Overlord of the Wilderness

WHOOSH!

Another yellow firework soared into the sky, signaling that Zhaang Ye had passed another trial.

Watching the yellow firework behind him, Zhaang Ye smiled faintly. ’If I’m not mistaken, there should be three trials on these White Jade Steps. I’ve already passed two. I just need to get through one more to become an Inner Hall Disciple.’

Zhaang Ye drifted along the White Jade Steps, quickly covering several more miles.

Suddenly, an extremely dangerous sensation welled up from the bottom of his heart, as if something lethal was eyeing him like a predator, ready to claim his life at any moment. The instant he felt it, Zhaang Ye reacted. The Heavy Saber on his back leaped like a fish into his hand.

Just then, a cold voice drifted down from further up the steps. ”Excellent! You can even sense the faintest trace of killing intent. No wonder you were able to pass Sang Fan’s and Fang Dong’s trials.”

Zhaang Ye dashed forward several dozen yards and finally got a clear look at the person who had spoken.

The speaker was a young man with shoulder-length hair. The aura he exuded was similar to Fang Dong’s, suggesting he also had a Cultivation at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer Late Stage.

What put Zhaang Ye on high alert was the man’s aura and gaze. His aura was sharp as the wind, seemingly ready to burst forth and slay his enemies at any moment. And his gaze was as piercing as two arrows, a tangible stare that seemed capable of boring through anything it saw.

After sizing up the man, Zhaang Ye’s eyes fell upon his hands. The young man held a Longbow as tall as himself. It was jet-black with an ancient, unadorned quality, yet it radiated a cold, murderous intent. A three-foot-long black arrow was nocked on its string, looking like a venomous snake ready to strike and devour a man whole.

The sense of danger Zhaang Ye had felt moments ago was coming from that very arrow.

’An expert archer! This is going to be troublesome.’ Seeing the Bow and Arrow in the young man’s hands, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but draw a sharp, silent breath. An expert in Archery could attack from over a hundred yards away. The arrows would be so fast they’d be invisible to the naked eye. One misstep, and the result would be an arrow through the heart.

Zhaang Ye had no long-range attacks. To pass this trial, his only option was to rely on his Heavy Saber and find a way to get close to his opponent. This process would be incredibly dangerous; he could be pinned to the ground by an arrow at any moment.

The long-haired youth’s gaze fell upon Zhaang Ye as he spoke slowly, ”My name is Mo Zhiyi. You’re quite impressive, little one, managing to reach the third trial so quickly and all by yourself.”

Zhaang Ye was slightly taken aback. ”People can attempt these trials together?”

Mo Zhiyi didn’t speak, merely giving a slight nod.

Seeing Mo Zhiyi nod, Zhaang Ye had a moment of realization. ’None of the guards on these White Jade Steps are below the Martial Arts Seventh Layer. Even with ninety percent of their True Qi sealed, they’re still nearly unbeatable opponents for a youth at the Martial Arts Fifth Layer. If I had challenged the trials with a few others, or even a group of ten, the success rate would have been much higher...’

Although facing the trials alone was fraught with difficulty, Zhaang Ye felt no regret. While it would have been much easier with a group, he had worked hard to get ahead of the other youths, and he wasn’t about to wait around at the bottom for days. Besides, if Situ Houtu could face the trials alone, why couldn’t he?

Mo Zhiyi then spoke again, his voice slow. ”My greatest skill is Archery. I will stand right here. If you can withstand three of my arrows, you will have passed my trial.”

’Three arrows!’ Hearing this, Zhaang Ye finally breathed a sigh of relief. Mo Zhiyi’s aura was strange and unsettling, and the Longbow in his hands reeked of bloodlust—who knew how many it had killed. His Archery skills were bound to be extraordinary.

Against such a master of Archery, if he were to fire arrow after arrow, Zhaang Ye would be completely overwhelmed. Even with Mo Zhiyi using only ten percent of his True Qi, it would be impossible to defend.

BANG!

Just then, a yellow firework shot high into the air from below. Seeing it, a flicker of surprise crossed Zhaang Ye’s eyes. ’I can’t believe Situ Houtu passed the second trial too! His strength is truly tyrannical. If I hadn’t pushed my Dragon Elephant Skill to the Mid-stage Fifth Layer, I would be no match for him!’

Knowing that Situ Houtu had also cleared the second trial, Zhaang Ye had no desire for further conversation. He took a deep breath, raised his Heavy Saber, and said, ”Senior Brother Mo, please enlighten me!”

In the two trials below, Zhaang Ye had been the one to attack first. But now, he was still several dozen yards away from Mo Zhiyi; even if he wanted to attack, it was impossible. So, Zhaang Ye simply let Mo Zhiyi make the first move.

After all, he just had to withstand three arrows, and the trial would be over.

Mo Zhiyi nodded slightly and said slowly, ”Be careful. The bow in my hands is called the Cloud-Sundering Bow. It was forged by the most outstanding Artifact Refiner in the True Hall. It is a Mortal Artifact First Grade. The bowstring is made from the tendon of a High-level Fierce Beast, and it requires 8,100 jin of strength to draw. An arrow fired from this bow can pierce mountains and shatter stone; it can even kill a Mid-level Fierce Beast with a single shot...”

After speaking, Mo Zhiyi slowly raised his Longbow and began to draw it.

As Mo Zhiyi pulled, the jet-black Longbow actually began to hum. Zhaang Ye clearly saw a faint layer of white light suddenly appear on the seemingly ancient bow. The light grew thicker and thicker until it was so dense that the arrow on the string was completely obscured!

Mo Zhiyi’s voice drifted over. ”The Arrow Skill I cultivate has nine arrows in total. Since I can only use ten percent of my True Qi, I can only perform three of the Arrow Techniques. This first one is the Swift Arrow.”

His voice faded.

The bow was drawn like a full moon, his right hand poised as if cradling an infant. He loosed the arrow!

The arrow Mo Zhiyi shot made no sound, for it was much faster than sound itself. It stirred no wind, for its speed was a hundred times faster than the wind.

Zhaang Ye had spent two months cultivating his Saber Technique in the Cyan Mulberry Zhang Family’s Wind Cave, using stones as targets. His eyes had become incredibly sharp; no matter how fast a stone flew, it could not escape his sight. But facing the arrow from Mo Zhiyi, even with his visual acuity, he could only catch the faintest shadow of its trail.

However, that faint afterimage was enough for Zhaang Ye.

SWOOSH!

Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber suddenly swept horizontally in front of him. CLANG! With a deafening ring, he felt his Heavy Saber shudder as if it had been struck by a massive boulder, the force nearly knocking it out of his hands.

The arrow Zhaang Ye had deflected veered and struck a rock. The rock instantly shattered, exploding into a cloud of fragments.

”Hm?” Seeing Zhaang Ye block his first arrow with a simple horizontal slash, a trace of surprise flashed in Mo Zhiyi’s eyes. The arrow he had just shot was called the ”Swift Arrow,” and its strength lay in its speed. Though Mo Zhiyi could only use ten percent of his True Qi, making the arrow several times slower than usual, its velocity still far surpassed the speed of sound. He hadn’t expected Zhaang Ye to block such a fast arrow so easily.

Mo Zhiyi’s gaze fixed on Zhaang Ye, sharp as an arrow. ”Take my second arrow! The Deceitful Arrow!” As he spoke, a black arrow suddenly appeared on the bowstring and shot forth, moving too fast for the eye to see.

The moment this arrow was loosed, Zhaang Ye’s expression became extremely grave.

It turned out that while this arrow wasn’t as fast as the last one, its trajectory was exceptionally bizarre. As it flew through the air, it bobbed up and down, swerved left and right, utterly erratic!

Mo Zhiyi’s first arrow could be blocked with keen eyes and fast reflexes. But for this second arrow, even the sharpest eyes and quickest reactions were useless, because it was impossible to predict its direction of attack!

This arrow was incredibly difficult to deal with, but Zhaang Ye didn’t dare to dodge. Mo Zhiyi already had his third arrow nocked. If he dodged now, he would have no way to handle the third shot!

SHINK!

The Heavy Saber transformed into a streak of black light as it slashed forward.

Zhaang Ye used the Mountain-Breaking Slash. With one cut, the Heavy Saber vibrated at high speed, unleashing overlapping waves of Dark Force. These waves of Dark Force spread out densely, creating layers of defense in the air before him.

PWISH! SWOOSH!

The moment the arrow touched the Dark Force Zhaang Ye had unleashed, its speed momentarily faltered. Just then, something unexpected happened. After making contact with the Dark Force, the arrow carved a bizarre arc, bypassing the dense layers and shooting like lightning toward Zhaang Ye’s thigh!

’It changes direction the moment it meets resistance. Truly a Deceitful Arrow!’

Though startled, Zhaang Ye remained composed. The instant the arrow changed its path, he unleashed his Dragon Elephant Skill at full power. Amid a flash of golden light, his body abruptly spun half a circle.

Zhaang Ye had a profound understanding of Rotating Power; he could use it to transform himself into a Tornado. Although he only spun half a circle this time, he still generated powerful air currents around his body. These currents swirled violently, knocking the arrow slightly off course.

SHHFF!

The arrow grazed Zhaang Ye’s thigh and flew past, landing among the flowers and trees beside the White Jade Steps. With a rapid series of THWACKS, the single arrow forcibly carved a straight path through the dense foliage.

”Oh? Excellent! Excellent!” Seeing Zhaang Ye use Rotating Power to evade the second arrow, Mo Zhiyi praised him lightly. ”The third and final arrow is called the Slow Arrow. Be careful!”

With that, the Cloud-Sundering Bow in his hand suddenly shuddered as he loosed the third arrow! (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.)