Master Gong laughed angrily. “Alright, boy! Let’s see how your big words hold up. If you can’t break the formation in an hour, don’t even think about leaving this forest alive!”

Asmon yawned dramatically. “An hour? Please. Your formation isn’t worth that much of my time.” He turned to Merilyn Snow, his expression calm but commanding. “Merilyn, three steps northwest. Stab upward.”

Without hesitation, Merilyn Snow followed his instruction, her sword slicing cleanly through the air.

“Now, seven steps southeast. Cross-cut.”

Merilyn moved swiftly, executing the maneuver with precision. Asmon continued to guide her, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather.

After the third move, the entire formation began to tremble. Sparks of energy fizzled and snapped through the air before the formation collapsed with a loud 'bang', its remnants dissolving into shimmering starlight.

[You’ve dismantled a third-rank array: Trinity Nexus Barrier, effect is experience amplified, mastery accelerated, and expertise maximized.]

[You’ve been promoted to a Rank 1 Formation Master.]

[You’ve been promoted to a Rank 2 Formation Master.]

[You’ve been promoted to a Rank 3 Formation Master.]

Asmon couldn’t help but grin internally. Not only did he dismantle Master Gong’s overhyped formation, but he leveled up in the process. Triple win.

Meanwhile, Master Gong stood there frozen, his face pale as if someone had drained all the blood from it. “No… this… this can’t be possible!” he stammered. His Triune Seal Array—a product of countless hours of meticulous work—had been broken in seconds by this smug, insufferable kid.

Sebastian and Theodore, who had been watching from the sidelines, looked equally stunned. Their smug confidence crumbled into sheer panic when Asmon turned his sharp gaze toward them, his voice colder than ice.

“Sebastian, Theodore,” Asmon said, his tone calm yet chilling. “You could’ve lived your lives quietly, but no. You just had to come looking for trouble. Fine. If you want to die so badly, I’ll grant your wish.”

Sebastian’s face twisted with fear, but he wasn’t about to go down without a fight. “Brother Theodore, let’s take him together!” he roared, launching himself at Asmon with a palm strike glowing with raw energy.

Theodore didn’t waste a second either. He pulled out a long blade from his storage ring and swung it at Asmon’s head with all his might, aiming for a clean kill. They knew this fight was life or death. If they didn’t end Asmon today, their families would be erased from existence.

But before Theodore’s blade could get anywhere near Asmon, Merilyn intercepted him. Her figure blurred as she appeared in front of him, her silver sword gleaming like moonlight.

“Your fight is with me,” she said coldly, deflecting his strike with a resounding

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

CLANG!!!

“Out of my way!” Theodore barked, his blade radiating a sharp aura as he unleashed a flurry of attacks. Merilyn remained unfazed, meeting his strikes head-on with calculated precision.

Meanwhile, Asmon stood still, his hands tucked behind his back, watching Sebastian charge at him. He waited until the man was within three feet before throwing a punch with blinding speed.

BAM!

The impact rippled through the air like a thunderclap. Sebastian’s arm trembled violently as the force of Asmon’s punch blasted him backward, sending him skidding ten steps before he finally stopped, his face pale and shaken.

“This kid… his strength is at the ninth level of Imperial Qi Realm!” Sebastian thought, his body trembling from the aftershock. The gap between them was only one layer, but the power difference felt like a chasm.

Asmon didn’t give him a chance to recover. His figure blurred as he launched himself at Sebastian like a hawk swooping down on its prey.

The air crackled as Asmon’s fist cut through the void, heading straight for Sebastian like a meteor ready to obliterate anything in its path. The punch carried such intensity that Sebastian barely had time to register what was happening before the force was upon him.

BAM!

Sebastian's reflexes kicked in just enough for him to throw up his palms in defense, but it was like trying to stop a freight train with a paper shield. The impact was deafening, and the sheer force launched him into the air. His body slammed into two trees, shattering them like matchsticks, before he crumpled to the ground, rolling a few more meters for good measure.

“Pfft!” A mouthful of blood spurted out as Sebastian’s pale face twisted in agony. He struggled to get up but froze in terror as Asmon’s figure loomed closer, each step a countdown to his doom.

"Wait! Stop! Asmon, have mercy!" Sebastian's voice cracked as he blurted out a desperate plea. "The Yates family—w-we’ll submit to the Thrumpwood family! We’ll honor you in Goldenridge City. Just… just spare me!"

Asmon paused, his eyes cold as winter frost. “Begging now, are we? A little late for that, don’t you think?” His tone dripped with mockery, each word slicing deeper than any sword. "The Thrumpwood family doesn’t need snakes pretending to be allies. From the moment you decided to target me, your fate was sealed. There’s only one ending for you—death."

Before Sebastian could muster another plea, Asmon vanished. One moment he was there; the next, he was a phantom, his presence marked only by the oppressive chill that now clung to the air.

“No—!” Sebastian’s scream was cut short as a brutal punch caved into his chest. The force of it echoed through the forest, and his body was flung back yet again, this time lifeless. The forest grew eerily quiet, save for the rustling of leaves disturbed by the impact.

Meanwhile, Merilyn was finishing up her own fight with Theodore. Despite being equally matched on paper, Theodore’s combat skills were leagues below Merilyn’s sharp technique and quick thinking. The so-called genius beauty toyed with him for about ten exchanges before pinning him down like a cat cornering a mouse.

Theodore’s confidence shattered entirely when he caught sight of Sebastian’s lifeless body. Panic overtook him, and he stumbled in his movements—a mistake Merilyn capitalized on without hesitation. With one clean slash, her sword silenced him forever.

Not far away, Evan stood frozen, his expression a comical mix of horror and disbelief. His mind raced, but his legs refused to move. In a matter of minutes, Asmon and Merilyn Snow had dismantled their carefully laid plans, obliterated their allies, and left him very much alone.

“This… this can’t be happening…” he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. But reality wasn’t listening. ’Run. Just run!’ His instincts finally kicked in, and he turned to flee, but his grand escape lasted all of three steps. Asmon was already in front of him, arms crossed and looking thoroughly unimpressed.

“Leaving so soon?” Asmon raised an eyebrow, his tone almost conversational. “Since you came all this way, why not stay a little longer? Forever works.”

Evan’s heart sank as Asmon’s fist lit up with raw energy. “No! Please—!”