1994 Is Over

"Authentic Blue Moon Pearls! Don't miss out as you pass by! Moonlight pearls born alongside Fanged Moon Tigers—one tiger, one person, one pearl for a lifetime!"

The night was perfect. At the amusement park's crowded fountain plaza, more and more visitors were drawn in by the shouting.

They had seen these so-called Blue Moon Pearls at souvenir stalls on the other side of the amusement park. Not many truly believed in them, but they were local souvenirs after all. Perhaps it was psychological, but the pearls really did look prettier beneath the moonlight, reflecting a pale blue glow.

What drew even more attention, however, was the little boy holding up a gleaming Blue Moon Pearl and calling out. He looked to be only about five years old.

The boy smiled. "1,800 Jenie. Arm wrestle me. Whoever wins gets to take the pearl."

The crowd began to chatter. One woman laughed. "How adorable. Where are your mommy and daddy?"

"He looks so serious. I just want to give him a hug."

"They sell those pearls for 40,000 Jenie each over there. This one can't be fake, can it?"

"Even if it's fake, it's free."

"Forty thousand? The guy I bought mine from said it was 100,000!"

"Hahaha!"

People tired from wandering around the amusement park had nothing better to do. They watched the show and laughed along. Really, arm wrestling with a kid this small?

Jing Yang pushed away a woman who was getting handsy with him and said unhappily, "Ma'am, could you be a little more serious? I'm making money here! Are you arm wrestling or not? 1,800 Jenie per round, thank you!"

"I'll give you 5,000, then. We have a deal, okay? If I win, the pearl belongs to me." The woman was not offended. Smiling, she pulled three bills from her wallet and waved them in front of Jing Yang.

"Thank you, sis." Jing Yang pocketed the three notes, hopped onto a borrowed stool, and held out his hand in position. "Come on, sis."

The woman could not help laughing. She smoothed back her hair, bent down, and clasped Jing Yang's little hand.

"Hehehe, how could big sis possibly... Hm?" She had not planned to use any real force, but she gradually realized something was wrong. Whether she exerted herself or not, the boy's arm felt like it had been forged from steel rebar, nailed firmly to the table without moving an inch. By the time she was sweating profusely and too exhausted to continue, finally conceding defeat, her mind was still full of question marks. Was this even real?

Some people cheered, some egged them on, and some suspected they were putting on an act. "Hey, pretty lady, isn't this kid your son? Hahaha!"

"My turn!" A muscular man in a tank top stepped forward, rubbing his fists as he stared at Jing Yang with a vicious grin. "I hate bratty kids the most. Damn it, this vacation cost Daddy how many paychecks... Little punk, uncle won't be as gentle as your mommy!"

"Come on." Jing Yang wiggled his right hand. "1,800 Jenie."

"A Blue Moon Pearl for 2,000 Jenie is still a bargain." The muscular man slapped a bill onto the table, then was promptly pressed down by Jing Yang with one hand, plunging into doubt about his entire life.

Jing Yang had only set up the stall on a whim to earn some extra cash. He had no intention of pretending to hold back. Whoever challenged him—man or woman, tall or fat—was pressed down within three seconds, no exceptions.

With his current Nen quantity of roughly 1,400, even though he was not an Enhancer, ordinary people had absolutely no chance against him in a contest of strength. It was a dimensionality-reduction strike.

Before the amusement park security guards could arrive after hearing the commotion, Jing Yang coolly packed up his stall and left.

The spectators went their separate ways, some still enjoying the spectacle and others still questioning their lives. One shifty-looking young man, however, wore a pained expression. A passing visitor recognized him. "It's you! You crooked merchant who sold me one for 100,000 Jenie!"

The crooked merchant cried injustice. "I'm the one who got swindled! That Blue Moon Pearl the kid had just now was 'borrowed' from me! Why did he just leave?"

"So it really was genuine? Interesting."

Having enjoyed the fresh excitement and its ending, the surrounding tourists left contentedly.

Jing Yang returned, tossing the Blue Moon Pearl in his hand as he said to the crooked merchant, "I'll take it for 1,000 Jenie. How about it?"

"1,000?!" The merchant's eyes widened. "Kid, you're even more crooked than I am!"

"900..."

"Deal!"

Jing Yang had tried out his little scheme and earned 26,700 Jenie. After deducting the 900 he spent taking the Blue Moon Pearl, he had made 25,800 Jenie today—probably around 1,200 RMB.

He placed the Blue Moon Pearl by his bedside. Bathed in its faint moonlight, Jing Yang dropped onto the bed and fell asleep.

When he woke the next day, he continued practicing Nen Abilities in the morning and training his Nen quantity and fundamental skills in the afternoon.

After briefly going through the fundamentals that afternoon, Menchi, that spicy girl, vanished off somewhere to continue developing her Conjuration ability. Ging was not in a position to watch Jing Yang train alone either, so he left with her.

Jing Yang remained unmoved and continued his training. Releasing as much Aura as his entire body could sustain, he gradually raised the upper limit of his Nen quantity through the repeated tug-of-war between depletion and growth.

In truth, most of his attention was not on his own body. After all, he had already used the Star Mark on the back of his neck to issue himself training instructions.

What was automated idle-mode training?

Part of Jing Yang's attention remained on the two crows beside Shizuku. He persistently familiarized himself with her, waiting for a suitable opportunity to perhaps guide Shizuku to him.

Naturally, another part of his attention remained focused on the movements of the Kakin group on the North Coast.

That evening, the high-end Miyagi Ryota lookalike, the one apparently named Babimayna, made new progress.

He found the place where Jing Yang had buried his godmother and the other Hunter.

Jing Yang swapped in another two birds, then watched from afar through the eyes of the two birds perched in the branches as the Kakin people dug.

"There are two bodies in total. The one here is the Deposed Consort. The other one over there should be the Professional Hunter she hired."

"We didn't find... any remains belonging to that child."

"The person who buried the bodies may have rescued him, or perhaps a passing wild beast carried him away and ate him earlier..."

With both hands behind his back, Babimayna stood ramrod straight before the excavated grave. He calmly listened to his subordinates' report while looking down at the corpse of the woman in the pit, whose beauty in life could no longer really be discerned.

"Photograph it for evidence and send it to Prince Benjamin," he said.

"What about the bodies?" someone beside him asked.

"Do you have a hobby of desecrating corpses?" Babimayna said. "Record the location and fill it back in."

"Yes, sir."

His subordinates busied themselves reburying the grave while Babimayna watched in silence. Behind and diagonally to his side, two birds left the treetop, circled in the air for a while, and flew away.

"Two at a time, rotating. Six in total..."

Babimayna did not turn around. "That doesn't seem like a coincidence. Whose trained birds are these? Or scouts being controlled... a Manipulator? For now, assume the person who forced Muser to commit suicide has noticed our actions and is monitoring us. Don't alert him yet. We'll wait and see."

"It also cannot be ruled out... that this person took the little prince away and intends to raise him."

"Why do I always feel so uneasy?"

Outside East Town, Jing Yang's main body hooked his finger and aimed at a tree in the distance. The ball of Aura on his fingertip continued to gather strength and grow. "Indeed, the six birds I sent to watch the Kakin people haven't rotated at all, and it's already been two days. If that high-end Miyagi Ryota is a well-trained soldier, and also a Nen Ability expert, he might notice the oddity of six fixed birds lingering nearby..."

"I can't play with these smart bastards. I'll leave it at that for now!"

Jing Yang released his finger. Bang!

A Nen bullet became Finger Flick Divine Art, carrying the force of at least nearly 600 Aura. It effortlessly smashed through the middle of that tree, then continued shooting forward unstoppably, tearing through everything in its path. It pierced four or five trees in a row before its Aura was exhausted and it dissipated...

With the power of such a Nen bullet, if he had possessed it that day, he would not have needed to waste words and tussle with that pathetic Floor Master named Galo. One Finger Flick Divine Art shot would probably have settled things immediately.

More importantly, after launching this charged Emitter-type ultimate move, Jing Yang still had strength to spare. He was no longer completely drained by a single big attack.

He shook out his hand and turned to gaze toward the North Coast. He had not expected Babimayna to be fairly moral. After digging up the grave and confirming their identities, he had reburied the bodies...

That removed one concern from Jing Yang's mind. All he needed to worry about now was whether he would be exposed. To prevent that, the only thing he could do was raise his strength as much as possible. So he fully withdrew the six birds that had been following and spying on them, eliminating an unnecessary risk of exposure while also freeing up some of his attention.

Thus, over the next few days, Jing Yang's training became even more intense, seemingly putting even greater pressure on Menchi.

Menchi appeared less and less often. She was probably devoting herself wholeheartedly to developing her Conjuration ability so she could compete with Jing Yang.

As Ging passed Jing Yang's training ground and looked at the line of snapped trees, he thought, Is he an Emitter? Or an Enhancer? He could even be a Manipulator...

It was another noon, in the same woods outside town.

Just as Jing Yang was immersed in the wonder of automated training, the carefree Menchi came looking for him.

After several days, she seemed able to beam confidently in front of Jing Yang again. Smiling, she said, "Why are you still training today?"

Jing Yang opened one eye and glanced at her, as if saying, get to the point if you have one, otherwise get lost and stop interrupting my grind.

"That's outrageous... I feel like you're more than twice as strong as when we first met!" Menchi looked him over, then said, "Today is New Year's Day! It's no longer 1994—it's 1995, January 1st! Don't train today, okay? Come on, let's go into town. I'll make a whole table of delicious food especially for you!"

She raised a finger, Aura flowing over it, and proudly told Jing Yang, "My ability is complete! I won't lose to you anymore! Hahaha!"

Thinking of that made Menchi unable to stop herself from beaming with delight.

"1994 is over. I'll miss it..." Jing Yang looked up at the sky. "Well, there's actually nothing to miss. Wu Er, I'm heading out. I'll bring some back for you!" He waved a hand. "Come on, let's go feast!" The Little Rock Sparrow chirped twice, spread its wings, and flew after Jing Yang and Menchi. Menchi clearly wanted to show off the ability she had successfully developed, yet insisted on waiting for Jing Yang to ask first. Jing Yang, meanwhile, stubbornly refused to ask, leaving her utterly miserable...