With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

Lin Ye stood on the city wall, his gaze fixed on the mess on the lake, until Lin Qiang walked up step by step, his face filled with undisguised shame.

"Uncle Qiang, what happened? Why are you back so soon?" Lin Ye asked with concern.

Lin Qiang lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Young Master, I have failed in my mission. We encountered a second-rate serpentine monster in the river."

A captain, several mediocre crew members, and some boatmen died.

He paused, then lowered his voice even further: "We tried everything, but we couldn't kill it, so we had to come back."

Lin Ye frowned. "Second-rate monsters? We considered this situation when we formulated the cleanup plan."

Although third-rate martial artists are at a disadvantage in water, the team had seven or eight third-rate martial artists who, working together, should have been able to kill them, and there shouldn't have been such heavy casualties.

"That's true, that's what we thought at first too." Lin Qiang raised his eyes, with a hint of resentment.

"With five third-rate captains working together, victory would have been assured. But this time, the serpentine monster we encountered was different."

It was covered in thick scales, and the crossbows on the ship could not harm it at all.

It was over three zhang long and enormous. Although third-rate martial artists could injure it, they could not inflict fatal wounds.

In addition, it releases a poisonous mist that permeates the water, paralyzing any martial artists who enter the water.

The captain who died was slowed down by this and was bitten.

"Moreover, it is immune to all poisons. Our attempts to weaken or drive it away with poison have been completely ineffective."

Lin Qiang glanced at Lin Ye, seemingly having something difficult to say, and then stopped talking.

"Uncle Qiang, is there anything you can't say? Is there anything you need to hide from me?" Lin Ye asked, looking at his hesitant expression.

Lin Qiang gritted his teeth and said, "Young Master, although this monster is strong, we outnumber it. There are six or seven third-rate martial artists among us. As long as we work together, we can wear it down even if we suffer casualties."

But this time I discovered that the guards could only fight when they had the upper hand.

Upon seeing the casualties, the captains clearly became resentful and refused to go back into the water to fight.

This is also a major reason for our failure this time.

Lin Ye understood.

The territory belongs to the Lin family. Other families may contribute for the reward, but when it comes to losses, their first concern is their own survival.

After all, the death of a third-rate martial artist is a devastating blow to the small families in the territory.

This is only natural, and it was something he had anticipated.

That's why he wanted to cultivate the power of his family.

The remaining towns were handed over to collateral managers, who were allowed to accumulate resources and train more martial artists through management, thus reducing reliance on external aid.

"Alright, I understand the situation." Lin Ye waved his hand. "Let's think about how to deal with this second-rate demonic beast first."

He continued, "Does this monster have any weaknesses?"

"None of the guards recognized it, so they didn't know what its weaknesses were, and they couldn't find any weaknesses in either of their two attacks."

We dared not launch repeated attacks, for fear that it would entangle us.

Moreover, it was getting dark and morale was low, so they had no choice but to retreat.

First, we came back to rest and regroup, and boost morale. Second, we wanted to find out its strengths and weaknesses so we could take action next time.

"Alright, let the guards go home and rest first." Lin Ye decisively ordered, "I will gather people from other families to identify this monster and find its weakness."

He immediately ordered the servants to invite the heads of various families, Sun Qian, the head constable, and others. Then he led Lin Qiang down the city wall and headed towards the main hall of the fortified village.

In the main hall of the fortress, everyone gathered around a table, their eyes fixed on the serpentine monster drawing based on Lin Qiang and the others' memories.

The giant snake, outlined in ink, is over three zhang long, with a robust body and faintly visible scale patterns, exuding a sense of oppression amidst its ferocity.

Lin Qiang described its characteristics in detail: agile in water combat, thick scales and armor, difficult to be injured by crossbow bolts, able to release paralyzing poison mist, and immune to all poisons.

After hearing this, everyone fell silent, looking at each other in bewilderment, but no one could tell them the origin of the monster.

Looking at everyone's expressions, Lin Ye understood that these small families in the county town usually only knew about common monsters like the Black Wind Wolf and the Iron-Toothed Wild Boar. They had no chance to come into contact with, let alone identify, the mutated monsters.

It's normal that these second-rate monsters were beyond their comprehension.

Sun Qian, who was standing to the side, looked at Lin Ye's expression, stepped forward, bowed, and said:

"My lord, we have never seen this serpentine beast before, but I know someone who might recognize it."

"Who is it?"

Sun Qian said confidently, "Qingyuan Sword Sect. The sect has a long history and a vast collection of books. It must contain secret records of various monsters, and there might even be a record of this monster."

"People from the Sword Sect? I'm from the Sword Sect too, how come I don't know them?" Lin Ye thought to himself.

But then I thought about it again. Since the original owner joined the sword sect, he had been focused on practicing diligently and rarely dabbled in miscellaneous studies unrelated to martial arts. It was not surprising that he had never seen such records.

He nodded and said, "Alright, I'll go ask the Sword Sect to see if they know the origin and weaknesses of this beast."

It's still that expanded courtyard, still under that tree, with tea sets on the stone table.

Liu Zhenghua held the monster illustration in the painting and examined it carefully for a long time, his brows furrowed.

"I don't recognize it either... It looks like a Heavy-Scaled Python, its body covered in dense scales that are difficult to injure with crossbow bolts. But the Heavy-Scaled Python isn't poisonous, so it's not that."

"You can ask Senior Brother Wang," Liu Chengying interjected from the side. "He usually loves reading these kinds of miscellaneous books, such as the Illustrated Compendium of Monsters and the Study of Strange Species. He knows them all by heart."

"Oh, that's true." Liu Zhenghua smiled.

"That kid from the Wang family is not only highly talented in martial arts, but also very intelligent. It's just that he likes to read these miscellaneous books, which has delayed his training a lot. His father beat him a lot when he was young because of this, otherwise he would have broken through to the second-rate level long ago."

Lin Ye's heart stirred, so he went to find Wang Qing, who was practicing martial arts.

On the training ground in the corner of the courtyard, Wang Qing's every move was steady and powerful, and his aura was rising steadily. He was about to break through to the second-rate level, at which point he would become a true disciple.

"Hmm, much better than me, but a step behind me." Lin Ye thought to himself with pride.

Because of his contract with the Daoist soldier's lair, he was already a true disciple.

"This is the Azure Poisonous Cold Python, a second-rate demonic beast. I've never seen one before; I've only read about it in books."

Wang Qing looked at the monster in the painting and recognized it almost instantly. His tone was certain, "What, you encountered it?"

Lin Ye nodded. "Yes, we encountered it while cleaning the river. Because we didn't recognize it, a third-rate martial artist was paralyzed by its poison and died."

Upon hearing this, Wang Qing reached out and picked up the drawing to examine it closely, looking at the serpentine outline drawn in ink.

"The Azure Poisonous Python... This creature is recorded in the 'Illustrated Compendium of Strange Beasts - Water Section'. Its scales and armor are thick and tough, making it difficult to injure with crossbow bolts. It likes to lurk in river channels, and its venom has a paralyzing effect. Those who are poisoned will feel weak all over and move slowly."

What's more troublesome is that it's resistant to most toxins, so poisoning it won't backfire.

He paused, "You were fighting it in the water. Third-rate martial artists are already at a disadvantage, and with the added paralysis, it was practically like offering yourself up to be bitten. It's not surprising that one of you died."

Wang Qing put down the blueprint and looked at Lin Ye.

"Its weaknesses, as mentioned in the book, are that the scales around its eyes and inside its mouth are relatively thin, making it easy to pierce with a sharp instrument."

Secondly, although it has high resistance to poison, continuous exposure to intense fire or high temperatures will cause the mucus between its scales to become ineffective, resulting in sluggish movement.

However, both of these methods require close-quarters combat, which carries considerable risk.