Overlord of the Wilderness

Zhaang Ye flew to the valley entrance, where he saw a middle-aged man in gray robes standing before a stone monument with an unreadable smile. The man’s jet-black hair was tied up with three black short swords, and the skin of his hands and feet emanated a faint glow. His casual stance alone gave off an unfathomable and imposing aura, like a towering mountain that commanded reverence.

Upon seeing Zhaang Ye, a flash of jealousy crossed the gray-robed man’s eyes. Zhaang Ye, not yet thirty, already possessed earth-shattering Cultivation and was only a hair’s breadth away from the Half-step True Dao realm. He himself was considered a man of outstanding talent, but compared to Zhaang Ye, he was practically nothing.

Zhaang Ye sized up the gray-robed middle-aged man, offered a salute, and said, ”You must be the first disciple of our Wei Kingdom True Hall, Senior Brother Tang Zhi?”

The gray-robed man drew himself up slightly, and a deep, powerful aura instantly permeated the area, freezing the dust in a hundred-zhang radius. As he unleashed this immense presence, the man nodded slightly. ”The very same.”

Zhaang Ye couldn’t be bothered with pleasantries. He nonchalantly neutralized the aura Tang Zhi had released and said directly, ”What business brings Senior Brother Tang here?”

Tang Zhi’s eyes flashed as he stared fixedly at Zhaang Ye. ”Junior Brother Zhaang is indeed straightforward! In that case, I’ll be direct as well. I broke through to the Half-step True Dao realm three years ago. I’ve just finished my closed-door cultivation and am in urgent need of the Bone-Burning, Vein-Refining, Qi-Nourishing Purple Spirit Liquid to consolidate my Cultivation. I hope that Junior Brother Zhaang will give the Bone-Burning, Vein-Refining, Qi-Nourishing Purple Spirit Liquid to me.”

Both Zhaang Ye and Tang Zhi had weathered their share of storms. They knew that in moments like this, strength was the only thing that mattered, so neither of them minced words.

Zhaang Yijian had just arrived outside the valley. When he heard Tang Zhi’s direct demand, his heart leaped into his throat. Zhaang Yijian had known Zhaang Ye for a relatively long time and knew he was definitely not some coward who could be easily bullied. With Tang Zhi making such a direct demand, Zhaang Ye would surely give a direct refusal.

Sure enough, Zhaang Ye replied without the slightest hesitation, ”My apologies, Senior Brother Tang. This Bone-Burning, Vein-Refining, Qi-Nourishing Purple Spirit Liquid is of great use to me as well. Forgive me, but I cannot give it to you.”

Instead of getting angry, Tang Zhi roared with laughter. ”Good, good, good! Straight to the point! In that case, let’s settle this with our fists. The winner gets the Bone-Burning, Vein-Refining, Qi-Nourishing Purple Spirit Liquid, and the loser will obediently withdraw!”

Zhaang Ye gave a faint smile and said, ”Fine! Senior Brother Tang, please make your move!”

Their gazes clashed in the void for an instant. Just as a battle was about to erupt, the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi stirred slightly in the distance. Zhaang Ye and Tang Zhi looked over at the same time and saw a long-haired, middle-aged man suddenly appear outside the valley. He called out, ”Senior Brother Tang, you’ve just come out of seclusion. It’s probably not a good time for you to fight. Why not let your junior brother here test Junior Brother Zhaang’s strength?”

Wisps of Innate True Qi swirled around the long-haired man. He moved with an ethereal grace, as if riding the wind, resembling an Immortal from myths and legends. Clearly, he was also a Half-Step True Dao Expert, and the Innate True Qi within him was exceptionally potent.

Seeing the long-haired man, Zhaang Yijian used the Sound Transmission Technique to speak to Zhaang Ye. ”’Junior Brother Zhaang, this is Wei Feifan, ranked third among the Four Great Disciples. His strength is unfathomable, and he’s very close with Tang Zhi.’”

Zhaang Ye nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

Just as Zhaang Yijian finished his transmission, Wei Feifan’s gaze shifted to Zhaang Ye. He spoke slowly, ”Junior Brother Zhaang, to have reached the Peak of Martial Arts Ninth Layer at such a young age, you are truly a genius among geniuses. However, no matter how formidable your combat strength is, I’m afraid you are no match for me. I suggest you take a step back and give the Bone-Burning, Vein-Refining, Qi-Nourishing Purple Spirit Liquid to us.”

Zhaang Ye laughed in amusement. ”More words are pointless. Make your move, Senior Brother Wei.”

Wei Feifan’s expression changed slightly, then he laughed loudly. ”It seems Junior Brother Zhaang is determined to witness my power. Very well. I have long heard of your reputation, Junior Brother Zhaang. Let me see how many of my moves you can withstand. Heaven-Covering Hand Seal!”

BOOM!

The moment Wei Feifan’s voice fell, his figure suddenly vanished. In the next instant, a crystalline palm appeared before Zhaang Ye’s eyes. In a flash, the palm grew infinitely large, so large that it completely covered a patch of the void. Every line on the palm was clearly visible, and each one contained infinite power.

This seemingly simple hand seal was the very Combat Skill Wei Feifan had painstakingly cultivated—the Heaven-Covering Hand Seal!

As the top disciple of the Third Hall Master, Wei Feifan was naturally a figure of extraordinary talent. He favored using his palms. After scouring the Wei Kingdom True Hall’s Library Pavilion, he spent forty-nine years in comprehension and refinement, finally creating his own astonishingly powerful Palm Technique. This Heaven-Covering Hand Seal was the very first move of that technique!

The Heaven-Covering Hand Seal truly had the power to cover the heavens. The moment Wei Feifan’s palm struck out, it blotted out a section of the void. Zhaang Yijian, standing thirty zhang away, found it difficult to even breathe. He felt that if that simple palm strike so much as touched him, he would be instantly blown to pieces!

’What a terrifying palm strike!’ Zhaang Yijian was horrified and hurriedly executed a Body Technique to retreat swiftly.

”Good!”

Zhaang Ye let out a soft cry and lightly pointed a finger.

Zhaang Ye wasn’t an expert in Finger Techniques, but he had sparred with his Senior Sister Fang Caiying many times and thus had some understanding of them. The finger he casually pointed now looked like Fang Caiying’s Wishful Pointing, but the power it contained far surpassed hers. As he pointed, before his fingertip even arrived, the sharp force of the gesture had already torn through the void!

PFT!

Wei Feifan was struck by Zhaang Ye’s finger. He felt his palm as if it had been stabbed by an extremely sharp sword, and his whole hand burned with searing pain. What shocked him even more was that Zhaang Ye’s seemingly delicate finger contained an immense power. This terrifying force was like a bursting mountain flood, instantly knocking him back ten zhang!

Wei Feifan was both shocked and enraged. Ever since he had cultivated his Palm Technique to the Great Success stage, he had never been repelled in a single move. Not even the first disciple, Tang Zhi, could push him back in one exchange. But now, Zhaang Ye, a man not yet thirty, had casually sent him flying back ten zhang. This was an absolute insult to him!

”Hmph!”

Wei Feifan snorted coldly. Just as he was about to use his trump card, he suddenly heard Tang Zhi cry out from the side, ”Watch out!”

As it turned out, the moment Zhaang Ye repelled Wei Feifan, he launched an immediate counterattack. Zhaang Ye’s counter was simple: he formed a Hand Blade, then his entire body transformed into a blade soaring through the void, slashing straight toward Wei Feifan!

Cloud-Breaking Slash!

This slash from Zhaang Ye was none other than the Saber Technique he had comprehended from the Mysterious Blade Tip—the Cloud-Breaking Slash. The Mysterious Blade Tip Zhaang Ye had obtained recorded a battle between two peerless experts. One of them, a peerless saber user, launched a slash from ten thousand li away. The Saber Force broke through the clouds to strike his opponent from afar. That peerless technique, a slash from ten thousand li away, was deeply seared into Zhaang Ye’s mind, which was how he created this Saber Technique.

He had created the Cloud-Breaking Slash long ago, but his power had been limited, so he was never able to unleash the full might of this Saber Technique. Now, Zhaang Ye’s body was brimming with immense Celestial River Righteous Qi. When he executed this Saber Technique, it was Majestic and Overwhelming, completely unstoppable!

”Ah!”

Wei Feifan had never imagined Zhaang Ye possessed such a terrifying technique, and his face changed drastically. But he was a Half-Step True Dao Expert, after all. Terrified, he let out a great roar as his hands suddenly transformed. His right palm became the Mountain-Overturning Hand Seal, while his left executed the Sea-Inverting Hand Seal, meeting Zhaang Ye’s attack head-on.

BAM!

Wei Feifan’s Mountain-Overturning Hand Seal slammed down from the air, striking Zhaang Ye’s Hand Blade first. The Mountain-Overturning Hand Seal was the second move of the Palm Technique Wei Feifan had created, and when struck from above, it possessed the power to overturn mountains. But when Wei Feifan’s Mountain-Overturning Hand Seal hit Zhaang Ye’s Hand Blade, a piercing pain shot through him. Wei Feifan could clearly feel the bones in his palm and arm groaning faintly under the force of Zhaang Ye’s Hand Blade!

What kind of figure was Wei Feifan? With just a slight sweep of his Spiritual Power, he knew instantly that the bones in his hand and arm had already cracked!

His soul nearly fled his body! As powerful as Wei Feifan was, he was scared witless by Zhaang Ye’s terrifying attack. He hastily slammed his left palm toward Zhaang Ye’s Hand Blade!

BAM!

Wei Feifan’s left palm, executing the Sea-Inverting Hand Seal, smashed heavily into Zhaang Ye’s Hand Blade once again, this time from below. The power of the Sea-Inverting Hand Seal surpassed even that of the Mountain-Overturning Hand Seal. Under the impact of this blow, Zhaang Ye’s unstoppable slash was finally blocked by Wei Feifan.

PFFT!

Although he had successfully blocked Zhaang Ye’s slash, the Celestial River Righteous Qi contained within Zhaang Ye’s Hand Blade still crashed into Wei Feifan. The might of the Celestial River Righteous Qi was far more terrifying than Innate True Qi. Under the assault of this Celestial River Righteous Qi, blood instantly streamed from Wei Feifan’s seven orifices, and even his skin began to faintly ooze blood!

In an instant, crimson blood dyed Wei Feifan’s entire body red, creating a terrifying sight.

HISS!

Zhaang Yijian was stunned. He could never have imagined that Zhaang Ye, with a single, simple strike, could reduce a Half-Step True Dao Expert like Wei Feifan to such a state.

HISS!

Tang Zhi was also stunned. He knew how strong Wei Feifan was; even he couldn’t possibly defeat Wei Feifan in a single move. Yet Zhaang Ye’s simple counterattack had resulted in a crushing defeat. In front of Zhaang Ye, Wei Feifan’s formidable power was like a child’s!

Tang Zhi stared at Zhaang Ye as if he were looking at an ancient monster.

-------(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com and vote with Recommendation Tickets or monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)