Overlord of the Wilderness

Fierce Beasts could appear at any moment in the forest, so after slaying the Iron-Armored Long-Horned Ox, Zhu Nulang moved quickly to process the carcass. He first knocked off the two long horns—the most valuable parts of the beast. Then, he drew a sharp dagger and deftly began skinning it and extracting the tendons. The hide and tendons combined could sell for over ten thousand gold.

Pan Shi didn’t go over to help. Instead, he took out a waterskin, walked over to the wound on the Iron-Armored Long-Horned Ox’s neck, and filled it with blood before pouring the contents all over his body.

Zhaang Ye was a little puzzled. ”Brother Pan, what are you doing?” he asked.

Pan Shi chuckled and explained, ”All Fierce Beasts grow by absorbing the essence of the world. Their blood contains some of this essence, and soaking your body in it can make you much stronger. If you practice Body Refining Techniques, you can also circulate your cultivation technique to absorb the essence in the blood and improve your cultivation. Younger Brother Zhaang, this is a great opportunity. Why don’t you try it too?”

Out of curiosity, Zhaang Ye took some fresh blood and tried applying it to his arm. As soon as the blood touched his skin, he felt a wave of warmth. Zhaang Ye circulated his Dragon Elephant Skill and, sure enough, felt a continuous stream of essence seeping into his body. Although this wisp of essence was weak, its advantage was its purity; it could be absorbed into his Dantian without any need for refinement.

Zhaang Ye smiled. ”The blood of a Fierce Beast really is good stuff! It’s just a shame there’s so little essence in it.”

Pan Shi nodded. ”This is how it is with the blood of a Low-level Fierce Beast. If it were the blood of a Mid-level Fierce Beast, the essence inside would be much stronger. If you could soak your body in the blood of a Mid-level Fierce Beast every day, not only would your body become as tough as a Fierce Beast’s, but your cultivation would also improve. Unfortunately, with our current strength, we wouldn’t dare even dream of taking on a Mid-level Fierce Beast...”

”Oh? The blood of a Mid-level Fierce Beast is that useful?” Zhaang Ye’s interest was piqued. ”Hearing you say that, wouldn’t the blood of a High-level Fierce Beast be even more useful?”

”Of course,” Pan Shi said. ”With a large amount of a Mid-level Fierce Beast’s blood, one could cultivate a Middle Level Body Refining Technique to the Great Success stage. With a large amount of a High-level Fierce Beast’s blood, you could cultivate an Advanced Body Refining Technique to Great Success. Reaching Great Success in an Advanced Body Refining Technique is equivalent to the strength of the Martial Arts Ninth Layer. But we can’t even handle a Mid-level Fierce Beast, let alone a High-level one. That’s something we can’t even dream of.”

The two soaked for a while before going over to help skin the beast and remove its tendons. As the three of them were busy, they suddenly heard a cold voice from the distance: ”Brother Zhu, you’ve really done it now. Lu Yuzhi and I have been chasing this Iron-Armored Long-Horned Ox for five days, and you just went and slaughtered it.”

Along with the voice, a young man dressed in black emerged from the forest several dozen yards away. This young man was tall and broad-shouldered with coarse features and a single-edged saber slung diagonally across his back. His entire person, much like the saber, exuded a chilling aura.

Seeing this young man in black, Zhu Nulang relaxed and said with a smile, ”Brother Huaa, what are you doing here? Did Lu Yuzhi come too?”

Brother Huaa!

’Hearing this form of address, and sensing the aura of the young man in black, Zhaang Ye instantly understood his identity. This must be Huaa Baida, one of the seven great masters of the Zhaang Family’s Outer Sect!’

’As for the Lu Yuzhi the black-clad youth mentioned, that must be the Lu Yuzhi who ranks fifth on the Outer Sect’s power rankings!’

Huaa Baida nodded slightly. ”I recently heard that a powerful Fierce Beast had appeared here, causing trouble everywhere, so I came to take a look. I ran into Lu Yuzhi on the way, so we came together. Five days ago, we managed to track down this beast, but unfortunately, we weren’t strong enough. Although we landed a blow on it, it still got away. I followed it again this time, originally just planning to land a few more blows to vent my frustration, but I didn’t expect you all to have slaughtered it. As for Lu Yuzhi, she set her sights on a Snow-Tailed Jade Fox a day ago and is now trying to figure out how to subdue it.”

Huaa Baida spoke as he walked. When he was a little over ten yards away, his gaze fell upon Pan Shi, and he said in surprise, ”I myself only recently advanced to the Peak of the Martial Arts Third Layer. I didn’t expect that after just a few short months, you, Younger Brother Pan, would also advance to the Peak of the Martial Arts Third Layer. It seems we’ll have another competitor in next year’s family tournament.”

Pan Shi waved his hand. ”My advancement was just a fluke. I can’t compare to you.”

Huaa Baida nodded expressionlessly, his gaze shifting to Zhaang Ye. ”Hm? You use a saber too? To reach the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage at such a young age... you’re quite good.”

Zhaang Ye nodded. ”I do indeed use a saber. I hope to receive your guidance.”

Huaa Baida nodded and said no more. In his eyes, although it was impressive for Zhaang Ye to have reached the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage at such a young age, he still wasn’t qualified to speak with him as an equal.

After greeting the three of them, Huaa Baida’s gaze shifted to the carcass of the Iron-Armored Long-Horned Ox. When he saw the wound on the ox’s neck, Huaa Baida suddenly froze. A trace of astonishment appeared in his perpetually cold eyes. He then strode forward and examined the wound closely.

”What a domineering Saber Technique! To ignore this ox’s defenses and kill it in a single strike!” Huaa Baida examined the wound closely, a look of surprise crossing his expressionless face. ”This strike cut more than two feet deep... what an incredible feat! Who delivered this blow?”

As he spoke, he didn’t look at Zhaang Ye, but instead at Zhu Nulang and Pan Shi. In his mind, only someone at the Peak of the Martial Arts Third Layer could deliver such a domineering strike. Among the three people present, he had already ruled out Zhaang Ye, who was only at the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage.

Meeting Huaa Baida’s questioning gaze, Zhu Nulang laughed heartily. ”Brother Huaa, that strike wasn’t from either of us. That was Younger Brother Zhaang’s masterpiece. Although Younger Brother Zhaang’s cultivation is only at the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage, his Saber Technique is incomparably sharp. He fought Pan Shi to a draw as far back as two months ago. Now, I’m afraid even I might not be his match.”

Zhaang Ye’s brow furrowed slightly at Zhu Nulang’s words. ’Those words sound like praise, but they’re actually malicious. Huaa Baida is battle-hungry by nature. With Zhu Nulang praising me like this, it would be a miracle if he didn’t challenge me immediately.’

Sure enough, Huaa Baida’s eyes lit up. He stared at Zhaang Ye and said, ”You were the one who slew this Iron-Armored Long-Horned Ox? Good, good, good! It seems I misjudged you this time!”

Without waiting for Zhaang Ye to speak, he pointed a finger at him and said in a tone that brooked no argument, ”Draw your saber. We’re going to have a proper fight!”

Zhaang Ye felt an instinctive aversion to Huaa Baida’s commanding tone. But he said nothing, silently drawing his Thick-Backed Saber and facing Huaa Baida.

At his core, Zhaang Ye was also someone who loved to fight. He felt not the slightest bit of cowardice in the face of Huaa Baida’s challenge.

’You want to fight? Then we fight!’

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