Chapter 791: Get Through Me First

Zhang Chiyue had grievances he could not speak of. As someone who had climbed the ranks within the Daoist Order through steady progress, he was not of the same crowd as these scions. Now that he worked in Ziwei Hall, which was under Sage Donghua’s and the Quanzhen Sect’s influence, many of his personal connections might not be effective here.

Thus, he had arrived early to wait for Qi Xuansu, staging this coincidental encounter in hopes of building a closer relationship.

Personnel appointments at the Deputy Hall Master level lay in the hands of the Golden Tower Council. Two key components were required to be successfully promoted to Deputy Hall Master. Aside from the necessary merits or accomplishments, nomination from below and appointment from above were needed.

Unless one had the backing of the Deputy Grand Masters or there were special circumstances justifying a direct appointment, the usual path was nomination from one’s Hall, Daoist Mansion, or Palace, followed by the Golden Tower Council’s review and deliberation. If there were no nominations from below, even support from above would be useless. Likewise, without someone to back the nomination at the top, the Golden Tower Council would not approve of it, and the bottom-up nomination would also be futile. So, to get promoted to Deputy Hall Master, both ends needed to be secured.

Zhang Yuelu was exceptionally promoted by the Earthly Preceptor, who was the Great Sage Lunzhi of that term. Thus, her nomination and review were mere formalities. After all, who would dare oppose the Earthly Preceptor over a Deputy Hall Master position?

Qi Xuansu’s case was not much different. Ziwei Hall was essentially Sage Donghua’s territory, and the Quanzhen Sect held an overwhelming majority, so once the Omniscient Sage made the call, the other Deputy Hall Masters naturally would not oppose it. Any opposition would be in the minority and would not be enough to change the outcome.

Though Qi Xuansu lacked personal ties in the Golden Tower Council, Madam Qi and Zhang Yuelu had strong connections—one with the Earthly Preceptor and the other with the Heavenly Preceptor. On top of that, since the nomination came from Sage Donghua, rejecting it would mean offending him directly. So, the approval passed smoothly.

But Zhang Chiyue did not have such strong connections. He might not get nominated by Ziwei Hall because he was still inexperienced. Now that Qi Xuansu had become a Deputy Hall Master, his vote would matter in future internal nominations. Thus, Zhang Chiyue wanted to build a good relationship with Qi Xuansu.

That was why Zhang Chiyue brought up Zhang Renyue and the others, hoping to do Qi Xuansu a favor by giving him a heads-up. That way, Qi Xuansu could avoid them and stay out of trouble. But what Zhang Chiyue never expected was that Qi Xuansu would actively approach the scions, and things quickly spiraled out of control.

If these people ended up hurting Qi Xuansu, then Zhang Chiyue would have made an enemy instead of building a relationship.

For the sake of his own future, Zhang Chiyue naturally hoped Qi Xuansu would win.

Qi Xuansu’s arrogant demeanor immediately provoked the ire of these haughty Zhang family scions.

In truth, Qi Xuansu was not an arrogant person. He simply spoke appropriately to whoever he was facing. He was respectful to elders, earning their approval. But with people like these, if he acted humbly, they would take it as weakness and think him easy to bully. Naturally, Qi Xuansu would not treat them with courtesy.

Qi Xuansu held the sheathed Flying White Shadow horizontally in front of him and said, “Let’s finish this quickly. I have other matters to attend to.”

Zhang Renyue wielded a sword.

This was the most commonly seen weapon within the Daoist Order. Ever since all the blade-users had joined the Imperial Court, those who wielded blades in the Daoist Order, aside from the Spirit Guards, had seemed quite out of place.

Zhang Renyue said nothing. His figure suddenly lunged forward, and his long sword swept sideways, tearing through the air with a shrill, piercing howl.

Qi Xuansu did not draw his blade to counter. He simply shifted the still-sheathed Flying White Shadow from a horizontal to a vertical position, blocking the strike.

The scabbard remained unscathed, Flying White Shadow did not budge in the slightest, but Zhang Renyue’s sword had bent into a visible arc.

Zhang Renyue’s expression shifted. His sword whirled in his grip, turning the sweep into a thrust, aiming straight at Qi Xuansu’s forehead.

Qi Xuansu still did not draw his blade. He shifted Flying White Shadow from vertical to horizontal again, catching the sword’s edge on the blade guard, stopping the sword tip ten centimeters from his brow.

Zhang Renyue asked, “Is this the Dayan Spirit Blade?”

Ever since Qi Xuansu learned the Demonic Blade technique, it had seeped into his movements like second nature. Qi Xuansu found it hard to distinguish between the Dayan Spirit Blade and the Demonic Blade for standard attacks, like slashing, hacking, stabbing, lifting, or flicking.

Qi Xuansu replied, “I haven’t yet mastered it. It only resembles the real thing. Please feel free to correct my form.”

Zhang Renyue did not comment further. He withdrew his sword, stepped back, then surged forward once more. His sword light poured down like rain, enveloping Qi Xuansu from head to toe.

Qi Xuansu simply spun Flying White Shadow in his hand. The speed was so great that light and shadow merged into one, forming what seemed like a round shield. Wherever it met the sword light, countless clanging sounds of metal clashing filled the air.

Zhang Renyue’s strikes grew ever faster. Qi Xuansu was no longer holding the scabbard. Instead, he allowed Flying White Shadow to spin against his palm, kept in place by his innate qi. Yet Zhang Renyue could not knock Flying White Shadow from Qi Xuansu’s hand.

Though Qi Xuansu appeared casual, he never met the strong strikes head-on. Instead, he cleverly dodged every forceful blow, deflecting only the inconsequential ones, making Zhang Renyue feel as if his overwhelming force landed on thin air. It was suffocating and frustrating.

“Speaking of swordsmanship, the Zhang family is likely inferior to the Li family,” Qi Xuansu said objectively. Even if he said this in front of the Heavenly Preceptor, there was no fault in it. The Zhang family had the Heavenly Preceptor’s Twin Swords, but their focus had always been thunder techniques. It was the Li family that was the true masters of the sword.

However, the Zhang-Li rivalry had endured for centuries, longer even than the history of the Daoist Order’s rise. Thus, these words could easily inflame the Zhang family scions.

Zhang Renyue gritted his teeth and struck even faster. His sword qi surged fiercer than ever.

Centered around the two of them, sword winds whipped across a 300-meter radius. Countless leaves, flowers, and plants were reduced to pulp, leaving chaos in their wake. Even the onlookers had to retreat again and again.

Some of those who retreated a bit too slowly could even hear the sound of their garments tearing.

But Qi Xuansu remained immovable as a mountain, still not drawing the blade from its sheath.

The raging sword winds howled like tempests, whipping at Qi Xuansu’s Youyi Cloud Robe, but they could not harm him in the slightest. The sword qi that could shatter metal and jade left no mark on his exposed skin. It was as if wave after wave crashed against a stone cliff that remained completely unscathed.

By this point, even the onlooking Zhang family members had to acknowledge the immense gap between the two men.

Clearly, Qi Xuansu was not like any ordinary Heavenly Being.

He had the Golden Body Realm, the Divinity Realm, and the Cicada Shedding Realm, cycling through them with ease. The advantages of a manmade Banished Immortal began to shine through ever since he became a Heavenly Being.

Yet Zhang Renyue could not retreat. His attacks surged forward like tidal waves. Where his sword passed, there was no longer a sharp whistling in the air. It had turned from rigid to supple, reaching a refined state, becoming more perilous. There were faint streaks of lightning flickering along the sword’s edge, and with every clash, those sparks would creep toward the horizontal blade, only to vanish without a sound, like stones sinking into the sea.

Qi Xuansu suddenly clenched the Flying White Shadow that had been spinning against his palm.

With a push of his thumb, Flying White Shadow was finally drawn from its sheath.

In that instant, Zhang Renyue could see nothing else, only a dazzling burst of blade light exploding before him, like a waterfall of stars pouring down from the sky.

Then a single line appeared, growing ever brighter, splitting that waterfall of blade light straight down the middle.

That line was the blade’s edge.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Renyue could only rely on his instinct to sweep his sword across in defense.

When the blade met the sword, Zhang Renyue’s sword immediately bent into a terrifying arc, nearly touching his chest.

If the sword suffered so, how could the man behind it fare any better?

Alongside that streak of blade light surged a flood of blade intention. Though Zhang Renyue had a protective qi shield around his body, the overwhelming pressure made it difficult for him to breathe.

Qi Xuansu kept to his word, using the Dayan Spirit Blade Technique. Without a trace, the blade had leapt over the distance between them, making it nearly impossible to guard against. He was attacking where one least expected it.

Zhang Renyue suddenly felt a chill behind him and was greatly alarmed. With his sword in his right hand, he flipped his left palm backward in a strike, causing thunder and wind to roar as thick violet light surged from his palm. This was the Zhang family’s signature Thunder Technique.

Qi Xuansu suddenly sheathed his blade and threw a punch as well. His forearm, wrist, and fist that were exposed from his sleeves shone with a dazzling golden light.

Then, 365 body spirits simultaneously punched with him using the Wind Thunder Fist.

When his fist met Zhang Renyue’s palm, the latter felt his entire body tremble.

The greatest distinction of the Tantai Fist Intention from other fist intentions was its cross-disciplinary nature, spanning both the Martial Arts Practitioner and Qi Refiner lineages. It contained not only the Martial Arts Technique’s heavenly connection fist intention with the innate qi of Qi Refiners. However, ordinary people could not switch freely between the two lineages like Tantai Yun had, and hence could never unleash their true power.

Due to this, the Tantai Fist Intention was typically only considered a high-attainment method. Yet, Qi Xuansu was a perfect fit for it. With his mastery of both the Martial Arts Practitioner and Rogue Cultivator lineages, his power alone was not far from that of perfected methods. After all, Tantai Yun had once relied on this fist intention to contend with other Immortals.

It was a pity that Qi Xuansu still lacked the Qi Refiner lineage. If he ever achieved that, he could reach even greater heights. Only then would it truly be complete.

Even so, the power of this punch was not something Zhang Renyue could withstand, as he had incorporated the Martial Arts Practitioner’s Heavenly Connection Realm and Divinity Realm, the Rogue Cultivator’s Cicada Shedding Realm, and the Shaman’s Golden Body Realm into this one punch.

Zhang Renyue’s thunder light was forcibly dispersed, and he was sent flying backward uncontrollably. He crashed into a tree with a 3-meter diameter, snapping it clean in half, and his entire arm shattered.

Li Changge, with five pieces of Xuan Jade, could suppress Yao Pei. Likewise, Qi Xuansu could easily defeat Zhang Renyue with only four pieces of Xuan Jade.

Qi Xuansu did not press the attack. He calmly sheathed his horizontal blade and hung it at his waist. “With just this level of skill, do you think you deserve to be the Zhang family’s leader? I’ll say it again—if you want to challenge Qing Xiao, you’ll have to get through me first.”