The Mortal Realm, Beast Forest. A man clad in silver armor, astride a lion-tiger beast, roamed the dense forest. His chest bore a brand of the character "邪" (Evil), and behind him trailed dozens of armored soldiers on foot.
"Alright, halt here!" the silver-armored man commanded with a wave of his hand, bringing the group to a stop. "Search this entire area within a hundred-mile radius. Leave no stone unturned!"
The men behind him responded with a unified shout and began a meticulous sweep of the surrounding forest. This team was a detachment of the Evil Clan's elite guards, dispatched under the direct orders of Xie Mo, the current clan leader, to locate the former leader, Xie Lun.
Half a year had passed since Xie Mo was given one year by the Lord of the Demon Realm to complete this task. Desperate to fulfill the command, he had even diverted border guards for the search, determined to uncover Xie Lun's whereabouts.
"Damned forest! This is the hundredth area we've scoured, and the Beast Forest is endless. Finding one man here is like looking for a needle in a haystack," the silver-armored man muttered in frustration as he watched his men comb through the forest. Despite his complaints, disobeying the clan leader was out of the question. Once an ordinary guard, he had risen to his current position only by aiding Xie Mo in the coup against the former leader. He shuddered at the memory of how the Demon Lord mercilessly executed three previous detachment leaders.
"Listen up!" he bellowed. "Anyone who finds a clue gets promoted three ranks immediately!"
"Yes, sir!" the soldiers roared, redoubling their efforts.
"Captain, we've found something!" a soldier called out a while later.
"Keep searching, everyone else. You, take me there!" the silver-armored man commanded, spurring his lion-tiger beast forward.
The pair arrived at the site of the discovery: the carcass of a massive golden tiger, approximately ten meters in length. Its body was heavily scarred, with multiple lacerations across its hide. The limbs had been stripped of their connecting muscles, and the skull had a gaping wound, with brain matter oozing out—a grisly scene.
"A Scaled Tiger!" the silver-armored man exclaimed, recognizing the beast's unique characteristics: a massive frame, slender limbs, and a pair of horns atop its head.
"This is a three-to-five-tier ferocious beast! How could it be slain in such a gruesome manner?" a nearby soldier said, visibly shocked.
The captain dismounted and carefully inspected the tiger's corpse. "None of these wounds are fatal," he murmured after a close examination.
"Then how did it die?"
The captain pressed against the tiger's body, then moved to the skull. Peeling back the flesh around the head wound, he exposed the fractured bone and partially obliterated brain without hesitation.
The soldier beside him grimaced in disgust, struggling to understand the captain's apparent fascination with the corpse.
"These injuries were inflicted postmortem," the captain explained, wiping blood from his hands with a cloth. "The killer's goal was the beast's core crystal, extracted through this wound."
"But why strip the leg muscles?"
"Probably for food. The killer might be running low on supplies. Also, this tiger died the same way as the other beasts we've found recently—blunt force trauma to the head, fracturing the skull and causing brain failure."
The soldier examined the head wound, astonished. "It does look like it was crushed by a fist, not a blade."
"Whoever this is, they're targeting solitary beasts for their cores. Judging by their methods, they're likely inexperienced," the captain speculated, a sly grin creeping onto his face. "Their carelessness has left us valuable corpses. Gather it up. We'll auction these off at the Central Market once the mission's over."
The soldier complied, pulling a leather pouch from the saddle of the captain's beast. Placing it on the ground, he chanted an incantation, and the tiger's carcass dissolved into light, shooting into the pouch.
The captain's eyes gleamed with satisfaction as another lucrative find was secured. Despite the cores being the main prize, the carcasses of three-to-five-tier beasts held significant value in alchemy and crafting.
Suddenly, his expression darkened. "If you connect the dots, the killer favors lone beasts, and the injuries…" His brows furrowed in thought. "It's faint, but the attack pattern resembles the 'Mountain-Drilling Fist' used by the old clan leader. We nearly caught him during the coup, but he was rescued by a mysterious youth and later aided by a masked fighter. Could it be…?"
His eyes widened as realization dawned. "Assemble the team! We're heading back to the Moon Capital. I have urgent news for the clan leader."
The squad quickly regrouped and began their journey back, leaving the forest behind.
Meanwhile, deeper in the forest, a young man clad in beast hides inspected a golden core in his hand, its surface glowing faintly. He was cautious, aware of the armored soldiers scouring the forest. To avoid detection, he had resorted to eating raw meat and limiting his movements.
"That tiger was tough," he muttered, glancing at his torn hide clothing. "At least I got a core out of it. But my luck's been awful—three cores from over a dozen beasts." With a sigh, he slipped the core into his storage ring and vanished into the forest shadows.
As night fell, he stopped near a large rock formation. "This'll do for tonight," he murmured. Placing his palm against the stone, he closed his eyes. Moments later, he shouted, "Break!"
The rock exploded, revealing a hollow cave. Dusting himself off, the young man surveyed his handiwork. "This 'Bursting Fist' is pretty handy," he remarked with satisfaction.
Inside the cave, he piled rocks at the entrance to conceal himself before settling in for the night. Reclining against a stone wall, he gazed at the moonlight streaming through a crack. Memories of his companions surfaced, filling him with longing. "I hope Beast King is doing alright on his own. Dragonling must miss me. I wonder how Brother Si Tu and Brother Dongfang are faring." With these thoughts, he drifted into a light sleep.
A thunderous noise jolted him awake. Sprinting to the entrance, he peered outside through the cracks.
A massive serpent, its body covered in greenish-blue scales, glared at a colossal tortoise. The serpent's emerald eyes glowed, and it lashed its tail against the tortoise's unyielding shell, producing deafening booms. Despite the force, the shell remained unscathed.
The serpent paused, then released a noxious green mist with each flick of its tongue, enveloping the tortoise.
"Poison!" the young man exclaimed. Beast King had warned him to avoid wood-element beasts because of their venomous abilities.
Without hesitation, the youth swallowed an antidote pill and leaped into action. Charging toward the serpent, he struck its head with a powerful "Wave Palm," forcing it to release the tortoise and recoil in pain.
Seizing the moment, he grabbed the tortoise and disappeared into the forest's depths, leaving the enraged serpent behind.