At night, on a secluded street.
A putrid stench wafted from behind, and Xu Zhaoting immediately stopped in his tracks.
He remembered this smell very clearly — the monsters Bai Yang raised had the exact same stench on them.
Xu Zhaoting glanced backward and vaguely saw several twisted black shadows darting along from an alley behind him.
According to Zhou Haoyu, these shadows should be Cursed Beasts.
Recalling his blood-deep vendetta, Xu Zhaoting couldn't help clenching his fists, wishing he could charge forward and fight them to the death.
But he knew his own strength — once surrounded, he wouldn't even have a chance to escape.
For the sake of revenge, Xu Zhaoting tried his best to steady his breathing and continued moving at the same pace as before.
In the darkness, several gray-cloaked figures chased after him, each driving several Cursed Beasts— altogether over twenty of them.
In the end, they all followed Xu Zhaoting into a factory.
Not long after entering the factory, Xu Zhaoting stopped, turned around, and flung a Level-2 Lightning Seal at the doorway.
The gray-cloaked figures, just about to enter, were struck in the face by the sudden burst of lightning.
Though it was only a level-2 Lightning Seal, none of them were protected by any Armor-type Magic Tools, and their faces were whipped and scorched beyond recognition by the crackling seal.
They might have only been low-ranking Black Vatican lackeys, but they still cared about their faces. Being lashed like this, how were they supposed to show themselves in the future?
"Ah! Kill him!"
Gray One covered his mangled face and immediately drove his Cursed Beast to attack Xu Zhaoting.
The others also sent their Cursed Beasts— in but a breath, over twenty fiends had completely surrounded Xu Zhaoting.
Xu Zhaoting's expression drastically changed, and he hurriedly activated the defensive Magic Tool Zhou Haoyu had given him. Instantly, a glowing shield of light appeared around him.
The barrier instantly blocked all the Cursed Beasts no matter how they attacked, they could not break the shield.
"How could he possibly have such a powerful defensive Magic Tool?!"
Gray One looked utterly shocked. A defense of this level, how could such a thing appear in the hands of a Bo City survivor?
"What a bunch of trash, you can't even deal with him."
At that moment, a masked man in black clothes walked in.
When he saw the faces of several of his subordinates ruined, a strange gleam flashed in his eyes — with a hint of madness.
At least he wasn't the only one disfigured now.
"Sir, Priest." The gray-cloaked figures ignored the pain on their faces and bowed respectfully.
Mu Yu'ang couldn't be bothered with them. His cold eyes swept over Xu Zhaoting inside the shield, and his lips curled slightly.
"Xu Zhaoting, I don't know where you got that Magic Tool from, but once you're dead, that Magic Tool will be mine."
As he spoke, Mu Yu'ang released his Ice Element Intermediate Magic — several Ice Chains lashed toward the shield.
Under their constant whipping and pressure, cracks began appearing on the barrier — it was clearly about to shatter.
Xu Zhaoting stared at the black-clothed man whose face was mostly concealed, suddenly feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Go ask the King of Hell yourself!"
As the shield cracked apart, Mu Yu'ang lashed the Ice Chains with a ferocious snarl, trying to vent all his anger on Xu Zhaoting.
Whoosh!!!
Suddenly, a tearing sound shot from the doorway — piercings instantly ripped through the chests of the gray-cloaked men, leaving them no chance to react.
It wasn't over — after claiming their lives, the silver little sword rushed straight toward Mu Yu'ang.
Mu Yu'ang hastily summoned his Armor-type Magic Tool, but he had far overestimated its quality.
The silver sword flashed with a cold gleam and, as if slicing through tofu, cut through the Armor-type Magic Tool — then carved straight through his torso again.
Looking at the blood gushing from his abdomen, Mu Yu'ang's face filled with panic and fear.
Who was it?!
"As I expected, you really showed up, Mu Yu'ang."
Zhou Haoyu curled his finger, and the silver small sword returned to his hand.
Seeing Zhou Haoyu suddenly appear, Mu Yu'ang violently spat out a mouthful of blood.
"How are you here!"
"Did you... deliberately set up a trap to lure me?"
Mu Yu'ang wasn't a fool. Zhou Haoyu appearing at this exact moment plus the magic tool Xu Zhaoting used clearly indicated this was a trap.
"Too lazy to talk to you, you're not worthy to listen."
Zhou Haoyu's expression was indifferent, casually sending him to the West with a single Lightning strike
[Activation Condition: Met.]
[Activating.]
[Obtained Natural Soul Seed: Profound Golden Thunder.]
"Profound Golden Thunder?"
Zhou Haoyu's pupils shrank. This was a natural soul seed; if taken to the auction house, it would fetch at least over 100 million.
Given the current Zhou Family, it was hard to equip him with a natural soul seed.
Now that his Lightning Element was already Intermediate Level 3, it wouldn't take long for him to break through to High Level. This top-tier Soul Thunder was simply a pillow delivered to a dozing man.
Once his Lightning Element broke through to High Level, he would absorb this Profound Golden Thunder.
With this top-tier Soul Seed plus Purple Firmament additional effect, it should definitely be stronger than Tyrant Wild Thunder!
Xu Zhaoting walked over and pointed at the charred corpse, asking, "Brother Yu, is this guy really Mu Yu'ang?"
The title "Brother Yu" was Zhou Haoyu's requirement. Every time he was called Young Master Zhou, it always felt weird somewhere.
"That's right."
Zhou Haoyu looked at Xu Zhaoting with a serious expression and then said, "I don't want Mu Yu'ang's identity to be exposed by you."
"Why?" Xu Zhaoting looked confused.
"If Mu Yu'ang's identity is exposed, it will more or less affect the Mu Family. You should understand this." Zhou Haoyu said bluntly.
Xu Zhaoting immediately remembered Zhou Haoyu's relationship with Mu Ningxue; doing this was understandable, since the person was already dead.
"As long as you keep it secret, this defensive magic tool is yours."
This defensive magic tool was considered a defective product from Zhou Haoyu's failed forging attempt.
Even so, this defensive magic tool had Level-1 Divine Blessing effect. For an Intermediate Mage, it was already an extremely precious defensive magic tool.
Xu Zhaoting's breathing suddenly became heavier. Being able to withstand continuous Intermediate-level magic attacks for so long was enough to prove how valuable this tool was.
A moment later, Xu Zhaoting spoke firmly, "Brother Yu, you saved my life and even avenged me, I absolutely can't accept this magic tool."
Zhou Haoyu was slightly stunned. Xu Zhaoting's character truly surprised him a little.
Thinking about it, anyone daring to strike at the Black Vatican couldn't have poor character.
"If I'm giving it to you, just accept it. I've never taken back anything I give away."
To Zhou Haoyu, this magic tool was nothing at all. Besides, he just obtained a Natural Soul Seed.
"Many thanks, Brother Yu." Xu Zhaoting finally accepted the magic tool.
"The Black Vatican failed this operation. Next time they'll only send stronger mages, so be mentally prepared."
"Remember, don't send yourself to death!"