Chapter 57: Sweeping Through the Qing Dynasty

Looking at Su Quan, the beautiful assassin before him, as fresh and graceful as a lotus rising from water, Wang Kun already knew her past through the Assassin Card. He was well aware that, although Su Quan was the wife of the leader of the Divine Dragon Cult, her position was no more than a hollow title, for that old fox Hong Antong had long been impotent; she had no power to wield, no authority to command. Otherwise, how could Hong Antong have sent his own wife to Beijing as an undercover agent?

Given the circumstances, Wang Kun did not pretend to be a paragon of virtue. With perfect composure, he accepted the tender ministrations of the beautiful assassin Su Quan.

After a single night, Wang Kun began to assign Su Quan her official tasks.

"I intend for you to become the Empress of this world. From now on, you are to cleanse the entire Qing imperial family from the Forbidden City without exception."

The prospect of being Emperor did not particularly interest Wang Kun. He had already played such a role in previous worlds—Legend and the Banquet at Hongmen. The experience was nothing remarkable.

Upon receiving Wang Kun's command, Su Quan acted without delay. With the aid of the other beautiful assassins under Wang Kun, the imperial guards of the Qing palace were utterly defenseless, falling in an instant before they could raise a hand. In less than half a day, Kangxi and all the royal families and bannermen in the capital were sent to meet their ancestors. Blood flowed like rivers in the grand mansions throughout Beijing.

"A disaster has struck! The Emperor, the princes, and all the nobles in the capital have been slain!" The Han people of the city whispered in shock. At the same time, the garrisoned troops of Beijing were each forced by the women warriors to cut off the queues at the backs of their heads.

"Now that the entire Qing royal clan and all the bannermen in the capital have been completely eradicated, you are now soldiers of the Divine Martial Sacred Dynasty. Your task is to calm the populace. Once stability is restored, you will follow us to sweep away every last remnant of the Qing across the land."

With the complete annihilation of the royal household and the bannermen, the news spread swiftly across all of China. A desperate report from Yangzhou, still en route to the capital, was intercepted at a postal station before it could be delivered.

"The world is about to change. Now that the Emperor and all the Qing royals and bannermen in the capital are dead, we Han will no longer be second-class people."

Two days later, in a temple—

"Master, good news! The Emperor and all the royals of the Qing have been wiped out!"

"What!" Master Miejue was stunned by the news. As a widow of the previous dynasty, daughter of Emperor Chongzhen, her hatred for the Qing was beyond words. How could she not be shaken by this news?

"Ake, Aqi, prepare yourselves. We will go to the capital together."

"Yes, Master!"

Ake and Aqi, her two female disciples, had both been abducted by Master Miejue; they were the children of her enemies. For instance, Ake was the daughter of Chen Yuanyuan, though who her father was remained a mystery—after all, Chen Yuanyuan had changed hands several times, and in this era without DNA testing, the true identity of Ake's father was anyone's guess.

Within the Forbidden City, after Wang Kun ordered his beautiful assassins to annihilate the Qing royal family, he settled in the capital. In this world, he could remain for ten full years, more than enough time for him to cultivate at leisure.

In the Imperial Garden, Wang Kun released the Cloud Vine that was fused with his skin, letting it sprout as a crimson vine amidst the vast gardens. The area had been cleared, so no one witnessed this remarkable scene. By now, Wang Kun's Cloud Vine had reached the eighth planetary level. According to his plan, once the Cloud Vine broke through to the stellar level, he would explore the ruins of Civilization Twelve in the stars. With a stellar-level Cloud Vine as protection, venturing into those ruins would pose no danger.

After all, the Cloud Vine's greatest strengths were its defensive and controlling abilities, far superior to any genetic battle armor—a living suit of war.

Time passed swiftly; in the blink of an eye, a year had gone by. In that year, the original plot of The Deer and the Cauldron had been utterly upended by Wang Kun.

The wives who were meant to belong to Wei Xiaobao had all been forcibly summoned to the palace by Empress Su Quan, where they now served as personal maids to Wang Kun. As for Princess Jianning of the Qing, since Wang Kun had forgotten about her when giving the order for Su Quan to massacre the Qing, she had already gone to meet her ancestors along with the other bannermen.

One deep night, Zhang Yijun, the voluptuous beauty among Wang Kun's assassins, sent word that she was about to break through to a new level.

Wang Kun was surprised. "I thought it was impossible to break through in a replica world? Could it be because this replica world is one of martial arts?"

A day later, Zhang Yijun successfully advanced to the third planetary level, confirming Wang Kun's suspicion—there was indeed no bottleneck in this world.

"If there are no limits to breakthroughs in this world, then in the remaining eight years, it should be entirely possible to raise the Cloud Vine to the ninth planetary or even the stellar level!"

With this thought, Wang Kun's anticipation grew.

In the next two months, the other beautiful assassins under his command—Hai Yao, Kai Xin, Ding Yao, and the Witch Ju Ziyun—all broke through to the second planetary level. As for Su Quan, the newly recruited assassin in this world, she reached the peak of the High-level War God rank.

By the spring of the third year, Wang Kun's Cloud Vine had successfully ascended to the ninth planetary level. Compared to the eighth level, the Cloud Vine's power had grown even greater, making Wang Kun increasingly confident that, with the years remaining, achieving the stellar level was well within reach.