Overlord of the Wilderness

To the north of the Zhaang Family’s estate stood a Stone Mountain several hundred zhang tall. On its mountainside were several man-made caves. These caves pierced through the entire Stone Mountain, and when the wind blew from the north, it would rush through them at high speed. The wind was so powerful that an ordinary person couldn’t even stand steady. Thus, the people of the Zhaang Family called these caves the ”Wind Caves.”

The ancestors of the Zhaang Family had expended great effort to carve out these Wind Caves, their main purpose being to allow the family’s disciples to cultivate their Body Techniques within.

The wind inside the Wind Caves was extremely powerful; even a Martial Artist couldn’t walk normally within. Yet, such a place was also the best for cultivating Body Techniques. Using the fierce winds to hone one’s Body Technique could make it more refined and fluid. And if one could comprehend some of the mysteries of the wind from within the caves, one could improve their Body Technique by a great leap, even reaching Great Success directly.

Zhaang Ye arrived at the base of the Stone Mountain and strode to the Wind Cave management office.

The Wind Cave management office was, at its core, a fee collection point. Although the Zhaang Family’s Wind Caves were available for the family’s disciples, their use was not free. To enter and cultivate, one needed to pay a fee.

A Steward at the management office verified Zhaang Ye’s identity, a look of shock on his face. If not for Zhaang Ye’s identity token, he would never have believed that Zhaang Ye was actually an Inner Sect Disciple.

The Steward respectfully returned the identity token to Zhaang Ye and asked, ”Which Wind Cave would you like to enter?”

Although Zhaang Ye knew the Zhaang Family had a place like the Wind Caves for cultivating Body Techniques, he didn’t know much about them. He promptly said, ”Could you give me an introduction?”

The Steward nodded and said, ”The Zhaang Family has four Wind Caves in total. Wind Cave Number Four has the slowest wind speed and is used for cultivating Low-level Body Techniques. Wind Cave Number Three’s wind speed is faster and is used for Mid-Level Body Technique. The wind speed in Wind Cave Number Two is much faster than Number Three’s and is used for Advanced Body Technique. As for Wind Cave Number One, not only is the wind speed fast, but the currents are also chaotic, with all sorts of Tornadoes. Only those at the Elder Level dare to enter for cultivation...”

After listening to the Steward’s introduction, Zhaang Ye said, ”Number Three, then.”

The Steward nodded. ”One day of cultivation in Cave Number Three costs two hundred taels of Gold. There are rest areas outside the cave. How many days would you like to cultivate for?”

Zhaang Ye did a quick calculation. ”Ten days, to start.”

After paying the fee, Zhaang Ye took a Beast Tendon and a Wooden Token from the Steward. The Steward pointed to the two items and explained, ”The wind inside is extremely strong. You can tie this Beast Tendon around your waist and the other end to a fixed object inside the Wind Cave. This will prevent you from being blown out. This Wooden Token is your Wind Chamber number. Just show this token and enter the corresponding chamber.”

Zhaang Ye nodded and headed straight up the Stone Mountain. When he reached the mountainside and saw the four Wind Caves in the distance, he heard the howling of the wind as it cut through them. The roar from the fourth Wind Cave was like a monster’s angry bellow. The sound from the third Wind Cave rumbled like a stampede of ten thousand beasts. The shrieks coming from the second and first Wind Caves were exceptionally sharp, like metal scraping across ice. Just from the sound, one could imagine how fast the wind inside must be.

Zhaang Ye walked up to the third Wind Cave, handed his Wooden Token to an old man checking identities at the entrance, and then strode into the Wind Chamber.

The moment he pushed open the stone door to the Wind Chamber, Zhaang Ye felt a violent gale rush toward him, nearly blowing him into the air. He sucked in a sharp breath and quickly used the Iron Bridge Stopping River Formation to steady himself. Then, he stripped off his clothes and placed them in a more sheltered spot.

When cultivating in the Wind Caves, most Martial Artists had to remove their clothes; otherwise, their garments would be quickly shredded by the gale. It was precisely because Martial Artists all cultivated naked that the Wind Caves were designed with individual Wind Chambers. This allowed each person to stay in their own chamber, out of sight from others, thus avoiding any awkwardness.

After stowing his clothes, Zhaang Ye walked step by step toward the center of the Wind Chamber.

With every step forward, the force of the wind grew much stronger. By the time he reached the center of the Wind Chamber, Zhaang Ye felt the head-on gale crash into him as if it were a solid object. The fierce wind lashed every inch of his skin, and even when he held his breath, the terrifying gale still forced its way into his nostrils.

’What a powerful wind! But this is perfect for cultivating my Body Technique, and my Rotating Power!’ Zhaang Ye felt neither alarm nor elation. After gradually adapting, his body slowly began to move. He started performing various movements against the gale, trying to comprehend the mysteries within the Cloud Stepping Technique.

On the first day, Zhaang Ye’s movements were very, very slow, and his range of motion was a mere one or two zhang.

On the second day, his movements were still very slow, but his range of motion had increased. With a larger area to work with, he could perform a greater variety of actions.

Two consecutive days of cultivation left Zhaang Ye’s skin so dry that he could rub off a layer of old skin with a gentle touch, making him look as if he had aged twenty years. The endless gale had also blown his eyes completely bloodshot, to the point that he eventually didn’t even dare to open them.

On the third day, Zhaang Ye had comprehended over ninety percent of the Cloud Stepping Technique’s mysteries. He could now move normally within the Wind Chamber, his speed a little faster than the day before. However, he still didn’t dare open his eyes, relying solely on his senses to repeat the various movements again and again.

Even so, the fine hairs on his body and his eyebrows were stripped away by the endless gale. His hair was first blown completely dry, then, like withered grass on a mountain, it was snapped off by the wind and scattered, leaving his head completely bald.

On the fourth day, by combining the Rotation Unloading Skill he had comprehended in the Mammoth Cemetery, Zhaang Ye suddenly understood the Wind-facing Force-off Skill. This technique involved coordinating his body and the True Qi within it to transform himself into a small Tornado. By becoming one with the wind, no matter how strong the gale, Zhaang Ye could use this Rotating Power to easily deflect it.

With this Wind-facing Force-off Skill, Zhaang Ye no longer had to be so cautious. His body became a Tornado within the Wind Chamber, dancing about at an incredible speed as he performed all sorts of movements.

Thanks to this Wind-facing Force-off Skill, Zhaang Ye’s rate of comprehension increased dramatically. By the fifth day, he had finally unraveled the last mystery of the Mid-Level Body Technique, the Cloud Stepping Technique, and had completely mastered it.

Having mastered the Footwork Technique, the next thing Zhaang Ye had to do was combine his Dragon Elephant Skill with the Cloud Stepping Technique. He wanted to make the Dragon Elephant Skill the power source for the Cloud Stepping Technique. Propelled by the Dragon Elephant Skill, the Cloud Stepping Technique would then be able to easily borrow and unload power from various objects to move, truly reaching the Great Success Realm.

This integration was a process of practice makes perfect. In the following days, Zhaang Ye repeatedly channeled his Dragon Elephant Skill, slowly merging it with the Cloud Stepping Technique.

The endless gale was extremely beneficial for cultivating Body Technique. By the sixth day, Zhaang Ye had preliminarily combined the Dragon Elephant Skill with the Cloud Stepping Technique. At this point, his Cloud Stepping Technique could be considered to have reached the Minor Achievement Realm. A single light step could send him gliding a great distance, like a cloud high in the sky. And with his Power-Borrowing Technique, Zhaang Ye no longer needed his feet to touch the ground; a gentle wave of his sleeve at the stone wall was enough to borrow power from it and continue his flight.

「The tenth day.」

Zhaang Ye got dressed and strode out of the Wind Chamber. As he passed a smooth, mirror-like stone surface outside, he realized that in these ten days, he looked as if he had aged a full forty years. He resembled a bald old man, skinny as a skeleton, who hadn’t eaten in a year.

Although his appearance was extremely unsightly, Zhaang Ye paid it no mind. After spending ten days in the Wind Chamber, even walking felt light and airy. He could sense the slightest flow of air currents around him—a truly wonderful feeling.

The ability to acutely sense and perfectly utilize air currents was a sign of a Body Technique reaching Great Success. Zhaang Ye was still some distance from bringing his Cloud Stepping Technique to the Great Success level, but he wasn’t far off.

As he walked back to his small courtyard, before he could even enter, he saw a group of green-robed youths approaching from a distance. One of them shouted, ”You’re that Zhaang Ye who just became an Inner Disciple, right? I challenge you!”

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