The strange feeling lingered.
"Whoosh!"
A shadow darted forward.
A snake lunged toward Ron, its jaws wide open, revealing sharp, venomous fangs aimed at his neck.
"Slash!"
Just as the snake pounced, a black arc sliced through the air, cleaving the snake in two.
Even cut in half, the snake writhed and twisted. Its upper half continued to crawl toward Ron, ferocious and determined as if it sought revenge with one last bite.
However, akutagawa's attack came again.
"Slash!"
This time, the snake's head was split cleanly in two, right down the middle.
The remaining pieces of its body twitched but posed no threat to Ron.
Throughout the ordeal, Ron didn't even glance at the snake.
"Ron, I'll send you a message shortly. When you receive it, use Ren."
"Understood, Uncle Silva."
With that, Silva's figure blurred and disappeared, reappearing inside the Ganlu Temple.
"En!"
Compared to Ron's En, Silva's En covered a much larger area.
Ron scanned the temple, observing silently.
Before long:
"Ping!"
Ron glanced at his phone. Silva had sent him a message.
"Begin!"
Without hesitation, Ron stepped into the Ganlu Temple's perimeter.
Closing his eyes, he adjusted his stance and centered himself.
The next moment:
"Ren!"
An overwhelming aura erupted from Ron, spreading outward in waves of pressure.
At the same time, Ron distinctly felt an energy mass hovering above him. It seemed to observe him, exuding faint hostility and wariness.
However, this energy couldn't act of its own will.
Inside the temple, the abbot opened his eyes and glanced in Ron's direction, sensing the change in the Nen spirit.
At that moment, a figure approached the abbot, striding purposefully toward him.
Silva, now standing before the abbot, confirmed his identity. Aura gathered in both of Silva's fists.
The abbot's expression darkened.
"Who are you?"
Silva didn't reply, continuing to close the distance.
Seeing this, the abbot scowled.
"If you won't speak, then I won't bother—die!"
The abbot made the first move.
"Ganlu Temple!"
A surge of energy coalesced behind the abbot. This was the power of the Nen spirit tied to the Ganlu Temple.
While this energy couldn't act autonomously, the abbot could channel and wield it.
The fusion of the two made for a formidable form.
The abbot's body began to change visibly, swelling as his height increased. His muscles filled out, transforming him from a frail old monk into a towering, robust middle-aged man.
The transformation bore an uncanny resemblance to Biscuit's ability.
But Silva remained unfazed. He had anticipated this.
"Boom!"
Their fists collided, producing a deafening shockwave. The impact sent ripples of energy outward, shaking the surrounding structures.
The abbot's face twisted into a menacing grin.
"I recognize you now!"
"You're from the Zoldyck family of assassins!"
"Silva Zoldyck!"
The abbot sneered. "So what if you're from the world's most renowned assassin family? Do you think I'd be afraid? Here, no one can defeat me!"
"This is my Ganlu Temple!"
Silva still didn't reply. Instead, he threw another powerful punch at the abbot.
"Bang!"
While the energy of Ganlu Temple allowed the abbot to match Silva's strength, his reaction speed and combat instincts fell far behind Silva's.
He managed to block the first strike but failed to defend against the second.
Silva's fist drove into the abbot's abdomen, the immense force causing his stomach to cave inward.
The impact sent the abbot flying backwards.
"Crash!"
The abbot only came to a stop after slamming into a wall.
His face was grim as he shouted, "Ganlu Temple!"
He drew a massive amount of energy from the Nen spirit, first using it to heal his injuries. The remaining energy coalesced into his hands.
But something felt wrong.
"Why is there so little?"
The abbot frowned.
Having lived in Ganlu Temple for decades, the abbot was intimately familiar with its Nen spirit.
Then he recalled the earlier events.
"Could that man be working with Silva?"
"To kill me, the Zoldycks sent two assassins?"
The abbot contemplated Ron's apparent strength, concluding that Ron didn't seem particularly powerful.
"Why is he able to tie up so much of the temple's energy?"
The abbot's eyes glinted with uncertainty.
"I need to check for myself."
He clenched his teeth.
The abbot understood his limitations. Alone, he couldn't match Silva's strength and would likely be crushed. Only by relying on the Ganlu Temple's power could he hold his ground.
But now, that power was divided.
If he could eliminate Ron first, the balance might tip back in his favour.
Furthermore, concentrating the temple's energy in one place would allow him to access its full strength.
Silva, however, had anticipated this strategy. He had brought Ron specifically to split the temple's power and trap the abbot.
The abbot's face grew increasingly grim.
"Damn it!"
"In that case, I'll have to rely on them."
The abbot referred to the other monks of the Ganlu Temple—a hundred in total, apart from himself.
When Ron and Silva had appeared, and the fight broke out, these monks were inevitably alerted.
"Intruders!"
"Enemies are here!"
Some monks rushed toward Ron, while others moved to support the abbot.
A wave of monks poured out.
As some came into Ron's view, he noticed something odd—among them were several women.
Barely dressed, they exuded an overwhelming, intoxicating aura, the scent of decadence thick in the air.
"There he is!"
"Kill him!"
A group of young monks charged at Ron.
At first, Ron felt some apprehension.
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