Task

There was silence all the way, and soon the group made a discovery.

Zhang Ding squatted on the ground, using a branch to poke at the small, round black droppings on the ground, even bringing the branch to his nose to sniff.

"That's right, this is the droppings of the horned badger. Those beasts were active here. Judging by these droppings, they've been here for several hours. If we stake out the nearby water source, we should be able to catch that group of beasts."

A smile appeared on Zhang Ding's face. Now that the horned badger's range had been determined, everything became simple.

Zhang Ding was undoubtedly an excellent hunter. Along the way, he could identify which wild beast had passed by just by the surrounding vegetation marks.

As old members of the Beast Hunter Hall, who wouldn't have some skill?

The following time was quite tedious. The group spread out around a nearby spring, quietly staking out and waiting for their prey to arrive.

They waited for a day and a night. At night, everyone took turns on watch and resting. Fortunately, they were all experienced and often spent nights in Yangping Mountain. Apart from a wild boar that was dealt with at dusk, there were no other incidents.

It wasn't until noon on the second day that Lin Sheng, while chewing on the dried rock sheep meat in his hand, looked at an old booklet.

This was the Hundred Beasts Scroll, which everyone received upon joining the Beast Hunter Hall. It recorded information about the various beasts in Yangping Mountain, making this booklet incredibly valuable to him.

The first entry in the scroll was a bear-type Spirit Beast, the Silver-ringed Scale Bear. It stood eight meters tall, its body covered in silver-patterned black scales, possessing immense strength and astonishing defense, with Blood Circulation level combat power.

In addition, the first seven Spirit Beasts listed in the scroll were all marked as having Blood Circulation realm combat power.

This greatly surprised Lin Sheng. He hadn't expected Yangping Mountain to have so many powerful Spirit Beasts, and seven of them at that.

"Blood Circulation level combat power, that's already considered the highest combat power in all of Lin'an County. I wonder if there are even seven Blood Circulation realm martial artists in the entire county."

Lin Sheng mused, raising the danger level of Yangping Mountain several notches in his mind.

Noticing the Hundred Beasts Scroll in Lin Sheng's hand, Zhang Ding chuckled and said from the side.

"What, are you scared seeing so many Blood Circulation realm Oddities?"

"A little bit."

Lin Sheng nodded cooperatively.

"I didn't expect there to be so many Oddities in Yangping Mountain."

"Of course, the depths of Yangping Mountain are quite considerable. But Brother Lin, you don't need to worry too much. The powerful Blood Circulation realm Spirit Beasts ranked high on this list are basically in the depths of Yangping Mountain, far from our outer area. Moreover, those Blood Circulation realm Spirit Beasts are very lazy; they don't come out even once in decades."

"Anyway, in the three or four years I've been in the Beast Hunter Hall, I've never seen these things. Let alone Blood Circulation realm Spirit Beasts, even Muscle Forging realm Spirit Beasts like the Red-bellied Spirit Snake are quite rare."

Zhang Ding explained with a faint smile.

Lin Sheng also nodded slightly. He naturally understood this. If Blood Circulation realm Spirit Beasts appeared frequently, the people of the Beast Hunter Hall would have died countless times by now.

As for the Red-bellied Spirit Snake, it was also recorded in the Hundred Beasts Scroll, ranked eleventh. Its high ranking indicated that this Spirit Beast was definitely among the top-tier in the Muscle Forging realm.

The two chatted for a few more sentences and then fell silent. This was because the sound of cicadas could be heard not far away, and this was the secret signal among the Beast Hunter Hall members. Clearly, after waiting for a day and a night, they had finally found their target.

Chirp chirp... caw...

Everyone held their breath and waited quietly. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a strange cry sounded from afar, and as time passed, the sound grew louder and louder.

The incessant chirp chirp caw sounds proved that quite a few things were approaching.

"Everyone be careful, don't make any noise. Horned badgers have sharp ears."

Zhang Ding whispered a reminder to the people behind him. Everyone nodded in understanding.

Lin Sheng did the same. He stared intently ahead, wanting to see the true appearance of the horned badger.

Before long, as the cries grew closer, there was a rustling in the dense bushes ahead, and a furry head, with two horn-like protrusions, emerged. Its two round eyes kept glancing around.

Then, the furry creature completely emerged from the bushes. It was plump, with short legs and a round body, covered in dense black and white fur. Its size was a bit smaller than a rock sheep, but similar in build to a wild boar from his past life.

"Is this a horned badger?"

Lin Sheng thought to himself, seeing this strange and peculiar Oddity.

At this moment, the bushes not far away rustled, and one horned badger after another emerged. After confirming there was no danger around, these Oddities began to walk towards the spring.

A few wild rabbits resting by the spring noticed the movement behind them and were startled, quickly darting into the nearby bushes. However, they had only gone a few yards before a horned badger bit them and swallowed them whole.

By now, there were over thirty horned badgers by the spring, which was more than thirty percent higher than originally planned.

"Why so many? The rope traps we set probably can't handle this many."

Zhang Ding whispered, his brow furrowed, unsure of what to do for a moment.

After all, although the horned badger wasn't a major threat, it possessed considerable strength. Its brute force was significantly greater than that of a rock sheep. Ordinary Oddities wouldn't dare to provoke such a large group of horned badgers.

"Never mind, let's see what Boss Wang decides."

Soon, Zhang Ding shook his head and stopped worrying about it. After all, Wang Sanyang was still above, and the decision rested with him.

At this moment, most of the horned badgers had arrived by the spring, lowering their heads to drink greedily.

"Attack!!"

After another ten-odd breaths, a loud shout suddenly came from above, it was Wang Sanyang's voice.

The next moment, figures leaped out from the ancient trees and the dry grass on the ground.

Lin Sheng also jumped out, following behind Zhang Ding.

At this moment, all the hunters from the Beast Hunter Hall were holding a rope about the thickness of a child's forearm.

As the rope was pulled taut, the net buried around the spring's opening burst from the earth, encircling most of the horned badgers. Only seven or eight remained outside, startled and panicked by the sudden event, scattering in all directions.

"Don't worry about those few, secure the net first!"

Wang Sanyang's voice rang out. He held two ropes in his hands, veins bulging on his wrists, clearly exerting great force.

After all, the number of horned badgers this time was too large, forcing him to use his full strength.

The other hunters also held ropes, nimbly securing them to the ancient trees nearby.

Once the ropes were fully secured, these horned badgers would be like lambs to the slaughter.

At this moment, the horned badgers within the net seemed to realize this and began to desperately charge at the net before them.