Chapter 199: The Most Terrifying Ability Awakening
"Not in the VIP area?" the Fourth Prince asked.
"Most likely she's been staying in the lower decks since boarding. She probably bribed a steward to hide her there," replied the private soldier tasked with investigating the situation over the phone.
"Hmm, I've been quite busy myself, so I didn't pay much attention." After hanging up, the Fourth Prince's face was already dark with anger—Morena's unauthorized actions clearly infuriated him.
This was exactly the kind of woman he despised.
"Hey, immediately order the private soldiers in the lower decks to locate Morena's hideout!" the Fourth Prince commanded the guards beside him.
"Yes, sir!"
After giving these instructions, the Fourth Prince returned to the hunter Theta and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's continue."
For the Fourth Prince, the most urgent matter now was to quickly master Nen Ability, preferably before the next banquet.
The Fourth Prince resumed his Nen Ability training.
As his practice deepened, streams of intensely malevolent black Nen energy began emanating from his body. Unbeknownst to the Fourth Prince, these dark Nen currents coalesced behind him, taking shape.
A skull-faced, demonic entity seemed on the verge of materializing, emitting an eerie "heh heh heh" laughter.
Though Theta appeared calm on the surface, her mind was in turmoil.
"What terrifying Nen!"
"A Specialization-type Nen beast materializing automatically without its user's awareness—it's impossible to imagine what abilities it might possess!"
The scene before her stunned Theta, a seasoned hunter. She considered herself fairly talented, yet it had taken her nearly half a year to master Nen.
And this man had only just begun learning Nen, yet a prototype of his Nen Ability was already emerging.
She glanced at the Fourth Prince's back, thinking:
"With the Guardian Spirit Beast born from the Pot Egg ceremony, combined with the Nen beast instinctively generated by the prince... If I wait any longer, it'll be too late." A cold sweat trickled down Theta's forehead.
What Theta didn't realize was that from the moment the Fourth Prince's Nen Ability awakened, her plans were doomed to fail.
While Theta was lost in thought, the Fourth Prince's Nen beast fully materialized.
It was an even more bizarre and abstract entity than his Guardian Spirit Beast, the High-Heeled Centaur.
It had a ghostly demon's head, a skeletal body, and three massive fleshy orbs on each hand—though the left hand's orbs sprouted insect-like claws, while the right hand's bore human female fingers.
Behind it were tattered, cicada-wing-thin wings, and its lower body resembled plant roots.
Most horrifying was the ominous aura it exuded, which actually overpowered even the presence of the High-Heeled Centaur.
"I felt something strange just now," the Fourth Prince looked up and asked Theta.
Theta's expression returned to normal as she clapped her hands. "Excellent, Your Highness. That unusual sensation you just experienced is a sign that you're about to enter the next stage."
It had to be admitted—as an exceptional hunter, Theta's mental fortitude was truly remarkable.
"Next, we'll learn the fundamental applications: the combined techniques of the Four Major Principles."
Hearing this, the Fourth Prince smiled cheerfully. "Really? Finally moving to the next phase."
You should know that before this, Theta had always deliberately slowed down the training progress.
"Finally..."
Is this the difference between genius and ordinary people?
Theta spoke up: "To be honest, Your Highness, your ability is truly astonishing. This is the first time I've encountered someone who can progress in Nen cultivation at such speed. It's so unusually fast that my teaching approach until now has actually been focused on slowing you down."
Seeing Theta confess this so frankly.
The Fourth Prince smiled and said: "Understandable. Most people tend to react this way when facing true genius. I actually hold you in high regard."
"Thank you for your praise." Theta seemed to have made some kind of resolution as she continued. "I've made up my mind too. I'll teach at the fastest possible pace until we reach your potential limit."
Then Theta began the next phase of instruction.
"The so-called Four Major Principles are Ren, Zetsu, Ten, and Hatsu. Your Highness, you've already achieved quite advanced cultivation in Ren and Ten. These two practices enhance the power of Hatsu, so they require daily training, but the key technique is actually another major principle."
"...That would be Zetsu."
The Fourth Prince asked somewhat confused: "That's the technique to shut off Nen, right?"
Theta nodded and said: "Exactly. One could even say that completely mastering Zetsu is equivalent to fully mastering Nen Ability."
Clearly, Theta had already begun implementing her plan as she continued explaining.
"First, you need to shut off Nen in parts of your body, eventually reaching the point where you can maintain complete body Nen shutdown for over an hour. Once you achieve this level, then comes practical application."
"I see." The Fourth Prince nodded.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince's Guardian Spirit Beast, the high-heeled centaur, was staring intently at Theta, continuously emitting eerie and terrifying sounds from its mouth.
Theta didn't back down, raising her head to meet its gaze directly.
"Don't interfere. All of this is necessary training for mastering Nen Ability. I'm not lying at all, please step aside!"
The centaur's face was almost pressed against Theta's before it finally turned away after a moment.
The Fourth Prince, meanwhile, had already begun practicing according to Theta's instructions, gradually releasing Nen from parts of his body.
Looking at the Fourth Prince, Theta assessed: "Excellent, quite smooth. Just continue practicing like this."
Completely different from her initial thoughts, Theta now genuinely hoped this man before her would grow rapidly.
Because only then could she implement her plan.
And the Fourth Prince indeed didn't disappoint her, maintaining his monstrous training speed as before.
"Please close your eyes and concentrate. Practicing Zetsu while maintaining acute hearing is quite challenging. While maintaining Zetsu, please follow my instructions and answer the questions I pose."
Theta looked at the Fourth Prince and continued: "No matter what sounds you hear, or how sensitive the questions, you must not waver in maintaining Zetsu. In this state, sixty minutes will feel extremely long to you."
After Theta finished speaking, the Fourth Prince closed his eyes and continued practicing.
But when he had just begun to enter the state, Theta suddenly said: "There seems to be something stuck on your left shoulder."
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince immediately opened his eyes to check, and his Zetsu state vanished along with it.
"Alright, let's start over from the beginning," Theta spoke up.
The Fourth Prince said somewhat irritably, "I say, little Theta, isn't this a bit unfair of you?"
Theta's expression remained unchanged as she replied, "An enemy's attacks would be far more shameless than this, you know? Any more questions?"
The Fourth Prince sighed helplessly. "No, let's continue."
As the Fourth Prince entered the Zetsu state again, the form of his Guardian Spirit Beast, the High-Headed Centaur, gradually blurred behind him until it completely disappeared.
Seeing this situation, Theta continued speaking, "The more you verbally insist on focusing, the harder it becomes to actually concentrate."
And this was precisely Theta's plan.
When the Fourth Prince entered the Zetsu state, without aura nourishment, his Guardian Spirit Beast would disappear accordingly. Moreover, without the defense of Nen, he himself would become extremely vulnerable. At that point, the Fourth Prince would be like fish on a chopping block—a single bullet would be enough to take his life.
What Theta needed to do now was repeated testing—what had just happened was only the beginning.
To deliver a killing blow, it must be swift and absolutely certain. As long as the Fourth Prince's Zetsu could still be broken by slight sounds or changes in presence, she wouldn't act rashly.
Theta continued thinking to herself.
Making the prince maintain complete Zetsu state to cut off the aura source of his Guardian Spirit Beast—but this wasn't enough. Considering the possibility that the Guardian Spirit Beast might still retain residual spiritual power even after disappearing, the prince needed to maintain the Zetsu state for at least 40 minutes!
While thinking this through, Theta directly picked up a water cup and smashed it on the floor to test the Fourth Prince.
The sound of the shattering cup attracted the guards at the door.
"Your Highness!"
"I'm fine," said the Fourth Prince as he opened his eyes.
"The Prince is currently training. Please do not disturb him," Theta said, then changed her tone. "Never mind, let's consider their intervention as part of the training as well. At this rate, whether they intervene or not, you won't be able to maintain Zetsu for long. Alright, let's start over from the beginning."
"From now on, no matter what you do, it won't affect me. I'm getting serious now."
Repeated failures made the Fourth Prince feel somewhat embarrassed, and he finally began to demonstrate extraordinary concentration.
"From now on, even if you foam at the mouth or roll on the ground right in front of me, I won't open a single pore!"
"Yes!"
Theta looked up at the Fourth Prince who had entered the Zetsu state, waited for a while longer, then generated a small Aura Sphere in her hand and flicked it with her finger toward the Fourth Prince.
The Aura Sphere hit the Fourth Prince's forehead, yet he maintained his Zetsu state!
Theta knew clearly in her heart that the time had come.
However, what Theta didn't know was that at this moment, the Fourth Prince with closed eyes before her was slowly opening his eyes in another dimension she couldn't see.
Let us rewind time slightly.
From the Fourth Prince's perspective, let's see what exactly had happened earlier in this room.
After Theta taught him the Zetsu training method, the Fourth Prince began his practice.
He quickly grasped the basics of Zetsu, and the moment he successfully closed all the pores throughout his body, something strange occurred.
Though his eyes were closed, the Fourth Prince suddenly saw a cinematic scene appear before him.
The scene depicted precisely him and Theta.
"Looks like there's something stuck on your left shoulder," Theta in the vision spoke.
To the Fourth Prince's astonishment, he then saw his own counterpart in the vision respond.
After a brief exchange, the scene instantly vanished.
Was this a dream?!
What exactly was happening?
Determined to uncover the truth, the Fourth Prince directly released his Zetsu and asked Theta, "Theta, did you notice anything unusual about me just now?"
"Alright, let's start over from the beginning," Theta replied, seemingly ignoring his question.
"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" the Fourth Prince raised his voice.
Yet Theta continued as if talking to himself, "The enemy's attacks are far more shameless than this."
Witnessing this bizarre scenario unfold before him, the Fourth Prince was stunned.
This conversation made no sense at all! Wait! Theta's words were identical to what he had just seen in the dream!!!
Coming to his senses, the Fourth Prince immediately wondered: Could that not have been a dream, but rather a premonition of the future?
As the Fourth Prince pondered this, Theta finally returned to normal.
Noticing the confused expression on the Fourth Prince's face, Theta asked, "Any questions?"
"...No, let's continue," the Fourth Prince replied.
What he was actually thinking was: The daydream I saw lasted about 10 seconds. If that really was a precognitive dream, even though I said something different from the dream, Theta ignored me and delivered the exact same lines from the precognitive vision.
Which means...
Never mind, let me try again. The moment I closed my eyes and completed Zetsu, there was a burst of static noise. If that's the signal for the precognitive dream to activate, then the second static noise about 10 seconds later must be the ending signal.
But come to think of it, during the precognitive dream state, I felt like I had no control over my body. If this precognitive dream is indeed my ability, and I become completely defenseless while using it, that would be way too risky.
Moreover, if time continues to flow normally during the precognitive dream state, that would mean I'd have to spend 10 seconds completely vulnerable just to see 10 seconds into the future? That's utterly ridiculous.
No, since this is my ability, the precognitive dream must complete in an instant. The time within the dream must be shorter than a moment!
As the Fourth Prince entered Zetsu state again, the precognitive dream began once more.
During those 10 seconds within the dream, he couldn't take any action, but in reality only an instant had passed. Therefore, there was no 10-second "casting time" as he had initially feared.
Soon, the Fourth Prince heard the second burst of static noise.
This signaled the end of the precognitive dream.
The Fourth Prince wondered: If I maintain the Zetsu state, will the ability continue to be active?
The vision didn't disappear—it continued!
This meant the precognitive dream ability was still active, but it felt different to the Fourth Prince this time.
In this current state, the Fourth Prince discovered he could move his body freely, and he could distinctly feel time flowing normally.
He could sense Theta standing right before him—the aura belonged to the Theta of the present moment, yet the Theta in his precognitive dream was the Theta ten seconds into the future!
The Fourth Prince felt he had finally grasped the nature of his ability.
The first ten seconds after Hatsu activation could be called 'the Ten Seconds of an Instant.' Once the ability was activated, he could foresee the next ten seconds in a fleeting moment.
After experiencing 'the Ten Seconds of an Instant', he could still maintain the state of the precognitive dream, allowing him to perceive a world ten seconds ahead of reality.
Ah, Theta began to move.