The battle in which he killed Red Ogre was like a stone thrown into a lake, stirring up an enormous commotion throughout the area. The Wild Lion Gang was one of the largest gangs in Meteor City's District 13, with over a hundred men under its command, including more than a dozen genuine Nen users. In this area, it was an undisputed powerhouse. Its third-in-command, Red Ogre, was among the gang's strongest fighters. His Nen slashes had killed countless opponents, earning him a fearsome reputation in District 13. Yet now, that notorious third-in-command had been killed single-handedly by a ten-year-old kid in the garbage mountains. The news spread as though it had wings, reaching every corner of District 13 overnight. Everyone learned that a kid named Lin Ye lived in the garbage mountains on the district's western side. He was terrifyingly strong, having killed the Black Snake Gang's leader and then taken down the Wild Lion Gang's third-in-command, Red Ogre, on his own. Countless eyes turned toward Lin Ye. Some were curious, some were awed, and others held malice and greed. Lin Ye, however, paid no attention to the rumors. After killing Red Ogre, he searched his body and those of the four burly Wild Lion Gang members, gathering a substantial haul: two large backpacks filled with food and water, a brand-new Samurai Sword, a handgun with more than a dozen rounds left, plenty of anti-inflammatory medicine and bandages, and even a small pouch of the currency used within Meteor City. What delighted Lin Ye most was a battered notebook he found in the pocket of Red Ogre's leather jacket. It contained Red Ogre's insights into training his Nen Ability, basic training methods for the Four Major Principles, and even a few simple techniques for applying Nen Abilities. For Lin Ye, it could not have come at a better time. Previously, he had only been able to fumble his way through Nen training using his memories of the original story. He had to guess at many details and had taken quite a few wrong turns. Now, with this notebook, he finally had a proper Nen training manual that would let him train systematically and correctly, avoiding those detours altogether. Lin Ye treasured the notebook, reading it over and over more than a dozen times until he had practically memorized everything in it. Its contents largely matched the Nen theory he remembered, but it also included many practical training tips Red Ogre had developed through actual combat. For example, when training Ten, rather than merely practicing a stable covering of aura, he could maintain Ten while sleeping. Not only would that accelerate his progress, but it would also keep his defenses up in his sleep, allowing him to respond to sudden danger. When training Ren, he could not simply pursue greater bursts of aura. He also needed to focus on control, releasing and restraining his aura at will, producing precisely as much as he wanted. Only then could he accurately manage his aura consumption in combat and improve his endurance. The notebook also recorded basic training methods for two advanced techniques, Ken and Ko. Ken meant concentrating all the aura released through Ren around the entire body to create the strongest possible defense. It was the key to advancing Iron Body and Armament Haki. Ko meant concentrating all the body's aura in a single part to produce the strongest possible attack. It was central to advancing Finger Pistol and Tempest Kick. These lessons perfectly suited Lin Ye's current stage of training, helping him break through many bottlenecks he had previously been unable to understand. His training picked up speed once more. Following the notebook's methods, he refined his training schedule. Every night, he maintained Ten while sleeping. This made his Ten increasingly stable and proficient, while keeping him alert to danger even in his sleep. When practicing Ren, he no longer focused solely on how much aura he could release. Instead, he began practicing precise control, learning to freely adjust the strength of his output from ten percent to full power. As a result, his control over his aura consumption grew increasingly precise, and his endurance in combat improved dramatically. At the same time, he began training the two advanced techniques, Ken and Ko. Ken meshed perfectly with Iron Body and Armament Haki. He spent two hours every day practicing it, maintaining a stable covering of all his aura around his entire body to create his strongest defense. Combined with Armament Haki, it raised his defensive capabilities to another level. Even if he stood still and let ordinary Nen users attack him, they would be unable to break through his defenses. Ko, meanwhile, meshed perfectly with Finger Pistol and Tempest Kick. He concentrated all his aura at his fingertip or the tip of his foot, compressing it to the limit and combining it with Armament Haki to achieve maximum penetrating power at a single point. His Finger Pistol could now pierce thick steel plates with one thrust. It could even penetrate an ordinary Nen user's aura defenses outright, killing them in a single blow. His Tempest Kick training also made a tremendous breakthrough. Previously, he could only deliver powerful kicks through explosive bursts of leg strength; he had been unable to produce ranged cutting waves at all. Now, after mastering Ko and the basic techniques of Emission, he could release compressed aura through a high-speed kick, creating a sharp cutting wave. Although his Tempest Kick currently reached only a little over ten meters and was not particularly powerful, this was already a qualitative breakthrough. It meant he finally had a means of attacking at range. He had now mastered the rudiments of five of the Six Powers: Shave, Iron Body, Kami-e, Finger Pistol, and Tempest Kick. Only the final technique, Geppo, remained unpracticed. Geppo was an aerial extension of Shave. It required stepping on the air to remain aloft and fly, demanding extremely precise aura control and explosive leg strength. Lin Ye planned to begin practicing Geppo once he had thoroughly mastered Tempest Kick. In just one short month, his strength underwent another earthshaking transformation. His foundation in Nen had become exceptionally solid. He knew the Four Major Principles inside out and had gained an initial grasp of Ken and Ko. His Armament Haki could now cover his entire body for more than ten minutes, and both its hardness and penetrating power had reached new heights. His Observation Haki's detection range had expanded to a five-kilometer radius, and its predictive ability continued to improve. With the rudiments of five of the Six Powers mastered, his combat system had fully taken shape. Even against a Nen user like Red Ogre, he could now win with ease. There was no longer any need to push himself to the limit and scrape through by the narrowest margin as he had before. Yet Lin Ye knew perfectly well that although his current strength placed him among the best of Meteor City's lower ranks, it was still inadequate against the truly powerful. For the Wild Lion Gang to have established itself in District 13, Red Ogre could hardly have been its only Nen user. Its leader and second-in-command were certain to be far stronger than Red Ogre, and there might even be advanced Nen users among them. He had killed Red Ogre. The Wild Lion Gang would never let that go; they would definitely come for revenge. Bigger trouble still lay ahead. Lin Ye did not let his guard down. Every day, he used Observation Haki to survey his surroundings, remaining alert for retaliation from the Wild Lion Gang. At the same time, he looked for an opportunity to leave District 13. The district had already become a hotbed of trouble. Staying here would only drag him into endless gang conflicts, leaving him no time to focus on training. He intended to head for Meteor City's central district, where there would be more opportunities and chances to encounter stronger Nen users. He might even meet characters from the original story. What he had not expected was that the Wild Lion Gang's retaliation would arrive far sooner than he anticipated. That afternoon, Lin Ye was practicing Tempest Kick in the open space outside the Air-Raid Shelter. He raised his right leg, gathered all his aura at the tip of his foot, combined it with Armament Haki, and kicked out hard. Whoosh! A silvery-white aura slash flew from the tip of his foot, cutting through the air with a piercing whistle before striking an abandoned car more than ten meters away. A deafening clang rang out. The car's thick shell was cleaved straight in two by the aura slash. Lin Ye surveyed the result and nodded in satisfaction. His Tempest Kick was becoming increasingly refined, and its power continued to grow. Just then, however, his Observation Haki suddenly screamed a warning. An extraordinarily terrifying presence, saturated with killing intent, was rapidly approaching him. Not just one-there were more than a dozen. Three were exceptionally powerful, all genuine Nen users whose strength far surpassed Red Ogre's. The presence at the front was even more frightening. Its owner's total aura was more than five times Lin Ye's, bearing down on him like a mountain. Lin Ye's expression changed instantly. The Wild Lion Gang had come for revenge. And those who had come were all true experts. Without the slightest hesitation, he activated Zetsu, concealed his presence, and rushed into the Air-Raid Shelter, intending to escape immediately through its rear entrance. He knew very well that facing so many Nen users, along with a top-tier fighter far stronger than himself, head-on would mean certain death. As long as he survived, he would have another chance. But the moment he rushed inside the Air-Raid Shelter, he felt a terrifying aura lock onto his position. Immediately afterward, a sharp aura slash carrying devastating power slammed into the shelter's roof. Boom! A deafening blast rang out. The aura slash collapsed the entire roof of the Air-Raid Shelter. Rubble and steel reinforcement bars rained down, completely sealing off both the exit and the rear entrance. Through the billowing dust, a towering figure slowly approached. The man stood nearly two meters tall, his body packed with knotted muscle. A savage scar marked his face. He was bald and bare-chested, his body covered in tattoos, and he held an enormous Mountain-Cleaving Axe. His aura surged like a tsunami, violent and terrifying. More than a dozen burly men followed behind him. Two of them also possessed extremely powerful presences; both were genuine Nen users. Weapons in hand, they stared coldly at Lin Ye through the dust. The bald man looked at Lin Ye amid the dust and broke into a broad grin. His voice boomed like thunder, thick with killing intent. "You killed my little brother, brat, and now you think you can run?" "You think you can kill a member of my Wild Lion Gang and get away with it?" He was Wild Lion, leader of the Wild Lion Gang and the overlord of Meteor City's District 13. Standing amid the collapsed rubble, Lin Ye looked at the dozen or so men before him and slowly tightened his grip on his Samurai Sword. He knew there was no retreat today. A deadly struggle with no way out lay before him.
Before you continue