us stood there with his hands behind his back, a smile ying on his lips. Although hundreds of Saints, Sages, and even Great Sages stood blocking his path, us showed no signs of panic or fear.


    He looked awfully calm for someone who could be ganged up on at any moment.


    "What are you smiling about, bastard? Turn around and leave before we make you," a Sage soldier said, pointing his spear at us.


    "What is your name?" us asked, directing his question to the Sage.


    "My name is of no importance here," the Sage growled. "What matters is that you turn around and leave. You don''t want us to make you."


    "Oh, really?" us replied, still calm as ice.


    "Yes. You stand no chance against us, so turn and leave. That would be the best thing for you."


    "I''m afraid I can''t do that," us replied, still maintaining his smile. "I have some beauties waiting for me at the academy, you see, so missing this trial is a no-go," he added.


    The soldiers frowned, but all over the world, despite the tense situation, everyone watched with amused expressions. This was especially true for us''s mother, who had been following some of his conquests and was now watching him live, apanied by Miriam, the maid, and the guards.


    One might be shocked to see Miriam looking at us''s antics andughing while the maids were present. But this wasn''t new to them.


    Whenever she was around the house, she interacted with them in a friendly manner, so they were used to her cheerful demeanor, even though they knew she would revert to her cold self the moment she stepped outside.


    "Courting death!" a soldier shouted, his killing intent intensifying. This time, it was a Great Sage.


    "Dude, please. ''Courting death'' is outdated; find something else to say," us said with a mocking smile. For some reason, none of them were making any moves to attack; clearly, they were waiting for an order.


    The Great Sage wanted to fire back, but us spoke first.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "First of all, I will be entering the city with or without you losers standing in my way. You might wonder where all this confidence of mine ising from. Let''s just say I''m happy today.


    "Happy, you ask? Yes, I am indeed happy. Why? Because today, I will show the entire world that this young master is not to be messed with. But don''t worry; I won''t be killing all of you. I''m not a monster, after all.


    "But I will be killing some people today.


    "I know you''re wondering why I said I would be killing some people. Well, there are 730 of you here. 30 are Great Sages—weak ones at that."


    The faces of the Great Sages turned green at hearing us refer to them as weak. They wanted nothing more than to break him, but us wasn''t done.


    "Then there are 250 Sages and 450 Saints. However, among this group, 130 are not true soldiers deployed by the three losers calling themselves legacies."


    "d you asked. The auraing from these 130 is that of decay and bloodlust. While this ismon among warriors due to the constant ughter of monsters, their auraes from the ughter of their fellow humans.


    "This means they are hired muscle tasked with killing people and today their target was me, unlike you lot, who are only here following orders.


    "These 130 will die today.


    "But 590 of you will live. However, after today, the idea of cultivating again won''t even cross your mind. I''m going to break you deep within your souls, and when I''m done, not a single one of you will want to continue down the path of cultivation.


    "But you should all be thankful; this Sage in front of you saves your lives," us said, pointing at the first person who hadmanded him to leave.


    The Sage held a curious look in his eyes when us said that. He wanted to ask why, but us would tell everyone anyway.


    "I know you''re a father with kids. I was a kid once, so I know that despite those ugly bracelets your kids made, you wear them anyway like any proud father would. So I will spare you, along with the other true soldiers who are just following orders."


    Memories of his father shed through his mind as he said that. He used to make those bracelets for him when he was still around, so he knew what he was saying.


    "But after today, it would be in your best interest to continue being a good father to your children. I will make sure you do.


    "Now, one might ask: 130 plus 590 equals 720. There are 730 of you here, so if I''m going to kill 130 mercenaries and break 590, what about the other ten?


    "Well, gentlemen, after destroying their safe house in Hiroshi City and killing 19 of their finest assassins in the eastern region, the Dark Order never learned from their mistakes. So, they sent ten more assassins to greet me again.


    "Can''t say I''m sad about that. The more they send, the faster it will be for me to eradicate them all."


    The moment us spoke, everyone present or watching from around the world tensed. us had just dered that he was the one who killed the assassins from the Dark Order. While this revtion was shocking, many spected about it.


    The Dark Order, an organization known for killing in the shadows, had made their move in broad daylight, which was simply unbelievable.


    Many wanted to call us''s bluff, but they couldn''t be sure of his capabilities. Although they wouldn''t voice their thoughts on us''s bold statement, many began trolling the Dark Order for their shamelessness.


    Despite his arrogance, us was just a Master Stage expert, yet they never stopped trying to kill him. Couldn''t they swallow their defeat and move on? This time, the whole inte turned against the Dark Order once again.


    us, however, maintained his usual smile and said.


    "It would be best if parents don''t let their children see what happens next." us narrowed his gaze at the soldiers.


    "I know most of you are just following the orders of some idiots, so I won''t kill you. However, after today, make sure you get some therapy because you are about to witness what real terror looks like."


    The backs of most of the soldiers broke into a cold sweat. However, those hired to kill him didn''t budge.


    Suddenly, us extended his hands and caught the neck of someone who had moved from the shadows and lunged at him from behind.


    "Pathetic," us muttered coldly before igniting his palm in me. The attack happened in under a second, but before the Sage Assassin could even shout, us engulfed his throat in fire, killing him instantly.


    It happened so fast that before any of the soldiers could blink, a sage was dead. At that very moment, the confident soldiers who hade after him all took a step back, even the hired muscles.


    However, to their despair, us took a step forward and smiled at them. "Sorry for the interruption; that bug couldn''t hold his anger back anymore, so I had to put him down." The soldiers shuddered at how casually he spoke about killing a sage.


    "Now, where was I? Oh, I was talking about how I would break and kill some of you. Well, gentlemen, enjoy the ride."


    us smiled faintly before muttering,


    "Eye of Despair: Night of Terror."


    At once, the entire area turned cold and darkened slightly. Then, up ahead, an 8-meterrge red eye appeared. The moment it appeared, the 729 soldiers around him stiffened, and with a menacing gaze, the eye snapped open.


    "Aaaarrrggghhhh!"


    The terror took effect.