Chapter 683: “This battle… was worth it!”

That night, Kai Xin held a small gathering for Mu Family’s high-ranking members in his tiny base. All the members of the Lonely Three Wolves were present, along with Feng Wu Cai Yi, Yu Cha Zhe, Xiao P, Xu Pang, Bao Long, Yi Tong, and others. Xu Xin brought Xu Yao, Nuomi, and the girls from her dormitory to help in the kitchen, making it a truly lively occasion.
After eating and drinking their fill, everyone sat in a circle around the long table, discussing the decisive battle atop Mount Tai and the Mu Family’s grand banquet that shocked the martial world.
“Kai Xin, since we still have plenty of Fire Qilin blood, why didn’t we use it from the start? With the power of the Liberation Realm, fighting against One Emperor might have led to a better outcome.”
Xu Pang was now one of the top five experts in the entire Western Regions—a highly influential figure. In reality, it was said that he had taken a junior as his girlfriend and was working hard to lose weight for her sake. He now looked much thinner than before, looking more presentable and mature.
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present nodded in agreement.
In fact, everyone could see that during the battle atop Mount Tai, Kai Xin never took the initiative to attack, allowing One Emperor to unleash his full strength. But with his final sword strike, Kai Xin managed to force a draw with One Emperor…
In their eyes!
If he had gone all out from the start, he might have secured the title of the greatest expert in the world—even though his current Liberation Realm cultivation also ranked him first on the Dragon List, causing a significant impact on the martial world.
“That can’t be compared.”
Chen Fan rolled his eyes and interjected, “Kai Xin just doesn’t like to use his realm advantage to crush others. He gave One Emperor a fair chance to compete. He held back at first and then struck hard—after the battle, he’ll tell you he didn’t use his full strength… Haha…” The kid was too excited that night, had drunk a bit, and spoke with a slurred tongue.
Kai Xin smiled helplessly:
“Even if I had entered the Liberation Realm earlier, the outcome wouldn’t have changed much. One Emperor’s seventh sword is truly terrifying, living up to its reputation. In today’s martial world, no one can dodge it. Even if I entered the Liberation Realm, I’m not confident I could escape unscathed within half a year. One Emperor is indeed an extraordinary opponent.”
In the living room, as soon as the protagonist spoke, those who had planned to argue immediately stopped.
Now, in this room, Kai Xin wasn’t just the host—he was truly their boss…
The Mu Family had grown into a massive organization, with positions ranging from the family head, to the chief altar master, to the heads of various branches, and then to the branch masters. Everyone here had a role to play.

Although there is still the bond of alumni and classmates, there are also friendships among comrades and colleagues, along with other kinds of relationships. Especially during the more than half year after leaving school and living on my own, I mainly stayed in touch with many people through games. So, people tend to identify more with their game character relationships rather than purely as alumni. But… I’m glad to still maintain this pleasant atmosphere. After hearing Happy’s evaluation of “Yi Di,” the others nodded in agreement. Indeed, it’s not easy for a player with no background in any gaming organization to grow strong enough to rival Happy and stand at the top on his own after a year of effort. “It’s a shame we can’t bring him in…” “Yeah, if we could get ‘Yi Di’ to join our Mu Family, we’d be invincible.” “With Happy, Yi Di, Silver Fox, Mo Mo, Wind Bell, plus our entire group, we might even achieve eternal dominance and unify the martial world!” “Haha…” Bai Lang and Qi Ci chattered excitedly, unaware of someone coming out of the kitchen. Happy glanced thoughtfully at Xu Yao, who stepped out of the kitchen, looking slightly surprised and uneasy, clearly having heard the words of the Lonely Three Wolves. “‘Yi Di’ is a true swordsman. He told me he won’t join any gang—you’d better give up that idea soon.” “Huh?” “Whether there’s Yi Di or not, I think our Mu Family is the strongest. Unifying the martial world isn’t impossible either.” Feng Wu, who had been holding her teacup, suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention. “During the day, over 200 gang leaders came to Baokang to offer gifts—from all corners of the country, including Yipin Tang and Lingxiao Palace. Every gang showed willingness to ally with us.” Feng Wu spoke calmly, quickly capturing everyone’s attention. By now, she was not only much more mature in mindset but also far more thoughtful and meticulous—results of countless battles in the Western Regions. Happy smiled faintly, gazing at her as if seeing Feng Wu in her colorful clothes from a past life. Her words were concise but to the point: “All these over 200 gangs I mentioned are large factions with tens of thousands of members. Smaller gangs aren’t included…” Her words were filled with pride and confidence, leaving everyone present with bright eyes and heated emotions, deeply moved.

“Those over two hundred gang leaders—rumor has it that each gang’s gift was worth no less than a thousand taels of silver, with a few paying in installments later on…”
“…”
“More than fifty gangs contributed gifts worth over twenty million! A few wealthy gangs and our local allies even gave gifts worth ten million gold! Not to mention the gifts from the Xiyi Gate, Lingxiao Palace, and Yipin Hall…” As Fengwu Caiyi spoke, she stared intently at Kai Xin without blinking.
The latter replied calmly, “Xu Yao should know the most about these gifts. Why not let her explain in detail?”
Fengwu Caiyi shifted her gaze and nodded. “Uh… okay!”
Xu Yao was slightly taken aback, not expecting Kai Xin to call on her at this moment, but she quickly regained her composure and said, “The gifts mainly consisted of resources. Larger gangs contributed ‘Explosive Crystal Stones’ and ‘Diamonds,’ totaling over 1,300 pieces… ‘Magic Crystals’ were given by a few gangs, around 60 pieces. Just these resources accounted for the largest portion, worth nearly ten billion. Additionally, the amount of gold reached over hundreds of millions. Lastly, there were priceless martial arts manuals from the Liberation Realm and top-quality medicinal herbs… along with some rare items. In short, when added up, the total value of these rewards should exceed 20 billion.”
Hearing this figure, Kai Xin raised his eyebrows slightly.
Although he knew there was quite a stir in Baokang, he really hadn’t expected the impact of this battle to be so significant. Lei Zhan’s impromptu decision had brought such astonishing profits to the Mu family.
After a few seconds of silence, Kai Xin blurted out something both amusing and frustrating:
…”
“This battle… was worth it!”