'[Heart Drop·Punch Listening]?' The body, tightly restrained, even the mind seemed to slow down significantly... Zeno's head of white hair waved around as he furrowed his brow, stiffly turned his neck, and glanced at Roy, 'No, it's not [Heart Drop·Punch Listening]!'
'It's [Heart Drop·Sword Listening]!'
'There's a sword shadow!'
A sharp sword hum resonated with the unfolding of the [Transparent World], loudly echoing in Zeno's ears,
Inside the Zoldyck Family's ancient castle, in the haze, there seemed to be countless tiny illusory swords flickering... Some of these swords emitted intense heat, others were entwined with raging flames, some carried a magnetic attraction, while others wantonly released immeasurable light...
In an instant, they hovered over every Zoldyck, whether butler, servant, or even flora and fauna, compelling everyone to halt their actions.
'Swoosh~' On the second floor of the castle, the curtains suddenly opened, revealing a man holding an infant... Silva, with bare back exposed, showcasing his muscular physique, looked impassively at a hovering sword filled with high temperatures in front of him, his gaze swiftly turning cold towards Roy's room... Simultaneously, Illumi, Scarface, and the one-eyed man quickly followed with their gazes...
Roy seemed oblivious, his eyes quietly directed at the mountainside at that moment, his consciousness wandering with his spirit, as if his soul floated free, stepping on a bridge of virtual flying swords, strolling towards the butler's villa... At one point, a leisurely voice broke through his trance, asking him, "Boy, has your swordsmanship improved again?"
Roy halted his steps, standing on a surreal light sword radiating a sun halo, turned his head, and respectfully saluted towards the dimly lit room on the castle's first floor, saying, "Great-grandfather, your insight is piercing. I've indeed gained some insights recently."
'Creak~' From the dim room came the gentle sound of a rocking chair swaying back and forth...
Maha, hiding in the small room, enjoying the air conditioning before the day fully heats up, imperceptibly twitched the corner of his mouth, laughing and cursing, "This isn't just a little bit."
Indeed, although LV4 compared to LV5 is just one level apart, the gap in experience... the disparity is enormous, akin to an unbridgeable ocean... at least, after having observed the [Sun] from zero distance and elevating his swordsmanship to LV5, Roy found that his understanding of the sword and swordsmanship had deepened far more than before...
Now, not only is it the [Transparent World], he can wield it as skillfully as Tsugikuni Yoriichi, naturally transparent, but even the "Sun Breathing," "Water Breathing," and "Wind Breathing" sword techniques can be executed casually, with powers far exceeding past measures...
The young man shook his head and said, "A little is just a little, no more, no less,"
Roy would never forget how he exerted all his strength, expended all his Nen, and swung his "Nuclear Sword Strike" relentlessly, only to be effortlessly blocked by Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni's single strike... Its far from a time to be proud...
'Tick tock~' The curse on the back of his left hand counted down Roy's life like a ticking clock, unaffected by the [Heart Drop·Sword Listening]...
Maha lightly patted the armrest of the rocking chair, staying silent for a moment, then said in a faint voice, "You are a child who knows what's at stake, there's nothing more to say, but just one thing..."
Maha paused, letting out a begrudging snort, and said, "Even though others have come over to create trouble, you can't just stand by and watch."
Roy: "......"
He twitched his lips momentarily, speechless...
Was Netero purposefully causing a scene? Apparently not...
Just like his [Sword] wouldn't deceive him, Netero's [Fist] wouldn't lie either... Roy believed that not only he, but his father Silva, grandfather Zeno, and even Maha himself, could easily sense... The reason why the "Strongest Human" suddenly employed the [Heart Drop·Punch Listening] was clearly out of curiosity, a gentle move to delve into Wutong's state without any hostility...
Yet orders from above precede those below, not to mention Maha's command, Wutong is in a crucial advancement stage, and Roy himself wouldn't stand by idly, he needs to watch from the side to prevent accidents.
'Whoosh~' A breeze stirred through, passing straight through Roy's illusory body,
The young man nodded reluctantly towards the dimly lit small room, then turned and rode the wind, lightly tapping his toes, sprouting a small sword underfoot, supporting him as he flew out of the castle, gliding over the woods, descending level by level towards the mountainside butler's villa, in a blink of an eye,
He appeared beside Netero...
"Hohoho... looks like the old man is still angry at me..." A vague form emerged suddenly from Netero's shell as Roy arrived, the old man exuding harmony, casually dressed, with a helpless tilt of the head towards Roy and a smile,
The old eyes, hanging up yet moist, rippled with light, noticing Roy's hair color, he paused slightly in surprise.
'Silver... silver hair? Not purely silver...' Netero's gaze lowered, discovering Roy's hair tips glowing with a glassy golden light, like the sun leaping above the horizon in the morning, wantonly emitting a halo... The old man's eyes suddenly squinted again, a hidden beam gleaming from within, looked deeply at Roy and said, "Zeno told the old man that you will defeat Silva within a year, the old man took it as a joke at the time, but now... it seems my eyesight was too shallow..."
"You're different now, Roy!"
Since the Hunter Exam, it seemed like yesterday, Netero faced Roy directly, observing his entire aura merging with Nen, forming two robust pillars of light breaking through the villa's dome...
With the [Heart Drop·Punch Listening] state enhanced, super-sensation activated, everything told Netero, the young man before him possessed a profound amount of Nen, his blood emanating vitality, incomparable to before, you can no longer see him as just a "youngster"!
"President, you're flattering me..." Roy politely greeted Netero, the pair of blazing suns within his eye sockets brazenly shot two beams of infinite light onto Netero... A string of information subsequently emerged in Roy's mind...
[Name: Nitro Isaac]
[Species: Human]
[Constitution: B?]
[Manifest Nen: B?]
[Potential Nen: B+ or A-?]
[Rating: B]
Roy covertly withdrew his gaze, lingering on those question marks for two seconds, vaguely guessing... The presence of question marks and uncertainties might be related to Netero being in a stage of "Qi and blood decline"...
As the saying goes: "The fist fears the youthful strong, the staff fears the old veteran..."
In youth and strength, punches carry their greatest weight, after decades passed... time, like a butcher's knife constantly sharpening Netero's body, has permanently sealed his pinnacle in the day he understood the "Grateful Strike" and went down the mountain defeating many dojo masters.
"Are you saddened?" The emotional fluctuation presented a gloomy gray as it overflowed from Roy's head...
Noticing Roy's gaze, Netero raised his eyes to observe,
The young man slowly spoke, "No, just somewhat melancholic."
Roy gazed deeply, observing Netero's old face filled with fine wrinkles like channels etching across his forehead and eyes, candidly said, "You truly have aged, President."
Netero's body suddenly trembled. With Roy nearly matching Silva's height at present, he found he couldn't even look down anymore, stunned for a good while before coming back to his senses, planted both hands at his waist, letting out a chuckling laugh, "I see your butler from beneath the bridge, you see me from above the bridge... Hohoho... Roy, you should understand, not everyone is as lucky as your great-grandfather, encountering longevity seeds..."
"Like me, like your Grandpa Jager, we're merely humans, forever unable to escape the fate of aging..."
Is it really so? Perhaps it's also due to differing 'paths'... Roy thought of [God], thought of [Disaster], thought of the mysterious dark sonata rippling across the continent... In the world of "Nen" where anything is possible, terms like "aging," "death," and "birth" can't simply be explained away with one concept,
Just like one's own "crossing" and "rebirth" is inexplicable, not changeable by human will...
As with Wutong, granted with [Initial Embrace], reborn anew...
"Crack, crack..." Originally lying quietly in the blood cocoon, it suddenly moved...