The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

What kind of terrifying power was this?!

One man, shaking a mountain!

They had never seen a human capable of wielding such terrifying power.

To the old chieftain’s utter astonishment, the bowstring moved!

One inch, two inches... until the bowstring was more than halfway drawn.

BOOM!

A tremendous roar exploded through the mountain forest.

In its wake, all the trees for miles in front of Bai Yuan were flattened by an invisible force.

And mind you, the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow was not nocked with an arrow!

If a dry fire could possess such might, what would it be like with an arrow?!

Everyone before the Ancestral Court gasped in shock.

Soon, the old chieftain’s eyes filled with wild delight. "The Chieftain truly has the bearing of an invincible!"

The divine bow, which even a Divinity Grandmaster couldn’t draw, had been drawn by Bai Yuan. The implications were self-evident.

The old chieftain was suddenly overcome with gratitude for the decision he had made.

By following Bai Yuan, the Demon Hunters might one day achieve a glory unseen in millennia.

"Chieftain, invincible!"

"Chieftain, invincible!"

...

All the Demon Hunters fell to their knees, their cries of "invincible" shaking the mountain forest.

Perhaps it was only from this moment on that these Demon Hunters truly accepted their new chieftain from the bottom of their hearts.

...

Within the great mountains of the Southern Border, a procession stretching for two full miles snaked its way through the forest.

Zhao Bing, Chieftain of the Celestial Halberd Race, gazed from afar at Bai Yuan, who walked at the head of the procession.

"Did he really draw the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow?"

He asked another former chieftain from the Demon-Seeking Lineage, one with whom he was on good terms.

He hadn’t been present that day.

"It’s the absolute truth. I saw it with my own eyes. It wasn’t just me; Elder Zhou and several hundred others saw it too."

Zhao Bing, Chieftain of the Celestial Halberd Race, gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"There’s really no comparing people, is there?"

Before, he had only submitted out of intimidation from Bai Yuan’s combat strength. But hearing that the man could actually draw the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow shattered the last shred of pride in his heart.

The Sun-Shooting Divine Bow’s significance to the Demon Hunting Race was immense.

It represented the last glory of their race. Ever since their ancestor Zhe Yi, the Demon Hunters had been in steady decline. Now, they were being hounded by the Witch Race like stray dogs.

But Bai Yuan had drawn the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow. In the eyes of the Demon Hunters, this was nearly equivalent to the return of their ancestor Zhe Yi.

Otherwise, how could the exodus of an entire race from the Southern Border be such a simple matter?

The journey was long, and getting so many people to abandon their homeland was a monumental task in itself. Yet now, the vast majority of Demon Hunters were willing to travel north, all because Bai Yuan had drawn the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow.

’Of course, the road ahead won’t be easy.’

「At the front of the column.」

The old chieftain walked beside Bai Yuan. "Chieftain, another nine hundred miles, and we should be out of the Southern Border."

Bai Yuan nodded.

The journey so far had been uneventful.

This wasn’t due to good luck, of course. In fact, they were being trailed by at least three waves of Witch Race pursuers, each led by a Mingxin Grandmaster.

The Witch Race would never let the Demon Hunters leave so easily.

Though the Demon Hunters were a shadow of their former glory, they still had many masters among them. If the Witch Race could absorb them, their own combat strength would increase significantly.

Bai Yuan had been relying on his perception, which far surpassed that of an ordinary Mingxin Grandmaster, to evade the pursuit.

"Once we leave the Southern Border, we can take the Cao Bang’s merchant ships all the way north."

Hearing that the Cao Bang would be helping, the old chieftain’s eyes lit up with even more joy.

Though he had spent his whole life in the Southern Border, he wasn’t ignorant of the powers within Xuan Yang. The Cao Bang was one of the world’s preeminent factions, controlling the Ten Thousand Miles Canal. Once they were aboard their great ships, the rest of the journey would be much smoother.

All of this was thanks to Bai Yuan.

Had it been anyone else from the Demon Hunting Race, calling upon the Cao Bang for aid would have been impossible.

Just then, a commotion erupted from the rear of the column.

Bai Yuan’s brows furrowed slightly. His figure blurred, and in a matter of moments, he had crossed a thousand meters to reach the rear of the line.

There on the ground lay several withered skeletons.

He looked to the old matriarch of the Demon-controlling Race, who was guarding the rear. "What happened?"

The old matriarch’s expression was grim. "It’s the work of the Witch Race. Someone has used a Curse Technique on us."

"A curse?"

Bai Yuan’s expression grew heavy.

Curses were a branch of Witchcraft, a method the Witch Race excelled at. They could often kill from a thousand miles away, sight unseen.

Even masters of the Central Plains Martial World paled at the mention of the Witch Race’s Witchcraft.

It was nearly impossible to defend against; the effects were almost guaranteed.

As long as the caster was stronger than the target, death was almost certain.

The old matriarch sighed softly. "Chieftain, it seems we’ve been discovered after all. I’ve heard of this curse. It’s a probing technique used by the Witch Race. Its power isn’t great, but it allows them to pinpoint an enemy’s location."

Just as the old matriarch said, those who had died were ordinary people.

"It won’t be long before the Witch Race catches up to us."

The old matriarch’s eyes were filled with worry.

Just then, the old chieftain and a few others arrived. Seeing the withered skeletons on the ground, their expressions also grew heavy.

They had fought the Witch Race for many years; they were all too familiar with their methods.

It seemed a battle was unavoidable after all.

The old chieftain spoke. "Chieftain, if that’s the case, why don’t we set an ambush here and fight them to the death!"

The others also showed looks of grim resolve.

Demon Hunters were born to risk their lives fighting demons; they did not lack fighting spirit.

But Bai Yuan shook his head. "It is not yet time for you to lay down your lives."

The old chieftain was taken aback. From Bai Yuan’s expression, it seemed he had no intention of fighting the Witch Race pursuers to the death.

"You all go on ahead. I will cover the rear."

"!!!"

The few Demon Hunter powerhouses were dumbfounded.

’One person?’

’Covering the rear for tens of thousands of people?’

’I’ve never seen anything like it.’

Seeing their reluctance, Bai Yuan’s tone turned stern. "I said go, so go. I have my ways. Follow the planned route to Nanzhou Crossing and wait for me there."

"Yes, sir."

Seeing that Bai Yuan had made his decision, the old chieftain could only agree, albeit reluctantly.

’I’m even more grateful that we chose Bai Yuan.’

’If any other power had been in this situation, they would have sacrificed the Demon Hunters to buy time without a second thought, not even willing to commit their own troops.’

’But Bai Yuan was different. He would rather take the risk himself than see the Demon Hunters come to harm.’

This scene warmed the hearts of the surrounding Demon Hunters.

If not for Bai Yuan’s repeated, stern orders, many would have likely offered to risk their lives and stay with him to cover the retreat.

Soon, only Bai Yuan remained in the mountain forest.

He stayed behind to cover the rear because he had absolute confidence in his own strength. ’A few Mingxin Martial Artists aren’t enough to kill me.’

’As long as the Great Witch of the Southern Border doesn’t make a move, no one can stop me.’

This brought to mind another function that had become available after he’d completed the second part of the Divine Palace Profound Soldiers: the ability to sense the presence of Divine Communication Powerhouses.

If he were ever targeted by a Divine Communication Powerhouse, the Divine Palace Profound Soldiers would issue a warning.

Regardless of the distance.

This was precisely why Bai Yuan dared to act so brazenly in the Southern Border. If his guess was correct, the Great Witch of the Southern Border wasn’t even in the Southern Border at the moment.

’In that case, I have even less to fear.’

’The Demon Hunter experts would be of little help if they stayed. They would only die in vain. Since that’s the case, it’s better that I stay alone.’

’Besides, I’ve been wanting to test the might of the Sun-Shooting Bow.’

...

「Half an hour later.」 The mountain forest burst into activity.

A Witch Race army several thousand strong surrounded Bai Yuan.

While their numbers weren’t vast, they were all elite soldiers and powerful commanders. An elite force like this was not to be underestimated anywhere in the world, to say nothing of the three Mingxin Powerhouses leading them.

A middle-aged Mingxin Powerhouse from the Witch Race stared at Bai Yuan, a cold sneer playing on his lips.

"So you’re Bai Yuan?"

Their appearance here meant they had obviously received intelligence on the Demon Hunters and had come specifically to intercept and kill Bai Yuan.

Compared to the powers in the Central Plains who were wary of Xu Dingchun, the Witch Race was far less restrained.

The Witch Race and Xu Dingchun were mortal enemies anyway, so killing Bai Yuan was of no consequence to them.

Another man, an elder with an aquiline nose, sized up Bai Yuan with great interest. "I’ve heard you can kill a Mingxin. I’d very much like to see that for myself."

Surrounded by three powerful experts and an army of thousands.

Bai Yuan wasn’t flustered in the slightest. In fact, he almost wanted to laugh.

The aquiline-nosed elder asked, "What are you laughing at?"