A Pawn's Passage

Most of the time, Qi Xuansu was a lone wolf. If there was anyone he shared the best tacit understanding with, it was undoubtedly Zhang Yuelu, not Madam Qi. That was because Madam Qi’s cultivation surpassed his by too much, leaving little room for any true cooperation between them.

Without any communication, Qi Xuansu took the initiative to clear the path ahead, relying on his Wuliang-stage Martial Arts Practitioner physique. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuelu followed behind, summoning lightning to strike down the shinkan blocking their way, calling them out one by one.

With each thunderbolt that struck, a shinkan would collapse to the ground, completely charred like a lump of coal.

The shrine’s interior was far larger than it appeared from the outside. But even so, with hundreds of shinkan packed inside, it was anything but spacious. In such confined quarters, joint spellcasting was impractical. Even if attempted, it would likely harm their own comrades rather than their targets—Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu.

Faced with this situation, the shinkan could only block them one after another in a piecemeal fashion, but with little effect. The two did not waste time entangling themselves in battle. Instead, they were like heavy cavalry charging into the frontline infantry.

Soon, the two arrived before a massive stone door with the sun relief, leaving the shinkan trailing behind them.

There were also shinkan guarding the stone door, but in the blink of an eye, they were slain by Qi Xuansu’s dragon claws and Zhang Yuelu’s lightning.

Passing through the door, the two immediately saw a jokai-rank shinkan standing high above on the altar.

However, between the stone door and the altar stood two meikai-rank shinkan along with numerous samurai that worked for the Jingu.

These samurai were unlike the Sonno-joi ronin. They were chosen as infants of exceptional aptitude and bone structure, raised from childhood on secret elixirs, and bathed in medicinal brews to enhance their growth until they possessed physiques comparable to Guizhen-stage Martial Arts Practitioners. Since they were groomed from infancy and brainwashed repeatedly, they were utterly loyal to the Jingu and fearless in the face of death.

However, raising these samurai was no easy feat. Under normal circumstances, the Jingu would not send them out to die needlessly. Yet in this moment, it was unmistakably the time for the samurai to lay down their lives for the shrine.

Twelve samurai leapt into the air at once, launching themselves at Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu.