Overlord of the Wilderness

Chapter 228: Chapter 217: 3-Blossom Plum, 5-Blossom Plum

’This kid, he really wants to make me his servant!’ Zhaang Ye’s brow twitched. He formed one hand into a Palm Blade and lightly chopped out into the empty air.

PFFT!

The True Qi sent by the long-haired youth was like an invisible hand, trying to grab Zhaang Ye. But as Zhaang Ye’s Hand Blade struck, this large, invisible hand instantly let out a soft sound and dissipated into the air.

The long-haired youth hadn’t expected his attack to be so easily neutralized by Zhaang Ye. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes as he said, "Interesting, interesting! Even a master at the Martial Arts Fifth Layer Late Stage couldn’t have dodged that grab of mine. I didn’t think you’d actually be able to see the weak point in my Powerful Qi and neutralize it."

As he spoke, the long-haired youth’s large hand reached for Zhaang Ye again.

This time, the long-haired youth used seventy percent of his True Qi. The moment his five fingers grabbed, a sharp Powerful Qi tore through the air. The formless Powerful Qi slashed toward Zhaang Ye like five swords.

Zhaang Ye didn’t even blink. His palm once again slashed out like a blade.

KRA-KA-KA-KA-KRAK!

The five streams of Powerful Qi sent by the long-haired youth looked menacing, as if they would pierce right through Zhaang Ye. But under Zhaang Ye’s nonchalant chop, they were once again severed and dissipated into the air.

"Hmm!"

Seeing Zhaang Ye’s move this time, a look of caution appeared in the long-haired youth’s eyes. The strike he had just unleashed had used seventy percent of his True Qi; even an ordinary expert at the Early-stage Martial Arts Sixth Layer would have been injured by it. But Zhaang Ye had merely chopped lightly, striking the weak point in his Powerful Qi and neutralizing the attack without so much as a rustle of his clothes.

This level of perception and strength had far surpassed the Martial Arts Fifth Layer.

"Fine, fine, fine!" the long-haired youth said slowly, staring at Zhaang Ye. "I misjudged you. I didn’t expect your strength to be so far beyond the Martial Arts Fifth Layer. But no matter how powerful you are, you’ll still end up as my servant!"

A flicker of anger flashed through Zhaang Ye’s eyes. He had casually broken through the other’s Powerful Qi in the hope that the long-haired youth would know to back down. He never thought that this person, even after realizing his own formidable strength, would still insist on fighting.

SWOOSH!

A gleaming Long Sword appeared in the long-haired youth’s hand. He cried out, "Linghan Sword Technique—Three-Flower Plum!"

Following his cry, the Long Sword in the long-haired youth’s hand trembled slightly. With a loud CRACK!, a pure white plum blossom suddenly appeared in the air. The plum blossom was lifelike and radiated a bone-chilling cold. Its three petals slowly drifted toward Zhaang Ye, beautiful to the extreme.

’Hmm? What Combat Skill is this? Could it be an Advanced Combat Skill?!’ A look of astonishment flashed in Zhaang Ye’s eyes as he watched the exquisitely beautiful, yet utterly strange, plum blossom.

Advanced Combat Skills could transform True Qi into all sorts of images. Masters of the Martial Arts Ninth Layer, for example, had reached a level where their control over True Qi was completely unrestrained. In their hands, True Qi could be shaped into all kinds of visible objects. Some with special Cultivation Techniques and bloodlines could even form images of the Ancient Races.

For instance, when Zhaang Ye’s senior martial brother, Xiong Li, unleashed his full power, he could conjure the illusion of a boundlessly powerful ancient giant bear. Its aura was so terrifying that even a master of the Martial Arts Ninth Layer would be at a disadvantage in terms of presence.

However, Advanced Combat Skills were typically something only masters of the Martial Arts Seventh Layer were qualified to practice. Although this long-haired youth’s strength was considerable, his Cultivation was clearly not at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer, which was why Zhaang Ye was so surprised.

DING! Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber flew from his back into his hand, and he pointed it forward.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

As Zhaang Ye pointed his Heavy Saber, three barrel-sized Tornados abruptly appeared in front of it. The three Tornados slammed heavily into the plum blossom, causing it to shudder slightly.

The long-haired youth was slightly startled to see Zhaang Ye casually summon the Tornados. However, upon seeing that the three Tornados were unable to do anything to his plum blossom, a cold sneer appeared on his face. With a sudden push of his hand, the plum blossom’s speed instantly increased a thousandfold, and in less than an instant, it was right in front of Zhaang Ye.

Cold!

An extreme, bone-chilling cold!

Even from a distance, Zhaang Ye could feel the bone-piercing chill.

A normal plum blossom exudes a pleasant, fresh fragrance. But this plum blossom exuded a frigid, grim aura.

’Hmm?’ Zhaang Ye sensed the aura within the plum blossom, and a sudden realization hit him. ’This plum blossom is actually formed from True Qi and highly condensed Essence Gold Qi! To put it bluntly, this plum blossom is a stream of Sword Qi!’

The Heavy Saber in Zhaang Ye’s hand transformed into a black streak of light that jabbed out, striking the plum blossom right at its core.

BOOM!

Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber had struck the plum blossom’s weak point precisely. The flower instantly exploded, and a fierce tide of True Qi and Essence Gold Qi rushed toward Zhaang Ye.

Zhaang Ye’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. A Tornado suddenly appeared around his body, momentarily blocking the surging True Qi and Essence Gold Qi. Then, the Heavy Saber in his hand swung back in a profound arc, slicing down like a screen.

PFFT-PFFT-PFFT-PFFT-PFFT—

With that one slice from Zhaang Ye, the fierce True Qi and Essence Gold Qi were instantly cut in half. The Essence Gold Qi, potent enough to melt metal and dissolve stone, vanished into thin air as if devoured by some unseen monster.

"Ah!" The long-haired youth was stunned. Zhaang Ye’s previous jab and slice were simply perfect, down to the smallest detail. The jab had struck the plum blossom’s weak point, instantly nullifying fifty percent of its power. And the slice had then effortlessly neutralized the remaining fifty percent.

The entire process of dismantling the attack was as smooth as flowing water, possessing an indescribable grace and ease.

The middle-aged man and the masked woman, who had been watching the fight intently, were both startled. The long-haired youth’s Cultivation had already reached the Martial Arts Sixth Layer Peak, just a hair’s breadth away from becoming a Martial Arts Seventh Layer master. The "Three-Flower Plum" he had just unleashed was extremely powerful; even a Martial Arts Seventh Layer master would not have had an easy time dealing with it.

But Zhaang Ye, who appeared to only have a Martial Arts Fifth Layer Cultivation, had nonchalantly dismantled the "Three-Flower Plum." How could they not be astonished by this?

Having his attacks neutralized by Zhaang Ye three consecutive times, the long-haired youth’s expression turned incredibly sour. He gritted his teeth and thought, ’I refuse to believe it! With my strength, I can’t even subdue this kid!’

A flush of red suddenly appeared on the long-haired youth’s face. The Long Sword in his hand trembled as terrifying Sword Qi gathered before him. He roared, enunciating each word, "Go to hell! Five-Flower Plum!"

RUMBLE! A massive, five-petaled plum blossom shot toward Zhaang Ye, accompanied by a terrifying shriek.

This plum blossom was ten times faster than the first. Zhaang Ye only saw a flash of white light before the flower, filled with terrifying Essence Gold Qi, was already upon him!

The Five-Flower Plum was ten times more powerful than the Three-Flower Plum! And ten times faster! But it was also ten times more difficult to execute. After forcibly unleashing this move, a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of the long-haired youth’s mouth. He paid it no mind, however, his eyes locked on Zhaang Ye, wanting to see him blown to a bloody pulp by the "Five-Flower Plum."

Since Zhaang Ye had repeatedly weathered his attacks, the long-haired youth had developed a true intent to kill. He had desperately unleashed this Five-Flower Plum with the sole purpose of killing Zhaang Ye in a single strike.

Just as the five-petaled plum blossom was about to smash into Zhaang Ye, a pitch-black saber gleam suddenly appeared.

This pitch-black saber gleam seemed to emerge from the void itself, slicing forcefully into the five-petaled plum blossom with an incredibly domineering aura.

BOOM!

The five-petaled plum blossom that the long-haired youth had struggled to unleash was actually sliced in two by this black saber gleam, and it exploded violently. The long-haired youth had never imagined that the Five-Flower Plum he had worked so hard to conjure would be broken by Zhaang Ye so easily. He stood completely frozen, his face a mask of disbelief.

At that moment, a pitch-black Sword Qi cut through the void, slashing toward the distant long-haired youth.

As it turned out, the long-haired youth’s repeated attacks had finally angered Zhaang Ye. After using the Mountain-Breaking Slash to shatter the five-petaled plum blossom, Zhaang Ye immediately launched a counterattack, slashing out from a distance, straight at the long-haired youth.

"Stop!"

Just as Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber slashed out, he suddenly sensed something amiss in the air. A terrifying force was blasting toward his back at lightning speed. If he were struck by this force, even with his powerful physical body, his Meridians would be shattered and he would be gravely injured!

Zhaang Ye snorted, and his body suddenly spun, just barely avoiding the force.

BOOM!

The force, invisible to the naked eye, grazed past Zhaang Ye’s body and exploded violently in front of him. The blast forced Zhaang Ye to retract his Heavy Saber and use it to block.

WHOOSH!

A middle-aged man appeared in front of Zhaang Ye. He stared at Zhaang Ye with a grim expression and said, "Young man, you’re so quick to take a life. What a vicious temperament you have."

Zhaang Ye sneered and pointed at the long-haired youth. "I was just passing through, but this person repeatedly provoked me and even tried to kill me. Are you saying he’s allowed to try to kill me, but I’m not allowed to fight back?"

The long-haired youth had come to his senses by now. He stared intently at Zhaang Ye, the killing intent in his eyes completely undisguised. "Uncle Tian, lend me a hand! Let’s kill this person!"

Zhaang Ye looked to be only sixteen or seventeen, yet his strength was already so incredible. If he were to continue his Cultivation for another decade or so, he would likely become another great master of the Martial Arts Ninth Layer. Having made such an enemy, even someone as arrogant as the long-haired youth felt uneasy. Thus, he quickly decided that Zhaang Ye had to be killed.

The middle-aged man shook his head with resignation. He took a quiet step forward, positioning himself to block Zhaang Ye’s path of retreat.

Just as a fight between the three was about to break out, a long whistle suddenly echoed from the distance. This whistle contained faint traces of killing intent, and it shook the birds and beasts in the forest, causing them to tremble and scatter in all directions.

Hearing this long whistle, the middle-aged man and the long-haired youth were both slightly startled. An even more ominous premonition arose in Zhaang Ye’s heart. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote with Recommendation Tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)