In a canyon deep within the vast mountains.

Points of light flickered within a deep sea of trees, where several small log cabins were hidden.

"My lord, this lowly one was reckless."

Xinchou knelt on the ground, trembling, not daring to lift his head.

He had sent Wang Changsheng to kill three Inner Sect Disciples who were merely at the Organ Tempering realm. To his dismay, Wang Changsheng had not only died, but the entire Wang Family had been annihilated as a result.

It was highly likely the Divine Mansion Sect would make an even bigger move.

In his heart, he had cursed Wang Changsheng a thousand times over.

’What a useless piece of trash, couldn’t even kill a few Organ Tempering disciples!’

The tall, thin man said nothing, merely gazing at Xinchou calmly. But that very expression made Xinchou even more terrified; too many Soul-Chasing Tower assassins had died under that gaze.

"You may go."

Hearing the tall, thin man’s words, Xinchou let out a long sigh of relief. His life was saved, for today at least.

The man before him wasn’t from the Soul-Chasing Tower. He was an envoy of the Demon Sect, far more terrifying than the Soul Chasing Tower Lord of Huanglong Prefecture.

Xinchou: "Thank you, my lord, for sparing this lowly one’s life."

He remained prostrated on the floor, not daring to look up, scraping his knees on the ground as he backed away.

Just as he was crawling away, the tall, thin man spoke again.

"No need for thanks. Just be more careful in your next life."

"What?!"

Xinchou could no longer contain his fear and snapped his head up.

He saw a large hand closing around his face.

With a BANG like an exploding watermelon, Xinchou’s head was crushed.

Yet the tall, thin man’s clothes remained unstained by even a single drop of blood, as if nothing had happened at all.

Men in black hurried into the room from outside and expertly dragged away Xinchou’s corpse. They had done this sort of thing far too many times.

The tall, thin man stood at the window with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the moon, completely unconcerned with the events in the room.

"Dong Wanjun, I never expected your disciple to be this interesting."

...

「At the foot of Wan Jun Peak.」 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Senior Brother."

"Greetings, Senior Brother."

One fresh face after another greeted Bai Yuan respectfully upon seeing him. Since the night he wiped out the entire Wang Family, Bai Yuan’s reputation in the Divine Mansion Sect was considerable. Many Outer Disciples had heard of his deeds.

These young disciples on Wan Jun Peak were all newly promoted this year.

Recruitment events like the one in Qinghe County only happened once every seven years. Most of the Divine Mansion Sect’s Outer Disciples were promoted from servant disciples, which was why the young masters of noble families were willing to lower themselves and suffer to become servant disciples.

This time, no disciple from Wan Jun Peak had made it into the top twenty of the Dragon Gate Platform, so there were still only three Inner Sect Disciples, Bai Yuan included.

If Dao Ji were still alive, he would have been a shoo-in for the Inner Sect.

Unfortunately, he took the wrong job...

The death of a Ghostwriter caused no ripples.

Especially since this Ghostwriter was connected to the Wang Family, everyone naturally avoided the topic like the plague.

However, rumor had it that a True Disciple had emerged from the Dragon Gate Platform this time, a story that was spreading like wildfire among the disciples.

It was said that this disciple was a late bloomer, becoming a True Disciple on the cusp of his forty-fifth birthday. His story was the stuff of legends. His name seemed to be... Long Ao?

Bai Yuan was all too familiar with that name.

The disciple from Huwei Arts Hall who had once joined the Divine Mansion Sect was also named Long Ao. If it wasn’t a coincidence, it was almost certainly him.

But Bai Yuan had no intention of seeking him out for a reunion.

According to Ma Dingjun and Cheng Li, Long Ao had only used the Huwei Arts Hall as a stepping stone.

He only coveted the spot to enter the Divine Mansion Sect and had no deep feelings for the Martial Arts Hall. In the end, his relationship with Old Xue was merely a transaction, devoid of any master-disciple bond.

After becoming an Outer Disciple of the Divine Mansion Sect, he was never heard from again and never returned to the Huwei Arts Hall.

Bai Yuan had been at the Divine Mansion Sect for so long, but the two had never met. There was no need to meet, either.

’A late bloomer...’

Such a situation was extremely rare among Martial Artists.

A more accurate description would be "slow accumulation leading to a sudden burst." Some Martial Artists, due to their Cultivation Technique, broke through realms very slowly at first. But once they accumulated enough, their progress in the later stages would become unstoppable.

The kind of situation where someone starts as a good-for-nothing and only achieves enlightenment in their old age only happens in dreams.

’Long Ao must be the former case.’

Otherwise, hearing from Ma Dingjun that he had only broken through to the Organ Tempering realm a few years ago, it made no sense for him to be this fast.

Bai Yuan pushed the cluttered thoughts from his mind.

He had many other things to do.

Besides allocating his points, another important matter was making soup.

He had killed so many Fire Armor Rhinoceros Beetles in the Holy Fire Pit that they were practically an endangered species. He’d nearly given himself internal heat from all the Fire Spirit Soup, but the effects were excellent.

He was now extremely close to the Blood Refining Pass and would likely break through before long.

Such a breakthrough speed would put even True Disciples to shame.

Who could blame them? He was using cheats...

The Huanglong Market was as bustling as ever.

Bai Yuan was a regular here and knew his way around.

Within an hour, he had purchased all the Spirit Vegetables he needed. Combined with the Fire Spirit he had just extracted yesterday, he had just enough to brew a batch of Fire Spirit Soup.

Just as Bai Yuan was happily preparing to return to Wan Jun Peak, an old acquaintance walked toward him—Li Kang.

"Younger Brother Bai, I was dying to see you!"

Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow. It didn’t seem like a chance encounter; the other man had clearly come looking for him.

"Brother Li, is something the matter?"

Li Kang looked embarrassed. He rubbed his nose and said, "Brother, your old brother here has really run into some trouble recently. You haven’t taken any missions these past few months, which made you hard to find."

Lately, Bai Yuan had been staying within the Divine Mansion Sect, rarely going out.

The Divine Mansion Sect only permitted its own disciples to enter, forbidding all others. Thus, Li Kang truly had no way to see him.

It was only by relying on his formidable network in Huanglong Prefecture that Li Kang learned of Bai Yuan’s whereabouts from a street vendor and made a special trip over.

Bai Yuan couldn’t help but feel a little curious about what could be so troublesome for Li Kang.

Li Kang said with a mournful look, "A demon appeared in Baihua Valley outside the city. Of all the rotten luck, it abducted one of the Lord Prefect’s concubines. The Lord Prefect was furious and ordered the Demon Slayer Guard to capture the demon within three days."

Bai Yuan nodded.

’So that’s how it is.’

If it were any other demon, Li Kang would never be this anxious, even if it had slaughtered an entire village.

It wasn’t that Li Kang was cold-blooded, but rather that it was none of his business.

All things considered, Li Kang was actually one of the good ones in the Demon Slayer Guard.

"Alright, I’ll go with you. As for these vegetables... just take them back to the Demon Slayer Guard for now."

"Good, good."

Li Kang nodded repeatedly and, at the same time, shot a look at a young man beside him.

The young man was quick-witted. He instantly understood Li Kang’s meaning, stepped forward, and took the Spirit Vegetables Bai Yuan had bought.

"Younger Brother Bai, there’s no time to lose. Why don’t we set out right now?"

Li Kang rubbed his hands together. He hadn’t slept in three days because of this matter.

Although Martial Artists had far more stamina than ordinary people, even they couldn’t endure such sleepless nights!

Bai Yuan smiled faintly. "As you say, Brother Li."

Before the words had even left his mouth, he was already following Li Kang out of the city.