Overlord of the Wilderness

As Pan Shi unleashed ”Four Directions Vast and Green,” Zhaang Ye felt as if he were suddenly in the wild. A vast, hazy expanse surrounded him. In that instant, heaven and earth became infinite, while he himself shrank, growing ever more insignificant.

Of course, Zhaang Ye couldn’t have possibly been transported to the wilderness. He knew this was a Realm created by Pan Shi. ’If I allow myself to be influenced by this Realm,’ he thought, ’the consequences will be dire.’

”Good!” Zhaang Ye’s voice boomed like thunder as he shouted, swinging his Thick-Backed Saber and slashing out once more.

For this attack, Zhaang Ye once again used Reverse Flow Slash. The Sword Force of Reverse Flow Slash was tyrannical and its power concentrated, making it perfectly suited for this situation. Moreover, Zhaang Ye intended to use this battle to hone his self-created technique, so he didn’t change his move. No matter how Pan Shi attacked, he met it with Reverse Flow Slash, countering violence with violence and breaking force with force.

”BOOM!” Zhaang Ye aimed his slash at the strongest point of Pan Shi’s fist attack. As sword and fist collided, another thunderous roar erupted.

A strike containing eighty percent of Pan Shi’s power was truly extraordinary. Zhaang Ye felt a tyrannical force surge back through the sword’s blade, making his wrist ache and his arm throb with numbness!

’Damn, Pan Shi’s body is just freakish! To think he can block my Thick-Backed Saber with his bare fists, and the impact alone makes my arm go numb! This guy is way too strong!’ Zhaang Ye was inwardly stunned.

Pan Shi’s fist throbbed with pain as well, but his body was far more formidable than Zhaang Ye’s. He circulated his Cultivation Technique for a moment, and the pain in his fist vanished. He bellowed, ”Awesome! Just awesome! Zhaang Ye, again!”

Though Pan Shi was powerful, Zhaang Ye was fearless. He answered with a cry of assent, raised his saber, and charged.

”BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!”

Zhaang Ye and Pan Shi clashed more than ten times in succession. Zhaang Ye felt as if Pan Shi possessed limitless strength. With every collision, the rebounding force grew stronger, until the force of the final blow was nearly double that of the first! If he weren’t experiencing it firsthand, he would never have believed such a tyrannical Body Refining Technique could exist in the world.

After more than ten clashes, Zhaang Ye was in extreme discomfort, but his Saber Technique had improved significantly. Amidst this series of collisions, his Reverse Flow Slash grew more and more refined. The force on his Thick-Backed Saber became increasingly focused, and with each slash, the Qi Force on the blade condensed a little more, just barely allowing him to withstand Pan Shi’s terrifying power.

”Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!” Pan Shi had also noticed the improvement in Zhaang Ye’s Saber Technique. He roared his approval and shouted, ”Zhaang Ye, why do you keep using the same move? Can you switch to another technique?”

Zhaang Ye laughed. ”If you can force me to change my technique, then I will!”

Dust and smoke billowed from Zhaang Ye and Pan Shi’s battle, obscuring the fight from the onlookers. Their exchange, however, left everyone in the outer circle stunned.

An Outer Disciple said in horror, ”From what Pan Shi is saying, not only can Zhaang Ye fight him on equal footing, but he’s only been using a single move over and over! Zhaang Ye’s strength is truly terrifying!”

”That was too close! I never thought Zhaang Ye was hiding so much strength! Damn it, Zhaang Ye is this powerful, and we actually wanted to steal his title as the eleventh-ranked expert of the Outer Sect and even take his Qi Gathering Pills...” another Outer Disciple said, terrified.

”It seems Zhaang Ye’s title as the eleventh-ranked expert of the Outer Sect is well-deserved. From now on, we’d better keep our distance when we see him. We don’t want him to take a disliking to us and just pull out his saber and start slashing...”

”Yeah, yeah. He’s traded more than ten blows with Pan Shi without falling behind. Even if Zhaang Ye loses this fight, he’s already made a name for himself. It’s better to give an expert like that a wide berth.”

Just then, the battle in the center of the ring intensified. To force Zhaang Ye to change his technique, Pan Shi finally stopped holding back and unleashed the full extent of his abilities.

”Be careful! Watch my ’Stubborn Stone Burst’!”

With a great roar, Pan Shi’s entire body suddenly turned a brilliant gold, making him look like a Metal Man. In the instant his body changed color, his whole frame shot toward Zhaang Ye like a stone!

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE! While still in mid-air, Pan Shi’s aura locked onto Zhaang Ye. Then, his hands, feet, body, and head all moved at once, launching a simultaneous assault. He looked like a stone suddenly exploding. The sheer momentum was like countless boulders rolling down a mountain, like ten thousand stallions galloping at full speed!

Zhaang Ye was startled. ’Damn it, this guy’s using his freakishly tough body as a weapon! What kind of bizarre technique is this?’ he thought. ’There’s nothing for it now but to go all-in!’

As he thought this, the True Force within his body surged endlessly into the Thick-Backed Saber. With this constant influx of True Force, the seemingly solid Thick-Backed Saber began to tremble faintly, letting out a series of low whistles.

Just as Pan Shi’s attack was about to land, Zhaang Ye raised his saber. And slashed!

This slash was precisely Zhaang Ye’s self-created technique, Reverse Flow Slash!

As the successor Saber Technique to Gentle Wind Slash, Reverse Flow Slash was defined by two traits: focus and dominance! Gentle Wind Slash was the saber becoming a gentle breeze, turning one slash into a hundred to kill without a trace. Reverse Flow Slash, however, was the exact opposite. It condensed a hundred slashes into one, crushing the opponent with sheer momentum and overwhelming power!

’Crush them with force, and I am invincible!’ In the instant he swung the saber, Zhaang Ye finally comprehended the most exquisite part of Reverse Flow Slash. He unleashed his strongest slash yet. As the blade cut through the air, the resulting wind tore through the sky with a HISS. Yet his heart was free of shock and fear, as calm as a still lake.

Pan Shi sensed that while Zhaang Ye’s attack was still Reverse Flow Slash, this particular slash contained Sword Qi and Sword Force that were more condensed than ever before. Before the blade even reached him, the wind it generated had already shaved off his eyebrows. His exposed skin began to sting and ache under the fierce blade wind!

’Zhaang Ye’s Saber Technique improved again! This kid is a monster!’ Pan Shi was inwardly horrified. His hands and feet blurred into yellow streaks as he ruthlessly struck the blade of Zhaang Ye’s sword.

”CRACKLE—” Amidst a series of clashes of Powerful Qi, all of Pan Shi’s attacks were thwarted by Zhaang Ye’s slash, forcing him onto the defensive. And while Zhaang Ye’s attack was more powerful than ever, it too failed to break through Pan Shi’s techniques, which were as fierce as a tiger and as grand as a mountain. The Powerful Qi on the sword’s blade was neutralized, punch by punch.

”BOOM!”

With a final great bang, both Zhaang Ye and Pan Shi were forced back more than ten steps.

Zhaang Ye’s entire arm was wracked with aching numbness. The blood in his body churned, his True Qi flowed backward, and he couldn’t stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Pan Shi wasn’t in much better shape. The force in Zhaang Ye’s last slash had been incredibly focused. When their fist and sword met, the power on the blade’s edge had pierced into his arm like needles, causing excruciating pain in his fist, wrist, and arm. The blood and qi in his body churned. Even with his formidable physique, this needle-like Powerful Qi left him numb and unable to move for several moments.

This clash actually ended in mutual injury!

”Haha! Impressive! Truly impressive!” Pan Shi wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth and exclaimed, ”That was a satisfying fight! I’ve gained some insight, so I’ll be leaving now! I’ll come find you for another spar some other day!”

After taking a few steps, Pan Shi turned back and said, ”Zhaang Ye, you’re the second person I’ve ever admired! The first was Zhaang Yujing! Another day, I will definitely defeat you!”

With that, he strode away.

Only after Pan Shi had been gone for a while did the crowd of onlookers snap back to their senses. An older Outer Disciple cried out involuntarily, ”Th-th-this is insane! Zhaang Ye actually injured Pan Shi! Heavens!”

”Who won the fight in the end?”

”I don’t know who won. But from what Pan Shi said just now, he definitely didn’t beat Zhaang Ye. It was most likely a draw!”

”My god, Pan Shi has been in the Inner Sect for eight years, and he’s twenty this year. Zhaang Ye, who just joined the sect, was actually able to fight him to a draw! This is unbelievable!”

The crowd murmured amongst themselves, then quickly dispersed. One could imagine that as they left, the news of Zhaang Ye and Pan Shi fighting to a draw would immediately spread throughout the entire Outer Sect.

Zhaang Ye sheathed his Thick-Backed Saber and murmured softly, ”Defeat me? Heh. My Reverse Flow Slash is almost completely perfected. Once I can use it seamlessly with Gentle Wind Slash, the power of the combined techniques will increase dramatically. Even if you had a breakthrough in this fight, you still won’t be able to beat me!”

He stood for a while longer, and once the energy in his body had completely settled, Zhaang Ye felt for the Qi Gathering Pills inside his robes, an involuntary smile touching his lips. Over eighty Qi Gathering Pills... that was enough to raise his Cultivation to the Late-stage Martial Arts Third Layer. If he bought some other Elixirs, it wouldn’t be difficult to advance his Dragon Elephant Skill to the 2nd Layer, or even the 3rd Layer...