As Rocks City continued to expand, Rocks made far better use of Ganlu Temple than the old abbot ever did.
Thanks to that, Ganlu Temple provided more energy now—and in turn, Rocks gained even more benefits. (t/n; I did not think he was an important character so I didn't note him down. His name can be translated as Rocks, Locks, or Lox. I will just stick with Rocks from now on.)
Previously just a C-level fighter, Rocks had risen to an A-level power under Ganlu Temple's blessing. That surge in strength was something he relished. He never wanted to go back to the way he was before.
Whenever he saw his fellow former Shadow Beasts arrive in Rocks City and address him with complete deference, calling him "Sir," a secret sensation of satisfaction welled up inside him.
"Still, even if the newcomer is from the Zoldyck family, I can't let my guard down entirely," he muttered. "They once beat that monk, so who's to say they can't beat me? Plenty of people in the Underworld Mafia would love to take my place."
Eyes narrowed, Rocks murmured, "But I won't let them succeed. Rocks City will always remain Rocks City."
Once it stopped, the middle-aged man beside Ron turned to say something else, only to find that Ron had vanished without a trace, leaving him stunned.
"Huh? Where'd he go? How did he just disappear?"
He glanced around, bewildered. Ron's seat was by the window, so to leave, Ron would have had to pass in front of the man. Yet he'd felt and heard nothing.
"Was he even real? Maybe that seat was empty all along…"
Any thought the man had of happily enjoying Rocks City vanished. He'd prepared all sorts of excuses to sneak out of the house for this trip.
"Maybe I'll just head back. This place doesn't feel right."
He turned down his friend's invites and grabbed some grilled meat at a roadside stand before finding a hotel for the night, departing early the next morning.
Ron had hopped off the bus and headed east. Block Town lay in that direction, not too far, so he didn't even need a cab—he could walk. A Nen user's walking speed wasn't slow, after all.
A scantily dressed woman on the roadside waved at him. "Hey there, little guy. Want to have some fun? I've got a great game for you."
Ron shot her a brief glance and walked on without a word. In both his past life and this one, he'd stuck to one guiding principle: even if a person didn't insist on complete abstinence, they should at least keep things clean. Contracting some disease would be troublesome—even for a Nen user—and plenty of them had died of illness. Some conditions also carried severe social stigma.
"Not interested, huh," the woman muttered, then turned to reel in someone else.
As Ron left Rocks City's center, the streets grew quiet, with fewer pedestrians and fewer lights.
Suddenly, a shadow loomed overhead.
In the next instant, a figure appeared in front of Ron, and another one showed up behind him.
"Don't make any sudden moves, kid, or my knife here might slip," said a young man with a sneer, stepping closer.
Ron arched an eyebrow. "A mugging? Well, it's been a while."
He thought back to the last time something had happened—it felt so long ago he could hardly remember what it was like. After Ron's strength soared, petty crime stopped knocking at his door. Yet here it was again.
"They're just ordinary people," Ron thought. "All right. I'm in a decent mood today, so I'll let them live."
The young man let out a cold laugh, but it hadn't finished echoing when he realized Ron's figure had vanished.
Before he knew it, Ron was behind him, delivering a swift chop to the back of the neck. The young man collapsed instantly.
Seeing this, the other thug tried to run, but had no chance—Ron's speed was overwhelming. In a mere blink, he knocked the second man unconscious as well.
After searching their pockets, Ron stripped them of their clothes, hoisted them up on a streetlamp—bare to the wind—and continued on his way.
"This bicycle must have been theirs, too," Ron noted, climbing onto a nearby adult-sized bike. He could ride it just fine despite his smaller build.
Before long, the two ruffians groggily woke.
"Where…where are we?"
They looked around—and saw the scene that would forever haunt them: both of them hanging stark naked from a streetlamp, illuminated by the lamp's glare. A crowd of dozens gawked and pointed up at them.
Their shrieks of shame pierced the night sky.
"Kid, you better hope we never run into you again!" one of them yelled.
But deep down, they knew: if they ever saw Ron again, they'd be no match for him. The gap between their abilities was just too wide.
"Get lost!" they shouted at the onlookers, but a woman in the crowd just scoffed.
"As if anyone wants to stare at that pathetic sight," she sneered. "It's not exactly a feast for the eyes."
Their faces went crimson with fury and humiliation.
Meanwhile, none of this concerned Ron anymore. By now, he was already on the road out of Rocks City, nearly at Block Town. He would likely never cross paths with those two again in his life.
"I get it now—why Grandpa Zeno showed no interest in that cheetah-chimera soldier in the Chimera Ant Arc. The difference in level is too huge."
"Right now, me versus a regular person…it feels like we're barely the same species anymore."
Pedaling briskly, Ron closed in on Block Town. It was nothing like Rocks City; the place was already asleep, most of its lights switched off except for a few here and there.
A small, ordinary town—except Ron could sense a few traces of aura that didn't belong.
"Gyo," he muttered, spotting a special marker glowing faintly with aura, shaped like an arrow.
"So I'm supposed to follow this arrow?"
He hesitated briefly, then moved in that direction.
Right at that moment—
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