Elder Tong swept his gaze across the surroundings, and for the first time, a flicker of shock crossed his face. The air was thick—unnaturally so. Mist coiled and twisted around them like something alive, swallowing the land in silence.“Everyone… this is an illusion formation.”His voice cut through the haze with certainty. He had seen too many traps like this to be deceived for long. Still, the scale of it… was impressive.“I’ll lead the way. All of you—follow me!”His shout rang out as his inner force surged. Power gathered within him, dense and violent, before erupting outward in a single, crushing strike. The force tore through the mist like a blade, scattering it in all directions.In an instant, the illusion shattered.Blue sky returned.Clarity returned.And there—standing at the front—was Jun Jiu.Elder Tong’s eyes sharpened. “The illusion is gone. Attack!”The command exploded into motion.Hundreds surged forward at once, their killing intent flooding the air as they charged

Without warning, Alex drew his sword and pressed the blade 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 flashed.In a single motion, they placed their blades 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, humorless laugh escaped Alex. “Why wouldn’t I?”His voice turned lethal.“Cut.”The command fell like a blade.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

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 and laughed, 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 accepted 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 the last two years you’v

Alex stood within the illusory realm of the swordplay trial. An elder materialized before him, robes stirring as though touched by an invisible breeze.“This is the Wudang Seven Moons,” the elder said. He lifted his sword and began to move.Every arc of the blade summoned seven luminous moons that hung in the air like pale lanterns, their light flowing with each strike. The forms were graceful yet merciless, a dance of moonlight and steel.When the demonstration ended, the elder lowered his weapon and met Alex’s gaze. “If you can defend yourself against seven times seven of those strikes—forty-nine in all—you will advance. You have one hour to study the art.”Most who saw the technique only once would have needed rare fortune to grasp even its basics.Alex had Gaia. The system captured every angle, every shift of weight and breath, then replayed the sequence hundreds of times inside his mind with flawless precision.He sat in meditation while the hour ticked away in the real world. Gai

Alex had spent days absorbing every sword art the old man offered from the Murim traditions.Mount Hua’s flowing strikes, Emei’s precise cuts, Qingcheng’s relentless pressure—he had mastered them all with Gaia’s quiet assistance, the system recording each form perfectly in his mind.“What do you think?” the old man asked, his voice low and steady.Alex hesitated. He had turned the question over in his head for hours now.The old techniques felt natural after Gaia’s help, like extensions of his own body.But this new art the old man wanted to teach him—the Limitless Sword, the origin of life and death—left him completely lost.No matter how hard he tried, he could not grasp it.Even Gaia had failed. The old man’s movements refused to be captured. Every swing shifted and changed, impossible to pin down.Limitless, just as the name promised. The system could only report the same empty message: No pattern detected.The old man rose slowly to his feet. “I know you possess a sharp mind, boy.