Chapter 761: Two Thousand Warriors

A smart woman often has ambitions that others lack; a capable woman never settles for the status quo.
Shadow, a woman with both strength and talent, has always managed to rise quietly since the operation of “Jianghu,” only to suddenly emerge in the spotlight to gain more influence.
Unfortunately, by the time Shadow stepped forward, there were already one after another even more formidable warriors in Jianghu…
“The Emperor,” ranked first on the Dragon List, possessed unparalleled swordsmanship—like standing atop the clouds, unreachable!
“Mengyun,” ranked first on the Phoenix List, had the largest and most organized guild forces in the Central Plains, giving her an early advantage in dominating the region.
“Happy,” the top expert on the Famous Masters List, skillfully maneuvered across the Central Plains with her agile techniques, stirring up chaos…
The Qin Qing sisters were extremely lucky and, with the support of other experts, established a strong foothold along the coast.
Mo Feng, a woman obsessed with martial arts who kept striving to improve, had the resources of the Heroic Gate at her back, constantly threatening the top position on the Phoenix List!
As for her, Shadow…
Though she was strong, she wasn’t as dazzling as Happy or The Emperor!
Although she had leadership skills, by the time the Wind Strike Tower grew strong, the Central Plains martial world had already formed a balance of four top factions…
The development of the Wind Strike Tower was severely restricted.
Shadow couldn’t resist any of these factions.
Yet she rejected many alliance requests from various gangs.
Because forming an alliance didn’t truly strengthen her—it was a sign of weakness. Unless she became the leader, it brought little benefit to the Wind Strike Tower. But who would want to support a woman as leader?
Besides, Shadow’s ambitions went beyond that!
She was content to stay hidden, waiting for the right opportunity.
The relationship between Yipin Hall and the Mu Family, the relationship between the Heroic Gate and Yipin Hall, and the ambitious plans of the Qin Qing Palace master of Lingxiao Palace made her reluctant to expand quickly. Instead, she focused on steadily strengthening and developing the Wind Strike Tower.
Now…
The opportunity had finally arrived!
Though it was surprising that Lingxiao Palace dared to attack the Mu Family, the most powerful force in the Central Plains martial world, and though Yipin Hall wouldn’t be the first top faction to weaken, Shadow hesitated not at all when making her decision—she was resolute!
She knew…
It was time to leave the capital and break free from Yipin Hall’s influence and shadow.

Although the territory obtained at present won’t be very large, using coastal cities as a springboard can provide an environment for easy development, without having to constantly worry about being targeted by that woman, Meng Yun.
Boom!!!
Two thousand elite fighters from the Xifeng Tower appeared in formation on horseback dozens of miles outside Yangzhou City, staring motionlessly at the hundreds of troops in the distance…
They were the men from the Mu Family who had rushed out of Yangzhou City.
……
“Brother Yinhu is here too!”
“Charge back!!”
After receiving the news, Xiao Bei, ignoring the pursuit by a large number of Lingxiao Palace disciples behind him, led over 300 people to turn around without hesitation, throwing the Lingxiao Palace forces into chaos and meeting up with Yinhu and the others escorted by the Emperor.
After the two groups merged, those behind had retreated far away, too afraid to approach.
“Since we’re already out, my goal is achieved. Take care…”
The Emperor rushed off into the distance without hesitation!
Whoosh!
Yinhu, Xiao Bei, and a group of Mu Family members watched the Emperor’s retreating figure with complex expressions. “Let’s go. Once the Emperor leaves, the Lingxiao Palace people will surely chase after us again.”
The Mu Family disciples’ eyes were red with endless sorrow and hatred:
“Brother Yinhu! Thousands of our brothers are trapped in several martial temples in Yangzhou City, surrounded by those dog-like soldiers from Lingxiao Palace. We must rescue them!”
“Don’t worry,” Yinhu said, staring intently toward Yangzhou City. “We’ll come back…”
Feng Ling was also in one of the martial temples; he hadn’t forgotten.
“Let’s leave here first and preserve our strength to reunite with Kai Xin!” Xiao Bei said through gritted teeth. “When the boss gets here, we’ll settle accounts with Lingxiao Palace properly!”
“Okay!”
Everyone agreed, and their morale soared.
Just then…
Two snow-white homing pigeons landed in front of Xiao Bei and Yinhu.
“A message from Kai Xin.”
Both of them perked up.
They quickly unrolled the message, and its contents left them stunned.
“Boss Yinhu, Boss Xiao Bei, what’s the news? Where is the family head?”
“Get on horseback and talk!”
Without another word, everyone summoned their mounts and followed Yinhu, galloping forward.
In the direction of Yangzhou City behind them, the sound of horse hooves could be heard clearly—the Lingxiao Palace people had chased after them!
……
“Take a shortcut!”
“We must stop them before they meet Kai Xin!”
With the sound of thunderous hooves, the Lingxiao Palace people shouted frantically from behind.

Under Hao Tian’s command, groups within the massive army kept splitting off and darting into the nearby forests.
…
After traveling less than twenty li, Yin Hu and the others arrived at a flat plain along an official road, with an extremely wide view.
A dense group of cavalry stood there, seemingly having waited for a long time!
“Someone’s here!”
Some disorder arose among Mu Family’s troops.
“Damn, they’re moving fast!”
“Let’s charge at them!!”
People drew their swords one after another…
At that moment, Yin Hu saw a rider trotting out from the opposite side.
“Wait, it’s one of our own!”
He quickly stopped some of the men who were about to attack.
Everyone froze: “One of our own?”
Upon approaching, they realized that the cavalryman indeed didn’t have any bloodstained gang insignia on his chest, but rather a delicate symbol they had never seen before.
“Wu Kuo, deputy leader of Xifeng Tower, by order of our master ‘Happy,’ along with the tower’s leader, I lead two thousand men here to welcome all of you! You all… have endured so much!” His last words were spoken with sincere admiration in his eyes.
From Yin Hu and the others, Wu Kuo could see that each person was covered in wounds—arrow wounds, knife cuts, axe marks—some even with severely damaged and deformed equipment. The sight was shocking.
These people had broken through the siege of tens of thousands of troops at Lingxiao Palace from within Yangzhou City!!
“So it’s a friend from Xifeng Tower. Brother Wu, we meet again…”
“Brother Yin Hu.” Although Wu Kuo was not young, he still addressed himself as a junior in front of Yin Hu, which made Mu Family’s men feel greatly honored.
But Yin Hu paid no attention and said seriously, “Let’s get to the point. We’ve received Happy’s message via carrier pigeon. The people from Lingxiao Palace are already chasing after us… What do you plan to do?”
Wu Kuo smiled: “Fight back!”