Overlord of the Wilderness

When the Hall Masters saw Zhaang Ye come to a stop, they just assumed he wanted to rest for a bit. But to their surprise, Zhaang Ye stood there in the Ancient Passage for five whole days!

A lot can happen in five days.

On the first day, Situ Houtu caught up. Seeing Zhaang Ye standing motionless, he figured Zhaang Ye had finally gotten tired and was taking a break. A wild joy surged in his heart as he quickly picked up his pace, passed Zhaang Ye, and continued onward.

On the fourth day, Feng Tongming caught up. After watching Zhaang Ye clear the trial, she seemed to have an epiphany. It only took her four short days to decipher the third Puppet’s Combat Skill, successfully pass its test, and enter the Ancient Passage.

Seeing Zhaang Ye standing there quietly, she initially wanted to say something to him. But when she sensed the powerful aura faintly emanating from his body, she realized he might be in the middle of Cultivation. She shook her head slightly and strode onward.

On the fifth day, Jiang Ailiang caught up. His strength had been compromised after being invaded by a deathly aura, and it took him a full five days to get past the third Puppet.

Having spent five days on the third Puppet, Jiang Ailiang had originally thought he would never be able to catch up to Zhaang Ye. After seeing Zhaang Ye, he first froze in surprise, which was then followed by ecstatic joy. He could hardly believe that he had actually caught up to Zhaang Ye, who had passed the third Puppet five days ago.

After sizing up Zhaang Ye and noticing that he seemed unable to move for some reason, a trace of killing intent appeared in Jiang Ailiang’s eyes. He slowly began to walk toward Zhaang Ye.

Jiang Ailiang was a man of deep and calculating thoughts. He had faintly noticed that Feng Tongming seemed to have taken a liking to Zhaang Ye. Feng Tongming was his fiancée, his dual cultivation partner. He absolutely could not tolerate her developing feelings for another man.

’Therefore, Zhaang Ye must die.’

When Jiang Ailiang was just over twenty zhang away from Zhaang Ye, he suddenly saw Zhaang Ye’s eyes snap open. They stared at him coldly, and the chill in that gaze made Jiang Ailiang feel as if he had been plunged into the icy depths, a coldness spreading from his head to his toes.

An immense sense of danger rose from the bottom of Jiang Ailiang’s heart. He felt that the Zhaang Ye before him could crush him to death at any moment. The feeling was completely inexplicable, but Jiang Ailiang didn’t dare take the risk. He gave Zhaang Ye one last, deep look and left without turning back.

After Jiang Ailiang left, three more people caught up.

The first to arrive was a young woman of eighteen or nineteen with a slightly charming air.

The second was a young man with twin blades on his back and dark, coarse skin.

The third was a powerfully built young man in fitted blue clothes, carrying twin hammers, with thick eyebrows and large eyes.

The three of them glanced at Zhaang Ye from a distance and continued on without stopping.

...

「In the Great Hall.」

The Hall Masters watched Zhaang Ye, who remained motionless, all of them feeling puzzled.

The Fourth Hall Master, who was the most invested in Zhaang Ye, frowned deeply. The Three Western Counties under his jurisdiction had finally produced a talent like Zhaang Ye, and he was counting on Zhaang Ye to suppress Situ Houtu and win him some prestige. He never expected Zhaang Ye to just stand in the Ancient Passage for five days straight, doing who knows what.

Zhaang Ye had been standing for five days, and during that time, six people had overtaken him. This made the Fourth Hall Master grow secretly anxious on Zhaang Ye’s behalf.

「Back in the Ancient Passage.」

Zhaang Ye stood in silence.

He watched as Situ Houtu and the others surpassed him one by one. But even though he knew he was being overtaken, there was nothing he could do. Because he was in the middle of a breakthrough!

His Dragon Elephant Skill had chosen to advance at the most inopportune time!

During his battle with the Puppets, Zhaang Ye had absorbed a significant amount of the Wilderness’s aura. With this aura, his Dragon Elephant Skill was on the verge of breaking through to the Mid-stage Fifth Layer at any moment. However, Zhaang Ye knew that the 5th Layer of the Dragon Elephant Skill focused on cultivating the bones. To advance, he would need to use his Dragon Elephant Power to temper every single bone in his body, one by one.

Zhaang Ye had between two and three hundred bones in his body. Tempering them one by one would take a very long time, which was why he had been suppressing the breakthrough.

But he never expected that after entering the Ancient Passage, the immense Suppression from that tyrannical aura would actually trigger his Dragon Elephant Skill to begin the breakthrough on its own!

Upon noticing the signs of the breakthrough, Zhaang Ye had sprinted wildly, trying to expend the power in his body. But this tactic was completely useless. Even after running for more than ten li, the Dragon Elephant Power within him showed no signs of stopping. It continued to circulate, initiating the advancement process.

Zhaang Ye was helpless. He felt like a hen that needed to lay an egg; there was no use holding it in. Left with no other choice, Zhaang Ye could only stand still and begin the breakthrough.

A Mammoth can sleep, eat, cultivate, and even die while standing. The Dragon Elephant Skill that Zhaang Ye practiced was somewhat similar to the Mammoth’s Cultivation Technique. Thus, Zhaang Ye didn’t need to sit cross-legged; he could break through while standing.

For five days, Zhaang Ye endured the tyrannical aura while silently circulating his Dragon Elephant Power, tempering the bones in his body one by one.

While tempering his bones, Zhaang Ye remained fully conscious. When Jiang Ailiang approached him with murder in his heart, Zhaang Ye desperately wanted to strike him down. However, considering he was at a critical point in his Cultivation, he knew the trouble would be immense if a single strike failed to kill his foe.

”TING TING TING TING TING TING TING TING—”

Another night passed. As the sun rose on the horizon, hundreds of metallic chimes echoed from within Zhaang Ye’s body. These hundreds of chimes were crisp and pleasant, the sound of his now incredibly hard bones striking against one another.

Once the hundreds of metallic chimes faded, a faint golden light suddenly surged in Zhaang Ye’s eyes.

After nearly six days, Zhaang Ye had finally finished tempering all two hundred-plus bones, successfully breaking through to the Mid-stage Fifth Layer of the Dragon Elephant Skill.

Although it was only a minor advancement, Zhaang Ye could feel that his Dragon Elephant Power was now much purer and stronger. When he circulated it, he was still affected by the aura in the Ancient Passage, but the influence was much smaller. Of his full Dragon Elephant Power, he could now unleash at least fifty or sixty percent.

’Good! Now that my Dragon Elephant Skill has reached the Mid-stage Fifth Layer, it’s time to get moving! With the help of the Dragon Elephant Skill, I’m going to catch up to those people in one go and surpass Situ Houtu!’ With that thought, Zhaang Ye’s body shot forward with a WHOOSH. He crossed a zhang in a single step, his entire being like a gust of wind as he rushed straight ahead.

The Hall Masters in the Great Hall had been paying close attention to Zhaang Ye, so his sudden movement immediately caught their notice.

Seeing Zhaang Ye cross over a zhang in a single stride, looks of surprise appeared in the Hall Masters’ eyes. In this Ancient Passage, none of the youths could circulate their True Qi. Furthermore, the aura left behind by the Ancient Great Power weighed heavily on their hearts. Not even Situ Houtu or Lan Haohan, who was renowned for his strength, could leap a full zhang like that.

For Zhaang Ye to be able to leap a zhang now meant that both his willpower and his physical strength were exceptionally formidable.

The Second Hall Master watched Zhaang Ye’s figure, shook his head slightly, and said, ”Zhaang Ye’s Body Refining Technique is quite good. However, five days have already passed. In that time, Situ Houtu has already traveled over three hundred and fifty li, with only about forty li left to go. No matter how outstanding Zhaang Ye’s Body Refining Technique is, he can’t possibly catch up.”

The Fourth Hall Master watched Zhaang Ye’s wind-like speed and chuckled. ”That’s not necessarily true. If Zhaang Ye can maintain this pace, he just might be able to catch Situ Houtu.”

The Second Hall Master gave a wry smile. ”Old Fourth, do you really think that’s possible?”

The Fourth Hall Master was left speechless.

Under normal circumstances, never mind three hundred-odd li, Zhaang Ye could have easily covered three thousand li with his Body Technique. But in this Ancient Passage, True Qi couldn’t be circulated, and one had to endure a terrifying Suppression. Under these conditions, sprinting thirty li was already impressive. As for sprinting over three hundred li... even the Fourth Hall Master himself didn’t believe it was possible.

Zhaang Ye didn’t know someone was watching him. All he knew was that he had to run, to run without stopping, and to overtake every single person ahead of him!

Four hours passed. Zhaang Ye ran nonstop, covering a full seventy li. At this point, he finally caught up to someone: the powerfully built young man in fitted blue clothes, carrying twin hammers, with thick eyebrows and large eyes.

Seeing Zhaang Ye fly past him, the young man in fitted blue clothes couldn’t help but rub his eyes. He hadn’t slept for several days straight, and when he saw Zhaang Ye suddenly rush by, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

After passing the young man in blue, Zhaang Ye quickly caught up to a second person: the young man with twin blades on his back and dark, coarse skin.

Seeing Zhaang Ye’s figure sprint past, this dark-skinned young man couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. His gaze was fixed on the blade on Zhaang Ye’s back as he muttered, ”That guy... he uses a blade too!”

The third person Zhaang Ye caught up to was the young woman of eighteen or nineteen with a slightly charming air. This young woman’s pace wasn’t slow, but compared to Zhaang Ye, it was a world of difference. When Zhaang Ye shot past her, she was startled at first, then quickened her pace, intending to compete with him. But she was soon left far behind, and could only stop, frustrated.

After passing the third person, Zhaang Ye’s speed didn’t drop in the slightest. He continued his wild sprint, and soon, a sinister figure appeared before him. Seeing this figure, a cold smile touched the corners of Zhaang Ye’s mouth. He accelerated, his body carrying a fierce gust of wind as he charged straight toward the figure. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for Recommendation Tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)