A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 1347: Execution

Qi Xuansu exerted force with his foot, and the mountain-crushing power shattered Dennis’s heart instantly.

Yet Dennis had not died. He still clung to his last breath.

Qi Xuansu’s victory was effortless and entirely expected.

His unique lineage meant that even when fighting opponents of the same level, almost no one, aside from Li Changge, could match him. In the past, he often sparred with Zhang Yuelu, but now, Zhang Yuelu no longer fought him because she did not enjoy losing repeatedly.

It was not that Zhang Yuelu was lacking. It was simply that manmade Banished Immortals were inherently stronger than natural-born ones before attaining true immortality. There was no arguing with that.

Although Qi Xuansu was not a battle fanatic who constantly sought breakthroughs on the brink of life and death, he had fought across realms many times along his journey. There was no reason for him to struggle against an opponent of a lower level.

Qi Xuansu withdrew his Great Witch True Form and left Dennis behind. He walked toward Sun Zhongnu and said, “The Holy Court’s reinforcements should be arriving soon. The time you have left depends on how fast they come.”

The faster the reinforcements arrived, the sooner Sun Zhongnu would die.

Although Qi Xuansu had adhered well to the principle of killing cautiously and sparingly in recent years, he had no intention of sparing this traitor.

He did not care what hardships, hidden circumstances, or pitiable aspects lay behind this traitor. He only wanted to know the exact reason for the betrayal so he could return, convene a meeting, address the issue, close the loophole, and prevent such incidents from happening again.

Unknowingly, Qi Xuansu’s way of thinking had changed greatly. He was no longer the wandering Daoist he once was.

Sun Zhongnu’s prosthetic eye could not shed tears, so there was no way for him to show remorse. Still, he asked, “I was only trying to climb upward. What’s wrong with that? The Daoist Order blocked my path, so I had no choice but to turn to the Holy Court. What difference does it make to serve one master or another?”

“I have no intention of lecturing you,” Qi Xuansu said calmly. “You made a choice, and you must pay the corresponding price.”

Sun Zhongnu moved his mouth and asked hoarsely, “Can you spare my family? They are innocent.”

Qi Xuansu countered, “So are the families of those who died because of you. Do you think they would agree?”

Sun Zhongnu fell silent for a moment, then said, “That’s not important. They don’t have the power to choose, but you do.”

Qi Xuansu said, “Didn’t you convert to the Holy Court? I recall a line in their scripture that says, ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’ By that logic, you have made some people lose their children, parents, and partners. So based on that, don’t you think it’s reasonable for you to get equal retribution and taste the pain of losing your family? At this point, do you still want to talk to me about legal fairness?”

This time, Sun Zhongnu fell completely silent.

Qi Xuansu clenched his fist, his fist intention advancing slowly.

Sun Zhongnu did not die instantly. His death was extremely painful, and his body was completely destroyed.

Then Qi Xuansu turned to Dennis and granted him a swift end.

This was the difference between a traitor and an enemy.

Easterners were complex, blending Confucian hierarchy, Daoist material equality, Buddhist asceticism, and even Western jungle law.

These ideologies could be mixed and matched for one purpose only. To place oneself on the moral high ground and launch a condescending attack on one’s opponent.

When one was wealthy and powerful, one would choose to apply Confucian principles, using hierarchy and order to oppress others, and that the poor must kneel before the rich. If a ruler demanded death, the subject must die. This was their ethics. Supplemented with Western jungle law, it argued that the lower-class people were simply failures. Victors became kings, losers were outcasts, and the incompetent had no right to speak.

When one lacked wealth and power, one would lean toward Daoist principles of equality, praising hardworking commoners.

This flexible use of moral high ground revealed one harsh truth—there was no real morality. Morality was weaponized. When everyone spoke of morality and judged others, the space for mutual trust shrank.

The so-called age of moral purity would ultimately harm everyone. If one could judge others with morality, others could do the same as well.

This was why there were so many rules and constraints within the Daoist Order. Every movement seemed pulled by invisible hands, making it difficult to act freely.

But one thing never changed. Moral judgment could never replace judgment by force. That was why Qi Xuansu came here, killed Sun Zhongnu, and ultimately refused his request.

Judgment by force was cruel, violent, and merciless. It was not as simple as writing or speaking.

Qi Xuansu turned and left, returning to the previous hill. Before the Holy Court’s reinforcements arrived, he dismantled the Star Plucker and departed, leaving no trace.

No one had expected the Beichen Hall’s retaliation to come so quickly.

The leader of St. York’s Evangelical Ministry and Sun Zhongnu, who had just achieved “great merit,” were killed on their journey from St. York to San Francisco.

When the Evangelical Ministry’s reinforcements arrived, they saw only wreckage of the flying craft scattered across the ground, raging flames, and mangled corpses.

There were very few signs of combat, suggesting the attacker was significantly more powerful. Even Dennis and the knights had little ability to resist.

They could also conclude this was the Beichen Hall’s doing because they found fragments of the Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bullet afterward. The attacker had made no attempt to conceal such details.

The Evangelical Ministry classified it as an execution-style attack, serving as a warning. This indeed struck fear into many.

The Evangelical Ministry had arrested so many people, and Dennis had even claimed that all enemies in St. York had been wiped out, only to be transferred to San Francisco and then executed by the Beichen Hall almost immediately.

They were still searching for the so-called Lotus Seat, yet in the blink of an eye, those who first pursued him were already dead.

The Easterners had openly set up a cannon on the Northern New Continent and shot down a flying craft. So far, including the one that crashed at sea, two flying crafts had already been lost.

The Evangelical Ministry had fallen into the awkward position of fighting on three fronts and failing on all three.

What kind of power did the Beichen Hall truly possess in the Northern New Continent?

If they could kill Dennis and Sun Zhongnu today, they could kill the head of San Francisco tomorrow. With Sun Zhongnu’s brutal death, who would dare to betray them again?

Without a doubt, the Evangelical Ministry had suffered a massive blow.

However, many also realized that Dennis and Sun Zhongnu’s speculation had been correct—the Lotus Seat had indeed arrived in the Northern New Continent. Otherwise, the Beichen Hall could not have displayed such combat strength.

Sadie also received the news and was somewhat shaken.

She had expected a very low-profile assassination, like infiltrating the flying craft, silently killing the traitor, and then slipping away unnoticed. That would be the work of a proper assassin. Or perhaps even causing an explosion within the flying craft itself.

She had not expected the assassination to be so grand, flamboyant, and violent. He had used artillery to shoot down the flying craft and then dragged the target out from the wreckage to execute him—all within the territory of the Steam Evangelical Sect.

What arrogance!

A chill ran down her spine. It seemed that the Easterner was serious about his threat.

Soon, Huangfu Ji, who was on the move, also learned of the news.

He murmured. “This Chief Deputy Qi certainly makes bold moves. But I am curious. How exactly did he accomplish it? If the incident at sea was done by a Pseudo-Immortal, and he is currently evading the Evangelical Ministry with that actress, Audrey Ale, then who killed the Beichen Hall traitor? Could there be another Pseudo-Immortal sent from Jade Capital? Or could this Chief Deputy Qi split himself into three?”

No one could answer Huangfu Ji’s question because the Western Daoist Order had no way of knowing the secret of the Longevity Stone Heart and thus knew nothing of Qi Xuansu’s true background.

This only made Qi Xuansu seem even more unfathomable. If he had done all this alone, it meant his cultivation was extremely high—perhaps already at the level of a Pseudo-Immortal. If not, then it meant he had many helpers, indirectly proving his high status within the Daoist Order.

Huangfu Ji concluded. “There must be a reason Sage Qi reached the position of Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master at such a young age. It cannot be explained merely by having connections or backing. Perhaps in 30 years, we will truly have to live under his shadow.”

At that moment, someone reported, “Sage Huangfu, we are less than 400 kilometers from St. York.”

At this time, Huangfu Ji and his group were aboard a special vessel. It was not a Daoist from the Central Plains but a relic left behind by an overseas Immortal and later obtained by the Western Daoist Order. It was named the Divine Shuttle, capable of traveling underground and underwater at incredible speed. Even Immortals would find it difficult to capture without prior preparation.

Its interior space was quite large, capable of accommodating many people. It was somewhat like a flying ship, though lacking a superstructure. To ensure the success of this raid, the Western Daoist Order had entrusted this artifact to Huangfu Ji, allowing him to withdraw calmly after completing the strike.

After all, these were the elite of the Western Daoist Order, not sent there to die.

Huangfu Ji smirked. “Great! Let’s go to this jewel of the Northern Continent and cause a little chaos.”