Long Ao’s pupils constricted. ’No!’ he roared in his heart, unwilling to accept this.

No!

Old Kui already lay in a pool of his own blood.

Bai Yuan’s scarlet blade completely filled his vision. He was utterly powerless to resist the terrifying strike.

SLICE...

The Blood Tiger Scimitar sliced through Long Ao from the crown of his head, parting his body as easily as water.

THUD!

Split in two by the scimitar, the halves of Long Ao’s body toppled to opposite sides.

To his last breath, he couldn’t fathom how a young man of twenty could be so terrifying.

The moment Long Ao’s body hit the floor, Xiaoqing silently burrowed inside. Within moments, the corpses of Long Ao and Old Kui melted into puddles of bloody water.

Other than the shattered window frame and disheveled furniture, there was no sign that anyone had died here.

Xiaoqing was truly skilled at disposing of bodies and leaving no trace.

After devouring the vitality of two Blood Refining Martial Masters in a row, Xiaoqing’s Demonic Power grew even denser.

It wouldn’t be long before it recovered its full strength as a Tier Five Demon.

A Snake Demon normally requires an eternity to regain its power after shedding its skin, but thanks to Bai Yuan, that time had been drastically reduced.

At the same time, miles and miles away, Xiao Qiaoniang also benefited from Xiaoqing’s growth, breaking through to the Yijin Pass in one fell swoop.

While still no match for Bai Yuan, she was now considered a top-tier genius in Qinghe.

Especially for a Female Martial Artist.

Bai Yuan bent down and thoroughly searched the clothes left behind by Long Ao and Old Kui, but came up empty-handed.

’Then again, most people don’t make a habit of bringing all their worldly possessions along for an assassination.’

He wasn’t the least bit surprised.

The strengthening points he had gained from killing the two of them were more than enough.

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Class: Demon Hunter, Ghostwriter, Boxer, Spirit Cooker]

[Skills: Spirit Extraction (Expert), Spirit Cooking (Master), Spirit Refining (Expert), Night Wanderer Step (Master), Myriad Transformations (Master), Hundred Poison Hand (Master), Tiger-Crane Style (Master), Blood Tiger Saber (Master)...]

[Strengthening Points: 1364]

Long Ao and Old Kui had netted him over 1,300 strengthening points. The efficiency was far greater than killing Fire Armor Rhinoceros Beetles.

It was a shame, but even in the Divine Mansion Sect, there weren’t many Blood Refining Martial Masters.

’Allocate the points!’

[You have practiced Demon Search for a hundred years. Now, no demon in the world can escape your hunt!]

...

[You have practiced Demon Control for one hundred and thirty years. Your Demon-Control Technique has reached the point of sublimity.]

...

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Class: Demon Hunter, Ghostwriter, Boxer, Spirit Cooker]

[Skills: Demon Search (Master), Demon Control (Master), Night Wanderer Step (Master), Myriad Transformations (Master), Hundred Poison Hand (Master), Tiger-Crane Style (Master), Blood Tiger Saber (Master)...]

[Strengthening Points: 0]

After months of relentless work, and with the bonus from Long Ao, Bai Yuan had finally upgraded all his Demon Hunter skills to the Master level.

In terms of theoretical knowledge alone, he was now on par with Zhou Siming.

After all, he was basically cheating...

His status panel was magnificent. Aside from Spirit Extraction and Spirit Refining, all his other skills had been raised to the Master level, and his cooking was even at the legendary tier.

His path of mastering all arts was beginning to take shape.

With Demon Search and Demon Control now at the Master level, their effects were far more powerful.

Bai Yuan could now sense demons based on their demonic energy from miles away. Moreover, his Body Technique and five senses had also grown much sharper.

Now that his Demon Control skill was at the Master level, not only could he command four demons simultaneously...

...his bond with Xiaoqing had also grown stronger, even surpassing that of Qiaoniang, who shared a symbiotic link with the demon. For a Demon Hunter, this was simply inconceivable.

In short, he was now incredibly powerful.

It was precisely because of this strength that killing Long Ao and Old Kui had been as easy as slaughtering chickens.

Between his system and Old Dong, he was destined to be invincible among his peers.

After allocating the points, Bai Yuan felt refreshed and invigorated.

He was about to gather the clothes of Long Ao and Old Kui to finish cleaning up when a symbol on Old Kui’s attire caught his eye.

It was the image of a person meditating in the lotus position.

The posture was common in Daoism.

But for someone to embroider it on their clothing... that was a different matter entirely.

This was the emblem of the Celestial Heart Sect.

Bai Yuan didn’t recognize the emblem from extensive study, but because he had seen it before in a minigame.

The Celestial Heart Sect was tied to the Demon Sect and had incredibly deep roots.

He never imagined that the old man who looked like the Fire Cloud Evil God—the one who’d burst into his room tonight only to be effortlessly killed—was actually a member of the Celestial Heart Sect.

And if the old man was from the Celestial Heart Sect, then Long Ao’s affiliation was obvious.

He must be connected to the Celestial Heart Sect as well.

’I have to tell Old Dong about this.’

Bai Yuan quickly made his decision.

He knew the Celestial Heart Sect had deep ties to the Demon Sect.

If Long Ao was from the Celestial Heart Sect, then the Peak Master of Spring Thunder Peak had to be involved with them too.

A headache began to form as he considered the implications.

He wasn’t sure if the Demon Sect’s infiltration was simply too good or if the Divine Mansion Sect’s counter-intelligence was too weak. He’d been a member for less than two years and had already killed two of their spies.

Old Dong had already gone to the western part of Huanglong Prefecture, but the Divine Mansion Army had its own unique, completely reliable, and top-secret method for sending messages.

As a Lord of Ten Households in the Divine Mansion Army and Old Dong’s disciple, he had that much authority.

The involvement of the Celestial Heart Sect meant the Demon Sect was lurking in the shadows.

A thorny issue like this should naturally be left for Old Dong to handle. With his current power, Bai Yuan was no match for a behemoth like the Demon Sect.

...

「Daybreak.」

「Xiaohe Town.」

"Lord Bai, what happened last night?"

Zhu Qiang stared at the empty space on the wall where the window frame had been, momentarily at a loss for words.

"I was training last night and accidentally broke it. Get someone to fix it," Bai Yuan said nonchalantly.

The Divine Mansion Army courtyard was large and isolated, so not many people had been aware of last night’s fight.

Even if any of Xiaohe Town’s residents had noticed the disturbance, none would have dared to question him, the Lord of Ten Households.

Not even the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office dared interfere in the affairs of the Divine Mansion Army, so why would the common folk risk it?

The bodies of Long Ao and Old Kui had been disposed of last night.

Thus, Zhu Qiang had no choice but to accept Bai Yuan’s explanation.

The thought that someone might have broken into the compound didn’t even cross his mind. After all, this was a Divine Mansion Army outpost; very few people would dare cause trouble here.

Nothing of the sort had happened in decades.

Zhu Qiang was remarkably efficient.

Within the hour, he had summoned a renowned craftsman from the south side of town.

These artisans were the best in the southern district and worked with brisk efficiency. However, the fight had damaged so much of the furniture in Bai Yuan’s room that the repairs would still take a considerable amount of time.

The room was soon a hive of activity.

With nothing else to do, Bai Yuan gave Zhu Qiang a few instructions and walked out of the courtyard.

’Since Long Ao and that old man who looked like the Fire Cloud Evil God were both from the Celestial Heart Sect, it means I’m on their radar.’

’I’ve killed them, but it won’t be long before the Celestial Heart Sect notices something is wrong. Then the trouble will be endless.’

’Too bad I don’t know where the Celestial Heart Sect’s main nest is.’

’Otherwise, I could get Old Dong to help me wipe them out completely. I’d probably get a ton of strengthening points for it, too.’

’A shame...’

Bai Yuan shook his head, a hint of regret in the gesture.

Since he couldn’t find them himself, he had to report this to Old Dong as soon as possible. He trusted Old Dong’s efficiency; the man wouldn’t disappoint him.

The Divine Mansion Army sent its confidential messages via the relay station outside of town.

The Xuan Yang Sects and the Xuan Yang Court ruled the realm together.

This arrangement saved the Xuan Yang Court a great deal of trouble and silver coins.

Take the relay stations, for example. Building a single station cost a fortune in gleaming silver. The previous dynasty had practically bankrupted itself constructing them.

A station required not only buildings but also the feeding of horses, the maintenance of the Official Roads, and numerous other expenses.

The Xuan Yang Dynasty was vast, and after a year, the Court found the maintenance costs alone to be overwhelming.

So, the Xuan Yang Court had simply outsourced the management of the relay stations to the local sects. This way, they didn’t have to spend a single coin; it was a free ride.

Of course, this approach had obvious drawbacks.

The Court’s control over the stations was significantly reduced. If a sect in a key location along an Official Road were to rebel, they could completely sever the flow of information.

However, the Xuan Yang Court had ruled for a millennium and had long ago put countermeasures in place.

Not only had they brought all the sects along major routes into their fold, but the officials stationed in those areas were invariably powerful experts themselves.

With these multiple safeguards, a communications blackout had not occurred in centuries.

The relay stations within Huanglong Prefecture were, naturally, managed by the Divine Mansion Sect.

However, Huanglong Prefecture wasn’t a major transportation hub, so the Court didn’t interfere much with the Divine Mansion Sect’s affairs. This was evident from the cultivation level and strength of the Lord Prefect at the Huanglong Prefecture Magistrate’s Office.

In Huanglong Prefecture, even the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office was thoroughly suppressed by the Divine Mansion Sect.

Before long, Bai Yuan arrived at the relay station.

"Who goes there?"

A young, guard-like man at the entrance watched Bai Yuan warily.

The relay stations in Huanglong Prefecture never took in travelers. Only personnel from the Court and the Divine Mansion Sect were permitted entry.

He’d heard that stations in neighboring counties allowed merchant caravans to stay, but in short, the rules varied greatly from place to place.

Bai Yuan produced the token exclusive to a Lord of Ten Households of the Divine Mansion Army.

Seeing the Divine Mansion Army Token in Bai Yuan’s hand, the young man’s expression finally softened.

"My apologies, Lord of Ten Households."

He quickly ushered Bai Yuan into the relay station.

"I need to send a confidential message," Bai Yuan stated.

The young man deftly handed a sheet of yellowish paper to Bai Yuan.

The yellow paper was made from a special material, and the brush Bai Yuan was given was just as unique.

Any words written on this paper with this brush would quickly fade from view. Once the letter reached its recipient, it had to be soaked in a special chemical solution for the message to reappear.

’The ingenuity of the ancients is truly not to be underestimated,’ Bai Yuan thought with a hint of admiration.

He wrote down everything that had transpired in Xiaohe Town concerning the Celestial Heart Sect and Long Ao.

At the speed of the Huanglong Prefecture relay station, the letter would reach Old Dong in just two days.

Whatever happened next was out of his hands.

...

「Qinghe County.」

「Flying Eagle Castle.」

Flying Eagle Castle was not located within the city itself; its domain encompassed several miles of mountainside outside the walls.

And there, atop one of these peaks, stood a magnificent, palace-like structure.

Ji Hanming sat in closed-eyed meditation.

Just then—

He suddenly snapped his eyes open, a desperate struggle visible within them.

"Nghh..."

Ji Hanming collapsed to the floor, whimpering and convulsing in agony, foam spilling from his lips.

A full fifteen minutes passed before the convulsions finally subsided.

The next moment, Ji Hanming shot upright, his gaze turning incredibly sharp and piercing.

He murmured slowly, his voice laced with a sinister viciousness.

"Bai Yuan, I won’t let you go."

Though the voice was still Ji Hanming’s, anyone who knew him would realize he would never speak in such a manner.

In just a few moments, he was like a completely different person. Not a trace of the original Ji Hanming remained.