The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Celestial One Pavilion.

The old man with the white beard was leaning leisurely against the wooden railing of the pavilion, basking in the sun.

"What’s a kid like you doing here?"

He was a bit puzzled when he saw Bai Yuan approaching. The young man had already mastered the Blood Tiger Saber, and there wasn’t a single Cultivation Technique in the entire Celestial One Pavilion of a higher grade. He felt there was no reason for Bai Yuan to come back.

’Once you’ve seen a pearl, why would you spare a glance for a common stone?’

Bai Yuan bowed respectfully to the white-bearded old man.

The Huwei Arts Hall had a total of three Yijin Martial Masters. Besides the well-known Old Xue and Chu Yuan, the last one was extremely low-key. Very few people knew of him; even within the Huwei Arts Hall, those who knew could be counted on one hand.

Only the True Disciples and a few of Xue Gui’s trusted confidants were qualified to know.

The last Yijin Martial Master was precisely this white-haired old man who slacked off all day at the Celestial One Pavilion.

This old man’s name was Lu Xiangtao. In his early years, he was an Assassin. After being defeated by Old Xue, he had, for some unknown reason, followed Old Xue and helped open a Martial Arts Hall in the city.

’As expected, you should never underestimate a librarian.’ 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Senior, I’d like to choose a Body Technique."

Lu Xiangtao frowned. "The Blood Tiger Saber already includes a Body Technique. Why do you need to learn another?"

Whether it was saber techniques, swordsmanship, or fist techniques, they all inevitably included the way of footwork. This was an essential skill for combat.

However, very few Martial Artists specialized in Body Techniques. Apart from those who aspired to become master thieves, most Martial Artists were unwilling to waste their energy on them.

Bai Yuan said, "I just want to give it a try."

Lu Xiangtao rolled his eyes.

"Suit yourself."

True Disciples could browse the Cultivation Techniques in the Celestial One Pavilion at will, so he had no reason to stop him. Besides, Bai Yuan was Old Xue’s disciple, not his; there was no need to meddle.

Bai Yuan gave a faint smile, walked past the white-bearded old man, and entered the Celestial One Pavilion.

Returning to the Celestial One Pavilion, he was much more familiar with the place.

The Huwei Arts Hall’s collection of Cultivation Techniques was vast, but there were pitifully few concerning Body Techniques—only three or five scrolls.

Bai Yuan flipped through them briefly and gave up completely.

These Body Techniques weren’t even as profound as the ones in the Blood Tiger Saber and the Tiger-Crane Form. Practicing them would be a waste of time and a complete waste of Reinforcement Points.

He knew of many powerful Body Techniques, but unfortunately, he was no match for the Bosses who held them at his current level.

’Forget it. The Tiger-Crane Form plus the Demon Hunter’s Body Technique should be enough.’

He returned the Cultivation Technique to the shelf and left.

Seeing Bai Yuan leave empty-handed, the white-bearded old man nodded in secret approval.

’The kid’s smart enough to know not to bite off more than he can chew.’

...

The streets of Qinghe City were even emptier.

The Divine Mansion Sect had finally taken action. You Shengnan and Xiongshan gathered the three major powers and other experts in the city to begin purging the Soul-Chasing Tower from the outside in.

The Huwei Arts Hall naturally sent people as well. The hall’s first disciple, Chu Yuan, and second disciple, Ma Dingjun, led the Instructors and Inner Courtyard Disciples to hunt down the Soul-Chasing Tower Assassins scattered outside the city.

Strangely, the Soul-Chasing Tower showed no reaction to any of this.

The turmoil outside didn’t disturb Bai Yuan in the slightest.

Xiaoqing had grown another size larger. Although still far too weak compared to her peak, she could now move freely through the mountain forests, fearing neither tiger nor leopard.

Bai Yuan looked at his panel.

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Class: Demon Hunter, Swordsman, Boxer, Cook]

[Skills: Cooking (Master), Demon Seeking (Adept), Demon Taming (Novice), Tiger-Crane Form (Proficient), Blood Tiger Saber (Proficient)...]

[Reinforcement Points: 71]

Because of the Soul-Chasing Tower affair, the number of patrons at the Five Flavors Pavilion had been pitifully low for the past ten days.

Fortunately, Xiaoqing seemed to have inherited Bai Yuan’s talent for being a terror to all wildlife, and the number of beasts she hunted in the mountain forest each day was considerable.

Bai Yuan just had to sit back and reap the rewards.

Since there were no Body Techniques worth practicing, he decided to first raise Demon Taming to the Adept level. This would be the fastest way to increase his combat power in the short term.

[You practiced Demon Taming for sixteen years. Xiaoqing is highly spiritual, and your Demon Taming skill has greatly increased.]

...

[In your twentieth year of practicing Demon Taming, you and Xiaoqing have gradually developed a tacit understanding. Though she cannot speak, you can understand her intent.]

...

[In your twenty-fifth year of practicing Demon Taming, you have finally reached the Adept level.]

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Class: Demon Hunter, Swordsman, Boxer, Cook]

[Skills: Cooking (Master), Demon Seeking (Adept), Demon Taming (Adept), Tiger-Crane Form (Proficient), Blood Tiger Saber (Proficient)...]

[Reinforcement Points: 0]

The Demon Taming skill had finally been raised to the Adept level!

The progress was much faster than Bai Yuan had expected. It was mainly thanks to Xiaoqing, who for some reason had an extremely high compatibility with him, which had greatly accelerated the speed of his Demon Taming improvement.

Originally, Bai Yuan had estimated it would take at least forty years to raise Demon Taming to Adept.

Demon Taming was a high-level skill; even reaching the Adept level required an immense amount of time. He had only accomplished it ahead of schedule because he had Xiaoqing, a Three-Metamorphosis Snake Demon.

The moment his Demon Taming skill upgraded to Adept, Bai Yuan felt an indescribable connection form with Xiaoqing. He could even sense her emotions... ’Shyness?’

The most significant difference, however, was the flood of unfamiliar knowledge that appeared in his mind.

For instance, the postpartum care of female snakes.

This was an extremely profound field of study. Even a Snake Demon would become incredibly weak while giving birth. However, an experienced Demon Hunter could use medicine and special techniques to help the Snake Demon recover her strength quickly. Not only could this save one’s Demon Pet, but it could also help in acquiring new ones, making it highly practical.

In addition, this knowledge included methods to help a Molting Snake Demon recover quickly.

’If Xiaoqing can recover to her peak strength, then any Strong Internal Martial Master can just be poisoned to death!’

After learning the Demon Taming skill, Bai Yuan realized he had stored quite a few medicinal herbs, and coincidentally, he had all the ones he needed.

He immediately took out the herbs, ground them up, rolled them into pills, and fed them to Xiaoqing. After that, it was time for a soul-soothing massage.

PAT, PAT, PAT!

A series of crisp patting sounds rang out. Bai Yuan moved like an old master with over a decade of experience, his technique extremely practiced as he accurately massaged every acupoint on Xiaoqing’s body.

A demon’s acupoints were vastly different from a human’s, requiring a great deal of time to learn through trial and error. However, he had a cheat, which allowed him to skip that process entirely.

Xiaoqing lay comfortably on the bed, a human-like expression of bliss on her face.

After a round of patting and rubbing from Bai Yuan, Xiaoqing’s demonic blood began to boil, and the hidden injuries left from her molting actually showed signs of healing.

’Am I some kind of massage saint?’

He couldn’t help but wonder if there was a "Masseur" class. He’d have to grab it if there was. ’The original owner’s skill tree really is something else.’

Right now, although Xiaoqing lacked strong direct combat abilities, she was filled with the venom of a Three-Metamorphosis Snake. With a sneak attack, even a Strong Organ expert couldn’t withstand it.

The Martial Dao was the art of killing, not shouting out your skill names while you fight.

Bai Yuan had always believed in a simple philosophy: if you can’t win a fair fight, launch a sneak attack. If you can’t launch a sneak attack, use poison. Any method that kills the enemy is a good method.