Shit, shit! This brat told him everything! And from the look of this young brat’s attitude, I don’t think he will ever believe me. What do I do? What do I do? Shit! Alvin thought, looking at Ian in sheer panic.

​If I’m going to go down, I will at least take these bastards with me. Maybe if we all fight together, we can overpower this Third-Stage Aura User. If Trevor goes down, we can escape the estate. As for the young brat? In his dreams! What is he going to do with that sword? Alvin frantically tried to formulate an escape plan. He knew if he didn’t act now, he would die here alone.

​"Young Master, the thing is—" Before Alvin could even finish speaking, Ian cut him off.

​"Sigh... Emily, can you please go outside?" Ian asked with a heavy sigh, looking up at the sky. His voice was low, but in the dead silence of the courtyard, everyone heard him perfectly.

​"But, Brother..." Emily tried to protest. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

​"I SAID GO OUTSIDE!" Ian snapped, looking at her with a terrifyingly serious expression. Emily stared back at him, her face flushing with hurt and anger.

​"I’m sorry," Ian added, his voice softening as he looked into her eyes.

​"FINE!" she yelled, stomping away angrily. No one dared to speak a single word until she had completely left the training grounds.

​"She really is a good girl, isn’t she?" Ian asked, turning his gaze back to Alvin.

​Alvin was stunned by the random question. "O-of course, the Young Miss is an excellent lady," Alvin stammered, blurting out the first words that came to his mind. He couldn’t think straight.

​"Yeah, you see it too, right? She can be a troublemaker sometimes, and she plays around a lot too, but she is a hard worker, and she really hates to lose. That’s what I love about her, you know?" Ian said slowly, his voice eerily calm.

​Everyone was incredibly confused as to why the Young Master was talking about his sister at a time like this. Even Trevor was bewildered; he had never seen Ian this calm before, and it was genuinely terrifying.

​"That is exactly why I didn’t want her to see what I am about to do here." Just as he finished speaking, Ian gripped his fine iron sword and started walking slowly toward Alvin.

​"YOUNG MASTER, WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO DO?! DO YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE ALL OF US ON WITH JUST ONE THIRD-STAGE KNIGHT?!" Alvin yelled, desperately trying to remind the other guards that they were all accomplices in this.

​Taking his cue, Alvin’s closest drinking buddies stood up. One by one, the rest of the corrupt guards followed suit until every single guard was standing, glaring at Ian and Trevor.

​Ian stopped in his tracks and stared at the smirking Alvin. "That mouth of yours really is something, isn’t it? We will have to fix that for you. As for your friends standing up... did you forget that Stage 1 to 3 Aura Users are basically useless without their weapons? Thanks to you guys getting drunk, none of you have your swords nearby."

​Ian pointed the tip of his sword toward the weapon racks. "That is why Trevor is standing right over there, blocking the training weapons. If any guard makes even a single move, or even thinks about saying anything... Trevor will kill you on the spot."

​Alvin’s eyes widened in horror. SHIT! Shit, is this how we are going to die?! How could I forget something so basic?!

​It was common knowledge that First to Third-Stage Aura Users couldn’t fight effectively without a weapon, and they would just be slightly stronger humans without a sword, because their aura could only coat their blades. Only at the Fourth Stage could an Aura User infuse aura directly into their own bodies to become truly superhuman, which was exactly why so many people got permanently stuck at the Third Stage.

​"And another thing," Ian continued, shifting his gaze from Alvin to the terrified guards. "I’m not going to kill all of you. That would be a massive headache to explain to my family. I only want to kill him. So the rest of you can relax... for now."

​"Do you think I will just go down without a fight?! I WILL KILL YOU, EVEN IF I DIE AFTERWARD!" Alvin screamed, his voice turning shrill and suicidal. He dashed madly at Ian, his worn-out iron sword flaring with a dark red aura.

​Ian planted his feet and raised his fine iron sword in a defensive stance.

​"YOUNG MASTER, LOOK OUT!" both David and Dennis shouted in unison, terrified for him. They had just experienced firsthand how monstrous a First-Stage Aura User was against normal people. If they couldn’t handle it, how could Ian—a noble from a family known for having weak bodies—survive?

​Trevor, however, didn’t look worried at all. Standing by the weapon racks, he simply watched, already knowing exactly what was about to happen. He still remembers the strength the young master showed that night when he killed that assassin.

​CLANG!

​Their swords clashed with tremendous force, and in the next instant, both blades shattered into pieces. Even though Alvin’s rusted sword was coated in aura, it couldn’t withstand the monstrous physical strength behind Ian’s swing. Similarly, Ian’s fine iron sword couldn’t handle the sheer destructive impact of an aura-coated weapon.

​"What the hell is up with that monstrous strength?!" Alvin gasped, stumbling backward while holding nothing but a broken hilt.

​Without giving him a moment to breathe, Ian dashed forward, throwing a flurry of bare-fisted strikes. Alvin hastily raised his arms to block the punches.

​Huh? His punches are weak! What is going on? Was that monstrous sword swing just my imagination? Then how did he break my sword? Alvin thought. Feeling a surge of confidence when Ian’s feet landed firmly on the ground, Alvin retaliated, throwing a desperate, full-might punch directly into Ian’s gut.

​THUD!

​"What the hell...?" Alvin whispered in agony. It felt like he had just punched a solid, hundred-year-old tree trunk. The bones in his hand screamed in pain.

​Before Alvin could comprehend the terrifying durability of Late-Stage Skin Cultivation, Ian smirked. He cocked his fist back and delivered a devastating blow straight to Alvin’s unprotected face. The impact lifted Alvin off his feet, sending him crashing heavily into the dirt.

​What the hell is actually happening right now? Did I really just get my ass kicked by this brat? Alvin thought, his mind spinning in utter confusion and pain.

​"You. Bring me a knife," Ian ordered, looking at Dennis, who was completely frozen in shock.

​Snapping out of his daze, Dennis quickly ran to the weapon storage next to Trevor, grabbed a sharp hunting knife, and sprinted back to hand it to Ian.

​"You do remember that I told you we are going to have to fix that mouth of yours, right?" Ian said with a chilling, light smile as he tested the weight of the knife. "Well, guess what, the time has come to fix it."

​Alvin was still lying on the ground, completely disoriented from the punch. Blood was pouring from his mouth, and he could taste several missing teeth on his tongue.

​"Both of you, grab his arms," Ian instructed David and Dennis.

​Eager for revenge, the two boys rushed forward and pinned Alvin’s arms securely to the ground. Ian knelt down and forcefully pried Alvin’s bloody mouth open, gripping his tongue tightly.

​"Pleese... Youg Maser..." Alvin sobbed incoherently, tears of pure terror streaming down his face as he desperately begged for mercy.

​Ian completely ignored his pleas. "Don’t worry. I won’t let you die that easily," he whispered with a cold, dead expression.

​With one swift, brutal motion, Ian sliced off Alvin’s tongue.

​"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"