Overlord of the Wilderness

When Helian Changtian saw Zhaang Ye release the Fire Spirit to block Chu Fangyuan and Fu Yuguang from reinforcing him, despair filled his heart. Zhaang Ye’s combat prowess was immense; he was no match at all. Most terrifying of all, Zhaang Ye had comprehended the Wind Realm. Even if he wanted to flee, it would be impossible!

”Ah!”

Helian Changtian let out a long roar, the Long Sword in his hand a wild blur as he launched a flurry of suicidal attacks, desperate to trade his life for Zhaang Ye’s. But Zhaang Ye’s combat prowess far surpassed his. With a mere thought from Zhaang Ye, the void filled with wind.

Every expert who cultivated to the True Dao was extraordinary. They all possessed outstanding talent, incredible willpower, superior intellect, and a variety of strange attack methods. To prevent Helian Changtian from self-destructing or unleashing some bizarre Combat Skill, Zhaang Ye adopted the safest strategy: controlling the surrounding wind to rapidly wear down Helian Changtian’s strength.

The more Helian Changtian fought, the more he was at a disadvantage. Invisible currents of wind were like a vast spiderweb, binding him tightly. His movements grew slower and slower, his injuries more and more severe, and the Innate True Qi within his body dwindled.

At this point, Helian Changtian knew he was doomed to die today. But he was utterly unwilling to go down so cleanly. Even in death, he would drag Zhaang Ye down with him!

’Zhaang Ye must die, he must die! I’ll drag him down with me!’ A look of grim determination flashed in Helian Changtian’s eyes as he prepared to self-destruct the Long Sword in his hand.

Just then, a flicker of mockery appeared in Zhaang Ye’s eyes. Having already gained the complete upper hand with his overwhelming combat prowess, how could he possibly let Helian Changtian self-destruct?

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

Hundreds of terrifying gusts of wind, sharp as blades, sliced viciously into Helian Changtian’s body, carving off chunks of flesh. Despite his rock-solid Willpower, Helian Changtian couldn’t help but falter. In that brief moment of hesitation, Zhaang Ye’s Punishment Whip struck like lightning, lashing out once to slice Helian Changtian in two!

Helian Changtian was dead.

”Ah!”

Several miles away, Chu Fangyuan and Fu Yuguang watched Zhaang Ye whip Helian Changtian in two, and they were scared out of their wits. Even as they fended off the Fire Spirit’s scorching flames, their hearts turned to ice.

When the four of them had set out to hunt down Zhaang Ye, they had never imagined his combat prowess would be this terrifying. In the blink of an eye, Ling Dahuang, with his powerful Inference Technique, had died at Zhaang Ye’s hands. Now, even the strongest among them, Helian Changtian, had also been slain by Zhaang Ye. It was simply unbelievable!

WHOOSH!

Before Chu Fangyuan and Fu Yuguang’s horrified eyes, Zhaang Ye casually plucked the Space Bag from Helian Changtian’s body. Then, his figure vanished, reappearing in an instant above the two of them!

Accompanying Zhaang Ye were gusts of wind, invisible ropes that bound the two Hall Masters’ hands and feet. The Death God had descended grimly upon them!

”Ah!”

Chu Fangyuan and Fu Yuguang roared in unison, both simultaneously burning the Innate True Qi within their bodies. A blinding red light erupted from them!

Self-destruction!

In their desperation, Chu Fangyuan and Fu Yuguang both chose to reverse the flow of their Innate True Qi, preparing to self-destruct their Three Flowers and take Zhaang Ye down with them.

Self-destruction again!

Zhaang Ye shook his head slightly. Before the Celestial Tribulation, if he had encountered a True Dao Third Layer expert self-destructing, he would have been critically injured even if he survived. But after passing the tribulation, Zhaang Ye’s Cultivation had increased tremendously, and his Spiritual Sense had sharpened as well. Now, not even a True Dao Third Layer expert could hope to self-destruct in front of him.

Zhaang Ye called out in his mind, ’Fire Spirit, fuse!’

At Zhaang Ye’s command, the Fire Spirit instantly fused with the Punishment Whip. As the Fire Spirit possessed it, the whip’s power surged in an instant!

Zhaang Ye and the Fire Spirit’s auras were linked. The Fire Spirit possessing the Punishment Whip was equivalent to a joint attack from both of them. Both Zhaang Ye and the Fire Spirit were terrifyingly powerful experts. With them joined, the attack’s power tripled. The dreadful aura emanating from the Long Whip alone was enough to stun a True Dao Expert!

WHOOSH!

The Punishment Whip instantly transformed into a spirited Fire Dragon. The sky for miles around was burned crimson by the terrifying flames! Before the two Hall Masters’ horrified eyes, the Fire Dragon seemed to come to life, soaring through the air before coiling toward them along a strange and unpredictable path!

The Innate True Qi within the two Hall Masters had yet to fully detonate when the Fire Dragon arrived! They wanted to dodge, but the air for miles around was filled with invisible wind, leaving them no room to do so. They wanted to retreat, but the wind filling the void gave them no path of escape. They wanted to self-destruct, but the Fire Dragon was too fast and too fierce; they didn’t even have the chance!

PFFT!

At a bizarre angle, the Fire Dragon suddenly coiled around the two Hall Masters’ Long Swords. The next moment, its head abruptly shot through Chu Fangyuan’s heart. The terrible flames instantly incinerated his heart to ash, taking his life. Almost simultaneously, the Fire Dragon’s body whipped around Fu Yuguang like lightning, constricting and snapping him in two.

Even after being snapped in two, Fu Yuguang miraculously hadn’t died completely. His upper torso hung in the air, his eyes filled with venom as he stared at Zhaang Ye. ”To die by your hand... I hate you! I curse you—”

POW!

Zhaang Ye had no time to listen to his curses. He threw a punch through the air, instantly blasting Fu Yuguang into smithereens.

After blasting Fu Yuguang to bits with a single punch, Zhaang Ye made a beckoning gesture, and the Space Bags of both Chu Fangyuan and Fu Yuguang flew into his hand.

Space Bags were quite valuable. For instance, the entire Wei Kingdom True Hall possessed only one, which was kept by the Great Hall Master. Helian Changtian, Chu Fangyuan, and Fu Yuguang were all Great Hall Masters, so they each carried a Space Bag, a fact that now greatly benefited Zhaang Ye.

After securing the three Space Bags, Zhaang Ye flew down and searched the area, retrieving Ling Dahuang’s Space Bag as well. Zhaang Ye currently needed a large amount of Essence Stones for his Cultivation, so he wouldn’t let any valuable item slip by. After finding Ling Dahuang’s bag, Zhaang Ye searched again, collecting the weapons of all four men and storing them in his Little World.

The weapons of Helian Changtian, Fu Yuguang, and Chu Fangyuan were all Ninth-Grade True Artifacts. Ling Dahuang’s nine Copper Coins were also a unique set of True Artifacts and were quite valuable. All of these items were as good as gleaming Essence Stones, and there was no way Zhaang Ye would pass them up.

After dealing with the bodies, Zhaang Ye examined his spoils, and a hint of a pleased smile appeared on his face.

First, Zhaang Ye had obtained four sets of weapons from this battle. The weapons of Helian Changtian, Fu Yuguang, and Chu Fangyuan were all Ninth-Grade True Artifacts, which could be sold for a considerable number of Essence Stones. Ling Dahuang’s nine Copper Coins were even more extraordinary; Zhaang Ye had a faint feeling that these nine coins might be an Eighth-Grade True Artifact, making them extremely valuable.

The second gain was the four Space Bags. Although they were small, Space Bags were rare items. Even one with only a few square feet of space was worth a fortune. Zhaang Ye estimated that a single Space Bag was worth 300,000 Low-grade Essence Stones, meaning the four bags were worth a total of 1,200,000 Low-grade Essence Stones.

The third gain was Barbaric Beast Cores. Helian Changtian, Ling Dahuang, Chu Fangyuan, and Fu Yuguang were all Great Hall Masters of the True Hall. With their esteemed status and formidable strength, they had far more opportunities to obtain Barbaric Beast Cores than other Hall Masters. Searching through their four Space Bags, Zhaang Ye found a total of one hundred thirty Barbaric Beast Cores—a massive haul.

The fourth gain was Essence Stones. The Essence Stones in the four Space Bags totaled one million, including several hundred Mid-grade Essence Stones. The Essence Qi contained within these Mid-grade Essence Stones was much purer than that of Low-grade Essence Stones, making them perfect for Cultivation.

Other gains included various Elixirs, True Dao Secret Manuals, and some miscellaneous items. Among them, the one that most interested Zhaang Ye was a book titled *Little Zhou Celestial Divine Calculation*. This was the very book he had found in Ling Dahuang’s Space Bag. Apparently, Ling Dahuang’s miraculous Inference Technique had been learned from this manual.

Driven by curiosity, Zhaang Ye flipped through the book. He felt his horizons broaden as he entered a realm completely different from the Martial Dao. The *Little Zhou Celestial Divine Calculation* truly lived up to its name. If one could fully comprehend it, they could not only deduce the fates of others but also touch upon the unseen Celestial Secrets, allowing them to turn misfortune into fortune and be ever-victorious.

After leafing through it for a while, Zhaang Ye thought to himself, ’This Ling Dahuang was able to track me with his Inference Technique, so he must have grasped some of its basics. It’s a pity. He could deduce my location, but he couldn’t predict his own fate, and ended up being whipped to death by me.’

Zhaang Ye shook his head, put away the *Little Zhou Celestial Divine Calculation*, and continued to take stock of his other items. Just then, the Fire Spirit suddenly spoke up, ”Master, a powerful expert is approaching from hundreds of miles away! This person’s Cultivation is profound, likely at the True Dao Fourth Layer. We should leave this place quickly!”

”A True Dao Fourth Layer expert!” Zhaang Ye’s heart jumped in alarm. Although his combat strength had increased significantly after passing the Celestial Tribulation, he was no match for a True Dao Fourth Layer expert. When faced with such a powerhouse, the only thing Zhaang Ye could do was stay far, far away.

WHOOSH!

Without a second thought, Zhaang Ye executed his Body Technique, transforming into a streak of light and flying away.

Zhaang Ye had just flown a little over a hundred miles when a middle-aged man in white robes suddenly appeared atop the collapsed mountain peak. The man took a slight sniff, and his expression changed abruptly. ”Such a dense aura of thunder! This mountain was actually destroyed by a Celestial Tribulation! Could it be that some sort of anomaly appeared within this peak?”

SWISH!

The white-robed man’s gaze suddenly leaped across the hundred-plus miles, landing on Zhaang Ye. He shouted, ”Kid, stop right there! If you run again, I’ll break your legs!”

---(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.)