Alex reached into the water and pulled out Lee's body, dropping it onto the shore. Lee's head was bent at a strange angle, and his eyes were wide open in a vacant stare.
The martial artists gathered around the body, venting their anger.
"So, he's dead at last", said a man with a cold look on his face.
"He died too easily", said a woman with a hateful look.
"Our brothers have been avenged", screamed another man with bloodshot eyes.
Several of the younger martial artists were in tears, mourning the death of Brody Kent. Some tried to kick Lee's body, but others stopped them. Lee was dead, and desecrating his body would achieve nothing.
Belinda was in awe of Alex. His martial arts skills were so advanced, particularly for such a young man.
Jessop had been watching from a short distance away, and he had smiled when he had seen Alex defeat Lee.
People from the martial arts community walked over to Alex to congratulate him.
"You're very skilled. Thank you for saving the martial arts community", said a man.
"Yes, thank you for saving us", said another.
"I can't imagine what would have become of us if you hadn't been here", said a woman with tears in her eyes.
"It's no problem," Alex said modestly. "I'm part of the martial arts community, so I'm happy I could help."
"Alex!" Debbie called anxiously, running over to join him.
When Debbie had watched Alex and Lee fight, her heart had almost jumped out of her chest. If Callisto hadn't held her back, she would have run recklessly into the lake to help Alex.
Debbie touched his face as her eyes roamed over him, looking for injuries. Tears glistened in her eyes.
"Debbie, I'm okay," he said, smiling gently at her. "Don't worry about me."
She threw herself into his arms. "I was so scared!" she said, crying. "If I'd known it would be so dangerous, I would have tried to stop you from coming."
"Silly girl," he said, teasing her. "I'm strong, and I know how to fight. You should have more confidence in me." He patted her back, comforting her.
Cathy sighed when she saw Alex and Debbie holding each other.
"Do you know Alex or something?" Melody asked, noticing the look of envy on Cathy's face. "Why are you looking at him that way? You know you have to remain single to remain in the Iron Fist sect."
All members of the Iron Fist, including Belinda, looked at Cathy.
"No, of course, I don't like him," Cathy said. "Don't be silly." She turned her face away, avoiding their gazes.
Belinda's eyes narrowed as she looked at Alex.
Melissa stood within the crowd, covering her mouth with her hand to avoid calling out and giving herself away.
"They're not dead!", she thought, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from her. "I haven't killed anyone."
She wanted to apologize to Alex and Debbie face to face, but she was afraid of how Alex might react.
She took one last look at Alex, and then she turned around to leave.
Chris was frozen in shock after watching Alex kill Lee. Once again, Alex had thwarted his plans. "How am I going to tell my father?" he wondered.
Julian had hoped that Lee would kill everyone, and now he was worried. The Steadman family might be able to recover from this, but the Duvant family would not be so lucky.
He hadn't expected Alex to turn up and defeat Lee. When Alex had first arrived, Julian had expected him to die, and he had felt that he would finally get revenge for his injury.
But he could never have imagined how it had all played out.
After what had happened to Lee, Julian was scared stiff. At least Alex had only damaged Julian's legs. It could have been much worse.
"Chris!" Art's voice came through the phone. He had been yelling for a while, but Chris hadn't even heard him.
"Dad," Chris answered, still in shock.
"What's happening?" Art asked. "Has Lee killed Alex yet?"
"No," Chris said, trembling. "Alex killed Lee."
Art went quiet, and then Chris heard a loud thud as his father's phone fell to the ground.
"Dad!" he cried out. "Dad, are you okay?"
"Don't shout," Julian whispered, tugging at his sleeve. "We need to get out of here before Alex sees us."
Chris nodded, and they sneaked away from Silver Lake.
The disciples of each sect went down to the lake, one after another, and picked up the bloodied robes belonging to their masters.
It was decided that the little group of followers who had accompanied Lee that day would be taken in by the Sunrise, Tiger, and White Dragon sects, where they would be trained properly.
Some of the martial artists asked Alex where he had trained. Only a few of them knew about the Moon Palace in the Appalachian Mountains.
Alex knew it would be impossible to conceal his identity. No matter what he said, they would discover the truth, so he told them all about Georgina, Zora, and Xavier. But he said nothing about his status as a disowned member of the Ambrose family.
All the sects had suffered heavy losses, so although they wanted to celebrate Alex's victory, this was not the time or place. First, they had to mourn their dead.
Everyone from the martial arts community began to go back to their homes. Before leaving, they said goodbye to Alex, inviting him to visit their sects when he had the time.
"Alex, your martial arts skills are impressive," said Greyson Ashbury, the leader of the Pouncing Leopard sect. "We would love to have you visit us at any time. And thank you again for saving the whole community."
"You're welcome," Alex said, shaking Greyson's hand. "And I promise to visit when I have time."
"Good!" Greyson said. Then he and his wife led their disciples away, leaving Silver Lake.
The last sect to leave was Iron Fist.
Belinda led several female disciples over to Alex. He was just about to say goodbye when Debbie exclaimed, "Cathy!"
She stared in shock at Alex's ex-girlfriend.
Belinda and the other Iron Fist disciples looked at Cathy and realized something was going on.
Cathy lowered her head, saying nothing.
Alex gently pulled Debbie aside and shook his head, motioning for her to not say anything.
"Do you two know each other?" Belinda asked.
"No," Cathy said, looking uncomfortable.
Alex said nothing. Since Cathy hadn't admitted to knowing him, he wouldn't contradict her. "Okay," Belinda said, dismissing the matter. "Then I'd like to introduce you to Alex. Come and give him a proper greeting."