# Chapter 9: Old Monster
After the meal, Su Xiao walked out of the Zoldyck family castle and began strolling around the courtyard. After paying the commission, the Zoldyck family didn't keep Su Xiao waiting long.
Maha Zoldyck's entrance had no sense of mystery whatsoever, nor any astonishing aura. He was simply an old man wearing a loose purple robe, about 1.4 meters tall, skinny to the point of being nothing but skin and bones.
The only special thing about Maha Zoldyck was his large head. Combined with his wrinkled skin, one could easily believe he was an alien.
"Young man, I've come to fulfill your commission."
Maha Zoldyck's figure was gaunt, his hands clasped behind his back, his pale lips covered in cracks.
"The Zoldyck family's efficiency isn't bad."
Su Xiao drew the longsword at his waist. Inside the nearby castle, several pairs of eyes were closely observing the situation outside — the younger generation of the Zoldyck family.
"This old bones of mine can still teach you a thing or two, but if we're talking about fighting, forget it."
Maha Zoldyck's eyes were cloudy, completely devoid of any spark.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. A faint red aura began spreading around him.
"So young, it would be a pity to die. At my age, what I treasure most is my life."
Though Maha Zoldyck said this, a jet-black Nen surged out from within his body.
Sensing this Nen as black as ink, Su Xiao felt his hair stand on end. This wasn't fear, but rather an instinctual warning from his intuition.
Normal Nen abilities were milky white or colorless. Rarer ones were gold or purple, like those of Shalnark or Feitan.
But black Nen — Su Xiao was seeing this for the first time. Regardless of color, Nen usually gave people a feeling of vitality, because Nen was life energy.
The black Nen Maha Zoldyck possessed was different. It had no vitality whatsoever, seeming more like a representation of death.
Su Xiao had a feeling that this old man should have died long ago, but he had somehow found a way to prolong his lifespan.
Su Xiao thought of the Zoldyck family's fourth child, Alluka Zoldyck. Perhaps that thing was helping Maha Zoldyck sustain his life.
Alluka Zoldyck herself wasn't frightening. What was terrifying was the other thing inside her — an unknown "creature" from the Dark Continent. According to known intelligence, that thing was female, named Nanika, sharing a body with Alluka Zoldyck in a symbiotic rather than parasitic relationship.
Whoosh~
The faint red aura beside Su Xiao condensed. Maha Zoldyck's body emitted wisps of "black smoke." This black smoke gave a feeling of stickiness and filth.
Inside the castle at this moment, the cross-dressing Killua Zoldyck was standing by the window watching the battle.
"What is that thing?"
Killua's expression was somewhat dazed, because in his line of sight, two unknown entities had appeared above Su Xiao and Maha Zoldyck.
Above Su Xiao seemed to be a blood-red vicious beast with a mouth full of sharp teeth, while above Maha Zoldyck was a black skeleton, and this skeleton was even smiling.
"An illusion?"
Killua rubbed his eyes. Sure enough, both the vicious beast and the skeleton had disappeared.
Boom!
A loud noise echoed across the courtyard. Waves of air pressure spread outward. The surrounding lawn, as if hit by a typhoon, was flattened and pushed to the sides.
With a crackling sound, all the glass windows of the castle shattered. The onrushing air pressure and broken glass forced the cross-dressing Killua to retreat several steps.
"Can't get close. Even being caught in the aftermath would be fatal."
Continuous booming sounds came from the courtyard. Mud splattered, and dust enveloped most of the courtyard. Pale blue blade arcs occasionally slashed out from within the dust.
Inside the dust cloud, Su Xiao stood holding his sword, surrounded by dozens of counter shields floating beside him. Half of the counter shields were covered in cracks, on the verge of shattering.
Blood dripped from Su Xiao's fingertips. The injury was on his left arm. This wasn't from taking a direct hit from Maha Zoldyck, but rather from being grazed by the old man's Nen energy.
Maha Zoldyck was also within the dust cloud. By now, he had lost all semblance of humanity, his entire body wrapped in black Nen ability. Black Nen represented evil and death.
Su Xiao and Maha Zoldyck had exchanged three rounds total. Neither side's strength was overwhelming. In fact, Su Xiao could even fight Maha Zoldyck head-on without falling behind in the short term.
Maha Zoldyck was an Enhancement-type. He hadn't used his long lifespan to develop any astonishing techniques. His fighting style was pure strength + speed, along with his terrifying combat experience.
This old man had been fighting his entire life — how could his combat experience not be rich? And his techniques during battle were well worth learning.
Tap, tap, tap...
Maha Zoldyck walked toward Su Xiao. His pace wasn't fast, but he left afterimages behind him.
Don't think these afterimages were just for show. Any one of them could be Maha Zoldyck's real body. Su Xiao had been injured by this very technique earlier.
Su Xiao immediately leaped backward, his movements agile.
Whoosh!
A piercing sound of breaking air suddenly came from in front of Su Xiao. He quickly turned his head, and a withered fist brushed past his ear.
Pfft.
Blood splattered. Three bloody gashes appeared on Su Xiao's cheek, as if clawed by a wild beast. The wound burned with intense pain, unbearable to endure. The nearby flesh seemed to be slowly "withering." Fortunately, Su Xiao had Cyan Steel Shadow Energy within him, which immediately devoured and extinguished the Nen that had invaded his body.
Just as Su Xiao was mid-leap backward, Maha Zoldyck's other hand grabbed toward Su Xiao's face. The timing and angle of this grab were too perfect — impossible to dodge.
Dozens of counter shields appeared in front of Su Xiao. With a crack, the counter shields shattered. Maha Zoldyck's hand had transformed into sharp claws — this was the Zoldyck family's unique body technique.
The sharp nails touched Su Xiao's forehead, leaving tiny bloody marks.
At that moment, Su Xiao suddenly disappeared.
Pfft.
A spurt of blood erupted from behind Maha Zoldyck. The old man remained expressionless, his arms swinging backward. With a crack, both arms completely defied normal physiological curves, dislocating at the shoulders.
Arms twisted to this degree should have hung limply, but Maha Zoldyck's arms were incredibly flexible. The two hands wrapped in black Nen energy grabbed toward Su Xiao's longsword.
Riiip!
Dragon-Slaying Flash cut through the Nen energy layer outside Maha Zoldyck's palms and slashed open his palms. Though the old man's body was withered, it was abnormally tough. Dragon-Slaying Flash had just broken through his Nen ability and couldn't sever his hands in one go.
At this moment, Maha Zoldyck was facing away from Su Xiao. Another crack sounded, and Maha Zoldyck's neck turned 180 degrees, directly facing Su Xiao behind him. This horrifying scene often appeared in horror movies.
Su Xiao's expression didn't change. In a very standard posture, he lifted his leg for a side kick.
Bang!
Maha Zoldyck was sent flying by Su Xiao's kick. Given Maha Zoldyck's 1.4-meter height, this was the normal outcome.
Maha Zoldyck landed in a crouch. An expression finally appeared on his old face — an expression of pain. Cyan Steel Shadow Energy was eroding his body.
Clearly, neither Su Xiao nor Maha Zoldyck were the type to hold back during battle. Once the two started fighting, there was a high probability that one side would die.
"Father, the situation is a bit off."
Silva could also see that both men in the fight were the type who showed no mercy in battle. A sparring match? That simply didn't exist.