The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

The palm-sized Divine Palace in the young Huyan Shan's hand emitted a faint, fluorescent light.

Huyan Shan scratched his head.

Ever since his great-grandmaster had given it to him, he had always guarded it carefully, checking it once a day. But he'd never seen the thing glow before.

"Master, it wasn't like this before…"

Huyan Shan grew anxious, afraid he hadn't taken proper care of the object.

Bai Yuan, of course, knew the reason for the Divine Palace's change.

He stepped forward and took the Divine Palace from his disciple's hand. "You've done very well."

Huyan Shan felt a little better upon hearing his master's praise. Just as he looked up, he saw his master pull a small palace from his robes, identical to the one he'd been holding. That palace was also emitting a faint white light.

Bai Yuan stared at the two Divine Palaces in his hands, his expression complex.

He'd never expected that the final transaction between Mr. Yuan and the Demon God would turn out to be a fragment of the Divine Palace.

Truly, he had searched high and low for it to no avail, only for it to fall right into his lap.

He had been secretly using the Imperial Inspection Office's intelligence network to search for the two remaining Divine Palaces. He could have wracked his brain forever and never guessed that one of the fragments wasn't in Xuan Yang, but in Mr. Yuan's possession.

Acting almost on instinct, Bai Yuan slowly brought the two Divine Palaces together.

The carvings on both Divine Palaces were exceptionally intricate. What was even more astounding was that their structures were interlocking, allowing them to merge together perfectly.

Soon, the two Divine Palaces merged into one in Bai Yuan's hands.

An instant later, a blinding white light erupted in the room.

Even Bai Yuan found it blinding. He covered the young Huyan Shan's eyes with his hand, sparing his new disciple the fate of being blinded the moment he was accepted.

When the white light dissipated, Bai Yuan looked on.

The Divine Palace was floating in mid-air, and an endless divinity drifted all around it.

Bai Yuan was certain that it was divinity.

He had seen it before, in a dream where his Divine Mansion reached perfection.

He slowly reached out his hand.

As if sensing him, the Divine Palace flew over on its own and landed steadily in Bai Yuan's hand.

A smile touched Bai Yuan's lips.

He could feel it—the Divine Palace was at least twice as strong as before. If he were to use it now, he could even kill a Divinity Grandmaster. As for any other changes, he supposed he would have to explore them slowly over time.

With the newly empowered Divine Palace, Bai Yuan was in high spirits.

If he could obtain the final Divine Palace Profound Soldier, it would be like having a nuclear weapon in this world. It might not even be impossible to build a power that could rival the Demon Sect.

'Awesome!'

For the first time, Bai Yuan felt he could finally master his own destiny in this fucked-up world.

Even if Emperor Li Chengyuan wanted to kill him, he would have to think twice about the Nine Heavens Profound Soldier in his hands.

However, Bai Yuan wouldn't use it unless it was absolutely necessary.

The greatest advantage of a weapon like that came from the threat of its use, not its actual deployment.

He tucked the newly-merged Divine Palace into his robes.

"Are you willing to come south with me?"

The young Huyan Shan blinked.

His former village was north of Cang Mang Mountain, in a world of ice and snow. A story had always circulated there that six months ago, a supreme expert of the Northern Plains had come from their village.

He had never left the village in his entire life. He originally thought the other side of Cang Mang Mountain was 'the south,' but it seemed there were lands even further south than that.

Huyan Shan nodded firmly. "I'll go wherever Master goes."

Bai Yuan smiled faintly.

He didn't know his disciple's origins, and he might never have the chance to find out after leaving the Northern Plains.

But that wasn't important. Perhaps Big Beard's purpose had been for him to take Huyan Shan away from the Northern Plains all along.

"Don't worry. There are many interesting things in the south."

...

「Ling Province, Huanglong Prefecture.」

「The Yang Residence.」

"The world is growing more and more chaotic."

Yang Fangyu sighed softly, gazing at the snowflakes falling outside the window.

Beside him, his wife, Yan Hongxiu, was holding their son and warming herself by the fire. "Fang Yu, when will the documents from the Ministry of Personnel arrive?"

"It should be soon," Yang Fangyu replied.

'That's right.' He was about to leave Ling Province for an official post in Jiangnan. Through the Yang Family's maneuvering, not only was he being transferred to Jiangnan, but he was even keeping his same rank. Such an outcome was extremely rare.

Of course, this was also related to the great progress he had made with his own power.

'It wasn't out of the question that he might become a provincial governor in the future.'

Yan Hongxiu gazed at the swirling snow, a flicker of worry in her eyes. She only hoped the express courier from the Ministry of Personnel would ride faster, ever faster. Ever since that day, the entire Northern Territory had been thrown into chaos.

Ling Province was no longer safe.

They had planned to leave for a long time. The fact that they could not only leave but also preserve his official post was a truly pleasant surprise.

She'd heard that if Grand General Xu Dingchun hadn't put in a good word, things wouldn't have gone nearly so smoothly.

Although Yang Fangyu had once spent some time in the Northern Garrison Army, he had been in no position to speak with Grand General Xu back then. The most he could hope for was catching a glimpse of him during an inspection. They had no connection to speak of.

The reason Grand General Xu had offered his help was, in all likelihood, because of Bai Yuan.

The thought of his sworn brother made Yang Fangyu even more emotional.

He was still fussing over his post as a fourth-grade official, while that kid had already become the Shuofang Jiedu Envoy and Right Chief Imperial Censor—a true second-grade official who wielded immense power.

'Talk about an infuriating comparison.'

But he was also secretly proud of his own foresight. He had attached himself to Bai Yuan's coattails before his rise to prominence. Otherwise, he might never have regained his fourth-grade rank in Jiangnan in his entire life.

"Have there been any news of Brother Bai?"

Yan Hongxiu suddenly asked.

Yang Fangyu shook his head.

The last time Bai Yuan had appeared in the public eye was back during that momentous, life-or-death battle that had captured the world's attention.