Heart-Drop Fist-Listen × Heart-Drop Sword-Listen

Such a strong Blood Qi!

A fruit farmer commented that people with the "Enhancement are physically strong but mentally simple-minded, although this view is somewhat one-sided.

But when it comes to "physical attributes" alone, if the [Enhancement] type dares to say they're second, no one dares to say they're first.

A faint, hazy Blood Qi drifted out of the window. Netero stopped in front of the Butler Villa and abruptly looked up at the second floor.

Caught off guard by his sudden stop, the Beans nearly crashed headfirst into him. He staggered to his feet, glancing sideways at Netero... Netero frowned, a rare look of seriousness appearing on his pale, Buddha-like eyebrows, clearly noticing something... "... Chairman..."

The Beans's tiny, bean-sized eyes darted around before looking towards the second floor...

"Creak~" At that moment, the Butler Villa door opened, Zee stood by the door, gesturing for him to enter, saying, "Chairman, please." Netero glanced one last time at the second floor, nodded slightly to Zee, and silently led the Beans inside...

One step, two steps, through the corridor, around the corner, up the stairs... the closer he got to the bedroom on the second floor, the stronger the naturally pervasive Blood Qi grew, until...

They reached the second floor, and the bedroom was right in front of him. Netero could even hear the soft, yet powerful, heartbeats of his own, like drums pounding in his ears. The Strongest Human suddenly stopped, closed his eyes, and leaned forward...

A hazy, wondrous state slowly spread from his feet toward the bedroom.

The Beans merely noticed this scene and gently shushed him, stopping Zee from Gate of Opening and leading the way. "Shh~ No need to bother, the Chairman is already 'watching'..."

Zee placed his hand on the doorknob, glanced at Netero with surprise, then gently withdrew his hand and stood silently to the side.

A hazy, wondrous sensation seeped into the room through the crack in the door, following the floor and enveloping the entire Blood Cocoon Blood Cocoon. Inside the cocoon, Gotoh, peacefully sleeping with her hands folded at her lower abdomen, furrowed her brow slightly.

In a daze, he seemed to be pulled into a vast, white void, where he had no sense of direction, time, or space. He was alone, completely lost and helpless in the face of it all.

The Zoldyck Family Ancient Castle.

"Usually, at eight o'clock in the morning, the sun had already begun to become scorching hot..."

After Roy finished breakfast, served by Tsubone, he received a message from Zee. Before heading to the training room, he paused for a moment, casually Browse the [Game Strategy Guide] that Silva had given him. At that moment, a thought struck him.

His heartbeat slowed slightly. The Sun-Earring Boy's beautiful silver hair swayed in the wind, the ends gleaming with a dazzling golden light. He looked up at the window, his deep gaze seemingly piercing through the lush forests, landing on the Butler Villa.

Youyou of white hair swayed gently. Before Roy could make a move, Zeno walked over with his hands behind his back, glanced at Tsubone, and said, "Kalluto is awake and fussing for milk. Kikyo needs someone to stay with him. You can go upstairs."

Tsubone respectfully replied, "Yes."

Then she slightly bowed to Roy, gathered up the clothes Roy needed to change into, and withdrew...

"The road... the road..." The footsteps faded into the distance.

Roy's gaze was fixed on the window, oblivious to what was happening.

Zeno casually pulled up a chair and sat down next to him, saying to himself, "It seems you've also sensed that flow of energy."

Flow is different from [circle]. It relies on Nen Qi, and is attached to imagination. It is more like a state... a state of detaching the mind and moving only by consciousness... commonly known as [heart droplet; fist listening]!

[Heart Drop; Fist Listening]: Listening to the heart and the fist, using mental will to control physical sensations in order to achieve a certain kind of super-sensory state, often occurs between top masters and presents several extraordinary and different characteristics.

Firstly, a person in the state of "Heart-Drop Fist-Listen" can anticipate their opponent's psychological activities. Often, in the instant of combat, they can "hear" their opponent's inner thoughts or intentions, rather than relying solely on predictive movements.

Secondly, time seems to slow down, and subjectively, time feels longer, similar to the "carousel" effect, but it is triggered by oneself and can be used to improve reaction speed.

Thirdly: It involves non-real time manipulation. Through "trance," one breaks free from the body's dependence on time, thereby altering their perception of time. However, in reality, actual time remains Transformation.

Of course, the prerequisite for mastering [Heart Drop; Fist Listening] is that the user must be strong enough, or rather, possess a sufficient level of martial arts skill. Clearly, Netero falls into this category, and...

Judging from his ability to activate [Heart Drop; Fist Listening] at will, he is deeply versed in this art, possessing unparalleled skill and mastery over it with ease... Shouldn't one say he truly deserves to be called the founder of [Shingen-ryu], Martial Way standing at the pinnacle of [Enhancement]?

Roy's beautiful silver hair cascaded down his back, the ends shimmering with a hazy, golden light in the sunlight. He gently put down the Game Strategy Guide in his hand, and with a "whoosh," two suns ignited in his eyes—the [Eye of Truth] appeared!

Transparent World unfolds!

A mysterious, hazy state emanated from the Sun-Earring Boy and slowly spread outwards.

Zeno, who had intended to explain to Roy what [Heart Drop; Fist Listening] meant, was startled by the sight of the graveyard. After a sweep of [Transparent World], he felt as if he had suddenly fallen into a quagmire, his body and limbs being dragged and sinking deeper and deeper. In an instant, he lost all sense of body and all perception of the "flow of time"!

"[Heart Drop; Fist Listening]?" His body was bound hand and foot, and even his thoughts seemed to slow down considerably... Zeno, his white hair swaying wildly, frowned and stiffly turned his neck to look at Roy. "No, it's not [Heart Drop; Fist Listening!]"

"It's [Heart Drop; Sword Listening!]"

"There's a sword shadow!"

A sharp, resounding sword cry echoed as the [Transparent World] unfolded, its powerful sound reverberating in the ears of the Zeno.

In an instant, it hovered over every Zoldyck, butler, servant, flower, bird, fish, insect, or anything that was breathing or not, forcing everyone to stop what they were doing.

"Whoosh!" The sunshade in the second-floor bedroom of the Ancient Castle was suddenly pulled open, revealing a man cradling an infant. Silva, his back bare, revealing his muscular physique, calmly gazed at a sword radiating intense heat floating before him. His gaze shifted sharply downwards, coldly sweeping towards Roy's bedroom... At the same time, Illumi, Scarface, One-Eye arrived in a flash...

Roy seemed oblivious, his eyes fixed quietly on the mountainside. At that moment, his consciousness wandered, as if his soul had left his body. Step by step, he strode towards the Butler Villa, using the ethereal flying swords as a bridge. Suddenly, a Youyou voice drifted over, asking, "You brat, your Sword Path has improved again?"

Roy stopped in his tracks, stepping onto a phantom Light Sword radiating a halo of sunlight. He turned and bowed to the dimly lit room on the first floor of the Ancient Castle, saying, "Great-grandfather, your insight is truly remarkable; I have indeed gained some understanding recently."

A soft creaking sound came from the dimly lit room as a rocking chair swayed gently.

Before it got unbearably hot, Maha, who was hiding in his little room enjoying the air conditioning, twitched his lips almost imperceptibly and chuckled as he scolded, "This isn't just a little bit."

Indeed, although LV4 is only one level below LV5, the difference in experience is immense, almost insurmountable. At least, after observing the [Sun] up close and personal, raising his own Sword Path to LV5, Roy found his understanding of the sword and the way of the Sword Path had deepened considerably.

Now, not only is the [Transparent World] technique wielded with effortless ease, in no way inferior to Yoriichi Tsugikuni's Tsugikuni Yoriichi, but even the "Breathing Sword Techniques" like "Sun Breathing," "Water Breathing," and "Wind Breathing" are used casually, their power far exceeding what they were before. The Sun-Earring Boy shook his head and said, "A little is a little, no more, no less."

Roy would never forget the scene where his all-out, cleared -Nen Qi "Fusion Slash" was easily blocked by Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's single strike... Now was far from the time for complacency. Sigh

"Tick-tock," the Curse on the back of his left hand, like a clock counting down Roy's life, remained completely undisturbed by [Heart Drop; Sword Listening]... Maha lightly patted the armrest of the rocking chair, remained silent for a moment, and said softly, "You're a sensible child. As for other things, this old man won't say much, just one point..."

Maha paused, then gave a cold snort, saying irritably, "Others have come to cause trouble; you can't just stand by and watch."

Roy:..."

His lips twitched, and for a moment, he was speechless.

Was Netero there specifically to cause trouble? Obviously not.

Just as his sword wouldn't deceive him, Netero's fist wouldn't lie either. Roy believed that not only he, but also his father Silva, grandfather Zeno, and even... Maha himself, could easily sense that the reason this "Strongest Human" suddenly unleashed [Heart Drop; Fist Listening] was clearly out of curiosity, a gentle act to understand Gotoh's state... without any hostility... But orders from above must be obeyed. Needless to say, given Maha's command, Gotoh was at a crucial stage of advancement, and Roy himself wouldn't stand idly by. He had to keep an eye on things to prevent any accidents.

With a "whoosh," a Youyou breeze rose and passed straight through Roy's illusory body.

The Sun-Earring Boy nodded helplessly into the dimly lit room, then turned and rode the wind away. With a light touch of his toes, a small sword appeared beneath his feet, carrying him out of the Ancient Castle, across the mountains and forests, down the steps, and straight into the Butler Villa halfway up the mountain. In the blink of an eye...

It emerged from beside Netero...

"Hmm... it seems the old man is still angry with me..." A hazy, ethereal figure suddenly emerged from Netero's body the instant Roy arrived. The old man, his form and spirit perfectly aligned, dressed in loose robes, turned his head and gave Roy a helpless smile.

A ripple of light shimmered in the old eyes that were raised, and when she noticed Roy's hair color, she was slightly taken aback.

"Silver... silver hair? And not pure silver..." Netero's gaze shifted downwards, noticing that Roy's hair ends shimmered with a glassy golden light, like the sun leaping from the horizon at dawn, radiating its halo wantonly. The old man's eyes narrowed suddenly, a glint of shrewdness flashing within them, as he stared intently at Roy, saying, "Zeno told me you would defeat Silva within a year. I took it as a joke then, but now... I was too naive..." "You're different now, Roy!"

Hunter Exam felt like only yesterday that Netero faced Roy, watching his Blood Qi surge upwards, forming two thick pillars of light that pierced the villa's dome along with his Nen Qi...

With the [Heart Drop; Fist Listening] state activated, his extrasensory perception was telling Netero that the Sun-Earring Boy in front of him had a profound spiritual capacity and vigorous Blood Qi, and was not comparable to before. He could no longer treat him as a "kid"!

"President, you flatter me..." Roy greeted Netero politely, his eyes still blazing with Great Sun, casting two beams of boundless radiance upon Netero... A string of information then surfaced in Roy's mind.

[Name: Netero; Isaac]

[Species: Human]

[Constitution: B?]

[Nen Qi: B?]

[Latent Nen Qi: B+ or A-?]

[Rating: B]

Roy subtly withdrew his gaze, lingering for two seconds on the question marks, vaguely guessing... the reason for the question marks and so much uncertainty might be related to Netero's "decay of vital energy"...

As the saying goes, "A fist fears the young and strong, a stick fears the old..."

When you're young and strong, that's when your punches are at their heaviest. Decades have passed. Time, like a butcher's knife, has etched its mark on Netero's body, permanently sealing his peak years in the day he mastered the "Gratitude Punch" and descended the mountain to defeat the leaders of numerous dojos.

"Are you sad?" A melancholic gray tinge of emotion emanated from Roy's head.

Noticing Roy's gaze, Netero looked up.

The Sun-Earring Boy slowly replied, "No, I'm just a little sad."

Roy's gaze was deep as he looked at Netero's old face, where fine wrinkles filled his forehead and the corners of his eyes like ravines, and he said frankly, "You really have aged, Chairman."

Netero's body trembled. With Roy now almost as tall Silva Roy, he couldn't even look down at him. He stood there stunned for a long while, then, regaining his senses, he put his hands on his hips and chuckled, "I'm watching your butler from under the bridge, and you're watching me from above... He stammered... Roy, you have to understand, not everyone is as lucky as your great-grandfather, able to encounter someone who lives such a long life..."

"Like me, like your Grandpa Jager, we're all just human, destined to grow old forever..."

Is that really the case? Perhaps there's another reason: different "paths"... Roy thought of [God], of [Calamity], of the mysterious Dark Sonata flowing across the continent... In a world of "psychic" power where anything can happen, "aging," "death," and "birth" cannot be simply defined by a single concept.

Just like his own "time travel" and "rebirth," which were inconceivable and beyond human control...

Like Gotoh that has been given its Embrace, it is reborn and recreated.

"Clang, clang..." Ben, who had been lying quietly in the Blood Cocoon, suddenly moved...