The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Chapter 255: Chapter 255: Blending

Silence filled the room.

After a long while, Du Qinghui finally spoke again. "You’re very good."

Pure-hearted young men like Bai Yuan are truly rare nowadays.

"Leaving your sect was not your choice. If you are interested in joining the Northern Garrison Army, I can pull some strings for you."

It was not uncommon for members of the Xuan Yang Sect to join the army. Many would return to their original sects after earning military honors, all for the sake of the Northern Garrison Army’s resources.

The Northern Garrison Army was happy to see this happen.

The Northern Garrison Army had many experts, and its cultivation techniques were even more numerous and varied.

It was precisely because of the Northern Garrison Army’s profound resources that Dong Wanjun was able to break through the Perception Gate ahead of schedule.

If Bai Yuan were willing, joining the Northern Garrison Army would indeed be a good path for him.

But then, Du Qinghui shook his head and smiled. When he remembered that Bai Yuan’s master was Dong Wanjun, it seemed unnecessary.

Although the Grand General of the North no longer trusted the Xus, both Xu Dingchun and Dong Wanjun still wielded great influence in the Northern Garrison Army. Bai Yuan would definitely not be at a disadvantage if he went there.

"I’m really getting old and muddled. It’s not my place to meddle in the Northern Garrison Army’s affairs."

Bai Yuan suddenly found this old man, Du Qinghui, to be rather interesting. At least, he was different from the rumors.

Du Qinghui seemed to notice the change in Bai Yuan’s expression and chuckled. "What, you think this old man is different from the ’most rigid old stick-in-the-mud in Xuan Yang’ from the rumors?"

Bai Yuan answered truthfully, "You are indeed quite different from the rumors."

Du Qinghui, who was propped up against the headboard, sank a little lower to make his back more comfortable and gave a self-deprecating smile.

"I’m just an old man who likes to read."

"But the more I read, the more I feel that the human heart cannot be trusted."

"If Xu Dingchun were still around, perhaps the war in the Northern Territory would have ended long ago. But even if Xu Dingchun had no ill intentions, His Majesty would never have tolerated him, and the world would have only become more chaotic."

"A certain Grand Ancestor Emperor, who as a powerful courtier executed the previous dynasty’s emperor in the grand hall, didn’t he also see his entire family as paragons of loyalty before he rose to power?"

"When it comes to the human heart, it’s the most unreliable thing of all."

"Xuan Yang isn’t so bad. We can’t destroy the hard-won peace over a single Xu Dingchun. That would only lead to more deaths."

"..."

Du Qinghui said a great deal in one breath.

Bai Yuan mostly acted as a sounding board, or simply listened quietly.

Just as Du Qinghui said, such events were countless throughout history.

A competent, long-lived, and powerful courtier in command of an army was truly terrifying—enough to make even the Emperor lose sleep and appetite.

Bai Yuan knew very well that this was the fatal flaw of any dynasty, an unsolvable problem.

Even the Sima Family, before they claimed the imperial title, believed themselves to be descendants of loyal martyrs.

Who could ever say for sure about such things?

Du Qinghui was not a talkative man. Even when facing the Emperor, he rarely said much.

Only when faced with young people would he occasionally say a few extra words, but never as much as he had today.

Perhaps it was because the young man before him was truly exceptional.

"I’m getting old. My body really isn’t what it used to be."

Du Qinghui smiled and shook his head, lying back down on the bed with the help of a maidservant.

Bai Yuan silently turned and walked out of the room.

He had no interest in the affairs of the Imperial Court. ’But the Northern Garrison Army does seem like a good option. With my current strength, as long as I’m careful, I shouldn’t get taken out instantly. Besides, in the Northern Garrison Army, you don’t have to search all over creation for enemies.’

’No need to rush.’

Bai Yuan shook his head again.

’The situation is still unclear. There’s no need to make a decision so quickly.’

...

Night fell.

It was already the fourth watch.

The Du Mansion was brightly lit, with squads of soldiers patrolling the grounds.

These were elites from the Lingzhou Army, sent by Dong Wanjun specifically to protect Du Qinghui.

The young man who had been standing guard near Du Qinghui’s door was long gone.

In a dark corner by the courtyard wall.

A man in black leaped down from outside the wall.

"Urgh... AARGH!"

With only a sorrowful cry of pain, he melted into a puddle of blood the moment he landed.

Bai Yuan coldly dusted off his hands.

’The Manggu Zhuhe Technique is so convenient,’ he thought. ’It even saves me the step of scattering the ashes.’

This was already the fourth wave of assassins tonight. As expected, the Soul-Chasing Tower had no intention of letting Du Qinghui live.

The assassins sent by the Soul-Chasing Tower were all experts. The Martial Artists of the Lingzhou Army had no hope of detecting their infiltration, but of course, the Soul-Chasing Tower’s assassins also had no hope of detecting Bai Yuan.

Bai Yuan slowly walked back toward Du Qinghui’s room.

Tonight was destined to be a restless one.

Dong Wanjun must have anticipated this situation, which was why he had Bai Yuan stay at the Du Mansion.

"How is it?"

Bai Yuan had just reached Du Qinghui’s door when he heard the old voice.

"All taken care of."

"Mm."

No other sounds came from the room.

It was a sleepless night.

After Bai Yuan slaughtered the fourth wave of assassins, no more came from the Soul-Chasing Tower.

However, out of caution, Bai Yuan kept watch until dawn.

Just as he was stretching and yawning, Old Dong appeared before him. With a flick of his sleeve, a palm-sized object flew toward Bai Yuan’s face.

It was warm.

Soup dumplings.

Bai Yuan tore open the oiled paper, picked up a dumpling with his hand, and popped it into his mouth.

"From the Zhu Family in the east of the city."

Dong Wanjun didn’t forget to mention their origin.

"Last night, the Soul-Chasing Tower attacked the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office. Thirteen people died. The other factions in the city also suffered heavy casualties."

Bai Yuan blinked.

Old Dong spoke of it so lightly, but the fighting last night must have been brutal.

’The number of Soul-Chasing Tower assassins who died at Old Dong’s hands must have been considerable, yet he still had the presence of mind to go buy dumplings in the east city this early. As expected of Ling Province’s most formidable gourmand.’

After saying a few words, Old Dong walked straight into the room.

Neither he nor Du Qinghui had any intention of hiding things from Bai Yuan, so as Bai Yuan ate his soup dumplings outside, he could hear their conversation crystal clear.

"Kuaidong still hasn’t made a move."

"There’s no movement from Qingzhou yet. The secret message should be arriving soon."

"A total of one hundred thirty-five people died last night."

...

All the dead Dong Wanjun mentioned were Martial Artists. As for common civilians, they weren’t included in the count.

Bai Yuan continued to eat his dumplings.

’I just hope Old Dong washed his hands before buying these dumplings. It doesn’t really matter, but at least I’d feel a little better about it.’

Old Dong was concise, finishing his report in less than the time it takes to burn half an incense stick.

Du Qinghui didn’t give many instructions, only saying that he understood, and then Old Dong left the room.

The elaborate etiquette so prevalent in Xuan Yang was almost nonexistent between the two of them.

Old Dong walked out of the room and came to stand before Bai Yuan again.

"Be extra careful."

"Mm."

Bai Yuan watched Old Dong’s departing figure.

He looked down at his panel.

After a moment’s thought, he allocated all the enhancement points he had gained last night into the Manggu Zhuhe Technique.

The lower the skill’s level, the more pronounced the effect of an upgrade.

’Tonight will definitely be even more lively. I have to increase my combat power as quickly as possible.’

...

[In your tenth year of cultivating the Manggu Zhuhe Technique, you fed on the world’s venomous insects to increase your power.]

...

[In your eighty-first year of cultivating the Manggu Zhuhe Technique, the number of venomous insects you consumed daily increased to ten catties.]

...

[In your two hundred and seventieth year of cultivating the Manggu Zhuhe Technique, your poison arts finally reached the minor success stage.]

...

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Class: Demon Hunter, Sword Ghost, Boxer, Spirit Cooker, Skin Painter]

[Skills: Chaotic Blood Hidden Tiger Saber (Proficient), Manggu Zhuhe Technique (Proficient), Demon Mimicry Technique (Master), Spirit Extraction (Master), Spirit-Seizing Technique (Master)...]

[Enhancement Points: 0]

The Manggu Zhuhe Technique was based on the Toad Technique. In essence, it was a cultivation technique for refining poison into one’s body, only far more powerful than the Toad Technique.

Using poison was one of the most common methods in the Jianghu for the weak to overcome the strong.

With his Manggu Zhuhe Technique alone, Bai Yuan was more than qualified to become a tower master in the Soul-Chasing Tower.

He began to try and connect the Chaotic Blood Hidden Tiger Saber with the Manggu Zhuhe Technique.

Previously, the poison from the Toad Technique could not break through his body’s defenses, but things were different now. He had refined a poisonous force.

Just like the Kaiyang Taoist from Longevity Palace, if he could coat his blade in this force, the applications would be endless.

Unfortunately, there was no specific cultivation technique for this method, so Bai Yuan could only figure it out himself. Fortunately, his Martial Arts Realm was high enough now that with some effort, it was highly possible.

With a thought, Bai Yuan acted.

An invisible, colorless force slowly flowed from his body.

This force was actually similar to the True Qi from the wuxia films of his previous life. Striking objects from a distance relied on this very force.

Some exceptionally talented Martial Artists had even developed incredible applications for this force, like the Kaiyang Taoist. Some could even form armor with it, becoming impervious to blades and spears.

However, those who could achieve such feats at the Force-Wielding stage were few and far between.

For any Martial Artist to break through to the Perception Gate, they must convert all the force in their body into perception force.

Perception force was still force in essence, just with some added properties.

Besides enhancing a Martial Artist’s senses, it also allowed for better control over the external projection of force.

It was for this reason that a Martial Artist above the Perception Gate would not see a significant drop in combat power even if disarmed.

"Still not working."

Bai Yuan sighed softly.

After several attempts, he found that his force was like a wisp of smoke, completely ignoring his commands.

But Bai Yuan had nothing better to do, so he continued to practice diligently.

Before he knew it, the sky had once again turned dark.

Bai Yuan listened to the watchman’s gong outside, signaling the third watch of the night.

’Time flies when you’re cultivating, and it’s the same with practicing martial arts.’

He composed himself and stopped thinking about condensing his force.

The moon hung on the eastern branches; it was the latter half of the night.

But strangely, nothing unusual happened at the Du Mansion. Bai Yuan’s brow furrowed slightly.

’I don’t believe the Soul-Chasing Tower would give up on the assassination so easily.’

’After all, the King of Qingzhou is very likely to arrive in Ling Province tomorrow. After that, it will be nearly impossible for them to kill Du Qinghui.’

’Once Du Qinghui’s injuries heal, all their previous schemes will have been for nothing.’

’So, tonight is most likely their only chance.’

Bai Yuan sat outside Du Qinghui’s door, cradling his long saber.

Just then, a maidservant carrying a wooden tray slowly walked toward Du Qinghui’s room.

’By his calculation, it was indeed time for the medicine.’

To recover from his injuries as quickly as possible, Du Qinghui insisted on taking his medicine even late at night.

Just as the maidservant was about to brush past Bai Yuan—

A snowy-white flash.

The maidservant stared at Bai Yuan in disbelief.

Bai Yuan, his face expressionless, flicked the drops of blood from the tip of his saber.

’The Soul-Chasing Tower has finally made its move.’