Overlord of the Wilderness

Zhaang Ye seemed not to have heard the Fourth Hall Master’s scolding. His mind was completely consumed by that sliver of Sword Intent from just a moment ago. As a saber user, that wisp of Sword Intent—which pierced through ancient and modern times, unstoppable and unrivaled—made Zhaang Ye’s entire body tremble!

"Master, I’ve decided! I want this fragment!" Zhaang Ye calmed the qi in his body and said to the Fourth Hall Master in a deep voice.

A pained look flashed in the Fourth Hall Master’s eyes. He had gone through great trouble to collect this fragment. The world-rending Sword Intent within it was of great benefit even to him. However, since he had promised Zhaang Ye a free choice, he couldn’t refuse the request no matter how reluctant he felt. He said nonchalantly, "It’s just a blade fragment, isn’t it? Go ahead and take it!"

As he said this, the Fourth Hall Master’s face couldn’t help but twitch.

Zhaang Ye was overjoyed to get the Fourth Hall Master’s approval. He quickly put the fragment away and casually asked, "Master, where did you get this fragment?"

The Fourth Hall Master replied, "I obtained this fragment from some Ancient Ruins. Other fragments were obtained at the same time by a Hall Master from the Great Peace True Hall, a Hall Master from the Great Rong Kingdom, and an Elder from the Great Marsh True Hall. If these fragments were combined, they should form a complete blade. It’s a pity they’re scattered in the hands of different people. It’s impossible to reforge them into a single blade now."

’There are three other fragments! I must find a way to collect them all and reforge them into a single blade! A blade that contains the will of an Ancient Great Power!’ Zhaang Ye’s heart pounded with excitement. He had a faint feeling that if he could successfully collect all the fragments, he might be able to comprehend some earth-shattering Secret Skill from them.

Seeing Zhaang Ye’s excited expression, the Fourth Hall Master chuckled and said, "You must be thinking of comprehending the Sword Intent within, aren’t you? Let me tell you, this Ancient Sword Intent is not so easy to grasp. What we cultivate now is vastly different from what the Ancient Great Powers cultivated. It’s incredibly difficult to learn anything from it; otherwise, I wouldn’t have just left it sitting here. Besides, this Sword Intent pierces the heavens, sunders the ages, and anyone with weaker Spiritual Power will have their soul scattered and die on the spot with the slightest contact. If you want to mess with it, you should honestly wait until after you’ve cultivated to the True Dao!"

Zhaang Ye nodded slightly. The Sword Intent in the fragment was truly terrifying. If his Soul Power hadn’t been particularly strong, and if he hadn’t had a similar experience before, he would probably be a corpse by now.

The Fourth Hall Master’s Spiritual Power swept over Zhaang Ye, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. He said, "Your Soul Power is quite impressive, kid. To only be heavily injured after being struck by that Sword Intent, that’s truly far beyond my expectations. However, the Newcomer King Selection Tournament is almost here. Now that you’re seriously injured, I’m afraid it’ll take some effort to defeat Wei Jingtian and Xuli Long."

Zhaang Ye smiled faintly and said, "Even if I’m seriously injured, defeating those two won’t be difficult. Just wait and see in three days!"

The Newcomer King Selection Tournament lasted for three days. Martial Arts Ninth-Layer Experts who signed up would immediately enter the top five. They only needed to fight opponents of the same level to determine their final rankings. The battles between Martial Arts Ninth-Layer Experts were scheduled for three days later, serving as the grand finale of the tournament.

The Fourth Hall Master nodded slightly. "It’s good that you’re confident. However, your soul was subtly injured when you were struck by the Sword Intent just now. Soul injuries are the most difficult to heal; they’re impossible to recover from without a long period of time. I have a God Stabilizing True Pill here. After you take it, it can speed up your recovery a bit."

With that, the Fourth Hall Master tossed a small bottle over. Zhaang Ye didn’t stand on ceremony and caught the God Stabilizing True Pill. This God Stabilizing True Pill was an Elixir refined by a True Dao Expert, and its effects were far superior to a Top-grade Calming God Pill. It was the perfect thing to use to heal his injuries at this time.

After bidding farewell to the Fourth Hall Master, Zhaang Ye returned to his valley, nursing his injuries while also preparing to slowly comprehend that heaven-piercing Sword Intent.

...

"Jingtian, Zhaang Ye has reached the Martial Arts Ninth Layer. Are you confident you can defeat him and take first place?" In a basement where earth-fire burned fiercely, the Second Hall Master of the True Hall sat cross-legged. Standing behind the Second Hall Master was Wei Jingtian, a look of reverence on his face.

Among the four Hall Masters of the True Hall, the Great Hall Master was obsessed with the Array Dao and couldn’t even be bothered to take disciples. The Second, Third, and Fourth Hall Masters, while engaged in their own Cultivation, silently kept an eye out for talented youths from all over. When they discovered a particularly outstanding talent, they would immediately take them as a disciple and teach them with great care.

Wei Jingtian was precisely such a genius, meticulously nurtured by the Second Hall Master. Even across the entire Land of Divine Abandonment, he ranked among the top twenty talents.

Hearing the Second Hall Master’s question, Wei Jingtian said confidently, "Of course I’m confident! No matter how much of a genius Zhaang Ye is, he’s just someone who has newly reached the Martial Arts Ninth Layer. I entered the Martial Arts Ninth Layer at the age of thirty-nine and have already been here for two years. Defeating Zhaang Ye will be no problem at all!"

The Second Hall Master nodded slightly and said, "I have custom-forged a Pseudo-True Artifact for you here. Three power-enhancing Arrays and three speed-increasing Arrays are inscribed on this Pseudo-True Artifact’s blade, and three Defensive Arrays are inscribed on its hilt. Now, take this sword and use it!" As he spoke, a Long Sword that emanated a chilling aura suddenly flew off a weapon rack and into Wei Jingtian’s hands.

Wei Jingtian took the Long Sword and, after infusing it with True Qi to test it, said in pleasant surprise, "A Pseudo-True Artifact custom-forged by Master is truly extraordinary! With this sword, my strength can increase by as much as twenty percent. I’m even confident I can defeat a Martial Arts Ninth Level Middle Stage expert now!"

The Second Hall Master nodded slightly. "Excellent! The first prize in this competition comes with a generous reward. You absolutely cannot miss it..."

...

At the same time, the Third Hall Master was also meeting with Xuli Long.

The Third Hall Master didn’t say much. He directly tossed a Jade Bottle to Xuli Long and said, "Although you have cultivated the Dragon and Tiger Celestial Hand to Great Success, Wei Jingtian’s Top-Grade Combat Skill—the Heaven-Shocking Three Swords—has likely also reached the Great Success Realm, so your odds of victory against him are not high. This Jade Bottle contains a Violent Dragon Pill. If you take this pill before battle, your body’s Defense Power will increase by a full fifty percent, and the True Qi inside you will increase by thirty percent, greatly boosting your combat strength. It took me a great deal of effort to refine this pill. I hope you can use it to defeat Wei Jingtian in one go."

Xuli Long received the elixir and was overjoyed. The Violent Dragon Pill was an Elixir refined from various Celestial and Earthly Treasures that could dramatically increase combat strength after being consumed. Although this boost was temporary, it was an incredibly rare Elixir. With this pill in hand, Xuli Long’s confidence suddenly soared.

At that moment, the Third Hall Master spoke again. "You have crossed hands with Zhaang Ye twice. What do you think of his strength? Can you defeat him?"

Xuli Long replied in a resolute tone, "Although Zhaang Ye’s Cultivation is at the Martial Arts Ninth Layer, he has just entered this Realm. At best, his combat strength is only equivalent to that of an ordinary Early-stage Ninth Layer expert. My Dragon and Tiger Celestial Hand has already reached the Great Success Realm. When I use it at full power, I’m even stronger than a Martial Arts Ninth Level Middle Stage expert. No matter how formidable Zhaang Ye is, he is absolutely no match for me!"

A look of gratification appeared in the Third Hall Master’s eyes. He said, "Among the Thirteen Countries of the Land Abandoned by God, our Wei Kingdom True Hall hasn’t produced a true genius for a hundred consecutive years. Now, we Hall Masters have made a decision. Whoever wins first place in this Newcomer King Tournament will get to cultivate with the four of us for one year. In other words, we will combine the full power of the True Hall to meticulously nurture a true genius. I hope you can successfully defeat Wei Jingtian, Fang Caiying, and Zhaang Ye to seize this precious opportunity."

Xuli Long’s eyes lit up...

Beyond Zhen Dian Mountain, in a small town.

Jiang Ailiang stood in a small courtyard, his fists clenched tightly. In front of him stood a tall, thin old man. This was precisely the Steward of the Great Shang Kingdom’s Jiang Family, Jiang Pingchuan.

An extremely astonished expression appeared on Jiang Pingchuan’s face. "Zhaang Ye’s Cultivation has actually reached the Martial Arts Ninth Layer? His progress is too fast!"

Jiang Ailiang gritted his teeth. "It’s absolutely true! Even with my Profound Ice Qi cultivated to the 5th Layer, I’m no longer his match! Steward, do you have any other methods to rapidly increase my Cultivation? I need to raise my strength again so I can publicly cripple and kill him!"

A glint flashed in Jiang Pingchuan’s eyes. "Of course! Don’t you have a fiancée? She possesses the bloodline of the Ancient Phoenix Clan. You just need to dual cultivate with her. Use the Ancient Phoenix Power from her body to temper your Profound Ice Qi, and you’ll be able to raise your Profound Ice Qi to the next level, reaching the 6th Layer Realm!"

Jiang Ailiang’s eyes lit up. He slapped his hands together heavily and said excitedly, "That’s right! Why didn’t I think of that? Okay, I’ll go find Feng Tongming right now and have her dual cultivate with me!"

Jiang Pingchuan shook his head slightly. "You can’t! Dual cultivation requires a quiet environment. You have to fight for the next few days, so it’s not suitable to dual cultivate now. How about this: after the Newcomer King Selection Tournament is over, I can take you to the Jiang Family’s main branch, find a quiet place for you, and let you smoothly raise your Profound Ice Qi to the 6th Layer."

After saying this, Jiang Pingchuan added a reminder, "There’s one more thing to note. The dual cultivation method is only effective if both the man and woman are willing. Your fiancée seems somewhat resistant to you. If this continues, not only will the dual cultivation be ineffective, but it might even cause you to suffer a cultivation deviation and have your Cultivation regress significantly!"

Jiang Ailiang let out a sinister laugh. "The Feng Family may have the bloodline of the Ancient Phoenix Clan, but their family has long since declined. They can’t possibly contend with my Jiang Family. In this matter, it doesn’t matter if she’s willing or not. It’s not up to her..." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for Recommendation Tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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