First, discord arose between the Jialan Sect and the Kunling Sect; later, the Primordial Soul Sect was drawn in as well. After all, one mountain could hardly shelter two tigers. As the two super sects of the Eastern Ridge Territory, the Kunling Sect and the Primordial Soul Sect already had countless tangled conflicts of interest. Had the Beast Tide not been about to invade the Eastern Ridge, the two super sects would never have fought on the same defense line.
With the Southern Marsh fallen, the Jialan Sect, formerly the only enormous sect of the Southern Marsh's Human Race, had no choice but to relocate in its entirety to the Eastern Ridge Territory. This would inevitably affect the existing division of interests between the Kunling Sect and the Primordial Soul Sect.
As friction grew between the Human Race's three main powers, the first to suffer was the sixty-thousand-strong Discipline Enforcement Army under Mu Bai's command. These sixty thousand soldiers and the allied Three Hundred Righteous Warriors all came from various sects and tribes, and their respective sects soon recalled them in haste.
The token bearing the character "Discipline" in Mu Bai's possession had originally been jointly granted by the Three Great Super Sects. Now that friction between the three sects had flared, this "Discipline" token was merely a pretty plaque.
With the Discipline Enforcement Army disbanded, Mu Bai could only return to Dao Zun Lu Ling's command and await orders.
As the saying went, when a wall totters, everyone gives it a shove. Mu Bai had previously enforced discipline with stern, ruthless authority, offending many powers. Those who bore grudges had originally been cowed by the "Discipline" token and dared not retaliate against him lightly, but now they gradually bared their fangs.
Naturally, the first to act was the Eastern