Chapter Summaries

Jing Yang and four other candidates survived a ruthless preliminary screening and were driven toward Brokenth Sakula by a bandit working for the Hunter Association. After the driver sent them on to a grocery store with an absurd password and gesture, the doll-like girl revealed she had heard Jing Yang discussing her.

• The bandit driver explained that only Jing Yang, Kurapika, Shizuku, Machi, and the doll-like girl had passed her preliminary test, then joked that she was a temporary Professional Hunter.
• Jing Yang and the driver discussed the dangers and legal protections surrounding the preliminary exam as she sped recklessly and hit several kangaroos.
• Jing Yang noticed the doll-like girl remained unnervingly still and judged her to be an expert.
• The driver dropped the candidates in an unfamiliar city and instructed them to ask a grocery store owner for a map using a secret phrase and an ice-cream-licking gesture.
• The doll-like girl told Jing Yang she did not need to blink as the group entered the store, where Jing Yang flicked a Flying Star Bubble toward the shopkeeper after Kurapika performed the gesture.

Jing Yang and his companions headed for Women's Paradise Island, met Battra and Alice, and learned that the couple had developed Nen abilities together. The group reached the mall as four Fierce Fox Beasts carrying people flew overhead, and Kurapika recognized two of them.

• Jing Yang collected five maps for the group, and Doll Sister revealed that she was a Conjurer with a mechanical body.
• Kurapika memorized the route while they crossed town, then watched as Battra and Alice subdued an armed criminal at a bus stop.
• Jing Yang recognized Battra and Alice, who explained that they were taking the Hunter Exam for the experience and were heading to Women's Paradise Island.
• Doll Sister sensed a high-energy entity following the group from underground as they continued toward the mall.
• Jing Yang, Doll Sister, Machi, Shizuku, and Kurapika looked up at four Fierce Fox Beasts carrying people, and Kurapika recognized two of them.

Jing Yang and his companions arrived at the Hunter Exam venue, where they reunited with Leorio and met the Kakin Second Prince, Camilla Hui Guo Rou. After Doll Sister stopped a sword-wielding killer, they headed toward the exam site, while police counted the dead.

• Four Fierce Foxes flew Leorio and two sisters, along with Camilla Hui Guo Rou and her guards, to the fountain plaza after they passed the hidden screening test.
• Leorio reunited with Kurapika, and Xiao Fen recognized Jing Yang while Xiao Zi and the others joined their conversation.
• A sword-wielding man attacked passersby and threatened the Hunter Exam candidates, but Doll Sister appeared behind him and tore out his heart.
• Jing Yang noticed the Death Qi count had risen to six, and his group headed toward the exam venue as Leorio explained that Camilla had bought the Fierce Foxes' mountain peaks and offered them jobs.
• Police and ambulances arrived, and officers reported that six victims had died, not counting the killer.

Jing Yang and his companions followed the Hunter Exam’s coupon clue to an underground venue, where they met other examinees and received their number badges. As they waited for the exam to begin the next day, Tonpa offered them drinks.

• Jing Yang, Shizuku, Kurapika, Machi, Battra, Alice, Leorio, Xiao Fen, and Xiao Zi used their coupons to enter an elevator beneath the fishing tackle shop.
• Jing Yang warned Battra and Alice that they could quit, but they chose to continue, and he secretly placed Flying Star Bubbles on them for protection.
• The group reached the Hunter Exam venue and spotted Second Prince Camilla among the examinees.
• Beans handed out number badges, giving Kurapika 41 and Jing Yang 42, while Tonpa introduced himself and offered the group drinks.
• Leorio eagerly drank Tonpa’s beverage, and Tonpa shuddered when he met Machi’s gaze.

Tonpa’s drink trick left Leorio sick, while two attackers killed examinees during the night before the Hunter Exam officially began. By morning, the venue was crowded, and Hisoka had appeared among the examinees.

• Machi’s suspicion of Tonpa’s drink made the group discard their cans, but Leorio had already gulped his and soon rushed repeatedly to the restroom.
• Camilla’s armed guard threw Tonpa aside, and the examinees settled in to wait for the competition to begin.
• After the lights went out, two figures silently killed two resting examinees while Tonpa and the others stayed wary.
• Jing Yang noticed Camilla stroking a small white Nen beast, which sensed his gaze, and Machi watched him from nearby.
• By morning, the venue held at least two hundred people, and Hisoka asked a scarred, burly examinee how he had gotten his scars.

At the Hunter Exam venue, Hisoka showed off his slit-mouth scars and teased Jing Yang with a fake Greed Island card, while Pariston provoked the examinees. As the first test neared, Tonpa grew mysteriously exhausted, and Netero learned of an old martial artist’s death.

• Hisoka sliced an examinee’s mouth open, revealed that his own scars were held shut with Aura, and frightened the gathered examinees.
• Hisoka approached Jing Yang’s group and pretended to use a Greed Island Return card, but Jing Yang pointed out that negative-numbered cards were for administrators.
• Pariston appeared among the examinees and angered the crowd by suggesting that nobody would fail the Hunter Exam.
• Tonpa leaned against a wall, feeling inexplicably exhausted as an unseen white kitten rested on his shoulder.
• Netero read an obituary announcing the death of Dragon-style Sect Master Teriama = Ajira, and Beans reminded him that the first test was about to begin.

Jing Yang and the other applicants gathered for the Hunter Exam, where Kurolo and Menchi announced they would oversee the first exam in two parts. Menchi set a challenge to finish a plate of red fried rice, and Jing Yang realized its spicy seasoning was conjured rather than ordinary chili.

• Netero watched the applicants' Aura on the exam venue's screen as Beans remarked on the year's candidates.
• Jing Yang spotted Hisoka intimidating applicants and Pariston provoking a heated argument, and he told Shizuku he suspected Pariston was up to something.
• Menchi joined Jing Yang's group and revealed she had unexpectedly become an examiner for the first exam.
• Kurolo announced that he and Menchi were examiners, and Menchi said her test would eliminate about half the applicants before Kurolo's second half.
• Menchi presented more than four hundred plates of bright-red fried rice and required applicants to finish one plate to pass.
• Jing Yang examined the fried rice with Aura and recognized that its red seasoning had been conjured.

Menchi tested the Hunter Exam candidates with fried rice seasoned with Nen-enhanced Rainbow Red, which caused their Nen to surge uncontrollably as they ate. Jing Yang realized the test was aimed at the Nen Users—and may have been arranged to make Camilla Hui Guo Rou withdraw.

• Menchi explained that candidates could eat only one spoonful of fried rice every ten seconds and had to finish their bowls to pass.
• Kurolo posted hidden Nen-written rules revealing that the seasoning was harmless but carried consequences, and that candidates who could see the words would receive special treatment.
• Jing Yang, Shizuku, Kurapika, Machi, and other candidates began eating, while Jing Yang and Kurapika suspected Camilla Hui Guo Rou's arrival had prompted last-minute changes to the exam.
• After the first spoonful, Hisoka, Pariston, Jing Yang, and the other Nen Users released powerful Aura involuntarily.
• Jing Yang determined that each spoonful of Rainbow Red sharply boosted Nen capacity, raising his estimate from about seventy-two thousand to roughly one hundred and eight thousand Aura.

Menchi’s seasoned fried rice sent the examinees’ Aura surging, forcing many to quit as they struggled to endure its effects. After the surviving examinees finished eating, their strength collapsed, and Tonpa was found dead.

• The examinees ate Menchi’s fried rice and experienced dramatic increases in strength and Aura, while Kurolo eliminated those who broke the ten-second rule.
• Many examinees were carried away as they succumbed to fear and exhaustion, while Camilla and her guards continued eating despite their strain.
• Jing Yang, Shizuku, and the others recognized that the Doll Sister’s Aura had surged to around 160,000 before she activated Balance Mode and concealed it again.
• After more than thirty mouthfuls, Jing Yang finished his plate, and the examinees’ Aura began draining away until they were left weak and exhausted.
• Kurolo ordered staff to remove examinees who collapsed, and someone discovered that Tonpa was dead.

After Menchi’s enhanced fried rice left Jing Yang and other hidden Nen Users with only a fraction of their Aura, Tonpa died and Jing Yang received a delayed increase in Death Qi. Camilla revealed a new white-cat ability that had attached to Tonpa and returned to her.

• Jing Yang reasoned that Menchi’s conjured seasoning had temporarily suppressed the examinees’ Aura, and he avoided testing whether recalling his Nen Beast would bypass the rules.
• Jing Yang surveyed the survivors, noting that Leorio had been eliminated after drinking Tonpa’s beverage while Machi, Shizuku, Kurapika, and others endured the test.
• The examinees discovered that Tonpa had died, and Jing Yang noticed that the Death Qi from his death reached him only after a delay, raising his count from seven to eight.
• A white kitten appeared on Tonpa’s corpse, vanished, and Jing Yang saw Camilla holding a miniature version of it.
• Camilla smiled at Jing Yang as her new ability, the Manipulator Three Thousand Reincarnation Cat, absorbed a target’s life force and returned it to her.

Camilla’s newborn white kitten Nen beast became fixated on Jing Yang, prompting her to investigate him and register for the Hunter Exam. After the Kakin Royal Family departed, Tserriednich wondered why Camilla was taking the exam and suspected it concealed a secret connected to Nen.

• On December 21, Camilla and Tserriednich exchanged insults in the hotel corridor, while Camilla’s Million Reincarnation Cat appeared unusually plump and spiritually changed.
• The next day, Tserriednich tortured two women to death, while Camilla’s Nen beast vomited out a white kitten that she suspected was a new ability.
• At the banquet, the white kitten stared toward Jing Yang, and Camilla ordered her soldiers to gather information about him.
• After learning Jing Yang had registered for the Hunter Exam, Camilla stroked the kitten and wondered whether its birth was connected to him.
• On January 3, Tserriednich noticed Camilla had stayed behind to take the Hunter Exam and questioned his guard Tita about whether it involved a secret related to Nen.

Camilla discovered that her new Nen beast, the Three Thousand Reincarnation Cat, could consume life force and began testing its parasitic ability during the Hunter Exam. After Menchi’s fried rice sealed her Aura and Tonpa died when the cat was recalled, the exam moved on to a fifty-kilometer sprint.

• The Fierce Fox family escorted Camilla and Leorio’s group to the exam city after Camilla granted the clan permission to live in the mountains and work for her.
• Near the exam plaza, Camilla’s new white Nen beast appeared, consumed a strange gray Aura, and led Camilla to name it the Three Thousand Reincarnation Cat.
• After a sword-wielding attacker was stopped by a young girl, Camilla realized the cat had consumed the life force associated with resurrection and suspected Jing Yang’s power had awakened it.
• That night, Camilla’s private soldiers killed two examinees, and the cat consumed one strand of life force before Camilla sent it to parasitize Tonpa.
• After Menchi’s fried rice weakened and sealed Camilla’s Aura, the cat was recalled and Tonpa died; Camilla questioned how its life-draining ability worked.
• Jing Yang considered attacking Camilla with his Taoist Nun Nen Beast but held back, and Kurolo announced that the next exam was a fifty-kilometer sprint.

After the examinees began a fifty-kilometer sprint with a strict one-hour limit, Jing Yang used Swift Wind to conserve his strength while the exhausted group thinned. As the leading runners continued toward the finish, Death Qi struck Jing Yang and he decided to try rejecting its pull toward his head.

• Kurolo announced that only the top forty examinees with valid times would pass, and anyone taking over an hour to sprint fifty kilometers would be eliminated.
• Battra and Alice withdrew, while Xiao Fen and Xiao Zi chose to continue and Jing Yang told them to finish the race before he would consider becoming their master.
• The gate opened onto a vast outdoor road, and Machi surged ahead when Kurolo started the race.
• Jing Yang transformed his remaining Aura into Swift Wind and ran easily, while Kurapika, Xiao Fen, and Xiao Zi struggled to keep pace.
• As the leading group began conserving strength, Jing Yang noticed the sisters falling behind and felt Death Qi strike toward him, prompting him to try rejecting its pull toward his head.

Machi, Hisoka, Jing Yang, and the other examinees continued the deadly endurance race as Jing Yang tested his growing control over Death Qi. With Camilla's guards shooting examinees and the field in chaos, a disguised girl sealed the Second Prince inside a Purple Gold Gourd, while the Jade-faced Nun and another disguised girl marked her guards.

• Machi caught a silenced bullet with Nen threads and sent it back, killing the examinee who had fired at her.
• Hisoka secretly relayed Chrollo's message to Machi, who replied that she would return only after becoming a one-star Gourmet Hunter.
• Jing Yang refused a strand of Death Qi and sensed that his absorption range had expanded; meanwhile, Camilla's Reincarnation Cat caught and ate a wisp of it.
• As Camilla's private soldiers shot examinees, Jing Yang threw three racers back toward them, then promised the exhausted Xiao Fen and Xiao Zi he would take them as disciples after the exams.
• A blue-haired girl disguised as Jing Xiao Fen called Camilla's name and sealed her in a Purple Gold Gourd.
• The Jade-faced Nun and a girl disguised as Jing Xiao Zi placed Star Marks on Camilla's three private soldiers.

Jing Yang and thirty-six other candidates passed Kurolo’s fifty-kilometer sprint marathon, while Menchi explained how long her seasoning suppressed Nen. The candidates entered a vast valley for the second exam, where an enormous lake awaited them.

• Jing Yang and Shizuku reached the finish line first, and Kurolo declared them passed.
• Menchi served Jing Yang and Shizuku mushroom soup and explained that Nen suppression lasted at least an hour, with longer suppression for people with greater Aura reserves.
• Jing Yang realized the Second Prince would become the strongest Nen User present once her suppression ended, unaware that she was trapped inside the Purple Gold Gourd.
• Pariston and Hisoka crossed the finish line just before the one-hour limit, and Kurolo announced that thirty-seven candidates had passed.
• After resting for thirty minutes, Jing Yang and the other successful candidates entered the valley and saw its enormous lake.

Morel explained the second phase of the Hunter Exam: candidates had five days to find one of fifty Smoke Keys in Octagonal Lake and reach a hotel across the water. As candidates scattered, Jing Yang pushed Kurapika into the lake and jumped in with Shizuku.

• Morel told the candidates they needed a Smoke Key and had to reach the opposite shore within five days to pass.
• Candidates began diving into the lake, while Hisoka and Pariston walked along the shore with their own plans.
• Shizuku learned Blobfish could not suck up the Nen-made keys, and Kurapika said his Nen Suppression would lift in about ten minutes so he could divine their locations.
• Jing Yang shoved Kurapika into the lake, then grabbed Shizuku and jumped in after him.
• Morel smiled, hoisted his pipe over his shoulder, and walked toward the finish line.

Jing Yang and Shizuku searched Octagonal Lake for Smoke Keys while taking a break to roast fish and shrimp with Machi. After the Taoist Nun found three keys, Jing Yang set off with Shizuku for the finish line, still unable to find Kurapika.

• Jing Yang and Shizuku searched the lake while Kurapika swam off to look for Smoke Keys on his own.
• Jing Yang used the Nen Beast Taoist Nun to search the lakebed as he and Shizuku caught a giant shrimp and a crimson-gold fish.
• Jing Yang and Shizuku roasted their catch on a shoal, and Machi joined them after climbing out of the water with a large fish.
• Machi asked Shizuku about Jing Yang's mark and his connection to the Phantom Troupe, but Shizuku kept quiet.
• Jing Yang returned from another search, wondered where Kurapika had gone, and received three Smoke Keys from the Taoist Nun, which had also carried two unconscious examinees.
• Jing Yang told Shizuku to head for the finish line with him.

Jing Yang and Shizuku reached Morel’s hotel at Octagonal Lake and turned in Smoke Keys, while Hisoka stayed behind to hunt other examinees. After Jing Yang rested and found Kurapika still missing, he discovered Shizuku had vanished from her room as well.

• Jing Yang and Shizuku reached the hotel, where Hisoka killed an examinee and Morel watched without intervening.
• Hisoka threw his Smoke Key into the lake and dove after it, while Jing Yang and Shizuku handed Morel two keys and entered the hotel.
• Morel gave Jing Yang Room 21 and Shizuku Room 8, then explained that anyone who left the hotel would need another key to return.
• Jing Yang tried contacting Kurapika through Moon Mark, rested while his Nen Suppression wore off, and later found Shizuku’s Moon Mark offline too.
• Jing Yang rushed to Room 8 and sent the Taoist Nun Nen Beast inside, but it found Shizuku and her wet clothes missing.

Jing Yang investigated Shizuku’s disappearance and questioned Pariston before testing when Nen Suppression would lift. After Machi vanished through a black domain triggered by using her Nen, Jing Yang discovered Divine Characters hidden in his exam badge and suspected Netero had arranged the trap.

• Jing Yang searched Shizuku’s room with his Taoist Nun Nen beast and reconstructed her movements, finding signs that she had vanished while sitting beside the bed.
• Pariston asked Jing Yang about the presence in Shizuku’s room, and Jing Yang asked whether any Nen Users in the exam were Pariston’s associates.
• Jing Yang encountered the Doll Girl, then relaxed outside with Morel and asked about the exam’s hidden stage and the Hunter License.
• After timing Machi’s Nen Suppression, Jing Yang found her at the lake and waited until her Nen returned.
• Machi used her Nen threads to block the Taoist Nun’s sword, but a black domain swallowed her and made her disappear.
• Jing Yang broke open his Number 42 badge, found semi-activated Divine Characters inside, and concluded that using Nen after the fried rice incident could trigger them.

Jing Yang entered the final Hunter Exam testing area, where he learned that the examiner could copy Nen abilities and might be a clone. After Machi returned from her test, Jing Yang went through the spatial door and found a bearded man waiting for him.

• Jing Yang arrived in a bare waiting room with Kurapika, Machi, and Nobu, and learned that using Nen after its suppression was lifted had sent them there.
• Shizuku emerged injured from her test, healed with her Star Mark, and warned Jing Yang that the examiner was extremely strong and had learned her Chainsaw Woman ability.
• Shizuku and Kurapika said they had passed, while Kurapika described the examiner as someone who had drawn out his techniques before approving him.
• Shizuku revealed that the examiner might be a clone, since Blobfish had drained all his blood, and said he could not imitate Blobfish.
• Machi returned from her test looking unhappy, and Jing Yang entered the testing room to face a long-haired, bearded man.