Overlord of the Wilderness

A junior at the Early Stage of Martial Arts Ninth Layer had just boasted that he would kill a True Hall Elder at the Peak of the Martial Arts Ninth Layer within a year. This was arrogance taken to the extreme, a blatant challenge to the True Hall’s authority. Despite Fu Yibo’s usual self-restraint, he couldn’t help but fly into a rage upon hearing Zhaang Ye’s declaration.

Fu Yibo stopped and sneered. "Since you’re so eager to die, I don’t mind sending you on your way. Boy, I’ll be waiting for you!"

Fu Yibo departed in a huff, leaving the arena in a stunned silence. Everyone stared blankly at Zhaang Ye, as if he were some kind of monster that had just crawled up from the depths of the earth.

He possessed Ancient Dragon Power and Ancient Elephant Power, had comprehended an ancient Sword Intent, and had just fought an expert at the Peak of the Martial Arts Ninth Layer to a draw! Zhaang Ye’s performance had left every Martial Artist utterly stunned.

Du Hong stared at Zhaang Ye on the fighting platform and muttered, ’So this is his true strength? No wonder I couldn’t force him to use it!’

Wei Jingtian, Fang Caiying, and Xuli Long were also staring blankly at Zhaang Ye. After a long moment, Wei Jingtian gave a wry smile. "I’ve always felt that Zhaang Ye’s strength was unfathomable. Now, it seems his power is even greater than I ever imagined. The title of number one among the younger generation of the Six Eastern Countries... it looks like that’s about to change hands."

Fang Caiying and Xuli Long nodded in unison.

Feng Tongming remained silent, staring blankly at Zhaang Ye, her mind in turmoil. When Zhaang Ye had just unleashed his Dragon Elephant Power, she had clearly felt the Phoenix Power within her body begin to stir restlessly, impossible to suppress. This bizarre phenomenon left Feng Tongming both bewildered and amazed.

On the fighting platform, the chief referee slowly walked out. He smiled wryly to himself as he looked at the cratered and pitted surface, then announced, "Fu Songcheng versus Zhaang Ye. Zhaang Ye is the victor. Zhaang Ye, you may now issue your next challenge. Of course, you may also rest for a while before doing so."

Zhaang Ye nodded slightly, his gaze once again sweeping over the area below the platform.

Zhaang Ye had defeated Du Hong and Fu Songcheng in succession and had even fought the Ninth Hall Master of the Moon Country True Hall to a draw, displaying unfathomable strength. Now, among all the young experts present, only Chu Yuxiang could possibly be his match.

Sure enough, Zhaang Ye’s gaze fell upon Chu Yuxiang. He spoke slowly, "I would like to experience Brother Chu’s Arrow Technique. Brother Chu, please come up!"

The crowd erupted.

Murmurs of shock rippled through the spectators. Zhaang Ye challenging Chu Yuxiang was expected, but to do so immediately after fighting three powerful opponents, without even taking a moment to catch his breath, was another matter entirely. This supreme display of confidence astonished everyone, both on and off the platform.

Upon being challenged by name, Chu Yuxiang’s expression remained impassive, showing neither shock nor anger. In a flash, he was on the platform.

The two most powerful experts of the younger generation had finally come face-to-face.

With a solemn expression, Chu Yuxiang took the longbow from his back and nocked an arrow. Before this warm-up competition, Chu Yuxiang hadn’t given Zhaang Ye a second thought. Even after Zhaang Ye defeated Du Hong, Chu Yuxiang had remained utterly confident, absolutely certain he could defeat him.

But after Zhaang Ye defeated Fu Songcheng and then fought Fu Yibo, the Ninth Elder of the Moon Country True Hall, to a draw, Chu Yuxiang knew he had finally met the most formidable opponent of his life.

Zhaang Ye possessed Ancient Dragon Power and Ancient Elephant Power, making him exceptionally formidable in close-quarters combat. He could also casually unleash tornadoes to conceal himself. In the face of these bizarre whirlwinds, even with his Late-stage Martial Arts Ninth Layer cultivation, Chu Yuxiang wasn’t entirely confident he could keep a lock on Zhaang Ye.

Chu Yuxiang thought to himself, ’Zhaang Ye’s Saber Technique is formidable, but my arrows can strike from a great distance. No matter how powerful his Combat Skill, he can’t cross more than twenty zhang to kill me. For me, his most dangerous weapon is the tornadoes. If I can’t lock onto him within those tornadoes, I’m guaranteed to lose this fight.’

The referee then slowly walked between the two and bellowed, "Begin!"

SWOOSH!

FWOOM!

The moment the referee gave the signal, Chu Yuxiang instantly drew his longbow. The arrow shot toward Zhaang Ye’s chest at a speed the naked eye could not follow.

At almost the exact same instant, Zhaang Ye made his move. Hundreds of tornadoes suddenly erupted across the platform, each one spinning wildly!

SWOOSH!

Zhaang Ye’s hand suddenly shot out and snatched at the air!

As Zhaang Ye snatched, Chu Yuxiang’s expression changed instantly. The arrow he had just loosed contained eight different Transformations. Its trajectory only appeared to be a straight line; in reality, it followed an incredibly clever and treacherous arc. Yet, Zhaang Ye had simply plucked such a devious arrow right out of the air! The incomparably sharp and impossibly fast projectile couldn’t harm him in the slightest, and none of the Transformations imbued within it could manifest!

SWOOSH-SWOOSH-SWOOSH!

Three arrows abruptly appeared in Chu Yuxiang’s hand. He drew his longbow, and in an instant, the three arrows vanished!

Fast! Incredibly fast! Unbelievably fast!

The three arrows Chu Yuxiang loosed didn’t possess heaven-shaking power, but they moved with earth-shattering speed. The spectators below the platform couldn’t see the arrows at all; they couldn’t even perceive the moment they were fired. And yet, the three projectiles had already crossed the twenty-odd zhang, heading straight for Zhaang Ye’s forehead, throat, and chest!

"Good!"

Zhaang Ye let out a soft cry and extended a flat palm. As he did, a tornado instantly formed before him. It spun wildly with a deep RUMBLE, generating an immensely powerful Devouring Power from within. It felt as if all the air in the arena was being sucked into it!

ZING! ZING! ZING!

The three arrows, flying as fast as lightning, were instantly dragged aside by Zhaang Ye’s Devouring Power as they approached the tornado. The lightning-fast projectiles landed effortlessly in Zhaang Ye’s hand. All their Transformations and all their speed meant nothing before his Devouring Power!

WHOOSH!

After catching the three arrows, Zhaang Ye’s figure abruptly vanished. He disappeared into the dense thicket of tornadoes, becoming one with the storm and utterly impossible to locate.

Chu Yuxiang had already nocked another arrow to his longbow. He was about to release it when Zhaang Ye vanished, leaving his arrow without a target.

However, Chu Yuxiang had anticipated this. His gaze locked onto the dense mass of tornadoes before him as he muttered, "Looping Arrow!"

As he spoke, three arrows flew out.

As the three arrows flew, they spun ceaselessly, faintly forming a ring in the air. This ring shot forward at an incredible speed. A series of PFFT-PFFT-PFFT sounds followed in its wake, and in the blink of an eye, the three arrows had destroyed more than half of Zhaang Ye’s tornadoes!

Even more amazingly, after tearing through the tornadoes, the three arrows made a wide arc and returned to Chu Yuxiang’s hand. This exquisite and miraculous Arrow Technique left the Martial Artists below the platform completely dumbfounded.

"AMAZING!" Thunderous cheers erupted throughout the arena. The Martial Artists of the Great Rong Kingdom were now filled with confidence in Chu Yuxiang. In their eyes, faced with such a miraculous Arrow Technique, Zhaang Ye would be unable to bring his power to bear, no matter how strong he was. He was destined to fall at Chu Yuxiang’s hands!

"Such incredible Archery! Zhaang Ye is definitely going to lose this one! Chu Yuxiang is the real number one of the Six Eastern Countries’ younger generation!"

"Exactly! Chu Yuxiang’s fame was forged in a hundred battles. Compared to him, this Zhaang Ye is just an upstart. He can’t even be mentioned in the same breath!"

"Heh, Chu Yuxiang’s bow is the Thunderbolt Jade Bow, crafted from Ten Thousand Years Thunder Wood. It requires tens of thousands of pounds of force just to draw. And the arrows he uses are also extraordinary; they’re called Thunder-Breaking Arrows, also made from Ten Thousand Years Thunder Wood. Not only are they incredibly sharp, but when infused with True Qi, the arrows faintly crackle with electricity in flight, making them unbelievably fast.

"Faced with the Thunderbolt Jade Bow and the Thunder-Breaking Arrows, Zhaang Ye’s brute strength is useless. And no matter how fast he is, he can’t possibly outrun a Thunder-Breaking Arrow! The outcome of this battle was decided from the very start—Zhaang Ye is bound to lose!" a Martial Arts Eighth Layer expert slowly concluded.

"Yes, yes, the senior is right! That makes perfect sense!" The expert’s words quickly found agreement, and people all around began nodding.

「On the fighting platform.」

Chu Yuxiang had just retrieved his arrows when a series of soft pops echoed across the platform. Following the sounds, even more tornadoes sprouted up like spring grass, once again covering the entire platform in the blink of an eye!

Not only that, but the tornadoes also began surging toward Chu Yuxiang in a dense swarm. He once again unleashed his "Looping Arrow," scattering a great number of them. But the tornadoes were practically endless. For every one he destroyed, two more would appear. The more he shot, the more there were!

Seeing so many tornadoes, Chu Yuxiang couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. ’So this is what Fu Songcheng felt,’ he thought. The tornadoes were as numerous as the hairs on an ox; even with the greatest skill, it would be impossible to destroy them all. But he couldn’t afford *not* to, because Zhaang Ye was hiding among them. If he let the tornadoes get close, he could face Zhaang Ye’s attack at any moment!

Zhaang Ye’s close-quarters combat was so formidable that even Fu Yibo had been helpless against him. If Zhaang Ye managed to close the distance, then no matter how outstanding his archery was, defeat would be inevitable!

’It looks like I have to use my real skills, or I’ll lose this fight sooner or later!’ Chu Yuxiang thought, as nine arrows suddenly appeared in his hand.