There were several requirements needed before one could participate in the Tower Ascension, and one of them was attending a seminar.

One might not think too highly about it because it was just a seminar but in actuality, numerous people who wanted to climb the tower had no idea of the true danger that was lying ahead of them. They had either overestimated themselves or severely underestimated the dangers that they were going to face, resulting in many unnecessary deaths.

With more than a hundred million participating in the Tower Ascension each time, it was pretty much normal to encounter a lot of people blatantly displaying this kind of behavior among the participants. Although they knew that many people had died in the Tower Ascension, they didn't think it would happen to them. They believed that they were better than the others and that those who died were just far less talented than they were.

In psychology, this was better known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

People tend to rate themselves better than most on average. What was interesting though was those with inferior abilities were often the most likely to overrate their skills. This usually happens because of the person's limited experience and knowledge, therefore, the quote:

"The fool thinks himself to be wise."

It was because they thought they know everything and that their knowledge was enough when in reality, it wasn't.

The purpose of the seminar was to educate and discourage these ignorant individuals to prevent unnecessary deaths in the tests. Nevertheless, there still remained a lot of people who overestimated themselves and died from the tests every five years. That wasn't to say that the seminar was ineffective. If not for these seminars, there would have been even more deaths during the Tower Ascension.

That was why in the city's only amphitheater, a seminar was being held.

Zenith, to his misfortune, had to attend this seminar while wearing a light disguise. The disguise was necessary in case someone recognized him as the one who challenged a god 8 years ago. Though many years had already passed, it didn't hurt to make sure.

"Ugh, what a pain in the ass. When is this shit going to end?"

"They just keep yapping on and on."

The people around him started complaining under their breath and he couldn't blame them for it.

It had been more than a few hours since he arrived in the amphitheater. He, along with a thousand others, was sitting on the tiered seats of the theater, listening to the speaker on the small circular stage below. The seminar had been going on for a while so the people around him were complaining, yawning, and had bored expressions on their faces already.

To be honest, Zenith was bored as well.

Quite a few speakers had already gone up, however, everything they talked about was something he already knew. If the seminar wasn't mandatory, he wouldn't have come here at all.

"Is it over yet?"

"No, there's one more speaker after this."

"He should be the last one. I heard he's a cultivator who has reached the current highest floor in the tower."

"Seriously? He's a big shot then!"

It was at this moment that a new speaker had come up on stage. He was a middle-aged man in a butler suit, exuding confidence that was on a different caliber than the earlier speakers. When he got on stage, there was some kind of invisible pressure coming from him which made everyone tense in their seats.

This wasn't intentional on his part but it worked in his favor nonetheless. In just a few seconds, he had effectively captured everyone's attention, their boredom nowhere to be found.

Zenith narrowed his eyes as he paid more attention to this butler than he did to the other speakers.

The butler on stage stood still as his eyes slowly scanned the audience. Though there were thousands of people in the amphitheater, the place was eerily silent that one would be able to hear a pin drop on the ground if there was one.

For a brief moment, Zenith felt the butler's gaze stopping on him. Before he could further analyze the butler's intention, his gaze went towards the others and paused on a few of them as well.

"I see."

Zenith noticed that those he had taken more than a second to look at were the more exceptional individuals in the crowd.

For instance, the red-haired man in his early twenties sitting at the farthest tiered seat in the amphitheater. Unlike the others who were on edge due to the butler's presence, he was observing the butler calmly.

That behavior alone showed that he was a cut above the rest.

He was someone worth cultivating.

In ten minutes, the butler did nothing but observe them which was unlike the other speakers. Nearly all of them couldn't understand what he was doing. Instead of speaking like the others, he was just silently eyeing them up.

It was an unnerving experience.

Time seemed to slow down for everyone. They felt like prey under a predator's gaze while the predator was taking its time choosing who was going to be its next meal. The butler hadn't even done anything aside from looking but their instincts were warning them that he was dangerous.

All of a sudden, the butler firmly said, "I want those who I call out to stand up."

They gulped as they sat straight in their seats.

He didn't even do anything yet but he had already subdued everyone into this state. It showed just how large the gap was there between him and everyone else in this amphitheater. His temperament alone was incomprehensible for their feeble minds, making them as meek as lamb in front of his presence.

Only Zenith and a few others were still relatively calm.

Slowly, the butler raised his hand and pointed at a few people in front of him.

"You, you, and you..."

The three he pointed at slowly stood up with nervous expressions on their face. He didn't stop at only those three either. He continued pointing at the others in the tiered seats, and before long, more than half the people in the amphitheater were standing already.

When the butler finished, he coldly looked at them.

"Those who are sitting may remain. As for the rest, you may now leave. You are not needed here. You are eliminated."

"Wha?!"

All were stunned upon hearing his words, especially those who were told to leave.

"Seriously? Is this a joke? He's joking, right?"

"What is the meaning of this?"

"He must be kidding. Why did he suddenly tell us to leave?"

They were stunned, confused, and angry. They experienced all sorts of emotions as they processed the butler's words. They didn't come to this boring seminar only to be eliminated like this so easily. What was more was that they hadn't even taken the 1st floor's test yet but they were already eliminated just like that? It would be strange if they didn't have any complaints.

"This isn't fair, right?"

"No way! Does this mean that my dream of climbing the tower ends here?"

"I refuse to accept this!"

"I demand an explanation!"

"Let's fight him! Let's make him regret saying such nonsense!"

"He's alone! I don't know what kind of strange tricks he's using to scare us but there's no way he can beat all of us on his own!"

Encouraged by those words, they became determined as they banded together. It seemed like their anger was blinding them from the fact that they were fearful of him earlier. Or perhaps, they just gained courage from being part of the defiant crowd. Whichever the case was, Zenith thought they were fools.

There was no way a mortal could go against someone like the butler.

"Fight! Let's fight!"

"Don't be afraid of him!"

Just as they were about to head down and try to fight the man, they saw the look in his eyes. It was daring them to go against him. They suddenly went stiff in fear. They could tell that a horrible fate awaited them if they really tried to do something against him.

"Whatever it is that you're planning, give up. You do not stand a chance against me," said the butler plainly. "It doesn't matter if your numbers are twice as much, there will only be just as many casualties if you try to fight me."

As though trying to drive his point across their thick heads, ice formed beneath the butler's feet and slowly traveled towards them, freezing their legs in place and preventing them from moving any further.

"W-What kind of sorcery is this?!"

"Is he using a spirit seed? But I didn't see him make any move just now."

"I feel... cold. Someone, please help me."

"I-I'm scared."

While they were suffering, the others merely looked in awe. They heard several tales of people being able to use strange powers through the use of spirit seeds but most of them had never seen someone do it before. Seeing the butler conjure ice out of nowhere like that was both an eye-opening and shocking experience on their part.

As for the butler himself, he acted as if nothing of note happened.

"If you still wish to fight me after all this, believe me when I say that I won't show you any mercy."

At that moment, they gave up all thoughts of resistance. They didn't have the courage to go against him anymore. Not when they couldn't even comprehend what he had just done.

However, a single person among them was not yet resigned.

"I refuse to accept this!"

Because they had all gone silent after the butler's display, the voice resounded throughout the amphitheater loud and clear.

All eyes went towards a short boy who seemed to be barely a teenager. His body was shaking in fear, however, he was glaring at the butler with hostility.

They all sucked in a cold breath. In their mind, the boy was either stupid or courting death. Maybe it was both. Whatever the case was, they were certain of one thing;

"He's dead!"

But contrary to everyone's expectations, the butler didn't kill him right away.

"You still dare to go against me after all that? Perhaps I might have misjudged you," he started. "Nevertheless, my decision is final. All of you are eliminated."

"I can't accept this!" said the boy courageously. "I... I have to climb the tower no matter what! I don't want to be eliminated just like this! Please give us a chance!"

The butler frowned, and for a moment, Zenith wondered if he was going to kill the boy. The possibility was there but the likelihood of it happening was low.

Although he was threatening them earlier, the butler actually couldn't kill nor harm them. The most he could do was scare them a bit. Anything more than that and he would have to answer to the guardians of the tower and face the consequences of his actions. He wasn't appointed in his role to discriminately kill after all. The purpose of this seminar was to weed out the unworthy to prevent unnecessary deaths in the tests. It would have been counterproductive if he killed or maimed them.

The butler sighed at the sudden turn of events. He thought that everything would be settled if he just scared them for a bit. He didn't think there would be one person among the failures strong-willed enough to oppose him despite all he'd done.

It seems that he'd have to settle this in a rough way.

"I presume that all of you have the same opinion as him?" the butler asked.

They hesitated for a moment before giving the butler a nod. They didn't want to be eliminated without being able to prove themselves.

"Alright, I'll give you all a chance," he said as he undid the ice freezing their legs. "Let's have a little test. If you can endure my Nu, then you can stay here."

"Provided that you can last for ten seconds, that is."

Before they could understand what he meant, a suffocating pressure invisible to the naked eyes suddenly came crashing down on them.

Some of those who were standing were instantly forced down onto their knees. They felt like they were deep under the sea slowly being crushed by its pressure. They couldn't breathe and they didn't have the strength to stand. They were powerless before this invisible pressure.

This was the power of Nu.