CHAPTER 58: WHEN THE RIGHTEOUS STRIKE FIRST

Inside a quiet pavilion at the heart of Azure Dragon Sect, two men sat facing each other across a white jade chessboard.

Mo Yuntian placed a black piece with practiced ease.

"You’re not decisive enough."

Across from him, Jiang Chen frowned as he stared at the board.

"When I informed you about Bo Yun’s strange movements, and my suspicions about the Bo Clan’s dealings with outside forces... I never expected you to send Elder Yuan Mo to exterminate the entire clan."

Mo Yuntian chuckled coldly. "And it turned out your suspicion was correct. Those treacherous bastards turned out to be plants from the Bone Forging Sect. Should we have sent them an offering instead?"

He moved another piece without pause.

"That dog Bo Qing was planted years ago. Just imagine what damage he could’ve done if we waited any longer."

Jiang Chen let out a long breath. "Maybe Bo Qing was a spy... but not everyone....most of the Bo Clan knew nothing. They were loyal to our alliance. Ordinary cultivators, outer elders, women, even children..."

Mo Yuntian’s expression didn’t change. "The cultivation world is not a place for the soft-hearted. You should have realized this by now, it doesn’t care about guilt. We don’t act for vengeance—we act to prevent threats from growing."

He reached for his teacup, took a sip, then set it down gently.

"You still have some illusions."

There was a long pause. Then Jiang Chen spoke again, more cautiously this time.

"What about Elder Bai? Why do you suspect her?"

Mo Yuntian was quiet for a few breaths, eyes fixed on the board.

"The day you told me about that jade slip left on your doorstep... I knew then. We’ve already been infiltrated at the highest levels."

He next move came swiftly, seemingly without needing to fully assess the board.

That’s right, after the jade slip that was delivered to his residence the last time, Jiang Chen come to awear that the sect higher ups has been compromised by the Shadowclaw Sect.

After returning from the near death battle with Wu Shu before even healing and recovering his injuries he heard to the sect master and explained everything that happened.

From the jade slip to his encounter with Su Jen that saved his life.

The sect master at the time was quite enraged because of his reckless behaviour and wanted to severely punish him.

It’s only when Jiang Chen told him about his suspicions about the Bo Clan did his anger lessen a bit.

Sense then the sect master has been monitoring everyone closely.

Unfortunately the rat wss able to hide their track so cleanly, Mo Yuntian wasn’t able to find anything.

So he decided to strike first, throu a pate to drew the rat.

"I began suspecting everyone. But among them, I suspect her the most. Not because she has acted against us—but because she wasn’t raised by the sect. She joined later."

Jiang Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly. "So the Azure Diviner’s Mirror—was that to test her?"

Mo Yuntian shook his head.

"That mirror is useless if she’s cautious. I gave her the mirror to make her lower her guard. To let her believe she’s being trusted."

Jiang Chen frowned. "Then why assign her to investigate the Bo Clan? Wouldn’t it be better to bury the whole thing quietly?"

Mo Yuntian stroked his beard, eyes still on the board. "Only three people know we ordered the extermination—me, you, and Elder Yuan Mo."

He paused slightly as if considering something.

"I plan to leak just enough information. Not to outsiders—just enough that Elder Bai can piece it together on her own. What she does after that... will reveal where she truly stands."

Jiang Chen stared at him, half in disbelief.

"Master, that’s... too calculating. Aren’t we supposed to be the righteous ones? Shouldn’t our actions be straightforward?"

Mo Yuntian snorted lightly.

"Straightforward? Do you think being upright is enough to survive in this world?"

"Do you know how many so-called ’righteous’ sects have already fallen in the last hundred years? How many crumbled because their leaders hesitated at the critical moment? Because they trusted too easily? Or waited for proof while the enemy was already within their walls?"

Jiang Chen lowered his head. He did not reply.

Mo Yuntian gave him a long look, then smiled—but it was a cold, tired smile.

"I was like you once. Thought there was always a clear line between good and evil. But the longer you live... the blurrier that line becomes."

He turned back to the board and placed his next piece without hesitation.

"Life and time... are the greatest teachers."

His hand flicked forward.

"Checkmate."

Jiang Chen looked down at the board. His pieces were scattered, cornered, suffocating.

There was no path to retreat. He sighed quietly.

"...To uphold righteousness, one must first survive," Mo Yuntian said softly. "And to survive... one must be strong enough to crush the devil’s claws."

Mo Yuntian sat back, folding his hands behind him.

"If you want to uphold righteousness, you’ll need the strength to crush those who would destroy it."

***

Inside the grand Sect Master Hall of the Shadowclaw Sect, five figures sat silently in meditation before the high dais. Though their breathing remained calm, their auras rose and fell with faint instability—like flickering lanterns swaying in an unseen wind.

Though yet to consolidate their realm, each radiated the pressure of the Nascent Soul Realm—still immature, but unmistakable.

These five elders—Han Zhen, Mo Chao, Ji Lan, Sun Feiyan, and Rong Wu—had, until recently, been at death’s door. Their bodies worn down by age, their foundations riddled with hidden injuries, they had long abandoned all hope of ever stepping into the Nascent Soul stage.

And yet, by a twist of fate—or the will of one man—they now sat upon the threshold of power once thought unattainable.

Just moments after the last one among them broke through, a jade summons arrived at their doors.

They had not even had time to stabilize their nascent souls before they were summoned here.

As the great doors creaked open, a gust of cold wind swept into the hall. A figure dressed in flowing black robes entered quietly.

But the moment he appeared, the hearts of the five newly advanced nascent soul realm elders trembled.

The Sect Master!

The five turned at once and bowed deeply.

"Greetings, Sect Master."