Chapter 269 

The rotten-life blade acquired in Meteor City. 

Some of the multicolored eggs. 

The crystal feather-bone picked up at a street stall. 

The Nen needle gifted by Kikyo. 

The ability Baki Hanma obtained inside that disaster. 

And, of course, what he gained this time in the Land of Nirvana. 

Three days later, Ron finished his time at the Beast Dojo. 

Ted walked him to the gates. A car was parked outside, driven by Roben.

"Roben." 

Ted approached with a smile, then leaned in to whisper something to him. Suddenly, Roben's expression grew serious. 

Ron and Wendy got in the car, and as Roben drove, he couldn't help glancing at Ron through the rearview mirror. 

What Ted had said was: 

"Roben, I almost beat Ron. You're the strongest of the three of us—there's no way you'll lose to him, right? That'd be impossible, right?" 

Those two sentences kept swirling in Roben's mind, leaving him distinctly uneasy. 

Ron looked at the crystal ball before him. The progress indicator had reached 60%. 

"Ron, when would be convenient for our match?" 

"I'm not in top condition today. Let's do it tomorrow." 

Ron wasn't sure how things operated in the Star Dojo. Unlike the Beast Dojo, perhaps members here weren't as eager to pick fights. If no one stepped forward to challenge him, he'd have no reason to keep staying at the Star Dojo. He had to find a way to buy himself some time. 

Roben nodded, suspecting nothing. He knew enough about the Beast Dojo to understand that they were completely different from the Star Dojo. Privately, people in the Star Dojo even called those at the Beast Dojo "mad dogs." 

"Then I'll take you to the place where you'll be staying. Also the training grounds and the cafeteria." 

Ron tracked the crystal ball's progress again, doing some mental calculations. 

"In four or five days, I should be done absorbing the Star Dojo's traits." 

Once they entered their room, Wendy turned to Ron, a worried look in her eyes. 

"Ron, are you hurt?" 

"Hurt? No, why do you ask?" 

"Because you said you weren't in good shape." 

Ron shook his head. "I just fought a lot of matches lately. I'm not really big on fighting, so I feel a bit worn out. I want to rest my mind a bit." 

Wendy's expression cleared. 

"Thanks for your concern, Wendy." 

"Don't mention it—we're friends." 

The next day, Ron took a look around at the Star Dojo's members and indeed found their style completely different from the Beast Dojo's. So when Roben came looking for him, Ron again declined the challenge, asking instead to use the training grounds to recover. 

On the third day, Ron refused again. 

On the fourth day, he still turned Roben down. 

Roben began to sense something was off, yet couldn't pinpoint exactly what. After all, Ron hadn't done anything suspicious these past few days in the Star Dojo—just normal training and resting. If he had some ulterior motive, it didn't seem likely. 

On the second evening, Ron checked the progress on the crystal ball. It was slowing noticeably, but had reached nearly 70%. 

"Roben, are you free tomorrow?" 

"Yes." 

"Then let's have our match tomorrow." 

Roben's eyes lit up, and he nodded firmly. "Sounds good!" 

Initially, Roben hadn't been that excited. He was curious about Ron only because Wendy had spoken so highly of him. But that alone wouldn't have motivated him too much. 

What made Roben care far more was Ted's parting words—and the fact Ron kept postponing the match. Roben felt Ron was truly preparing himself, taking this fight seriously. Therefore, Roben absolutely couldn't lose. 

The two of them headed to the training ground. A few onlookers appeared, but far fewer than at the Beast Dojo. 

"Let's begin." 

In the next moment, several figures materialized around them both. They were each users of Nen Beasts, so their fighting styles were quite similar—only the abilities of their beasts differed. An incredibly intense battle erupted, more explosive than Ron's matches with Ted or Wendy. 

Yet the result remained the same. 

Ron was still the victor. 

Roben had used three Nen Beasts, yet he still couldn't stop the combined assault of Baki Hanma and Ryunosuke Akutagawa. One by one, his beasts fell. 

Ron's tactic had Akutagawa tie up two of Roben's beasts while Baki tackled the third on his own, quickly eliminating it. 

"That was so close…" Roben sighed, then looked up at Ron. "I lost. You really are strong." 

In that moment, the words Ted had said—especially those final "You won't lose, will you?"—rang through Roben's mind again and again, giving him a headache. 

"If only I'd fought a bit better just now," Roben muttered, replaying the battle in his head. He felt Ron's power wasn't overwhelmingly beyond his reach. If he'd fought just a bit more skillfully—if he'd managed the spoils of the Land of Nirvana more effectively—then perhaps he could have won. 

But that was merely an illusion. Wendy knew full well that Ron hadn't revealed his true strength. Those two Nen Beasts were just part of Ron's power; he had more. And Ron's own body was also extremely strong. None of that had come into play against Roben. 

Afterward, Roben escorted Ron and Wendy to the Star Dojo's gate. 

"Thanks for everything, Roben." 

"No problem." 

A car pulled up by the curb—Wendy had called it in advance. Ron did some mental calculations. 

He'd already spent almost three months in the Fiora Kingdom without realizing it. Before the Land of Nirvana, over a month had passed. The tournament itself didn't last long, but after it ended, another month or so went by, plus travel time. 

Ron had to return to Sky Arena for another match, or he'd have to forfeit again. He didn't want to use his forfeit this time. 

After all, now that he'd absorbed the Star Dojo's traits, his progress was already at around 70%. For his next absorbing location, he hadn't decided yet. 

Hence, Ron decided to head back to Sky Arena first and get in another match.