Still a Long Way Off

Holding back, holding back—

Holding it in until the absolute limit, then unleashing it all at once.

This was the meaning Moyu had managed to distill from Light's terrible analogy.

Only...

He really wanted to know who had been the one to introduce Light to Nen in the first place.

Suppressing the urge to ask, Moyu silently averted his gaze, refusing to look at Light any longer.

To prevent Light from spouting any more "words of wisdom," he closed his eyes and entered a state of training.

Light had originally intended to continue sharing his experience with Moyu, but seeing that Moyu had already begun training, he had no choice but to give up.

"I really am well-suited for mentoring others."

Watching Moyu immediately enter a training state after hearing his guidance, a look of self-satisfaction appeared on Light's face.

True guidance was about explaining principles using the most accessible and easy-to-understand language.

Just like before—

He had only used a simple analogy, and Moyu had understood it in an instant.

"If it weren't for the fact that my ultimate goal is to apprehend the Phantom Troupe, becoming a Nen teacher to guide newcomers might actually be a decent choice."

Light crossed his arms, his pride swelling with nowhere to go.

Moyu was unaware of what Light was thinking; he focused his attention, doing his utmost to mobilize the Nen within his body.

"First, gather the aura, then expand the Aura Nodes in one go..."

"No need to rush; if you fail once, you can just try again."

"Before that, closing the Aura Nodes should allow for the accumulation of more power."

Moyu concentrated, clearing his thoughts.

Although Light's "words of wisdom" left a rather poor impression, one had to admit...

The delivery was crude, but the logic held up.

At the very least, it had provided Moyu with some inspiration.

Within the courtyard of the Temple.

Mist permeated the air, and a few rays of morning light filtered through, reflecting onto Moyu.

The hazy luster shimmered in harmony with the glow of his Nen.

After about ten seconds—

The Nen glow flickering on the surface of Moyu's body faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It was Moyu closing his Aura Nodes, entering the state of Zetsu.

By doing this, he could accumulate more power within his body.

Seeing this, a flash of surprise crossed Light's square-jawed face.

"A smart choice, but taking too big a step isn't necessarily a good thing. The practice of Nen... is about taking it one step at a time, steady and solid."

He seemed to have guessed Moyu's intentions, but he neither agreed nor disagreed.

There was no denying that while his own ability to guide was excellent, it couldn't determine the upper limit of his student's efficiency.

In any case, the best outcome would be for Moyu to expand his Aura Nodes as much as possible before noon, so that his Manifestation Aura would reach a level sufficient to squeeze out some value from their sparring.

If he couldn't do it by noon, he could always use his own Nen to help Moyu expand his Aura Nodes.

However, succeeding through one's own efforts versus succeeding with the help of others were two completely different experiences.

If circumstances allowed, Light naturally hoped that Moyu could reach the requirement through his own ability.

"Moyu, I believe in you, you, you...?"

Light's eyes suddenly widened.

Reflected in his pupils was a large, brilliant mass of light.

Under his gaze, a massive amount of aura surged from Moyu's body, flowing back and forth like a torrential waterfall. Clearly, he had already expanded his Aura Nodes well beyond the baseline.

How long had it been?

Was it even ten seconds?!

Good grief, what the hell, good grief!!!

Light was shocked to his core.

He had expected Moyu to need many attempts to expand his Aura Nodes to a passing level, but he hadn't expected him to achieve the goal in one single breath.

No, He had far exceeded expectations.

"A genius, simply a genius among geniuses...!!!"

"I must find a way to take Moyu as my student!!!"

Light was ecstatic!

This was more than just a guarantee...

It was a treasure that could surely propel him to "Two-Star" status.

Moyu paid no mind to Light's reaction. A massive amount of "Aura" surged from within his body, constantly stimulating his senses, which stirred a strange feeling in his heart.

It wasn't quite omnipotence, but rather... a feeling that he could accomplish so much more.

"Is this level sufficient?"

Moyu slowly opened his eyes and looked at the stunned Light.

Seeing Moyu's gaze, Light quickly suppressed his shock, feigned a couple of coughs, and then said solemnly, "Not bad. It seems my 'guidance' has played a key role."

"..."

Moyu fell silent for a moment, wisely choosing not to correct Light's perception.

"Then let's begin quickly. I cannot maintain this for very long."

Without choosing to retract his Nen, Moyu stepped back a distance, then looked up at Light, signaling for him to begin the sparring session as soon as possible.

Using the technique of Ren to open one's Aura Nodes allows for a greater Manifestation Aura to flow outside the body, but the "Potential Aura" within the body is quite limited, making it impossible to sustain for long.

"Don't be so impatient; we still have plenty of time."

Light's eyes flickered, and he also opened his Aura Nodes, releasing Nen to shroud his body surface.

However, the magnitude of the Manifestation Aura he released was surprisingly similar to Moyu's.

Clearly, this was a level he had intentionally controlled.

"During our sparring, I will try to suppress my Ren to a level similar to yours, so you don't need to burden yourself with the thought that 'the opponent's Ren is stronger.' You can unleash your full offensive and defensive power."

As Light spoke, he assumed a stance with his left fist guarding low and his right fist guarding across his chest.

"Then I won't hold back."

Moyu's gaze sharpened, and he slammed his right foot into the ground.

BOOM!

The bluestone tiles, weathered by time, could not withstand the heavy stomp and shattered instantly.

Moyu's body shot toward Light like an arrow released from a bow.

Knowing clearly that our Ren is at the same level, he chose to attack head-on without hesitation. This is indeed the fastest way to squeeze the value out of this sparring session. But... you are still so young; where exactly does this urgent desire to become stronger come from?

Seeing Moyu charging with such fierce momentum, Light remained as steady as a mountain, preparing to counter each move.

However—

The next instant, he saw Moyu suddenly brake to a halt.

"Hm?"

Light looked on, confused by Moyu's sudden cessation of the attack.

Moyu, however, looked back at the shattered bluestone tiles. Before starting the fight, he hadn't considered the environment at all.

He hadn't expected that while in the state of Ren, a simple stomp to propel his sprint would shatter the stones so easily with the power amplified by Nen.

If they kept this up for ten days of sparring, wouldn't the courtyard be left in ruins?

When Hawk returns...

Moyu could already imagine Hawk nagging incessantly in his ear.

"How about... we change locations?"

Withdrawing his gaze from the rubble, Moyu looked at Light and proposed.

"..."

Light was left speechless.

He had wondered why Moyu suddenly stopped his attack; it turned out he was worried about damaging the Temple courtyard.

"Let's stay here, as there is no suitable venue outside."

Light rejected Moyu's proposal and, to ease his concerns, offered a guarantee: "You don't need to worry about anything. Once the sparring is over, I will hire professionals to restore this place to its original state."

"Then I can rest easy."

Moyu's eyes lit up, thinking that professional Hunters certainly have many connections.

With no further concerns, he stepped forward.

BOOM!

The bluestone cracked.

Moyu sprinted to Light, bent his knees slightly to reduce his target area, and threw a tentative straight punch toward Light's abdomen.

Amplified by Manifestation Aura, this straight punch carried quite a bit of momentum.

But in Light's eyes, Moyu's offensive approach was not only amateurish but riddled with openings.

Combat experience is practically zero...

A flicker of surprise surfaced deep in Light's eyes, and before Moyu could land his strike, Light raised his knee with even greater speed, driving it into Moyu's chest.

A dull thud echoed out.

Moyu's chest took the sudden impact, sending him flying backward to crash heavily against the ground, rolling six or seven meters before coming to a stop.

However, because both parties kept their Manifestation Aura at nearly equal levels, and Light had deliberately pulled his punch, this solid blow did not actually injure Moyu.

This could be considered a unique advantage for Nen users; they could engage in intense, full-throttle sparring without the fear of injury, thereby rapidly accumulating experience.

But if this were a real battle—

Light would only have needed to shift over 50% of his Manifestation Aura to his knee, and a single strike would have killed Moyu on the spot.

"Your ability to fight head-on is truly a mess..."

Moyu rose from the ground, unsurprised by the result.

He possessed sufficient knowledge of Nen, but his experience in physical combat was near zero.

This was the current state of Moyu's strength.

Therefore, excluding the factor of Nen abilities, any Hunter who had just learned Nen after passing the Hunter Exam could easily thrash the current Moyu.

After all, combat experience and physical fitness were indispensable components of strength.

The reason he was able to "one-shot" Ian last night...

Was entirely the result of strategy and the information gap regarding Nen abilities.

If he had been forced to face Ian head-on, there was no way he could have been Ian's match.

Simply put—

Combat experience and physical fitness set the floor, while Nen abilities and Nen techniques raised the ceiling.

Still a long way to go.

Moyu muttered to himself, then looked up at Light, his face revealing a resolute fighting spirit.

Being weak didn't matter.

Because after a hundred twists and turns, he would inevitably become strong.

All he had to do was move forward, step by step, with unwavering determination.

How... exactly did he take down Ian?

Light suppressed his surprise, silently watching Moyu rise from the ground.

Having clearly recognized that Moyu's combat experience was near zero, the doubt that had remained unanswered since last night resurfaced from the bottom of his heart, becoming even more intense.

Comparing Moyu's current strength to the intelligence he had on Ian—

No matter how Light imagined it, he could not conceive of a scenario where Moyu could defeat Ian.

Because in terms of Nen technique, combat experience, and even physical fitness, Ian was clearly superior to Moyu.

Just as Light was pondering this, Moyu launched another attack, still a direct, head-on charge.

However, This time, before striking, Moyu shifted his stance, attempting to use a feint to increase his chances of landing a hit.

But it was still too amateurish.

Light knocked him away without the slightest effort.

Crashing heavily to the ground—

Moyu did not get up; having already exhausted nearly 90% of his potential aura, he clearly had nothing left to give.

After all, he had only awakened his Nen two days ago...

The total amount of Manifestation Aura could not be increased in such a short time.

Lying flat on the ground, Moyu began to review the previous round of offense and defense, attempting to extract experience from it.

Ten days...

He had to cherish every minute and every second, growing as much as possible!

Thanks to the big boss Slug Great King for the 20,000 Qidian coin tip. Dear readers, you can go check out his "Hunter from Meteor City"—the portal is below, feel free to bookmark it. Also, I'm feeling under the weather today... my head hurts, so I could only combine two chapters into one. Otherwise, given my writing efficiency, two chapters wouldn't have been a problem. My original plan was to finish the short-term growth arc today... but alas, π_π