Look, everything has been endowed with its due expectations.

Inside the abandoned factory.

The masked man placed the last chess piece into its box.

Click.

The soft sound of the piece landing echoed unnervingly through the empty space.

He slowly closed the lid.

"It's about time."

No sooner had the words left his lips than a deafening crash erupted.

Not an explosion—more like something solid being violently torn apart.

BANG—!

The rusted rolling shutter let out a metallic groan of protest.

Then, the entire door caved inward before collapsing at a twisted angle, kicking up a choking cloud of dust.

A figure stood bathed in the sunlight flooding through the doorway.

His face, slightly weary, came into view.

Jiang Xia, the Guardian of Jiangxia.

His gaze swept across the dilapidated factory interior before locking onto the masked man, who stood unfazed beside the chessboard.

Dust still swirled in the air.

Jiang Xia didn’t strike immediately. His eyes narrowed in scrutiny.

"I’ve been looking for you."

The masked man didn’t answer.

He didn’t even turn toward the entrance.

Instead, he calmly raised a hand and set the chessbox aside.

"I’ve been waiting for you."

His voice, muffled by the mask, carried an eerie serenity.

This wasn’t an intruder kicking down the door—it was an expected guest.

Jiang Xia’s eyes flickered imperceptibly.

The man’s composure was unexpected.

No panic, no threats—just an unsettling… calm.

"You knew I’d come?"

Jiang Xia took a few steps forward.

Finally, the masked man turned, the demonic visage of his mask now facing Jiang Xia.

Through the slits of the mask, his eyes gleamed with an indescribable amusement.

"Of course." The masked man chuckled, a hint of delight in his tone. "A fish taking the bait is always something to look forward to."

"You leaked your location on purpose?"

Jiang Xia’s voice darkened.

They’d paid a steep price tracking this lead—if this was just a trap…

"The bait must be tempting to lure a big catch." The masked man spread his hands in a mockingly inviting gesture.

"A little ‘surprise’ to keep you busy, to keep the city on edge."

He paused. "And to sift through which pieces are worth keeping… and which to discard."

A chill ran down Jiang Xia’s spine.

This man’s way of thinking… it wasn’t right.

"What do you really want?" Jiang Xia demanded. "The martial exam attacks? The chaos? For what?"

The masked man tilted his head slightly, as if hearing an amusing question.

"For what?" His voice softened suddenly, laced with strange nostalgia. "For the ideals of the past, Jiang Xia."

"We once believed so fervently in a brighter tomorrow."

Jiang Xia’s body tensed as he caught the implication. "You know me?"

The masked man took a step forward. Then another.

He moved into the light, letting Jiang Xia see the demon mask more clearly.

"More than know." A trace of laughter colored his words. "We were… classmates. Roommates. Old Shen."

Hum—!

A surge of energy erupted from Jiang Xia.

His pupils constricted as he stared at the masked man.

"You—" His voice was thick with disbelief.

The masked man didn’t respond. He simply stood there, silent.

Jiang Xia’s mind raced.

Same academy. Same class.

Only one person had the capability to go this far…

"Old Shen?"

The masked man’s voice remained steady, but the sarcasm in it deepened. "That’s right. Has it only been ten years since graduation? Have you already forgotten your old friend’s voice?"

"Surprised?" he continued. "That the diligent, idealistic youth who dreamed of protecting the future would become the ‘Harbinger’ before you?"

"Yes…" Jiang Xia’s jaw clenched, unwilling to accept it.

A memory—a voice, a face—overlapped with the masked figure before him.

"Remember those late-night talks in our dorm? Discussing humanity’s future, how we’d defend it? We were so pure back then."

"But after graduation? What did we see?" His tone turned icy. "The higher-ups sacrificing ordinary lives for power struggles."

"Resources hoarded. ‘Fairness’ just a pretty lie for the masses. The Source Realms? Tools for profit and control."

"And us? The ‘hopes’ of the academy? Shoved into their pre-designed roles. Pawns on their board."

"Look at this city. At those lofty figures. Do they care about the people? No. They only fear losing their grip. Fear their precious ‘order’ crumbling."

"The martial exams? Just a stage to pick obedient, talented pieces. Mold them into new pawns to prop up this rotting system."

He gestured at the chessboard.

"My goal? To flip the board."

"To show everyone how fragile their ‘order’ truly is."

Jiang Xia’s voice burned with restrained fury. "You weren’t like this before."

"Before?" The masked man chuckled again. "And you? The Jiang Xia who buried the scandal of that gifted student’s shattered soul sea—just to protect the academy’s reputation? To protect your own?"

"Because back then, powerless as you were, you were just another pawn. Unable to defy the academy’s will. A mere ant beneath the wheel of fate."

"All you could do was offer him some private compensation. Nothing more."

Jiang Xia had no rebuttal.

That was exactly how it had been…

"Jiang Xia, remember when my thesis was rejected?"

"Yes… but you never said why."

The masked man sighed. "Then let me tell you now."

"I wrote…"

"One man plays Go. Another plays Gomoku. Before even seeing their strategies, someone declares—"

"The Go player is smarter."

"See? Everything is assigned its ‘expected’ value."

"And so are we, from childhood."

"If we stray from those expectations? We’re the fools who only play Gomoku—the ‘mediocre’ ones."

"I refuse to live caged by those rules. I have my own judgment."

"If we don’t tear down the old framework, we’ll forever live in the shadows of the past."

"The ancients said, ‘Scholars are the most useless of all.’"

"Yet they also said, ‘All trades pale beside scholarship.’"

"Two contradictory sayings, both passed down through ages."

"So why can’t I, living now, choose my own path?"

"Sacrifice is noble. Flight is shameful."

"Is such meaningless, foolish sacrifice still noble? Is enduring humiliation to survive still shameful?"

"So, it got rejected."

"The reason? The ideas were deemed heretical, incompatible with mainstream values."

"On the contrary, I believe my thesis succeeded. Since when are 'mainstream values' the benchmark?"

"Are they the values of the professor who failed me?"

"Or—?"

"So I dropped out. I’ve found the path I’m meant to walk."

"The world is blind and ignorant. I don’t need validation from fools."

Jiang Xia cut him off: "That’s utter nonsense!"

"Aren’t you just deluding yourself into thinking you’re enlightened?"