A Pawn's Passage

“Life spans but fifty years, fleeting as a dream. Is there truly anyone in this world who is immortal?” A shirtless man sat beside a lakeshore, rinsing a wound as he murmured to himself.

Given his level of cultivation, such treatment was wholly unnecessary, as he healed quickly without aid. Yet the gesture was a long-standing habit from his youth, more a meaningless routine than a necessity.

Beside him lay his sheathed blade, about a meter long, straight as a drying rod.

In Fenglin, there was no categorization of semi-immortal or immortal objects. Instead, they had yoto (demonic sword) or meito (famous sword), which were roughly equivalent to semi-immortal objects. Those who wielded such blades were, without exception, extraordinary figures.

This man was none other than the lead assassin who attempted to kill the Sage Qingwei in Xiujing that day.

There had been 18 assassins in total, all of them Heavenly Beings. Together, they were a force capable of shaking all of Fenglin. Yet the result was tragic—13 slain, 4 escaped, and 1 captured alive.

He was one of the four who escaped, named Katsura Yoshiyuki, the strongest among the eighteen.

The Daoist Order had not let the matter rest. They dispatched Spirit Guards, even second-rank ones, to hunt them down. Recently, two of the escapees had been located. One was riddled with bullets from dozens of Sun-Shooting Rifles, while the other chose suicide over capture.

The words Katsura Yoshiyuki had just murmured were once spoken by the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven.

There might be those who attained longevity, but none who were truly indestructible.

Katsura Yoshiyuki uttered those words because he had glimpsed the shadow of immortality in Sage Qingwei’s form. He even suspected the Sage to be a true Immortal. After all, only one who had transcended death could plunge him into such despair.

What shook him was that sword.

Each time its blade flashed, another assassin fell.

Katsura Yoshiyuki had been struck as well. Though he survived, the wound that pierced through his chest remained unhealed to this day, clinging like a tumor on bone, neither escapable nor dismissible.

He had resolved to die that day, trading one life for another. But that single sword strike forced him to accept the truth. Even at the cost of his life, he could not harm Sage Qingwei.

So he broke his own vow and fled, choosing survival over martyrdom, hoping to return one day in strength.

Though he was no match for Sage Qingwei in battle, his sole focus was escape. Given his cultivation level, even the Sage could not kill him swiftly. Incredibly, he had made it out alive.

“Who’s there?” Katsura Yoshiyuki suddenly gripped his longsword and turned around.

Two Spirit Guards stepped out. The intricate talismans etched into their black armor revealed their rank. They were second-rank Spirit Guards, equivalent in status to a third-rank Youyi Daoist master. But in combat strength, they were on par with Wuliang-stage Heavenly Beings.

Katsura Yoshiyuki did not rush to draw his blade. In proper Central Plains speech, he said, “Just the two of you? You’re not enough to take me down.”

The two Spirit Guards said nothing. They simply raised their towering shields, each as tall as a man.

Katsura Yoshiyuki immediately realized that these two were not here to defeat him. They were here to stall him.

Due to the sword wound on his chest, his strength was far from its peak, dropping at least one stage lower. Thus, defeating two second-rank Spirit Guards with large shields in a short time was nearly impossible.

The Spirit Guard system had been designed by the Daoist Order with defense in mind—armor came first. As for offense, that was supplemented with firearms.

If he were delayed until a full detachment of Spirit Guards arrived, Katsura Yoshiyuki would surely be drawn into a brutal fight, especially with all manner of heavy weaponry to counter Heavenly Beings. If a Daoist Sage joined the fight, Katsura Yoshiyuki might very well die here.

With that thought, Katsura Yoshiyuki turned and fled without hesitation.

The two Spirit Guards naturally would not let him go so easily. They flanked him left and right, charging in with raised shields.

In that instant, Katsura Yoshiyuki lightly stepped off one of the shields, using it as leverage. His body shot forward like a meteor, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

This was the secret technique of the Nichigishi Shingan-ryu called the Flying Swallow. Katsura Yoshiyuki was its last surviving swordmaster.

The two Spirit Guards sank heavily into the ground, their legs buried to the knees.

Moments later, the full contingent of Spirit Guards arrived. The lowest among them were fourth-rank, each armed with Sun Shooting Rifles. One such weapon might not threaten a Heavenly Being, but over 100 of these rifles could certainly bring one down. Yet these Spirit Guards were only backup. The true threat lay with the third-rank Spirit Guards.

As Katsura Yoshiyuki had anticipated, the Spirit Guards had brought with them a special cannon, borne on the shoulders of 4 third-rank guards. It fired a Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bomb shaped like a flying sword, nicknamed the Hundred-Pace Flying Sword. It did not only have a range of 100 paces, but rather, even Zaohua-stage Heavenly Beings would be gravely wounded within 100 paces, while those at the Wuliang stage might even die instantly.

Had Katsura Yoshiyuki fought off the two Spirit Guards, he would have faced the wrath of the Hundred-Pace Flying Sword. Though not instantly fatal, it would have compounded his injuries. After that, the Spirit Guards could just fire more of such bombs until he was too wounded to live. The Daoist Order was rich and unbothered by the cost. Swordmaster or not, anyone who dared attempt the assassination of one of the Three Daoist Heirs, like Sage Qingwei, had committed an unquestionable capital crime. Under wartime law, such individuals were to be executed on sight, with no need for arrest or a trial.

The Spirit Guards were here for one purpose—to kill.

This might seem unreasonable, but it was a testament to the overwhelming authority of the Daoist Omniscient Sages. Even as a Pseudo-Immortal, without the proper affiliations, one would not even qualify for a one-on-one duel. With a single command, the Omniscient Sage could mobilize the entire Daoist army to crush a peer through sheer force.

This was one of the reasons Madam Qi was determined to have Qi Xuansu return to the Daoist Order. Wandering the Jianghu offered no real prospects. Even if one climbed to the heights of someone like Wu Guangbi, survival still depended on the favor of the Daoist Order.

Such hunts had already played out several times. None of the other assassins escaped the Daoist Order’s grasp. One by one, they were discovered, tracked, and slain by pursuing Spirit Guards. The third assassin was blasted to pieces just last night by two shots from the Hundred-Pace Flying Sword. Nothing but pulp was left. Now, only Katsura Yoshiyuki, the assassin leader, remained at large.

That was because Katsura Yoshiyuki was a Pseudo-Immortal. If not for the heavy injury he sustained from Sage Qingwei’s sword, the Spirit Guards would not even be able to pursue him.

Sage Qingwei did not personally finish off this Fenglin swordmaster because he had far more pressing matters. A lone Pseudo-Immortal was not worth his effort.

Sage Donghua once called Madam Qi troublesome. Sage Cihang was also wary of her, not because of her cultivation level. But because of her background, hailing from the Yao family and being the Earthly Preceptor’s younger sister. Madam Qi was also a senior leader in both the Seven Treasure Pavilion and the Qingping Society, with vast connections and formidable influence. If Madam Qi was determined to go against them, she had the leverage to shake a corner of the Daoist Order.

The same logic applied to Qi Xuansu. Without his Daoist identity, he would have been easy prey. Someone like the Cook could simply kill him. If an A-rank member like Drenched Green Robes could be killed, why not a B-rank member like Gold-Plated Knife?

However, Qi Xuansu’s identity as a Deputy Hall Master changed everything. To kill him now, one had to do it in the shadows, frame someone else, and erase all traces. Or they could catch him doing something illegal and follow official procedures to have him condemned by law. Neither approach was easy.

By now, Sage Qingwei had departed Xiujing and arrived in Kuraki District of Musashi Province, a peninsula that jutted into the sea, forming a secluded inland bay with only one strait for access.

At the southern tip of Kuraki District lay a port named Kanazawa. The Daoist Order had sealed it off and turned it into a naval base for the Donghai Fleet.

Besides Sage Qingwei, other notable figures were present, including the Fenglin Daoist Mansion Master, the Commander-in-Chief of the Donghai Navy, the Chancellor of Fenglin representing the Fenglin Court, and a Chief Elder of the Toyotomi clan.

Along with them came countless others—Daoist priests, high-ranking military officers of the Great Xuan Court, daimyos, and court nobles.

Someone shouted, “They’re here!”

At the distant line where the sea met the sky, thick plumes of smoke began to rise.

One after another, colossal warships made entirely of metal emerged into view, growing larger and clearer by the second. They had completely abandoned sails, replacing them with towering funnels and terrifying naval cannons, both massive in caliber and staggering in length.

These were the ironclad warships.

As the ironclad warships drew closer, their overwhelming presence intensified. They were so grand and immense that the sailboats of Fenglin looked like infants before grown adults.

Gasps and exclamations rippled through the Fenglin crowd, visibly shaken.

Among them was Toyotomi Chiyo, the younger sister of the previous Kampaku.

She had a noble status and was often referred to as a princess. She had never married and instead joined the Fenglin Daoist Mansion as a Daoist priest. After her brother’s untimely death, several parties had set their sights on her, but all failed thanks to the protection of the Daoist authorities.

Toyotomi Chiyo was deeply influenced by Daoist teachings. She was no longer the image of a traditional Fenglin noblewoman but had become a true Daoist priestess. She dressed like one, spoke in the Central Plains’ official tongue, could recite Daoist classics, and idolized none other than Zhang Yuelu.

Due to her unique status, Sage Qingwei regarded her as a symbol of friendship between the Chancellor’s Office and the Fenglin Daoist Mansion, hence her special invitation to the occasion.

This was a full fleet.

Soon, the leading warship pulled into the dock. A massive gate in its hull that was as large as a city gate opened, and a ramp resembling a drawbridge slowly descended, linking to the pier.

Toyotomi Chiyo stood on tiptoe to peer inside, then instinctively covered her mouth.

In this era dominated by firearms, there was cavalry, and an entire battalion of them.

Their armor was also black, but unlike the Spirit Guards’ smooth and patterned surfaces, these were jagged and aggressive in form, menacing to the eye.

From head to toe, the cavalry was entirely encased in armor. That cold, deep obsidian gleam left one breathless.

These were none other than the legendary Black Robes Cavalry from the Great Xuan Empire.