The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

"Fuse!"

A brilliant light burst forth from Bai Yuan's limbs, head, neck, chest, and abdomen.

If the sun weren't at its peak, this would surely be considered a celestial phenomenon, a light bright enough to rival the sun itself. Such a scene, unimaginable to mortals, was a testament to the extraordinary nature of the Divine Mansion Technique.

At this moment, the blood in Bai Yuan's body surged like a tempestuous sea, washing over his meridians again and again.

The pain of his expanding meridians brought a sheen of sweat to his brow, but the explosive growth of his power made him incredibly excited.

It was a painful sort of pleasure.

Exhilarating!

The eight Divine Mansions faintly resonated with one another. If one listened closely, they could hear a sharp, low hum, like the cry of a dragon or a phoenix—an ethereal sound so mesmerizing it could ensnare the soul of any who heard it.

The commotion quickly drew the attention of Elder Pei and Yue Xiaobai in the courtyard.

A sharp glint appeared in Yue Xiaobai's eyes.

'Another improvement?!'

He stared at the faint white light emanating from Bai Yuan's room. Though barely noticeable under the blazing sun, to Yue Xiaobai's eyes, it was more blinding than the sun itself.

The shock in his heart had reached its peak.

Bai Yuan's rate of progress was frighteningly fast. 'He's not even human!'

He knew deep down that if he were to face Bai Yuan now, he stood no chance.

Just then, Elder Pei appeared beside Yue Xiaobai, a look of even greater approval in his eyes.

Even he was astounded by Bai Yuan's talent.

'This child has the makings of a Martial Saint!'

Legend had it that the Grand Ancestor Emperor who founded the Xuan Yang Dynasty had ascended through the ranks at a jaw-dropping pace, reaching the pinnacle of the Martial Dao and conquering all before him by the age of sixty.

Perhaps Bai Yuan could actually reach that same legendary realm.

Perhaps only an unreasonable prodigy like him could achieve such a feat.

Soon, Xiao Qiaoniang, who was inside the house, also sensed the anomaly.

Her strength was far inferior to that of Elder Pei and Yue Xiaobai, which was why she was slower to notice.

When she saw the brilliant white light blooming from the room, her eyes filled with shock.

She was no longer the ignorant village woman of the past; this was clearly a sign that Bai Yuan's cultivation technique was about to break through.

The more Yue Xiaobai watched, the more horrified he became. "Elder Pei, what on earth is the cultivation technique Bai Yuan is practicing?"

He could feel a tremor of fear from Bai Yuan's aura—something that should only happen when a lower-grade technique encounters a higher-grade one.

But the inner strength he cultivated came from the Xiyue Heart Scripture!

The Xiyue Sect had existed for ten thousand years and possessed an incredibly profound foundation. Besides its exquisite swordsmanship, its inner strength techniques were by no means inferior.

Only by cultivating both the internal and external aspects of the Martial Dao could one reach the highest peak.

Therefore, the Xiyue Sect's Xiyue Heart Scripture was in no way weaker than the heart methods of the Dragon Tiger Sect.

And yet, even a technique like the Xiyue Heart Scripture was being suppressed by Bai Yuan's.

'Just how terrifying is Bai Yuan's cultivation technique?!'

Elder Pei didn't answer. He, too, was secretly astonished.

Of course, he knew that Bai Yuan was cultivating the legendary Divine Mansion Technique, passed down from a Demon God, but he had never expected it to be so tyrannical.

It wasn't just Yue Xiaobai; even he felt suppressed.

This wasn't a suppression of strength, but a suppression of quality!

Finally!

The white light in the room abruptly vanished, and everything returned to normal.

The door creaked open.

Bai Yuan stepped out from behind it.

Although his appearance hadn't changed, in the eyes of Yue Xiaobai and Xiao Qiaoniang, he now had an air of unfathomable depth.

It was the aura of a true expert.

In other words, from this moment on, Yue Xiaobai no longer had the strength to even spar with Bai Yuan as an equal.

"Daoist Pei, Xiaobai, Sister Qiao."

Bai Yuan chuckled as he looked at the group outside.

The commotion from his breakthrough had been considerable; of course the people in the courtyard would have sensed it clearly.

Elder Pei smiled warmly. "Your thoughts are clear and your will is free. Donor Bai, in just a few years, you will surely break through the Mingxin Pass. Congratulations."

Upon hearing this, both Yue Xiaobai and Xiao Qiaoniang were stunned.

'Break through to Mingxin?!'

Bai Yuan was only in his early thirties. In a few more years, he would be forty at most.

A forty-year-old Mingxin Grandmaster... That was just too terrifying to contemplate.

Not to mention, Bai Yuan was on the path of a pure Martial Artist, which was inherently slower than that of a Three Religions Martial Master.

Yue Xiaobai felt a little lost.

'Is this what it means to have the makings of a Martial Saint?'

Compared to Bai Yuan, his own talent seemed utterly unremarkable.

Bai Yuan: "I am honored by your auspicious words."

Just as Elder Pei had said, after he perfected the second level of the Divine Mansion Technique, his strength had soared, and he could even see the bottleneck of the Zhigan Pass.

This meant he truly wasn't far from another breakthrough.

If not for the help of the Divine Mansion Technique, he never would have reached the limits of the Zhigan realm so quickly.

After breaking through to the third level of the Divine Mansion Technique, the Divine Mansions would turn from external to internal.

Shifting from superficial organs to internal ones, the third level of the technique required opening the six great Divine Mansions of the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and stomach.

Once those six Divine Mansions were fully opened, Bai Yuan's strength would likely grow to a terrifyingly monstrous degree.

Yue Xiaobai drew his bamboo sword. "Let's fight."

"Alright!"

Bai Yuan was full of excitement. He also wanted to know just how strong he had become.

At his level, it wasn't easy to find a suitable opponent.

...

「An incense stick's time later.」

Bai Yuan clapped his hands in satisfaction.

Yue Xiaobai lay crestfallen in the center of the Martial Arts Arena, both of his eyes beaten black and blue, like a panda's.

'Defeated...'

Bai Yuan had used only five moves and hadn't even drawn his saber to win so easily.

Yue Xiaobai felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness. No matter what sword technique he used, he couldn't even break through Bai Yuan's defenses. In contrast, a single casual punch from Bai Yuan was more than he could handle.

'My attack, defense, and stamina are all inferior. How am I supposed to fight this?'

The outcome had been decided from the start.

Bai Yuan walked over to Yue Xiaobai. "Ah, Xiaobai, you're still young. The future is yours."

Lying on the ground, Yue Xiaobai's mouth twitched. He simply turned his head away, not wanting to see Bai Yuan's face anymore.

Seeing Yue Xiaobai escaping reality, Bai Yuan couldn't help but wonder if he had been a bit too harsh.

Still, this battle had given him a better understanding of his own combat prowess.

With all eight Divine Mansions open, he might even stand a chance against a Mingxin Grandmaster.

It wasn't unheard of for Martial Artists to fight and win against opponents of a higher realm.

This was especially common for Martial Artists who pursued a path of pure killing power.

However, such situations usually only occurred below the Mingxin realm.

Mingxin was a watershed moment.

Those above Mingxin were called Grandmasters precisely because once that breakthrough was made, their methods became unpredictable and god-like. No matter how strong a Zhigan-level cultivator was, they could never be a match for a Mingxin Grandmaster.

Of course, there had been someone who managed to challenge a Mingxin Grandmaster from a lower realm.

It was none other than the Grand Ancestor Emperor from a thousand years ago, the founder of an eternal dynasty. But he was the only one.

Bai Yuan, on the other hand, had only managed to reach this level by relying on a cheat.

Although his rank had risen meteorically, in the eyes of others, it felt somewhat unearned.

After all, Situ Nan, who had entered the Hidden Dragon List twenty years before him, was only a Grand Scholar of the Standard Third Rank, while he himself was already of the Sub-Second Rank.

But now that the second level of his Divine Mansion Technique was perfected, he finally had the confidence to back it up.

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