Overlord of the Wilderness

Zhaang Ye had been about to leave, but after hearing the black-robed middle-aged man’s introduction, his heart pounded with excitement. He had happened to find a fragmented Boundary Stone in the Mammoth graveyard. ’If I can really open up a space within this fragmented Boundary Stone, I’ll never have to lug hundreds of pounds of stuff around again. I also won’t have to worry about running out of room to store things!’

’A personal space of my very own... It’s an absolute must-have for robbing and murdering, not to mention a great convenience for home and travel!’

’I have to get my hands on this fragmented map!’ Zhaang Ye decided instantly. However, he didn’t bid right away. He quietly waited for the people in the VIP hall to make their offers first.

The Martial Artists in the VIP hall were also quite interested in the fragmented map. After all, their cultivation had hit a bottleneck, and they were eager to improve. To achieve another breakthrough, they had no choice but to seek out new opportunities. This legendary Spatial Array was said to hold infinite mysteries. If they could just study this Ancient Array, they might gain some enlightenment and break through.

”Eight hundred Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones!”

”One thousand two hundred Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones!”

”One thousand five hundred Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones!”

”Heh heh, this old man bids two thousand Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones!”

”I bid two thousand five hundred! Two thousand five hundred Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones!”

Driven by the Martial Artists’ bidding war, the price of the fragmented map skyrocketed. In the blink of an eye, it had climbed to two thousand five hundred Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones. That amount was equivalent to the entire fortune of a minor family. Seeing the price reach such a level, some Martial Artists shook their heads in resignation and withdrew from the auction.

Just then, the man who had been bidding against Zhaang Ye earlier spoke up. In a raspy voice, he slowly said, ”Three thousand Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones!”

Another Martial Artist hesitated for a moment before saying in a deep voice, ”Three thousand one hundred Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones!”

Without a second thought, the tall, thin man immediately called out, ”Three thousand five hundred Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones!”

HISS!

Hearing the tall, thin fellow raise the price to such a level, nearly all the other Martial Artists fell silent. Although they were powerful Ninth-Layer Experts of the Martial Dao, three thousand five hundred Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones was an immense, unbearable sum. Even with the support of their families, they couldn’t produce that many Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones on the spot.

”The Ancient Space Array may be wondrous and profound, but it is also incredibly dangerous. One could be torn to shreds by the array at any moment, or be trapped in the void forever. To spend so much money for such a huge risk... This old man... withdraws.” The Martial Artist who had bid three thousand one hundred Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones announced his withdrawal from the auction.

’I can’t believe this old geezer has his eye on this fragmented map too!’ Zhaang Ye thought, his brow furrowing slightly as he listened to the tall, thin man drive up the price. With someone like him bidding, Zhaang Ye would have to be prepared to bleed a fortune to get the map.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhaang Ye shouted, ”Four thousand Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones!”

Zhaang Ye no longer had any Top-grade or Top-grade Essence Qi Stones on him, but he had something else: an Essence Stone. The Essence Stone Zhaang Ye had obtained in the Little World was a Mid-grade Essence Stone, which contained a profound amount of Heaven and Earth Essence. A single one was equivalent to one hundred Top-grade Essence Qi Stones, or ten thousand Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones.

It was precisely because he possessed this Mid-grade Essence Stone that Zhaang Ye dared to raise the price to four thousand Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones in one go.

When the Martial Artists in the VIP hall heard the price Zhaang Ye called out, they all sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. The number was simply too astonishing. Even a great family from the Thirteen Abandoned Countries would need time to prepare such a large amount of Essence Qi Stones. The fact that Zhaang Ye had called out this price without even batting an eye startled even the black-robed middle-aged man.

”Four thousand Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones! Any other bids? Any other bids?” The black-robed middle-aged man repeated Zhaang Ye’s price, his gaze falling upon the tall, thin Martial Artist. Among all the Martial Artists in the VIP hall, he was the only one likely to bid again.

And indeed, after a moment of hesitation, the tall, thin Martial Artist finally named a new price: ”Four thousand two hundred Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones.”

This time, the man had only raised the bid by two hundred. Clearly, the current price was approaching his limit. Zhaang Ye rejoiced inwardly and called out again, ”Four thousand five hundred Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones!”

The tall, thin Martial Artist grunted in anger, clearly displeased with Zhaang Ye. However, he seemed to covet the fragmented map a great deal. After hearing Zhaang Ye’s bid, he once again named a price, saying, ”Four thousand six hundred Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones.”

’This old geezer still won’t give up! Looks like I need to be more ruthless!’ Zhaang Ye thought. Then, in a deep voice, he declared, ”Five thousand Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones!”

GASP!

The Martial Artists in the VIP hall all began to murmur in low voices. The price Zhaang Ye had called out was far beyond their expectations; even the black-robed middle-aged man never imagined that a fragmented map could fetch such an astronomical price.

The tall, thin Martial Artist gave Zhaang Ye a deep look, then sat motionless in his chair, not saying another word.

”Five thousand Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones, going once! Five thousand Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones, going twice! Five thousand Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones, sold!” The black-robed middle-aged man shouted three times, then brought his gavel down with a light tap. He turned to Zhaang Ye and said, ”For five thousand Mid-grade Essence Qi Stones, this fragmented map is yours!”

Zhaang Ye nodded slightly. He walked forward slowly and handed a small wooden box to the black-robed middle-aged man. The man opened the box a crack and felt a dense wave of Water Elemental Qi wash over him. A look of astonishment flashed in his eyes. ”A Mid-grade Essence Stone! Excellent!”

Mid-grade Essence Stones were items used for cultivation by True Dao Experts. They didn’t contain Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, but rather the purer and denser Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. This Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was extremely similar to the Innate True Qi within the body of a True Dao Expert, allowing them to directly refine the Heaven and Earth Essence within the stones to rapidly increase their strength.

Seeing the Mid-grade Essence Stone from Zhaang Ye, the black-robed middle-aged man said no more. With a flick of his wide sleeve, he stored the wooden box away. Then he clapped his hands lightly, and a maidservant quickly brought fifty Top-grade Essence Qi Stones and the fragmented map to Zhaang Ye, completing the transaction.

Having unexpectedly acquired the map, Zhaang Ye felt a little more anticipation for the items that followed. But to his disappointment, while the dozens of items auctioned next were all rare treasures, they were completely useless to him.

After the auction ended, some of the Ninth-Layer Experts left the VIP hall. Zhaang Ye also slowly departed and headed outside. At that moment, he noticed that the tall, thin man had also gotten up and was following him out. The man didn’t make a move against Zhaang Ye, but his Spiritual Power was locked firmly onto him. When Zhaang Ye walked, he walked; when Zhaang Ye stopped, he stopped.

Being followed so brazenly was something Zhaang Ye couldn’t tolerate, no matter how good his self-restraint. He stopped, stared at the tall, thin man, and said coldly, ”Old man, who are you? What is the meaning of this, following me so closely?”

A flash of anger crossed the tall, thin man’s eyes at being called ”old man.” He said in his raspy voice, ”I am Jiang Pingchuan, Third Steward of the Jiang Family of the Great Shang Kingdom. The reason I’m following you is simple: I want the map you’re carrying. That map is completely useless to you. It would be best if you obediently hand it over to this old man. Otherwise, I’m afraid you might have... an accident.”

Zhaang Ye laughed coldly. ”Old man, are you trying to threaten me? Don’t you know that fighting is forbidden on Ping Mountain?”

Jiang Pingchuan gave a sinister smile. ”Of course this old man knows we can’t fight here. That’s why I haven’t made a move yet; I’m merely following you. However, it’s hard to say what might happen once we leave Ping Mountain. So, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll obediently hand the item over to me...”

Zhaang Ye burst out laughing. When he was done, he stared at Jiang Pingchuan and said slowly, ”Old man, what gives you the right to demand I hand anything over to you? Who the hell do you think you are?”

”You...” Jiang Pingchuan trembled with rage, and waves of killing intent washed over Zhaang Ye. His eyes were locked on Zhaang Ye. ”Brat, unless you stay on Ping Mountain for the rest of your life, you’re dead! You’re dead!”

Zhaang Ye laughed again. ”You look like you’re seventy or eighty, don’t you? At that age, you’ll be the one dying first! How about this: when you die, I’ll be merciful and take care of your corpse for you! Hmm, how should I handle it? I think feeding your body to the dogs would be a good way...”

The conflict between Zhaang Ye and the man quickly drew a crowd of onlookers. Hearing Zhaang Ye’s scathing words, they were all stunned. This Jiang Pingchuan was the Third Steward of the Jiang Family, not only a great Ninth-Layer Expert of the Martial Dao but also a man with a massive faction behind him. For Zhaang Ye to dare mock such a powerful figure so viciously, it was as if he had a death wish.

”Shut up! You... you’re infuriating this old man to death!” Hearing Zhaang Ye’s utterly vicious words, Jiang Pingchuan nearly spat up blood. He pointed a finger straight at Zhaang Ye. ”Brat, this old man will shatter every bone in your body, drain every last drop of blood from you, and torture you until you wish you were dead!”

Seeing Jiang Pingchuan’s flustered and exasperated expression, Zhaang Ye laughed. ”All talk! Old man, I’m leaving Ping Mountain right now. If you’ve got the guts, come after me!” As he spoke, several tornadoes suddenly appeared around him. With a deafening BOOM, the tornadoes swept Zhaang Ye up into the air.

Jiang Pingchuan was startled by Zhaang Ye’s speed. He hurriedly used his Body Technique to give chase, but just as he flew into the air, Zhaang Ye was already several miles away. Unable to catch up, Jiang Pingchuan gritted his teeth and roared, ”Junior, leave your name!”

Zhaang Ye’s voice drifted back from afar: ”Listen up, old man! I am Zhaang Ye, the eighth disciple under the Fourth Hall Master of the Wei Kingdom True Hall! Next time you mess with me, I’ll definitely kill you and feed you to the dogs...”

”ARGH!!!” Jiang Pingchuan roared, a murderous glint in his eyes. ”A True Disciple of the Wei Kingdom True Hall! No wonder he’s so arrogant! That brat... I will make sure you die a miserable death! That’s right! I will put all my effort into training Jiang Ailiang and have him kill that brat at the Newcomer King Selection Tournament in October!” (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.)