A Pawn's Passage

That was how the members of the Heavenly Court and the Green Phoenix Guards met. The two parties were hostile toward each other, so a bloody battle was inevitable.

At this moment, the door of the inn was quickly pushed open and closed again. Another man in his forties walked in. He was handsome and dressed in a well-fitting green official uniform, making him look valiant. Only his ivory fan looked out of place with the Green Phoenix Guard uniform.

Jia Shen, who had narrowed his eyes, opened his eyes wide after this person came in, his eyes filled with animosity.

The white-haired old man and the other Green Phoenix Guards quickly stood up from their seats and saluted the man respectfully. “Senior Major!”

The man opened the folding fan with a snap and fanned himself gently. The mutton-fat jade pendant hanging from his fan was very conspicuous.

Jia Shen said in a deep voice, “I haven’t asked for your name yet.”

The man replied, “Eighth Tianyang.”

Qi Xuansu was startled upon hearing this name. It took him a while to realize that “Eighth” was a last name because it was truly rare. The origin of this last name was from the Eight Ancient Noble Families, which ranged from First to Eighth. The total number of people with these last names was not even a fraction of those with the Zhang and Li last names. Among the Eight Ancient Noble Families, Fifth was considered the most common one, while the rest were usually unheard of.

Jia Shen’s face turned stern as he slowly stood up and took a step forward.

The atmosphere in the lobby instantly became tense and suffocating. Even the faint light coming from the window dimmed, making the lobby even darker than it already was.

The next moment, Jia Shen stomped his foot and stood firm. A circle of qi that was visible to the naked eye rippled out from him.

Eighth Tianyang did not dodge him and took a step forward. He snapped the fan closed, and with a light tap, the ripple of qi disappeared.

Jia Shen snickered, sounding like an owl cooing in the night. “I must have been blind not to see it.”

Eighth Tianyang took a step back and opened the fan again.

The innkeeper’s wife had probably seen her fair share of fights before, as she did not panic and merely squatted behind the counter. From time to time, she would look up from the counter to monitor the situation. The innkeeper simply stayed in the back kitchen.

Naturally, Qi Xuansu did not get to have the beef that he ordered, but he still remained seated in the corner.

Suddenly, a woman from the Heavenly Court turned her gaze to Qi Xuansu and flashed a charming smile. Her delicate red lips moved seductively as she spoke. “Sir, you look extraordinary. May I ask for your name?”

Qi Xuansu hesitated for a moment before he replied, “Wei Wugui. I’m just a passing traveler.”

The woman slowly walked to Qi Xuansu’s table and sat down, leaning forward slightly to show off her perky breasts. “Sir, let me propose a toast.”

When she tapped the table lightly, the wine glass flew and spun toward Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu caught the wine glass effortlessly, closed his palm, and crushed the glass into powder, letting the powder slip through his fingers.

Then Qi Xuansu raised the tin jug and said, “I prefer drinking from the jug.”

The woman’s expression changed slightly. She intended to test Qi Xuansu’s strength, but she did not expect Qi Xuansu to be so crude.

She was about to retaliate, but at that moment, the sky turned completely dark. A sandstorm was passing through.

If anyone was still outside, they would see a line of darkness on the horizon, which would quickly spread to the entire sky. The storm swept across the desert, filling the sky with sand and dust, making it difficult to distinguish between the sky and the ground. Everything was a blur.

In the violent sandstorm, the inn was like an inconspicuous rock. If the storm were continuous, the sand would eventually bury the inn.

The people inside the inn only heard the harsh sounds of the wind and sand hitting the outer walls.

Sui Fan, the white-haired major, signaled his subordinates to block the door. At this moment, the door of the inn cracked open, and someone quickly slipped in.

The old woman who just entered was short in stature and had a gloomy face. She exuded a fierce, killing aura as she glanced around the lobby with her murky eyes.

Jia Shen greeted her. “Ding Chou, you have finally arrived.”

The old woman said, “I was held up by a little accident on the way over.”

Jia Shen felt emboldened by Ding Chou’s arrival. He turned to Qi Xuansu and declared, “The Heavenly Court has spread its teachings all over the world. I don’t care where you are from. As long as you help me get rid of these Eagle Claws today, the Heavenly Court will owe you one. In the future, you can be the esteemed guest of the Heavenly Court and even learn high-attainment methods from us.”

Qi Xuansu frowned and repeated. “I’m just a passerby.”

Jia Shen’s voice deepened threateningly. “So, you won’t stand on our side?”

Qi Xuansu said nothing in response.

“You are either our friend or our foe.” Jia Shen’s attitude turned cold.

Qi Xuansu had been in the Ancestral Court for months, so he was influenced by some Daoist habits. Especially after experiencing the crash of the flying ship, Qi Xuansu felt even more disgust and resentment for these secret societies. He scoffed lightly. “Cult demons like you deserve to die.”

Ding Chou sneered. “I knew he was a Daoist dog!”

Sui Fan, the Green Phoenix Guard major, could tell that Qi Xuansu looked like someone from the Daoist Order. Jia Shen also guessed it, but since Qi Xuansu was not wearing the formal attire of a Daoist priest, it was hard to be sure, so he asked the woman to test Qi Xuansu. After seeing Qi Xuansu’s strength, Jia Shen tried to see which side Qi Xuansu was on. Finally, Jia Shen could be sure that Qi Xuansu was an enemy.

After all, the Daoist Order’s tone and disdain for the secret societies were not something that ordinary people could learn.

The Green Phoenix Guards in the inn were relieved by this. Regardless of the undercurrents between the Daoist Order and the Imperial Court, these two parties were united when it came to dealing with cult demons. However, Sui Fan could not understand why Qi Xuansu did not want to reveal his identity as a Daoist disciple. He wondered if Qi Xuansu was carrying out other important tasks for the Daoist Order.

Ding Chou disappeared in a flash and came to Qi Xuansu. She hooked five fingers, which exuded a dark aura, and slapped him on the top of the head.

Qi Xuansu did not expect that he would be involved in an unnecessary dispute. He was unafraid and blocked Ding Chou’s claw-like fingers with a punch.

The collision resonated in the lobby, spreading a circle of qi that was visible to the naked eye all around them. The people from the Heavenly Court and the Green Phoenix Guard retreated.

Qi Xuansu was still not at Zhang Yuelu’s level, but he could stand a fight against ordinary Guizhen-stage practitioners. However, he did not want to expose his true identity and deliberately posed as a Martial Arts Practitioner in the Flesh and Blood Realm. Fortunately, Ding Chou was not a formidable opponent, as she was also in the Yuxu stage.

The two of them moved in a flurry. In the blink of an eye, Ding Chou and Qi Xuansu had already left the sheltered inn and were fighting in the raging sandstorm.

Qi Xuansu faced Ding Chou head-on, without any fear. He was grounded like a mountain. His punches caused such violent shockwaves that some of the flying rocks in the storm shattered into pieces. Although he did not use any mystical abilities, his punch contained strong blood qi, which could break spells.

He punched forward, pushing two boulders toward Ding Chou. At the same time, he exerted force from his feet, kicking out countless flying rocks of different sizes that rained down on Ding Chou.

Ding Chou waved her hands wildly, releasing her innate qi to stop the rocks from hitting her.

On the other side, Jia Shen strode toward Eighth Tianyang.

Eighth Tianyang did not panic even when facing a master like Jia Shen.

Jia Shen no longer hesitated. He took a step forward and reached out to grab Eighth Tianyang, but the latter floated backward.

Jia Shen chased after him, reaching out to Eighth Tianyang with a white smoke that lingered between his fingers, which enveloped Eighth Tianyang in an instant.

Eighth Tianyang raised his closed folding fan and pointed at Jia Shen’s vitals, so Jia Shen had to avoid being hit by the invisible qi.

Their subordinates also started fighting in the inn.

A Green Phoenix Guard killed a sword-wielding monk with a pistol, then threw the pistol at a scholar who was using a metal ruler. The Green Phoenix Guard stabbed the scholar with a saber, but he was immediately killed by a Daoist priest.

Another Green Phoenix Guard cut off a monk’s legs. The monk, who was waving a rod wildly, fell forward and struggled to get up. But he was shot to death by the Green Phoenix Guard’s crossbow bolt.

Two people passed by, slashing each other with a knife. The Green Phoenix Guard chopped off the head of a cult demon, but he was slashed in his lower abdomen. Blood flowed non-stop, and his intestines almost spilled out from his wound. The Green Phoenix Guard staggered forward a few steps before he was shot to death.

Another Green Phoenix Guard stabbed the cult demon’s chest with a long knife. At the same time, he was shot through the head with a pistol. They both died instantly.

A skillful Green Phoenix Guard chopped off the head of a cult demon. But before he could make another move, he felt a strong gust of wind as a sledgehammer struck him on the top of his head. His head burst open, and he died on the spot.

This battle was bloody and fierce. Both sides suffered many casualties.

Outside the inn, Qi Xuansu, who had been pretending to be a Martial Arts Practitioner, saw that the sand was a good cover to obscure his movements. Suddenly, his innate qi rushed out like a torrential wave as he smacked Ding Chou’s forehead with his palm, knocking her away.

He was so fast that Ding Chou did not even have time to react. Ding Chou landed heavily on the ground and struggled to get up. At that moment, Qi Xuansu suddenly appeared in front of her and punched her again. Ding Chou shook violently for a moment before collapsing.

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