Night fell.

The southern district of Huanglong Prefecture City was where the poor resided, so naturally, there were few places for entertainment. It fell into darkness early.

Compared to the brightly lit eastern district, it was like another world.

The candlelight in the Divine Mansion Army’s small building in Xiaohe Town had also been extinguished.

Bai Yuan currently had only one subordinate, Zhu Qiang.

And Zhu Qiang went back to his own home most of the time. As a result, the large building was usually occupied by Bai Yuan alone.

He was happy for the peace and quiet, as it was more convenient for him to do his own things.

Inside the small room.

Though the room was pitch-black and the bed was slightly raised, it was actually empty.

Bai Yuan was not sleeping on the bed. Instead, he sat in a dark corner, his arms wrapped around his Blood Tiger Scimitar.

Ever since his Tiger Form and Crane Style reached the master level, his energy had become far more abundant. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

He only needed to meditate lightly, not fall into a deep sleep.

Of course, he did this to guard against sneak attacks. It was a habit he had maintained for half a year.

Unfortunately, no one had tried to make a move on him.

Suddenly!

Bai Yuan’s eyes snapped open.

His ears twitched back and forth with extreme regularity, and he could hear every sound in the vicinity with perfect clarity.

’Someone is sneaking into the Divine Mansion Army’s small courtyard.’

’Two people... both experts.’

Their footsteps were incredibly light, almost as faint as the buzzing of a mosquito, which showed their Body Technique was well-practiced.

Bai Yuan reached down, grabbed a thread-like cord, and pulled. A dark, gaping secret passage appeared before him.

He had been preparing this secret passage for a long time.

It was a secret passage made with Divine Mechanism Hundred Transformations. An ordinary person would never find it, no matter how carefully they searched.

He leaped into the hidden passage.

The very instant he entered, the passage entrance sealed shut again without a sound.

...

In the darkness.

Two figures flitted across the rooftops like sparrowhawks.

They moved like phantoms, making no noise at all. The green tiles beneath their feet didn’t even tremble.

Old Kui, who was in the lead, had a glint in his eyes.

He hadn’t seen any bloodshed for quite some time.

’Let’s see... at least three days.’

’Too long, far too long!’

’I’m starving!’

Ten years ago, he had slaughtered an entire county just to cultivate his Evil Refining Technique. The results had not disappointed him; he had indeed become a Blood Refining Martial Master.

But he was also hunted for a thousand li by a Commander of the Divine Mansion Army under Dong Wanjun.

In the end, it was the Tianxin Sect Leader who intervened and saved his life. However, he was left with a hidden injury that made further progress impossible, and the evil technique within him grew harder and harder to suppress. Now, he was little more than a crazed killer.

Although the killing intent in Old Kui’s heart was already irrepressible, his actions were extremely calm.

He precisely located the window.

He curved the five fingers of his right hand, reaching for the paper window like an eagle’s talon.

BANG!

With a loud crash, the window shattered.

Old Kui’s combat awareness was exceptionally sharp. In almost the same instant, he lunged toward the wooden bed in the corner of the room.

BANG!

With another loud crash, his five fingers punched straight through the bed planks.

’Empty!’

The moment his Eagle Claw Technique touched the bed, he realized he had fallen into a trap.

Then, he heard a faint sound from behind him.

It was followed by the hum of a blade slicing through the air.

A young man had appeared behind him at some point, and a scimitar glowing with an eerie, blood-red light was already falling toward the back of his head.

In the nick of time—

Old Kui’s body visibly shrank, forcefully shifting his position by half an inch.

The strike missed!

Bai Yuan’s eyes narrowed. ’This is the first time I’ve seen such a technique.’

With a flick of his right wrist, he instantly reversed the downward momentum of his blade.

An upward slash!

He had no intention of giving the old man who broke into his room a chance to live. The Blood Tiger Scimitar pressed down on the old man like a collapsing mountain.

He had originally hidden in the secret passage.

Given his mastery of mechanisms, there was no way this old man could have found him.

But rather than being watched day and night, it was better to strike now and eliminate the threat for good.

’Besides, there’s no reason to turn down free enhancement points delivered right to my door...’

Old Kui finally had a moment to breathe.

He thrust his palm forward, clashing with the Blood Tiger Saber in Bai Yuan’s hand and producing the sound of metal striking metal.

A closer look would reveal that his palm was covered in a layer of extremely thin iron wire.

This was the source of his confidence in daring to block Bai Yuan’s scimitar with his bare hand.

As blade met palm.

Old Kui felt an immense force transmit through his palm, forcing him to stumble back several steps.

Looking down, he saw that his palm was already seeping blood, wounded by the force of the young man’s attack.

Old Kui was horrified.

’Fuck!’

’That damn Long! This kid clearly broke through the Blood Refining Pass long ago!’

He had already cursed Long Ao countless times in his mind.

Just then, Long Ao also arrived in the room.

He saw the scene of Bai Yuan fighting Old Kui and was utterly shocked.

’One’s cultivation realm can’t be faked in combat. This junior brother of mine is clearly a Blood Refining Martial Master!’

He found it absurd.

’This Junior Brother Bai seems to be only in his early twenties, right?’

A Blood Refining Martial Master under the age of thirty! There were only a handful of those in the entire Ling Province, and the Divine Mansion Sect had none at all.

The youngest True Disciple of the Divine Mansion Sect was already thirty years old.

’Such terrifying talent!’

He was terrified, and his desire to kill Bai Yuan grew even stronger.

Long Ao expressed his intentions with his actions, suddenly drawing the long saber at his waist and slashing at Bai Yuan.

Upon closer inspection, one could see a faint black mist covering the blade’s edge. It was Demonic Qi!

That’s right, he cultivated a demonic technique.

There was no such thing as a late bloomer in this world. The reason he had been able to rise against the odds at the age of forty was not due to his exceptional talent, but because he had defected to the Demon Sect.

And he had been lucky enough to gain the favor of a Demon God, who had bestowed upon him a Holy Treasure.

Because of this, he was able to break through the Blood Refining Pass in one fell swoop.

His promotion to True Disciple was also thanks to the help of a Demon Sect agent planted within the Divine Mansion Sect. That was how he’d "leapt the dragon gate" and become the most dazzling disciple in the Divine Mansion Sect this year.

With Long Ao joining the fray, the pressure on Old Kui was greatly reduced.

But the longer they fought, the more alarmed they became, because the young man before them was holding his own against the two of them.

Long Ao’s shock was beyond words.

’Even Dong Wanjun in his youth probably couldn’t have fought the two of us to a standstill like this, could he?’

But just as the battle with Bai Yuan reached a stalemate—

A miserable cry suddenly came from Old Kui beside him.

A Little Cyan Snake had appeared at Old Kui’s feet at some unknown time and left a deep bite mark on his ankle.

’A Snake Demon!’

Long Ao had killed countless demons over the years. He recognized at a glance that this Little Cyan Snake was no ordinary snake, but a Snake Demon that had achieved sentience.

Poisoned by Xiaoqing’s venom, Old Kui could now only use thirty percent of his full strength.

He could no longer pose a threat to Bai Yuan.

A cold smile touched the corners of Bai Yuan’s mouth.

’Enhancement points... acquired!’