Hunter: I became stronger even after I died.

Chapter 226 Upgrade Beyond Talent

Phinks's lower body was shattered by the Star Leap, and his internal organs were also severely damaged.

Although he was not yet dead, death was just around the corner.

He lay in a pool of blood, too weak to even speak, but his bloodshot eyes remained fixed on Moro, anger and ruthlessness burning in his pupils.

The willpower displayed in the face of death is commendable, but unfortunately, eyes cannot kill...

Moro looked down at Phinks, his expression calm.

Seeing that Phinks couldn't even speak, he didn't rush to finish him off, but slowly opened his mouth:
"Feitan".

The name was like a sharp knife, instantly piercing Phinks' nerves.

His pupils suddenly contracted, his breathing almost stopped, and even the excruciating pain of impending death was overwhelmed by a moment of shock.

"A chivalrous knight-errant."

"!"

"Flay Lev."

"!!"

"Franklin."

"!!!"

With each name Morrow uttered, Phinks' pupils trembled violently, as if struck by an invisible hammer time and time again.

He's the one who killed Feitan and Shalnark!

Even Franklin and Lev...

Phinks made a hoarse, guttural sound in his throat, his bloodied fingertips spasming as he clawed at the ground, but he didn't even have the strength to clench his fist.

Anger, resentment...

A torrent of emotions surged wildly within his dying body, but he could do nothing but use his bloodshot, almost bulging eyes to imprint Moro's face firmly onto his retina.

He could feel the darkness creeping in from the edge of his vision, his eyelids growing heavier, and the scent of death washing over his mouth and nose like a tide, bringing a chilling, suffocating feeling.

Moro coldly watched Phinks struggle helplessly on the verge of death. He wanted to pierce Phinks' head with a flying star, but he quickly noticed that Phinks' pupils were already dilating.

Knowing that Phinks was about to breathe his last, Moro abandoned the idea of ​​finishing him off, and just watched as the last glimmer of light in Phinks' eyes was extinguished in despair and rage.

Finks is dead.

But the "scene" we wanted to see did not happen.

“No…”

Moro looked at the motionless corpse of Phinks with a hint of regret.

The deliberate mention of Feitan and the others' names at the end was intended to further provoke Phinks' anger and resentment.

Based on his current understanding of the thoughts after death, the emotions such as anger, resentment, and unwillingness that a person with superpowers experiences before death are more likely to leave behind thoughts after death.

Most of these post-mortem thoughts are born out of a desire for revenge.

Another possibility is the soldier we encountered last year on the airship who was loyal to a prince of the ancient Ganyu Kingdom, and Franklin from a while ago.

The former remained loyal to the end, while the latter was solely focused on protecting the survival of the Phantom Troupe.

What Moro sensed from the dying Phinks was resentment and other emotions.

So he deliberately amplified Phinks's emotions, hoping that Phinks would leave behind a desire for revenge after his death.

But it didn't happen.

Even without any lingering thoughts after death, Phinks' death still proved valuable.

Moro glanced quickly at the growth ring level on the back of his hand, which had increased from Lv.59 to Lv.61.

The experience points provided by Finks directly leveled him up two levels.

"There is still one……"

Moro temporarily set aside the idea of ​​retrieving the Red Jade Bird Knife and turned to look at the spot where Little Drop had been standing.

However, all that came into view was thick smoke billowing across the desolate red earth.

That was clearly the smoke that the bulging-eyed fish had inhaled earlier, which was now being released in its entirety.

Before the smoke, Shizuku, Kurapika, and Kalmod were nowhere to be seen.

But after Morrow sensed the smoke, three strands of psychic energy were moving away.

"Quite decisive."

Moro immediately understood the situation.

The moment Phinks was severely injured by the Star Leap, Xiao Di clearly realized that if she continued to fight, she would only follow in Phinks' footsteps.

So this seemingly naive girl showed the decisiveness expected of a member of the Phantom Troupe when faced with a life-or-death situation. Even when she saw that Phinks was still alive, she ran away without hesitation.

Kurapika and Kalmod, of course, couldn't let Shizuku escape.

Presumably, the three of them are engaged in a fierce chase across the red wasteland beyond the smoke.

"How could we let you get away?"

Moro sheathed the Abyss, a dark green star materialized in his right hand, and then tossed it behind him.

Both Kalluto and Kurapika have his star on them.

Therefore, he can use the "Deceptive Flying Star" lock-on ability to catch up at the fastest speed.

On the other side, Little Drop is running away with all her might.

In order to increase her speed, she decisively deactivated the materialization of the bulging-eyed fish.

She possesses highly skilled techniques in conjuration, allowing her to quickly summon a bulging-eyed fish for defense even when interfered with by Kurapika and Kalpaku behind her.

With that in mind, she knew that the most important thing right now was to create distance between them.

"Faster...!"

Xiao Di calmly assessed the situation.

If they cannot shake off these two pursuers as soon as possible, their chances of survival will be infinitely close to zero.

It wasn't because she was afraid of Kurapika and Kalmod's strength; the real threat was the man who defeated Phinks.

Therefore, she absolutely could not let the two people behind her trip her up.

Otherwise, once that man catches up, there will be no hope of escaping.

Little Drop's response to the devastating blow to Fink, along with its decisive decisions and strategic thinking, were all flawless.

It could even be described as excellent.

However, in the face of absolute power, even if one can make the most correct judgment, even if one's execution is maximized...

And it cannot change the status quo.

Just as Shizuku had steadily left Kurapika and Kalmod far behind, Morro suddenly caught up from behind.

He stepped on a flying star and approached in mid-air in the blink of an eye.

Kurapika and Kalmod noticed the movement behind them almost simultaneously and turned around sharply.

Meanwhile, Little Drop, who was speeding ahead, also sensed Moro's approaching presence and quickly glanced back.

When she saw Moro flying on the stars, her heart tightened suddenly.

A strong sense of crisis surged through her spine like an electric current.

Without the slightest hesitation, she immediately withdrew her gaze, gritted her teeth, and squeezed out every bit of strength in her body, trying to increase her speed again.

Even a fraction of a second faster is extremely important in this situation.

As Moro flew through the air to behind Kurt, he suddenly exerted force with his feet, shattering the flying star while shooting past Kurt like an arrow towards the droplet in front of him.

Swah——

Its speed was so fast that Kurapika and Kalmod, watching from behind, could almost see a faint starlight coating Moro's body.

Xiao Di's eyes narrowed slightly when she heard the sound of something cutting through the air.

"Protruding-eyed fish"

She decisively mobilized her manifested energy, quickly materializing a bulging-eyed fish in her hand.

This was a mistake. She underestimated Moro's explosive power after shattering the flying star.

So when she gripped the bulging-eyed fish, ready to turn and fight back, Moro had already disappeared from her sight.

"Eh!?"

Xiao Di stared intently, and through the lens, the world she saw was unexpectedly covered with fine, spiderweb-like cracks.

In a daze, it seemed as if the world before my eyes was shattering.

But the next moment,
Little Drop realized—

What shattered was not the world she saw, but the black-rimmed glasses she wore.

When she realized this, the stinging sensation in her eyes reminded her that she had just been attacked.

"They've already circled around to the back...!"

With her glasses shattered and flying everywhere, Little Drop ignored her eye injury and, relying on instinct, raised the bulging-eyed fish in her hand, ready to "locate" Moro's exact movements as soon as possible.

But just as she turned halfway to the side and looked behind her, her eyes were already covered in blood, as if red paint had been smeared on them.

My eyes hurt so much...

Xiao Di paused for a moment, and finally saw Moro's figure amidst the blood-red haze before her eyes.

She endured the discomfort in her vision and raised the bulging-eyed fish to attack.

But Morrow's right hand arrived first, covering her face.

Bang!
Moro unleashed a burst of psychic power from his right hand, like a gushing steam, which propelled his palm to slam Drop's head into the ground.

With a dull thud, Xiao Di's head sank deep into the ground, and spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly.

The bulging-eyed fish in her hand slowly dissipated, turning into specks of spiritual energy, while her arms, now powerless, drooped limply onto the cracked red earth.

Moro, having landed a successful blow, slowly rose and glanced at the growth rings on the back of his hand.

"Lv.61→Lv.62"

The level increase also means the death of the second spider in the arena.

The experience points provided by the two spiders gave Moro a three-level boost.

Moro slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling the flow of Nen energy.

The apparent gas volume is more solid, and the potential gas volume reserve has also increased significantly.

However, this period of improvement also made him more clearly aware that the difficulty of becoming stronger was increasing.

During the two months of developing "Flying Star Leap", he never slacked off in his cultivation, but the increase in his Qi was very limited.

Without the ability to upgrade through the growth rings, he didn't know how long it would have taken him to level up from Lv.61 to Lv.62.

This obvious difference also made Moro realize—

Nowadays, arduous study alone is no longer enough to support leapfrog progress.

Of course, hard work remains an irreplaceable cornerstone.

But talent becomes the key to how far one can go later.

Without sufficient talent, the road ahead will only become narrower and more difficult...

Moro's eyes flickered slightly.

Fortunately, he has the ability to upgrade his life by directly plundering the "achievements of time" from others through tree rings, which allows him to break free from the limitations imposed by his talent.

"I'm level 62 now. In terms of sheer power, I should be considered a second-rate master."

"Compared to simply practicing hard, this method of improvement is much more efficient..."

"Therefore, the accumulation of energy is left to the upgrading ability of the growth rings. The real focus of training in the future will be on the advanced application skills of 'flow' and 'firmness' that are related to the actual combat level."

With each step forward, Morrow's vision for the future became increasingly clear.

The manifest and potential energy levels are hardware-related, and being able to improve them quickly is certainly not a bad thing.

But software like those that teach pronunciation skills must also keep up with the times.

Otherwise, if they encounter a master like Bisky, even with a decent level of manifest energy, they will find it difficult to unleash their full combat value.

Moro was well aware of this.

Ta-ta-

Kurapika and Kalpachi caught up and looked at the small body on the ground.

The fight was initially evenly matched, but Moro dealt with Phinks so quickly that Shizuku, who should have fought them to the bitter end, surprisingly chose to disengage and flee.

Kurapika and Kalmod didn't expect this.

After all, just a second ago, they could sense from Xiao Di's attacks a clear intention to smash their heads.

And there was also a large amount of smoke that was initially inhaled by the bulging-eyed fish...

At that critical moment, it greatly helped Little Drop escape the battle.

Fortunately, Moro eventually caught up with this fast runner.

"Kurt, dispose of the body, I'll go find a knife."

Morrow looked at Kurt, who had come closer, and gave him instructions.

"Ok!"

Kurt quickly responded and manipulated the scraps of paper to wrap the body, preparing to load it into the car.

Moro, having identified the direction, ran to find the Red Jade Bird Knife that he had thrown out as a concealed weapon earlier.

Kurapika, seeing Morrow and Kalmod cleaning up the mess, hesitated for a moment before walking towards where Phinks' body was.

He can also help transfer the body to the vehicle.

Not a moment.

By the time Morrow found the Crimson Bird Knife, Kurt and Kurapika had already thrown the body into the car.

This time, Spider's car wasn't destroyed, so they didn't have to burn the car they drove there themselves.

To make the body burn faster, Kurt, as usual, dealt with the body by simply wrapping it in paper scraps, cutting it, and squeezing it, which made the task quite easy.

Kurapika could never do something like that.

But he didn't look away, silently watching Kurt dispose of the body.

Once Kurt had finished dealing with the situation, Kurapika went to the car, grabbed a can of gasoline, and poured it over every corner of the vehicle.

Kurt glanced at him, then at the flip lighter he had just taken out of his hand.

"You come."

After thinking for a moment, Kalto threw the flip lighter at Kurapika.

Kurapika caught it steadily and silently pushed open the cover with his thumb.

Click.

The moment the flint struck, the leaping flames illuminated Kurapika's face.

He threw the burning lighter at the car that was emitting a pungent gasoline smell.

boom--

The raging flames instantly engulfed the entire car, and the billowing flames turned Kurapika's pupils blood red.

He didn't blink despite the waves of heat hitting him.

Moro came up behind them and looked at the car that was burning fiercely.

During this period, the four brigade members, Franklin, Lev, Finks, and Drop, were dealt with very efficiently.

Now he has removed half of the spider's legs...

But we can't act rashly anymore; we have to wait for feedback from Hisoka.

Moro stared at the billowing black smoke.

If I can successfully wipe out all the spiders, I wonder if I can level up to 70 directly.

(End of this chapter)