Biscuit sure knows how to cause trouble.
Seeing Gungi's face filled with confusion and shock, Moro sighed inwardly.
He had deliberately avoided mentioning Biscuit, just so Gungi could fully focus on this match.
The fact that Biscuit was here to watch was completely unexpected.
The best thing Moro could do was pretend he hadn't noticed her and quickly get the fight underway.
Who would have thought Biscuit would pull a stunt like this?
"Oh, so that's your master?"
Moro remained calm and said, "I don't know her. You don't have to overthink it. Just focus entirely on this match."
"Ah? You don't know her?"
Gungi let out a long breath of relief.
He knew his master's real age, so for a moment, he had felt conflicted about whether to tell Moro the truth.
"Yes, I have no idea who she is."
Moro lied with a perfectly straight face, while carefully observing Gungi's reaction.
Gungi nodded, his previous confusion and shock disappearing completely, replaced by a focused and serious expression.
He was now fully prepared for the fight.
Seeing Gungi's fighting spirit steadily rising, Moro thought to himself:
Are all Enhancement-types really this easy to fool?
Well, whatever. As long as he's not distracted, it's fine.
At that moment, the referee stepped forward and made the usual announcement:
"This match follows the point-based knockdown system. There is no time limit, and the fight can be decided in a single move!"
The referee glanced at both fighters, confirming their positions, then took two steps back.
That step backward signaled the final moment before battle, like a starter holding up a pistol before pulling the trigger.
Both Moro and Gungi, as experienced fighters in Heaven's Arena, understood the importance of timing.
They immediately opened all their aura nodes, unleashing their maximum aura output.
"Begin!"
The moment the referee swung his hand down and announced the match, Gungi's eyes sharpened.
His aura flared up, and like a raging bull, he charged straight at Moro.
Gungi had watched Moro's past fights and analyzed them thoroughly.
With his deep knowledge of Nen, he had already determined that Moro was a Transmutation-type user.
Which is why he chose to close the gap immediately, trying to minimize the advantage of ranged attacks.
But Moro was well aware that Gungi was an Enhancement-type, so the moment the referee announced the start, he instantly kicked off the ground with Springbok Step, leaping backward to create distance.
"Damn, that was fast. Did he read my intentions too easily…?"
Seeing how quickly Moro reacted, Gungi was slightly startled.
In all of Moro's previous fights, he always opened with Tiger Fang True Fist, then decided his next move based on his opponent's reaction.
So Gungi had planned to take advantage of this predictability.
But Moro had changed his entire strategy right from the start.
That made Gungi question whether Moro's reading ability and reaction speed were just that sharp.
Moro wasn't sure what Gungi was thinking at that moment.
Even if he did, he'd simply think:
"Yep, this is exactly how a Shingen-ryu fighter should be thinking."
The Shingen-ryu fighting style emphasized explosive decision-making.
It was a key part of the "Mind's Eye" (Shingen Fist Listening) principle that Biscuit had talked about in the past.
"Level 50 aura output. Not too big of a gap."
As Moro retreated to the edge of the arena, he used this brief moment of distance to gauge Gungi's aura output level in a single glance.
The Shingen-ryu school focused on honing the mind, but in that process, a practitioner's Nen techniques and aura volume naturally grew stronger over time.
The downside was that many practitioners spent too much time on training and not enough on real combat experience.
But the biggest advantage was that their fundamentals were exceptionally solid.
"First time I've felt this light in a fight."
As Gungi kept charging forward, Moro calmly reflected on how his body felt lighter than ever.
Every movement felt smoother and easier, his ankles didn't need as much aura support, and even his footwork felt more natural.
This was the result of all the training he had done while wearing weighted gear.
Now that he had removed the weights, he could feel the huge difference in his movements.
"Without the weights, I feel like I could float like a feather."
Moro smirked.
For nearly a month, he had never removed his weighted gear—not even in fights.
But out of respect for Gungi, this was the first time he was fighting without it.
And now, after just a single step, he immediately felt how much stronger and lighter his body had become.
"Tiger Fang True Fist!"
With a thought, Moro activated his signature technique.
A ferocious, fanged tiger-shaped aura lunged toward Gungi.
But Gungi didn't even flinch—he simply shifted his body to the side, letting the aura tiger rush past him.
Then, without breaking stride, he continued charging straight at Moro.
"He definitely studied my fights."
Seeing Gungi's reaction, Moro immediately realized the truth.
It was clear that Gungi already knew his aura tiger was more about control than raw power.
That meant he didn't hesitate for a second, knowing it wasn't a real threat.
But Moro had already prepared for this.
As Gungi charged in, a second, hidden Tiger Fang True Fist aura burst up from below, aiming for his legs.
At that moment, Gungi instinctively used Gyo—focusing his aura into his eyes to reveal the hidden attack.
His pupils flickered with flames of aura, and he immediately saw the incoming strike.
"He reacted fast, just like I expected."
Moro had already anticipated this.
Then, just as Gungi was about to counterattack, Moro abruptly canceled his own aura attack.
The tiger aura vanished, causing Gungi's punch to swing through empty air.
In that instant, Gungi's aura balance was disrupted, and Moro slid behind him using Limb Shift footwork.
And then—
Boom!
A perfectly timed elbow strike smashed into Gungi's back, sending him flying across the arena.
Then, in one smooth motion, Moro fired another Tiger Fang True Fist, which exploded against Gungi's body mid-air.
Boom!
The impact sent Gungi crashing into the ground outside the ring, leaving a deep crater.
The entire stadium fell silent.
Even Biscuit, sitting in the front row, was completely stunned.
"Three months… and he's grown this much?!"
For the first time, Biscuit Krueger looked at Moro with genuine disbelief.
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50 Powerstones? (5 Bonus Chapters)
20 Advance Chapters: patreon.com/milezen