Overlord of the Wilderness

Zhaang Ye held a purplish-black Beast Hide Scroll. He glanced at the ancient, powerful words on it—”Family Mission”—a hint of confusion crossing his face.

The purplish-black Beast Hide had been delivered by someone from the Steward Hall. Zhaang Ye knew it was one of the Zhaang Family’s unique mission scrolls, which recorded a mission’s requirements and related information.

The Zhaang Family had over two thousand Outer and Inner Sect Disciples combined. The family certainly wouldn’t support so many people for nothing. Therefore, while enjoying the family’s benefits, the disciples also had to complete certain family missions. This allowed them to contribute to the family and temper themselves in the process.

The Zhaang Family’s missions were divided into two types. The first type was assigned directly by the family, with no room for choice. For the second, disciples could go to the family’s mission hall and choose a mission they preferred.

The mission Zhaang Ye had just received was clearly the first type. In other words, the family had assigned him a mission to complete.

It wasn’t strange for the family to assign missions to its disciples. What puzzled Zhaang Ye was that these mandatory missions were typically quite important and therefore assigned to more senior disciples. For him to receive one right after advancing to the Martial Arts Fourth Layer and joining the Inner Sect was what felt strange.

’Whatever. I’ll just see what this mission is.’ Zhaang Ye unrolled the Beast Hide. It read: ”Inner Sect Disciple Zhaang Ye is to proceed to the Cyan Stone Mountain training ground in half a month’s time and there await the family’s assignment.”

The mission was so vague that Zhaang Ye couldn’t make heads or tails of it. He tossed the mission Beast Hide aside and resumed his contemplation of the Cloud Stepping Technique.

During his fight with the man in black last night, Zhaang Ye had managed to suppress him with his Saber Technique but was ultimately unable to land a killing blow. The reason was simple: his own Body Technique was far inferior. His saber was fast and powerful, but his footwork lacked the necessary agility and speed, preventing him from ever pinning down his opponent.

The profound Body Technique of the man in black had been a huge wake-up call for Zhaang Ye. For the past few days, he had forgone sleep, dedicating himself completely to studying the Cloud Stepping Technique, determined to cultivate it to the Great Success Realm in the shortest time possible.

「Three days later.」

A hint of a smile appeared on Zhaang Ye’s face.

After this period of study, he had already grasped over eighty percent of the Cloud Stepping Technique. The remaining portion could not be understood through quiet meditation alone; it could only be grasped through repeated practice.

Zhaang Ye already had a plan for how to grasp this final portion. He thought to himself, ’If I just practice on my own, it could take another half a month to fully master the final subtleties of the technique. I can’t wait that long. My only option is to go to the family’s Wind Cave and use it to accelerate my understanding. But that trip will probably take a few days, so I need to make some arrangements first.’

Having made up his mind, Zhaang Ye gathered all his belongings and headed for the inner courtyards.

The inner courtyards were the exclusive residential area for Inner Sect Disciples. After becoming an Inner Sect Disciple, Zhaang Ye had been granted a small courtyard of his own. He had simply been too busy with his Cultivation to go see it. Besides, the rented courtyard he was currently in was surrounded by lush green bamboo and had a wonderful atmosphere, so he hadn’t bothered to move.

After being attacked by the man in black a few days ago, Zhaang Ye had become acutely aware of a security issue—the security of his possessions. He couldn’t carry everything on his person, such as the Nine-leaf Seven-branch Three-flower Grass and his various Elixirs. Zhaang Ye needed to find a relatively safe place for them.

Security in the inner courtyards was far tighter than in the outer courtyards. Zhaang Ye felt he could be at ease, more or less, if he stored his things there.

After his identity was verified, Zhaang Ye easily found his courtyard. It was built halfway up a small hill, with a waterfall cascading down beside it into a small pool below, creating a thunderous roar. The front and back of the courtyard were filled with lush flowers and trees, their fragrance perfuming the air even before he stepped inside.

Behind the courtyard was a large training ground, fully stocked with all kinds of weapons. From the training ground, one could see a bamboo grove in the distance, as well as a sea of blossoming flowers. Zhaang Ye could find no fault with such surroundings. To his even greater satisfaction, the family had assigned three servants to the courtyard to take care of his daily needs. These servants would save him a great deal of trouble.

Zhaang Ye had just settled in when he heard a hearty laugh from outside, followed by a somewhat familiar voice. ”Haha, I heard another junior brother has reached the Martial Arts Fourth Layer and successfully joined the Inner Sect! I am Zhaang Wu, and I’ve come to pay my respects. Would you come out and meet me?”

Zhaang Ye strode out of the courtyard and saw a young man in his twenties dressed in green robes standing outside. It was Zhaang Wu.

Zhaang Wu spotted Zhaang Ye at the same time. He pointed a trembling finger at him and stammered, ”Y-y-you... you actually reached the Martial Arts Fourth Layer! That’s ridiculously fast!”

Zhaang Ye laughed heartily. ”I just got lucky. I hope Senior Brother Zhaang will guide me in the future.”

Zhaang Wu snapped out of his daze with a wry smile. ”Guide you? My ass! I didn’t reach the Martial Arts Fourth Layer and become an Inner Sect Disciple until I was eighteen. And you? You did it at fourteen, a full four years ahead of me. Every time I see you, it’s a blow to my confidence. I feel like I’ve wasted my life. This is just unbearable.”

Zhaang Ye just laughed.

The two went inside the courtyard, sat down, and chatted for a bit. Zhaang Wu’s gaze suddenly fell upon a purple Beast Hide on the table. He started in surprise. ”A purple mission scroll! Zhaang Ye, what kind of mission is it?”

Zhaang Ye gave a wry smile. ”It was delivered by someone from the Steward Hall. I took a look, but the writing is baffling. I have no idea what the family wants me to do.”

Zhaang Wu took the mission Beast Hide, unrolled it, and glanced at the contents. He froze. After a long moment, a complex expression flickered across his face. ”Zhaang Ye,” he said, ”the family must really think highly of you to give you a mission like this.”

Zhaang Ye said, ”Oh? What mission is it? Please, tell me.”

Zhaang Wu nodded. ”The mission scroll tells you to go to the Cyan Stone Mountain training ground in half a month. This is actually so you can undergo a period of training to prepare for a tournament. The tournament is called the Four Races Youth Ranking Competition. Everyone who qualifies to participate is an elite from their respective clan. Zhaang Ye, for you, this is both an opportunity and a challenge. If you do well, your name will be known throughout Cyan Mulberry City. If you do poorly, you’ll suffer a great loss of face and will find it hard to hold your head high...”

Zhaang Ye had never heard of any Four Races Youth Ranking Competition. He couldn’t help but ask, ”Senior Brother Zhaang, could you please explain what this Four Races Youth Ranking Competition is?”

Zhaang Wu nodded. ”Cyan Mulberry City is home to four great Martial Arts Families: the Zhaang, Luo, Zhou, and Li. The power and influence of these four families are deeply intertwined and often overlap. This frequently leads to conflicts over mines, shops, and territories that lie on their borders. To resolve this, someone proposed a tournament where the Younger Generation would compete, with the victors deciding the temporary ownership of these contested assets. This event eventually became a permanent fixture, known as the Four Races Youth Ranking Competition.

The Four Races Youth Ranking Competition is held once every five years and has a history of nearly a thousand years. It has become increasingly important to the four great Martial Arts Families, who view it as a way to display their strength. Many young people also see the tournament as a golden opportunity to obtain huge rewards and make a name for themselves. They’re all scrambling for a chance to compete...”

”Huge rewards?” Zhaang Ye’s interest was piqued. ”Tell me more about that.”

Zhaang Wu smiled. ”The ’huge reward’ is that if you defeat an opponent, you receive a five percent share of whatever asset is won. For example, say you defeat your opponent and win the rights to a mine for five years. For those five years, you will receive five percent of that mine’s profits. Now tell me, isn’t that a huge reward?”

”HISS—” Zhaang Ye drew a sharp breath. A mine, even a small one, generated astronomical annual profits. Five percent of those profits over five years would be an absolutely massive sum. With that kind of income, one could focus entirely on Cultivation without ever having to worry about money again.

Zhaang Wu chuckled. ”The rewards are great, but so are the risks. Everyone who competes is determined to win glory for their family. They go in with a must-win attitude and their methods are exceptionally ruthless. One wrong move and you could end up severely injured. If your Meridians or Dantian are damaged, or if you lose a leg or an arm, your life as a martial artist is likely over...”

Zhaang Ye sighed. ”It seems those rewards aren’t so easy to claim.”

”Of course they’re not. But for us Martial Artists, we fight for even the slightest opportunity. Our Zhaang Family is sending twenty young masters to compete. Of those twenty, seven are True Disciples. Add to that the top ten senior brothers from the Inner Sect’s power rankings, and that accounts for seventeen spots. The remaining three spots are determined by a qualifying competition. Zhaang Ye, people fight tooth and nail for one of those spots and still fail, yet you were just handed one. If word of this gets out, I’m afraid a lot of Inner Sect Disciples will be resentful and come looking to challenge you.”

After explaining the family mission, Zhaang Wu chatted for a little while longer before leaving.

Zhaang Ye stared at the mission Beast Hide on the table, feeling frustrated. While participating in the Four Races Youth Ranking Competition offered the chance for huge rewards, the event was scheduled far too close to the contest for the Gathering Flower Fruit. Participating in the former would undoubtedly affect his performance in the latter.

Furthermore, the spot in the Four Races Youth Ranking Competition had come from a questionable source. Zhaang Ye was an extremely cautious person; he always had a clear plan for what he needed to do. He was naturally wary of anything with an obscure origin, and this mission scroll made him feel very uneasy.

After thinking for a while, Zhaang Ye let out a breath. ’Forget it!’ he thought. ’I could rack my brains all day and still not figure this out. For now, I need to focus on cultivating the Cloud Stepping Technique to the Great Success Realm!’

Putting the mission Beast Hide away, Zhaang Ye strode towards the Wind Cave.