Overlord of the Wilderness

Zhaang Ye couldn’t be bothered with the gossip outside. After his great battle with Pan Shi, Zhaang Ye hung a sign outside his cabin with five words written on it: ”Secluded Cultivation. Do Not Disturb.” He then entered a state of semi-seclusion. While he healed, he also sorted through the insights he’d gained from the past few days of fighting. He even stopped attending the daily sunrise technique lectures.

Zhaang Ye’s injuries weren’t serious. After three days, he had fully recovered.

Once his injuries healed, Zhaang Ye could feel that his Cultivation had faintly improved again. Besides the progress in his Cultivation, another gain from the past few days was a multitude of new ideas—ideas on how to perfect his Reverse Flow Slash.

Zhaang Ye recalled his state of mind when he unleashed his strongest strike during the battle with Pan Shi, slowly incorporating his various ideas into the Reverse Flow Slash.

Creating a Combat Skill was no simple matter. It involved the circulation of True Qi, the flow of blood, the movement of muscles, the extension and contraction of tendons and bones, and the shifting of stances. It involved power, speed, and angles, as well as the intricate coordination of the hands, feet, body, eyes, ears, and nose. More profound Combat Skills even involved one’s will and Mental Power.

Therefore, throughout history, the vast majority of people only knew how to follow a Cultivation Technique to train; as for creating their own Combat Skills, it was something they never even considered. Those who could create their own Combat Skills were either veterans of a thousand battles with profound Cultivation or peerless, self-taught geniuses of exceptional talent.

Zhaang Ye’s Cultivation was only at the Martial Arts Third Layer, yet he was able to create his own Combat Skill. One reason was that he had obtained the *Tao Te Ching*. Although the *Tao Te Ching* was not a Martial Arts Secret Manual, its contents pointed directly to the Great Dao. Zhaang Ye’s Cultivation was low, so he couldn’t comprehend much of it, but even so, his understanding of the Martial Dao was far greater than that of his peers. It was precisely because of the *Tao Te Ching* that Zhaang Ye could stand taller and see farther than others, giving him the foundation to create his own Combat Skill.

The second reason Zhaang Ye could create his own Combat Skill was his thinking, which surpassed that of ordinary people. After his memories awakened, he gained an additional perspective for viewing problems, allowing him to analyze them much more quickly and deeply than the average person.

The third reason was Zhaang Ye’s Comprehension. His Comprehension far exceeded that of ordinary people, enabling him to perform all sorts of subtle analyses on Combat Skills, understand their wondrous applications, and internalize those applications to improve his own skills. It was this ability that allowed him to so quickly cultivate the Gentle Wind Slash to the Great Success Realm, and it was this ability that enabled him to create the Reverse Flow Slash and continuously perfect it.

Zhaang Ye held a dry twig, sometimes unconsciously scratching lines in the dirt.

At other times, he would stand as still as a stone statue, lost in thought.

When he thought of some ingenious detail, he would toss the twig aside, draw his Thick-Backed Saber, and practice a few slashes.

Days passed one by one. Then, on this day, a problem that had long troubled Zhaang Ye was suddenly solved. With one breakthrough came a hundred more; dozens of Martial Dao puzzles that had been swirling in his mind were answered one by one. In that instant, Zhaang Ye felt a sense of sudden, profound enlightenment.

”Hahaha! I get it, I get it! This is it! Now, it’s time to practice! I’ll do this in one go and cultivate the Reverse Flow Slash to the Minor Achievement Realm!” The doubt on Zhaang Ye’s face was swept away, his eyes becoming crystal clear. The Thick-Backed Saber appeared silently in his hand. The archaic, heavy blade twitched for a moment like a nimble snake before he unleashed several slashes at a speed the naked eye could not follow.

These few strikes were the Gentle Wind Slash. After the blade moved, it couldn’t be seen; only a gentle wind remained in its wake.

After executing the Gentle Wind Slash, Zhaang Ye’s hand trembled slightly as he switched to the Reverse Flow Slash. Without stopping, he delivered slash after slash, and with each one, his Saber Force grew fiercer.

Using the Reverse Flow Slash consumed a great deal of True Qi. Fortunately, Zhaang Ye had a large supply of Qi Gathering Pills. When his True Qi was depleted, he would stop, swallow a Qi Gathering Pill, then get up and continue practicing.

Time slowly passed as Zhaang Ye practiced his slashes over and over.

Zhaang Ye could feel that his Reverse Flow Slash was getting closer and closer to the power he had envisioned.

One day, after performing a Gentle Wind Slash, Zhaang Ye’s wrist trembled, and he suddenly transitioned into the Reverse Flow Slash. The moment he unleashed it, an incredibly profound feeling welled up in his heart.

HISS—

The gentle wind filling the room instantly condensed. The very air in the wooden cabin seemed to freeze over. In the next instant, an incomparably fierce flash of blade light shot out, like a bright moon hanging high in the sky or a meteor streaking past. Its splendid brilliance lingered in the air for a long time.

CLANG! The Thick-Backed Saber returned to its sheath.

Where the blade light had passed, several thick stone stools inside the cabin had been sliced in two with an ear-piercing shriek.

”Hehehe! I finally did it!” Zhaang Ye inspected the stone stools, a smile involuntarily spreading across his face as he murmured to himself, ’This is it! This is it! The Reverse Flow Slash gathers a hundred slashes into one, compressing all my True Qi into the blade. When I unleash the strike, I am invincible. No matter how many transformations or backup plans the enemy has, I will shatter them all with a single slash!’

’Reverse Flow Slash, Reverse Flow Slash... to slash against the current! Using this strike in concert with the Gentle Wind Slash not only solves the problem of Replenishing Qi after the Gentle Wind Slash but also greatly enhances my attack power. With the two used together, the enemy won’t know how to defend! Hehe, my Reverse Flow Slash may still lack some refinement, not yet having reached the Great Success Realm, but this is more than enough!’

’With this move, my strength has increased by at least fifty percent! If I face Pan Shi now, a single slash from me, with its needle-point condensed True Qi, will definitely be able to break through his defense and forcefully carve a wound on his fist! I could even slice his fist right off!’

Having perfected the theory of the Reverse Flow Slash and cultivated it to the Minor Achievement Realm, Zhaang Ye began to consider his future path of Cultivation.

He had only recently advanced to the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage, so hoping for another breakthrough in his True Qi was out of the question for now. As for Combat Skills, with the Gentle Wind Slash and Reverse Flow Slash, he didn’t need to cultivate any others at the moment.

Thinking this, Zhaang Ye already had a plan for his upcoming Cultivation. His plan was simple: continue cultivating the Reverse Flow Slash and strive to bring it to the Great Success Realm as soon as possible. He would also set aside some time to visit the Library Pavilion, browse through various books, and try to create another Saber Technique to form a complete set.

Of course, if possible, he wanted to find a way to obtain a Mid-Level Body Technique. Although his Startled Swan Step, which he had already cultivated to the Great Success Realm, was good, it still fell short when compared to a Mid-Level Body Technique. Zhaang Ye actually had a Mid-Level Body Technique in his possession, but it was an ultimate technique of the Cyan Mulberry Zhou Family, and he would never dare to cultivate it.

Besides these two goals, Zhaang Ye also needed to set aside time to cultivate the Dragon Elephant Skill to the 2nd Layer, or even the 3rd Layer. This wouldn’t be too difficult. Zhaang Ye now had an ample supply of Qi Gathering Pills and over one hundred thousand taels of Gold. These resources combined should be enough for him to cultivate the Dragon Elephant Skill to the 3rd Layer.

Once the Dragon Elephant Skill reached the 3rd Layer, his physical strength would be vastly improved. While he wouldn’t be as freakishly tough as Pan Shi, he would still be far stronger than an ordinary person.

Every martial artist had a trump card or two. Zhaang Ye was a saber user, so if he used the Dragon Elephant Skill as his hidden ace, it would produce unexpectedly good results.

(Thank you to Meng Meng Beast for the reward, and thanks to all my brothers for your votes, thank you!)