Summary
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Solo LevelingSeason 2 delivered a fantastic final episode, featuring the aftermath of Jinwoo and the Ant King’s fight. The episode was mainly about the world recognizing Jinwoo’s incredible strength. The finale very beautifully sets up massive events for the third season by introducing us to some new characters.
While introducing us to Rakan and Sillad (the two Monarchs), the episode also gave us a glimpse of Liu Zhigang. The S-Rank Hunter hails from China and is powerful enough to kill several Ants with a single strike. Liu Zhigang definitely caught everyone’s attention, and fans wonder if they will get to see more of him in Season 3 ofSolo Leveling.
Type
National Level Hunter
Liu Zhigang is aChinese S-Rank Hunter who holds tremendous power, which is evident from his single-strike kills in the final episode of Season 2. He is a good-looking individual who holds great pride in his powers and is always on the lookout for stronger enemies. That is why he was disappointed for missing out on the fun of fighting the Ant King (Yes, he could have easily defeated the Ant King like Jinwoo). There’s a difference between being proud and being arrogant, and while Liu holds confidence in his powers, he isn’tarrogant like Thomas Andre. Liu’s primary choice of weapons is his sword, and he is a master swordsman, probably the best in the entire world. His slash attacks can rip apart any enemy standing in front of him.
At the time of Jeju Island,Liu was possibly stronger than Jinwoo; however, while Liu couldn’t grow in power,Jinwoo’s strength was absolutely limitless. Jinwoo bridges that power gap after obtaining thefull powers of the Shadow Monarch, and Liu realizes that Jinwoo is much stronger during the Japan Crisis story arc. When a powerful giant reached the borders of China, Liu was there to deal with the threat. As expected, Liu defeated the enemy with ease, but he was still surprised by the giant’s strength. What surprised Liu even more was the fact thatJinwoo took even less time to defeat the same enemy (another giant).
If I’d gotten a crack at the Black Ant instead of these peons, I might’ve actually had some fun - Liu Zhigang
Liu realized that Jinwoo was much, much stronger than he was, but that didn’t hurt his pride. Instead of acting like an arrogant Hunter,Liu acknowledged Jinwoo’s superior strength during an interview with a Chinese reporter. Liu was the world’s second-strongest Hunter, and Jinwoo not only challenged his position but alsodefeated Thomas Andre in a fight. Despite all that, Liu stayed humble and showed interest in meeting the world’s strongest known Hunter, Jinwoo.
Liu Zhigang Meets Jinwoo During International Guild Conference Arc
He Congratulates Jinwoo For His Fight Against Thomas Andre
After the Japan Crisis arc,Liu Zhigang was interested in learning about Jinwoo, so he asked the Korean Hunter Association to give him all the information about the Hunter. At the time, thereal motive behind Sung II-Hwan’s appearancewas also a mystery. Christopher Reed, an American National Hunter, was killed by the Monarchs, and since the world didn’t know about the Monarchs at the time, Sung II-Hwan became a primary suspect in the murder.
Jinwoo was already in the news for defeating Thomas Andre, and the fact that Jinwoo’s father was capable enough to defeat Reed made Liu more desperate to meet Jinwoo. Well,Liu finally gets the chance to meet the Shadow Monarch during the International Guild Conference. Every National Hunter was invited to the conference, and so was Jinwoo. So, Liu gets the chance to have a word with the Hunter and congratulates him for defeating the arrogant beast, Thomas Andre.
Despite holding great power, Liu doesn’t play a significant role in the Final War arc. He is shown amidst the war, but only fighting a couple of weak Giants. He was flabbergasted after witnessing the might ofJinwoo’s Shadow Armyand sensing the mana getting unleashed duringJinwoo’s fight with Antares, the Monarch of Destruction. Honestly,Liu was underutilized in the original manhwa series, so don’t expect to see a lot of him in the anime series either. Of course, it’s possible that the anime gives some original scenes to the Chinese Hunter, but it’s hard to say if he will play a significant role inSolo Leveling.
Solo Leveling
Cast
A-1 Pictures' Solo Leveling is an anime based on Chugong’s popular web novel. Set in an unforgiving fantasy world where hunters explore dungeons filled with monsters, the vulnerable Sung Jinwoo gains a significant power boost after he is picked to be a solo player by the System.
