Overlord of the Wilderness

On the arena stage, Zhaang Ye and Sword Eternal stood facing each other. Streaks of Sword Qi swirled and danced between them like a flock of high-speed birds.

Sword Eternal appeared extremely gaunt. His body was flat, like the blade of a saber. His figure was like a saber, and his gaze was like a saber—sharp and brimming with killing intent. In Sword Eternal’s hand, he held a cyan Battle Saber. The blade was three feet and two inches long and incredibly thin. It glimmered with a faint cyan light; a single glance from afar was enough to tell it was exceptionally sharp.

Sword Eternal stared at Zhaang Ye and said, "Zhaang Ye, though you have yet to draw your weapon, I know you also use a saber. Now, draw it! I want to compete with you and see who is the true Overlord of the saber!"

Zhaang Ye sized up Sword Eternal, shook his head slightly, and said, "Sword Eternal, you are not yet worthy of me drawing my saber."

Sword Eternal’s body was wreathed in a grim Sword Qi, a clear sign he had cultivated his Saber Technique to a very high Realm. But since the start of this entrance tournament, Zhaang Ye had always fought his opponents bare-handed, never once drawing his saber. He hadn’t even drawn it when fighting a super-expert like Red Cliff Celestial Ape, so Zhaang Ye had no intention of drawing it for this battle either.

Sword Eternal’s eyes narrowed, his piercing gaze stabbing toward Zhaang Ye like a blade of ice. Zhaang Ye simply half-closed his eyes, ignoring Sword Eternal’s provocation and quietly waiting for the battle to begin.

The referee quickly walked over, instructed the two to take their positions, and then shouted, "Begin!"

The moment the referee’s voice fell, Sword Eternal raised his Battle Saber with both hands, and boundless Sword Qi instantly filled the stage. The invisible Sword Qi surged like a roaring tidal wave, instantaneously displacing the air. Fierce Sword Gang swept out in all directions, like monstrous beasts foraging in the void.

"Slash!"

With a great roar, Sword Eternal appeared thirty feet from Zhaang Ye. The Battle Saber in his hands flashed up and down, crisscrossing through the air. Clumps, streaks, and sheets of cloud-like Sword Gang billowed toward Zhaang Ye, like auspicious snow, like a rainbow streaking across the sky, like a heavenly waterfall in reverse. It was just a single Battle Saber, yet it unleashed such a frenzied assault. No one knew how many times Sword Eternal had slashed in that single instant.

Fast!

Incredibly fast!

Lightning fast!

This was Sword Eternal’s Saber Technique. Relying on his rapid Saber Technique, Sword Eternal had fought his way from the elimination rounds to the present, almost unrivaled. Even experts with deeper Cultivation than his could only admit defeat when faced with his lightning-fast Saber Technique.

Sword Eternal knew Zhaang Ye’s Saber Technique was formidable, so he unleashed his full power from the very start. Under Sword Eternal’s rapid execution, the thin Battle Saber seemed to multiply into a thousand blades, ten thousand blades. The thirty-foot space around Zhaang Ye was densely packed with them, as if a hundred saber experts were attacking him all at once!

"Such a fast saber!"

"Such a terrifying saber!"

"Such a powerful saber!!"

The audience below the stage was aghast. In the face of a Saber Technique as fast as lightning, any exquisite Combat Skill was rendered useless. A single careless mistake, and a person would be instantly diced into a thousand, even ten thousand pieces. Not even an immortal could save them!

"SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!"

Zhaang Ye’s figure flickered amidst the dense flurry of blade shadows like a tangible yet insubstantial phantom. Sword Eternal’s fast saber strikes continuously grazed past his head, neck, chest, and legs, but miraculously, not a single one managed to hit Zhaang Ye. Sword Eternal’s lightning-fast Saber Technique couldn’t even touch the hem of Zhaang Ye’s clothes!

From within the blade shadows, Zhaang Ye’s voice drifted out leisurely, "To be able to strike three hundred and sixty times in the blink of an eye is quite remarkable. It’s a pity that while your speed is great, your Sword Intent cannot lock onto me. No matter how fast your Saber Technique is, it will never hit me. Now, I’m going to attack. Take this strike from me."

As he spoke, Zhaang Ye used his palm as a blade and slowly executed a strike. This technique looked sluggish, yet it miraculously passed through the layers of Sword Gang and struck the body of Sword Eternal’s Battle Saber directly.

"TING!"

Struck by Zhaang Ye’s palm, the Battle Saber was instantly sent flying. Sword Eternal himself was also blasted away by a wave of Sword Gang, crashing heavily against the arena’s Protective Shield.

Sword Eternal stood up, dazed for a moment, then bowed to Zhaang Ye and said, "Thank you for your guidance, sir. I will seek you out again once my Saber Technique has improved."

With those words, Sword Eternal turned and walked off the stage.

Although Sword Eternal didn’t formally concede, by walking directly off the stage, he was effectively forfeiting the fight. Seeing Sword Eternal leave the stage, the referee walked over and directly declared Zhaang Ye the victor.

Zhaang Ye stepped down, and a new round of matches quickly began on the stage. The talented experts each displayed their unique skills, their battles shaking the entire valley.

The six of them—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 Zhaang Ye—all defeated top-tier experts in a single move, displaying unfathomable combat prowess. In the following battles, even the top-tier experts no longer dared to fight against these six.

Since no one dared to challenge him, Zhaang Ye was happy to have the leisure. He sat cross-legged in his seat, silently refining the Innate True Qi in his body and comprehending the Ancient Saber Technique. Through this period of combat, Zhaang Ye’s understanding of the Ancient Saber Technique had deepened. He had now comprehended more than half of the Sword Intent contained within the Mysterious Blade Tip. With just a little more time, Zhaang Ye would be able to fully grasp the Sword Intent within the Mysterious Blade Tip.

Zhaang Ye had obtained a total of five Broken Blades. Each of these blade fragments contained a type of fragmented Ancient Sword Intent. If Zhaang Ye could comprehend all the Sword Intent within the five fragments, his Saber Technique would improve dramatically.

As Zhaang Ye was silently comprehending the Sword Intent, just as he reached a profound point, he suddenly felt a hostile gaze fixed coldly upon him. Zhaang Ye was slightly startled. He calmly opened his eyes but found the valley teeming with people. Even with his superior Spiritual Power, he couldn’t locate the source of that hostile gaze.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhaang Ye decided to ignore it and continued comprehending the Ancient Sword Intent.

「...」

At the top of the valley’s eastern side was an elegant stone chamber. A young man in red robes with long eyebrows, slender eyes, a broad forehead, and high cheekbones sat by the window. Standing respectfully beside him were two people: Shi Shuanglong and Rong Xiu Li.

Shi Shuanglong had just retracted his gaze, and he said in astonishment, "This Zhaang Ye’s perception is so sharp! I only looked at him for a moment longer, and he actually sensed it."

The red-robed young man spoke slowly, "This Zhaang Ye’s perception is indeed very keen. I can sense the power of an Ancient Giant Dragon on him. My little serpent also happens to possess Dragon Power. When two types of Dragon Power get close, it’s easy for them to react to each other. No wonder he was able to sense my serpent’s arrival last night and injure it."

Realization dawned on Shi Shuanglong. After hearing the red-robed young man’s explanation, he finally understood how Zhaang Ye had detected the serpent’s arrival. He said respectfully, "Third Martial Uncle, is your serpent’s injury serious?"

The red-robed young man said nonchalantly, "My serpent’s strength has just reached the True Dao Realm, and it only recently gained the ability of Transformation. To escape the Prohibition near the great river and evade the Mountain Patrol Envoy of Newcomer Peak, my serpent had to shrink its body.

After my serpent shrank, its power was greatly affected, which is why it fell victim to Zhaang Ye’s attack. However, my serpent is ultimately a True Dao Expert in terms of strength and has thick scales. A mere Sword Gang only caused it a minor injury."

Shi Shuanglong breathed a sigh of relief. "That’s good, that’s good."

Shi Shuanglong knew that the Nine-headed Serpent was his Third Martial Uncle’s prized treasure. If Zhaang Ye had seriously injured it, his own life would have become very difficult. It was for the best that the Nine-headed Serpent only suffered a minor injury.

Shi Shuanglong’s eyes darted around, and he said indignantly, "Third Martial Uncle, this Zhaang Ye has repeatedly injured your serpent. This is a clear provocation against your dignity! In my opinion, we must teach him a lesson and let him know that there’s always someone better out there, that there are some people he can’t afford to offend..."

The red-robed young man’s gaze fell coldly upon Shi Shuanglong. The formless gaze was as heavy as a ten-million-pound boulder, pressing down on Shi Shuanglong until he could barely breathe. Rong Xiu Li, standing to the side, also felt an immense pressure that caused the color to drain from her face as large beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks.

After a long moment, the red-robed young man finally looked away. He said slowly, "Shi Shuanglong, how I deal with Zhaang Ye is my business. I don’t need you to speak up or point fingers. Now, both of you, get out of my sight."

Shi Shuanglong suppressed the trembling of his body and responded respectfully. As if granted a great amnesty, he hastily retreated from the stone chamber. Rong Xiu Li sighed and followed him out.

The red-robed young man watched Shi Shuanglong’s retreating figure and gave a cold smile. He muttered to himself, ’This Shi Shuanglong. He clearly knew Zhaang Ye possessed three types of Ancient Power but didn’t tell me, causing my little serpent to suffer a great loss. If it weren’t for his master’s sake, I would have already killed him with a single palm strike.’

After saying this, the red-robed young man shifted his gaze back to Zhaang Ye. Looking at Zhaang Ye’s figure, a sinister glint appeared in his eyes as he murmured, ’With Zhaang Ye’s strength, he should be able to place third or fourth in this entrance tournament. That means he’ll definitely be able to enter the Inner Sect and become an Inner Sect Disciple.

’Hmph, this Zhaang Ye dared to harm my serpent repeatedly. Once he enters the Inner Sect, I will definitely find a way to teach him a lesson. Zhaang Ye, I’ll be waiting for you in the Inner Sect!’

With those words, the red-robed young man strode out of the stone chamber without a backward glance.

「-------」

This Chapter was meant for yesterday. Apologies for the delay! Thank you for your subscriptions, monthly tickets, and Recommendation Tickets. Are there any more monthly tickets? I’m hoping for two more.

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