A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu had suspected that Drunken Whip was from the Black Robes. As expected, Drunken Whip was a Martial Arts Practitioner. Qi Refiners were the backbone of the Daoist Order, as were Shamans for the three major secret societies and Martial Arts Practitioners for the Black Robes.

While fists remained a Martial Arts Practitioner’s favorite, they could also wield weapons.

After all, most unarmed combat techniques were derived from weapon-based martial styles. Many moves that seemed illogical when performed barehanded made perfect sense once imagined with the appropriate weapon.

Every time the Imperial Court cracked down on civilian weapons, fist techniques surged in popularity. Even the Li family’s Wanhua Divine Sword Palm was a sword technique transformed into a palm technique. Thus, any master of the fist should also be a master of weapons.

Drunken Whip wielded a long spear, which was the most common weapon on the battlefield. In Jianghu, people revered sabers and swords. On the battlefield, it was all about spears and blades.

Longswords were not ideal in war. Legendary generals like Song Zheng and the Great Xuan Dynasty’s founding emperor were both masters of blades. Even the Spirit Guards of the Daoist Order today rarely use swords.

Qi Xuansu also preferred blades over swords. When he did use a sword, it was typically a short one that resembled a dagger more than anything else.

Naturally, the most effective weapons on the current battlefield were firearms. After all, the times had changed.

Drunken Whip excelled in chaotic melees. He wielded a long spear and faced off against four Xuan-ranked Waiters from The Inn.

Coincidentally, all four opponents also used spears. Perhaps Drunken Whip had chosen to fight these fellow spearmen on purpose.

As soon as Drunken Whip thrust his spear forward, the first opponent blocked with his own.

Drunken Whip followed up with a push, but the opponent deftly slid his spear aside to deflect the force, allowing the second Xuan-ranked Waiter to take a stab at Drunken Whip’s chest.

Being far more advanced in cultivation, Drunken Whip flexed his spear with a powerful jolt, bending the opponent’s weapon like a crescent moon. Then, he snapped it upward, sending the spear flying and simultaneously darting the tip of his spear forward like a serpent, bursting the Waiter’s skull open.

Without pausing, Drunken Whip speared another Waiter’s neck as he retreated. The extracted spear left behind a clearly fatal gaping wound that spurted blood.

No matter how skilled, a Xiantian-Being Martial Arts Practitioner was no match for a Heavenly Being. A strike to a vital point was still deadly.

Only then did the remaining two Waiters arrive at Drunken Whip’s side.

Drunken Whip spun his spear into a flurry of whirling petals, deflecting both attacks with fluid grace. Then, he swept the weapon sideways in one powerful arc, forcing the two back.

The techniques were not especially mystical—without the eerie predictive insight of the Heavenly Blade or the instinctive reactions of the Demonic Blade—but they embodied sheer refinement and sharpness born from extensive experience.

This kind of experience differed from Qi Xuansu’s own battle-hardened instincts in Jianghu. It appeared wide-open and forceful, but in truth, it was precise and meticulous beneath the surface.

Aside from Drunken Whip, the others from the Qingping Society all had their own masterful techniques. Without a doubt, they were all Heavenly Beings.

This was not surprising. Most of them were over 30, some even past 40. People like Xie Qiuniang, who had not yet turned 30, were prodigies with limitless potential; it was just a matter of time before they advanced to the Heavenly-Being stage.

At times, one’s cultivation level did correlate with age. Even talents like Zhang Yuelu and Yao Pei could not become Heavenly Beings when they were teenagers.

These days, Heavenly Beings were not exactly rare within the Daoist Order. What was rare were Heavenly Beings around the age of 20.

Typically, a talented individual with resources would become a Heavenly Being in their thirties, enter the Wuliang stage in their forties, the Zaohua stage in their fifties, and become a Pseudo-Immortal in their sixties. That was the expected trajectory of a Daoist elite. Some could even attain the title of an Omniscient Sage and perhaps retire as a Great Sage.

If one progressed 10 years ahead of schedule, like the three Daoist prodigies and their respective masters, they would stand a chance at contending for the title of Grand Master before the age of 60.

One should not underestimate a 10-year lead. At those limits, every year was a monumental climb. Advancing 10 years meant maintaining a lead of one or two cultivation realms over one’s peers.

The Qingping Society followed an elite model in its membership, favoring quality over quantity. To become a B-rank member, one had to be like Xie Qiuniang with limitless potential, someone with special status like Li Qingnu, or simply be a Heavenly Being.

For A-rank members, most were Wuliang-stage Heavenly Beings, and among them were hidden heavyweights like Madam Qi, a proper Pseudo-Immortal.

At that moment, an abrupt turn of events occurred.

The branch’s Innkeeper, who had been evenly matched with Dreaming Cloud, was suddenly struck and flung backwards.

There was a gaping wound the size of a rice bowl in his chest, through which one could see clean through to the other side. Despite being a Wuliang-stage Martial Arts Practitioner with completed body spirits and regenerative flesh, the wound showed no signs of healing. Tiny bolts of lightning writhed within the cavity, obliterating any new tissue as soon as it formed in a bizarre cycle of creation and destruction.

Dreaming Cloud held a strange weapon that resembled the chisel of the legendary Thunder God, Leigong, or a single-tipped variant of the Emei thorn. It was about 60 centimeters long, engraved with dragon patterns, and encircled by a violet dragon formed from pure electric energy.

It was this very object that had pierced through the Wuliang-stage Martial Arts Practitioner’s chest.

This was a semi-immortal object called the Thunder Chisel.

Semi-immortal objects were certainly not common. Only people like Zhang Yuelu and Yao Pei with unusual status had them. Under normal circumstances, even Zaohua-stage experts rarely possessed one. Even though the Daoist Order could craft such weapons, they still could not mass-produce them. Costly and time-consuming, semi-immortal objects remained rare despite their increased numbers, simply because there were more Heavenly Beings than ever in this era.

Clearly, the Qingping Society came well-prepared this time. To guard against any accidents, they had Dreaming Cloud carry a semi-immortal object, one that matched his attributes perfectly, allowing him to unleash its power to the fullest. Or perhaps, this semi-immortal weapon was already Dreaming Cloud’s personal possession, which also marked the difference between the Privy Council’s six members and ordinary A-rank members.

Seeing this, Qi Xuansu suddenly had an absurd and completely ill-timed thought. Shouldn’t semi-immortal weapons just be called “half-step” immortal weapons? Are Zhang Yuelu and I “half-step” Daoist companions? Does Sage Donghua count as a “half-step” Grand Master? Hahaha!

This is all Madam Qi’s fault—going on about the Half-Step Zaohua stage nonsense, making me constantly associate everything with “half-steps.” How is a woman her age still reading brainless novels? Weren’t those for people like me—young, not yet accomplished, and needing a little narrative comfort? Madam Qi has fame, status, and wealth—what joy could she possibly get from those ridiculous tales? Was she reading romance novels? Right—Madam Qi had everything except a man! If only Master were still alive, I could’ve introduced him to Madam Qi. It would’ve been a win-win situation.

But he quickly snapped out of it as he casually killed another Xuan-ranked Waiter.

The moment one entered the murky waters of Jianghu, no one was truly innocent. To kill or be killed—there was no one else to blame.

One’s life and death were fated, just as one’s wealth and honor rested with the heavens.

With the branch’s Innkeeper defeated by Dreaming Cloud, the rest of the Waiters from The Inn began to collapse in morale and formation.

The Innkeeper withdrew his Manly Immortal form. Ignoring everything else, he launched himself skyward, heading straight for the opening above.

Once a Martial Arts Practitioner reached the Wuliang stage, flight became possible.

Of course, Dreaming Cloud was not about to let such a big fish escape, giving chase immediately. His Thunder Chisel spun on its own, generating a spiraling torrent of lightning over 30 meters long, encircled by a lightning dragon that completely engulfed him.

Generally speaking, the power of immortal and semi-immortal objects fluctuated, unlike treasures or spiritual objects, which had a fixed output.

As a Xiantian Being, the power one could summon from immortal objects was sometimes weaker than top-tier treasures. Only at the ninth level of the Guizhen stage, just before reaching the Heavenly-Being stage, did their superiority become clear.

But compared to semi-immortal objects, even Heavenly Being users found them superior to immortal ones. Only at the Wuliang stage did the two become roughly equivalent. Beyond that, at the Zaohua stage, immortal objects began to outshine semi-immortal ones. By the time one became an Immortal, the difference became starkly pronounced.

This was the reason why Qin Lingge, despite having an immortal object from the Confucian School, still lost to Li Changge.

The power of a semi-immortal artifact was closely tied to the wielder’s cultivation. Typically, one had to be in the Zaohua stage to fully unleash its strength. That was also why Zhang Yuelu, who was in possession of a semi-immortal object, could not bring out its full might when she was in the Guizhen stage.

The same applied to Yao Pei. Though she bore the bloodline of the Great Witch and could wield the Staff of Merit before most people, that did not mean she could unleash its full potential. Only at the Zaohua stage would she be able to draw out the staff’s ultimate power.

Dreaming Cloud was different. He was not far from the Zaohua stage. While he could not yet unleash the full force of the semi-immortal object, he could draw out 90% of its power. Moreover, the Thunder Chisel aligned perfectly with his Five Thunder Celestial Heart Method, so that missing 10% was easily compensated for.

If the branch’s Innkeeper were struck again by Dreaming Cloud’s Thunder Chisel, he likely would not survive it.

At that moment, the ceiling above exploded with a deafening roar. Soil and rubble tumbled down, transforming the underground hall into a massive sinkhole. There was no longer just a single beam of moonlight. Now, one could look up and see the sea of stars strewn across the heavens.

These were The Inn’s reinforcements.

Whoever had shattered such a wide expanse of earth surely possessed formidable cultivation.

Yet Dreaming Cloud showed no hesitation, immediately pivoting his Thunder Chisel and charging straight at the newcomer.

For a Heavenly Being at his level, wielding a semi-immortal object was like an ordinary man with a blade facing unarmed opponents. The advantage was obvious. Even with one against two, Dreaming Cloud had ample confidence.