Chapter 1085: Stability

“Hall Master!”
In the capital city, at the headquarters of Yipin Hall, Meng Yun was discussing defense strategies with Bloodclothes and the leaders of the twelve major gangs when suddenly a shout was heard. Evil Wolf rushed in from outside, his expression darkening as unease flashed in his eyes.
“What’s the matter?” Evil Wolf was currently in charge of coordinating operations in several cities outside the capital. Coming in unannounced like this surely meant bad news. Yet Meng Yun suppressed his anxiety and asked calmly.
After entering, Evil Wolf glanced around and spoke bluntly, “News just came from Dingfeng City. Our senior officials there were caught by Happy and captured all at once… Due to poor coordination, the branch hall was besieged, and over two hundred of our brothers died. The brothers there said it wouldn’t take half an hour for the people from Jinxiu Heshan to take over our Yipin Hall and Blood Alliance’s branch halls as well.”
Meng Yun couldn’t help but gasp.
As expected!
He hadn’t heard a single piece of good news from Evil Wolf these days.
“Dingfeng City—is it the one in the north?”
Bloodclothes raised his eyebrows, his gaze sharp.
“Yes,” Evil Wolf nodded.
“Dingfeng City has good resources—two crystal mines and a metal mine, not to mention a high-level adventure site similar to a royal tomb nearby.” Bloodclothes frowned at Meng Yun, puzzled. “This is already the nineteenth branch hall! I wonder where this kid learned his tactics. In just four days, he and Yidi have explored all the wealthy cities around the capital… This kid is no ordinary person.”
“…Hmm.”
Meng Yun nodded gravely. “Ji Feng knows the situation around the capital best. It might be him behind the scenes giving orders. But since Happy obeys him without question, it shows Happy trusts his people…”
Before he could finish, Bloodclothes shook his head. “It can’t be Ji Feng.”
“…”
“I’ve sent a few spies into Jinxiu Heshan recently. Although Ji Feng is clever, he’s currently extremely busy dealing with branch halls and the headquarters. He has to establish new branch halls in various cities, gather resources from mines, and handle appointments and recruitment for each branch hall. I doubt he can come up with strategies for Happy in such a short time.” Bloodclothes directly expressed doubt about Ji Feng’s abilities.

“I never realized Ji Feng had such a clear mind and a strong sense of strategy… Besides, he surely knows that the Evil Emperor will be released from prison in three days and start setting up branches near the capital to control resource points—everything of this kind is futile. With his cautious nature, it’s impossible for him to be this bold.”
“You mean it was all Happy’s idea?”
Meng Yun glanced at Xue Yi.
In the hall, everyone held their breath and didn’t interject.
After all, among those present, only Meng Yun and Xue Yi knew Happy best and were qualified to comment on him.
Xue Yi shook his head again at Meng Yun’s guess, speaking uncertainly, “Not necessarily. Besides Ji Feng, Bai Xiaosheng and Mei Ying are also on his side. It’s not surprising if a few capable people emerge from Jinxiu Heshan…”
Hearing Xue Yi’s reply, the Evil Wolf and other leaders nodded in agreement.
In recent days, Jinxiu Heshan has won the favor of many martial artists thanks to Happy’s bold declarations and the addition of one emperor. Its troop count has soared from 50,000 on the first day to over 230,000 now, surpassing even the major gangs in the capital and quickly catching up with Xi Feng Lou, Xue Meng, and Yipin Tang.
Neither Xue Yi nor Meng Yun suspected Happy.
After all, in their eyes, Happy’s strength was already abnormally great—such scheming surely wasn’t his doing.
“Based on preliminary estimates, in three days, Jinxiu Heshan’s troop count could exceed 350,000! The number of branches might reach over 40, covering all towns within a 300-li radius centered around the capital… Our capital is already isolated.”
“The situation is getting complicated.”
“Even if the Evil Emperor is released from prison by then, we’ll still face an opponent whose strength is no less than that of Xi Feng Lou, perhaps even far greater than the one we encountered in the capital.”
Word after word flowed from Meng Yun’s mouth. Many present couldn’t help shifting in their seats, listening more attentively to every word he said.
Of course, there were also those who had great confidence in the Wild Wolf Organization.
Yuan Tianxiong couldn’t hold back and spoke up:
“Hall Master!”
“Even if Happy has recruited a group of fanatics under the name of Jinxiu Heshan, after all, not all of them are good—so they won’t pose a major threat in the short term… Moreover, they don’t have many top experts. I think we can let them act recklessly for a few more days. By the time the Evil Emperor is released and our army leaves the capital, will they still be able to hold on?”
“…”
Hearing Yuan Tianxiong’s presumptuous words, Xue Yi and several gang leaders present couldn’t help rubbing their foreheads.

The situation is now very clear. As Xifeng Tower recovers and grows stronger in the south, the territory controlled by Yipin Tang in the north is once again suppressed by Jinxiu Heshan, preventing them from leaving the city. This has caused significant turmoil in the already stable situation in the Central Plains. If not for their previous actions, which weakened various factions greatly, and if not for the Wild Wolf Organization helping them control the local situation, Yipin Tang would have been in grave danger by now. What Meng Yun wants the least right now is a direct confrontation between the two sides… Large-scale warfare means high casualties! Yipin Tang may seem to have an absolute advantage, but once a fight breaks out, who knows how many heroes from the Central Plains will come drawn by the scent of blood? Besides not wanting to engage in direct combat, Yipin Tang is now in a very awkward position! With the towns around them under Jinxiu Heshan’s control, every move within the capital is monitored by them, so any action taken by Yipin Tang will be detected by them in advance, allowing them to take precautions… The third problem! That is, the Evil Emperor! Although the REP on their official website rose astonishingly fast to the top of the paid channel, determining the winner in an instant, which gave many confidence in the Evil Emperor, many others felt an unfathomable fear and awe of Happy’s strength. Even if the Evil Emperor appears to hold Happy at bay, Jinxiu Heshan still has another great hero! “…” Yuan Tianxiong quickly realized from everyone’s reaction that he might have said something foolish and quickly fell silent. “Wild Wolf, you can leave for now. I need to talk to the leaders of the gangs. If Jinxiu Heshan takes any further action, remember to report it promptly.” “Understood.” Wild Wolf left the meeting hall. As soon as he left, a snow-white homing pigeon flew in from outside and landed in the arms of Blood-Clothed, who looked stunned. He grabbed the pigeon, took out the note, glanced at it quickly, and sat up straight. Meng Yun and the other gang leaders noticed Blood-Clothed’s unusual behavior and turned to look at him. After observing him for nearly ten seconds, Blood-Clothed slowly raised his head, his expression becoming extremely serious. He took a deep breath and turned toward Meng Yun at the head of the table: “My men reported that Jinxiu Heshan has issued a decree to numerous gangs in the cities where their branches are located…” Jinxiu Heshan! It’s Jinxiu Heshan again! Meng Yun frowned: “What did they say?”

“They made all the resource points they had just taken from us available to all gangs, claiming that any gang could send players to mine there, including the second layer…” Meng Yun managed to stay calm, took a deep breath, and pressed on, “What else did he say?” “All gangs entering the first layer only need to pay a certain amount as support for Jinxiu Heshan to fight against our Yipin Tang and Xue Meng, as well as the Wild Wolves…” Xue Yi paused for a moment before delivering a shocking statement that shocked everyone present: “But gangs that want to send people to the second layer to mine and share the resources with Jinxiu Heshan will only get one-third of the profits while Jinxiu Heshan protects the mines… Once the mines are lost, the contract automatically becomes invalid.” As soon as he finished speaking, Meng Yun became enraged and smashed the dragon-head armrest on the right side of his mount with a loud crack! “What a ‘joy’!” He stood up angrily. The dozen or so gang leaders present all showed worried expressions. Originally, they weren’t afraid or concerned even if Jinxiu Heshan, founded by Kai Xin, suddenly expanded significantly, because without a stable source of income, it would be difficult to maintain troop morale and unity. Especially for a newly risen gang like Jinxiu Heshan, which had only fighters and no players who could generate continuous wealth, such a gang could be easily defeated in battle! But for Kai Xin to develop a group of players who could support a large gang in a short time was nothing but daydreaming. Yet this move truly hit Meng Yun’s weak point! Giving away precious resource points to other gangs, allowing those who didn’t dare to openly confront or lacked the strength to rival Yipin Tang to contribute financially and manpower to support Jinxiu Heshan was undoubtedly a clever strategy. With hundreds of resource points across dozens of cities and over 500 gangs within a 300-mile radius of the capital… With the support of 500 gangs, Jinxiu Heshan could gain some confidence! As for the valuable resources in the second layer, with its over a hundred resource points—each like a treasure vault—it would surely attract the interest of many gangs, bringing even greater benefits. Although these profits were much less than what Jinxiu Heshan could monopolize on its own, combined, they were comparable to those of any of the twelve major gangs in the capital. Moreover, with Yipin Tang and the Wild Wolves stirring up resistance among countless heroes in the Central Plains, Kai Xin’s move was likely to gain widespread support in a short time.

By then, even if Yipin Tang tries to take it back, it will face joint resistance from Jinxiu Heshan and countless gangs—taking it back would be as difficult as reaching the sky!
As a result, this shell with a large base gradually develops its own foundation and shows signs of becoming stable.