After a long, tense night of rest, Captain Sabazushi and the rest of the ancient castle's security personnel woke to a miraculous discovery. Reaching frantically over their shoulders, they found smooth fabric and bare skin. The countdown bombs that had been strapped to their backs were completely gone.
Sabazushi let out a long, shaky breath, wiping a thin layer of cold sweat from his forehead. The young man who had casually taken over this estate was truly terrifying. For someone to possess the kind of power that could make a billionaire like Battera simply squander his vast fortune and hand over a fortress without a fight, he had to be a monster in human skin.
Pushing his lingering fear aside, Sabazushi did his job. He arranged for his men to resume their regular patrol routes along the battlements and the surrounding mountain trails. Once the perimeter was secure, he set off through the winding corridors to find the castle's new master, the mysterious young man named Liam, who was heavily suspected to be a professional Hunter.
At that moment, Liam was casually leading Shizuku, Bisky, and the others on a walking tour through the depths of the estate.
This ancient fortress had been officially transferred to his name, complete with the massive central keep and hundreds of kilometers of surrounding land. Despite legally owning the place, this was the first real chance Liam had to walk the halls and see what he actually possessed.
To be completely honest, it was somewhat underwhelming.
If Battera had not poured an obscene amount of money into modernizing and renovating the living quarters, the ancient stone structure would have offered zero comfort. It would have been nothing more than a damp, drafty historical site meant for tourists. As it stood, the transformed spaces deep inside the castle felt indistinguishable from a high-end luxury hotel or a modern villa. The floors were lined with plush carpets, the lighting was warm and artificial, and the air smelled faintly of expensive wood polish rather than ancient dust.
"You only think there is no difference because you lack strong material desires," Bisky commented as they walked. She strolled alongside Liam with her hands clasped loosely behind her back, her sharp eyes taking in every detail of the architecture. "Just looking at the fixtures in this one hallway... the sheer cost of renovating a single room in this place is staggering."
Despite her appraisal, Bisky clearly did not care about the luxury either. She had spent her entire life dedicated to brutal, unyielding physical training. She placed no real value on fine dining, designer clothes, sprawling mansions, or fancy transportation. She could sleep soundly in the harshest environments the world had to offer. To her, money, land, and castles were just passing clouds. The absolute only material things she truly loved were rare, beautiful gems.
Listening to her, Liam found himself lost in thought. He wondered what specific classification he would choose if he officially became a Professional Hunter.
Bisky was a Gem Hunter. Exactly as the title implied, the singular driving force behind her career was the pursuit of precious, flawless, and extraordinarily rare stones. Gems were her ultimate joy, the sole target of her hunts.
Liam had already decided that he would not miss the upcoming Hunter Exam registration in the second half of the year. Figuring out what kind of Hunter he actually wanted to be was a question that needed answering.
Their walk eventually brought them to the main courtyard, where Captain Sabazushi was waiting respectfully. Liam approached the man and quickly finalized their employment agreement, confirming that the captain and his men would retain their current salaries and continue guarding the fortress.
Just as Sabazushi bowed to take his leave, Liam raised a hand. "By the way, does this place have an official name?"
Sabazushi stopped, looking slightly confused by the question. "It is registered as Battera Castle, sir. Were you looking to change the name on the deeds?"
Liam did not answer immediately. Instead, he seamlessly shifted his perspective. High above the mountain peak, the bird he possessed was gliding on the cold wind, looking down at the sprawling stone fortress nestled in the jagged landscape. A faint smile touched Liam's lips.
"Let us change the name," Liam said, his voice calm. "From now on, it is Seitenkyū."
Sabazushi gave a crisp nod and walked away to file the necessary paperwork.
Bisky watched the guard leave before looking up at Liam. "Your Nen beast manifests as a Taoist nun, and now you are calling the place she lives a temple. Very thematic."
"It is just a name," Liam replied with a casual shrug.
Seitenkyū. Jade.
The connections drifted through Liam's mind. If he managed to develop a Conjuration ability that manifested a ginseng fruit tree, or perhaps just the ginseng fruit itself, wouldn't that fit his new theme perfectly?
According to the old myths from his past life, the legendary ginseng fruit tree was a marvel. It took three thousand years just to bloom, another three thousand years to bear fruit, and a final three thousand years for that fruit to mature. After nearly ten thousand years of waiting, the tree would yield only thirty fruits. The legends claimed the fruits looked exactly like sleeping infants, complete with limbs and facial features. If a person was fortunate enough to simply smell one, they would live for three hundred and sixty years. If they actually ate one, their lifespan would extend by forty-seven thousand years.
Even with the limitless potential of Nen, trying to perfectly replicate the mythical effects of the original ginseng fruit was a pure fantasy. Furthermore, while he had his entire life ahead of him to develop the ability, he certainly did not have ten thousand years to sit around waiting for a tree to bloom.
But if he stripped the concept down to its core medicinal effect, it was simply about prolonging life and increasing raw power. It was the ultimate, invincible tonic.
These legendary concepts of life and death might actually share common ground with the characteristics of his Star Marks, and especially with his ability to absorb and refine death energy. There was a genuine chance he could construct a Nen ability that mimicked those life-giving properties.
With those grand ideas occupying his thoughts, a few quiet days passed in the blink of an eye.
The castle fell into a comfortable, productive rhythm. Liam spent his hours pushing his physical and mental limits in training. Shizuku occupied the massive, dusty library, quietly flipping through ancient books by the window. Kurapika maintained his own rigorous training schedule, though he occasionally retreated to isolation. In those quiet moments, he would summon his Abyss and silently stare at the recovered scarlet eyes of his fallen tribesmen, his posture rigid with unresolved grief.
Down in the massive industrial kitchen, Machi was unexpectedly taking cooking lessons from Menchi. The fiery Gourmet Hunter was surprisingly serious about teaching her new disciple, aggressively correcting Machi's knife work over the chopping blocks.
Bisky's severed arm had fully regenerated. She spent the two days recuperating by vigorously testing every piece of reinforced training equipment Battera had left behind. When the equipment proved too fragile, she went outside and punched the solid rock of the surrounding mountains, leaving massive, spider-webbed craters in the cliff sides. Every night, she summoned Miss Cookie to deeply massage the freshly grown muscles of her new arm.
Eventually, the peaceful interlude had to end. Bisky and Menchi decided it was time to leave.
"I really have no more time to spare, and the fresh ingredients in this castle are severely lacking," Menchi complained. She adjusted the strap of her heavy shoulder bag, looking annoyed. "If you make me live here long-term, I will genuinely lose my mind. Shizuku is the only quiet one. And Kurapika walks around with a gloomy face all day long. I don't know how you stand living in this ghost town."
Across the room, Kurapika blinked, his serious expression faltering for a fraction of a second as he processed the sudden insult.
Liam crossed his arms and kept his face entirely straight. "What do you mean, ghost town? This is Seitenkyū. It is the official headquarters of our organization and a sacred place for quiet cultivation."
Menchi scrunched up her nose, making a face before letting out a loud laugh. "Fine, it is the headquarters. Then you better have my ring ready. When you finally pass the Hunter Exam, remember to return it to me."
She kept smiling, but her eyes darted away, her posture shifting awkwardly as if she was holding something back.
Liam sighed, dropping his arms. "If you have something else to say, just say it."
Menchi tapped her chin, looking at him with genuine curiosity. "Are you really not going to ask why I am forcing you to wait until after the Hunter Exam before I officially accept your invitation?"
Liam simply rolled his eyes at her dramatic pause.
Shizuku looked up from the book she was holding. "It is because Netero asked you to be an examiner for this upcoming test, right?"
"Exactly!" Menchi slapped her thigh, letting out a long, frustrated breath. She looked at Liam, completely baffled. "Has Chairman Netero ever had a personal problem with you? Because he specifically pulled me aside and told me to try my absolute hardest to make sure you fail the exam."
Kurapika frowned deeply, stepping forward. "Why would the Chairman do that?"
Menchi threw her hands up in the air. "Don't ask me, I am just as confused! And it is not just me. For this specific exam half a year from now, Chairman Netero went out of his way to invite several highly capable, powerful Hunters to act as examiners. It genuinely feels like he is putting all of his effort into wiping Liam out, just for his own amusement. Seriously, Liam, did you deeply offend the old man?"
"Is it even possible to offend a detached, transcendent master like Netero that easily?" Liam asked, his tone flat and unamused.
Shizuku turned her large, spectacled eyes toward Bisky. The petite woman was sitting on a plush sofa, furiously typing away on her smartphone, acting as if the entire conversation had nothing to do with her.
"Why are you staring at me?" Bisky asked, her thumbs flying across the screen without her ever looking up. "Do not worry about it. Even if Netero formally invites me, I will absolutely not be an examiner. Do you honestly think anyone in that applicant pool is worth wasting my precious time?"
Liam clutched his chest, feigning a mortal wound. "Auntie, your words cut deep. So hurtful."
"I wasn't talking about you," Bisky shot back, a mischievous, highly suspicious smile spreading across her face as she continued typing. Liam briefly wondered if the ancient martial arts master was currently catfishing people in an online chat room.
She finally locked her phone and glanced over at the group. "Relax. Chairman Netero does not have any malicious intentions. He is literally just messing with you for fun. Honestly, Liam, you shouldn't have exposed your true strength to him right before telling him you planned to take the exam. The old man has a terrible sense of humor. If he doesn't actively create trouble for people who interest him, he would die of boredom sitting behind that desk at the Association."
Liam let out a breath. Regardless of Netero's trolling, it was incredibly good news that Bisky would not be an examiner. Her personality was a direct reflection of her master, Netero. Dealing with the Chairman's mischievous streak was annoying enough. Having to face a second, equally chaotic version of him during a high-stakes exam would have been a nightmare.
"Well, that brings us to the other problem," Menchi said, pointing a finger across the room at the pink-haired woman leaning against the doorway. "Machi doesn't want to come with me. She said she wants to stay here."