Forcing a Nen awakening on the burly man, then killing him to verify if it could rapidly increase his level—this was precisely why Morrow had deliberately kept one alive.
However, Morrow had never attempted forced Nen awakening before, and it was unlikely he could do so with a peaceful state of mind to open the burly man's aura nodes.
As a result, tainted by a hint of malice, the burly man would likely endure both mental and physical agony during the forced awakening.
But why would Morrow care about the burly man's human rights?
He stuffed a towel into the man's mouth, then channeled his aura, forcibly injecting it into the burly man's body.
Instantly, the violent aura rampaged through the man's system. While forcefully opening his aura nodes, it also inflicted excruciating pain.
"Mmmgh…!"
The man's face twisted in agony. His body arched and convulsed, curled in on itself like a shrimp in boiling water.
Morrow watched in silence. Once the man's aura output peaked, he reached out and snapped his neck.
The room fell silent.
Morrow stood up and immediately checked the level on the back of his hand.
Though, in truth, there was no need to look.
The moment he killed the burly man, his aura output level remained completely unchanged.
"Seems it doesn't work."
The level hadn't increased. Morrow sighed lightly, though he wasn't overly disappointed.
If he could level up rapidly this way, he likely wouldn't have gained any meaningful feedback.
This was simply a very realistic outcome.
Morrow lowered his hand, deep in thought.
Killing a target after forcing their Nen awakening didn't meet the level-up condition.
Meaning, the targets that could satisfy the condition had to be Nen users with comparable cultivation?
Or perhaps Nen users who had already developed their abilities?
If that were the case...
Would killing a powerful Nen user allow him to level up significantly at once?
But conversely, the further he progressed, the stricter the level-up conditions would likely become.
"When the time is right, I'll head to Heavens Arena."
Morrow dismissed his thoughts and glanced at the two corpses in the room.
He had considered that the deal with Senro might attract some opportunistic hounds.
But he hadn't expected them to come so quickly—and so brazenly.
Now that he thought about it carefully...
In his past life, the reason he had been able to secure a piece of the pie so quickly in Yorknew City was largely due to Morena's backing.
Now, entering Yorknew City alone, he naturally appeared as an easy target in the eyes of some predators.
Morrow holstered his gun, then proceeded to twist and snap the limbs of both corpses, deliberately creating a gruesome scene.
Once done, he dialed a number and paid for two cleaners to handle the mess.
This was another specialty of Yorknew City.
As long as you could afford it, you could hire someone to dispose of the bodies.
After paying, Morrow left the room with Senro, leaving the cleaners to their work.
It was predictable that once the cleaners removed the corpses, they would also spread word of the outcome.
And the horrific state of the bodies would serve as an invisible deterrent.
This was exactly what Morrow wanted—at the very least, it would discourage petty opportunists and save him some trouble.
However, the two burly men's direct assault had only reinforced Morrow's desire to offload Senro as soon as possible. After all, it was a profit margin of over a billion...
Enough to blind a bunch of overconfident fools.
Morrow had no intention of dealing with such matters daily—it would interfere with his training during his free time.
—--
Night fell.
The bustling side of Yorknew City was on full display.
Skyscrapers stood tall, their lights intertwining like a dragon.
The streets were packed with traffic, resembling an inverted Milky Way.
Morrow avoided the lights, slipping into the shadows as he navigated the labyrinthine alleys.
The underworld in Yorknew City was unlike the norm—whether it was crime or numerous gray industries, everything was brazenly out in the open.
Dressed in suits, they had no fear of the spotlight shining on them.
This city was the absolute domain of the underworld.
But there were still some who preferred to conduct their business in the darkness below.
Morrow naturally couldn't just toss Senro into the major auction houses, so he sought out a middleman who specialized in underground dealings.
—--
"1.25 billion? No problem... I can find you a buyer and guarantee no complications, but I'll take a 15% cut."
In a dimly lit basement, the middleman, puffing on a pipe, laid out his terms before tapping the table lightly with it, his eyes fixed on Morrow's reaction.
The artifact Senro was tied to a well-connected wealthy collector.
About a month ago, the collector had been found dead in his home, along with the elite security personnel he had hired—none had survived.
And not a single one of the collector's prized artifacts remained.
It was a classic case of robbery and murder, and the legendary sword Senro had been one of the collector's treasures.
Somehow, though, it had recently resurfaced in Yorknew City.
Even more astonishing was that the seller turned out to be an unknown petty thief, and the buyer was just some outsider kid.
Even after personally verifying the details, the middleman still found it somewhat absurd.
But it didn't matter—business was business, and he was determined to take a hefty bite out of this opportunity.
Morrow readily agreed to the middleman's terms. "Fine, but I have one condition."
"Oh?"
The middleman raised an eyebrow, surprised by Morrow's straightforwardness. "Go on."
"Advance me 800 million."
Morrow met the middleman's gaze.
The middleman chuckled, thinking Morrow was being overly optimistic.
But his amusement didn't last long.
Morrow continued, "Under this condition, no matter what price you negotiate, I'll only take 200 million as the final payment."
"..."
The middleman's smile faded, his expression turning serious as he studied Morrow's calm, steady eyes. "Earning 1 billion with minimal risk by investing just 20 million—you're making out like a bandit."
"You're quite well-informed."
Unfazed by the mention of the 20 million, Morrow pressed, "So, what's your answer?"
"I'm a businessman—why would I turn down more profit?"
The middleman narrowed his eyes.
Had he not sensed that Morrow wasn't as harmless as he appeared, he would never have agreed to such terms.
After all, as a middleman, there were plenty of ways to manipulate the deal between buyer and seller.
But this worked out fine—he was confident he could sell Senro for an even higher price, and any extra profit would be his to keep.
Soon, the deal was done.
Morrow received the 800 million on the spot, though he never actually intended to collect the remaining 200 million. The middleman had handled too many shady deals to not see through Morrow's intentions, which was why he agreed so readily.
"By the way, if I may ask, where do you usually get your information from?"
As they were parting ways, Morrow couldn't help but feel curious about the middleman's sources.
The middleman chuckled and handed Morrow a business card. "I've heard that with a Hunter License, you can buy any information on the Hunter website. Of course, we don't have a license, but we still have decent channels."
"Thanks."
Morrow took the card and left.
The middleman didn't bother watching Morrow's retreating figure. Instead, he caressed Senro lovingly, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
This deal alone would earn him at least 600 million.
As for the risks involved...
If he didn't have the skills, he wouldn't have taken the job in the first place.
—--
A week later.
The middleman arrived with his men to meet a client willing to pay 1.5 billion for Senro.
The buyer was a man with half his face scarred by burns. Before the middleman and his men even approached, several briefcases had already been placed on the table.
Glancing at them, the middleman naturally assumed they were filled with cash.
With a wave of his hand, one of his subordinates stepped forward and handed Senro to the man.
The man took the katana, but his brows immediately furrowed.
The aura on the blade...
Was gone.
Across the table, the middleman opened one of the briefcases—only to find it completely empty.
"Huh?"
In an instant, his expression darkened, and he swiftly drew his pistol.
Thud—
Suddenly, a sharp blade pierced through his chest from behind.
"Ghk—"
His body stiffened as he stared in shock at the bloodied tip protruding from his chest. With great effort, he turned his head, trying to see where the blade had come from.
What he saw next defied all logic.
From his own shadow—
A figure wrapped in a headscarf and mask emerged, but only the upper half of their body was visible. The rest seemed to meld seamlessly into the darkness.
The katana that had impaled him was gripped tightly in their hand.
That attire...
The middleman realized something just before darkness swallowed his consciousness.