The demon rampage seven years ago, was perhaps one of the gravest catastrophes that Heiyu nation has ever experienced since its founding.
Failure to properly contain residual spirit energy had resulted in the contamination of the fabric of space, creating gaping holes in the space barrier which allowed the Demon World to take advantage of the Gate between Worlds.
The demon rampage that year had been so devastating and intense that in one night, Heiyu nation had made economical losses that ran into tens of billions.
The strangest thing was that, the demons had retreated just as fast as they came, but those few days had given rise to several heroic cultivators who had been honoured with the title by the Heiyu nation, "Cultivator of the Year."
Odd Akira, who had killed the fifth-ranking sky-swallowing wolf with his sky-parting skill, had been of them.
Apart from him, Xero remembered that there were nine other individuals who had been granted that honour, but he couldn't recall their names.
He remembered that it had initially been a sunny and cloudless day.
Xero had been walking alone down the street in the capital of Heiyu nation, Luminary City.
He lived in a villa thirty thousand mairu away from the City Center, in a mixed urban and sylvan area right on the fringes of Luminary City. Although it was very far away, it had only taken Xero 3 minutes at full speed to get there.
Xero remembered that Small Bear YumYum Crispy Noodle snacks had a limited edition collection card that day, which was only being circulated in Luminary City. If you found the limited edition bear flashcard in your snack packet, you would be able to enjoy free crispy noodle snacks for the next two hundred and fifty years.
For Xero, this truly was an offer too tempting to resist.
In his memory, the value of these crispy noodle snacks was higher than even the priceless magic objects sold at the market.
Because no matter how expensive these objects were, or how rare the material was used in its making, they only lasted minutes in Xero's hands before he broke them.
But, crispy noodle snacks were… different.
Even if they broke into pieces, he could still happily feast on them, and satisfy his desire for good food!
From a young age, Xero had always thought that the inventor of these snacks deserved an award.
Just as he was hurrying to the YumYum Small Bear Crispy Noodle Snacks flagship store, a well-established business that had been around for seven-hundred years, the Gate Between Worlds had split the air suddenly, without warning, a loud boom in the sky.
This moment would be forever etched in Xero's memory.
The split in the sky had happened directly above the store, and the violent vibrations and gravitational waves it caused had levelled the big store in an instant.
Already, Xero wouldn't recall how he was feeling at the time.
The only thing he remembered was that he had been so angry, and he had looked impatiently for something to vent his resentment on!
And so… In that moment, when something large had fell from the sky..
It had a bulky and thick cyan, darkish torso, and an insufferably arrogant air as it dropped down in front of Xero. Its compass-sized pupils had flickered with dark noxious gleam — it was a massive cyan coloured wolf.
This was probably the biggest monster he had ever seen since he was born.
The instant its four hundred-foot long body landed on the ground, it raised a dust cloud that stretched out for fifty mairu around.
This poor sky-swallowing wolf, however, had been very unlucky to encounter Xero.
The sky-swallowing wolf had not even finished its loud cry before Xero had already pierced its abdomen with one punch…
It fell to the ground, and in that moment its spirit was drawn out, it took one final glance at the person who defeated it.
…
A child just 9 years old?
At that moment, ten thousand grass mud horses had galloped through the sky-swallowing wolf's heart.
The f**k? What the hell is up with this damn planet?
With the last trace of its spirit energy, the sky-swallowing wolf had warned the monsters on the other side not to trample on this planet.
Thus, the reason the demons retreated just as quick as they came was inevitably linked to Xero.
As far as how Odd Akira came to be credited with killing the sky-swallowing wolf and the awards presentation after… Xero had no idea. He only remembered being heartbroken for a long time, for the loss of that prominent, hundreds-of-years-old flagship store which sold crispy noodle snacks.
…😭
This time, standing in front a system modified, scaled down version of the "sky-swallowing wolf," Xero felt a mix of emotions.
He had anticipated that No. 70 High School was bound to make a big deal of Odd Akira's 'glorious' deed for killing the sky-swallowing wolf. However, he had never accounted the possibility that No. 70 High School had actually gotten a hold of its spirit and had even transmitted it to the system's database in order to create a more authentic experience.
This was the aura that had killed it with one blow! Even though it had been reduced to this, the sky-swallowing wolf would have never forgotten that moment.
Even though seven years had passed, the sky-swallowing wolf still recognised Xero as he stood in front of it once again.
And so, the instant the wolf saw Xero, it immediately turned terrified… there was not a single monster that wanted to get punched by this freak again… let alone twice! Would the punch destroy its remaining spirit and existence?
Honestly speaking, Xero had no idea what to do when faced with the sky-swallowing wolf again.
While he was hesitating, the sky-swallowing wolf made the first move — and fell to the ground with a boom.
And well… that was it.
Xero: "…"
The sky-swallowing wolf's four legs were pointed to the sky, its eyes rolled back empathically.
The system gave its evaluation right away — SSR!!
Everyone cried out in surprise!
"What the hell is going on? Student Xero hadn't even thrown the first punch yet!"
"Could it be a system failure?" One examiners jaw dropped as he registered what he was seeing.
"That shouldn't be possible… all the equipment was checked yesterday, and there definitely hadn't been any issues."
"I got it!"
One examiner yelled excitedly, "Could it be that… this is the Legendary Killer Gaze?"
Xero: "…"
Sky-swallowing wolf: "…"
"That could only be the possibility."
Yet another examiner said solemnly, "Legends speak of some talented people who possessed this special ability. They can make monsters dizzy with the aura from their gazes… It's also mentioned in the cultivation encyclopaedia."
"L, l… lordly aura?"
At this moment, the four examiners drew in sharp breaths and began to cry freely.
Yes it had to be!
This could be the only reason Xero was able to knock the wolf out with just by looking at it!
Xero was at a loss, one examiner came to him and gripped his hand tightly, "Student Xero, you are the future of our No. 70 High School!"
"…"
"According to regulations, Student Xero will be directly transferred into our No. 70 High School's advanced class!"
"…"
"Let's give a round of applause, and we look forward to Student Xero performing even greater feats at our No. 70 High School."
"…"
…
The red setting sun cast a long shadow as Xero walked home in peace.
His eyes swept over the letter for transference into the advanced class, personally presented to him by No. 70 High School's director for education.
At that moment, in Xero's heart, he didn't know whether he should be cursing the f**ker or not.