Chapter 855: A Sleepless Night for Yipin Hall

“The scouts under King Qin failed to detect Zhao Deyan’s troops in time and send warnings, much to the Marshal’s dissatisfaction. This brought shame to King Qin. He inferred that the scouts had encountered trouble. Since his men were not skilled in night battles, he had no choice but to seek help from Shi Feixuan of Cihang Jingzhai, hoping she would assist in checking on the scouts’ situation.”
“Did he agree to Shi Feixuan’s request and go out of the camp with her to investigate why the scouts failed to send warnings in time?”
System prompt:
“Accept this task! If you successfully uncover the reason why the scouts failed to send warnings and identify the mastermind from the demonic sect, you will gain Shi Feixuan’s goodwill.”
“Refuse this task, and your relationship with Shi Feixuan will turn cold…”
“It’s a night of darkness and wind—perfect for murder. The demonic sect is likely waiting for us on the grassland… How could Happy bear to let Miss Shi go alone? I dare not ask for her help!”
Even without the threat of a cold relationship, Happy would surely not refuse Shi Feixuan’s request. With a bright smile, he readily agreed.
“Miss Shi, please!”
“Thank you, Young Hero Happy, for your generous help.”
Shi Feixuan nodded, her bright eyes shimmering. She stretched out her fair hand and gently patted the back of the white dragon horse, which immediately understood and let out a joyful neigh before charging forward into the dark grassland.
“Please follow closely, Feixuan.”
Before her words faded, Happy already spurred his horse to chase after her.
Thud! Thud!
Thud-thud!!
The clear sound of hooves quickly merged together as they raced deep into the grassland…
…
At the Central Plains camp, the chaos caused by Zhao Deyan led to heightened vigilance within a twenty-mile radius. The number of cavalry patrols increased several times over, and martial artists from various factions could be seen moving about in response to the news. By now, most people had learned about the reasons for this defeat from those who returned from Yipin Hall…
“Demon Marshal” Zhao Deyan!
Happy and Zhao Deyan successively attacked Yipin Hall’s main camp, launching repeated assaults that resulted in the deaths of over 30,000 people, yet they failed to even lay a finger on any of the four major factions, forcing them to retreat in disgrace.
Although Yipin Hall deliberately revealed details of the battle to cover up their mistakes and find excuses, many still harbored doubts…
Zhao Deyan was just an ordinary expert at the Mythical Realm. As a top-tier faction that had even killed a nine-tailed fox and boasted a force of 100,000 soldiers, how could they not even handle an expert at the Mythical Realm?
One expert at the Mythical Realm;
One expert at the Liberation Realm.
Faced with such a giant like Yipin Hall…

Even the people of Yipin Tang themselves said that not even half of the members of the four major gangs could be seen; they must have all gone offline to take shelter.
How could they be defeated completely under such circumstances?
It did nothing to cover up Yipin Tang’s lost reputation; instead, it raised doubts—was the once fleeting Nine-Tailed Fox fallen into Yipin Tang’s hands because of heavy losses at the hands of the imperial court, allowing Yipin Tang to reap an unfair advantage?
All sorts of speculations and discussions spread rapidly throughout the rear camp…
Just as Yipin Tang was about to get angry and punish those spreading rumors, they suddenly received news that more than 20,000 troops from the Mu Family, Xiyi Gate, Xifeng Tower, and Fengyu Alliance had returned to the camp and would soon arrive at the rear.
Yipin Tang immediately fell silent!
Old and new grudges combined as a massive army gathered and headed toward the forces of the four major gangs…
But halfway there, things took a bad turn.
The troops of the four major gangs rushed over in large numbers, with their top experts leading the way.
As for Yipin Tang…
It was pitiful.
Meng Yun was gone; Xue Yi had died; a group of core disciples had also returned to Aru City, leaving only Huang Sha standing at the front to hold things together…
Facing the fierce and high-spirited forces of the four major gangs, how could Huang Sha alone hold back the onslaught?
“Scatter!”
“A bunch of brats, still planning to fight in the camp?”
With a face as pale as iron, Huang Sha ordered decisively.
If a real fight broke out now, with over 20,000 troops from the four major gangs all intact and their top experts present, Yipin Tang would surely suffer defeat.
Now…
Their face was completely lost.
Tens of thousands of troops stepped aside, watching helplessly as the forces of the four major gangs returned to the rear from another direction. The people of Yipin Tang didn’t dare to act.
Fortunately, the four major gangs were also a bit fearful.
From the previous battle, they weren’t fully aware of what had happened; they only knew that Kai Xin had led a group of Mongol cavalry to severely crush Yipin Tang’s might, killing tens of thousands.
Moreover, each of them now had considerable combat achievements—before exchanging those achievements for military ranks, they really didn’t dare to engage Yipin Tang head-on.
…
The troops of the four major gangs headed straight for the main camp where combat achievements could be exchanged!
Over 20,000 troops gathered in the vicinity…
The outer area was packed with Yipin Tang’s people, creating an atmosphere as tense and eerie as possible.
The members of the other gangs, upon seeing the red-eyed members of Yipin Tang, felt terrified and didn’t dare to get close, fearing they might accidentally set off a fight.
…
“Everyone from the Mu Family has returned—only Kai Xin is missing.”

After World War I, Meng Yun was also extremely exhausted. Not long after logging off, he heard that members of the four major factions had all returned to camp, making him suspect that there might be spies planted among his core disciples by the Mu family.
His face turned pale as steel:
“Do you know what’s going on?”
“The people from the Wind and Rain Alliance said that Kai Xin ordered them to return to the camp immediately to exchange their combat merits for military ranks.”
“All of them are getting military ranks?”
Meng Yun was stunned. After all, combat merits could be accumulated to exchange for martial arts manuals, weapons, pills, and even enough merits to successfully upgrade a weapon to the fourth level once. Would Kai Xin really order everyone to exchange for military ranks, which offered no real benefits?
“Yes.”
Huang Sha’s expression darkened: “According to them, they received double combat merits this time. At least those with over three thousand merits each have accumulated over two hundred merits, and they’re all exchanging them for the rank of corporal… Master!”
As he spoke, Huang Sha noticed Meng Yun suddenly paling and pressing his chest.
“Double combat merits…”
Meng Yun forced a bitter smile filled with self-mockery: “Over three thousand people with merits… What a clever plan by Kai Xin… Now we can no longer fight him on the grasslands without restraint.”
“…”
Huang Sha sighed secretly. He had actually thought of this too, but he hadn’t expected Kai Xin to produce so many military ranks so quickly…
Double combat merits! A mistake!!
Zhao Deyan… A mistake!!
In short, the situation on the grasslands was becoming increasingly unfavorable for the First-Class Hall. Once Kai Xin created even more people with military ranks, the one who would control the initiative in the war would no longer be the First-Class Hall, but Kai Xin—the Mu family—with their large number of cavalry!
Meng Yun and Huang Sha gradually realized that, unbeknownst to them, the First-Class Hall was slowly losing its overwhelming advantage in its own strongest territory and its right to take the initiative.