Just as the sky began to lighten, Li Yuan pushed open his wooden door. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He had cultivated late into the night after taking the Evil Essence Pill. The residual Evil Qi had almost completely dissipated, and the Spiritual Power in his Dantian felt much fuller.

He Shou was already outside, a long saber slung diagonally at his waist. Xu Mao and Lin Xiaowu also emerged from their rooms.

"First, let’s head to the station to restock on supplies."

Aside from the main headquarters, the guard corps had several stations. The nearest one was less than two li to the north, and it was more than a size larger than their small patrol post. About twenty wooden cabins formed a loose square, with a hard-packed, flat clearing in the middle. On the western side stood a shed, under which several wooden crates were stacked.

About a dozen guards were coming and going from the camp.

The guard corps’ organizational structure was much more complex than the patrol teams’, but the different units were functionally the same. When it came to matters of market safety, the guards did everything.

However, the patrol routes were usually different. For instance, Li Yuan’s team patrolled the southern line, which was closer to the market and less dangerous.

He Shou led the three of them straight to the supply shed. He greeted the guard on duty, then collected two vials of wound medicine and some basic supplies to distribute among them.

"Some of the larger patrol teams are even issued storage bags," He Shou explained casually while picking up the gear. "Though the captains of those teams can usually afford to buy their own, just not as large as the ones that are issued."

Out of the corner of his eye, Li Yuan glanced at the other side of the camp.

Fang He was squatting at the entrance of a wooden cabin, sharpening a blade. He had broad shoulders, a faded white scar on his cheekbone, and wore a semi-new guard uniform.

Seeing Li Yuan, Fang He raised a hand in a simple greeting.

Li Yuan nodded back but didn’t go over to talk.

Once they had all their supplies, the four of them left the station and headed south along their patrol route.

He Shou walked at the front. His pace was unhurried, his eyes constantly scanning the bushes and the ground on both sides of the road.

After walking for a while, He Shou stopped in front of a cluster of bushes by the roadside and beckoned them over.

"Look at this."

The three of them gathered around. On the soil at the base of the bushes was a small, pale patch, dry and peeling, unlike the surrounding dark, damp earth.

"Droppings," He Shou said, squatting down and pointing to the pale area with his scabbard. "They turn white when they dry. The surrounding soil is still wet, which means this was left at least two or three days ago."

He Shou then pointed to some white flakes left on a few nearby blades of grass.

"It flakes when it splatters on the grass and dries. This is how you distinguish between a Demon Beast and a regular animal—a Demon Beast’s waste has residual Spiritual Qi that you can feel up close. A regular animal’s just has a foul, pungent smell."

Lin Xiaowu leaned in for a sniff, his brow furrowing as he took half a step back.

"Pungent. Regular animal." He Shou stood up and dusted off his knees.

"The shape of the droppings can also help identify the type of creature. Lizards leave dry, hard fragments. Beasts leave long strips. Snakes leave a runny paste. Combine that with claw marks and stride length, and you can generally deduce what passed through."

They continued on for a while before He Shou spoke again.

"A Demon Beast’s aura is much more obvious than a Cultivator’s. Cultivators can restrain their Spiritual Qi, but Demon Beasts can’t. Their Spiritual Qi radiates outward from their bodies, and the higher their rank, the more intensely it spreads. You can sense a Tier One Low Grade from thirty zhang away, and the range for a Tier One Middle Grade is even greater. When you encounter a Demon Beast in the wild, you’ll usually sense it before you see it."

Li Yuan committed every one of these details to memory.

The patrol route wasn’t long, and the four of them walked for nearly two hours.

Along the way, they encountered several groups of Cultivators.

The first was a pair of Loose Cultivators, spotted from afar. Laden with bags of all sizes, they hurried away from the market.

The second was a three-person team. They were spattered with poorly cleaned bloodstains, and their auras were between the second and 3rd Floor of Qi Refining. They too were heading away from the market.

The third was a lone Loose Cultivator. He had concealed his aura, making it impossible to sense, and he carried a longsword on his back. His pace was so fast it was almost a jog.

All three groups were heading out, away from the market.

Watching the jogging Loose Cultivator disappear into the distance, Lin Xiaowu asked, "Captain He, are there any rogue Cultivators around here?"

He Shou shook his head.

"We’re too close to the market, and the guard corps has people patrolling daily. Rogue Cultivators won’t make a move in this area. Generally, they operate at least fifteen li away from the market. There are fewer people and more complex routes out there, making it hard for the guard corps to provide complete coverage."

"But we can’t just ignore it. If a market becomes known for rogue Cultivators, Loose Cultivators will stop coming."

He Shou raised a hand and pointed south into the distance.

"It’s basically safe within five li. Between five and ten li, there’s some risk, but it’s not high. Beyond ten li, you have to be careful. Our patrol route doesn’t extend beyond five li."

The four continued south along the route as the terrain gradually became hilly. The flat, dirt road vanished, and the bushes on either side grew denser. In some places, the low shrubs reached waist-high, blocking most of their view.

He Shou’s pace slowed noticeably. He would walk a few steps, then pause, listening intently to the sounds around them.

The afternoon sun filtered through the leaves and branches, dappling the ground with light.

Li Yuan’s fingers touched the Spirit Detecting Disc hidden in his sleeve, and he then saw He Shou take out a similar circular disc.

Li Yuan slowly channeled his Spiritual Power into it, and his senses spread outward.

The auras of the three men beside him were clearly discernible, along with the faint fluctuations of a few insects in the bushes. Farther out, everything was quiet.

Until—

To the front and left, about thirty zhang away, a turbid fluctuation of Spiritual Qi appeared at the edge of his perception.

It wasn’t strong, but its characteristics were distinct. Unlike the contained and controlled Spiritual Qi of a Cultivator, this aura diffused outward, coarse and chaotic, like a pile of unsealed Broken Spirit Stones.

"Front left, thirty zhang. One Demon Beast," Li Yuan said in a low voice.

He Shou stopped in his tracks and glanced at Li Yuan.

"You three go. I’ll watch from the side. It’s a Tier One Low Grade—a good chance for you to practice."

"Don’t underestimate a Tier One Low Grade Demon Beast. Many of them have treacherous abilities. If you’re not careful, you’ll fall right into their trap."

He Shou moved off the path and ducked behind a clump of bushes as he spoke.

Lin Xiaowu’s hand went to the Magical Artifact at his waist, his fingertips tightening slightly. Xu Mao’s expression remained calm as he unslung the shortsword from his back and gripped it in his hand.

Li Yuan took the lead, his left hand forming the seal for the Fireball Technique as Spiritual Power gathered in his palm.

The three of them crouched low and advanced through the gaps between the bushes.

After a dozen or so steps, the bushes ahead shook violently.

A dark gray reptile poked its head out from behind the low shrubs. It had a flat, triangular head with dark yellow, vertical pupils. A rough, thumb-length horn protruded from the center of its head. Its four legs were short and powerful, and its entire body was covered in tightly packed, dark gray scales.

A Horned Lizard. It was three to four chi long from head to tail, a Tier One Low Grade beast.

The Horned Lizard spotted them. Its vertical pupils contracted sharply, and it lowered its flat body, bracing its forelimbs against the ground with a hiss.

"Don’t let it escape into the bushes," He Shou’s voice came from the side.

Li Yuan released his hand.

The Fireball shot forth, a crimson orb trailing a short tail of flame as it flew straight for the Horned Lizard’s face. The beast swerved left, and the Fireball grazed its side, slamming into the bushes behind it and exploding in a shower of sparks.

He hadn’t missed by much, and the blast successfully blocked the Horned Lizard’s escape route into the dense thicket.

Xu Mao circled around from the right, bringing his shortsword down in a vertical chop aimed at the Horned Lizard’s neck. The blade lodged in a gap between its scales, catching for a moment as dark blood seeped out.

The Horned Lizard cried out in pain and whipped its long tail, striking Xu Mao’s wrist and knocking him back half a step.

From the rear, Lin Xiaowu completed a hand seal, and an ice spike shot out, embedding itself in the Horned Lizard’s back and piercing two of its scales.

Enraged, the Horned Lizard dug its four feet into the ground and charged at Lin Xiaowu.

Li Yuan stepped forward with his right foot, intercepting the Horned Lizard’s charge. A second Fireball was already forming in his palm.

The Horned Lizard couldn’t dodge in time and could only watch as the Fireball flew toward it.

With a dull thud, the Horned Lizard’s head snapped back. Its legs convulsed a couple of times before it toppled onto the gravelly ground. Its long tail slapped the earth twice, then went still. The entire fight had lasted no more than a dozen breaths.

He Shou emerged from behind the bushes. He first kicked the Horned Lizard’s belly to confirm it was dead, then glanced over the three recruits.

"Xu Mao, your aim was right, but you lacked power. The fact that one strike didn’t sever its neck means your Spiritual Power infusion was a bit weak. You were clearly a little scared and held back. Be more decisive next time."

Xu Mao rubbed the wrist that had been hit by the tail and nodded.

"Lin Xiaowu, your ice spike was accurate, but you were half a beat too slow. The Horned Lizard was already charging you while you were still forming the seal. You need to practice your casting speed."

Lin Xiaowu flinched slightly and quickly agreed.

He Shou looked at Li Yuan and nodded.

"The Horned Lizard is agile, and the Fireball Technique is a bit slow. You could have attacked when it reared up. Still, your Fireball also served to block its retreat."

After the debriefing, the four of them squatted down to butcher the Horned Lizard.

A Tier One Low Grade Horned Lizard didn’t have many valuable parts. The hide wasn’t large, but it was mostly intact, aside from the scorched black area where Li Yuan had hit it. The horn on its head was a Low Grade supplementary material for Artifact Refining and could be sold. The bones were too small and fragmented; only a few spinal bones were barely usable.

"There are combat methods that can better preserve the spoils, but seeing as you’re not experienced enough yet, I won’t teach them to you for now," He Shou added.

After they finished butchering it, He Shou spread the materials out on the ground.

They divided the loot based on contribution. Li Yuan took the hide and most of the bones, while Xu Mao and Lin Xiaowu each got some bone fragments. The Horned Lizard’s horn went to He Shou.

Just as Li Yuan was about to roll up the hide and store it, He Shou spoke up.

"You can take these materials back to the market to sell yourselves, but the round trip is too time-consuming." He Shou tucked the Horned Lizard’s horn into a cloth pouch at his waist and glanced at the remaining hide and bones on the ground.

"The guard corps has its own procurement channels, and their prices are fairer than what the Loose Cultivator stalls outside offer. I can handle selling all the materials and pay you your shares in Spirit Stones later."

’The materials from a Tier One Low Grade Horned Lizard weren’t worth much to begin with. The hide was average quality, and the bones were fragmented and small. All together, they’d be lucky to fetch five or six Spirit Stones. If they took them back to the market to find a Loose Cultivator to buy them, the price wouldn’t necessarily be higher than the guard corps’ channel, and it would be a waste of time.’

"Alright," Li Yuan said, handing over the hide.

Xu Mao and Lin Xiaowu had no objections either and handed over their portions.

He Shou gathered all the materials and put them away, making a rough mental calculation. "I’ll settle up with you all back at the station."

The four of them headed back the way they came.