Sakonji Urokodaki's training experience was indeed rich. The first training method he provided was tree-hugging cultivation.
And he called it beautifully, "All things have breath. Every flower and blade of grass is life. So the first step in learning Breathing techniques isn't practicing sword skills, but understanding what 'breathing' means. Eiichiro, start your training from this birch tree. Only after you understand how trees breathe will you be permitted to hold a sword."
After successfully becoming his disciple, Sakonji Urokodaki left Roy under a birch tree, gave brief instructions, then departed with hands behind his back.
A squirrel poked its little head from the tree branch, curiously examining him. It saw this human, after initially contemplating for a moment, bizarrely spread his arms and embrace the birch tree. Within minutes, sleeping soundly.
'Abstract... how can a person become a tree?' The familiar sensation of falling came.
Roy turned over and sat up from the soft bed. His consciousness seemed to still linger on the image of bear-hugging a birch tree and drowsily falling dead asleep.
According to Sakonji Urokodaki, only by truly becoming a tree could one enter the tree's life, feel its breathing method, and experience its sorrows and joys. However, this cultivation method based on "illusion" had one prerequisite—not falling asleep from over-immersion. Like his current self.
At 4 AM, the wooden grandfather clock in the corner reminded Roy as usual, it was time to go running. The young man rubbed his face, put on his tank top and shorts, closed the door, and shuttled through the quiet, vast mountain forest, following the faint fish-belly white appearing at the horizon.
From the castle at the mountaintop to the butler's villa already lit up halfway down, Roy clearly felt his body had become much lighter this time, his pace naturally quickening. This was likely due to the constitution increasing by one "Nanno Hiroshi."
[Shadow Step: Proficient (89→99)]
[Limb Bending: Proficient (67→84)]
[Snake Awakens: Beginner (83→98)]
The status panel clearly recorded the qualitative change brought by "Constitution +1." Even without deliberately practicing these assassination techniques recently, Roy continued steadily growing stronger through stat increases.
'So I should still follow Sakonji Urokodaki's advice and complete the tree-hugging training as soon as possible.'
Sweat dripped along his hair strands. Roy lightly wiped it away. His fingers inadvertently slid past his ear, touching something that made him stop and freeze his steps. That thing seemed somewhat light. Only when swaying in the wind could he feel its movement.
Touching it again, he discovered it was actually the sun and mountain earrings passed down from Yoriichi Tsugikuni, which father Tanjuro had personally hung on him!
'When did this happen? How did I materialize them into reality?' Roy froze momentarily, thinking carefully. Suddenly hearing a door sound ahead, he looked up and realized he'd already reached the Testing Gate at the mountain's base.
The "corner door" at the lower right of the Testing Gate was violently kicked open. Then three or four burly men filed in. Behind them was Zebro, smiling apologetically with a key in hand.
The prime-aged gatekeeper removed his hat and bowed to Roy. "Good morning, young master."
This immediately drew some fierce, brutal gazes. "A Zoldyck young master? Excellent. Capturing him will surely fetch a good bounty! Third Brother, check online how much... we brothers are getting rich today!"
Whether they'd get rich, Roy didn't know. He only knew Mike could have an extra meal this morning.
The beast passed through like a tornado. The men only felt darkness before their eyes. Looking again, half their bodies were already in Mike's mouth. Tilting its neck back, it sent them into its belly. Opening its mouth to spit, only some clothing remained, which it clawed out the gate.
Mike performed this routine very skillfully. Zebro followed by taking out a pre-prepared broom to skillfully clean the scene. Only Roy silently watched for a while before turning and running back toward the mountaintop.
The world's number one assassin family's reputation naturally attracted many risk-taking gamblers. They thought they could rise by stepping on the Zoldycks through reckless ferocity. Little did they know, their final outcome often became dog food.
Roy's pace didn't stop, completely undisturbed by this sudden little episode. Running while contemplating, considering the earrings' appearance, which was too sudden, only one possibility came to mind.
What kind of Nen abilities a Conjurer develops, or what tools they can materialize, relates to things or events most memorable deep in their hearts. For example, Kurapika, due to his clan's annihilation and his vendetta against the Spider, developed Chain Jail. Or Shizuku, who forgets things easily, imitating "fish memory lasts only seven seconds," developed Blinky.
All these more or less touched their souls, delving into their personalities.
'Because of Nanno Hiroshi's gift, my constitution strengthened. And because Father Tanjuro valued me, choosing to entrust the inheritance to me, this made me value these earrings deeply. I must have unconsciously materialized them through dreams.'
Roy pondered thoughtfully. Running past the butler's villa, through the mountain forest with the castle already in sight, he circled behind a tree, attempting to rely on imagination to send the earrings back to the cognitive world.
Nen light flowed, wrapping around the earrings. Unfortunately, as if determined to stay with Roy, they rejected his attempt, refusing to disappear from below his earlobes.
Clearly, 'reverse materialization' had failed. Or rather, from the start, 'materialization' seemed to be one-directional—able to transform Nen into physical objects through imagination, but unable to de-materialize those physical objects back into pure Nen to retrieve them.
This wasn't good news for Roy, or even for Tanjuro. The law that matter and energy can transform into each other perhaps didn't hold in the treacherous Nen ability world.
Roy's attempt failed. He emerged from behind the tree, returning while bearing brighter skylight, and arrived back at the castle. It was now 4:25 AM. Gotoh would arrive with food in five more minutes.
Roy strolled through the corridor, feet on the window frame, doing several more pull-ups. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a tall man emerging from around the corner, approaching him unhurriedly with a grave expression.
Passing beside him, the figure stopped. "Father." Roy lowered his feet.
Silva turned his head, looking down at him. "What day is today?"
"Tuesday."
"When's the test?"
"Next Sunday."
"Good that you remember." Silva put his hands in his pockets and walked away.