Overlord of the Wilderness

With the Mammoth’s strength, finding food was incredibly easy. It ventured into the outer swamps and, without breaking a sweat, killed two enormous Long-bearded White-footed Beasts. These beasts were as large as mountains; one alone weighed at least tens of thousands of pounds. The two combined weighed over a hundred thousand pounds, more than enough to fill the Mammoth’s stomach.

The Long-bearded White-footed Beast was also a Mid-level Fierce Beast, most famous for the ten long whiskers at the corners of its mouth. These whiskers could be either hard or soft and could extend to a length of over two hundred feet. They could be used for a variety of attacks, including coiling, lashing, piercing, and sweeping. If taken to Cyan Mulberry City, they would definitely fetch a good price.

Zhaang Ye was currently poor, so how could he pass up this opportunity? He brandished his Thick-Backed Saber and first lopped off all twenty whiskers from the two Long-bearded White-footed Beasts. Then, he sliced one of the smaller beasts into several chunks for the Mammoth to eat.

The Mammoth could have actually used its long trunk to tear the Fierce Beast apart and eat it. However, this particular Mammoth seemed to prefer having Zhaang Ye cut the meat for it and toss the pieces into its mouth one by one.

After carving up the meat, Zhaang Ye picked out a tender piece for himself. Too lazy to bother roasting it, he simply swallowed it whole. While the Mammoth ate, Zhaang Ye tossed his clothes aside and submerged himself in the fresh blood of the Long-bearded White-footed Beast.

The blood of the Long-bearded White-footed Beast contained an extremely abundant amount of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi. What made Zhaang Ye happiest was that this Fierce Beast’s blood had the effect of strengthening the body. As he soaked in it, the injuries Zhaang Ye had sustained in the Mammoth Cemetery began to heal, little by little.

A couple of hours later, Zhaang Ye stood up out of the blood. His entire body was faintly glowing with a golden light. When he circulated his Cultivation Technique, his skin took on a golden sheen. After soaking in the blood of the Long-bearded White-footed Beast, Zhaang Ye’s Dragon Elephant Skill had improved once more.

The Mammoth had long since finished eating one of the Long-bearded White-footed Beasts. Seeing Zhaang Ye stand up, it curled its long trunk around the remaining beast, gently tossed it onto its back, and signaled for Zhaang Ye to get going.

Carrying Zhaang Ye and the Long-bearded White-footed Beast that would serve as its next meal, the Mammoth hurried back to the Mammoth Cemetery and began a new round of ramming.

The Mammoth was single-mindedly focused on shattering the Light Curtain to get inside. Zhaang Ye, however, was using the Light Curtain for his Cultivation. The Rebound Force from the barrier seemed to contain endless profundities; it reflected any attack with an equal amount of force and remained utterly unmoving no matter what. Zhaang Ye had rarely encountered such a perfect opportunity to practice his saber technique and comprehend the Rotating Power. Thus, despite being injured again and again, he tirelessly and continually struck at the Light Curtain with his saber.

Although he was repeatedly injured, Zhaang Ye’s gains were not insignificant. Through these repeated attempts, his comprehension of the Rotating Power grew. He slowly came to understand how to deploy the Rotating Power to deflect the Rebound Force.

At first, Zhaang Ye could only deflect five percent of the Rebound Force. But with each attempt, by coordinating his Footwork Technique, Saber Technique, and Body Technique, he was now able to deflect fifteen percent of it.

When he slashed at the Light Curtain, Zhaang Ye was still sent flying by the Rebound Force, but he no longer flew over a thousand feet away. His rate of progress surprised even the Mammoth, which was still single-mindedly ramming the barrier. It would occasionally let out a couple of rumbles in Zhaang Ye’s direction.

WHAM!

Zhaang Ye slashed out again and was sent flying over four hundred feet by the Rebound Force, unable to stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood. He knew his internal organs were injured again. He scrambled over to the Long-bearded White-footed Beast, cut into the carcass to release its blood, and began to heal.

Both the Dragon Elephant Skill and the blood of the Long-bearded White-footed Beast had a miraculous effect on Healing. It took Zhaang Ye just a little over two hours for his internal injuries to start improving.

After stabilizing his injuries, Zhaang Ye didn’t get up immediately. He had a faint feeling that his Dragon Elephant Skill was showing signs of advancing after absorbing the Essence Qi from the blood of two Mid-level Fierce Beasts.

Dragon Elephant Power slowly accumulated within Zhaang Ye’s body. He felt as if his entire being was swelling. His spirit entered a wondrous state of Cultivation, and his aura seemed to faintly connect with the aura emanating from the mammoth bones.

An indescribable, peculiar sensation suddenly came from above, as if something had instantly entered his body through the crown of his head.

’This thing that just entered my body is the unique power of the Elephant Race—Elephant Power.’ Zhaang Ye knew exactly what was happening, but he was already in a state of Cultivation. He faced the sudden intrusion of Elephant Power without alarm or joy. His Dragon Elephant Skill began to circulate automatically, pulling the wisp of power that had entered through his head down into his Dantian to be refined.

In Ancient Times, Mammoths were a race renowned among countless others for their strength. In life, their bodies were as large as mountains, and their power was capable of Moving Mountains and Leveling Seas, overwhelming all other races.

Although only a single wisp of Elephant Power had entered Zhaang Ye’s body, it was pure to the extreme. For Zhaang Ye, who cultivated the Dragon Elephant Skill, the benefits were astonishing. By the time he had refined just two-thirds of this wisp of Elephant Power, his Dragon Elephant Skill broke through, advancing from the Early Stage of the 4th Layer all the way to the Mid-stage Fourth Layer.

”Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!” Zhaang Ye ceased his cultivation and stood up, unable to stop himself from shouting.

’To have cultivated the Dragon Elephant Skill from the 3rd Layer to the Mid-stage Fourth Layer in just one short month... this has far exceeded my expectations.’

With his Dragon Elephant Skill at the Mid-stage Fourth Layer, his strength had increased yet again. Combined with his increasingly proficient Saber Technique, Zhaang Ye now had some confidence in facing an expert at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer Early Stage.

’The Dragon Elephant Technique’s rapid advancement is related to absorbing the blood of Fierce Beasts,’ Zhaang Ye mused, looking at his palms. ’But the most crucial factor is that mysterious Elephant Power. If I could refine a dozen more wisps of it, I’m afraid advancing to the 5th Layer would be no problem at all! The question is, how can I absorb that mysterious Elephant Power?’

Zhaang Ye reviewed the two times he had absorbed the Elephant Power but couldn’t come up with anything useful. He decided not to overthink it, picked up his Thick-Backed Saber, and resumed hacking at the Light Curtain.

After his Dragon Elephant Skill advanced to the Mid-stage Fourth Layer, the injuries inside Zhaang Ye’s body were almost completely healed. His strikes became even more powerful.

The Mammoth rammed the barrier day and night, while Zhaang Ye swung his saber day and night, comprehending the Rotating Power.

The color of the Light Curtain was fading at an extremely slow pace.

「Three more days passed in the blink of an eye.」

The Mammoth was huge, and it quickly devoured the entire Long-bearded White-footed Beast. With no other choice, the Mammoth had to stop its ramming and go outside to find more food.

The Mammoth was gone for only two days before it returned. This time, it brought back a massive Fierce Beast weighing over two hundred thousand pounds. When placed inside the cavern, the beast was like a mountain, and the blood that slowly trickled from it flowed like a stream.

As Zhaang Ye watched the blood go to waste, his gaze suddenly froze. He noticed that at some point, fine cracks had appeared on the cavern floor. The Fierce Beast’s blood was slowly seeping down into them.

Slightly startled, Zhaang Ye scanned the cavern’s surroundings. Upon closer inspection, he realized the walls were also covered in cracks. The entire cavern looked like it could collapse at any moment!

”Hah!” Zhaang Ye gasped in shock. He said to the Mammoth, ”Big guy, why are there so many cracks? This place... it’s not about to be destroyed, is it?”

”Grrr,” the Mammoth rumbled, a trace of sorrow in its eyes. It nodded.

Zhaang Ye was stunned. He finally understood why the Mammoth was so desperate to break through the Light Curtain. The entire cavern was covered in cracks. If they didn’t find a way into the Little World behind the curtain soon, they might never get the chance!