The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Bai Yuan still remembered it vividly. If the words "conquer the demoness" on the pop-up ad hadn’t been so tempting, his hand wouldn’t have slipped and clicked on it.

The Demon Sect was a major instance, and that’s where his rise began.

Although the little game had barely any plot, the Demon Sect was always summed up in a four-word phrase: bringing chaos to the world.

From demonesses in black silk to old monsters in black robes, he’d lost count of how many Demon Sect members he had killed.

Of course, he’d killed his fair share of those on the righteous path as well.

The main reason the Divine Mansion Sect moved against the Soul-Chasing Tower was the Demon Sect.

The Demon Sect strengthened themselves by devouring all of creation, harming others for their own benefit. Their Founding Sect Master was an even greater thief, one who could usurp the heavens and pilfer the earth.

After the Sect Master of the Demon Sect vanished, no truly powerful experts appeared in this world for centuries, a trend that was only reversed when the Grand Ancestor Emperor burst onto the scene.

It was dusk by the time Bai Yuan returned to his small courtyard.

"Brother Yuan, how is Senior Brother Chu?"

Xiao Qiaoniang asked with concern.

She had spent some time at the Huwei Arts Hall and, being close to Cheng Li, had seen Chu Yuan often. Her impression of him was quite good.

Bai Yuan shook his head. "He’s severely injured and in a coma. There’s little hope he’ll ever recover."

Xiao Qiaoniang’s expression tightened.

"Brother Yuan, maybe you shouldn’t go out for a while."

Even an Yijin Martial Master like Chu Yuan ended up like this; she didn’t want anything to happen to Bai Yuan.

A warmth spread through Bai Yuan’s heart.

"Alright, I’ll listen to you, Sister Qiao."

’The Divine Mansion Sect will most likely move against the Soul-Chasing Tower during this period. When that happens, it will be utter chaos. The right choice is to lie low.’

The two of them had a simple dinner.

Afterward, Bai Yuan coached Sister Qiao on her spear techniques for a while.

Although he wasn’t an expert in spearmanship, the principles of the Martial Dao were universal, so he could still spot the flaws in Sister Qiao’s technique.

To his surprise, Sister Qiao showed great promise with the spear. She could correct her mistakes immediately with just a little guidance. Her talent was far superior to his predecessor’s, though of course, she was still a long way from the likes of Chu Yuan.

Xiao Qiaoniang practiced until she was exhausted before finally stopping.

Before she could even wipe the sweat from her face, she was suddenly swept up in a powerful embrace.

"Ah..." she cried out in surprise.

A gust of wind from a palm extinguished the candle in the east wing.

...

Bai Yuan’s eyes snapped open in the darkness.

He had been startled awake.

’Someone’s here?’

He now possessed the proficient-level Demon-Finding Skill. Its freakishly sharp perception caused him to wake automatically at the slightest disturbance.

The person was hiding in the southeast corner of the courtyard. Despite their best efforts to suppress any sound, Bai Yuan had detected them.

Sister Qiao was still sound asleep in his arms.

He didn’t wake her, but carefully slipped out of bed and threw on some clothes.

’If that person has any ill intentions, I’ll strike without hesitation.’

Bai Yuan stood guard in the room for a full two hours before the person finally leaped over the courtyard wall and left.

Not long after they were gone, he pushed open the door and followed.

The Demon-Finding Skill wasn’t just for finding demons; it worked on people, too. He silently wove through the Martial Arts Hall, following the lingering aura left by the intruder, and eventually stopped outside a small courtyard.

’Liu Jiuyan?’

Bai Yuan frowned, gazing at the nearby courtyard.

Only True Disciples and the hall’s upper management were qualified to live within the Martial Arts Hall. The courtyard before him was the residence of his Fourth Senior Brother, Liu Jiuyan.

The aura had vanished here.

Clearly, the intruder was either Liu Jiuyan himself or someone closely connected to him.

Liu Jiuyan rarely appeared at the Martial Arts Hall, so Bai Yuan had only seen him a handful of times.

Bai Yuan’s eyes turned icy.

He hated the feeling of being secretly watched. If that person had made a move on Sister Qiao, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

...

Liu Jiuyan vaulted the wall back to his residence and skillfully shed his set of Night Clothes.

The Night Clothes were made from the finest Fire Silkworm Silk, impervious to blades. They not only concealed his figure but were also a great asset in a fight.

Such an garment was far beyond the skill of any craftsman in the humble Qinghe County.

In fact, in all of Huanglong Prefecture, only a Grand Master Craftsman from the Soul-Chasing Tower possessed such skill.

That’s right. Liu Jiuyan was an assassin for the Soul-Chasing Tower, and a high-ranking one at that.

’A pity...’ he sighed internally.

A Soul-Chasing Tower assassin lying in wait all night was, of course, there to kill someone.

After killing so many people, one develops an indescribably sharp intuition. He had relied on this intuition to escape countless crises.

A moment ago, his intuition had told him that if he forced the attack, he might die.

Liu Jiuyan didn’t want to die. He had paid too high a price to get where he was, so he couldn’t die. And to avoid dying, he chose to retreat.

As it turned out, his intuition was very useful.

"Junior Brother Bai, you’ve blocked my path. You’ll just have to die."

Liu Jiuyan murmured under his breath. It was a habit of his before a kill, just like on the night he killed Chu Yuan.

That’s right. Chu Yuan hadn’t been injured by the Soul-Chasing Tower; he had been struck by Liu Jiuyan’s Poison Palm.

He could still remember the look of disbelief in Chu Yuan’s eyes.

Like Bai Yuan, Chu Yuan had blocked his path, so he had to die.

He felt he had been merciful enough not to kill Chu Yuan outright, merely leaving him in a coma. He had to admit, Chu Yuan had actually treated him quite well.

’Tired...’

Liu Jiuyan leaned against the windowsill to sleep, still fully clothed and cradling his long saber.

Ever since the day he became the Soul-Chasing Tower’s pawn planted in the Huwei Arts Hall, he had never had a single night of peaceful sleep.

This, too, had long since become a habit.

Just as he was about to drift off—

’Something’s wrong!’

He snapped his eyes open. It was his intuition again, telling him he was being watched.

It was the instinct of an assassin.

The instant his eyes opened, he saw a young man with a massive Firewood Cutting Saber on his back, staring at him coldly.

"Junior Brother Bai?!"

His pupils contracted violently as he recognized the young man’s face.

His hand moved faster than his mind. The long saber in his arms was already unsheathed, slashing toward Bai Yuan like a bolt of lightning.

Because the strike was so unexpected, he held nothing back.

Yijin Pass!

Who would have thought that Liu Jiuyan had been hiding his strength? He was clearly a Muscle Strengthening Martial Artist!

By the time he processed this, he had already added more force to his strike.

Regardless of why Bai Yuan was here, he had to kill his little junior brother tonight.

Bai Yuan twisted his ankle and dodged like a phantom.

Liu Jiuyan’s saber struck nothing but air.

Soul-Hooking Steps!

He was all too familiar with this footwork. It was the Soul-Chasing Tower’s Soul-Hooking Steps.

"Don’t tell me he’s also from the Soul-Chasing Tower?"

Liu Jiuyan was horrified, staring at Bai Yuan in disbelief. The momentum of his saber, however, did not lessen in the slightest.

’So what if he’s from the Soul-Chasing Tower? If I kill him, the dead tell no tales.’

He had already investigated Bai Yuan’s background thoroughly.

A good-for-nothing punk from Baisha Town who had only been practicing martial arts for a little over two years. He had relied on mastering the Blood Tiger Saber to be noticed by Old Xue and taken in as a True Disciple, and was the weakest among them.

But he was a genuine Yijin Martial Master.

"Die!"

The long saber stirred up a gust of wind in the room, blowing the bowls and basins off the table. They hit the floor and shattered, one after another.

The room wasn’t large. Bai Yuan’s back was against the wall.

He was two feet away from Liu Jiuyan.

Two feet was just right.

Just right for the Firewood Cutting Saber to kill...