[In your fifty-first year of cultivating Spirit Extraction, your Spirit Extraction skill has finally reached the Proficient level.]

...

[In your eightieth year of cultivating Spirit Refining, your technique has become proficient.]

...

[After one hundred years of hard practice in Spirit Cooking, your mastery is even more profound.]

...

[Name: Bai Yuan]

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

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

[Enhancement Points: 0]

Bai Yuan had killed the Celestial Heart Sect cultists, including a Blood Refining Martial Master, so the enhancement points he received were naturally abundant.

He used all the enhancement points to maximize his abilities.

In one fell swoop, he raised all three Spirit Cooker skills to the Proficient level.

His Spirit Cooking skill, in particular, was on the verge of reaching the Master level.

This was the only way to ensure the potency of the bottle of Earth Spirit wouldn’t be wasted.

...

Zhao Han soon learned what had happened with the Celestial Heart Sect in Xiaohe Town.

He was furious.

Kong Wen was a veteran of the Brave Camp. The two of them had once fought side-by-side. Kong Wen should have been enjoying a peaceful retirement, but instead, he had died in battle in Xiaohe Town. As a fellow former soldier, Zhao Han could not stand for this.

That very day, he took all his men and purged the south side of the city.

Although they failed to find the Celestial Heart Sect’s true stronghold, they did manage to wipe out several of their proselytizing sites.

The Wei Camp was usually idle. All he had to do was show up for daily roll call and make a symbolic patrol of Xiaohe Town.

But with Kong Wen and Wang Ming dead, he was now little more than a commander without an army.

Zhao Han gave no indication that he would address this, showing no intention of transferring any of his soldiers to Xiaohe Town.

Zhu Qiang was inexperienced, a far cry from the veteran Kong Wen.

Since there wasn’t much for him to do on Wan Jun Peak anyway, Bai Yuan decided to move into the Divine Mansion Army garrison in Xiaohe Town.

’If Xiaohe Town is left without a firm hand in charge, trouble is bound to break out, and it might drag me into it. Besides, I have too many secrets. Staying on Wan Jun Peak is actually inconvenient...’

"Commander Bai, a small token of my appreciation. It’s nothing of note."

A portly, middle-aged man who looked like a wealthy merchant beamed at Bai Yuan.

This was Wu Fugui, Patriarch of the Wu Family from the south side of the city. In Xiaohe Town, they were considered a first-rate clan, so every commander of this post had dealings with them.

Wu Fugui was quite generous—his gift was a piece of Tier Five Monster Flesh.

No commander would have a reason to refuse such a gift, and Bai Yuan was no different. Acting too noble would only bring him trouble.

With his current power, accepting something like this was hardly an issue.

"The Wu Family has acquired three pretty young ladies from Rouge County. Would Commander Bai be interested in coming to... admire them?"

Fatty Wu chuckled slyly.

Rouge County was a well-known place within Huanglong Prefecture, famous for its beautiful women.

The top courtesan at Hua Man Pavilion in Huanglong Prefecture was from Rouge County.

For this reason, the wealthy men of Huanglong Prefecture considered it a refined hobby to acquire a few beauties from Rouge County.

Bai Yuan just smiled faintly without saying a word.

’I’ve been away from Sister Qiao for too long,’ he suddenly thought.

’I can win over the major powers in Xiaohe Town, like the Wu Family. By bestowing small favors, managing this place will become much easier.’

Kong Wen used to handle these things.

Now that it was just him and Zhu Qiang, he had to handle it personally.

Not long after Wu Fugui left, another visitor arrived.

Countless people from Xiaohe Town, and even the south side of the city, wanted to pay a visit to their new commander. After all, Commander Bai’s word now carried more weight than that of the officials from the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office.

If they could just get on Bai Yuan’s good side, everything would be smooth sailing for them.

Aside from Wu Fugui, Bai Yuan had no interest in receiving them one by one.

Just as he was about to turn the man away, Zhu Ming spoke cautiously, "Commander, the man says he’s from the Divine Mansion Sect."

"Someone from the Divine Mansion Sect?"

Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Thanks to Old Dong, he had precious few friends in the Divine Mansion Sect.

"Did he give a name?"

"He said his surname is Long, and he’s from the Qinghe Tiger Martial Arts Hall."

...

...

Bai Yuan reclined on a lounge chair of Yellow Flower Pear Wood, sizing up the middle-aged man standing before him.

Long Ao...

’The first time I heard that name was from Ma Dingjun and Cheng Li.’

’The only disciple from Huwei Arts Hall to ever enter the Divine Mansion Sect. Qinghe County’s one and only Inner Sect Disciple, and now a True Disciple, at that.’

’Qinghe is just an insignificant little county in Huanglong Prefecture.’

’Very few people from there ever manage to enter the Divine Mansion Sect, and they can’t compare to the truly heaven-blessed prodigies. Not a single one has ever managed to distinguish themselves from the ranks of the Outer Disciples.’

’Except for Long Ao.’

Not long ago, Long Ao had won the favor of the Peak Master of Spring Thunder Peak and was promoted to True Disciple.

The Peak Master of Spring Thunder Peak’s evaluation of him could be summed up in three words: "a late bloomer."

Reaching the Blood Refining realm at forty-five would make one a first-rate genius in any other faction, but among the True Disciples of the Divine Mansion Sect, it was rather unremarkable.

In fact, Long Ao was the oldest of all the True Disciples.

As Bai Yuan sized up Long Ao, Long Ao was doing the very same to him.

Although Bai Yuan had joined the sect a year ago, and the two were technically fellow disciples, this was the first time they had met.

Long Ao was inwardly surprised.

’This junior brother of mine from Huwei Arts Hall looks to be in his early twenties, at most. To think he’s already capable of killing a Blood Refining Martial Master.’

’Rather than believing Bai Yuan has already broken through the Blood Refining Pass, it’s more likely he received Dong Wanjun’s legacy.’

’Killing opponents of a higher cultivation level isn’t unheard of among Martial Artists. Countless experts have been taken down by supposedly weaker foes.’

’Dong Wanjun killed countless Blood Refining Martial Masters back when he was only at the Organ Strengthening stage. It would only be natural for his disciple to be able to do the same.’

"Junior Brother Bai."

Long Ao was the first to break the silence.

"Is Elder Xue doing well?"

he added, a bit stiffly.

In truth, he and Old Xue didn’t share much of a master-disciple bond. It had all been a transaction.

To get the recommendation spot from Old Xue back then, he had paid with three Spirit Medicines that could stabilize one’s cultivation realm. He figured that squared their accounts, and they would have little to do with each other afterward.

Yet after so many years, this young man had brought them back into contact.

Bai Yuan nodded slightly. "He’s still hale and hearty."

He sent Old Xue some Spirit Soup from time to time. Nourished by the soup, Old Xue’s Qi and Blood were no longer withering away, and he could likely live for several more years.

Long Ao gave a faint smile.

Of course, he didn’t expect a single, perfunctory question about Old Xue to close the distance between him and the young man.

"Junior Brother Bai, I hear you recently wiped out a Celestial Heart Sect den?"

Bai Yuan nodded again.

Zhao Han had already reported the matter to the Divine Mansion Sect.

As a True Disciple of the Divine Mansion Sect, Long Ao had extremely high clearance. It was no surprise that he knew.

"The Celestial Heart Sect has something I need. I was wondering if you might have any leads, Junior Brother."