The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

It was a dark and windy night.

In a burial ground, exposed coffins and even human remains could be seen everywhere.

Places like this were naturally steeped in macabre legends. Timid locals, those who believed themselves susceptible to evil spirits, wouldn’t even dare approach. All the old-timers knew this place wasn’t clean.

However, the people buried in this potters’ field were mostly the destitute or executed convicts, so naturally, no one came to maintain it.

But tonight, two figures appeared under the moonlight.

If the nearby villagers saw them, they would surely be scared half to death.

"Ready to make our move?"

A middle-aged man in a conical hat spoke in a raspy voice.

It was none other than the Northern Plains Blood Saber, Liang Ziheng, the man Ling Province had been hunting. Standing before him was the lord of Ling Province’s Soul-Chasing Tower: Jia.

The Soul-Chasing Tower only used codenames. Thus, the Lord of the Ling Province Soul-Chasing Tower was called Jia. There were many Jias in Ling Province, but he was the strongest.

Jia nodded.

Liang Ziheng’s lips curled into a cruel smile.

"Foolish Lingzhou People."

Ling Province thought they had seen through his route, but little did they know, this was all a ploy designed by the Soul Chasing Tower Lord. The goal was to entrap and slaughter the experts of Ling Province, breaking its very backbone.

The Tianxin Sect Leader was currently tied up with Prefect Jiang near Lingzhou City. It was the perfect time for them to make their move.

Once they slaughtered all the experts coming to Luoying Slope, Ling Province would be powerless to resist the Demon Sect’s massacre.

"All of them must die!"

At the thought of the coming slaughter, Liang Ziheng trembled with excitement.

....

"Lord Yuan, Vice General Xie."

Bai Yuan clasped his fist in greeting as he looked at the two Martial Dao masters from the Lingzhou Prefecture Magistrate’s Office.

"Sect Leader Bai."

Yuan Dingcai also cupped his hands in return.

As a veteran powerhouse of Ling Province, he had assisted three Prefects.

A common saying on the streets referred to Yuan Dingcai: "Prefects flow like water, but the Vice-Prefect is forged from iron."

Yuan Dingcai’s talent lay in his ability to become the Prefect’s trusted confidant, no matter who held the office.

"Sect Leader Bai, it’s an honor. I’ve heard much about you."

Compared to Yuan Dingcai, Xie Changyan, the Vice General brought by Jiang Changping, was far more frank and open. It was clear from a single glance that he was a military man.

He sized up Bai Yuan with curiosity.

He had already heard of this young Sect Leader.

He couldn’t help but admire someone who had achieved so much at such a young age.

’This Sect Leader Bai before him had played a major role in the previous Prefect’s downfall.’

"I once fought alongside General Dong. As they say, a great master produces a brilliant student."

Xie Changyan had once served in the Northern Garrison Army and had met Old Dong on one occasion.

His impression of Ling Province’s number one, the Blood-Handed Ren Tu, was unforgettable. The man was simply savage, slaughtering Demon Sect masters as easily as wringing a chicken’s neck.

Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow.

’I didn’t expect Vice General Xie to have a connection to Old Dong.’

"I believe General Dong will definitely be able to return from the Northern Plains."

Xie Changyan patted Bai Yuan’s shoulder, even though he knew the chances were slim.

Bai Yuan nodded and didn’t say much more.

Next, the three of them discussed the details of surrounding and killing Liang Ziheng.

After all, the last time Yuan Dingcai, Liu Kanshan, and Chunyuan Zhenren attacked together, they still let that Northern Plains Blood Saber escape. This time, they absolutely could not let him get away again.

...

The moon hung among the eastern branches.

The harsh caw of a crow occasionally broke the silence.

Luoying Slope was a farming village. It was already 9 p.m. Aside from a few villagers woken by the sound of their pigs squealing at the trough, nearly every house was shut tight, its occupants deep asleep.

On a small path outside the village, a middle-aged, saber-wielding man in a conical hat walked at a slow pace.

Suddenly, two figures shot out from the woods beside the path.

The middle-aged man stopped and chuckled lowly. "You think you’re worthy of stopping me?"

"Liang Ziheng, there’s no escape for you this time."

Yuan Dingcai bellowed, and his cry was answered by the loud neighing of horses.

The gravel on the ground began to tremble. At least several hundred warhorses were charging toward them.

As a high-ranking official of Lingzhou, Yuan Dingcai naturally hadn’t come alone. Jiang Changping had already entrusted five hundred Demon Cavalry to Xie Changyan.

With five hundred Demon Cavalry to break his formation, the chances of killing Liang Ziheng increased dramatically.

Xie Changyan didn’t like to waste words before a fight. He just slowly drew the long saber from his waist.

Liang Ziheng sneered, drawing the long saber from his waist.

It was an eerie, crimson long saber that radiated a demonic aura.

Liang Ziheng was known as the Northern Plains Blood Saber not just for his high body count, but also for this very Demon Blade.

The moment the Demon Blade was unsheathed, Yuan Dingcai and Xie Changyan attacked in unison.

Yuan Dingcai used an elegant Long Sword; most scholars of the Confucian Family used swords.

Xie Changyan and Yuan Dingcai’s coordination was flawless. Their saber and sword crossed, cutting off Liang Ziheng’s escape.

The three of them were instantly locked in a chaotic battle.

...

「On the other side.」

In the mountain forest beside the Official Road.

Bai Yuan was traveling alone through the woods.

He hadn’t joined the battle. His task was to cut off Liang Ziheng’s escape route, ensuring there was no way out.

With five hundred Demon Cavalry assisting them, their forces were more than enough to handle Liang Ziheng.

As he sprinted onward, he was brought up short by the sound of horses screaming in agony.

He stopped abruptly, his brow furrowed tightly.

With his superhuman hearing, he was certain something had happened to the five hundred Demon Cavalry.

’An ambush!’

His heart jumped in alarm.

Clearly, the intelligence was wrong. Liang Ziheng hadn’t come alone.

Bai Yuan quickly scanned the pitch-black woods around him.

Just then—

A figure slowly emerged from the darkness—a person clad in a black robe that blended perfectly with the night.

Bai Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He’d had too many dealings with the Soul-Chasing Tower not to recognize one of their assassins on sight.

Judging by the aura he projected, it was clear this had to be the Lord of the Ling Province Soul-Chasing Tower—Jia!

A ruthless figure, ranked fifth on the Heavenly Ranking.

The Soul Chasing Tower Lord’s presence meant that the Soul-Chasing Tower had uncovered their operation beforehand.

When it came to intelligence, the Soul-Chasing Tower was unparalleled in the world.

Jia’s voice was a raspy, androgynous rasp. "Shenfu Sect Master. Bai Yuan."

Bai Yuan slowly placed his right hand on the hilt of his saber.

The two faced each other from a distance, and time seemed to stand still.

In an instant, the long saber on Bai Yuan’s back sang from its scabbard with a SHINK. His figure moved like a ghost as he lunged at the Soul Chasing Tower Lord, Jia.

A terrifying saber intent washed over Jia like a tidal wave.

A dagger, glinting with a cold light, appeared from thin air in the right hand of the motionless Jia.

The saying goes, "an inch longer, an inch stronger." For this reason, few in the Jianghu used daggers. Only assassins, like those from the Soul-Chasing Tower, favored such a short weapon, as it was better suited for ambushes.

The dagger in the Soul Chasing Tower Lord Jia’s hand precisely parried Bai Yuan’s long saber.

He slid forward with the momentum, intending to fight Bai Yuan in close quarters!

Bai Yuan’s brow furrowed slightly. Gripping the hilt in one hand and the spine of the blade in the other, he used the pommel and tip as weapons to battle the Soul Chasing Tower Lord up close.

’His combat skills are incredible!’

The more he fought, the more alarmed he became.

’As expected of the fifth-ranked master on the Heavenly Ranking. He really is that strong!’

They said that fifth place on the Heavenly Ranking was a watershed. While the Soul Chasing Tower Lord was ranked fifth, that was only in comparison to the four monsters above him. It didn’t mean the sixth-ranked Seven Star Sect Master even had the right to challenge him.

Some in the Jianghu even claimed that the fifth-ranked Soul Chasing Tower Lord could single-handedly fight the next five masters on the list to a draw.

Aside from Bai Yuan and Xie Changyan, the others were all Sensing Powerhouses.

But the gap between one Sensing Powerhouse and another was immense.

Bai Yuan exchanged more than twenty blows with the Soul Chasing Tower Lord in a single flurry. At last, he found an opening, forcing the assassin back with a slash and creating some distance between them.

Just holding his own for twenty blows against the fifth-ranked master on the Heavenly Ranking was an accomplishment worthy of pride.

The Soul Chasing Tower Lord sized up Bai Yuan with great interest.

’This new Shenfu Sect Master seems even stronger than I imagined.’

Just then, Lu Yu and Jiang Yan appeared in the woods with the Divine Mansion Army.

Bai Yuan bellowed, "Shoot him!"

At Bai Yuan’s command, the eighty soldiers of the Divine Mansion Army raised their muskets, already loaded with alchemical pellets.

BANG!

A deafening gunshot echoed.

Forty steel pellets flew in unison toward the Soul Chasing Tower Lord.

Even though Bai Yuan’s modifications had increased the muskets’ rate of fire severalfold, dodging projectiles was a basic skill for a Sensing Powerhouse.

The Soul Chasing Tower Lord’s body twisted with an unnatural, boneless grace, and the steel pellets whistled past him.

After firing, the first rank of Divine Mansion Army soldiers swiftly withdrew as the second rank raised their muskets and fired.

The Divine Mansion Army soldiers coordinated with flawless precision, leaving almost no gap between volleys.

A continuous roar of gunfire echoed through the mountain forest.

Yuan Dingcai and Xie Changyan, who were fighting Liang Ziheng, also heard the commotion in the woods, and their movements paused for a split second.

Xie Changyan frowned.

The two of them had been fighting Liang Ziheng for a quarter of an hour, yet the five hundred Demon Cavalry still hadn’t arrived. Paired with the sound of gunfire, it was obvious something had gone wrong.

Liang Ziheng laughed wildly. "You still think reinforcements are coming?"

"Tonight, I’ll send you two old dogs to an early grave!"

The Demon Blade in his hand grew even more ferocious, and he single-handedly began to overwhelm both Yuan Dingcai and Xie Changyan.

Back in the mountain forest.

Gunsmoke filled the air...

The Soul Chasing Tower Lord was pinned down by the volley fire, and with Lu Yu and Jiang Yan harassing him from the flanks, he was temporarily unable to break free.

Bai Yuan, who should have been in the battle, had already disappeared.

He sprinted wildly through the woods, pushing his Night Wanderer Step to its absolute limit.

Finally, he saw Liang Ziheng and the other two fighting.

When Liang Ziheng saw Bai Yuan appear, his eyes narrowed.

’According to the plan, the Soul Chasing Tower Lord from Ling Province should be dealing with this young man. Why is he here?’

Bai Yuan didn’t waste a single word; he raised his saber and charged directly into the battle.

With Bai Yuan joining the fray, the pressure on Yuan Dingcai and Xie Changyan eased considerably. Against the combined might of the three, Liang Ziheng began to lose ground.

In terms of raw power, he was still a notch below the Soul Chasing Tower Lord.

The more he fought, the more his alarm grew.

Bai Yuan’s strength was far beyond his expectations. His saber skills, in particular, were simply divine.

He was a saber master himself, but the techniques he’d always taken pride in seemed crude and ordinary in front of Bai Yuan.

This young man fought like a saber obsessive who had practiced for a century; man and blade were perfectly fused.

In the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

Liang Ziheng no longer had the strength to resist.

But just as he turned to flee into the forest—

He saw the most breathtaking saber strike of his life!