Another elder shot him a cold glare. “Do you honestly believe you could have dragged him here if he didn’t want to come?”The elders fell suddenly silent.Elder Tong’s humiliating defeat still hung fresh in everyone’s mind—a hard, painful lesson none of them could ignore. Dragging Jun Jiu anywhere against his will would not be simple. It would almost certainly cause far more trouble than any of them wanted to handle.The Sect Master nodded once, calm and unhurried. “Then tomorrow, I will go meet him myself.”Shock rippled through every elder in the room. The rule had always been ironclad: when the Sect Master called, disciples came running and bowed low. Never— not once in the long history of the sect—had the Sect Master gone to a disciple after being refused.“That damn disciple,” one elder snarled. “Why don’t we punish him and force him to come?”“That is also an option,” the Sect Master said evenly. “But to do it, you would need to take your own disciples and go there yourselves. Re

Alex sat alone in the sect master’s office, the vast chamber silent except for the faint creak of ancient wooden beams overhead. Sunlight slanted through paper windows, catching dust motes that drifted like lazy spirits.The room was empty. Every elder and senior disciple who might have challenged his authority had already come and gone, each one slipping away with a handful of the precise movements he had demonstrated.They had taken what they needed and vanished into closed-door cultivation, sealing themselves away for months or years.Even the proudest among them had bowed their heads when he spoke, because they all knew the truth: he was ranked number one across all peaks and had only a five-year contract as the sect master. Now, one felt threatened by him.He leaned back in the heavy carved chair and his small fingers drummed once against the armrest. The silence felt like victory, but it also felt heavy.Alex let his gaze wander across the room—the faded scrolls on the walls, th

The old sect master stood frozen on the mountain peak, his mind reeling from the unbelievable scenes unfolding in the courtyard below.Drones buzzed through the air, carrying items back and forth like busy transport vehicles. In the distance, a disciple was even piloting something that could fly. None of it made any sense.Before he could gather his thoughts, soft footsteps approached. Li Qingxue appeared at the edge of the peak and dropped into a deep, respectful bow.“Congratulations, Master,” she said, voice steady and warm. “Your closed-door cultivation is complete.”“Qingxue.” The old man’s words came out in a rush. “Tell me what in the nine heavens is happening here.”He swept his arm toward the entire Wudang Mountain, his voice cracking with disbelief. “Are we under attack? Has Xia fallen to Prussia? Is this… their doing?”Li Qingxue straightened slowly, meeting his wild gaze with calm certainty. “No, Master. None of this belongs to the Prussians. Every piece was crafted by Jun

Li Qingxue’s hand rested lightly on his arm, steadying him as they drifted downward. She guided him through the humming sea of green until they hovered just above a cluster of seven-colored spirit orchids.Their petals shimmered like living jewels, pulsing with dense medicinal qi. The old master reached out with trembling fingers and plucked one ripe fruit from a low branch. It was warm, heavy, and perfect—its skin velvety beneath his callused palm.Real. It was all real.He had once heard from his master that whenever this fruit appeared in the world, Murim warriors would slaughter one another just to claim it. Hundreds had died for a single fruit, as it could boost one’s cultivation by fifty years.Yet now, with all these fruits lying before him, no one was fighting for them.Truly, times had changed.He closed his eyes for a long moment, then slipped it into his robe like a sacred relic. “Lead on, Qingxue,” he said, voice rough with emotion. “Show me the rest of the Peaks. Every si

In the quiet hush of the Bai Mansion, morning light spilled across the polished wooden floors of the great hall. Alex sat in a high-backed chair, Lord Bai in every sense—ruler, protector, architect of a new order. Across from him, Zhuge Liang leaned forward, his scholar’s robes draped neatly, eyes sharp with the weight of centuries of strategy.“Lord Bai,” Zhuge Liang said, “are you certain you want to hand out a single Wudang strengthening pill to every person who accepts the band-aid Gaia? These pills are ruinously expensive. One dose could feed an entire family for a month.”Alex frowned, the lines deepening between his brows. “They’re my people. What’s wrong with giving my own the very best? Even a farmer feeds his pigs the finest grain if he wants them strong.”Zhuge Liang fell silent for a moment, studying him. “Then… are you planning to butcher them later?”“Hell no,” Alex answered, a low laugh escaping despite the seriousness in his eyes. “But we need their strength. We’re goi