The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Huanglong Prefecture bordered the Three Mansions.

In the mountains where Huanglong Prefecture and Purple Splendor Mansion met, several figures darted swiftly through the forest.

"Brother Liang, Huanglong Prefecture has gathered many experts. They won’t be easy to deal with."

An old man spoke as he ran, his breath steady as if he were on flat ground. To possess such skill, he was clearly no ordinary man.

The middle-aged man leading the way, dressed like a Wandering Martial Artist in a bamboo hat and short shirt, scoffed.

"Just a bunch of worthless small fry."

This Wandering Martial Artist was none other than the infamous Blood Saber of the Northern Plains, Liang Ziheng.

Liang Ziheng was originally a notorious Ghostwriter in the Northern Territory, one who cared only for money and not for whom he killed. He had slain many of the Northern Territory’s experts.

But not long after the Demon Sect invaded Xuan Yang, he publicly announced his allegiance to them.

Everyone speculated that, like the other Martial World masters who had defected to the Demon Sect, he was a sleeper agent planted in Xuan Yang by the Soul-Chasing Tower. In truth, he had no prior connection to the Demon Sect whatsoever.

Even the Demon Sect couldn’t understand why Liang Ziheng had suddenly turned his coat. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

But it didn’t matter. Outside of the Soul-Chasing Tower, the Demon Sect itself was extremely decentralized.

According to their doctrine, anyone who worshipped the Demon God was a member of the Demon Sect. Nothing else was required.

Liang Ziheng worshipped the Demon God, so he was naturally a member of the Demon Sect. It was just that simple.

This time, he was acting on the orders of a major figure in the Soul-Chasing Tower to stir up trouble in Huanglong Prefecture, preventing it from reinforcing the Northern Territory.

Liang Ziheng had been to Ling Province several times before.

When he had visited back then, the Divine Mansion Sect was at the zenith of its power, the undisputed overlord of Huanglong Prefecture.

In his eyes, aside from a few interesting individuals like the Longevity Palace Master and Dong Wanjun, no one else was worthy of his notice.

As they raced onward—

Suddenly, a rain of arrows fell from the sky.

Seeing the arrows descending from above, Liang Ziheng and his men all drew their weapons.

These arrows were fired from powerful bows and were extremely deadly. An ordinary Martial Artist would have been riddled with holes like a hornet’s nest under such a volley.

However, the men Liang Ziheng brought this time were all experts from the Soul-Chasing Tower. They naturally had no fear of arrows and used their weapons to parry the incoming shafts.

The volley of arrows stopped.

Several figures appeared before them.

"Liang Ziheng, Senior Brother Longevity once said that if you ever dared to set foot in Ling Province again, he would make sure you never left."

An old Daoist among the group spoke slowly.

Liang Ziheng stared at the figures before him and sneered, "I was wondering who it was. So it’s the old Pure Yuan Dog from Longevity Palace."

He had come to Ling Province ten years ago.

At that time, he had been hunted by Master Longevity for three days and three nights, barely escaping Ling Province with his life. This very Elder Chunyuan had been present then as well.

The figures before them were none other than Liu Kanshan and the others from Huanglong Prefecture, sent to intercept them.

Ji Chang hefted the long saber in his hand, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "What’s there to say to these demon spawn? Just kill them all."

Before the words had even faded, he was the first to charge forward, saber raised.

The moment Ji Chang moved, the others attacked as well.

In addition to Chunyuan Zhenren, Liu Kanshan, and Ji Chang, there was also Fa Zhen Taoist from Longevity Palace and Yuan Dingcai, the Vice Governor of Lingzhou. The lineup was truly formidable.

In contrast, on Liang Ziheng’s side, apart from his own overwhelmingly dominant strength, the other three were a notch weaker.

Although they were all Entering Martial Artists, the gap in power between them was simply too vast.

Chunyuan Zhenren and Liu Kanshan joined forces, locking Liang Ziheng in a chaotic battle.

The Northern Plains Blood Saber truly lived up to his name. Facing two of Ling Province’s top experts alone, he held his own, a clear testament to his power.

Ji Chang, meanwhile, singled out one of the Soul-Chasing Tower experts.

The long saber in his hands moved with wide, powerful swings, forcing the Soul-Chasing Tower expert deeper into the forest.

"Just as I thought, you Soul-Chasing Tower vermin only know how to run."

Ji Chang watched the fleeing Soul-Chasing Tower assassin, a mocking expression on his face.

This forest was already surrounded by the Lingzhou Army, and three hundred Demon Riders would arrive soon. When that happened, even Liang Ziheng would be forced to retreat.

In his eyes, the Soul-Chasing Tower assassin up ahead was already a dead man.

Suddenly!

A brilliant flash of a saber under the moonlight reflected into Ji Chang’s eyes.

THUD!

The Soul-Chasing Tower expert was slain by a single, unexpected saber strike.

Ji Chang stopped dead in his tracks, his brow furrowed deeply.

He slowly uttered two words: "It’s you!"

He didn’t recognize the middle-aged man before him, but he recognized that saber strike.

According to the Lingzhou Army’s forensic doctor, the person who killed Kaiyang Taoist and Yan Mo was the same individual, and they had used only a single strike.

Ji Chang had clearly seen the saber strike that had just killed the Soul-Chasing Tower expert.

Only such a brilliant and stunning strike could have possibly killed the Open Eye Taoist.

Ji Chang licked his lips. "A disguise?"

"Doesn’t matter. Once I kill you, I’ll rip off your mask and see for myself."

A ferocious strike smashed down toward Bai Yuan.

Yes, not a cut, but a smash.

Ji Chang was a soldier, so all his techniques were designed for killing.

On the battlefield, even the sharpest blade will dull after too many cuts. That’s why battle-hardened veterans preferred to smash their opponents to death, ensuring they were truly and thoroughly dead.

The heavy, powerful strike actually produced a sonic boom.

This was the source of his confidence, what made him, an Entering Martial Artist, dare to challenge a master of the Perception Realm.

Ji Chang was ranked third in the Lingzhou Army, beneath only Lu Xiao and Fang Kui. His strength was beyond question.

CLANG!

Saber met saber in mid-air.

Ji Chang’s eyes narrowed. ’A bit interesting.’

There weren’t many in Ling Province who could take a single strike from him.

"Again!"

He raised his saber and smashed it toward Bai Yuan once more.

The Cultivation Techniques of the army didn’t have many flashy moves, only primitive violence and slaughter.

But Bai Yuan had no more patience to drag this out with him.

The ground began to shake. Clearly, the Lingzhou Army’s cavalry had arrived.

Cavalry was a devastating weapon in any era, let alone these three hundred riders from the Lingzhou Army, each a Strong Internal Martial Artist mounted on a Demon Horse.

The wooded terrain, normally unfavorable for a cavalry charge, was no obstacle for these riders.

Even an Entering Martial Artist couldn’t withstand a single one of their charges.

Therefore, Bai Yuan decided to end this quickly.

The veins on the hands gripping his saber suddenly bulged, turning an eerie scarlet. The Qi and Blood throughout his body grew incredibly dense.

Ji Chang’s expression tensed.

’Igniting his Qi and Blood?!’

He had long since noticed that this man’s Qi and Blood were more vigorous than an ordinary person’s, but he never expected him to have trained in a Cultivation Technique used only by the army’s Death Warriors.

The power gained from igniting one’s Qi and Blood was immense, but it would leave a person crippled afterward.

For this very reason, only Death Warriors in the army were willing to train in it.

"Courting death."

The corners of Ji Chang’s mouth lifted into a smirk.

Even with his opponent igniting his Qi and Blood, he was still confident he could kill the man.

But in the next instant, the smirk on his lips froze.

He saw the most stunning saber strike he had ever seen in his life.

The strike wasn’t particularly fast, nor did it contain overwhelming power, yet Ji Chang felt that he could not possibly avoid it.

It was as if he were fated to be struck by this saber.

All of his weaknesses were instantly exposed and magnified by this one strike.

Ji Chang’s pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinpricks, his face a mask of disbelief.

A hot stream of crimson trickled down from the top of his head.

Through his fading vision, he saw the strange man slowly raise his right hand and peel the mask from his face.

"The one who killed you is Bai Yuan of the Divine Mansion Sect."

"So it was you..."

Ji Chang could never have imagined that the one who killed him was a mere former True Disciple of the Divine Mansion Sect.

Not only him, but also Kaiyang Taoist, Yan Mo, and hundreds of Lingzhou Army soldiers had all been killed by the young man before him.

"I regret..."

If Ji Chang had known this would be the outcome today...

...he would have personally led his troops up Wan Jun Peak that night and hanged this young man, saving himself from this miserable fate.

Bai Yuan coldly sheathed his long saber.

The shaking of the ground grew more intense. The Lingzhou Cavalry was about to reach the battlefield.

But this was the mountains. As a Demon Hunter, Bai Yuan was the king here. Even if the Longevity Palace Master came in person, it would be impossible to catch him in these mountains.

His figure flickered and vanished into the dark, dense forest.

...

On an open battlefield, cavalry was a virtually invincible force.

The appearance of cavalry signified the end of the battle.

Chunyuan Taoist, Liu Kanshan, and Yuan Dingcai had joined forces, but in the end, they still couldn’t stop Liang Ziheng. The Northern Plains Blood Saber ultimately escaped.

However, the three of them managed to injure him.

It would be a long time before he could recover his peak combat strength.

Although they failed to kill Liang Ziheng as they had hoped, they had still achieved their objective.

But there was no trace of joy on their faces.

Because Ji Chang was dead...

"Can you tell what kind of Cultivation Technique was used to kill him?"

Chunyuan Taoist frowned deeply. With Ji Chang’s death, they had suffered a crushing defeat in this battle.

They had only seen Ji Chang chasing a Soul-Chasing Tower expert. The next time they saw him, he was already a corpse.

Liu Kanshan said coldly, "The body’s been hacked to mincemeat. All we can tell is that a saber was used. Nothing else."

Chunyuan Taoist sighed softly.

"Take the body away. Have the forensic doctor perform an autopsy."

Several Lingzhou Army soldiers carefully gathered up Ji Chang’s minced remains and placed them in a bag.

Now, with Lu Xiao and Ma Kui having gone north and Ji Chang dead...

...the great Lingzhou Army had lost its backbone. A sense of desolation couldn’t help but wash over them.

Yuan Dingcai, the Vice Governor of Lingzhou, slowly spoke up, "Could it have been Liang Ziheng?"

They had joined forces to surround and kill Liang Ziheng, but in the end, he had forcefully broken through their encirclement with his brutal saber techniques.

If Liang Ziheng had happened upon Ji Chang as he was fighting the Soul-Chasing Tower expert, he might really have had the opportunity to kill him.

After all, they had searched the entire forest and found no trace of the Soul-Chasing Tower expert.

In other words, after a whole night of fighting, they had only managed to kill two Soul-Chasing Tower assassins while losing a general of the Lingzhou Army. No matter how you looked at it, this was a disastrous loss.

Liu Kanshan said, "It’s very likely."

"As expected of the Ghostwriter famous throughout the Northern Plains. He really has some skill."

Fa Zhen Taoist of Longevity Palace spoke slowly.

At the same time, he felt a wave of lingering fear.

He was lucky he hadn’t run into Liang Ziheng himself; otherwise, his fate might not have been much better than Ji Chang’s.

He glanced at the bag seeping with blood and sighed inwardly.

’No matter how glorious you are in life, in the end, you still become a handful of dust.’