While Luo Ning was heading to the arena for his match, a thirteen-year-old blonde youth also arrived outside Heaven's Arena. He wore the traditional Kurta Clan clothing that Luo Ning had once worn, and in his hand, he clutched a poster printed with Luo Ning's photograph.
On the poster, Luo Ning's face wore a bright smile. Outside the poster, Kurapika's face was a mask of gray despair, looking like a member of the walking dead who had lost all hope. Even now, though he could look up and see promotional posters and advertisements featuring Luo Ning's image everywhere, Kurapika still found it difficult to connect the youth in the pictures with the Luo Ning he knew.
Deep down, he both hoped that this star-like person was the Big Brother Luo Ning he knew, and doubted that the Big Brother Luo Ning who knew about the clan's massacre could ever have the kind of sunny smile seen on the poster.
However, the news reports and the information he had gathered after returning to the Kurta Clan's territory all told him one thing: out of the 129 members of the Kurta Clan, only 127 bodies had been found. Those who had not been found should be himself and Luo Ning.
Kurapika's gaze gradually became firm. He had to find out exactly what was going on.
Similarly, after Kurapika entered Heaven's Arena by registering for the competition, a group of people also arrived on the 227th floor of the building.
"I thought his throat-slitting gesture back then was arrogant enough, but I didn't expect him to be so lazy that he wouldn't even hide his identity. Should I call him conceited, or say that the ignorant are fearless? Or maybe he's just incurably stupid!"
The speaker was Uvogin, who, after finishing the Phantom Troupe's official business, had asked Shalnark to help him track Luo Ning down. Shalnark hadn't expected the investigation into Luo Ning to be so simple. With just a quick search online, he saw the overwhelming publicity for the 'Heaven's Arena Supernova', the 'Crimson Meteor', and 'Violent Luo Ning'.
That string of titles was practically blinding.
Furthermore, Shalnark had easily downloaded the video of Luo Ning's fight against Gallegos.
When Uvogin saw the two people fighting on the stage in the footage, he laughed out of pure anger. He discovered that the move Luo Ning used to finally defeat Gallegos was exactly his Big Bang Impact! That extreme manipulation of Nen and the rapid method of condensation were identical to how he unleashed his own Big Bang Impact.
In other words, not only did this guy have the nerve to stand out in the spotlight, but he also had the audacity to blatantly plagiarize his signature ability! If Uvogin could swallow this insult, he might as well go back to the trash heaps of his hometown and live as garbage.
So, he came.
Accompanying him were Shalnark, who was there to enjoy the spectacle, and Nobunaga, who was also curious about Luo Ning and wanted to slice him into mincemeat.
"I think he did it on purpose," Shalnark offered a different perspective.
"What? You think he has the ability to fight me?" Uvogin looked at him with dissatisfaction.
At this moment, two figures walked onto the stage: Luo Ning and his opponent, a martial artist named Sydney who held a record of three wins and one loss in the arena.
Sydney was an Emitter. At the very start of the battle, he immediately pulled back to create distance from Luo Ning. He raised his right hand, mimicking the shape of a gun, and aimed it at Luo Ning.
"Bang!"
Sydney made a shooting sound as he mimicked the action of firing.
With his eyes focused with Nen, Luo Ning clearly saw Nen aura condensing at Sydney's fingertip before it shot out following the sound.
"In a limited space, fighting while maintaining distance from the enemy is the rule that favors me most. Give up; you won't get a chance to get close to me!" Sydney watched as Luo Ning dodged his first Nen bullet, but he wasn't flustered at all. He even tried to persuade Luo Ning to surrender early.
However, his tone carried a condescending sense of charity.
Luo Ning had to admit that Sydney was right. An arena like this certainly provided an advantage for Emitters, but telling him to surrender was a bit too arrogant. Even without entering the Sharingan state, every Nen bullet Sydney fired was crystal clear in his eyes.
However, Luo Ning didn't plan to win this match by simply dodging.
After merging the second pair of Scarlet Eyes, his physical strength and his own aura reserves had both improved. After nearly ten days of cultivation, he hadn't come away empty-handed; he had already mastered the essence of Uvogin's Big Bang Impact.
Currently, even without using the Sharingan, he could perform the Big Bang Impact. What kind of effect would such a powerful physical body produce when paired with superb technique?
Luo Ning utilized the advanced Nen technique Flow, maintaining the state of Hard while more Nen gathered toward his hands. When Sydney's Nen bullet shot toward him again, Luo Ning used even greater speed to intercept the bullet, which was moving as fast as a real slug, right out of the air!
Bang!
Using only three fingers, Luo Ning caught the Nen bullet with terrifying force. Then, under Sydney's shocked gaze, he exploded with the power-delivery technique of the Big Bang Impact and crushed the Nen bullet directly between his fingertips.
"Now, who was saying something about surrendering?" Luo Ning began walking toward Sydney.
Sydney only felt a massive pressure constantly crashing against him. The hand he had shaped into a pistol began to tremble slightly at this moment. He had watched the video of Luo Ning's fight with Gallegos. Although Luo Ning had shown extreme destructive power, Sydney hadn't thought he would lose.
But now it seemed he was wrong. This guy had definitely hidden his strength when fighting Gallegos!
Sydney continuously made shooting sounds, and Nen bullets exploded outward one after another, but they were all easily caught and crushed by the approaching Luo Ning. When Luo Ning was only three meters away, Sydney finally couldn't take the pressure anymore and lowered his arm.
He didn't say the words of surrender, however. Instead, he suddenly lunged forward, swinging his fist upward in an undercut toward Luo Ning.
The pistol stance allowed him to unleash long-range and more precise attacks, but his fist could unleash the even greater power of his Nen bullets! His fist possessed the power of a cannon. If this move wasn't a double-edged sword that hurt himself while killing the enemy, he wouldn't have needed to pull back and circle his target.
However, if Luo Ning could force him to use his trump card, that was something to be proud of!
As Sydney thought this, he found his fist directly blocked by a much more powerful hand. The stronger Emitter Nen bullet condensed on his fist didn't even get a chance to explode; it was directly smothered and extinguished by his opponent's palm!
"Impossible!" Looking up, Sydney saw two points of crimson.
In the next second, a piercing pain shot from his abdomen. Sydney was kicked into the air like a ball. Sydney, having been thrown from the ring, smashed into the wall of the front-row spectator seats, causing the nearby audience to cry out in panic.
But Sydney could no longer hear them. As he slid down the damaged wall with blood spilling from his mouth, his eyes were rolled back in an unconscious state.
The panicked cries of the audience lasted only a moment before being drowned out by the passionate shouting of the commentator and the referee's declaration of the winner. In the next second, the entire venue erupted in thunderous cheers, with everyone screaming Luo Ning's name at the top of their lungs!