Qingshi Beast Arena

After three months of cultivation, Ye An went to the Mission Hall and accepted his first task.

"Inspect the Qingshi Beast Arena. Duration: fifteen days. Reward: forty Contribution Points. Requirement: Third Body Tempering. Duties: inspect the Beast Arena perimeter wall, count the beast pens, investigate potential dangers, and record the condition of the herds. Report any abnormalities to the Inner Sect management."

Liu San leaned against the Mission Hall doorframe and glanced at the task slip in Ye An's hand. "The Qingshi Beast Arena? It's in the mountains to the west, rather secluded. The beast meat there is good stuff, though. For those in the Body Tempering Realm, it's no worse than Body Tempering Pills. Outer Sect Disciples occasionally get a few portions of beast meat, all of it from places like those arenas." He paused. "But there are plenty of mosquitoes there, and the smell of wild-beast droppings is strong. Fifteen days will be enough to make you suffer."

Ye An tucked the task slip into his robes without replying.

Early the next morning, Ye An left the Sect through the western gate and headed west along the mountain path. The trees on both sides grew increasingly dense, while the stone path beneath his feet turned into a muddy trail that twisted and wound its way into the mountains.

After walking for more than half an hour, he finally saw the Beast Arena's fence gate.

The Qingshi Beast Arena was not on level ground. It stood halfway up a low mountain, surrounded on all sides by dense forest, with only a single path leading inside.

The fence gate blocked the path. A wooden sign hung above it, bearing the four characters "Qingshi Beast Arena."

Ye An pushed open the fence gate and walked in.

It was far larger than he had expected.

The entire mountainside had been cleared. Short grass and shrubs grew across the uneven ground, while several wooden fences divided the slope into six areas. Dozens of wild beasts moved about in each area.

Most were wild boars and Reeves's Muntjac. Occasionally, he saw a few larger beasts with coarse fur and protruding tusks, leisurely pacing through the low brush.

He gave the place a rough count. There were at least two or three hundred beasts.

Seven or eight low sheds had been built higher up the slope, with piles of hay beneath them. A few Reeves's Muntjac were sprawled under the sheds, dozing.

With a scale like this, it truly needed an Inner Sect Disciple in the Meridian Opening Realm to watch over it. If anything went wrong, an Outer Sect Disciple simply would not be able to keep it under control.

A row of wooden houses stood in the middle of the slope. There were three in all, their roofs covered with thick thatch.

A female disciple sat outside the largest wooden house. She wore the deep-red robes of an Inner Sect Disciple and held a ledger, flipping through it.

She looked to be in her early twenties, with attractive features. However, her lips were thin, and the corners of her mouth naturally curved slightly downward.

Ye An walked over and stopped in front of the wooden house.

"From the Outer Sect?" she asked without looking up.

"Ye An, from the Outer Sect Grade-A Courtyard. I accepted the inspection task."

Only then did she place the ledger on her knees and lean back against the chair. Her gaze passed over Ye An twice. "Song Qingci, manager of the Qingshi Beast Arena, Inner Sect Disciple."

Her tone was unhurried. "Fifteen days of inspection. Record the number of beasts in the pens once every morning, and the condition of the perimeter wall once every evening. Repair any loose fencing yourself. The tools are in the sheds. If you discover anything unusual, don't handle it yourself. Come back and report it to me. Understood?"

"Understood."

"The wooden house to the north is yours. Handle your own food. There's water in the stream behind the slope. Don't touch anything in the Beast Arena." Song Qingci pushed a thin ledger and a Bronze key across the table. Ye An accepted them and flipped through the ledger. It was printed with dates and blank lines.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Song." Ye An turned and headed north. From the corner of his eye, he saw Song Qingci glance toward the top of the slope before immediately looking away.

The northern wooden house was much smaller than the one in the middle. Several old tools were piled in the corner.

Ye An picked up a hammer and several wooden wedges, then walked once around the fence.

When he reached the boundary between the second and third beast pens, a young man in gray Outer Sect Disciple robes was crouching beneath the fence, filling a crack in the ground.

He raised his head. He had a long face and a black mole on the bridge of his nose.

"Something wrong?" Ye An asked.

"There's something pushing up from underneath. It should be a rabbit digging a burrow." The man shoveled twice more. "It's not a big problem, though. Just fill it in firmly."

"My name is Wang Qi. Second Body Tempering." The man grinned, revealing a row of somewhat crooked teeth. "By the way, you're Third Body Tempering?"

Ye An nodded without denying it.

"Impressive," Wang Qi said. "I wonder when I'll reach Third Body Tempering."

Wang Qi clapped the dirt from his hands, took a step forward while crouching, and lowered his voice. "But Senior Sister Song didn't say anything to you when you arrived, did she?"

"Say what?" Ye An sensed that something was wrong and asked him.

"Nothing." Wang Qi hesitated, then glanced left and right. "It's just that something's been off with the Beast Arena lately. Every night, we can hear noises from behind the slope. They aren't the cries of wild beasts. They're the kind of sounds... I can't describe them. Like something panting, or grinding its teeth. I told Senior Sister Song, but she said there was no need to bother with it."

Since Song Qingci had said there was no need to bother with this strange matter, Ye An could not be bothered to ask further. He only cared about his task. "Are any of the numbers down?"

"No. The count is correct every day." Wang Qi scratched his head. "But the beasts look fine during the day. As soon as night comes, they start getting restless. Several of them even ram the fences. They weren't like this before."

Ye An did not reply. He covered the mouth of the burrow with dry soil, patted his hands, stood up, and continued his inspection.

Taking Wang Qi's words together with the looks in those beasts' eyes, it did not seem like they were agitated. It was more as if they were afraid of something.

Ye An had a premonition. There was definitely something in this Beast Arena.

At dusk, Ye An returned to the northern wooden house.

The sky outside was already completely dark. Only a few nocturnal Reeves's Muntjac remained in the low brush, moving about and occasionally letting out short cries.

He sat on the edge of the bed and opened the inspection ledger. Beneath the date for the second day, he wrote: "Morning: Beast pen counts normal. No broken fencing. Herd condition normal. Additional note: Wang Qi reported abnormal sounds behind the slope at night. Continued observation required."

He had done everything he needed to do. As long as he stayed here for fifteen days, whatever happened afterward would have nothing to do with him.