The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

[In your 217th year of practicing the Returning Mountain Saber, your saber is already fast enough, but you discover that to become even faster, you must learn how to conserve your strength.]

...

[In your 305th year of practicing the saber, you have finally mastered your saber technique, controlling it with ease and achieving the Master level.]

...

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Occupation: Demon Hunter, Sword Ghost, Boxer, Spirit Cooker]

[Skills: Ghost·Gui Shan (Master), Leader’s Leg (Proficient), Ghost Night Wanderer Step (Master), Ghost·Shenji Baibian (Master), Ghost Hundred Poison Hand (Master)...]

[Enhancement Points: 0]

Bai Yuan had finally practiced the Gui Shan Saber Technique to the Master level.

This saber technique evolved from the Blood Tiger Saber, the Tiger-Crane Form, and the Three Axes of the Woodcutter, embodying the concept of a fierce tiger returning to its mountain.

Both the Blood Tiger Saber and the Three Axes of the Woodcutter were too ferocious and lacked resilience.

The Tiger-Crane Form perfectly compensated for this weakness, serving as the ideal binding cultivation technique.

A fierce tiger returns to its mountain to rest, making its next strike all the more terrifying.

Bai Yuan’s comprehension of the Gui Shan Saber Technique captured this very essence. He sought not only to deliver a single, brilliant strike but to have each strike surpass the last. He aimed to crush his opponent like a landslide, his saber intent flowing continuously, as powerful as the great waves of the sea. It was an unending assault, giving his enemy no room to breathe.

This was the true meaning of the Master-level Gui Shan Saber Technique.

An ordinary person, even if they learned the Returning Mountain Saber, could only manage a single strike.

Only Bai Yuan, who had thoroughly grasped the saber intent of the Returning Mountain Saber, could reach such a realm.

But to reach this stage, he had practiced the saber for a full three hundred years.

Murong Tian of the Zhigan Pass had lived for two hundred years in his second life, but practicing the saber for three hundred years? Only old monsters were capable of such a feat.

Now that he had trained his Gui Shan to the Master level, the saber intent in his eyes seemed to have taken physical form.

Ordinary people wouldn’t even dare to meet his gaze, lest they be wounded by his saber intent.

Beside him, Sister Qiao could feel the saber intent radiating from Bai Yuan.

Such terrifying saber intent could only be comprehended by a swordsman who had practiced for a hundred years.

"Brother Yuan?"

Sister Qiao called out in a low voice. She actually felt a little scared, even though she knew Bai Yuan would never hurt her.

In the next instant, the saber intent that had sent a chill down her spine receded like a tide.

"I just had a sudden insight."

Bai Yuan looked at Sister Qiao, who still seemed shaken.

Even though Sister Qiao had already broken through the Yijin Pass, she still couldn’t withstand the intent of his Returning Mountain Saber.

Seeing her familiar Brother Yuan return, Sister Qiao let out a chuckle.

"So how are you going to make it up to me?"

She asked playfully, hooking her fingers together in front of her.

"That’s easy."

When Sister Qiao saw Bai Yuan’s mischievous look and remembered their strenuous battles over the past few days, her heart skipped a beat.

"Husband, I... I really can’t take it anymore."

With a soft cry from Sister Qiao, the door creaked shut.

...

...

「The next day.」

"Commander Bai, Xu Kang has struck again."

Zhao Han’s expression was grim. He was deeply attached to the Divine Mansion Army and couldn’t bear to see any of its members die in battle.

This time, another Divine Mansion Army Commander had been killed. He heard it was the commander of the Laozi Camp.

This was the second commander Xu Kang had killed.

Hu Ben was furious but helpless.

Bai Yuan remained silent.

’This Thunderbolt Hand seems tougher to deal with than I thought.’

Although Hu Ben looked big and boorish on the surface, he was meticulous in his work. Otherwise, he never would have secured the position of Gang Camp’s commander.

He had secretly summoned Vice Commander Liu Li, planning to join forces with him to kill Xu Kang.

But it was as if Xu Kang knew their every move, always managing to evade them precisely.

This left Hu Ben and Liu Li incredibly frustrated.

If Xu Kang kept killing like this, they wouldn’t be able to face Old Dong.

Bai Yuan said, "Tell the brothers below to be careful."

Although being careful was ultimately useless. The commanders Xu Kang had killed had already done everything they could, but Xu Kang simply overpowered them with absolute martial strength. There was no solution.

The only way was for the Divine Mansion Sect to abandon the pursuit and retreat to a single city.

But if they did that, the Divine Mansion Army would lose all face completely.

For soldiers, honor was sometimes more valuable than life itself.

This was also why Yu Hui, despite knowing the situation here, had yet to issue an order.

Too many people within the Divine Mansion Sect were already watching the Divine Mansion Army. If they were given any excuse, someone would seize the opportunity to cause trouble, and that was something Yu Hui would never allow.

"Yes, sir."

Zhao Han slammed his fists together in front of his chest—the unique military salute of the Divine Mansion Army.

He turned and left the room, his heart growing even heavier.

’Just how many more from the Divine Mansion Army must die before Xu Kang is stopped?’

...

「Qinghe County, at the city gate.」

A horse-drawn carriage slowly approached the gate.

"Who goes there!"

A soldier of the Qinghe City Guard Army shouted, halting the carriage.

The groom was very obedient, dutifully pulling on the reins and waiting for inspection.

"What’s your business?"

The City Guard soldier demanded sternly.

The new Commander Bai had already ordered the city gates sealed for the next few days. Aside from a few essential supplies, no other people or goods were allowed to enter the city.

"Officers, this humble one is from Flying Eagle Castle, transporting grain and fresh meat."

The groom said with a fawning smile, cupping his hands in a salute to the City Guard soldier.

To curry favor with Bai Yuan, the Flying Eagle Castle Lord had specifically taken on the task of delivering provisions to Qinghe City.

Most of Flying Eagle Castle’s influence was outside the city, and with their abundant resources, they were perfectly suited for the job.

However, the soldier didn’t take the groom at his word. He first checked the documents on the groom’s person, then inspected every item in the carriage before finally letting it pass.

The groom cracked his whip and shouted, "Giddy-up!"

The old horse slowly lifted its hooves, its hooves going CLIP-CLOP, CLIP-CLOP on the green stone slabs of Qinghe County as it entered the city.

The carriage passed through several streets and alleys in Qinghe before finally stopping at a warehouse.

This was where Qinghe County Town stored its grain.

The groom skillfully unloaded the goods with a warehouse attendant. The two chatted for a few more moments before the groom drove the empty carriage away.

The warehouse door creaked shut as the attendant closed it.

Not long after the door was closed, a sack meant for meat suddenly swayed from side to side.

There was the faint sound of tearing fabric.

A burly, bearded man suddenly appeared in the warehouse, as if by magic.

This was none other than Thunderbolt Hand, Xu Kang, the very man Hu Ben and Liu Li had been hunting all this time.

He had entered the city with such ease.

The groom from Flying Eagle Castle was not his inside man; in fact, no one in Flying Eagle Castle even knew he existed.

The reason he could pull off this deception was a strange art he practiced—the Bone Shrinking Technique.

It was precisely with this unique skill that he had been able to escape Hu Ben and Liu Li’s repeated encirclements.

Xu Kang’s Bone Shrinking Technique was far more formidable than that of mere acrobats who could only fold their wrists and shoulder blades.

He could shrink his entire body into a ball of flesh the size of a human head. It was an unimaginable feat, and without it, he never could have evaded the City Guard’s search.

Who would have thought a large ball of flesh was actually a living person?

Xu Kang let out a sinister chuckle and muttered under his breath.

"Bai Yuan..."

...

「Late at night.」

A small courtyard in the Huwei Arts Hall.

Bai Yuan returned under the cover of night, stepping through the courtyard gate and calling for Sister Qiao.

The news about Xu Kang hadn’t slowed down his monster-grinding progress in the slightest. Today, he had killed several more assassins from the Soul-Chasing Tower and earned a good number of Enhancement Points.

"Brother Yuan, have a bowl of porridge."

Hearing Bai Yuan’s voice, Xiao Qiaoniang emerged from the kitchen carrying a bowl of steaming meat porridge.

She felt as if she had returned to their time in Baisha Town.

Bai Yuan would go up the mountains to hunt, while she stayed home to sew and cook.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Bai Yuan smiled faintly, a warm feeling spreading through his heart.

He brought the meat porridge to his lips, then suddenly froze.

Sister Qiao asked with concern, "Is it too hot?"

But Bai Yuan asked abruptly, "Sister Qiao, have you had any of this porridge?"

"Not yet."

Sister Qiao didn’t quite understand why Bai Yuan was asking, but she answered truthfully.

"That’s good."

Bai Yuan tilted his head back and downed the meat porridge as if it were water, then set the porcelain bowl aside.

"Sister Qiao, let’s turn in early."

A blush appeared on Xiao Qiaoniang’s face as she let out a soft "Mm."

Bai Yuan wrapped his arm around Sister Qiao’s slender waist, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

’The porridge is poisoned!’

...

...

The moon hung high in the eastern sky.

It was already the Hour of the Ox.

All the lights in the Huwei Arts Hall had been extinguished. The apprentices and instructors were fast asleep.

In the darkness, a figure appeared silently outside the walls of Bai Yuan’s small courtyard like a specter.

His reddish beard and hair were particularly striking in the moonlight.

It was Xu Kang, the man who had killed two Divine Mansion Army commanders!

Xu Kang glanced at the small courtyard, a mocking sneer playing on his lips.

’Still too naive.’

If ’Jia’ hadn’t specifically warned him that this kid named Bai had some strange tricks up his sleeve, he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of using poison. His style was to smash through the city gates and kill the young commander directly.

"It’s not an unjust death," Xu Kang thought.

Xu Kang was certain his opponent had been poisoned.

The poison he used was extremely special—a potent concoction custom-made by the Soul-Chasing Tower. Once poisoned, the victim would emit a unique fragrance.

Since he could already smell that distinct scent, the boy named Bai must have fallen for it.

Xu Kang tapped his toes lightly and leaped over the wall like a sparrowhawk.

But just as his feet were about to touch the ground—

A loud BANG jolted the entire Huwei Arts Hall awake!

A thumb-sized steel ball shot straight toward Xu Kang’s chest.

The steel ball was too fast, so fast that even Xu Kang couldn’t react in time.

PFFT...

A flower of blood blossomed on Xu Kang’s chest as dark blood gushed from the wound.

’The steel ball was poisoned?’

Xu Kang stared at the wound, his eyes narrowing slightly.

’The venom of a Three-Metamorphosis Snake Demon is truly potent.’

However, he had roamed the Jianghu for many years and had long been prepared. He took an Antitoxic Pill every day, so his resistance to poison was extremely high.

His own poison resistance was more than enough to last until he killed the young man before him.

Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow.

’So not all Entering Martial Artists are trash like Zhou Tao. They really are hard to kill.’

Besides using the Enhancement Points he had recently acquired to practice his saber, he had also spent them on another ten years of training in Shenji Baibian.

Although it wasn’t enough to break through from Master to Legendary, he had still made some gains.

That was why he had already modified his musket.

The modification was... rifling the barrel.

Yes, hand-carved rifling.

In his past life, he had learned a little about firearms. Rifling makes the bullet spin, increasing its penetrating power several times over.

While a rifled musket couldn’t kill an Entering Martial Artist outright, it was the perfect tool for delivering poison.

Xu Kang had already been poisoned by Xiaoqing’s venom.

"How did you find out?"

Xu Kang wasn’t in a hurry to kill Bai Yuan. Instead, he asked out of curiosity.

The Soul-Chasing Tower’s poisons were formless and colorless. Even an expert poison user might not have noticed anything amiss.

The young man before him looked very young, not at all like an old poison master steeped in the toxic arts for many years.

Bai Yuan didn’t answer.

As a Spirit Cooker, he was extremely sensitive to the spiritual nature of all things, making it a simple matter to detect the poison in the meat porridge.

He knew Sister Qiao couldn’t have been the one to poison it, so it must have been someone else.

Therefore, he was certain that the poisoner would make a move tonight, and so he set up an ambush in advance.

Just as he had guessed, it really was Xu Kang.