The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

It was no wonder Nie Dao was so surprised.

The Changhe Gang had coveted the Spirit Medicine business for countless years, but lacking an Alchemist of their own, they could only trade massive amounts of gold, silver, and monster flesh with the major sects in exchange for Spirit Medicine.

Establishing their own Spirit Medicine trade route was the dearest wish of every Changhe Gang Leader.

Nie Dao never imagined that the long-dreamed-of Spirit Medicine business would deliver itself right to his doorstep.

The two who had barged into the Changhe Martial Arts Hall were, of course, Bai Yuan and Hu Ben.

The Divine Mansion Sect’s intelligence network had collapsed that night, so they didn’t have much information to go on.

However, both were seasoned veterans of the Jianghu, and they were certain that the Changhe Gang’s Chief Steward in Huanglong Prefecture would most likely be in the martial arts hall.

After all, in this world, Martial Artists reigned supreme. No matter how profitable a brothel or tavern might be, it could never compare to a martial arts hall.

And just as they had predicted, Nie Dao was indeed the Changhe Gang’s man in charge in Huanglong Prefecture. What’s more, he was the gang’s Vice Gang Leader—a man of no small status.

With the Divine Mansion Sect based there, Huanglong Prefecture was exceedingly wealthy.

The various powers of Ling Province had long been green with envy and had, of course, sent their top people to maximize their own profits.

The reason Bai Yuan had Hu Ben display his strength was because the Spirit Medicine business was too significant.

When conducting major business, the most crucial factor isn’t reputation or product, but strength. Without strength, you will be schemed against at every turn, and every step will be fraught with difficulty.

Only by making the other party respect your strength can business be conducted with ease.

It was just like the corporations in his previous life; large corporations always had smoother sailing.

"Of course."

Bai Yuan pulled a small jade bottle from his robes and handed it to Nie Dao.

Nie Dao took the small jade bottle skeptically and saw a few small black pills inside.

Smelling the unique medicinal fragrance, Nie Dao’s eyes lit up.

"You can try it. This pill is enough to support a Blood Refining Martial Master’s cultivation, comparable to a Blood Refining Pill." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Nie Dao didn’t stand on ceremony. Since they were going to do business, he naturally had to ensure the Spirit Medicine was genuine, and the best way to confirm that was to try it himself.

He wasn’t afraid of Bai Yuan poisoning him. He tipped out a pill and popped it into his mouth.

As he chewed, his expression turned strange.

’Why is this pill even more fragrant than the roasted leg of lamb I had for lunch?’

But he soon lost interest in the pill’s deliciousness, which far surpassed that of other pills, because he felt a familiar warmth spreading through him. It was the feeling of a Blood Refining Pill!

Although he had already broken through to Entering the Realm, he had consumed countless Blood Refining Pills in the past. The feeling was all too familiar.

Nie Dao stared at Bai Yuan in disbelief.

He never thought Bai Yuan would actually be an Alchemy Master.

Alchemists were common in the world, but Alchemy Masters were not.

An Alchemist who could refine pills superior to the Blood Refining Pill could be called an Alchemy Master, and every single one was a treasure to their sect.

Take the former Divine Mansion Sect, for example. The Hall Master of the Pill Hall was the Divine Mansion Sect’s Alchemy Master. Although his strength was inferior to the Peak Masters, his status was in no way lower.

He was also the only person from the main peak to survive that night.

It was said that Ji Chang had already escorted him to Ling Province. Bai Yuan didn’t know what happened after that.

But an Alchemy Master was a hot commodity everywhere; his situation was bound to be favorable.

Though Bai Yuan had the means to become an Alchemy Master, he had no need to.

Because he was a Spirit Cooker, a rank even higher than an Alchemist.

At the end of the day, Alchemists used Alchemy Techniques to extract the beneficial parts of Spirit Grass and fuse them together. Bai Yuan, on the other hand, struck directly at the source, using spirit as medicine. The difference in quality was immediately obvious.

However, something like "spirit" was far too rare, and Bai Yuan didn’t want to expose it and attract trouble.

So he settled for the next best thing: using food as medicine.

His legendary-level cooking skills were more than up to the task.

Nie Dao’s hands trembled slightly, his heart pounding with excitement.

’The God of Wealth I prayed to yesterday must have answered!’ Otherwise, how could a freelance Alchemist just show up at his door? Such a scenario was something he wouldn’t even dare to dream of.

The foremost concern of generations of Changhe Gang Leaders was about to be solved by him, just like that.

He felt that everything that had just happened was a bit unreal.

"I can provide Spirit Medicine," Bai Yuan said. "In return, the Changhe Gang will need to purchase it with Spirit Medicine of a lower tier."

"..."

Nie Dao’s expression grew even stranger.

In the Jianghu, it was always Spirit Grass for Spirit Medicine; trading Spirit Medicine for Spirit Medicine was unheard of.

But Nie Dao’s eyes grew even brighter.

’There’s only one reason someone would do this: this Alchemist wants to cultivate his own faction.’

But regardless of the reason, the Changhe Gang didn’t care.

As long as it wasn’t the Soul-Chasing Tower or the Celestial Heart Sect, the Changhe Gang welcomed all comers.

Besides, why would a behemoth like a Demon Sect cooperate with a tiny little Changhe Gang? That would be vastly overestimating the Changhe Gang, which had only three members who had reached Entering the Realm.

"Alright."

Nie Dao made a snap decision.

Normally, such a major decision should be left to the Gang Leader, but he didn’t want such a precious opportunity to slip through his fingers. So, he took the initiative and made the call himself.

He figured the Gang Leader would have no reason to refuse anyway.

With a stable supply of Spirit Medicine, the Changhe Gang’s strength was bound to take another step forward.

Bai Yuan and Nie Dao hammered out the final details of the deal, agreeing to deliver the goods in a mountainous area outside the city in seven days.

Aside from the price, Bai Yuan’s biggest demand was secrecy.

Fortunately, the Changhe Gang, being accustomed to shady business, was very good at this.

"I have yet to ask for your esteemed name, brother."

Nie Dao chuckled, in a wonderful mood.

The two had agreed that every transaction would be payment upon delivery, so it was a fairly reliable arrangement. The price the other party offered was also thirty percent lower than Longevity Palace, Seven Star Sect, and the Court, saving the Changhe Gang a massive amount of snowflake silver.

Don’t be fooled by the Longevity Palace’s reclusive nature; their Spirit Medicine business was more prosperous than anyone’s.

The Xuan Yang Daoist Sect was aloof and held a transcendent status, which had a great deal to do with those Daoist masters who holed themselves up in their Alchemy Rooms all day.

Their asking price for high-tier pills like the Blood Refining Pill was so high it made even the Changhe Gang wince. In contrast, the high-volume, low-tier pills were much cheaper.

For the other party to trade high-tier pills for low-tier ones—a deal this good was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Bai Shui," Bai Yuan said faintly.

"So, it’s Brother Bai."

Nie Dao grinned broadly. With his veteran Jianghu experience, he naturally knew the name "Bai Shui" was almost certainly fake. If this were any other business, he might have pressed for details, but when it came to Spirit Medicine, he wisely chose to play dumb.

As long as the Spirit Medicine the other party provided was real, that was all that mattered.

"Brother Bai, I’ll see you in seven days, then. I will have the Spirit Medicine ready."

"See you in seven days."

...

Bai Yuan and Hu Ben strolled confidently out of the Changhe Martial Arts Hall.

They had beaten up the martial arts hall’s disciples yet walked away as if nothing had happened. Seeing their hall master’s amicable attitude, the apprentices immediately understood they had taken that beating for nothing.

Bai Yuan didn’t linger in Huanglong Prefecture. He took Hu Ben and went straight into the deep mountains.

Since it was a Spirit Medicine deal, he naturally had to find a place to "perform Alchemy."

With his current skills as a Spirit Cooker, he was in no way inferior to those Alchemy Masters. The Spirit Soup he made was even more effective than an Entry Pill.

However, the rebuilt Divine Mansion Sect still had over a thousand members, and their consumption of Spirit Medicine was enormous.

He couldn’t possibly waste all his time on Alchemy.

Therefore, directly exchanging high-tier pills for low-tier ones was a time-saving method.

Bai Yuan set up a large cauldron in the mountain valley.

He was a cook, not an Alchemist; of course their techniques were different.

Cooking was naturally much faster than Alchemy. He added the Spirit Vegetables that Hu Ben had bought from the city’s south market into the pot.

In just half an hour, a pot of black paste was ready.

Rolling this paste into the shape of pills was how he created the Spirit Medicine Nie Dao had seen.

This step was, of course, handled by Hu Ben.

After a full day of vigorous work, they had quickly refined the amount of Spirit Medicine agreed upon with the Changhe Gang.

There were still six days until the transaction.

With the Changhe Gang’s methods, they would surely be trying everything to search for the two of them in the city, so Bai Yuan and Hu Ben simply decided to live in the mountains.

Hu Ben’s build was too conspicuous, so Bai Yuan had him stay in the mountains.

He, on the other hand, changed his face and returned to Huanglong Prefecture.

Having many skills always came in handy.

With his full set of skills, Bai Yuan’s survival ability was off the charts. Even though Huanglong Prefecture was heavily guarded, entering it was as simple as walking into his own backyard.

He passed through the streets and alleys, finally stopping before a large, blue-bricked wall.

Inside the blue-bricked wall was the Lu Family.

As one of the top powers in Ling Province, the Lu Family’s residence in Huanglong Prefecture was naturally magnificent. The gilded lions at the entrance were incredibly imposing.

Bai Yuan had come here, of course, to gather more intelligence.

Lu Yu was the son of the Lingzhou General; he was bound to know many inside stories.

Like the secret about the Divine Mansion he had overheard yesterday.

’No wonder the Lingzhou Army had little interest in annihilating the Divine Mansion Sect, yet they scoured the mountains for any trace of Murong Tian. So that was the reason.’

...

「In the Lu Mansion.」

Lu Yu was sitting in his room.

Suddenly, a pigeon flew in through the window.

The pigeon was very docile, allowing Lu Yu to catch it without a struggle.

This was a special, gu-controlled pigeon. It was only docile to him. If anyone else were to touch it, the pigeon would dissolve into a pool of blood, and the message it carried would be corroded along with it.

Lu Yu removed the small paper strip hidden in the pigeon’s beak.

He gazed at the paper strip in his hand, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

"You truly are my good brother."

The intelligence in his hand clearly stated that Bai Yuan had gathered the remnants of the Divine Mansion Sect and re-established it.

After its reconstruction, the Divine Mansion Sect had gradually started to appear in the counties near the Shiwan Mountains, which was in itself a way of probing the Lingzhou Army.

Therefore, it wasn’t surprising that Lu Yu knew this information.

He rubbed his fingers together, and the paper strip turned to dust.

Lu Yu was in a good mood.

’I love this feeling of competing on the same stage with a genius; otherwise, life would be too boring.’

He had heard that the Kaiyang Taoist, who had been poisoned and defeated by Bai Yuan, would also be coming to Huanglong Prefecture in a few days. It seemed he had been entrusted by Master Longevity to investigate the matter of the Divine Mansion.

Lu Yu clenched his fists.

He was very eager to have a match with that Kaiyang Taoist who had defeated all the geniuses in Ling Province.

For a small place like Huanglong Prefecture to be on the verge of gathering the strongest of Ling Province’s younger generation... such a spectacle was truly rare.

"It’s just a shame my Brother Bai isn’t in the city, or things would be even more interesting."

...

「Outside the courtyard wall.」

Bai Yuan’s figure disappeared around the corner.