Alex stepped back into his hut after leaving the library, closing the door behind him with a quiet thud. The silence wrapped around him, but his mind refused to rest.
Three months.
That was all the time he had.
And it wasn''t enough.
There were still too many techniques, too many fragments of martial knowledge buried in the library that he hadn''t even touched yet. If he tried to learn everything the normal way, he would fall behind far behind.
His gaze hardened.
There was only one way.
"The fastest path... is through sleep. Through meditation."
When the mind slips into a dreamlike state, time bends.
Three months in the real world... could be thirty months inside the dream.
A faint breath escaped his lips as the thought settled in.
"I have to survive."
"I''m not dying here."
Not in a ce where countless others were stronger than him. Not when he hadn''t even begun to climb.
"I won''t be distracted. And no one... will be allowed to distract me."
With that, Alex reached into his storage and pulled out a pile of spiritual stones— nearly thirty of them. One by one, he ced them around the hut, forming a precise pattern on the ground.
Each stone settled into position like a piece of arger puzzle.
A formation.
As the final stone dropped into ce, the entire array pulsed faintly-then came alive.
A soft hum filled the air.
Energy surged through the pattern, linking each stone together until a translucent dome formed around the hut, sealing it off from the outside world.
Sound could not enter.
Presence could not prate.
As long as the spiritual stones held their power... no one would break through.
Alex exhaled slowly, looking around at the barrier with quiet satisfaction.
"The library... really does have everything."
Then, without hesitation, he stepped inside, shut the door, and sat down.
His eyes closed.
And he sank into meditation.
Two dayster.
A group of thirty disciples finally arrived at the remote corner of the sect.
They had spent days searching—until Li Qingxue finally sent people to give them his location.
One of them frowned as he looked around the deste area.
"How is he staying all the way out here? This is the farthest, most isted part of the disciple grounds."
Another let out a dryugh. "If I remember right... this ce is usually reserved for the worst troublemakers."
"Yeah," a third added, ncing around uneasily. "Thest time someone stayed here was twenty years ago. And even then, they didn''tst long. Everyone who ends
up here eventually leaves... or disappears into obscurity."
"No wonder no one''s heard of him," someone muttered.
They continued forward, their steps slowing as something subtle began to shift.
"Wait."
One of the disciples stopped abruptly, his expression tightening.
"...Do you feel that?"
The others paused.
At first, there was only silence.
Then-
"...The energy."
Another disciple inhaled sharply, his chest rising as if the air itself had grown heavier.
"It''s getting denser."
"Not just denser," someone added, voice lowering. "It''s still increasing..."
A ripple of unease passed through the group.
They quickened their pace, eyes scanning their surroundings with growing caution.
Then one of them suddenly pointed ahead.
"...Do peach trees grow like that?"
The others followed his gaze.
And froze.
In front of them stood a peach tree-massive, towering, utterly unnatural. Its trunk was thick beyond reason, its branches sprawling wide like it had grown for centuries.
It didn''t belong here.
It didn''t look normal.
It looked... wrong.
"Hey..." one of the disciples whispered, his voice tight with disbelief. "Have you ever
seen an earth spiritual ginseng leaf this big?"
No one answered.
Because the longer they looked, the more stunned they became.
Every herb. Every nt.
Things they had only ever seen in small, precious amounts after decades of growth... now stood before them in monstrous proportions.
Oversized. Thriving. Abundant.
“This doesn''t make any sense,” another muttered, stepping closer, his eyes scanning the garden. "How can all these spiritual herbs and fruits grow like this?"
"Forget the size," a third said, lowering his voice. "Don''t you feel it?"
They all paused.
The air.
"...The energy here is at least ten times denser than our ce."
Silence fell over the group.
Then, slowly—almost unconsciously-they moved deeper into the garden, drawn toward its center.
Toward the hut.
One disciple stepped forward, swallowing hard before cupping his fists.
“Brother Jun Jiu," he called out loudly. "We came here... to ask for your forgiveness."
The words echoed faintly across the garden.
But-
No response.
They waited.
A minute.
Five.
Ten.
Still nothing.
The disciple frowned, then raised his voice, shouting again-louder this time.
"Brother Jun Jiu! Please, hear us!"
Again.
And again.
Every ten minutes, his voice rang out, growing more desperate, more strained.
Hours passed.
The sun shifted across the sky.
Still
Nothing.
Finally, one of them couldn''t take it anymore. He stepped forward, approaching the
hut cautiously.
Then-
He stopped.
His hand lifted, reaching out into empty air—
And hit something.
An unseen barrier.
His eyes widened.
"...There''s something here."
The others rushed forward.
He pressed his palm against the invisible surface, feeling the resistance.
"This... this is an invisible wall. A protection formation."
"What?" another eximed, immediately stepping in to examine it. His expression
quickly changed.
"...He''s right. It''s a defensive array. And not just that-there''s soundproofing built into it."
A heavy realization settled over them.
"That means..." someone said slowly, "...he can''t hear us."
"And we can''t get in," another finished grimly.
The group fell silent.
"So... what do we do now?" one of them finally asked.
A bitterugh slipped out from another.
"What can we do... except wait?"
They exchanged uneasy nces.
From the very beginning, they hadn''t had a choice.
"If he doesn''t forgive us..." one disciple said quietly, his voice trembling slightly, "...
our heads will end up like Han Fei''s."
The threat hung in the air like a de.
No one argued.
"...Then we wait," another said. "At least the energy here is incredible. It''s not a bad
ce to cultivate."
That night, all thirty of them sat down.
And began to meditate.
One day passed.
Then another.
They stayed-waiting, cultivating, enduring.
But not everyone had the patience to remain still.
Some began to wander.
They studied the herb formations, circling through the garden with fascination.
"...This is incredible," one murmured, crouching beside a cluster of nts.
"I never knew these herbs could
support each other like this...at''s
perfectly bnced."
“It can sustain itself for a long time without external help,” another added, eyes gleaming with realization.
Others joined in, examining different sections, quietly discussing what they saw.
A few went further.
They began trimming dying branches, clearing out weak nts, even transnting
small saplings to better positions-carefully, respectfully.
Almost unconsciously... they started tending the garden.
Days passed.
Then a week.
And something changed.
One disciple made a decision.
"I''m moving my hut here," he said.
The others looked at him-but no oneughed.
Because they were thinking the same thing.
One by one... more followed.
And before long-
The once-abandoned corner of the sect was no longer empty.
They started cleaning Alex''s herb garden.
At first, it was hesitant. Awkward. Like they didn''t quite belong there.
“Tell me something,” one disciple muttered as he pulled weeds from the soil. "Why
are we taking care of his garden?"
Another didn''t even look up as he worked.
"We came here to ask for his forgiveness," he said calmly. "If hees out and
sees everything better than before... don''t you think our chances improve?"
He paused, then added under his breath-
"I don''t n on dying."
That was enough.
A third disciple exhaled slowly. "Besides... haven''t you noticed? The peak leaders
clearly support him. Everything he has—it''s all exclusive."
His gaze hardened.
"I don''t want to be on the wrong side of someone like that."
"Agreed," another said immediately.
"And honestly..." someone else
added, ncing around at the lush
gar don''t even mind staying
here. The energy is at least ten times richer than my ce."
"You''re not wrong," a voice chimed in.
There was a brief silence.
Then one disciple spoke what the others were already thinking.
"...I might just follow him."
Another raised an eyebrow. "Follow him? You don''t even know him."
"I know enough."
"Oh? Like what?"
The disciple gestured around the garden. "He has resources, backing, strength, and
a ce with ten times the energy."
A third nodded. "That''s not a person. That''s a walking opportunity."
The second crossed his arms. “So you''re not loyal. You''re strategic."
The first smiled faintly. "Call it what you want."
A pause.
Then someone behind them added, "I call it joining the winning side before it
bes expensive."
"You all know I don''t have backing in
the Wudang Sect," the first
continued. "If I can stand beside someone like him someone who
ranks first and has the peak leaders behind him..."
He let out a quiet breath.
"My future won''t be bad."
No one responded. Because no one disagreed.
And just like that—
Without a word, without a deration-
Alex gained thirty loyal followers.
Time passed, one day at a time.
The garden flourished under their care. The energy grew thicker. The atmosphere...
shifted.
And soon-
Thepetition Li Qingxue had mentioned was only two days away.
Inside the hut, Alex finally opened his eyes.
The meditation ended.
Everything he had learned from the library-every technique, every insight—had
been absorbed, refined, and etched into his mind.
His strength had risen.
Not just a little.
Several levels.
A quiet confidence settled into his chest.
This time... he was ready.
More than ready.
In theing battle among the outer disciples-
He would be undefeated.
Losing wasn''t even a possibility.
Alex stood, calm andposed, and walked toward the door.
Then
He opened it.
For the first time in days.
And froze.
His eyes widened slightly.
Because outside-
The courtyard was filled with people.
Dozens of them.
Some were meditating, some were working, others studying his herbs—his entire
courtyard was alive with activity.
Then the hut door opened.
The moment they saw him step out everything stopped.
Every single one of them bowed deeply.
"Greetings, Big Brother Jun Jiu!"
Their voices rang out in unison.
Alex stood there, momentarily stunned, his gaze sweeping across the scene.
There were at least seventy people.
And more were still running over from the distance, rushing to join.
The number... kept growing.
Maybe a hundred.
"...What is this?" Alex asked, his voice edged with disbelief.
One of the disciples stepped forward, head still lowered.
"We are your loyal brothers—your followers," he said firmly. “We will follow you
through fire and storm. Just give themand. We would die for you."
Silence fell.
Alex stared at them, unmoving.
Just three months ago—
He had been alone, buried in meditation, fighting for every step forward.
And now-
He had an army.