A Pawn's Passage

The sound of horses galloping approached. A group of people holding torches rode over in an imposing manner. The two groups of salt smugglers dared not make a sound.

One of the riders said, “I sent you a message a few days ago to pay homage to the Heavenly Mater at the local altar. Why didn’t you go?”

The leader of the salt smugglers stammered, “It’s not like that. I… I…”

“What?” The rider questioned, “Are you looking down on the Heavenly Court?”

“I dare not, sir.” The leader of the salt smugglers quickly apologized. “We don’t mean to show any disrespect to the Heavenly Mater. It’s just that those Eagle Claws are too strict recently. We’re afraid of being caught and causing trouble for the Heavenly Court.”

The rider snorted softly. “Hmph! That’s a high-sounding excuse. Since we’ve crossed paths today, I will ask you again. Have you considered joining the Heavenly Court? If you join the Heavenly Court, we will be brothers in faith. If not…”

The threat was obvious.

The leader of the salt smugglers mumbled, “I am willing to join the Heavenly Court.”

“Great!” The man clapped his hands. “Now that you have joined the Heavenly Court, we’re one big family, hence we’ll share all blessings and hardships. The Heavenly Court has a rule that all members must pay tribute to the Golden Patriarch every month. The more you give, the greater your sincerity, and the greater the blessings!”

The man took the cash note, glanced at it casually, and snorted slightly, seemingly dissatisfied with the amount. However, he still kept the cash note in his sleeve pockets and glanced at the other group of salt smugglers with carriages.

The leader of the other gang of salt smugglers chuckled dryly. “I… I’m from Liangzhou…”

The Heavenly Court had altars in various places, and they were not allowed to cross their respective boundaries. Although the man was a little displeased to hear this, he did not want to start a dispute with the neighboring altar. So he waved his hand in dismissal. “Fine, you may leave.”

“Thank you, my lord.” The other group of salt smugglers scurried away without taking the painstakingly delivered mineral salt.

The rider turned to the original group of salt smugglers that Qi Xuansu was following. “This is Lord Jia Zi of our Heavenly Court. His Reverence rarely comes out, so it is your honor to be able to see him today.”

The salt smugglers bowed to Jia Zi.

This "lord" looked to be in his forties with average-looking features. He was dressed in a luxurious brocade robe and had a noble aura.

Seeing this, Qi Xuansu did not want to get involved with the Heavenly Court again and slowly backed away.

However, Qi Xuansu underestimated Jia Zi. As soon as he moved, Jia Zi noticed it immediately and shouted, “Who’s out there?!”

Qi Xuansu had no choice but to step forward.

The Heavenly Court members were shocked, as they did not expect someone to be watching them in the dark. Just as they were about to step forward, they were stopped by Jia Zi.

Jia Zi did not make a move. Instead, he sized up Qi Xuansu. To his surprise, the young man was not frightened by his presence and even met his gaze calmly.

“Announce yourself,” Jia Zi declared.

Qi Xuansu cupped his fists. “Sure—”

The moment Qi Xuansu raised his arms in salutation, the murderous intent on Jia Zi’s face flickered for a split second.

Qi Xuansu kept his guard up, so he noticed Jia Zi’s fleeting murderous gaze. The whole time, he had forgotten that he still had the Black Robes badge hanging on his waist. Thus, when he cupped his fists, the cloak he was wearing parted, and Jia Zi caught a glimpse of his badge.

Sure enough, Jia Zi shouted, “He’s with the Black Robes!”

The members of the Heavenly Court behind Jia Zi rushed toward Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu did not waste any time. He swung his cloak, pulled out the two cutlasses from his waist, and injected some qi into them. The blades ignited in a blazing flame, which stood out in the night.

These Heavenly Court members were not mediocre. Most of them were the top among Houtian Beings, and some of them were Xiantian Beings in the Kunlun stage. If Qi Xuansu had to face this group of people last year when he was still in the Kunlun stage, he would be in a difficult position. Unfortunately for them, the current Qi Xuansu was much more powerful than before.

Qi Xuansu rushed into the crowd like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, brandishing his two cutlasses. Before the blade even touched his opponents, the hot air struck their faces, burning their hair and eyebrows.

Thus, no one dared to snatch the cutlasses from Qi Xuansu’s hands. In addition, Qi Xuansu’s swordsmanship was elusive. He managed to kill one person with every step he took. In the blink of an eye, five people had dropped to the ground like flies.

With Qi Xuansu’s rapid movements, the tail marks of the flames were connected, resembling a huge fire wheel in the dark night.

A Kunlun-stage middle-aged man held a glaive with both hands and slammed it down at Qi Xuansu’s head.

Qi Xuansu blocked this big glaive using the cutlass on his left hand.

The middle-aged man was horrified because Qi Xuansu managed to block his glaive with brute strength. He thought, Is he a Martial Arts Practitioner? Or is this his natural power?

However, before the middle-aged man could delve into that thought, Qi Xuansu had already pierced through the man’s heart with the cutlass on his right hand.

A second later, Qi Xuansu saw two people in the distance aiming their guns at him. So he flung out both cutlasses, killing the two gunmen instantly.

Someone took the opportunity to attack when he saw that Qi Xuansu had lost his weapon. As a result, Qi Xuansu punched him in the face, turning his head into mush.

Another man seized the opportunity to chop Qi Xuansu’s shoulders with two heavy axes, hoping he could sever Qi Xuansu’s arms. However, Qi Xuansu grabbed that man’s chest and lifted him overhead. Qi Xuansu then slammed the man down head-first into the ground. The man’s head was buried in the sand while his feet were sticking out, like a sprouting green onion.

Seeing a grown man being planted into the ground like a vegetable, the few people who were thinking of attacking Qi Xuansu immediately stopped in their tracks for fear of suffering the same fate.

Just as these people were hesitating, Qi Xuansu took out the Divine Dragon Pistol and shot one of them to death. Then he quickly reloaded the gun.

Madam Qi taught Qi Xuansu that one could only be merciful before a fight, not during or after. Once the fight began, one had to be ruthless in order to survive.

The rest of the Heavenly Court members could neither advance nor retreat. They were afraid that Qi Xuansu would have loaded his gun before they could even get close to him.

Suddenly, someone shouted in a trembling voice, “Run!”

Everyone began to flee in all directions, no longer wanting to go up against Qi Xuansu. No matter what the punishment was for running away from battle, everyone just wanted to stay alive.

Needless to say, those salt smugglers who had just been forced to join the Heavenly Court had already disappeared without a trace as soon as the fight began.

Qi Xuansu put his loaded Divine Dragon Pistol back into its holster.

Jia Zi was shocked and furious, striding forward one step at a time. His fists tore through the air with great force and landed on Qi Xuansu’s chest.

Like Qi Xuansu, Jia Zi was also a Martial Arts Practitioner in the Yuxu stage.

Qi Xuansu’s body shook, but he took the opportunity to slap Jia Zi in the crotch.

The two men stepped back and stopped at the same time before charging at each other.

Smoke and dust filled the air. The fine white salt also scattered in all directions, forming a vast expanse of white, like snowfall.

Two figures could be vaguely seen grappling each other, engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

Qi Xuansu was not a true Martial Arts Practitioner. He also had the innate qi of a Rogue Cultivator in the Yuding Realm. So even though the two men were in the Yuxu stage, Jia Zi gradually fell into a disadvantage.

After dozens of exchanges, Qi Xuansu slammed his body into Jia Zi. A harsh sound of muscle tearing ripped through the air as Qi Xuansu used Qing Yuan to pierce through Jia Zi’s heart.

Qi Xuansu did not care about fight ethics and only cared about killing efficiently.

Jia Zi was bleeding from his mouth and nose. Even if he had the body-regenerative abilities of a Martial Arts Practitioner in the Flesh and Blood Realm, he had to pull out Qing Yuan first before he could heal his wound. However, he was unable to pull out the short sword. He could only drop to the ground and wait for death to befall him.

Knowing that his death was imminent, Jia Zi stared at Qi Xuansu and muttered between breaths, “The Heavenly...Court...won’t let...you go...”

Qi Xuansu did not say a word. He pulled out the loaded Divine Dragon Pistol, put it between Jia Zi’s eyebrows, pressed down on the hammer, and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Jia Zi’s head exploded.

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