A Pawn's Passage

It was deathly silent inside and outside the main hall.

Tang Yongde did not expect that his fellow Daoists from the Jade Capital would be so stubborn as to fight a military official from the Imperial Court.

Zhao Fu’an looked solemn.

Qi Xuansu was actually not so stubborn. If he were alone, he would have chosen to compromise even before Zhao Fu’an showed up. He would have let Wang Ruyi have her way and endure her criticism.

However, Zhang Yuelu was the kind of person who did not tolerate any kind of dishonor. Firstly, she was not afraid of threats because she had a strong background. Secondly, she had a straightforward personality. She would only do what was right.

Thus, Qi Xuansu had no choice but to stand by Zhang Yuelu’s side.

After a while, Zhao Fu’an broke the silence. “Who are you to lecture me? How dare you speak above your station?”

Qi Xuansu did not get offended. He had heard harsher things during his days of traveling alone. If he were to take everything to heart, he would have died from agitation.

He merely bowed to Zhao Fu’an and introduced himself. “I’m Qi Xuansu, a deacon of Tiangang Hall. Nice to meet you, Chief Zhao.”

“You’re just a menial deacon, yet you dare speak so arrogantly.” Zhao Fu’an raised his chin.

Qi Xuansu responded, “I’m just stating the facts, Chief Zhao. I don’t mean to be arrogant. Please correct me if I have said anything wrong.”

Zhao Fu’an narrowed his eyes. “I can turn a blind eye to that Deputy Hall Master’s insolence, but now, even a mere deacon dares to confront me head-on. Don’t blame me for beating you to death!”

Soon after, there was a slight crack.

Before anyone else could react, Zhang Yuelu was keen enough to notice that the sound came from the floor tiles breaking under Zhao Fu’an’s feet.

Since he showed up, Zhao Fu’an had never once stepped on the floor. He had been levitating above it. The moment his feet landed on the floor, these cracks expanded in all directions, like a spider web.

Zhang Yuelu suddenly shouted, “Tian Yuan, watch out!”

Zhao Fu’an shot out like an arrow, heading straight toward his opponent. Qi Xuansu was an experienced fighter, so he was already on guard and got into a defensive posture.

Qi Xuansu did not wish to counterattack. He only wanted to stay alive, hoping that he would not die from this punch. Thus, he crossed his arms in front of his chest to bear the brunt of the force and flew back from the impact.

Although the skin of his left forearm was intact, his bones broke, twisting his left arm into an awkward angle. What was even more frightening was the force exerted by a Martial Arts Practitioner in the Divinity Realm. An invisible force from Zhao Fu’an’s fist penetrated Qi Xuansu’s arms, chest, and heart.

Zhao Fu’an wanted to strike a fatal blow, but he only used about 70% of his power, which was enough to kill a Xiantian Being or a Rogue Cultivator at the Yuxu stage.

As a true Martial Arts Practitioner, Zhao Fu’an did not think that Qi Xuansu was also a Martial Arts Practitioner. That was because Zhao Fu’an could tell at a glance whether Qi Xuansu had condensed his acupoints and spirit.

Fortunately, Qi Xuansu’s body had undergone transformation by the Qingping Society and the Xuan Jade. Thus, his physique was comparable to that of a Guizhen-stage Martial Arts Practitioner. He flew back into a wall and collapsed to the ground, but he was still conscious. He even struggled to climb up but failed to do so. His mouth was filled with the metallic taste of blood, and he barely managed to keep his life.

Almost at the same time, Zhang Yuelu took action, turning the Amorphous Paper in her hand into a paper sword and striking Zhao Fu’an.

Zhao Fu’an did not care about Zhang Yuelu, letting her stab him in the chest with the sword. That way, he could hit Zhang Yuelu with the Iron Mountain Shove.

He was not so bold as to kill Zhang Yuelu because, if he did, no one would be able to protect him. No matter how complicated the politics were in the Daoist Order, they would quickly reach a consensus on this matter and send out a Sage to arrest him. Then he would be brought to the Demon-Vanquishing Platform and punished to set an example for the world.

This had nothing to do with Zhang Yuelu’s background but rather a rule that outsiders were not to kill high-ranking Daoist priests. Most of such killings were done in secret by hiring assassins. After all, the consequences and impact of hiring an assassin and killing in public were completely different.

However, Zhao Fu’an still dared to hurt Zhang Yuelu. After all, he could say that he was acting in self-defense because Zhang Yuelu stabbed him first. Zhang Yuelu was backed by the Daoist Order, and he was backed by the Imperial Court.

On the other hand, Qi Xuansu was just a low-ranking deacon. The punishment for killing a minion was not as severe as that of a Deputy Hall Master. How could the Daoist Order go to war with the Imperial Court over a low-ranking Daoist priest?

The shove disintegrated Zhang Yuelu’s Five Elements Qi Shield in seconds, but this layer of protection gave Zhang Yuelu a chance to counterattack. She stretched out her bare left hand, using the shockwaves of his shove to drift backward, farther away from her opponent.

Zhao Fu’an took advantage of the situation and punched her, but Zhang Yuelu moved accordingly, like a fallen leaf without resistance. She kept a distance of about 30 centimeters from his fist as she drifted backward.

He hit her twice in succession, but to no avail. He was so vexed that he did not manage to hurt Zhang Yuelu, so he quickly struck her again.

This time, Zhang Yuelu could not avoid it and met his fist with her palm.

Although Zhao Fu’an did not use his full strength, he was still a Heavenly Being, so Zhang Yuelu’s whole body was shaken upon collision. She had to release the excess energy from her body into the ground beneath her feet, creating cracklines.

Zhao Fu’an murmured, “Huh, you have some skills.”

He changed his move to a knifehand strike, aiming at Zhang Yuelu’s face.

Zhang Yuelu knew that she could not defeat Zhao Fu’an head-on and that her paper sword was not effective in close combat, so she simply turned the Amorphous Paper into a glove and wore it.

With the paper glove on, her fingers were as sharp as razor blades as she reached out to grab Zhao Fu’an’s wrist. Although Zhao Fu’an was a Martial Arts Practitioner in the Divinity Realm, he did not underestimate the power of a semi-immortal object. He retracted his hand and curled his fingers into a claw before trying to grab Zhang Yuelu’s wrist.

They remained in the same spot as they competed with each other, only changing their hand movements. In the end, Zhang Yuelu was hit on the shoulder because she was slightly inferior to Zhao Fu’an. Her body stiffened, but the qi in her body circulated quickly, allowing her to return to normal in the next instant.

Zhao Fu’an was slightly surprised by this. His move seemed ordinary, but it was actually a clever technique, injecting dark energy into the opponent’s body. However, this energy would not hurt the opponent. It would just block one’s meridians and stiffen one’s body.

Zhang Yuelu resolved this energy in the blink of an eye, which was beyond Zhao Fu’an’s expectations. As a result, Zhao Fu’an became more competitive. He wanted to see how capable this Deputy Hall Master really was.

Having just neutralized Zhao Fu’an’s dark energy, Zhang Yuelu needed some time to settle down. But Zhao Fu’an suddenly leaped in front of her and struck her repeatedly with astonishing power. Zhang Yuelu’s arms were short, so she could not counterattack and could only retreat.

Suddenly, Zhao Fu’an heaved loudly while pushing Zhang Yuelu with both palms. Zhang Yuelu used the Falling Flowers Technique in the Cihang Sword Sequence to counterattack. However, instead of a sword, she used her hands, which were overflowing with sword qi.

Startled, Zhao Fu’an could only block Zhang Yuelu’s attack by putting his palms together. He immediately felt six sword qis entering his body. These six sword qis were different, but they were interconnected. Zhao Fu’an had no choice but to stop and resolve these strange qis.

He had underestimated Zhang Yuelu for having a lower cultivation level than he did. He was also afraid of killing her, so he did not use all his strength. But he did not expect to suffer a loss.

At this moment, Zhang Yuelu took the opportunity to counterattack. Their fighting styles were completely opposite. While exchanging moves, there was an invisible force that exploded like thunder. Fortunately, Zhang Yuelu’s hands were protected by the paper gloves. Otherwise, she would have been injured by his punches.

During this time, Zhang Yuelu also used the Six Void Tribulations. But since Zhao Fu’an had a higher level of cultivation, and he was on guard after suffering a loss, the Six Void Tribulations was not as invincible as it was before.

However, this was also what Zhang Yuelu had expected. Seeing that the attack was ineffective, she turned to defense. The power of the Six Void Tribulations constantly changed, from the softest yin energy to the toughest yang energy. It gathered and dispersed indefinitely, seemingly endless.

Zhao Fu’an did not expect Zhang Yuelu to be such a tough opponent, so he became infuriated. Just as he was about to use all his strength to defeat Zhang Yuelu, someone shouted sternly. “Stop!”

Zhao Fu’an and Zhang Yuelu immediately distanced themselves from each other.

That was when a Daoist priest wearing a black hechang, a Sword of Wisdom pendant, and a lotus crown descended from the sky. Judging from his attire, he was a second-rank Taiyi Daoist master.

Everyone was a little flustered. Although he was an ordinary Sage and not an Omniscient Sage, everyone present still thought of him as a formidable presence.

Generally speaking, the Mansion Masters of the local Daoist mansions and the Hall Masters of the Nine Halls were Omniscient Sages, while ordinary Sages served as Deputy Mansion Masters or Deputy Hall Masters.

The Sage, who had just arrived at the villa, was the second-in-command of the Shuzhou Daoist Mansion, Lingyunzi. He looked like a stereotypical male Sage, with a long beard, an ethereal aura, and a forty-year-old appearance.

After the Sage showed up, he immediately sized up Zhang Yuelu. Seeing that she was not injured, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he no longer concealed his anger and turned to Zhao Fu’an. “How bold of you, Zhao Fu’an!”

Zhao Fu’an never expected that the Shuzhou Daoist Mansion, which belonged to the Quanzhen Sect, would stand up for a Zhengyi Sect disciple, even at the expense of offending a close neighbor like him.

If it were other Zhengyi disciples, the Shuzhou Daoist Mansion might turn a blind eye to it. However, Zhao Fu’an miscalculated something. Although Zhang Yuelu was a Zhengyi Sect disciple, she was also promoted by the Earthly Preceptor, who did not hide his favoritism and respect for Zhang Yuelu. The Earthly Preceptor even made an exception to bestow on her a semi-immortal object.

Thus, all Quanzhen Sect disciples were smart enough to judge the situation even without the explicit instructions of the Earthly Preceptor.