A surge of immense power instantly shattered all of He Yiming's defenses, sweeping toward him as if struck by a razor-sharp blade.

In that instant, He Yiming's spirit soared to its absolute zenith. He vaguely sensed the sensation of touching death itself—that faint, somber, terrifying aura was frighteningly close.

The sheer force emanating from the other party's oversized palms utterly surpassed anything He Yiming understood about internal energy or martial techniques.

In that split second, He Yiming's body moved; it acted entirely without conscious thought.

His double fists flung open, and the massive internal energy within his body abruptly reversed course. At this critical juncture, it transformed from the indestructible Metal-elemental energy into the ceaseless, yielding yet firm Water-elemental energy.

Equally potent internal energy flooded into his palms, and the incredibly forceful Rock-Rolling Fist of the Metal element instantly softened into the yielding Palm of Flowing Water.

The offense and defense shifted in an instant, though the difficulty of this conversion was far greater for He Yiming than for his opponent.

Although Hu Bin had initially adopted an evasive strategy, the technique he employed was also a variation of a Metal-elemental art. However, due to his vast experience, even when unleashing his Metal technique, it appeared soft and seemingly without force.

Yet, the moment he resolved to meet force with force, he could instantly switch to the most powerful combat technique within that same element.

He Yiming was different. He had already pushed the power of the Metal-elemental Rock-Rolling Fist to the pinnacle of the sixth layer. To simultaneously convert both his internal energy and his combat skill to the Water element was a challenge exponentially greater than Hu Bin’s mere switch between techniques of the same element.

Yet, He Yiming accomplished it, doing so as naturally as water flowing downhill, without any perceptible hesitation.

Hu Bin's heart chilled. When he unleashed his final, desperate move, he had fully prepared for a mutually destructive outcome. Certainly, his technique was devastatingly powerful, and he held the certainty of victory, provided he could severely injure the youth; with his rich combat experience, he was sure to finish the opponent swiftly.

However, no matter how many follow-up plans he had devised, he never anticipated that the opponent, who was clearly executing the technique famed as the strongest offensive method in the Metal element, would transform into the Water-elemental Palm of Flowing Water the moment their palms met. Furthermore, the internal energy within this flowing palm seemed even more potent than he had expected. The layering of yielding-yet-firm Water energy was executed to its ultimate degree, temporarily stopping his advance.

He Yiming’s body recoiled backward like an ape, and after several steps, he had entirely neutralized the powerful impact. A fierce flush rose across his face, making it scarlet, as if he were deeply intoxicated. Simultaneously, an unprecedentedly powerful aura burst forth from him. In that moment, the youth seemed transformed into a demon god from the Nine Netherworld; raising his fists high, he charged forward once more, his entire being radiating an unstoppable momentum.

The seventh-layer Metal-elemental Primal Chaos Energy, combined with the sixth-layer peak Metal-elemental martial skill, the Rock-Rolling Fist—these two powers merged instantly, maximizing the might of the Metal element technique to its absolute limit.

This was the most powerful strike He Yiming had ever launched, far surpassing anything he had achieved during his solitary cultivation in the secret chamber.

At this crucial juncture of life and death, every vestige of his latent potential was ignited, allowing him to perfectly realize the essence of this attack. His whole body resembled a cannonball leaving the muzzle, or perhaps a colossal mountain, pressing down heavily upon his adversary.

Hu Bin’s expression changed drastically. Facing such formidable momentum, he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of inescapability, that there was nowhere to hide or flee. The space around him seemed to be constrained by some invisible force, and the very aura of his opponent suggested that even if he fled to the ends of the earth, this pursuer would surely catch him.

This man, after all, was one steeped in bloodshed. In this situation, the dormant ferocity within him suddenly erupted. With a fierce roar, he raised his palms high again, and his already swollen hands seemed to grow even larger.

"Boom..."

It sounded like two massive iron plates colliding. The moment their palms made contact, a sharp, metallic clang erupted, as if their hands were no longer flesh but had hardened into steel.

Two immense forces exploded at that single point. He Yiming was sent flying backward through the air; his all-out strike had failed to completely overpower his opponent in terms of sheer force.

The strength emanating from Hu Bin far exceeded what He Yiming believed possible from a peak fifth-layer internal energy coupled with a peak combat skill. Being at the epicenter of that power caused him immense suffering.

However, while suspended in the air, He Yiming again converted his Metal energy back into Water energy. The potent self-healing capacity of the Water element manifested instantly. His internal organs, which had sustained a severe shock and felt a slight, dull ache, immediately began to recover significantly.

He lashed out a foot, stamping forcefully against a massive tree, and He Yiming managed to land, staggering for a few steps before finding his footing.

Looking up, He Yiming saw that Hu Bin's face was covered in an unnatural, ashen pallor. His features trembled for a moment, then his legs buckled, and he sank to the ground, murmuring, "Seventh layer, the seventh layer..."

He Yiming took a deep breath. "That’s right. Seventh-layer Primal Chaos Energy and the seventh-layer Rock-Rolling Fist."

Hu Bin's face grew even grimier. He forced a wry smile. "Seventh layer. You actually cultivated to the seventh layer of internal energy. Those born into prominent families truly live up to their reputation." His voice trailed off, his body swaying precariously. The resentment in his eyes slowly morphed into despair. He opened his mouth twice, as if wanting to speak, but in the end, nothing came out. The light in his eyes gradually faded, and the body he was barely sustaining collapsed suddenly, thudding heavily onto the ground.

He Yiming hesitated, then cautiously took a few steps forward. However, having witnessed the man’s cunning multiple times, he was unwilling to be fooled again. He picked up a stone and hurled it violently at the man’s face. Though he didn't use his full strength, the impact struck Hu Bin’s right eye, instantly rupturing it and revealing a black socket from which blood splattered vividly.

Yet, Hu Bin remained motionless, seemingly oblivious to the assault.

The corner of He Yiming’s mouth twitched slightly. He suppressed his nausea and moved forward to check, finally confirming that Hu Bin was truly dead.

Once he was certain of the death, He Yiming could no longer hold back. All the repressed negative emotions rushed back at once. He retreated several steps to stand beneath a large tree, his stomach churning violently, and he vomited everything he had eaten in his last meal. Not only that, but he purged every bit of bile and bitter fluid until his intestines cramped in agony before his condition gradually stabilized.

Turning to look at the corpse, He Yiming was seized by a chilling horror.

When facing a living opponent, though fear lingered subconsciously, it vanished the moment the fight began. But now that Hu Bin had died by his hand, his own legs began to tremble.

After a period of hesitation, He Yiming eventually approached the body again. Cautiously, he reached out and began to search the corpse.

He wasn't sure why this impulse had struck him, but once the thought formed, he acted upon it naturally.

A moment later, he retrieved several items from Hu Bin, including two gold ingots valued at ten taels each and some loose silver. These were valuable goods. Although it felt like profiting from a dead man, He Yiming shamelessly pocketed everything.

While the He Family Estate was one of the leading households in Taicang County, He Yiming was only thirteen, and his monthly allowance was a mere three taels. The loose silver was negligible, but those two gold ingots, once exchanged for silver, were worth at least two hundred taels—the equivalent of five or six years of his allowance combined.

After tucking away the gold and silver, He Yiming suddenly froze, pulling out a thin book from among the retrieved items.

It was unclear what material this book was made of, but holding it gave him a feeling as gentle and smooth as polished jade. He was certain it was not ordinary paper.

He carefully opened it, and his eyes immediately lit up.

The very first page depicted a posture, one that He Yiming recognized with vivid clarity.

It was the exact stance Hu Bin had used to unleash that incredible, incomprehensible power—the posture of raising both palms high.

He Yiming’s heart began to beat wildly. He flipped to the title page, which clearly read: Thirty-Six Styles of Mountain Splitting.

Instantly, a wave of ecstatic realization surged through He Yiming. This discovery brought him far greater joy than finding two gold ingots.

Hu Bin possessed only the cultivation of the fifth layer of internal energy, yet the power unleashed after using this martial technique far exceeded the might generated by a sixth-layer internal energy combined with a peak combat skill. What level of power could he himself achieve?

The uncomfortable sensation caused by confronting a corpse had vanished completely. For a moment, He Yiming’s emotions churned so intensely that he almost cried out in elation.

However, just then, his gaze sharpened, his ears twitched slightly, and his expression shifted. In a flurry, he hastily shoved the terrifying secret manual into his robes, quickly stuffing the rest of the items back into Hu Bin’s clothing.

Then, he stood up and looked intently toward a specific direction.