Overlord of the Wilderness

Under Zhaang Tianlong’s gaze, all the Inner Sect Disciples formed a line. The lineup was arranged mostly by strength. Zhaang Ye was a complete newcomer and his cultivation was only at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer Early Stage, so he could only stand obediently at the very back.

Zhaang Tianlong’s gaze swept over the crowd as he said slowly, ”The strongest among you is at the Martial Arts Fifth Layer Early Stage. I will now suppress my cultivation to the Martial Arts Fifth Layer and test your strength. Let’s see how many moves you can withstand against me. Remember, use every skill you have. Understood?”

The disciples replied in unison, ”Understood.”

After giving his instructions, Zhaang Tianlong wasted no more words. He pointed at Zhaang Yizhi, signaling for him to step forward.

Seeing Zhaang Yizhi take his position, Zhaang Tianlong’s eyes suddenly flew open wide. His body leaned forward slightly as one of his hands abruptly formed into a claw and lunged toward Zhaang Yizhi!

Even before Zhaang Tianlong had attacked, the pressure from his aura had made everyone’s hearts heavy. Now that he had suddenly struck, that pressure instantly transformed. It was like a ten-thousand-pound boulder suddenly crashing down on their hearts, making the Heart Spirit of every Inner Sect Disciple tremble. As the one bearing the brunt of it, Zhaang Yizhi’s clothes billowed and flapped under the force of this terrifying pressure, as if he could be blown off the Martial Arts Arena at any moment.

’What a powerful aura!’ Zhaang Ye, standing at the back, could also feel Zhaang Tianlong’s power, and he was secretly horrified. ’This Zhaang Tianlong has already fused his True Qi into his aura, allowing the formless, intangible pressure to launch a nearly physical attack. A person with a weak will would be defeated by fear before the fight even began, just from facing this aura!’

With this thought, Zhaang Ye fixed his gaze on Zhaang Yizhi, wanting to see how he would handle Zhaang Tianlong’s claw attack.

Although the pressure from Zhaang Tianlong’s aura was incredibly strong, his main method of attack was still this claw strike. In contrast to his wild aura, Zhaang Tianlong’s strike seemed perfectly ordinary, devoid of any might or power. But everyone present knew that the more ordinary an attack looked, the more terrifying it truly was.

Once the power completely contained within such an attack was unleashed, it would be powerful enough to shatter mountains and split rocks.

SWOOSH—

Before Zhaang Ye’s eyes, Zhaang Yizhi neither dodged nor evaded. He raised a hand, extended his middle finger, and actually thrust it directly toward Zhaang Tianlong’s five-fingered claw.

At that moment, Zhaang Ye finally understood the meaning behind Zhaang Yizhi’s name. As Zhaang Yizhi thrust his finger forward, the sharp True Qi shooting from its tip was like a sword slicing through the sky, letting out a ”HISS!”

THUD!

Zhaang Yizhi’s middle finger finally struck Zhaang Tianlong’s claw, creating a muffled sound of impact. The Dantian True Qi suddenly transformed into an External Scattering Force, sweeping across the Martial Arts Arena like a hurricane. As the gale scraped across the ground, it produced a strange, screeching sound. Amidst this bizarre noise, Zhaang Tianlong’s body swayed slightly, while Zhaang Yizhi took a step back.

”Good!” Zhaang Tianlong shouted. ”Watch closely! Take another claw from me!” With that, he struck with his claw again.

This claw strike, compared to the last, was far more agile. It contained over ten different Transformations, faintly locking down all of Zhaang Yizhi’s possible escape routes.

An attack containing such Transformations was even more terrifying than the previous one that relied on pure power. This was because if one couldn’t see through the opponent’s Transformations in an instant and react accordingly, they wouldn’t even have the chance to clash head-on before being defeated.

Zhaang Yizhi was clearly aware of the danger. His expression changed slightly as his figure suddenly moved, becoming an elusive shadow. His finger also shifted continuously with his body’s movements, and he finally managed to meet Zhaang Tianlong’s claw, clashing head-on once more.

The two head-on clashes had caused Zhaang Yizhi’s face to turn pale, but just then, Zhaang Tianlong’s third attack arrived. This strike was even more agile and unpredictable than the second, and much faster. The moment he struck, his claw was already right in front of Zhaang Yizhi’s face!

It was at this moment that Zhaang Yizhi finally revealed the true strength of the Inner Sect Senior Brother. He abruptly raised his right hand, and in an instant, his five fingers transformed into five Sharp Swords, striking heavily against Zhaang Tianlong’s claw at a speed difficult to see with the naked eye.

BOOM!

This was their third head-on clash. This time, Zhaang Yizhi was forced back a full five or six steps before he could stop, his face deathly pale. It was clear that the three clashes had left him with some internal injuries.

”Stop!” Seeing Zhaang Tianlong about to attack again, Zhaang Yizhi hurriedly called out and said with a wry smile, ”Fifth Elder, this is the extent of my strength. There’s no need to test me further.”

The strongest among them, Zhaang Yizhi, had been defeated in a mere three moves. This sent shivers down the spines of the other Inner Sect Disciples. But what had to come, had to come. Zhaang Tianlong turned his gaze to Zhaang Changguang and said, ”You’re next.”

Zhaang Changguang took a deep breath, walked up to Zhaang Tianlong, and said respectfully, ”Fifth Elder, please guide me.”

Hearing both Zhaang Yizhi and Zhaang Changguang address Zhaang Tianlong as Fifth Elder, Zhaang Ye finally understood Zhaang Tianlong’s status within the family. Sizing up Zhaang Tianlong, Zhaang Ye was suddenly reminded of the Zhou Family’s Third Elder. He thought to himself, ’So this Zhaang Tianlong is a family Elder. No wonder. The four great families of Cyan Mulberry City each have seven Elders, and every Elder possesses a cultivation at the Martial Arts Eighth Layer. Even if such an expert suppresses their cultivation to the Martial Arts Fifth Layer, they are still incredibly formidable. No wonder even someone as capable as Zhaang Yizhi could only take three moves...’

BOOM!

While Zhaang Ye was lost in thought, Zhaang Tianlong had already clashed once with Zhaang Changguang, sending his figure retreating violently. Just then, Zhaang Tianlong’s second attack arrived. Although Zhaang Changguang hastily blocked it, his body was sent flying directly off the Martial Arts Arena.

Despite Zhaang Changguang’s cultivation at the Martial Arts Fifth Layer Early Stage, he couldn’t even withstand two moves.

Next, the Inner Sect Disciples went up one by one to face Zhaang Tianlong. His formidable power was on full display. His technique was just that simple claw strike, but not a single one of the disciples who went up to fight could withstand a second attack from him. The lower-ranked disciples—Ancient Fire, Zhaang Feng, Zhaang Huan, Cheng Feng, Zhaang Biao, and Zhaang Quyuan—were all defeated in a single move, without even a chance to clash head-on.

After knocking Zhaang Quyuan off the Martial Arts Arena, Zhaang Tianlong’s gaze settled on Zhaang Ye. He said, ”You’re Zhaang Ye, right? Your cultivation is a bit low, but your Body Refining Technique is not bad. I hope you can take a few more moves from me.”

Hearing Zhaang Tianlong’s words, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart. After he had re-deduced and improved the Dragon Elephant Skill, the Cultivation Technique had become much more refined and powerful. Its aura was restrained, and when he wasn’t actively using it, no one should have been able to tell that he possessed the Dragon Elephant Skill. He never expected this Zhaang Tianlong to see that he had a Body Refining Technique with just a single glance. Such perception was truly terrifyingly sharp.

Aside from Zhaang Yizhi, the other Inner Sect Disciples were all slightly stunned to hear Zhaang Tianlong’s words. From this single sentence, it seemed that Zhaang Tianlong’s regard for Zhaang Ye was no less than his regard for Zhaang Yizhi.

Just what kind of Body Refining Technique did Zhaang Ye possess to make even Zhaang Tianlong take him so seriously? All the Inner Sect Disciples turned their gazes to Zhaang Ye, waiting to see how he would perform.