The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Bai Yuan walked along the path leading to Wan Jun Peak.

Wan Jun Peak was an isolated summit, unconnected to the other twelve peaks. It was also the farthest, so one had to pass through the other peaks to reach it.

Along the way, he could see many disciples from other peaks.

One of them shot Bai Yuan a hostile glance.

Had he not known he was no match for Bai Yuan, a fight would have surely broken out, given the tempers of the Divine Mansion Sect disciples.

However, Bai Yuan wasn’t interested in fights where he couldn’t kill his opponent.

Of course, he knew these disciples were from San Yang Peak.

Old Dong had already challenged Luo Chunyang, the Peak Master of San Yang Peak, and the two had even come to blows.

Of course, it ended with Luo Chunyang beaten black and blue.

Old Dong hadn’t killed Luo Chunyang because the Peak Master truly had no ties to the Soul-Chasing Tower or the Demon Sect. Otherwise, it would have been far more serious than a simple beating.

Luo Chunyang had indeed been kept in the dark by Wang Changsheng.

Old Dong had only beaten him as punishment for his incompetence, leaving Luo Chunyang with only superficial injuries. It was one of the most boring fights Old Dong had ever had.

Knowing he was in the wrong, and on top of that, no match for Old Dong, Luo Chunyang obediently hid himself away in San Yang Hall and refused to see anyone.

But with their own Peak Master having been beaten, it would have been strange indeed if the San Yang Peak disciples greeted anyone from Wan Jun Peak with a smile.

It was rumored that Old Dong was planning an even bigger move, as if he intended to turn the entire Divine Mansion Sect inside out and air it out to dry.

Bai Yuan, of course, knew that the best thing for him to do right now was keep a low profile.

If he were to cheer for Old Dong now, he might find a price on his head the very next day.

While he wasn’t afraid, he wasn’t about to go looking for trouble, either.

Before long, he was back in his small courtyard.

From two nearby courtyards, the sounds of training could be heard.

During this time, You Shengnan and Xiongshan had also been obediently staying on Wan Jun Mountain, with no intention of descending.

Clearly, they also understood the profound principle of lying low to build strength and not getting cocky.

Wan Jun Peak had been unusually lively lately.

Bai Yuan first looked at his panel.

Although he had lost out on a lot of merit points by not accepting a mission from the Merit Hall this time, he was still very satisfied with the enhancement points he’d gained from killing the Soul-Chasing Tower assassin.

"Allocate points!"

[New Skill Gained: Spirit Refining!]

[In your first year of cultivating Spirit Refining, you gained nothing.]

...

[In your thirtieth year of cultivating Spirit Refining, you finally reached the Adept realm.]

...

[In your sixtieth year of cultivating Spirit Cooking, your Spirit Cooking craft has gradually improved.]

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Profession: Demon Hunter, Ghostwriter, Boxer, Spirit Cooker]

[Skills: Spirit Extraction (Adept), Spirit Cooking (Mastery), Spirit Refining (Adept), Night Wanderer Step (Grandmaster), Divine Ingenuity (Grandmaster), Hundred Poison Hand (Grandmaster), Tiger-Crane Form (Grandmaster), Blood Tiger Saber (Grandmaster)...]

[Enhancement Points: 0]

Bai Yuan unlocked the last skill for the Spirit Cooker profession, raising Spirit Cooking to the Mastery level.

He had saved up quite a few Fire Spirits during this time.

Spirit Refining was the process of further refining an extracted spirit, increasing its purity and making its effects much stronger than before.

Bai Yuan took out a small, glazed vial he carried with him, which was filled with red, crystalline particles.

These Fire Spirits were the fruits of several months of arduously hunting Fire Armor Rhinoceros Beetles.

After acquiring the Spirit Refining skill, Bai Yuan’s mind was flooded with a great deal of new knowledge, all of it concerning the techniques of Spirit Refining.

The so-called Spirit Refining was, in essence, purification—further strengthening the extracted spirit and wringing out every last drop of its efficacy.

However, the process was far more tedious than Spirit Extraction. The complexity of Spirit Refining lay in its exceedingly intricate grinding techniques.

Bai Yuan poured the Fire Spirits into a medicine mortar.

He gripped the pestle in his right hand, his wrist rotating to grind them finely. This process was extremely time-consuming, and the slightest mistake would ruin the entire mortarful of Fire Spirits.

Every Spirit Cooker who mastered Spirit Refining had to scrap enormous quantities of spirits just to reach the Mastery level. The resources consumed were simply immense.

But spirits were already extremely precious, so unless it was a major power with unfathomably deep pockets, it was simply impossible to support a Spirit Cooker.

But Bai Yuan had a cheat... he skipped this step entirely.

His technique was extremely practiced, not a single detail overlooked, and it possessed a unique sort of beauty.

After grinding for a full day and night, Bai Yuan finally set down the pestle.

He rubbed his sore eyes.

Such high-intensity, long-lasting, and focused grinding had taken its toll even on him.

Fortunately, he had finally succeeded in refining them.

The Fire Spirits in the mortar had become even more translucent and crystalline, shimmering with a mysterious luster that drew the eye.

The effects of the Fire Spirits had now increased by at least thirty percent, a very significant improvement.

Seizing the moment, Bai Yuan immediately set up a large pot, stoked the stove’s fire, and stir-fried the Spirit Vegetables he had already prepared before adding water to let them simmer.

A full six hours later, he finally poured the refined Fire Spirits into the pot.

The Fire Spirit Soup was ready.

After sitting still for a day and a night, Bai Yuan’s stomach was growling with unbearable hunger.

He ladled up a large spoonful of Fire Spirit Soup and drank it down. The crisp sweetness of the Spirit Vegetables combined with the fiery heat of the Fire Spirits made the soup a dance of ice and fire—extremely intense, yet utterly captivating.

With just one spoonful, the feeling of hunger was swept away.

Bai Yuan didn’t dare drink any more, and he placed the spoon back in the bowl.

He then portioned out the Fire Spirit Soup into containers he had prepared beforehand.

Once he finished drinking all of this Fire Spirit Soup, he should be able to break through to the Blood Refining Pass.

’A Blood Refining Martial Master in his early twenties... Tsk, how terrifying.’

...

「Ten days passed.」

As expected, Old Dong caused a massive uproar in the Divine Mansion Sect.

He beat up the Peak Masters of the twelve peaks, one by one.

But to everyone’s surprise, the Demon Sect mole who was finally caught was not one of the Peak Masters, but a highly respected Elder from the Supreme Elder Hall.

The Divine Mansion Sect was comprised of two halls and thirteen peaks.

The two halls were the Sect Leader Hall and the Supreme Elder Hall.

Most of those Supreme Elders were masters who had stepped down as Peak Masters and remained in the sect to rest. They were thought to have long since withdrawn from worldly affairs, so it was shocking that one was connected to the Demon Sect.

Old Dong once again revealed his "Thousand-Handed Butcher" side.

With ten thousand silver threads, he brutally sliced that Supreme Elder into tens of thousands of pieces. The scene was utterly gruesome.

This time, however, not even Shi Bai Mountain, who had always been at odds with him, dared to step forward and say a single word.

Because a blood-crazed Dong Wanjun might actually kill him.

Old Dong’s fearsome reputation became unparalleled for a time.

To everyone’s astonishment, the Sect Leader, Murong Tian, seemed to have vanished during this period, never once making an appearance.

Bai Yuan had been obediently hiding in his small courtyard, drinking his soup.

The bloody storms raging outside had no effect on him whatsoever; his days were exceedingly comfortable.

He picked up the last bottle of Fire Spirit Soup.

He drank it all in one gulp.

A fiery warmth coursed through his body.

He felt the blood in his entire body begin to boil, but this time it was far more intense than ever before.

Bai Yuan’s eyes lit up.

He was no longer the Huwei Arts Hall disciple from back then, completely clueless about the Blood Refining Pass.

’This is the sign of an impending breakthrough!’