Overlord of the Wilderness

The two youths had identical features, but their auras were diametrically opposed. As they stepped forward, two conflicting auras immediately surged toward Zhaang Ye. Under their pressure, countless vortices formed in the air, creating a wailing sound.

’Hm? The peak of the Martial Arts Fifth Layer?’

Zhaang Ye instantly discerned the youths’ Cultivation, and his eyes narrowed slightly. He remembered them quite well. Two years ago, their Cultivation had only been at the Mid-stage of the Martial Arts Fifth Layer. He hadn’t expected that in just two short years, their strength would have not only surpassed the Late Stage but reached the peak of the Fifth Layer, only a hair’s breadth away from the Martial Arts Sixth Layer.

’I’ve made plenty of progress over the past two years, but it seems others haven’t been slacking either! I wonder what level Situ Houtu, Feng Tongming, and Jiang Ailiang have reached by now?’

The thought was fleeting, and Zhaang Ye focused his attention back on the twin youths before him.

After cultivating his Dragon Elephant Skill to the Late Fifth Layer, Zhaang Ye no longer paid any mind to experts of the Martial Arts Fifth Layer. But these two youths were no ordinary Fifth Layer experts. The auras they emitted were polar opposites—one hot, one cold. On top of that, they were twin brothers. With their minds linked, their combat prowess likely surpassed even that of an Early-stage Sixth Layer expert.

Zhaang Ye stood casually, a faint aura of the Wilderness emanating from him. As the twins’ auras reached him, they were immediately dissipated by his own, vanishing without a trace like a clay ox sinking into the sea. They had no effect on Zhaang Ye whatsoever.

Realizing how formidable Zhaang Ye was, the youths’ expressions changed. They possessed a joint Combat Skill that, when used in tandem, unleashed tremendous power—enough for them to defeat even an expert at the Early Stage of the Sixth Layer.

In fact, over the past year, they had defeated twenty to thirty of their peers, becoming the unofficial top experts among the Outer Hall disciples of their generation. Now that their Cultivation had reached the Fifth Layer Peak, they sought out Zhaang Ye, hoping the battle would provide the catalyst they needed to break through to the Martial Arts Sixth Layer.

Of course, they had another reason for seeking out Zhaang Ye. They intended to defeat him with their combined might and make a name for themselves in the True Hall.

They hadn’t expected that after just two years, Zhaang Ye’s power would have become so profound and unfathomable. The pressure they had deliberately exerted on him had absolutely no effect.

Zhaang Ye caught the flicker of shock in the youths’ eyes, and a faint smile touched his lips. ”You wish to challenge me? State your names.”

Zhaang Ye’s tone carried a subtle, condescending air. However, having bested Situ Houtu and numerous other geniuses to claim first place in the entrance test, Zhaang Ye’s current standing as the number one new disciple afforded him the right to speak this way.

The youth with the fiery aura said, ”I am Qi Fire.”

The youth with the icy aura said, ”I am Qi Bing.”

’Qi Fire, Qi Bing. Their names certainly fit the Cultivation Techniques they practice,’ Zhaang Ye thought before saying aloud, ”Very good. Both of you, come at me together! Let’s see how many of my moves you can handle!”

Hearing Zhaang Ye’s blatant disrespect, anger flashed in the eyes of both Qi Fire and Qi Bing.

A commotion erupted among the youths watching from the sidelines. Over the past two years, Qi Fire and Qi Bing’s Cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, rapidly reaching the Fifth Layer Peak of Martial Arts. When they joined forces, they easily defeated twenty to thirty Outer Hall Disciples, earning them the title of the strongest of their generation in the Outer Hall.

In the minds of the assembled youths, figures as formidable as the twins might not be Zhaang Ye’s equal, but they shouldn’t be too far behind. They were shocked that Zhaang Ye completely disregarded Qi Fire and Qi Bing, as if they were nothing more than common thugs he could casually swat away.

’Arrogant!’

Fury surged within the brothers. With a slight raise of their hands, two streams of True Qi—one cold, one hot, diametrically opposed—erupted and shot directly toward Zhaang Ye.

Qi Fire and Qi Bing were twins; though their Cultivation Techniques were opposites, their minds were linked. As they attacked in unison with exquisite coordination, the two streams of True Qi lunged toward Zhaang Ye like a pair of Flood Dragons, carrying their diametrically opposed auras.

BOOM!

When the two streams of True Qi were about ten feet from Zhaang Ye, they suddenly exploded. A thick mist materialized out of thin air, surging toward him like a great wave.

”Excellent!” Sensing the twins’ exquisite coordination, Zhaang Ye’s eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but cry out in approval.

As it turned out, Qi Bing’s Ice True Qi had rapidly condensed the moisture in the air into tiny ice crystals. When these crystals were caught by Qi Fire’s Hot True Qi, they instantly transformed into a dense fog, carrying a blast of fierce True Qi toward Zhaang Ye.

The power of their True Qi aside, the twins’ coordination was simply exquisite to the extreme. They could create such a complex maneuver from two simple streams of True Qi. If an ordinary Sixth-Layer Expert were to suddenly face such a sophisticated attack, they would have immediately been put at a disadvantage and lost the initiative!

The instant the True Qi exploded, Qi Fire and Qi Bing moved. They vanished like phantoms, lunging at Zhaang Ye through the cloud of mist.

’These two are actually pretty good! But to deal with me, they’re still far from enough!’ As the mist surged toward him, Zhaang Ye suddenly raised one hand and made a powerful grasping motion.

Having cultivated his Mountain-Breaking Slash to the stage of Great Success, Zhaang Ye could create a Tornado at will. Now, as he made the grasping motion, the Dragon Elephant Power inside him spiraled out, and a small Tornado instantly formed in his hand.

SHHHHH—

The small Tornado looked unremarkable, but it possessed an incredible Devouring Power. The moment the surging mist made contact with it, a strange noise erupted as it was all sucked into the Tornado, vanishing completely.

”Ah!”

The youths in attendance cried out in astonishment when they saw Zhaang Ye absorb the entire curtain of mist with a simple lift of his hand. His effortless counter left them all deeply shaken.

”Huh?”

The brothers, Qi Bing and Qi Fire, never imagined that the mist they had so carefully crafted would be dispelled by Zhaang Ye in an instant. Their hearts leaped in their chests, knowing now that his strength was far beyond what they had anticipated.

But it was too late to back down now, no matter how powerful Zhaang Ye proved to be. Their minds linked, their four palms conjured a terrifying, three-layered Qi Force that blasted straight toward Zhaang Ye.

The brothers’ Combat Skill was called the ”Ice and Fire Triple Force.” As they attacked, their Hot True Qi and Ice True Qi combined with exquisite precision, creating a three-layered force. Within this triple Qi Force, ice and fire intertwined, spontaneously generating various cyclones and a cacophony of bizarre sounds. If Zhaang Ye were hit by this ”Ice and Fire Triple Force,” half of his flesh would be cooked, while the other half would be frozen solid.

The spectating youths knew full well how powerful this technique of Qi Bing and Qi Fire was. All eyes turned to Zhaang Ye to see how he would react.

Just as the ”Ice and Fire Triple Force” was about to crash into him, Zhaang Ye gave a faint smile. His grasping hand opened into a palm, and he pushed it gently outward.

Just moments before, Zhaang Ye had used that grasping motion as a blade, unleashing his Mountain-Breaking Slash to instantly swallow the mist the brothers had created. After entering his palm, the mist had condensed into a water sphere the size of a bowl.

With Zhaang Ye’s gentle push, and propelled by his Dragon Elephant Power, the water sphere instantly transformed into a ceaselessly spinning column of water that shot directly at the ”Ice and Fire Triple Force.”

BOOM!

The column of water was imbued with Zhaang Ye’s Dragon Elephant Power. The moment it collided with the ”Ice and Fire Triple Force,” the water exploded. Qi Bing and Qi Fire felt a powerful shock run up their arms; the ”Ice and Fire Triple Force” they had struggled to unleash was nearly shattered by the impact!

SWISH! SWISH!

Like a pair of golden blades, Zhaang Ye’s hands suddenly sliced through the layers of Qi Force and chopped forward.

As Zhaang Ye’s hands chopped toward them, the color drained from Qi Bing and Qi Fire’s faces. They sensed a terrifying Spiral Power emanating from his palms. This Spiral Power acted like a pair of horrific drills, and their ”Ice and Fire Triple Force” was melting away before it like ice and snow!

BOOM! BOOM!

Before the two brothers could react, Zhaang Ye’s hands had already struck theirs. A terrifying power shattered their ”Ice and Fire Triple Force” and slammed violently back into them!

”AHHH—”

Qi Bing and Qi Fire desperately channeled the True Qi from their bodies, but even their potent reserves were no match for the immense force in Zhaang Ye’s palms. Crying out in unison, they were sent flying by the blow. They flew nearly a hundred yards before crashing to the ground, their faces deathly pale!

”This—”

The onlooking youths were stunned. Together, Qi Bing and Qi Fire could even defeat a Sixth-Layer Expert. They never would have imagined that with their combined strength, the brothers would be defeated by Zhaang Ye in a single move!

GASP!

”Such overwhelming power! He’s truly worthy of being the number one new disciple!”

”With strength like that, I doubt even someone at the Mid-stage of the Sixth Layer would be a match for him!”

After the initial shock passed, the youths erupted into fervent discussion.

”Excellent, excellent, excellent!” A clear, bright voice called out from a distance. ”I never imagined that after just two years, your strength would reach such a level, Junior Brother Zhaang. My own Shovel Technique has also seen some improvement over the past two years. Let us test our Combat Skills and see who is truly the number one new disciple!” (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.)