The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

「Imperial Palace, Imperial Garden.」

It was said that the Imperial Garden contained every rare and precious flower in the world. A single bloom taken outside would supposedly cause people to fight to the death for it, and eating one of its miraculous herbs could extend one's life by at least ten years.

Whether they could truly extend one's life was unknown, but at the very least, the variety was not as vast as rumored, and the precious flowers were pitifully few.

And the proof?

Bai Yuan was standing in the Imperial Garden right now. Peonies, roses, Chinese peonies... They were all common varieties.

"The Grand Ancestor Emperor rose from humble beginnings and disliked extravagance, so the Royal Family has always kept things simple. Even these peonies were secretly planted by me, and I was scolded by Duke Du for it for a long time. A shame... there's no one left to scold me anymore."

Emperor Li Chengyuan, with his pant legs rolled up like a farmer, skillfully pruned the bushes in the Imperial Garden.

With the Emperor himself at work, Bai Yuan had no choice but to get down and till the soil.

He had originally wanted the pruning job, but Li Chengyuan, with his quick eyes and hands, had snatched it first.

'He even suspected Li Chengyuan had summoned him to the Imperial Palace just to till the soil for his peonies.'

Li Chengyuan was the Emperor, but he couldn't just do as he pleased, contrary to what people imagined. On the contrary, under the strictures of the Confucian Family's principles, there was little he could do.

He could, of course, go to great lengths to plant peerless flowers in the Imperial Garden, but the cost would be a loss of dynastic fortune.

This was something an ambitious emperor could not tolerate.

Dynastic fortune was not only tied to the nation's fate but was also inextricably linked to his own strength.

That was why he chose to plant the flowers himself rather than order the palace eunuchs to do it, because the moment he gave the order, the very nature of the act would change.

His every word would be amplified, passed down from the eunuchs to the Ministers of the Six Departments, then to the regional Prefecture Magistrate's Offices. Layer by layer, it would eventually become a great mountain crushing the common people.

The dynastic fortune would inevitably be affected.

But Bai Yuan was different. He was a "lone minister."

Having someone to help him till the soil was a rare pleasure, and Li Chengyuan was in a delightful mood.

Bai Yuan felt he really should have called in sick today.

Li Chengyuan happily hummed a nameless little tune he had heard years ago while traveling through Jiangnan.

Ever since becoming Emperor, all he heard day in and day out was the solemn tolling of great bells. Grand, yes, but he wasn't musically inclined and couldn't hum any of it.

He gazed at Bai Yuan, who was bent over, hoeing the earth.

"Bai Qing, you must have been a fine farmer in your day."

He had read Bai Yuan's dossier long ago. He had started out living in a small town in Ling Province.

Li Chengyuan mused, "I once traveled to the Northern Territory as well. Yan Province isn't far from Ling Province."

Bai Yuan said, "Your Majesty, Yan Province is four thousand li from Ling Province. That's not close. Furthermore, this humble servant's family owned no fields; we lived by hunting."

"Er..."

Li Chengyuan was a little embarrassed.

Having lived in the Capital City for so long, he had forgotten many things from his early years.

To him, the smallest administrative unit worth mentioning was a province; a mere Prefecture City was beneath his notice.

In truth, for an Emperor, his perspective was already quite good.

The previous dynasty followed the tradition of appointing the eldest son of the primary wife as heir, so most of their emperors never left the Capital City in their entire lives. Their understanding of the world was almost entirely based on paper.

This was because the Confucian Family advocated for moral transformation through education, believing one could be a good emperor without ever leaving one's home.

Later, as the actions of the previous dynasty's emperors grew increasingly absurd, another great Confucian scholar proposed that "what is learned from paper will always feel shallow." In any case, those scholars had a way of arguing both sides of every issue.

Grand Ancestor Emperor Xuanyang had always valued martial prowess, and the Li Family was a Martial Dao family with a thousand-year history, so he abolished the tradition of primogeniture.

But this also led to increasingly fierce struggles among the Princes.

Even Li Chengyuan's own ascension had not been easy. Just thinking about it now sent a chill of fear down his spine.

If not for the support of Yan Shao'an and Liang Yuan Kang, he might have died at the hands of his third brother.

Lost in thought, Li Chengyuan accidentally snipped off a peony in full, vibrant bloom.

He snapped back to his senses, silently lamenting the loss.

"You are all dismissed for now."

He waved a hand at the palace maids and eunuchs beside him.

"Yes."

With a chorus of "Yes," the palace maids and eunuchs withdrew from the Imperial Garden.

This was the Imperial Palace, and Li Chengyuan was a supreme expert whose power rivaled the gods. Unlike the feeble emperors of the previous dynasty, he had no need to worry about assassination.

Only Li Chengyuan and Bai Yuan remained in the Imperial Garden.

Bai Yuan straightened up, leaning on his hoe as he looked at Li Chengyuan.

Emperor Li Chengyuan wore a faint, unreadable smile. "Bai Qing, what do you think was my greatest gain from this trip to the Dragon Tiger Sect?"

Bai Yuan pondered for a moment. "The Dragon Tiger Sect's Sect Leader agreed to cooperate with the Court?"

Li Chengyuan laughed heartily. "You know me best, Bai Qing!"

"Sect Leader Zhang has agreed to have all sects in Jiangzhou register with the Ministry of War. From now on, establishing a new sect will also require registration with the Ministry of War."

Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Congratulations, Your Majesty. My heartfelt congratulations."

Li Chengyuan was beaming. "I didn't expect it to go so smoothly either."

The Grand Ancestor Emperor once established a national policy for Xuan Yang to rule the world jointly with the sects, but over time, many problems arose.

With the realm at peace, it should have been an age of prosperity.

But "heroes use martial arts to destabilize the realm," and even in the Central Plains, incidents of sects exploiting the common people were frequent.

This was no different from the bloated bureaucracy and corrupt officials of the previous dynasty. The burden on the people grew heavier and heavier, and in some places, they only knew of the sects, not the Court.

This had led to Xuan Yang's national fortune stagnating for several hundred years.

If this continued, the accumulated grievances of the people would inevitably cause the national fortune to decline.

From a young age, Li Chengyuan had resolved to eradicate this chronic disease.

Whether it was the sects or the military, all must be brought under the jurisdiction of the Court.

As the leading sect in the Jianghu, the Dragon Tiger Sect held immense influence in Jiangzhou and throughout all of Jiangnan. That was why Li Chengyuan had stayed an extra three days on Dragon Tiger Mountain—to persuade that old Sect Leader.

The laws of the ancestors cannot be abolished, but they can be adapted.

Completely eliminating the sects was, of course, impossible. Xuan Yang was simply too large, and the Court still needed them for governance.

As long as the sects were registered and placed under the unified management of the Ministry of War, they, like the Demon Race, would be unable to stir up any major trouble.

Only then could the decline of the national fortune be halted.

The world thought Li Chengyuan was fighting over a single word, but in reality, he wanted the title *Xuan*.

What does *Xuan* mean? "To restore the brilliant sun" is *Xuan*. "To spread righteousness throughout the land" is *Xuan*. "To promulgate virtuous decrees" is *Xuan*. "To be profound and virtuous" is *Xuan*. "To extend one's might to the four corners of the world" is *Xuan*.

He was striving to extend the life of Xuan Yang for another ten thousand years, vowing to become the ancestor of a great restoration.

Li Chengyuan said, "Bai Qing, although you have accomplished much in the Capital City recently, I cannot keep ignoring the memorials from those old ministers. I have consulted with Grand Protector Yan, and we are preparing to appoint you to a post in the Northern Territory."

There was not much surprise on Bai Yuan's face.

His recent actions in the Capital City had surely drawn heavy criticism; there must have been no shortage of memorials impeaching him.

Just as with Du Qinghui before him, Li Chengyuan's move was actually a form of protection.

When officials turned vicious, they could be far more ruthless than any Jianghu brute.

A slight smile touched the corners of Li Chengyuan's lips. "Bai Qing, the position of Shuofang Jiedu Envoy is currently vacant. I think you are the perfect fit."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!