Personnel Injured

At dawn, the five set out from the eastern side of the valley and searched along a new route.

He Shou walked at the very front, his pace even slower than yesterday's. Whenever they reached an open stretch of ground, he would stop and sweep the surroundings with the Spirit Detection Disk.

The five crossed the ridge north of the valley and entered the gentle slope on the other side.

They had not gone far when Li Yuan's Spirit Detection Disk caught two clusters of spirit qi fluctuations.

"Ahead to the left. Two targets. Low-grade First-Order."

He Shou made a hand signal, and the five scattered.

Li Yuan circled to the side and slightly raised his right hand, gathering spiritual power.

A fireball formed in his palm, its crimson glow more solid than before.

He let go.

The instant the fireball left his hand, Li Yuan sensed the difference.

Previously, a fireball's flight path would deviate slightly after being released. Wind direction, terrain, and minute differences in the angle of his wrist during casting would all affect where it finally landed.

This time, the fireball seemed to be pulled by an invisible thread, flying straight at its target.

Bang.

Crimson firelight exploded over a Grey Hyena Rat's head, and its skull burst apart in response.

One shot, one kill.

The second Grey Hyena Rat darted out of the grass and fled in the opposite direction.

Li Yuan turned his right hand and switched to the Ice Spike Technique.

He formed the seal, condensed, and released—an ice spike shot from his fingertips. It was a beat slower than the fireball, but its direction was equally precise.

The ice spike nailed itself into the root of the Grey Hyena Rat's hind leg. The entire rear half of its body froze, and it fell onto the gravelly ground, struggling twice.

Chen Qi came around from behind and finished it with a single slash.

Less than ten breaths had passed.

He Shou emerged from behind the bushes. He looked at the blasted wound on one Grey Hyena Rat's head, then at the other with its hind leg pinned by an ice spike. He gave a quiet hum but said nothing.

Li Yuan was also reliving the sensation from just now.

The effect of the Precision Affix did not bring an obvious internal sensation like Spirit Qi Filtration or Circulation Acceleration. It was more like an instinct—the angle of his wrist at the instant he attacked, the timing of his spiritual power release, and his judgment of the target's position were all more accurate than before.

It was not that he had gained some new ability. Rather, abilities he already possessed had become more refined.

The Panel appeared:

[Precision (White) Permanence Progress: 2/100]

Two hits, two points of progress.

The five continued forward.

Over the next half hour, they encountered three groups of Demonic Beasts in succession.

The first was a lone Horned Lizard, Low-grade First-Order, basking behind a rock. Li Yuan's fireball smashed directly into its back, blasting apart its scales, and He Shou stepped forward to finish it with a slash.

The second group was two Iron-Spine Hyenas, one First-Order Mid-Grade and one Low-grade First-Order. The five surrounded them according to their usual coordination, while Li Yuan alternated between the Fireball Technique and Ice Spike Technique from afar, providing fire support.

Fireballs struck their heads, ice spikes sealed their legs, and the two spells alternated in a brisk rhythm.

The First-Order Mid-Grade Iron-Spine Hyena was clearly stronger than ordinary First-Order Mid-Grade beasts. After a fireball struck its flank, it went mad, its speed increasing sharply as it lunged at Xu Mao. Xu Mao twisted aside, but the hyena's front claw still tore open his shoulder, ripping the Patrol Uniform and turning flesh and skin inside out.

He Shou rushed over from the side and chopped his longsword into the hyena's neck, killing it.

Xu Mao clutched his shoulder and retreated to the rear, his face pale as blood trickled down his fingers from the wound.

"My bones aren't broken." Xu Mao gritted his teeth and poured Healing Medicine over the wound with one hand.

Li Yuan did not stop. Another ice spike shot out and nailed the Low-grade First-Order hyena's hind leg, while Liu Ping stepped forward and thrust his sword through its abdomen.

Throughout the entire process, Chen Qi had been casting spells from the rear.

[Precision (White) Permanence Progress: 9/100]

[Ice Spike Technique—Proficiency (0/400)]

The Ice Spike Technique had broken through.

The sensation of advancing from Entry Level into Proficiency came naturally. It was simply that forming hand seals felt more practiced, the ice spikes formed a beat faster, and the condensed spikes were nearly half a size larger than when he had been at Entry Level.

The third group of Demonic Beasts was at the bottom of a dry gully.

Three Horned Lizards were crammed among the rocks at the bottom, one mid-grade and two low-grade. However, their position was tricky, and the rock walls blocked most of the view.

Li Yuan stood at the gully's edge, looking down from above. His field of vision covered the gully bottom perfectly.

He Shou led Liu Ping and Chen Qi around to block the two ends of the gully. Xu Mao remained at the edge to provide support because of his injured shoulder.

Li Yuan's fireballs and ice spikes poured down from above.

The Precision Affix's effect was even more apparent in a setting that required precise control over the landing point—the space at the gully bottom was narrow, and the Horned Lizards were packed into the crevices. A slight deviation would send a spell into the rock wall and waste it.

Of six spells, five hit.

Caught between long-range firepower and the ground encirclement, the three Horned Lizards were all killed in less than thirty breaths.

But the last Horned Lizard, struggling before its death, lashed its tail at the eagerly charging Liu Ping. Its tail struck Liu Ping's left leg with a crisp crack.

Liu Ping let out a muffled groan and dropped to one knee. His lower left leg was visibly bent at an angle.

A fracture.

He Shou kicked the Horned Lizard's corpse aside and crouched down to inspect Liu Ping's leg.

"The bone is broken. It needs to be set. He can't walk."

He Shou took out Healing Medicine and splints from his waist, swiftly giving Liu Ping simple stabilization treatment.

"Two wounded men." He Shou straightened up, his gaze sweeping over Xu Mao's shoulder and Liu Ping's leg as his expression darkened.

Chen Qi walked over from the end of the gully, not a speck of dust on him.

He Shou glanced at him but said nothing.

Li Yuan stood at the gully's edge and checked the Spirit Detection Disk.

There were no new spirit qi fluctuations within thirty zhang for the moment.

"Captain He, let's head back," Li Yuan said. "Two people are injured. It's too risky to keep pushing deeper."

He Shou was silent for two breaths, then nodded.

"Retreat."

The five began making their way back.

Chen Qi supported Liu Ping as they walked. Liu Ping limped along at a very slow pace. Although Xu Mao's shoulder had stopped bleeding, he could not raise his right arm and could only grip his Short Sword with his left hand.

They had gone less than a hundred zhang out of the dry gully when He Shou suddenly stopped.

At the edge of the bushes ahead, a section of something grayish-white was exposed.

He Shou drew his longsword halfway and slowly walked over.

Once the bushes were pushed aside, the full sight came into view.

Three corpses.

They lay sprawled among the bushes and shattered stones, their clothes torn and their dried blood blackened.

The outermost corpse lay face-up. Something had chewed at its face, leaving only half of it behind; its original appearance was no longer recognizable. There was a bowl-sized puncture wound through its chest, and the surrounding clothing, skin, and flesh had all been torn into strips.

The second corpse lay face-down. From its shoulder blades to its lumbar vertebrae, its back had been ripped open in one long gash. Its spine protruded outward, and its Internal Organs had spilled all over the ground.

The third corpse leaned against a large boulder, as if it had died while sitting against it. There were claw marks on its abdomen, but the wounds were not deep. Its face was livid, and black fluid remained at the corner of its mouth.

Poisoned.

He Shou crouched down and used his scabbard to turn over the first corpse's collar.

There was no identity token, no belongings, nothing at all.

He Shou checked the other two corpses as well. The situation was much the same. They were dressed like Rogue Cultivators, and every valuable item on them had already been looted, leaving only torn clothes and empty sleeves.

"They've been dead for at least three or four days." He Shou stood and slowly sheathed his sword.

"This doesn't look like they were simply bitten to death by Demonic Beasts."

Li Yuan noticed it too.

The third corpse's wounds were not fatal. The true cause of death was poison. The black fluid at the corner of its mouth did not resemble the color of Demonic Beast venom.

Moreover, all the items on the three corpses had been looted clean. Demonic Beasts would not do such a thing.

"Someone killed them," Li Yuan said.

"They killed them, took their belongings, and threw their bodies here to feed the Demonic Beasts." He Shou's voice was very low.

Chen Qi stood several steps away while supporting Liu Ping, his face looking rather unpleasant. After sweeping his gaze over the three corpses once, he looked away.

He Shou noted down the corpses' positions and characteristics and did not linger any longer.

"Move."

The five continued back, faster than before.

He Shou did not speak again along the way.

After retracing their route for roughly two quarters of an hour, the group passed a low shale cliff.

Li Yuan's steps suddenly halted.

A large section of shale had peeled away from the side of the cliff, revealing a deeper layer of rock beneath.

There were patterns on the rock face.

They were not natural cracks—the lines were orderly and curved, matching the style of the Spirit Pattern traces they had found in the valley earlier.

"Captain He."

He Shou stopped and followed Li Yuan's gaze.

After two breaths of silence, He Shou walked over and scraped along the lines with his sword tip.

"More traces of an array."

He Shou took a step back and surveyed the surroundings.

This place was nearly two li away from yesterday's search area in the valley, with a mountain ridge separating them.

The traces of the array were not confined to the valley. They extended farther out.

He Shou marked the location on the simple map he carried with him and did not waste any more time.

"We'll talk after we get back."

As they neared the main camp, several figures appeared on the dirt road ahead.

A group of people was slowly moving toward the camp, their formation scattered and their pace sluggish.

He Shou narrowed his eyes and identified them after a few breaths.

"Our own people."

Once they drew closer, they saw the whole situation clearly.

There were seven people. Only four could walk normally. Two of them were supporting wounded companions, while another person lay motionless on a crude stretcher made from branches and animal hide, with a piece of cloth covering his face.

One person had died.

The leader's clothes were soaked through with blood on one side of his body. His right arm was suspended against his chest and wrapped in strips of cloth. His steps were unsteady, but he was still walking forward.

Fang He.

Fang He also saw Li Yuan's group. The old scar across his cheekbone stood out sharply amid the blood and grime covering his face. He raised his usable left hand and gave Li Yuan a nod.

He Shou hurried over.

"What happened?"

Fang He stopped, took two breaths, and answered in a hoarse voice.

"We ran into three First-Order Mid-Grade beasts. They were clustered together."

Fang He tilted his chin toward the body on the stretcher beneath the cloth.

"Old Liu is gone. His abdominal cavity was torn open. He had already stopped breathing by the time we carried him out."

He Shou clearly knew Old Liu, and his expression darkened at once.

Li Yuan glanced at the stretcher, then at Fang He and the other wounded.

Of the seven-man team, one had died and three were injured. Only three could still stand and walk—and those three bore scratches and bruises to varying degrees as well.

"Three First-Order Mid-Grade beasts appeared at once?"

"Not at once." Fang He moved his suspended right arm and bared his teeth.

"We encountered one first. After the fight started, the other two were drawn over by the commotion. And I suspect the first one was close to Upper First-Order."

"Captain Wang's people weren't nearby?"

"They went deeper in. We couldn't contact them."

Fang He paused there and wiped the blood and grime from his face with his gloved left hand.

"The Demonic Beasts in these mountains are getting denser and denser. There were never this many mid-grade beasts gathered together in the outer regions before."

He Shou did not reply. He supported Fang He, and the two groups merged together as they headed toward the main camp.

Li Yuan walked at the back of the group, shifting his gaze away from the cloth covering the stretcher's face.

The Spirit Detection Disk remained active. There were no new spirit qi fluctuations within its sensing range.