West of Great Yue, the Weizi Kingdom.

Lv Tian City, Qianye Tower.

A tall, thin old man with a slightly bald head, a hooked nose, and deep-set eyes paced back and forth in the room, muttering to himself.

"Basang. Twenty-three years old. Second Layer of the Blood Realm. Thunder Attribute Skill. Unparalleled combat power."

"Zhao Lin. Nineteen years old. Early Blood Realm. Combat power exceeds his level."

The tall, thin old man stopped his pacing, tapped his fingers on the table twice, and let out a low chuckle.

"Excellent! Both are martial arts geniuses. In the future, they might even become Primordial Realm martial artists. A pity... they won’t live to see that day!"

This was the headquarters of the Flame Sect, the largest sect in the Weizi Kingdom.

Unlike Great Yue, Weizi was a nation composed of multiple tribes. The royal authority had declined, and power was held firmly by the major sects.

In recent years, outstanding martial artists had emerged from Weizi in droves, performing brilliantly in the latest martial tournaments.

The Red Flame Sect’s status rose accordingly, its influence continuously expanding until it became the largest sect in the Western Regions.

Outsiders all believed Weizi’s rise stemmed from the Dragon Bone Trees found within its borders—a species unique in all the world—but that wasn’t the whole truth.

Decades ago, the Red Flame Sect began secretly sending agents to infiltrate other nations, scouting for youths with martial talent and using any means necessary to bring them back to the sect for cultivation.

If an especially brilliant genius already belonged to another sect, they were simply assassinated.

They also sent out youths of considerable talent to infiltrate the sects of other nations, both to steal their techniques and to secretly relay intelligence.

The tall, thin old man’s name was Huo Shan. He was a Supreme Elder of the Red Flame Sect and the mastermind behind this entire operation.

"Someone come... Meow."

Huo Shan’s deep voice startled a black cat napping on a couch, causing it to meow along with him.

"Grand Elder, what are your orders?"

A young man in an embroidered short robe hurried in and bowed.

"Go get Tuzha and Enli."

"Yes."

The young man turned and left. A moment later, ten powerfully built men filed into the room and knelt on one knee.

"We greet the Grand Elder."

These men had a steady, composed demeanor. Every move they made revealed their formidable Qi and Blood, and their cultivation levels were all at the Second Layer of the Blood Realm or higher.

There was another peculiar thing about them: they had square jaws and softer features, lacking the curly hair and deep-set eyes of most Western Regions People. Instead, they bore a striking resemblance to the people from the Central Plains of Great Yue.

"Tuzha, take a look at these two secret letters."

With a flip of his palm, Huo Shan sent the two letters flying slowly toward the tall man at the head of the group.

The tall man caught the letters and scanned them quickly.

In addition to text, the letters contained portraits of Zhao Lin and Basang.

"Grand Elder, your meaning is..."

Tuzha passed the letters to the others and made a throat-slitting gesture.

Huo Shan smiled faintly. "Correct. You will take four men to the Yanyun Mountain Range and kill the young man named Zhao Lin. Enli..."

"Here, sir!"

A powerfully built man of medium height beside Tuzha responded.

"You will take the others to Thunderwood Cliff and kill Basang."

"Yes, sir!"

Tuzha looked puzzled. "Grand Elder, sending five of us to kill one person in the early Blood Realm... isn’t that a bit of overkill? To be honest... I alone would be more than enough!"

Huo Shan said nothing, his sharp gaze fixed on Tuzha’s face.

A chill went down Tuzha’s spine. He quickly lowered his head. "This subordinate was wrong. I should not have questioned the Grand Elder."

Huo Shan suddenly chuckled. "With this sort of thing, you either don’t do it at all, or you do it cleanly. There can be no room for error."

"Remember, you only get one chance."

As he spoke, his hawk-like gaze swept across their faces. "We absolutely cannot let Great Yue or Wuche know that we are sending men to assassinate their talented martial artists. If you fail... I don’t need to tell you what must be done, do I?"

The ten men shouted in unison, "If we fail, we will answer with our heads!"

"Very good."

Huo Shan nodded. "Time is of the essence. You should depart at once."

"Yes, sir!"

...

Ever since discovering an uninvited guest on Ancient Rock Mountain, Zhao Lin had been on his guard.

This was very likely a strange beast.

After all, no ordinary bird or beast could kill a dozen wild pheasants at once, much less eat only their internal organs.

’Since it’s a strange beast, is it possible for the Spirit Beast Scroll to absorb its Essence Soul?’

’To find out, I first need to figure out exactly what kind of strange beast it is.’

In the following days, Zhao Lin discovered the corpses of other small animals like weasels, squirrels, and wild rabbits, their internal organs similarly scooped out.

The most common victims, however, were still wild pheasants.

After careful observation, Zhao Lin discovered some peculiar footprints in the snow.

The tracks had no clear beginning or end; often, there were only a few shallow prints.

Clearly, this strange beast could fly.

But its footprints didn’t have three or four toes like most birds. It had five claws!

The prints formed a plum-blossom pattern, much like those left by a feline.

’A flying cat?’

Zhao Lin paused, startled. He suddenly recalled reading about a particular strange beast in a book from the Scripture Pavilion.

Inner sect disciples were also responsible for guarding the medicinal mountain, so the Scripture Pavilion contained some books on strange beasts that were unavailable in the Celestial Water Pavilion.

Zhao Lin had flipped through all the relevant books shortly after joining the inner sect.

One book described a strange beast called the Wind Fox, whose habits and traces were very similar to the creature on Ancient Rock Mountain.

The Wind Fox, also known as the Wind Beast or Wind Fox Beast, enjoyed eating the internal organs of animals. It resembled a lynx and had fur of a rare, cyan color.

It typically rested high up in trees, had golden-red eyes, and a very short tail.

The Wind Fox was a Wind Attribute strange beast. Though it had no wings, it could ride the wind, moving as fast as a shooting star.

’If it’s really a Wind Fox, I can’t let this opportunity pass.’

Zhao Lin’s heart pounded with excitement. Elemental strange beasts were exceptionally rare; he had obtained the Essence Souls of the Cold Ice Silkworm and the Thunder Catfish only through pure serendipity.

’If I can absorb the Wind Fox’s Essence Soul, not only will a breakthrough be within reach, but I’ll also gain the rare Wind Attribute!’

’Wind Attribute True Qi isn’t as difficult to tame as Thunder Attribute True Qi, and the Sea Return Skill can control it. My speed will definitely reach a whole new level.’

’But... the Spirit Beast Scroll already has seven slots filled. Adding another would make eight, nearly filling it up.’

Zhao Lin preferred to leave himself some breathing room; he felt more at ease having a slot or two in reserve. Otherwise, if he encountered an even better Essence Soul in the future, he could only look on in helpless regret.

But on second thought, he remembered the Spirit Beast Scroll had an upgrade function. The Wind Fox was clearly a higher-tier beast than the White-throated Needletail, so it wouldn’t need to occupy a new slot.

It would be like how the bear replaced the old ox, or how the Horseshoe Bat upgraded into the Silver-Winged Bat.

With that thought, Zhao Lin began preparing to capture the Wind Fox.

The Wind Fox’s flight speed was incredibly fast, so a direct capture was out of the question. Drawing on his past hunting experience, Zhao Lin quickly formulated a rough plan.

He made a special trip to Yongning City, where he visited a general store and a weapons shop to purchase hunting tools like ropes, silk nets, and beast traps.

He also went to an apothecary to buy ingredients like Musk, horny goat weed, and honey, using them to prepare a packet of Musk powder.

The recipe had been given to him by Old Liu, who had once raised Fragrant Minks for some bandits. It might prove useful for tracking the beast.

Next, Zhao Lin began setting traps all over the mountain—pits, snares, hanging nets, beast traps, and sticky nets. He employed nearly every hunting method he knew, now just waiting for the Wind Fox to walk into his trap.