Teaching X Battle

"When did you register for your match?" Kevin asked.

"September 21st, more than a month from now."

"No wonder. But you don't need to worry. Now that you've learned Nen, at least you won't have to worry about the Baptism causing you too much harm. At worst, you'll lose your first match," Kevin reassured him casually.

That was indeed true. He had watched plenty of fights above the 200th Floor, where the main danger lay in the gap between those who knew Nen and those who did not.

When both sides knew Nen, it was relatively difficult to kill the other person during a fight.

After all, this was essentially just a competitive bout, not a fight to the death. No one wanted to kill someone for no reason in a setting like this, because it would only create all kinds of unnecessary complications.

Of course, there were far more freaks above the 200th Floor than below it.

Kevin, who often watched matches, frequently saw vicious fights in the arena.

Thinking of this, Kevin reached out and patted Mito on the shoulder, smiling as he said, "It's only August today... August 10th..."

"The 14th."

"Right, August 14th. There's still more than a month left. I'm still learning myself, but teaching you a few basic techniques shouldn't be a problem," Kevin said with a smile.

Mito nodded. After learning Nen, he truly felt much more at ease.

"Is your health not very good?" Kevin suddenly asked.

"Why do you ask... Oh, you mean that." Mito was puzzled at first, then quickly understood.

A large amount of medicine was piled up in the corner of the living room.

"That's for my clansmen. I happened to be out buying medicine for my son. His eyes and legs aren't very good, so I bought some for the others as well."

"You already have a son?!" Kevin stared at Mito in shock.

Although Mito did not look particularly young, he was probably only around Jin's age.

Come to think of it, was Jin married?

Looking at him, he did not seem like the type to have a family.

"Hahaha." Seeing Kevin's shocked expression, Mito burst out laughing. "My son is already thirteen. He's a filial and clever child."

When he spoke of his son, Mito's face was full of pride.

"Alright, then I won't disturb you. I'll come find you again when I have time. For now, practice the simple basics I taught you before."

The next day.

Sky Arena.

175th Floor, Arena A.

The spectator stands were packed to the brim. The crowd cheered madly, shouting the titles of the two fighters about to face each other.

"Immovable as a Mountain!"

"White Cat!"

As Killua slowly emerged from the contestants' entrance, his face darkened with anger again when he heard those titles.

"Damn it, why does his title sound so normal?!"

Comparing the two titles, the difference was obvious.

At that moment, Kevin also steadily walked onto the arena platform.

The two stood face-to-face without much conversation.

"Begin!"

As the order to fight was given, Kevin remained where he was and smiled as he beckoned Killua forward, signaling for him to attack.

"Tch." Killua clicked his tongue in annoyance.

After meeting Kevin yesterday, he had determined that he was probably no match for him.

Since he could not beat him, he would at least injure him. Killua had his pride, too.

Thus, Killua began to circle Kevin slowly, his eyes fixed tightly on him as he carefully observed him.

Kevin stood still with his hands in his pockets, smiling as though completely defenseless.

The more unconcerned and arrogant he looked, the more irritated Killua became.

Suddenly, Killua's circling gradually slowed. Then, it was as if Clones appeared around his body, leaving one afterimage after another behind him.

"It's contestant Killua's ultimate move, Phantom Steps, a technique similar to cloning! How will Kevin respond?"

The commentator's voice rang out, and thunderous cheers erupted from the stands.

This was the origin of Killua's White Cat title. He observed and searched for weaknesses, making it seem as though a cat were hunting and toying with its prey.

"Impressive." Kevin could not help but praise him.

He was certain that Killua was not using Nen and did not possess a Nen ability.

In other words, these phantoms were created through pure technique, likely by exploiting some principle of visual deception.

No matter what, it deserved to be called impressive, even though Kevin had already seen through the move.

It had to be said that choosing Killua as a sparring partner had been a very wise decision.

Soon, Kevin was surrounded by Killua's phantoms.

A breeze passed through the arena.

Whoosh!

Killua brought his five fingers together, his hand sharp as a blade as it thrust straight toward Kevin.

However, the attack failed. Kevin reached out and caught Killua's hand, then flung him away with a backhanded throw.

Killua quickly adjusted his posture in midair, landed like a cat, slid back some distance, and came to a steady stop.

After landing this time, he did not continue observing. Instead, he charged forward again.

Killua constantly adjusted his movements, launching a frenzied assault from different angles.

Every strike targeted lethal vital points, and each came at incredible speed, making them difficult to defend against.

Kevin either raised a hand to block, reached out to grab him, or occasionally took a few hits head-on with his body.

The rapid attacks soon came to a stop.

Because the rhythm of the fight had already fallen into Kevin's hands.

Kevin dusted himself off. Killua had pulled back some distance and was slowly catching his breath.

"You tore up my clothes. I rather liked this outfit," Kevin said with a smile, looking at the blade-like tears in his clothing.

Those words and that expression instantly made Killua bristle.

"Don't rush. Now it's my turn."

The moment Kevin finished speaking, Killua leaped several steps backward, opening up even more distance.

"Let's see how my learning turned out."

As his words fell, Kevin instantly adopted a stance similar to Killua's earlier one and charged forward.

He was like an agile cheetah, his prey firmly locked in his sights.

Kevin pressed his right hand together into a palm strike. Though it had not been enhanced with Aura, it still looked incredibly intimidating.

That move was—

In the stands, the gloomy black-haired man's eyes widened slightly.

"That kid has lost."

Mito, who was also standing in the stands, made that judgment the moment he saw Kevin attack.

He could now sense Aura normally and could tell that Kevin was not using it to attack, but that speed and method of attack were already enough.

Dodge it! Killua shouted inwardly.

Whoosh!

The sound of something slicing through the air rang out.

Killua tried to evade, but failed. Instead, he stood frozen in place.

Kevin had already appeared beside him. His palm did not land on Killua's body, but merely brushed lightly past his ear.

A thin line of blood appeared on Killua's cheek. A trickle of blood slowly flowed out, leaving a streak across his face.

Kevin straightened up casually and lightly patted Killua's shoulder with the hand he had used to attack.

He said nothing and turned to walk off the platform.

Just as he was about to step down from the arena.

Killua, who had kept his head lowered the entire time, silently raised his hand.

"I surrender."

His eyes were wide, and sweat covered his forehead.

He had truly felt the threat of death—the chill that seemed to come from the Abyss of death.

For a moment, he had believed he would die there. Only when the attack fell did he realize that it might have merely been his own illusion.