Alex knew, these people here could kill him and call it justice.
He could die at the hands of Wan Junhao-a servant-or at the hands of the Outer Disciples who watched from the sidelines like vultures.
Either way, death was on the table.
So Alex made his choice.
If he had to die, he would die fighting Wan Junhao on the tform.
At least there, he would have a chance.
The best a servant in Wudang could ever learn were scraps—some Wudang''s basic cultivation techniques, a handful of crude sword forms, simple movement arts.
Wan Junhao leapt onto the tform with the confidence of a man who had already won. He pointed at Alex, his finger sharp as a de.
"Number Nine," he called out coldly. "You''re dead. Get up here."
The crowd shifted, hungry.
Alex didn''t rush. He bent down, picked up his battered soup pot, and settled it over his head. Then he climbed onto the tform.
He lifted the iron wok in his hand like a sword. The metal caught the light. It looked ridiculous.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then someone burst outughing.
"He''s fighting a life-and-death battle with a kitchen wok!" the man shouted. "I bet he dies in one move!"
The crowd exploded inughter. Even Wan Junhao smirked, shaking his head.
Alex didn''t react.
Instead, he stepped down from the tform and walked straight toward the gambling table at the edge of the arena.
The man running the bets looked upzily-then froze.
Alex dumped a pile of food pills onto the table. At least a hundred.
“I''m betting all of this,” he said calmly, his voice carrying across the square. “On myself."
The murmurs shifted.
He turned and swept his gaze across the crowd. His eyes were steady. Hard.
"I''m betting that I win. If you want tough, fine. But put something valuable on the table. Or shut your mouths."
A wave of jeers followed.
“Arrogant trash,” one Outer Disciple sneered. He flicked a spiritual stone onto the table. "I''ll bet one spiritual stone he dies."
"Me too," another said, untying his sword and mming it down. "I''ll put my de on
it."
"I''ll bet my shoes!"
"Add mine!"
Soon the table was crowded with items-stones, weapons, even clothing. Every single bet was ced on Alex losing.
No one believed he would survive.
Alex''s eyes drifted back to Wan Junhao.
He knew the truth.
Wan Junhao intended to kill him. Not cripple him. Not teach him a lesson. Kill him.
And if Alex died, everything he owned would belong to Wan Junhao.
So he had no choice.
If he survived, he would walk away rich.
If he died, he would lose nothing more than his life-which was already on the line.
He reached back and lightly touched the nape of his neck.
“Gaia,” he whispered under his breath. "Do you have a way to win this?"
"Yes, Master." A calm voice answered in his mind.
"I have recorded all thebat patterns in this arena. They use repetitive structures. The entire Wudang system here consists of approximately fifteen martial forms."
"Eight basic techniques taught to servants-cultivation, sword arts, and movement skills. The Outer Disciples use seven additional advanced variations."
Alex kept his eyes forward, lips barely moving. "And?"
"They all derive from the same root framework. Their patterns are predictable. Reaction timing, angle shifts, energy cirction—all follow standard sequences. I can calcte probable movements before they execute them."
Alex''s pulse steadied. "You''re saying you can read him."
"Yes, Master. As long as he uses Wudang forms, his next move will be statistically predictable."
A slow breath left Alex''s lungs.
They all trained in the same Wudang martial system.
Different ranks. Different levels. But the same roots.
"Which means what?" Alex asked under his breath.
Gaia answered calmly inside his mind. "Imagine nting a million identical trees. If one disease infects one tree, it can spread and destroy all of them because they share the same structure. It is always safer to nt different species in the same forest."
Alex understood immediately.
Uniform training created uniform weakness.
"For this fight against the Wudang disciple," Gaia continued, "I have mapped all probable movement patterns. There are only fifteen possible core transitions between their techniques. That makes prediction simple. I will activate pilot targeting and highlight the enemy''s projected movements duringbat."
Alex''s pulse slowed.
They were all trained in the same system. Same stances. Same footwork. Same angles of attack. For an artificial intelligence, that wasn''tplicated.
That was predictable.
Alex stepped back onto the tform.
Across from him, Wan Junhao rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, grinning like a butcher sharpening his knife.
"Finished ying gambler?" Wan Junhao mocked. "Good. I don''t want to wait too long before I break your bones can cut your neck."
He lunged forward, de shing.
"Number Nine!" Wang Junhao roared. "You''re dead! I''ll take back my position today!"
In that split second, the world shifted.
Gaia linked directly to Alex''s vision.
A faint ovey flickered across his sight. Transparent lines traced through the air, projecting Wang Junhao''s likely path. A shadow of movement unfolded half a second ahead of reality-exact angles, exact steps.
Wan Junhao followed it perfectly.
Green markers shed on the ground—precise points where Alex could step safely.
Safe zones outside the predicted arc of the de.
Alex moved.
He stepped onto the green mark without hesitation.
Wan Junhao executed ten rapid shes in a tight sequence, his sword hissing
through the air. The strikes were fast, aggressive, meant to overwhelm.
But every cut met empty space.
Alex stood just outside the de''s trajectory.
To the crowd, it looked like luck. Like desperate,st-second dodging.
Gasps rippled through the arena.
"Seems like you''ve been hiding something!" Wang Junhao growled, irritation shing across his face. He shifted his footing andunched forward again.
Gaia recalcted instantly.
New lines. New projections.
Alex could already see where the sword would go before it moved.
He pivoted lightly.
Another series of strikes tore through the air, precise and deadly.
Again nothing.
The de missed by inches.
Color codes flickered across Alex''s vision. Green for safe movement. Red for danger. Then, for the first time, yellow appeared a narrow window cutting through Wang Junhao''s defense.
Attack opportunity.
Alex felt a strange calm settle over him.
It was like a virtualbat game he used to y back in Prussia-predictive
targeting, movement tracking, reaction timing. Only this time, the consequences were real.
"Stop running!" Wang Junhao snarled. “Fight me like a man!”
Alex smirked.
Wan Junhao roared and charged again, pouring force into the next strike.
And then Alex saw it.
Arge yellow marker shed directly in front of Wang Junhao''s face.
An opening.
Without hesitation, Alex stepped in.
The iron wok sliced through the air with surprising speed.
And he swung.
Wan Junhao moved.
But in the same instant, his eyes widened in shock.
The iron wok was already there waiting exactly where his head was about to be.
The metal mmed into his face.
The crack rang across the arena.
Alex felt the impact travel up his arm. Solid. Clean. Direct hit.
A new yellow line shed in his vision.
Ready forbo.
A savage grin spread across Alex''s face.
"Hell yeah."
He swung again.
Right. Left. Up. Down.
The iron wok blurred in his hand.
Wan Junhao
tried
to fall, but he couldn''t. Every time his body tilted,
the wok struck from the other side
When he staggered left, Alex
smashed him back
When he
started to copse forward, struck from behind, snapping his
head upright and dragging him back
into range.
It was brutal.
It was relentless.
To the crowd, it looked unreal. Wan Junhao-one of the strongest servants was being battered like a traming dummy is sword never found its mark. His techniques neverpleted. Every movementhe attempted was missed.
Fifteen hits.
Hard. Fast. Precise.
Then Wan Junhao''s legs gave out.
He crashed to the tform like a sack of grain.
Silence fell.
The Outer Disciples stared, stunned.
“Did... did he just win with an iron wok?"
"It looks like it..."
Alex didn''t waste a second. He jumped down from the tform and strode straight
to the gambling table.
"I''m taking my winnings now," he said, smiling openly.
The dealer swallowed and nodded, pushing the pile toward him without argument.
"Wait."
One of the Outer Disciples stepped forward.
Alex turned. "What?"
The disciple studied him carefully. "You''ve got skill. Real skill. How about you leave
the servant quarters and join the Tiger Group?"
Before Alex could respond, another Outer Disciple snorted.
"Tiger Group? Don''t insult him. You think a talent like this belongs with that litter of house cats?" He
crossed his arms. "Join the Dragon Group We know how to treat strength properly
The first disciple red. "Watch your mouth."
The tension between them was sharp enough to cut.
Alex lifted both hands slightly. "Sorry. I just want to go back to my kitchen."
A few disciples frowned.
One from the Tiger Group stepped forward, his expression hardening. "You think
you can refuse us? Just because you beat that useless trash?"
He jerked his chin toward the unconscious Wan Junhao. "Get back on the tform.
I''ll show you why you should ept my offer when I''m being polite."
"Yeah!" another from the Dragon Group shouted. “Iron wok man, break that weak arrogant bastard first. Then fight me!"
The crowd stirred again, excitement returning.
Alex felt sweat break across his back.
They weren''t going to let him walk away.
They were dragging him back to the tform.
His victory had painted a target on his chest.
In his mind, Gaia spoke calmly.
"Master. In a forest of identical trees, you are the disease."
Alex blinked once.
"They are trained under the same system," Gaia continued. "Same forms. Same
reactions. Same limitations. You are their natural predator. You can dismantle any of them. One by one."
There was no arrogance in her tone. Only analysis.
"With my predictive modeling active, you are statistically undefeated in this arena."