Chapter 1003: Wind Rises, Clouds Move, Rain Comes

The Tianmo Branch Temple!
Since it was destroyed by Happy a month ago, various factions have rushed to compete for control, entering the Tianmo Secret Caves to seize its resources. However, Yipin Hall quickly proved it had not given up on this crucial resource by rebuilding its branch temple on the ruins the very next day! It even increased its garrison from 10,000 to 20,000, seemingly showing the world the power and wealth of the second-largest faction in the Central Plains!

The Fire Qilin blood and scales in the Tianmo Secret Caves are highly coveted treasures by all factions. But fearing Yipin Hall’s dominance, most factions withdrew…
Everything seemed to be back under Yipin Hall’s control once again!

But then—
With the collapse of the Wudu Sect, rumors spread, and the situation at the Tianmo Branch Temple began to change slightly.
Near the ruins of the Tianmo Sect, including around its branch temple, many gang members suddenly appeared…
Including the Xifeng Tower, several gangs from nearby cities sent people to occupy this area, which was densely guarded by Yipin Hall.
At every possible spot where Tianmo Sect disciples might appear, Yipin Hall disciples were waiting.
From miles away from the ruins all the way inside, there were people stationed every ten steps.

In the past, Yipin Hall had used such tactics to intimidate other gangs and martial artists.
Players, seeing this deployment, usually understood what was going on and wisely left…

But today!
All these factions gathered together, numbering tens of thousands!
The massive crowd surged toward the ruins of the Tianmo Sect and the branch temple, which instead terrified the people of Yipin Hall.

“Who are you?”
“What do you want?”

Accustomed to being looked at with reverence by other gangs in the Central Plains, such treatment angered many Yipin Hall disciples. Finally, someone couldn’t hold back and snapped,
“Don’t you know this is Yipin Hall’s territory?!”

As soon as those words were spoken, a group stepped forward from the opposing crowd.
The badges on their chests made the Yipin Hall disciples frown slightly…
Xifeng Tower!
The leader stepped forward with a cold snort, his expression arrogant:
“How ridiculous! Since when has the Tianmo Sect become your Yipin Hall’s private domain?”
The crowd behind him laughed in agreement:
“That’s right!”
“Does building a branch temple near Guiwo mean Guiwo is now my territory? How absurd!”

Many people from Yipin Hall immediately grew extremely angry. Although hundreds of people quickly gathered around, the members of the various gangs on the other side stood firmly beside the group from Xifeng Tower, unafraid at all. They held their heads high and met their gazes head-on without yielding an inch! In the past, due to the prestige of Yipin Hall, the other gangs feared its strength and avoided approaching Tianmo Gate—because Yipin Hall had the qualifications! But now… the situation had changed! It was now certain that Yipin Hall had colluded with the Wild Wolves Organization. The second-largest force in the Central Plains was in grave danger, and even Xifeng Tower had declared war on them. Yipin Hall was now in a state of panic, its situation dire. On one hand, the various gangs acted out of loyalty to the Central Plains; on the other hand, seeing potential profits, they flocked over, unwilling to miss out. “What are you trying to do today… start a war with us, Yipin Hall?” someone from Yipin Hall stepped forward, gritting their teeth. “Yipin Hall is truly arrogant enough to ignore the whole world. Do you really think the ruins of Tianmo Gate are your backyard, off-limits to others?! Let me tell you—just because of your words, I, the leader of the Giant Whale Gang, accept this challenge! Let’s see if you have the right to declare war on behalf of Yipin Hall!” Yipin Hall had originally relied on its gang’s reputation to prevent these smaller gangs from strengthening Xifeng Tower’s influence. But unexpectedly, the leader of the Giant Whale Gang stepped forward from the crowd and declared war without hesitation. This shocked the previously arrogant vice leader of Yipin Hall on the spot. He really didn’t have the right to declare war on a larger gang on behalf of Yipin Hall! Under normal circumstances, he might have had the courage, but now, with Xifeng Tower looming overhead and the leader of the Giant Whale Gang right in the crowd, even an idiot would realize the situation was bad. The vice leader of Yipin Hall instinctively took a half-step back. The others on the other side immediately burst into laughter: “What, scared?!”, “Weren’t you so arrogant just now?!”, “Braving me without any real skills?! Get lost!” Although the leader of the Giant Whale Gang was just the boss of an ordinary gang, the fact that he had the qualifications to compete in the Central Plains showed he had some cunning and courage. With Xifeng Tower backing him up, what was there for him to worry about? Hearing the mockery and sarcasm from the other gangs, the faces of the people from Yipin Hall turned even darker! Many of them could hardly resist the urge to charge out and fight! But… the people from Xifeng Tower simply stood quietly by, watching. Whoosh! A homing pigeon descended from the sky.

The deputy sect leader quickly grabbed it, took a look at the note, and his expression turned even darker. He glared fiercely at the group from the Xifeng Tower, then turned his gaze back to the leader of the Giant Whale Gang and the others. “You will pay for what you said today!” he snapped, his face pale and blue with rage. With a shout, he led the members of the First Rank Hall away in the direction of the Tianmo Branch. “Tch!” “Scared after just a few threats!” “The First Rank Hall isn’t any different.” Laughter followed behind them, even louder. “…” The disciples of the First Rank Hall left even faster. … Similar incidents were occurring everywhere in the Central Plains! … The cause was naturally the three competing main threads sparked by the forum! The remarks by Mengyun, Kai Xin, and Mei Ying had elevated the influence of the Wild Wolf Organization to an even higher level! Naturally, the impact of these incidents spread throughout the martial world. While people were hunting down the remnants of the Wudu Sect to avenge past grievances, the wave of sanctions led by Kai Xin and Mei Ying also spread rapidly across the Central Plains. Although the First Rank Hall was powerful, under the leadership of the largest force in the Central Plains—the Xifeng Tower—many gangs began to resist them on their own! Words from all sides grew more aggressive. Frictions arose constantly! Small-scale scuffles! Large-scale battles—more occurred that day than in half a year of previous activity by the First Rank Hall. … This day was destined to be the most turbulent day in the Central Plains’ martial world! The Wudu Sect was completely destroyed by the fury of the martial artists there; the First Rank Hall became the main suspect in colluding with the Wild Wolf Organization and the target of condemnation across the entire martial world. Most gang forces were eager to adapt to the changing landscape of the Central Plains martial world and hope to gain sufficient benefits from it. But… for now, they lacked someone brave enough to take action against the First Rank Hall first! Yes! A pioneer! Although everyone wanted to destroy the First Rank Hall immediately and erase this gang, which had dominated the Central Plains martial world for five years, everyone was aware of its formidable strength. As the second-largest force in the Central Plains, it was only slightly behind the Xifeng Tower. Such a giant with hundreds of branches and nearly a million elite fighters wasn’t as easy to defeat as people thought. As for ordinary players… they didn’t want to become pawns in this conflict.

Those gangs certainly didn’t want the hard-earned foundations they had built to be destroyed in an instant—because even a mere counterattack by Yipin Tang could bring them unbearable destruction.
As for Xifeng Lou…
Though it was the most powerful force in the Central Plains, Shadow’s primary concern was always the development of Xifeng Lou itself. Fighting against Yipin Tang would cost Xifeng Lou a heavy price.
That’s why Shadow didn’t explicitly name Yipin Tang or Mengyun in her declaration of war on the official forum.
“That woman Shadow is trying to wait for me to take action again.”
Kai Xin quickly understood this after receiving Bai Xiaosheng’s message.
The entire Central Plains was now in a highly tense and stagnant standoff. Mengyun’s strategy was simple: neither launch an attack nor hold onto any branch halls, but her words to the outside world were firm—anyone who dared to threaten Yipin Tang would face a full-scale counterattack from them!
Yipin Tang had not only nearly a million disciples and a strong foundation but also members of Wudu Men and the Assassins’ Hall scattered elsewhere.
Moreover…
There was another massive force that remained low-key, out of sight, and uninvolved in this turmoil—the Blood Alliance!
One in the light, one in the dark!
Neither of these two superpowers could be shaken by ordinary people.
Shadow discussed things with Bai Xiaosheng and indirectly hoped that Kai Xin would take the initiative to start the conflict.
“There’s no problem attacking Yipin Tang, but… I have a condition.”
“Go ahead and state your condition. Shadow has said she’ll agree to any reasonable request as long as it’s to deal with Yipin Tang and the Wild Wolves Organization, even if it means providing people—she can assign a group for you!” Bai Xiaosheng knew he had already given Kai Xin almost all the help he could, so this condition was naturally aimed at Shadow, and he was prepared for it.
“Good. I need Shadow’s authorization to freely enter Xifeng Lou’s branch halls and use their prison cells at will.”
“…”
Bai Xiaosheng was stunned and replied in surprise, “That’s a minor issue—of course, there’s no problem. Even if Xifeng Lou refuses, I can still offer you some of their prison cells, and their quality won’t be inferior to those of Xifeng Lou.”
“Oh? Then let me think of another condition.” Kai Xin smiled.

“…It’s up to you. This time, you help Xifeng Tower deal with Yipin Tang. If they truly manage to destroy Yipin Tang and prevent the Wild Wolves from entering the Central Plains, Xifeng Tower should be able to take control of over half of Yipin Tang’s resources. So go ahead and ask for as much as you want. That rich woman, Meiying—take what you can. There might not be another chance like this.” Bai Xiaosheng reminded them quite calmly.