Overlord of the Wilderness

’That person’s cry was so focused it didn’t dissipate. I could hear it clearly even from hundreds of miles away. Only a master at the Mid-stage of the Martial Arts Seventh Layer could do something like that. And the Jiang Family’s Second Steward is a master of that exact level...’

When Zhang Ye realized this, even his usually calm and composed expression faltered slightly.

A master of the Martial Arts Seventh Layer was in hot pursuit, while two other experts stood before him, eyeing him like predators. Zhang Ye was in a truly dire situation.

But being cornered only served to ignite a boundless fighting spirit within Zhang Ye. His gaze swept over the Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon standing nearby, and an idea sparked in his mind.

SWOOSH!

Zhang Ye’s body abruptly spun like a tornado as he slashed his heavy saber toward the middle-aged man with the force of a thunderbolt.

In this life-or-death crisis, Zhang Ye dared not hold anything back. He put everything he had and more into this one slash. His heavy saber bypassed any acceleration, instantly reaching its maximum velocity. The force behind it seemed great enough to split a small mountain.

The middle-aged man, who was the target, experienced something else entirely. From the moment Zhang Ye began his slash, a terrifying Devouring Power erupted from the blade. It consumed not only the air around him but also locked onto his very being, trapping him firmly in its grasp!

Zhang Ye’s black heavy saber was like a black hole, capable of seemingly devouring the very void!

”What a terrifying slash! The power of this Saber Technique is on par with an Advanced Combat Skill!” Even though the middle-aged man’s cultivation had reached the Martial Arts Seventh Layer, his face paled as he was suddenly confronted by such an earth-shattering technique.

”Seven-Flower Plum!”

A long sword appeared in the middle-aged man’s hand. With a flick of his wrist, a brilliant, seven-petaled plum blossom materialized before him to meet Zhang Ye’s heavy saber.

The swordsmanship the middle-aged man specialized in was called the Linghan Sword Skill. It consisted of four moves: Three-Flower Plum, Five-Flower Plum, Seven-Flower Plum, and Nine-Flower Plum.

The middle-aged man was at the Early-stage of the Martial Arts Seventh Layer and had painstakingly practiced the Linghan Sword Skill for over forty years. Thanks to his decades of arduous training, he had already mastered the Seven-Flower Plum, bringing it to the Great Success Realm.

As he unleashed the Seven-Flower Plum, a terrifying Essence Gold Qi flooded the area for hundreds of feet around. The qi swept the air clean of dust and even perforated the ground with countless tiny holes!

Just as Zhang Ye’s heavy saber was about to clash with the seven-petaled plum blossom, something occurred that horrified the middle-aged man to his very soul—

Zhang Ye’s unstoppable slash, just before impact with the seven-petaled blossom, was forcefully retracted! No, rather, he had changed its trajectory. Instead of colliding with the flower, his blade executed an impossibly clever pivot and shot directly toward the long-haired youth!

”Ah!”

The long-haired youth never imagined that Zhang Ye’s thunderous, unstoppable slash could suddenly change direction and target him!

Zhang Ye’s attack completely defied the conventions of the Martial Dao. It was like a great stone falling from the sky that suddenly flew upward again, or like a basin of spilled water that suddenly flew back into its container!

The long-haired youth’s True Qi hadn’t yet recovered from unleashing the Five-Flower Plum, and Zhang Ye’s attack was just too sudden. He had barely let out a bloodcurdling scream before Zhang Ye’s heavy saber sliced through him, brutally cleaving him in two!

”Ah! Fourth Young Master!”

The middle-aged man let out an earth-shattering roar and lunged forward like lightning. His long sword unleashed a streak of Sword Qi over ten feet long as it slashed down at Zhang Ye!

Just as the Sword Qi was about to hit him, Zhang Ye’s figure flickered away like a ghost. The razor-sharp Sword Qi barely grazed his body as it flew past. But even though he was fast, the unstoppable Sword Qi still flayed a layer of skin and muscle from his back, sending a shower of blood into the air.

”Just die!!”

With the long-haired youth’s life hanging in the balance, the panicked middle-aged man frantically channeled his True Qi. His long sword instantly produced two seven-petaled plum blossoms, which were about to brand themselves onto Zhang Ye!

At that moment, a face suddenly appeared before the middle-aged man.

It was the long-haired youth’s face.

After slicing the long-haired youth in two, Zhang Ye had given his heavy saber a gentle flick. Having brought his Saber Technique to the Great Success realm, his control over the heavy saber was so complete he could wield it as he pleased. With that light flick, the upper half of the long-haired youth’s body flew through the air, landing right in front of the middle-aged man.

The long-haired youth’s face was deathly pale, his eyes wide as they stared fixedly at the middle-aged man. They still held a look of terror and disbelief, a gaze that seemed to pierce straight into the man’s soul.

”Fourth Young Master!” Seeing that look in the youth’s eyes, the middle-aged man’s hand trembled, and he nearly lost control of the two seven-petaled plum blossoms before him, which threatened to detonate.

His mission on this trip was to protect the Fourth Young Master. Now, that same young master had been sliced in two by Zhang Ye, unable to die in peace. No matter how high the middle-aged man’s cultivation, he could no longer remain composed.

A battle between masters is decided in a hair’s breadth. The man’s hand had trembled for less than a tenth of a blink, but in that fleeting moment, Zhang Ye launched his second attack.

SWOOSH!

It was the Mountain-Breaking Slash again, the same incomparably sharp Saber Technique!

”Ah!”

As he tore his gaze away from the long-haired youth, a trace of despair flickered in the middle-aged man’s eyes.

His mission was to protect the Fourth Young Master. With the Fourth Young Master dead, he would face execution even if he managed to kill Zhang Ye. At this thought, a hint of madness crept into the man’s lifeless, ashen eyes. He completely ignored Zhang Ye’s descending heavy saber and, with a tremor of his long sword, forced the two seven-petaled plum blossoms before him to merge into one!

The two seven-petaled plum blossoms were manifestations of incredibly sharp Essence Gold Qi. This qi was inherently destructive, and the moment the two blossoms merged, they triggered an earth-shattering explosion.

BOOM!

Searing Essence Gold Qi erupted outward in all directions like lava. The middle-aged man, caught at the epicenter, was blown into chunks of flesh. The upper half of the long-haired youth’s body was also caught in the blast, vaporized into a bloody mist, leaving not a single bone behind.

Zhang Ye’s focus had been locked on the middle-aged man. The moment he saw the man’s long sword tremble, he knew something was wrong. A profound sense of danger washed over him. With a great shout, Powerful Qi erupted from his pores like steam as he forcefully retracted the heavy saber he had just swung with all his might!

Zhang Ye’s Mountain-Breaking Slash was powered by rotational force, and the greatest advantage of such a Saber Technique was that its momentum could be reversed—it could be both unleashed and withdrawn.

He had just used this unique feature to feint an attack on the middle-aged man before suddenly reversing his blade’s course to slice the unprepared long-haired youth in two.

Although his Mountain-Breaking Slash could be withdrawn, retracting the heavy saber once it was unleashed was far more difficult than taking back spilled water. Zhang Ye instantly burned through ten percent of his Dragon Elephant Power, but he finally managed to recall the blade, forming a defensive screen with his heavy saber.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG—

No sooner had Zhang Ye formed his defensive screen than the terrifying Essence Gold Qi crashed into it. The impact sent his qi and blood into turmoil, and he couldn’t stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood. Fortunately, his Mountain-Breaking Slash had reached the Great Success Realm, allowing him to block the vast majority of the blast. Though the shock left him with minor internal injuries, he was not seriously hurt.

”Ah!”

A cry of surprise came from the distance. Zhang Ye looked over to see the masked woman staring at him, stunned, her face a mask of disbelief. Clearly, the sheer ruthlessness he had displayed by instantly killing two men had terrified her.

’When you cut the weeds, you must pull out the roots. These two were clearly not ordinary people; by killing them, I’ve made an enemy of a powerful faction. This woman saw me kill them both. She cannot be left alive!’ Zhang Ye’s gaze locked onto the masked woman, his body radiating a dense killing intent.

The masked woman sensed his killing intent from a distance. Startled, she snapped back to her senses, leaped nimbly onto the Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon, and shouted at Zhang Ye, ”You little brat, you actually want to kill me?! You’d better hope we never meet again, or I’ll have my lady beat you half to death!”

With that, she gave the bird a light pat, and the Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon instantly turned into a streak of rainbow light, shooting toward the heavens.

’She got away! I have to run, too. Otherwise, that master who roared earlier will be here any second!’ Zhang Ye’s gaze fell upon the other Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon standing hundreds of feet away. He moved like a lightning bolt, landing on its back in an instant.

Just as Zhang Ye was wondering how to make the Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon fly, the creature suddenly let out a cry and bucked, trying to throw him off.

Zhang Ye let out a sharp cry and stomped down hard on the pigeon’s back. Pointing his heavy saber at the creature’s stomach, he snarled with palpable killing intent, ”Move again, and I’ll gut you with a single slash!”

Startled by Zhang Ye’s threat, the Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon instantly grew still, not daring to move an inch.

Just as Zhang Ye was about to order the Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon to fly, he sensed something strange ahead. Standing on the pigeon’s back, he strained his eyes and looked into the distance. A couple of miles away, a black figure was streaking across the lush, green treetops, leaving a long black trail as it headed straight for him!

Zhang Ye sucked in a sharp breath. ’What terrifying speed! That’s far faster than the speed of sound!’

His heart sank as he estimated the figure’s speed. The Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon needed a moment to take off—and in that brief moment, his opponent could cross the few miles of distance and attack!

’I’ll risk it all!’ A ruthless glint appeared in Zhang Ye’s eyes as his hand moved toward his waist.