Overlord of the Wilderness

”Zhaang Ye, if you had used your Gentle Wind Slash just now, could you have beaten Zhaang Yuhu?” Seeing Zhaang Ye’s successive displays of power, Zhaang Qing felt he was becoming increasingly unfathomable and couldn’t help but ask the question.

”That... should be no problem.” ’Although Zhaang Yuhu’s Ten Thousand Miles Wind Chasing Step has reached the Minor Achievement Realm, my Gentle Wind Slash is at the Great Success Realm! The difference between Minor Achievement and Great Success is huge. Even though my Gentle Wind Slash is just a single move, it’s more than enough to handle Zhaang Yuhu’s Ten Thousand Miles Wind Chasing Step!’

Zhaang Qing chatted with Zhaang Ye for a bit before leaving in a hurry. The strength displayed moments ago by Zhaang Ye, Zhaang Yuhu, Zhaang Dahong, and Zhaang Yang had greatly motivated him. He knew that if he didn’t redouble his efforts, the gap between himself and the four of them would only grow wider.

Before he left, Zhaang Ye gave two Qi Gathering Pills to Zhaang Qing. Since joining the Outer Sect, Zhaang Qing had helped him a great deal. Besides, Zhaang Qing was the type of person worth befriending, so giving him two Qi Gathering Pills was a small token of gratitude. Zhaang Qing had also just advanced to the Middle Stage and was in great need of the pills, so he accepted them without much ceremony.

After seeing Zhaang Qing off, Zhaang Ye’s eyes glinted. He drew his Thick-Backed Saber, hewed a large Wooden Token, and then wrote on it in large characters: ”Challengers Welcome. Loser pays one Qi Gathering Pill!”

Zhaang Ye wasn’t afraid of being challenged, but if everyone came running to do so, he wouldn’t have any time left for his Cultivation. He set up this Wooden Token, stipulating that the loser must pay one Qi Gathering Pill, precisely to dissuade some of the would-be challengers.

Of course, even with the Wooden Token set up, Zhaang Ye still welcomed anyone who wanted to challenge him. After all, if he won, he would gain a Qi Gathering Pill. There was no reason for him to pass up such a good deal.

Not long after he set up the Wooden Token, a group of people came running over. Seeing Zhaang Ye and the token beside him, they couldn’t help but stare. One of them called out, ”Hey you, kid! Are you Zhaang Ye?”

Zhaang Ye nodded slightly.

”If it’s Zhaang Ye, then we’re in the right place! Listen up, kid, I’m challenging you! Draw your saber, now!” a man with a face full of brutish muscle roared at Zhaang Ye.

Zhaang Ye didn’t even lift his gaze, simply pointing a finger at the Wooden Token beside him.

”Challengers Welcome. Loser pays one Qi Gathering Pill!” The man glanced at the words, then glared at Zhaang Ye. ”Kid, what’s the meaning of this?”

Before Zhaang Ye could answer, another man—this one short and stout—spoke up. ”Zhaang Ye, you mean that if I defeat you, you’ll pay me a Qi Gathering Pill?”

Zhaang Ye nodded and clarified, ”That’s right. And if I defeat you, you’ll have to pay me a Qi Gathering Pill. In short, the loser pays one Qi Gathering Pill to the winner.”

WHOA!

Hearing Zhaang Ye’s confirmation, the group immediately grew excited. Some said Zhaang Ye was arrogant, others said he was crazy, and one person even started shouting, ”I’ll go, I’ll go! Haha, that Qi Gathering Pill is as good as mine!”

The man with the brutish face laughed heartily, pushed through the crowd, and strode toward Zhaang Ye. ”Zhaang Ye, here I come!” he yelled. ”Get ready to hand over that Qi Gathering Pill!” As he spoke, he raised a massive fist and aimed a punch straight for Zhaang Ye’s nose.

Seeing the big man make the first move, the people behind him were filled with envy. The man’s name was Bao Dazhuang. He had the Cultivation of a Mid-stage Martial Arts Third Layer disciple, and his hand-to-hand combat was formidable enough that he had defeated several opponents of the same rank. As Bao Dazhuang made his move, someone couldn’t help but curse, ”Dammit, Bao Dazhuang! Once that punch lands, he’ll have won himself a Qi Gathering Pill!”

In the center of the crowd, Zhaang Ye’s figure flickered about as he dodged Bao Dazhuang’s fists. After a long exchange, Zhaang Ye seemed to find an opening to counterattack. After a dozen consecutive moves, he finally defeated Bao Dazhuang by a hair’s breadth.

”Son of a bitch!” Bao Dazhuang cursed, tossing a Qi Gathering Pill to Zhaang Ye with extreme reluctance before storming away.

Bao Dazhuang’s defeat made the eyes of the remaining crowd light up. They could all see that while Zhaang Ye’s skills were decent, he was only a little stronger than Bao Dazhuang. They thought that if it were them up there, they could definitely defeat Zhaang Ye. Not only would they win the title of the eleventh-ranked disciple in the Outer Sect, but they would also get a Qi Gathering Pill.

”Kid, I’m coming for you!” The short, stout man dashed out and charged at Zhaang Ye, immediately unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks without waiting to see if he was ready.

Faced with such an assault, Zhaang Ye appeared rather hard-pressed. It took him a while to stabilize his footing and launch a counterattack. After more than ten moves, he found an opening and, with some difficulty, sent the short, stout man flying.

”Let me go! It’s my turn!”

”I’ll go, I’ll go!”

”Everyone stop arguing! It’s my turn now no matter what!”

The group argued for a while before another man finally stepped up to challenge Zhaang Ye. Unfortunately for him, he, too, came just shy of defeating Zhaang Ye, losing the match and a Qi Gathering Pill in a regrettable defeat.

The losers slunk away in disgrace, while those behind them eagerly took their places to challenge Zhaang Ye in turns. Before they knew it, the entire group had been defeated by Zhaang Ye, one by one. In the process, Zhaang Ye had acquired more than ten Qi Gathering Pills.

’He clearly looks like he’s about to collapse, so how is it that this Zhaang Ye just won’t lose?’

Finally, one of them snapped out of it. He slapped his thigh, glared at Zhaang Ye, and roared, ”Dammit, we’ve been tricked! This Zhaang Ye’s real strength is way beyond this! He’s doing this on purpose, goading us into challenging him so he can win our Qi Gathering Pills!”

”What? That’s too damn cunning!” The crowd all turned to glare at Zhaang Ye. A few of them roared, ”Damn you, Zhaang Ye! Give me back my Qi Gathering Pill!”

While some of them were shouting, others began to press in on Zhaang Ye, planning to snatch the Qi Gathering Pills back by force.

They had only just received these Qi Gathering Pills. The pills hadn’t even warmed in their hands before falling into Zhaang Ye’s possession, and they were, of course, furious. The men exchanged glances, planning to swarm him—not just to take back their own Qi Gathering Pills, but to rob him of all the others, too.

Seeing these opportunists charge toward him, a cold smirk touched Zhaang Ye’s lips. ’This pack of fools,’ he thought. ’If I weren’t after your Qi Gathering Pills, why would I have wasted so much time fighting you? Only figuring it out now? Too late!’

As the thought crossed his mind, Zhaang Ye slightly raised his hands. Silently, two Hand Blade strikes shot out.

Zhaang Ye intended to shock them into submission. These two Hand Blade strikes were, in fact, his Gentle Wind Slash.

As his ace in the hole, Zhaang Ye hadn’t even used the Gentle Wind Slash against Zhaang Yuhu. He used it now because the situation was chaotic, a true melee. In the confusion, he didn’t have to worry about anyone recognizing the technique.

Gentle Wind Slash was a Mid-Level Combat Skill, and Zhaang Ye had already trained it to the Great Success Realm. As the two Hand Blade strikes flew, True Force surged forth without a sound. Though the two men rushing him were skilled fighters in their own right, they still subconsciously looked down on Zhaang Ye. The consequence of their contempt was that by the time his Hand Blade strikes reached their faces, they couldn’t even react before being sent flying.

HISS! Seeing what happened to those two, everyone present was stunned. Both men had the Cultivation of the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage. They couldn’t believe that with such Cultivation, they had been sent flying by what looked like two simple slaps from Zhaang Ye.

Thinking about it from another perspective, if Zhaang Ye could send two Mid-stage Martial Arts Third Layer experts flying with just two strikes, didn’t that mean his own strength had to be at the Late-stage Martial Arts Third Layer? Or perhaps even higher?

At this realization, the group no longer dared to cause trouble for Zhaang Ye. They spat out a few last threats and then beat a hasty, pathetic retreat.