Overlord of the Wilderness

In a small garden.

Zhaang Ye stood quietly with his eyes closed, exuding an exceptionally strange aura as if he had merged with the garden itself. Before him was a patch of blooming flowers. They were gorgeous and brilliant; the green leaves and multicolored blossoms displayed a vibrant life force.

WHOOSH—

A light breeze gently swept by, sending several petals and leaves fluttering into the air.

As if startled awake by the breeze, Zhaang Ye’s body shifted slightly. He murmured, ”There are seven leaves in total, five of which are half-withered. There are also six petals, including three Purple Crystal Flower petals, two Nine-leaf Flower petals, and one Five-Colored Flower petal!”

FWOOSH!

Zhaang Ye gently extended a hand, and a Tornado suddenly appeared in the sky, sweeping all the airborne leaves and petals into his palm.

Zhaang Ye opened his eyes and glanced at the leaves and petals resting in his hand. There were exactly seven leaves and six petals, a perfect match. What was even more amazing was that the colors and types of the leaves and petals were identical to what Zhaang Ye had said!

Looking at the leaves and petals in his palm, Zhaang Ye smiled faintly. ’Heh! I’ve finally grasped the mysteries of Spiritual Power. I’ve finally mastered it! What wondrous Spiritual Power!’

Possessing Spiritual Power was like having an extra pair of eyes—a pair of omnipotent eyes. Without opening his eyes, Zhaang Ye could now clearly sense the dust dancing in the air. Without using his nose, he could smell the fragrance of the flowers in the garden. Even more miraculously, he could tangibly feel the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi in the void. When cultivating, he could use his Spiritual Power to control this ambient energy, greatly accelerating his Cultivation speed.

Besides sensing the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, Zhaang Ye could also perform Introspection on himself. This so-called Introspection allowed him to use his Spiritual Power to observe the flow of energy within his body. No change inside him could escape his notice.

Zhaang Ye threw a punch.

The punch was incredibly fast, yet it made no sound as it cut through the air. This was because as Zhaang Ye punched, he kept the air in front of his fist under tight control. By the time his fist tore through the void, the air before it had already been cleverly condensed onto its surface.

A punch delivered this way was extraordinarily fast and devastatingly powerful, yet completely silent.

”Excellent! This level of fine control over the air is only possible after cultivating Spiritual Power.” Zhaang Ye retracted his fist, a hint of satisfaction on his face. ’Although my Mountain-Breaking Slash has already reached the Great Success Realm, it still lacks a certain subtlety. With Spiritual Power, the might of my Mountain-Breaking Slash will surely increase again!’

With Spiritual Power, not only did his control over the air grow much stronger, but so did his command over the True Qi and Dragon Elephant Power within his body.

The Ancient Elephant Power and Ancient Dragon Power in Zhaang Ye’s body were exceptionally wondrous forces. Before he had Spiritual Power, he could use them, but he couldn’t command them as if they were an extension of his own limbs. Now, with Spiritual Power, his understanding of these two forces had deepened considerably, and he could wield them with much greater freedom.

Zhaang Ye spent two days quickly adapting to his Spiritual Power. Once accustomed to it, he could sense everything within a radius of more than thirty zhang. Within that range, not even an ant could escape his notice.

After adjusting to his new ability, a thought suddenly surfaced in Zhaang Ye’s mind. ’Strength can be increased slowly through Cultivation, so Spiritual Power should be cultivable as well. But how exactly does one cultivate Spiritual Power? Also, most people only gain Spiritual Power at the Martial Arts Ninth Layer, but I already have it at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer. I wonder how my Spiritual Power differs from that of a normal Martial Artist?’

After a moment of contemplation, Zhaang Ye walked out of the garden.

Wei Jiu’s Book was outside, flipping through a Beast Hide Scroll. When he saw Zhaang Ye emerge from his small courtyard, he sized him up, let out a sudden ”Hmm?” and said, ”Younger Brother Zhaang, I haven’t seen you in a month. Your Cultivation hasn’t progressed, but your aura has become much more condensed.”

In the eyes of Wei Jiu’s Book, Zhaang Ye emanated a peculiar aura that seemed to faintly merge with the surrounding environment. It almost made Wei Jiu’s Book mistake him for a Martial Arts Ninth-Layer Expert, because only a Ninth-Layer Expert could rely on their Spiritual Power to become one with their surroundings.

Zhaang Ye smiled faintly. ”I just had a small epiphany inside. Once I figured it out, I came out for a stroll to relax.”

After saying this, Zhaang Ye asked, ”Uncle Wei, all Martial Arts Ninth-Layer Experts possess Spiritual Power. I wonder, what is the sensory range of their Spiritual Power?”

Wei Jiu’s Book smiled. ”Someone who has just comprehended Spiritual Power can sense a radius of about fifteen zhang. As their Cultivation improves, their Spiritual Power will slowly strengthen. Take me, for example. Although my Cultivation is only at the Early Stage of Martial Arts Ninth Layer, I can sense the slightest disturbance within a thousand zhang.”

”Fifteen zhang when you’ve just developed Mental Power?” Zhaang Ye asked with interest. ”Has there ever been anyone who could sense thirty zhang right from the start?”

Wei Jiu’s Book nodded slightly. ”Of course. Spiritual Power is, in the end, a form of Soul Power. Those with strong Soul Power will naturally have strong Spiritual Power. Some exceptionally talented geniuses with powerful Soul Power can sense a radius of thirty zhang the moment they develop Mental Power. However, such people are exceedingly rare; you might not even find one among a hundred thousand Martial Arts Ninth-Layer Experts.”

After a pause, Wei Jiu’s Book added, ”People like priests and prophets have Soul Power that is different from ordinary people. The moment they cultivate Spiritual Power, they can sense a space of several dozen zhang. Another example is Shen Ji Zi Ling Kongyun of the Da Ling Kingdom True Hall. His Soul Power is also exceptionally strong, which is why his Inference Technique is so formidable...”

’Exceptionally strong Soul Power...’ Hearing the explanation from Wei Jiu’s Book, Zhaang Ye was both shocked and delighted. He had been able to sense a thirty-zhang radius the moment he cultivated Spiritual Power. Clearly, he was also one of those people with exceptionally strong Soul Power.

Now that he had a baseline for his own Spiritual Power, Zhaang Ye continued, ”Spiritual Power is incomparably wondrous, and the stronger it is, the more amazing it becomes. So, are there any Cultivation Techniques for Spiritual Power?”

Wei Jiu’s Book chuckled. ”Cultivation Techniques for Spiritual Power certainly exist. However, such techniques are very rare and precious. Even in our Wei Kingdom True Hall, we only have a single one. To cultivate it, one must complete specific family missions. I spent a full twenty years doing missions and still failed to obtain that Cultivation Technique...”

As he spoke, Wei Jiu’s Book sounded quite dejected.

Zhaang Ye asked, puzzled, ”What kind of mission is it that even with your strength, you couldn’t complete it in twenty years?”

Wei Jiu’s Book chuckled again. ”That involves the secrets of the True Hall, so it’s not convenient for me to say. However, when you reach that stage in your Cultivation, you will naturally find out.”

Hearing this, Zhaang Ye didn’t press further. He changed the subject and chatted with Wei Jiu’s Book for a while before returning to his courtyard to begin the next phase of his training plan.

Zhaang Ye’s second training plan was to use a large number of Top-grade Essence Qi Stones and top-grade Qi Gathering Pills to raise his Cultivation as much as possible.

Clutching a Top-grade Essence Qi Stone in his hand, Zhaang Ye began to circulate his Cultivation Technique. As it ran, the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi contained within the stone swiftly poured into Zhaang Ye’s Meridians.

One of the functions of Spiritual Power was to control Heaven and Earth Essence Qi. With its help, Zhaang Ye’s absorption speed increased dramatically, allowing him to absorb three Top-grade Essence Qi Stones in a single day.

Ten days later, the True Qi in Zhaang Ye’s Meridians grew increasingly dense, and his Cultivation slowly rose from the Early-stage Seventh Layer to the Mid-stage Seventh Layer. And as he cultivated, his progress continued to steadily climb.

A month later, Zhaang Ye’s Cultivation advanced again, reaching the Martial Arts Seventh Layer Late Stage.

After another month, Zhaang Ye finally raised his Cultivation to the Seventh Layer Peak. At this point, the True Qi in his body was so dense it felt like it could turn into liquid at any moment.

The Martial Arts Seventh Layer had a name: Binding Qi into Thunder. At this stage, the True Qi in the body would become increasingly concentrated until, at its peak density, it would transform into liquid. Once the True Qi in the Meridians and Dantian turned to liquid, it signified that one’s Cultivation had entered the Martial Arts Eighth Layer—Qi Refining and Liquid Transformation.

In other words, Zhaang Ye now only needed to refine the True Qi in his body into liquid to break through to the Martial Arts Eighth Layer.

After using his Spiritual Power for Introspection and confirming that his body and Meridians could withstand the liquid True Qi of the Martial Arts Eighth Layer, Zhaang Ye finally made his push.

The Heaven and Earth Essence Qi from the Top-grade Essence Qi Stones poured into his body without end. Meanwhile, in his Dantian, the dense True Qi revolved madly, compressing again and again.

BOOM!

Zhaang Ye suddenly felt a jolt in his Dantian. A single drop of liquid True Qi had appeared. This drop rested in the very center of his Dantian, surrounded by incredibly dense True Qi spinning furiously around it. With each revolution, the drop of liquid True Qi grew slightly larger in a truly wondrous fashion.

The moment the liquid True Qi appeared, Zhaang Ye knew he had entered the Martial Arts Eighth Layer. His body remained motionless as he prepared to ride the momentum and push his Cultivation to the Martial Arts Eighth Layer Middle Stage, but a peculiar wave of energy washed over him from afar, causing the Ancient Dragon Power within him to churn restlessly.

”Hmm?” Zhaang Ye hastily stopped his Cultivation Technique, his heart filled with shock and doubt. ’What a powerful and familiar energy! It feels like... Ancient Dragon Power! What’s going on?’