Sword Points Northeast

"Reprehensible, utterly reprehensible!"

Yun Zimo slammed the scroll in his hand onto the floor. It was filled with nothing but the "good deeds" committed by the outer sect deacon Mo Cheng and the Mo Clan!

Yun Zimo had just taken over the Punishment Hall, and the sect's records had been fully opened to him. But as he read through those files, his anger flared uncontrollably.

"What is it? Who has upset you this time?"

Yun Yun walked into the archives, picked up the scroll from the floor, flipped through it casually, and placed it back on Yun Zimo's desk. She was already aware of these matters.

"Sister, this entire shelf in the archives is filled with these shameful, underhanded dealings. I don't understand how..."

Yun Zimo realized something mid-sentence. He looked at the indifferent Yun Yun, decided against continuing, and slumped back into his chair, staring blankly.

"How can we turn a blind eye, allowing these parasites and tumors of the sect to run rampant, even letting them commit atrocities under the banner of the Misty Cloud Sect?"

Yun Yun finished the sentence for him.

"Zimo, our Misty Cloud Sect is a sect of pure cultivation, but it is still just a sect. The army stationed at the foot of the mountain and the one in the Imperial Capital do not see it that way. We are a force capable of toppling the imperial power—a force they wish to eradicate, yet one they are forced to rely upon."

"Three dynasties, eight hundred years of history..."

"Only by giving them leverage can we reduce the imperial family's wariness, and only then can we live in peace."

Although Yun Zimo felt Yun Yun was using a false equivalence, he had to admit there was some truth to her words. After all, the Misty Cloud Sect was not like the neighboring Golden Goose Sect or Mulan Valley, which directly controlled their entire empires, nor was it like the Chu Yun Empire, where countless sects stood and the imperial family balanced them against one another.

"Fine, fine. I will think it over carefully."

In a foul mood, Yun Zimo forced a smile and saw Yun Yun out; he wanted to be alone.

Flipping through the scroll repeatedly, Yun Zimo felt that things shouldn't be this way. No matter how many excuses there were, the massive annual tributes and the lives lost like flowing water were undeniable truths.

"Enforcement Team! Assemble!"

The more he thought, the angrier he became. Yun Zimo gripped his seal, and the tokens of the Misty Cloud Sect enforcement members vibrated instantly, a message appearing upon them.

Within half a quarter of an hour, all enforcement members belonging to the Punishment Hall had gathered at Misty Cloud Square, fully equipped and ready. They were confident that they could defeat any invading enemy with a single command from Yun Zimo.

"Target: Northeast of Jia Ma, Mo Clan!"

"Move out!"

Yun Zimo, draped in black and white brocade robes with the hall master's seal at his waist, flicked his cloak behind him. With a cold expression, he headed straight for the mountain gate, the enforcement members following close behind like ghosts.

"Official business of the Punishment Hall! Open the mountain gate at once!"

Yun Zimo did not slow down. He used the Sect Master's token to pass through, and the official document he issued flew like a sharp sword into the hands of Yun Yi, who was guarding the gate.

"Sect Master, we..."

As Yun Zimo led his men down the mountain and away, two figures watched them from not far off.

"Let him go..."

Yun Yun sighed. Having spent so much time with Zimo, she wasn't just amused by his naive ideas; she was gradually being influenced by him. This world shouldn't be like this!

At least, the world she could see shouldn't be like this...

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The Dou Qi wings behind Yun Zimo vibrated, his wide cloak snapping in the wind without tearing or falling. Dozens of figures moved across the ground, their speed not much slower than Zimo flying in the low air.

The group traveled through mountains and forests, trying their best to avoid unrelated people. Before long, they entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range, carefully avoiding powerful magical beasts along the way, and after hunting and resting, they set off again.

"When I get back, I must equip the Punishment Hall with flying magical beasts!"

Sitting cross-legged in the cabin of a flying beast, Yun Zimo looked at the clouds drifting past the window, feeling envious of the flying beasts that were standard for youths of the ancient clans in books.

As the sun set behind the mountains, they finally caught sight of the massive black city from afar.

Salt City, located at the intersection of the central, eastern, and northeastern parts of the Jia Ma Empire, possessed an excellent geographical location and a prosperous economy. Because it was under the jurisdiction of the eastern province, it was known as the largest city in the east. The backgrounds of those coming and going were complex, and it was a place heavily guarded by the empire year-round.

"Not a single member of the Mo Clan on this list is to escape. Anyone who resists is to be killed without mercy!"

Yun Zimo entered Salt City with over a dozen men in a grand display, so high-profile that he feared the Mo Clan wouldn't know that the newly appointed Punishment Hall master had arrived.

"What?!"

When the Mo Clan's Great Elder, Mo Cheng, heard the report from his eyes and ears in the city, the wine cup in his hand fell to the ground. He did not believe the Punishment Hall had come to Salt City just for a casual visit.

"I only went to Misty Cloud Mountain to deliver a congratulatory gift the day before yesterday; how could he come to Salt City? You go... no, I will go to welcome him myself!"

Mo Cheng quickly straightened his attire, ordered those experimenting in the secret chamber to stop their work, and arranged for the clan head to prepare for the reception, while he himself hurried with several talented juniors toward the inn where the Punishment Hall was staying.

"This Mo Clan is indeed quite formidable," an enforcement member chuckled. "I just went to count; there are one hundred and thirty-two shops on this street, and eighty-three of them bear the Mo Clan's banner."

"And that's just their commercial influence. Do you know what they say in the underworld?"

"They kill and rob, ignoring the imperial flag, recognizing only the Mo!"

Yun Zimo held his teacup in silence, though he chuckled inwardly; these were merely the tip of the iceberg for the Mo Clan.

However, remembering the young Mo Cheng recorded in the sect's archives—a hot-blooded youth who could fly into a rage and single-handedly take down a bandit group—he couldn't help but think of how he had changed...

"I was unaware of the Hall Master's arrival. Please forgive this humble one for the lack of hospitality, my apologies, my apologies..."

Mo Cheng walked into the Moso Flower Garden inn with a fawning smile. Seeing the members of the Punishment Hall in the lobby and the luxuriously dressed Yun Zimo, he felt a jolt of alarm, and his attitude became even more humble.

"Deacon Mo, there is no need for such formalities. The Hall Master is well aware of how you have exhausted yourself for the sake of the sect, and having heard that bandits are rampant in these eastern provinces, he has come personally to purge them. However, fearing to disturb your peace, he has chosen to stay here for the night."

Yun Zimo pretended not to hear Mo Cheng's flattery, continuing to sip his tea slowly. Beside him, an enforcement officer's eyes darted around before he quickly struck up a conversation with Mo Cheng; they were well-versed in such tactics to lower an enemy's guard.

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare! It is the Mo Clan's honor to host the Hall Master. As for those bandits, I shall personally lead a team to exterminate them tomorrow. I have spent years tracking them and was just about to wipe them out entirely; I never expected to trouble the Hall Master with such a trivial matter."

Mo Cheng couldn't quite tell if the other party's words were true or false, but he steeled his heart, preparing to purge the bandits with thunderous speed. Though losing that source of income would be painful, it was worth it if it meant sending these killers from the Punishment Hall back to the Misty Cloud Sect sooner.

"Deacon Mo truly has a heart of gold," Yun Zimo raised his teacup in a salute to Mo Cheng. Since it would be better to let this old fellow exhaust his remaining value, he stopped pretending to be oblivious. "Once the bandits are purged, I shall certainly report this to the Sect Master and see that Deacon Mo is commended!"

"The Hall Master is too kind to this old man. As long as it is for the sake of the sect, I would not hesitate to sacrifice my own lowly life."

At Mo Cheng's careless remark, the members of the Punishment Hall all wore different expressions, their eyes filled with cold indifference.

You alone? For the sake of the sect, you should have the entire Mo Clan go to their deaths...

The sky at the edge of the great desert was just beginning to brighten, but the outskirts of the major cities in the eastern provinces were already filled with the deafening sounds of slaughter. The stench of blood was so thick that passing civilians and cultivators gave the area a wide berth.

"Great Elder, this is already the seventeenth bandit den..."

Mo Ling hesitated, wanting to say more, but simply wiped the blood from his face as he looked at the corpses littering the ground.

"Pah! Ptui!"

Mo Cheng spat out a mouthful of dark red sand. Having killed for so long, the ferocity in his heart grew ever more intense.

"Keep going! Do you really think there aren't people from the Punishment Hall nearby? They likely know more about these bandit dens than we do! They might even know about our connections. The only way to keep the Punishment Hall's fire from burning us is to kill them all and deny everything!"

After thinking about it all night, Mo Cheng believed he had figured out the Punishment Hall's intentions. It was nothing more than Yun Zimo, a newly appointed official, trying to make a name for himself. How deep could the schemes of a wet-behind-the-ears brat really be? If he wanted results, he would give him results, and perhaps use this opportunity to build a good relationship with him.

Yun Zimo's cloak danced in the wind as he watched Mo Cheng ride off without pause toward the next bandit den, his eyes filled with silent, sharp intent.

"Hall Master, we have identified eleven secret passages belonging to the Mo Clan, and the other three major families in Salt City have agreed to join the siege. The Salt City Lord refused to send troops, citing that the official authorization for the eastern province has not yet arrived, but he has ordered increased patrols today to prevent fleeing bandits from escaping, citing the rampant banditry."

Yun Zimo nodded slightly. The great net had been cast, and the Mo Clan's victory banquet was already prepared. "Deacon Mo, this Hall Master wishes you a happy birthday in advance. I hope you truly enjoy this grand gift..."