Overlord of the Wilderness

The heavy saber in Zhaang Ye’s hand carved a profound arc as it sliced into the massive shadow of the shovel.

”BOOM!”

Zhaang Ye’s heavy saber struck the shovel’s shadow like a meteor crashing into a volcano, and a tangible Qi Force erupted. Zhaang Ye and Situ Houtu were both top experts of the younger generation. As they unleashed their full power, the air in a radius of dozens of yards filled with the sound of clashing and whistling Powerful Qi. The chaotic energy, sharp as blades, sent a large tree over a dozen yards away flying!

”BOOM!!”

The terrifying Qi Force slammed into the ground, creating a second massive explosion. Amid the roar, a huge crater seven or eight yards in radius was blasted into the hard earth. Chunks of soil and rock shot out in all directions with a piercing whistle.

”AHH!”

A few young men watching the battle from over twenty yards away were struck by the flying rocks. They were sent flying, barely managing to stop themselves dozens of yards further back. Once they steadied themselves, two of them coughed up mouthfuls of blood, their eyes wide with horror.

BAM! BAM! BAM! Zhaang Ye stumbled back three consecutive steps. He felt as if he had been struck by an iron hammer, the impact causing the qi and blood throughout his body to roil. A trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth.

Situ Houtu also fell back three steps and spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning pale.

The saber strike Zhaang Ye had just unleashed first generated a powerful tornado that locked onto Situ Houtu’s position, making it impossible for him to dodge.

Then, the heavy saber struck with the speed of lightning, too fast to even react. The massive shovel shadow that Situ Houtu had conjured with his array was instantly devoured and sliced apart. The extremely condensed Sword Qi stabbed into his body like countless needles. Faced with Zhaang Ye’s incredibly focused Sword Qi, even with his own masterful cultivation, Situ Houtu couldn’t neutralize it and was wounded on the spot.

SHHHHH—

The dirt that had been blasted into the sky rained down like water. Within a radius of several hundred paces, everything was showered in a rain of mud.

Seeing Zhaang Ye completely unharmed, Situ Houtu was horrified. ’In the past two years, I’ve already raised my cultivation to the Mid-stage Martial Arts Six Layers, and my Earth Burial Technique is about to reach the Great Success Realm.

’Furthermore, my master is the Second Hall Master of the True Hall, an expert in the Artifact Refining Dao. After he re-forged this Cyan Light Shovel, he inscribed an array within it. While it can’t compare to a True Artifact, it’s far more powerful than an ordinary Mortal Artifact. Even with all this, I still couldn’t defeat Zhaang Ye. His strength is just too terrifying...’

Situ Houtu took a deep breath, slung the Cyan Light Shovel onto his back, and said with a bitter smile, ”Junior Brother Zhaang, you have great skill. I have lost this battle. In one year, I will seek your guidance on Combat Skills again.”

With that, he strode away.

Only after Situ Houtu was far in the distance did the young men snap back to their senses. Staring at the crater before them—seven or eight yards in radius and several feet deep—they all gasped.

”This Zhaang Ye is so powerful! When he fought us earlier, I’m afraid he didn’t even use thirty percent of his strength!” Having witnessed Zhaang Ye’s incredibly domineering strike, the brothers Qi Bing and Qi Fire suddenly had a new appreciation for his power. They exchanged a glance, each seeing the same look of horror in the other’s eyes.

Atop a cliff several miles away, Fang Caiying watched Zhaang Ye from a distance, a hint of astonishment on her face.

The attack Situ Houtu unleashed by activating the array on his Cyan Light Shovel was immensely powerful. Even an expert at the Peak of the Sixth Layer of the Martial Dao would have been wounded and forced to cough up blood if they took that strike head-on.

Yet Zhaang Ye, despite having inferior cultivation and a lesser weapon, not only managed to withstand Situ Houtu’s final blow but had even injured him in return.

This was something even Fang Caiying found hard to believe!

’What a formidable Body Refining Technique, and what a formidable Saber Technique!’ Fang Caiying’s perception was sharp. She could tell at a glance that Zhaang Ye had won by relying on his powerful Body Refining Technique and his profound Saber Technique.

Fang Caiying had seen Zhaang Ye’s Saber Technique once before, back in Cyan Mulberry City. But the technique he displayed now was a hundred times more powerful than what she remembered. Even she couldn’t fully comprehend the profound mysteries within it!

’I never expected Junior Brother Zhaang to be so talented with the Saber Technique. However, he cultivates Body Refining Techniques. I’m afraid it will be incredibly difficult for him to advance to the True Dao.’ Fang Caiying didn’t know that Zhaang Ye possessed the Ancient Elephant Power, so despite his outstanding performance, she was still not very optimistic about his future.

The True Dao was not so easily reached. In the entire hundred-year history of the Wei Kingdom True Hall, you could count the number of disciples who had reached the True Dao on one hand. At present, not a single disciple in the entire True Hall had managed to break through to the True Dao.

Within the True Hall, there were over thirty experts stuck at the Peak of Martial Arts Ninth Layer. Despite their bitter cultivation day after day, none of them could take that final, crucial step. Even she herself, despite having reached the Peak of Martial Arts Ninth Layer, was still an immense distance away from the True Dao.

”The True Dao is difficult, more difficult than ascending to the heavens!” Fang Caiying bit her lip and murmured, ”I’ll just have to cultivate for a few more years. If I’m still clueless after that, my only option is to find a Daoist partner to cultivate with...”

...

After his great battle with Situ Houtu, Zhaang Ye didn’t immediately set off to hunt for Fierce Beasts. Instead, he began to wander casually around Zhen Dian Mountain.

He had been at the True Hall for over two years now, but he had always been so busy with his cultivation that he never had a chance to properly see the sights of Zhen Dian Mountain. Now that he was finally out and about, he decided to put the hunt for Fierce Beasts on hold for a while to appreciate the scenery and familiarize himself with his surroundings.

Zhen Dian Mountain was tens of thousands of feet high, dotted with countless valleys, vast forests, and even a river several miles wide. The river cascaded down from the mountain’s highest peak, and from a distance, it looked as if a celestial river were flowing down into the mortal realm.

The highest peak on Zhen Dian Mountain was named Rising Sun Peak. Looking down from its summit, the buildings of the True Hall would appear and disappear among the clouds and mist, like a mortal paradise.

After enjoying the beautiful scenery for two days, Zhaang Ye made his way toward the Library Pavilion on Zhen Dian Mountain.

Zhaang Ye planned to visit the Library Pavilion to browse some books and see if he could find a way to make his Pseudo Spirit Tree recover quickly. He also wanted to learn more about the area surrounding the True Hall to make his hunt for Fierce Beasts easier.

”To defeat an enemy with strength is like a great boulder pinning a spirit serpent. The boulder is heavy and clumsy, but under its immense force, no matter how the serpent transforms or how matchless its agility, it cannot escape. It may possess a thousand techniques, but it will be unable to use a single one...”

As he was passing by a large hall, Zhaang Ye suddenly heard a clear, resonant voice. It was faintly infused with True Qi, making it audible for hundreds of yards in every direction.

”Hmm?” Zhaang Ye’s interest was piqued, and he looked toward the hall. Carved above the entrance were two large, ethereal characters, full of profound meaning: ”Daoist Hall.”

’Daoist Hall. It sounds like someone is lecturing on the principles of Martial Arts in there. I should go take a look.’ Curious, Zhaang Ye strode toward the Daoist Hall, but he was stopped at the entrance by a Black-robed Steward.

The Black-robed Steward bowed to Zhaang Ye and said slowly, ”To enter the Daoist Hall and listen to the lecture, you must pay one Essence Stone.”

”Essence Stone?” Zhaang Ye paused, startled. ”What exactly is an Essence Stone?”

The Black-robed Steward chuckled. ”You must be a new disciple to the True Hall, right? No wonder you’ve never heard of Essence Stones.” With that, he began to explain.

As it turned out, an Essence Stone was a type of stone that contained Heaven and Earth Essence Qi. The amount of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi within these stones was far greater than that in an ordinary Essence Qi Pill. Furthermore, it was exceptionally pure and easily absorbed by Martial Artists. If a Martial Artist could use Essence Stones to aid their cultivation, their progress would advance by leaps and bounds.

Not only could humans absorb these Essence Stones, but so could certain Celestial and Earthly Treasures. With a sufficient supply of Essence Stones, the growth rate of such treasures would increase significantly...

Hearing this, Zhaang Ye’s heart stirred. He asked, ”Can a Pseudo Spirit Tree absorb this kind of Essence Stone?”

The Black-robed Steward smiled slightly. ”Of course. The Fourth Hall Master’s Pseudo Spirit Tree, for instance, was cultivated with a massive amount of Essence Stones. Otherwise, how could it have possibly grown to thousands of feet tall in just two hundred years?”

Zhaang Ye’s eyes lit up as he continued to ask, ”How many taels of gold is one Essence Stone worth?”

The Black-robed Steward chuckled. ”Gold isn’t very valuable to us cultivators. If you wanted to trade gold for Essence Stones, you would need one hundred thousand taels of gold just to get a single Low-grade Essence Qi Stone.”

”One hundred thousand taels of gold for a single Essence Stone!”

Hearing this, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but gasp. He had brought several million taels of gold with him to the True Hall, thinking it would be enough to last him for quite a while. He never imagined that gold would be practically worthless here. His several million taels of gold were only worth a few dozen Essence Stones!

’So I’m still just a pauper! I have to make money. I absolutely must earn enough money!’ Zhaang Ye secretly set a new goal for himself. He then asked the steward, ”This Daoist Hall, isn’t it a place where anyone can come to listen? Why the charge?”

The Black-robed Steward smiled slightly and said, ”This Daoist Hall is a place for the disciples of the True Hall to lecture on the Dao. Any True Hall disciple who has some insight into cultivation can enter the Daoist Hall and share their findings. In turn, any disciple who enters to listen must give one Essence Stone to the lecturer. This has been the rule of the Daoist Hall for thousands of years.”

Zhaang Ye’s heart stirred. ”So if I go inside to lecture, and people come to listen, I can also earn Essence Stones, right?”

The Black-robed Steward glanced at Zhaang Ye and chuckled. ”If people are willing to listen to your lecture, then of course you can earn an income. The more listeners you have, the greater your earnings will be. However, young man, I’m afraid you don’t yet have the qualifications to lecture.”

At this, the Black-robed Steward added, ”Those who can enter the Daoist Hall to teach the Martial Dao are almost all great masters at the Martial Arts Ninth Layer. Young man, your cultivation is only at the Martial Arts Fifth Layer. You should focus your efforts on your own cultivation. The qualifications to lecture here are not so easily earned.”

Zhaang Ye said sincerely, ”Thank you for the guidance, Steward.”

After one last, deep look at the Daoist Hall, Zhaang Ye strode away toward the Library Pavilion. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with Recommendation Tickets and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)