Overlord of the Wilderness

Author’s Note: I’m not feeling well today, and I have relatives over, so I wasn’t able to write much. There will only be one update today. I’ll make it up with three tomorrow. Thank you for your subscriptions, monthly tickets, recommendations, and all your support!

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Three Elders flew into the air, and a faint wave of Suppression instantly swept across the valley. The boisterous valley immediately fell silent.

The Seventh Elder spoke slowly. "After a day and a night of fighting, the group stage has concluded. A total of four hundred and twenty people have been eliminated, leaving only the three hundred strongest prodigies. These three hundred prodigies will enter the Sect and become disciples of our Green Cloud Sect."

The disciples who made it into the top three hundred all had looks of excitement. Those who had been eliminated, however, looked utterly dejected, like roosters that had lost a fight.

The Seventh Elder then spoke again, his voice slow. "However, making it into the top three hundred is only the beginning. Next, we will conduct a new round of eliminations to determine the top one hundred young experts. The rules will be announced by the Eighth Elder. All of you, listen carefully."

BOOM!

A wave of excitement swept through the crowd. To be one of the top one hundred experts in the entrance tournament meant being one of the top 100 of the younger generation—an immense honor. Faced with such a great honor, nearly every young expert was thrilled, and a thick battle intent began to surge from the more warlike among them.

The Eighth Elder stepped forward with a chuckle. "After the elimination rounds and the group stage, three hundred disciples remain. From these three hundred, we will select the one hundred strongest prodigies to form the top 100 of the younger generation.

There are two ways to make it into the top 100. The first is by direct qualification. The ninety young experts who ranked in the top three of their respective groups during the group stage will advance directly into the top 100.

The second way is through competition. The ninety young experts who ranked fourth, fifth, and sixth in their groups will be divided into ten new groups for a playoff round. The winner of each of these ten groups will secure the final ten spots in the top 100."

Hearing the Eighth Elder’s announcement, Zhaang Ye smiled faintly. He had placed first in his group, earning him a direct spot in the top 100 and sparing him another battle.

After the Eighth Elder finished, the Ninth Elder spoke up. "The ninety disciples who ranked in the top three of their groups may now return to rest for three days. After three days, you will gather in the valley again to participate in the ranking battles for the top 100.

The ninety disciples who ranked fourth, fifth, and sixth in their groups will come to the valley tomorrow to participate in the playoff round. Those who ranked seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth will directly become the Sect’s servant disciples. As for the four hundred and twenty disciples who were eliminated during the group stage, you will have two choices..."

Once the three Elders had finished giving their instructions, the crowd began to disperse.

As Zhaang Ye slowly walked out of the valley, he suddenly felt a chill. He looked up and saw Red Cliff Celestial Ape staring at him coldly. When he saw Zhaang Ye look his way, Red Cliff Celestial Ape gave a sinister smile before striding off.

The two dozen or so top experts in the valley watched Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s towering figure, their expressions turning grave. After his breakthrough, the pressure he exuded was immense. Even supreme experts like Sword King Ye Cangtian, Blood King Netherworld Green Blood, and Spear King Fengyun Sheng felt a heavy weight in their hearts.

Only the King of Hell, Mo Luo, whose power was truly unfathomable, remained perfectly calm. Red Cliff Celestial Ape’s breakthrough didn’t seem to affect him in the slightest.

Zhaang Ye’s gaze fell upon the King of Hell, Mo Luo, a grave look flashing in his eyes. After comprehending the Tolerance Power and fusing ninety-five percent of the Ancient Power within him, Zhaang Ye’s Celestial River Righteous Qi had become increasingly formidable. He no longer feared even supreme experts like Sword King Ye Cangtian, Power King Red Cliff Celestial Ape, Blood King Netherworld Green Blood, or Spear King Fengyun Sheng.

The only one he wasn’t confident about was this King of Hell, Mo Luo. Mo Luo was like a vast ocean; it was impossible to gauge his true strength. Zhaang Ye had a faint feeling that Mo Luo might be his most powerful rival.

’King of Hell, Mo Luo... Sword King Ye Cangtian... Power King Red Cliff Celestial Ape... Blood King Netherworld Green Blood... Spear King Fengyun Sheng... and four other peerless prodigies. So many formidable opponents. I need to get back to my cave residence and use these last three days to further fuse the Ancient Power within me. Hopefully, I can get the fusion up to ninety-seven percent.’

With his mind made up, Zhaang Ye’s figure transformed into a streak of green light and shot straight out of the valley.

High on one of the valley’s cliffs, two figures were staring intently at Zhaang Ye. They were none other than Shi Shuanglong and his junior sister, the woman in the long, green dress, Rong Xiu Li.

Shi Shuanglong watched Zhaang Ye’s departing figure, panting heavily. He spoke through gritted teeth, "I never would have thought that Zhaang Ye was so strong! At this rate, he’ll probably make it into the top ten of the entrance tournament and become an Inner Sect Disciple. Once that happens, his status will be far above ours."

Inner Sect Disciples were the core disciples of the Green Cloud Sect, a status that could only be obtained by passing through the rigorous trials of the entrance tournament. Once a person became an Inner Sect Disciple, they would receive the full support and resources of the entire Sect, and their future would be limitless. In contrast, disciples taken in by individual Elders were only considered part of the Branches; their status within the Sect was far inferior to that of the core disciples. When Shi Shuanglong saw Zhaang Ye defeat Red Cliff Celestial Ape with his overwhelming power, secure a spot in the top 100, and now stand on the verge of becoming an Inner Sect Disciple, his heart instantly filled with envy, jealousy, and hate.

Rong Xiu Li’s brow was also tightly furrowed. She had offended Zhaang Ye back in the Land of Divine Abandonment. If he became an Inner Sect Disciple and decided to settle the score, her life would become very difficult.

Rong Xiu Li sighed. "With Zhaang Ye’s strength, he’s very likely to place in the top ten. The problem is, there’s no way for us to stop him. With three Elders presiding over the entrance tournament, we can’t possibly interfere."

Shi Shuanglong’s eyes darted about for a moment before he suddenly thought of something. He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "I’ve got it! Junior Sister Rong, do you remember the Nine-headed Serpent belonging to Third Master-Uncle of the Inner Sect?"

Rong Xiu Li started slightly. "Of course I do. Long Potian, the Third Master-Uncle of the Inner Sect, once subdued a mutated python whose strength is comparable to a True Dao Expert. But recently, it seems the Nine-headed Serpent was injured by someone—two of its Snake Scales were sliced off, and Long Potian is furious about it. Senior Brother, why are you bringing this up?"

Shi Shuanglong said slowly, "Master-Uncle Long Potian’s Nine-headed Serpent usually stays in that great river. And a month ago, Zhaang Ye was cultivating in that very river. I have a feeling that it was Zhaang Ye who injured the Nine-headed Serpent. If I tell Master-Uncle Long Potian about this, he definitely won’t let Zhaang Ye off the hook, heheh..."

As he spoke, a sinister smile spread across Shi Shuanglong’s face.

Rong Xiu Li’s eyes lit up. "That’s an excellent idea! It took Master-Uncle Long Potian a great deal of effort to subdue that Nine-headed Python, and he dotes on it. If he finds out Zhaang Ye injured it, he will definitely take action. Master-Uncle Long Potian has already reached the True Dao. A casual move from him would be more than enough to make Zhaang Ye suffer horribly!"

Shi Shuanglong chuckled smugly. "The Nine-headed Serpent has nine heads, and each can spray a unique poison. These poisons are colorless and odorless, so they won’t alert the Guardian of Newcomer Peak. Heheh, once those poisons are sprayed into Zhaang Ye’s cave residence, even if he doesn’t die, his Primordial Qi will be severely damaged. He can forget about placing in the top ten in three days’ time, hahahahaha..."

「Newcomer Peak, inside the cave residence.」

Zhaang Ye was slowly circulating the Ancient Power within his body. With every full Cycle of the three Ancient Powers, they fused a little more. At this rate, he could likely increase the fusion of his internal Ancient Power to ninety-seven percent within three days.

Just as Zhaang Ye was focused on the fusion process, a palm-sized Nine-headed Serpent suddenly appeared outside his cave residence. The little serpent blended unnervingly into the night, emanating not a single trace of an aura. Even a Half-Step True Dao Expert would be unable to sense its presence.

The small Nine-headed Serpent reached the entrance to Zhaang Ye’s cave, its nine tongues flicking out to taste the air. A look of hatred filled its nine pairs of eyes. It pressed its nine heads tightly against the bottom of the stone door, and as its mouths opened, nine streams of colorless, odorless poison seeped through the crack.

After releasing the nine streams of poison, the Nine-headed Serpent swished its tail, about to turn and leave. But just then, a terrifying Sword Gang suddenly shot out from the crack under the stone door. The serpent had no time to react. The Sword Gang sent it flying, and with a strange shriek, it vanished into the night as a streak of light.

Inside the cave residence, Zhaang Ye’s face was a dark, purplish-black. A full six hours passed before his complexion gradually returned to normal. Zhaang Ye stood up, a flicker of fury in his eyes. He muttered, "Someone actually came to my cave and released a deadly poison." A faint draconic aura had accompanied the attack. ’Who could it be?’

While Zhaang Ye had been fusing his Ancient Power, he had felt a wave of discomfort wash over him, and at the same time, he’d sensed an extremely faint draconic aura from outside his cave. Startled, he had immediately taken out the Mysterious Blade Tip and unleashed a Sword Gang through the door. Only then did he circulate his Ancient Phoenix Power to begin expelling the poison.

The Ancient Phoenix Power could refine any impurity. As soon as the poison entered Zhaang Ye’s body, it was swiftly incinerated by the Ancient Phoenix Power, allowing him to recover quickly. Though he was back to normal, Zhaang Ye was furious. For someone to sneak up and poison him while he was in the middle of his painstaking Cultivation—it was an outrageous provocation.

Zhaang Ye pondered for a moment, then shook his head. ’They took a direct hit from my Sword Gang, so they must be seriously injured. They probably won’t be back. I should just focus on my Cultivation.’

At this thought, a cold smile touched Zhaang Ye’s lips. He muttered to himself, "So, it seems someone doesn’t want me to enter the Inner Sect. Heh. The more you try to stop me, the more determined I am to get in. In the face of true power, all schemes and plots are meaningless!"

Zhaang Ye sat down cross-legged and resumed fusing his Ancient Power, the Celestial River Righteous Qi within him growing ever stronger. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.com to vote with Recommendation Tickets and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)