Chapter 1017: The Situation Reverses

The wind of public opinion has changed!
With the leaders of the top ten gangs in the capital turning against them, the plan by the Shadows of Xifeng Tower, in alliance with Yidi and Bai Xiaosheng, became unfeasible.
Everything was lost!
At the same time, in various parts of the Central Plains, the Shadows were unable to carry out their plans to attack the branches of Yipin Hall.
But that wasn’t the worst of it.
After the shift in public opinion, the remaining four gangs also gradually expressed their intention to withdraw to Mengyun, as the crisis facing Yipin Hall had passed…
If they didn’t take a stance, they might be held grudges by Yipin Hall and labeled as die-hard supporters of the Shadows of Xifeng Tower.
Thus, the leaders of the last four gangs also left the main headquarters of Yipin Hall one after another.
In the end, only the members of the Shadows of Xifeng Tower and some small factions that had come to attack Yipin Hall remained near its headquarters—two-thirds of its forces had been lost!
…
“It’s over.”
“Let’s disperse; we can’t fight anymore.” Among the crowd, the members of Yipin Hall were triumphant, while those from the Shadows of Xifeng Tower faced hostility from Yipin Hall, the Blood Alliance, the Assassins’ Hall, and the Tianyin Sect.
“Lord, the situation is bad.”
“Many people are questioning our actions this time…”
“In Longmen Town, all the gang members who had promised to help us take down the group led by Huangsha have withdrawn!”
“There are people from Yipin Hall and the Blood Alliance near our branches in various cities…”
Crises piled up!
After the alliance was completely exposed, the Shadows faced even fiercer retaliation—from Yipin Hall!
“Retreat!”
“All forces must immediately return to the headquarters!”
“Tell our brothers in the branches to contact the gangs they usually have good relations with, hold their positions firmly, and not engage in battles on their own!”
As the Shadows swiftly issued orders, a hundred thousand troops withdrew from Yipin Hall’s headquarters.
This plan had completely failed!
…
Longmen Town.
As public opinion shifted and news of the Shadows of Xifeng Tower’s plans against Yipin Hall, along with the news that all fourteen major gangs had left the alliance, spread, Longmen Town, which was the first to hear about it, was hit like by a storm.
Tens of thousands of troops from various factions, who had originally surrounded over two thousand famous fighters like Huangsha here, fled faster than rabbits.
Those forces disappeared in an instant!
Huangsha and his group walked through the streets of Longmen Town, with countless people avoiding eye contact out of fear that they might be recognized as having also supported them before.
But…
Huangsha certainly wouldn’t pay attention to such insignificant people.

After escaping the predicament, Huang Sha led dozens of top experts back to their peak form and strode into a restaurant with great confidence!
“Slam!”
“It turns out it’s Master Huang of Yipin Tang. I’m Jian Wushang—sorry for not greeting you properly from afar.” One person stood up to welcome them, while the others didn’t dare stay, leaving under the pressure of those astonishing auras and sharp gazes.
Jian Wushang was none other than the leader of the Headhunter Organization, “Jian Bo.” Now, he had no choice but to bow and smile beside Huang Sha.
“…”
Yu Cha, hidden among those who hadn’t left, watched from the corner as Jian Bo humbly smiled at Huang Sha. His expression changed briefly before returning to normal.
Although Jian Bo already knew from intelligence about the situation at Xifeng Tower and that Yipin Tang was now even more powerful, seemingly poised to surpass it, he shouldn’t have betrayed himself just yet. It would be detrimental to both the Headhunter Organization and Yipin Tang.
…”
“The Headhunter Organization is quite influential in the martial world these days. I heard many people call you Jian Bo, and even Xifeng Tower shows you respect…”
Huang Sha wore a faint smile as he sat down and got straight to the point.
“It’s all because of the kindness and favor from my friends in the martial world,” Jian Bo replied, carefully wiping sweat from his forehead with a forced smile.
Huang Sha smiled and stared at Jian Bo, his lips moving slightly. It was obvious to anyone that the two were about to discuss something they didn’t want others to hear…
But.
They never expected that in a dark corner of the restaurant, someone skilled in lip reading could clearly overhear their secret conversation. Yu Cha covered his eyes with his wine cup, staring at the two’s lips…
…”
“Happy! If you don’t come up soon, I might go crazy!”
As soon as he returned to the game, Happy received a message from Yu Cha in the wilderness. From the wording, it was clear Yu Cha was extremely anxious.
Happy quickly replied, “What’s wrong? Did the Headhunters reveal all the information about our Caiyi Gate disciples to Huang Sha?”
Soon, another message arrived, carrying Yu Cha’s relieved question: “How did you know? That jerk Jian Bo betrayed me.”
“The situation at Xifeng Tower is critical now. The Headhunter Organization wants to maintain its position while Yipin Tang is strong, so it must show some sincerity. Otherwise, with Yipin Tang’s strength, it could easily destroy their intelligence network. It’s only natural for them to do this…”

At this point, Kai Xin had already guessed when he was outside that Huang Sha would surely investigate those who scattered smoke bombs in Longmen Town. However, he didn’t expect Xifeng Tower’s operation to fail so quickly and completely, and to be counterattacked by Yipin Tang on the same day. Now, all fourteen major gangs had turned against the alliance… Even the members of the Headhunter Organization and various other forces had been deceived by Meng Yun, either willingly following the tide to avoid danger. The situation was extremely urgent, leaving no time for him to discuss details with Yu Cha Zhe: “Tell me everything you know. Although Jian Bo is very cunning, he should know how to leave himself a way out… Evidence of Yipin Tang colluding with the Wild Wolves will eventually surface; he can’t afford to offend Xifeng Tower to the point of destruction…” “That’s right. This time he only betrayed people from our Caiyi Gate. He also told me that only some of our people will be exposed!” Yu Cha Zhe replied, “I’ve instructed those people too—tell them to stay inside Longmen Town and not go outside.” “He’s sensible.” Kai Xin asked again, “Are you in such a hurry just to tell me this?” “Also, Huang Sha has returned to the capital with his men, but those top experts following him haven’t gone back… The members of the Assassin Hall have disappeared, as have those from the Tianyin Sect.” “I know where they went! Huang Sha left the capital with his men to deal with me, but he might also have left behind forces to deal with Xifeng Tower. If I’m not wrong, they must have gone to nearby cities in groups to cause trouble for Xifeng Tower.” “That’s bad.” “Indeed, it’s very bad.” Kai Xin and Yu Cha Zhe realized the same thing: “Once Xifeng Tower is in trouble, the moment the Evil Emperor arrives in the Central Plains, it will be the time when Yipin Tang dominates the martial world and the Wild Wolves officially take control of the Central Plains.” “It will be hard for you to seek revenge, and our Caiyi Gate will face even tougher times from now on.” “So, Xifeng Tower must not fall!” Kai Xin’s firm words showed his determination. “Stay in Longmen Town and keep in touch with Jian Bo—he’s still useful.” “Do you want to deal with Yipin Tang or help Xifeng Tower? Be extremely careful! That woman, Meng Yun, is hiding too well!” Hearing Kai Xin’s determination, Yu Cha Zhe asked. Kai Xin crushed the note in his hand and replied, “I’ll do both!” … Meanwhile, Mei Ying, Yi Di, and Feng Ling had already returned to Bai Xiaosheng’s residence. The four of them looked solemn, their brows furrowed with deep concern.

“The situation is dire now! It’s certain that at least eight of the gangs in the capital are backed by Meng Yun.”
Shadow couldn’t hold back and spoke up: “Apart from the strength shown by Yipin Tang, she also used Yuan Zhixiong’s ruse to deceive many people. Without solid evidence, it’s hard to gather enough people to deal with Yipin Tang.”
“That woman is truly terrifying!”
Fengling was still shaken. Besides the ambush at Yipin Tang’s headquarters that left her seriously injured, there was also Meng Yun’s bold strategies and resources. What Yipin Tang had shown was an overwhelming force!
The Emperor remained silent the whole time, staring intently at Bai Xiaosheng, who held the Tianji Inkstone with a grave expression, lost in thought or perhaps waiting for something. Bai Xiaosheng kept using the Tianji Inkstone to make predictions… for over ten minutes! His expression grew increasingly solemn… Finally, under the serious gazes of the three, he stopped and sighed bitterly: “It’s laughable—I, Bai Xiaosheng, always thought I was infallible, yet I failed to see what was right under my nose…”
“How bad is it?”
Bai Xiaosheng took a deep breath and replied, “At least twelve capital gangs have close ties to Meng Yun’s high-ranking allies. Only four seem relatively clean at the moment… Once this news spreads, I’m afraid even those four won’t dare cooperate with us against Yipin Tang.”
“…Twelve major capital gangs. If Yipin Tang controls two-thirds of the elite forces in the capital, and if your calculations are correct, the issue now isn’t dealing with Yipin Tang but saving ourselves…” Shadow’s expression was grim.
“…”
Bai Xiaosheng and Fengling exchanged glances and nodded slowly. Shadow was right. Now that it was confirmed that at least twelve major capital gangs were loyal to Meng Yun, the situation was even worse than they had imagined. Given Meng Yun’s nature, she would likely take the initiative to attack Xifeng Tower first, turning passivity into aggression!
The Emperor finally spoke. “The Evil Emperor will enter the Central Plains within at most fourteen days!”
At these words, Bai Xiaosheng and the others’ expressions turned even darker…
“What we need to do now is not defend or deal with Yipin Tang’s attacks. If we do, the Central Plains will truly be doomed, becoming just another country used by wild wolf organizations to drain resources…”
As he spoke, a powerful sword energy surged from his body.

“Since Xifeng Tower can no longer deal with Yipin Tang, I’ll use my own methods to weaken their strength!”
With that said…
Yi Di left Bai Xiaosheng’s residence without looking back.
None of the three tried to stop him.
Just then, a homing pigeon flapped its wings and landed in front of Bai Xiaosheng…
“This kid has finally arrived.”
Bai Xiaosheng let out a long sigh of relief:
At least there are still two top experts here who can pose a threat to Yipin Tang…