Beyond that, Qingshui constantly maintained his Transparent World.
The Transparent World wasn't a completely passive ability, but rather a manifestation of reaching a sufficiently high mental state; it could be activated with just a slight focus of attention.
However, as a Puppet Master capable of multitasking, Qingshui could still dedicate a portion of his mental energy to continuously sustain the Transparent World.
The wide street, the buildings on either side—every movement, whether it was a swirling breeze or a crawling insect, was reflected with perfect clarity in Qingshui's mind.
Bruce Wayne's words continued to echo and analyze in Qingshui's thoughts.
Someone definitely wanted to move against him; that much was certain, and their power was significant enough for Batman himself to issue a warning.
Qingshui put himself in their shoes and began to think.
The opponent would surely gather information about him, and quite comprehensively at that. They would then analyze his personality and preferences based on that data to anticipate his next moves, preparing for their strike.
So, the question arose: if they had gathered information about him, they must also be well aware of his strength.
Unless they could enlist an incredibly powerful being like Superman, Qingshui's current combat strength meant that ordinary individuals wouldn't be able to harm him.
The most likely scenarios were poisoning or assassination.
Regarding poison, Qingshui wasn't overly concerned. With the Transparent World and Medical Ninjutsu, theoretically, most poisons could be resolved through the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique. The only thing to worry about was…
Suddenly, Qingshui's Transparent World detected something amiss, and he quickly turned his head.
In the dim night, a faint glint of light came from the rooftop across the street.
Qingshui pressed his hand against the accountant beside him and quickly ducked.
The crisp sound of shattering glass rang out as an armor-piercing bullet precisely struck the seat in the back of the car.
"Alert! Sniper!"
Aman saw the scene through the rearview mirror and urgently shouted into the walkie-talkie.
But Qingshui had already kicked open the car door, instantly flashing out, transforming into a blue bolt of lightning. He scaled the wall and instantly rushed onto the rooftop across the street.
A figure dressed entirely in black uniform, with a head resembling an owl, quickly dropped the sniper rifle after firing the first shot and ran towards the other side.
He knew he only had one shot.
With the assassination failed and the target's terrifying combat ability, he had to flee immediately after firing that single shot.
But after only a few seconds of running, the faster Qingshui appeared before him, instantly delivering several slashes.
Blades enhanced by sharp airflow instantly cut through flesh and bone, severing limbs.
Qingshui stood up and moved forward, pinching the opponent's jaw to dislocate it, preventing them from committing suicide by poison.
Strangely, despite suffering such severe injuries, the opponent only groaned twice, not even screaming.
"Owl..."
Qingshui's face was grim as he pulled off the opponent's helmet, revealing a young face devoid of any emotion.
Under the perception of the Transparent World, Qingshui could see that this person had very high muscle density, a body strength close to human peak, and a hormonal system different from ordinary people, achieving another strange balance.
This was a Talon of the Court of Owls.
Pain and emotion were suppressed to near non-existence. They were skilled in stealth and assassination, with physical abilities surpassing normal humans.
"Excellent, a bunch of rats hiding in filthy sewers, daring to offend your daddy!"
Qingshui squeezed the Talon's neck.
In the sky, a white shadow flashed, and a tall metal warrior landed, extending a hand towards the Talon, spraying cold air and freezing its body.
Although he knew that interrogating a Talon-like existence would be difficult, he still had to try.
The Court of Owls was born with Gotham itself, intending to control all of Gotham's darkness and, through it, further control Gotham.
They opposed Batman because the Dark Knight represented darkness. Their opposition to him, however, was because he was about to unify Gotham's underworld.
The Court of Owls would not tolerate any other entity representing or controlling darkness besides themselves.
"Then I'll just exterminate you all," Qingshui thought silently, watching his subordinates hurrying up the stairs through his Transparent World, then looking up at the Bat-Signal projected onto Gotham's sky.
The Court of Owls possessed a certain level of supernatural combat power, which wasn't a major concern. However, this organization had existed for hundreds of years, and might have some troublesome trump cards.
But it wasn't unsolvable.
The truly problematic point was how mysterious this organization was. Its upper echelons were all composed of members from Gotham's old money families, giving them significant influence across all sectors of Gotham.
But who those people were, no one could truly ascertain.
He needed to find a breakthrough first, then follow the clues.
...
...
Meanwhile, somewhere on a Gotham street.
Jason Todd wandered lost in a Gotham alley, looking at the Bat-Signal projected onto the dense clouds above the Gotham Police Department.
What should he do now?
Jason had completely rejected Batman's no-kill rule internally, but he still harbored deep affection for the members of the Bat-Family.
He knew he couldn't go back to the way things were.
But to be honest, he was also a bit lost about his future path.
He had strayed from Batman's methods, yet was still deeply influenced by them. After his resurrection, he was also affected by Ninja Master, but he didn't fully agree with the latter either.
He could only wander aimlessly through the alleyways until he witnessed a scene all too common in Gotham:
Crime.
Three criminals, wearing shark, vulture, and fox masks, each armed with a baseball bat, a handgun, and a knife, cornered a Black child in the alley.
"I... I have a gun! Don't move, don't come any closer! Or I'll shoot!"
The Black child nervously raised a gun.
"Hahaha! You don't even know how to take the safety off, what good is a gun?"
"Could that kid's gun be a toy?"
"Little Blackie, who was it that you were staking out in front of the police station earlier!"
Jevonni, the Black child, forced himself to calm down.
The gun in his hand was real, but he genuinely didn't know how to disengage the safety.
Some handgun models don't have a safety that can be simply pulled off.
Jevonni's father was a journalist who tried to expose corruption within the Gotham Police Department and was ultimately killed by a dirty cop.
Jevonni knew which police officer his father was investigating, so he took a handgun from his home safe and waited in front of the police station, attempting to get revenge.
However, his actions were too childish in the eyes of an experienced dirty cop. Upon realizing what Jevonni was doing, the cop used his connections to have a small gang he protected send someone to deal with the child.
Jevonni might not know how to use a gun, but Jason did.
But before Jason could even draw his weapon, a dark figure flew out from the high wall nearby.
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