisis. Without hesitation, she dispatched two thousand elite fighters from several branches of the Xifeng Tower, splitting them up to approach Yangzhou City! At first, from Kai Xin’s actions, she sensed that he had no intention of gathering troops to fight head-on against those two top gangs, and she was quite disappointed, thinking he planned to spare the Lingxiao Palace again. But after what happened along the southern coast…

The determination and resolve shown in Happy’s triumphant moments restored Shadow’s confidence, and he sent a message to Happy, offering to send troops to provide escort and help Happy take control of Lingxiao Palace.
In the letter, Shadow detailed his battle plan… along with an analysis of the martial arts landscape in the Central Plains! There were also predictions of various situations favorable to the Mu Family after Happy attacked Lingxiao Palace.
In short, Shadow stated that for this battle, Xifeng Tower only needed to seize a few coastal cities to expand its territory, and he was willing to become an eternal ally of the Mu Family— furthermore, Xifeng Tower’s headquarters would be moved to Yangzhou due to its connection with Yipin Hall.
Xifeng Tower showed little ambition, and its request for a few coastal cities was quite reasonable, as they would have to give up resources from the capital…
Shadow was very confident that if Happy went to Yangzhou alone, he would most likely fail to defeat Lingxiao Palace. With Yipin Hall ready in the north, Happy would struggle to gather troops, further straining the Mu Family’s resources…
In the letter, Shadow used simple words and data to outline a very promising and favorable future for the Mu Family! By sacrificing 2,000 elite troops from Xifeng Tower, they could capture Lingxiao Palace and completely destroy all of its forces along the eastern coast!
Happy indeed agreed—not only because of the sincerity shown by Shadow’s 2,000 troops already in Yangzhou and the reasons outlined in the letter, but also because… Shadow mentioned, toward the end, the dynamics of the martial arts world in the Central Plains and the possible involvement of foreign forces. This made Happy fully realize why Shadow had been able to compete evenly with Yipin Hall despite having fewer resources in his past life! He decided to give Shadow another chance to take the stage again.