The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

The moon hung high in the sky.

Bai Yuan looked up at its cold, silver light.

"What are you looking at?"

Xiongshan asked, his voice rumbling.

"Nothing. It’s a full moon tonight."

"..."

"Such refined tastes, Junior Brother."

Xiongshan scratched his head. He was perhaps the least pretentious Inner Sect Disciple in the Divine Mansion Sect. Of course, this didn’t mean he was easy to get along with, and it certainly didn’t mean you could bully him.

He wasn’t interested in the moon, but he wouldn’t say no to mooncakes.

Bai Yuan asked, "Has Master returned to Huanglong Prefecture?"

"Mhm."

Xiongshan nodded heavily.

He had sought out Bai Yuan to bring his junior brother along to wipe out the Soul-Chasing Tower’s nest in Huanglong Prefecture City. Of course, this wasn’t actually Old Dong’s idea, but You Shengnan’s.

Whether you had an official bounty or not, anyone who participated in exterminating the Soul-Chasing Tower could earn a hefty amount of merit points.

Keep the goodies within the family.

Rather than let people from the other peaks take advantage of the opportunity, You Shengnan figured it was better to give it to her junior brother, Bai Yuan.

The world thought that Dong Wanjun had left Huanglong Prefecture to hunt down the Soul-Chasing Tower Lord.

But they didn’t know that he had already returned to Huanglong Prefecture City.

’What a brilliant move!’

Bai Yuan inwardly praised Old Dong’s cunning.

The reason Old Dong could pull off this deception was, of course, his masterful skill in disguise.

Other Martial Artists specialized in a single discipline, but not Old Dong. He cultivated all of them and was ridiculously strong.

The one currently tangling with the Soul-Chasing Tower Lord outside the prefecture was actually another Peak Master from the Divine Mansion Sect. Old Dong had long since returned to Huanglong Prefecture in secret, all to completely uproot the Soul-Chasing Tower’s foundation within its borders.

Xiongshan led Bai Yuan through one street and alley after another.

At the end of one alley, they finally saw You Shengnan, who had been waiting for some time.

"Junior Brother Bai, you’re here."

You Shengnan smiled slightly upon seeing Bai Yuan appear.

Bai Yuan returned her smile.

’This Senior Sister of his, not forgetting to bring him along even when going out to kill. She was a real one.’

The Soul-Chasing Tower’s branch in Huanglong Prefecture was sure to have many experts, and with Old Dong overseeing things, it was the perfect grinding spot.

"Since everyone’s here, let’s go."

You Shengnan said coolly.

The three of them were not alone in the alley. There were also countless experts from the Divine Mansion Army—that was Old Dong’s most powerful tool.

Both Wan Jun Peak and the Law Enforcement Hall were merely manifestations of Old Dong’s power.

What truly allowed Old Dong to stand proud and untouchable in the Divine Mansion Sect, aside from his own strength, was the Divine Mansion Army.

Nearly thirty percent of the Divine Mansion Sect’s experts were in the Divine Mansion Army, a testament to its formidable strength.

Moreover, this army answered only to Old Dong. Not even the Sect Leader had the authority to interfere with it.

It was precisely because he held so much power that Old Dong was ostracized by the other twelve Peak Masters.

Of course, Old Dong couldn’t care less.

...

「In the dead of night.」

Three figures flitted across the rooftops like sparrowhawks.

The Divine Mansion Army had already made arrangements, with several Blood Refining Pass experts standing by. Bai Yuan and his companions were merely supporting actors.

After all, even the strongest of them, Xiongshan, was only at the Strong Organ Pass.

If he were to break through to the Blood Refining Pass, he would have long since been promoted to a True Disciple. He wouldn’t still be languishing in the Inner Sect.

Wan Jun Peak was also the only peak in the Divine Mansion Sect without a single True Disciple.

Because of this, both You Shengnan and Xiongshan felt a fire in their bellies. They both wanted to break through to the Blood Refining Pass as soon as possible to bring honor to Old Dong. This was also why they took such good care of Bai Yuan.

"Senior Sister, is there a plan?"

Bai Yuan whispered to You Shengnan.

"We wait for the signal, then we charge in together."

Hearing You Shengnan’s answer, the corner of Bai Yuan’s mouth twitched.

’This senior sister of mine has some sense, but not much. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been outmaneuvered by the Soul-Chasing Tower back in Qinghe County. If Old Dong hadn’t shown up in time, she and Xiongshan would have been hacked into seven or eight pieces by Tu An. But this is Huanglong Prefecture; nothing can go wrong here. Being a little reckless should be fine. It just means I can chop down a few more of the Soul-Chasing Tower’s Soul-Grabbing Little Ghosts. With my current combat strength, an ordinary Strong Organ Pass cultivator couldn’t even block a single one of my strikes.’

You Shengnan led Bai Yuan and Xiongshan to a dilapidated little courtyard in the southeastern corner of the area.

The courtyard looked like it had been uninhabited for years, and most of its roof had collapsed. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

This was the location of the Soul-Chasing Tower.

Suddenly, a whistling arrow shot into the air from nearby, clearly visible to everyone in Huanglong Prefecture.

"SON OF A BITCH!"

Xiongshan was the first to charge. He kicked open the rotten courtyard gate, raised a great blade that was a full eight feet long, and charged in to kill. The enormous blade, combined with his bear-like frame, was incredibly intimidating.

Moving with him were the Divine Mansion Army experts who had long been waiting in position.

At the same time, dozens of figures suddenly appeared in the once-empty, dilapidated courtyard.

Bai Yuan saw the Soul-Grabbing Little Ghosts from the Soul-Chasing Tower appear from out of nowhere. ’A secret passage, just as I thought.’

Just like the Soul-Chasing Tower in Qinghe, which was hidden at the bottom of the Qinghe River, all of the Soul-Chasing Tower’s branches in Xuan Yang were incredibly well-hidden.

Unlike the one in Qinghe, however, almost no one knew the location of the Soul-Chasing Tower in Huanglong Prefecture.

Clearly, the Divine Mansion Sect had pinpointed the Soul-Chasing Tower’s main den in Huanglong Prefecture, which was why they had launched this sudden, violent attack.

The Blood Tiger Scimitar at Bai Yuan’s waist was already unsheathed.

With a single slash, he cut down a Soul-Chasing Tower assassin who had charged at him.

He quickly scanned the battlefield but saw no sign of Old Dong.

"KILL!"

The furious roar came from his senior brother, Xiongshan.

Xiongshan, who already knew the location of the Soul-Chasing Tower’s secret passage, had already charged into it with the Divine Mansion Army experts.

Bai Yuan didn’t rush in after them.

’There are enough Soul-Chasing Tower assassins in this courtyard for me to kill. No need to be greedy.’

These Soul-Chasing Tower assassins were quite strong. The weakest among them were at the Bone Forging Pass, and there were even Ghost Messengers at the Strong Organ Pass!

You Shengnan and Xiongshan had both charged into the secret passage.

Only the Martial Artists of the Divine Mansion Army and the Soul-Chasing Tower remained in the courtyard.

Bai Yuan completely let loose.

Every time the Blood Tiger Scimitar fell, it reaped the life of a Yijin Martial Master.

’It wasn’t that I couldn’t kill Strong Internal Martial Artists, but that the Yijin cultivators were more cost-effective.’

The strengthening points on his panel skyrocketed.

Just as Bai Yuan was getting into the rhythm of the slaughter—

Suddenly, someone cried out in alarm.

"Ambush!"

Countless figures leaped over the courtyard walls, catching the Divine Mansion Army completely off guard.

They were all assassins from the Soul-Chasing Tower.

The Soul-Chasing Tower was clearly aiming to pincer the Divine Mansion Sect’s forces and deal them a heavy blow in one fell swoop!

Bai Yuan’s eyes turned cold.

Powerful experts from the Divine Mansion Army fell one after another around him, and the situation began to spiral out of control.

This time, to avoid alerting the Soul-Chasing Tower, the Divine Mansion Sect had only deployed the Divine Mansion Army. The other Thirteen Peaks had not sent any experts.

Now that they were trapped in a crisis, it was too late for the Divine Mansion Sect to send reinforcements, even if they wanted to.

Bai Yuan made his choice without hesitation.

Flee!

’This situation is no longer something I can handle. Although I’m strong, these reinforcing Soul-Chasing Tower assassins even include Martial Artists at the Blood Refining Pass. I’m no match for them.’

With a light tap of his toes, Bai Yuan leaped over the courtyard wall like a swift swallow.

But how could the Soul-Chasing Tower’s assassins possibly let him go?

Several figures shot out in pursuit, vowing to hunt down and exterminate every last person from the Divine Mansion Sect.