Overlord of the Wilderness

Zhaang Ye’s voice was filled with killing intent, but every one of the men blocking his path was at the Martial Arts Sixth Layer. Lured by the promise of twenty Essence Stones, not a single one of the half-dozen men backed down. One of them even sneered, ”Oh? I’d like to see you try and kill me...”

Before his voice had even faded, Zhaang Ye’s figure appeared just over thirty feet away, and he brought his Heavy Saber down with immense force.

SWOOSH!

A terrifying Tornado suddenly materialized, locking onto the man before he could even finish his sentence. Just as he was about to use a technique in his terror, he saw a flash of black light. A pitch-black strand of Sword Qi instantly sank into his body, slicing him in two.

”Ah!”

A master of the Martial Arts Sixth Layer had actually been slain by Zhaang Ye in a single strike. This greatly shocked the others who were blocking his path.

Zhaang Ye’s Mountain-Breaking Slash was a spinning attack, its Sword Force continuous and unending once unleashed. While the men were still in shock, Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber instantly lashed out five times, each strike carrying the momentum of a thunderbolt.

SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH!

With those five slashes, the five masters who had been blocking Zhaang Ye were all cut in half. Two of them didn’t die immediately after being severed and let out horrifying, miserable screams.

HISS!

”What terrifying strength! Those five all had the power of the Martial Arts Sixth Layer, yet he cut them all down in an instant!”

”His Saber Technique is so fast, so exquisite!”

Seeing how ferocious Zhaang Ye was, the other masters who had planned to stop him gave up the idea and scrambled to the side. Essence Stones were valuable, but they were useless if you were dead.

SWOOSH! Seizing the opportunity as the crowd scattered, Zhaang Ye instantly shot forward several hundred yards. He was now very, very close to the entrance of the Python Marsh.

Seeing Zhaang Ye display his divine might and cut down six masters in a row, terrifying the Martial Artists below, Master Mei Qi couldn’t help but feel a surge of anxiety. He had come here this time under strict orders; if he couldn’t capture Zhaang Ye, he would have no way to answer to the Young Master.

Gritting his teeth, Master Mei Qi bellowed again, ”Everyone, help me stop this man, and I will personally offer you forty Essence Stones!”

”Forty Essence Stones!” The eyes of the Martial Artists at the edge of the Python Marsh glinted with greed. They could risk their lives in the Python Marsh for a year or two and still not obtain forty Essence Stones. Now, they just had to step in and block him for a moment to get them. Where else would they find such a good deal?

Men die in pursuit of wealth, just as birds die in pursuit of food. Hearing the huge reward Master Mei Qi promised, a gray-clothed young man holding a Long Sword executed a Body Technique and landed in front of Zhaang Ye.

The gray-clothed youth had the strength of an Early-stage Seventh Layer Martial Artist, a cultivation level that, on the surface, was far superior to Zhaang Ye’s. He landed and stared at Zhaang Ye, shouting, ”I am the fifth disciple of the Second City Lord. Brat, you will stop right there...”

Python City had two City Lords, both of whom had reached the Half-step True Dao Cultivation realm and could advance to the True Dao at any moment. A disciple of a Half-step True Dao Expert was no small figure; even a master at the Martial Arts Ninth Layer would be unwilling to offend them.

Zhaang Ye, however, was completely dismissive of the gray-clothed youth’s status. It didn’t matter who he was; since he dared to block the way, he was an enemy. And Zhaang Ye never showed mercy to his enemies!

”You’re courting death!”

Zhaang Ye roared, unleashing his Heavy Saber. A terrifying Tornado instantly materialized and locked firmly onto the gray-clothed youth.

The gray-clothed youth snorted. His body shook, and a tide of Qi Force surged out from within him, smashing directly into the Tornado. The Tornado Zhaang Ye had just summoned was broken the moment it appeared.

But the Tornado was merely the prelude to Zhaang Ye’s real attack.

The moment the gray-clothed youth shattered the Tornado, Zhaang Ye unleashed his Heavy Saber with his full power. A pitch-black saber gleam, moving much faster than the speed of sound, slashed abruptly toward the youth.

The gray-clothed youth gave a cold smile. The Long Sword in his hand transformed into a dazzling Sword Light, forming what looked like layer upon layer of thick walls in front of him.

He could already tell that Zhaang Ye’s Cultivation was only at the Early Stage of the Martial Arts Fifth Layer. The reason he had been able to kill six masters in a row was, one, those masters had underestimated him, and two, Zhaang Ye’s Body Refining Techniques were incredibly formidable and his Saber Technique was exceedingly sharp.

His own strength far surpassed those six masters, and having watched Zhaang Ye attack, he now had some understanding of his Saber Technique. Therefore, he didn’t counter-attack, instead executing a Defensive Sword Technique to firmly block Zhaang Ye’s assault.

’As long as I can block him for a little while and stall for time, those forty Essence Stones will be mine!’

The gray-clothed youth intended to stall for time, but Zhaang Ye had no intention of being polite. He had already seen two people standing atop the Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon. One was Master Mei Qi, and the other was a person dressed entirely in black. The terrifying aura radiating from this second person made even Zhaang Ye’s heart tremble.

Zhaang Ye secretly estimated that this youth in black had a Cultivation of at least the Martial Arts Seventh Layer Late Stage. Even with his strength, Zhaang Ye was not willing to face such a master!

RUMBLE!

Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber struck squarely against the gray-clothed youth’s wall of swords.

The gray-clothed youth felt a terrifyingly immense force transmit from Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber. The wall of swords he had erected with eighty percent of his power was nearly pierced by the blow!

”Ah!” the gray-clothed youth cried out in horror as all the True Qi in his body erupted forth. Facing a life-or-death crisis, he didn’t dare hold anything back, unleashing one hundred and twenty percent of his True Qi!

Driven by one hundred and twenty percent of his True Qi, the Sword Light became almost corporeal!

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—

Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber began to spin, and a terrifying Devouring Power emanated from it. The gray-clothed youth only felt that as soon as his sword touched Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber, it seemed to grow lighter, and shorter!

Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber was like a terrifying Black Dragon, constantly devouring the gray-clothed youth’s Long Sword!

CRACK!

As the gray-clothed youth’s soul was about to fly from his body in terror, his Long Sword suddenly snapped. Just as he was about to cry out for mercy, Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber, trailing a long stream of Sword Qi, slashed down and instantly cut his body in two.

”Ah!” Cut in two, the gray-clothed youth let out a heart-wrenching scream. He stared at Zhaang Ye’s retreating figure and shrieked, ”You dare to kill me! You’re dead, you’re so dead! My master and my senior brother will definitely avenge me! They will definitely avenge me! Senior Brother, hurry and save me...”

Delayed by the gray-clothed youth, the Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon had already flown to within a third of a mile of the ground. If it got any lower, the terrifying master on its back would be able to attack.

At a time like this, Zhaang Ye had no time to pay attention to the youth’s dying screams.

”Who killed my junior brother!”

Just as Zhaang Ye was fleeing at top speed, a thunderous voice suddenly boomed out. The voice was infused with True Qi; Martial Artists with lower Cultivation levels were so shaken by it that their faces instantly paled. Even masters at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer felt their hearts pound as if struck by a heavy hammer upon hearing it.

The Five-Colored Long-Tailed Pigeon, which was already about to land, was so shaken by the voice that its whole body trembled, and it nearly fell from the sky.

Hearing this voice, a flicker of joy appeared in the gray-clothed youth’s fading eyes. He cried out, ”Second Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, save me! Save me!”

Before the gray-clothed youth’s voice had even faded, a long-haired, middle-aged man in linen clothes suddenly appeared at his side. A Long Sword was strapped to this man’s back, his palms glowed with a faint red light, and an invisible Suppression emanated from him, blanketing an area several hundred yards in every direction.

The Martial Artists who sensed this man’s aura all had their expressions change drastically, and they scrambled to get out of his way.

Seeing the middle-aged man, a look of deep resentment flashed in the gray-clothed youth’s eyes. He pointed in Zhaang Ye’s direction and yelled, ”Second Senior Brother, you’re just in time! He’s the one who cut me in half! Kill him for me!”

The man in linen nodded slightly. He looked at the gray-clothed youth and sighed, ”Junior Brother, go in peace. I will kill that person and avenge you.”

The gray-clothed youth had been sliced in two by Zhaang Ye. His internal organs had spilled out, and the Meridians inside his body had been destroyed by the terrifying Sword Qi. It was a miracle he had held on for this long. Even with the linen-clothed man’s power, there was no way to save him.

Hearing his Second Senior Brother’s words, a look of terror appeared in the gray-clothed youth’s eyes. He screamed, ”Second Senior Brother, you have to save me! I’m not dead yet, I can survive! Don’t...”

The man in linen slowly shook his head and gently pressed down with one of his large, faintly red hands. With a soft ”SPLAT,” the gray-clothed youth’s head was crushed, and he died on the spot.

And the very moment the gray-clothed youth breathed his last, the linen-clothed man’s figure, with a loud BOOM, vanished from his original spot.

The middle-aged man’s Cultivation was terrifyingly high, and his Body Technique was equally frightening. When he executed it, his speed surpassed that of sound. The loud boom was the sonic boom created as he broke the sound barrier.

With this terrifying speed, the man crossed over two miles in an instant, heading far into the distance after Zhaang Ye.

”Ah!”

The moment the middle-aged man’s voice had appeared, Zhaang Ye knew things were bad. The Dragon Elephant Power within his body surged wildly, and his entire being radiated a brilliant golden light. He pushed his Cloud Stepping Technique to its absolute limit, covering a thousand feet in an instant, a speed that was infinitely close to the sound barrier!

SWOOSH! While the man in linen was still several hundred yards away, Zhaang Ye’s body plunged into the Python Marsh, disappearing into the thick mist. (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.)