Overlord of the Wilderness

Chapter 232: Chapter 221: A Brutal Exchange

The middle-aged man’s palm had just started to press down when something unexpected happened—

Zhaang Ye, who had been beaten half to death, suddenly moved. One of his hands quivered almost imperceptibly against the ground!

As it quivered, an immense sense of danger suddenly flooded the middle-aged man’s mind. He was a veteran of a hundred battles; with a loud shout, he immediately slammed both palms down toward Zhaang Ye. A terrifying Ice Qi instantly transformed a ten-zhang radius into a world of ice and snow. Lying on the ground, Zhaang Ye was nearly frozen into a block of ice.

But even as he struck with both palms, the middle-aged man’s body retreated backward with the speed of lightning.

The middle-aged man reacted quickly, but he was still too late.

Just as the man began his retreat, a faint, colorful light erupted from beneath his feet. The light burst from the earth with a terrifying whistle, coiling toward the man’s legs like a Flood Dragon!

WHOOSH!

The middle-aged man had just leaped into the air when the colorful light struck him. He felt a sudden lightness in his legs, followed by a sharp pain. His lower legs had been severed at the knees!

"AAAAARGH!" Soaring in mid-air, the man discovered his lower legs were gone and couldn’t help but let out an earth-shattering scream. His eyes were fixed on the Long Whip in Zhaang Ye’s hand, his gaze filled with disbelief as he shrieked, "An Ancient True Artifact! How is this possible?!"

CRACK!

Zhaang Ye leaped backward to his feet. His entire body was covered in a layer of frost, with ice clinging to his eyebrows and lashes. With a slight shake, the ice shattered and fell from his body with a clattering sound.

The middle-aged man had recovered his wits by now. He stared deadly at Zhaang Ye, his eyes filled with thick killing intent and deep regret. ’What a cunning brat! What a ruthless brat! He actually took my hit on purpose to lure me in close, then launched his attack!’

It turned out that Zhaang Ye had known before the fight that he would have, at most, one chance to attack with his Long Whip. To ensure that strike landed, he had purposely taken the middle-aged man’s mid-air Palm Power, letting its force send him tumbling to the ground.

While he was rolling on the ground, Zhaang Ye had stealthily pressed the Long Whip from his waist into the earth, preparing for a counterattack.

When the man rushed forward to finish him off, Zhaang Ye finally launched his attack. With a flick of the whip he held tightly in his hand, the part that had been lying in wait burst from the soil. Even with the middle-aged man’s Cultivation at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer Late Stage, he suffered a huge loss from Zhaang Ye’s sudden ambush, his lower legs sliced clean off by the Long Whip!

In that brief exchange, Zhaang Ye had taken two of the man’s Ice Palm Force strikes, his body frozen from the inside out. In return, the man’s lower legs had been severed by Zhaang Ye’s Long Whip, a truly miserable outcome.

WHOOSH!

While the middle-aged man was still in the air, Zhaang Ye took a long breath, and a flush of red appeared on his deathly pale, frozen face. He swung his Heavy Saber, and a Tornado materialized out of thin air, sweeping viciously toward the man.

Zhaang Ye had just taken an enormous risk, luring the man into letting his guard down to sever his legs with a single strike. But he himself had taken two direct hits of Ice Palm Force and was gravely injured. If he couldn’t kill this man quickly and begin his Healing, the Ice Qi would rapidly freeze his internal organs, and he would die, a frozen corpse!

The middle-aged man grunted angrily. He pressed a hand out into the empty air, and a strange popping sound, like beans being fried, echoed. Before Zhaang Ye’s Tornado could even unleash its full power, the man had dispelled it.

SWOOOSH—

The Tornado Zhaang Ye had just summoned was only a probing attack. Seeing the man block it so easily, Zhaang Ye silently executed the Mountain-Breaking Slash. His Heavy Saber trailed a black glint of light as it viciously chopped toward the middle-aged man.

With his legs severed and no way to use Borrowing Power in mid-air, the man’s expression changed slightly upon seeing Zhaang Ye’s incredibly domineering Saber Technique, despite his own formidable strength. However, after that brief change, his expression softened into one of relief, and he sighed inwardly.

’It seems the kid can only use that Long Whip once. Now that he can’t use it again, even with my legs gone, it’s still possible to kill him! I have to kill this brat as fast as possible, then take my legs back to be reattached! Besides, if I kill him, that Long Whip will be mine!’ A hint of greed flickered in the middle-aged man’s eyes.

HUM— The man’s hand shot behind his back like lightning. The next moment, a Purple Great Bow appeared in his hand.

Ice True Qi surged madly from his body. Activated by the Ice True Qi, the Purple Great Bow began to glow with a hazy white light, emitting a chilling aura that extended a full zhang away.

TWANG!

With a wave of the man’s hand, the Purple Great Bow, carrying the sound of wind and thunder, shot out like lightning to meet Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber.

RUMBLE!

The Purple Great Bow and Heavy Saber clashed. Zhaang Ye felt a chilling Ice Qi travel directly from the purple Longbow, freezing his entire arm stiff.

’This old bastard’s Cultivation is incredible! Even with both legs severed, his True Qi is still this powerful!’ Zhaang Ye was secretly horrified.

While Zhaang Ye was shocked by his opponent’s strength, the middle-aged man was also secretly aghast. The Saber Technique Zhaang Ye had just used was utterly domineering and fierce. Even with his Cultivation at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer Late Stage, taking that one slash had made his blood churn, and blood gushed from the wounds on his legs like a spring.

SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH—

Zhaang Ye forcibly endured the Ice Qi in his body, his Heavy Saber flashing like lightning as he swung it, slashing out again and again!

Every slash was just as domineering, every slash just as fierce, and the timing of every slash was exquisitely precise. The middle-aged man was in mid-air with only his arms left to him, and his Body Technique was severely hampered. With his movements so restricted, he couldn’t bring his astonishing Cultivation to bear, despite possessing it.

The middle-aged man’s expression changed drastically. He used his Purple Great Bow to execute a set of Advanced Combat Skill. This Advanced Combat Skill was called Ice Transformation. With every move he made, a terrifying blast of icy aura shot out, barely managing to block Zhaang Ye’s assault.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE—

The Heavy Saber and Purple Great Bow clashed again and again. Both Zhaang Ye and the middle-aged man were struggling desperately to hold on.

Relying on his tyrannical strength, every time the man tapped Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber with his Purple Great Bow, a terrible wave of Ice Qi would transfer over. This Ice Qi continuously flowed through the Heavy Saber and into Zhaang Ye’s Meridians. Zhaang Ye felt like his blood was about to freeze solid, and his movements slowed considerably.

But the middle-aged man wasn’t faring much better. Every one of Zhaang Ye’s slashes was so domineering, and his Saber Technique was relentless, seemingly endless. Each time the man blocked a slash, a spray of blood would erupt from the stumps of his legs. After taking dozens of Zhaang Ye’s blows, he felt like he was about to run out of blood!

"Argh!" The middle-aged man felt his True Qi reserves suddenly empty. He knew that if this continued, Zhaang Ye would eventually wear him down and kill him. To escape this dreadful predicament, he forcibly mustered the last of his True Qi and unleashed one final attack.

VMMMMMM—

The Purple Great Bow in the man’s hands let out a tremendous sound and transformed into a massive purple shadow. It descended upon Zhaang Ye from above with terrifying momentum.

This was the final move of the Advanced Combat Skill Ice Transformation—Thousand-Mile Ice Seal. Once Thousand-Mile Ice Seal was unleashed, an endless amount of Ice Qi instantly sealed a three-zhang radius, trapping Zhaang Ye completely. At the same time, the purple bow’s shadow descended like a great Iron Hammer, smashing down viciously toward Zhaang Ye!

CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE—

The purple bow’s shadow was still a zhang away from Zhaang Ye, but the ground beneath his feet had already frozen solid. Then, under an immense force, the frozen earth rapidly shattered and sank. The sheer power was terrifying to the extreme!

’What a terrifying attack! A master of the Martial Arts Seventh Layer can already achieve Gathering Qi into Wall. This Chief Steward of the Jiang Family can actually turn his True Qi into a thick wall to trap me completely!’ As Zhaang Ye analyzed his opponent’s attack, his Heavy Saber also unleashed its final strike, slashing viciously upward to meet the blow!

For this final strike, Zhaang Ye used one hundred and twenty percent of his Dragon Elephant Power. Driven by this immense force, the Heavy Saber became like a Black Dragon devouring all things, pouncing viciously toward the purple bow’s shadow.

Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber first devoured a small portion of the power the middle-aged man had unleashed, then it slammed into the purple bow’s shadow with the speed of lightning.

BOOM!

"Such terrifying power!" The moment his Purple Great Bow collided with Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber, the middle-aged man’s face changed. He felt as if he had been struck by a terrifying beast from the Wilderness. A massive, rotating force surged into him, twisting and tearing his arm apart inch by inch!

WHOOSH! The immense force sent the middle-aged man flying backward over a hundred zhang into the air. Blood poured from his mouth, eyes, and nose, while it shot from his severed legs like arrows!

"AAAAARGH!" The middle-aged man let out a final, wretched scream.

It turned out that after unleashing his final attack, the middle-aged man had not only exhausted his True Qi, but had also suffered severe internal injuries. In this state, he could no longer use his Body Technique. Like a stone, he plummeted from over a hundred zhang in the air!

SPLAT!

Amidst a shrill scream, the middle-aged man crashed heavily onto a rock. His body was smashed into several pieces, and he died instantly. (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.)