As Kayden shouted those words, the hearts of many people, still suspended in tension, leapt back into their throats. Everyone turned to look at him, unsure of what he would do next.
It was clear that with Mrs. Rocco’s intervention, he had already narrowly escaped danger. But now, was he really going to press his luck?
Kayden’s sharp eyes locked onto Cyrus Nightbane, his voice cold and steely. “I never said you could leave! Your corpse can leave this place, but your life stays here!”
The words hung in the air like a blade, and Cyrus Nightbane, along with his followers, froze in momentary disbelief.
“What did you just say?” Cyrus’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he glared at Kayden, whose face was as cold as ice. “Are you trying to pick a fight with me?”
Kayden shook his head slightly. “No. I just want you to understand something. Mrs. Rocco didn’t just save me. She saved everyone here. If she hadn’t appeared when she did, this place would already be soaked in blood.”
Cyrus Nightbane sneered inwardly. He knew Kayden had some skills, but did this young man honestly believe he could challenge him? Especially in front of thousands of cultivators, many of whom were high-level practitioners?
“Hahaha! You’re ridiculously arrogant! Self-absorbed!” Cyrus barked, laughing condescendingly.
Kayden tilted his head and calmly replied, “Now, I can spare them. But you? You must die.”
“Fine, then!” Cyrus Nightbane’s tone grew increasingly derisive. “I’d like to see if you even stand a chance against me!”
“Chance?” Kayden’s voice turned colder. “Against me, you wouldn’t even get the opportunity to fight back. Because… you’re not worthy.”
His audacity stunned everyone present. After narrowly escaping death, no one could believe Kayden would dare spout such bold words.
Cyrus Nightbane, poised to erupt into laughter, was interrupted by Kayden, who spoke first. “I’ll give you a minute to prepare. Let’s see if you can block a single strike from my blade. The countdown starts now.”
Kayden glanced at his watch, as though genuinely counting down the seconds.
Cyrus Nightbane’s smirk faded as he turned toward Mrs. Rocco, muttering, “You see this, Mrs. Rocco? He’s the one forcing my hand!”
Then, his expression twisted into something sinister. “Kid, you’ve chosen to walk into hell when heaven’s gates were open for you! Do you think killing a few nobodies makes you invincible? You know nothing of real power!”
With those words, Cyrus stomped his foot hard on the ground, sending tremors through the earth. Behind him, a visible vortex of energy began to swirl, growing stronger with each passing second.
The sheer force of his display left the crowd of cultivators gasping in unison. Staring at the spiraling energy, disbelief was etched onto every face.
“This power… it’s incredible! Is he already at Master level?”
“No, not yet. But he’s dangerously close! Only someone nearing Master level could unleash such earth-shaking strength!”
“Unbelievable… just one move, and it feels like he could command the heavens and the earth!”
Even seasoned cultivators, who rarely expressed awe, were visibly shaken. Watching Cyrus Nightbane’s display of raw power, they couldn’t help but marvel at his capabilities.
Mrs. Rocco frowned, glancing toward Kayden. She wanted to speak but hesitated, swallowing her words. She knew it was pointless. Kayden’s cold expression made it clear that nothing she said would sway him.
The sixty seconds felt like an eternity. The crowd’s focus alternated between Cyrus Nightbane’s fearsome energy and Kayden’s unflinching composure.
Kayden, barely in his twenties, didn’t seem like someone capable of challenging Cyrus. Most believed that his arrogance would lead to his death today.
Finally, the countdown ended. Kayden glanced at Cyrus Nightbane and said, “Time’s up. Are you ready?”
“Bring it on!” Cyrus growled. “Let’s see if you can even last three blows against me!”
Kayden’s lips curled into a faint smirk. “Three strikes? You won’t even survive one.”
With that, he raised his hand and flung a rusty, worn blade into the air. The blade moved so quickly it seemed to dissolve into a streak of white light.
Cyrus Nightbane reacted instantly, forming a shield of energy in front of him. He looked unbothered, confident that nothing could penetrate his indestructible defense.
But in the next moment, his expression froze.
The blade, unstoppable in its trajectory, shattered his energy shield and pierced straight through his chest.
“Whoosh!” The blade tore through flesh and bone, leaving a gaping hole. The energy vortex behind Cyrus dissipated into nothingness.
The once-arrogant warrior now looked utterly defeated. Where moments ago he had exuded confidence, he now knelt on one knee, blood pouring from his mouth.
His eyes widened as he stared at the blade embedded in his chest and then shifted his gaze to Kayden, who remained expressionless.
“This… this can’t be… impossible…” he muttered, his voice a mixture of disbelief and despair.
Cyrus Nightbane had made a fatal error-he underestimated Kayden. Despite knowing Kayden’s strength, he had dismissed him as someone hiding behind Mrs. Rocco. Now, in his final moments, he realized how foolish he had been.
The crowd stood in stunned silence, their jaws hanging open. Cyrus Nightbane, a cultivator nearing Master level, had been defeated so easily.
And Kayden? What kind of monstrous existence was he? Could he also be at Master level?
A twenty-something-year-old Master level cultivator? That was unheard of.
As the crowd grappled with their shock, Kayden’s voice cut through the silence. “I told you, your life stays here. Only your corpse may leave. Did you think I was joking?”
He extended his hand, and the rusty blade flew back into his grasp.
Cyrus Nightbane coughed up another mouthful of blood, but before he could recover, the blade struck again.
“Whoosh!” The blade pierced his heart a second time.
In front of Kayden, Cyrus Nightbane was utterly helpless, reduced to nothing more than a powerless victim.
The once-revered figure, hailed as a godlike warrior, had met his end in the most humiliating way imaginable.
No one could have foreseen such a shocking conclusion.