After the seven heirs of the Hunter Families were killed, seven golden, gleaming tokens appeared on Hattori's chest.
Theoretically, Hattori was already guaranteed a spot in the finals.
But, there was one last target he was interested in hunting.
"Yalantu. Awakened superpower at thirteen, joined the Alliance at sixteen, obtained the King Badge at twenty-four, participated in the Martial Arts Tournament for the first time at thirty."
Hattori looked at the list in his hand, murmuring softly.
"First attempt, didn't even make the finals, eliminated after the top 100."
"Second attempt, just made the finals, but was at the bottom, only 97th place."
"Third attempt, 91st. Fourth, 85th. Fifth, 76th... Twentieth attempt, 3rd!"
Looking at Yalantu's record, Hattori couldn't help but feel curious.
In this parallel world, aside from the Hunter Families with inherited bloodlines, the maximum lifespan for ordinary humans was just over a hundred years, and even Alliance Kings with powerful superpowers were no exception.
The peak for most Espers was before the age of fifty.
Beyond that age, combat reflexes and physical strength would decline.
Superpowers were also mostly fully developed, with little room for improvement.
Only this Yalantu was different.
At the advanced age of one hundred and ten, he achieved 3rd place.
His superpower was also described very vaguely in the records, and almost no one had clear combat footage of him.
Some said it was some kind of infinitely accumulating ability, allowing him to maintain a superhuman state through continuous arduous training.
Others said it was a mystical-type superpower, something that kept Yalantu in his peak condition through means like blessings or benedictions.
In short, this person was full of mysteries, a worthy target for hunting.
The Taklamakan Desert, a desperate place known as the Land of Death.
Yalantu, aged one hundred and fourteen, stood on one foot, eyes closed.
Facing the rolling sandstorms blowing towards him, his expression remained blank.
"You've come."
When Hattori slowly approached from behind him, his aged, bark-like lips slowly parted, emitting a hoarse voice.
"You knew I would come?"
Hattori frowned slightly.
As he asked, he signaled to Moyan, constantly looking into the future.
First possible future:
He strikes suddenly. Yalantu's body turns into flowing sand, dispersing into the world.
Not the real body.
Hattori took note, looking at the second possible future:
He sits and discusses profound truths with him, exchanging some mysterious, abstruse words.
In the end, gains nothing. The old man turns into sand and vanishes.
'Hah, likes playing mysterious and enigmatic, does he?'
Third possible future:
He uses means to interrogate Yalantu.
The other party reveals some information, but its authenticity is unclear, and he still disperses.
Fourth, fifth, sixth...
Hattori paused for about three or four seconds but didn't see a single future where Yalantu's real body appeared.
His real body wasn't nearby.
It was even questionable whether he was on this planet at all. Otherwise, with Hattori's methods, he wouldn't have found it so difficult to detect even a trace.
"Are you an alien?"
After a moment of silence, Hattori opened with a bombshell.
Yalantu smiled slightly, not surprised.
Future-prediction abilities might seem miraculous on this planet, but looking across the stars, they weren't exactly rare.
Even ordinary human technology could do 'weather forecasting', couldn't it?
Predicting the future was essentially a form of big data analysis and deduction.
"I am an incarnation left by a great existence. My true body is extremely fragile. It took a full thirty years just to barely reach the level of an infant in my civilization."
"For the next nearly hundred years, I followed the instructions of the great existence, continuously participating in the Martial Arts Tournament, slowly improving my results, all to attract your arrival at a critical moment."
"And 'you' are the one the great existence has been waiting for."
Yalantu's eyes were calm as he spoke softly.
Hattori, however, grew increasingly irritated.
'Great existence?'
'A mere incarnation?'
'Some mysterious legacy from aliens?'
"I have no patience for riddles. If you have treasure, give it. If you have a legacy, pass it on. I won't pay any price, and don't expect me to run errands for aliens either."
Hattori fired off rapidly, blocking all the cliché possibilities.
He had the Darkening Chat Group, infinite potential for growth.
A mere alien big shot? He really didn't care.
"It's not treasure, nor a legacy, and there's no price for you to pay. I'm just telling you some information. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."
Yalantu smiled serenely, his throat moving as he slowly uttered a sentence.
"The organization ruling this world does not consist of this world's original humans."
"They drove away the natives, monopolized information sources, built a fog-like dark forest, and are conducting some kind of experiment using the lab rats within."
"This isn't a conspiracy theory, it's the norm of this world. The great existence prophesied that a being transcending all would end this."
"You are that being who transcends everything, aren't you?"
Yalantu stared straight into Hattori's eyes, stating firmly.
Hattori's expression first turned grave, then gradually relaxed.
He gently raised his right hand, which turned into a stream of light, slicing Yalantu's body in half.
Flowing sand scattered with the wild wind, vanishing into the world.
Amid the gale, Hattori shook his head slightly.
"There is no great existence, no alien big shot, and no nauseatingly cliché 'truth of the world'."
"It's an illusion, and a deception."
Yalantu's high-and-mighty demeanor, the enigmatic riddles, and the various phenomena Hattori saw in his future vision were indeed intimidating.
But upon careful thought, some anomalies could be detected.
"Too guiding."
"He was eagerly guiding me to acknowledge my extraordinary strength, to admit my desire to oppose the organization behind the scenes."
"First, he built a 'mysterious' persona, then used a 'plot' to divert my attention. But all the setup was just for that final question."
"A sophisticated probe. If I hadn't evolved once before, under the influence of such an illusion, I might have fallen for it."
Hattori murmured, walking to the patch of sand where Yalantu disappeared.
He thrust his right hand deep into the yellow sand, digging out an ancient, weathered compass.
On the back of the compass was engraved a hexagram symbol.
Yalantu, from his creation until now, was just a 'virtual image'.
A character "designed" for specific tasks of the Hexagram Organization.
After all, Hattori had even searched the memories of the Hunter Family's heirs and none of them knew detailed information about Yalantu, showing how high the secrecy was.
His false mystery and uniqueness could attract the attention of those who were truly mysterious and unique.
Then, through deception like just now, lure them into a trap.
"If I'm not mistaken, those questions he asked me were the Hexagram Organization's risk assessment of me."
Hattori rubbed the compass, a cruel curve lifting the corner of his lips, before crushing it instantly.
He didn't expose his identity as the 'being who transcends everything'.
But he did expose part of his strength.
This was just the first round in the clash with the Hexagram Organization.