Feitan did not understand.
But he soon thought of something, only to become uncertain again when his gaze swept over Nue beneath his feet.
From Feitan's expression, Qiao Lun knew he had probably gotten the wrong idea and connected his request to his ability, but he had no intention of explaining.
He was not a Nen user, but becoming one was very easy for him, because the rules of Nen included an extremely simple way to become a user.
That was to survive an attack made with Nen by a Nen user, which would stimulate one's own potential and allow one to master Nen.
However, this method was classified as an unorthodox practice.
Because if the attacker harbored even a little malice, the ordinary person being attacked would have an extremely low chance of survival.
In the manga, Neferpitou and Shaiapouf, two of Meruem's Three Royal Guards, had jointly planned to forcibly awaken Nen in East Gorteau's population of five million. Under that plan, perhaps only one percent would survive in the end.
But Qiao Lun had cursed energy reinforcing his body. Feitan's attack would only awaken his Nen without injuring him at all.
Feitan had considered approaching Qiao Lun and kissing him directly. With his ability, as long as he could do that, he could completely control Qiao Lun and obtain any information he wanted.
But he could tell that Qiao Lun was wary of him, and, when all was said and done, Qiao Lun had saved his life.
So in the end, his only choice was to coat his fist with Nen and swing it lightly at Qiao Lun.
Because he could sense that as he hesitated, Qiao Lun's patience was also wearing thin. It seemed that if he so much as entertained any thought of overstepping, an attack would descend on him.
Feitan's fist struck Qiao Lun, and the next second, something even more baffling happened.
With that single punch, a vast amount of Nen actually erupted from Qiao Lun's body.
In other words, under his punch, Qiao Lun, whose body had been wrapped in "Ten," went straight into the combat state of "Ren."
Qiao Lun, however, closed his eyes as soon as Feitan's attack was over.
What Feitan had seen before attacking was not "Ten," one of Nen's Four Major Principles, but cursed energy.
But after Feitan completed his attack, Qiao Lun felt as though every pore on his body had opened. What Feitan saw at that instant was genuine Nen.
With his eyes closed, Qiao Lun recalled the events of the Hunter x Hunter manga.
He had read that manga not long ago.
That was right.
Not long ago. The Hunter x Hunter manga existed in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, and so did Naruto. While attending Jujutsu High, he had even discussed with Yuji Itadori whether Kakashi from Naruto could beat their teacher, Satoru Gojo.
They had reached no conclusion, because neither could convince the other.
Qiao Lun's strongest evidence was what jjxx himself had said, but Itadori did not know who the hell One-Eyed Cat was.
However, although the Hunter x Hunter manga existed in Jujutsu Kaisen, even the Yoshihiro Togashi of a parallel world still had not provided an ending. In fact, when Qiao Lun transmigrated, the manga had only reached chapter 400.
But that was enough for Qiao Lun now.
Because those first four hundred chapters contained a complete method for training Nen.
What Qiao Lun needed to do now was follow the method Wing had used when teaching Gon and Killua, controlling the Nen leaking from his aura nodes to form "Ten."
In Feitan's eyes, the Nen that had erupted into a state of "Ren" around Qiao Lun was slowly changing. In just a few breaths, it had returned to "Ten," but Feitan noticed that the Nen on Qiao Lun's body was now different from the Nen he had possessed before the attack.
Before he attacked Qiao Lun, the impression Qiao Lun's Nen gave him had been one of negative states such as coldness, oppression, and terror.
But after he attacked Qiao Lun, the Nen on Qiao Lun's body became peaceful.
How did that work?
He did not quite understand, but Feitan did not dare ask.
As Feitan wrestled with his confusion, Qiao Lun slowly opened his eyes. Mastering "Ten" was simple; it was just a matter of retaining the aura released from his aura nodes.
For Qiao Lun, who had experience controlling cursed energy, this was truly easy.
And the reason he had been in such a hurry to awaken Nen was that he suspected someone had left a mark on him, Feitan, or Nue beneath their feet.
The person he suspected most was Machi of the Phantom Troupe.
In the manga, Machi had once left Nen formed into threads on Uvogin, allowing her to track down Uvogin after Kurapika took him away.
Earlier, when he had Nue break through the window and fly away, Qiao Lun had worried that Machi's Nen threads might be lying in wait outside the building.
But after leaving, he had not seen any Nen threads, which was why he had thought that, with Nue's abilities, even if Uvogin tracked him from the ground, there was no way he could catch up.
Now it seemed there was only one possibility: the Nen threads had been laid down long ago, but while he could only use cursed energy, he could not see them at all.
That meant there was only one way to find any Nen threads that might be there: use Nen himself.
If there really were Nen threads on them, Machi must have used the advanced Nen application "In." This was a technique that concealed the Nen one released, and an advanced application of "Zetsu," the technique for concealing one's presence among Nen's Four Major Principles.
And there was only one way to counter this technique: use another advanced Nen technique, "Gyo."
Simply concentrating Nen in the eyes would allow one to see through the effects of "In."
Now that Qiao Lun had awakened his Nen, his next step was to concentrate it in his eyes, enhancing their powers of observation and perception.
Although the whole process was slow, under Qiao Lun's control, it soon succeeded.
Controlling Nen aura seems a little easier than controlling cursed energy! The moment that thought arose in Qiao Lun's mind, he quickly rejected it.
Because he knew the key reason he felt this way was that he had already mastered controlling cursed energy, which allowed him to quickly get the hang of Nen, another form of energy.
And with Nen's assistance, something unusual finally appeared in Qiao Lun's sight.
There were several long, thin threads attached to Nue's body, extending all the way to the ground below. Although he could not see their ends, he could already be certain that Machi had marked him from the moment Nue broke out of the building.
Then there was a new question.
How many Phantom Troupe members were pursuing them?
If there were two, was there
a chance to kill both of the pursuers outright?
Although this might lead to the Phantom Troupe hunting him down, Qiao Lun had never been particularly good-tempered.
If the Phantom Troupe had known better and stopped targeting him once Nue left the auction venue, he would not have minded leaving them alone as long as they left him alone.
But now that the Phantom Troupe was pursuing him relentlessly, he did not mind making them suffer a loss.
At present, however, the only ones who could take out Phantom Troupe members were him and Kurapika.
So if more than two people were pursuing them, there was no need to fight. But if there were only two, taking them both out was certainly an option.
And the shikigami best suited for reconnaissance were none other than the Divine Dogs.
With that thought, when Nue once again lowered its flight altitude above a building's rooftop, Qiao Lun formed a dog-shaped shadow puppet with both hands. The black and white Divine Dogs appeared simultaneously from the shadows and landed on the rooftop.