Fei Lan was even quicker to act than Lin Ye had imagined. At dawn the next morning, he called Lin Ye into the courtyard, holding a thick steel plate and a dagger polished to a gleaming edge. "The core of the Armament Haki you described is compressing aura to its limit and solidifying it into armor, right?" Fei Lan set the plate on the stone table and looked at Lin Ye. "Right." Lin Ye nodded. "Advanced Armament Haki can also penetrate defenses and attack a target from within. I got a glimpse of it when I was desperate once, but I never figured out how it worked." "That's because you had absolutely no understanding of Shu." Fei Lan smiled, picked up the dagger, and lightly drew it across the steel plate. The blade left only a faint white scratch. "Shu is an advanced application of Ten. You let your aura permeate an object you're touching, strengthening it or controlling it." As he spoke, a thin layer of aura covered his fingertips, and he gripped the dagger. When he drew it across the plate again, the dagger that had barely scratched it sliced the thick steel in two as easily as tofu. Lin Ye's pupils contracted sharply. He understood at once. He had always thought Ryuo, the advanced form of Armament Haki, relied on an explosive burst of aura to force its way through defenses. Only now did he realize that Ryuo was essentially the advanced Nen technique Shu-letting aura penetrate an object and destroy it from within. "Your Armament Haki only solidified aura on the surface of your body, like a hard shell." Fei Lan put down the dagger and looked at Lin Ye seriously. "True Advanced Armament Haki lets your aura solidify over your body for defense, but also flow with your attacks into your opponent's body, directly damaging their internal organs or even their aura nodes." "Isn't that exactly the same as the Ryuo you described?" Lin Ye nodded vigorously, understanding flooding his mind. The bottleneck that had troubled him for so long had been cleared away by a single explanation from Fei Lan. He had failed to find a way into Ryuo not because his will was too weak or his aura too scarce, but because he had never understood how Shu worked. Training blindly on instinct had naturally yielded little for all his effort. "Today, we'll start with Shu." Fei Lan pointed at the steel plate on the table. "I want you to use Shu to let your aura permeate this plate. Don't strengthen it. Use your aura to shatter it from within." "That's the foundation of Ryuo, and your first step toward fully merging Armament Haki with Nen." Lin Ye took a deep breath and stepped up to the stone table, looking at the plate before him. He closed his eyes, focused all his attention, and mobilized the aura inside his body. Ten settled steadily over his arm, Ren surged in an instant, and black Armament Haki covered his entire right hand. He slowly raised his hand and pressed it against the steel plate, trying to guide his aura through his fingertips and into the steel according to the principles of Shu Fei Lan had taught him. At first, he couldn't do it at all. His aura was like a hard wall, clinging stubbornly to the surface of the plate without penetrating it. The harder he pushed, the more solid his aura became, and the less it could seep inside. "Relax," Fei Lan said beside him. "Armament Haki's hardness is directed outward. To penetrate something, you have to learn to make your aura soft. The core of Shu isn't brute resistance. It's penetration, integration. Like water poured into sand, let your aura slip through the gaps in the object." Lin Ye immediately adjusted his breathing. He relaxed his tense muscles and stopped deliberately compressing and solidifying his aura. Instead, he softened the rigid Armament Haki, letting it flow like water through his fingertips and gradually seep into the steel plate. This time, it worked. He could clearly feel his aura boring into the plate like countless tiny needles, touching the steel's molecular structure. "Good! That's it!" Approval tinged Fei Lan's voice. "Now release your aura inside the plate in one explosive burst!" Lin Ye gritted his teeth and focused all his will. The aura that had permeated the steel erupted! Crack! A sharp snap rang out. Countless fine cracks spread across the thick steel plate in an instant. Then the entire plate shattered into more than a dozen pieces, scattering over the stone table. It worked! Lin Ye looked at his hand, then at the shattered steel, his eyes brimming with excitement. He had finally reached the threshold of Ryuo! He had finally fused Armament Haki with the advanced Nen technique Shu! "Not bad. Getting this far on your first attempt shows real talent." Fei Lan smiled and patted his shoulder. "But this is only the most basic level. Next, you need to learn to send your aura through your fists and fingertips into your opponent's body during combat. Even if they're defending with Nen, you must be able to penetrate their aura and attack their internal organs directly." "That's Ryuo's true power, and it'll be your greatest killing move against top-tier Nen users in the future." Lin Ye nodded earnestly, committing Fei Lan's words firmly to memory. Over the following days, he immersed himself completely in training to merge the two systems. Like an experienced guide, Fei Lan helped him piece Haki and Nen together bit by bit, fusing them into a complete, self-contained system. Armament Haki corresponded to enhancement-type Nen, with Ten as its foundation, Ken as its core, and Shu as its advanced application, forming a complete progression from defense to penetrating attacks. Armor that had once only allowed him to withstand blows became a lethal technique that combined defense with attacks capable of piercing defenses. Observation Haki corresponded to manipulation-type Nen, with Zetsu as its foundation, En as its extension, and Emotion Perception as its core, forming a sensory system more flexible, more discreet, and broader in range than ordinary En. Observation Haki, which had once only predicted movements, became an early-warning system capable of sensing emotions, predicting trajectories, and even detecting danger in advance. Under Fei Lan's guidance, the Six Powers were also perfectly adapted to Nen techniques. Shave used Ren as its core, combined with the explosive power of his legs. The number of times he could kick off the ground in an instant rose from twenty to thirty, while the distance he could cover increased from fifty meters to a hundred. He could also use it five times in succession while consuming less than half as much aura as before. Iron Body used Ken as its foundation, paired with Armament Haki to create a double layer of defense. Now, even if Lin Ye stood still and let ordinary Nen users slash him with blades or shoot him with guns, they couldn't break through his defenses. Kami-e used Observation Haki as its core, combined with the precise bodily control of manipulation-type Nen, allowing him to achieve true "thoughtlessness." Even if more than a dozen guns fired at him at once, he could easily dodge every bullet with Kami-e without so much as the hem of his clothes being touched. Finger Pistol used Ko as its core, combined with Armament Haki and Ryuo for the ultimate single-point breakthrough. Now, a thrust of Lin Ye's finger could not only pierce thick steel, but also send Ryuo through his fingertip into the target, destroying it from within. Even an opponent's Nen defenses could be penetrated with ease. Tempest Kick used emission-type Nen as its core, combined with high-speed kicks to release compressed aura as slashing waves. Now, a single Tempest Kick could reach fifty meters and easily cleave an abandoned car in two. He could also precisely control the slash's trajectory and range. Lin Ye's strength was rising at a visibly astonishing pace. As Fei Lan watched him grow, the satisfaction in his eyes deepened. He had taught Nen to many people and met plenty of gifted young people, but never anyone like Lin Ye, with such a powerful ability to learn, such resilience, and such an innate understanding of aura. He knew he had found an unpolished gem. That afternoon, Lin Ye was in the courtyard practicing the combination of Tempest Kick and Ryuo. He kicked, sending a slashing wave flying. Rather than cutting apart the steel plate in front of him, it seeped through the gaps in the steel and pulverized it from within. Standing nearby, Fei Lan smiled and nodded at the result. "Not bad. You've grasped the basics of combining Ryuo with Tempest Kick," he said. "Take a break today and come out with me. The supply exchange in District 13 is holding its market today. We'll trade for medicine and food, and get you a better blade while we're at it." Lin Ye's eyes lit up. He had been in Meteor City for almost a year, but had never visited a supply exchange. All he knew was that it was the only place in Meteor City with rules. People from every gang traded supplies there, and information circulated more freely there than anywhere else in the city. "All right!" Lin Ye agreed at once, changed into clean clothes, tucked his dagger at his waist, and followed Fei Lan out of the hideout where he had spent more than half a year. The supply exchange occupied a large abandoned shopping mall in the center of District 13. It was controlled by the District Chief, who prohibited private fights and murder there, making it one of Meteor City's few "safe zones." When Lin Ye followed Fei Lan into the mall, the sight before him stunned him. The abandoned mall was packed with stalls selling food, clothing, everyday necessities, weapons, medicine, and even books and tools related to Nen Abilities. It had everything. Street orphans, gang members, and merchants from various districts came and went, a motley crowd that was nevertheless remarkably "peaceful." No one fought there. "Don't let your eyes wander, don't speak carelessly, and definitely don't touch anyone else's things," Fei Lan told Lin Ye quietly. "The exchanges in Meteor City have only one rule: anyone who causes trouble here gets killed by the District Chief. Even the leader of the Wild Lion Gang wouldn't dare act out here." Lin Ye nodded seriously and stayed close behind Fei Lan, watching his surroundings warily. His Observation Haki spread instinctively, sensing the activity around him. Just then, it detected a surge of intense malice, along with a faint presence tinged with fear, in a corner of the mall near the warehouse. "Master, something's happening over there." Lin Ye immediately caught Fei Lan's arm and spoke quietly, pointing toward the warehouse. Fei Lan paused, then concealed his presence and extended his senses. His brows immediately knitted. "Some gang scum are bullying a little girl." His tone turned cold. "Come on. Let's take a look." The two followed the wall and silently approached the warehouse entrance. Inside, several burly men dressed in Black Snake Gang clothing surrounded a thin little girl, their faces twisted into lewd, cruel smiles. The girl looked only seven or eight. She wore a ragged dress and was covered in injuries. She clutched a smaller boy who was no longer breathing, keeping him protectively behind her. Her eyes were full of terror, but she still gritted her teeth and refused to retreat a single step. "Listen, brat, don't throw our kindness back in our faces!" The leader tapped a steel pipe against the floor and snarled, "Your brother's already dead. Come with us and at least you'll get something to eat. Otherwise, you'll be dumped in the garbage heap with him today!" "Get lost!" The girl's voice was hoarse but stubborn. "I'd rather die than go with you!" "Oh, still putting up a fight?" The man grinned and reached for her hair. "Then I'll ruin you first and throw you to the dogs!" Just as his hand was about to touch her hair, an icy voice came from the warehouse entrance. "Put your hand down." Lin Ye and Fei Lan stood in the doorway, staring coldly at the men inside.
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