Black Cloaks

Yujing City was the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, located at the center of the realm, in the land of Tianyuan.

Since his rebirth, Wen Qingkong had merged with the original owner's memories and gained a preliminary understanding of Great Xia.

The Great Xia Dynasty's territory spanned hundreds of millions of li. Every province stretched for thousands of li, making it far larger than the world of Wen Qingkong's previous life.

Yujing City alone had a population of ten million and an imperial army of one million. It was flourishing beyond measure, like flowers in full bloom and oil poured upon blazing fire.

It could be called the most prosperous place in the world!

Wen Qingkong stopped in his tracks and stared in shock at the city wall thirty-six zhang high in the distance!

How could such a city wall possibly be breached?

But when he thought of the terrifying Marquis Lingwu from the monk's life's flashback, a wall thirty-six zhang high no longer seemed like much.

Martial arts!

Wen Qingkong's gaze burned. Never before had he felt the meaning of life so deeply.

To climb to the pinnacle of martial arts!

Pluck the stars, seize the sun and moon, shrink a thousand mountains, evade death and prolong life!

What man did not harbor such a dream of martial arts?

Wen Qingkong walked amid the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds of Yujing City, looking at the dazzling array of goods, the scholars singing loudly, and the wandering martial artists with blades at their waists...

Everything was so vivid that, for a moment, he felt as though his days in the Corpse Seamstress Workshop had been nothing but a dream.

After finding a bank, he exchanged his money for two fifty-tael silver notes. Once he had put them away, Wen Qingkong continued strolling along.

Suddenly, the crowd fell into chaos.

Wen Qingkong did not use his internal energy to resist and was swept aside by the crowd.

Vendor stalls were overturned, sending rouge, cosmetics, assorted wares, vegetables, and fruit flying through the air.

A middle-aged man in brocade robes bore five saber wounds and was desperately fleeing. Behind him, three government agents clad head to toe in black armor and wearing black masks pursued him by leaping over rooftops.

Wen Qingkong's eyes narrowed. One of the black-armored men slashed a common man blocking the road to death, then leaped more than five zhang through the air.

"The Black Cloaks are carrying out official business!"

"Those who block the way die!"

The cold, fiery voice brimmed with killing intent.

Immediately afterward, the crowd frantically scattered to both sides of the street.

Black Cloaks...

From the original owner's memories, Wen Qingkong knew that the Black Cloaks were an imperial department of the Great Xia Dynasty directly under the emperor. They were responsible for investigation, catching criminals, torture, and more. They answered only to the emperor and were much like the Brocade Guard and the Eastern and Western Factories from his previous-life memories. They were generally commanded by eunuchs most trusted by the emperor.

Wen Qingkong looked at the fleeing middle-aged man. This man likely knew martial arts as well, but he was injured and could not flee far.

Especially after the Black Cloaks announced themselves, the civilians scattered in all directions, leaving the broad street empty. No one could help obstruct the Black Cloaks any longer.

The Black Cloaks' notorious reputation was plain to see!

"Qin Tian, surrender without resistance."

The three Black Cloaks formed a triangle around the middle-aged man named Qin Tian.

Qin Tian's face was deathly pale, yet his eyes remained sharp.

"I will not go to the Black Cloak Prison!"

"If you want to take me, then try it!"

Qin Tian gave a low shout, lowered himself into a horse stance, and the ground beneath his feet instantly crumbled into powder.

His arms swung, his fists shot forth like dragons, and streams of force surged wildly, enveloping all three Black Cloaks.

Wen Qingkong had acquired Taizu Long Fist and Ground-Lying Fist, so he could be considered skilled in fist techniques as well.

He could see that Qin Tian's mastery of the fist was exceptionally high, beyond even Zhou Wu's.

This was an expert. For a moment, Wen Qingkong's thoughts burned with excitement.

Despite facing an injured Qin Tian, the Black Cloaks remained cautious. The three swung their sabers in seamless coordination, advancing and retreating in orderly fashion.

As saber light flashed, they sealed off every space in which Qin Tian could maneuver, leaving him no room to turn the situation around.

Wen Qingkong could see that none of the three Black Cloaks alone was Qin Tian's match, but together, they possessed the strength to subdue him.

"These are only the lowest-ranking ninth-grade Black Cloaks. Yet the three of them together are this formidable. The Great Xia court remains immensely powerful."

Wen Qingkong's ears twitched as he heard someone in the crowd speak.

The original owner had only been an ordinary civilian and did not know that the Black Cloaks had a rank system.

Since these three were ninth-grade Black Cloaks, there were clearly ranks from eighth grade all the way to first grade above them.

These three Black Cloaks were all Innate Experts, yet they were merely ninth-grade. The Black Cloaks' strength was simply terrifying.

Wen Qingkong remained expressionless and silently watched the battle.

After more than fifty exchanges, Qin Tian was gradually unable to hold on.

More and more saber wounds covered his body. He had also lost too much blood, and the speed of his punches grew slower and slower.

Pfft!

A single slash beheaded him!

Qin Tian's head rolled across the ground.

"Stubborn fool. You brought this death upon yourself!"

The lead Black Cloak's voice was icy.

He stepped forward, intending to take Qin Tian's corpse back and report completion.

Just then, a whip lashed out like a wildly dancing python, incomparably agile, and wrapped around his neck in an instant.

This Black Cloak reacted quickly as well. He immediately exerted all his strength, veins bulging viciously across his neck. He had clearly activated some martial art, granting his neck the temporary strength to resist the whip tightening.

At the same time, the other two Black Cloaks swung their sabers at the whip.

"An ant shaking a tree!"

Wen Qingkong's pupils abruptly widened. The voice was ethereal and enchanting, easily the most beautiful voice he had ever heard.

Yet he truly had not expected the person who intervened to be a woman.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two dark glints tore through the air and vanished in a flash!

The two Black Cloaks who had been about to sever the whip with their sabers collapsed with a bang. Two dart-shaped throwing weapons were embedded in their throats.

"The Black Cloaks are dead!"

Someone shouted, and all the civilians fled the area like madmen.

Wen Qingkong darted into a nearby room.

He hid behind the window.

Great Xia law stated: those who killed Black Cloaks were treated as rebels, and their entire clans would be exterminated!

Two Black Cloaks had been killed in public today. Anyone present who fled too slowly and was caught would certainly endure severe torture and interrogation. Even if they were not the culprits, they would suffer a fate worse than death.

That was why, the instant the civilians saw the Black Cloaks being killed, they fled without daring to linger.

"Who are you?"

"You dare kill Black Cloaks?"

The Black Cloak caught by the whip glared fiercely, showing no fear. Instead, he viciously stared toward the end of the whip.

There stood a woman dressed in white, wearing a white veiled hat that concealed her face.

Her figure was graceful, and the white robes perfectly outlined her beautiful curves.

Her face beneath the white veil could not be seen, but her voice alone was enough for one to picture an incomparably lovely, devastatingly beautiful face.

"So what if I kill you?"

"A mere ninth-grade Black Cloak. Killing you is no different from crushing an ant!"

As the woman's words fell, the whip cracked tight, and the Black Cloak immediately died.

Then the whip curled around Qin Tian's corpse and head. The woman in white flew through the air, covering twenty or thirty zhang in a single step. After several leaps, she had vanished without a trace.

Wen Qingkong did not dare remain either. He leaped through the window and raced back to Corpse Seamstress House Number Nine.

Before long, he returned to Corpse Seamstress House Number Nine and shut the door.

Three Black Cloaks had been openly killed in the middle of the street, and this was Yujing City, the heart of the empire.

This matter could not possibly remain small. There would likely be heads rolling next.

Wen Qingkong's eyes lit up. His business had arrived!