Even among the audience members who could see aura, their eyes could barely track Wing's speed. The moment Liam made a throwing motion, Wing vanished. He practically slid across the ring floor, closing the distance in a few explosive steps. His fist, wrapped in dense aura, drove straight toward Liam's abdomen.
He can't dodge! Kurapika's eyes widened.
But he did.
Wing's fist—packed with concentrated aura—barely grazed Liam's side.
A flash of surprise crossed Wing's eyes.
That punch had prioritized speed over power. He hadn't been trying to injure Liam. Just interrupt the throwing motion.
As long as he kept interfering with Liam's throws, he wouldn't have to worry about catching the ball. And if the ball stayed in Liam's hand, it would occupy one of his hands the entire time. That was a massive advantage for Wing.
But the punch he'd thrown without telegraphing had somehow been twisted aside by Liam in a split second.
What kind of reaction speed is that?
As they passed each other, Wing and Liam's eyes met. Both moved simultaneously.
Wing instantly changed tactics. His forward momentum shifted. He converted his fist into an elbow strike, and his aura flowed rapidly from his fist to concentrate at the elbow.
Liam grabbed the "1600" ball and hurled it at Wing like he was blocking a shot.
The Nen sphere collided fiercely with the concentrated aura at Wing's elbow. The impact made the air in the ring vibrate audibly.
The exaggerated movement made the ordinary spectators who couldn't see aura scream. "What the hell is happening? Are they still human?"
Compared to them, Liam was the one more shocked. The force behind Wing's elbow was monstrous. When the "1600" ball collided with it, Liam felt no satisfaction whatsoever. Instead, the palm gripping the sphere went numb from the shock. At the final point where they wrestled for control, there was a sudden jolt, and the "1600" ball bounced high into the air.
Half of Liam's arm was numb. His muscles ached. His skin was bleeding.
"Excellent attack! Fighter Wing scores another point!" the referee shouted.
The Nen ball arced toward the brightly lit ceiling overhead while Wing pressed his advantage with an overwhelming assault.
But Liam's reaction speed surprised him again. Even injured, Liam responded to his attacks with perfect technique. Every punch was handled properly, as if Liam's mind wasn't affected by chaos or pain. As if he remained in peak competition form at all times, always making the most correct decision at speeds approaching pure instinct and intuition.
The ball reached its apex and began falling freely toward the ground. Meanwhile, the two fighters in the ring had exchanged dozens of blows.
In such close combat, Liam quickly fell into a disadvantage, suppressed by Wing's powerful strikes. The opponent's technique might not be better than his own, but his raw strength was too overwhelming.
During one of Wing's rare openings, Liam didn't even have time to react with his eyes and brain. The Star Mark on the back of his neck had already made the choice for him, affecting Liam's aura and body. He kicked toward Wing's fleeting weakness and connected hard.
Wing was kicked so powerfully he seemed to glide across the ring, pushed back several meters.
His movements are already perfect, Wing thought, stopping to stabilize himself.
Wing secretly admired Liam's martial technique. Forget ordinary fighters and spectators—even Kurapika, who took pride in his clan's martial art skills, had to admit that Liam might be the most outstanding martial artist he'd ever seen.
Of course, Shizuku knew these skills were essentially the effect of Liam's Manipulation ability, "Flowing Star Strike."
Liam had told her there was someone in the Phantom Troupe named Shalnark whose ability was similar to his. The difference was that Shalnark lost self-awareness when using his ability to manipulate himself, letting his body fight on autopilot. But Liam's ability wasn't like that. He wasn't operating in completely mechanical mode, nor was he fighting on pure autopilot. His subjective consciousness and operational control were completely integrated, inseparable.
To use Liam's expression: this wasn't "be like water" anymore. This was "be like wind."
Water was formless but had substance. Wind was formless and without substance. Completely unrestrained.
However, even Liam—who fought as freely and joyfully as the wind—had sustained injuries of varying severity from engaging in such high-intensity close combat despite his insufficient raw strength.
And that was with the Star Mark accelerating his healing.
Wing, on the other hand, was basically uninjured except for looking less elegant than before and having consumed some aura.
Liam shook his arm. The limb that had been numbed and bleeding from Wing's elbow strike was gradually recovering under the Star Mark's treatment.
He looked at Wing and pointed upward.
Wing glanced up. The ball that had been knocked away seconds ago was just now falling on his side of the ring.
Snap. He reflexively reached out to catch it. When he looked closely, the number inside had changed to "3200."
Liam took a deep breath and exhaled. He spread his arms and squatted slightly into a goalkeeper's stance, grinning. "Want to throw it? If you throw it and I catch it, it becomes '6400!' Even with your solid defense, you definitely can't stop that, right?"
Wing thought for a moment. "I can fight with just one hand."
As he spoke, he gripped the "3200" ball with his left hand, stepped forward, and struck at Liam with his right palm. Boom!
A wave-like shockwave of aura exploded toward Liam.
The range was too wide. No matter how good Liam's Flowing Star Strike technique was, he had nowhere to dodge. He could only raise his arms. The powerful air wave made his clothes billow and churn.
An Emission technique? As expected, the power isn't enough...
But he's just trying to block my vision. Liam peered through the gap between his blocking arms and saw Wing had already closed the distance again.
Boom! Their fists and feet collided.
Wing kept his left hand—holding the ball—away from Liam. After neutralizing Liam's force, he spun and drove a whipping kick.
Boom! Liam parried, used the momentum to retreat, and flicked his fingers as he jumped back.
Just as Wing was about to pursue, an aura bullet pierced through the dust and slammed into his body, staggering his momentum.
At that moment, he caught a glimpse of the ball in his hand. It was emitting a flashing red light.
What does the flashing red light mean?
While Wing was momentarily distracted, another Nen bullet came flying. Wing dodged quickly. Bang—a small crater exploded in the floor where he'd been standing.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Liam stood at a distance, firing off several rounds of Spirit Gun, targeting Wing's legs!
Wing held the ball and dodged repeatedly. The red light in his hand flashed faster and faster. He suddenly called out, "Is there a time limit for holding the ball without throwing?"
Can you seriously just ask that?
Kurapika, watching from the stands, had been completely immersed in the fierce exchanges. Now he was left speechless by Wing's straightforward question. Even if you ask, nobody else would—
"Of course," Liam said.
—Why would you actually answer?! Kurapika glared at Liam on stage.
Liam smiled at Wing. "As a friendly reminder, since it's a game of toss and catch, there's an option to stop playing. The side holding the ball can actually cancel it voluntarily."
"Oh? Really?" Wing looked at the thing in his hand—now flashing red so rapidly it had almost turned into a solid red sphere. "Then let me cancel it."
His hand shook. The ball with "3200" inside—flashing red continuously—collapsed, shrank, almost disappeared.
Almost.
In an instant, Wing's expression changed dramatically.
The released Nen ball acted like a black hole, wildly devouring the aura from his body.
Just a brief moment!
It was as if one-seventh of Wing's remaining aura had been swallowed in a single gulp by a greedy beast.
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