Without warning, Alex drew his sword and pressed the de against Elder Tong''s neck.
At the same time, Lu Piao and the Thousand Herbs disciples-still crushed under the overwhelming pressure from the Discipline Department''s leader-made their choice.
Despite the force bearing down on them, they drew their swords.
Steel shed.
In a single motion, they ced their des against the throats of all five hundred Discipline disciples.
The leader''s face went pale. His charge toward Alex halted instantly.
"What... what are you doing?" he demanded, his voice unsteady.
Alex met his gaze, eyes cold and unwavering.
"Take one more step,” he said quietly, "and we''ll send every one of them to hell.”
"You dare?!" the leader shouted, stunned.
A sharp, humorlessugh escaped Alex. "Why wouldn''t I?"
His voice turned lethal.
"Cut."
Themand fell like a de.
At once, the Thousand Herbs disciples obeyed. A thin line of red appeared across each captive''s throat-just enough to draw blood, just enough to prove there would be no hesitation.
Every eye turned toward the leader.
Not one of them cared about their own lives anymore.
But they would make sure those five hundred died first.
More des pressed tighter. More blood followed-thin, controlled, deliberate.
"Wait!" the leader shouted, panic breaking through hisposure. "You don''t have to do this! We are all disciples of the Wudang Sect. There''s no need for killing!" Alex''s expression twisted with fury.
"Don''t you dare say ''Wudang Sect'' to me," he spat. "Not after you stood by and let this elder and his five hundred dogse here to ughter us.”
The leader flinched. “I know what Elder Tong did was wrong,” he said, forcing the words out, "but threatening five hundred lives-this isn''t right either!"
Alexughed-loud, bitter, and merciless.
"So you think your negligence is right?" he shot back. "You stood there while Elder Tong tried to kill us. And now you rush in, pretending to fix your mistake by attacking me? Saving him? Hurting us?"
"You don''t serve justice. You serve your own pathetic excuses."
The leader''s lips parted, but no words came.
Alex stepped forward slightly, the de at Elder Tong''s throat pressing just enough to draw a deeper line of blood.
"How did someone like you be a leader?" he demanded. "All you know how to do is protect yourself."
His eyes burned.
"And hear me clearly if these five hundred die, it will be because of you."
Silence fell like a hammer.
"You, as their leader, let theme here," Alex continued, his voice low and deadly. "You allowed this to happen. Don''t you dare pretend you''re innocent."
His grip tightened on the sword.
"You''re the leader. You should have stopped them the moment they were wrong."
The leader froze.
The words struck harder than any weapon.
For the first time... he had no answer.
At the mountain peak, Li Qingxue stood before the Sect Master and bowed slightly.
"Master... don''t you think it''s time for us to step in and stop them?"
The Sect Master didn''t even hesitate.
"No," he said calmly. "It''s not our time to interfere."
Li Qingxue''s brows tightened. "But... Jun Jiu is about to kill our five hundred disciples."
The Sect Master suddenlyughed loud and unconcerned.
"You really don''t understand Jun Jiu, do you?" he said. "He won''t harm those disciples."
Li Qingxue frowned deeper, confusion flickering in her eyes.
"He''s not killing them," the Sect Master continued, his tone almost amused. "He''s teaching that fool, Cao Xi, a lesson."
A brief silence followed.
"If you''re going to worry about anyone," the Sect Master added, "then worry about Cao Xi.”
Li Qingxue hesitated. “The leader of the Discipline Department... he''s in the Core Formation realm. He''s practically unbeatable...”
The Sect Master shook his head slightly.
"Remember this," he said. "A higher cultivation level doesn''t guarantee victory."
Back at Alex''s residence, the tension had only grown heavier.
Alex''s voice cut through the silence.
"You see all of this?" he said coldly. "This happened because of you."
Cao Xi''s expression stiffened.
"And let me tell you what happens next," Alex continued. "We kill these five hundred disciples!"
His tone turned sharper, more ruthless.
"Once they''re dead, the Wudang Sect loses five hundred disciples. And in your anger, you can throw the Thousand Herbs disciples-the ones who did the killing- into prison... or sentence all of us to death."
Cao Xi''s face drained of color.
He had never considered that oue.
"And that''s not even the end of it," Alex went on, his eyes locked onto him. "After losing that many disciples, do you really think you can wash your hands clean?”
His voice lowered, each word deliberate.
"People will start asking questions. They''ll trace everything back... to Elder Tong. And then to you— the leader who failed to uphold justice."
Cao Xi''s breathing grew heavier.
“After that Alex said, a faint,
mocking smile forming, "the disciples of the Wudang Sect would lose faith in the Discipline Department and eventually in the sect itself."
"And you?" Alex let out a coldugh. "You''ll be punished for your failure as a leader."
Silence swallowed the space between them.
“In the end,” he finished, “five hundred disciples die... and the entire mess stillnds right back in your hands."
Cao Xi''s face had gonepletely pale.
He wasn''t a fool.
Everything Alex said... was true.
And that was exactly why he couldn''t argue.
Not a single word.
After a long pause, he finally spoke his voice steadier, but heavier than before.
"...What do you want?"
"What do I want?" Alex let out a low, humorlessugh. “You already know."
His eyes flicked toward Elder Tong before returning to Cao Xi.
"This whole mess started with him. And now you think you can clean up his mistake by using force to make us submit?" Alex''s voice turned cold and unyielding "Keep dreaming. We would rather die than kneel before injustice."
He held the silence for a beat, his gaze unwavering. "We want justice."
Cao Xi drew a breath, forcing himself to remainposed.
“If you release them,” he said carefully, “I promise they will face proper discipline
and punishment."
Alex shook his head immediately.
"No," he said tly. "I don''t believe in your Discipline Department."
There was no hesitation in his tone-only certainty.
"I want to they repay what they''ve done to us..." He paused, his gaze turning cold.
"They''ll spend five years working for us."
"That''s the price," Alex continued. "They came here to kill us. We spare their lives.
They repay the debt. Seems fair to me."
Cao Xi''s jaw tightened.
"And if I refuse?" he asked. "You''ll kill them?"
Alex looked at him for a long moment... then shook his head.
"No," he said quietly. "I never wanted to kill them."
The wordsnded heavier than any threat.
"You were the one ready to kill us to protect them," Alex added. "That''s why we''re
treating you like an enemy."
Cao Xi froze, caught off guard.
"Don''t pretend you don''t understand," Alex went on. "When you protect those who
are wrong... you be part of that wrong."
His eyes locked onto Cao Xi''s.
"You''re not protecting justice," he said. "You''re protecting injustice."
The usation hit like a strike to the chest.
"But don''t worry," Alex continued, almost casually. “I won''t kill these five hundred
people. I''m not that low."
A faint, mocking edge crept into his voice.
"Unlike you."
Cao Xi''s expression stiffened.
"I only said it was possible," Alex added. "That I could make it happen. And if it did......
it would all be because of you."
"Remember, you let these people run
wild. That''s where this began. And now you want to force your way, through this situation?" He shook his head slightly. "That just makes you
as bad as they are."
Cao Xi felt the weight of every word.
He couldn''t deny it.
Couldn''t argue.
Because it was true.
Without another word, Alex lifted his hand slightly.
In the next instant, Elder Tong''s body went ck-his consciousness slipping away
as if cut off.
A quiet gasp rippled through the crowd.
"Let''s fight," Alex said.
"I don''t think I can beat you in a fight," he admitted. "But I can promise you this—if
we fight..."
A suffocating killing intent poured out from him, thick and undeniable.
"I would die,” Alex said softly. "And you wouldn''t walk away much better."
A faint, dangerous calm settled over his expression.
"That much," he added, "I could guarantee."
And for the first time... Cao Xi truly felt it.
This wasn''t a bluff.
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