Overlord of the Wilderness

Hearing the Fire Spirit’s request, Zhaang Ye shook his head slightly and thought, ’Looks like this Fire Spirit is utterly consumed by loneliness. But according to the Ancient Books, Alien Life forms like Fire Spirits usually don’t have emotions. How can this one feel lonely? So strange!’

The thought flashed through his mind as Zhaang Ye took out the World Stone. "This is a fragment of a World Stone," he said. "World Stones come from spatial rifts. They are incredibly hard, nigh indestructible, and have all sorts of wondrous uses. With enough Power of Space, you can carve out a space inside one. I want to use the Power of Space from this Ancient Space Array to open a Small Space within this World Stone to carry my things. Can you take this World Stone to the heart of the Spatial Array and infuse it with the Power of Space?"

"Oh," the Fire Spirit said. "That’s easy. I’ve lived in this Spatial Array for a very long time, so I’m quite familiar with the Power of Space. Carving out a Small Space inside a World Stone fragment isn’t hard. But let’s get one thing straight: after I succeed, you have to stay and chat with me for a while."

Zhaang Ye’s heart leaped with joy. "No problem!" he said. "As long as you can get the World Stone to the heart of the array and use the Power of Space to create a space inside, I’ll keep you company for a whole month."

"Great!" the Fire Spirit said. "Give me the World Stone."

Zhaang Ye felt the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi around him tremble slightly as it formed an invisible hand. He was startled for a moment before he realized what was happening—this casual manipulation of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi was the Fire Spirit’s doing. He then placed the World Stone onto the invisible hand.

WHOOSH!

The invisible hand carried the World Stone levelly, skimming over the endlessly churning lava and shooting like a bolt of lightning toward the White Jade Platform.

This White Jade Platform, suspended above the lava, was the very heart of the Ancient Space Array, and it contained a boundless supply of the Power of Space. The instant the World Stone landed on the platform, this infinite Power of Space surged forward, and a thunderous roar erupted!

BOOM!

The sound reverberated throughout the volcano, shaking the lava within into a violent frenzy. Waves of lava hundreds of zhang high surged upward. The temperature of the magma was extreme, and as it roiled, an endless wave of heat swept out. Even though Zhaang Ye had deployed several True Qi Walls around himself, he couldn’t withstand the force of the heat and was pushed back more than ten zhang.

Zhaang Ye completely ignored the heat, his eyes fixed on the World Stone dozens of li away in utter delight. That colossal roar was the sound of the Power of Space carving out the dimension. In other words, the creation was a success! Now, the only question was how large a space the Power of Space had managed to create!

Just then, the Fire Spirit’s voice echoed in Zhaang Ye’s mind. "Success! But that World Stone of yours is extremely tough, so the Power of Space couldn’t carve out a very large area."

Zhaang Ye’s heart sank. "How large is it?"

"Fifty zhang in all directions," the Fire Spirit replied.

"Fifty zhang in all directions!" Zhaang Ye’s eyes flew wide open, shining with excitement. For this fragment of a World Stone, Zhaang Ye would have been more than satisfied with a space merely one zhang wide. He never imagined the Fire Spirit understood the Power of Space so well that it could actually carve out an area fifty zhang in all directions!

"Fifty zhang! Hahahaha!" Zhaang Ye couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

WHOOSH!

The World Stone flew over to Zhaang Ye. He caught it in his hand and saw that it had turned pitch-black and shrunk considerably, now only about the size of two fingers. A mysterious and frightening power coiled around it—the Power of Space.

When he infused his Spiritual Power into the World Stone, Zhaang Ye did indeed perceive a space over fifty zhang wide. This space was filled with a faint Power of Space, and as his Spiritual Power swept through it, he felt a mysterious, cold sensation.

’The Power of Space is truly mysterious and unfathomable, profound to the extreme! It really carved a space inside the World Stone! Let me see if I can put something inside!’ Zhaang Ye’s Spiritual Power instantly locked onto a glowing red stone. With a mere thought, the stone, which weighed dozens of jin, immediately appeared inside the Small Space!

"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!" Zhaang Ye exclaimed, his body trembling slightly with excitement.

In Ancient Times, Small Spaces were quite common. But as time went on, they became increasingly rare. Even the True Hall Master of the Wei Kingdom was unable to obtain one. As far as Zhaang Ye knew, the entire Wei Kingdom True Hall possessed only a single, tiny Storage Pouch. This pouch was jointly owned by the four Hall Masters and was only brought out for emergencies.

While the vast True Hall had only a single Storage Pouch, he now possessed a Small Space fifty zhang wide. At this thought, Zhaang Ye felt that all the risks he had taken and the effort he had put in had been worth it!

Zhaang Ye dumped all of his belongings into the Small Space, then pressed the World Stone against his forearm. Having cultivated his Dragon Elephant Skill to the Mid-stage 6th Layer, his control over his body had reached an incredible level. With a press, the muscles in his arm split open, creating an opening just large enough to envelop the World Stone.

In this way, the World Stone became one with Zhaang Ye’s body. Unless his arm was severed, no one would ever discover he was carrying a World Stone.

After securing the World Stone, Zhaang Ye said to the Fire Spirit, "Thank you!"

The Fire Spirit replied, "Then you can keep your promise and talk with me."

And so, Zhaang Ye spent the following days just chatting. The Fire Spirit deeply yearned for the outside world, asking an endless stream of questions. Zhaang Ye, being in an excellent mood, answered every single one.

A month passed in a flash. Zhaang Ye did a quick calculation and realized he had already stayed in the Ten Thousand Volcanoes for four to five months. With just over a month left before the Thirteen Countries’ Newcomer King Competition, Zhaang Ye told the Fire Spirit he had to leave.

The more the Fire Spirit learned about the outside world, the more it longed to see it. Hearing that Zhaang Ye was leaving, it said with great reluctance, "Zhaang Ye, you have to come back when you have time! I’ll be waiting to chat with you."

Having chatted with the Fire Spirit for over a month, Zhaang Ye knew it had a very pure and simple mind. He smiled and said, "Don’t worry, I’ll be back when I can. Once I’m strong enough, I’ll get you out of this Ancient Space Array and show you the world outside."

The Fire Spirit said happily, "Really? That’s great! Actually, you don’t need to become that powerful. You just need to advance to the True Dao, and I’ll have a way to escape. Zhaang Ye, after you reach the True Dao, you have to come back for me and get me out of here!"

"Don’t worry, I’ll remember. When I reach the True Dao, I will definitely come back for you." Zhaang Ye reassured the Fire Spirit, then followed the route on his map, slowly making his way out of the Spatial Array until he was back beneath the Thousand-Foot Stele.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH! Once out of the Spatial Array, Zhaang Ye executed his Body Technique and sped away from the massive volcano.

Over the past month, Zhaang Ye had spent nearly every waking moment chatting with the Fire Spirit. This prolonged use of his Spiritual Power caused it to improve considerably; at full exertion, he could now sense everything within a ten-thousand-zhang radius. In addition to his Spiritual Power, his Cultivation had also progressed significantly, and it felt like he could break through to the Martial Arts Ninth Level Middle Stage at any moment.

With his Spiritual Power and Cultivation having improved, Zhaang Ye’s Sword Skill and Fist Skill had progressed as well. Inside the Ancient Space Array, he had witnessed Space Storms daily. After a solid month of observation, his understanding of them had deepened, and his self-created Combat Skill, the Mountain-Breaking Slash, had become increasingly refined.

With his increased Cultivation, Zhaang Ye’s speed was much greater. It took him only four days to leave the massive volcano. After departing from the perilous mountain, however, he didn’t immediately leave the Ten Thousand Volcanoes. Instead, he began to slowly search the area.

The volcanoes in the Ten Thousand Volcanoes were constantly erupting, spewing out not only lava but also various metals. These metals were all rare finds that could be forged into sharp weapons or sold directly for a hefty price.

Zhaang Ye’s Small Space was still empty, so he began frantically searching for various metals: Volcanic Jade, Volcanic Essence Gold, Volcano Obsidian, Volcano Pine Resin Stone, Volcanic Profound Iron... Any metal of value was tossed into his Small Space.

After searching frantically for seven or eight days, he realized the Newcomer King Competition was drawing near. Zhaang Ye reluctantly called it quits and flew out of the Ten Thousand Volcanoes.

"Hahahaha! Zhaang Ye, you’re not dead yet! Excellent, excellent!"

Zhaang Ye had just flown out of the Ten Thousand Volcanoes when he heard a voice seething with hatred. He looked over and saw a young man in white robes approaching from the distance. The killing intent rolling off him was so intense it billowed into the sky, scattering the clouds.

"Hm?" Zhaang Ye’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’This kid is tough to kill,’ he thought. ’A thousand Fire Crows couldn’t even finish him off.’

"Hahahaha! Surprised?" The white-robed young man flew in front of Zhaang Ye, his immense aura locking onto him. He sneered, "Zhaang Ye, it looks like you’re fated to die by my hand after all! This is destiny. Accept it and die!"

Zhaang Ye also let out a loud laugh. "What arrogant words! Kid, today I’m going to kill you with my own two hands to avenge being hunted by you months ago!"(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for Recommendation Tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)