Overlord of the Wilderness

The youth in green pointed his bow and arrow at Zhaang Ye and said in a deep voice, ”Who are you? What power do you belong to? What are you doing here?”

Zhaang Ye smiled and said, ”Relax. I’m also a member of the Cyan Mulberry Zhaang Family.”

The youth in green sneered. ”Impossible! There’s no one like you among the Inner Sect Disciples of the Cyan Mulberry Zhaang Family.”

Zhaang Ye coughed. ”I’m not an Inner Sect Disciple. I’m an Outer Disciple of the Cyan Mulberry Zhaang Family.” As he spoke, he pulled a Wooden Token from his robes, flashed it at the youth in green, and then made a strange hand gesture.

As a Martial Arts Family with a thousand-year heritage, the Zhaang Family naturally had a method for distinguishing friend from foe. This method involved identity tokens and corresponding hand gestures. Each gesture was specific to a particular token—a different token meant a different gesture. However, any member of the Zhaang Family would be able to understand it.

By making this gesture, Zhaang Ye was both revealing his own identity and testing the other man’s. If the other person couldn’t recognize the gesture, then he wasn’t a member of the Zhaang Family.

Seeing Zhaang Ye’s Wooden Token and gesture, the youth in green was finally convinced. He responded with a gesture of his own, but his eyes remained fixed on Zhaang Ye, wide with disbelief.

After a long moment, he regained his composure and asked, ”Are you really only fourteen?”

Zhaang Ye nodded.

”And your Cultivation is at the Peak of the Martial Arts Third Layer?”

Zhaang Ye nodded. It was generally impossible for someone of a lower Cultivation to hide their Realm from someone of a higher one, so he simply admitted it.

”The force behind that stone you threw was immense. Have you also practiced Body Refining Techniques?”

Zhaang Ye nodded again.

”Gods.” Zhaang Ye’s three nods left the youth in green completely stunned.

’Fourteen years old and at the Peak of the Martial Arts Third Layer! And he’s even practiced Body Refining Techniques!’ The youth in green was stunned by this revelation for a long moment before he finally snapped out of it. He sighed and said with a wry smile, ”You must be Zhaang Ye, right? My name is Zhaang Zisong. I never thought the Outer Sect could produce a genius like you, Junior Brother. Please forgive my earlier rudeness.”

Zhaang Ye chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. ”Your skill with the bow and arrow is impressive, Senior Brother. I could barely dodge those three shots.”

”You’re too modest, Junior Brother.” Zhaang Zisong waved his hand. ”The stone you threw was immensely powerful, enough to easily punch through a tree a man couldn’t wrap his arms around. That proves your Body Refining Techniques have reached an extremely high Realm. Based on that alone, a typical expert at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer would be no match for you.”

Zhaang Zisong had a rather straightforward personality. Seeing Zhaang Ye’s immense strength, he didn’t put on the airs of an Inner Sect Disciple, instead addressing him directly as Junior Brother. This earned him Zhaang Ye’s instant goodwill, and the two continued to chat for a while.

Zhaang Ye asked a few questions and learned that Zhaang Zisong had entered this area with two other Inner Sect Disciples to hunt Fierce Beasts. The beast he had been chasing earlier was the very same Tusked Beast that Zhaang Ye had slain with a single slash.

”Since this Tusked Beast was your prey, you can deal with it.” Zhaang Ye led Zhaang Zisong to the decapitated Tusked Beast and offered him the kill.

Zhaang Zisong hurriedly waved his hands. ”No, I can’t accept that. You killed this Tusked Beast, so it belongs to you.”

Zhaang Ye just smiled and shook his head, showing he wasn’t interested.

The Tusked Beast was just a Low-level Fierce Beast. Its most valuable parts were its two tusks and its hide. Sold in Cyan Mulberry City, these two things would fetch ten to twenty thousand taels of Gold at most. Meanwhile, a single whisker from the Long-bearded White-footed Beast on Zhaang Ye’s back was worth nearly twenty thousand taels of Gold. In comparison, Zhaang Ye really couldn’t be bothered with the Tusked Beast.

Seeing that Zhaang Ye really didn’t want it, Zhaang Zisong stopped being polite. He took out a knife, carved out the Tusked Beast’s two tusks, and carefully stored them away.

Since the Tusked Beast’s body had been sliced in two, the hide’s value was greatly diminished, so Zhaang Zisong didn’t bother with it.

After storing the tusks, Zhaang Zisong said to Zhaang Ye, ”Junior Brother, it’s almost dark, and this forest is extremely dangerous at night. Why don’t you come back to our camp with me? You can rest for the night and continue on your way tomorrow.”

Zhaang Ye still had the bundle on his back; going with Zhaang Zisong would be somewhat inconvenient. Although Zhaang Zisong seemed like a decent person, he was with two other Inner Sect Disciples. Zhaang Ye was always wary of strangers. He mulled it over for a moment before saying, ”I wouldn’t want to trouble you. I’ve spent some time in this area before, so I should be fine.”

Zhaang Zisong shook his head and said in a low voice, ”Junior Brother, lately, we not only have to guard against Fierce Beasts, but also against people! I’ve heard several disciples from the Luo Family have gone missing in this forest, including a very important person. The Luo Family is now frantically searching for the culprit. Our Zhaang Family has never been on good terms with the Luo Family. If you run into them while traveling alone, it could be extremely dangerous...”

Hearing Zhaang Zisong mention the Luo Family, Zhaang Ye felt a flicker of alarm. He asked, ”Who from the Luo Family died? What’s got them searching so hard for the killer?”

Zhaang Zisong shook his head slightly. ”I’m not too clear on the details myself. I heard a few Inner Sect Disciples died, and even a True Disciple. They couldn’t even find the bodies. Well, I don’t really know the specifics.”

Hearing this, Zhaang Ye understood in his heart: the dead True Disciple from the Luo Family was none other than Luo Jianqing, the man he himself had killed. Still, the matter was without proof, so Zhaang Ye wasn’t particularly afraid.

Zhaang Ye’s expression remained unchanged. He chuckled and said, ”A True Disciple died? No wonder the Luo Family is acting so ruthlessly. Heh, sounds like that disciple was probably eaten by a Fierce Beast.”

Zhaang Zisong nodded in agreement. ”The outer forests of the Barbaric Beast Mountain Range are fraught with danger. Even a master at the Martial Arts Eighth Layer couldn’t guarantee they’d get out of here in one piece. It’s perfectly normal for the Luo Family to lose a few members.”

Suddenly, a shrill cry—”TWEEET!”—rang out from up ahead, mingled with the faint roars of several Fierce Beasts. The sounds were a chaotic jumble.

Hearing the cry, Zhaang Zisong’s expression changed. ”Damn it! Our camp is under attack by Fierce Beasts! We have to get there now!”

With that, he abruptly unleashed his Body Technique, shooting forward like a great bird skimming low across the ground.

Seeing Zhaang Zisong’s urgency, Zhaang Ye felt he couldn’t just walk away. He had no choice but to unleash his own Body Technique at full strength, keeping close behind him.