Cleat tension is too high

I’ve been using SPD pedal (PD-EH500) with SH56 cleat

I just got a new pedals (XTR 9100) and adjusted the tension to the lowest setting.

I find it very hard to remove the shoes from the new pedal even though I set the tension at the lowest.

Is it possible for an SPD pedal have a defect in adjusting the tension?
Or maybe the XTR pedals are too high end, and it’s doesn’t match well with SH56 cleat?

Or something else?

What should I look for to fix this?