A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu glanced at Leopold, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

Leopold naturally had no intention of letting him leave so easily. Although it was clear he was no match for this mysterious figure, he was not alone tonight. Several other senior councilmen were on their way, and together, they still held the advantage.

In an instant, a vast crimson tide appeared out of nowhere and flooded the entire first-floor hall.

Leopold rose with the wave, standing atop its crest as it carried him up to the second floor. The tide of blood surged from all directions toward Qi Xuansu.

In truth, Qi Xuansu had been feigning retreat to lure his enemy forward. As Leopold pursued, Qi Xuansu suddenly turned and swept his sleeve. A flash of fire burst forth, instantly vaporizing the entire blood tide.

This was pure power suppression.

At the same time, Qi Xuansu remained perfectly still while his arm extended forward, grasping at Leopold’s chest.

Suddenly, a snarling head of a hellhound sprouted from Leopold’s shoulder. It bared its fangs and bit down on Qi Xuansu’s wrist, accompanied by black hellfire.

Qi Xuansu was now an expert in handling fire. The Seven Feather Five Fires Fan alone controlled five types of flame. He also had Himiko’s True Solar Flames and Izanagi’s demonic fire. Hellfire was quite similar in nature. It was essentially flame infused with yin energy.

Qi Xuansu allowed the hound’s head to clamp onto his wrist so that it could find out what the indestructible body of a Martial Arts Practitioner was like.

The hellhound failed to bite through Qi Xuansu’s wrist. Instead, its own fangs shattered, and the hellfire was effortlessly neutralized as well.

Qi Xuansu grabbed Leopold by the front of his coat, pulling the senior councilor toward him and kicking him in the lower abdomen.

One simple kick sent Leopold crashing to the ground. Stepping forward, Qi Xuansu planted his foot on Leopold’s chest and punched him in the nose. Blood spurted out of the vampire’s nostrils, and his nose twisted to one side. All aristocratic dignity Leopold had earlier vanished in an instant.

Ordinarily, Leopold would not be harmed by physical attacks at all. But Qi Xuansu’s fist was no ordinary fist. His fist intention penetrated deep within, directly destroying Leopold’s internal structure.

Leopold shrieked sharply and transformed into countless black bats that scattered in all directions.

Qi Xuansu snickered and was about to pursue Leopold when a series of wolf howls echoed outside.

The next moment, a figure smashed through the wall and slammed violently into Qi Xuansu’s back, causing him to stagger a few steps forward.

The newcomer was Senior Councilman Pier Williamson, a man with an extremely massive build. His muscles beneath his white shirt were as hard as rock and nearly burst out of his tailcoat.

Pier tried to keep pressing Qi Xuansu down to stop him from turning around. But he quickly realized he was terribly mistaken. Someone had grabbed the back of his neck and yanked him backward.

As a Zaohua-stage Martial Arts Practitioner, Qi Xuansu had complete mastery over his body. He could not only elongate his arms but also bend his elbows in reverse. So even while facing away from Pier, he could still grab the back of his neck.

Then Qi Xuansu flung Pier away.

While Pier was still midair, Qi Xuansu pointed a finger at him.

A beam of golden sunlight burst from Qi Xuansu’s fingertip, streaking across the dark sky and engulfing Pier midair with irresistible force.

This pillar of light was far from gentle. The heat contained within it was almost condensed into True Solar Flames. Though it lasted only a moment, it carved a deep scar across the night sky. Anyone who stared directly at it would likely be blinded for quite some time.

When the light faded, all of Pier’s clothing had vanished, and his entire body was charred.

With a mere gesture, Qi Xuansu had suppressed two senior councilors. This was not only the power of a Pseudo-Immortal, but also the power of a manmade Banished Immortal.

After landing, Pier staggered to his feet and shook off the black ashes covering his body. His frame expanded, his nose turned into a snout, and fur grew across his body. In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a gigantic werewolf and howled toward the sky, revealing his true form.

The werewolf moved with incredible speed, like a streaking afterimage as it rushed into the house and reappeared before Qi Xuansu.

In a split second, Qi Xuansu raised both hands to block the werewolf’s powerful forelimbs, and the two began a wrestling match of brute strength.

One was a werewolf renowned for immense strength and physical power, while the other was a Martial Arts Practitioner capable of lifting mountains with overwhelming might.

For a moment, neither side gained the upper hand.

But Qi Xuansu had not yet used his full strength. Just as the werewolf believed he had pinned Qi Xuansu down, Qi Xuansu’s body suddenly expanded as well, revealing his Great Shaman True Form.

Compared to Qi Xuansu’s Great Shaman True Form, the werewolf was nothing more than a large dog.

With greatly increased strength, Qi Xuansu grabbed the werewolf by the back of the neck and forced him down, pressing him face-first into the ground so he could not move. Then he smashed a fist into the werewolf’s nose, leaving his vision dark. Qi Xuansu lifted him up with one hand and drove another punch straight into his eye socket, splitting the eyelid and nearly causing the werewolf’s eye to burst out.

Qi Xuansu did not stop punching, repeatedly striking at vital points such as the werewolf’s temples and heart.

With his raw strength suppressed, the werewolf had no way to fight back. Though his life force far surpassed that of humans, he would eventually be beaten to death if this continued.

The werewolf roared. “Leopold!”

A cloud of black mist suddenly condensed into human form behind Qi Xuansu, thrusting a dagger viciously toward the center of his back.

However, the attacker was not Leopold. It was Charles Smith, leader of the local Brotherhood and the hidden supporter behind the Butcher.

The dagger in his hand was a semi-divine artifact. It was not particularly sharp, but it had been enchanted with seven powerful curses, collectively called the Seven Deadly Sins.

Leopold appeared in the distance, leaning on his cane as he began preparing a powerful spell.

The three senior councilmen coordinated with remarkable ease.

Even so, Qi Xuansu showed no fear. He released Pier the werewolf and caught the dagger with his left hand. Upon closer inspection, his palm never actually touched the blade. There was a layer of flame separating them.

This was Izanagi’s Left Hand.

For curses of this kind, quantity meant little. In terms of power, the demonic fire, which was a lingering curse left behind by a First-Tribulation Immortal, was so potent that it could even affect ordinary Immortals. Naturally, it far surpassed ordinary curses and could suppress them.

The demonic fire spread along the dagger toward Charles’s hand.

Anyone who had experienced the Fenglin War would not dare touch even a trace of this thing. But Charles knew nothing about it. He withdrew his hand just a fraction too late and accidentally touched the demonic fire. His body immediately began to undergo demonic mutation. His face changed drastically, and he no longer cared about Qi Xuansu. He focused entirely on expelling the demonic fire invading his body.

This time, a fan appeared in Qi Xuansu’s hand, which he waved toward Leopold.

Five-colored flames surged forth, forming a raging sea of fire that swept toward Leopold.

At the same time, Leopold finally completed his spell.

In the Western magical system, ordinary spells were divided into nine levels. The higher the level, the harder the spell was to cast and the greater its power. Ninth-level spells were the strongest among regular spells, and beyond them was Legendary Magic.

What Leopold had prepared was precisely a ninth-level spell—Energy Drain.

This necromantic spell opened a passage to the Netherworld, similar to a Yin-Yang Gate. The caster became the conduit connecting the two worlds, through which the enemy’s cultivation and life force were siphoned away.

The spell was undeniably formidable, but it had one inherent flaw—the caster had to physically touch the enemy for it to activate, somewhat similar to the Daoist Eclipse Method.

Leopold had finished preparing the spell, but now he faced a raging wave of fire rushing toward him, leaving him in the awkward position of being unable to reach his enemy.

Of course, among ninth-level spells, many powerful ones did not require physical contact, such as Death Command, Banshee’s Wail, and Wish. However, such spells relied heavily on luck, especially against opponents stronger than oneself, where they could easily fail. When evenly matched opponents faced each other, they were merely passable.

Although Qi Xuansu did not fully understand the intricacies of the Energy Drain Spell, he could sense that something was wrong when a spellmaster was trying to engage a Martial Arts Practitioner in close combat. Thus, Qi Xuansu had no intention of letting him get close.

Leopold originally intended to rely on his super speed to close the distance. But Qi Xuansu unleashed wave after wave of flames, forcing Leopold to drift farther and farther away instead.

Although Leopold possessed the vampire’s divine artifact—the Blood Cloak, which could allow him to push through the flames and reach Qi Xuansu, doing so would be far from worthwhile. Energy Drain was not Instant Death, so touching Qi Xuansu would not kill him outright. It would at most reduce some of his cultivation.

Pier had just risen from the ground and shaken his head when Qi Xuansu appeared like a ghost and struck the back of his head again, sending him crashing face-first to the ground.

For the moment, Qi Xuansu was facing three senior councilors alone. Though victory was not effortless, he alone already held the upper hand.

Usually, the best way to deal with a Pseudo-Immortal was to send another Pseudo-Immortal.

For example, when Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu confronted Wu Guangbi, the main attacker had been Madam Bai. Without her, the two of them could never have severely wounded Wu Guangbi. Instead, they would have been easily subdued by him.

The final senior councilman, Sean McGill, had not yet entered the battlefield. He stood on the street outside the residence. This Sean was not a small factory owner like the one who died at Micah’s hands. He was a Grand Arcanist skilled in alchemy and arcanum.

Behind him stood a group of knights, whose armor was fitted with metal pipes and gears. They carried steam backpacks that constantly vented thick white vapor. Instead of lances, they carried long guns.

They were the City Council’s Elite Steam Unit.