Overlord of the Wilderness

”What? You’re saying someone used Fairy Xu Li’s hair as a bowstring?”

In a luxurious house in Python City, a middle-aged man in white robes shot to his feet. An aura as immense as a mountain suddenly erupted from him, pressing down on the surrounding tables and chairs until they creaked and groaned.

The middle-aged man in white was handsome, with a frame as tall as a mountain and an aura just as ponderous. His anger was like a great mountain collapsing, striking fear into the hearts of all who witnessed it.

Kneeling before the middle-aged man, Master Mei Qi spoke cautiously, ”Yes, Young Master. I saw it with my own eyes. I wanted to seize the large, purple bow, but unfortunately, the other party’s strength was no less than my own. I also had a delivery to escort, so I didn’t dare to make a move.”

The white-robed man snorted. The sound struck Master Mei Qi’s chest like a heavy hammer, nearly stopping his heart.

The white-robed man said slowly, ”Mei the Seven, who do you think this young man is?”

Master Mei Qi offered his speculation, ”Fairy Xu Li has only one handmaiden and rarely interacts with outsiders. This young man must be a junior of the Xuli Family, right? Otherwise, there’s no way Fairy Xu Li would have given her hair to him.”

”Impossible!” The white-robed man shook his head. ”Although Fairy Xu Li was born into the Xuli Clan, she severed all ties with the Xuli Family long ago. Besides, I have been keeping a close watch on Fairy Xu Li. For the past decade, she has remained in seclusion, deep within Xuli Mountain, focused on her Cultivation. Even if the Xuli Clan wanted to restore relations with her, they wouldn’t be able to find her.”

Master Mei Qi pondered for a moment. ”Could he be a new disciple of Fairy Xu Li’s?”

”Idiot!” The white-robed man’s brow furrowed as he scolded, ”Fairy Xu Li cultivates the Nine Heavens Soft Water Technique, which only women can practice. Why would she take a male disciple?”

Master Mei Qi flinched at the rebuke and didn’t dare speak again. In truth, he had another, more sordid idea, but he didn’t dare voice it.

’The man before me is the next Patriarch of the Mei Family, a great expert with Ninth-Layer Martial Arts Cultivation. If I were to voice my thought, he would probably strike me down with a single palm, and my death would be for nothing.’

After cursing Master Mei Qi, the white-robed man paced two steps, a murderous glint in his eyes. He said slowly, ”Mei the Seven, send out your men at once and find that young man. Once you do, bring him to me immediately!”

Master Mei Qi smiled smugly. ”Rest assured, Young Master. I’ve already positioned men at all four city gates to watch for him. As soon as that young man leaves the city, he will be spotted.”

...

After watching the battle between the Rakshasa King and Lingruo Sea, Zhaang Ye felt that his own strength was quite decent among the Younger Generation. But the Desolate Continent was vast, and geniuses were a dime a dozen. To stand out among the countless prodigies, he would need to train even harder.

Without further hesitation, he quickly bought a map, then took out over thirty Essence Stones to purchase twenty-one long arrows.

Twenty of these arrows were forged from Heavy Iron, Purple Copper, and Underground Essence Gold, each one weighing over thirty jin. They could pierce through even a Fierce Beast weighing tens of thousands of jin.

The final arrow was engraved with an acceleration Array. With this Array, the arrow’s flight speed was a full fifty percent faster, allowing it to cross several li in an instant. It was truly the ideal weapon for long-range attacks.

After buying the arrows and map, Zhaang Ye pondered for a moment. He found a secluded spot and altered his appearance and attire, disguising himself as a middle-aged man. He also moved the Heavy Saber from his back to his waist.

Zhaang Ye knew that the Mei and Jiang Families were likely searching for him. Python City was enormous, with a population of several million, and it wasn’t within the Mei or Jiang Families’ sphere of influence, so they couldn’t deploy a large number of men. Therefore, in a place like this, Zhaang Ye didn’t have to worry about being spotted.

However, he had to be careful when leaving the city. The Mei and Jiang Families only needed to post a few people at the gates to spot him. It was precisely for this reason that Zhaang Ye had changed his clothes and appearance.

His purpose for this trip was to gain experience and search for Ancient Dragon Power. It was best to avoid pointless conflicts like this if he could.

As Zhaang Ye walked out of the city gate, he indeed spotted two men with plum blossoms embroidered on their lapels, watching the pedestrians. Seeing the plum blossoms, Zhaang Ye knew at once that these two were from the Mei Family.

Zhaang Ye had already changed his attire and carefully concealed his Heavy Saber, so the two Mei Family men didn’t seem particularly suspicious. They glanced at Zhaang Ye from a distance before looking away, and he passed through the city gate without any trouble.

Once outside Python City, Zhaang Ye used his Body Technique at full speed. He quickly covered over two thousand li, and the vapor-shrouded Python Marsh was already visible in the distance.

Legend had it that Python Marsh was a great swamp formed after a battle between two Ancient Giant Dragons. Faint traces of the Ancient Giant Dragons’ aura lingered in the marsh, which was extremely beneficial to pythons. As a result, the pythons within Python Marsh grew more and more numerous, until they were countless.

A python’s skin, flesh, blood, and bones were all rare treasures. For a python that had achieved a certain level of Cultivation, even a single small scale was worth several hundred taels of Gold. Thus, a ceaseless stream of people went to Python Marsh to hunt the Giant Pythons.

Besides pythons, Python Marsh was also home to a large number of rare Fierce Beasts and Spirit Elixirs. This made it an adventurer’s paradise, and experts from all the various kingdoms of the Desolate Continent flocked to enter Python Marsh.

When Zhaang Ye arrived at the outskirts of Python Marsh, he encountered large groups of Martial Artists. These Martial Artists all had Cultivation at the Martial Arts Fifth Layer or higher, and some of them were even at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer.

The people emerging from Python Marsh had expressions of both joy and sorrow. Some Martial Artists who had found treasures were beaming with delight, while others whose friends and brothers had perished in the marsh wore looks of grief.

”CAW! CAW!”

Suddenly, the cry of a bird echoed from the sky. Following the sound, a giant, five-colored bird abruptly broke through the clouds and appeared in mid-air.

Seeing this bird, Zhaang Ye’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. This five-colored bird was none other than the Mei Family’s unique Flying Pseudo Spirit Beast—the Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon.

’Since the Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon is here, the experts from the Mei Family must have arrived. For them to rush here so suddenly... they’re most likely after me!’

Zhaang Ye had no idea how the Mei Family had managed to find him here. However, now was not the time to ponder that question. Without showing any change in his expression, Zhaang Ye quickened his pace and headed straight for Python Marsh.

Python Marsh spanned several million square li and was perpetually shrouded in vapor, making it impossible to see anything from the sky. As long as he could get inside, not even the Mei Family’s Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon would be able to find him.

Atop the Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon, Master Mei Qi stood steadily. Beside him was a young man with a steel trident on his back, clad head-to-toe in black, his expression exceptionally cold.

Although Master Mei Qi possessed Seventh-Layer Martial Arts Cultivation, he still felt extremely ill at ease standing next to this young man.

This young man, clad head-to-toe in black, was an expert secretly trained by the Young Master. If Master Mei Qi was an assistant, then this young man was the Young Master’s killing machine. Since his debut, dozens of Seventh-Layer Martial Arts experts had died by his hand, and the list of his victims even included two great experts of the Martial Arts Eighth Layer.

Even Master Mei Qi wanted nothing to do with such a terrifying, homicidal monster.

The Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon descended toward the outskirts of Python Marsh at incredible speed. Master Mei Qi’s purpose for coming this time was precisely to find Zhaang Ye. He planned to land on the outskirts, then deploy his men to conduct a thorough search. No matter what, he had to find Zhaang Ye.

Seeing the Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon descending faster and faster, Zhaang Ye was startled and could no longer worry about concealing himself. He unleashed his Cloud Stepping Technique at full speed, and his entire body shot toward the outskirts of Python Marsh like a gust of wind.

Zhaang Ye’s full-speed sprint immediately caught Master Mei Qi’s attention. He took one look at Zhaang Ye’s Body Technique, and a delighted expression appeared on his face. He shouted, ”You there, kid! Halt!”

As if he would listen. Zhaang Ye only moved faster.

Seeing Zhaang Ye’s incredible speed, Master Mei Qi grew anxious. He urged the Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon to descend even faster while shouting to the people below, ”Friends down there! If you help me stop this kid with the longbow on his back, the Mei Family of Wei Kingdom will present you with twenty Essence Stones! We will absolutely make good on our promise!”

Although the Mei Family of Wei Kingdom was not a major power in Python City, they still had some renown. Moreover, twenty Essence Stones was an extremely handsome windfall. The moment Master Mei Qi’s voice fell, someone immediately moved to block Zhaang Ye’s path.

The person who suddenly blocked Zhaang Ye was a large, barefoot man. He had thick brows and leopard-like eyes, with bulging muscles that gleamed like metal, making him look like a bronze statue. He brandished a large hammer and sneered at Zhaang Ye, ”Kid, someone told you to stop. So you’d better just stop for me, you hear!”

Zhaang Ye let out a cold laugh. The Heavy Saber in his hand flashed out, transforming into a streak of black light as he slashed.

”SHING!”

An incredibly sharp Sword Qi instantly tore through the air. Before the barefoot man could even react, Zhaang Ye’s slash cut him in two, killing him on the spot.

”HISS!”

Seeing such a formidable man unable to take even a single blow from Zhaang ye, the onlookers all sucked in a sharp breath. Someone muttered, ”Barefoot Copper Hammer Hu Han was a fairly well-known expert in Python City, yet he was cut in two by a single slash! Just who is this kid?”

Another Martial Artist shook his head and said, ”Heh, no matter who he is, now that he’s offended the Mei Family of Wei Kingdom, his days are numbered. Look, more people are moving to block him!”

As the two spoke, figures flickered in front of Zhaang Ye, and five or six people suddenly blocked his path.

Zhaang Ye’s eyes turned cold as he shouted, ”Move! Those who block my path will die!”(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.)