A few days later, early in the morning, a carriage bearing the Fang Family insignia departed from the Fang Mansion, heading out of the city along the bluestone street.

Inside the carriage, Fang Han rested with his eyes closed, a mission letter in hand.

That morning, just as he arrived at the Martial Arts Room, he had been summoned by Elder Fang Yuan, who gave him the mission letter.

The mission letter simply stated, "Assist with matters at the Medicinal Garden," but offered no further details.

After leaving the city gates, the carriage traveled along the main road for about an hour before turning onto a side road. A short while later, a vast, high-walled garden came into view.

A rich, medicinal aroma filled the air, invigorating the senses.

"Young Master Han, we’ve arrived at the Medicinal Garden."

The driver respectfully lifted the carriage curtain.

As soon as Fang Han stepped out of the carriage, a slightly heavyset, middle-aged man in a steward’s uniform hurried over to greet him, accompanied by several others.

"Ah, it’s Young Master Han himself! I am Fang Lu, the steward of the Medicinal Garden. Please forgive my failure to greet you properly, Young Master!"

The steward recognized Fang Han at a glance. His face immediately lit up with enthusiasm, and he bowed with clasped hands from a distance.

Fang Han’s reputation in the Fang Family had recently skyrocketed. Though he was only one of the Inner Hall Descendants, everyone knew the family valued him greatly and that his future was boundless. As a steward assigned to an outlying post, he naturally wouldn’t dare to be negligent.

"Steward Lu, there’s no need for such formalities."

Fang Han gave a slight nod, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding medicinal fields.

"I’ve come on an Elder’s orders to handle matters at the Medicinal Garden. I’m not yet aware of the specific circumstances?"

"Please follow me, Young Master. You’ll understand as soon as you see."

Upon hearing this, a troubled expression appeared on Fang Lu’s face, and he led Fang Han further inside.

After passing several neat rows of medicinal fields, the scene that greeted them made Fang Han frown slightly.

Large patches of the fields had been utterly ravaged. The soil was churned up, and herbs were either torn out by the roots or gnawed down to stumps.

Several sections of the protective fences had been smashed to pieces and lay scattered on the ground.

"Starting five days ago, some beast from who knows where has been sneaking into the Medicinal Garden at night and running rampant."

Fang Lu pointed at the destroyed fields, his voice filled with anguish.

"Look at this Blood Coagulation Grass and these Qi-Nourishing Flowers... they’re the main ingredients for refining Qi Blood Pills! They were only a month or so away from being harvested, and now they’re all destroyed!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Fang Han crouched down to carefully examine the tracks in the dirt.

They were hoof prints, like those of a wild boar, but nearly twice as large as usual. The tracks were pressed deep into the earth, a clear sign of the creature’s immense size and astonishing strength.

Nearby, the broken sections of the fence were splintered, clearly the result of a powerful impact.

"What about the guards? Wasn’t anyone on watch?"

Fang Han asked as he stood up.

"Of course there were! We reinforced the guards after the first night. But the beast returned on the second. Captain Zhang led his men to capture it, but who could have known..."

Fang Lu said with a wry smile.

"That was no ordinary animal. It’s immensely powerful, with an incredibly tough hide that blades can hardly scratch. Not only did Captain Zhang and his men fail to take it down, but several of them were wounded. They’re still bedridden."

"Could it be a Demon Beast?"

A sharp glint flashed in Fang Han’s eyes.

In this world, if an ordinary animal possessed exceptional innate talent or had consumed Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, it was possible for it to break the limits of its species and become a Demon Beast.

The strength of a Demon Beast far surpassed that of an ordinary animal. Even a typical Martial Artist would struggle to deal with one. Fortunately, they were extremely rare; otherwise, they would pose a colossal threat to humanity.

He had long heard of them but had never seen one with his own eyes.

"Exactly!"

Fang Lu nodded, his voice tinged with residual fear.

"The beast looks like a wild boar but is as large as a calf, with tusks a foot long that gleam silver in the moonlight. It’s absolutely terrifying! We were at our wits’ end, so we had to request aid from the family."

"Take me to the wounded. I need to get a better sense of the Demon Beast’s true strength."

Fang Han said, his voice low.

’If it’s a relatively weak Demon Beast, I’m confident I can deal with it at my current level of strength.’

’But if it’s a Demon Beast comparable to the Inner Qi Realm, then it’s not something I can handle. I’ll have no choice but to request reinforcements from the family myself.’

In a house to one side of the Medicinal Garden, three guards lay on their beds, covered in bandages.

One had broken ribs, another a shattered arm bone. The third, Captain Zhang, was tightly wrapped from his chest to his abdomen. His breathing was shallow, and it was obvious his internal injuries were severe.

"When that thing charges... it’s like a war chariot..."

Captain Zhang said weakly, his eyes still filled with lingering fear.

"When our swords struck its body, they just sent sparks flying. We couldn’t even break its hide..."

Fang Han carefully examined their injuries, forming a preliminary assessment of the Demon Beast’s strength in his mind.

’It’s likely comparable to a Bone Refining Realm Martial Artist, but not yet at the Inner Qi Realm level. If it were as strong as an Inner Qi Realm Martial Artist, it’s unlikely these three guards would have survived.’

"Arrange a quiet place for me to stay. I will keep watch here tonight."

Fang Han said, turning to Fang Lu.

"It’s already been prepared! The best guest room in the garden is always kept clean. I’ll take you there right away!"

Fang Lu said hurriedly.

In the southeast corner of the Medicinal Garden stood a small, independent courtyard, quiet and elegant.

After settling in, Fang Han declined Fang Lu’s kind offer to host a welcome banquet. He asked only for a simple meal to be sent over, then began to rest and gather his strength.

As night fell, the Medicinal Garden was brightly lit. Guards clutched their weapons and patrolled nervously, their eyes darting toward the dark fields from time to time.

Fang Han sat quietly in the courtyard, his Cyan Blade Sword resting across his knees, his mind as calm as still water.

The heightened senses granted by the Late Stage of Bone Refining spread out, and everything within a radius of several hundred feet—the chirping of insects, the rustle of the wind, the voices and footsteps of men—was reflected in his mind with perfect clarity.

Time trickled by. As the moon reached its zenith, the patrolling guards began to show signs of weariness, and their tense expressions started to relax.

Just past midnight, when all was silent—

BOOM!

A tremendous crash suddenly erupted from the northwest corner of the Medicinal Garden, followed by the guards’ startled cries and the clamor of a warning gong.

Fang Han’s eyes snapped open, a sharp light flashing within them. His figure shot up like a wisp of wind, and in a few quick bounds, he cleared the rooftops, rushing straight toward the source of the commotion.

In the moonlight, a huge hole had been smashed through the fence. A massive black shadow was rampaging through the medicinal fields, sending dirt flying and leaving a trail of ruined herbs in its wake.

It was a Demon Beast that resembled a wild boar, as stout as a calf. Its black bristles stood on end like steel needles, and its crescent-shaped tusks shone with a cold, silver light in the moonlight.

Most striking was a tuft of white fur at the center of its forehead, shaped like a crescent moon, from which a faint light seemed to pulse.

Its crimson eyes glinted with ferocity. It paid no mind to the shouts and gongs of the surrounding guards, focused only on gnawing at the herbs. It pawed at the ground intermittently with its thick hooves, appearing exceptionally agitated.

CLANG—

A few of the bolder guards tried to drive it off, hurling their spears.

The Wild Boar Demon Beast didn’t even try to dodge. The spears struck its body with the sound of metal striking metal and were instantly deflected, not even scratching its hide.

SNORT—

Enraged, the Wild Boar Demon Beast threw its head back and let out a screeching roar, a sound as sharp and unpleasant as tearing silk.

It kicked off with its hind legs, sending dirt flying, and its massive body shot toward the guards like an arrow loosed from a bow.

The guards’ faces went pale with terror, about to suffer the same fate as their injured comrades.

Just then, a figure swept past like the wind. A glint of sword light, like a cold streak of lightning tearing through the air, aimed with unerring precision for the center of the Demon Beast’s forehead.

CLANG!

The sound of metal on metal rang out through the night sky as sparks flew in all directions.

Fang Han landed lightly, the hand holding his sword slightly numb. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

’Because I acted in a hurry to save them, I didn’t put my full power into that strike. Even so, it carried enough force to seriously injure an ordinary Bone Refining Realm Martial Artist.’

’And yet, it only made the Wild Boar Demon Beast shake its head, leaving just a shallow, bleeding gash on its forehead.’

’This Wild Boar Demon Beast’s defense is even tougher than I imagined!’