Overlord of the Wilderness

”In the Ancient Wilderness, there was a river in the heavens called the Celestial River. The Celestial River gathered the waters of all the myriad rivers of the heavens, vast and boundless, reaching everywhere. Inspired by this, I, after forty-nine years of arduous contemplation, created this Cultivation Technique in an attempt to fuse the powers of the Ancient Races into one body...” Zhaang Ye softly read aloud the opening words of this Cultivation Technique.

The Cultivation Technique left behind by the Great Wilderness Ascendant was called the *True Transformation Technique*. According to the Great Wilderness Ascendant, if one cultivated this technique to Great Success, they could obtain an incomparably tyrannical power. This power was enough to suppress the numerous experts on the Desolate Continent and allow one to dominate it.

However, after a careful examination, Zhaang Ye’s brow furrowed.

It turned out that the *True Transformation Technique* was an incomplete Cultivation Technique. The Great Wilderness Ascendant had only created the Martial Arts Chapter and the first layer of the True Dao Chapter. The subsequent parts of the technique had not yet been created. Moreover, despite its endless miraculous uses, one had to obtain the powers of three Ancient Races to successfully cultivate it.

In other words, the *True Transformation Technique* was a wondrous method of assimilating the powers of three Ancient Races to unleash earth-shattering might.

The ancient Celestial River gathered countless rivers, thus forming an indescribably vast river. Similarly, the *True Transformation Technique* gathered the powers of three Ancient Races to obtain earth-shattering strength.

”All rivers run into the sea; its capacity makes it vast.” Zhaang Ye suddenly recalled this phrase.

”This Cultivation Technique is extremely profound. If I could really cultivate it successfully, I would surely be able to join the ranks of the powerful. But the powers of three Ancient Races... that’s incredibly difficult...” Zhaang Ye murmured, shaking his head slightly.

The Ancient Races were the rulers of the Ancient Wilderness. They possessed earth-shattering might and inconceivable Divine Powers. A casual strike from them could topple mountains and overturn seas, and a single thought could pierce through layers of the void to slay an enemy tens of thousands of miles away. As for the Ancient Great Powers, they could even create their own pocket dimensions, opening up worlds that belonged to them and wielding the ability to destroy heaven and earth.

Zhaang Ye was currently just a Martial Artist at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer, a vast distance away from the True Dao. With such meager strength, an expert from the Ancient Races could kill him with a single breath. ’Obtaining their power? That’s simply a daydream!’

Without being able to obtain the power of the Ancient Races, the *True Transformation Technique* was impossible to cultivate. However, Zhaang Ye wasn’t disappointed. Certain profound aspects of the *True Transformation Technique* were a great source of inspiration for him. With the *True Transformation Technique* as a reference, Zhaang Ye was confident he could deduce the 6th Layer of the Dragon Elephant Skill within one or two years.

”The *True Transformation Technique* is incomparably profound. It’s a shame that I only have the Ancient Elephant Power; the other two Ancient Powers are simply impossible to find.” A trace of regret flashed across Zhaang Ye’s face as he thought, ’I hope I’ll have the chance to cultivate it in the future.’

Pushing these thoughts aside, Zhaang Ye made a plan for the time to come.

First, he wanted to raise his aptitude to the Fifth Grade. With a Fifth Grade aptitude, his efficiency at absorbing Heaven and Earth Essence Qi would be higher, and his Cultivation speed would increase as well.

His second goal was to cultivate the Dragon Elephant Skill to the Late Fifth Layer. After absorbing the Innate True Qi of several Hall Masters, the Dragon Elephant Power within Zhaang Ye’s body had increased dramatically, bringing him ever closer to the Late Fifth Layer. Zhaang Ye believed that after one or two years of Cultivation, he would definitely be able to cultivate the Dragon Elephant Skill to the Late Fifth Layer.

The third goal was to deduce the Dragon Elephant Skill. Back at the Cyan Mulberry Zhaang Family, Zhaang Ye had already deduced the Dragon Elephant Skill to the Late Fifth Layer, but he had no clue about the Sixth Layer. Now that Zhaang Ye had obtained the *True Transformation Technique*, using it as a reference would save him a lot of trouble in his deductions. With one or two years, he was certain he could deduce the Dragon Elephant Skill to the Sixth Layer.

Zhaang Ye’s fourth goal was to cultivate his Mountain-Breaking Slash to the Great Success Realm. Zhaang Ye had already cultivated the Mountain-Breaking Slash to the Minor Achievement Realm. He only needed to completely fuse the three types of Rotating Power and the Dissolving Power, and his Saber Technique would reach the Great Success Realm.

Once the Mountain-Breaking Slash reached the Great Success Realm and was executed in coordination with the Dragon Elephant Skill, his combat strength would be greatly enhanced. At that time, even if he faced experts at the Late Martial Arts Sixth Layer, or even the Sixth Layer Peak, Zhaang Ye would have no reason to be afraid.

Zhaang Ye had one final goal: to raise his Cultivation to the Martial Arts Fifth Layer. The Dragon Elephant Skill was a Body Refining Technique. Although it provided formidable combat strength, it was not suitable for Alchemy, Artifact Refining, or Array Formation. Therefore, if Zhaang Ye wanted to learn more skills, he had to raise his Cultivation level.

...

「One year later.」

The Heavy Saber in Zhaang Ye’s hand swept out like the wind, each slash kicking up a massive Tornado. This massive Tornado was over twenty zhang tall, and as it spun, it flung boulders weighing several hundred jin into the sky.

Amidst the tornadoes, the Lightning Golden Monkey let out a series of strange cries. Its body darted about like lightning, terrified that one of the tornadoes would send it flying into the air.

The tornadoes were formidable, but the Devouring Power within Zhaang Ye’s Saber’s Momentum was even more so. The Lightning Golden Monkey’s speed was slightly faster than the speed of sound, but under the influence of the Devouring Power in Zhaang Ye’s Saber’s Momentum, its speed instantly dropped by a notch. It could no longer move with its usual fluid grace.

With its Body Technique restricted, the Lightning Golden Monkey was immediately at a complete disadvantage. With every slash Zhaang Ye made, it had to desperately dodge, looking to be in a sorry state.

SKREEE SKREEE—

Seeing Zhaang Ye’s seemingly endless slashes, the Lightning Golden Monkey grew anxious. It waved its arms at Zhaang Ye, as if telling him to stop.

Zhaang Ye laughed heartily and said, ”Little monkey, ready to admit defeat?”

The Lightning Golden Monkey nodded helplessly.

HAHAHAHA— Seeing the Lightning Golden Monkey nod, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but let out a great laugh, thinking, ’This monkey has finally been defeated by my hand!’

In the past year, Zhaang Ye had first consumed three Bone Marrow Cleansing Pills, raising his aptitude from the Sixth Grade to the Fifth Grade, completing his first goal.

After improving his aptitude, Zhaang Ye spent most of his time cultivating the Dragon Elephant Skill.

After a year of Cultivation, Zhaang Ye finally completed the last tempering of his entire skeleton, cultivating the Dragon Elephant Skill to the Late Fifth Layer.

After cultivating the Dragon Elephant Skill to the Late Fifth Layer, Zhaang Ye’s bones became as hard as refined steel. When they knocked against each other, they produced a clear, metallic ringing sound that was surprisingly pleasant to the ear.

A person’s physical strength depends on their muscles and bones. Zhaang Ye’s muscles and bones were now exceptionally tough, so his strength had also increased tremendously. The Mountain-Breaking Slash he now executed could create a tornado with an extremely strong Devouring Power with every slash. And, driven by the Dragon Elephant Skill, Zhaang Ye’s slashing speed had slightly increased, and his power had grown much greater.

In terms of speed, Zhaang Ye was still no match for the Lightning Golden Monkey. But under the impetus of the Dragon Elephant Skill, the might of his Mountain-Breaking Slash had greatly increased. When his Heavy Saber slashed out, the Devouring Power was like a giant whale sucking in water, and the force contained within the blade was as heavy as a mountain. Even the immensely strong Lightning Golden Monkey no longer dared to block his Heavy Saber directly.

With the greatly enhanced might of his Mountain-Breaking Slash, Zhaang Ye finally succeeded in defeating the Lightning Golden Monkey, completely subduing it.

Having cultivated the Dragon Elephant Skill to the Late Fifth Layer, Zhaang Ye had completed his second goal. After a period of consolidation, he spent the following time simultaneously deducing the 6th Layer of the Dragon Elephant Skill and cultivating his Mountain-Breaking Slash.

After cultivating the Dragon Elephant Skill to the Late Fifth Layer, Zhaang Ye already had a faint inkling of the 6th Layer’s Realm. Coupled with the fact that he had obtained the *True Transformation Technique*, his deduction of the technique proceeded quite smoothly.

As for his Mountain-Breaking Slash, he had already mastered the basic forces. What he lacked now was refinement. Refinement was something that required time to polish, so Zhaang Ye cultivated silently with a calm and unhurried mindset. Although his Saber Technique did not improve by leaps and bounds, he made a little progress every day, improving bit by bit.

...

While Zhaang Ye was in secluded Cultivation, two young men arrived outside the valley.

These two young men had identical faces, but their auras were polar opposites. One radiated a fiery aura, as if he might burst into flames at any moment. The other was filled with a gentle, water-like yin aura, making him seem like a deep pool.

The two young men stared at the valley for a while, their eyes filled with envy.

The young man with the fiery aura sighed dejectedly. ”A True Disciple is a True Disciple! The moment this Zhaang Ye was accepted by the Fourth Hall Master as a True Disciple, he immediately got a place like this to cultivate. The Heaven and Earth Essence Qi in this valley is so dense! If we could go inside to cultivate, our Cultivation speed would be much faster.”

The young man filled with the gentle yin aura nodded slightly and said, ”The Heaven and Earth Essence Qi in this valley isn’t just much denser than outside; it’s also very pure, perfect for Cultivation. With Zhaang Ye cultivating in there, I’m afraid his Cultivation speed is much faster than ours. But it’s been almost two years, why hasn’t he come out yet?”

The young man with the fiery aura shook his head slightly and said, ”He’s probably cultivating some powerful technique. Let’s go. We’ll come back for him later.”

The gentle-looking youth waved his arm slightly and said, ”No matter how powerful the Cultivation Technique he’s practicing is, he can’t be more powerful than us. When he comes out of seclusion, we must defeat him and take this valley to cultivate in for a while!”

As they spoke, the two quickly walked away.

After the two young men had walked away, Fang Caiying’s figure suddenly appeared outside the valley. She looked at the mist-shrouded valley and suddenly gave a light laugh. ”This junior brother... ever since he came to the True Hall, he’s done nothing but train with his head down. I’m afraid he doesn’t even know some of the True Hall’s rules. To encourage disciples in their Cultivation and to increase their combat experience, our True Hall allows disciples of the same generation to challenge each other.

Zhaang Ye is a bit too young. Becoming a True Disciple at such a tender age has left many unconvinced. He hasn’t even come out of seclusion yet, and several groups have already come looking to challenge him. I hope Zhaang Ye has made significant progress in these two years, or else our Master’s reputation will be completely ruined.” (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote with Recommendation Tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)