Chapter 896: The Strength of Foreign Masters

Hua Yu and Dao Zhen’s strength far exceeded Meng Yun’s expectations. Yet their conversation made Meng Yun frown slightly. It was understandable if they were still in a probing stage of battle, but after showing off and praising each other, it was clearly meant to impress Yipin Tang.
“…”
Yipin Tang indeed didn’t have any masters capable of intimidating Hua Yu and Dao Zhen, but as the second-largest gang in the Central Plains, they couldn’t afford players from a small country to act so arrogantly.
However, thinking of needing their help, Meng Yun quickly regained his composure and continued reading.
Hua Yu and Dao Zhen did praise each other, but their strength was undeniable—they truly had the capability to make it onto the global masters’ ranking list.
One was a warrior with unparalleled sword skills and mastery over the Art of Swords!
The other was a swordsman who could remain calm and unharmed under the pressure of such advanced sword techniques and fierce intent.
But…
Their probing phase had come to an end. Gradually, they began to unleash their true strength.
The temperature in the training hall dropped significantly again.
“Hah!!”
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The sword energies in the hall grew denser and faster, accompanied by Dao Zhen’s furious shouts: “Hua Yu, draw your sword quickly! Don’t die under my blade before you even draw it!”
“No need for you to worry,” Hua Yu retorted defiantly. “Prove you can force me to draw it.”
He could tell that Dao Zhen was wary of his sword hidden in its sheath, so he had held back some of his strength.
At this level, both could see through their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.
Dao Zhen’s weakness was his fear of death—he could endure anything. But against someone like Hua Yu, who showed no weaknesses at all, it was extremely difficult to fight.
Dao Zhen and himself were both aware of Hua Yu’s weakness—drawing his long sword posed the greatest threat…
But if he couldn’t kill his opponent in one strike, a skilled swordsman like Dao Zhen wouldn’t stand a chance in a prolonged fight. So, drawing his sword too easily meant defeat.
Each of them had their own plans.
Yet they truly provided Yipin Tang’s people with a spectacular show!
The training hall had become a stage solely for Dao Zhen to showcase his sword skills. Amidst the continuous whistling of sword energies, his agile movements and sharp, light sword techniques created sword energies four inches deep on the granite floor, resembling writhing snakes that frantically pursued Hua Yu’s figure.
Noticing this detail, Xie Lang felt a chill run down his spine—he finally realized the gap between himself and the world’s top masters: If those sword energies hit an ordinary master, they could slice through both person and armor in one strike!
“I wonder who’s stronger—Xiao Kai or this Dao Zhen?”
The training hall was filled with sword energies. Meng Yun’s face lit up with joy as his thoughts wandered far away.

The top experts on the Global Rankings—Ah Xiuluo, hired by him at a high cost; Snake King, who had connections through Huang Sha, to lend a hand; plus the experts from Longmen—made it no problem to confront the Mu Family. But Hua Yu and Dao Zhen were unexpected gains. Moreover, the stronger these two became, the more advantageous it was for her. Perhaps the presence of these two superpowers could even give her a huge edge in the battle against the Mu Family—now, in his view, Dao Zhen and Hua Yu definitely had the strength to rival Kai Xin and even stand shoulder to shoulder with an emperor. Although Kai Xin had stolen many astonishing techniques and martial arts from numerous Mythical Realm experts, the Prophet had already revealed a secret to her: though the ability to steal the Nine Yang Divine Skill was good, it took time to master the stolen techniques to maximize their effectiveness… The more martial arts Kai Xin stole, the more time it took to understand and master them. Worst of all, the more powerful the technique, the more internal energy it consumed, and stealing martial arts didn’t increase her internal energy at all. In this back-and-forth, Kai Xin’s practice of too many martial arts was pure waste of time—she achieved nothing and wasted a lot of time, becoming increasingly useless as time went on! With Hua Yu and Dao Zhen joining forces, the Mu Family’s invincibility in the Central Plains was truly over. As for whether Hua Yu and Dao Zhen would settle a winner, it didn’t matter to her. She even hoped they could end things peacefully without causing any discord. Just then! “Hall Master!” Urgent and chaotic footsteps echoed down the left corridor of the training hall. Meng Yun was slightly surprised. Before she could ask the person to be quiet, the thick-browed monk’s loud voice, tinged with tension and anxiety, reached everyone’s ears. Many people turned around to see the thick-browed monk rushing in with a group of his subordinates, looking extremely urgent! “What’s wrong?” Although Meng Yun was worried that the thick-browed monk might upset the two people there, she also knew that under her management, unless something extremely serious happened, he wouldn’t barge in so carelessly. “There’s a problem at the branch temple in Aru City!” The thick-browed monk’s words were like a shock to the first-rank disciples present, and Meng Yun’s heart skipped a beat as well. Her expression changed instantly, and she quickly asked, “I haven’t received any emergency messenger pigeons.” If a branch temple was under attack, as the hall master, Meng Yun should have received emergency black messenger pigeons. But she quickly thought of another possibility.

The enemy is only killing in the branch temple areas. Blocking them outside the city won’t trigger the black pigeon alarm—and it won’t have any effect in countering the blockade either.
“Was it the Mu Family?!”
Meng Yun stopped asking unnecessary questions.
The monk with thick brows quickly walked over to Meng Yun, nodded urgently, and replied, “Apart from the brothers in Aru City, who were all attacked by the Mu Family’s forces and over two hundred of them died, our town, Tuoma Small City, and Weng City also suffered attacks…”
“Tuoma Small City, Weng City?”
Meng Yun’s expression changed.
“Same as Aru City?”
“That’s right! Kui Town suffered the heaviest losses—more than four hundred people, none escaped, all died. Dozens of fools fought against the Mu Family’s men in the city and ended up locked up! But Tuoma Small City had the most casualties.”
“…”
Meng Yun frowned deeply, her gaze flickering as she thought rapidly.
She could understand the Mu Family attacking Kui Town, as it was the only route to the coast. To break through, taking the sea route was the fastest and safest way. But she had already set up three layers of blockades behind Kui Town—losing one Kui Town wasn’t a big deal.
Aru City was another matter—it was the branch temple closest to the grasslands and also a key eye for Yipin Hall, so it was only natural for it to be targeted.
But Weng City was different. It wasn’t only located near the capital but also had abundant resources. It was completely separate from the coastal area and far from Aru City—so why was it attacked too?
What puzzled her the most was that Tuoma Small City was south of the capital, almost in the core area of Yipin Hall’s territory, with the fewest defenders. There were seven or eight mining sites nearby, making it Yipin Hall’s financial stronghold.
The Mu Family…
They had deployed four groups simultaneously.
It was clearly a premeditated action.
But what confused Meng Yun was…
The four cities were in four different directions, and she couldn’t immediately determine their purpose.
At that moment…
Hua Yu and Dao Zhen, who were in the competition, stopped fighting and noticed what was happening here.