The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

When Li Kang saw the black-clad figures charge out, he froze, his face a mask of shock.

As a squad leader for the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office’s Demon Slayer Guard, his access to information was naturally excellent.

The Soul-Chasing Tower had gone into hiding ever since they were wiped out by that Peak Master Dong. Any ordinary place could be one of their hideouts.

He never thought he’d be the one to stumble upon it.

Slaying demons was one thing, but these were all assassins from the Soul-Chasing Tower. He was no match for them at all.

"Damn it."

Li Kang gritted his teeth, braced himself, and engaged the black-clad man at the front. The two were locked in a fierce struggle.

Zhou Siming was incredibly ferocious, sending a black-clad man flying with a single palm strike.

The man slammed heavily against the wall, his life instantly extinguished.

Li Kang was stunned when he saw this.

He never imagined the old Hunter he’d thought was ordinary could be this powerful. Killing a Yijin Martial Master with a single palm strike was something at least a Blood Refining Martial Master could do, possibly even someone who had reached the Entering realm.

The thought that he had been ordering a Junior Grandmaster around every day struck Li Kang as absurd.

He had originally thought this old Hunter just knew some techniques for finding demons, not that he was also a Martial Dao expert.

Zhou Siming kicked open the dilapidated door and charged into the Buddhist hall.

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

These assassins from the Soul-Chasing Tower were all Yijin Martial Masters, no match for him whatsoever.

However, he didn’t finish them off at top speed. Instead, he leisurely traded blows with the two black-clad men before him.

Everything about this dilapidated temple felt off.

’It’s better to let Zhou Siming scout ahead.’

’I’m here to help, but I’m not willing to take too many risks. It’s my own life on the line, so of course, I have to cherish it.’

Two more black-clad men were killed by Zhou Siming and thrown out.

After a good while, everything fell silent.

Only then did the scimitar in Bai Yuan’s hand move faster and faster.

The two assassins fighting him found it increasingly difficult. They exchanged a look, realizing the young man before them had been holding back.

Just as they were about to retreat, Bai Yuan reaped their lives with a single slash of his scimitar.

Reinforcement Points +103

Reinforcement Points +89

The black-clad man fighting Li Kang turned pale with fright. He hadn’t expected Bai Yuan to be so powerful.

He wanted to flee, but Bai Yuan’s master-level Night Wanderer Step gave him no chance of escape.

Bai Yuan appeared behind the black-clad man like a phantom and ended his life with one strike.

Reinforcement Points +92

All the Soul-Chasing Tower assassins outside the Buddhist hall were dealt with.

Li Kang walked up to Bai Yuan and murmured his thanks. He had finally avenged Feng Ping and the others.

Both of them looked toward the Buddhist hall.

A quarter of an hour had passed since Zhou Siming went inside, yet there was an eerie silence.

There were two possibilities: either Zhou Siming had already taken care of the hideout, or he had been taken down.

Bai Yuan leaned toward the former. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

After all, Zhou Siming’s strength was not to be underestimated. There were few people in all of Huanglong Prefecture stronger than him.

He walked into the Buddhist hall, holding his Blood Tiger Scimitar in a reverse grip.

The first thing he saw was a ten-foot-tall Buddha statue. For a statue this large to be in such a small, dilapidated temple was completely out of proportion.

Bai Yuan walked around the back of the statue.

A pitch-black tunnel entrance appeared before him.

It must have been a secret passage, but Zhou Siming had broken it open.

Bai Yuan and Li Kang entered the secret passage.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a light appeared ahead. A cave, about thirty feet across, opened up before them.

Zhou Siming stood with his back to them. Not far from him stood a man with sharp, monkey-like features.

Bai Yuan’s brow furrowed.

Monstrous aura was emanating from that man.

A Tier Six Demon!

’A chill went down my spine. I can’t believe I’ve run into such a tough opponent just by investigating a case.’

A Tier Six Demon was a match for an Advanced Martial Artist!

’No wonder Zhou Siming isn’t saying anything. He’s run into a tough one.’

It was common knowledge that only demons at Tier Six or above could take human form, which was the case for the man with the monkey-like features before them.

Tier Six Demons had bizarre methods and were even harder to deal with than Entering Martial Artists.

If Zhou Siming hadn’t been in front of him, Bai Yuan would have fled without a second thought.

From the monstrous aura emanating from the man, he deduced that he was a Monkey Demon. But he also radiated another, stranger kind of energy.

Zhou Siming sensed the footsteps behind him.

He sneered, "A demon worshipping a Demon God. How utterly incongruous."

Hearing Zhou Siming’s words, Bai Yuan had a realization. The strange energy from the man was Demonic Qi, a unique aura that only came from cultivating demonic techniques.

Demonic arts were not the same as heretical arts, although both followed the path of benefiting oneself at the expense of others.

But heretical arts lacked the most crucial step: worshipping a Demon God.

As Bai Yuan spent more time in the Divine Mansion Sect, his knowledge had far surpassed what it once was.

The more he learned about the Demon Sect, the more alarmed he became. He had originally thought the Demon Sect’s worship of Demon Gods was merely a ritual, but he never expected that its disciples could actually gain benefits from it. They called this phenomenon the "Sacred Advent."

Cultists blessed by the Sacred Advent would gain Demonic Qi.

This Monkey Demon had clearly received the Sacred Advent, which was why his Demonic Qi was so dense.

The Demon Sect advocated for teaching without discrimination, so there were many demons within its ranks, just like this Monkey Demon.

"Demon Hunters?"

"You all deserve to die!"

The Monkey Demon recognized Zhou Siming and Bai Yuan’s identities at a glance. As a demon, the aura of Demon Hunters was enough to make him sick.

Like hunter and prey, Demon Hunters and demons were mortal enemies.

The Monkey Demon’s face grew more ferocious. He never expected to run into two Demon Hunters at once. Naturally, he wanted to tear these two despicable humans to shreds.

Just as the Monkey Demon made his move...

The cave they were in suddenly began to shake violently. Huge boulders fell and sealed the entrance they had come through.

Li Kang turned to look at the entrance, now blocked by a pile of massive rocks. His expression turned grim. Now, even the possibility of escape was gone.

Zhou Siming paid no attention to the commotion behind him. Watching the Monkey Demon charge at him, he let out a cold snort.

A palm-sized dagger appeared in his hand. It looked just like a hunter’s Hunting Dagger, but it was countless times sharper.

The man and the demon quickly clashed.

Zhou Siming was a Demon Hunter to begin with, and he had extremely rich experience fighting demons.

He gained a slight upper hand after just a few exchanges.

But the Monkey Demon managed to reverse the situation with his dense Demonic Qi. For a time, neither the man nor the demon could gain a decisive victory.

This was the power of Demonic Qi. Prolonged exposure to it could confuse the mind.

Even Zhou Siming was wary of it.

Perhaps this was why the Demon Sect, despite being banned for so long, could not be eradicated.

The strength of both Zhou Siming and the Monkey Demon was too great, leaving Bai Yuan and Li Kang no opportunity to interfere.

Li Kang watched Zhou Siming with a tense expression. With their escape route blocked, his only hope was the old Hunter, Zhou Siming.

Just as the battle between Zhou Siming and the Monkey Demon reached a fever pitch—

An object appeared in Bai Yuan’s hand.

The dark muzzle of a gun was already aimed at the Monkey Demon!