Overlord of the Wilderness

SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!

The Iron-Teeth Poison Rat King was enraged. It let out a piercing shriek, its mouth snapping open to spew streams of toxic gas. The nearby Iron-toothed Poison Rats followed their king’s lead, all spraying poison gas. The foul, blood-red fumes converged into a torrent, instantly sweeping across the forest for dozens of miles.

Tainted by the gas, towering trees withered and collapsed one after another. Even the hardest rocks turned black, emitting a SIZZLING sound. The Barbaric Beasts that couldn’t escape in time struggled for only a few moments before collapsing, dead. Their flesh was quickly corroded away by the toxic gas, leaving only pitch-black skeletons behind.

The Iron-toothed Poison Rats’ attack had a range of twenty to thirty miles. Zhaang Ye had just fled over ten miles when the assault reached him. Startled, he hastily unleashed the Eighteen-Layered Tornado, forming a tight guard around himself. At the same time, a faint curtain of water appeared, enveloping his entire body.

This faint curtain of water was a defensive technique Zhaang Ye had obtained after comprehending the Water Realm. Under his control, the pliable water clung closely to his body, offering protection. This thin layer of water had defensive power even greater than Protective Gang Qi, capable of withstanding a full-powered strike from an Early Stage True Dao Fifth Layer expert.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Several streams of toxic gas shot forward like sharp arrows. The pervasive fumes madly tried to bore their way toward Zhaang Ye. The Tornado and the water curtain proved immensely effective; the wildly spinning vortex and the thin layer of water were like a wall of bronze and iron, firmly blocking the poison gas from the Iron-toothed Poison Rats.

HISS!

Hmph!

Amidst the rampaging toxic gas, the young experts let out muffled grunts. No one dared to stop, and no one dared to slow down. Each of them unleashed their Body Technique, sprinting silently for hundreds of miles before finally breathing a sigh of relief.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The young experts zipped up a hill and came to a stop. Having narrowly escaped death, they discreetly sized up their companions.

The gas from the Iron-Teeth Poison Rat King contained a terrifyingly potent venom. This venom was so pervasive that not even Protective Gang Qi could completely block it. The young experts’ clothes were riddled with small holes, which had been corroded by the toxic gas.

The stronger one was, the more powerful their Protective Gang Qi, and naturally, the fewer holes there would be on their clothes. Conversely, the weaker one was, the more holes would appear on their garments.

One could gauge a person’s combat strength from these small holes.

Gu Jianyuan had twenty-five holes on his clothes.

Shi Shenghao had twenty-four holes.

Gao Kangzi had thirty-two holes.

Yan Ming had thirty-one holes.

Galaxy had thirty-nine holes.

These young experts all had a similar number of holes. Galaxy had more for two reasons. First, his Cultivation was lower, only at the True Dao Fourth Layer. Second, the Realm he had comprehended was the Golden Realm, which excelled at offense but was poor at defense. As a result, Galaxy had the most holes of all.

After a quick scan, everyone turned their gazes to Pingcang Mountain and Taishu Gang. Both of them had twenty-four holes on their clothes. It seemed their defensive capabilities were roughly equal.

When their gazes shifted to Qi Qingle, the young experts were inwardly shaken. They discovered that Qi Qingle had a mere three small holes on his clothes!

”This Qi Qingle is just too powerful! With his Early Stage True Dao Fifth Layer Cultivation and the Rain Realm, he can rival a True Dao Sixth Layer expert. He’s terrifyingly strong!”

”Yeah. Junior Brother Qi is getting stronger and stronger! I wonder if he can take first place in the upcoming Young Master Appraisal Tournament? I heard the Mad Beast Sect is brimming with geniuses, but no matter how talented they are, none of them can beat Junior Brother Qi, right?”

”Heh heh, in the last twenty or thirty years, the Mad Beast Sect has produced five geniuses, the Spirit Water Sect has produced three, and other powers have also had some talented figures emerge. This session of the Young Master Appraisal Tournament is destined to be exceptionally fierce. Still, with Junior Brother Qi’s formidable strength, his chances of taking first place are very high.”

The young experts murmured amongst themselves.

”Alright.”

Qi Qingle spoke in a deep voice. ”We’re safe for now. Treat your injuries and recover your True Qi. Then, we’ll get back on the road.”

After giving the order, Qi Qingle’s gaze landed on Zhaang Ye. A rare smile touched his icy face. ”Zhaang Ye, you did very well this time. It’s a good thing you seized the opportunity to fire those three arrows and intercept the Iron-Teeth Poison Rat King. Otherwise, shaking it off would have been much more troublesome; it certainly wouldn’t have been this easy. Huh?!”

Qi Qingle’s gaze suddenly froze on Zhaang Ye, a look of astonishment on his face.

The other seven young experts—Pingcang Mountain, Gu Jianyuan, Taishu Gang, Shi Shenghao, Gao Kangzi, Yan Ming, and Galaxy—also turned to look at Zhaang Ye. When they saw him, expressions of utter disbelief appeared on all seven of their faces.

Three small holes!

There were only three small holes on Zhaang Ye’s clothes. In other words, his defensive ability far surpassed that of experts like Pingcang Mountain and Taishu Gang, and was on par with Qi Qingle’s!

A flicker of battle intent flashed in Qi Qingle’s eyes. ”Zhaang Ye, it seems I’ve underestimated you. Your Cultivation is only at the True Dao Third Layer Peak, but your combat strength far exceeds my expectations.”

Zhaang Ye smiled faintly. ”Senior Brother Qi, you flatter me. The Realm I’ve comprehended is the Wind Realm, which is more suited for escaping. That’s why I was exposed to a little less of the poison gas. It’s nothing special.”

Qi Qingle gave a faint smile and sat down cross-legged to meditate. The other seven young experts—Pingcang Mountain, Gu Jianyuan, Taishu Gang, Shi Shenghao, Gao Kangzi, Yan Ming, and Galaxy—also suppressed their shock, sat down cross-legged, and began to treat their injuries while restoring the True Qi in their bodies.

Three Hours later, the young experts had returned to their peak condition. Just as they were preparing to set off again, a violent fluctuation suddenly rippled across the horizon.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!

Zhaang Ye looked up at the sky and saw a magnificent, golden giant vessel slowly approaching from the horizon. The golden vessel was nearly a thousand yards long and over a hundred yards wide, its entire body covered in flowing, Profound Runes. A faint layer of golden light surrounded the vessel, acting like a wall.

Zhaang Ye strained his eyes and saw countless birds flying at high speed outside the vessel. The birds were entirely blood-red and as fast as lightning—they were the dreaded Vampire Birds. The Vampire Birds charged desperately at the golden vessel, trying to break through to the inside, but the faint golden light held them firmly at bay. Not a single one could get through.

Shi Shenghao gasped. ”What a massive Flying Vessel! Brothers, is that the Mad Beast Sect’s War Beast Golden Vessel?”

As a member of the Inner Sect, Pingcang Mountain was more knowledgeable than the others. He said with certainty, ”That’s the War Beast Golden Vessel, alright! Strange... The War Beast Golden Vessel is a Treasure of the Mad Beast Sect and the personal vessel of the Liger King. Why would it be here?”

The War Beast Golden Vessel seemed slow but was actually quite fast, crossing a hundred li in the blink of an eye. On its enormous deck stood a breathtakingly beautiful young woman, and all the young experts found their gazes fixed upon her.

The young woman was dressed in white, with a white silk ribbon tied in her long, dark hair. She was exceptionally pure and elegant, but a closer look revealed a hint of enchanting charm within her grace. Not a speck of dust sullied her, giving her the air of a goddess who had descended to the mortal realm.

Qi Qingle, Pingcang Mountain, Gu Jianyuan, Taishu Gang, Shi Shenghao, Gao Kangzi, Yan Ming, and Galaxy were all top experts of the younger generation, battle-hardened veterans who had seen and met thousands. Yet upon seeing this young woman in white, all eight of them were stunned, their eyes glued to her every move.

Zhaang Ye, having spent some time with Xuli Qiqi, was more accustomed to extraordinary beauty and quickly came to his senses. Seeing the state Qi Qingle and the others were in, he couldn’t help but let out a dry cough.

Hearing Zhaang Ye’s cough, Qi Qingle and the others snapped back to reality. Qi Qingle, Pingcang Mountain, and Taishu Gang all exclaimed in unison, ”Jade Fox!”

Zhaang Ye asked, puzzled, ”Senior Brothers, who is this Jade Fox? What’s her background?”

Gu Jianyuan chuckled slyly. ”Jade Fox is the closed-door disciple of the Mad Beast Sect’s Leader and one of their five great geniuses. She is highly favored by the Liger King. The woman possesses the bloodline of an Ancient Spirit Fox, is incredibly beautiful, and has cultivated her Illusion Technique to the point of Mastery. Junior Brother Zhaang, if you run into her at the Young Master Appraisal Tournament, you must be extremely careful!”

WHOOSH!

As Gu Jianyuan was speaking, the War Beast Golden Vessel suddenly flew right over their heads. The fluctuation in Heaven and Earth Essence Qi caused by the Golden Vessel snapped countless trees and kicked up clouds of dust.

A vigorous voice boomed down from the War Beast Golden Vessel. ”Hahahaha! You brats from the Green Cloud Sect, how did it feel being chased by those Iron-toothed Poison Rats? Not bad, eh? Hahahaha!”

The faces of Qi Qingle, Pingcang Mountain, Taishu Gang, and the other young experts darkened, their eyes filling with rage. At that moment, realization dawned on Zhaang Ye. ’No wonder that Iron-Teeth Poison Rat King was so intelligent. It’s a combat pet raised by the Mad Beast Sect.’

Taishu Gang roared in fury, ”So it was you lot from the Mad Beast Sect who lured those Iron-toothed Poison Rats! Brat, state your name! When we get to the Sunset Secret Realm, I, Taishu Gang, will teach you a harsh lesson!”

The vigorous voice chuckled coldly. ”I am the Little Lion King, Ba Xiongfei. You’re welcome to try and challenge me! Ha, I doubt you could even withstand three of my moves! Hahahaha!”

”Hahahaha!”

As Little Lion King Ba Xiongfei’s voice faded, a chorus of insolent laughter erupted from the War Beast Golden Vessel. Taishu Gang grunted in anger, a long spear suddenly appearing in his hand. But just as he was about to hurl it, the War Beast Golden Vessel abruptly accelerated, turning into a streak of light and vanishing over the horizon.