"All right." Gon clenched his fists. "I'll surpass them someday."
Wing's pointers had already helped him begin to grasp the method: as an Enhancer, he only needed to unleash everything he had learned at once. That was his defining trait.
His fight against the Divine Dogs had further confirmed this.
Ordinary attacks posed no threat to the thick-furred Divine Dogs, but when he concentrated his Nen into his fist using Gyo, then used Ten to wrap up all the aura he released and increase its density, a little Nen would still escape from his body. That was when he needed to use Zetsu to eliminate it.
Once everything was complete, Gon himself could feel how powerful the Nen gathered in his fist was.
An attack like that could threaten the Divine Dogs.
If he could master this move, perhaps he, too, would have the strength to fight members of the Phantom Troupe.
Qiao Lun had no idea what Gon was thinking. Had he known, he would have told Gon that the advanced technique he was using, which combined all five techniques-Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Hatsu, and Gyo-was called Ko!
Although Ko, a technique that concentrated all one's Nen in a single spot for an explosive release, could maximize an attack's power, it also reduced one's defenses to their lowest point.
Still, Biscuit would probably teach Gon about it once he entered Greed Island.
Before entering the room, Qiao Lun had looked back and spotted Biscuit in the queue, wearing a burgundy patchwork puffball dress with her hair in twin tails, looking just like an exquisite doll.
Who would have thought that someone who looked like such a little girl was actually over fifty?
Tsezguerra was already waiting in the room behind the iron door, and he smiled as Qiao Lun entered.
"You're strong," Tsezguerra said frankly. "But I'd still like to see your Ren."
"Sure." Qiao Lun could not possibly show Dalzollene his actual Ren, because Tsezguerra's wording was merely an expression used among Hunters.
He did not actually want to see Qiao Lun's Ren, but rather the fruits of his training. More plainly, he wanted to see how strong Qiao Lun was.
If someone really came here and showed Tsezguerra their Ren, they would only receive a failing assessment.
Nor could Qiao Lun show Tsezguerra the actual results of his Nen training, because he was still at the beginner stage.
So Qiao Lun simply summoned the Divine Dogs.
Wolf howls rang out from behind the iron door. Facing the two enormous wolves directly, Tsezguerra felt tremendous pressure.
"Would you like to test their strength yourself, or should I have them demonstrate?" Qiao Lun's gaze swept over the wall beside them.
With the Divine Dogs' strength, tearing through the wall would be no problem at all. A single swipe would suffice.
Emission? Tsezguerra made his assessment of Qiao Lun while also sensing the powerful Nen emanating from the Divine Dogs.
More importantly, he sensed intense negative emotions in their Nen, which led the well-informed Tsezguerra to form some other conjectures about Qiao Lun.
He had only ever encountered negative emotions this intense in post-mortem Nen.
Without exception, post-mortem Nen was stronger and more troublesome than Nen during life.
If these two enormous wolves really had some connection to post-mortem Nen, their strength was beyond question.
But if they really were products of post-mortem Nen, they must have shared an extremely deep bond with Qiao Lun during their lives.
That added a touch of sympathy to Tsezguerra's gaze as he looked at Qiao Lun.
Qiao Lun simply found Tsezguerra's gaze baffling.
"I'd like to try." Tsezguerra reined in the unnecessary emotion in his eyes and made his decision after some hesitation.
Ever since seeing Qiao Lun at the auction, he had been curious about his strength. Now that such a convenient and safe opportunity had presented itself, he naturally would not pass it up.
In particular, testing Qiao Lun's true strength would give him a clearer idea of how to deal with Qiao Lun once they entered the game.
"Of course." Qiao Lun gestured for him to proceed, then stepped back with the White Divine Dogs, leaving the battlefield entirely to the Black Divine Dogs.
Rather than taking offense at Qiao Lun's attitude, Tsezguerra grew even more cautious.
The Black Divine Dogs attacked first.
There were no flashy probing moves, just the simplest of lunges. It did not even open its mouth in the process.
Tsezguerra had expected the Black Divine Dogs to be very powerful, but only at the instant they clashed did he realize he had still underestimated it.
Facing the Black Divine Dogs' deadly lunge, Tsezguerra recalled facing a brown bear alone as a child.
Had an old hunter not drawn the brown bear away with a gunshot that day, he might have died in its jaws.
That oppressive feeling of facing something at the top of the food chain still lingered in his heart, even after so many years-so many that he could now slaughter brown bears with ease.
Tsezguerra dodged the Divine Dog's lunge and kicked it. The kick landed, but the Divine Dog twisted around and snapped at him.
Tsezguerra relied on his experience to dodge and counterattack, but gradually realized that his attacks struggled to inflict any meaningful damage on the Divine Dog.
Watching Tsezguerra and the Divine Dog exchange blows, Qiao Lun arrived at a rough assessment of Tsezguerra's strength.
Unless Tsezguerra had some special ability, his strength was probably on the level of the Shadow Beasts, a considerable distance below the Phantom Troupe.
Still, he had extensive combat experience and was highly proficient in all the various Nen techniques.
In a fight to the death, Tsezguerra probably had a chance of killing one Divine Dog at the cost of serious injuries.
Unfortunately, Qiao Lun's Divine Dogs always appeared in pairs and coordinated their attacks.
Seeing that he could not even defeat a single wolf, Tsezguerra could not help feeling discouraged. He pulled back and gestured for a halt.
Seeing Tsezguerra retreat, the Black Divine Dogs did not pursue him. Instead, it slowly sank into the shadow on the floor and disappeared.
Tsezguerra, however, stared at the shadow beneath the Divine Dog's feet, lost in thought.
"Well?" Qiao Lun's voice broke the silence.
"Very strong." Tsezguerra's gaze was complicated. "You pass. You can rest in the waiting area until all the tests are over."
Qiao Lun smiled faintly, turned, and left in the direction Tsezguerra indicated.
Watching Qiao Lun walk away, Tsezguerra could not help shaking his head with a wry smile.
Having
become a One-Star Hunter, he had been quite confident in his strength. But facing Qiao Lun today had made him realize he had grown somewhat lax.
Still, with Qiao Lun being so strong, perhaps he could become a trump card for him after entering Greed Island.
With that thought, Tsezguerra called in the next applicant.
Qiao Lun entered another, smaller hall behind the main hall. At that moment, he was thinking that if Tsezguerra was only this strong, then the Bomber, who did not dare clash with Tsezguerra's team head-on in Greed Island and could only launch surprise attacks from a distance, probably was not all that strong either.
It seemed there were only two ideal targets in Greed Island.
One was Biscuit, who should be coming in shortly, and the other was Razor, one of the game's administrators, who could also be called Greed Island's gatekeeper boss.
But if his plan with Kurapika succeeded, Greed Island might also become the site of their final battle with the remaining members of the Phantom Troupe.