Overlord of the Wilderness

Zhaang Ye bypassed the third Puppet and continued onward. Before long, he had traversed the entire path and once again set foot on solid ground.

Lifting his gaze, Zhaang Ye saw a bizarre, flat road appear before him.

The greyish-black road was unusually wide, a full thousand feet across. It was also unusually flat, without the slightest bump or depression on its surface. And it was unusually long; no matter how far he looked, he could not see its end.

What was even stranger was the unusual desolation on either side of the flat road. Zhaang Ye looked for a long time but was unable to find a single plant or animal. It seemed to be a forbidden zone, where no life could possibly survive.

The entire road was pitch-black, faintly exuding an ancient, weathered aura. There was no telling how many years it had existed, nor what its purpose was.

’What a strange road! Could there be something else odd about it?’ Zhaang Ye wondered, but his body still flew forward, landing as lightly as a cloud upon its surface.

The moment he landed, Zhaang Ye felt a strange aura transmit up from the road beneath him. As soon as it entered his body, he felt the qi within him stagnate. His True Qi, which normally flowed with perfect smoothness, suddenly became sluggish and disobedient, as if he had been poisoned.

’Hm? This aura can actually stop my True Qi from circulating! What is happening?’ Slightly alarmed, Zhaang Ye subconsciously tried to circulate his True Qi. He discovered that his normally lively True Qi had become incredibly sluggish. It took a great deal of effort just to get it moving.

Although he managed to get it circulating, the speed was ten times slower than normal. In other words, Zhaang Ye’s current strength was less than a tenth of what it usually was. He couldn’t even execute his most familiar technique, the Reverse Flow Slash.

A Martial Artist’s greatest asset is their True Qi. If it becomes suppressed, they cannot use their abilities, no matter how powerful. With his True Qi circulation impaired, Zhaang Ye could no longer use his Cloud Stepping Technique. In an instant, his body felt as if it weighed hundreds of pounds more.

As his True Qi circulation slowed, Zhaang Ye tried to activate his Dragon Elephant Skill. He discovered that it, too, was faintly suppressed, its activation speed considerably reduced. However, even though the Dragon Elephant Skill was slower, it was in much better shape than his True Qi.

Zhaang Ye estimated that his Dragon Elephant Skill could still exert about forty to fifty percent of its power on this road. This relieved him considerably.

After standing on the road for a moment, Zhaang Ye realized that its strange aura, aside from slowing his True Qi, seemed to have no other harmful effects. ’After passing the third Puppet and leaving the path, this is the only way forward,’ he thought. ’To get out of this canyon, I have to follow this road. It suppresses my True Qi, but it isn’t otherwise harmful. It seems this is another one of the True Hall’s tests. I’d better hurry and get through here as fast as I can!’

With this in mind, Zhaang Ye strode forward, heading down the road one step at a time.

Not long after Zhaang Ye set off, Situ Houtu also arrived on the flat road.

Situ Houtu’s expression changed slightly as he felt the road suppressing his True Qi. Just as Zhaang Ye had done, he stood in place to silently inspect his body for a moment before striding forward.

Having cultivated the Dragon Elephant Skill, Zhaang Ye’s body was incredibly tough. He ran for over six miles without stopping. But the farther forward he went, the stronger the strange aura from the road’s surface became.

After another six miles, Zhaang Ye found that his True Qi could no longer circulate at all. His Dragon Elephant Skill had also slowed to the point where he could only exert a little over ten percent of his full power.

This strange aura affected not only Zhaang Ye’s True Qi and Dragon Elephant Skill but also his willpower. He could feel the Suppression within the aura growing stronger the farther he walked. It was like a heavy stone pressing down on his heart, impossible to shake off.

Fortunately, thanks to the Suppression he had endured in the Mammoth Cemetery, Zhaang Ye already had some resistance. Although this current Suppression was formidable, he could still bear it. His pace, however, had slowed unconsciously.

Glancing back, Zhaang Ye saw a figure several miles behind him, walking slowly along the road. A faint smile touched his lips.

He knew it had to be Situ Houtu. The aura prevented him from using a Body Technique to travel quickly, and the same was true for Situ Houtu; he could only walk one step at a time. And judging by his pace, he was even slower than Zhaang Ye.

’Heh, if this road is a trial, then I can definitely beat Situ Houtu!’ A surge of confidence rose in Zhaang Ye’s heart as he gauged the other man’s speed.

Zhaang Ye had cultivated the Dragon Elephant Skill, making his physique powerful. He had also personally experienced the Suppression of an Ancient Mammoth, so the effect on him was relatively minor. In this situation, no matter how outstanding Situ Houtu was, he simply couldn’t compare.

After another six miles, the aura emanating from the flat road grew even stronger.

Zhaang Ye felt as if he were carrying tens of thousands of pounds on his back. Each step required immense effort. As he trudged onward, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He felt himself growing sleepier and sleepier, until he had to fight the urge to simply lie down on the ground and fall into a deep sleep.

The moment that urge surfaced, Zhaang Ye was shocked. ’The aura on this road is incredibly powerful,’ he thought. ’If I lie down to sleep, my True Qi will be thrown into chaos. At best, I’ll suffer from a qi imbalance and face the Scattering Skill. At worst, my True Qi will deviate from its paths, and I’ll die on the spot. The consequences are unthinkable...’

Realizing this, Zhaang Ye didn’t dare to even consider resting, no matter how exhausted he felt. With immense willpower, he fought back the urge to sleep and continued walking forward, one step at a time.

As he pressed on, Zhaang Ye felt his True Qi become a pool of stagnant water. No matter how hard he tried, he could not make it circulate.

But to his surprise, while the aura also suppressed the Dragon Elephant Power within him, it could still barely circulate. Zhaang Ye could clearly feel the Dragon Elephant Power pulsing faintly within his bones and flesh, like magma beneath a volcano—suppressed by heavy rock, yet ready to erupt at any moment.

Sensing this, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. Ever since he had refined it, the Dragon Elephant Skill had always displayed its formidable power and had never let him down. For the Dragon Elephant Power to still be operational under these circumstances was far beyond his expectations.

’The Dragon Elephant Technique is still functional... it must be thanks to the Six-Thread Ancient Elephant Power,’ Zhaang Ye guessed, a wave of joy washing over him. ’Those threads of Ancient Elephant Power are profoundly mysterious and unbelievably strong. Even a single thread fears no other force...’

Since his Dragon Elephant Power could still be circulated, Zhaang Ye began to activate it as he walked, using it to dispel his exhaustion and intense sleepiness.

Following behind Zhaang Ye, Situ Houtu obviously didn’t dare to sleep either and was also walking one step at a time. By trailing Zhaang Ye, he had one advantage: he could always keep his target in sight.

”Heh, having someone to chase has actually helped dispel some of my weariness. I just hope the kid’s willpower is weaker than mine so I can catch up to him soon!” Situ Houtu muttered under his breath.

But Situ Houtu’s hope was destined to be in vain. After another couple of miles, he suddenly noticed that Zhaang Ye, who was ahead of him, was actually picking up speed. His pace was now noticeably faster than his own, almost like a normal person’s jog!

”Hm?” Situ Houtu’s eyes narrowed, a look of shock on his face. ”What is going on?” he muttered to himself. ”This road is bizarre; the farther you walk, the stronger the aura gets. Even I can only manage to walk one step at a time. For Zhaang Ye to be able to break into a jog under this terrifying pressure... it’s simply unbelievable!”

「Hundreds of miles away, in a grand hall.」

Several Hall Masters watched Zhaang Ye picking up speed, a flicker of confusion in their eyes.

The Second Hall Master spoke, a note of puzzlement in his voice. ”This road Zhaang Ye and Situ Houtu are on is a passage that an Ancient Great Power carved out with his immense ability when setting up an Array.

”Though this passage has existed for tens of thousands of years, it still retains a trace of that Ancient Great Power’s aura. For any Martial Artist below the Martial Arts Seventh Layer, this aura has an immense suppressive effect and will restrain their True Qi, preventing it from circulating.

”Ever since we began using this passage to test willpower, every youth has only grown slower and more exhausted. For this boy, Zhaang Ye, to actually get faster... it’s truly strange.”

The Third Hall Master sounded equally puzzled. ”The aura left behind by an Ancient Great Power, even a mere trace of it, is no small matter. To face such an aura, unless one also possesses a power from Ancient Times, they can only rely on their own willpower to struggle through. For Zhaang Ye to accelerate under an Ancient Great Power’s Suppression is truly astonishing...”

As the Third Hall Master was speaking, he suddenly saw Zhaang Ye, who had been walking so briskly, come to a sudden stop. He just stood there, perfectly still. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.com to vote with Recommendation Tickets and Monthly Passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)