Yue Buqun's heart pounded. He hadn't expected Alex to strike first before the righteous sects. His face flushed purple, the Zixia Divine Art surging at its peak. His sword flashed from its sheath, aiming for the White Dragon sword.
"Careful!" Taoist Chongxu cried out, alarmed as Yue Buqun engaged Alex.
Too late.
As Yue Buqun's blade neared the White Dragon sword, Alex's weapon seemed alive. It twisted in midair, dodging Yue Buqun's sword and darting toward his neck.
A sudden force gripped Yue Buqun's blade, locking it in place, immobile in the air.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed. The White Dragon sword snaked around Yue Buqun's neck. As it returned, it carried his severed head—none other than Yue Buqun's.
His eyes bulged, frozen in shock, as if he couldn't grasp what had happened.
His sword had been frozen mid-swing.
"Brother!" Ning Zhongze, the Huashan heroine, wailed, collapsing as Yue Buqun's headless body crumpled.
"Master!" Huashan disciples roared, their voices a mix of rage and dread.
The righteous sects stared at the head dangling from the White Dragon sword, then at Alex, their faces pale with terror.
Who had just fallen? Yue Buqun, Huashan Sect's leader, a martial arts titan—beheaded in a single clash?
How could Alex's skills reach such a heaven-shaking, ghost-weeping height?
"Beware! Against Alex, never wield a sword!" Taoist Chongxu shouted, horror in his voice as Yue Buqun's fate sank in.
Swordsmen unfamiliar with Alex could never fathom his terror.
Their blades betrayed them, controlled by him. Alex was the bane of all swordmasters.
When Alex copied the Dugu Nine Swords at Huashan, he'd clashed with Yue Buqun. Back then, his power only slowed Yue Buqun's sword. Now, it locked it midair, unyielding.
"No swords against him?" Taoist Chongxu's warning left the Five Mountains Sword Sect stunned.
Their name proclaimed their art—swords. Without them, how could they fight?
And didn't Wudang Sect rely on swords too?
"Amitabha, Master Alex's martial arts are peerless. I stand in awe," Master Fang Zheng said, bowing his head. "Why have you come to Shaolin Temple today?"
With the righteous sects assembled, Master Fang Zheng's question signaled yielding before Alex.
Alex's ploy—killing the chicken to scare the monkeys—had worked. None among the righteous sects opposed Master Fang Zheng's deference.
Yue Buqun's righteous defiance had become their warning.
"Alas, this Alex may be the world's unmatched master…" Mo Da of the Hengshan Sect murmured, glancing at Master Fang Zheng's resigned expression, his voice heavy with a sigh.
Indeed, the Five Mountains Sword Sect, Shaolin Temple, and Wudang Sect stood united in Shaolin's square, a gathering of the righteous sects' might. Even Leader Dongfang Bubai, in his prime, wouldn't have dared face such a force alone.
Yet Alex had come. With one stroke, he severed Yue Buqun's head, forcing Master Fang Zheng to bow in deference with his overwhelming power.
Such skill surpassed even Leader Dongfang Bubai, once hailed as the world's greatest.
Master Fang Zheng lowered his gaze, asking Alex's purpose, though he already knew. The Yi Jin Jing was likely a key reason, wasn't it?
To preserve Shaolin Temple's thousand-year legacy, if surrendering the Yi Jin Jing could avert this calamity, so be it.
With Alex's unrivaled martial arts, none could stop him, Yi Jin Jing or not.
Alex's icy gaze fixed on Master Fang Zheng. "Last time I came to Shaolin, I sought your Yi Jin Jing, old monk. Do you remember?"
"I remember," Master Fang Zheng replied, resolve firm. "Today, Shaolin offers the Yi Jin Jing with open hands."
"A wise man knows the times," Alex said, nodding, unsurprised. "But I have another purpose—revenge for Leader Dongfang Bubai."
He paused, his eyes shifting to Taoist Chongxu. "Shaolin yields the Yi Jin Jing. Wudang Sect must offer a manual of equal value as recompense. If both sects seal their gates for ten years, shunning martial world affairs, this matter ends…"
"What!? Seal the gates for ten years?" The crowd gasped at Alex's demand.
Shaolin and Wudang led the righteous sects. A decade of seclusion would crush their influence, leaving them shadows in the martial world.
Alex's words were akin to ordering two global giants to halt all operations for a decade—a crippling blow.
"Master Alex, do you truly seek enmity with the righteous sects?" Master Fang Zheng's usually gentle voice turned cold.
"Hahaha!" Alex's laughter rang out. "Enmity with your righteous sects?"
"When Ren Woxing stormed Blackwood Cliff, what role did Shaolin play? Everyone knows."
"You call me your enemy today? I loathe your so-called upright sects—selfish hypocrites cloaked in benevolence and morality."
"Humph! You think yourself invincible?" Dingxian of the Hengshan Sect rose, her voice sharp. "Shaolin offers the Yi Jin Jing, yet you demand more!"
Though a nun, Dingxian's spirit burned fiercely.
"If I raze Shaolin, the Yi Jin Jing is mine regardless," Alex replied, glancing at her, admiration flickering in his heart.
Unlike Yue Buqun, who sought glory amid the crowd, Dingxian's defiance stemmed from true conviction. Despite Alex's terrifying display, she stood firm.
Even as an foe, Alex respected her courage.
"This battle seems unavoidable," Master Fang Zheng said, shedding his red cassock to reveal battle-ready garb, prepared to fight to the death.
"Exactly! Evil never triumphs!" Tianmen Taoist of the Taishan Sect roared. "With so many righteous masters here, do we fear Alex alone? Together, now!"
"Right, together!"
Following Dingxian, Master Fang Zheng, and Tianmen Taoist, the Shaolin square erupted, the righteous sects' voices soaring with defiance.
"Beware! No swords against Alex! Fight with bare hands!" Taoist Chongxu shouted, urging caution.
"No swords? Fine!" Tianmen Taoist replied. "With hundreds of us, what's one man?"
Alex faced the sea of foes calmly, unfazed by their numbers.
Shaking his head, he said, "You've misunderstood my power."
Raising his hands, Alex unleashed his full strength.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every weapon in the square trembled.
"My sword—what's happening?" Tianmen Taoist stared at his quivering blade, stunned.
"No… can he control sheathed swords?" Taoist Chongxu's face paled, gripping his trembling weapon.
"What's going on?" Lu Dayou of the Huashan Sect gaped as every Five Mountains disciple's sword shook.
Before they could react, swords tore free, soaring skyward.
Only a few, like Taoist Chongxu, held their blades fast. Most swords flew free, dancing in the air.
Alex's gaze swept the scene—over a hundred swords under his command.
With a thought, the blades surged behind him like swallows to their nest, tips aimed at the righteous sects.
A forest of swords hovered at Alex's back, their might awe-inspiring.
In that moment, a hundred blades took flight!