The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Ling Province. Longevity Palace.

"Senior Brother Kaiyang, is that Bai fellow really that strong?"

A young man dressed like a Daoist leaped like a sparrowhawk onto the stone platform occupied by the Kaiyang Taoist.

The Kaiyang Taoist didn’t spare the young Daoist a glance, remaining quietly seated with his legs crossed.

He had now returned to his normal dark and lean appearance, with none of the ferocity he had when he fought Bai Yuan.

"Tsk, tsk, that Bai fellow is now ranked one spot higher than you on the list, Senior Brother. He must have some skill."

Paying no mind to whether the Kaiyang Taoist was listening, the young Daoist mused aloud.

The list he mentioned was the Ling Province Martial World Ranking that had recently begun to circulate. It was said to be the work of the same person who created the Heaven and Earth Lists in Huanglong Prefecture.

Or rather, the previous Heaven and Earth Lists from Huanglong Prefecture were just a part of this new list.

Both the Kaiyang Taoist and Bai Yuan had been quietly moved from the Earth List to the Heaven List. Apparently, the creator of the list felt that keeping the two of them on the Earth List would be a bit unfair to the younger generation.

Bai Yuan was ranked fifteenth, and the Kaiyang Taoist was sixteenth.

Bai Yuan had bested the Kaiyang Taoist, the number one genius of Ling Province.

The person behind the list had god-like methods, even knowing about the battle that night on Wan Jun Peak, and furthermore, that Bai Yuan had defeated the Kaiyang Taoist with poison.

Overnight, Bai Yuan’s name spread through the streets and alleys of Ling Province.

Even factions from the Outer States had begun to pay close attention to this genius.

"The Divine Mansion Sect is really resilient. First Murong Tian and Dong Wanjun, and now a Bai Yuan. Could it be that their Founding Ancestor picked a spot with good feng shui?"

The young Daoist continued.

The Kaiyang Taoist formed a hand seal, let out a long breath, and finally opened his eyes.

He had been tormented by Bai Yuan’s Fire Spirit poison for a full ten days, only just now managing to expel all of it from his body.

For someone with his Innate Vajra physique to be brought to such a state by poison was truly a rare sight.

"Senior Brother, don’t you plan on winning it back?"

The young Daoist knew his senior brother’s temperament very well.

Despite the Kaiyang Taoist’s current peaceful and detached demeanor, in his younger years he was the type who had to be number one, killing countless talented young men from Ling Province in his rise.

The Kaiyang Taoist gave a faint smile.

"There will always be another chance."

However, he didn’t believe his loss to Bai Yuan was due to carelessness. A loss was a loss.

In the life-and-death struggles of the Martial Dao, there was no such thing as a cheap trick. Any method that could kill an opponent was a good method.

The Kaiyang Taoist admitted to himself that even if he fought Bai Yuan again, he would still succumb to the poison and lose. That strange poison was simply too domineering; even with his poison resistance practically maxed out, it was still useless.

Bai Yuan’s endless stream of techniques was truly difficult for him to counter.

"Next time, Senior Brother, you’ll definitely be able to kill that punk surnamed Bai."

The young Daoist giggled again.

He had extreme confidence in his senior brother.

...

"Fifteenth on the Heaven List."

Ruan Xiuluan gazed at the list circulating through Ling Province.

Their new Sect Leader, Bai Yuan, was right there on the Heaven List, and at a high rank no less.

He had even outranked a Sensing Powerhouse.

Clearly, in the eyes of the list’s creator, Bai Yuan already possessed enough strength to challenge a Sensing Powerhouse.

Besides Bai Yuan, one other person had achieved this feat: the Kaiyang Taoist.

Aside from Bai Yuan and the Kaiyang Taoist, two other names on the list also caused concern among the members of the Divine Mansion Sect.

Those names were Murong Tian and Dong Wanjun.

Dong Wanjun, who had been missing for months, shockingly appeared at the very top of the list, ranked even higher than the Longevity Palace Master. Yet Old Dong’s fate in the Northern Plains was unknown, so no one knew how the list’s creator had made such a judgment.

Besides Dong Wanjun, the name of Murong Tian, who should have been at the forefront of the list, was strangely absent.

The hearts of the Divine Mansion Sect members sank.

’Could it be that Sect Leader Murong Tian has really met with disaster?’

"Junior Sister Ruan, don’t overthink it," Yu Hui said.

With the Divine Mansion Sect rebuilt, the two of them had long since buried the hatchet. In truth, they never had any deep-seated hatred for each other; their stances had simply been different.

But now, their stances were completely aligned: to assist Bai Yuan in restoring the Divine Mansion Sect to its former glory.

The Lingzhou Army had shattered the Divine Mansion Sect’s unchallenged status in Huanglong Prefecture, and the prefecture had once again returned to Ling Province’s jurisdiction.

The Lord General seemed to have given up on the idea of completely eradicating the Divine Mansion Sect.

Other than stationing more and more troops on Shenfu Mountain, he made no other moves.

Bai Yuan had led the members of the Divine Mansion Sect to regain their footing. Although they were still in the deep mountains, their covert control over the two surrounding counties was enough to support the martial arts training of the people in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

If it weren’t for the demon beast meat and Spirit Medicine, even the most loyal sect members would be unwilling to destroy their Martial Dao prospects by pledging their lives to the Divine Mansion Sect.

"Sect Leader, there is still no sign of the Old Sect Leader."

Zhao Han knelt on one knee, clasping his fist as he spoke.

Seated on a large, tiger-pelt-draped chair, Bai Yuan waved his hand dismissively.

"Keep searching." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

After the Lingzhou Army stopped its pursuit of the Divine Mansion Sect, he had dispatched the Divine Mansion Army to secretly search for Murong Tian, but unfortunately, there had been no leads.

It was as if the Old Sect Leader of the Divine Mansion Sect had vanished from the face of the earth.

On Shenfu Mountain, Ouyang Hua also learned that Bai Yuan had rebuilt the Divine Mansion Sect in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

His attitude toward this was even more supportive than that of Yu Hui and the others.

Ouyang Hua knew his own Martial Dao journey had come to an end in this lifetime. He had only become a puppet Sect Leader to preserve the Murong Family bloodline.

When Murong Tian was still around, he had held Bai Yuan in the highest regard. Now, with Murong Tian missing and Murong Jiujiang dead, it was only natural that Bai Yuan should become the new Sect Leader.

As for the fact that Bai Yuan’s surname was Bai and not Murong, Ouyang Hua didn’t care in the slightest.

After all, such situations had occurred several times throughout the history of the Divine Mansion Sect.

In the end, whoever had the bigger fist got to be the Sect Leader.

The Divine Mansion Sect on Shenfu Mountain was just an empty shell propped up by the Lingzhou Army; the Divine Mansion Sect in the Hundred Thousand Mountains was its true soul.

...

Shenfu Mountain.

"Have you found any trace of that old scoundrel Murong?"

Ji Chang stared expressionlessly at the Lingzhou Army generals before him.

Huanglong Prefecture had now become the Lingzhou Army’s private backyard.

After Murong Tian escaped the joint attack of the Lingzhou General and the Longevity Palace Master that night, he had vanished as if from the face of the earth.

The Lingzhou Army had dispatched thousands of soldiers to search Huanglong Prefecture, but they still hadn’t found any trace of Murong Tian.

With the war in the Northern Territory growing urgent, the Lingzhou General received orders from the Court to lead his troops north as reinforcements. It wasn’t just Ling Province; all seven provinces of the Northern Territory had dispatched troops north.

Ji Chang remained in Huanglong Prefecture to continue the search for Murong Tian.

The former Sect Leader of the Divine Mansion Sect was quite capable. According to the Lord General, he had used some kind of Secret Technique of the Divine Mansion Sect to stimulate his potential, which was how he managed to escape the combined assault of two great masters.

However, this type of potential-bursting Cultivation Technique had immense side effects. Even if he wasn’t dead, he was likely crippled.

The Lingzhou General had been counting on using Murong Tian’s blood to open the Divine Mansion. If Murong Tian was dead, then the key to opening the Divine Mansion would be lost.

Only by waiting for the next Sensing Powerhouse from the Murong Family to appear would there be another chance to open the Divine Mansion.

But by then, the position of Lingzhou General would likely have passed to someone else. Of course, the Lord General was unwilling to accept this, which was why he had sent Ji Chang to continue the search, refusing to give up his last hope.

Ji Chang’s expression was grim and uncertain.

’Could that old scoundrel Murong really be dead? If Murong Tian was truly dead, then the Lord General’s plans would be mostly ruined.’

"Continue the search."

Ji Chang waved his hand.

All the counties in Huanglong Prefecture were now under Ling Province’s control. With the help of the local County Magistrate’s Offices, finding someone should have been an easy task. The only fear was that Murong Tian had fled into the deep mountains and ancient forests; in that case, even divine methods would be useless.

Even with all his skills, Dong Wanjun had been unable to find the Soul-Chasing Tower’s palace in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, let alone find a single person.

"Yes, sir!"

The soldier respectfully accepted the order and departed.

...

Huanglong Prefecture City.

A long line of caravans slowly drove into the city.

These caravans all belonged to the great families and major sects of Ling Province.

When the Divine Mansion Sect was powerful, they never had a chance to interfere in Huanglong Prefecture. Now that the sect was in decline, they were like vultures smelling carrion, scrambling to get a piece of the prize.

In fact, the very reason that other prefectures in Ling Province had never produced any overly powerful masters was the doing of these Lingzhou factions.

An existence like the Divine Mansion Sect had been an anomaly.

For the sake of their own development, these Lingzhou factions would naturally suck their territories dry; how could they allow a mere prefectural power to rise above them?

Of course, the Prefect also had his own considerations in this matter.

As long as he brought these factions into Huanglong Prefecture, the resulting infighting and mutual constraints would make it incredibly difficult for the Divine Mansion Sect to ever regain its former glory.

And the Lord Governor could rest easy.

Among these caravans, one was particularly eye-catching. A large, imposing black and gold banner flew, emblazoned with the large word "Lu."

That’s right, this was the Lu Family’s caravan—the family of the Lingzhou General.

The Lord General was not actually from Lingzhou. It was said that he had achieved great merit in the Southern Garrison Army and was recommended by someone in the Court, which was how he became the Lingzhou General—a post he had held for thirty years.

General Lu was extremely skilled at putting down roots and growing his family.

He had arrived all alone, yet he had managed to sire an entire family.

"I’m back again."

A roguishly handsome man poked his head out of the carriage, but the chilling killing intent emanating from him could not be concealed.

This was none other than Lu Yu, who had just returned from the Northern Territory.

He never would have thought he was so fated to be in Huanglong Prefecture City.

After his General father arrived at the Northern Garrison Army, he had been kicked out of the barracks and told to get his ass back to Huanglong Prefecture to inherit the family business.

’Dammit,’ he thought, ’why is it so hard to be a rich kid who wants to make it on his own?’

A rich kid...

Lu Yu savored the term. Those two words that kid Bai Yuan had used were truly apt.

This time, he was representing the Lu Family to establish their business interests in Huanglong Prefecture.

But with the prestige of his General father, the Lu Family’s business wouldn’t suffer even if he spent all day in brothels listening to music.

Not to mention, his General father had even assigned him a strategist for this trip.

Lu Yu turned his head to look at the round-faced woman sitting in the same carriage with him.

"What are you lookin’ at?"

The round-faced woman had her eyes closed, feigning sleep as she leaned against the carriage wall, but she still sensed Lu Yu’s gaze on her.

This woman was none other than Lu Yu’s half-sister from the same father, Lu Shanshan.

However, unlike Lu Yu, Lu Shanshan was no illegitimate daughter.