Overlord of the Wilderness

Although Wu Guanghai and his four men had dropped a large pile of items, there were very few Elixirs and Golden Tickets—only four Qi Gathering Pills and ten thousand taels of Gold. Zhaang Ye was a bit disappointed. Still, every little bit helped, so he collected the items.

Just as he finished gathering the items, Zhaang Que and Zhaang Qing arrived.

Sensing the powerful aura emanating from Zhaang Ye, Zhaang Qing and Zhaang Que were startled. They asked in unison, ”Zhaang Ye, have you broken through to the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage?”

Zhaang Ye smiled. ”It was just a lucky breakthrough.”

Zhaang Qing and Zhaang Que were speechless. After a long moment, Zhaang Qing said with a wry smile, ”Zhaang Ye, we were stuck at the Early Stage of Martial Arts Third Layer for several years and only broke through to the Middle Stage seven days ago. I never thought that less than half a year after you reached the Martial Arts Third Layer, you would so easily break through to the Middle Stage. Comparisons are truly infuriating.”

After a moment of frustration, Zhaang Qing suddenly noticed the messy signs of a fight in the surrounding area. ”Zhaang Ye, who were you just fighting? It wasn’t that Wu Guanghai, was it? Did he come looking for trouble?”

Zhaang Ye nodded. ”It was him. He brought four experts at the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage this time. I just sent them packing.”

”You sent five experts at the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage packing?! Zhaang Ye, you’re just too powerful!” Zhaang Qing and Zhaang Que stared at Zhaang Ye in utter disbelief.

They knew Zhaang Ye’s strength far surpassed others at the same level, but they never imagined he was so powerful that he could easily repel five experts of the same Cultivation! That kind of strength was already on par with the Late-stage Martial Arts Third Layer!

After a moment of shock, Zhaang Qing suddenly asked nervously, ”Zhaang Ye, that Wu Guanghai... you didn’t do anything too serious to him, did you?”

Zhaang Ye replied nonchalantly, ”That punk provoked me repeatedly. Of course I wasn’t going to let him off easy. I hit him with two Hand Blade strikes just now. His shoulder bone is probably shattered. It’ll be at least a month or two before he can recover.”

”Ai!” Zhaang Qing slapped his thigh and said, ”Zhaang Ye, you’ve gotten yourself into big trouble this time!”

Zhaang Ye was taken aback for a moment. ”What trouble?”

Zhaang Qing said, ”You must have been completely absorbed in your Cultivation recently, haven’t you? Do you know who Wu Guanghai’s older brother is?”

Zhaang Ye shook his head.

Zhaang Qing explained, ”Wu Guanghai has an older brother named Wu Guangyue. He is nineteen years old and one of the ten great experts among the Outer Disciples. He already had the Cultivation of a Late-stage Martial Arts Third Layer a year ago and is one of the Outer Disciples most likely to break through to the Martial Arts Fourth Layer. Wu Guangyue is incredibly powerful and fiercely protective. Now that you’ve injured Wu Guanghai, he definitely won’t let you off. By making an enemy of him, Zhaang Ye, you’re in no small amount of trouble!”

”Late-stage Martial Arts Third Layer?” Zhaang Ye’s expression remained unchanged. ”Does he have any powerful Cultivation Techniques?”

Zhaang Qing replied, ”That, I don’t know. But for Wu Guangyue to stand out among the Outer Disciples, where experts are as common as trees in a forest, he must have some formidable skills. Zhaang Ye, Wu Guangyue’s strength isn’t something you can contend with. Since it has come to this, you should apply to go out for training and lie low for a while!”

”There’s no need for that.” Zhaang Ye shook his head. ”What I lack most right now are the fundamentals. I need to focus on my lessons for a while. As for this Wu Guangyue, I won’t be afraid even if he comes for me.”

Zhaang Qing gave a wry smile. ”Zhaang Ye, I know your strength far surpasses others at your level, but you must not underestimate people. Wu Guangyue is ranked in the top ten among nearly two thousand Outer Disciples. Do you think someone like that is a simple character?”

Zhaang Que, who rarely spoke, nodded in agreement.

Seeing the two of them worrying about him, Zhaang Ye’s heart warmed slightly. He smiled and said, ”Don’t worry. Wu Guangyue might be powerful, but I’m no slouch either. As for who’s stronger, we’ll only know after we fight.”

As he spoke, he drew the Thick-Backed Saber from his back with a flick of his wrist and executed a casual slash.

There was no brilliant flash of light from the blade, no fierce gust of wind, but after Zhaang Ye’s slash, a wooden post in front of him instantly disintegrated into eight pieces.

DANG!

Zhaang Ye retracted his saber. A faint, gentle breeze still lingered in the air.

”This...” Zhaang Qing and Zhaang Que both gasped. They knew what they were looking at. Although Zhaang Ye’s slash hadn’t been flashy, it was fast and ruthless—a true killing technique. Even though they had both broken through to the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage and their strength had greatly increased, neither of them dared to claim they could receive such a blow unscathed.

Zhaang Qing seemed to remember something and said in astonishment, ”I remember, in our Zhaang Family’s Library Pavilion in Three Rivers Town, there’s an incomplete Nameless Saber Manual. In that fragmented manual, a saber technique is recorded called the Gentle Wind Slash. It’s said that once mastered to the Great Success Realm, one can only see the gentle wind, not the blade. Zhaang Ye, that slash just now... that couldn’t have been the Gentle Wind Slash, could it?”

Zhaang Ye nodded.

”You’ve mastered it to the Great Success Realm?”

Zhaang Ye nodded again.

”This...” Zhaang Qing and Zhaang Que were utterly shocked. After a long moment, Zhaang Qing said in disbelief, ”Zhaang Ye, that’s a Mid-Level Combat Skill! You actually mastered a Mid-Level Combat Skill to the Great Success Realm?”

Every skill has a common characteristic: it’s easy to begin, but difficult to master. Forget Mid-Level Combat Skills; even mastering a Low-Level Combat Skill to the Great Success Realm was not easy. Take the Basic Saber Technique and Basic Swordsmanship from *Martial Arts Enlightenment*—they were the most fundamental techniques that any Martial Artist could learn. But looking across all of Cyan Mulberry City, there were very few people who could cultivate either the Basic Saber Technique or Basic Swordsmanship to the Great Success Realm.

For Zhaang Ye, with his mere Eighth-Grade Talent, to have already mastered the Iron Bridge Stopping River Formation, Basic Saber Technique, and Startled Swan Step to the Great Success Realm was already shocking enough. But Zhaang Qing and Zhaang Que never would have imagined that he had also, without a word to anyone, mastered even the Mid-Level Combat Skill, Gentle Wind Slash, to the Great Success Realm.

Zhaang Qing questioned him repeatedly, and even had Zhaang Ye spar with Zhaang Que using his palm as a blade. Only then was he finally convinced that Zhaang Ye had indeed mastered the Gentle Wind Slash to the Great Success Realm.

”Zhaang Ye, I’m thoroughly impressed,” Zhaang Qing sighed. ”Even among the Elders, few can cultivate a Mid-Level Combat Skill to the Great Success Realm, yet you did it silently, in just one year. It’s too astonishing. No one would believe it if we told them.”

Zhaang Ye smiled faintly. ”Please keep this matter a secret for me.”

Zhaang Qing and Zhaang Que nodded. Of course, for something like this, the fewer people who knew, the better.

Seeing that Zhaang Ye had actually cultivated a Mid-Level Combat Skill to the Great Success Realm, both Zhaang Qing and Zhaang Que felt relieved. Mid-Level Combat Skills were difficult to cultivate, but once mastered, they would greatly increase one’s combat power. With the Gentle Wind Slash in his arsenal, even if Zhaang Ye wasn’t Wu Guangyue’s match, the gap between them wouldn’t be too large.

”This Gentle Wind Slash is just a single move from the Nameless Saber Manual. Zhaang Ye, if you could obtain the complete Saber Manual, the power of this Saber Technique would increase tremendously. What a pity,” Zhaang Qing said with regret as he was about to leave.

”There’s nothing to pity.” Zhaang Ye gazed at his Thick-Backed Saber and muttered to himself, ’Techniques are rigid, but people are flexible. If I can’t get the complete Saber Manual, then I’ll use the Gentle Wind Slash as a foundation and create a complete Saber Technique of my own. As long as I have enough opponents to test it against, I believe I can do it.’