Chapter 1059: Absolute Control

“The first phase is finally complete!”
After a loud roar, such a sigh of relief came from the rooftops outside the main hall of Xifeng Tower.
“Hall Master, since things here are settled, let’s return to the main hall. Our main hall is still under attack…”
Turning away from the vast ruins, the members of Yipin Hall looked around, awaiting Meng Yun’s next decision.
Hearing this, Meng Yun sighed slightly, glanced at the thousands of stubborn fighters still forming a circular defense around Xifeng Tower’s main hall, and took a deep breath. “We don’t need to worry about that place for now. Monk, have the members of the twelve gangs taken their positions? The entire martial world of Central Plains is waiting to see my performance—we can’t disappoint them.”
“They’ve all been dispatched.”
The monk with thick brows replied calmly, his tone steady and confident. “All are in place, with their respective leaders in charge. Nothing will go wrong.”
“That’s good.”
Meng Yun turned around with vigor, pointed in the direction of Xifeng Tower’s main hall, and issued his final order in a cold tone: “Don’t waste time entangling with them. The outer fighters should form an arrow formation. Within one minute, I don’t want to see any survivors left at Xifeng Tower’s main hall.”
After his subordinates received the orders, Meng Yun turned away. His gaze flickered briefly before he murmured, “Although the main hall in the capital is crucial to Yipin Hall’s reputation, we don’t need to care about such things at a time of survival. It can be rebuilt if destroyed!”
“The official roads outside the capital are blocked by the members of the twelve major gangs. No one will be able to enter the capital in a short time. Now is the time to deal with the minor thieves inside the capital and fully secure control over it… Those four gangs daring to make a fuss now are perfect targets to deal with as well. Monk, give the order—everyone outside the arrow formation should turn back and surround Ji Feng’s gang’s main hall…”
“Understood!”
The monk with thick brows perked up.
Meng Yun then turned to the more than two hundred top experts around him and ordered, “The rest should be divided into four groups and infiltrate the main halls of the four major gangs. If they encounter an Emperor, follow the plan and keep them at bay…”
“Understood!”
The group of experts quickly divided into teams and headed in different directions toward the capital.
In an instant!
Under Meng Yun’s successive commands, the over a hundred thousand people surrounding Xifeng Tower’s main hall split into several massive forces, advancing with astonishing momentum toward the main halls of the four major gangs in the capital.

The order was given. Meng Yun cast one last glance at the ruined headquarters of the Xifeng Tower, at the thousands of its disciples who had died pierced by countless arrows, then lifted her face slightly, a terrifyingly cruel expression appearing on her icy features:
“Shadow, one mistake leads to more mistakes. Every move of yours is within my prediction. Even with the help of an Emperor like Kai Xin, without a foundation or a place to use your skills, what do you have to fight against me…”
After saying that…
Meng Yun turned and left, surrounded by the top experts of the Yipin Hall.
…
On the other side of the ocean, in a lightless, pitch-black chamber…
A person clad in a black robe sat upright at a smooth table, his hands lightly holding a half-foot-long crystal ball resting on a silk cloth.
A hazy, chaotic light emanated from within the crystal ball, illuminating half of the mysterious robed man’s face…
A scene was displayed inside the crystal ball.
If anyone else were present, they would be astonished to see that it showed the scene of the Central Plains capital—precisely the situation at the Xifeng Tower headquarters that many people were watching, even live-streamed on its official website.
Ruins!
As the crowds dispersed, the Xifeng Tower, once the most powerful gang in the Central Plains, and its headquarters in the capital were now nothing but ruins.
The mysterious robed man gently moved his long sleeves.
With a flash of light, the scene in the crystal ball instantly changed, shifting from the empty ruins to a devastated open area.
The image settled on a patch of ground!
Whoosh!
A dark, giant sword suddenly sliced through the ground, sending shards flying and creating another terrifying crack…
The mysterious robed man, seemingly dissatisfied, used his hands to pull forcefully. As he did, the image in the crystal ball miraculously lifted into the air.
The image became clearer.
Two people appeared on screen—the Evil Emperor and Kai Xin!
The environment inside the crystal ball also became clear: the Yipin Hall headquarters.
“…”
Upon seeing the scene in the crystal ball, the mysterious robed man paused. For the first time, a slight sound of surprise and disbelief echoed in the silent, dark chamber.
This was already the third time he had changed the scene to monitor this situation.
He had thought that this ordinary top expert from the Central Plains, who had once been quickly subdued by the Evil Emperor and others, wouldn’t last long. Yet, after more than ten minutes, he was still fighting fiercely against the Evil Emperor without showing any signs of defeat.
“…”
After pausing for half a minute, seeing that the two were still fighting intensely with no sign of stopping, the mysterious robed man, seemingly tired, waved his sleeves, and the scene in the crystal ball changed again.
This time…

Several people appeared on the screen!
One Emperor!
Shadow, along with over a dozen experts from Xifeng Tower…
A group stood in front of the grand foundation stone of the main headquarters of their gang.
The mysterious man in black, as usual, raised the camera to get a better view of the surroundings…
A dense crowd surrounded the entire headquarters, but those at the back were retreating rapidly.
The mysterious man in black stopped what he was doing, and a mocking laugh seemed to echo in the air.
…
The main headquarters of Tianxiong Gang.
Nearly ten thousand troops were ready outside the headquarters.
But to their shock, none remained inside Tianxiong Gang, one of the eighteen major gangs in the capital—just as silent as the main headquarters of Yipin Hall, using a decoy strategy!
Shadow led his men to attack, but they didn’t even get a chance to fight. Worst of all, the headquarters had ten minutes of invincibility, making it impossible to attack even the foundation stone.
“All twelve major gang headquarters are empty—this must be Meng Yun’s plan. She doesn’t want to give us a chance to wear them down!”
“That woman…”
Shadow and the Emperor exchanged a serious look.
Since they couldn’t weaken Yipin Hall’s forces, Meng Yun must have anticipated their desperate counterattack. There was surely more to this…
Sure enough!
A black pigeon suddenly descended from the sky and landed on “Ji Feng” beside Shadow.
His expression changed instantly.
Not only Ji Feng but also everyone around them suddenly heard loud noises behind them. When they turned around, they gasped in shock!
Outside Tianxiong Gang’s headquarters were the troops Ji Feng had personally led to surround them—dense in number. But now, countless black pigeons were falling from the sky, and cries of alarm rang out one after another. It was like the arrival of an apocalypse.
“As expected.”
Shadow shook his head with a bitter smile.
Actually, she had sensed something was wrong since Tianxiong Gang used the decoy strategy.
Meng Yun was now extremely powerful and shouldn’t have been so cautious. Yet she left no one in Yipin Hall’s headquarters, and now all the troops from the twelve major capital gangs had also withdrawn, ruining her strategy of wearing them down.
Now, by sending people to attack Ji Feng’s gang, Meng Yun was clearly ruthless in her dominance. After destroying Xifeng Tower and becoming the most powerful force in the capital, she didn’t even want to give them a chance to continue using a step-by-step strategy to crush Xifeng Tower’s allies—once the remaining four major gangs were eliminated, which other gangs would dare to challenge Yipin Hall?
“We’re another step behind.”

As expected by Shadow, Ji Feng turned around and resolutely bowed to resign:
“Lord of the Shadow Studio!”
“Emperor!”
With a look of guilt and urgency, Ji Feng said, “I’m truly sorry! I’m afraid I can no longer join them in planning this great endeavor! With the headquarters under siege, the over a thousand brothers left behind cannot withstand the attack from Yipin Tang. I must lead my men back.”
“Leader Ji, do you know why, since you became famous in the martial world a year and a half ago, you’ve been unable to make further progress?”
At that moment, Shadow looked at Ji Feng and suddenly said something utterly unrelated.
Ji Feng was stunned.
Shadow smiled, “When the martial world was first established, you had great ambitions for the whole world. But as various forces rose to power, your vision gradually narrowed. Now, all you see is the land of the capital… That’s why you’re doomed to fail! If you were willing to give up the headquarters like Meng Yun did, let everyone there log off, and save all these brothers outside, things might be different. Going back now won’t save anyone; it could even cost you your life.”
“Since Meng Yun’s men have gone to Ji Feng’s side, why don’t we head there right away…”
Emperor also didn’t fully understand Shadow’s words. Glancing at Ji Feng, who was frowning in thought, he couldn’t help but interject.
“It’s useless.”
Shadow took a deep breath and shook his head helplessly. “Meng Yun already has the advantage. I believe the other three major capital gangs have also been attacked by Yipin Tang and are now sending reinforcements… Even if we all go there now, it won’t change anything. Meng Yun already holds the upper hand. No one except you can get in. We might save one gang, but not the other three… There’s very little we can do.” With that, Shadow stared intently into Ji Feng’s eyes. “At this point, I hope Leader Ji will think it over carefully! Going back now means death; it’s better to keep hope alive…”
“…”
Ji Feng wasn’t stupid. He had originally wanted to provoke Emperor and Shadow into helping him defend the headquarters, but now that things had come to this, he realized going back was pointless.
“What should we do now?”
“Retreat! Then wait!”
Knowing Ji Feng had made up his mind, Shadow uttered those three words before quickly writing a letter to the other three gang leaders.
Turning to see Emperor and Ji Feng’s confused expressions, he explained, “Let’s evacuate from here first and wait for reinforcements from various forces outside the capital. Only then will we have the strength to confront Yipin Tang head-on!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a message delivered by a pigeon suddenly descended from the sky…

Phantom quickly took down the note, glanced at it, turned pale, and staggered!
Martial artists from various places who had rushed to the capital were successively ambushed in several strategically important locations outside the city, suffering heavy losses!
Things… were developing uncontrollably in the direction Phantom least wanted to see.