The rumors were confirmed.
Sean gave Maha a deep look.
He suppressed his curiosity about the "Longevity Rice" and didn't plan to ask any more.
When it involved the Dark Continent, even top-tier powerhouses like Netero were deeply secretive. Never mind a small fry like him.
So, the only thing to do right now was to increase his strength.
Strive for the day when he could see the old man's stats, and even... surpass him!
'At that time, I'll beat him up, just to let him know... there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Since he chose to freeload, he has to pay the price.'
"Hiss Why does this old man feel so cold" Maha, lying comfortably in his rocking chair, glared at Sean. "Brat, still not going to draw your manga?"
"You haven't updated in a whole minute. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"
'Heh~ Freeloaders are always so self-righteous.' "Say one more word, and I'm on hiatus next week."
Sean's words nearly made the old man choke to death.
Maha resentfully shut his mouth.
Sean snorted coldly, swung his arms, left the room, and headed straight for the training hall.
On the ancient stone paths of the castle, the youth's black hair was simply tied up with a cord. As he walked, he consulted the "Sage's" opinion.
"Sage, if I want to cultivate the Eight Gates without injury, what do my basic stats need to be?"
[Strength, Speed, Aura: 200.]
'200?' Sean glanced at his own stats. Only "Strength" met the standard, and that was thanks to "Sakura's monstrous strength" that he had extracted a while ago.
The remaining "Speed" and "Aura Amount," especially "Speed," were only half of the 200 required.
Fortunately, the old man had pointed out a clear path—Shingen-ryu.
'Praying before every punch might be a good idea.'
Pondering this, he arrived at the training hall.
Sean pushed the door open and entered.
Illumi, with heavy sandbags strapped to his legs, was training in "Rhythm Echo" under Silva's guidance.
A week had passed, and the stinky little brother had clearly made significant progress. His flickering movements now had a bit of that "dark" flavor.
But his 100 points of Strength, 70 points of Speed, and 90 points of Aura Amount really weren't much in comparison.
The hexagram in his right eye flashed. Sean saw Illumi's stats at a glance, then his gaze shifted right, landing on Silva.
As expected, aside from "Age: 36," he got nothing. Just like with Maha, it all showed... 'Insufficient host strength, unable to view.'
"You're late again today." The door squeaked shut.
The wind stopped, the leg arrived. Illumi showed off his half-assed "Rhythm Echo" and sent a flying kick over.
The result: while he was still in mid-air, before his foot even touched Sean, a size 39 foot descended from the sky and planted itself on his face.
'Learn your lesson. Stinky little brother, have a taste of "Big Brother's Love Kick".'
Thud~ Illumi fell flat on his back.
Sean retracted his foot, casually wiped it on Illumi's clothes, and spat inwardly, 'I must have stepped in Mike's shit on the way here. What bad luck!'
Illumi: "..."
Putting on his stinky face, he glared at Sean. "I may be trash, but I'm not stupid. You think I don't know if Mike's shit stinks or not?"
"Oh You've grown a brain That's not easy." Sean smiled, ignoring his stinky little brother's rapidly flushing face.
He took off his jacket and changed into a training uniform.
"Well done, Sean." An expert's move shows their skill.
Sean's flying kick had used "Rhythm Echo," and compared to last time, it was faster, fiercer, and at an extremely tricky angle.
Naturally, it didn't escape Silva's eyes.
"It's alright. It's been a week. Even Mike could have learned 'Rhythm Echo' by now." Sean rolled up his sleeves and glanced at a certain stinky little brother still playing dead on the floor.
The latter's body clearly twitched. He couldn't keep up the act and climbed up from the floor.
He said expressionlessly, "It took Dad a month to learn 'Rhythm Echo'."
"From what you're saying, Dad is even worse than that dog Mike?"
Gak! The air in the training hall instantly froze!
Sean couldn't help it. He gave Illumi a thumbs-up in admiration. 'Go well, my brother.'
'In your next life, remember, since you're so good at talking, just say more.'
BAM! As expected, the iron fist of their father, though delayed, arrived.
One punch from Silva, and Illumi was instantly squatting on the ground, clutching his head. A large lump was visibly swelling on his forehead.
"Your brother said you'd grown a brain. It seems he overestimated you."
'The real chill isn't from yelling...' Silva, having dealt with Illumi, turned to Sean. "And you."
"You got cocky just from learning 'Rhythm Echo.' In that case, how about you show me how you 'instantly learn' 'Snake Movement'?"
"Snake Movement," one of the Zoldyck family's three great assassination arts.
Unlike "Rhythm Echo," it emphasizes body flexibility and upper body coordination.
By rapidly waving the hands, one forms hand-knives to slay the enemy.
In the original story, Killua's famous "bare-handed heart-rip" scene during the Hunter Exam relied on "Snake Movement."
Silva had now witnessed Sean's talent with his lower body. But everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Powerful lower limbs implied a weakness in the upper limbs.
Even trash like Illumi understood this point.
The stinky little brother stood up, head full of lumps, tears welling in his eyes but refusing to fall.
'I have to say, he's truly a ruthless person, the type who would stick needles in his own face in the future!'
"Alright." Noticing the gazes on him, Sean thought for a moment, stretched his muscles, and said directly to Silva, "Dad, let's not waste time."
"While I still have some time today, let's just learn 'Limb Flex' as well."
Things were different now. Sean knew very well that the ten-year-old Killua's physical stats might not even match his own.
'If someone with his stats could easily master the three great assassination arts, it proved one thing—'
"'Rhythm Echo,' 'Limb Flex,' and 'Snake Movement' are nothing compared to the 'Eight Inner Gates.' With my current stats and the help of the Sharingan, I can absolutely master them all in one go."
'Of course, the more important point was—'
'The Zoldyck family's current training plan could no longer keep up with me.'
'It was clearly no longer appropriate to keep playing house with Illumi.'
Sean took a deep breath, his eyes bright as he looked at Silva.
Silva frowned, clearly shaken by his eldest son's "big talk."
He narrowed his eyes. "Are you serious?"
'I think he's serious...' Illumi thought, expressionlessly clutching his head, also watching Sean.
Sean was noncommittal. He just said, "Let's begin."
A corner of Silva's mouth twitched, and he laughed in anger. "It seems the Zoldyck family has protected you all too well."
"And limited your horizons."
"Sean..." Silva spread his arms, like a god descending, his aura changing in an instant!
"After today, I want you to reflect properly on yourself."
Swish~ As his words fell... two winding, spiritual snakes emerged from their cave...
With a flick of their tongues, two cold lights flashed!
T/n:
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