Overlord of the Wilderness

The duel with Zhaang Qing gave Zhaang Ye a fair bit of insight. He returned to his small courtyard to mull over the fight for a while, comparing some of his new ideas with the combat skills recorded in the *Lingbo Triple Extremes*. His Saber Technique had actually improved slightly again.

Zhaang Ye swung the Purple Copper Thick-Backed Saber over and over. By the afternoon, he felt a pang of hunger. He put the Thick-Backed Saber away and headed out of the Zhaang Mansion.

Just as he reached town, Zhaang Ye suddenly spotted a familiar figure. He let out a soft sound of surprise and then shouted, ”Zhaang Jin, where do you think you’re going? You still owe me one hundred fifty thousand taels of Gold. Hand it over now!”

Zhaang Jin was standing with a young man in his twenties. Hearing Zhaang Ye’s shout, Zhaang Jin didn’t even seem flustered. He turned around slowly and said, ”Oh, it’s you. You want your Gold? Sorry, but big brother here is a bit tight on cash lately. I can’t come up with that much Gold for now. Why don’t you wait a while? I’ll pay you back once I’ve scraped it together.”

”Hm?” Zhaang Ye was slightly taken aback.

Normally, a debtor who ran into their creditor would feel guilty and try to avoid them. But Zhaang Jin’s current attitude was nothing like that of a debtor. In fact, Zhaang Ye had the faint feeling that Zhaang Jin didn’t seem to regard him at all...

Zhaang Ye’s gaze shifted, landing on the young man standing next to Zhaang Jin. The man was dressed in tight-fitting Beast Hide, with a gleaming Long Sword strapped to his back. His eyes were bright and spirited, and he looked quite burly. Just by standing there casually, he exuded a sense of pressure.

’A master at the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage!’ Zhaang Ye sized up the burly youth and immediately came to a conclusion. A thought dawned on him. ’No wonder Zhaang Jin isn’t afraid of me collecting the debt. He came prepared. He must have hired a master at the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage to protect him...’

Zhaang Ye sneered inwardly and stared at Zhaang Jin. ”Paying your debts is a matter of course. Since you accepted my five-thousand-tael bet, you should have been prepared to pay up. Hurry up and give me the one hundred fifty thousand taels of Gold. I don’t have the patience to wait.”

Zhaang Ye saw through Zhaang Jin’s trick at a glance. Zhaang Jin was clearly trying to stall, planning to drag out this debt indefinitely. With a protector by his side, he wasn’t afraid of Zhaang Ye causing trouble.

Besides, Zhaang Ye couldn’t stay in Three Rivers Town forever. Soon enough, he would be leaving Three Rivers Town for the main family branch in Cyan Mulberry City. All Zhaang Jin had to do was wait for Zhaang Ye to leave, and everything would be fine.

It was precisely because Zhaang Ye had seen through Zhaang Jin’s plan that he was pressing for the debt so directly.

Zhaang Jin was completely unfazed by Zhaang Ye’s demand. He spread his hands and said languidly, ”Sigh, I’m just really tight on cash right now. If you don’t have the patience to wait, then there’s nothing I can do. Let’s just put a pin in this debt. When I have money, I’ll think about paying it back. Heh heh.”

A cold glint flashed in Zhaang Ye’s eyes. He said slowly, ”Think about paying it back when you have money? Heh heh. Zhaang Jin, from the sound of it, you have no intention of ever repaying this debt, do you?”

Zhaang Jin chuckled. ”No, no, no. I’m a man of my word. Of course I’ll pay what I owe. It’s just that it might take a little... longer. Hmm, how about a hundred years? In a hundred years, I’ll definitely pay you back the one hundred fifty thousand taels of Gold you’re owed.”

”Haha!” Hearing Zhaang Jin’s words, the burly young man burst out laughing. He shot a sidelong glance at Zhaang Ye and said in a gruff voice, ”Zhaang Jin, did you really call me out here just to deal with this little punk? I don’t think you need to say any more. I’ll help you beat him to a pulp, and this debt will be wiped clean!”

Zhaang Jin laughed heartily and said, ”Great! Great! That’s a good plan! Zhaang Ye, if you can beat my cousin, I’ll pay back the debt immediately. On the other hand, if you lose, the debt is wiped clean. What do you say?”

Zhaang Ye looked at the two of them coldly and said slowly, ”Zhaang Jin, are you messing with me?”

Although Zhaang Jin detected the bone-chilling cold in Zhaang Ye’s voice, he felt secure with an expert by his side and didn’t take Zhaang Ye seriously. He was just about to say a few more words to set his cousin on Zhaang Ye, to have him beaten half to death to vent his recent frustrations, when he suddenly heard Zhaang Ye speak again. ”Zhaang Jin, oh, Zhaang Jin. Do you really think that just because you have an expert with you, there’s nothing I can do to you? We have the same father, yet I truly don’t know how the Zhaang Family could produce a waste like you—”

WHOOSH! A fire of rage erupted in Zhaang Jin’s heart. Just as he was about to order his cousin to attack, he heard the SHING of a sharp blade being unsheathed. He saw Zhaang Ye draw the Purple Copper Thick-Backed Saber from his back with incredible speed and slash out!

Zhaang Jin couldn’t describe the speed of Zhaang Ye’s strike. He only felt Zhaang Ye’s arm swing, and the Purple Copper Thick-Backed Saber suddenly vanished from sight. Rushing toward his face was a biting wind—the wind from the blade!

The blade-wind was cold, a cold that pierced him to the core. The blade-wind was sharp. Before the blade even arrived, Zhaang Jin felt his hair being blown back. The terrifying force of the wind pressed down on him so hard he couldn’t even open his eyes. A grim aura of death descended upon him!

CLANG! Just as Zhaang Jin thought he was about to die, his cousin suddenly made a move. The Long Sword from his back appeared in his hand, perfectly blocking Zhaang Ye’s terrifying strike.

Zhaang Jin wiped away a cold sweat, inwardly horrified. He thought, ’Zhaang Ye’s strength is terrifying! Such a fierce Saber Technique... even some who have practiced the saber for decades might not be able to execute it, yet he does it so casually! It’s a good thing I have my cousin, or I’m afraid I would have met my end here today!’

Zhaang Jin still had a lot of confidence in his cousin. He took a few steps back, ready to watch his cousin torture Zhaang Ye, when he suddenly heard five incredibly rapid clashes of saber and sword. CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG! His cousin, who had always been invincible in his eyes, was suddenly sent flying backward, blood gushing from his arm like a fountain.

Zhaang Jin hurriedly helped his cousin up. He saw that a large chunk of flesh had been sliced off his cousin’s arm by Zhaang Ye’s Thick-Backed Saber, revealing the bone beneath. His cousin had clearly been defeated!

”Th-this is impossible! This can’t be real! It can’t be real!” Zhaang Jin pointed at Zhaang Ye, his face filled with horror, and stammered, ”My cousin is more than ten years older than you and has the strength of the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage! How could he possibly lose to you? Aren’t you only at the Early Stage of Martial Arts Third Layer?”

Zhaang Ye emotionlessly raised his Thick-Backed Saber and pointed it at Zhaang Jin. ”Now, there’s no one left to help you. I’ll say it one more time: hand over the one hundred fifty thousand taels of Gold, or I’ll cut fifteen pieces of flesh from your body to settle the debt.”

The Thick-Backed Saber was still dotted with specks of fresh blood. A few scraps of skin and flesh seemed to cling to the Blade Tip, emanating an indescribable killing intent. The thought of Zhaang Ye using that very blade to carve up his own flesh scared Zhaang Jin out of his wits. A cold sensation spread through his groin, and he was so terrified he lost control of his bladder...