Overlord of the Wilderness

Zhaang Ye had just taken an Elixir and finished meditating, restoring over eighty percent of his True Power, when he suddenly felt the ground start to shake. He looked up to see a cloud of dust billowing in the distance, heading straight for him.

Within a few breaths, a dazzling golden shadow burst into view. This golden shadow sprinted through the forest at high speed. Everywhere it went, thick trees, massive rocks, and all manner of beasts were knocked aside. Its momentum was utterly terrifying.

”KREK!”

Once it came within a few hundred yards of Zhaang Ye, the golden shadow finally spotted him. It let out a loud cry and somehow accelerated, charging toward him as if it were flying.

”Holy shit!” Zhaang Ye cursed, yelling, ”Stop! Stop! Stop!”

”KREK-KREK-KREK—”

Heeding Zhaang Ye’s frantic shouts, the enormous golden shadow finally screeched to a halt about ten feet in front of him, revealing its true form.

The golden shadow was the very same Mammoth Zhaang Ye had met on the outskirts of the Barbaric Beast Forest. Having not seen it for several months, he saw it had grown much taller, now standing a full forty feet high and sixty to seventy feet long. Before Zhaang Ye, it loomed like a small mountain.

Sensing its aura, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath. A few months ago, this Mammoth’s strength had only been equivalent to a Martial Arts Fourth Layer expert. But now, Zhaang Ye couldn’t gauge its power at all. Judging from its immense aura, its strength had to be at least at the level of a Martial Arts Fifth Layer Heaven expert!

The Mammoth and Zhaang Ye stared at each other—its big eyes on his small ones. After a moment, the Mammoth brought its massive trunk close to Zhaang Ye and let out a long ”KREK-KREK-KREK-KREK-KREK—,” its cry tinged with a hint of excitement.

The Mammoth’s roar was extraordinarily powerful. It bellowed a dozen times right next to Zhaang Ye’s ear, and he felt as if his eardrums would shatter and the blood in his veins was boiling. He hastily retreated over a hundred feet and yelled, ”Okay, okay! Stop roaring!”

Seeing Zhaang Ye’s pathetic state, an expression of pure delight appeared in the Mammoth’s eyes. It pointed its long trunk at him, bounced on its feet, and let out another series of ”KREK-KREK-KREK-KREK” calls, as if it were laughing its head off.

Staring at the overjoyed elephant, Zhaang Ye was speechless. ’Dammit,’ he thought, ’this can’t be revenge, can it? I teased this elephant once before, and now it’s actually teasing me back!’

Despite his frustration, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but feel a sense of amazement. He had advanced from the Martial Arts First Layer to the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage in a very short time, which was already an incredible pace. Yet somehow, this Mammoth’s power had grown even faster than his own!

With every breath this colossal Mammoth took, Zhaang Ye could feel the surrounding air roil. It was easy to imagine just how astonishing its true combat strength must be!

As if sensing Zhaang Ye’s astonishment, the enormous Mammoth snorted through its trunk. It stood up ramrod straight, looking down on him from its great height. With a sidelong glance, it seemed to be expressing its disdain for Zhaang Ye’s over-the-top reaction.

”I’ll be damned...” Zhaang Ye was speechless. ’I’m actually being scorned by an elephant!’ he thought.

’So what if it’s looking down on me? Why get worked up over a Mammoth!’ Zhaang Ye consoled himself, then shouted, ”Hey, big guy! Weren’t you supposed to stay on the other side of the Boundary River? How’d you get over here?”

Zhaang Ye still had a soft spot for this cunning Mammoth. After all, the fact that it had heard his long cry and immediately come running showed a rare kind of bond.

Hearing Zhaang Ye’s question, the Mammoth pointed its trunk toward the distance a few times, calling out ”KREK KREK,” as if telling him there was something good over there.

Zhaang Ye had no way of understanding its ”Krek” language. He scratched his head, pointed in the same direction, and asked, ”Are you saying there’s something good over there?”

The Mammoth nodded happily and, with a flick of its trunk, motioned for Zhaang Ye to jump onto its back.

Zhaang Ye didn’t hesitate, leaping onto the Mammoth’s back in a single bound.

RUMBLE— The Mammoth took off. Despite its huge, lumbering frame, it was several times faster than Zhaang Ye. It used its massive body to ignore all obstacles, running in a perfectly straight line.

After running for the better part of an hour, the Mammoth suddenly slammed on the brakes, screeching to a halt.

Zhaang Ye jumped off the Mammoth’s back and was stunned by the sight before him. At the foot of a small hill lay a monstrous beast dozens of feet tall. It had a red beak, red eyes, and a white tail. Its gaping maw was filled with menacingly sharp teeth, and its four claws were dug deep into solid rock—at least five feet deep, it seemed.

Even standing dozens of feet away, Zhaang Ye could still feel the ferocious and tyrannical power of the beast. Unfortunately, it was already dead. Beneath its body, still-warm blood GUSHED out, forming a small river.

Zhaang Ye glanced around and saw that an area several hundred yards in every direction had been completely flattened. The signs of a massive battle were everywhere. Looking at the crater-pocked ground, he turned to the Mammoth and asked, ”This monster... you killed it?”

”KREK, KREK.”

Seeing Zhaang Ye’s utterly shocked expression, the Mammoth let out two smug calls, its trunk held high and proud. Even its tail was curled up in triumph.

Although Zhaang Ye couldn’t stand the Mammoth’s smug, arrogant posture, the facts were undeniable. He had no choice but to give it a thumbs-up and say, ”You’re incredible!”

Receiving Zhaang Ye’s praise, the Mammoth became even more pleased with itself.

Looking at the dead monster and the triumphant Mammoth, Zhaang Ye finally understood the cause of the recent beast stampede. The Mammoth and this monster were both Mid-level Fierce Beasts. When two creatures of that caliber fought, it was only natural for all the other animals to flee for their lives.

His brief frustration passed, and Zhaang Ye’s eyes began to gleam. He stared at the river of gushing blood and thought, ’Pan Shi said that cultivating with the blood of a Mid-level Fierce Beast can cause one’s Body Refining Techniques to advance rapidly. This monster is enormous; it must have twenty, if not thirty, barrels of blood in it. I’ll use this blood for my Cultivation and see if I can break through to the 3rd Layer of the Dragon Elephant Skill!’

With that in mind, Zhaang Ye pointed to the blood pouring from the monster’s wound and said to the Mammoth, ”Hey, big guy, this blood is useful to me. I need to use it. If you want some, drink up now, because I’m about to jump in!”

The Mammoth quickly shook its head and pointed its trunk at the monster’s corpse, indicating that it was only interested in the meat. After shaking its head a couple of times, it actually shot Zhaang Ye a contemptuous look, as if scorning his poor taste.

After giving Zhaang Ye a look of disdain, it pointed to the blade on his back and then to the monster.

Zhaang Ye understood. It seemed that while this Mammoth was unbelievably powerful in a fight, its teeth weren’t strong enough to tear through the monster’s tough hide. It had brought him here all this way to ask for help carving up the carcass so it could curl up the pieces with its trunk and eat them.

Zhaang Ye laughed. ”You’re a clever one, aren’t you! No problem, I can carve up this monster for you, but I need to take care of the blood first!”

As he spoke, Zhaang Ye moved quickly, gathering a pile of stones and building a small, waist-high stone pool beneath the monster’s wound. Once the pool was finished, he leaped onto the monster’s body and began to carve it up.

The monster’s hide was far tougher than even that of an Iron-Armored Long-Horned Ox, but it was dead, after all. Though it took considerable effort, Zhaang Ye managed to fulfill the Mammoth’s request, cutting off several huge chunks of meat and two legs.

The Mammoth squatted down and began to feast. Zhaang Ye, in turn, quickly stripped off his clothes, tossed them aside, and with a single leap, landed in the small pool now brimming with blood.

(Hehe, thanks to Gu Tianpei for the tip, and thanks to all my brothers for the Recommendation Tickets! I was so happy to wake up this morning and see dozens more tickets.)