Chapter 1115: First Victory
The news that the Wild Wolf Organization had been completely routed by the forces of the Central Plains caused a huge stir on the official forum. In particular, the alliance revealed by Meng Yun seemed to bring together most of the powerful factions in the northern part of the Central Plains. Yet no one expected the Wild Wolf Organization to be defeated so quickly and utterly.
REP, who had fought against the Evil Emperor and Happy on multiple occasions, rushed into the top ten of the paid REP rankings, occupying first and second places. Jinxiu Heshan also suddenly came into the sight of countless players around the world…
This temporarily formed gang expanded to a scale of millions within a month; it also recruited “One Emperor,” the top expert who had once been the only one capable of challenging the Evil Emperor, as well as Bai Xiaosheng, the most renowned master of the I Ching in the Central Plains. In an instant, a new triumvirate emerged in the Central Plains!
Many people in the Central Plains knew that Jinxiu Heshan was about to replace Yipin Tang as the largest gang there, and it would become the most powerful gang in Central Plains history!
Among these people was one who had been quietly watching Jinxiu Heshan grow stronger… Meng Yun!!
Since being trapped in a city near the capital after a battle, Meng Yun rarely appeared in public. Even her core senior colleagues trapped with her spent their days gathering intelligence in restaurants after logging in, staying within a very limited area.
“Guild Leader.”
“…Although Jinxiu Heshan has established many branches in the south, it doesn’t seem interested in seizing nearby resource points. They’re either practicing or handling regular tasks… I heard that Happy has given strict orders: anyone who dares to occupy resource points near cities in the name of Jinxiu Heshan will be expelled immediately once the newly formed council finds out… It seems Happy really intends to give all the resources south of the Yangtze River to Shadow.”
Sitting across from Meng Yun were several former elders of Yipin Tang, core members of its guild. Now, their faces no longer showed their former vigor; a permanent shadow of gloom and worry covered their expressions.
When Yipin Tang was defeated near Jinxiu Heshan’s headquarters, Meng Yun ordered a breakout. One-third of the top experts affiliated with Yipin Tang left, while the rest were ordered to disband from Yipin Tang and act discreetly like ordinary martial artists, waiting for the storm to pass and for the wave of public trial against Yipin Tang in the Central Plains martial world to subside.
All resource points were abandoned…
All branches were given up…
There were no more Yipin Tang disciples active in the Central Plains—no blood alliance members, no disciples from the twelve major gangs of the capital.
The elders knew why Meng Yun did this: firstly, to end this catastrophe as soon as possible, to fade the negative memories of Yipin Tang in people’s minds, and to allow them to return to their usual routine of cultivation, mission fulfillment, and adventuring. Only once everyone had moved on could Meng Yun act in secret… Of course! In this complete surrender, Meng Yun actually intended to watch the developments unfold. Jinxiu Heshan was growing rapidly, with branches spread across the Central Plains; Xifeng Lou used to be the largest gang in the Central Plains but only held a small foothold in the south and was now seizing the opportunity to recover and grow stronger. If the two clashed over interests, it might present a good opportunity for Yipin Tang… Meng Yun was well aware of the looseness and vulnerabilities hidden beneath Jinxiu Heshan’s strong facade—everything was held together by the Happy Revenge Fund and the guise of righteousness. Once their enemy was gone, their thoughts naturally turned to interests… But to her annoyance! Over the past twenty-odd days, Jinxiu Heshan had done nothing to exploit the resources in the south, ignoring billions in potential profits and leaving them all to Xifeng Lou, which was steadily expanding and recovering. Having given up so much, even though it had once been the largest gang in the Central Plains, Xifeng Lou decisively halted its expansion south of the Yangtze River. The two major forces in the Central Plains coexisted peacefully in perfect understanding—one using time to solidify its strength, the other using time to recover and grow, much like two instruments playing in harmony. With Yipin Tang gone and silent, the landscape of the Central Plains underwent dramatic yet seemingly inevitable changes… “…” Meng Yun leaned back in her chair, staring at the slowly rippling lake outside. She had originally planned a strategy: once friction arose between the two sides, she would use extreme measures to escalate the situation and drive their relationship to an even more irreconcilable state, creating an opportunity for Yipin Tang’s resurgence. Now, she could only use another plan… Wait! Just wait for the martial artists across the Central Plains to forget about Yipin Tang. Only… this would take a long time! …At that moment, a homing pigeon suddenly flew in through the window, flapped its wings twice before landing on the table, pecking at something in a small dish with its beak. “A message from Vice Hallmaster Xue,” said the person across from her, seeing that Meng Yun remained indifferent, and stepped forward to retrieve it. “Read it.” Finally, Meng Yun showed some interest.
Since leading his men in a breakout, Xueyi had received support from the Wild Wolf Organization and entered Vietnam and Thailand in batches. He acquired some decent resource locations from local gangs, established branch halls, and managed to preserve the name of Yipin Tang as well as its remaining assets. Now, with the complete collapse of the Blood Alliance, Xueyi was no longer its leader but had reverted to his role as vice leader of Yipin Tang. He and Huangsha each led a group of people to settle in the neighboring countries to recover.
The man respectfully took down the letter and unfolded it. After glancing at it once, his expression suddenly turned grim… The two people beside him also glanced at the letter, stunned and breathing rapidly.
“What’s wrong?”
Mengyun quickly noticed the unusual expressions on the elders’ faces. Frowning, he raised his voice slightly.
“It’s from Vice Leader Xueyi,” one of them said, forcing himself to hand the letter to Mengyun. “Yesterday, we were suddenly harassed by a small local gang in Vietnam. Not only did we lose a number of men, but just now, Yidi led a group from Xifeng Lou and Jinxiu Heshan across the border into Vietnam…”
“…”
Mengyun’s outstretched hand froze mid-air for a second before his expression darkened rapidly. He snatched the letter away.
“They’ve already withdrawn from the Central Plains, yet Yidi still refuses to give up…”
The contents of the letter were shocking: Due to provocation from local Vietnamese gangs, Yipin Tang sent a large force to Vietnam in a show of strength. However, at night, they were suddenly attacked and wiped out by a group of masked men led by Yidi—tens of thousands killed. Eventually, someone recognized Yidi’s identity, thinking the Central Plains army had arrived, causing them to flee in panic, losing all will to resist and even neglecting to protect their branch halls. Nearly half of Yipin Tang’s forces in Vietnam were lost, including over a dozen top experts, including Xueyi!
“Leader, what should we do now? Happy and Shadow seem determined not to stop…” The elders’ faces turned pale, and their voices grew more anxious.
Now, the two groups led by Xueyi and Huangsha were their last remaining forces. If even these were wiped out, it would be difficult for them to return to the Central Plains in the future…
“…”
Yet Mengyun quickly calmed down after his shock and anger. His eyes gleamed with fierce intensity. “Something’s off… Yidi’s attack coincided exactly with the harassment by those local gangs… It’s too convenient…”
“Could it be that our people happened to take over those gangs’ territory, right into the midst of their long-planned revenge?”
The elders didn’t delve any further into the matter.
Meng Yun shook her head and declared firmly, “Vietnam already has few resources. The gangs that cooperate with the Wild Wolves Organization have taken control of all the resources there. Smaller gangs have no right to interfere… These people attacking our Yipin Hall on their own are simply impatient… And coincidentally, Yi Di knows our location exactly and has chosen the perfect moment to strike… What does this imply?”
“…”
The elders gasped in shock and exchanged glances. “Is there a spy among us?”
“That’s not impossible. But the problem is, few people from our Central Plains have ever gone to other countries. How could Yi Di possibly understand everything about Vietnam in such a short time… Even Meiying and Bai Xiaosheng couldn’t do that.”
Meng Yun immediately ruled out Kai Xin…
After all, someone who had been bedridden for a year and a half, with such terrifying wisdom and strength, surely wouldn’t have the time to pay attention to countries outside the Central Plains.
She turned her suspicion directly toward Bai Xiaosheng and Meiying!
“Order Xueyi to leave Vietnam. Since Yi Di is leading the attack personally, it’s useless for the Wild Wolves to go there. The Evil Emperor is back in America and won’t be able to go to Vietnam in the short term… We’ll have to give up the branch in Vietnam.” As Meng Yun made up her mind, her heart felt as if it were being torn apart.
The further away from the Central Plains, the more people would leave Yipin Hall!
With 20,000 troops killed by Yi Di this time, even more people would worry about Yipin Hall’s future. Who knows how many would be left after today?
“It must be dangerous over there too…”
Meng Yun quickly drafted a letter and sent it away.
It took a full fifteen minutes before a homing pigeon returned with the Evil Emperor’s reply: “The situation is worse than we thought. Not only has Yipin Hall’s branch in Vietnam been attacked, but even the local gangs in Vietnam and those that cooperate with us have been attacked by Yi Di. Many local gangs in Vietnam have now been incited, and Vietnam is in complete chaos.”
“…”
Seeing the Evil Emperor’s grave reply, Meng Yun’s brows tightened as she gasped sharply, her frown deepening.
After a long while, she uttered words that shocked the elders before her:
“Damn it… This time, Kai Xin and Meiying aren’t just trying to wipe out our Yipin Hall—they seem determined to go to war with the Wild Wolves Organization altogether!”
“Has he gone mad?”
“With just them?”
“The newly established Jinxiu Heshan against a crippled Xifeng Tower?”
“Do they really think they can challenge the Central Plains and the Wild Wolves Organization? Aren’t they afraid the Evil Emperor will strike at their stronghold!?”