The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Chapter 428: Chapter 405: Annihilation (2)

He wasn’t afraid of Bai Yuan himself, but of the Xuan Yang Court that Bai Yuan represented. That was the true source of his apprehension.

Unfortunately, the Celestial Profound Sect was desperately short on capable members at the moment.

’Am I supposed to go to the Zhengyang Sect in person? If I did that, I’d be throwing away the millennia of prestige the Celestial Profound Sect has built.’

As Linghu Yang was lost in thought, a disciple rushed into the main hall, his expression anxious.

Linghu Yang frowned. "What has you so flustered?"

The disciple replied, "Sect Leader, Elder Qiu Qiong of the Zhengyang Sect is here to see you."

At these words, a sharp glint flashed in Linghu Yang’s eyes.

"Show him in at once!"

Soon after, an elderly man in a brocade robe walked slowly into the hall.

"Greetings, Sect Leader Linghu."

Seeing the elderly man appear alone, Linghu Yang looked puzzled. "Did our sect’s Vice Sect Leader Xia not return with you, Elder Qiu?"

The old man, Qiu Qiong, paused. "Sect Leader Xia?"

Seeing the old man’s baffled expression, Linghu Yang knew that Xia Han was truly dead.

"Then may I ask, Elder Qiu, why have you come north to the Celestial Profound Sect?"

Qiu Qiong chuckled. "I was traveling through the Northern Lands and happened to hear that the Court’s Imperial Censor Bai was also in Lingzhou, so I made a special trip."

"..."

Linghu Yang was silent for a moment, then a look of joy spread across his face.

Qiu Qiong’s arrival was the perfect solution to his current predicament.

"Elder Qiu, do you have a way to contact Sect Leader Zhu? The Court’s advance is ferocious, and the Celestial Profound Sect cannot stand against them alone."

Qiu Qiong nodded. "I do have a way."

A sharp glint flashed in Linghu Yang’s eyes.

’There’s a chance!’

With the Zhengyang Sect’s help, the pressure on him would be greatly reduced. It would be no easy task for the Court to take on both the Zhengyang Sect and the Celestial Profound Sect at the same time.

...

「In Lingzhou, inside a lavish manor.」

"The Celestial Profound Sect has some good fortune, it seems."

Bai Yuan chuckled softly, gazing at the secret letter in his hand.

This letter, of course, was not from the Lingzhou Prefecture Magistrate’s Office.

As the Right Chief Imperial Censor of the Imperial Inspection Office, he naturally had his own channels. Besides monitoring Capital Officials, the Imperial Inspection Office was also responsible for supervising local officials; its intelligence-gathering capabilities were by no means weak.

The news that Qiu Qiong of the Zhengyang Sect had gone to the Celestial Profound Sect was obtained by spies from the Imperial Inspection Office.

His assassination of Xia Han and the messenger disciple before him was never about preventing the Zhengyang Sect from learning what was happening in Lingzhou.

Walls have ears, and he was, after all, only one man.

A complete news blackout was nearly impossible. His goal was simply to weaken the Celestial Profound Sect’s strength as much as he could. Xia Han just happened to be the one carrying the message at the wrong time.

The Zhengyang Sect had countless eyes and ears; they were bound to learn of the situation here sooner or later.

Qiu Qiong’s arrival had simply accelerated the timeline, costing Bai Yuan a number of opportunities to strike.

No matter.

Bai Yuan rubbed two fingers together, and the letter in his hand crumbled to ash.

He was merely the first link in this grand scheme, and so far, he had performed his part rather well.

’His Majesty the Emperor should be quite satisfied,’ he thought.

Now that the Zhengyang Sect had entered the fray, what came next was no longer his concern. Others would take care of it.

His priority now, of course, was to become stronger.

Bai Yuan looked down at his status panel.

Killing Xia Han had netted him over ten thousand enhancement points, making the effort worthwhile.

He began to furiously upgrade a Cultivation Technique called Demon-Breaking Fist.

He began breaking through to his eleventh Divine Mansion.

’When every Divine Mansion in my body is opened, I’ll be able to kill even those who have passed the Divinity Communication Barrier!’

...

「Within the Imperial City.」

"Your Majesty, before Jiu Moshi left Ximo, Vice Sect Leader Xia Han of the Celestial Profound Sect paid a visit there."

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice stood in the Imperial Study, respectfully reporting the results of his investigation to Emperor Xuanyang, Li Chengyuan.

Li Chengyuan asked, "Do you have proof?"

"We are still gathering it, but we don’t foresee any major issues," the Minister of the Ministry of Justice replied.

Even if Xia Han thought he had acted in secret, his efforts were laughable before the vast state apparatus of the Xuan Yang Dynasty. To say nothing of Xuan Yang’s network of spies, post stations, and checkpoints spread across the land, this time they had even enlisted the Astronomical Bureau to perform a divination.

The reason Li Chengyuan was expending such effort was, of course, to build an ironclad case.

The matter of karmic destiny was mysterious and profound.

But it all boiled down to having a legitimate pretext. When the Ministry of Justice, acting in accordance with the law, moved to apprehend the killer of a Court official, no one could stand in their way. Not even the great sects of the Jianghu would dare to interfere.

This principle—that any major action must be justified—held true for the Xuan Yang Dynasty just as it had for the one before it.

Li Chengyuan was in a very good mood.

It hadn’t been long since Bai Yuan left the Capital City, yet he had already delivered such a pleasant surprise.

The Court had been worrying about finding a reason to act, and now, one had been delivered on a silver platter—a completely flawless pretext.

In truth, the Celestial Profound Sect’s move hadn’t been an ill-conceived one. After all, who could have predicted that Bai Yuan would not only defeat Jiu Moshi but kill him outright? Such a feat was truly heaven-defying.

Li Chengyuan knew full well how difficult it was to kill a Mingxin Powerhouse.

Although he possessed the combat prowess of someone who had passed the Divinity Communication Barrier, that was only thanks to being blessed by the dynasty’s destiny. Under normal circumstances, even Li Chengyuan couldn’t guarantee he could kill Jiu Moshi.

Everyone has their own specialty.

Unless one could overwhelm an opponent in every single aspect, killing a Mingxin Grandmaster was incredibly difficult.

Li Chengyuan said, "My thanks for your hard work, Minister Han. This matter must be handled impeccably."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice bowed deeply before slowly backing out of the room.

He knew full well that this was not as simple as a Jianghu sect attempting to assassinate a second-grade official. ’His Majesty the Emperor intends to use this incident to launch an offensive against the entire Jianghu.’

’An era of chaos is about to begin.’

’The realm will know peace no longer.’

’The demonic invasion in the Northern Territory is finally showing signs of subsiding, and the Emperor can no longer restrain his ambition to bring the Jianghu to heel.’

...

A party of a dozen or so people appeared at the foot of the Celestial Profound Sect’s mountain gate.

"Sect Leader Liu, you’ve had a long journey."

Linghu Yang personally led a host of the Celestial Profound Sect’s elders and disciples to receive them at the gate.

The men before him were experts from the Zhengyang Sect.

Their leader was none other than the Vice Sect Leader of the Zhengyang Sect, Liu Chongde, a Great Swordsman whose skill was on par with his own.

This was a testament to the Zhengyang Sect’s power.

A single Vice Sect Leader was the equal of a Sect Leader like Linghu Yang.

A millennium ago, the Celestial Profound Sect might have commanded such might, but alas, times had changed. Their former glory was a distant memory.

"Sect Leader Linghu, a pleasure," Liu Chongde said with a smile, cupping his fists.

It was proper Jianghu etiquette to exchange pleasantries about the rigors of travel upon meeting.

He had come this time on the orders of the Zhengyang Sect’s Sect Leader to reinforce the Celestial Profound Sect. Though he had only brought a dozen or so men with him, every single one was an elite master of the Zhengyang Sect.

In addition to himself, there were a full three Mingxin Grandmasters, and the rest were all powerhouses at the peak of the Acumen realm.

Such a lineup was enough to make even Linghu Yang inwardly shaken, a feeling that quickly turned to envy.

’If the Celestial Profound Sect possessed the might of the Zhengyang Sect,’ he mused, ’why would we have to worry about not even being able to find a proper messenger?’

He couldn’t help but sigh internally.

’I’ve been a truly pathetic Sect Leader for the Celestial Profound Sect.’

’If only I could break through the Divinity Communication Barrier, the situation would be entirely different.’

’But alas, how could a breakthrough ever be that easy?’

’I’ve trained diligently for a hundred years. I can see the threshold, yet I cannot take that final step.’

’The Xuan Yang Court had Bai Yuan make a move against the Celestial Profound Sect first precisely because it was now the weakest of the major sects.’

Although the Celestial Profound Sect had been in decline for a century, its name still carried weight.

Subjugating the Celestial Profound Sect would be a tremendous blow to the morale and destiny of the entire Jianghu.

And it was for this very reason that the Zhengyang Sect would not sit idly by.

Liu Chongde spoke up, "I hear that this Imperial Censor Bai is also in the city?"

Linghu Yang nodded. "The man is arrogant and domineering. It was most likely him who killed our sect’s Vice Sect Leader, Xia Han."

Now that he had chosen to ally with the Zhengyang Sect, Linghu Yang saw no reason to hide the truth.

Liu Chongde’s initial interest in the famous young man had been sparked when Bai Yuan’s fight with his martial nephew, Guihai, had directly triggered a breakthrough for the latter.

But he never expected to hear such shocking news the moment he arrived in Lingzhou.

The Celestial Profound Sect might be weak, but Xia Han was a bona fide Mingxin Grandmaster.

For Bai Yuan to be able to slay a powerhouse of the Grandmaster level was truly inconceivable.

He couldn’t help but recall his martial nephew’s assessment of Bai Yuan.

’Heaven-defying aptitude, the likes of which is seen only once in three thousand years!’

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