# Chapter 210: The Black-Clothed Man
"Senior Sister Huang, if I impersonate Lord Lei's secret disciple and word gets out, will it anger Lord Lei?" Zhang Ruochen pulled Huang Yanchen aside and asked in a low voice.
"It shouldn't."
Huang Yanchen said, "You might not know this, but Lord Lei thinks quite highly of you. It was his order that gave you the treatment of an Earth List student, with all cultivation resources tilted in your favor. This matter alone caused quite a stir in the Inner Palace Academy."
Zhang Ruochen was somewhat puzzled. "I've never even met that Lord Lei. Why does he care so much about me?"
Huang Yanchen said, "Lord Lei oversees the Silver Robe Elder Hall and holds great authority. Although he's not a Gold Robe Elder, his strength surpasses many of them. He must have seen your potential and wants to take you as his disciple. If you can become his student, you'll have a powerful backer. From then on, in the thirty-six commanderies of Demon Ridge, few would dare provoke you."
"Of course, don't get too excited too soon. Lord Lei also said that if you can't become one of the top ten students of the Inner Palace Academy within a year, he'll revoke your Earth List student treatment."
"I don't care about that anyway." Zhang Ruochen smiled. "Getting Earth List student treatment is certainly a good thing, but at the same time, it puts me in the spotlight and makes me a target that all students want to challenge."
Huang Yanchen said, "Perhaps this is Lord Lei's way of tempering you. Your current martial arts cultivation is already quite strong, but you're still too young. There's still a considerable gap between you and the top ten students of the Inner Palace Academy."
"If you can enter the academy's top ten within a year, Lord Lei might personally take you as his disciple, and might even guarantee your entry into the Holy Academy in the future."
"Let fate take its course. Martial arts cultivation is about taking one step at a time. I don't know what level I'll reach in a year." Zhang Ruochen smiled.
Chang Qiqi walked over, staring at Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen standing side by side. A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes. From a distance, he called out, "Junior Sister Huang, Junior Brother Chen, what are you discussing?"
Zhang Ruochen turned around and smiled. "We were just talking about the recent situation in Yunwu Commandery."
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen noticed the doubtful look in Chang Qiqi's eyes and immediately understood. He shifted his position, putting some distance between himself and Huang Yanchen.
He had to remember that his current identity was Chen Ruo, the secret disciple of the Silver Robe Elder Hall Master, while Huang Yanchen's identity was Zhang Ruochen's fiancée. Getting too close to Huang Yanchen with his current identity was indeed inappropriate.
Chang Qiqi was short and thin, about one meter sixty in height, with dark skin, thick eyebrows, a high nose bridge, and eyes that seemed only the size of mung beans. On his back was a bronze ancient blade, giving him a compact and capable appearance.
A smile was always on his face. "I know more about the current situation in Yunwu Commandery than you do. Starting a month ago, our Martial Market Academy and the Martial Market Bank joined forces, with the assistance of Yunwu Commandery's official forces, to crush the Black Market and Moon Worship Demon Sect's various branches. More than thirty branches were wiped out, and over ten thousand evil path martial artists were killed. It's truly been a storm of blood and rain."
"Except for some deeply hidden branch forces, all the other evil cultivators are fleeing toward the Royal City."
"I estimate that the final battle will definitely be in the Royal City."
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly. "The Martial Market Academy and Martial Market Bank are suppressing them too harshly. The Black Market and Moon Worship Demon Sect will definitely retaliate. Evil path martial artists from surrounding commanderies will rush over. By then, who knows how chaotic the situation will be? I wonder if the Royal City's army can control the situation?"
Chang Qiqi laughed. "We just need to deal with the evil path martial artists of the Black Market and Moon Worship Demon Sect. As for the Royal City's situation, let those in power in the royal clan worry about it."
With the Black Market, Martial Market Academy, Moon Worship Demon Sect, and even Yuntai Sect Manor getting involved, the entire Royal City must already be in turmoil. Even with many experts in the royal palace, it probably won't be peaceful.
Zhang Ruochen was still worried, after all, there were people he cared about in the Royal City.
"I must go to the Royal City immediately." Zhang Ruochen said.
As soon as Zhang Ruochen finished speaking, a whoosh sound came from the treetops. A black shadow flashed past at incredible speed.
A withered leaf drifted down from above.
"Who's there?"
Zhang Ruochen's eyes sharpened. His arm shot out like lightning, catching the withered leaf between two fingers.
Spiritual Fire True Qi surged from his body, enveloping the leaf.
With a flick of his finger, the leaf spun in the Spiritual Fire and flew out. With a boom, it severed the trunk of a large tree as thick as a bowl.
A black shadow flew out from behind the tree, leaping more than ten meters high to land on the branch of another tree.
He wore a black robe and a face veil. He was tall and thin, with blazing eyes. He was definitely a martial arts expert.
"Haha! How naive. Do you think you can still make it to the Royal City?" The black-clothed man laughed.
"Who are you?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"Someone who will kill you." The black-clothed man said coldly.
Chang Qiqi rolled his eyes. "Tch! Anyone can talk big. The three of us are Inner Palace students here. Do you think you can kill us just like that? Unless you're a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial arts myth, but you don't seem like that kind of expert."
"So what if you're Inner Palace students? Over the years, our Black Market has killed quite a few Inner Palace students." The black-clothed man said disdainfully.
"You're from the Black Market?" Zhang Ruochen raised an eyebrow, somewhat skeptical.
Although the other party was masked, just from his voice, one could tell he was no more than thirty years old. When did the Black Market produce another young expert?
"That's right." The black-clothed man said loudly.
Zhang Ruochen continued, "Which faction of the Black Market do you belong to?"
"You're all about to become dead men. Why should I tell you?" The black-clothed man let out a sharp laugh.
He infused his true qi into his voice and unleashed a sound-wave martial technique, the Great Sound Profound Void.
Under the vibration of the sound waves, the air rippled like water waves, layer after layer surging toward Zhang Ruochen and the other two.
The moment the sound waves rang out, all the birds within several dozen zhang were shaken to death by the sound waves and fell from the trees.
"Snap!"
A withered tree beside Zhang Ruochen had its trunk split open by the sound waves.
Even with Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, under the attack of the sound waves, he felt his blood qi surging and his eardrums aching. The sound wave ripples in the air were like sharp blades, cutting painfully against his skin.
Huang Yanchen's face turned pale. Under the sound wave attack, she kept retreating, seemingly already injured.
Even though her cultivation had reached the late stage of Earth Extreme Realm, she still couldn't withstand the sound waves. If it were an Earth Extreme Realm martial artist of a lower level, they would probably be severely injured by now.
Among them, Chang Qiqi had the highest martial arts cultivation, having reached the Middle Extreme Position of Earth Extreme Realm. As a Two-Absolute Genius, his strength was considerable, allowing him to withstand the black-clothed man's sound wave attack.
"Let me test you."
Chang Qiqi charged forward. The war blade on his back flew out of its sheath and into his hand. Holding the blade with both hands, he slashed out a blade aura more than ten meters long.
The blade aura split the sound waves and slashed toward the black-clothed man.
"Boom!"
The blade aura severed more than a dozen large trees around, clearing a large area of forest.
The black-clothed man leaped up again, like a large black bird, lightly standing on the top of a branch. He laughed, "No wonder you're ranked forty-first in the Martial Market Academy. Your blade technique is not bad."
"An ordinary Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection martial artist's speed is only one hundred twenty meters per second. The speed he just displayed is at least one hundred forty meters per second. This man is no ordinary person. Junior Sister Huang, Junior Brother Chen, you go first. I'll hold him off." Chang Qiqi's expression was grave. He stood with his blade, staring at the black-clothed man as if facing a great enemy.
"Let's go first." Zhang Ruochen said.
Zhang Ruochen could also see clearly that the black-clothed man's strength was indeed formidable. Even if the three of them joined forces, they might not be his match.
Huang Yanchen was worried. "Can Senior Brother Chang hold off that black-clothed man?"
"He can't."
Zhang Ruochen said, "But that black-clothed man is clearly targeting the two of us. His goal isn't Senior Brother Chang."
"How do you know his target is us?" Huang Yanchen was even more curious, staring intently at Zhang Ruochen.
"Let's leave here first."
Zhang Ruochen looked back. The black-clothed man and Chang Qiqi had already started fighting. "Don't worry about Senior Brother Chang. Even Hua Qingshan couldn't kill him, which shows his survival skills are top-notch."
Without further delay, Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen simultaneously activated the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow movement technique, fleeing at top speed. Before long, they were already a hundred li away.
On the mountain path, only two illusory afterimages could be seen, rushing forward at extreme speed.
"Zhang Ruochen, what's going on? How do you know that person was targeting us?" Huang Yanchen asked again.
"Because he's not an evil path martial artist from the Black Market."
Zhang Ruochen said, "That black-clothed man didn't ask Senior Brother Chang's name but knew his ranking in the Martial Market Academy. Don't you find that strange?"
With Zhang Ruochen's reminder, Huang Yanchen also realized. "That is indeed strange. It seems that black-clothed man must have known Senior Brother Chang before. Could... could that black-clothed man also be a student of the Martial Market Academy?"
"It's not necessarily only Martial Market Academy students who know Senior Brother Chang."
Zhang Ruochen said, "There are so many sects in Heavenly Demon Martial City. Disciples from any sect might have seen Senior Brother Chang. Although we can't determine that black-clothed man's identity for now, since he lied about being an evil path martial artist from the Black Market, he must have ulterior motives. It's definitely not just about killing three Inner Palace students of the Martial Market Academy."
Huang Yanchen said, "Your identity and Senior Brother Chang's aren't particularly special. The other party probably didn't come specifically to kill you. They're most likely after me."
"Perhaps."
The two rushed forward at speeds exceeding one hundred meters per second, not daring to stop for a moment.
By nightfall, they had already reached seven hundred li away. Only they could travel so fast. If it were another Earth Extreme Realm martial artist, they would probably have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.
After night fell, Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen temporarily stopped their journey and stayed in a dilapidated mountain temple to first recover their expended true qi.
Zhang Ruochen stood at the broken temple gate, gazing into the dim night. His expression was somewhat solemn.
The air was cold, dark clouds covered the sky, as if brewing a great storm.
After recovering her true qi, Huang Yanchen also came out. Seeing Zhang Ruochen's expression, she said, "That black-clothed man probably won't catch up so quickly. Besides, even if he does, with our strength, we might not be without a fighting chance. Oh, right, I forgot you can't casually use space power."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "I have a bad feeling. Tonight won't be peaceful. A powerful enemy might appear. There's a force preventing us from returning to the Royal City. Who could it be?"
"Your spiritual power far exceeds ordinary people. Have you sensed something?" Huang Yanchen said.
She knew that some people with strong spiritual power could foresee events about to happen. Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power was quite extraordinary. Perhaps he had sensed something?