After the two disappeared from view, Zeno appeared beside Sliva and said, "Sliva, what do you think?"
"His answer was a lie, and he knew that I knew he was lying. Furthermore, he offered no other explanation despite being aware of all of this, but silence can also be a form of answer."
"What else?"
"I observed the entire process of his mission from beginning to end.
As I told you before, Dad, this child harbors arrogance deep within his heart.
Previously, when he was at home, there were hardly any emotional fluctuations in this regard, but after this mission, I found that his inner arrogance showed a growing trend.
Aside from the possibility that it's due to completing the mission and defeating an adult Nen user, it's also highly probable that this mission has given him a significant reliance.
It has given him more confidence in his own strength from the depths of his heart, at least confidence in the growth of his future strength, and it's an extra gain he received beyond the expected rewards for his efforts, similar to a windfall.
Because of this, he later chose to remain silent even though he knew that I knew he was lying, and he was aware that I knew. This indicates that he now possesses the capital to resist, or rather, the right to remain silent, in his internal self-assessment.
Therefore, after I later told him that I knew about his idea of leaving home and probed him, he chose to directly answer part of the truth, which means openly acknowledging his desire for the authority to act freely.
So, can we hypothesize that the upcoming training in Sky Arena will give him opportunities to increase his capital, similar to the last mission?
For example, he might confirm that after a period of training in Sky Arena, he can obtain enough capital to even contend with me. These conjectures will depend on the upcoming training process."
Zeno, who was standing by, smiled after listening and said, "The relationship between you two, father and son, is much more interesting than ours back in the day. I'm really looking forward to this child's future development."
Meanwhile, Diluyi arrived at the registration desk with Ziponian.
"Young Master Diluyi, are you still planning to wear this outfit?"
"Sky Arena should allow masks during matches, right? Then I'll continue wearing it." (Sadaso in the original work wore a mask)
"Please fill out this form if you wish to participate."
"I've filled it out, here you go!"
"Alright, Contestant Qingtian Zhu, your number is 4396. Please remember your number and then go to the changing room to await the broadcast."
"Hohoho, Young Master Diluyi, does this name have any special meaning?"
"I just came up with it on a whim. Alright, I need to go in and prepare."
This was Diluyi's first time in two lives coming to a place similar to an underground boxing ring. He couldn't help but curiously survey his surroundings, completely oblivious to how his attire had drawn the gaze of almost everyone around him.
"Hey, hey, hey, there's such a small child participating in the competition? Kid, hurry home and continue playing your cops and robbers game. This isn't the place for you, hahaha!"
"Forget it. Sliva said I couldn't use any means other than the match rules, and I don't know if killing someone in the changing room would lead to disqualification. Consider yourself lucky today."
"Kid, what did you say? Uncle is going to teach you a lesson right now!"
At the same time, the changing room broadcast suddenly blared: "Contestant number 4396 and Contestant number 2200, please proceed to Ring 7 for preparation. Contestant number 4396 and Contestant number 2200, please proceed to Ring 7 for preparation."
And when the two walked onto the ring, they realized they were acquaintances.
"Little guy, your luck is really bad. We meet again."
"This match uses a point system. The first to score ten points wins. If one party is deemed unable to continue fighting or voluntarily forfeits, they will be eliminated..."
After the referee finished explaining the rules, Diluyi asked, "Referee, what if I accidentally kill him later?"
Although the referee thought such a situation was impossible, his professional ethics compelled him to patiently reply, "Casualties are permitted in the ring, but no further action is allowed after a winner is determined, otherwise, you will be disqualified."
"That puts my mind at ease. Although I knew killing was allowed, I still wanted to confirm."
"You're spouting nonsense, kid. I'll teach you a good lesson later."
As the referee's call of "Match Start!" fell, Diluyi instantly burst forth, leaping forward.
Then, when he landed behind Contestant 2200, a head followed closely behind, falling to the ground.
Then, about two seconds later, a dull thud came from behind Diluyi; it was the sound of the headless body collapsing.
At this moment, whether in the audience or on the adjacent rings, there was a sudden, absolute silence. Even the referee was stunned for two seconds, after which the referee was the first to react.
"Match over! Contestant number 4396 wins!"
Immediately after, Diluyi calmly walked to the referee, amidst the exclamations of the entire arena, to await his floor assignment.
"You can directly ascend to the 50th floor."
And just as Diluyi received the note and walked out of the arena, Ziponian in the audience was on the phone.
"Master Sliva, just as you predicted, Young Master Diluyi indeed went for the kill. In his first match for floor assignment, he instantly killed his opponent with a single strike."
Meanwhile, the news of a masked youngster instantly killing his opponent, even dismembering the body, in his first match spread throughout Sky Arena. For a time, the name Qingtian Zhu and his code 4396 became widely known on the floors below the 200th level of the arena.
And our protagonist Diluyi had already boarded the elevator, where the elevator attendant was introducing him to the distribution of floors and the rules of winning and losing.
Diluyi then checked the points he had gained. Hmm, five points, at least better than the two points from the gangster.
Ding~
As the elevator stopped, Diluyi exited and went to the front desk on that floor to complete the procedures before heading directly to the contestant lounge.
"Since I registered in the morning, besides the first ranking match, I should be able to fight one more. However, two matches a day should be the limit, after all, there are so many people."
Diluyi waited for about three hours before hearing the broadcast summon him, so he directly walked onto the ring.
This time, his opponent was clearly much more cautious than the first, likely having heard rumors about Diluyi and not treating him as an ordinary child.
This contestant was wearing a black training uniform, and judging by his breathing, he had clearly studied a specialized martial arts style, and was likely a regular at the arena.
But it was useless; just like the first, his body was dismembered. After that, Diluyi's news began to attract more attention, and later, people even started betting on him to win.
The referee on site, after observing, directly raised his floor to 100.
At this moment, Diluyi was in the ascending elevator, with the elevator attendant beside him introducing the floor distribution and promotion/demotion rules, while he glanced at his recent achievement: a predictable two-digit score.
{Looking at it this way, if I estimate roughly, to get a three-digit score, I can only earn it from Nen User above the 200th floor.
The problem is, even if I can use Nen Ability, this is still a competition ring, not a death match. If the opponent surrenders in advance, there's no way to act.
Wait, Sliva said back then that I could only use the match rules to win the competition in the ring. This was probably to prevent me from threatening opponents or eliminating them beforehand outside the ring.
So, if after my match with an opponent ends, and I win the match, then dealing with them outside the arena wouldn't count as a violation, right? After all, I would have already won in the match.
Hmm, I should be able to interpret it that way. I'm truly a genius. That's what I'll do.}