The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Chapter 172: Chapter 172: The Black Hand

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

Not much had changed in Huanglong Prefecture.

The Divine Mansion Sect remained powerful, showing no signs of decline. The Lingzhou Army was still stationed outside the city, with no intention of entering.

But this was all just temporary.

Murong Tian, of course, couldn’t let the matter of the Lifebound Gu leak out.

He also didn’t send anyone from the Divine Mansion Sect to the Northern Plains to search, as it would be pointless. On the contrary, it would expose the fact that Dong Wanjun was still alive.

The Lingzhou Army certainly wouldn’t make a move before the Grand General of the North had forgotten about Dong Wanjun, but they were not short on underhanded tactics behind the scenes.

In the span of a few days, two Commanders from the Divine Mansion Army’s thirty-six battalions had died, both supposedly killed by remnants of the Demon Sect in Huanglong Prefecture.

But after the bloody purges by Murong Tian and Dong Wanjun, how could there be so many Demon Sect masters left in Huanglong Prefecture? It was obvious the Lingzhou Army was behind it.

The chaos of the war in the Northern Territory couldn’t spoil the appetites of those two great lords in Ling Province in the slightest.

They were already impatient to devour the Divine Mansion Sect, this large, juicy piece of meat.

...

’He’s not dead yet.’

Bai Yuan gazed at the Lifebound Gu in his palm. Old Dong wasn’t just alive; he was completely unharmed.

’My master really is a beast.’

There really weren’t many people who could be so hale and hearty in the Northern Plains, the Demon Sect’s main stronghold.

’Old Dong is certainly reliable.’

But even if his life wasn’t in danger, he must be trapped in the Northern Plains. Otherwise, with so much time having passed and him being uninjured, he should have been back long ago.

With Old Dong gone, those who had long been dissatisfied with Wan Jun Peak finally made their move.

Initially, Murong Tian had been extremely disgusted by this and had even taken action to punish them.

After all, the Divine Mansion Sect was already beset by powerful enemies. To engage in internal strife at a time like this was to completely disregard the sect’s interests.

But now, Murong Tian was tied down by the underhanded tactics from Ling Province. He was forced to rush around suppressing powerful foes, just as Dong Wanjun once had, leaving him no time to clean up the vermin hiding in the shadows of the Divine Mansion Sect.

Bai Yuan naturally became the guardian of Wan Jun Peak.

"Junior Brother Bai, another Outer Disciple has gone missing."

You Shengnan walked into the courtyard, her expression grim.

Of course, these behind-the-scenes schemes wouldn’t be so brazen as to target Bai Yuan directly.

But the others weren’t so lucky.

As soon as a disciple from Wan Jun Peak descended Shenfu Mountain, they would soon be ambushed and killed.

This month, three Outer Disciples from Wan Jun Peak had already disappeared.

"I know."

Bai Yuan nodded.

Of course he knew about this. Because of it, many Outer Disciples of Wan Jun Peak had even transferred to other peaks. Wan Jun Peak was already sparsely populated, and now it had even fewer members.

Martial Artists like Outer Disciples were far from being able to train peacefully on the mountain like True Disciples. There was too much they had to compete for. With Wan Jun Peak being targeted, they couldn’t descend the mountain, and over time, they naturally grew restless.

Anyone with eyes could see this was a plot targeting Wan Jun Peak. Their only choice was to transfer to other peaks.

Bai Yuan, however, didn’t mind. He wouldn’t stop anyone who wanted to leave.

’Those who choose to leave aren’t resolute enough. If they’re gone, they’re gone. Wan Jun Peak doesn’t really need them.’

’In my previous life, this process was called ’purification’.’

’The Outer Disciples who remain after this will at least be loyal enough.’

Of course, many Outer Disciples stayed simply because they had nowhere else to go and had to stick with Wan Jun Peak.

Besides the Outer Disciples, even Xiongshan had been ambushed when he went down the mountain. If not for his cautious nature, he would have been left for dead outside the mountain.

"Junior Brother Bai, what should we do now?"

You Shengnan looked at Bai Yuan.

Bai Yuan was now the de facto leader of Wan Jun Peak. Even though she had joined the sect earlier, the world of Martial Artists was one where strength reigned supreme.

"Let’s purify them a little longer."

"Purify?"

...

On Feishi Peak.

A pale, gaunt, demonic-looking youth stood before Shi Baishan, the Peak Master of Feishi Peak.

"Master, what should be done with that Wan Jun Peak disciple?"

"Do as you please."

Shi Baishan waved his hand dismissively. He wasn’t interested in such trivial matters. It was just an Outer Disciple, not a True Disciple. No one would care.

The Divine Mansion Sect originated from the Jianghu. Aside from a few geniuses, for most disciples, life and death were fated, and wealth and honor were determined by the heavens.

Therefore, many disciples of the Divine Mansion Sect died every year—some in duels, others on missions. In short, the sect had always used this cruel method of elimination to find true geniuses.

Only experts who could pass the Entry-level Official were meaningful to the Divine Mansion Sect.

"Dong Wanjun, you’ve finally had your day."

Shi Baishan’s cold, sinister laugh echoed.

In truth, most of the Peak Masters of the Divine Mansion Sect’s Thirteen Peaks held no deep-seated grudge against Dong Wanjun; it was just a matter of choosing sides.

Dong Wanjun had no intention of taking the Sect Leader position, so they naturally sided with Sect Leader Murong Tian. Coupled with the fact that Murong Tian was outwardly at odds with Dong Wanjun, targeting Wan Jun Peak was inevitable.

The only one with a truly irreconcilable hatred for Dong Wanjun was Shi Baishan.

Ten years ago, the Peak Master of Feishi Peak was not Shi Baishan, but he also had the surname Shi—he was Shi Baishan’s clan uncle.

Although the Shi Family was far weaker than the Murong Clan, their influence was not insignificant, and Feishi Peak was held firmly in the Shi Family’s grasp.

But the previous Peak Master of Feishi Peak had been killed by a single punch from Dong Wanjun, nearly causing the Shi Family to lose control of the peak. Fortunately, Shi Baishan’s talent was high and his strength was solid, and after several twists and turns, he finally secured his position as the Peak Master of Feishi Peak.

After becoming Peak Master, Shi Baishan naturally targeted Wan Jun Peak at every turn, causing no shortage of trouble for Old Dong.

However, he still knew his limits and didn’t do anything too outrageous.

Otherwise, with the temper of that Thousand-Handed Butcher, he really could have been beaten to death.

But now that Dong Wanjun had disappeared in the Northern Plains, he certainly wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity to kick a man while he was down.

The missing Outer Disciples from Wan Jun Peak were all his doing, carried out by the demonic youth before him.

With this demonic youth’s methods, that True Disciple from Wan Jun Peak would never be able to find any evidence.

Even if Dong Wanjun really managed to return from the Northern Plains, he would have no reason to act against him.

"Thank you, Master."

The demonic youth gave a sinister chuckle, his eyes filled with excitement.

He was the True Disciple of Feishi Peak, Shi Ye, the one rumored to enjoy wax play.

The most talented disciple of the Shi Family’s generation. Although he had yet to break through to the Jing-entry stage, his cultivation techniques were bizarre and unpredictable, making him extremely difficult to deal with.

The world thought he was a libertine, fond of women and unrestrained.

But in reality, it was all just a facade. The reason he acted this way was, of course, to cultivate an evil technique of gathering Yin to supplement Yang.

This evil technique was far stronger than the Wang Family’s Stealing Yin Technique from before.

There were quite a few disciples within the Divine Mansion Sect who cultivated evil techniques like him. Who could argue, when evil techniques, if handled properly, could indeed greatly shorten the time needed to break through realms? Although they were heinous acts, the benefits were indeed numerous.

As long as you broke through realms quickly enough, both the Law Enforcement Hall and the Sect Leader Hall would turn a blind eye.

But if you failed to amount to anything, then you couldn’t blame the Law Enforcement Hall for having to give the world an explanation.

Shi Ye was the former, so even though he had ruined countless women in Huanglong Prefecture, his position remained incredibly stable.

The smile on Shi Ye’s face grew even more wanton.

The Wan Jun Peak Outer Disciple he had captured was a man, but who said one couldn’t gather Yin to supplement Yang from a male body?

’That’s the biggest misunderstanding of gathering Yin to supplement Yang!’

’All fallacies!’

He was already growing impatient.

Just then, Shi Baishan spoke again, "Remember, don’t provoke Bai Yuan for now."

"Understood."

Shi Ye nodded.

Shi Baishan didn’t dare to move against Bai Yuan not only because of his status as a True Disciple, but also because Bai Yuan’s combat power was comparable to the Jing-entry stage.

On all of Feishi Peak, besides himself, no one dared claim they could defeat that True Disciple from Wan Jun Peak. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Moreover, it was plain for all to see that Sect Leader Murong Tian held Bai Yuan in high regard.

However, aside from Bai Yuan, everyone else on Wan Jun Peak was fair game.

...

「The sky grew dark.」

"The weather is dry, beware of fire."

The night watchman’s cry rang out. It was now the first watch of the night.

Although most people had not yet gone to sleep, the number of pedestrians on the streets had dwindled significantly.

On one particular street, a young woman in green robes was walking briskly, her expression anxious.

It was Li Ting.

After following Bai Yuan to the Divine Mansion Sect, Li Ting had trained diligently. She had even broken through to Yijin Pass just one year later than her master, Cheng Li.

It wasn’t that her talent surpassed her master’s, but that the resources of the Divine Mansion Sect were far beyond what the Huwei Arts Hall could compare to.

If she hadn’t come to the Divine Mansion Sect, she might not have broken through to the Yijin stage even in another ten years. Of course, Bai Yuan had also looked after her quite a bit.

Now, she was the undisputed future Patriarch of the Li Family.

Once she completed her training at the Divine Mansion Sect and returned home, her father, Li Wanqian, would pass the position of Patriarch to her.

The reason she wasn’t on Wan Jun Peak but had appeared in Huanglong Prefecture... freewebnovel.cσ๓

...was because she had just received news that the Li Family caravan had run into trouble in Huanglong Prefecture. As the future Patriarch of the Li Family, she had no choice but to intervene.

Every trip the Li Family caravan made to Huanglong Prefecture was a major business deal; no mistakes could be afforded.

Losing money was a minor issue. If the trade route to Huanglong Prefecture was cut off, the Li Family would suffer a devastating blow.

Before long, Li Ting arrived at an inn.

The Yongfu Inn.

She recalled that when Bai Yuan first came to Huanglong Prefecture all those years ago, this was the very inn he stayed in. The Li Family caravan were frequent patrons here.

Li Ting walked into the inn.

She saw that the inn’s main hall was filled with people. The Li Family’s old steward and caravan members were surrounded by a group of vicious-looking thugs.

"Miss."

The old steward cried out in haste upon seeing Li Ting appear.

In Huanglong Prefecture, Li Ting’s status as an Outer Disciple of the Divine Mansion Sect was still quite useful.

Li Ting took a deep breath. "Everyone, I am an Outer Disciple of the Divine Mansion Sect. I ask that you show me some respect."

The ferocious-looking man leading them changed his expression upon hearing the words "Divine Mansion Sect."

They were all Huanglong Prefecture People and naturally knew the weight an Outer Disciple of the Divine Mansion Sect carried. While not a major figure, it was a status that absolutely could not be underestimated.

These people were from the Evil Wolf Gang.

From their name, one could tell they were a third-rate Jianghu gang. There were at least several dozen gangs like the Evil Wolf Gang in Huanglong Prefecture.

These gangs were familiar with the local situation and obedient, so both the Patrol Office and the Divine Mansion Army would secretly support them, turning them into local thugs who handled their dirty work.

The Li Family had been in business for many years and had long since paid off the gangs in this area. However, the gang previously in charge was recently driven out by the Evil Wolf Gang, and the Li Family caravan, unaware of this, had been surrounded.

Although the old steward was prepared to pay a hefty sum to appease them, the Evil Wolf Gang bullied them for being a caravan from a small county town and refused to let the matter drop.

"So, it’s an honored guest from the Divine Mansion Sect. It seems we’ve had a big misunderstanding."

A smile appeared on the ferocious man’s face, completely erasing his previous menacing look.

Seeing the change in the man’s expression, Li Ting finally let out a long sigh of relief. Resolving the problem without a fight was, naturally, the best outcome.

The Evil Wolf Gang was not an insignificant force in Huanglong Prefecture; she didn’t want to offend them lightly.

But just as Li Ting was about to leave with the Li Family caravan—

A man dressed all in black, his face covered, appeared at the entrance of the Yongfu Inn.