Elder Han froze, disbelief shing across his face.
He couldn''t ept it-couldn''t believe that Jun Jiu would actually darey a hand on an Elder in front of everyone.
This wasn''t just arrogance. This was suicide. Killing an Elder meant punishment. Death punishment.
"You wouldn''t dare kill me," Elder Han sneered.
A soft, almost gentle smile curved on Alex''s lips.
"You''re absolutely right," he said calmly. "I won''t kill you... not today."
"But there are many ways to destroy a man without taking his life."
Alex lifted his hand and snapped his fingers.
A thin, shimmering ice needle formed instantly between them—so fine it almost looked invisible under the light.
Before anyone could react—
He flicked his wrist.
The needle shot forward.
It struck Elder Han''s body with deadly precision, piercing through multiple
acupuncture points in a blink.
Elder Han''s body jerked.
Then went rigid.
Alex didn''t even look back.
"I won''t be helping this Elder," he said lightly as he turned away. "If anyone wants to assist him... be my guest."
And just like that he walked out of the arena.
Leaving Elder Han behind.
Kneeling.
Frozen in ce.
A heavy silence fell over the crowd.
The referee rushed forward, grabbing Elder Han''s arm, trying to pull him up-but the moment he touched him, he realized something was wrong.
The body was stiff. Completely locked.
“I— I can''t move!” Elder Han gritted out. "Open my acupuncture points first!”
The referee nodded quickly, raising his hand and striking several points along Elder Han''s body with practiced precision.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Elder Han''s face suddenly turned pale.
Then-
A loud, unmistakable sound exploded from behind him.
The entire arena went dead silent.
Someone in the crowd blinked, confused.
"... Did he just fart?"
Another voice followed, hesitant but certain.
"That... that was a fart, right?"
A strange smell began to spread through the air.
Within seconds, realization dawned across every face.
It wasn''t a fart.
It was shit.
They could see it.
Elder Han''s back robes... were already soaked.
Arge stain spreading unmistakably across the fabric.
The silence deepened into something suffocating.
"Quick-help me!" Elder Han shouted, panic breaking through his pride.
The referee swallowed hard, holding his breath as the smell intensified. Fighting his own disgust, he struck the acupuncture points again, faster this time, more urgently.
But the moment he did-
Everyone froze.
Because now-
The front of Elder Han''s pants darkened.
"...Did he just-"
"...He peed himself?"
Elder Han''s face turned crimson.
His body trembled, but he couldn''t stop it. Couldn''t control it.
His dignity... shattered in front of everyone.
And it was obvious.
This was no ident.
Alex had done something.
“Jun Jiu!” Elder Han roared, his voice shaking with humiliation and rage.
Far ahead, Alex looked at him.
"Release my acupuncture lock!" Elder Han shouted, desperation creeping into his voice.
"Why? You wanted to take my legs," Alex said. "And I didn''t take yours. That alone is already mercy."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"If you''re capable... try unlocking it yourself."
Alex understood exactly where he was.
Thousand Herbs Peak.
A ce where disciples and elders devoted their lives to cultivation-not for battle,
but for healing. Herbs. Medicine. Pills. Recovery.
Their strength wasn''t inbat.
It was in saving lives.
Which meant-
Their fighting ability was... mediocre at best.
Very different from him.
Alex had walked both paths.
Medicine andbat.
He had trained, refined, and mastered both disciplines side by side. And now-with
Gaia''s advanced knowledge, Prussian technologies, and theplete medical teachings from Wudang Sect-
Everything within him had evolved.
Sharpened.
Elevated to an entirely different level.
Including his ability to fight.
Back in the arena-
Elder Han was copsing under humiliation.
His body remained locked in ce, still kneeling, unable to move even a finger. His
robes were a mess-filthy, wet-his dignitypletely shattered in front of everyone.
People rushed forward, trying to help.
One after another, they attempted to unlock his acupuncture points.
But the more they tried-
The worse it became.
Elder Han''s condition didn''t improve.
It deteriorated.
The entire arena hade to a halt.
No one fought anymore.
All eyes were on him.
From a distance, two figures approached.
The Peak Leader.
And Li Qingxue.
They stopped several meters away—far enough to avoid the stench, but close
enough to clearly see the situation.
"Young Miss Li. Can you unlock it?" the Peak Leader asked quietly.
Li Qingxue studied Elder Han for a moment, her brows slowly tightening.
"...I don''t think I can,” she admitted. "The acupuncture points... they''re not fixed. It''s
like they''re shifting every time they''re struck."
The Peak Leader''s eyes narrowed slightly.
"No," he said. "It''s worse than that."
Li Qingxue turned to him.
“They''re not just shifting when struck. The positions are changing continuously...
with every breath... every heartbeat... every pulse of blood through his body."
A brief silence.
"Even I,” the Peak Leader continued, "would struggle to predict it."
Li Qingxue felt a chill run down her spine.
This wasn''t just skill.
This was control on an entirely different level.
"...Then what do we do?" she asked.
She hadn''t expected this.
Not from Jun Jiu.
Not again.
Trouble seemed to follow him wherever he went.
The Peak Leader exhaled slowly, his expression turning cautious.
"What do we do?" he repeated.
A faint, bitter smile appeared.
"We do nothing."
Li Qingxue blinked.
"If I go there and try to help... and fail in front of everyone, I''ll only humiliate myself
as well."
He folded his hands behind his back.
"We wait."
"For the lock to dissolve on its own."
"It''llst about eight hours," Li Qingxue said quietly.
Her gaze flicked back to Elder Han, still frozen in humiliation.
"Are we really going to leave him like that for eight hours?"
The Peak Leader smiled faintly.
"Tell me," he said, almost amused, "do you see anyone willing to step forward and
move him?"
Li Qingxue fell silent.
No one moved.
Not a single person.
"Jun Jiu! Unlock the acupuncture points!"
Her voice rang out across the arena.
Alex stood just outside, arms rxed at his sides, as if he had been waiting.
"Of course,” he replied lightly. "Kick me out of Wudang Sect... and I''ll release him."
Li Qingxue''s expression hardened instantly.
"You-!"
"What?" Alex cut in, his tone calm but sharp.
"He tried to take both my legs," he said, his eyes locking onto hers. "And none of you stepped in."
"Now you want me to help him?"
His smile was faint, but there was no warmth in it.
"Why don''t you just expel me?" he continued. "From everything I''ve seen... there''s
no justice here."
"So why should I stay?"
Li Qingxue froze.
For a moment, she didn''t know what to say.
The Sect Master had already shown interest in Jun Jiu. If she mishandled this-if
she openly sided with Elder Han-
There was a real chance they would lose him entirely.
And worse-
He would walk away hating Wudang Sect.
Her fingers tightened slightly.
In the end... she turned away.
"... Forget it."
A ripple spread through the crowd.
Eyes shifted toward Alex.
This time-not with curiosity.
But fear.
He stood there,pletely unbothered.
Unafraid.
Even Li Qingxue the core disciple-couldn''t control him.
Even the Peak Leader had chosen silence.
No one dared step forward.
"Jun Jiu!"
A furious shout cut through the tension.
One of Elder Han''s direct disciples rushed forward, eyes zing.
"What did you do to my master?!”
Alex tilted his head slightly.
"What do you think I did?"
"Release him!" the disciple shouted.
Four more rushed in, surrounding Alex.
"Jun Jiu, he''s your Elder!"
Alex let out a shortugh.
"That Elder tried to cripple me," He looked at them, amused.
"I was simply defending myself. And you call that wrong?"
The five disciples attacked at once.
Fast.
Desperate.
But-
No one saw what happened.
There was no movement.
No visible strike.
And yet-
In the next instant-
All five of them dropped to their knees.
Their bodies locked.
Their faces twisted in horror.
Then-
The same sound.
Again.
One after another.
Their robes darkened.
The smell spread instantly.
The crowd recoiled in shock.
People stepped back, covering their noses, retreating as if from a disease.
Like a gue had broken out.
No one dared get close.
"Jun Jiu." Li Qingxue''s voice came again—this time lower.
stead Alex shot back, his voice
"What?" steady but edged with irritation. no onees tooking for trouble keep to myself. I don''t start fights."
His eyes locked onto Li Qingxue.
"So why don''t you control them first... before trying to control me?"
Li Qingxue felt a sharp headache building behind her eyes.
"You-"
She stopped herself.
This man... he wasn''t like the others.
Other disciples feared punishment. Feared expulsion. Feared authority.
But Alex?
He didn''t fear being cast out.
And worse-
He wasn''t someone you could bend.
Not with pressure. Not with threats.
A man like him... would never bow.
He would either stand... or break.
And if pushed far enough—
He would rather die than yield.
"Miss Li Qingxue."
The Peak Leader''s calm voice cut through the tension.
“Jun Jiu is correct," he said evenly. "They were the ones who provoked him."
He nced toward the kneeling disciples and Elder Han.
"He hasmitted no wrongdoing."
With a small gesture, he ordered several disciples forward.
"Take them to the medical tent."
The disciples hesitated for a moment-then moved in, forcing themselves to lift the
rigid, humiliated bodies and carry them away.
Elder Han''s face burned red.
Not just from anger-
But from shame.
He could see it.
Every nce. Every suppressedugh.
Every whisper.
They were mocking him.
All of them.
A cold, venomous thought took root deep inside his mind.
Just wait.
When I be Sect Master...
The first thing I''ll destroy... is this entire Thousand Herbs Peak.
Because of the chaos, the matches ended early that day.
Thepetition would continue tomorrow.
Night fell, and rain poured steadily into the darkness.
Inside a quiet hut, Alex sat alone.
The world outside was filled with the endless sound of rainfall, drumming softly
against the roof.
"Gaia, how is Elder Han?" he asked calmly.
A soft, precise voice answered inside his mind.
"Master, you deployed a portion of my nanobots into Elder Han''s head."
"Right now, they have already infiltrated his brain cells."
"They are currently gathering all neurological and memory data," Gaia continued. "This process will
take approximately forty-eight hours."
A pause.
"However... within seventy-two hours, the execution protocol will activate."
Alex''s eyes darkened slightly.
"When Elder Han enters deep sleep, the nanobots will begin targeted destruction of
his brain cells."
A brief silence followed.
"He will die in his sleep."
"Good."
Alex''s voice was quiet.
Cold.
Over the past few years, he hade to understand one thing with absolute rity
His greatest advantage...
Was Gaia.
But Gaia only had a limited number of nanobots.
Not enough.
Not yet.
So in every moment of cultivation-every moment he didn''t need active assistance
Alex fed Gaia resources.
Materials.
Energy.
Everything it needed to replicate.
To grow.
To evolve.
Now-
What had once been a small system...
Was bing something far more powerful.
Given enough time... Gaia would be capable of far more.
As long as there were enough nanobots—
There would be almost nothing it couldn''t do.
The next day, thepetition resumed.
Only thirty-two participants remained.
The real battles began now.
This was where ranks would be decided who would stand at the top... and who
would fall to the bottom.
The arena buzzed with tension.
Fighters shed the moment they met no hesitation, no mercy.
But when one of them stepped forward and realized his opponent was Alex—
He froze.
Then, without even taking a stance, he turned and bowed toward the Peak Leader.
“Respected Peak Master,” he said loudly, his tone respectful but urgent. “This is
Thousand Herbs Peak."
The crowd quieted slightly.
"If we are deciding ranks,” he continued, "shouldn''t it be based not only on
cultivation andbat strength?"
His eyes swept across the arena.
"Everyone here already considers themselves among the strongest fighters of the
peak. So I propose-"
A brief pause.
"That wepete in medical knowledge... instead of fighting."
A ripple of surprise spread through the crowd.
The reason was obvious.
If he fought Alex directly-
He would lose.
Instantly.
And likely end up kneeling in humiliation..... just like the others.
But in medical knowledge-
There was a chance.
"What exactly are you proposing?" one of the elders asked, narrowing his eyes.
The man straightened.
"I propose a test of herb recognition," he said confidently.
The elder frowned slightly.
"...Do you know who your opponent is?"
“Yes,” the man replied without hesitation. “Jun Jiu."
He lifted his chin, pride shing in his eyes.
"My nameds Tang Ming. I''ve just
of two years of
closed door training. I''ve mem! d
over forty thousand types of herbs
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I don''t believe he can defeat me in this."
For a moment-
The entire arena went quiet.
Then-
A strange, knowing look passed through the crowd.
Some people exchanged nces.
Others couldn''t help but smile.
He really didn''t know.
He had juste out of seclusion.
He had no idea what kind of monster he was challenging.
Jun Jiu-
Ranked number one in herb knowledge across the peak.
"... You don''t understand," the elder said slowly.
Tang Ming frowned, clearly offended.
"I do understand," he insisted. "I know exactly who he is."
A few people in the crowd let out quiet chuckles.
Arrogant.
Andpletely clueless.
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