Overlord of the Wilderness

While Zhaang Ye was engrossed in his Cultivation, a person quietly arrived at the Boundary River. This person was none other than Zhou Dayuan’s second disciple, Zhou Xingwu.

Zhaang Ye’s successful escape across the Boundary River had sent Zhou Dayuan into a furious rage. As the one leading the chase, Zhou Xingwu received a harsh scolding and a slap across the face. If Zhou Dayuan’s Cultivation hadn’t been severely damaged, that one slap would have been enough to grievously injure him.

Zhou Dayuan’s Cultivation was severely damaged, so he urgently needed to enter seclusion. Before leaving, however, he ordered Zhou Xingwu to stay behind. Apparently, while using the Celestial Vision and Earthly Hearing Technique, Zhou Dayuan had unexpectedly discovered an extremely rare medicinal herb in the outer forest of the Barbaric Beast Mountain Range. The herb was almost mature. Since Zhou Dayuan needed to recuperate and couldn’t wait, he left Zhou Xingwu to harvest it.

Zhou Dayuan had Zhou Xingwu stay behind not only to pick the medicinal herb but also with another task: to keep a constant watch on both banks of the Boundary River. The moment Zhaang Ye appeared, he was to be captured and killed immediately.

Zhou Xingwu touched the slap mark on his face, seething inwardly. ’That brat... I hope you stay in there forever and never show your face! If you do, I’ll capture you and torture you for a few days before handing you over to Master!’

*****************

THUMP!

Zhaang Ye swallowed the last Body Tempering Pill. His True Qi began to circulate rapidly, spreading the elixir’s medicinal power throughout his body, cleansing it again and again and expelling the impurities within.

The Martial Arts Second Layer was a period for tempering the body with True Qi. The more thoroughly impurities were cleansed from the body, the greater one’s potential, and the better the foundation for future Cultivation. The most suitable elixir for the Martial Arts Second Layer was the Body Tempering Pill. The medicinal power contained within a Body Tempering Pill not only helped a Martial Artist to quickly expel impurities but also gradually strengthened their body in the process, making it more formidable.

This time, Zhaang Ye had seized a total of nineteen Body Tempering Pills, and he consumed them one by one. By now, he had already taken seven pills. With each one he consumed, more impurities were expelled from his body. He felt an indescribable freshness all over, and his True Qi circulated with effortless agility, giving him a feeling of transcendent lightness, as if he could float away.

Zhaang Ye looked at the faint black impurities seeping from his arm and rejoiced inwardly. ’The impurities in my body are almost completely purged, and my injuries have healed considerably. If I take this eighth Body Tempering Pill, I should be able to break through to the late-stage Martial Arts Second Layer! Heh, without the help of these Body Tempering Pills, it would have taken me several years to complete my body tempering. Now, with their aid, the impurities have been nearly cleared out in just over ten days. This is truly a miracle!’

Standing up to rest for a moment, Zhaang Ye picked up the bottle of Qi Gathering Pills from the rock. He took out half a Qi Gathering Pill and tossed it into his mouth along with a Body Tempering Pill.

Zhaang Ye took the Qi Gathering Pill at this moment because he wanted to use its medicinal power to break through to the late-stage Martial Arts Second Layer in one go.

BOOM!

The elixirs dissolved into a torrent of heat that flowed through his body like a flood. Zhaang Ye was already experienced with this; he calmly guided the torrent of heat, making it run for several cycles before slowly guiding it back to his Dantian.

As the torrent of heat returned, his Dantian grew fuller and fuller. Finally, Zhaang Ye felt a slight sinking sensation in his Dantian as a new power surged forth, filling his entire body.

With that, Zhaang Ye had successfully entered the late-stage Martial Arts Second Layer, just one step away from the Peak of Martial Arts Second Layer!

A delighted expression on his face, Zhaang Ye stood up. He felt completely filled with strength, as if he could blow a huge boulder away with a single breath. Taking a deep breath, he gently threw three punches into the air.

FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!

The three punches Zhaang Ye threw, seemingly slow but actually fast, caused the air to explode. Three gusts of fist wind erupted, swirling around the small cave and kicking up a cloud of dust.

”Excellent.” Zhaang Ye exhaled, thinking, ’Now that I’ve reached the late-stage Martial Arts Second Layer, my power has grown again! Even if I face a master of the Martial Arts Third Layer Heaven, I’ll have a fighting chance! Like that guy in the white robes—even if he drew his sword from the very beginning, I could still hold my own against him for a while now!’

Having successfully broken through to the late-stage Martial Arts Second Layer, Zhaang Ye temporarily shifted his focus from Cultivation. His gaze fell upon a box sitting on the rock.

Inside this simple, ancient box was the very same Blade Tip that contained the powerful Suppression. Zhaang Ye planned to take it out and study it carefully.

He opened the box, and a faint wave of Suppression immediately filled the cave.

Zhaang Ye immediately sensed that the Suppression from the Blade Tip was somewhat weaker than it had been at the Boundary River.

’Does this thing’s Suppression weaken with each use? If so, I’ll have to avoid using it as much as possible if I want to figure out its secrets...’

Zhaang Ye sighed in frustration and began to examine it closely. The Blade Tip was made of a metal Zhaang Ye had never seen before; it was freezing cold yet exceptionally hard. Even when he hacked and slashed at the rock with all his might, he couldn’t leave a single mark on it.

The Blade Tip was extremely hard, but it wasn’t very sharp. Zhaang Ye took a closer look at the edge and discovered that it hadn’t even been honed; it was quite thick and dull.

Zhaang Ye recalled the moment he caught the Blade Tip with his bare hand and thought, ’It’s a good thing this Blade Tip isn’t sharp. Otherwise, I never would have been able to catch it with my bare hands.’

He examined the Blade Tip over and over, but Zhaang Ye still couldn’t understand why it contained that faint Suppression. After thinking for a while, just as he was about to put it away, a flash of inspiration struck him. He remembered the instant the bearded middle-aged man had attacked him, using the Blade Tip as a Hidden Weapon.

Zhaang Ye clearly remembered that in the instant the Blade Tip was upon him, it had erupted with an immense Suppression, pressing down on him so hard that he could barely move his fingers.

At this thought, an idea stirred in Zhaang Ye’s mind. ’Could it be that the Blade Tip’s secret is only revealed when propelled by True Qi?’

With that in mind, Zhaang Ye infused a stream of True Qi into the Blade Tip. To his disappointment, however, the Blade Tip didn’t react to his True Qi at all.

The failure to use True Qi didn’t make Zhaang Ye give up. He thought for a moment and suddenly considered another possibility: perhaps the secret within the Blade Tip could only be perceived with Spiritual Power!

’Spiritual Power...’ Zhaang Ye stared at the Blade Tip and shook his head. Spiritual Power was a wondrous and mysterious force that only experts at the Martial Arts Ninth Layer could possess. Zhaang Ye was currently only at the Martial Arts Second Layer; the gap between him and the Ninth Layer was as vast as the heavens and the earth. Of course he didn’t possess Spiritual Power.

’Forget it. I’ll study it again later when I’m stronger.’ Zhaang Ye shook his head, reluctantly putting the Blade Tip back in the box. He then picked up a Martial Arts Secret Manual and began to read.

From his clashes with the Zhou Family members, Zhaang Ye had obtained several Martial Arts Secret Manuals, but most of them were common fare. The only one that interested him was the one in his hands: the *Lingbo Triple Extremes*.

He had found the *Lingbo Triple Extremes* on Zhou Yutao. It recorded three Mid-Level Martial Skills: Soft Wave Palm, Wave Riding Step, and Diversion Sword. All three Martial Arts followed a soft and yielding path, a stark contrast to Zhaang Ye’s own incomparably fierce and powerful style. Although he couldn’t cultivate them due to this vast difference between hard and soft, Zhaang Ye still gained a great deal by taking the time to slowly comprehend their subtleties.

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