The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

"The one causing trouble in Jiuqu Creek should be a Cat Demon."

Feng Ping said in a low voice, flipping through the file he’d brought from the Demon Slayer Guard.

He handed the file to Li Kang.

Li Kang merely glanced at it, saying nothing more.

These were the conclusions reached by the forensic doctors of the Demon Slayer Guard, and they were highly credible.

A Demon Slayer Guard’s forensic doctor could determine what kind of demon was responsible even if the victim had been sucked into a desiccated corpse, or if only bone fragments remained.

Li Kang didn’t linger on the Official Road for long. He and Bai Yuan ducked into the roadside thicket and headed up the mountain.

The mountain forest was dense and overgrown with thorns, yet Li Kang moved as if he were walking on flat ground, a stark contrast to his few disheveled subordinates beside him.

’He has some skill.’

Bai Yuan took it all in.

Anyone who could become a squad leader in the Demon Slayer Guard was clearly no useless glutton. His Lightweight Technique and knowledge of the mountain forests alone were impressive.

Little did he know, Li Kang was thinking the exact same thing.

’As expected of a disciple from the Divine Mansion Sect.’

Throughout the journey, Bai Yuan remained calm and composed. Even when Li Kang deliberately picked up the pace, the other man kept up with ease, showing no signs of difficulty.

Li Kang crested a mountain ridge and frowned at the churning river below that rushed eastward.

The demon was indeed cunning; he hadn’t found any trace of it either.

He hadn’t joined the previous searches of the mountain, assuming his subordinates were just incompetent. Now, it seemed the matter was truly thorny.

His demon-finding skills, which he had always been proud of, had come up empty. This demon had some real tricks up its sleeve.

’Looks like I’ll have to put something on the line.’

Gritting his teeth, Li Kang took a red candle, only as thick as his thumb, from his robes.

When Bai Yuan saw the candle, his eyebrow twitched.

’Hundred Demon Guide!’

Although he had never actually seen a Hundred Demon Guide, the decades of a Demon Hunter’s experience accumulated in his mind allowed him to recognize it at a glance.

Li Kang truly had some extraordinary abilities to have become a squad leader. This Hundred Demon Guide was not something an ordinary person could acquire.

That was because only a Demon Hunter could craft a Hundred Demon Guide; it was a common demon-finding tool used by them.

Bai Yuan’s own demon-finding skill had already reached the proficient level, so he naturally understood how to make a Hundred Demon Guide. However, the materials were simply too difficult to find, so he’d never had the chance to try his hand at it.

Li Kang took out a flint and lit the red candle.

A mystical scene unfolded.

The flame of the red candle was an eerie green!

A wisp of green smoke slowly rose from the flame. Untouched by any wind, it drifted toward the forest on the right.

Feng Ping and the other subordinates were also seeing their chief use this method for the first time. Their eyes went wide as they marveled at the sight.

"Chief, what incredible skill."

A quick-witted Demon Slayer Guard Official seized the opportunity to flatter him.

Li Kang shot the man a look. "Keep up!"

Before the words had even left his mouth, he was already running in the direction the green smoke was pointing.

...

Following the cliff down, the group finally found a hidden stone cave on the riverbank.

The green smoke was pointing directly at that very cave.

Just as everyone spotted the cave, the candle in Li Kang’s hand melted like ice and snow, turning into a pool of wax in the blink of an eye.

Feng Ping’s eyes lit up when he saw the cave.

No wonder their numerous searches of the mountain had yielded nothing. They had been looking exclusively in the mountains; who would have thought a Cat Demon would be hiding on a riverbank?

Li Kang used his scabbard to push aside the wild grass blocking the cave entrance and stepped inside.

The other Officials followed behind him, with Bai Yuan walking last.

The entrance to the cave was narrow, but it soon opened up into a wide space.

A sinkhole with a thirty-foot-high waterfall appeared before them. The cavern was vast, nearly a hundred yards across.

But what sent a chill through everyone’s hearts was—

in the pool of water floated no fewer than thirty corpses—men, women, old, and young. They were already showing signs of bloating, a nauseating sight.

Even though Li Kang and his men were battle-hardened and had seen their share of gore, their stomachs still churned.

"Damn it, this is truly vile."

Li Kang ground his teeth.

These bodies undoubtedly belonged to nearby villagers who had gone up the mountain, only to be captured and killed by the Cat Demon.

Feng Ping and the others were filled with indignation. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"The Cat Demon doesn’t seem to be in the cave. We can set up an ambush. No need to talk about martial honor when dealing with a wicked demon like this."

Feng Ping suggested viciously.

The others all nodded in agreement.

The Cat Demon had absorbed the vital essence of so many people; it had likely grown powerful. A head-on confrontation would very likely result in casualties.

Li Kang nodded.

He took a packet of grayish-green powder from his robes. It was impossible to tell what it was made of.

Bai Yuan recognized it at a glance—it was Demon-Exorcising Powder, made from the ashes of a demon’s bones.

’Could he be a Demon Hunter too?’

Doubt rose in his heart.

Using the Hundred Demon Guide might not have been enough to arouse suspicion, but using two Demon Hunter techniques in a row made it hard not to wonder.

But just as Li Kang was about to open the packet of Expelling Powder—

A black shadow shot out from beneath the corpses in the pool. Like a black bolt of lightning, it flew straight for Li Kang’s back.

The cave was already pitch-dark, and with the sound of the water as cover, it was almost impossible to detect.

Bai Yuan’s right hand was already gripping the hilt of his Blood Tiger Scimitar.

UNSHEATHE!

SCREECH!

The cat’s wretched scream echoed through the cave, a sound that made one’s teeth ache.

In a flash, Bai Yuan’s blade struck the black shadow with precision.

’It’s not dead?’

Bai Yuan’s brow twitched. This demon was surprisingly resilient.

Li Kang sensed the movement behind him. He whirled around to see a skinny, pitch-black cat, a little over a foot tall, staring viciously at the group.

There was a fresh, bloody gash on the skinny cat’s hind leg—the result of Bai Yuan’s strike just now.

"Die, you all deserve to die!"

The Cat Demon spoke in a human tongue, letting out a sharp, mournful, and venomous shriek.

Li Kang glanced at Bai Yuan in surprise.

It turned out this Divine Mansion Sect disciple had clearly sensed the Cat Demon hiding under the corpses all along; he was simply lying in wait for the cat.

The Cat Demon thought it had the element of surprise, but it had no idea that the Divine Mansion Sect disciple named Bai had everything under control.

’Incredible skill.’

Li Kang marveled inwardly.

Bai Yuan charged the Cat Demon, blade in hand, and the two immediately locked in combat.

Seeing this, Li Kang’s expression changed. "Attack together! This Cat Demon has grown powerful, far surpassing an Yijin Martial Master!"

Fang Ya had already told him beforehand that Bai Yuan was an Yijin Martial Master.

Facing the Cat Demon alone, he would surely suffer a great loss. Li Kang didn’t want a disciple from the Divine Mansion Sect to get hurt on his watch.

Everyone drew their weapons and surrounded the black cat.

As they say, four paws are no match for sixteen hands. Already wounded by Bai Yuan, the black cat was quickly overwhelmed.

With an extremely exquisite kill-stealing technique, Bai Yuan landed the final, precise blow.

Enhancement Points +121

Gazing at the Cat Demon, which Bai Yuan had cleaved in two, everyone let out a long sigh of relief. It was finally dead.

Li Kang gave Bai Yuan a long, deep look.

He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but he had a feeling that everything that happened in the cave today had been under this Divine Mansion Sect disciple’s control—that even every single slash of the blade had been calculated.

Then, he shook his head with a self-deprecating smile.

’How could such a frightening person exist in this world?’