"Is he really that powerful? Can't even defeat a Hunter like you?"
In the picture of the video call, Battera—a world-class rich man wearing a luxurious pyjama but with a haggard face—was a middle-aged man over fifty. Although he'd taken good care of himself, his skin had become saggy. Because he'd been so anxious about the news of the miracle doctor these days, he didn't take care of his hair carefully. A few strands of gray hair appeared.
He was very surprised when he heard Tsezguerra report about the battle with "Chaotic Good" this morning.
Tsezguerra was maintaining his Zetsu state at the moment. Recovering his strength as quickly as possible and getting rid of his injuries. The battle with Chaotic Good in the morning lasted less than 20 minutes, but since he lost, naturally he was injured.
"I suspect he didn't try his best. Or even show most of his strength." Tsezguerra thought about it again and again. Said truthfully, "His basic skills are very solid. There are no shortcomings in all abilities. During the match, he mainly defended my attack and then counterattacked. Didn't pursue attack efficiency. However, despite this, I still couldn't resist and lost."
Whether it was maintaining Ken at all times during combat, or using various skills of Gyo and Ryu, Chaotic Good couldn't find a single fault. You must know that the use of these complex and changeable techniques consumed a lot of energy in actual combat. But until he lost, Tsezguerra didn't feel that Chaotic Good's aura had significantly weakened.
The other party obviously looked so young, but had such strong aura and such solid basic skills. Where did this kid get enough time? Where did the extra energy come from?
"If he'd tried his best from the beginning, I probably wouldn't have lasted 20 minutes."
Of course, Chaotic Good was an Enhancer who had more advantages than him in close combat. But there was no need to tell Battera this kind of thing that sounded like an excuse. Tsezguerra himself found it boring.
"But since I proposed to come back tomorrow, he didn't refuse..." Tsezguerra said.
"I understand." Battera in the video rubbed his eyebrows. He no longer had any extra energy to worry about whether this was a one-sided statement. The Hunter's professional quality could actually be trusted. He'd set up the situation to extract benefits. As long as he could invite a miracle doctor, he was willing to do anything. "Then let's show our sincerity first."
"Sincerity isn't enough. It'll be difficult for the old aunt to open her mouth."
In a secluded house on the city's edge, Liam let out a weary sigh. There was Bisky, looking entirely too comfortable: freshly bathed, hair wrapped up, her feet tucked up as she lounged in a plush chair, happily flipping through a fashion magazine.
Ever since their walk through the park earlier that evening, Bisky's "mentor" instincts had been in overdrive. She was fully committed to the role of the sage now, greeting Liam's repetitive questions about Nen practice with a calm, unshakeable indifference.
Finally, she simply pressed her hands together, giving him a flat look. "Do you want to keep these lessons going or not? I have no intention of letting you trade them. You can wait until you've actually got your hands on a JoyStation console for that."
Anyway, the place here was big. Liam and Shizuku didn't bother to go back to the hotel. Stayed here tonight on the second floor. The room next to Lumos's was tidied up and they stayed there. As for their belongings, they were always collected by Shizuku into Blinky and not stored in the hotel. No need to worry.
The night was getting darker. Shizuku had already rested. Liam rested on Lumos's big and warm tiger body. Looking at the moonlight outside the window. Sometimes thinking about the development of his Emission ability. Sometimes thinking about Lumos's specific Conjuration ability. Unknowingly, felt sleepy. Fell asleep quickly.
Don't know how long it took. Liam, who was sleeping soundly, suddenly turned his head to hide. A drop of water brushed past his face. Clicked on Lumos's tiger tail. The force was enough to bounce the tiger tail away.
Liam then opened his eyes and woke up. Turned around and looked around. Saw Bisky at the door of the room with wet fingers as if she'd just washed up. Asked doubtfully, "It's so early in the morning. What are you doing?"
"Muscle reaction? You must have been asleep just now. You were able to avoid it." Bisky said with interest. "It seems that old man Netero really didn't exaggerate about you. You've already practiced martial arts to your bones. Turns into reflex instinct."
Liam stretched. Rubbed the big tiger's head. Stood up. "Don't compliment me. I don't believe you didn't see it."
Bisky nodded. "You have the mark of Manipulation on your body. Just like the one on the belly of this tiger. You achieved this through self-manipulation. But this isn't inconsistent with what I said. You're a Manipulator. You've achieved a qualitative change in martial arts using Manipulation methods. What is there to criticize? It's just reasonable! Don't distinguish your Nen too much from yourself. This is integrated."
Liam smiled. "Ah, Aunt Bisky, didn't you say you don't want to teach me anymore? I haven't got Greed Island yet!"
Bisky smiled slightly. Didn't care about him. "Shizuku is preparing breakfast. Let's go."
"Don't go. Let's continue chatting for a while. I think there's still a lot of room for improvement in my Manipulation..." Liam followed. Followed by a pale tiger, who followed him downstairs with a calm gait.
After breakfast, Lumos was left in the single house on the outskirts of the city. Liam, Shizuku, and Bisky ran in a trot. After dinner, they ran to the park as easily as a walk. It was just 8 o'clock.
Liam and Shizuku continued to practice step by step every day. Went through the Four Principles one by one and then made distinctions. Liam continued to practice his Enhancement and Emission. Shizuku got the guidance of "reality." Changed from the original "major Transmutation, minor Conjuration" to the normal practice method of "major Conjuration, minor Transmutation."
Bisky watched for a long time. Suddenly asked, "Have you two always practiced like this?"
Liam shot the aura ball toward the standing sign in the distance. Shizuku also nodded.
"Isn't it always like this? The main type is primary. The two adjacent types are supplementary."
As soon as he fired the aura ball, it flew to a location less than 2,300 meters away. Its power quickly weakened and eventually disintegrated.
"Shizuku and I have adjacent systems. One of them is Specialization—there's nothing to practice there, right?" Liam waved his hand dismissively, his brow furrowing. "I practice the main type, then I practice the secondary type. Isn't that the standard? Or did we actually miss something?" He looked toward Bisky, seeking a confirmation that his logic wasn't fundamentally flawed.
Regarding the training methods, he copied the content from the manga where Bisky gave instructions to Killua and Gon. He must have remembered it correctly, right?
Hearing this, Bisky fell silent for a moment. Nodded. "Since you've been practicing this way, just continue. The method that suits you is the best."
In fact, the practice method of Shingen-ryu was indeed to practice the main and secondary types alternately. But that meant practicing the main type today, then the left type tomorrow, the main type the day after, and the right type the day after tomorrow. That was a practice sequence based on days. Instead of Liam and Shizuku practicing together in two or three types that they mastered and assisted every day.
It would make a mess!
It was common sense to only practice the same Nen type on the same day.
The danger of a rushed, dual-track practice was the classic trap of "chasing the rabbit and losing the forest." By attempting to juggle the primary and secondary Nen types simultaneously, one risked grasping at the small, insignificant gains while completely dropping the substantial, foundational of their true potential.
The end result was inevitable confusion. Without a solid mastery of the main type, the nuances of the secondary system would remain a blurry mess. Even worse, once the actual training began, the distinct flows of energy from both categories would likely clash, creating internal friction that poisoned the user's focus. Instead of expanding their toolkit, they were simply creating a bottleneck that ground their overall progress to a halt.
Bisky herself used this most orthodox—and could also be said to be the most practical—"stupid method" to practice.
She was a Transmuter. She originally practiced Transmutation one day, Enhancement one day, then practiced Transmutation one day, then practiced Conjuration one day. In this way, day after day, alternating in sequence. Practiced diligently without stopping. It took twenty years to achieve success.
Looking at the young couple practicing, Bisky did not point out the difference.
However, this was the case with Nen. It itself represented infinite possibilities. All conventional rules and existing common sense couldn't compare with truly obeying one's heart. Assuming there was such a Nen user whose ability became stronger the lazier they got—why should they practice alternately and practice wholeheartedly? Just don't practice at all! If you practice, your skill will be greatly reduced! Are there any rules?
Liam and Shizuku had just warmed up when Tsezguerra walked up not far away.
Judging from his appearance, he should be almost recovered. Would fight for the second time today.
"I won't fight you. Let her take my place today." Liam waved his hand. Gestured for Shizuku to come on.
Tsezguerra took out a card from his chest. Shizuku looked at it curiously. It wasn't a Hunter License but a bank card.
"No matter what the final result is, this is also a bit of sincerity from my employer." Tsezguerra said. "Anonymous card. 10 billion Jenny."
He spoke the password aloud, but it felt like he was cutting out a piece of his own heart. Ten billion. The sheer weight of the number made his head spin. He had just negotiated his own salary up to five billion Jenny, and even then, it felt like a triumph. But here was this stranger, acting with an infuriatingly casual grace—handing over double that amount for absolutely nothing in return.
If that ten billion had gone to him instead, it would have been... well, he couldn't even finish the thought without a pang of envy.
"Oh? Ten billion? You're a generous one, aren't you!" Liam didn't hesitate for a second, gesturing for Shizuku to take the money immediately. In his mind, the logic was simple: walking away from a free ten billion wasn't just humble—it was pure stupidity.
Tsezguerra took a deep breath and prepared for battle.
Shizuku did not summon Blinky. But relaxed her hands. Each hanging down a chainsaw that transmuted with Nen.
The chainsaw hadn't started yet. Looked very calm. Like a magic weapon that had not been unsheathed.
Whip? Sawtooth? While observing, Tsezguerra considered the distance between him and Shizuku. Saw that this woman, like the person yesterday, did not take the lead. So he had no choice but to take the lead and launch the attack.
He shouted low. Raised his hand and fired an aura bomb toward Shizuku.
The chainsaw suddenly started and made a low sound.
While Shizuku dodged the aura bomb, she swung her hand and whipped the chain toward the opposite side.
The sweeping range had a radius of 5 meters. Tsezguerra did not want to jump up hastily and become a target. Had to raise his arms and condense a large amount of aura on his arms to form a solid wall. Only heard a boom. A vibration came from his arm. Then continued. Coming down, a splash of hot blood splashed on his cheeks. Tsezguerra saw his blocking arm floating in front of his eyes.
What the hell kind of lethality is this chain?!
Shizuku had no expression on her face. Then took a step forward to pursue. Waved her hand and slashed vertically with the chainsaw.
Tsezguerra hurriedly retreated.
Bisky was watching the battle in the dark. It was the first time she'd seen this transmutation in Shizuku's Nen.
Transmuting aura into different qualities wasn't just about "I think about it."
Of course, it wasn't impossible. But the difficulty would increase exponentially. Almost infinitely. Generally speaking, if you wanted to transmute aura into other properties, you needed to have personal experience of that property. Use this kind of experience and taste to integrate into one's own Nen. Transforming imagination and experience into reality. Achieving a qualitative change of aura.
Bisky saw Shizuku's seemingly indestructible chainsaw. What she thought in her mind was: "In order to develop such a transmutation, this child has cut herself with a real chainsaw countless times. The pain is unbearable..."
In fact, ordinary people had no chance to endure it. Because for ordinary people, if they were cut by a chainsaw, they'd basically just die. How could they give you the possibility to experience it again and again after enduring it?
She looked at Liam to the side. Couldn't help but wonder in her heart: Could it be that this boy's healing Nen ability was developed because of this?
There was no doubt that in today's match, Tsezguerra lost again.
And the defeat was faster and worse than yesterday.
Not only was one of his arms severed by the Nen chainsaw, but there were no less than ten cuts and wounds all over his body. Could be said it was riddled with scars. Stained with blood. Extremely tragic.
Liam picked up the severed arm and walked over.
Tsezguerra was feeling depressed. When he looked up, he suddenly understood. "Are you going to treat me?"
Liam smiled without saying a word. Handed the severed arm over. Pointed it at the broken part of Tsezguerra's arm. "Hold it securely."
Tsezguerra did as told. Saw Liam stretched out his palm and pointed it at the broken part of his arm. A dense white mass with glistening green light emerged from his palm. Full of vitality. The wound was covered by such a mass of aura. The package had changes visible to the naked eye. The muscles, blood vessels, nerves, and bones seemed to have come to life. Actively connecting back to each other. In the process, Tsezguerra felt that the healing wounds, like a water pump, continuously pumped aura from his body to fill the gap for self-healing.
After the arm was attached, Liam stopped caring.
The other wounds on Tsezguerra's body were neither disabling nor fatal. Just go back and lie down on your own. Use Zetsu and recover.
Tsezguerra was stunned by this treatment method. He shook the hand that was supposed to be broken. It recovered as before. As if it had never been broken.
Liam stood up. Clapped his hands. "Come back tomorrow."
Tsezguerra didn't waste any words. Nodded. Glanced at Bisky in the distance. Turned around and strode away.
"Even if you only have healing Nen ability, you're already very good." Bisky walked over. Said meaningfully, "This kind of ability is very popular. A healing effect of your level is even more impressive."
"Fame benefits me like floating clouds. It's not what I want." Liam dusted his sleeves and looked up at the sky.
Shizuku asked Bisky, "Can you tell what Nen type the person just now has?"
"You can tell this just by looking at it." Bisky said. Before Shizuku was disappointed, she smiled. "But you can make a rough guess." She raised a finger. "When he was in close combat, the actual power is much weaker than the total amount of aura he displays. It can be concluded he's definitely not one of the three strike types. That is, he's not an Enhancer, Emitter, or Trasnmuter."
Liam pricked up his ears and listened.
In the manga, Tsezguerra's performance was actually quite formidable, especially when measured against the raw potential of Gon and Killua. However, the gap closed faster than he anticipated. He was initially caught off guard when Gon successfully demonstrated Ko, but the real blow to his pride came during their physical evaluation.
When the two boys outperformed him in a vertical jump, Tsezguerra was left utterly speechless. The sheer height they reached seemed to defy logic, leaving him dumbfounded as he stood there staring upward. In that moment, the disparity between their youthful explosive power and his own veteran status felt jarring—almost as if it were inconsistent with the prestige and qualifications of a One-Star Hunter.
"Then, there are only three types left. Manipulation, Specialization, or Conjuration." Bisky said. "Assuming he's a Conjurer, in the battle with Shizuku just now, he was actually very suitable for using conjured props to parry Shizuku's attack. But he didn't have any. So it can be ruled out with high probability."
Shizuku nodded. "So he's either Manipulator or Specialist."
Liam said, "I guess it's Specialist."
Shizuku said, "Then I guess it's Manipulator."
Bisky beamed, her voice dripping with playful mischief. "It's all the same in the end, isn't it? What if my intuition slipped and he turns out to be a Conjurer? Or worse, one of the upper three types?"
"The old auntie is far too well-informed for that. How could she possibly be wrong?" Liam quipped.
He didn't even see the punch coming. A split second later, he was reeling back from the impact.
"How could Her Highness ever be wrong..." Liam muttered, rubbing his chest as he scrambled back to his feet.
The tension by the riverside evaporated, replaced by a sudden, lighthearted warmth. In the middle of the laughter, the young man, Killua, came sprinting toward them in a frantic hurry