Leng Ruyi

The screams echoed through the prison cells.

It did not take Ye Kang much effort to pry two martial arts manuals out of Flying Centipede's mouth.

Watching this scene, the other prisoners all felt a chill run down their spines.

They feared that this plague god might set his sights on them.

Flying Centipede, meanwhile, lay sprawled across the straw mat, covered in wounds, his mouth continuously letting out miserable wails.

"I'm dying... You little thief, even if you obtain this Dao Master's martial arts, without ten or eight years of fumbling around, don't even dream of learning them!"

[Ding]

[Recorded superior internal energy art Wood Heart Sutra; superior lightness skill Flying Swallow Ascending Cloud]

[Learning them requires 300 Comprehension each. Learn?]

Inside the empty cell.

Ye Kang did not hesitate and learned the Wood Heart Sutra first.

As his Comprehension decreased, Ye Kang felt as though he stood atop a Giant Tree, breathing in and out the Essence of Heaven and Earth beneath the moon in the forest, meditating for ten years... twenty years... thirty years...

At last, he had entered the threshold!

Ye Kang stretched out both hands. Blue-green Wood Element True Qi seeped from his body, and vibrant Life Power filled his Entire Body, strengthening it.

"This Wood Heart Sutra truly is profound. According to Flying Centipede, once cultivated to Great Accomplishment, it can continuously generate True Qi even in battle, an endless stream that never dries up!"

Ye Kang was extremely excited. This internal energy art was absolutely a treasure.

He wondered where Flying Centipede had obtained it.

"But it really is difficult to cultivate. With my aptitude, it actually took thirty years just to enter the threshold. Good thing I have the system."

After sighing with emotion, Ye Kang spent another 300 Comprehension to enter the threshold of the other lightness skill.

He then brought up his panel.

[Host: Ye Kang]

[Martial Skills: Vajra Fury Intent (Great Perfection), White Tiger Slaughtering Blade (Third Floor), Wood Heart Sutra (Entry), Flying Swallow Ascending Cloud (Entry)]

[Strength: Top-tier First-class Expert]

His strength had risen again!

Sure enough, it had been the flaw in his internal energy that had suppressed his strength.

Now that the problem with his internal energy had been resolved, his strength naturally rose with the tide, and he leaped straight into the ranks of Top-tier First-class Experts.

Third Brother Bai had said that his father, Bai Daqing, was only at this level as well.

At the same time.

On the Other Side, news of the prison break was smoothly reported upward.

Inside Deputy Commander Zhu's office, he was leisurely sipping tea when a Minor Official under him rushed in in a frantic panic.

"My lord! B-b-b-bad news!"

Smack!

The teacup crashed heavily onto the table.

"What are you panicking for? What did I teach you? When trouble comes, be urgent without showing it; be flustered without revealing it. Get out and come in again!"

The Minor Official did not dare disobey. He actually went back outside and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Deputy Commander Zhu spoke leisurely.

Only then did the Minor Official carefully enter, suppressing his panic as he spoke.

"My lord, word has come from below. Something has happened in Death Prison."

"Mhm, I know."

Deputy Commander Zhu leaned back his old waist and continued sipping his tea at leisure.

"Thieves broke into Death Prison. Fortunately, the guarding Jailers wiped them all out. The Commander has already taken people over there."

The Minor Official added.

"Mhm, I know—"

Before he could finish, Deputy Commander Zhu's eyes flew open, and the teacup in his hand was crushed to pieces by sheer force.

Boom!

A huge foot had already sent the Minor Official flying with a kick.

"You damned idiot! Why didn't you say something this important sooner?!"

Deputy Commander Zhu's face turned pale. He swiftly dressed himself and galloped toward Death Prison.

This is bad, this is bad!

What the hell was Bai Daqing doing?

What kind of people had he sent? How could they all be wiped out?!

"White Tiger Gang, are you trying to kill This Official?!"

When Zhu Cong arrived at Death Prison, the other two Commanders arrived at the same time.

The Imperial City Department's three leaders consisted of one woman and two men.

Commander Leng Ruyi, Deputy Commander Zhu Cong, and Zhang Gong.

Leng Ruyi wore the robes of the chief commander and carried an imperial-bestowed treasured sword. Her figure was graceful and tall, her heroic bearing imposing.

She glanced at Zhu Cong and nodded.

"Deputy Commander Zhu is here as well. Let us go in together."

Leng Ruyi lived up to her name, her face full of a Chilling Intent that kept strangers at arm's length.

Seeing this, Zhang Gong secretly laughed in his heart.

Death Prison being broken into was not the first time.

This Time, it definitely had nothing to do with him.

Then it could only have been Lord Zhu's doing.

Yet such a huge blunder had occurred. Lord Zhu, Lord Zhu, you're finished, hahaha!

Zhu Cong saw the amusement in Zhang Gong's Eyes, and his heart was already half-cold.

Yet he did not dare reveal it. On the surface, he remained filled with righteous indignation.

"Lord Leng, Death Prison is a place of vital importance, yet some Madman actually dared to break in. This matter must be thoroughly investigated!"

"Mhm."

Lord Leng was sparing with her words.

The three entered Death Prison. Along the way, their Subordinates had already informed them of the whole sequence of events.

Ye Kang, together with the six surviving Jailers, waited respectfully in the corridor.

"Greetings, Commander!"

As Ye Kang cupped his hands, he muttered inwardly.

So the Commander of the Imperial City Department is actually such a cold and aloof older sister figure.

Sure enough, in the world of Martial Artists, only strength mattered, not gender.

Leng Ruyi swept her gaze around and did not waste words.

"Who is Ye Kang?"

The Jailers looked at Ye Kang, and he consciously stepped forward.

"Reporting to my lord, I am."

Leng Ruyi stared at Ye Kang for a moment, narrowing her eyes.

"Your strength is not bad. This Official already knows what happened. You rendered merit by killing the prison-breaking bandits. You are promoted to Death Prison Commander and rewarded five hundred taels."

"Thank you, my lord."

Ye Kang breathed a sigh of relief. Not only had he not needed to fight, he had even been promoted to Commander.

Sure enough, the Imperial City Department was not a solid iron plate either.

Afterward, Ye Kang led the three Commanders through a careful investigation, confirming that the prison-breakers had come from the White Tiger Gang.

With Third Brother Bai's testimony, the evidence was ironclad.

Leng Ruyi acted with thunderous efficiency and drafted a Clerk's document on the spot.

"Deputy Commander Zhu, the White Tiger Gang is within your jurisdiction. You will personally arrest them. Be sure to get to the bottom of this."

Leng Ruyi handed the document to Zhu Cong, who also breathed a sigh of relief.

The Commander was giving him an opportunity.

After all, arresting Dead Persons still counted as arresting people.

But he was also somewhat troubled.

"Lord Leng, the White Tiger Gang is, after all, one of the Jianghu Forces, with many Martial Artists. I fear..."

Deputy Commander Zhu was somewhat timid.

Though he was a Super-class expert.

Bai Daqing was not the White Tiger Gang's only member. No one could be sure whether there were even stronger Fellows among them.

Wiping them out would be No Problem. What he feared was letting someone escape.

Once an Informer became a fish that slipped through the net, could the deal between him and Bai Daqing still remain hidden?

Some things, as long as the Dead Persons could not testify, were things that had never happened. But once exposed, they would mean Eternal Damnation.

Leng Ruyi casually pointed at Ye Kang.

"Lord Zhu's concerns are not without reason. Is there not a First-class expert right here? Ask Commander Ye to lend a hand."

The moment those words fell, everyone was dumbfounded.

Zhu Cong's face was full of conflict. He was only a First-class expert, and it was not as though Zhu Cong had none under his command. Did he really need to ask a Jailer for help?

And he had to ask?

Leng Ruyi said no more, nor did she show any intention of sending additional Experts to assist. She directly led her people away.

Yet the words she left behind gave people much to ponder.

Zhu Cong and Zhang Gong were both Old Foxes and quickly understood.

The Commander meant for Zhu Cong to apologize and make amends!

Zhang Gong shook his head.

"Lord Leng's methods are as formidable as ever. Lord Zhu, why are you not going to ask Commander Ye?"

Zhang Gong spoke half-jokingly and half-threateningly, then left with his hands clasped.

At this moment, Ye Kang also understood.

This was the explanation the Commander was giving him!

In this world, Martial Artists could not be insulted, and their status was lofty.

A First-class expert was an important figure anywhere and had to be treated with courtesy.

Zhu Cong had treated him as a discarded pawn. That had violated a great taboo, and he had to provide an explanation.

And under the pretext of wiping out the White Tiger Gang, Lord Leng had given that explanation a name.

As for how much compensation he would receive, that depended on Ye Kang's appetite.