Alex stared at the growing crowd that had fallen in behind them, his brow furrowed in genuine confusion.


    "Why are all these people gathering with us?" he asked.


    Lu Piao threw his head back andughed, the sound bright and unrestrained. “Big Brother, your humbleness is bottomless. Let me bow to you first." He swept into a deep, theatrical bow, holding it just long enough for Alex to feel awkward.


    Alex epted the gesture with a small, resigned nod and waited.


    Still grinning, Lu Piao straightened. "First," he said, voice ringing with pride, "who on this peak doesn''t know you''re ranked number one on the Thousand Herbs Stone Stele for medical knowledge?"


    Alex gave a slight nod. That much he understood; the ranking was public.


    "Second," Lu Piao continued, "you''re the undisputed number-one outer disciple of Thousand Herb Peak. Everyone saw that fight."


    Again Alex nodded. The memory of the bout still sat fresh in his mind, raw and public.


    "Third," Lu Piao said, "for thest two years you''ve been quietly teaching everyone how to grow herbs properly. You shared your notes with anyone who asked, never once asking for anything in return.”


    "People finally realized the mysterious helper in the gardens all this time was you."


    Alex blinked, startled. "How did they figure it out?”


    "Your handwriting," Lu Piao answered with a shrug. "A lot of them came to me just to say thank you. They owe their best harvests to you."


    Alex nodded again. He had never tried to hide it. In Estoria, knowledge was something you passed on freely; hoarding it felt small.


    "Fourth," Lu Piao went on, "you showed everyone how toy down those garden formations to draw in spiritual energy. Every disciple on the peak-outer, inner, doesn''t matter has used your method. They all feel like they owe you a debt they can never repay."


    Alex''s expression stayed calm, but inside he did that for a reason.


    Rich cities had fewer thieves because people had enough. Raise the whole peak''s prosperity, and safety would follow.


    It was simple math. He had done it for himself as much as for them.


    "And fifth," Lu Piao added, eyes gleaming, "even the seniors and elders have started showing up at your hut. They speak to you with respect, bow when they arrive, smile when they leave, and half the time they press gifts into your hands just to stay in your good graces."


    Alex frowned, surprised. He remembered the steady trickle of visitors after his answers in the library-quiet questions, exchanged insights, grateful expressions.


    He hadn''t realized how far word had spread, or how much those small exchanges had meant to them.


    Every time someone left smiling, every gift left on his doorstep, it had felt ordinary to him. Just people helping people.


    He looked out at the crowd again, the weight of their attention settling over him like an unfamiliar cloak.


    Gratitude, respect, even a kind of quiet awe-he could see it in every face now.


    And for the first time, he wondered if maybe, in this world, sharing what he knew had changed more than just a few herb beds. It had changed how they saw him.


    "Sixth," Lu Piao continued, his voice bright with excitement, "even the Peak Leader himself—"


    "Let''s stop there," Alex cut in suddenly. There was no need to say it out loud. He didn''t want the words hanging in the air about the Peak Leadering to learn from him.


    Lu Piao paused, then gave a knowing nod. "Alright.” He understood. Alex''s humbleness ran deep and everyone on the peak knew it; that quiet modesty only made more people want to draw close and call him friend.


    Alex nced back at the growing sea of faces. "I can see it''s not just our Thousand Herb Peak anymore. Disciples from the other peaks are joining us too."


    Lu Piao nodded. "Your stand against Elder Tong has been noticed by a lot of people -especially those who''ve been pushed around or hurt by him and his group. Some are here because they want to back you up if things turn ugly. Others..."


    He shrugged with a small grin. “They''ve got time to burn and just want to watch the show."


    And so the crowd kept swelling. By the time they reached Sword Peak, more than five thousand people streamed behind them, flowing into the peak''srgest training ground like a slow-moving river.


    Kuang Liang and the roughly one hundred Sword Peak disciples with him already stood waiting in the center of the training ground.


    Every face among them was frozen in shock and disbelief. The arrogance they had worn like armor had vanishedpletely, reced by pale, wide-eyed tension.


    They hade nning to taunt Jun Jiu with their superior numbers and crush him under the weight of a hundred voices. Instead, the tables had turned in the cruelest way possible. Now they were the ones being mocked in front of thousands.


    They were afraid now. One wrong word, they knew, and the thousands of hostile eyes locked onto them would turn into a storm of jeers and fists they could never escape.


    Momentster Elder Guo arrived, leading nearly six thousand disciples.


    The elder stepped forward to take charge of the matter. He brought Lu Piao and Alex before Kuang Liang and the seven Sword Peak disciples whose arms had been severed.


    "I want to hear the origin of this conflict," Elder Guo said, his voice calm and authoritative.


    Kuang Liang stepped forward. "The problem was caused by this man, Jun Jiu. He


    cut off the arms of seven of our people. He is the one at fault."


    The seven disciples nodded in firm agreement.


    Elder Guo turned to Alex. "What do you have to say for yourself?"


    "Me?" Alex answered evenly. "They cut off Lu Piao''s arm first. When I chased them down and demanded they apologize to him, they suddenly attacked me and tried to take my arms too. I acted in self-defense. The real question is why they started by cutting off Lu Piao''s arm in the first ce."


    One of the seven disciples spoke up, voice sharp. had a mutually agreed fight with Lu Piao. He lost, so I took his arm. That''s not a crime-that''s the justice of the duel People get hurt in fights. If you don''t want to risk injury, you shouldn''t bring a


    sword onto the stage."


    “I agree,” Alex said, raising his voice deliberately so the thousands gathered could


    hear every word.


    "I agree,” Alex said, raising his voice deliberately so the thousands gathered could hear every word.


    "Just like when cut off the arms of these seven. We never had a proper,


    justified fight-you came at me


    seven against one. But since I turned out to be stronger than a seven of


    youbined, you run off and


    report it like a bunch of snitching


    losers. What a coward."


    The moment the words left his mouth, the entire training ground erupted in loud,


    rollingughter.


    The crowd''s mood turned ugly in an instant.


    "You Sword Peak disciples really are something,” one spectator shouted. “You seven fight one person, lose, then run straight to the Discipline Department? Pathetic."


    "Cowards!"


    "Sword Peak''s gone soft-nothing but mama''s boys now."


    Jeers and mockingughter rolled across the training ground like a wave. The insults came fast, sharp, and unrelenting.


    Kuang Liang''s face flushed deep crimson. “Silence!” he roared. “This bastard Jun


    Jiu attacked seven of our disciples from behind while they weren''t even ready! It


    was a sneak attack-pure cowardice and a crime!"


    A ripple of shock moved through the thousands gathered.


    "Jun Jiu actually used a sneak attack?"


    "No wonder he could take on seven at once..."


    The seven Sword Peak disciples quickly piled on. "Of course it was a sneak attack!"


    one of them yelled. "Our disciples have never lost a proper one-on-one fight!"


    "Yeah-total coward!"


    Alex suddenly threw his head back andughed, the sound bold and genuine, cutting through the noise like a de.


    He looked straight at Kuang Liang and the Sword Peak group, his voice carrying clearly across the entire field.


    “Great,” he said. “So you''re iming Iunched a sneak attack? Fine. Let''s settle this. Send your people. Not seven. Not seventeen. I''ll let seventy of youe at me


    at once-alone. Then we''ll see exactly who the real cowards are."


    His challenge hit like a thunderp. The whole training ground fell into stunned


    silence.


    Kuang Liang''s eyes shed with raw fury. He wanted nothing more than to ept and crush the arrogant outsider right there. But just as he opened his mouth, a cold voice transmission whispered urgently in his ear from someone far away. Kuang Liang''s jaw tightened. He forced a contemptuous sneer.


    "Sorry," he said loudly. "We are Sword Peak. Everyone knows what kind of coward


    you are—poison, dirty tricks, ck-handed sneak attacks. We don''t fight filth like


    you."


    Lu Piao''s face darkened with anger. "If you''re scared and don''t have the ability, just admit it. Why drag the other side down by calling them cowards?"


    “Me? A coward?” Kuang Liangughed, loud and mocking. He jabbed a finger toward the towering Sword Knowledge Stone Stele. “Take a good look at that ranking. I''m number twenty-five. How dare you call someone like me a coward? It''s you who can''t face the truth."


    “You bastard,” Lu Piao spat. “In a real fight, only the winner matters.”


    "That''s exactly what a coward would say," Kuang Liang shot back. "Anything


    besides pure swordy is the way of the weak and the dishonest."


    Kuang liang''s words ignited the crowd.


    Disciples from the other peaks those who trained in fist techniques, spear arts, and every other weapon-erupted in furious protest, shouting straight at the Sword Peak group. Voices rose in a raw wave of outrage, thick with contempt.


    In seconds the training ground descended into chaos-both sides yelling, insults flying, the noise swelling into a deafening roar.


    No matter how loudly Elder Guo tried to restore order, his voice was swallowed


    Through the uproar Alex stood calm, a faint, almost amused smile on his lips.


    His gaze drifted to the massive Sword Knowledge Stone Stele at the edge of the field, like a man who had stumbled onto an entertaining game.


    Without a word he turned and walked toward it. He took out his disciple medallion and pressed it against the stone. It epted him at once.


    Alex smiled softly to himself. Let''s test this, he thought. And let Gaia collect every bit


    of its knowledge.


    The moment the thought formed, a powerful surge of energy erupted around him. A


    glowing cube of light formed, sealing him inside as the Sword Knowledge test began. "Wait," one disciple suddenly shouted, his voice slicing through the chaos, "Jun Jiu


    is taking the Sword Knowledge test right now!"


    The words swept through the massive crowd like wildfire. In seconds the furious shouting died away as thousands of disciples turned as one toward the glowing cube of light that now surrounded Alex, their faces ck with stunned disbelief. "A disciple from Thousand Herb Peak?" one of Sword peak disciple shouted, his


    voice thick with mockery. "A gardener and apothecary trying to take the Sword Knowledge test? That''s hrious-andpletely impossible!"


    Laughter erupted across the training ground, rolling through the thousands in waves of ridicule and disbelief.