The bunny girl who'd been browsing the internet intensively didn't have many misunderstandings about the situation in the room.
Pyon, the Rabbit of the Hunter Association's Twelve Zodiacs, took one look and understood. Judging from the residual aura and energy in their bodies, Liam and Shizuku had been practicing Nen in their room since they got back.
"You're pretty serious about training." Pyon casually pushed the dining cart toward Shizuku. "The entire villa and hotel are empty. Where would you find waiters to deliver food, young master?"
Shizuku caught the cart, opened the cover, and saw generous portions of food. In terms of refinement and taste, it seemed much worse than the previous two days.
"Then who made this?" Liam asked casually. "Can't be Mr. Netero cooking it himself. Ha."
He was being polite to Pyon. She waved her hand. "No thanks, I'm on a diet. Those martial artists who came to the conference saw the hotel was empty. When they got hungry, they went to the restaurant and threw something together with the ingredients there. People eat here and there, and the restaurant's lively again."
"Oh, thanks so much." Liam looked at Pyon's slender figure. "You? On a diet?"
He was shirtless, and Shizuku only wore her underwear and was barefoot. They were both starving and couldn't be bothered with propriety, so they just started eating around the dining cart.
Pyon said, "What, do I need to explain myself to you?"
"Conjurers should be able to develop tricks beneficial to weight loss," Liam said seriously while eating. "Like changing the shape of your stomach to speed up digestion."
Pyon rolled her eyes and ignored him.
She turned to leave, but paused at the door. "I'm here to inform you—if you still want to participate in the Sensui Mountain Conference, meet at the practice ground at 7 AM tomorrow morning."
Why was there still a conference?
Didn't they already deal with Sky Master? Pretty thoroughly, at that.
Liam said suddenly, "Netero wants to personally host the martial arts tournament?"
"Which training ground?" Shizuku raised her hand to ask.
"The one President Netero was observing before," Pyon said.
"..." Liam paused, then snorted and laughed. "What a cunning old man with sharp eyes! Did he figure it out?"
Hearing this, Pyon looked toward him with surprise and curiosity on her face.
Never mind her—even Shizuku, who was silently eating dinner, had question marks over her head.
Pyon asked, "President Netero's exact words were, 'If he knew what I was talking about right away, then I guessed correctly.' So what riddles are you two playing?"
"What, do I need to explain myself to you?" Liam worked his mouth, spat out a clean bone, and smiled at Pyon.
Pyon rolled her eyes, turned and left. "Whatever."
"Hey, the cart!" Liam shouted, but didn't move his feet.
"Send it back when you're done..." Pyon's voice echoed from far down the corridor.
Liam smiled, then clicked his tongue. Noticing the confusion in Shizuku's eyes, he explained. "When we competed at the training ground before, didn't I use the rock sparrow to fly to the front mountain to check on Kurapika? I ran into Netero on the way. He was spying on us from the hotel rooftop. At the time, I felt like Netero might have noticed something abnormal from Jaku's aura. Looks like that was the case..."
Shizuku suddenly understood, said "Oh," and continued eating happily.
Soon, the two of them finished the dinner meant for five people, leaving a pile of cups and plates in complete chaos.
Liam touched his round belly, sat back on the sofa, and wondered aloud. "But even if Netero noticed Jaku's abnormality, how did he connect it to me? Unless Wing, that strait-laced guy, told Netero I was a Manipulator. That would let him put two and two together..."
Shizuku sat for a while. The sweat on her body had dried. She walked to the bathroom with bare feet. Soon there was the sound of running water.
Liam suddenly felt bored. He caught the rock sparrow and played with it for a while. Released the chirping little gray bird. Picked up his phone and put it down again. Turned the Ring A on his index finger and spoke through the Moon Mark: [Tomorrow morning at 7, Netero will replace Sky Master and personally host the Sensui Mountain Conference at the back mountain. Suzaku, want to participate?]
Not long after, Kurapika's reply came: [My bodyguard mission isn't over yet.]
Liam was surprised. [Sky Master's Nen beast is gone, and now there are no waiters on the entire mountaintop. What kind of art exhibition on the front mountain can still be held?]
[The Hunter Association's airship sent a group of temporarily hired service personnel,] Kurapika explained. [Compared to the various waiters transformed by Sky Master's Nen beast, these people might actually be more professional.]
Netero's work efficiency was really high. But for the President of the Hunter Association, this small arrangement was probably just a phone call away.
Kurapika's work ethic was so strong that even though he was responsible for the night shift as a bodyguard and had free time during the day, he wasn't willing to slack off at the back mountain to participate in the martial arts tournament.
Liam didn't force it. On the contrary, he admired Kurapika's dedication.
After all, as the boss of The Ten, he certainly hoped Kurapika's sense of duty was as strong as possible...
Feeling sleepy, Liam yawned. Suddenly there was a sensation in his mind, as if someone coughed.
A Star Mark activated?
Liam looked at the little gray bird, the rock sparrow, resting under the coffee table.
He looked at the bathroom of the hotel room.
The sound of water was still there. Shizuku was still showering. Judging from the sensation, the Star Mark on Shizuku's body hadn't been activated, and she didn't seem to be in her period yet. Every cycle was fixed at one and a half days. Liam would sense the activation of Shizuku's Star Mark. On this matter, Liam's judgment was extremely accurate.
The direction across the ocean was...
Ghost Island?
With a thought, Liam projected his consciousness and possessed the distant target who'd activated the Star Mark.
The first thing Liam saw was the night sky outside huge floor-to-ceiling windows. He couldn't help but think: "Sure enough, among the six human continents in the Hunter World, there's no time difference at all..."
Then he saw the stationary dark Ferris wheel in the distance under the night sky, and the bustling lights of the amusement park further below.
The Elf Playground on Ghost Island.
The floor-to-ceiling windows reflected Liam's current appearance—a pure white tiger. The "king" character on his forehead and the markings all over his body reflected sapphire-like brilliance in the night.
"Something feels wrong..."
Liam looked closer and strolled toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, where the faint mirror image became clearer. They hadn't seen each other for more than half a year. Lumos's physique was stronger, his fur more lustrous, his belly round and parabolic, and even his limbs much thicker. But why did it feel like his limbs had gotten shorter?
"Have you gained that much weight?!"
Liam's voice rang in the Misery Moon Tiger's mind. The tiger, who'd originally wanted to roar affectionately, suddenly fell silent.
Liam thought silently, stepping with tiger steps that were much heavier than half a year ago. He felt like even the tiger's tail couldn't swing properly...
He looked back and saw the white ghost-like little boy looking at him curiously and doubtfully.
It was Haku. This was what the post-mortem resentment left by Nasubi Hui Guo Rou looked like after several reincarnations.
Liam remembered that before he and Shizuku left Ghost Island, he'd asked Haku to help take care of Lumos. Now seeing how fat the tiger was, Haku must have taken too much care of him...
He wanted to ask Haku what was going on, but when he opened his mouth, he let out a deep tiger roar, making communication impossible.
Fortunately, this was Alain Blanchett's room at the top of the amusement park tower. There was a secret passage leading directly to the underground tomb of the True Martial King on Ghost Island. Usually no one came except Haku, so there was no need to worry about the tiger's roar being heard. At that moment, Liam heard Lumos's silent thoughts in his mind...
Liam roughly understood how Lumos had activated the Star Mark.
Although humans and tigers didn't understand each other's language, the communication of thoughts wasn't entirely dependent on language. It was closer to emotional and spiritual connection. As a wild animal, Lumos's thought information was conveyed to Liam like that of a small child. Many short sentences with simple structures. The logic occasionally confused and disjointed, but he could finally understand the meaning.
Simply put, it was the story of Lumos, who'd been raised as a fat tiger, who had a sudden impulse to return to the forest to hunt, but was almost caught...
In the process of fighting and biting two wild wolves, he'd been bitten and wounded. After Lumos used his weight to defeat his opponents, Haku had called him to Alain's tower office to quietly recover from his injuries.
"You also know being a fat tiger is too embarrassing to show people..."
Liam was speechless.
"Roar..." Lumos faltered and rumbled, trying to mean something.
Liam, possessing Lumos, wandered around the quiet office. It suddenly occurred to him that Lumos was also a Star Mark bearer. Theoretically, the Nen beast Reflection parasitizing him could be transferred to Lumos... However, this place was quite far from his own body and the rock sparrow currently parasitized by Reflection.
Really curious, Liam gave it a try.
After focusing his thoughts...
A dark wind seemed to blow through the quiet room. Behind "King Lumos," a dark figure with eight arms quietly floated up.
Oh wow, perfect!
Liam was pleasantly surprised. This thing seemed able to ignore distance. It was produced by Hui Guo Rou, so it just made sense...
When he turned around, through the eight-armed Nen beast Reflection, he saw a four-winged, two-legged white bone demon dragon glaring at him fiercely.
No—it was staring at this Reflection on his body.
Haku, calm down!
Liam wanted to shout, but what came out was a tiger's roar.
The white bone demon dragon spread its four wings.
With a thought, Liam activated the Star Mark on his own body's back. Soon, the eight-armed Reflection in front of him gradually faded and disappeared.
The white bone demon dragon seemed stunned for a moment, finally turning into white light and shrinking back to its original ghostly appearance as a pale little boy.
"Even the post-mortem Nen left by Hui Guo Rou responded, but not to me." Liam thought to himself. "Is this body I transmigrated into one of the Hui Guo Rou? Is it the body of my godmother or some other bloodline? The question is whether she conceived before entering the palace or inside it..."
However, this was something he wasn't interested in exploring. What good would figuring out his biological father do? Would he really acknowledge him?
Looking at the Elf Playground on the island, Liam felt a bit wistful. It would be great if Shizuku were here. It would be nice to revisit this old place and walk around together.
Speaking of revisiting old places, Liam suddenly had an idea. He leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window and tried his best to gather Lumos's aura in his eyes, raising his eyesight to look at a certain market street in the playground below.
Without quite knowing why, a vivid and mischievous smile appeared on Fat Tiger's face.
Before leaving, Liam made an exception and gave an instruction through the Star Mark to Lumos: "Whether indoors or outdoors, you must run ten kilometers every day."
On the other side of the world, Liam opened his eyes on Sensui Mountain. The feeble screams of Lumos gradually faded in his ears.
With half-damp hair, no glasses, and tender skin that was fair and rosy, Shizuku simply wore Liam's short-sleeved shirt. She sat beside him with a pair of straight white legs and glanced at Liam in confusion, then at the eight-armed Reflection behind him.
Liam told her what had just happened, finally saying with a smile, "I thought of a way. Maybe I can get Lumos here."
"I'm going to shower." Liam hummed and went to the bathroom.
Shizuku thought for a while, finally manifested Blinky, and had it spit out an old book onto the coffee table. Listening to the sound of water from the bathroom, she started reading quietly.
The next day, 7 AM.
Exhibitions, concerts, and the like seemed to be continuing at the front mountain. On the training ground at the back mountain, more than thirty martial artists gathered, all looking at Netero in front of them with piercing eyes.
What excited everyone most was Netero's outfit.
Not the usual wide-sleeved robes and clogs, but a vest, loose trousers, and a pair of sturdy cloth shoes. The simplest attire suitable for martial arts.
Netero stroked his goatee and said with a smile, "Then, the Sensui Mountain Conference will continue. There are no rules. You'll compete with me one by one. Who's strong and who's weak, who's superior and who's inferior—I'll make my own judgment. Of course, if you have any objections to the final results, you can raise them."
Everyone shook their heads. Joking!
Netero could joke with his mouth, but not with his skills.
Of the more than thirty combatants, almost twenty barely made it to the fourth exchange. After Netero surrendered the first three rounds and showed his hand, he suppressed them. With a gentle push, the martial artist was sent outside the training ground in a daze.
"No matter how you look at it, this old gentleman is just toying with us."
Some of the remaining martial artists lined up on the sidelines muttered.
"If you're dissatisfied, you can just quit. It's not mandatory."
"Who says I'm dissatisfied? I'm thrilled Netero's bothering with me at all!"
Another martial artist was easily thrown out of the ring by Netero, without touching a corner of Netero's clothes the whole time.
"Have you noticed?" Liam said. "Netero's standing in the center of the field with his left foot planted. From beginning to end, he hasn't moved it at all."
Wing nodded and said with a smile, "After all, he is President Netero..."
Tetsuro, not far away and listening, was about to say something when he heard Netero energetically calling for the next person.
Tetsuro looked around and saw he was next.
Taking a deep breath, Tetsuro stepped into the field with his head held high.
Liam said to Wing, "There's something I want to ask your help with."
"What is it?" Wing stared at the scene intently. He heard Liam continue, "Please give your master Biscuit a message."
Wing looked at Liam in surprise.
Liam said, "I heard there's a place called Ghost Island to the west of the Ochima Federation. There's a kind of 'Blue Moon Orb' there. They say a Misery Moon Tiger can only produce one in its lifetime..."
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