Fifteen minutes later.
After listening to Moyan's account, Hattori's eyes narrowed slightly, an interested curve lifting the corner of his mouth.
"Are you saying these are the true underlying forces of this world?"
Moyan nodded, then shook his head.
A bitter expression appeared on his face.
"The Hunter Families are the highest level I can reach."
"But in a vision, I once saw a scene: a person wearing clothes with a hexagram pattern, stepping on the head of a Hunter Family, their demeanor extremely arrogant."
"Perhaps they are the true masters of this world. Or perhaps, above them, there are even more mysterious and terrifying existences..." Moyan sighed softly and replied in a low voice.
'Interesting.'
Hattori nodded, knocked him out with a chop to the neck, and narrowed his eyes.
Moyan's story was actually quite simple from an outsider's perspective.
Basically, his clan was exterminated by a rival family, leaving only him, the last 'Child of Destiny'.
Possessing a rare superpower, he lived under an assumed name.
Determined to start from the Number One Under Heaven Martial Arts Tournament, he would grow stronger step by step, ultimately fulfilling his long-cherished wish of avenging his family.
However, Hattori didn't care about his gratitude and grudges.
What truly interested him was the organization hidden behind the scenes in this world, called the 'Hunter Families'.
Different from the clichéd 'great families', 'great sects', 'X great schools' in novels, the Hunter Families in this parallel universe have no clear understanding of each other's details.
How many families are there? How many powerful members does each family have? When did they go into seclusion? They know none of it.
Like hunters carrying guns in a dark forest, the families explore in the dark, searching for ancient ruins, alien civilizations, and powerful legacies left in the world.
They are hunters, but also prey. Once their coordinates are exposed, their intelligence revealed, other families, like sharks smelling blood, immediately pounce and devour them completely.
Moyan's family was a 'prey' that had its coordinates exposed.
'And above the hunters, there is the hexagram-patterned organization that acts as the masters.'
'It seems the Number One Under Heaven Martial Arts Tournament isn't the pinnacle of this world. Instead, like in Dragon Ball, it's just the beginning of the story.'
Hattori smiled slightly.
He poured the Soul-Summoning Gu into Moyan's mouth and headed towards the final location.
Island #1019.
No one would have thought that the man codenamed 'Nightmare' was actually a seemingly frail old man.
He was short, with dry, withered skin all over his body.
His two thin, bamboo-like legs trembled incessantly, as if a strong gust of wind could blow him over.
But…
It was this seemingly frail old man who killed all the contestants on Island #1019!
Beneath him, countless powerful individuals lay strewn about on the ground.
The expressions on their faces ranged from terror, excitement, insanity, to sorrow.
But without exception, there was no breath left in any of them.
'Sigh, it's not that I didn't want to spare your lives, but you fought too fiercely. I couldn't stop you even if I tried.'
On the king's seat, Nightmare looked down at the corpses on the ground, shaking his head with a 'regretful' expression.
He created countless dreams, letting these people see various bizarre scenes.
Some saw a headless white-robed female corpse the moment they turned around.
Some saw blurry monster phantoms while hiding in the grass.
Others, in the midst of battle, suddenly saw darkness and fell into an endless abyss.
Fear, panic, insanity.
The Espers slaughtered each other. Dazzling elements and terrifying blades constantly interwove and collided on Island #1019.
In the end, all one thousand three hundred and twenty-four superhumans died.
Only Nightmare remained.
He walked out from the mountain of corpses and nonchalantly sat on the king's seat.
This was Nightmare.
Manipulating souls, toying with human hearts, weaving illusions of falsehood and reality.
"In the dreams I weave, I am God. One day, I will envelop the entire world in dreams, and then…"
"And then what?"
An ethereal voice, without any warning, echoed by Nightmare's ear.
Nightmare's pupils instantly contracted sharply, his whole body trembling.
The next second, his body twisted into an extremely tricky angle, rapidly retreating several steps backward.
A trace of gravity appeared on Nightmare's wrinkled face.
'Whose voice was that?'
'Even I, who mastered psychic superpowers, hadn't detected it at all.'
"Oh, so it's not just psychic powers, your physical skills are quite strong too. Hiding them, planning to use them as a trump card?"
A strange smile curled on Hattori's lips as he slowly materialized from behind Nightmare.
"Nightmare Art! Fall!"
The moment he saw Hattori's form, Nightmare's eyes contracted abruptly. A sinister black shadow manifested behind him, shooting explosively towards Hattori.
Hmph.
Seeing the black shadow flash out, a triumphant smile appeared on Nightmare's lips.
This black shadow was the manifestation of his superpower.
Anyone hit directly by it would inevitably fall into an endless nightmare cycle, unable to escape.
"With your ability to conceal your aura, if you had assassinated me directly, I might have really been done for here. Pity you were too arrogant, actually jumping out to warn your enemy."
Nightmare looked at the silent Hattori and sneered.
"If there's a next life, remember to talk less and do more."
"Is that so?"
The instant Nightmare's words fell, Hattori's meaningful retort echoed hauntingly by his ear.
'Y-You... how is this possible?! Nine hundred years of torment! How could you be completely unscathed?!'
Nightmare stared at the completely unharmed Hattori, his pupils contracting violently, his face full of disbelief.
'Impossible...'
'No one could escape from my Nightmare Shadow, never!'
In the Nightmare Illusion, due to the accelerated thought speed, the perception of time slows down.
One second in the outside world feels like a hundred years in the dream.
And just now, it lasted a full nine seconds!
Nine hundred years of torment, endless darkness and solitude, infinite fear and suffering.
A normal person's mind simply couldn't withstand it.
"Emmmm, I didn't really feel anything. Your Nightmare Illusion doesn't seem to affect the consciousness of higher life forms."
Hattori shrugged, speaking flippantly.
His first life evolution targeted the brain and soul.
Soul attacks at Nightmare's level had no effect on him.
"No... impossible! My dream is perfect! No one can escape my perfect dream… Ah!"
Hattori couldn't be bothered listening to his long-winded villain declaration.
A chop to the neck knocked him unconscious.
"No matter what grand ambitions or great aspirations you have, if you can't beat me, you're my subordinate now."
Hattori opened Nightmare's mouth and delivered a Soul-Summoning Gu.
With that, all three key pieces were successfully recruited.
The grand puzzle of the behind-the-scenes organization had its initial corner completed.
Hattori sat on the wooden humanoid, looking at his results in satisfaction.
Meanwhile, in the group chat:
[Young Master of the Demonic Sect: @Dark Group Owner, Group Owner, I have a question I'd like to consult you about.]
[Young Master of the Demonic Sect: @Dark Group Owner, Group Owner, if not for the conflict over the Qilin Blood, would it be possible for Hong Mao and the other Seven Swords to come under my Demonic Sect's command?]
[Young Master of the Demonic Sect: @Dark Group Owner, After resolving Lantu's worries, I realized that Hongmao has both good strength and character. Is there a way to subdue him?]
In the Hongmao and Lantu World, Hei Xiaohu waved his cloak.
A conflicted expression appeared on his face, which was beginning to show the aura of a potential overlord.