One of the elders from Thousand Herbs Peak narrowed his eyes at Alex, a deep frown creasing his face.
"Who is contestant number 777?" he asked sharply.
The staff member beside him hurriedly checked the records, hands slightly trembling. “He''s registered under the name Jun Jiu."
The elder''s expression darkened instantly, his gaze turning cold and hostile. "So... you''re the one called Jun Jiu."
A flicker of memory surged through his mind—three months ago. His nephew, Han Fei, dead. Killed because of this man.
The one who carried out the execution had been a Peak Leader. Someone far above him.
He hadn''t been able to act then.
So he waited.
Waited for the right moment.
Waited to strike back.
His eyes shifted, ncing toward the central viewing tform where the Peak Leader sat, calmly watching the fights unfold.
"Your time is running out," the elder muttered under his breath, a thin, dangerous smile forming.
Not just the Peak Leader.
The Wudang Sect Master as well.
He had already made contact with the Murim Alliance. The wheels were in motion. It wouldn''t be long before Wudang fell under their control.
He could be patient for that.
But this... this outer disciple?
The one responsible for Han Fei''s death?
That was different.
That didn''t require patience.
The elder suddenly rose from his seat—and in the next instant, he was gone.
A blur.
Then hended directly in Alex''s arena.
At that very moment, Alex''s opponent was already on his knees, head bowed in surrender.
The entire arena fell silent.
The elder stepped forward, his presence pressing down like a storm.
"You. Number 777." His voice was sharp, cutting. "What kind of ck magic are you using?"
His eyes locked onto Alex, filled with suspicion—and something darker.
Among cultivators, ck magic was forbidden.
A taboo.
It was the art of sacrifice, of trading lives for power, of making pacts with demons. Anyone used of it... was as good as dead.
Alex met his gaze calmly, though he could clearly feel the hostility radiating from the
man.
"I''m not using any magic," he said evenly.
The elder''s eyes narrowed further.
"Then what? You bribed them?" he snapped. "You forced them to kneel so you could
win? You dare break the sacredws of this tournament?"
His aura red, oppressive and suffocating.
"You will be punished."
Alex exhaled slowly, irritation shing across his face.
"...And who are you supposed to be?”
"I am Elder Han!" the man barked, his voice thundering across the arena. "How dare you not recognize your own elder? I hereby sentence you to imprisonment for disrupting this match!"
"I''ve fought every match fairly,” Alex said. "On what grounds are you using me?"
Elder Han didn''t bother answering.
He snapped his fingers.
A sharp metallic hum sliced through the air as his sword shot up, hovering beside him like a living thing, its de gleaming with lethal intent.
"You still refuse to submit?" Elder Han''s voice dropped, cold and merciless. "Then I''ll carve your legs off where you stand-leave you screaming on the ground until you learn what it means to kneel."
His gaze hardened, filled with cruel satisfaction.
"And when you can''t even crawl anymore... I''ll drag what''s left of you to prison like a broken animal."
For a moment, the arena held its breath.
Then-
Alexughed.
It wasn''t loud.
But it was clear.
And it carried.
"So..." Alex tilted his head slightly, looking at the elder with open disdain. "Even the Peak Lords haven''t said a word, but you''re already jumping in to show off."
A faint smirk touched his lips.
"Aren''t you worried I might p you across the face in front of everyone here?"
A ripple of shock spread through the crowd.
Alex''s gaze hardened.
"But since you''re so eager to take my legs..." he said, his voice turning colder, sharper, "then it''s only fair I take yours instead."
Silence.
Complete, suffocating silence.
Elder Han froze.
The spectators froze.
Every disciple in the arena stared in disbelief.
An outer disciple... daring to speak to an elder like this?
In Wudang, outer disciples were nothing.
When an elder spoke, they obeyed.
If an elder said prison-they went to prison.
If an elder wanted their legs-
They gave them.
No one resisted.
No one dared.
And Elder Han... was notorious.
He had crippled disciples for far less.
"You insignificant outer disciple," Elder Han said slowly, his voice dropping into something dark and dangerous. "You''ve barely stepped into Qi Condensation... and you dare speak to me like this?"
His sword shifted beside him, humming with killing intent.
"Kneel,” he said. "Cut off your own legs. Offer them to me."
A cruel smile curled on his lips.
"Or I''ll kill you where you stand."
Inside, he was already pleased.
Now he had a reason.
A legitimate excuse to kill Alex.
To avenge Han Fei.
But Alex didn''t kneel.
He stepped forward instead.
Calm.
Unafraid.
"You''re weak," Alex said simply.
"If you can''t even understand what I''m doing... then you have no right to challenge
me."
"How arrogant!" Elder Han roared, stepping forward as well, his sword gliding at his
side like a predator ready to strike.
From the main viewing tform—
Li Qingxue shot to her feet.
Her heart tightened as she looked toward the arena, ready to intervene.
"Miss Li Qingxue."
The Peak Lord''s calm voice cut through the tension just as she stepped forward.
"What Jun Jiu said is correct," he continued, his tone steady, almost indifferent. "If Elder Han cannot see what Alex is doing... then it only proves his own weakness."
Li Qingxue hesitated, her eyes still fixed on the arena below.
"But... are you sure nothing will happen to him?" she asked, unable to hide the concern in her voice.
The Peak Lord didn''t answer immediately.
Instead, he watched Alex.
Carefully.
Intently.
"I wasn''t sure before," he said atst.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"But now... I ampletely certain.”
Across the arena grounds, one by one, the fights began to slow.
Then stop.
Disciples turned. Eyes shifted.
Every gaze locked onto a single stage.
Elder Han.
Alex.
The outer disciples held their breath.
There was no way Alex could fight an elder.
No way—
And yet-
Elder Han suddenly froze.
His body locked in ce.
His sword, still hovering in the air, trembled―
Then dropped.
ng.
The sound echoed unnaturally loud.
Elder Han''s eyes widened.
Shock.
Pure, undisguised shock.
He tried to move.
Nothing happened.
Not a finger.
Not a step.
It was as if his entire body had been seized by an invisible force.
And then-
Alex smiled.
A small, almost amused smile.
He raised his hand.
Snapped his fingers.
"Kneel."
The word fell softly.
But it carried absolute authority.
Elder Han''s legs buckled instantly.
Both knees mmed into the ground.
Hard.
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
Elder Han''s face twisted in disbelief.
"I-what-"
He couldn''t even finish.
His body... wouldn''t obey him.
Alex stepped forward slowly, unhurried, as if none of this surprised him.
"I remember,” Alex said, “you said you were going to cut off my legs."
He bent down and picked up the fallen sword.
The de gleamed faintly in his hand.
"So...” he continued, tilting his head slightly, "how about I take yours instead?"
For a brief moment, his eyes flicked upward toward the main tform.
Toward Li Qingxue.
Toward the Peak Lord.
Would they stop him?
Or let this continue?
"You..." Elder Han''s voice trembled now, stripped of all arrogance. "What did you do
to me?"
His face had gone pale.
Cold sweat beaded along his temples.
He couldn''t understand it.
Couldn''t feel his own strength.
Couldn''t control his own body.
Panic began to creep in.
"Everyone!" he shouted suddenly, desperation breaking through. "This Jun Jiu is
using ck magic! Something dangerous-kill him!”
The usation rang out across the arena.
Instantly, every elder and Peak Lord turned their attention to Alex.
The weight of their gazes pressed down on him.
But Alex didn''t flinch.
Didn''t retreat.
He simply looked up at the Peak Lord and bowed slightly.
"Peak Lord," he said calmly, "do you also believe I''m using ck magic?"
For a heartbeat, silence ruled.
Then-
The Peak Lordughed.
"What ck magic?" he said, amusement clear in his voice.
"You''re simplypressing the air into microscopic ice needles... and firing them
into their pressure points."
His gaze flicked to Elder Han''s knees.
"Especially the joints."
"Shutting down their movement... and forcing them to kneel."
The entire arena erupted in shock.
"Compressing air into tiny ice needles?"
"That would make them invisible..."
"But can something like that even hit acupuncture points?"
"It can," someone muttered. "If it
you. and water No
strikes the exact point, it paralyze et
then melts into let
trace. Nothing left behind.
w
A ripple of realization spread through the crowd.
"So that''s his secret..."
"A hidden weapon."
Alex didn''t react.
But he knew—the Peak Lord had seen through everything.
Slowly, he opened his palm.
The air around him shifted.
Subtle.
Almost imperceptible.
Moisture gathered from the atmosphere, drawn together by an unseen force. Tiny
droplets condensed, trembling in ce—
Then sharpened.
Forming dozens... no, hundreds of hair-thin ice needles.
They hovered around Alex, glinting faintly in the light.
Most people couldn''t even see them unless they focused hard.
And if Alex moved them at full speed-
They would bepletely invisible.
Untraceable.
Unavoidable.
Alex lifted his eyes toward the main tform.
“So, Peak Lord," he said calmly, "can I take both of this elder''s legs?"
"No."
The answer came immediately.
"You are a disciple. He is an elder,”
the Peak Lord said evenly. "There arews you cannot cross. If Elder Han hasmitted a mistake, the disciplinary hall will handle his punishment."
Alex''s gaze didn''t waver.
"So I can''t do anything to him?" he asked again.
"You cannot," the Peak Lord replied. "But you''ve already made him kneel in front of
you."
"That should be enough."
"Then release me!" Elder Han roared, his voice filled with fury and humiliation. "You
have no right to do this to me!"
Alex turned his head slowly, looking down at him.
"Really?"
He snapped his fingers.
Ten nearly invisible ice needles formed instantly in the air.
Before anyone could react-
They shot forward. Straight into Elder Han''s head.
"What did you do?!" Elder Han
gasped, his body jolting as a
freezing sensation pierced into
skup his neck, his temples, deep
into unseen
points.
fo
The cold spread rapidly.
Sharp.
Precise.
Terrifying.
Alex stepped closer, lowering his voice so only Elder Han could hear.
"What did I do?" he whispered.
"Since I can''t take your legs..."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"I''ll take your life instead."
He leaned in slightly.
"I don''t keep enemies for the future."
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