Overlord of the Wilderness

After the top five were decided in the ranking tournament for the young experts of the Four Races, the members of the Zhaang, Lee, Zhou, and Luo families all returned to Cyan Mulberry City. They would rest for a night to recuperate and prepare for the final battles the next day.

That night, as Zhaang Ye sat in his small courtyard silently regulating his breathing, Zhaang Tianlong came to visit him again. Without many words, he casually executed several Combat Skills, challenging Zhaang Ye to counter them.

Seeing that Zhaang Tianlong was not in a talkative mood, Zhaang Ye didn’t ask any questions and simply focused on countering the Combat Skills Zhaang Tianlong demonstrated.

One demonstrated Combat Skills while the other countered them, and before they knew it, the night had passed.

For a Martial Artist like Zhaang Ye, staying up all night was perfectly normal. A short period of breath regulation was all it took to restore his energy and leave him feeling refreshed.

The next day, Zhaang Ye and Zhaang Yijian followed Zhaang Tianlong to the summit of Huiwu Mountain once more.

Before the matches, as was customary, lots were drawn to determine the order of the fights and the opponents. Zhaang Ye drew his lot. His first opponent would be Zhou Yuhe, his second would be Lee Lie, his third would be Luo Yongsheng, and his final opponent would be Zhaang Yijian.

Once the matchups were set, Zhaang Ye and Zhou Yuhe walked onto the Martial Arts Arena. Their gazes met, clashing like two sharp blades.

Seeing that the two were ready, the referee shouted, ”Begin!”

As the referee’s voice fell, Zhou Yuhe’s eyes snapped open. His body began to move like flowing water. As his form shifted, his palms stirred slightly, and Zhaang Ye, standing over twenty feet away, immediately felt the air grow humid. Water Qi even began to condense on his hair.

Watching Zhou Yuhe’s fluid movements, Zhaang Ye’s eyes narrowed slightly. He had observed several of Zhou Yuhe’s matches and knew that his specialty was the Wave Riding Palm Technique. When used at full power, this palm technique could draw the Water Qi from the air and gather it onto the Martial Arts Arena.

This dense Water Qi would obstruct his opponent’s vision and leave them disoriented, while he himself would be like a fish in water, able to launch all sorts of attacks from within the mist.

’To defeat him, I can’t let him fully execute his Wave Riding Palm Technique. Otherwise, even if I win, it will cost me a great deal of energy.’

Zhaang Ye stood motionless, his eyes as sharp as a falcon’s, fixed intently on Zhou Yuhe’s movements.

Zhaang Ye was not unfamiliar with the Wave Riding Palm Technique. After killing the Zhou Family genius, Zhou Yutao, Zhaang Ye had obtained a Martial Arts Secret Manual—the *Lingbo Triple Extremes*. This very manual recorded this set of palm techniques. Although the version recorded in the *Lingbo Triple Extremes* lacked many of its subtleties, as someone with outstanding Comprehension, Zhaang Ye could still discern a great deal from the Secret Manual.

He was waiting now. Waiting for an opportunity. An opportunity for a single, decisive blow.

As Zhaang Ye and Zhou Yuhe stepped onto the Martial Arts Arena, a man and a woman, both dressed in purple, silently appeared atop the Memorial Stone, which stood over a thousand feet high. Their Body Techniques were so ethereal that not one of the Elders present, all with an Eighth-Layer of Martial Arts Cultivation, noticed their arrival.

The woman in purple glanced at the Martial Arts Arena, a playful look in her eyes. ”Senior Brother, look at that. Just look. That little guy’s Cultivation is only at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer, yet with that meager strength, he managed to break into the top five of this Cyan Mulberry City Four Races expert tournament. What does that tell you? It tells you there’s no one left of any talent in Cyan Mulberry City.”

The Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes looked at Zhaang Ye, his brow furrowing slightly.

The Cyan Mulberry City Four Races expert tournament was a grand event for the youth. Those who could enter the top five were all the most outstanding young experts from their respective families. In the mind of the Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes, anyone qualified to be in the top five should have at least the strength of the Martial Arts Fifth Layer. For a boy of fourteen or fifteen to break into the top five was indeed highly unusual.

While the Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes was frowning, Zhou Yuhe had already begun his attack on the arena. Under the influence of the Wave Riding Palm Technique, the surrounding Water Qi swarmed in within just a few blinks of an eye, even dampening the surface of the Martial Arts Arena.

Seeing Zhou Yuhe make his move, the woman in purple said with a smile, ”The young man using that palm technique seems pretty good, though it’s a shame he’s a bit old. What, has he caught your eye, Senior Brother?”

The Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes nodded slightly. ”There are four relatively outstanding youths in Cyan Mulberry City. This young man, Zhou Yuhe, is one of them. According to my information, although he is a bit older, his innate aptitude is quite good. We’ll observe his combat awareness and performance now. If he’s passable, we can consider listing him as a candidate.”

The Water Qi on the Martial Arts Arena grew denser and denser.

The woman in purple glanced at the situation on the stage and sighed. ”It seems this little guy really doesn’t have any skill. The longer Zhou Yuhe uses this palm technique, the greater its power becomes. Instead of proactively moving forward to interrupt him, he’s just standing there dumbly. He’s a lost cause.”

The Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes shook his head slightly. ”Let’s watch a little longer. For this kid to have made it all the way to the top five, he must have some skill.”

After a few more blinks, it was as if a white cloud had suddenly drifted onto the Martial Arts Arena. This cloud was exceptionally thick and dense. Zhaang Ye felt his vision becoming increasingly obscured; even with his eyes wide open, he couldn’t see what was in front of him.

At that moment, Zhaang Ye suddenly felt the white cloud condense slightly.

Zhaang Ye’s eyes flew wide open. ’Good! Now’s the time!’ he thought. ’I’ll use my strongest move, Mountain-Breaking Slash, and take down Zhou Yuhe in one blow!’

With that thought, Zhaang Ye’s figure instantly transformed into a wisp of green smoke, darting into the white cloud. He held his hand upright, forming a sharp blade, and slashed viciously toward Zhou Yuhe, who was hidden within the cloud.

Zhou Yuhe was just about to launch an attack on Zhaang Ye. He never expected that before he could make his move, Zhaang Ye would charge straight into the white cloud, his hand chopping down like a sharp knife.

Even with Zhaang Ye’s unexpected attack, Zhou Yuhe didn’t panic. He spread his palms and executed a move from the Wave Riding Palm Technique, ”Water Round Sky Curtain.” While tightly defending his body, the white clouds around him began to move strangely, pouncing toward Zhaang Ye like a dragon.

Zhaang Ye paid no attention to Zhou Yuhe’s reaction, his hand-blade slashing ruthlessly onto Zhou Yuhe’s own palm.

The moment their palms made contact, Zhou Yuhe was horrified to discover that Zhaang Ye’s strike was incredibly heavy and sharp. It contained a Rotating Power that, with a single twist, shattered his defense!

”AH!”

Zhou Yuhe cried out. Before he could react, Zhaang Ye’s hand-blade had already struck his chest, the violent force knocking him unconscious in an instant.

The exchange between Zhaang Ye and Zhou Yuhe lasted only for the span of two blinks. The spectators outside the Martial Arts Arena only heard a strange sound erupt from within the white cloud, followed by silence. Then, Zhaang Ye’s figure flashed out of the cloud in a blur.

The white cloud slowly dissipated.

Only then did the crowd see that Zhou Yuhe, who just moments before had been so vigorously performing his palm technique, was now lying on the ground with a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. A referee hurried forward to check on him and saw a deep handprint on his chest. The mark was clearly made by the edge of a hand, and the single blow had broken several of Zhou Yuhe’s ribs, knocking him out cold.

The referee sucked in a cold breath. He knew Zhaang Ye was powerful, but he never imagined he was *this* powerful—knocking out Zhou Yuhe, ranked fourth among the Younger Generation, with a single palm strike!

After confirming that Zhou Yuhe was unconscious, the referee took a deep breath and announced, ”Zhaang Ye wins!”

That Zhaang Ye had knocked out Zhou Yuhe with a single palm strike left even Zhaang Tianlong, who had some understanding of his strength, staring wide-eyed in astonishment. As for everyone else, their faces were masks of disbelief.

The crowd below the arena was stunned, and the two figures in purple atop the Memorial Stone were also slightly startled.

After a long moment, the woman in purple gave a wry smile. ”I was wrong. I never thought this little guy, Zhaang Ye, despite his low Cultivation, would be a Body Refining expert. He’s really something else. To think that Zhou Yuhe, with his Martial Arts Fifth Layer Cultivation, was defeated by him in an instant. Senior Brother, did you see clearly how Zhaang Ye defeated him?”

The Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes pondered for a moment before replying, ”That part isn’t hard to figure out. The palm technique Zhou Yuhe was using gathers Water Qi. When the Water Qi condenses to a certain point, he has to circulate his internal True Qi and execute another palm move to propel the Water Qi into an attack. Zhaang Ye seized that exact moment, attacking with lightning speed to knock out Zhou Yuhe in one fell swoop.”

The woman in purple nodded slightly. ”I saw that much as well. The question is, how was Zhaang Ye able to seize that opportunity and attack so decisively?”

The Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes thought for a moment, then said with some uncertainty, ”Perhaps Zhaang Ye is quite familiar with Zhou Yuhe’s palm technique. But even so, Zhou Yuhe still has a Martial Arts Fifth Layer Cultivation. It’s impossible that he couldn’t even withstand a single palm strike, is it? Could it be that the palm strike Zhaang Ye used to attack him was an exceptionally powerful one?”

The Martial Arts Arena had been completely shrouded in Water Qi, and even with the Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes’s visual prowess, he couldn’t see what was happening inside. Zhaang Ye plunging into the cloud and defeating his opponent with a single strike left even him puzzled.

The woman in purple also found it perplexing. She thought for a moment, then laughed softly. ”Interesting, very interesting. Ever since we reached the Martial Arts Ninth Layer of Cultivation, we’ve been able to see through anything with a single glance. I never thought this Zhaang Ye would use a technique that even we couldn’t comprehend! How amusing.”

After saying this, the woman in purple added, ”Senior Brother, how many talented youths have you selected so far? I think this Zhaang Ye is quite good. You can’t go wrong choosing him.”

The Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes replied, ”I’ve already selected eight people; I only need two more. Zhaang Ye’s performance in that last fight was good. But compared to the performances of the other talented youths, his wasn’t particularly outstanding. I still have four cities to visit. If there are no young geniuses in those four cities more outstanding than Zhaang Ye, then I will choose him. Conversely, if there are others who are better, then I’ll have no choice but to pass on him.”

The woman in purple nodded slightly. ”Then let’s keep watching.”(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for Recommendation Tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)