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"Well done, Ginta."
Ginta was the first to climb to the top of the gorge. His companions came forward and patted his sturdy arm, praising him. Illumi and King Bradley lagged a little behind.
"Thank you."
After Illumi climbed up, he dusted off his clothes and thanked them.
"Actually, that brown bear, because it was heavily injured, no longer posed a threat to us."
With Illumi's and King Bradley's Ultimate Eye, the brown bear's various defensive loopholes and attack methods were all clearly displayed before them. They could have easily killed it with agile movements.
"Hmm, is that so."
The others looked somewhat disbelieving. Ginta, however, stroked his thick beard and nodded.
"Indeed, after seeing the aura gushing from your body, the heavily injured sub-jungle brown bear certainly wouldn't have been a match for you."
"Pop."
The familiar sound of a bubble popping was heard again. The short-haired man named Sawyer stepped forward and smiled at Illumi.
"We meet again. This time, could you perhaps tell us your name?"
"Illumi Bradley."
Illumi put his hands in his pockets and looked up to respond. He didn't use his real name.
Looking again at King Bradley, this kind-looking uncle bowed slightly to them.
"King Bradley. Thank you all very much for your help."
The six people's expressions froze for a moment, and they hurriedly returned the bow, very naturally assuming he was Illumi's father.
"Alright, idle chat time is about over."
The long-haired man among the six spoke and turned to leave along the edge of the gorge.
"We should set off. The poaching team has already reached the depths of the forest."
"You two be careful too. Don't lose your lives due to carelessness."
The woman with long, curly pink hair winked at Illumi. Ginta and the others waved goodbye to Illumi and his companion, then slowly followed the long-haired man away.
"Whoosh..."
A gentle breeze blew past. Only Illumi and King Bradley remained here.
"Let's train here."
Illumi scanned the surroundings. This place was some distance from the river and at the edge of a gorge. No wild beasts would linger here; it was a relatively ideal training ground.
King Bradley nodded lightly. Afterwards, he went to find materials for a tent, as well as food.
Illumi, on the other hand, found a relatively clean patch of grass, took out his pocket watch; the current time was 10:11.
Putting the pocket watch back in his pocket, he stood on the spot, silent for a moment, his eyes focused.
"Hoo..."
A large amount of aura burst out at once, like a gust of wind sweeping past, blowing the surrounding grass into waves of emerald green.
This was Ren. He had spent very little time practicing it. He wanted to see how long he could maintain Ren.
An hour passed...
Illumi's eyes were tightly closed, his brows twitching constantly. He was now drenched in sweat, the only t-shirt he wore soaked through.
A moment later, Illumi suddenly opened his eyes. The aura covering his body was no longer stable, like a flame about to be extinguished, flickering erratically.
"Ugh..."
Illumi wanted to grit his teeth and persevere, but the aura on his body suddenly vanished with a "shua" sound. His legs gave way, and he knelt on one knee.
"One hour and 10 minutes."
He took out his pocket watch and saw the current time: 11:22. This was only when not using any abilities. If it were in combat, the time he could maintain Ren would be at least halved.
"Continue. I won't stop until it's three hours."
Illumi sat cross-legged on the spot, enduring his fatigue, and began to practice Zetsu. Practicing Zetsu in a fatigued state helped to recover stamina.
According to Biscuit in the original story, just to increase the time one could maintain Ren by ten minutes would take a month.
But Illumi's physique was completely different from an ordinary person's. Having undergone cruel training since childhood, he could go three days and three nights without sleep.
And after each Ren practice session, practicing Zetsu to accelerate stamina recovery would significantly speed up his training progress.
"Rustle, rustle..."
King Bradley dragged back an adult sub-jungle bear, placed it with a "thud" on the grass 500 meters away, cleared the surrounding weeds, and began to process the internal organs.
Time passed, minute by minute, second by second. A month went by in a flash.
"Hoo..."
Illumi took a deep breath. Three hours had passed, and the aura on his body was still stable. Although he was mentally exhausted, compared to a month ago, this was a very relaxed state.
"Finally, three hours is no longer a problem for me."
"Then, next, it's about time to practice Shu."
Opening his eyes, he looked at King Bradley, who was guarding him nearby, and said.
"Bradley, come spar with me."
King Bradley turned his head, came to stand seven steps away from Illumi, and slowly drew the Tachi slung at his waist.
Illumi glanced around, picked up a dry branch from a pile of firewood, casually swung it a couple of times to get used to the weight, then covered it with aura to reinforce it.
"Let's see how long I can last."
As his voice fell, the two simultaneously rushed towards each other. Illumi swung the branch in his hand towards Bradley.
"Pfft."
The branch and the Tachi made contact. With a soft "pfft" sound, the branch snapped in two.
Their movements paused. Illumi frowned, raising the remaining part of the branch. The branch wasn't cut by the sword; it was forcibly shattered.
King Bradley's strength was immense, and the branch in Illumi's hand, even reinforced with aura, was still very fragile.
"At my current stage, I don't have the skill to use something like this as a weapon."
Tossing aside the branch in his hand, Illumi walked towards the forest, stood under a large tree, and looked up, scanning the branches one by one.
"Swish!"
Illumi leaped high, his hand-blade chopping off a branch, about two fingers thick, from a sturdy tree trunk. He then cleared the leaves and smaller twigs from the branch.
This branch was much sturdier than the previous dry one. As Illumi walked back, he swung the branch in his hand, making "whooshing" sounds.
"Continue."
Illumi assumed a middle stance, the branch in his hand covered with a layer of aura, and suddenly rushed towards Bradley.
"Clang!"
The branch and the Tachi collided, unexpectedly producing the sound of metal striking metal. A faint smile played on Illumi's lips.
For the next ten days, Illumi practiced swordsmanship with King Bradley while also strengthening his practice of Shu.
Only when the branch in his hand could continuously clash with Bradley for three hours without breaking did Illumi stop their swordsmanship sparring.
And the following month was dedicated to practicing Ken, Ryū, and Kō.
Illumi once again had King Bradley spar with him, but this time it was hand-to-hand combat, allowing Illumi to gradually become proficient in using Ken, Ryū, and Kō, these three application techniques, during their exchanges.
First, he focused on maintaining Ken in combat for at least half an hour, then used Ryū to adjust the amount and flow of aura to different parts of his body, strengthening his attacks or defense.
Finally, there was Kō. Illumi covered his hand-blade with it, using it like a sharp weapon, like a sword, to attack and kill enemies.
Because he was an assassin from the Zoldyck family, his body had been trained into a weapon since childhood. His fingernails were sharper than ordinary blades; his own hand-blade was his strongest weapon.