Overlord of the Wilderness

(Wishing all my readers a happy Chinese New Year! May you count money until your hands cramp and sleep until you wake up naturally! Thank you, lmxy and Meng Meng Beast, for the donations, and a huge thank you to all the readers who voted for this book. Thank you all!!)

The Ninth Senior Brother’s blatant words made Zhaang Ye’s heart sink. He knew this man was now determined to kill him for his treasures.

Zhaang Zisong and his group had been at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer Early Stage. This man was ranked ninth in the Inner Sect, making him even stronger than them. His cultivation was likely at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer Middle Stage.

Facing a master at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer Middle Stage head-on, Zhaang Ye had no chance of victory. What’s more, he was carrying several hundred pounds of goods on his back, making his situation even more precarious.

The only thing in Zhaang Ye’s favor was that the Ninth Senior Brother was also seriously injured. Although they appeared to be external wounds, such severe injuries would definitely affect his combat strength.

Zhaang Ye quickly analyzed their respective strengths. He said slowly, ”I am also a member of the Zhaang Family. Aren’t you afraid the family will find out if you murder a fellow disciple?”

The Ninth Senior Brother let out a sinister smile. ”Fierce Beasts roam the outer forests of the Barbaric Beast Mountain Range. After I kill you, I just have to toss your corpse aside, and it’ll be devoured completely by a Fierce Beast in moments. Even if I kill you, who will ever know?”

At this, he gave a strange laugh and said, ”Kid, you can only blame your own bad luck. If those Robber Ants hadn’t torn open the Beast Hide Bag on your back, I never would have known you were carrying the whiskers of a Long-bearded White-footed Beast. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been searching for those? I couldn’t find a single one. Now that I know you have them, I certainly won’t be holding back. Heh, I’ve wasted enough time talking. Just die!” As he spoke, his figure flickered, and he pounced toward Zhaang Ye with a bizarre Body Technique.

The Ninth Senior Brother’s Body Technique was like a phantom—drifting, flashing, darting left and right, making it impossible to track his movements.

Zhaang Ye’s cultivation was merely at the Peak of Martial Arts Third Layer, but the Ninth Senior Brother was a cautious man. He didn’t underestimate Zhaang Ye. From the very beginning, he used his prized Martial Art—the Autumn Leaves Step—intending to confuse Zhaang Ye with his Footwork Technique and kill him in a single blow.

Just as the Ninth Senior Brother expected, Zhaang Ye seemed to be mesmerized by his Footwork Technique. He stood perfectly still, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

”Haha, die, little guy!” The Ninth Senior Brother moved in a peculiar way to Zhaang Ye’s right side and thrust a palm at his right chest. The strike was unbelievably fast and packed with power, enough to shatter a boulder with a single hit.

Just as the Ninth Senior Brother’s palm was about to land on Zhaang Ye’s chest, a vicious glint flashed in Zhaang Ye’s seemingly dazed eyes. He made no move to dodge the palm strike, allowing it to hit his right pectoral.

HSSS!

The moment the Ninth Senior Brother’s palm struck Zhaang Ye’s chest, Zhaang Ye’s body spun slightly. At the same instant, his arm shot up, and an incredibly sharp glint of light from his saber flashed out. It sliced through the gale from the palm strike—a force like waves crashing on the shore—and crossed the distance to slash directly at the Ninth Senior Brother!

’I fell for it!’

A chill ran through the Ninth Senior Brother. He never imagined Zhaang Ye would be able to pinpoint his location and launch a brazen, self-sacrificing attack. Even more unexpectedly, the strike Zhaang Ye unleashed was terrifying. Before the blade even arrived, the surging Sword Qi shot out like an arrow, stinging his eyes so badly he could hardly keep them open!

’What a terrifying strike!’

Zhaang Ye’s attack was both domineering and brutal. If the Ninth Senior Brother’s palm strike landed, he himself would be sliced in two by Zhaang Ye’s saber! It was an all-or-nothing, mutually destructive blow!

The Ninth Senior Brother had been certain of victory; he was completely unwilling to trade blow for blow with Zhaang Ye. But now, both their attacks were as fast as lightning. Even with his skill, it was too late to change his move!

AHH!

The Ninth Senior Brother roared as his palm slammed heavily into Zhaang Ye’s chest. At the same time, he forcefully circulated his internal True Qi. The moment Zhaang Ye’s Thick-Backed Saber was about to connect, his body became like a weightless leaf, grazing past the blade and fluttering two feet away.

HSSS! A horrifying wound suddenly appeared on the Ninth Senior Brother’s chest, and blood sprayed out. It turned out that although he had used every ounce of his skill to dodge Zhaang Ye’s Thick-Backed Saber, he couldn’t evade the Sword Qi on the Blade Tip. The unstoppable Sword Qi had flashed past, instantly carving a deep gash across his chest that nearly exposed his heart.

Having narrowly escaped death, the Ninth Senior Brother’s face was ashen. By forcefully circulating his True Qi to dodge Zhaang Ye’s saber, he had saved his life, but the sudden surge had caused his qi and blood to flow in reverse, injuring his internal organs.

The Ninth Senior Brother took a deep breath, trying to regulate the True Qi in his body, when a figure suddenly flashed before him. The light of a saber descended, like a waterfall cascading from the heavens!

Seeing his attacker, the Ninth Senior Brother was horrified beyond belief. The person swinging the saber was Zhaang Ye—the very man who had just taken a direct hit from his palm!

’His palm strike could shatter a large boulder, so why isn’t Zhaang Ye dead?’

The Ninth Senior Brother’s mind reeled with questions and utter shock.

The saber light descended like a bolt of silk. The Ninth Senior Brother roared, and despite the disruption to his internal qi, he forced himself to use his Body Technique to dodge the attack. But once Zhaang Ye’s Saber Technique began, the strikes came one after another, each more domineering than the last. The Ninth Senior Brother barely dodged three blows before his qi and blood spiraled out of control, causing him to falter for an instant.

SHING!

The Ninth Senior Brother’s pause was minuscule, but for Zhaang Ye, it was more than enough time. His Thick-Backed Saber drew a sharp, straight line, slicing the Ninth Senior Brother cleanly in half. The man died under Zhaang Ye’s Thick-Backed Saber without even having time to utter a single word.

The exchange sounds long in the telling, but it all happened in the blink of an eye. In that brief moment, victory and defeat were decided. Zhaang Ye won; he lived. The Ninth Senior Brother lost; he died.

After felling the Ninth Senior Brother with one final slash, Zhaang Ye spat out three mouthfuls of fresh blood, his face pale. It was a long moment before he sheathed his Thick-Backed Saber.

Tearing open the front of his robes to look, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but draw a sharp, cold breath.

A deep handprint was branded on his chest. The blow had caved in the muscles, and not only that, but his sternum had also been shattered by the strike.

Seeing the handprint, Zhaang Ye felt a surge of relief. ’Thank goodness I spent all that time in the Mammoth Cemetery practicing my saber against that Light Curtain,’ he thought. ’It taught me a bit about the Force Dissipation Technique, allowing me to dissipate some of his Palm Power. Otherwise, I would have died from that hit. That Ninth Senior Brother’s Body Technique was bizarre, and his cultivation had reached the Martial Arts Fourth Layer Middle Stage. If I didn’t know the Force Dissipation Technique and hadn’t gone for a mutually destructive tactic, I probably wouldn’t have even been able to escape today.’

After standing for a moment, Zhaang Ye forced himself to search the Ninth Senior Brother’s body. He found two bottles of Qi Gathering Pills, one bottle of Antitoxic Pills, and a packet of Bone Healing Powder.

After stowing the Elixirs, Zhaang Ye took the packet of Bone Healing Powder and, without a second glance, sprinkled it over his chest. The powder was highly effective. Once applied, the excruciating pain in his chest immediately subsided, and a cool sensation began to slowly nourish the fractured bone.

After tending to his chest wound, Zhaang Ye didn’t dare to linger. He quickly left the area, needing to find a safe place to recover from his injuries.