Overlord of the Wilderness

Not long after Zhaang Ye and the Mammoth left, the sound of rustling clothes on the wind suddenly echoed through the forest. An old woman and a girl with a picturesque face streaked in from the distance.

If Zhaang Ye were still here, he would have recognized the old woman as Granny Mei, and the girl with the picturesque face as the Zhaang Family’s fourth young miss, Zhaang Yumei.

The last time Granny Mei had taken Zhaang Yumei to the outskirts of the Barbaric Beast Forest to train, Zhaang Yumei had nearly lost her life. Having learned her lesson, Granny Mei no longer dared to return there, finding a different forest outside Cyan Mulberry City for training instead.

Upon discovering that a beast rampage had occurred in this forest, Granny Mei had brought Zhaang Yumei over at once.

The two landed on a boulder, staring in shock at the enormous beast.

Zhaang Yumei pointed at the beast and said, ”Granny, this monster must be a Fierce Beast, right?”

Granny Mei nodded, her face full of confusion. ”Judging by its size, it should be a Mid-level Fierce Beast. How strange. What is a Mid-level Fierce Beast doing here? And who on earth skinned it?”

Granny Mei’s figure flashed, and she landed on the beast’s leg. She took one look, and her gaze froze. On the beast’s leg were several saber marks. The cuts seemed to have been made casually, yet they had skillfully avoided the thick, hard bone, precisely carving off a large chunk of flesh. Moreover, the incisions were smooth and clean, as if naturally formed, and strangely pleasing to the eye.

’Hmm?’ Granny Mei stared at the saber marks, a grave expression slowly forming in her eyes. She muttered to herself, ’This Saber Technique is quite impressive. It seems to be a Mid-Level Combat Skill that has been cultivated to the Great Success Realm. A Mid-Level Combat Skill at the Great Success Stage is rare even among the Zhaang Family’s Inner Sect Disciples. Who could have left these marks?’

Just then, Zhaang Yumei came to Granny Mei’s side. She also looked at the wounds, her brow furrowing slightly. ”Strange, these wounds look familiar... Oh, right! When we were on the outskirts of the Barbaric Beast Forest, Zhaang Ye killed quite a few large black panthers. I think the wounds on this beast are very similar to the ones on those. Granny Mei, could Zhaang Ye have made these cuts?”

”Impossible!” Granny Mei rejected Zhaang Yumei’s guess without a second thought. She explained, ”The person who made these cuts has already achieved a high level of mastery in Saber Technique. Even Huaa Baida, who is ranked first in the Outer Sect, couldn’t perform a Saber Technique like this. Zhaang Ye’s cultivation is only at the paltry Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage, and his aptitude is a mere Eighth Grade. How could he possibly execute such a fluid and perfect Saber Technique?”

Zhaang Yumei had only mentioned it on a whim. Seeing it rejected by Granny Mei, she didn’t press the matter.

Just then, the sound of rustling clothes on the wind was heard again. As Granny Mei and Zhaang Yumei tensed warily, a light chuckle came from the distance. ”No need to be alarmed. I am Steward Wang.”

As he spoke, a middle-aged man in black approached and appeared before the beast’s corpse. Seeing this man, both Granny Mei and Zhaang Yumei breathed a sigh of relief. This was none other than Steward Wang, one of the ten Stewards of the Zhaang Family.

Steward Wang greeted Zhaang Yumei and Granny Mei, then said with a smile, ”A few Outer Disciples sent a signal to the family, reporting a Mid-level Fierce Beast and a beast rampage here. I happened to be nearby, so I came to take a look after receiving the signal.”

With that, he turned his gaze to the beast’s corpse and remarked with a hint of awe, ”This Fierce Beast is called a Golden-toothed Lion. It’s a relatively rare type of Mid-level Fierce Beast. I really don’t know how a Golden-toothed Lion ended up here.”

He observed the ground for a moment, then added, ”It seems this Golden-toothed Lion was killed by another Fierce Beast. However...” Steward Wang turned his gaze to the Golden-toothed Lion’s body, a puzzled look on his face as he asked Granny Mei, ”This Golden-toothed Lion wasn’t killed long ago. Who stripped its hide and teeth?”

Granny Mei said, ”I don’t know either. We just arrived ourselves and were examining the wounds on this beast.”

Steward Wang nodded and turned his attention to the wounds on the beast. After a careful look, he praised, ”The one who made these cuts must be a saber expert. To be able to cleave through hard bone with a casual slash... the weapon used must be a saber suited for heavy chopping. Hmm, according to the report from those Outer Disciples, they and Zhaang Ye were the only ones here. I remember Zhaang Ye uses a Thick-Backed Saber. It seems the one who made these cuts was Zhaang Ye.”

Granny Mei frowned. ”How is that possible? Zhaang Ye’s cultivation is merely at the Martial Arts Third Layer Middle Stage. With his strength, how could he possibly execute such a Saber Technique?”

Steward Wang smiled. ”You shouldn’t underestimate him. I was in charge of the strength and aptitude tests, and I saw his methods firsthand. Let’s put it this way: Zhaang Ye’s aptitude is indeed nothing special, but his Comprehension is outstanding, and his Martial Dao foundation is excellent. That day, with just the ’Iron Bridge Stopping River Formation,’ he was able to subdue that Black Armor Fang Beast. Afterward, he defeated dozens of Outer Disciples in a row and ultimately fought Pan Shi, who’s ranked ninth in the Outer Sect, to a draw. For someone like that to be capable of this Saber Technique is not so strange.”

Granny Mei was very displeased. She had just told Zhaang Yumei that Zhaang Ye couldn’t possibly have made those cuts. But as soon as this Steward Wang arrived, he concluded that Zhaang Ye was the one. Wasn’t this a direct slap to her face?

Granny Mei snorted and said, ”Even if Zhaang Ye was nearby, that doesn’t prove he’s the one who made these cuts, does it?”

Steward Wang shook his head slightly. He could vaguely sense that this Granny Mei seemed to have a prejudice against Zhaang Ye. He chuckled and said, ”Of course. I was merely making a deduction based on the circumstances. As for what truly happened, that remains to be seen.”

Zhaang Yumei said, ”I also felt that Zhaang Ye was the one who made these cuts. It’s a shame we don’t know where he went, or we could just ask him.”

Steward Wang nodded and changed the subject. ”Indeed. But for now, we should have someone come and process this Golden-toothed Lion. Although its hide and teeth have been taken, its sinews and bones are still worth some money...”

Saying this, he went off to notify the family.

The great river stretched out, vast and boundless. Zhaang Ye sat atop the Mammoth, crossing the Boundary River directly.

The Boundary River separated Fierce Beasts from humans. Generally, there were only two ways to cross it. One was to go to a designated ferry crossing and take a custom-built boat. The other was for legendary experts who had reached the level of flight, fearing no Fierce Beast; they could simply fly across with ease.

Zhaang Ye couldn’t fly across, but crossing the river on the Mammoth’s back felt pretty good too. The Mammoth was a surprisingly good swimmer. Its speed in the water was not much slower than its running speed on land. Riding on its back gave him an exhilarating feeling of ignoring all obstacles, as if riding the wind and breaking the waves.

’This fellow is a fast swimmer, but I wonder how strong it is in a fight in the water. I hope no monsters from the river come looking for trouble,’ Zhaang Ye thought.

SPLASH—

In the distance, a monster in the river spotted Zhaang Ye and swam rapidly toward him.

Just what he was afraid of!

Zhaang Ye’s heart skipped a beat. His Thick-Backed Saber slid silently into his palm, while his other hand reached for the half-length Mysterious Blade Tip, ready to pull it out and scare off the river monster if the situation turned sour.

Just then, the silently swimming Mammoth raised its head. Its eyes glared, and it let out a loud, ”GRAH!”

The cry was short, but it was filled with a sense of power and authority. Upon hearing the Mammoth’s roar, the monster swimming toward Zhaang Ye flinched, pulling its head back in fear. Without another sound, it turned and swam away.

The result took Zhaang Ye completely by surprise.

’To be able to scare off a powerful monster with just a cry... this Mammoth is more extraordinary than it looks.’

Thinking back on the Mammoth’s meteoric rise in strength and its human-like intelligence, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but grow curious about its origins.