Yangzhou, Jiangning Prefecture City.
Jiangning Prefecture City lay three hundred li east of Yicheng. It stretched for twenty to thirty li in both length and width, enough to accommodate a million people. As the core of Jiangning Prefecture and being close to the East Sea, the Yu Yang Grand Canal ran through the city, making commerce extremely prosperous.
After the Mount Dayan incident, Green Lake Island had retreated and contracted across the board. In just a few years, it had almost completely recalled its elite forces to Green Lake Prefecture. As a result, every prefecture other than Jiangning Prefecture had begun to descend into turmoil.
At this time, the Gui Yuan Sect, which had developed rapidly after the Mount Dayan incident, steadily nibbled away at Green Lake Island's former position, gradually replacing it and working to stabilize the entire Yangzhou.
Of course, anyone with a clear understanding of the situation knew that the Gui Yuan Sect's circumstances were not very good either—or rather, they were quite awkward.
Green Lake Island, formerly Yangzhou's greatest power, had yielded the prefectures and contracted back to Green Lake, seemingly giving up its position as overlord. Yet the force it had yielded to was not the Gui Yuan Sect, but another power with ties to the Gui Yuan Sect.
Teng Village in Yicheng, Jiangning Prefecture, Yangzhou, had originally been nothing more than an ordinary village at the foot of Mount Dayan. But nearly ten years ago, Teng Qinghu, the lord of the Tiger Alliance, had fought the White Horse Gang alone and slaughtered more than ten thousand bandits within a few days, completely transforming the region around Yicheng.
Although Teng Qinghu had vanished without a trace for several consecutive years after that, the Tiger Alliance's prestige had never weakened. This was because of another person.