Chapter 201 - 194: Mysterious Attacker

"Damn it. The guy who gave us the tip really did feed us false information," Zhou Tianci cursed under his breath.

Wang Xiaoliu, trailing behind Zhou Tianci, verbally echoed his young master, letting loose a string of curses at the person who provided the false tip.

Although Wang Xiaoliu appeared to share his young master’s outrage, he was secretly gloating.

He was thrilled that the man surnamed Lin hadn’t shown up. It meant the gatekeeper who’d provided the tip wouldn’t get any credit.

The master and servant walked out of the teahouse, heading for the stables to retrieve their horses and go home for lunch.

Just as the two were crossing the road, a man in a black training suit and a black hood suddenly burst out of a nearby alley.

The man had a clear target. After emerging from the alley, he ran swiftly toward Zhou Tianci and Wang Xiaoliu.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...

Zhou Tianci was still fuming. That guy surnamed Lin hadn’t appeared, and his plan to use the meeting as a pretext to visit Zhu Xinru had fallen through. Hearing the sound of hurried footsteps behind him, he instinctively stopped and turned to look.

"Hm?"

A look of confusion crossed Zhou Tianci’s face as he saw the man striding rapidly toward him.

The black-hooded man reached Zhou Tianci and, without a word, kicked out at his chest.

Zhou Tianci hadn’t expected the hooded man to attack him. His reflexes were sharp, however. The moment the man lifted his leg, Zhou Tianci immediately crossed his arms in front of his chest to block the blow.

THUD.

Struck by the attacker’s kick, Zhou Tianci was sent flying backward. He landed several meters away, stumbling back a few more steps before regaining his balance.

’This guy is incredibly strong,’ Zhou Tianci thought, his gaze fixed gravely on the black-hooded man.

Then, he roared in anger, "You have some fucking nerve, ambushing me...?!?"

The black-hooded man didn’t respond to Zhou Tianci’s furious shout, merely watching the enraged young master in silence.

The exchange had happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Wang Xiaoliu processed what was happening, Zhou Tianci had already been sent flying by the black-hooded man’s kick.

Snapping back to his senses, Wang Xiaoliu, eager to show his loyalty, immediately cursed at the black-hooded man.

"Bastard! How dare you strike my young master!"

Then, he rushed forward in a few quick steps and threw a punch at the attacker’s face.

SMACK.

The black-hooded man easily dodged Wang Xiaoliu’s punch, then backhanded him across the face.

The powerful slap made Wang Xiaoliu see stars. He spun around several times on the spot before collapsing to the ground, dazed for a long moment.

"You bastard! If you’ve got any guts, stop hiding your face! Take off that hood!" Zhou Tianci shouted, frowning as he saw his servant slapped to the ground.

But unfortunately for him, the attacker had no intention of responding. He remained silent in the face of Zhou Tianci’s various taunts.

"Agh! That hurts like hell!" Wang Xiaoliu, who had been seeing stars from the black-hooded man’s slap, finally came to his senses. He immediately clutched his swelling face and cried out in pain.

POOF.

A small flame flickered to life at the black-hooded man’s fingertip. The flicker quickly grew into a small, fist-sized Fireball.

"A Second Rank Initial Stage Spiritual Energy Wave, and he’s even awakened the Fireball Superpower...!!!"

When Zhou Tianci saw the Fireball appear in the black-hooded man’s hand, he immediately expanded his Perception. After detecting a Spiritual Energy Wave from his opponent that was no weaker than his own, his already grim expression darkened even further.

Wang Xiaoliu, who had been wailing on the ground while clutching his face, was scared into silence the moment he saw the black-hooded man use a Superpower.

Terrified of being attacked with a Superpower, Wang Xiaoliu scrambled and crawled away, trying to flee.

Zhou Tianci assumed the black-hooded man was an assassin sent by one of his family’s enemies. "Who the hell sent you?" he demanded.

"..." The black-hooded man still ignored Zhou Tianci. He cracked his neck, then threw the condensed Fireball in his hand toward him.

WHOOSH.

The small, orange-red Fireball flew rapidly toward Zhou Tianci. Seeing this, he hastily dodged to the side.

BOOM.

The small Fireball struck the spot where Zhou Tianci had been standing, instantly scorching a small patch of the ground black.

"Bastard, are you a fucking mute? You may be at the Second Rank Initial Stage, but don’t think for a second that I’m afraid of you."

Having dodged the Fireball Attack, Zhou Tianci glanced at the scorched ground and roared at the silent, black-hooded man before him.

The moment he finished speaking, a faint golden Spiritual Light emerged from his body.

In the next second, Zhou Tianci’s pale skin instantly turned a deep bronze, shimmering with a faint metallic luster under the sunlight.

The black-hooded man showed no surprise at seeing Zhou Tianci use his Superpower.

He muttered, in a voice only he could hear, "Good. You’ve finally used your awakened Superpower. This time, I’m going to beat you to a pulp while you’re at full strength."

POOF.

POOF.

An apple-sized Fireball materialized in each of the black-hooded man’s hands.

Once the two small Fireballs finished forming, they instantly changed shape, rapidly adhering to the black-hooded man’s palms like a pair of gloves.

"Huh?!!" An astonished expression appeared on Zhou Tianci’s face. ’He can change the Fireball’s shape!’

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...

The black-hooded man strode toward Zhou Tianci, his pace quickening until he broke into a run.

"Bastard, you’ll regret this! I’m going to rip that hood off your face myself and see what you really look like!" Roaring at the enemy charging toward him, Zhou Tianci met him head-on.

BANG.

A fist gleaming with a metallic luster collided with a fist wreathed in flames, creating a loud impact.

The black-hooded man’s strength was equal to Zhou Tianci’s. Neither gave an inch from the force of the punch, but...

HISSS...

The scorching heat from the black-hooded man’s flaming fist continuously burned Zhou Tianci’s skin.

Although Zhou Tianci’s metallic skin was impervious to a Blade’s slash, its resistance to the searing heat of fire was clearly lacking.

Feeling the burning sensation on his skin, Zhou Tianci quickly retreated to create distance.

He raised his fist and saw that the surface of his metallic, bronze-colored skin had been burned black in some places.

’Hiss... Damn it. This guy’s Superpower counters my Superpower,’ Zhou Tianci thought, sucking in a cold breath as a stinging pain came from the scorched area on his fist.

’Huh? Where’d he go?’

He looked up toward the black-hooded man, only to find the enemy had vanished.

Immediately after, Zhou Tianci perceived a Spiritual Energy Wave behind him. Then, a searing hot palm covered the back of his head.

’Not good... How did he suddenly get so fast? When did he get behind me?’

The black-hooded man, now behind Zhou Tianci, pressed his flaming left hand against the back of Zhou Tianci’s head.

The intense flame instantly singed Zhou Tianci’s hair, causing it to curl up and release a burnt smell.

...