For the next two days, Zhaang Ye studied the Long Whip. He had a faint feeling that it held some kind of secret. Unfortunately, his Dragon Elephant Skill cultivation had only just reached the 5th Layer. It was an accomplishment that he could even activate the whip; discovering more of its secrets was beyond his current abilities.

On the third day, Zhaang Tianlong came to his door. He took out a few Golden Tickets and handed them to Zhaang Ye.

Zhaang Ye was slightly taken aback. He glanced at the Golden Tickets and saw they were all large denominations, adding up to a total of three and a half million taels.

Seeing Zhaang Ye’s confused expression, Zhaang Tianlong chuckled. "You won a Heavy Iron Ore mine for the family," he said. "This mine generates an annual income of over ten million taels. You get five percent of that income, which comes out to five hundred thousand taels a year. The ownership rights to the mine are for five years, so over that period, you’ll earn two and a half million taels. Considering you’re about to leave Cyan Mulberry City, the family has converted your earnings into these Golden Tickets for you."

Zhaang Ye said, puzzled, "That’s not right. The total on these Golden Tickets is three and a half million taels. That’s a million more than you said..."

Zhaang Tianlong waved his hand and grinned slyly. "That one million is compensation from Elder Luo. He actually dared to make a move on you during the Four Races’ youth tournament. I wouldn’t have felt right if I didn’t extort him a little..."

Zhaang Ye understood.

Zhaang Tianlong then said, "Zhaang Ye, is there anything else you need to take care of? You can tell me. If it’s something we can handle, we’ll handle it for you."

Zhaang Ye pondered for a moment before saying slowly, "If it’s convenient, please look after the people of the Three Rivers Zhang Family for me, in secret."

Zhaang Tianlong gave Zhaang Ye a deep look and said, "Don’t worry. The Three Rivers Zhang Family is also a part of our Zhaang Family. I’ll look after them discreetly."

After Zhaang Tianlong left, Zhaang Ye had wanted to see Zhaang Yumei. But after asking around, he learned that she had already left to go traveling. Shaking his head, Zhaang Ye packed his things, left the small courtyard, and went to see Zhaang Qing and Zhaang Que. Before departing, Zhaang Ye left each of them a Mid-Level Combat Skill. Zhaang Qing and Zhaang Que had gone through thick and thin with him, and this Mid-Level Combat Skill was a small bit of help. ’I hope it allows them to go further.’

After leaving Zhaang Qing’s small wooden cabin, Zhaang Ye headed toward the City Lord’s Mansion.

As he passed through a small alley, Zhaang Ye suddenly sensed a faint, almost imperceptible killing intent coming from behind him.

After watching three days of slaughter in the Heart Refining Chamber, Zhaang Ye’s will and spirit had become more refined and pure, making him exceptionally sensitive to killing intent. Although this trace of killing intent was very faint, he still detected it. Zhaang Ye’s heart jumped. Without thinking, he abruptly twisted his body to the side. Just as he was about to draw the Heavy Saber from his back, a withered hand suddenly appeared out of nowhere and slapped down on his shoulder.

WHAM!

The withered hand looked powerless, but it contained immense force. The blow sent Zhaang Ye flying over fifty feet away, where he smashed violently into a wall.

CRASH!

Zhaang Ye slammed hard against the stone wall.

An expert!

He had run into a true expert!

Zhaang Ye’s body ached from the impact with the wall, but his mind was exceptionally clear. In that single instant, he knew he had encountered an expert he could not hope to resist.

This person had not only snuck up behind him without a sound but had also sent him flying with a single blow. Their strength was simply unfathomable!

A chilling killing intent washed over him once more.

Zhaang Ye sucked in a sharp breath. Ignoring the intense pain wracking his body, he suddenly contracted, curling his entire body into a ball.

CRUNCH! Just as Zhaang Ye finished curling up, the withered palm slammed into the wall. The entire hand sank deep into the stone. If Zhaang Ye’s reaction had been even a fraction of a second slower, that palm would have struck him. He would have been left dead or half-dead.

"Hm?"

The expert attacking Zhaang Ye let out a cry of surprise. Although his cultivation had fallen to the Martial Arts Sixth Layer, his Combat Skills and combat awareness remained, and his fighting experience was exceptionally vast.

He had originally thought that dealing with a junior like Zhaang Ye would be a simple matter of capturing him in one move. He never expected that on his first strike, Zhaang Ye would actually sense his killing intent and twist his body to take the blow on his shoulder.

And when Zhaang Ye was struck on the shoulder and sent smashing into the wall, he had attacked again, intending to take advantage of the moment Zhaang Ye was dazed to heavily injure him. But he hadn’t anticipated that Zhaang Ye would still be able to react, curling up just in time to evade his second attack.

SWOOSH!

Zhaang Ye’s Cloud Stepping Technique was best at Borrowing Power. As the withered hand struck the wall, his body abruptly transformed into a cyan shadow and shot out along the wall.

"And where do you think you’re going?!"

Zhaang Ye had just shot forward thirty or forty feet when an ice-cold voice rang out. He then felt the air behind him suddenly tremble, followed by a sharp whistling sound. It felt as if something was pressing down on him, approaching at lightning speed.

"ROAR!"

A great roar erupted from Zhaang Ye’s mouth. The Heavy Saber on his back was in his hand in a flash, and he immediately swung it in a slash behind him.

KRR-KRR-KRR—BOOM!

Zhaang Ye distinctly felt a terrifying Air Wall pressing down on him from behind, the pressure so immense that he almost lost his grip on the Heavy Saber!

’Gathering Qi into Wall! This is definitely Gathering Qi into Wall! This is a Martial Arts Sixth Layer expert!’ Zhaang Ye was horrified. He immediately made a decision. Disregarding the risk of injury, he slightly rotated his body and fully unleashed his Power-Borrowing Technique, actually using the force of the Air Wall to abruptly increase his speed.

With Zhaang Ye’s current strength, he could put up a fight against an ordinary Martial Arts Fifth Layer Peak expert. But against a master of the Martial Arts Sixth Layer, he wouldn’t even have a chance to fight for his life. What’s more, this Sixth Layer expert had ambushed him from the start. In the chaos of the battle, Zhaang Ye hadn’t even had time to see his opponent’s face. If he kept fighting, he would certainly lose his life here.

FWOOSH!

Although Zhaang Ye’s Power-Borrowing Technique was profound, his opponent’s True Qi was not so easily borrowed. The moment he executed the technique, a wild and ferocious force surged from the Heavy Saber into his body. In an instant, Zhaang Ye suffered internal injuries.

Despite the internal injuries, Zhaang Ye’s speed increased dramatically. His body left a trail of afterimages, flying straight out of the alley like a shooting star.

"Hm?"

Seeing that Zhaang Ye possessed such a profound Borrowing Power technique, the man who had ambushed him was even more surprised. A flash of astonishment crossed his eyes, which quickly turned back into chilling killing intent. His figure suddenly shot forward, transforming into a streak of red light that pursued Zhaang Ye with a whining sound. His speed was actually a sliver faster than Zhaang Ye’s!

This ambush on Zhaang Ye was an extremely risky act. If he allowed Zhaang Ye to escape this alley, the crime of attacking a True Hall Disciple would be enough to annihilate his entire family, and he himself would die without a burial place.

Zhaang Ye didn’t have time to look back, but he could feel his pursuer’s terrifying speed and the chilling killing intent radiating from him. Though he was facing a life-or-death crisis, Zhaang Ye’s mind was perfectly calm. He thought, ’This person’s Body Technique is likely a high-level one. Even though my Cloud Stepping Technique cultivation has reached the Great Success Realm, I can’t shake him. The only thing I can do now is risk it all!’

Having made his decision, one of Zhaang Ye’s hands shot like lightning toward his waist, while his other hand flung the Heavy Saber behind him.

Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber weighed 697 jin. Propelled by his Dragon Elephant Skill, the entire saber transformed into a streak of black light barely visible to the naked eye, shooting toward the expert behind him with a terrifying sound of displaced air.

The expert grunted. His withered hand suddenly shot out and gently brushed against the Heavy Saber. With that light touch, he actually managed to divert the Heavy Saber Zhaang Ye had thrown, using a gentle force to push it aside.

The Heavy Saber did, after all, weigh nearly seven hundred jin. Propelled by Zhaang Ye’s Dragon Elephant Skill, its force was well over ten thousand jin. Although this expert was able to neutralize that power and brush the saber aside, his own movement was affected, and he involuntarily slowed for an instant.

Seizing the moment the expert slowed, Zhaang Ye was finally able to turn around and get a clear look at his opponent. The expert who had attacked him without a word was an elder dressed in red. The moment he saw the old man, Zhaang Ye recognized him. This was the same elder he had encountered outside the City Lord’s Mansion three days ago. At the time, he’d had a vague feeling of familiarity toward the man.

Familiar or not, Zhaang Ye now had only one thought: kill this old man. He raised his hand, and the Dragon Elephant Power inside his body surged out desperately. As the Dragon Elephant Power erupted, a brilliant red light flashed, and a terrifying, ancient aura of the Wilderness suddenly filled the alley. It felt as if one had suddenly been transported to the primeval Barbaric World.

"Ah!"

Sensing this terrifying, ancient aura of the Wilderness, the red-robed elder’s expression changed drastically. His knowledge was vast, so he naturally knew the origin of this terrifying aura. He couldn’t believe that the youth before him actually possessed such a dreadful item. Horrified, he cried out, "A True..."

Before the word fully left his mouth, Zhaang Ye’s hand had already whipped forward.

BOOM!

A rainbow suddenly streaked across the sky. Accompanied by a terrifying sound, it lashed toward the red-robed elder like a bolt of lightning.