When Qin Fang returned home, his expression was still somewhat dazed...

’This World... actually has Demons?’

This was, without a doubt, a world-shattering discovery.

But after giving it some thought, a wry smile appeared on Qin Fang’s face...

’I’ve already transmigrated, after all.’

’What in this World could be more unscientific than that?’

’Besides, the existence of Qi Blood Pills... proved that I couldn’t understand this World with the logic from my past life.’

’...In modern society, who could improve their physique so drastically in just ten days?’

He looked down at his body...

He now had the build of a normal person—slightly thin, but incredibly lean. Under his clothes, his entire body was pure muscle.

Not bulky muscles, but the well-proportioned kind that packed explosive power.

A few mornings ago, while working out, he had a whim and tried a planche push-up—performing a push-up with his feet off the ground, supported only by his hands. The core strength required was astonishing.

And then...

He easily completed over a hundred of them!

He had only broken a light sweat.

It was a testament to his terrifying physical condition... He was probably approaching the physical limits of a human from his past life.

’And how long did it take me to build this body?’

A little over a month!

A little over a month ago, he was still a weakling whose arms would flap like a butterfly’s wings just from doing a single push-up...

Such a drastic transformation undoubtedly defied all common sense.

A normal human body wouldn’t even have time to adapt to such a drastic change.

But in this World, he had accomplished it with ease.

’This just goes to show... this World... definitely holds mysteries I know nothing about.’

He looked at his stats panel, and his eyes glinted...

’I’m about to break through to Mingjin.’

But now, he truly felt a sense of urgency...

’Mere Mingjin Martial Artists are a dime a dozen in True Martial City.’

’This little bit of strength is nothing to be complacent about.’

’...After all, this World has Demons.’

And...

He recalled the question he’d asked his master on his first day of training.

"Is there a Realm above Huajin?"

His master had said, "Yes."

"It’s called the Divine Realm..."

’And even within Mingjin, I’ve only reached the first layer, just the Early Stage.’

’There’s still the Middle Stage and the Late Stage.’

’And after that, there’s Anjin...’

’Huajin...’

Qin Fang closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

When he opened them again, his gaze had become heavy and determined.

’It seems it’s time to get a move on with certain things.’

...

「Time slipped by quietly.」

News of the Demon disturbance instantly caused a huge uproar.

The most immediate effect was at the market... The very next day, the number of people there plummeted.

The once-bustling docks suddenly became deserted.

The fishing boats had all vanished... Only a few members of the Fish Dragon Gang remained, sitting in their shacks and yawning.

...The incidents had all involved fishing boats, which meant the Demon was in the water.

Under these circumstances, who would dare venture out onto the river?

Looking out from the docks, the River Surface, once frequently dotted with fishing boats, was now desolate.

Rumors of the Demon disturbance ran rampant through the market. Even the number of villagers who didn’t live by the water dwindled...

A Demon had appeared in the river.

Who was to say there wasn’t one in the mountains, too?

This caused the once-lively market to become utterly desolate.

Xu Meng hadn’t come by in the past two days either... It seemed he’d left the market.

Qin Fang took it all in, but there was nothing he could do. He could only continue his training and strive for a breakthrough as soon as possible.

「In the blink of an eye, it was the third day.」

In the morning, Qin Fang looked at his stats panel. His proficiency had already reached 499 points.

’Today, I will reach Mingjin.’

He swallowed a Qi Blood Pill and began his Standing Pile practice...

...

「On a mountain path outside Fisherman City, just before dawn, several figures were walking.」

"We’re almost there."

One of the men was none other than Xu Meng.

Several constables followed behind Xu Meng.

And Zhou Xing... was surprisingly among them.

Zhou Xing’s brow was also furrowed in thought.

He rarely left True Martial County. After all, as a forensic doctor, his main area of work was the county seat.

But the news Xu Meng brought was too shocking...

’That was a Demon!’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The moment he received the news, he reported it to the Great Lord, who immediately gave it his utmost attention.

"After a famine, monsters are sure to be born..."

The Great Lord had said this with a grave expression, a statement Zhou Xing didn’t quite understand at the time.

Then, the Great Lord ordered Zhou Xing to go to Fisherman City to examine the bodies... to determine the cause of death and see if it was truly the work of a Demon.

"Or a man-made crime disguised to look like a Demon attack."

And examining corpses was precisely Zhou Xing’s job, so naturally, he came.

’Besides... I haven’t forgotten that my junior brother is in this very market.’

’...True Martial has begun a strict investigation of drifters. In just one short month, they’ve rooted out quite a few who were well-hidden. The county jail is already full.’

’I never would have thought... so many drifters were in hiding?’

’Many of them were hidden within gangs and major factions, with people covering for them.’

’But they couldn’t withstand the all-pervasive Baojia system... and were eventually reported.’

’There were even a few clashes during the process...’

’It just goes to show, if my junior brother had stayed in True Martial, he’d probably be in jail right now.’

’Because, sure enough, a neighbor made an anonymous report... even implicating Master.’

’But thanks to Master’s status, and the fact that my junior brother had already left long ago, the matter was eventually dropped.’

’Telling him to leave back then was clearly the right decision.’

Lost in thought, he arrived at the fish market before he knew it.

Members of the Fish Dragon Gang saw Xu Meng and hurried over to greet him.

Xu Meng nodded, then looked at Zhou Xing and said, "Master Zhou, this way."

Zhou Xing nodded, entered a warehouse, and saw the bodies laid out inside.

Even though it was winter, the bodies had been in the water for days. They were now abnormally bloated... The overwhelming fishy smell mixed with the stench of decay made the room almost unbearable.

Even Zhou Xing, who was accustomed to seeing corpses, had to cover his nose and mouth. After a careful examination, his expression turned grim.

"Judging from the wounds... they are indeed bite marks. It seems we really do have a Demon on our hands."

The colleagues behind him, who were also inspecting the bodies, nodded with grave expressions, concurring with Zhou Xing’s assessment.

"Master Zhou, what do we do now?" Xu Meng asked in a low voice, his face pale.

With a Demon in the river, the market would be the first to suffer.

He had been mentally prepared for this.

But seeing the desolate market today made his heart sink even further...

’If the villagers stop coming here... how am I supposed to stay in business?’

Hearing this, Zhou Xing gave him a slight frown before saying in a low voice, "Now is not the time to be worrying about your little business. You’ve earned enough over the last few years to get by for a while."

Xu Meng was taken aback, then immediately forced an awkward smile. "That’s not what I meant..."

He didn’t say anything more, though.

Zhou Xing snorted, then looked at the bodies and said grimly, "We can’t solve this. We can only report it to the Great Lord and let him decide... If I’m not mistaken, we’ll probably have to ask the Sacrificial Hall to intervene."

A Demon.

Even the weakest Demon wasn’t something mere mortals like them could handle.

Only the Sacrificial Hall had the power to deal with such things.

That’s how the Demon from ten years ago was dealt with.

Xu Meng nodded, his expression still grim...

Because he knew there was no telling how long they would have to wait for the Sacrificial Hall to take action...

After inspecting for a little while longer, Zhou Xing stood up. "That’s all for now. I’ll file my report as soon as I get back today."

Xu Meng nodded.

Once they were all out of the building, they gasped for breath... The stench inside had been truly awful.

"What should we do with the bodies?" Xu Meng asked Zhou Xing.

"Burn them."

Zhou Xing said after a moment’s thought.

Xu Meng nodded and turned to arrange for men to burn the bodies.

Then he said, "Master Zhou, it’s been a long journey. Let me arrange a meal for you here before you leave."

Zhou Xing didn’t refuse. After all, walking the mountain path from True Martial took a full day and night. Though they had brought rations, they were indeed tired.

There was no rush to report back.

Once he agreed, Xu Meng quickly arranged for a meal to be cooked to host Zhou Xing and his men.

After chatting with his colleagues for a while, Zhou Xing told them to start writing the autopsy reports. He then walked over to Xu Meng, who was giving instructions, and asked, "Where does my junior brother live?"

Xu Meng quickly pointed to a noticeable courtyard not far away. "Right over there."

It was noticeable because its walls were much higher than the surrounding ones, standing over three meters tall.

Seeing the courtyard, Zhou Xing nodded. ’Looks like Xu Meng hasn’t treated my junior brother poorly.’

Reading his expression, Xu Meng smiled. "Brother Qin is usually up by this time. He’ll be overjoyed to know you’re here."

A smile touched Zhou Xing’s lips as he started walking. "Let’s go have a look."

Since he had made the trip, it was only natural to go see him.

Xu Meng agreed, and the two walked toward Qin Fang’s small courtyard.

Just as they reached the gate, Xu Meng was about to knock.

Then they heard a rhythmic "THUMP... THUMP... THUMP..." coming from inside the courtyard.

Both men were Mingjin Martial Artists. Hearing the sound, they both froze for a moment in surprise.

Especially Zhou Xing.

After his initial shock, his eyes slowly widened in disbelief.

"This is..."

"The Skin Membrane Drum Sound?"

’My junior brother... he’s...’

’Reached Mingjin?!’