Overlord of the Wilderness

In the middle of the valley, Zhaang Ye brandished his heavy saber, slashing into the mist again and again.

Zhaang Ye’s heavy saber weighed six hundred and ninety-eight jin, and his Dragon Elephant Skill was an equally overbearing cultivation technique. Usually, when he executed the Mountain-Breaking Slash, his saber technique felt heavy and domineering. But now, his slashes revealed a certain lightness and ease within their weight.

Under the might of Zhaang Ye’s heavy saber, the ethereal mist in the valley transformed into a tornado dozens of zhang high, solid and unyielding. The tornado rumbled as it spun, pulling in all the surrounding mist.

The tornado continuously morphed, shrinking in size as its rotational speed increased. In the end, the condensing mist actually transformed into a crystal-clear sphere of water two to three zhang wide, which hung in the air, spinning with a low WHIR.

BOOM!

The sphere spun faster and faster until it finally exploded. A visible wave of Qi Force swept across the ground like a hurricane, scraping away the top layer of soil before slamming hard into the valley walls. The entire valley trembled from the impact.

’Heh, my Mountain-Breaking Slash has finally reached Great Success!’ Zhaang Ye effortlessly sheathed his heavy saber, a faint smile gracing his lips.

For the past year, he had been assiduously practicing the Mountain-Breaking Slash every day, attempting to perfectly fuse several different forces. Now, Zhaang Ye had finally mastered them all. He could control the weight of his blade at will, and a single slash possessed both mountain-shattering might and an indescribable agility. His saber technique had reached the Great Success Realm, allowing him to wield it as he pleased.

’Now that the Mountain-Breaking Slash has reached the Great Success Realm, and I’ve successfully deduced the 6th Layer of the Dragon Elephant Skill, I’ve completed four of the five goals I set for my seclusion. I must raise my cultivation to the Martial Arts Fifth Layer and complete my final objective.’ Zhaang Ye’s mind quickly regained its calm. He strode over to the Pseudo Spirit Tree, settled down cross-legged beneath it, and began his cultivation.

The Heaven and Earth Essence Qi gathered by this Pseudo Spirit Tree was far less dense than that of the Fourth Hall Master’s, but it was exceptionally pure. With its help, Zhaang Ye had already reached the peak of the Martial Arts Fourth Layer five months ago and was only a hair’s breadth from the Martial Arts Fifth Layer.

After more than half a year of cultivation, the True Qi in Zhaang Ye’s Dantian and meridians had grown increasingly abundant and dense. At this point, all he needed to do was expand his Dantian one more time to break through to the Martial Arts Fifth Layer.

「One month later.」

More and more Heaven and Earth Essence Qi gathered around Zhaang Ye. Even a portion of the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi from the treetop of the Pseudo Spirit Tree was drawn toward him.

WHOOSH!

The gathered Heaven and Earth Essence Qi suddenly drilled into Zhaang Ye’s body. As the last wisp vanished, his body jolted, and a tangible current of air swept out like a rod, launching stones more than ten zhang away into the sky.

Upon reaching the Fifth Layer of True Qi cultivation, one could achieve Transforming Flow into Rod. The True Qi that Zhaang Ye had just unintentionally released was so condensed it acted like a physical rod; with just a light sweep, everything within ten zhang was sent flying. This was a unique ability possessed only by those who had reached the Martial Arts Fifth Layer.

’I’ve finally broken through to the Martial Arts Fifth Layer!’ Zhaang Ye opened his eyes and let out a long, relieved sigh.

Now that his cultivation had entered the Martial Arts Fifth Layer, the True Qi within Zhaang Ye’s body was far more potent. The potent True Qi and the formidable Dragon Elephant Power circulated ceaselessly through him, filling his entire body with a wonderfully powerful sensation.

SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK—

The Lightning Golden Monkey suddenly appeared. It pointed one arm at Zhaang Ye and the other at the top of the Pseudo Spirit Tree, squeaking furiously. Its expression was one of extreme anger; if it weren’t afraid of Zhaang Ye’s formidable strength, it would have charged him already.

’Hm? What’s this monkey so worked up about?’

Puzzled, Zhaang Ye glanced toward the top of the Pseudo Spirit Tree. What he saw made his brow furrow—

The layer of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi at the treetop of the Pseudo Spirit Tree was completely gone!

With the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi gone, the Pseudo Spirit Tree had become listless, looking like a gravely ill person.

’Uh...’ It dawned on Zhaang Ye what had happened, and he couldn’t help but smile wryly.

It turned out that during his breakthrough to the Martial Arts Fifth Layer, Zhaang Ye had frantically absorbed Heaven and Earth Essence Qi. His Soul Power was stronger than that of an ordinary Martial Artist, and his Willpower was exceptionally focused. As a result, he had rapidly absorbed the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi that the Pseudo Spirit Tree had painstakingly gathered. In just one month, Zhaang Ye had devoured it all.

Although a Pseudo Spirit Tree could gather Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, it also needed that very essence qi to survive. By absorbing it all at once, Zhaang Ye had left the tree in a state where it would likely take decades to recover its Primordial Qi. No wonder the Lightning Golden Monkey was so furious.

The Lightning Golden Monkey let out a furious squeal, then its body abruptly transformed into a streak of golden light and vanished onto the face of the nearby cliff.

Zhaang Ye looked at the Pseudo Spirit Tree and scratched his head, thinking, ’Even though this Pseudo Spirit Tree is still small, it’s a huge help to my cultivation. If I let it die, not only will my progress slow down significantly, but I’ll also have no way to explain this to Master. It looks like I’ll have to leave the valley and find a way to help it quickly recover its Primordial Qi.’

As Zhaang Ye was lost in thought, a squeaking sound suddenly came from above. He looked up to see that the Lightning Golden Monkey had returned to the cliff at some point. It was dragging an enormous Fierce Beast weighing tens of thousands of jin with just one arm, its blood gushing down like a waterfall.

SQUEAK SQUEAK— The Lightning Golden Monkey let out a couple of squeaks, and with a flick of its arm, it tossed the massive Fierce Beast down. The creature’s enormous body slammed into the ground, making the entire valley jump.

The Lightning Golden Monkey descended in a streak of golden light, landed on the ground, and dragged the battered, bloody Fierce Beast step by step to the foot of the Pseudo Spirit Tree.

THUD!

With a swing of its arm, the Lightning Golden Monkey tossed the massive Fierce Beast against the roots of the Pseudo Spirit Tree.

The moment the massive Fierce Beast landed at the base of the Pseudo Spirit Tree, dozens of black roots erupted from the soil, coiling around the carcass like giant pythons. To Zhaang Ye’s astonishment, the roots deftly bypassed the creature’s tough hide and burrowed into its body.

SSSSSSSS—

A horrifying noise filled the air. In less than an hour, the dozens of roots had drained the massive Fierce Beast, leaving nothing but its skin behind.

After absorbing the massive Fierce Beast, the Pseudo Spirit Tree looked as though it had consumed a powerful tonic. Every leaf perked up, emitting a faint green glow. A sliver of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi had even returned to its crown.

Seeing the Pseudo Spirit Tree’s transformation, a realization dawned on Zhaang Ye. ’So, this Pseudo Spirit Tree needs to absorb the flesh and blood of Fierce Beasts to recover quickly. But its recovery speed is painfully slow. A beast weighing tens of thousands of jin only restored a tiny fraction of its vitality. To make a full recovery, it would need at least a hundred more. No wonder the four great families in Cyan Mulberry City organized the ”Cyan Mulberry Fruit Competition” to get the Cyan Mulberry Tree to produce more fruit...’

SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK—

The Lightning Golden Monkey now pointed at the Fierce Beast’s empty hide and squeaked insistently.

Zhaang Ye smiled wryly. ”You want me to go hunt Fierce Beasts for this Pseudo Spirit Tree to eat?”

The Lightning Golden Monkey nodded.

”Alright, alright. I’ve completed all the cultivation goals I set for myself. It’s about time I went out for a bit, anyway,” Zhaang Ye muttered.

Zhaang Ye had already finished his deductions for the 6th Layer of the Dragon Elephant Skill. According to his findings, the best way to successfully master it was to go out, slay giant pythons, and extract the trace of Dragon Power from their bodies.

Giant pythons were an offshoot of the Ancient Dragon Clan and possessed incredibly long lifespans. Some of the most powerful giant pythons contained a trace of power from their ancient ancestors. After tens of millions of years, this Dragon Power had become extremely diluted, but Dragon Power was still Dragon Power. Even the faintest trace of it had unbelievably wondrous effects.

Dragons are masters of transformation—they can become large or small, long or short, visible or invisible. They can soar to the highest heavens or lurk within the deepest abyss; they are infinitely versatile and unpredictable. As the unique power of the Dragon Race, Dragon Power shared this same protean nature.

If the versatility of Dragon Power and the overbearing might of Elephant Power could be combined, one could cultivate an entirely new form of power. This new power would have countless wondrous applications; it might even be possible to use it to break through to the True Dao.

Having made up his mind, Zhaang Ye no longer hesitated. He quickly gathered his belongings, shouldered his heavy saber, and headed for the valley exit.

An array guarded the valley entrance. When Zhaang Ye reached it, he took out his jade token and pressed it against a stone tablet. With a loud RUMBLE, the entire valley trembled slightly, and a path through the array opened.

Zhaang Ye took a deep breath and strode forward.

Just then, he heard someone shout, ”Aha, Zhaang Ye’s out!”

”Oh? So he’s finally out!”

”Heh, he finally came out! This is going to be good!”

Zhaang Ye looked over, startled, to see dozens of young men standing just outside the valley. They were all staring at him, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

Just then, two identical-looking young men strode forward and said coldly, ”Zhaang Ye, you’re finally out. We’re here to challenge you!”(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with Recommendation Tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)