Overlord of the Wilderness

Traveling for six hours through the darkness and silence was an immense drain on both body and mind. After asking the two young men a few questions, Zhaang Ye and his two companions immediately found a spot to the side, where they sat and meditated to recover their strength and spirit.

Zhaang Ye still had two Body Tempering Pills and two Body Refining Pills in his possession. After sitting down, he consumed them and then used his True Power to activate their Medicinal Power. Taking Elixirs after extreme fatigue was indeed miraculously effective. After circulating his True Qi for a few minor Circulations, Zhaang Ye could feel the Medicinal Power constantly strengthening and repairing his body, and the exhaustion vanished as he grew stronger.

Once his physical fatigue was gone, Zhaang Ye felt his entire body relax, yet his mind was more focused than ever before. The True Qi within him circulated as smoothly as a rolling pearl.

As he became aware of this state, a line from the *Tao Te Ching* suddenly flashed through his mind: ”By holding your body and soul as one, can you prevent their separation? By Specializing in Qi to Achieve Softness, can you be like a newborn babe?”

Newborn infants’ thoughts and consciousness are utterly pure, containing not the slightest impurity. Their gaze and vitality are also exceptionally pure. Some infants even retain a trace of Innate Essence Qi from their mothers within their bodies.

A pure consciousness and body hold infinite potential and possibilities. Zhaang Ye faintly sensed that this wondrous state of a newborn was precisely what Cultivators pursued.

Unconsciously, Zhaang Ye’s body became as relaxed as a newborn’s, while his spirit and will grew increasingly focused and refined, tightly guarding his Spirit Platform. In that moment, his soul seemed to separate from his body.

An unknown amount of time passed before Zhaang Ye suddenly came to his senses. He discovered that the True Qi in his body had become even purer, and he was on the verge of breaking through to the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage. His superficial wounds had also healed during his meditation, leaving his entire body feeling indescribably refreshed.

’By holding your body and soul as one, can you prevent their separation? By Specializing in Qi to Achieve Softness, can you be like a newborn babe? It seems that line truly contains a profound truth. I’ll have to contemplate it carefully in the future.’ Zhaang Ye sensed the True Qi in his body and couldn’t help but rejoice.

He opened his eyes and stood up. Not far away, Zhaang Que and Zhaang Qing were standing on a large rock, staring at the mine entrance. Hearing Zhaang Ye get up, the two of them turned around.

”Huh?!” Zhaang Qing sized Zhaang Ye up and said in astonishment, ”Zhaang Ye, you’ve improved again! From the looks of it, you’re about to break through to the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage!”

Even Zhaang Que, who was usually stoic, stared at Zhaang Ye as if he were looking at some kind of monster.

Zhaang Ye chuckled. ”I had a small epiphany while I was meditating. A little progress is nothing to be surprised about.”

Zhaang Qing shook his head. ”You... Your aptitude is clearly average, but your Cultivation speed is freakishly fast. You make progress every single time you cultivate. It’s really discouraging.”

”Heh, you flatter me.” Zhaang Ye waved his hand dismissively and glanced around. He found himself in a vast valley surrounded by massive boulders. Atop some of the larger rocks, over sixty other youths had gathered at some point. All of them had tattered clothes and haggard faces, and they were sitting cross-legged to meditate.

Zhaang Ye noticed that the three strongest youths—Zhaang Yuhu, Zhaang Dahong, and Zhaang Yang—were among them. When Zhaang Yang met his gaze, he glared back fiercely, looking as if he wanted to kill Zhaang Ye.

Back in the mine, Zhaang Yang had tried to snatch the Lighting Incense from Zhaang Que. He never expected Zhaang Ye to strike so suddenly, sending him flying backward with a single slash and severely injuring him. He had barely managed to grope his way out of the darkness. That slash had made Zhaang Yang hate Zhaang Ye to the core. If he weren’t so badly injured, he would have immediately challenged Zhaang Ye and kicked him into the sky.

Zhaang Ye sneered, not bothering to pay him any mind. He turned to Zhaang Qing and asked, ”How many hours have passed?”

Zhaang Qing laughed. ”Twenty-two hours have passed. Heh, you should have seen these guys come running out of the cave. It was quite a sight. Some were screaming, some were jumping up and down, some grabbed the first person they saw and wouldn’t stop talking, and some just fainted on the spot. They were all acting like lunatics; not a single one of them was normal.”

As they spoke, the sound of singing suddenly echoed from deep within the mine. Zhaang Ye looked toward the entrance and saw a stark-naked youth belting out a song at the top of his lungs as he sprinted madly out of the darkness.

Watching the boy, Zhaang Ye shook his head and thought, ’He must not have been able to stand the terrifying silence, so he just kept singing. The method is a bit strenuous and undignified, but it’s effective enough.’

After waiting a while longer, several more people came running out of the mine. As they ran, they screamed, ”Ghosts! Ghosts! I saw them, I saw them!”

They didn’t stop even after they were outside the entrance, running as if ghosts were truly chasing them from behind. The sight sent Zhaang Qing into a fit of laughter.

”Alright, the twenty-four hours are up!” the square-faced youth standing guard at the mine entrance called out.

The trial required them to pass through the mine within twenty-four hours. Failure to do so meant failing the first round of the Cyan Mulberry Main Family’s test. Zhaang Ye glanced at the number of people present and realized that about forty youths hadn’t made it out of the mine in time. Those who failed could only join the Cyan Mulberry Main Family as servants.

After announcing the end of the test, the square-faced youth led the sixty-some youths who had passed out of the valley. The journey took a full ten days. They traveled from sunrise to sunset each day, spending their nights in the wilderness. They had to provide for themselves—food, shelter, and all necessities. Some of the youths, unable to adapt to such a life, complained incessantly.

Zhaang Ye, Zhaang Que, and Zhaang Qing all had experience surviving in the wild, so this lifestyle was nothing special to them. The three of them divided the labor and lived quite comfortably.

Nighttime was for rest. Zhaang Ye had already used up his Body Tempering Pills and Body Refining Pills, but he still had Qi Gathering Pills. He took one Qi Gathering Pill each night, and his Cultivation rose bit by bit, bringing him ever closer to the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage.

On the tenth day, after they crossed a great mountain, the view suddenly opened up before Zhaang Ye. A massive city appeared at the edge of the horizon. Its towering walls were pitch-black, stretching across the distant skyline like an impenetrable barrier. From afar, it radiated an aura of indestructibility and the profound weight of ages.

Upon seeing the city, joyful expressions appeared on the faces of all the youths. A faint smile touched Zhaang Ye’s lips as well. He knew they had finally arrived at Cyan Mulberry City!