Chapter 32: Truly Frightening

Despite being severely injured, Zhang Shen moved with surprising speed. In less than half a day, he found himself back at the base of the Sixth Squad.

He looked at the solitary wooden poles, and he couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration. Ye Ruohuo had indeed made her move swiftly and already vanished without a trace.

Zhang Shen searched the surroundings but found no signs of her. Left with no other options, he sneaked back into Hongyuan City, choosing to stay on its outskirts.

Eventually, Ye Ruohuo would have to send out scouts for information. That would be his opportunity to rejoin the Sixth Squad.

Meanwhile, the five cities and their powerhouses, including the Wang and Du families, finally noticed the disappearance of their spies. They hastily sent people to investigate, only to be left dumbfounded.

In just a few days, how had such a massive spiritual beast Bear disappeared? What happened to the large horde of beasts?

Their investigation revealed another absurd fact, the Innate experts of Hongyuan City had not suffered any casualties.

What in the world had occurred?

When they finally uncovered the entire truth, they were flabbergasted. On the brink of disaster, why had a late-stage Innate expert suddenly emerged to hunt the late-stage beast? What was his motivation? Why choose to appear then?

The leaders of the five cities were a mix of shock, displeasure, and helplessness upon receiving the news. A prime opportunity had slipped through their fingers, causing them deep distress.

Among them, the Wang family from Jiuchuan City was the most resentful. They had discovered that Hongyuan City was the primary instigator behind their initial attack from the late-stage Innate Beast. They had planned to wait until Hongyuan City was on its knees before exacting their revenge.

In the end, they allowed them to survive the crisis unscathed.

At this point, it was impractical for the Wang family to make a move. In the previous battle with the Innate Beasts, one of the late-stage elders of the Wang family was injured and was still in recovery. Moreover, Hongyuan City’s strength remained almost unscathed. If a battle ensued, the Wang family, although they would eventually win, would find a substantial portion of their strength tied down.

The other four cities wouldn’t just sit idly by. They would surely seize the opportunity to unite and suppress the Wang family. That would spell disaster.

At most, the Wang family’s power could equal the combined strength of two other cities among the five. Anything beyond that would be unsustainable. They had no choice but to stand down for the moment.

Furthermore, the beast tide hadn’t subsided, with beasts from each family still on the prowl.

It was not the ideal time to stir up trouble.

After several days of confirming this situation, everyone in Hongyuan City could finally breathe a sigh of relief. The crisis was averted at last.

The next task was to deal with the horde of monsters lingering around Hongyuan City. Yet, they were vexed with another concern, the whereabouts of the Sixth Squad.

Lin Da was troubled. He had instructed them to hide well without notifying anyone, but had they taken the instructions too literally? Not a trace of them could be found. 

Fortunately, after about ten days, some members of the Sixth Squad emerged to gather information.

The scouts, learning that Hongyuan City was still intact, were ecstatic. They hurriedly located their family leaders and divulged the hiding spot of the Sixth Squad.

Hongyuan City promptly dispatched people for the rendezvous.

All members of the Sixth Squad were the elites from the three families, any losses would be a serious blow to them.

Without delay, Zhang Shen infiltrated the Sixth Squad ahead of them, located Ye Ruohuo and strategized a story with her.

“Wow, they actually hid here,” remarked Zhang Shen, admiring the elders’ ingenuity.

They had dug tunnels underground, sneaked inside, and cleverly attracted a group of relatively weak monsters to claim the surface, effectively erasing all traces of their presence. He certainly learned a valuable lesson.

At that point, Zhang Shen’s physical condition had recovered to about thirty percent. This didn’t affect his ability to perform at the strength of a martial artist at the Acquired Stage 9th Layer. With a little more effort, he could even exhibit power at the Innate Stage.

After Zhang Shen departed, Ye Ruohuo was left in awe, “He managed to resolve such a tremendous crisis. It’s true what they say, ‘the new generation surpasses the old.’ We’re fortunate to have him in Hongyuan City.”

***

Upon his return to Hongyuan City, Zhang Shen spent some time with his family before confronting the lingering situation from the beast tide.

Once the major crisis had been alleviated, it was time to eliminate the residual monster groups.

In the absence of a threat to the whole of Hongyuan City, Zhang Shen adopted a low-profile stance again. He silently healed his injuries while continuing to practice various families’ martial techniques, gaining valuable experience points.

Most crucially, he started practicing the Acquired section of the Mountain of a Thousand Layers technique.

His cultivation technique progress was still at a standstill, stuck at 75% of the 9th Layer of the Acquired Stage. Without a superior Acquired Technique, he couldn’t fully cultivate to the state of perfection.

Having experienced the sensation of achieving a perfect physical breakthrough, he yearned to reach a similar pinnacle in his martial cultivation.

“I mustn’t rush. I need to take it one step at a time,” he thought.

During this period, his physical level had soared dramatically. While it was invigorating, Zhang Shen also felt a hint of imbalance.

His rapid ascension, without proper consolidation, had inflated his ego. Every so often, he would entertain thoughts of self-aggrandizement like “I am third only to heaven and earth,” which was at odds with his typically cautious demeanor.

“I’ll use the time spent practicing the ‘Mountain of a Thousand Layers’ technique to calm my restless heart,” said Zhang Shen.

He embarked on the practice methodically, layer by layer. Concurrently, the energy from his ‘Bright Moon’ technique within him became increasingly dense and concentrated. With the combined support of both techniques, his internal energy quality far exceeded that of a typical martial artist at the Acquired Stage.

Although this was not an unusual outcome, it was rare for someone to casually practice two techniques simultaneously. Given the same amount of time, wouldn’t it be more beneficial to advance to a higher stage and master more elevated techniques?

Only Zhang Shen, who possessed the unique system, could afford to do so. After all, he received multiple benefits for each technique he practiced.

In the blink of an eye, another year had passed. By then, the beast tide had subsided. Although numerous monsters still lurked, they no longer posed a significant threat to the remaining six cities.

Indeed, these lingering creatures were intentionally left behind. They were seen as a resource that could be slowly harvested for monster meat.

Hongyuan City, having successfully weathered this monster tide, didn’t experience a significant loss of its elite warriors. Of the fifteen Innate-level powerhouses, only one perished. It was a relatively minor loss compared to previous years.

Other cities, however, were not as fortunate.

There was a considerable decline in martial artists below the Innate Stage and those at the Human Limit peak. To address this deficit and restore a pyramid-like power structure, Hongyuan City initiated a campaign promoting fertility.

The more offspring produced, the higher the rewards provided by the city. Consequently, celebrations became a common occurrence in Hongyuan City. Even Zhang Shen wasn’t exempt from this.

“A blind date?” Zhang Shen promptly declined. “No, thank you. I’m not there yet.”

He felt somewhat helpless. At only sixteen and a half years old, his family was already setting him up for blind dates. He thought, “Isn’t that illegal?”

Of course, in the Great Wilderness, such laws did not apply, so Zhang Shen had no real cause for concern.

But who is he? The Prince devoted to Martial Arts Training. His days were consumed by practice or commuting to and from practice. With such a lifestyle, wouldn’t having a wife guarantee infidelity? The thought alone was horrifying.

“At my age, I should focus on training. It’s a crucial period for me to make significant progress, so I shouldn’t be sidetracked by other matters.”

His solid reasoning promptly quashed any further plans by others to introduce him to potential suitors. Upon this realization, Zhang Shen sighed in relief.

Marriage was out of the question. A woman would only slow down his pace of cultivation. At the most, he’d engage in a few fleeting, harmless romances to break up the monotony of his training.

Neither Zhang Xun nor Lin Yanqing urged him to settle down. Firstly, he was still quite young, and secondly, they had their attention focused elsewhere.

They were preoccupied with their adorable twins, a pair of plump babies, Zhang Feng and Zhang Miaohao, who were born in response to the city’s call for an increased birthrate. Zhang Shen adored his younger siblings, preparing nutritious foods specially formulated for infants to help build their physical foundation.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, these two would develop into prodigies, even if they couldn’t surpass him.

And as for the possibility of their potential being squandered through improper guidance? With their stern grandfather, Zhang Tianlong, their personalities might be unpredictable, but they were far from being a lost cause.

Life was serene, satisfying even. But alas, the tranquility was short-lived. Conflict, the perpetual motif of the Endless Wilderness, inevitably resurfaced.

Once the six cities had recovered from the beast tide, the intricate web of intercity conflicts resumed.

Particularly, there was an incident just before the end of the beast tide. In order to save a comrade he knew well, Zhang Shen boldly cut down a ninth-layer Acquired Stage beast into nine pieces.

This act unintentionally unveiled his strength, revealing that he had at least attained the ninth layer of the Acquired Stage. There were others in the squad at the time, and although they were cautioned against spreading the news, the word was out.

However, when more people come to know such a thing, it wouldn’t take long for it to spread, particularly when some individuals were highly interested in this kind of news.

Those who inadvertently let the cat out of the bag might not even remember when or where they leaked it, perhaps during a bout of drunken loose talk. Thus, it didn’t take long for the news to reach the other five cities.

A sixteen-and-a-half-year-old at the Acquired 9th Layer? How was that even possible? Already reaching such a stage at such a young age, could he ascend to the Innate stage in a few years? And after several decades, would they even have a standing in the five cities?

Even though the world’s predictions often fell short, how could they not take precautions when there were signs of trouble?

Conspiracies and schemes began to circulate around Zhang Shen. Though they couldn’t hurt him, they were quite annoying, interfering with his cultivation. Zhang Shen was furious.

After a year, his physical body had completely recovered, and his strength had slightly improved.

The Strongest Physical Body System

Host: Zhang Shen

Physical Level: Innate Stage 7th Layer 

Progress: 32%

Martial Cultivation: Acquired Stage 9th Layer

Progress: 75%

Cultivation Tehnicque: Acquired 4th Layer of Mountain of a Thousand Layers: 56%

Martial Arts: Innate Mid-grade Cultivation Concealment Technique: 70%, Acquired Top-grade Flying Bird Step: 100%, Acquired Top-grade Eight Trigrams Blade: 37%

Complete Cultivation Methods and Martial Arts: (Expandable)

Evaluation: Your bravery and perseverance make you admirable, but it is your cautious approach that promises a greater future. Please proceed with caution, the path of growth is fraught with challenges.

“With my current strength, although respectable, I’m still no match for families like the Wang family.”

Zhang Shen clearly understood that his current late Innate stage strength was insignificant. If he was no match for the Wang family, it would be even harder against the combined strength of the other five cities.

“I’ll stomach this for now, until I reach the 9th Layer of Innate… No, even the Innate 9th Layer isn’t completely safe, it doesn’t offer a 100% certainty. Once my physical level reaches True Core, it will be your reckoning.”