The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Chapter 282: Chapter 279: Seven In, Seven Out

Night fell.

The sky in Dingzhou grew dark earlier than in Ling Province. Before the first watch of the night, it was already pitch-black.

In Yuquan Mansion, most people stayed in their rooms, save for the patrolling guards.

After all, no one wanted to be outside in the biting cold wind.

The sounds of soldiers roughhousing could be heard from time to time within the city.

In the southern part of Yuquan Mansion, there was a large slum. The soldiers in the city were naturally unwilling to live there. Compared to the brightly lit eastern district, this area was far more desolate.

In a deserted courtyard, a stone slab in the center trembled slightly.

Finally, it was lifted by a pair of large, silver-armored hands.

A Pangolin tunneled out from underground. As soon as it appeared, figures emerged one after another from the hole.

"Goddamn it, we’re finally out."

A brawny Barbarian man clad in animal skins took a deep breath of the cold, crisp air, his eyes filled with killing intent.

...

「Meanwhile.」

Bai Yuan was, as usual, getting ready to pull up his covers and go to sleep.

There wasn’t much entertainment in ancient times, let alone in the long-since-deserted Dingzhou. On a long, endless night, it was better to just sleep early.

His hand, clutching the corner of the quilt, suddenly froze.

A faint, tragic cry reached his ears.

The sound wasn’t loud, but he still caught it.

He turned, pushed open the door, and walked into the alley.

DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG, DONG...

A series of urgent bell tolls rang out, echoing through the city before coming to an abrupt halt.

’The bell ringer must have run into trouble... or has already been killed...’

The soldiers of the Six-Party Alliance rushed out of their houses, some without even having had time to put on warm clothes.

"Profound Yang Dogs deserve to die!"

A savage, crazed laugh came from the other end of the street.

A burly Barbarian man was seen grabbing a fleeing patrol soldier and gruesomely twisting off both his arms. It was an extremely gory sight.

"Enemy attack!"

"Enemy attack!"

The shouts echoed one after another.

Those living in Yuquan Mansion were all experts from various families. Although they didn’t know how the Barbarians and demons had gotten into the city, they drew their weapons and charged into the fray one by one.

The two sides clashed, and for a moment, the city was thrown into utter chaos.

But what puzzled them was that the few Chief Stewards, the leading experts in the city, never appeared.

...

「In a residence outside the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office.」

Jiang Changping stared at the man and the demon before him as if facing a formidable enemy.

Just as chaos erupted in the city, the Barbarian and the Lion Demon had appeared in his courtyard.

This was why he had yet to make an appearance.

Jiang Changping was in a standoff with the man and the demon, not daring to make a move rashly.

Though they hadn’t fought, he could feel that their auras were in no way weaker than his own.

The Barbarian grinned. "Let me tear him apart."

He took a step forward, kicking up flakes of snow. His large hand reached for Jiang Changping’s head. Despite the Barbarian’s massive build, his speed was not the least bit slow.

The long saber at Jiang Changping’s waist flew from its sheath, slashing toward the Barbarian.

He had already sensed the commotion in the city. Since the Demon Sect had chosen to launch a surprise attack, they must have been fully prepared.

’The situation for the others is probably similar to mine.’

The moment the Barbarian made his move, the Lion Demon attacked as well.

With two masters joining forces, Jiang Changping naturally found it hard to defend himself.

Just as he had expected, the man and the demon before him were both as strong as he was.

For Jiang Changping to fight two against one, it was already an achievement just to stay alive.

He gritted his teeth, wanting to pull back and retreat.

But the Lion Demon saw through Jiang Changping’s intention at a glance and blocked his escape route, making it impossible for him to leave the courtyard.

They clearly intended to kill Jiang Changping right here in this courtyard.

Jiang Changping’s heart sank to rock bottom.

Barring any miracles, he was sure to die.

He struggled to parry the attacks of the man and the demon, with almost no opportunity to counter.

A long defense is bound to fail. This was true in war, and it was true in a fight.

No matter how tight one’s defense, a weakness will eventually be exposed. And once an opening appeared, death was not far behind.

Jiang Changping could finally hold on no longer. The Barbarian saw an opening and sent him flying with a palm strike.

Jiang Changping’s back slammed hard against the courtyard wall, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood.

The burly Barbarian and the Lion Demon wore victorious smiles as they slowly cornered Jiang Changping.

Just then, the courtyard gate was suddenly pushed open from the outside. To be precise, it was split open...

Bai Yuan had sliced the gate in two with his saber.

When Jiang Changping saw it was Bai Yuan, he first felt joy, then anger.

"Go!"

he roared.

Bai Yuan had obviously come to help, but the Barbarian and the Lion Demon were not opponents a young man like him could handle.

Jiang Changping knew he wasn’t going to make it out alive, and he didn’t want Bai Yuan to be buried here with him for no reason.

Bai Yuan glanced at Jiang Changping.

He instantly understood the situation in the courtyard.

The burly Barbarian and the Lion Demon also saw Bai Yuan. A mocking smile crept onto their faces; they certainly wouldn’t mind killing one more person.

To Jiang Changping’s frantic gaze, Bai Yuan, instead of retreating, advanced, dragging his saber as he walked into the courtyard.

The Lion Demon sneered, "Courting death."

It charged toward Bai Yuan on all fours, its speed so astonishingly fast that it appeared before him in an instant.

Bai Yuan’s long saber and the Lion Demon’s sharp claws clashed in midair.

A perfect match!

Seeing this, Jiang Changping was so shocked his pupils dilated.

As someone who had fought it himself, he knew very well how tyrannical the Lion Demon’s strength was. Yet Bai Yuan had taken a direct hit from it without retreating a single step, which was a testament to his power.

’Could it be that Bai Yuan hid his true strength?!’

The thought seemed absurd to Jiang Changping.

Bai Yuan’s previous performance could already be called that of a genius among geniuses. But his current display couldn’t even be described by the word "genius"—even "prodigy" wouldn’t be enough.

Jiang Changping felt as if he had wasted the past sixty years of his life.

But immediately after, his eyes lit up.

He gritted his teeth, got to his feet, and blocked the Barbarian man before him.

As long as Bai Yuan could kill the Lion Demon, he might not have to die tonight.

The Lion Demon was also surprised by Bai Yuan’s strength. Baring its sharp teeth, it attacked Bai Yuan again.

Bai Yuan’s long saber danced.

The power of his Master-level Chaotic Blood Hidden Tiger Saber was on full display. The afterimages of the saber formed a cage-like trap, enveloping the Lion Demon.

In just three breaths, he had delivered dozens of slashes.

The Lion Demon, of course, couldn’t block such a fast saber. Its golden fur was hacked to pieces.

The longer the Lion Demon fought, the more terrified it became.

’This human is just too damn strange!’

Not only was his saber technique unbelievably fast, but every single slash was laced with a potent poison, causing it immense suffering.

That’s right. After constant practice, Bai Yuan had finally managed to coat his blade with toxic energy.

Paired with the speed-focused Chaotic Blood Hidden Tiger Saber, it was the perfect combination for delivering poison.

With every cut the Lion Demon received, the poison seeped deeper.

How could one simply withstand the poison of the Master-level Manggu Zhuhe Technique?

The Lion Demon gradually lost the upper hand. If the fight continued, it might even die!

The shock in its heart was beyond words.

But what made it even more desperate was that when it tried to escape, it discovered the poison had already penetrated its organs. Its bodily functions had deteriorated by thirty percent, making escape impossible.

Amidst the Lion Demon’s resentful roar, Bai Yuan expressionlessly chopped off its head.

Strengthening Points +5671

The Barbarian who was tangling with Jiang Changping saw this and turned pale with fright, losing all will to fight.

He used his massive frame to knock Jiang Changping aside, then leaped over the wall as nimbly as a sparrowhawk.

Bai Yuan didn’t give chase. He walked over to Jiang Changping and said, "Lord Jiang, we must leave the city as soon as possible."

He had seen on his way here.

The Demon Sect masters in Yuquan City were far more numerous than he had imagined.

With so many Demon Sect demons and Barbarians, it was impossible for him to kill them all. He might even get surrounded and worn down to death.

Jiang Changping was still reeling from the shock of Bai Yuan’s combat prowess, but he quickly came to his senses and took a deep breath. "Let’s go!"

The two of them immediately walked out the door.

"Nephew Bai, where are you going?"

As soon as Bai Yuan stepped out of the courtyard, he started walking in the opposite direction of the city exit.

"To save people."

He said flatly and then vanished.

Saving Jiang Changping was just a matter of convenience since he happened to be passing by.

He could ignore others, but he had to save Yang Fangyu and Lu Yu. Otherwise, his conscience wouldn’t be clear.

More importantly, he now had the strength to do so.

Before long, he arrived at the courtyard where the Yang Family lived.

When he fought his way into the courtyard, Yang Jiuyan was entangled in a fight with a Demon that had the lower body of a human and the upper body of a wolf.

Apparently, Jiang Changping had received "special treatment."

The Demon Sect didn’t have enough masters to assign two of them to every target.

Yang Jiuyan was undoubtedly lucky.

Compared to Jiang Changping, his situation was much easier.

However, the continuous, tragic cries of the Yang Family Members from within the courtyard were making him increasingly anxious.

He saw Bai Yuan appear but didn’t think Bai Yuan could be of any help in the current situation.

Bai Yuan didn’t bother to explain. He just raised his saber and charged into the battle.

「An incense stick’s time later.」

There was one more corpse on the ground.

Yang Jiuyan stared at Bai Yuan in shock.

He was just about to speak when Bai Yuan interrupted him. "Elder Yang, where is Fang Yu?"

Yang Jiuyan took a deep breath and led Bai Yuan deeper into the courtyard.

Before long, they saw Yang Fangyu fighting two demons all by himself.

With Bai Yuan joining the fight, the outcome was inevitable. Two more corpses lay on the ground.

"Go. Leave the city."

Bai Yuan said only that, then vanished again.

Yang Jiuyan and Yang Fangyu exchanged a look, then fled Yuquan City with the remaining members of the Yang Family.

...

The sky in the east began to show the first light of dawn.

After a night of slaughter, Yuquan City was filled with piles of corpses.

And in a valley outside the city, more than a thousand people sat dejectedly in the woods.

Finally, Bai Yuan arrived at the valley with the people from the Fang Family.

Yang Jiuyan, Qiu Yang, and Jiang Changping all rose to their feet to greet them.

When they saw the barely breathing Fang Yan on Lu Yu’s back, they knew the situation with the Fang Family must have been terrible as well.

Bai Yuan said, "Zen Master Fa Ding and Chairman Zhu have been killed."

Hearing Bai Yuan’s words, the hearts of the three men sank.

If Bai Yuan hadn’t intervened, the three of them would have undoubtedly met their deaths as well.

At this thought, they couldn’t help but size Bai Yuan up again.

The crisis in Yuquan City was so dire, yet Bai Yuan had charged in and out seven times by himself, saving well over a thousand people from the six factions!

That courage and strength alone were enough to completely overshadow them.

Truly, the younger generation was formidable. Or rather, with Bai Yuan’s current strength, he was already their equal!