Overlord of the Wilderness

”SQUEAK!”

Before Zhaang Ye’s voice had even faded, the small, sharp-headed Fierce Beast suddenly vanished. Even with his keen eyesight, he couldn’t see how it disappeared.

Slightly alarmed, Zhaang Ye felt True Qi surge from his body like a wave. He simultaneously extended his Spiritual Power, silently monitoring all movement within a radius of several yards.

Spiritual Power was formless and intangible, yet omnipresent. Zhaang Ye’s Soul Power was far stronger than an ordinary person’s, honed by years of arduous Cultivation and countless life-or-death battles. His Spiritual Power was immensely more formidable than a commoner’s. After his Cultivation reached the Late-stage Martial Arts Ninth Layer, his Spiritual Power could easily sense any disturbance within a five-hundred-yard radius.

The moment he extended his Spiritual Power, Zhaang Ye felt a slight stir underground. A shadow, swift as an arrow, was tunneling straight for him at an incredible speed.

”It’s burrowing! It really is a Sharp-headed Mongoose!” Zhaang Ye’s True Qi suddenly circulated as he launched himself into the air. The Sharp-headed Mongoose was an expert at tunneling. Now that he had provoked it, he didn’t dare stay on the ground.

”SWOOSH!”

Just as Zhaang Ye’s body left the ground, a gray shadow shot out from below like a bolt of lightning, heading straight for him. This gray shadow was incredibly fast, even faster than an arrow shot by Chu Yuxiang. Zhaang Ye’s formless Spiritual Power couldn’t even lock onto its trajectory!

”BANG!”

Zhaang Ye had no time to think. He instantly formed a Palm Blade with one hand and slashed out. Since the age of thirteen or fourteen, Zhaang Ye had been constantly honing his skills in life-or-death situations. Even a casual slash contained profound subtleties. Although the gray shadow’s speed was extreme, it was still struck squarely by Zhaang Ye’s Hand Blade.

”SMACK!”

The moment Zhaang Ye’s Palm Blade connected with the gray shadow, a piercing force, like a needle, stabbed into him. Even though he wore a mysterious glove on his hand, this sharp power still sent a jolt of excruciating pain through him, numbing his entire arm!

”SQUEAK!” Struck by Zhaang Ye’s slash, the gray shadow’s true form was revealed. It was, in fact, the small, sharp-headed monster—the Sharp-headed Mongoose, ranked third in power within the Little World.

Despite taking a heavy blow from Zhaang Ye, the Sharp-headed Mongoose seemed completely unharmed. Its small eyes fixed on Zhaang Ye, and with a shrill squeal, it launched another attack.

”SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK—” The Sharp-headed Mongoose was only the size of two fists, with a head as sharp and hard as a steel needle. It was even faster than the Purple-haired Wild Boar, and its attacks were impossibly unpredictable. Zhaang Ye had cultivated to the Late-stage Martial Arts Ninth Layer and had made significant progress with his Dragon Elephant Skill, but under the mongoose’s assault, he was still thrown into disarray.

”BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!”

Under the Sharp-headed Mongoose’s lightning-fast attacks, none of Zhaang Ye’s Combat Skills were effective; he could only rely on instinct. This instinct was forged in thousands of battles, and by relying on this profound sense, Zhaang Ye managed to block the mongoose’s onslaught.

As Zhaang Ye defended against the Sharp-headed Mongoose’s attacks, he was secretly astonished. ’What a formidable Sharp-headed Mongoose! With my current strength, I could easily slay even a master at the Peak of Martial Arts Ninth Layer. I never thought that against this tiny mongoose, I’d be reduced to simply parrying, unable to even counterattack!’

But Zhaang Ye was a battle-hardened veteran, and he calmly analyzed the situation as he fought. After a moment of thought, his eyes lit up. He had an idea for how to subdue the Sharp-headed Mongoose.

”WHOOSH!”

Zhaang Ye unleashed a fierce slash, the sharp Sword Qi sending the Sharp-headed Mongoose flying over a hundred feet away. As the mongoose was knocked back, Zhaang Ye simultaneously sent out dozens of Tornadoes, creating a dense barrier to impede it. Seizing the opportunity, he took off his mysterious glove with lightning speed.

This was the very glove Zhaang Ye had obtained from Wei Jiu’s Book back in Python City. The glove was the same color as his skin and was incredibly tough, so much so that even a fierce slash from a blade couldn’t cut it. Zhaang Ye’s plan was to use this glove to capture the Sharp-headed Mongoose in one fell swoop.

Just as Zhaang Ye removed the glove, the Sharp-headed Mongoose attacked again, pouncing toward him like a lightning bolt. This time, Zhaang Ye didn’t clash with it head-on. Instead, he raised the glove in his hand and—swoop!—caught it!

”SWOOSH!”

Caught completely by surprise, the Sharp-headed Mongoose plunged headfirst into the glove.

”SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK—”

Once inside the glove, the Sharp-headed Mongoose let out an extremely piercing screech. Its steel-needle head drilled frantically, trying to get out. Unfortunately for it, Zhaang Ye’s mysterious glove was unbelievably tough. The Sharp-headed Mongoose could easily drill through solid rock, but no matter how hard it tried, it couldn’t penetrate the glove.

”SQUEAK SQUEAK!” Realizing it couldn’t get through Zhaang Ye’s glove, the Sharp-headed Mongoose began to panic. It shrieked strangely, trying to back out. But Zhaang Ye was prepared. With a sudden flip of his hand, he clenched his fist, grabbing the mongoose’s body tightly!

”SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK—” The Sharp-headed Mongoose’s tiny body suddenly erupted with tremendous force as it tried to break free from Zhaang Ye’s grasp. But after cultivating the Dragon Elephant Skill, Zhaang Ye’s strength had become immense. His grip exerted millions of pounds of force. Squeezed so tightly, the mongoose’s body began to deform, and it let out a pained shriek.

AWOO!

Hearing the Sharp-headed Mongoose’s cry from afar, the Purple-haired Wild Boar appeared beside Zhaang Ye in a streak of purple light. Seeing the mongoose held firmly in Zhaang Ye’s grip, a look of disbelief appeared in the boar’s eyes.

The Purple-haired Wild Boar had lived in the Little World since it was young, so it was naturally familiar with this Sharp-headed Mongoose. The mongoose was an expert tunneler and possessed incredible speed. Even the Green-eyed Golden Eagle, ranked number one in the Little World, was helpless against it. And now, this lawless Sharp-headed Mongoose had actually been captured by Zhaang Ye. The Purple-haired Wild Boar found it utterly unbelievable.

After staring at the Sharp-headed Mongoose for a moment, the Purple-haired Wild Boar suddenly grew excited. It pointed a paw at the mongoose, then pointed to its own large mouth, a long trail of drool dripping down.

Zhaang Ye laughed heartily. Pointing at the Sharp-headed Mongoose in his hand, he asked, ”You want to eat it?”

The Purple-haired Wild Boar nodded vigorously, its drool growing even longer. Although the Sharp-headed Mongoose was small, its body contained incredibly dense Innate True Qi and the essence of various Celestial and Earthly Treasures. Devouring it would grant a massive boost in strength.

”SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK—” Though small, the Sharp-headed Mongoose had lived in the Little World long enough to develop its own intelligence. Hearing Zhaang Ye’s words, it instantly grew anxious. Its two short, chubby front legs began to scratch at Zhaang Ye’s palm incessantly. At the same time, it squeaked nonstop, as if trying to say something.

Zhaang Ye glanced down and saw a flicker of fear in the Sharp-headed Mongoose’s eyes. Its body was also trembling slightly. Finding this rather amusing, Zhaang Ye said, ”Little guy, do you have something to say to me? If you have something to say, say it quick, or I’m tossing you to the Purple-haired Wild Boar!”

”SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!” The Sharp-headed Mongoose nodded its head fiercely and gestured wildly with its short front legs. A pleading look appeared in its eyes, as if begging Zhaang Ye to let it go.

Zhaang Ye let out another laugh. After a moment of contemplation, he said to the Sharp-headed Mongoose, ”You’ve spent your life moving underground, so you must be very familiar with this Little World. I need a large quantity of Essence Stones and various rare Medicinal Herbs. If you find them for me, I’ll release you when I leave this Little World.”

The Sharp-headed Mongoose seemed to understand Zhaang Ye’s meaning and nodded its head fiercely.

AWOO!

The Purple-haired Wild Boar nudged Zhaang Ye with its large paw, pointed at the Sharp-headed Mongoose again, and drooled waterfalls from its huge tongue, looking utterly impatient.

Zhaang Ye slapped the Purple-haired Wild Boar’s paw and said with a scolding laugh, ”This Sharp-headed Mongoose is still useful, so I can’t let you eat it. You go be a good boy and eat that dead crocodile. I’m going to search this island to see if there are any Essence Stones or Celestial and Earthly Treasures here.”

After getting slapped by Zhaang Ye, the Purple-haired Wild Boar flew dejectedly back to the small island to continue devouring the Two-winged Flying Crocodile. Meanwhile, Zhaang Ye, with the Sharp-headed Mongoose in tow, began to search the island.

This small island in the middle of the lake was the nest of the Two-winged Flying Crocodile, and many valuable things were planted on it. Under the guidance of the Sharp-headed Mongoose, Zhaang Ye harvested over a thousand Medicinal Herbs in succession. Some of these were quite mature and would fetch a high price if sold.

In addition to the Medicinal Herbs, Zhaang Ye also found several hundred Essence Stones on the island. The Two-winged Flying Crocodile had buried these stones underground. If not for the Sharp-headed Mongoose’s guidance, Zhaang Ye truly would not have been able to find them.

What surprised Zhaang Ye the most was that he also found over a dozen Martial Arts Secret Manuals in the Two-winged Flying Crocodile’s nest. These manuals were all from thousands of years ago, and the Combat Skills recorded within were vastly different from those of the present day. Just by flipping through them casually, Zhaang Ye felt he had gained significant insight.

’Great stuff.’ Zhaang Ye stored the Martial Arts Secret Manuals in his Small Space, his heart filled with joy. The contents of these dozen-plus manuals held immense reference value. If he could grasp their profound mysteries and verify them against the Ancient Sword Intent, his strength would surely rise to a new level.

After completely looting the island of everything valuable, Zhaang Ye summoned the Purple-haired Wild Boar and thought to himself, ’I’ve had a pretty good haul. It’s time to see what’s in the depths of the Little World. If the outer regions have so many Medicinal Herbs and Essence Stones, the inner regions must have even more. The right thing to do is hurry over and raid the place!’

AWOO!

Zhaang Ye leaped onto the Purple-haired Wild Boar’s back. The boar let out an earth-shattering roar and, with Zhaang Ye on its back, headed straight for the depths of the Little World. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with Recommendation Tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)