Overlord of the Wilderness

”Slay the Hundred-foot Python?” Zhaang Ye’s expression shifted slightly. He stared at the Martial Artist and said in a deep voice, ”Have any powerful experts gone after it? Tell me about them.”

Zhaang Ye possessed two types of Ancient Power, so his simple stare carried an immense authority. The Martial Artist’s heart skipped a beat under Zhaang Ye’s gaze, and he hurriedly said, ”Of course! For instance, Python City has sent several powerful experts, each with cultivation at the Early Stage of the Martial Arts Eighth Layer.”

”Experts from the Da Ling Kingdom True Hall have also arrived, and they have masters at the Martial Arts Eighth Layer as well. Aside from these two great powers, I’ve heard that experts from the Great Success True Hall are on their way, also masters at the Martial Arts Eighth Layer.”

”In addition to those three factions, there are also a few Loose Cultivators who are experts at the Early Stage of the Martial Arts Eighth Layer. Those top experts entered the Python Marsh over twenty days ago. I’m afraid they’ve probably already slain the Hundred-foot Python by now...”

The Martial Artist’s words made Zhaang Ye frown. His Dragon Elephant Skill was powerful, but he still hadn’t broken through to the 6th Layer. With his current strength, dealing with an expert at the Late Stage of the Martial Arts Seventh Layer was no problem, but if he encountered a Martial Arts Eighth Layer expert, it would mean near-certain death.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhaang Ye’s figure abruptly vanished, heading deeper into the Python Marsh.

SKREEEEEE!

After traveling for hundreds of miles, Zhaang Ye suddenly heard an extremely familiar cry. Upon hearing it, a look of joy appeared on his face. ’I can’t believe it. I’ve been cultivating for twenty or thirty days, and the Hundred-foot Python still hasn’t been slain! I must seize this opportunity and find a way to get its flesh and blood to refine a few wisps of Ancient Dragon Power!’

Zhaang Ye continued forward for another fifty-odd miles and suddenly saw Martial Artists ahead of him retreating as if in flight. Slightly alarmed, he called out, ”Friend, what’s happening?”

A Martial Artist with a Martial Arts Sixth Layer cultivation shouted as he flew past, ”The experts from Python City are grabbing people everywhere! You’d better run, fast! Or else you’ll be captured too!”

Zhaang Ye frowned. ”Why are they capturing people?”

”Why? It’s simple. We’re going to catch you and feed you to the snake.” A cold voice suddenly drifted from afar. As the voice arrived, a large man in yellow robes abruptly appeared before Zhaang Ye.

Zhaang Ye raised an eyebrow. ”Feed it to the snake? What do you mean?”

The man in yellow laughed heartily. ”That Hundred-foot Python is far too powerful. It’s already devoured dozens of experts at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer. It has even eaten three masters at the Martial Arts Eighth Layer.”

”To weaken it, our Military Advisor Shao of Python City came up with a plan. We’ll capture all of you, coat your bodies in poison, and send you to be fed to the snake. That’s how we’ll sap its strength. Hey, pal, you look like you’ve got some meat on your bones. Why don’t you take a trip into the Hundred-foot Python’s stomach!”

As he spoke, the man in yellow lunged forward, intending to capture Zhaang Ye and feed him to the snake.

This man in yellow had the cultivation of an Early-stage Seventh Layer Martial Artist. His strike stirred a great gust of wind, its momentum exceptionally fierce. An ordinary Sixth-Layer Expert would have likely been captured in a single clash, destined to become snake food.

Unfortunately for him, he had run into Zhaang Ye. Just as his palm was about to reach Zhaang Ye, Zhaang Ye lashed out with a slap.

SLAP!

Having grasped a sliver of the mysteries of Ancient Dragon Power, Zhaang Ye’s movements had become much more fluid. That simple slap contained countless subtle transformations, making it impossible for the man in yellow to dodge, even with his Early-stage Martial Arts Seventh Layer cultivation. With a loud smack, Zhaang Ye knocked the man’s head to the side, sending his entire body flying dozens of yards through the air.

”Ah! How dare you! You actually dare to strike someone from Python City!” As they shouted, several more men in yellow closed in on Zhaang Ye.

Each of these men in yellow possessed strength at the Early Stage of the Martial Arts Seventh Layer. They lunged at Zhaang Ye in unison, their combined momentum terrifying to the extreme.

Zhaang Ye sneered and barked, ”Bring it on!”

Zhaang Ye was already filled with killing intent toward these men. He knew his strength was nothing compared to the experts at the Martial Arts Eighth Layer. If he wanted to obtain the Hundred-foot Python’s flesh and blood, his only choice was to fish in troubled waters. And to do that, he first had to kill these men from Python City. Their deaths would draw more Martial Artists to the scene, creating the chaos he needed to make his move.

Zhaang Ye’s figure flashed, moving at the speed of sound in an instant. He left a long, cyan afterimage as his palm shot straight down toward one of the men in yellow.

Zhaang Ye’s Ancient Dragon Power and Ancient Elephant Power had begun to merge. With these two forces combined, his attacks were much faster, and the Devouring Power they contained was far more ferocious. The Martial Arts Seventh Layer expert saw Zhaang Ye’s palm reaching for him and was just about to counterattack when he felt a terrifying Devouring Power yank him forward.

SQUELCH!

Before the man in yellow could even strike, Zhaang Ye crushed his head with a single palm strike.

”Ah!”

The other men in yellow hadn’t expected Zhaang Ye to be so powerful. He had casually slapped an Early-stage Martial Arts Seventh Layer expert to death. They were all stunned.

In the moment the men were stunned, Zhaang Ye’s figure blurred into motion. He made a grasping gesture from a distance, and a Tornado suddenly appeared, trapping one of the men.

Before the man could break free from the Tornado, Zhaang Ye closed the distance in a single stride. His palm sliced through the air with a piercing whistle, descending like a blade on the trapped man.

Having seen Zhaang Ye slay his companion, the man knew Zhaang Ye’s strength far exceeded his own. Seeing the Hand Blade chop toward him, he hastily raised his own palms to parry.

CRACK! Zhaang Ye’s Hand Blade slammed viciously into the man’s palms. Dragon Elephant Power erupted forth, crashing down with the weight of a mountain.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK! Zhaang Ye’s Hand Blade instantly shattered the man’s hands and, amid his agonized screams, tore through his chest. The potent Dragon Elephant Power instantly pulverized his internal organs.

HISS!

The terrifying power Zhaang Ye displayed by killing two Martial Arts Seventh Layer experts in the blink of an eye utterly horrified the three remaining men. They exchanged a look, then suddenly fled in three different directions, vanishing in an instant.

Seeing Zhaang Ye slay the experts from Python City, the fleeing Loose Cultivators promptly turned back and continued onward. After about another fifteen miles, a medium-sized lake appeared before Zhaang Ye.

The lake was a few miles in circumference, with dozens of Martial Artists standing around its shore. In the middle of the lake, a massive python, a full hundred zhang in length, lay coiled with its enormous head held high.

Zhaang Ye recognized it with a single glance—this was none other than the Hundred-foot Python. Though it was completely surrounded, the Giant Python showed no fear. Its gaze held a trace of arrogance, and a terrifying Suppression radiated for miles, so potent that not one of the thousands of Martial Artists surrounding it dared to make a move.

What Zhaang Ye found strange was that the Red Meat Crown on its head, from which he had sliced a piece, had somehow grown back. The only difference was that the color was much fainter, and there was a distinct gap.

That gap was clearly Zhaang Ye’s handiwork. He had sliced off a chunk of flesh weighing a good five or six pounds from the crown. Even for a creature as magical and powerful as the Hundred-foot Python, it was impossible to regenerate such a large piece so quickly.

’What a magnificent Red Meat Crown!’ Zhaang Ye thought, his eyes fixed on the python’s head. ’If I could refine that entire thing, I could probably create five wisps of Ancient Dragon Power. This time, I absolutely have to find a way to take that big, fleshy crown. I need to reach the 6th Layer of the Dragon Elephant Skill, and fast!’

After assessing the Hundred-foot Python, Zhaang Ye scanned the experts around the lake. There were several dozen of them, mostly at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer, with a few whose cultivation had reached the Seventh Layer Peak.

The most powerful of all were five experts at the Martial Arts Eighth Layer. These five were split into four groups, all subtly wary of one another.

WHOOSH!

Just as Zhaang Ye was discreetly observing the experts, one of them—an expert at the Late Stage of the Martial Arts Seventh Layer—casually snatched up a person and hurled them toward the Hundred-foot Python.

Only then did Zhaang Ye notice that dozens of people were lying at the expert’s feet. Needless to say, these were the unlucky souls designated as food for the Hundred-foot Python.

”AHHH—”

The thrown man’s entire body had a greenish sheen, clearly coated in a potent poison. Seeing himself hurtling toward the Hundred-foot Python, the man let out a bloodcurdling scream, but it was utterly useless.

GULP!

The Hundred-foot Python saw the person flying toward it and swallowed him in a single gulp.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The Martial Artist at the Late Stage of the Seventh Layer continued to throw people, one after another. The Hundred-foot Python simply opened its massive maw and devoured each person tossed its way.

Watching the Giant Python’s behavior, Zhaang Ye shook his head slightly. ’This python’s sentience still isn’t fully developed,’ he thought. ’If it knew how to think, it would try to break out immediately. No matter how many tricks these Martial Artists have, it would be useless.’

By now, the Hundred-foot Python had devoured nearly a hundred people in a row. Its movements began to grow sluggish, and its once-raised head started to droop.

”Kill!” someone suddenly roared. With that shout, the dozens of experts surrounding the lake charged toward the Hundred-foot Python! (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.)