Overlord of the Wilderness

CLANG—!

After blocking a strike from the Grand Elder with his Thick-Backed Saber, Zhaang Ye gracefully retreated. The Grand Elder wanted to counterattack, but he was powerless to do so.

Zhaang Chengtian and the Grand Elder exchanged a look, both feeling their age.

For the past few days, Zhaang Ye had been sparring with the two of them almost ceaselessly. He was the type who grew stronger the more he fought. By now, his Reverse Flow Slash was far more polished, and even his Gentle Wind Slash and Basic Saber Technique had advanced, subtly developing new variations. Zhaang Chengtian and the Grand Elder, relying on their strength at the Early Stage of Martial Arts Third Layer, could only fight Zhaang Ye to a draw, finding it nearly impossible to defeat him.

”That’s enough,” Zhaang Chengtian said quickly, seeing Zhaang Ye was eager to continue. ”Zhaang Ye, we’ve received word from the main family in Cyan Mulberry City. Tomorrow, you, Zhaang Que, and Zhaang Qing are to set out for the main family estate. You should rest well and prepare for the journey!”

After giving his instructions, Zhaang Chengtian and the Grand Elder leaped up and out of the courtyard. Once they had left, the Grand Elder chuckled. ”That little fellow Zhaang Ye, his progress is simply astonishingly fast. Give him another two days, and we won’t be able to suppress him anymore with just our strength at the Early Stage of Martial Arts Third Layer.”

Zhaang Chengtian nodded. ”His Cultivation is still at the Early Stage of Martial Arts Third Layer, but his actual combat prowess is comparable to the Late-stage Martial Arts Third Layer. The kid has excellent Comprehension and outstanding combat awareness. He’s practically mastered our two Mid-Level Combat Skills. If we keep this up, we’ll have to raise our Cultivation to the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage just to save face.”

”Zhaang Ye’s strength is certainly impressive,” the Grand Elder said. ”But I hear the Zhaang Family’s various Branches have produced quite a few talented individuals this year. What’s more, there are five famous geniuses in Cyan Mulberry City itself. I hope Zhaang Ye can go far on this journey.”

Zhaang Chengtian said, ”There were five. Now there are four. That genius from the Zhou Family, Zhou Yutao, was killed. Heh, Zhou Yutao advanced to the Martial Arts Third Layer at just eleven. By thirteen, he was on the verge of reaching the Mid-Tier of Martial Arts Third Layer. The Zhou Family was counting on him for their future glory, but who would have known such a prodigy would be sliced in two by a single blade? It just goes to show: man proposes, God disposes.”

With a sigh, Zhaang Chengtian added, ”Zhaang Ye’s Comprehension is outstanding. If only his innate aptitude was higher, he could easily be a genius. Unfortunately, it’s merely average. People with average aptitude require far more Elixirs and medicinal herbs for their Cultivation. While the main family in Cyan Mulberry City has deep coffers, I fear they won’t be willing to invest such resources in Zhaang Ye...”

The Grand Elder fell silent for a moment before replying, ”Zhaang Ye’s aptitude may be lacking, but I believe he’s no less capable than the geniuses of Cyan Mulberry City. As for the resources he’ll need for Cultivation, he’ll have to rely on himself. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

...

Zhaang Ye didn’t have much to pack. After Zhaang Chengtian and the Grand Elder left, the first thing he did was burn the *Lingbo Triple Extremes* manual and the dozen or so other Martial Arts Secret Manuals he had seized.

Most of these Martial Arts Secret Manuals had been taken from the Zhou Family of Cyan Mulberry City. Since he was headed there, he would inevitably encounter members of their family. If any of them saw these manuals, he would be a dead man. It was for this very reason that Zhaang Ye, after memorizing their contents, reluctantly burned them all.

Zhaang Ye still had two Body Tempering Pills and two Body Refining Pills left. Just as he was about to swallow and refine them all at once, two visitors suddenly arrived in his courtyard. It was Zhaang Que and Zhaang Qing.

Zhaang Ye glanced at them and noticed their auras had grown considerably stronger; they seemed on the verge of breaking through to the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage. A sound of surprise involuntarily escaped his lips.

Zhaang Que and Zhaang Qing were also startled when they saw Zhaang Ye. They realized that in the few short days they hadn’t seen him, his aura had become far more focused, faintly radiating a sharp edge.

All three sensed the progress the others had made. They exchanged glances, and after a moment of shared surprise, broke into laughter.

Zhaang Qing looked at Zhaang Ye and sighed, ”Zhaang Que and I have been stuck at the Early Stage of Martial Arts Third Layer for a long time, and we’re almost seventeen. This bit of progress is just our accumulated efforts finally paying off; it’s nothing to write home about. But you... you advanced to the Martial Arts Third Layer not long ago, and yet you’ve already made more progress. That’s a huge surprise.”

After that sigh, Zhaang Qing changed the subject. ”Zhaang Ye, Zhaang Que and I have been asking around for the past few days. It seems our Zhaang Family’s various Branches have produced many young experts this year. If we want to successfully enter the Inner Sect, we’ll have to defeat these masters of our generation. Zhaang Que and I came to see you before we depart because we wanted to coordinate with you. We hope that when things get difficult, we can band together and face our opponents as one.”

Zhaang Ye nodded slightly. ”We’re from the same branch. Of course, we should stick together.”

The Zhaang Family of Cyan Mulberry City had numerous Branches. When the young experts from these Branches arrived at the main family, they had to start as Outer Disciples. Only the most powerful, those who could pass a series of difficult trials, were qualified to enter the Inner Sect and become Inner Sect Disciples. The number of positions was limited, and the path from Outer Disciple to Inner Sect Disciple was an arduous one. Zhaang Qing and Zhaang Que were both strong; cooperating with them would benefit everyone.

When Zhaang Ye agreed, Zhaang Qing’s expression relaxed. ”Among the various Branches,” he began, ”there are three experts whose strength far surpasses their peers. These are the ones we must watch out for...

”The first young master is Zhaang Yuhu of Fierce Beast Town. His innate talent is very high; he reached the Third Layer of Martial Arts at just thirteen. He cultivates what is said to be a Mid-Level Body Technique, making him incredibly fast and unpredictable in battle. His power is formidable. With his Cyan Steel Sword, he easily crushed his peers to claim the top spot in his branch. Some believe his Cultivation has already reached the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage, with combat prowess comparable to the Late-stage Third Layer. He’s one of our biggest rivals.

”The second young master is Zhaang Dahong of Giant Stone Town. He reached the Martial Arts Third Layer at fourteen and is now close to breaking through to the Mid-Tier of Martial Arts Third Layer; his Cultivation is incredibly solid. Moreover, he possesses Innate Divine Strength and wields a Steel Rod. Any opponent who gets so much as grazed by his rod ends up with shattered bones. During his branch’s grand competition, he used that very rod to kill three of his peers in a row. His ruthless reputation is well-known.

”The third young master is Zhaang Yang, from Desolate Grass Collection. He cultivates a Mid-Level Combat Skill called ’Falling Leaves Leg.’ When he uses it, his legs are as ferocious as a tiger and as deft as a spirit snake, wielding an almost supernatural power. He’s extremely combative. He had already defeated every peer in his branch by the time he was twelve. After reaching the Martial Arts Third Layer, he has been constantly training out in the world with his elders, and his power has grown even more profound.”

After rattling off the details of the three top masters, Zhaang Qing went on, ”Besides those three, there are a few others worth noting. First, there are Zhaang Yin and Zhaang Wen from Four Directions Town. They’re twin brothers who always fight together, and their combined power is comparable to the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage. Then there’s Zhaang Jian from Bainiu Town. His External Combat Skill has already reached the Great Success Realm, making him extremely strong. The last one is Zhaang Yuan from Beifeng Mountain, who is also quite powerful...”

Zhaang Ye listened carefully to Zhaang Qing’s rundown. ”It sounds like none of these people are to be trifled with,” he said. ”We definitely made the right choice by going to the main family.”

”I agree, it was the right choice,” Zhaang Que added in a deep voice.

The three exchanged a look and burst into laughter.