Overlord of the Wilderness

Every day after work, I have to immediately sit down at my computer and start writing. My writing speed isn’t fast—less than a thousand characters an hour. To get the two nightly Chapters updated, I have to write for five or six hours straight. Writing is hard work, but the competition for monthly tickets is even more exhausting. So, I’m hoping my dear readers can spare a monthly ticket for me to help me cover my back. Thank you all.

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「In a small courtyard in the Zhaang Family’s Inner Sect.」

Zhaang Ye returned to his small courtyard and immediately took the Long Whip from his waist, examining it closely in his hand.

This Long Whip, a gift from the Mammoth, still looked as beautiful as ever, but he couldn’t see anything unusual about it. It was slightly cool to the touch, with no sign of generating heat.

”How strange! I clearly felt this whip heat up before. Why is it completely inert now?” Zhaang Ye muttered to himself, then casually flicked the Long Whip a few times.

Although Zhaang Ye used True Qi for these strikes, the whip remained limp. It only made a few soft sounds when it hit a stone, leaving the rock completely undamaged.

Zhaang Ye held the Long Whip and studied it for a while longer, but he still couldn’t figure out its secret. He couldn’t help but shake his head, a trace of disappointment flashing in his eyes.

After putting away the Long Whip, Zhaang Ye had a sudden thought. He mused, ’Ever since the memories fused, I’ve been so focused on Cultivation that my knowledge of weapons is very limited. I can’t discern the origin of this whip. I still have some time now. I might as well use it to find the Fifth Elder and ask for his guidance.’

No sooner said than done, Zhaang Ye immediately headed for the back mountain.

Zhaang Ye’s status was now vastly different. After announcing his arrival at the back mountain, Zhaang Tianlong actually strode out and pulled Zhaang Ye inside.

After exchanging a few words with Zhaang Tianlong, Zhaang Ye got straight to the point. ”Fifth Elder, I’ve been so focused on Cultivation that I know very little about anything else. I know you are a man of great learning, and I have a question I’d like to ask you.”

Zhaang Tianlong chuckled and said, ”Go on, ask away.”

Seeing Zhaang Tianlong so accommodating, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but chuckle as well. ”It’s like this. I know very little about weapons, so I’d like to ask about their grading system.”

”Weapon grades, you ask? That’s an easy one,” Zhaang Tianlong said. ”As far as I know, weapons can be divided into two major categories: Mortal Artifacts and True Artifacts. A Mortal Artifact is a weapon forged by a Martial Artist using True Qi. They are graded into nine ranks based on their materials, sharpness, craftsmanship, hardness, and resilience. Ninth Grade is the lowest, just an ordinary weapon. The best is First Grade. A First-Grade Mortal Artifact contains an extremely pure Essence of the Five Metals. It can cut through gold and sever iron as if it were mud. When used by an expert, they can even channel their True Qi to stimulate the Essence of the Five Metals within the weapon, forming Sword Qi to slay enemies. They’re incredibly formidable...”

At this point, Zhaang Tianlong pointed to the Heavy Saber on Zhaang Ye’s back and said, ”This Heavy Saber on your back uses ample materials, and its craftsmanship is decent. An ordinary weapon would be snapped in two if struck by your saber. However, this Heavy Saber of yours hasn’t been repeatedly tempered, so the Essence of the Five Metals within it is not pure enough, which greatly impacts its power. If we were to grade it, your Heavy Saber should be a Third-Grade Mortal Artifact.”

Zhaang Ye listened to Zhaang Tianlong’s explanation and asked, ”Fifth Elder, what about True Artifacts? What kind of weapons are they?”

Zhaang Tianlong smiled. ”So-called True Artifacts are weapons refined by True Dao Experts. We Martial Artists cultivate ordinary True Qi, but True Dao Experts cultivate Innate True Qi. Weapons refined using Innate True Qi are more than a hundred times more powerful than the Mortal Artifacts we use...”

”A hundred times more powerful!” Zhaang Ye’s interest was piqued. He asked, ”What exactly makes a True Artifact so powerful?”

Zhaang Tianlong chuckled and said, ”There are two main reasons why True Artifacts are more powerful than Mortal Artifacts.

First, Innate True Qi can melt certain rare materials and also purify common ones. Therefore, the quality of the refined weapons is far superior to our Mortal Artifacts. The Essence of the Five Metals contained within weapons refined with Innate True Qi is also much purer.

The second reason is that all True Artifacts have Arrays with various functions carved onto their surface. With these Arrays, a True Artifact’s power is greatly enhanced. When activated by Innate True Qi and Mental Power, a True Artifact can easily unleash Sword Qi a hundred zhang long, or even a thousand zhang long. Leveling a small mountain is an easy task...”

”Thousand-zhang Sword Qi!” Zhaang Ye gasped lightly. After a moment of contemplation, he asked with great interest, ”Fifth Elder, have you ever seen a True Artifact? What are they like?”

Zhaang Tianlong said proudly, ”Although True Artifacts are rare, I have indeed seen one. In terms of appearance, they don’t look much different from ordinary mortal items. It’s just that a True Artifact generally requires Innate True Qi and Mental Power to be activated. An ordinary Martial Artist wouldn’t be able to use a True Artifact even if they found one.”

Zhaang Ye came to a realization. ”No wonder we Martial Artists only use ordinary mortal items. So it’s because we’re fundamentally incapable of using such immensely powerful True Artifacts.”

Zhaang Tianlong nodded, saying with a hint of regret, ”That’s right.”

After a pause, he continued, ”Only True Dao Experts can use True Artifacts. Some True Artifacts left behind by the Ancient Races have even stricter requirements. One must possess the power of that specific race to use them. For example, the legendary True Artifacts left by the Dragon Race require Dragon Power to be used. And the True Artifacts left by the legendary Phoenix Race can only be used by someone who possesses Phoenix Power. Otherwise, no matter how high your Cultivation is, you won’t be able to use them...”

Hearing this, Zhaang Ye’s eyes lit up. He thought of the Long Whip he carried. ’This Long Whip has the power of the Elephant Race. When I tried to use it before, I was subconsciously trying to activate it with True Qi. No wonder it didn’t react at all! I happen to be cultivating the Dragon Elephant Skill now, and I even have a few wisps of Elephant Power from the Ancient Elephant Clan in my body. I wonder what will happen if I try to activate it with Elephant Power?’

Zhaang Tianlong was now thoroughly engrossed in the topic. After talking for a while, he moved on to the grades of True Artifacts: ”True Artifacts are also graded. The grading system for True Artifacts is simple. One that can have nine Arrays carved on it is a Ninth-Grade True Artifact. One that can have two times nine, or eighteen, Arrays carved on it is an Eighth-Level True Artifact. And one that can have three times nine, or twenty-seven, Arrays carved on it is a Seventh-Grade True Artifact. Following this pattern, one that can have nine times nine, or eighty-one, Arrays carved on it is a First-Grade True Artifact...”

Zhaang Tianlong was exceptionally knowledgeable, and once he started talking, he spoke endlessly. Zhaang Ye felt he had benefited greatly from Zhaang Tianlong’s explanations. The two of them continued their discussion, with one asking and the other answering, for more than two Hours before they were finally satisfied.

Zhaang Ye returned to his small courtyard and once again took out the Long Whip. After looking at it for a moment, he said to himself, ”Something tossed out by that big fellow should be a good thing. I hope you’re a True Artifact, hehe.”

Taking a deep breath, Zhaang Ye circulated his Dragon Elephant Skill at full power, and a powerful surge of Elephant Power was instantly transmitted into the Long Whip.

Zhaang Ye watched the Long Whip intently as he channeled Elephant Power into it. But to his surprise, no matter how much Elephant Power he sent, the Long Whip remained completely unresponsive.

After a moment of thought, Zhaang Ye suddenly recalled that when the Long Whip had heated up before, it was when his spirit and will were at their most focused and pure. ’Could it be that this Long Whip can only be activated when one’s spirit and will are completely focused?’

The more Zhaang Ye thought about it, the more sense it made. He immediately sat down cross-legged and silently nurtured his spirit and will. When he felt his spirit was replete and his energy full, Zhaang Ye grabbed the Long Whip, and a wholehearted intention, along with a powerful surge of Elephant Power, suddenly poured into it.

VMMM!

As the Elephant Power flowed in, the Long Whip finally began to change. Its bright red body suddenly emitted a faint seven-colored glow. With the appearance of this rainbow light, Zhaang Ye felt the Long Whip was like a greedy beast, endlessly devouring his Elephant Power as if it could never be satisfied.

As more Elephant Power poured in, the light emanating from the Long Whip grew brighter and brighter. Strange glimmers of light, and also some Runes of Profound Mysteries, flowed across the body of the whip, making it look incredibly beautiful and mysterious.

VMMMMMM—

The Long Whip let out a series of soft hums, and its entire length began to tremble, like a dragon coming to life. At that moment, Zhaang Ye felt the whip becoming harder and harder to control. With a soft cry, he lashed out at a huge boulder in the center of the courtyard.

The Long Whip cut through the air like a suddenly rising rainbow, dazzlingly beautiful.

BOOM!

The instant the Long Whip struck the boulder, it let out an earth-shattering bang. A massive Qi Force swept out, sending sharp fragments of stone flying high into the air.

When everything had settled, Zhaang Ye looked at the boulder and couldn’t help but gasp. The massive rock, which had been as tall as two men and too wide for ten people to encircle, had been shattered into four large pieces by that single strike. The resulting fragments were scattered all over the courtyard.

’Such immense power!’ Zhaang Ye was overjoyed at the result. This boulder was exceptionally hard and very large. Even with his Heavy Saber, Zhaang Ye couldn’t have split it into four pieces in a short amount of time. Yet the Long Whip in his hand had shattered such a huge rock into four pieces with a single lash. Its power was truly formidable to the extreme.

’What a terrifying strike! To be able to unleash such a powerful blow, this Long Whip must be a True Artifact left behind by the Ancient Elephant Clan!’ The thought of possessing a True Artifact made Zhaang Ye secretly thrilled.

He walked a circle around the courtyard, carefully examining the marks left by the whip, and thought, ’With a strike like that, I could probably kill an ordinary Martial Arts Seventh Layer expert with a single lash. With this Long Whip, I have another life-saving treasure. It’s just a pity that using this whip consumes so much Elephant Power. That single lash just now used up fifty percent of my Elephant Power. At my current strength, I can only manage two strikes at most.’ (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for Recommendation Tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)