Kento stood facing the assassin bearing the X-mark on his back. He nonchalantly pulled out another cigarette and exhaled a cloud of smoke, sweeping a contemptuous gaze over him before tossing out mockingly:
— "I guess a hired assassin type like you... doesn't carry a decent pack of cigarettes either, huh?"
Without waiting for his opponent to react, Kento closed the distance at horrifying speed. His movement was so fast that the assassin's vision couldn't track him at all.
WHOOSH!
Kento stamped his left heel, using his hips as the axis to spin into a precise 360-degree high spin kick straight out of Taekwondo. The immense centrifugal force tore through the air, his right heel tracing a brutal arc that slammed directly into the left side of the assassin's cheek.
BOOM!
The heavy force behind the kick distorted the assassin's face, his whole body sent flying sideways by the massive impact, his neck bent at a sickening, ghastly ninety-degree angle.
Yet the assassin did not fall. He stumbled back a few steps, reached up to grab his chin, and with a dry CRACK, snapped his neck back into place. Licking the trickle of blood from the corner of his lips, he glared with a cold laugh:
— "Fast! Looks like my assassination mission today finally bumped into a tough nut to crack!"
Kento didn't bother acknowledging his threat. Raising both hands to his chest, he decisively ripped off the designer black suit jacket that was already torn to shreds, casually tossing it onto the floor. His chiseled six-pack abs and sculpted muscle definition—carved like a statue—were exposed beneath the crystal lights.
Cracking his knuckles with satisfying pops, Kento let out an excited grin:
— "It's no fun if it's too bland. A little flavor like this is what makes a fight taste right!"
Witnessing the horrific scene of violence, the young masters, ladies, and high-society elites in the hall finally snapped out of their stupor. They realized that staying here for even one more second meant becoming unfortunate collateral damage in the clash between these two monsters. Better to run now and save their lives!
A pampered young master clutched his head, fleeing for his life while shouting at the top of his lungs:
— "I'm outta here! I don't wanna get dragged into this mess!"
An elegant young lady in a cumbersome evening gown stumbled frantically toward the emergency exit, crying out with an utterly bizarre excuse:
— "I... I still have to go home and cook dinner! Let me through!!!"
In the blink of an eye, the lavish banquet hall turned into pure chaos. People fled, people hid, leaving only a scattered few with the nerve to watch from a safe distance.
Without giving the assassin time to catch his breath, Kento stamped his foot and charged forward. He threw a straight punch aimed directly at the center of his opponent's face.
The punch was so fast the assassin only sensed a wave of death rushing over him. Relying on the life-or-death instincts of one who had dwelt long in the shadows, he frantically tilted his head, dodging by a hair's breadth.
BOOM!
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Although Kento's punch grazed the assassin's ear, the horrifying atmospheric pressure radiating from his fist punched a massive round hole right through the building's reinforced concrete wall, leading straight out to the night sky.
Kento leisurely pulled his arm back, stepping up to the edge of the giant hole he had just created. Looking down at the ant-sized traffic below, he tsked:
— "The view from up here isn't half bad. Wonder if falling from this height would actually kill someone."
The assassin's eyes went wide, cold sweat running down his spine. He realized a brutal reality: this black-haired kid didn't view him as a threat at all. He was playing with him like a cat with a mouse!
— "Don't you dare look down on me!!!" the assassin roared in rage.
He swung his arm violently, slashing a diagonal line through the air. A razor-sharp invisible strike tore through the marble floor, darting toward Kento. But Kento simply leaned his body slightly to the side, dodging the slash with supreme ease and leisure.
— "Damn it! You dodged one strike, but how are you gonna dodge ten, a hundred?!"
The assassin went mad, his hands swinging wildly to create residual images. Dozens, hundreds of invisible slashes intertwined like a giant web of death, blanketing the entire space around Kento.
Yet ironically for him, Kento slipped between the gaps of the invisible blade shower like a phantom. Every step he took was fluid and absolute in precision, dodging every single strike flawlessly.
By the time the assassin realized his offensive net was completely useless, it was already too late. Kento was right at his flank.
— "Let's wrap this up quickly. Tonight's target is 30,000 Sophion Coins and a new member for the organization," Kento stated coldly.
Right in front of the assassin, Kento channeled power into his right fist, delivering a single straight punch that struck dead center on his face.
CRACK... CRACK... CRACK!!! BOOM!
The punch carried a monstrous force far exceeding the limits of a biological body. The assassin's facial structure distorted instantly, his entire skull system beneath the skin shattering into fragments.
But it didn't end there. The momentum from the punch generated a terrible blast of air pressure, slamming the assassin into the ground. The meter-thick concrete floor fractured like a spiderweb before caving in completely.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
The punch blew through the floor, sending the assassin falling freely through five consecutive lower levels. The shockwave from the collision was so intense that it blew out all the reinforced glass windows across all five floors, shattering them into millions of glass shards sparkling under the streetlights.
A dark, gaping hole appeared in the middle of the banquet hall, leading straight down to the lower floors. People on the floors below screamed in panic as both their ceiling and floor were suddenly punctured with a giant hole, accompanied by the mangled corpse of an assassin dropping down.
Kento stood by the edge of the hole, casually looking down at the devastation he had just wrought. He turned to look at the middle-aged man—his employer—who was still trembling in the corner of the room, asking with a slight grimace:
— "Hey, middle-aged uncle... do I have to compensate for these holes? Just so you know beforehand, I don't have any money!"
The middle-aged man swallowed hard, hurriedly waving his hands, his voice trembling yet full of deep respect:
— "N-No problem! No problem at all, it's not an issue! I can handle this little bit of damage! Our deal stands—30,000 Sophion Coins will be transferred to your account immediately!"
Hearing that, Kento let out a satisfied smile, nodding:
— "You're alright, uncle! This mediocre assassin really wasn't a problem. And the guy who hired him to come here is just as stupid—saving money or what, hiring such a weakling to assassinate you?"
Brushing off a bit of dust clinging to his shoulders, his deadpan eyes shifted elsewhere:
— "Though... tonight I found something far more interesting."
Kento slowly walked toward the single sofa in the corner of the hall.
Unbelievably, even after the entire hall had experienced an earth-shattering battle full of destruction and flying dust, the person lying on the couch kept both eyes closed, leisurely floating grapes into his mouth to eat, completely unconcerned with the world around him.
Kento stopped in front of him, his voice low:
— "Xie Jingchen, right?"
The black-haired young man opened one eye slightly, looking at Kento before speaking in a lazy tone:
— "I saw your performance just now. Quite violent."
Kento crossed his arms, looking straight into his eyes:
— "I came here to recruit geniuses. And you... are the first one I've set my sights on in this city. Do you accept joining Zero Horizon?"
Hearing the name, Xie Jingchen sat up slightly, picking up the cup of fruit from the table to take a sip, answering sluggishly:
— "Zero Horizon? Sounds like a bunch of kids suffering from delusions of grandeur."
Setting the cup down, he looked at Kento with probing eyes:
— "What if I refuse?"
Without a second of hesitation, a bone-chilling intent to kill flashed in Kento's eyes:
— "Then I'll kill you right here."
Hearing that, Xie Jingchen wasn't scared at all. On the contrary, his lips curled into an intrigued smirk:
— "You really are arrogant. Why would a powerful person like you want to recruit a lazy bum like me? Are you the head of this organization?"
Kento shook his head, his eyes revealing immense pride and absolute loyalty as he mentioned his brother:
— "No. I am the White Oni, and I am merely the sharpest sword conquering the world for my leader!"
Xie Jingchen went silent for a moment, his usually drowsy eyes suddenly flashing with the sharp light of a spatial genius:
— "Sounds interesting enough... How about this? Let's make a small wager. If I beat you in this fight, you have to leave one of your fingers right here. But if I lose... I'll agree to join Zero Horizon and play with you guys. Game on?"
Right then, seeing the atmosphere grow tense again, the middle-aged man hurriedly stepped forward to intervene:
— "Hey, Mr. White Oni! He's not on our protection contract list! Don't cause any more trouble..."
Without turning around, Kento nonchalantly waved a hand to cut the uncle off:
— "Uncle, the guy who wanted to murder you is lying flattened five floors down. Go get the money ready. As for this prey... it's my personal business! You'd better leave this place first."
With that, Kento turned around fully to face Xie Jingchen. Stuffing a hand into his pants pocket, he smirked and asked a familiar question:
— "Do you... happen to have any cigarettes on you?"
END OF CHAPTER 32