Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 376 (Patreon)

Chapter 376: Probing the Depths

It is said that you cannot have both fish and bear's paw, and many understand this principle, yet there are always those who wish to have both.

Fast and slow are broad substitutes that can represent two different extremes, akin to two end points in opposite directions.

One on the left, one on the right, wanting to reach both end points requires double or even triple the effort and time.

Regarding Luo's desire to choose both, Linne lightly said, "As long as you're happy."

"Uh..." Luo was rendered speechless.

"Let's put aside the theoretical explanation for now. Let me officially probe your limits." Linne withdrew her hand and began to pace to one side.

"Isn't this inappropriate?"

Luo's gaze followed Linne, thinking that she was getting old and a single blow might cause unforeseen consequences.

Linne stopped after walking ten steps, turned her back to Luo and said calmly, "Put away your unnecessary worries. Or, do you think the term 'old and useless' applies to me?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a vigorous aura erupted suddenly. Ripples spread out on the sandy ground, and countless fine grains of sand floated upwards as if weightless.

It was a pure and non-malicious aura, raging around Linne, forming an imposing atmosphere.

Linne slowly turned around, her eyes lifting, revealing those muddy and lifeless eyes completely.

"I was wrong!"

Facing Linne's gaze, Luo admitted his mistake honestly, releasing his aura to resist the impact of Linne's aura.

Linne raised her right hand and said calmly, "When attacking me, don't hold back. Use your full strength. I may be old, but I'm not frail."

"Alright."

With that, Luo could only assume a stance, opening his aura nodes to the maximum. The surging Nen power momentarily flared before shrinking to form a hard protective layer on his body.

Seeing Luo's solid Ken, a gleam flashed in Linne's old eyes. Without a word, she crossed over ten meters of sand in an instant, appearing in front of Luo.

Her thin arm drew a half-arc trajectory in the air, silently striking towards Luo's chest.

Though the speed seemed slow, by the time Luo noticed, the hand was already close to his chest.

Swish!

Without any movement from his feet, Luo's body suddenly flashed back several meters, avoiding Linne's attack.

"Oh?"

Linne was slightly surprised and said calmly, "Emitter."

Before she finished speaking, she stepped on the sand and attacked Luo again, not mentioning the speed of her palm strike, but the explosive power during her body's movement was remarkable.

Luo focused on Linne's movements, retreating again with Shu, purely evading without any counterattack.

The first and second times were forced evasions due to Linne's considerable speed, preventing Luo from countering. But if Linne pressed a third time...

"Will she continue to attack fiercely, or..."

Luo tried to slow the flow of Nen in his body, reducing the chance of Linne detecting his intent.

Suddenly, Linne stepped on the sand again, attacking.

Luo left a Nen bullet in place with a wave of his hand, then retreated another twenty meters using Shu.

Linne's palm strike missed, and the basketball-sized Nen bullet left by Luo floated down and exploded, transforming into blades infused with the God's Hand ability, shooting towards the nearby Linne.

At such close range, it was difficult to defend, yet Linne moved her arms, swiping at the approaching Nen blades.

Whatever technique she used, the Nen blades dissolved upon contact with her palm, disappearing quickly.

"What happened?"

Luo wondered while suddenly crouching, his right hand pressing on the sand.

Using the restriction of causing no direct harm, he exchanged for the unparalleled sharpness of the God's Hand. Usually, only a Ko gathering all one's aura in one point could defend against it, or one had to dodge directly. Yet Linne easily dispelled it.

In this way, the strategic value of the God's Hand would be minimized.

"Is it Linne's Nen?"

Suppressing his doubts, Luo raised his right hand, scooping up a handful of sand, then held the other end with his left hand. As he stood up, like a magician shuffling cards, his hands pulled sideways, forming a long column of sand between his hands.

No matter the environment, one should utilize everything available.

Nen infused the sand column, pushing it into numerous weakly powered diamond-shaped sand darts, shooting towards Linne.

The sand darts were numerous and widespread but weak enough to be blocked by Ken. However, dodging or enduring would give Luo a chance to continue his attack.

Linne chose not to dodge, probably seeing the weak power of the sand darts, enduring them. The sand darts shattered upon contact with her aura.

At this moment, Luo's aura burst forth, moving him to two meters in front of Linne in an instant. Instead of attacking immediately, he stomped on the sand, causing a loud bang, and dust quickly enveloped the area, obscuring both sides' vision.

As the dust rose, Luo used In, concealing his aura, and used his memory to move behind Linne, raising his hand to strike forward.

Bang!

The hand blade struck solidly, the force from the collision dispersing the dust, revealing Luo and Linne's bodies.

The strike was blocked by Linne's left arm, using some technique to neutralize the sharpness of the God's Hand or dispel the aura attached to the object instantly.

With the dust cleared, Luo and Linne moved simultaneously.

Linne swung her right hand, striking towards Luo's chest.

Luo did not defend against the strike but calmly exerted force, pressing Linne's left arm downwards, disrupting her balance. Simultaneously, the flame crest on the back of his hand glowed faintly, and True Master appeared out of nowhere.

Transforming his hand into a knife, he gripped the handle of True Master with his right hand, pressing downwards while pulling back, the blade slashing towards Linne's head.

True Master appeared too suddenly, especially during the brief pause in their exchange, making it difficult to defend.

Linne's combat experience was rich, even if old, her thought process was still sharp. She quickly assessed the situation, realizing she would be decapitated if she didn't withdraw. She decisively pulled her hand back, neutralizing the force from Luo's right hand, and dodged to the right.

The blade missed, carving a several-meter-long groove in the sand without raising any dust.

The missed strike caused Luo to perform an unexpected move, letting go of the handle and bending his arm, elbowing towards the dodging Linne.

"Good boy."

Linne's old eyes narrowed, unable to defend in time, she judged the elbow's landing point and used Ryu to gather aura at the impact spot.

Bang!

The elbow strike hit Linne's abdomen, the force easily sending her small body flying.

After striking Linne, Luo quickly retrieved his hand, grabbing True Master before it hit the ground, then stepped towards the direction Linne was flying but suddenly stopped.

This wasn't a battle to the death.

He held back in time, but Linne was not pleased.

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