Chapter 507: Changes in the World, Four Powers in Rivalry

The martial world is in upheaval!
For a long time, countless players have regarded “Zhou Yu” as a powerhouse on par with “The Emperor.” Even though Zhou Yu was defeated by “The Emperor,” neither “The Emperor” publicized it, nor did Yipin Tang keep it strictly confidential, so many players remained unaware of the truth.
Zhou Yu’s status in the martial world was so high that he could be considered on equal footing with “The Emperor” and “Happy.”
But…
After the update of “Chronicles of the Martial World,” countless players were shocked. Happy replaced Zhou Yu in second place on the ranking list. Moreover, as a cross-level challenge, this battle was even recorded in Happy’s legendary achievements, coincidentally including the names of strong figures like Meng Yun, Xue Yi, and Tang Feng.
With Yipin Tang’s experts surrounding him, the news that Zhou Yu was effortlessly defeated by Happy quickly spread throughout the martial world, with everyone eager to share it.
This was the most sensational news about a change in the top ranks in recent times. As the game progressed and the rankings kept changing, many players noticed that the top positions had hardly changed. Thus, Zhou Yu’s downfall to Happy in second place quickly became the hottest topic.
Especially since the rumors about the battle in the capital had just surfaced, with Yipin Tang’s giants also present, it naturally attracted countless players’ attention and curiosity, who tried to uncover the truth about what happened…
But the rumors that followed left them stunned!
Shao Lin disciples claimed that Zhou Yu, a master comparable to “The Emperor,” fought alone against Happy at the foot of Songshan, in front of many Yipin Tang experts. Within three moves, he died at Happy’s palm.
Since this news came from Shao Lin disciples, many players immediately rejected it, refusing to believe that Zhou Yu would be defeated so easily—even if he died, it should have been a fierce battle lasting hundreds of moves!
Though some understood, saying that if not for the quick end to the fight, would Yipin Tang’s people just sit by and watch Zhou Yu die?
All these questions were finally resolved with Yipin Tang’s drastic actions and the REP provided by several disciples who defected to the paid REP system.
The next day!
The branches of Yipin Tang set up in major cities in the Western Regions disappeared one after another…
Even the branches in Hubei, near the Mu family’s residence, vanished quickly that day. This not only sparked widespread concern and curiosity in the martial world but also left many Yipin Tang disciples confused and resentful.

Some branch forums had been established for a long time, serving as key resource hubs for many players to develop; others were newly set up, with many eager to prove themselves. Unexpectedly, a single order led to the cancellation of all these branches—their resources were seized, and everyone quickly evacuated. Amid this massive upheaval, some disciples of Yipin Tang inevitably figured something out and resolutely left the organization… A few others, already at the foot of Songshan, had sensed Yipin Tang’s precarious situation. Now that the tripartite balance had been completely shattered and the four major factions divided the world, the Mu family seized large areas in the Western Regions and entire Hubei from Yipin Tang. Together with many branches in the south, their territory was now on par with any of the three major forces—Yipin Tang, Xiayi Men, and Lingxiao Palace! In contrast, Yipin Tang, once the most expansive and dominant force with its influence stretching from within and outside the passes to the south of the Yangtze River and beyond, was now forced to retreat to just a few northern provinces, losing more than half of its resources. What made things even worse for Yipin Tang was that, at a time when they were already struggling for resources, a paid REP completely exacerbated their declining reputation. His moves to defeat Zhou Yu and his subsequent words to Meng Yun, turned into REP and broadcasted, left countless people in awe! By completely abandoning the Western Regions and Hubei, the number of Yipin Tang’s departing disciples quickly exceeded 10,000! Huang Sha left Yipin Tang for a place unknown to anyone! Even Master Zhou Yi and Bai Xiaosheng only knew that he was no longer in the Central Plains or the Western Regions, seemingly having gone somewhere beyond China… After this massive upheaval, Yipin Tang showed an unprecedented level of exhaustion. It tightened its grip, refusing to cross borders even half a step. Not only did it strictly order its subordinates not to set foot in Hubei, south of the Yangtze River, or the Western Regions, but it also rarely ventured into coastal areas. Naturally, the biggest beneficiaries of this upheaval were the Mu family and Kai Xin! The Mu family solidified its status as one of the four major factions, gaining vast territories and resources. Although the resources in the Western Regions were not great, those in Hubei were enough to keep the Mu family busy for a while. After sending people to establish over a dozen branches there, they further developed some resource hubs in the Western Regions and deserts under Kai Xin’s guidance, gradually forming a massive operational structure. Since rising to second place on the Dragon List, Kai Xin became extremely famous! Not only did his progress in developing the Western Regions and Hubei proceed smoothly, but many local factions even approached Lei Zhan and the high-ranking members of the Mu family to seek cooperation.

Including the low-key super-rich man, the current second-ranked “conscientious tycoon,” who finally showed up in person at Shenlongjia to meet Lei Zhan and discuss cooperation matters.
Bao Kang County’s Mu Family headquarters was always bustling with activity!
This kept Mo Mo, Gu Feng, and Lei Zhan, who were always on standby to deal with crises, pondering for a long time…
They had just fully utilized the dozens of resource points in the south when, unexpectedly, the burden on their shoulders grew even heavier as one problem after another arose. The Mu Family quickly became the strongest and most respected among the four top factions.
“Brother Lei, from now on, assign some of the tasks to your subordinates so you can focus on training.”
“Don’t worry. I spend every day in the gang’s prison, but I still keep training. When they want to talk to me, they gather together and handle it all at once.”
“I’ve handed over some minor tasks and those that don’t require my personal presence to Fei Long and Xu Yao. Believe it or not, you guys handle things more meticulously than I, a brute.” In fact, training in the gang’s prison was very efficient—saving time on commuting to the city. Lei Zhan had already mastered a life-and-death realm martial art, reaching the master level, with his defensive skill at the tenth level of the same realm and his lightness skill at the sixth level. There were signs he might once again make it onto the Dragon List: “As for you, you’re out running around all day. How’s things going?”
The Mu Family was developing well, and Lei Zhan felt both tense and pleased during this time, so his tone was relaxed—he never expected that a rescue mission with Kai Xin would yield such good results.
Kai Xin had also been having a very smooth time…
Prompted by the Mad Monk and inspired by Zhou Yu, he began to delve deeper into the wonders of the “True Dragon Ten Styles.” From their last battle, his understanding of the “Dragon Seizing Hand” had improved significantly. Now, the “Little Dragon Form” had also been integrated into the essence of the “Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms,” boosting his strength considerably.
Although he couldn’t defeat an emperor yet, he now had some confidence to hold his own for a while!
But upon seeing the name “Xu Yao” on the note, Kai Xin’s heart tightened inexplicably… Soon, a faint smile appeared on his lips:
“Brother Lei, there’s something I need to tell you…”