Overlord of the Wilderness

Seeing the calmness in Zhaang Ye’s eyes, the Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes was slightly surprised. He thought, ’Zhaang Ye is the youngest of this batch of disciples. I never imagined his will would be the most resilient of them all. This is quite unexpected.’

Beyond his surprise, the Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes also felt a flicker of anticipation. The bloody struggle for the Gathering Flower Fruits would continue for two more days. He was curious to see if Zhaang Ye could maintain this calm state of mind in the time to come.

「The first day passed.」

Zhaang Ye and the other youths could only watch as scene after scene of slaughter unfolded, as life after life vanished in a spray of fresh blood.

On the second day, Zhaang Ye and the other youths felt their senses grow even sharper. Their keen hearing picked up every subtle sound; the noise of a blade slicing into flesh was as agonizing as if it were cutting their own bodies. Their sharp eyes perceived the slightest movements; a blood-drenched blade stabbing forward felt like it was piercing their very hearts. Their acute sense of smell could distinctly pick up the reek of death in the air...

By the third day, the youths’ expressions had grown increasingly grim. The eyes of some were filled with revulsion and terror. Others, however, now had a violent glint in their eyes, which flashed with a blood-red light as if they were desperate to go on a killing spree themselves. A few others had vacant, lifeless gazes, looking as though they could lose their sanity at any moment.

And yet, Zhaang Ye remained standing like a stone statue.

”Can you carry your soul and embrace unity, and never be separated from it? Can you practice Specializing in Qi to Achieve Softness, and be as a newborn babe?” After comprehending the profound meaning of this passage, Zhaang Ye had learned to separate his physical body from his Spiritual Will during his Cultivation.

His Spiritual Will was as unyielding as bedrock. What his eyes saw, his ears heard, and his nose smelled could not sway his state of mind.

In fact, watching this brutal combat, Zhaang Ye felt his mental state improve considerably. His Spiritual Will grew more condensed, more pure.

As his Spiritual Will grew more condensed and pure, Zhaang Ye suddenly sensed something strange. He felt the Long Whip coiled at his waist begin to grow faintly warm.

Zhaang Ye found it bizarre. ’How strange! I’ve never been able to figure out this Long Whip since I obtained it. Why is it suddenly heating up on its own now?’

Zhaang Ye had always been fascinated by this Long Whip, a gift from the Mammoth, and had been keen to understand it. But after all this time, he had been unable to unleash its power. Now that the Long Whip was faintly heating up, his curiosity was instantly piqued.

Zhaang Ye desperately wanted to unfasten the Long Whip and study it. However, his body was still being restrained by the Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes. He was eager to examine it but unable to do so, and could only speculate on the Long Whip’s wondrous functions.

「Finally, the third day ended.」

With a flick of his sleeve, the Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes made the crystal wall in front of them rise. At the same time, the force restraining them vanished in an instant. Everyone swayed, and two of the youths couldn’t maintain their balance, collapsing to the floor.

The Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes’s gaze swept across the group. His frigid look, carrying a faint trace of Suppression, sent a chill through their hearts. They heard him speak slowly, ”I had you watch for three days for two reasons. The first was to temper your minds. The fact that you endured means your mental fortitude is passable. The second reason was to make you understand one thing: only by becoming strong can you control your own destiny and avoid being slaughtered by others! Do you understand?”

Shaken, the youths roared in unison, ”We understand!”

The Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes waved his hand. ”You may rest for the next three days. After that, we will be on our way.” He then turned his gaze to Zhaang Ye. ”If you have any personal matters to attend to, settle them within these three days. Return here in three days. Do not fail.”

Zhaang Ye nodded slightly, gave a bow to the Middle-aged Man in Purple Clothes, and strode away.

Outside the Heart Refining Chamber, the sunlight was bright and welcoming. Basking in its warmth, Zhaang Ye let out a long breath, touched the Long Whip at his waist, and strode off.

As he was leaving the Inner Mansion, he happened to see Zhaang Yijian. Zhaang Yijian looked slightly weary, but his eyes shone with excitement. A thought struck Zhaang Ye, and he asked, ”What is it? Did you pass the trial?”

Zhaang Yijian nodded emphatically. ”The True Hall’s trial required the candidate disciples to participate in the contest for the Gathering Flower Fruits. Whoever seized the most would become a true True Hall Disciple. I managed to get seven of them—the most among all the candidates. Barring any surprises, I should become a true True Hall Disciple.”

Zhaang Ye sucked in a cold breath. He had witnessed the brutality of the contest for the Gathering Flower Fruits with his own eyes. He never thought Zhaang Yijian would be capable of seizing seven of them in such a merciless struggle. His strength was truly formidable.

Zhaang Ye said sincerely, ”It seems you are to be the tenth True Hall Disciple. Congratulations.”

Zhaang Yijian nodded slightly and patted Zhaang Ye on the shoulder. ”Wait for me. We’ll go to the True Hall together and become True Dao Experts.” With that said, he strode into the Inner Mansion.

Zhaang Ye’s mind was preoccupied with the change in the Long Whip at his waist, so he had no desire to linger and strode out of the City Lord’s Mansion. As he reached the main gate, he came face-to-face with an old man in red.

This red-robed elder looked to be in his seventies or eighties. He stood by the gate, his sinister gaze scrutinizing everyone who passed through. Looking at him, Zhaang Ye felt a strange sense of familiarity. But after a moment’s thought, he realized he had never seen the man before.

Shaking his head, Zhaang Ye strode out of the City Lord’s Mansion.

At that moment, a terrifying light erupted in the red-robed elder’s eyes. He stared fixedly at Zhaang Ye’s back, muttering, ”That’s the aura, that’s it! I’ll never forget that aura as long as I live! This young man... he must be the one who killed my Tao’er on the outskirts of the Barbaric Beast Mountain Range!”

As he spoke, a chilling killing intent flashed in the elder’s eyes. He clenched his fists and whispered, ”This boy seems to be from the Zhaang Family. But it doesn’t matter what power you belong to. You killed my son, and you will pay with your life! This time, I, Zhou Dayuan, will tear you limb from limb to avenge my Tao’er!”

Thinking of his dead son and how his own Cultivation had fallen to the Sixth Layer of Martial Arts, the red-robed elder’s eyes flashed with intense hatred and ferocity.

This elder was none other than the Zhou Family’s Third Elder, Zhou Dayuan.

Some time ago, Zhou Dayuan had traveled all the way from Cyan Mulberry City to the area outside Three Rivers Town in pursuit of half of the Mysterious Blade Tip.

But on that trip, not only did he fail to acquire the Mysterious Blade Tip, but his only son was also slain. In a furious rage, Zhou Dayuan paid an immense price to perform the Celestial Vision and Earthly Hearing Technique, a skill far beyond his rank, to search for a trace of the killer.

This Celestial Vision and Earthly Hearing Technique was one of the Secret Skills of Cyan Mulberry City’s Zhou Family. When performed, it could easily sense the slightest disturbance within a ten-li radius; not even a tiny field mouse could escape its detection. After performing this Secret Technique, Zhou Dayuan had successfully located Zhaang Ye.

He couldn’t see Zhaang Ye’s face, but the Secret Technique allowed him to lock onto Zhaang Ye’s aura. From that aura, Zhou Dayuan knew that his son’s killer was a young man.

Ever since then, Zhou Dayuan had been quietly keeping an eye on the youths of Cyan Mulberry City, hoping to find his son’s avenger. However, Zhaang Ye had either remained in the Zhaang Mansion to practice his Cultivation or gone elsewhere to train. Despite Zhou Dayuan’s frantic search, he had been unable to find him.

Zhou Dayuan knew that many experts would be coming for the Gathering Flower Fruit contest, so he had stationed himself at the gate of the City Lord’s Mansion, silently searching for his enemy. His persistence paid off. After a full three days of searching, Zhaang Ye finally appeared before him, and Zhou Dayuan was instantly overcome with a mix of grief and elation.

At that moment, some people nearby were discussing in low voices.

”Heh, see that young man? That’s the Zhaang Family’s most outstanding genius, Zhaang Ye. I hear his talent and Comprehension are even greater than Zhaang Yijian’s.”

”Of course I’ve heard of him, I just haven’t seen him before. To think that young man just now was the famous Zhaang Ye. I heard he’s only fourteen or fifteen, but he’s already defeated Zhaang Yijian to become the number one expert of the younger generation. Is that true?”

”Of course it’s true. The new rankings in Cyan Mulberry City have already been released. Heh, I hear his combat power is incredibly fierce. Even experts like Luo Yongsheng and Lee Lie can’t last more than a few moves against him.”

...

’Zhaang Ye? That young man was Zhaang Ye?’

Hearing the name, Zhou Dayuan was slightly stunned.

As a Zhou Family Elder, Zhou Dayuan was already quite familiar with the name Zhaang Ye, though he had never seen the boy in person. He never imagined that the person he had just identified as his son’s killer was also Zhaang Ye, the number one expert of the younger generation.

As a Zhou Family Elder, Zhou Dayuan knew that not only was Zhaang Ye the top expert of the younger generation, but he was also a True Hall Disciple.

A True Hall Disciple!

Thinking about Zhaang Ye’s status, Zhou Dayuan’s expression grew grim. The identity of a True Hall Disciple was no small matter. If he killed Zhaang Ye and the True Hall found out, he feared the entire Zhou Family would be annihilated.

The thought of the True Hall’s terrifying power made Zhou Dayuan’s expression flicker with uncertainty. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote with Recommendation Tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)