Chapter Summaries

Lin Yan used the Circle Light Technique to locate Zushi in an abandoned warehouse, then sent Gon and Killua to rescue him while keeping Wing behind. The three reached their positions that night as Shadaso and his accomplices waited inside, unaware that Lin Yan was ready to attack.

• Lin Yan used Zushi's wristband and a glass of water to reveal an image of an abandoned warehouse, and Killua recognized it as part of the old industrial district.
• Lin Yan refused to let Wing join the rescue and assigned Gon to draw attention, Killua to infiltrate and capture Libedo, and himself to confront Jidou.
• Lin Yan told Wing to hold the line and carry out executions.
• At the warehouse, Shadaso, Jidou, and Libedo discussed their plans to cripple Lin Yan, Gon, and Killua while Zushi remained tied up nearby.
• Gon and Killua reached their assigned positions on a factory roof, while Lin Yan watched from a signal tower and drew out the Gengjin Sword Pellet.

Gon and Killua fought Shadaso's crew inside the warehouse to rescue Zushi, but Shadaso took Zushi hostage when neither fight was going his way. Lin Yan's crimson-gold bead then appeared at Shadaso's forehead, leaving him terrified and loosening his grip on Zushi.

• Gon entered the warehouse and fought Jidou's Nen-powered spinning tops, dodging them despite suffering cuts.
• Killua used Gon's distraction to attack Libedo and tried to reach Zushi, splitting the fight into two fronts.
• Shadaso seized Zushi and ordered Gon and Killua to make Lin Yan come out.
• Lin Yan's voice echoed through the warehouse, and a crimson-gold bead pierced the roof to hover at Shadaso's forehead.
• Shadaso recognized the bead that had nearly destroyed his soul and began trembling, loosening his hold on Zushi.

Lin Yan rescued Zushi by humiliating Shadaso and forcing the three attackers to swear binding oaths. After they fled, Hisoka watched from hiding and became even more fascinated by Lin Yan’s powers.

• Lin Yan used the Gengjin Sword Pellet to strip Shadaso naked without injuring him, causing Shadaso to release Zushi and collapse in terror.
• Jidou surrendered, and Killua stopped Libedo from escaping; all three attackers begged Lin Yan for mercy.
• Lin Yan helped Zushi recover, then ordered the three men to swear never to return to Heavens Arena or attack the weak.
• Lin Yan bound the oaths with golden true qi, and the three men fled after he told them to leave.
• Hisoka watched the encounter from the shadows and marveled at Lin Yan’s ability to impose rules on others.

After recovering from his injuries, Lin Yan reflected on his strengthened cultivation and refined control of the Gengjin Sword Pellet. When Gon learned he would fight Hisoka, Lin Yan advised him to focus on Hisoka’s intent and trust his instincts, leaving Gon resolved to face the match.

• On the way back, Zushi praised Lin Yan and said he wanted to cultivate immortality with him, so Wing punished him with extra training.
• Lin Yan meditated in his room and found that his cultivation and body had grown stronger after his injuries, while his combat with Shadaso had improved his Sword Pellet control.
• The Heavens Arena announced Gon’s match against Hisoka, and Gon eagerly said he intended to win.
• Wing warned Gon about Hisoka’s strength and Nen abilities, while Lin Yan asked Gon why he wanted to fight.
• Lin Yan told Gon to watch Hisoka’s intent rather than his tricks and to trust his instincts, and Gon said he understood.

Gon Freecss faced Hisoka Morow in the Heavens Arena, but Hisoka’s speed and Nen overwhelmed him. Despite being battered and humiliated, Gon kept getting back up and charging at Hisoka, while Lin Yan watched calmly.

• Gon Freecss dodged Hisoka Morow’s opening playing card by reading his intent.
• Hisoka struck Gon from behind, then pinned him with Bungee Gum and hit him in the abdomen.
• Gon remembered Lin Yan’s advice and forced himself to stand, renewing his resolve to fight.
• Gon repeatedly charged Hisoka, who toyed with him using Bungee Gum and Texture Surprise until Gon was covered in wounds and running low on stamina and Nen.

Gon endured Hisoka’s brutal assault, used Lin Yan’s breathing method to steady himself, and awakened an instinct that let him evade Hisoka’s attacks before landing a powerful punch. Hisoka remained ahead on points, but he fixed his attention on Lin Yan and silently challenged him as the referee prepared to announce the result.

• Killua demanded that Lin Yan stop Gon’s beating, but Lin Yan said Gon had not reached his limit.
• Gon recalled Lin Yan’s breathing method, calmed himself, and gathered his Nen as Hisoka waited for him to recover.
• Gon closed his eyes and used instinct to evade Hisoka’s storm of Nen-infused playing cards.
• Gon predicted the contraction of Hisoka’s Bungee Gum net, slipped beneath it, and punched Hisoka in the face, knocking out teeth and blood.
• Hisoka savored the blow and challenged Lin Yan with a silent “Your turn” while the referee prepared to announce the match result.

After Hisoka defeated Gon, Lin Yan left to meet him alone on the rooftop of Heavens Arena. Lin Yan called Hisoka a whetstone for his newly forged sword, and the two prepared to fight.

• Hisoka won the match by a wide margin, while Gon was carried away unconscious and earned the spectators’ respect with his final punch.
• Lin Yan told Killua and Wing that Gon would recover, then went alone to the rooftop of Heavens Arena.
• Hisoka told Lin Yan that he was more tempting than Gon and called him a forbidden fruit hiding an unknown power.
• Lin Yan said Hisoka was only a whetstone for testing his newly forged sword, provoking Hisoka to unleash his Nen Aura.
• Lin Yan calmly released a crimson-gold Sword Pellet from his sleeve as Hisoka challenged him to show its strength.

Lin Yan used the Gengjin Sword Pellet to break through Hisoka’s Bungee Gum and sever its remaining strands. Hisoka became fascinated by Lin Yan’s power and charged at him to fight at close range.

• Hisoka attacked Lin Yan with Bungee Gum, confident that its sticky Nen aura would trap the Sword Pellet.
• Lin Yan sent the Gengjin Sword Pellet through the Nen aura, where it ground against the strands and then broke them apart.
• Lin Yan used his divine sense to guide the Sword Pellet along a precise path, cutting the remaining filaments before it returned to him.
• Hisoka noticed a shallow wound on his finger and laughed with excitement at Lin Yan’s power.
• Hisoka called Lin Yan a forbidden fruit and charged at him, intending to attack at close range.

Lin Yan and Hisoka fought across the rooftop, where Lin Yan's Divine Sense and Gengjin Sword Pellet countered Hisoka's cards and close-range attacks. Hisoka noticed Lin Yan was tiring and decided to prolong the fight until exhaustion gave him an opening.

• Hisoka launched a storm of Nen-infused playing cards, but Lin Yan closed his eyes and used Divine Sense to track and destroy them with a golden sword net.
• Hisoka attacked at close range, but Lin Yan met him head-on and forced him to retreat in their first clash of strength.
• Lin Yan and Hisoka traded rapid blows, with Lin Yan's footwork and Sword Pellet protecting him while the orb wounded Hisoka's arm.
• Hisoka noticed Lin Yan's breathing had quickened and realized maintaining his techniques was draining him.
• Hisoka increased the pressure, planning to wear Lin Yan down before delivering a killing blow.

Lin Yan used Spirit-Shaking to stun Hisoka and launch a lethal counterattack, but Hisoka struck back as the Gengjin Sword Pellet closed in from behind. The three attacks stopped just short of killing either man, leaving their duel suspended at the brink of death.

• Lin Yan endured Hisoka's relentless assault while conserving his strength and waiting for an opening.
• Lin Yan charged the Gengjin Sword Pellet with a secret technique, provoking Hisoka to rush him before the ritual was complete.
• Lin Yan used Spirit-Shaking to freeze Hisoka for an instant, then appeared before him with Shrinking Space to Inches and aimed a Sword Finger between his brows.
• Hisoka unleashed his remaining nen aura and drove a playing card toward Lin Yan's heart while Lin Yan's Sword Pellet moved behind Hisoka's head.
• The Sword Finger, playing card, and Sword Pellet all stopped just short of their targets, leaving Lin Yan and Hisoka motionless as the fight's outcome remained unresolved.

Lin Yan and Hisoka ended their rooftop battle without killing each other and agreed to meet in Yorknew City on September 1st. Hisoka pointed Lin Yan toward the Phantom Troupe as potential opponents to help him grow stronger before their promised fight.

• Hisoka withdrew his playing card, and Lin Yan recalled his Sword Finger and Gengjin Sword Pellet after they recognized that their attack would have killed them both.
• Lin Yan challenged Hisoka to meet him in Yorknew City on September 1st, saying he would kill him once he had grown stronger.
• Hisoka accepted the challenge and revealed that he planned to find Chrollo Lucilfer in Yorknew City.
• Hisoka told Lin Yan that the Phantom Troupe would gather there and offered its members as whetstones for his cultivation; Lin Yan accepted.
• Hisoka vanished from the rooftop, and Lin Yan collapsed from exhaustion, resolving to pursue a golden core and prepare for Yorknew City.

After meeting Hisoka, Lin Yan decided to go to Yorknew City to pursue cultivation opportunities and face the Phantom Troupe if fate brought them together. Gon and Killua planned to visit Whale Island, and the three parted with a promise to reunite in Yorknew City on September first.

• Lin Yan returned to the hotel after deciding to seek out the Phantom Troupe in Yorknew City.
• Lin Yan told Gon, Killua, and Wing that Hisoka had arranged to meet him in Yorknew City on September first, when the Spiders would also gather.
• Gon decided to return to Whale Island to show Aunt Mito his Hunter License and apologize for using up her bank card, while Killua chose to go with him.
• Lin Yan said he would follow his own path to gather the materials needed to complete his flying sword and Golden Core.
• Lin Yan, Gon, and Killua promised to meet again in Yorknew City on September first.

After realizing that his limited True Qi made a prolonged fight dangerous, Lin Yan tried to divine where to find the materials needed to form a Golden Core. The Nen Mists rebuffed his attempt, so he decided to seek help from Neon Nostrade and set out to find Kurapika as his way into the Nostrade family.

• Lin Yan assessed the strengths and stamina weakness revealed by his battle with Hisoka and resolved to form a Golden Core.
• Lin Yan attempted Mind Divination on an isolated peak but encountered the Nen Mists and suffered a severe backlash.
• Lin Yan concluded that the world's laws were bound to Nen and that he needed a native prophet to guide his search for elemental materials.
• Lin Yan chose Neon Nostrade and her Lovely Ghostwriter ability as the means to obtain a reliable prophecy.
• Lin Yan decided to find Kurapika, who could lead him to the Nostrade family, and vanished from the peak.

After his failed divination, Lin Yan realized he could use Nen as a vessel for Taoist arts rather than trying to alter the world's rules. He created a tracking crane that flew south toward Kurapika, and Lin Yan followed it.

• Lin Yan reflected on his failed divination and concluded that Nen's adaptability made it a suitable vessel for his Taoist arts.
• Lin Yan infused Nen with true Qi and used the new method to inscribe a tracking art onto yellow paper.
• Lin Yan folded the paper into a crane and named the new ability [Mystic Gate · Trace-Seeking Crane].
• Lin Yan focused on Kurapika and the events tied to him, activating the crane's tracking runes.
• The glowing crane flew south, and Lin Yan followed it.

Lin Yan followed the Trace-Seeking Crane to the Nostrade family’s hiring agency and found Kurapika near the brink of losing control to his vengeance. He intervened just as Kurapika was about to storm the city’s underground trading market, and Kurapika recognized him.

• Lin Yan followed the Trace-Seeking Crane across the city until it led him to the Nostrade family’s bodyguard hiring agency.
• Using the Qi Observation Technique, Lin Yan sensed Kurapika’s unstable Nen and saw chains of resentment twisting within his aura.
• Lin Yan waited outside the agency as Kurapika’s despair and anger grew after another day without leads on the Scarlet Eyes.
• Kurapika’s Nen surged as he decided to force his way into the city’s largest underground trading market, whatever the consequences.
• Lin Yan appeared with an umbrella and calmed Kurapika with a warning about his heart and chain, and Kurapika recognized him.

Lin Yan reunited with Kurapika on a rainy night and listened as Kurapika explained the deadly condition behind his chains. Lin Yan accepted Kurapika’s choice of vengeance, and the two parted with a quiet toast to his goal.

• Lin Yan recognized Kurapika and shielded him from the rain, then took him to a quiet teahouse.
• After Kurapika’s dangerous aura faded, Lin Yan let him settle before asking nothing of him.
• Kurapika revealed the five chains he had conjured and explained that Chain Jail could only be used on members of the Phantom Troupe.
• Kurapika told Lin Yan that using Chain Jail on anyone outside the Phantom Troupe would kill him.
• Lin Yan respected Kurapika’s chosen path and wished him success, and Kurapika raised his teacup in reply.

Lin Yan and Kurapika agreed to pursue their goals through separate roles in the Nostrade family: Kurapika would apply as a bodyguard, while Lin Yan would negotiate directly with Light Nostrade. At the employment agency, Lin Yan destroyed an invisible Nen beast with a flick and secured entry passes for himself and Kurapika.

• Lin Yan explained that he wanted Neon Nostrade to use her prophetic ability, and Kurapika shared his plan to join the Nostrade family as a bodyguard.
• Lin Yan proposed becoming Light Nostrade’s guest adviser in exchange for protecting the family and having Neon tell his fortune once.
• The next morning, Lin Yan and Kurapika joined the bodyguard applicants’ line at the employment agency.
• Kurapika spotted a sinister Nen presence behind the interview room door with Gyo, while Lin Yan identified it as an invisible Nen beast that frightened applicants.
• Lin Yan flicked the door and dispersed the Nen beast, then warned its hidden controller not to try another trick.
• The interviewer appeared, declared Lin Yan and Kurapika had passed, and gave them maps and entry passes to Mr. Nostrade’s residence.

Lin Yan and Kurapika arrived at the Nostrade family's second recruitment site, where Dalzollene mistook Lin Yan for an ordinary intruder and ordered him to leave. Lin Yan released a trace of his Geng Metal Sword Intent, terrifying the applicants and forcing Dalzollene to address him respectfully.

• Lin Yan and Kurapika reached the villa and joined the Nen users gathered for the Nostrade family's recruitment.
• Melody sensed Kurapika's buried anger and sorrow, but Lin Yan's unnatural silence and faint sword-like sound filled her with terror.
• Dalzollene introduced himself as chief examiner and unleashed his Nen aura to test the applicants; Kurapika and Lin Yan remained unmoved.
• Dalzollene dismissed Lin Yan as an ordinary person and ordered him out, but Lin Yan stopped Kurapika from intervening and stepped toward him.
• Lin Yan's sword intent overwhelmed the courtyard, leaving Dalzollene frozen and the other Nen users frightened.
• After Lin Yan withdrew his presence, Dalzollene called him "sir," and the applicants regarded Lin Yan with fear and wariness.

Lin Yan used his overwhelming strength to gain an audience with Light Nostrade and negotiated protection for Neon in exchange for a fortune-telling. He joined the Nostrade family as a Special Guest while Kurapika continued the bodyguard tests, leaving them to enter the affair through different roles.

• Lin Yan intimidated Dalzollene, then asked to meet Light Nostrade instead of applying for a bodyguard position.
• Dalzollene called Light, who spoke with Lin Yan and learned that he knew about Neon Nostrade and the danger surrounding her.
• Lin Yan offered to protect Neon in Yorknew City in exchange for having her tell his fortune once.
• Light agreed to hire Lin Yan as a Special Guest with top-level compensation and no routine bodyguard duties.
• Lin Yan declined a ride to the Main Residence so he could wait while Kurapika completed the remaining tests.
• Kurapika and the other applicants moved on to the second-round combat tests as Lin Yan entered the villa under his separate invitation.

Lin Yan negotiated with Light Nostrade to use Neon’s Lovely Ghostwriter, promising to keep her safe in Yorknew City. Light agreed, and Neon arrived just as Lin Yan asked her to perform a divination.

• Dalzollene led Lin Yan to meet Light Nostrade, who questioned why Lin Yan wanted to work with his family.
• Lin Yan said he needed Neon’s Lovely Ghostwriter to locate something and promised to protect her from the Phantom Troupe and the Shadow Beasts.
• Light, hoping to advance his ambitions, accepted Lin Yan’s terms and named him the Nostrade family’s honored guest.
• Neon came downstairs and dismissed Lin Yan as an unimpressive bodyguard.
• Lin Yan told Neon he wanted a favor and asked her to perform a divination.