Overlord of the Wilderness

The gazes of Red Cliff Celestial Ape, Mo Luo, and Zhaang Ye clashed mid-air. An instant later, immense auras erupted from both Mo Luo and Red Cliff Celestial Ape in unison. The two powerful presences stirred the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, and in a flash, the wind and clouds roiled. The very air for dozens of miles around seemed to collapse, pressing straight down on Zhaang Ye!

Stirring the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi—this was the power of a True Dao Expert. During the entrance tournament, both Mo Luo and Red Cliff Celestial Ape had been defeated by Zhaang Ye, suffering great humiliation. After advancing to the True Dao, their confidence had soared. They had simultaneously released their auras, stirring the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, intending to humiliate Zhaang Ye in return.

A glint of golden light flashed through Zhaang Ye’s eyes.

WHOOM!

An equally immense aura erupted from Zhaang Ye, slamming directly into the auras of Mo Luo and Red Cliff Celestial Ape. The three forces collided in the air with a thunderous roar, and a brilliant light illuminated the surrounding dozens of miles, making everything as bright as day!

THUD! THUD!

Mo Luo and Red Cliff Celestial Ape were each forced back a step. Zhaang Ye’s figure swayed slightly, but his body remained firmly rooted to the ground, not yielding a single inch.

The pupils of Red Cliff Celestial Ape and Mo Luo constricted simultaneously. They were horrified. After advancing to the True Dao, their strength had increased by dozens of times. They had thought they could suppress Zhaang Ye with their combined auras. ’I can’t believe it! His strength has increased even more dramatically after his own advancement. Even together, we’re no match for him!’

Mo Luo and Red Cliff Celestial Ape gave Zhaang Ye one last, profound look before executing their respective Body Techniques and speeding away.

The Seventh Steward of the Inner Sect, Feng Zhonghe, had been watching from the side. Seeing Zhaang Ye fight two opponents at once and actually force Mo Luo and Red Cliff Celestial Ape back, he couldn’t help but gasp. ”Daoist Master Zhaang,” he said, ”I never imagined your aura would be so astonishing. Mo Luo and Red Cliff Celestial Ape combined are no match for you.”

Zhaang Ye gave a slight smile and waved his hand. ”Let’s go. We’re heading to the Steward Hall.”

Feng Zhonghe nodded and led Zhaang Ye toward a tall and majestic palace. The entire palace was built from a strange type of wood, and its faint fragrance could be smelled from a thousand li away. As they drew closer, they could see the palace was enveloped in a thick Protective Shield. Entry was only possible by using an Identity Recognition Jade Token.

The Steward Hall was the central hub of the Green Cloud Sect, with disciples constantly coming and going. The moment Zhaang Ye arrived at the Steward Hall and finished registering, he could feel many people pointing and whispering about him.

”Look, that’s him—Zhaang Ye. He’s the one who took first place in the entrance tournament with a perfect winning streak.”

”Oh? He advanced to the True Dao in just three months? As expected of the entrance tournament’s champion. But even if his talent is outstanding, he shouldn’t have been assigned to Rising Sun Peak, right?”

”Heh, I heard he performed so exceptionally in the tournament that he won the Elders’ favor, so they gave him Rising Sun Peak. But while the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi on Rising Sun Peak is rich, Zhaang Ye probably won’t be able to enjoy it for long. There are over twenty senior brothers from the Inner Sect who are eyeing that peak like tigers watching their prey.”

”Exactly! Among the nine hundred and ninety-nine peaks of the Inner Sect, Rising Sun Peak has the richest Heaven and Earth Essence Qi. Who knows how many senior brothers are coveting it? I’d bet money that as soon as his three-year protection period as a new disciple is over, he’ll be kicked out by the other Inner Sect disciples.”

”Heheheh, among our Inner Sect senior brothers, Forty-seventh Senior Brother Lee Jufeng, Thirty-fifth Senior Brother Pang Anyun, Twentieth Senior Brother Xia Ribing, and Seventeenth Senior Brother Jian Sect are all staring at Rising Sun Peak. Even the unfathomably powerful Third Senior Brother Long Potian and Ninth Senior Brother Iron Stone Wall are watching it. That kid, Zhaang Ye, is in deep trouble…”

”A while ago, something strange happened on Rising Sun Peak. That siren, Lan Heying, entered the peak and then left in a hurry not long after. Do you guys think Zhaang Ye drove her away?”

”Driven away by Zhaang Ye? You’ve got to be kidding me! Lan Heying’s Cultivation has already reached the Late-stage of the True Dao Second Layer. With her combat prowess, she could kill ten Zhaang Yes with a single casual slap. In my opinion, she must have run into some kind of emergency, and that’s why she left in such a hurry.”

”I think so too. Lan Heying was considered a peerless genius among the last batch of Inner Sect Disciples. She has been in Cultivation in the Inner Sect for a full twenty years; there’s no way Zhaang Ye is her match. She definitely had something urgent come up, which is why she left Rising Sun Peak in a rush.”

Amidst the pointing and whispering, a fair-skinned young man slowly walked over. A black, fist-sized bird was perched on his shoulder. The bird’s eyes darted about, looking incredibly clever.

The fair-skinned young man stopped in front of Zhaang Ye, lifted his chin, and said arrogantly, ”I am Badam, ranked twelfth among the previous batch of Inner Sect Disciples. Zhaang Ye, with your level of strength, you have absolutely no hope of holding on to Rising Sun Peak. Why don’t you just hand it over to me? I can arrange a better place for your Cultivation.”

Zhaang Ye’s brow twitched, and he snarled, ”Get lost!”

The moment he snarled, ”Get lost!”, the Steward Hall fell deathly silent. The surrounding disciples all wore looks of utter shock; they couldn’t believe that Zhaang Ye, a disciple who had just joined, actually dared to curse at Badam.

Badam’s fair face flushed beet red, and a furious killing intent erupted from him. He jabbed a finger at Zhaang Ye and said coldly, ”Zhaang Ye, you have some nerve! How dare you curse at me!”

Zhaang Ye said calmly, ”Rising Sun Peak is my territory. Yet you come here and demand I move out. What do you call that? That’s the behavior of a common bandit. And I, Zhaang Ye, am never polite to bandits.”

Being called a bandit by Zhaang Ye, Badam’s face turned from red to livid. Furious flames shot from his eyes, and his fists clenched with a sickening CRACK. He looked like a ravenous beast about to devour its prey. Just as a fight was about to break out, Feng Zhonghe suddenly appeared and shouted, ”Fighting is forbidden in the Steward Hall! Violators will be imprisoned in the Celestial Prison on the back mountain for one hundred years!”

Badam snorted coldly and said menacingly, ”Zhaang Ye, in three years, I, Badam, will challenge you. When that time comes, I’ll teach you a proper lesson!”

With that parting shot, Badam turned and strode out of the Steward Hall.

As Badam walked away, the disciples in the Steward Hall burst into discussion, all looking at Zhaang Ye with pity. In their eyes, by offending Badam, Zhaang Ye was just asking for trouble.

Zhaang Ye listened to the disciples’ conversations with a wooden expression, but inwardly, he was sneering. ’When I first entered Rising Sun Peak, I knew many people had their eyes on it. It seems there are even more than I imagined. They’re all just waiting for my three-year protection period to end so they can kick me out.’

’In the Barbaric World, the strong reign supreme! How true that saying is. All these people have their sights set on Rising Sun Peak, and they’re all planning to take it by force. If I don’t have the strength to match, I won’t be able to stay here at all.’ As this thought crossed Zhaang Ye’s mind, he felt a sense of pressure.

Seeing Zhaang Ye offend Badam, Feng Zhonghe inwardly shook his head. ’What an unwise move,’ Feng Zhonghe thought. But he was only an Inner Sect Steward and couldn’t interfere in such matters. He just stayed by Zhaang Ye’s side and quickly completed the registration.

After the registration was complete, Zhaang Ye immediately collected his rewards.

Zhaang Ye had two sets of rewards. The first was for winning first place in the entrance tournament: ten thousand Low-grade Essence Stones, one Innate Golden Pill, and one thousand top-grade Qi Gathering Pills. The second was for his promotion to Daoist Master: twenty thousand Low-grade Essence Stones, one hundred low-grade Yuan Gathering True Pills, and one opportunity to enter the Library Pavilion.

Among these items, the Innate Golden Pill and the top-grade Qi Gathering Pills were Elixirs used for breaking through to the True Dao. Zhaang Ye’s advancement to the True Dao this time had been exceptionally smooth; he had broken through with ease. Therefore, the Innate Golden Pill and top-grade Qi Gathering Pills were somewhat redundant for him. However, while they were useless to Zhaang Ye, they would still be useful to his family.

The most useful items for Zhaang Ye were the Low-grade Essence Stones and the low-grade Yuan Gathering True Pills. Low-grade Essence Stones could be used for Cultivation; by absorbing the Essence within them, his Cultivation could gradually increase. The low-grade Yuan Gathering True Pills could rapidly replenish his power. Consuming one Gathering Yuan True Pill during a battle where he had expended too much energy would allow him to quickly recover his strength.

Thirty thousand Low-grade Essence Stones piled together looked like a small hill. The best way to carry all of this away at once would be to put it into a Small Space. However, ever since moving into Rising Sun Peak, Zhaang Ye had become a center of attention. If he were to store these items in his Small Space, its existence would be exposed.

Left with no other choice, Zhaang Ye could only get a huge leather sack. With a wave of his hand, he swept all thirty thousand Low-grade Essence Stones and the Elixirs into the sack.

With thirty thousand Low-grade Essence Stones and over a thousand Elixirs stuffed inside, the sack was filled to the brim, towering over Zhaang Ye himself. Looking at the tall, bulky leather sack, Zhaang Ye turned to Feng Zhonghe and said, ”Inner Sect Disciples get one chance to enter the Library Pavilion after advancing to the True Dao. Steward Feng, it’s very inconvenient for me to carry this sack around right now. Is it possible to save this opportunity for a later time?”

Feng Zhonghe chuckled. ”Of course. In the future, you just need to come with your Jade Token.”

Zhaang Ye thanked Feng Zhonghe, then shouldered the enormous leather sack and flew toward Rising Sun Peak.

Zhaang Ye had just flown away from Celestial Pillar Peak when he immediately caught someone’s attention. That person was none other than Badam. A cold sneer appeared on Badam’s lips as he watched the sack on Zhaang Ye’s back. He stroked the small black bird on his shoulder and said to it, ”Sweetheart, did you see that guy just now? Fly over there and peck that sack to pieces. Make everything inside fall out!”

A hint of excitement appeared in the little black bird’s eyes. It let out a soft CHIRP, then transformed into a faint black shadow and shot straight after Zhaang Ye.