Isn't My Voice Clear Enough

After exchanging blows for several rounds, Su Yang gained a slight upper hand.

However, it was obvious that Black Robe wasn't using full strength. Of course, neither was Su Yang.

For now, the two were merely testing each other's waters.

But just as Su Yang was pondering his next move, Black Robe lunged at him first.

"Still coming, huh? Alright." Su Yang quickly retreated four or five steps, then launched a high roundhouse kick aimed at Black Robe's head.

Black Robe lowered their center of gravity to dodge the kick, then executed a sliding tackle towards Su Yang's feet.

His legs formed a scissor shape, locking tightly around Su Yang's legs, and he squeezed hard, attempting to bring Su Yang to the ground.

But Su Yang wasn't going to be taken down that easily.

He yanked his right leg free with force, then aimed a stomp directly at Black Robe's chest.

Black Robe slapped the ground with his right hand and spun horizontally in a bizarre posture to dodge the attack.

"Holy crap? What kind of footwork is that?"

Su Yang's stomp hit nothing but air. He quickly pulled his left leg free, and at the same time, the dark figure flipped back onto his feet.

He extended a gloved hand and pushed a palm toward Su Yang's chest. This time, Black Robe's speed wasn't particularly fast. Su Yang, seeing what looked like a soft, weak strike, hesitated for a split second and didn't dodge immediately.

Bang!!

Instantly, an incredibly powerful force surged from his chest throughout his entire body. He felt as if his internal organs had shifted inside him.

Pfft!

Su Yang couldn't hold it back and sprayed a mouthful of blood. Eyes wide with disbelief, he flew backward three or four meters before crashing onto the ground.

A wave of intense dizziness washed over his brain, but the sensation vanished in the blink of an eye.

[Host, please do not underestimate the enemy.]

The System's notification voice echoed in his mind.

Su Yang spat out the remaining blood in his mouth and hurriedly scrambled up, clutching his chest. A few seconds later, the agonizing pain in his body disappeared as well.

At that moment, a hint of confusion—or perhaps surprise—flickered in the eyes beneath Black Robe's hood a few meters away.

"Phew..." Su Yang exhaled, thinking to himself, 'Damn it, I got cocky. But how did that soft-looking palm strike have so much power? It actually made me cough up blood. What the hell? Thank god I have the Gold Medal Healing skill, or I would have been done for tonight.'

[Ding! Detected that the Host has gained insight during combat with an expert. Physique increased by 1 point. Current Physique: 95. Combat Power increased by 2 points. Current Combat Power: A-Rank 86. Intermediate Fighting Skill upgraded to Advanced Fighting Skill.]

As the System's voice faded, Su Yang immediately felt a significant surge in both his strength and stamina.

—Oho, a pleasant surprise. My Intermediate Fighting Skill, which has been stagnant for so long, finally leveled up. Nice.

Looking at Black Robe standing motionless a few meters away, Su Yang smiled faintly. "You spooky bastard, you've actually got some skill. That was just an accident. Let's go again."

Having said that, Su Yang moved his feet and charged at his opponent once more.

......

The two fought for another five or six minutes. This time, thanks to the skill upgrade, Su Yang's attributes—speed, strength, and endurance—had improved considerably.

He handled the exchange with Black Robe with much more ease, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that his opponent still wasn't using their full strength.

Bang!

After trading a punch with the dark figure, Su Yang and his opponent each stumbled back three or four steps before regaining their balance.

Now, neither of them moved. They stood about three meters apart, and instantly, the surrounding air fell silent once again.

Su Yang narrowed his eyes, staring at Black Robe before him. 'Even after leveling up my skills, I can't take him down. This guy's Combat Power must be pretty high. But he doesn't seem to have any killing intent towards me. What the hell does this person want?'

It was true; from the beginning to the end of their exchange, Black Robe hadn't shown a strong desire to attack. Su Yang was getting a bit confused.

He looked at Black Robe and said calmly, "Hey, can you tell me who you are now? You didn't follow me all the way from Licheng to Ya'an just to spar with me, did you?"

"You are indeed not bad."

Black Robe finally spoke. If he hadn't, Su Yang would have started thinking the guy was a mute. However, upon hearing the voice, Su Yang froze...

Because the voice belonged to a woman. And judging by the sound alone, it seemed to be a very sweet-sounding girl.

Two seconds later, Su Yang snapped out of it. He raised his eyebrows, his face full of question marks as he thought, 'What the f*ck? A woman? How could it be a woman?'

"Are you kidding me?? You're a woman?"

"I never said I was a man~"

"Holy sh*t?"

"Wait, wait, let me get this straight. Licheng, Ganhai Zi, the green light, Ge Hai."

"By the way, do you know Ge Hai?"

"Ge Hai? Never heard of him."

"Good lord, you... you don't know Ge Hai?"

"Why should I know Ge Hai? Who is Ge Hai? Is he famous?" The woman in the Black Robe fired back three questions in a row.

Hearing this, Su Yang felt his entire theory collapse. He had always assumed the opponent was a man, and most likely connected to that weird kid, Ge Hai.

But unexpectedly, it turned out to be a woman who didn't know Ge Hai at all.

"Damn it." Su Yang wanted to laugh, but couldn't quite get it out.

He looked again at Black Robe, whose face was hidden. "You're sure you're the one who's been following me since Ganhai Zi, right?"

"Mhm, that's right~" The sweet voice emanated from within the black robes, creating a massive sense of dissonance in Su Yang's heart.

He slapped his own forehead. "So, why are you following me?"

"No reason, just checking your strength~"

"What? That's it? Are you that bored?" Su Yang was speechless. "Have you confirmed it now?"

"Confirmed."

"Then can you take off your hood? I'm curious if you're actually a man or a woman."

"Isn't my voice obvious enough?"

"What if you're faking a falsetto? For all I know, you're just some gross, foot-picking dude."

"You're the gross foot-picking dude! Your whole family are gross foot-picking dudes!" Black Robe seemed to get agitated.

Su Yang scratched his nose. "Fine, if you won't show me, forget it. So, now that you've confirmed my strength, what do you want to do?"

"Hehe, the time isn't right. It's not convenient to tell you yet. I'm leaving." Black Robe left as abruptly as she spoke, turning around and sprinting away at an astonishing speed.

"Leaving?" Su Yang was stunned. He hadn't even found out her ultimate goal; how could he let her go so easily?

He moved quickly, chasing after Black Robe.

But no matter how hard Su Yang chased, the distance between them remained constant at about twenty or thirty meters. Su Yang chased her for a full kilometer but couldn't catch up.

"Stop following me. I'll come find you again. Bye-bye~" The sweet, cute voice of Black Robe drifted back from the distance.

"Dammit, don't go! What the hell do you want?!"

Watching Black Robe disappear into the night, Su Yang stopped and roared in frustration.

But there was no reply; she had completely melted into the darkness.

"What the f*ck? That was completely inexplicable!!"

"And it was a woman. Ugh." Su Yang stood there, scratching his head frantically.

"Could it be Ye Wan? No, no, definitely not. Her Combat Power isn't high enough to fight me to a draw like that, and the voice and height are different."

"Who on earth is it?"

Su Yang stood there, gazing in the direction where Black Robe had vanished, lost in thought for a full two minutes.

"I can't figure it out. Ah, to hell with it, why stress? At the very least, this wasn't a wasted trip. From what I can tell, the other party doesn't seem to hold any malice toward me—or at least, not for the moment. Besides, she's only fixated on me. As long as she doesn't get any ideas about targeting anyone else, that's fine."

"Time to head back." As he spoke, Su Yang raised his wrist to check the time. An hour and ten minutes had already passed since he left the hotel.

"Holy crap, I'm out of time! Gotta move!" Su Yang yelled, whirling around and sprinting toward the open space where he had parked his car.

......