Overlord of the Wilderness

Zhaang Ye looked up to see the Inner Sect Senior Brother, a handsome young man in his twenties. He wore a green robe, with sword-like eyebrows slanting toward his temples and a faint smile on his face. His presence was remarkable. What Zhaang Ye particularly noticed was that, despite his relaxed and easy gait, the man’s speed was astonishing. In just a few blinks of an eye, he had crossed several hundred feet to arrive before them.

The Senior Brother nodded to Zhaang Changguang and Zhaang Dong, then to the other Inner Sect Disciples, before finally letting his gaze rest on Zhaang Ye.

The moment the Senior Brother’s gaze fell upon him, Zhaang Ye felt an inexplicable sense of Suppression. This amiable, smiling Senior Brother was stronger than everyone else here. From his aura, Zhaang Ye judged that the Senior Brother’s Cultivation was at least at the Martial Arts Fifth Layer, and his actual combat prowess was probably even greater.

Zhaang Ye had spent some time in the Mammoth Cemetery and had endured the Suppression from the skeletons of Ancient Mammoths. Of course, he wouldn’t be troubled by a mere sliver of the Senior Brother’s aura. His expression didn’t change, but inwardly he mused, ’How strange. I’ve never met this Senior Brother before, but he looks a little familiar...’

Zhaang Ye suppressed his inner doubts and bowed calmly. ”Greetings, Senior Brother. I am Zhaang Ye.”

The smile on the Senior Brother’s face remained as he suddenly raised his right hand and thrust his palm toward Zhaang Ye.

”Huh?”

Seeing the Senior Brother attack Zhaang Ye without a word, Zhaang Changguang, Zhaang Jiang, and the rest of the Inner Sect Disciples were all stunned.

While Zhaang Changguang and the others had time to be stunned, Zhaang Ye, as the target, did not. The Senior Brother’s strike, with its power held in reserve, appeared slow but was deceptively fast. It reached Zhaang Ye almost instantly, his palm hissing through the air like a red-hot iron plunged into water.

If that palm landed, Zhaang Ye would be severely injured, if not killed.

Without a second thought, Zhaang Ye raised his hand in a sudden chopping motion. Unlike the Senior Brother’s contained power, Zhaang Ye’s palm strike created a sharp whistle as it cut through the air. It sounded less like a palm and more like a greatsword, ringing clearly as it sliced through the atmosphere.

WHAM!

As their palms collided, the Dantian True Qi within both men erupted, transforming into a powerful Qi Force that blasted outward. It was as if a fierce gale had swept through the training ground, causing the onlookers’ robes to whip and flutter wildly.

Zhaang Ye felt his opponent’s power surging toward him like an endless tide. He was forced back three steps before he could regain his footing.

The Senior Brother, however, experienced something else entirely. He felt Zhaang Ye’s True Qi first slash at him with razor-sharp intent, followed immediately by a brute, overwhelming force that slammed straight into him. Under the combined assault, despite his profound Cultivation, the Senior Brother was also forced back two steps.

”Hiss—” Seeing Zhaang Ye take the Senior Brother’s blow with such ease, Zhaang Changguang, Zhaang Dong, and the other Inner Sect Disciples all gasped in shock.

The Senior Brother’s strength was universally acknowledged as number one in the Inner Sect. Zhaang Ye, on the other hand, was just a Martial Artist who had recently advanced to the Martial Arts Fourth Layer. In the eyes of Zhaang Changguang, Zhaang Dong, and the others, any one of the Inner Sect Disciples could have defeated Zhaang Ye. They never expected him to perform so unexpectedly, even managing to calmly block a strike from the Inner Sect Senior Brother himself.

”Excellent! Excellent!” Seeing Zhaang Ye withstand his blow, the Senior Brother laughed heartily. ”You’re quite impressive, Zhaang Ye, to be able to take a blow with fifty percent of my True Force. No wonder the family decided to have you participate in the ranking tournament after Ninth Junior Brother disappeared.”

Zhaang Changguang, Zhaang Dong, and the others walked over. The way they looked at Zhaang Ye had instantly changed.

Before, they had been briefly surprised that Zhaang Ye had reached the Martial Arts Fourth Layer at the young age of fourteen, but that was all. The strength of the Fourth Layer was decent, but everyone present was at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer Late Stage. Compared to them, Zhaang Ye’s newly achieved Cultivation was nothing special. But now, he had withstood a blow containing fifty percent of the Senior Brother’s True Qi, demonstrating a strength that far exceeded the Martial Arts Fourth Layer Early Stage. It forced Zhaang Changguang, Zhaang Dong, and the other Inner Sect Disciples to look at him in a new light.

After a brief exchange, upon learning from the Senior Brother that Zhaang Ye would also be participating in the ranking tournament, Zhaang Changguang took the initiative to introduce the other young masters to him.

Besides Zhaang Ye, Zhaang Changguang, and Zhaang Dong, there were ten other young masters present. They were: Inner Sect Senior Brother Zhaang Yizhi, Fourth Senior Brother Wu Yuanchang, Fifth Senior Brother Mu Ying, Sixth Senior Brother Qiu Han, Seventh Senior Brother Ancient Fire, Eighth Senior Brother Zhaang Feng, Tenth Senior Brother Zhaang Huan, as well as Cheng Feng, Zhaang Biao, and Zhaang Quyuan.

As Zhaang Changguang made the introductions, all ten of them gave Zhaang Ye a slight nod. Zhaang Ye sensed a degree of goodwill from Senior Brother Zhaang Yizhi, Zhaang Quyuan, and Zhaang Biao. The others merely nodded, maintaining an unapproachable distance.

Since they clearly had no interest in getting acquainted, Zhaang Ye couldn’t be bothered to make an effort and simply nodded back. For Zhaang Yizhi, Zhaang Quyuan, and Zhaang Biao, however, he offered a smile in return, mentally marking them as people he could potentially befriend.

After introducing the ten, Zhaang Changguang added, ”There was supposed to be a Ninth Junior Brother as well. But he’s been missing for some time. It looks like he probably met with an unfortunate end.”

Hearing Zhaang Changguang mention the Ninth Junior Brother, Zhaang Ye’s expression remained neutral, but he thought, ’If these guys knew I was the one who killed Ninth Senior Brother, I wonder how they’d react...’

”Alright.” A voice suddenly cut through the air, drawing the attention of all the young masters. On a Martial Arts Arena within the training ground, a broad-shouldered, powerfully built middle-aged man in black robes had appeared at some unknown point. He now stood looking down at them, his sharp gaze feeling like it could pierce right through them.

Sensing the man’s aura, Zhaang Ye was startled. ’This man’s aura is as vast and immeasurable as the ocean,’ he thought. ’He must be at least at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer...’

His sharp gaze swept across the group before finally settling on Zhaang Ye. After studying him for a moment, the black-robed man spoke again. ”Good, good. Your overall strength this time is a little better than the last group’s. First, allow me to introduce myself. I am Zhaang Tianlong, and from this moment forward, I am your instructor. For the next month, I will use every means at my disposal to help you improve your strength and abilities so that you can emerge victorious in the Four Races’ youth ranking tournament.”

At this, Zhaang Tianlong’s expression hardened. ”But before we begin, I need to gauge your strength. Now, come up to the Martial Arts Arena one by one. I’m going to test your abilities myself!”