A Pawn's Passage

The Deputy Hall Masters and Deputy Mansion Masters—all of them high-ranking Daoists—were fighting neck and neck. Some of the younger Daoist priests and Spirit Guards looked eager to support their bosses, but they were immediately restrained by the more experienced individuals.

The Daoist Order did not forbid private duels. After all, it was unrealistic to expect those with high cultivation levels to not resort to physical confrontation. Thus, the Daoist Order only set up guidelines such as mutual consent, no killing, and no involvement of Spirit Guards. If all conditions were met, the Daoist Order would not interfere.

Zhang Yuelu beating Li Tianzhen in a duel in Jade Capital without facing any consequences was a prime example.

At this moment, regardless of how intense the fights were among these prominent figures, they would be categorized as private duels as long as no one died.

However, if Spirit Guards or other Daoist priests joined in, turning it into a battle between factions, the nature of the conflict would change entirely. The Golden Tower Council would then intervene with strict measures, and no one would walk away unscathed.

Both sides understood this principle clearly. Thus, there were no sneak attacks or outnumbering opponents. They adhered strictly to the rules of private duels, leaving no room for criticism.

Pei Xiaolou, Lu Yushu, and Li Mingzhi watched from the sidelines. There were two other Deputy Tiangang Hall Masters who had to oversee the Yinglong Warship, so they did not join the duel either.

Initially, the seven-member investigation team and Li Tianlan would make for an even four-on-four match. However, the wildcard Shi Luosi tipped the balance, giving the Taiping Sect an extra participant.

Lu Yushu and Li Mingzhi exchanged glances. Both reached a tacit understanding and dashed forward.

Li Mingzhi intentionally intercepted Pei Xiaolou, not to fight the Sage, but simply to hold him back. Meanwhile, Lu Yushu darted straight toward the Xuan Jade.

At this critical moment, Qi Xuansu had no choice but to grit his teeth and confront Lu Yushu, relying on the Taiyi Cloud Robe to keep himself airborne.

“You dare stop me, boy?” Lu Yushu snapped coldly. She recognized Qi Xuansu as Lei Xiaohuan’s subordinate and knew that he was not a Heavenly Being. Thus, she undermined him.

Qi Xuansu wasted no words and swung his Flying Shadow at her.

With a simple flick of her finger, Lu Yushu deflected Qi Xuansu’s horizontal blade. Then, with a quick wave, her long sleeves extended from its original one-meter length to over ten meters. It coiled and twisted, completely sealing Qi Xuansu’s escape routes.

When Flying Shadow struck her sleeves, it sounded like metal clashing.

Lu Yushu closed the distance in an instant, striking with her palm. Qi Xuansu defended with his blade, sending a wave of blade qi surging toward her face. She casually extended her five fingers, letting her nails pierce through the blade qi, which exploded before her.

In the next instant, her movements became ghostly as she leaped to Qi Xuansu’s side, swinging her arm in a horizontal strike.

Although Qi Xuansu quickly raised his arm to block, he was still sent flying sideways, crashing through a wall. When he stood up again, he found himself in an unfamiliar courtyard.

Before he could take in his surroundings, Lu Yushu followed closely, her five fingers clawing directly at the top of his head. If she had been successful in the attack, his skull would have been shattered.

Relying on instinct, Qi Xuansu sidestepped at the last moment, narrowly avoiding the deadly grasp.

Qi Xuansu shifted his stance, aiming a slash at Lu Yushu’s waist, but she blocked it with a wave of her sleeve.

The Flying Shadow struck her sleeve with a resounding metallic clang.

Lu Yushu countered with a palm strike, which only managed to disperse the protective cloud aura around Qi Xuansu.

The two separated upon impact, creating several meters of distance between them.

Qi Xuansu wasted no time. Upon landing, he charged forward with his blade, drawing an arc that released a crescent-shaped blade qi that shot at Lu Yushu.

Lu Yushu extended both hands to intercept the blade qi, splitting it into two halves.

Qi Xuansu tapped his toes on the ground, his body gliding forward as he thrust his blade straight at Lu Yushu’s throat.

Anticipating this, Lu Yushu retracted her right hand, using her index and middle fingers to pinch the blade while supporting it with her thumb from below, attempting to disarm him.

However, Qi Xuansu abruptly released the hilt of his blade, pressing his left hand on the blade’s tip to push it forcefully toward Lu Yushu’s body.

Lu Yushu had no choice but to release Flying Shadow, sidestepping to evade him and sweeping her sleeve outward.

Qi Xuansu let Flying Shadow fall to the ground, using the Mountain Fist to counter her sweeping attack. Then, he used the Sea Fist to redirect the force on her, forcing her back to her original position.

This exchange of offense and defense happened in mere moments. Qi Xuansu did not immediately summon Flying Shadow. Instead, he took a deep breath to calm his surging innate qi and chose to engage Lu Yushu in close combat.

Qi Xuansu began with the Tantai Fist Intention, throwing a punch at Lu Yushu’s face. She countered with the Lu family’s Infinite Coiling Finger Sword, weaving a thread of sword qi around her fingers in unpredictable patterns.

After exchanging more than ten moves, Lu Yushu jabbed her finger into Qi Xuansu’s palm. Her sword qi pierced through his protective shield, causing his blood to spray out.

She immediately followed with a horizontal sweep of her sleeve.

Unable to evade in time, Qi Xuansu was sent flying and landed heavily on the ground. Lu Yushu seized the opportunity to pursue him and aimed a stomp at his chest.

At the critical moment, Qi Xuansu slammed his palm hard against the ground, leveraging the counterforce to flip sideways, narrowly dodging Lu Yushu’s stomp. He retreated several meters to create some distance between them.

Lu Yushu pressed for an advantage relentlessly, bending her knees slightly before launching herself like an arrow from a taut bow. Her fingers curved like claws as they reached for Qi Xuansu’s head again.

In an instant, Qi Xuansu used the Sword Controlling Technique to summon Flying Shadow back. The blade’s speed was incredibly fast as it flew toward Lu Yushu’s back.

Although Lu Yushu was not accustomed to combat, she instinctively turned and swept her sleeve, intercepting Flying Shadow with a metallic clang.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Qi Xuansu grabbed Flying Shadow and employed the Dayan Spirit Blade Technique. He moved fluidly with his blade, thrusting it toward Lu Yushu. If not for her protective qi shield, the blade would have pierced her chest.

This strike seemed almost prescient, boundless, and unconstrained.

Lu Yushu frowned and struck with her palm.

Qi Xuansu continued moving with his blade, narrowly avoiding her palm strike. His movements were elusive and unpredictable, sometimes appearing in front of her, while other times appearing behind her.

Lu Yushu’s expression grew solemn.

She adjusted her stance and chose to endure a slash, gripping the blade with her five fingers and immobilizing it through sheer strength.

She then struck Qi Xuansu’s wrist with a well-timed jab, forcing his fingers to loosen and drop Flying Shadow.

Qi Xuansu had no choice but to retreat, but Lu Yushu pursued relentlessly with his blade.

The blade flashed like a streak of lightning, piercing through Qi Xuansu’s protective qi shield and stabbing his throat. Yet, as the blade sunk a few centimeters into his flesh, Qi Xuansu grabbed the blade with one hand, stopping it from advancing further.

A throat stab like this would have been fatal for an ordinary person, as the wound would cause excessive bleeding, flooding the lungs and leading to suffocation.

However, for a Martial Arts Practitioner, such injuries were not life-threatening.

What truly troubled Qi Xuansu was the follow-up palm strike from Lu Yushu. The Taiping Sect’s Wanhua Divine Sword Palm channeled sword qi into the palm, making each strike as lethal as a sword.

When the strike landed, the sword qi penetrated his body, heading straight for his heart meridian.

If not for Qi Xuansu’s Auxiliary Heart, which was as resilient as an indestructible body, a normal heart would have been shattered on the spot, resulting in severe injury at best or instant death at worst.

Believing she had defeated Qi Xuansu effortlessly, Lu Yushu relaxed her guard, only to find him unharmed. She let out a surprised gasp and lunged forward in a flash.

Qi Xuansu quickly raised his arm to block the attack, but he was still sent crashing into a wall.

In that instant, Qi Xuansu twisted his body in mid-air. What should have been a back-first collision ended up with his feet against the wall. He bent his knees to reduce the impact, but it still left a web of cracks on the wall. Then he pushed himself off, momentarily putting some distance between himself and Lu Yushu.

Although Qi Xuansu had avoided serious injury in this exchange, there was no doubt that he had fallen into a disadvantageous position.

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