The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Chapter 257: Chapter 257: A Flash of Inspiration

Li Kangyan, the King of Qingzhou, ended up staying in Ling Province for ten whole days.

The experts sent by the Court had already arrived at the Lingzhou Prefecture Magistrate’s Office, yet he still showed no intention of leaving.

"Your Highness, it is time for you to return to Qingzhou."

A burly, middle-aged man in full armor gazed at Li Kangyan, a helpless look on his face.

Upon receiving Du Qinghui’s secret message, Emperor Xuanyang immediately issued a decree ordering General Zhao Yi of the nearby Zhenxi Army to personally lead his troops north as reinforcements.

Perhaps because he had spent too many years in Qingzhou, Li Kangyan was in high spirits after arriving in Lingzhou, eagerly taking Du Qinghui to tour all the local sights, big and small.

He even specially summoned a painter from the Qingzhou Royal Mansion to create a *Spring Outing Painting* of the two of them.

It had the distinct feel of a senior citizens’ tour group.

Li Kangyan shot the General Zhao Yi an impatient glance.

He knew, however, that he really couldn’t stay any longer.

Leaving Qingzhou before could be excused as an exception made during a national crisis, but if he lingered, his imperial elder brother would surely grow suspicious.

The King of Qingzhou had managed to become Xuanyang’s only remaining regional king not just because he was powerful, but more importantly, because he knew how to keep the one in the Capital City from worrying.

"Old Du, I can’t leave Qingzhou, but you can leave Lingzhou. When the fighting subsides, you must come to Qingzhou for a month. We’ll call it even for this favor."

Du Qinghui replied, "I’d be happy to oblige."

As they spoke, the two hundred-year-old men seemed to shed years from their faces.

General Zhao Yi, Lu Wu, breathed a long sigh of relief as he watched Li Kangyan finally depart.

Li Kangyan was a Prince, after all. At its heart, this was a Li Family affair. If the Prince had insisted on staying, Lu Wu, an outsider, would have been powerless.

That night, Li Kangyan drank with Du Qinghui one last time.

At dawn, surrounded by guards from the Qingzhou Royal Mansion, he departed from Lingzhou.

Although Du Qinghui’s injuries hadn’t fully healed, most of his strength had returned. Furthermore, the eight hundred soldiers of the Heavy Armor Army who had arrived with General Zhao Yi of the Zhenxi Army meant Kuaidong would never risk a head-on confrontation in Lingzhou City.

After Li Kangyan’s departure, Du Qinghui lost all interest in going out, remaining secluded indoors almost all day.

Lu Wu’s arrival in Lingzhou was said to be to reinforce the city, but in reality, it was solely to protect Du Qinghui. This spoke volumes of the Emperor’s reliance on the Jiedu Envoy.

And so, Lu Wu simply took up residence in a courtyard within the Du Mansion.

This made protecting Du Qinghui much more convenient.

"Lord Dong, I’ve long heard of your great reputation. Meeting you today, I see it is no exaggeration."

Lu Wu said, raising his cup to Dong Wanjun.

He had never served with the Northern Garrison Army, but that certainly hadn’t stopped him from hearing of Dong Wanjun’s fame.

After all, few Profound People could escape the clutches of the Celestial Heart Sect’s Vice Sect Leader and earn the praise of the Northern People.

As a fellow military man, he knew exactly how significant that was.

Dong Wanjun raised his cup in return. "General Lu, you flatter me."

Lu Wu was General Zhao Yi of the Zhenxi Army, a Standard Third-Rank Military Official, making him equivalent in rank to Old Dong.

In terms of raw power, Lu Wu was naturally no match for Du Qinghui, let alone Kuaidong.

The Emperor had dispatched Lu Wu as reinforcements not for his personal strength, but for the eight hundred soldiers of the Heavy Armor Army under his command.

These eight hundred men were all Martial Artists who had at least reached the Blood Refining Pass. They were the elite of the elite, and their combined charge was terrifyingly lethal.

Even if Kuaidong were to strike again, Du Qinghui, together with Dong Wanjun and the eight hundred soldiers of the Heavy Armor Army, would be more than enough to handle him and the Soul-Chasing Tower assassins in Lingzhou.

If the fighting on the western front hadn’t recently subsided, and if the Emperor hadn’t personally issued a Holy Decree, the Grand General Zhenxi would never have parted with this precious unit for Lingzhou.

"Lord Dong, is it true? Is the Northern Plains really crawling with demons?"

After three cups of wine, Lu Wu asked out of curiosity.

He had never been to the Northern Plains. In fact, very few Profound People had ever been there, to say nothing of a hardened veteran like Dong Wanjun who had ventured deep into its heartlands.

Dong Wanjun nodded. "Demons, demonic humans, barbarian tribes... In truth, they’re not that numerous relative to the sheer size of the Northern Plains. You often have to travel a hundred *li* before you even find a trace of them."

It wasn’t that they were few in number, but that the Northern Plains were just too vast.

That’s why for thousands of years, Xuan Yang had largely ignored it. It wasn’t until the Demon Sect united the Northern Plains and marched south that the Profound People finally realized how terrifying the region truly was.

"I hear the Grand General of the North is massing his forces..."

A solemn expression crossed Lu Wu’s face.

Dong Wanjun grunted in agreement.

It was practically an open secret. The Grand General of the North seemed to be deliberately letting the Demon Sect’s experts know, hoping to settle everything in a single, decisive battle.

When the final battle came, it would be a contest of the fundamental resources of Xuan Yang versus the Demon Sect.

Fortunately, Xuan Yang had stood for a thousand years. While it often faced invasions, there was no major internal strife, which allowed the Grand General of the North to operate with such a free hand.

The mention of the war in the Northern Territory caused both men to fall silent.

A decisive battle was always a perilous affair, its outcome impossible to predict.

The Grand General of the North was being too hasty, but perhaps anyone in his position would be forced to do the same.

The war in the Northern Territory had simply dragged on for too long.

The patience of the Profound People had been worn to a nub.

...

「Huanglong Prefecture, Divine Mansion Sect.」

"Brother Yuan!"

Xiao Qiaoniang cheered as she saw Bai Yuan standing at the entrance to the courtyard.

A full half-month had passed since Bai Yuan left home, and she had missed him dearly.

"I’m back."

Bai Yuan gently stroked Xiao Qiaoniang’s hair, his eyes filled with warmth.

Sister Qiao seemed to grow more radiant every day. Even though Bai Yuan had seen his share of beautiful women, he still found her exceptionally lovely.

’It feels so good to come home to someone,’ he thought.

The weariness from the past several days simply melted away.

Things in Lingzhou had stabilized and he was no longer needed, so after bidding farewell to Du Qinghui, he had returned to Huanglong Prefecture.

Bai Yuan took a small box of rouge from within his robes.

He had long heard that the rouge from Hongxia Manor was the finest, so he had specially arranged for someone to buy it.

Xiao Qiaoniang’s heart swelled with happiness as she looked at the rouge in Bai Yuan’s hands.

’My man really is the best,’ she thought. ’He didn’t forget me even when he was away.’

"Sister Qiao," Bai Yuan said, "I’m going to wash up first."

"Of course. Let me help you with your robes."

...

「An hour later.」

Bai Yuan emerged from the room feeling refreshed and invigorated, the weariness of the past several days completely gone.

Just as he was about to find Yu Hui to ask about how the Divine Mansion Sect had been doing, Yang Fangyu and Lu Yu showed up at his door.

"You’re finally back! Hurry up and tell us what happened in Lingzhou."

As someone who had been there that night, Yang Fangyu knew that battle had determined the very survival of Lingzhou.

Now that the crisis was over, Bai Yuan saw no reason for secrecy and told Yang Fangyu everything that had happened.

Both of them gasped when they heard that Kuaidong had severely injured Du Qinghui.

For Du Qinghui to have become a Standard Second-Rank official, his strength was naturally beyond question; his cultivation of the Mingxin Pass couldn’t possibly be lacking.

But to think he had been severely injured by one of the Northern Barbarians.

If Dong Wanjun hadn’t been so ferociously competent and dealt with the Pangolin Demon that caused the "Earth Dragon" to stir, Du Qinghui would probably have been killed.

Of course, Bai Yuan had been formidable as well, killing three Soul-Chasing Tower assassins by himself.

Yang Fangyu felt thoroughly outclassed.

At this thought, Yang Fangyu couldn’t help but stare at Bai Yuan as if he were some kind of freak.

When they first met, their strength had seemed more or less equal. But now? Bai Yuan could probably take on three of him without breaking a sweat. ’He’s an absolute monster,’ Yang Fangyu thought.

Lu Yu saw the expression on Yang Fangyu’s face and almost burst out laughing.

’Yes, yes, yes!’

’That’s the one! I know that expression all too well.’

The rate at which Bai Yuan’s combat strength was increasing was simply terrifying.

It probably wouldn’t be long before he reached the same level as Dong Wanjun.

’What a freak,’ they both thought.

Bai Yuan simply shrugged at their envious, jealous, and resentful stares.

’Hey, is it my fault I’m so exceptional?’ he thought cheekily.

He’d earned every bit of his current achievements by fighting and killing his way here.

Not long after Yang Fangyu and Lu Yu left, Zhou Siming and Liang E arrived.

"Master, you’re back!"

Hearing Liang E’s voice from inside the house, Xiao Qiaoniang rushed out.

In this world, the person who treated her best, aside from Bai Yuan, was Liang E.

Having seen the best and worst of human nature in her youth, she especially cherished those who truly cared for her.

The worried lines on Liang E’s brow smoothed out when she saw Xiao Qiaoniang. "Qiaoniang, we just got back today."

"Your Master Zhou has something to say to Bai Yuan."

Over time, she had come to approve of Bai Yuan.

Who wouldn’t love a son-in-law who was both powerful and good-natured?

At her words, both Bai Yuan and Xiao Qiaoniang looked at Zhou Siming with puzzled expressions.

Zhou Siming’s face was grim. He took a deep breath and said, "Bai, have you not discovered the exceedingly terrifying Great Demon hidden within Shenfu Mountain?"

A look of horror crossed Xiao Qiaoniang’s face.

A creature called a "Great Demon" had to be at least a Tier Seven Demon.

Since beginning her training in the Demon Hunter lineage under Liang E, her knowledge of demons had grown considerably.

She couldn’t compare to Zhou Siming and his Demon-Seeking Lineage, of course, but she knew far more than any ordinary person.

But as she looked at Bai Yuan, her confusion deepened. He showed no surprise at all.

Bai Yuan let out a soft sigh.

’Just as I thought,’ he mused. ’The Great Demon Raccoon Power can’t hide from a truly powerful Demon Hunter.’

"Seniors, Sister Qiao... It wasn’t my intention to hide this. The matter is just... extremely complicated."

Zhou Siming’s eyes narrowed, and he cut Bai Yuan off.

"If you already know, Bai, then there’s no need to tell us."

He had roamed the Jianghu long enough to be vastly experienced, and he knew the principle well: the more you know, the faster you die.

The circles Bai Yuan now moved in were far beyond his and Liang E’s station. Knowing too much would be dangerous for him, for Liang E, and for Xiao Qiaoniang.

"Understood."

Bai Yuan nodded.

Since Zhou Siming didn’t press the issue, he didn’t elaborate.

It was just as Zhou Siming said: there was no good in knowing too much.

The matter of the Great Demon Raccoon Power was connected to the Divine Mansion. The fewer people who knew, the better.

As it stood, Bai Yuan was the only one who knew about the Divine Mansion.

But Zhou Siming’s reminder sparked an idea in Bai Yuan’s mind.

His Demon Transformation Technique’s progress in imitating the Zhu Yan had reached fifty percent, and he had even gained a special ability: he could transform himself into a Zhu Yan. This was somewhat similar to the abilities of the demonic humans in the Northern Plains.

At this thought, Bai Yuan’s eyes lit up.

He had long coveted the secrets of the Divine Mansion.

If he could obtain the Cultivation Technique from within the Divine Mansion, his power would skyrocket!