Overlord of the Wilderness

Early the next morning, the Martial Artists of Great Rong City had already gathered below the arena, waiting for the start of a new round of battles.

The Six Eastern Countries’ rookie warm-up tournament was divided into two parts. The first part was a random draw for matchups, ensuring every young expert had a chance to show their skills. The second part was the open challenge round, which allowed the most powerful young experts to fully display their strength.

The crowd below the arena was buzzing with excited discussion, wondering which young expert would stand out in this open challenge round. Meanwhile, atop the arena, a few of the judges were also debating who would suppress their peers in this tournament to become the second-strongest of the Six Eastern Countries’ younger generation.

After a moment of discussion, the Eighth Elder of the Wei Kingdom True Hall chuckled and said, "Among the younger generation of the Six Eastern Countries, the most outstanding youths—aside from Chu Yuxiang, Yann Wutian, Ou Qingxin, Du Hong, and Fu Songcheng—now include Zhaang Ye. Among these young experts, the strength of Yann Wutian, Ou Qingxin, Du Hong, and Fu Songcheng should be about equal, while Chu Yuxiang and Zhaang Ye seem unfathomable. In this rookie warm-up tournament, I predict Chu Yuxiang will take first place, and second place... well, that should go to Zhaang Ye."

"You’re just boasting!" Fu Yibo, the Ninth Hall Master of the Moon True Hall, who held a strong dislike for Zhaang Ye, sneered coldly. "Yann Wutian, Ou Qingxin, Du Hong, and Fu Songcheng are geniuses who have fought their way to the top; their combat prowess is battle-hardened. While Zhaang Ye’s strength is decent, he is still a far cry from those four. It’s absolutely impossible for him to defeat them and take second place."

The Elders from the Great Rong Kingdom, Great Chang Kingdom, Celestial Forest Kingdom, and Great Bell Kingdom were also unconvinced, and they voiced their disagreements one after another.

The Eighth Elder of the Wei Kingdom True Hall didn’t argue. He just chuckled and said, "Whether Zhaang Ye is stronger, or if Yann Wutian, Ou Qingxin, Du Hong, and Fu Songcheng are, we’ll know soon enough by watching. In any case, I believe the title of the second-strongest of the Six Eastern Countries’ younger generation will fall to Zhaang Ye."

Just as the sun began to rise over the horizon, the main referee appeared in the center of the arena. He glanced down at the crowd below and announced in a deep voice, "The random draw matchups were held yesterday. Today, we proceed to the open challenge round. Any young expert confident in their strength may come up to the stage and accept challenges from others. Of course, you may also call out someone by name to challenge them. For every person you defeat, you will receive three points. If you are defeated, you must leave the arena. The winner remains as the challenger-to-beat. Alright, let the competition begin!"

The moment the referee’s voice fell, a figure suddenly flew onto the arena, laughing loudly. "I am Du Hong of the Great Bell Kingdom. I shall now use my Five-Form Cloud-Breaking Scattering Hand to test the ultimate techniques of the experts gathered here. Zhaang Ye, I challenge you! Get up here and fight!"

His gaze fixed on Zhaang Ye below, Du Hong’s body radiated a surging battle intent. He had endured countless hardships and, with the help of several Hall Masters from his True Hall, had finally managed to master the Five-Form Cloud-Breaking Scattering Hand. He had originally planned to use it to vie with Chu Yuxiang. But after witnessing Zhaang Ye’s world-shaking Ancient Sword Intent, Du Hong immediately changed his mind and challenged Zhaang Ye first.

Du Hong was an arrogant man. Today, he would use his formidable Cloud-Breaking Scattering Hand to defeat Zhaang Ye’s Ancient Sword Intent!

Du Hong was determined to prove his superiority over Zhaang Ye, and Zhaang Ye, in turn, was curious to witness Du Hong’s Ancient Fist Intent. Hearing the challenge, Zhaang Ye smiled faintly, his figure soaring into the air and landing on the arena, facing Du Hong from a distance.

The Ancient Fist Intent erupting from Du Hong’s body seethed like magma, pressing down on Zhaang Ye like a volcanic eruption. Seeing Du Hong unleash his Ancient Fist Intent, Zhaang Ye simply smiled faintly as a razor-sharp Ancient Sword Intent naturally emerged from his own body, cleaving Du Hong’s Ancient Fist Intent apart.

CRACKLE! CRACKLE! CRACKLE! CRACKLE!

The two had yet to even begin fighting, but the clash between their unleashed Fist Intent and Sword Intent had already filled the area for dozens of yards around with a murderous aura. Even the Martial Artists standing over a hundred yards away felt suffocated by the pressure of these two tyrannical Realms, and they held their breath, staring intently at the arena.

At that moment, the referee walked to the center of the arena, raised his hand to signal to Zhaang Ye and Du Hong, and shouted, "Begin the match!"

Following the shout of "Begin," the Ancient Fist Intent surging from Du Hong grew even more astonishing. The formless, intangible Ancient Fist Intent pressed down on Zhaang Ye as if it were a physical substance. Sensing the terrifying power of Du Hong’s Fist Intent, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but be slightly moved. ’It seems one must possess an Ancient Power to comprehend Ancient Fist Intent,’ he mused. ’I was only able to comprehend the Sword Intent and Fist Intent within the Blade Tip because I have two such powers, Ancient Elephant Power and Ancient Dragon Power. For Du Hong to have comprehended Ancient Fist Intent, could it be that he also possesses an Ancient Power within him?’

While Zhaang Ye was slightly surprised, Du Hong was secretly shocked. He discovered that no matter how fiercely he unleashed his Ancient Fist Intent, Zhaang Ye remained standing perfectly still. Though he didn’t move, any of the Ancient Fist Intent that came within three yards of Zhaang Ye’s body was instantly cleaved apart by his Ancient Sword Intent. He couldn’t affect Zhaang Ye in the slightest.

’It seems this Zhaang Ye is a man of great fortune! But I must win this fight! I am a descendant of the Ancient Giants, and the blood of Ancient Giants flows in my veins! I refuse to believe I can’t even defeat a single peer!’ As this shock gave way to a powerful, unparalleled battle intent, Du Hong suddenly took a step forward!

There was a wondrous quality to Du Hong’s step, like Shrinking the Ground to an Inch. With a single, simple step, he crossed a distance of nearly sixty yards, his arms descending upon Zhaang Ye like giant hammers!

BOOM!

Du Hong’s strike was like a meteor falling from the heavens, like two great mountains suddenly crashing down. They were clearly just two small fists, yet they produced a world-shaking might. The entire arena trembled under the force of his two fists, letting out a series of groaning sounds!

Cloud-Breaking Fist!

What Du Hong had just unleashed was the Cloud-Breaking Fist from his Cloud-Breaking Scattering Hand technique. He had used this same Cloud-Breaking Fist before, and a single punch had put Chu Fang at an absolute disadvantage. The Cloud-Breaking Fist Du Hong was using now was twenty to thirty percent more powerful than before, like two great mountains breaking through the clouds to press down on his foe!

"Good!" Zhaang Ye shouted, his body not retreating but advancing, meeting the attack head-on!

KRAK!

Before everyone’s eyes, Zhaang Ye’s two palms, like a pair of terrifying blades, chopped directly onto Du Hong’s fists. It was clearly a collision of fists and palms, but the sound it produced was the clang of metal striking metal. This metallic clang was immense, and the terrifying sound wave radiated in all directions, causing some of the Martial Artists with lower Cultivation to bleed from their ears on the spot!

"ARGH...!" Du Hong roared. The veins on his arms bulged, and heavy steam actually began to rise from his body. The two "blade" strikes Zhaang Ye had just delivered seemed to lack might, but the power contained within them was terrifyingly great. Under Zhaang Ye’s two strikes, the force of Du Hong’s own two fists was forcefully shattered, preventing him from executing any of his follow-up moves. Not only that, but Zhaang Ye’s strikes had also reflected the force of his punches back at him. Even someone as powerful as Du Hong found it difficult to bear!

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Frustrated, Du Hong retreated three steps, each step leaving a deep footprint in the arena floor.

Staring at Zhaang Ye in horror, Du Hong demanded, "Since you can comprehend Ancient Sword Intent, the power in your body must also be an Ancient Power. What exactly is the Ancient Power you possess?"

Zhaang Ye smiled faintly. In that clash with Du Hong, he hadn’t used the Ancient Elephant Power or Ancient Dragon Power within him; he had relied purely on his physical strength. After cultivating to his current level, Zhaang Ye’s physical power had grown immense. Just now, relying on physical strength alone, he had forcefully shattered Du Hong’s Cloud-Breaking Fist and knocked him back three steps.

Zhaang Ye said calmly, "That is not for me to say. If you have the skill, you can certainly force me to use my Ancient Power. When that time comes, you’ll find out what it is. And by the way, I just took your Cloud-Breaking Fist using nothing but my physical strength. If you don’t have any truly impressive skills, you won’t be able to force my hand."

HISS!

Hearing Zhaang Ye’s words, everyone both on and off the arena drew in a sharp, cold breath. Everyone knew how powerful Du Hong’s Cloud-Breaking Scattering Hand was. But no one could have imagined that even with Du Hong’s strength, he was still unable to force Zhaang Ye to use his true abilities. This was simply too shocking!

At this, the other young experts like Chu Yuxiang, Yann Wutian, Ou Qingxin, and Fu Songcheng stared intently at Zhaang Ye, their expressions indescribably grave. Zhaang Ye’s increasingly formidable performance put pressure on all of them. They hoped to glean more about the true extent of Zhaang Ye’s strength from this battle.

’This boy... he truly is unfathomable! If this continues, he really might become the second-strongest of the younger generation of the Six Eastern Countries!’ By this point, even Ninth Hall Master Fu Yibo of the Moon Country True Hall felt that Zhaang Ye was unfathomable. He stared coldly at Zhaang Ye, a resolute killing intent forming in his heart. He decided that as soon as Zhaang Ye left Great Rong City, he would assassinate him.

"Good, good, good!" Du Hong gave Zhaang Ye a deep look. He had already estimated Zhaang Ye’s strength to be very high, but he never expected him to be even more powerful than he had anticipated. At this point, he had no choice but to use his trump card.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! The sound of rushing blood suddenly echoed from within Du Hong’s body, accompanied by the sound of muscles and bones grinding together. As these sounds rang out, Du Hong suddenly grew taller, doubling in size. His skin took on a cold, metallic sheen, and the bulging veins beneath it looked like rivers, the sound of his blood flowing within them audible even from a distance.

Instantly completing his Transformation, Du Hong locked his cold gaze on Zhaang Ye. "Zhaang Ye, take my fist!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)