Two days later.
The towering silhouette of Heavens Arena glinted with a cold, hard luster under the sunlight, its countless windows reflecting golden light as it stood in the center of the city.
Goreinu stood before the tower, looking up at the building that pierced the clouds, and let out a sigh of admiration.
"Heavens Arena... This is my first time here."
Beside him, Nico, carrying a travel bag, glanced at him curiously.
"Big Brother Goreinu hasn't been here before?"
Goreinu nodded, his gaze still fixed on the towering body of the building.
"Yeah, I've only ever caught a glimpse of this city from afar on an Airship."
He paused and took a deep breath.
"You have to see this behemoth up close with your own eyes to truly feel its impact."
Nico also looked up at the familiar tower, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"I was also very shocked when I first came with Master Sophia. Let's go, let's head inside."
The two passed through the massive main entrance and walked into the first-floor lobby.
The lobby was bustling with people—contestants, spectators, and staff members weaving through the crowd.
Huge electronic screens scrolled with match information for various floors, and announcements chimed over the speakers from time to time.
A figure stood in the center of the hall, hands in his pockets, looking toward them.
Seeing the two, Leo waved and walked over.
"Over here."
Goreinu stepped forward quickly to meet him, a bright smile on his face.
"Leo, you actually came to pick us up yourself? You're too kind!"
Leo smiled.
"It's only right. Let's go, I've arranged everything, and everyone is waiting."
The three left Heavens Arena and hailed a taxi.
The car drove through the busy streets and entered a quiet residential area.
Fifteen minutes later, it stopped in front of a small two-story villa.
The villa wasn't large, but it was exquisite.
It had white exterior walls, a red roof, and a small, neatly trimmed lawn in front of the door.
Leo pushed open the door and led the two inside.
In the living room, a group of people were sitting in small clusters, chatting.
Kastro was sitting by the window, holding a cup of tea and talking to Wing beside him.
Wing still had that leisurely look, sitting with his legs crossed and nodding occasionally.
Shizuku sat on the sofa flipping through a book, occasionally adjusting her glasses, her expression as calm as ever.
Ashir sat in the corner, appearing a bit stiff, his gaze occasionally scanning the people around him.
Chiharu sat on the carpet with Gon and Killua, a deck of playing cards laid out before them as they seemed to be playing a game.
Gon looked full of excitement, Killua had an expression of certain victory, while Chiharu looked distressed.
Hearing movement at the door, everyone turned their heads at once.
Leo walked in, followed by Goreinu and Nico.
"Come, let me introduce everyone."
Leo stepped aside and patted Goreinu's shoulder.
"This is Goreinu, he will be joining our team."
He then pointed to Nico beside him.
"This is Nico, also one of my partners."
Leo primarily introduced them to Ashir, Gon, and Killua.
Goreinu took a step forward and nodded to everyone with a smile.
Nico followed Goreinu in greeting everyone.
Shizuku stood up from the sofa and spoke calmly.
"Hello, I'm Shizuku."
Goreinu responded quickly.
"Hello, hello. We've met before. Please look after me from now on."
Shizuku nodded and sat back on the sofa, picking up that book she never seemed to finish.
Gon jumped up from the carpet and rushed in front of Goreinu, his eyes shining.
"Hello, Big Brother Goreinu! I'm Gon!"
He pointed to Killua, who was walking over slowly behind him.
"He's Killua!"
Killua nodded to Goreinu with his hands in his pockets, as a way of greeting.
"Hello."
Kastro stood up, walked to Goreinu, and bowed slightly.
"Hello, I'm Kastro. One of Master Leo's disciples."
Goreinu quickly returned the gesture.
"Hello, hello!"
Wing also stood up, pushed up his glasses, and looked Goreinu up and down.
"I'm Wing, nice to meet you."
Goreinu hurriedly greeted him as well.
"Hello, Mr. Yun Gu!"
Wing nodded and sat back down to drink his tea.
Ashir also stood up, looking friendly.
"I'm Ashir, also a new member. I'm glad to meet you all."
Goreinu nodded with a smile.
"What a coincidence, so am I. Let's talk more in the future!"
Nico stood to the side and nodded to the group.
"Hello everyone, I'm Nico, Master Sophia's disciple."
After the simple introductions, everyone took their seats again.
The atmosphere in the living room became even livelier than before.
Goreinu had a cheerful personality and soon began chatting away with Sophia and Kastro.
Nico also gradually relaxed, sitting to the side and listening quietly.
Leo walked into the kitchen.
The kitchen was steaming, and a rich aroma filled the air.
Sophia was standing beside Menchi, helping her by passing seasonings and plates.
Menchi was dressed in white chef whites, her long hair tied in a ponytail, holding a spatula and moving with fluid grace.
The cutting board was filled with prepared ingredients—tender meats, fresh vegetables, and various rare ingredients that couldn't be named.
Leo walked over.
"Sister Menchi, everyone is here."
Without turning her head, Menchi stared intently at the dish in the pan.
"The ingredients this time are quite good; they're worth my effort to cook."
Leo smiled.
"Thanks for the hard work."
Only then did Menchi turn her head, glance at him, and let the corners of her mouth turn up slightly.
"Alright, get out. The kitchen is a restricted area; no visitors allowed."
She waved her spatula, making a gesture to shoo him away.
Leo laughed, raised his hands, and backed out of the kitchen.
Returning to the living room, the group was chatting happily.
Gon and Killua had already given up on the playing cards and huddled around Kastro, asking him about Heavens Arena.
Chiharu also leaned in, listening intently.
Leo sat down on the sofa, and looking at the room full of people, he suddenly thought of something, and a curve formed on his lips.
"Since there's still some time before dinner starts."
He stood up and walked to the center of the living room.
"Let's play a little game."
Everyone's interest was immediately piqued.
"Okay!" "No problem!"
"What game?"
Leo raised his right hand, palm facing upward.
A faint trace of Nen emerged from his palm, condensing into a small protrusion on the surface of his skin.
"Turn a part of the Qi wrapped around your hand into a protrusion, and make that protrusion move bit by bit."
He demonstrated as he spoke.
That protrusion moved slowly across his palm, making a full circle around his hand.
Gon's eyes widened, staring fixedly at Leo's palm.
"Wow..."
Leo raised his left hand, showing both hands simultaneously.
The protrusions on his left and right hands began to move in opposite directions, their speeds varying and their sizes constantly changing.
One large protrusion split into two small ones, and the two small ones merged back into a large one, shuttling back and forth between his hands.
"Make the protrusions on your left and right hands move in opposite directions, or change the size and shape of the protrusions."
The living room fell silent as everyone stared at Leo's hands, watching those protrusions move as flexibly as living creatures.
Gon was the first to react, quickly raising his palm to start trying.
He frowned, putting in all his effort, and finally managed to form a protrusion on his palm, but it dissipated before it had moved even a centimeter.
"Ugh... so hard!"
Killua didn't say anything, but his hand was also moving.
A protrusion formed on his palm and moved barely two or three centimeters before eventually dispersing.
His brow furrowed slightly, clearly dissatisfied with the result.
Kastro stared at his own palm with full concentration, fine beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.
There was a protrusion on his palm moving slowly and with great difficulty, every step like wading through a swamp.
"It takes so much effort just to make one protrusion move slowly..."
Chiharu held his hands together in front of his chest, his small face turning bright red.
His protrusion dissipated as soon as it formed, forming and dispersing repeatedly, but never moving at all.
Sitting in the corner, Ashir was also trying.
His control was stronger than the children's, but the speed at which the protrusion moved wasn't much faster.
Nico struggled even more.
Beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead, yet there was only a faint lump on his palm; he couldn't even condense a complete protrusion.
Goreinu tried a few times, shook his head, and gave up.
"This is too hard, I give up."
Wing leaned back on the sofa, his hands spread out casually.
The protrusion on his palm was moving leisurely around his fingers; although not fast, it was controlled with extreme stability.
Leo watched everyone's frantic efforts, and the smile on his face deepened.
"I'll give you one hour to practice. In an hour, we'll see who can make a protrusion go around their palm once the fastest."
He paused.
"The slowest person and those who can't complete it will be assigned the heavy duty of washing the dishes tonight."
Gon's eyes immediately bugged out.
"I don't want to wash dishes!"
Killua also accelerated the movement of his hand.
"You want me to wash dishes? In your dreams."
Everyone instantly became tense. The living room grew so quiet that only the sound of breathing remained as everyone lowered their heads, fully concentrated on wrestling with that bit of Qi in their palms.
"As for me,"
Leo sat back on the sofa and crossed his legs.
"I'll be the referee and won't participate."
Wing glanced at him, his mouth twitching.
An hour later, Leo clapped his hands.
"Time's up. Who's first?"
Gon was the first to jump up.
"Me first, me first!"
He took a deep breath and raised his right hand.
A protrusion slowly took shape on his palm and began to move around his fingers.
It wasn't fast, but every step was very steady.
One full circle took two minutes.
Gon let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"How was that?"
Leo nodded but didn't say anything.
Killua curled his lip and raised his hand.
His movement was more fluid than Gon's, and the protrusion moved faster, taking one minute and fifty-five seconds.
"Not bad, right?"
He shrugged with feigned nonchalance, but his eyes were fixed on Leo.
Kastro was the third to step up.
His control was significantly stronger than the two children's; the protrusion moved steadily and continuously, taking less than a minute.
"Good."
Leo said.
Kastro nodded and stepped aside to continue practicing.
Ashir stood up and walked to the center of the living room.
His movements were a bit stiff, but the control in his hand was unexpectedly stable.
The protrusion moved at a decent speed with almost no pauses.
Forty seconds.
Ashir breathed a sigh of relief and retreated to the corner.
Goreinu waved his hand.
"I won't embarrass myself; I'll go last."
Nico stood up with a red face and raised his trembling hands.
His protrusion was faint and flickering, dissipating every few steps.
After stumbling several times, he finally managed to barely complete a circle on his fifth attempt.
"Two minutes and twenty seconds..."
Nico scratched his head helplessly.
Next was Wing.
He raised his hands casually, and two protrusions appeared simultaneously, one on the left and one on the right, starting to move at the same time.
The speed was neither fast nor slow, but extremely steady.
After one lap, both protrusions reached the starting point almost simultaneously.
"Thirty seconds."
Leo announced the time.
Several exclamations of surprise rang out in the living room, and Gon's mouth hung open.
"Mr. Yun Gu is so amazing!"
Wing pushed up his glasses and sat back to drink his tea with a calm expression.
Finally, Goreinu took the stage; having just recovered from his injuries and not having used Nen for two months, he was a bit rusty and took one minute and fifty seconds to finish.
Leo cleared his throat.
"The rankings are as follows: Fastest is Senior Brother Wing, second is Ashir, third is Kastro. Fourth are Gon and Killua, tied. Fifth is Goreinu. And finally—"
He looked at Nico.
"Nico."
Nico's face turned even redder.
"I... I'll go wash the dishes."
Goreinu also said with a laugh,
"I'll go with you; I was also one of the slowest to finish!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Just then, the kitchen door was pushed open.
Sophia poked her head out.
"Dinner is served!"
Everyone flocked into the dining room.
The long dining table was covered with all kinds of dishes, each one as exquisite as a work of art.
Golden-brown roasted meat, beautifully plated sashimi, steaming thick soup, and colorful salads—the air was filled with mouth-watering aromas.
Menchi stood by the table, hands on her hips, her face full of pride.
"It's done! My masterpiece!"
Leo walked to her side.
"Thanks for the hard work, Sister Menchi."
Menchi waved her hand.
"Don't give me that. Eat quickly; it won't taste good once it gets cold."