The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Chapter 254: Chapter 254: All Under Heaven

Ling Province, Prefecture Magistrate’s Office.

In an elegant room, Dong Wanjun, Jiang Changping, and Bai Yuan stood before a bed.

A frail old man was propped up against the headboard.

The three men in the room were the most prominent figures in Ling Province. In contrast, Bai Yuan’s presence was much more conspicuous, which showed how highly Du Qinghui favored him.

"I have already written to Your Majesty. Powerful reinforcements will arrive soon."

Du Qinghui’s face was ashen. He had only just woken up today.

His severed arm had been reattached by a master physician in Lingzhou City. Although it wouldn’t make much difference in daily use, it would still affect him in combat. A full recovery would take a very long time.

Du Qinghui had been defeated, but he showed no sign of frustration or discouragement.

After all, he wasn’t one of those Jianghu Martial Masters who lived for a good fight. A loss was just a loss; he wasn’t pursuing ultimate combat power anyway.

Du Qinghui hailed from the Confucian Sect. For someone at his level, breaking through to the next realm was no longer solely dependent on his own efforts.

When Confucian Martial Masters entered the Court to serve as officials, it wasn’t just for wealth and status. More importantly, they sought the ethereal national destiny to achieve higher Martial Arts Realms.

This was also the reason why most Confucian scholars in the world pledged their service to the Imperial Family.

In the battle that night, besides Du Qinghui, Jiang Changping was also heavily injured. All things considered, only Old Dong had emerged unscathed.

Jiang Changping’s face was pale, his injuries not yet fully healed. "Lord Du, the Demon Sect is bound to retaliate..."

He didn’t finish his sentence.

It would take at least ten days for Du Qinghui’s letter to reach the Court and for experts to be dispatched to Ling Province. This meant Ling Province was at its most vulnerable during this period.

"What’s the situation in Qingzhou?"

Jiang Changping replied, "We’ve already sent a swift horse to the Qingzhou Royal Mansion."

The strongest expert closest to Ling Province was undoubtedly the King of Qingzhou.

The King of Qingzhou had held sway over the Northern Territory for nearly a century. His strength was immeasurable. If he were willing to intervene, the crisis in Ling Province would be resolved.

Du Qinghui nodded, then lay back on the bed with his eyes closed and gave a weak wave of his hand.

Jiang Changping, Dong Wanjun, and Bai Yuan exited the room.

Once the three of them were outside, Dong Wanjun slowly began, "You will stay here and guard Mr. Du for the time being."

"Yes, Master."

Bai Yuan bowed with his fist clasped in his other hand.

This was the main reason he had been summoned.

Given the current situation in Ling Province, Dong Wanjun was the only capable fighter in the entire Prefecture Magistrate’s Office.

Although there were still many experts within the various sects and clans, they couldn’t be trusted. After all, the Soul-Chasing Tower’s infiltration was simply pervasive, and no one could guarantee that those factions hadn’t been turned.

Therefore, after weighing the options, Bai Yuan was undoubtedly the best choice to guard Du Qinghui.

Dong Wanjun gave a few more instructions before leaving decisively with Jiang Changping.

There were too many matters in Ling Province awaiting their attention.

Besides the Demon Sect experts, they also had to guard against the other outside forces in Ling Province.

Soon, only Bai Yuan and a few of Du Qinghui’s servants remained in the courtyard.

Unlike other high-ranking Court officials, Du Qinghui had only a few maidservants in his courtyard; most of the servants were male.

Back when Du Qinghui was in the Imperial Inspection Office, many of his political enemies in the Capital City had spread rumors that he had a "passion for the Dragon Yang."

Bai Yuan didn’t know if the Jiedu Envoy lying in bed actually preferred men, but it was clear that Du Qinghui wasn’t very interested in women.

Compared to other high-ranking officials of the same second rank, Du Qinghui’s family could be described as bleak.

It was said that Du Qinghui had only taken a primary wife and no concubines. He had a son and a daughter, but their Martial Dao talent was said to be average.

His daughter had married into a wealthy family in the Capital City, while his son had gone south to take up a leisurely sixth-rank official post.

Du Qinghui had many political enemies, but even they dared not criticize his private conduct.

A distinguished second-rank minister could have provided a much better life for his children.

Du Qinghui could be considered the most incorruptible of officials.

Bai Yuan found a shaded corner in the long corridor and sat down. He was only eight zhang from Du Qinghui’s room, and no movement within could escape his notice.

He held his long saber to his chest. The image of a ferocious, white-furred, bare-footed ape appeared in his mind’s eye.

After that battle, his imitation level with the Zhuyan had increased to fifty percent.

Recalling his fight with Han Min, he remembered how he had nearly lost his mental stability after calling upon the Zhuyan’s power.

In ancient times, the Zhuyan was a ferocious beast that symbolized war. Its savage nature was naturally terrifyingly strong.

Most Demon Hunters who practiced the Demon Mimicry Art chose to start with the easy before moving to the difficult. Otherwise, they were very likely to lose control, suffer a Qi deviation, have their consciousness erased, and turn into monsters.

Few were like Bai Yuan, who directly mimicked an ancient ferocious beast from the start.

Of course, this was also because Bai Yuan had no master to guide him, which was why he dared to take such a direct approach.

Bai Yuan mulled over the Demon Mimicry Art.

Just then, a servant approached.

"Lord Bai, Lord Du requests your presence inside for a chat."

Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I’m on my way."

Although he didn’t know why Du Qinghui wanted to see him, he followed the servant inside.

When he entered the room, Du Qinghui was just finishing a bowl of medicinal soup—or to be more precise, Spirit Soup—with the help of a maidservant.

This Spirit Soup had, of course, been personally brewed by Bai Yuan.

After drinking the Spirit Soup, color returned to Du Qinghui’s face at a visible rate. He leaned against the headboard and looked at Bai Yuan.

"Find a place to sit yourself. Don’t tell me this old man has to invite you?"

Bai Yuan knew Du Qinghui had a stiff personality.

He found a seat closest to Du Qinghui and sat down.

"Any movement from the Demon Sect?"

Du Qinghui’s eyes were closed.

Bai Yuan replied, "I haven’t heard anything yet."

Du Qinghui nodded.

As long as the Court or the Qingzhou Royal Mansion sent experts to help, the crisis in Ling Province could be safely weathered.

Du Qinghui suddenly asked, "Have you comprehended a trace of perception force?"

Bai Yuan shook his head. "Not yet."

Although his current strength was formidable, his realm progression wasn’t actually that fast.

He had previously relied on the Tiger Form and Crane Style to comprehend internal force ahead of schedule, but such good fortune didn’t happen every time. Despite his decent perception, he still hadn’t been able to convert the internal force in his body into perception force.

This was the drawback of cultivating all arts simultaneously.

Just like Old Dong, the internal force of the two of them was simply too dense. Coupled with the fact that they trained in lethal techniques, their comprehension of the Martial Arts Realms was much slower than that of the Three Religions cultivators—slower even than that of an average Jianghu Martial Artist.

But once they did break through, they would be essentially invincible within their rank.

However, very few people could endure such loneliness.

Du Qinghui said, "There is no inherent superiority or inferiority in the world’s martial arts. In fact, the Grand Ancestor Emperor walked this very path back then. It’s just that this path is too difficult to walk, so not many descendants of the Royal Family have attempted it."

Bai Yuan’s interest was immediately piqued.

’To think that the Grand Ancestor Emperor, who lived for eight hundred years, actually walked the same path as me.’

When Du Qinghui was in the Capital City, he was the Left Chief Imperial Censor of the Imperial Inspection Office. He definitely knew more royal secrets than most people.

’I can’t let this precious opportunity slip by.’

"When did the Grand Ancestor Emperor break through the Perception Gate?"

"According to the Historians’ records, it should have been at the age of forty."

Bai Yuan nodded to himself. ’As expected of the ruthless man who founded the thousand-year foundation of Xuan Yang. Truly fierce.’

A genius like Old Dong had only managed to break through the Perception Gate at the age of sixty. In comparison, the Grand Ancestor Emperor’s progress was much, much faster.

Legend has it that Grand Ancestor Emperor Xuanyang was a Jianghu Ghostwriter who rose up during a time of chaos.

Because of his background, he was fated not to walk the path of a Three Religions Martial Master, and in the end, had to prove his Dao through sheer force.

Du Qinghui said, "Young people must guard against arrogance and impatience. You must not aim too high, especially those of your lineage."

"I will heed Lord Du’s teachings."

Du Qinghui opened his eyes, a trace of relief showing on his face.

He suddenly thought of his disappointing son. If his son had but a fraction of this young man’s talent, he could rest peacefully in the afterlife.

The saying "a tiger father will not beget a dog son" hardly applied to Martial Artists.

Because promising martial arts prospects were rare to begin with. It was all too common for a General’s son to be stuck at the Entering the Realm stage for his entire life.

Therefore, whether it was the Li Royal Race or the great sect clans, their first requirement for their kin was fertility.

Only by building up a massive population could they hope to find good prospects.

Otherwise, no matter how great a foundation the ancestors built, it would all come to nothing if their descendants couldn’t protect it.

In comparison, the sects had it much better.

By opening their gates wide to recruit talented individuals from all over the world, there were even Ten-thousand-year-old Sects in Xuan Yang. The foundations of these sects were terrifyingly strong, which was why the Grand Ancestor Emperor had been willing to rule the world alongside them.

This was a difference in models that could not be bridged by any means—unless the Li Family was willing to accept an Emperor not named Li.

When Du Qinghui thought of his restless son serving as an official in the south, a rare trace of worry surfaced.

The sole son of a great clan wasn’t feared for being incompetent, but for being unaware of his own incompetence.

A sixth-rank official was the limit for his only son. Anything higher would only lead to disaster.

Unfortunately, his good intentions were completely misunderstood.

Du Qinghui said, "Your master, Dong Wanjun, is excellent, but he lacks a deep foundation. If you’re willing, I can introduce you to a renowned master. I can speak to your master about it."

Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow.

’He didn’t expect Du Qinghui to proactively offer to introduce him to a renowned master.’

’A renowned master by Du Qinghui’s standards must be a famous and powerful figure in Xuan Yang, at least on the level of the Celestial Profound Sect’s Sect Leader.’

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t tempted.

But in the end, he still shook his head. "Thank you for the kind offer, Mr. Du, but this junior currently has no intention of joining another school."

Hearing this, a look of surprise appeared in Du Qinghui’s eyes for the first time.

In his view, there was no way Bai Yuan would refuse such a temptation.

After all, with the help of a renowned master, the path of the Martial Dao would certainly be much smoother.

Take Dong Wanjun, for example. Although his breakthrough was the result of long accumulation, if he hadn’t met Xu Dingchun in the Northern Garrison Army, he would never have broken through the Perception Gate so quickly.

But immediately after, the admiration in Du Qinghui’s eyes grew even stronger.

There were too many people in the world who would abandon their sect for the sake of their future. A young man like Bai Yuan was exceptionally rare.

In reality, however, Bai Yuan simply felt that too few people walked his path. Even if he took on a new master, the benefits wouldn’t be that great. He might even find himself constrained, so it was better to remain as free as he was now.