Overlord of the Wilderness

(Thank you for the rating vote, thanks to Xuu Kaihua for the generous tip, and thank you to all my dear readers for the Recommendation Tickets! Thank you! May you all be healthy and successful in all your endeavors!)

————————————————————————————————

The moment Zhu Nulang spoke, everyone on the training grounds turned their eyes to Zhaang Ye.

”Hm?” Zhaang Ye raised an eyebrow slightly, chuckled, and waved his hand dismissively. ”Senior Brother Zhu has already advanced to the Martial Arts Fourth Layer. Your strength far surpasses mine. How could I dare to spar with you? Let’s just forget about it!”

Ever since he first tested Zhaang Ye, Zhu Nulang had harbored a feeling akin to jealousy toward him. At only fourteen, Zhaang Ye had already cultivated to the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage, fighting both Pan Shi and Huaa Baida without being at a disadvantage. Even when Zhu Nulang himself had tried to test him, he couldn’t gain any real advantage.

Though five years his junior, Zhaang Ye’s strength was no less than his own. This put immense pressure on Zhu Nulang. It was precisely under this immense pressure that Zhu Nulang had risked breaking through to the Martial Arts Fourth Layer, succeeding in one fell swoop.

Now, seeing Zhaang Ye again, Zhu Nulang couldn’t resist challenging him. He wanted to use his tyrannical strength to utterly suppress Zhaang Ye, ensuring that his name, Zhu Nulang, would forever be ranked above Zhaang Ye’s.

Having finally found such a perfect opportunity, Zhu Nulang wasn’t about to let it go. Hearing Zhaang Ye’s refusal, he laughed heartily and said, ”Junior Brother Zhaang, while burying your head in bitter training is a good way to improve your strength, a proper spar to exchange pointers on Combat Skills will lead to even faster progress. Don’t refuse any longer. Let all the junior brothers present witness your Saber Technique!”

”Yeah, yeah, Junior Brother Zhaang, just get on stage and have a friendly spar with Senior Brother Zhu!”

”Heh, don’t worry. Senior Brother Zhu is powerful but knows how to control his strength. He won’t hurt you.”

”Haha, Senior Brother Zhaang, let us witness your Saber Technique!”

Listening to the discussions among the disciples below, Zhu Nulang wore a smile on his face, but inwardly he was blooming with joy. Under these circumstances, if Zhaang Ye didn’t come up on stage, everyone would think he was weak and cowardly, someone who would never amount to anything. They would all look down on him.

Zhu Nulang was using the voices of the Outer Disciples to force Zhaang Ye’s hand, leaving him no choice but to step onto the stage.

Zhaang Ye’s expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he was annoyed. ’What a piece of work this Zhu Nulang is!’ Zhaang Ye thought. ’You want to show off, you want to climb the ladder, I couldn’t care less. But this method of stepping on others to steal the spotlight is truly disheartening. Fine. I’ll get up there and see just how much you’ve really improved!’

With that thought, Zhaang Ye laughed out loud and said, ”Since Senior Brother Zhu is so enthusiastic, I suppose I have no choice but to go up and make a fool of myself.” After speaking, his figure flickered, and he flew onto the Martial Arts Arena.

Seeing Zhaang Ye forced to obediently come on stage, a flash of smugness crossed Zhu Nulang’s eyes. He placed one hand behind his back and said, ”Junior Brother Zhaang, draw your saber. To be fair, I will only use one hand to fight you.”

As soon as Zhu Nulang said this, another round of cheers erupted from the Outer Disciples below. They all praised his impressive skills, marveling that he dared to use only one hand against an expert like Zhaang Ye.

Pan Shi and Huaa Baida remained silent. They glanced at each other, both feeling that Zhu Nulang was getting a bit arrogant. Although Zhu Nulang had advanced to the Martial Arts Fourth Layer, Zhaang Ye’s Cultivation had also risen to the Peak of Martial Arts Third Layer. Zhaang Ye was like a deep, ancient well. Both Pan Shi and Huaa Baida had fought him before, but neither had ever been able to grasp the true extent of his strength.

For Zhu Nulang to rashly decide to fight with one hand without understanding Zhaang Ye’s true strength was by no means a wise move.

Although Pan Shi and Huaa Baida felt a faint sense of unease, it wasn’t their place to speak up and stop the fight now. They could only watch in silence and wait for the two to begin.

Zhu Nulang’s declaration to fight with one hand was undoubtedly a sign of his contempt for Zhaang Ye. An ordinary person would surely be angered by such disrespect. However, Zhaang Ye had the mental maturity of someone decades older; Zhu Nulang’s actions couldn’t affect him in the slightest. He smiled faintly and said, ”In that case, I won’t hold back.”

Zhaang Ye took a step forward, and the Thick-Backed Saber on his back was in his hand. With a SWISH, it transformed into a brilliant flash of light, slashing straight toward Zhu Nulang.

Seeing this slash, Zhu Nulang felt a flicker of annoyance. In his mind, now that he had advanced to the Martial Arts Fourth Layer, the only way Zhaang Ye could contend with him was by using that fierce Saber Technique he had used to suppress Huaa Baida. But this current slash from Zhaang Ye was neither fast nor complex, and it carried no imposing force. To use such a strike against him—wasn’t this a sign of utter contempt?

”WHOOOOSH!”

Zhu Nulang swung his palm, unleashing the Anger Wave Palm. In the blink of an eye, his hand stirred up a huge current of air that pressed down on Zhaang Ye.

Cultivation of the Martial Dao to the Fourth Layer allowed one to reach the state of ”True Qi Transformation.” So-called True Qi Transformation meant that the True Qi within one’s body could flow outward like water, solidifying into tangible forms to launch various attacks. Previously, while Zhu Nulang’s Anger Wave Palm could produce the sound of waves crashing on a shore, that sound was merely generated by displaced air and didn’t possess much killing power. In other words, the ”waves” in his Palm Technique used to be air. But now that he had reached the Martial Arts Fourth Layer, the waves in his palm were made of immensely powerful True Qi.

The destructive power of True Qi was ten times greater than that of mere air. A moment ago, it was with this very True Qi that Zhu Nulang had pressured Huaa Baida to the point where he couldn’t even execute his Saber Technique, ultimately forcing him off the Martial Arts Arena with a single palm strike.

As Zhu Nulang struck out with his palm now, True Qi surged forward. He intended to break Zhaang Ye’s saber and send him flying with a single blow, humiliating him completely.

”CRACKLE! POP!”

When the Thick-Backed Saber met Zhu Nulang’s True Qi, it produced a dense series of sounds, like popping soybeans. Zhu Nulang had expected Zhaang Ye to be sent flying by his palm strike, but the result was completely unexpected. Not only was Zhaang Ye not sent flying, but the Thick-Backed Saber in his hand was continuously cleaving through his True Qi, heading straight for him!

”Th-this is impossible!” Startled, Zhu Nulang quickly tapped his feet and retreated three steps, barely avoiding Zhaang Ye’s attack.

Zhu Nulang was actually forced back by a single slash from Zhaang Ye! This outcome was unbelievable to the disciples below the stage.

The Outer Disciples couldn’t believe it, and even Huaa Baida and Pan Shi found it hard to accept. They knew Zhaang Ye had a trump card, but they never imagined that a single, simple slash could force back Zhu Nulang, a Martial Arts Fourth Layer expert.

Just then, Zhaang Ye let out a hearty laugh. ”Thank you for going easy on me, Senior Brother Zhu. Now, please receive another slash from me.”

As he spoke, Zhaang Ye slashed again. Everyone recognized this strike, as it was a move from the Basic Saber Technique. The only difference was that Zhaang Ye’s execution was a bit fast, and the angle was a bit odd.

Having been forced back by Zhaang Ye just now, Zhu Nulang no longer dared to underestimate the Thick-Backed Saber. With a flick of his wrist, True Qi frantically surged from his body. He instantly struck out with three palms, the sound of the Palm Power tearing through the air echoing like muffled thunder.

”BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!”

Zhaang Ye’s slash, which appeared neither fierce nor tyrannical, was exceptionally tenacious. The Thick-Backed Saber cut through all three layers of Zhu Nulang’s Palm Power and reached the space right in front of him.

Horrified, Zhu Nulang had no choice but to retreat another three steps to dodge Zhaang Ye’s Sword Qi.

’There’s something strange about this Zhaang Ye!’ Zhu Nulang thought, both shocked and furious. He was just about to take the offensive when he saw Zhaang Ye raise his saber and slash again.

This slash was even more formidable than the previous two. Though it was clearly a saber, it pressed forward like a solid wall, making Zhu Nulang’s chest tighten to the point he felt he might vomit blood. In such a perilous situation, Zhu Nulang cast aside his earlier promise to ”fight with one hand.” He swiftly brought his other hand from behind his back and, using both hands, consecutively struck out with four palms, finally managing to suppress Zhaang Ye’s Sword Force.

”SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!”

Under the disbelieving gazes of the crowd, Zhaang Ye unleashed one slash after another. The Saber Technique Zhaang Ye used was none other than the Basic Saber Technique, which everyone could recognize. But this simple Saber Technique contained a profound, hidden power. With every slash Zhaang Ye made, Zhu Nulang was forced back three steps. By the time Zhaang Ye delivered his tenth slash, Zhu Nulang had been pushed to the very edge of the Martial Arts Arena, on the verge of falling off!

”Hahahaha... Junior Brother Zhaang, stop toying with him already. Look at you, you’re about to knock the poor guy right off the Martial Arts Arena.” At that moment, a clear voice suddenly rang out across the training grounds, and three young men in green robes appeared.

Seeing these three green-robed youths, the disciples on the grounds were all stunned. In the Zhaang Family, Outer Disciples wore white, while Inner Sect Disciples wore green. These three youths were all clad in green; one glance was enough to know they were Inner Sect Disciples.

There were only a few dozen Inner Sect Disciples in total, and all of them were immensely powerful. They were usually unbearably arrogant, not even bothering to waste a single word on Outer Disciples. But now, these three Inner Sect Disciples had actually walked over and proactively addressed Zhaang Ye as ”Junior Brother Zhaang.” This left all the Outer Disciples dumbfounded. Even Zhu Nulang was stupefied. He had no idea how Zhaang Ye had managed to get connected with these snobbish Inner Sect Disciples.