It felt as if colossal hammers were pounding directly against their hearts. The faces of the seven Innate Realm experts instantly turned ashen.

He Yiming's long shout seemed to contain a formidable power, one that could directly assault their spirits, causing a sharp, stabbing ache deep within their skulls.

If not for this, the combined strike from the four Innate experts could not have been shattered by He Yiming so effortlessly.

At this moment, He Yiming's focus was absolute, yet his mind raced back to the memory of Romia’s sonic attack from before. His thoughts were piercingly clear; the past scene was replaying itself in his mind, moment by moment.

He could even vaguely perceive the subtle, magical, and hidden alterations that Romia’s speech had caused in the surrounding air—it was precisely these shifts that had subjected He Yiming to such a brutal assault back then.

Indeed, after his battle with Romia, He Yiming had intensely yearned for that kind of sonic attack, constantly pondering its nature. When he was helping Lu Zhengyi break through the final barrier to the Innate Realm, he had experienced a sudden flash of insight into one application of this technique, which ultimately aided Lu Zhengyi's successful breakthrough.

But that feeling was ephemeral, vanishing without a trace almost instantly.

Now, propelled by a surge of rage so vast it nearly consumed him entirely, he had, by sheer coincidence, elevated his spiritual power to an unprecedented height. It was precisely at this zenith of spiritual saturation that he truly grasped the method for wielding this power.

Thus, without hesitation, he loosed a great cry, unleashing this force.

Under the impact of this bizarre power, the gathered Innate experts were caught completely off guard and were broken apart one by one. Had they not been fighting as a united front, some of them might well have perished on the spot by now.

Su Jun, retreating rapidly, sucked in a deep breath. His face flushed a furious red as he opened his mouth wide, pouring every ounce of his strength into a bellow of rage.

Although his voice carried no inherent offensive power, it was the roar of an Innate expert using his True Qi to violently agitate his Dantian, capable of suppressing all surrounding sounds for a short duration.

The eyes of the other six Innate experts lit up; they too roared in unison. The sheer volume emanating from the seven Innate experts drowned out every other sound, making it seem as though the world held only their desperate, strained cries.

The spectators who had rushed over from the surroundings, whether soldiers from Kaifeng Kingdom or retainers from Tufan Kingdom, even Xie Mingjin, all covered their ears and fell back. Though the sound was not fatal, it vibrated painfully in their eardrums, leaving their faces drained of color.

He Yiming’s momentum immediately stalled. His sonic attack method was still immature, and the combined roar caused it to begin dissipating.

However, he remained unperturbed; for him, the sonic assault was merely a supplementary tactic.

His body shifted, moving with lightning speed to appear directly in front of Su Jun.

When facing a group attack, the optimal strategy in a brawl is to lock onto one target and pursue them relentlessly until they are completely neutralized.

Among the seven, Su Jun was undoubtedly the strongest in both prestige and martial power. Killing him outright would certainly crush the fighting spirit of the remaining six.

A hand was raised high, radiating a sharp, seemingly irresistible and unyielding power.

Yet, upon sensing this power, Su Jun and the others, even amidst their fury, felt a hidden surge of delight.

Su Jun’s greatest strength lay in his Fire True Qi, but He Yiming was attacking with Metal element energy. Had he lost his bearings?

Almost instinctively, Su Jun stopped retreating. His entire body instantly flushed a deep crimson, from head to toe, with even a faint pinkish hue rising from his hair.

Then, he threw his punch with full force, colliding violently with He Yiming’s open palm.

However, in that single instant, an expression of extreme horror spread across his face.

Since He Yiming had first appeared, even when using his sonic attack, or when breaking the combined force of seven men single-handedly, Su Jun had never revealed such profound dread.

But at this moment, he was truly afraid, a deep, visceral terror originating from the core of his being.

When his Fire-infused palm met He Yiming’s strike, he encountered not the piercing sharpness of Metal, but the overwhelming, tide-like surge of Water True Qi.

It was as if He Yiming’s palm was sheathed in a thin outer layer of Metal energy, deceiving everyone present.

At this juncture, He Yiming felt a pang of emotion, deeply grateful for the martial skills imparted by the Hengshan lineage.

Before heading to Hengshan, while he could use techniques from all five basic elements, achieving the current level of fluid control—and maximizing the immense power derived from the generation cycle between these techniques—would have been utterly impossible.

It was only through studying countless secret manuals on Innate techniques at Hengshan, and especially the experience gained while assisting Lu Zhengyi to guard his meridians, that he gained truly invaluable knowledge regarding their application.

It was this very experience that allowed him to truly integrate the Five Elements, enabling him to strike with the Innate True Qi that countered his opponent at any moment.

The formidable Metal power suddenly transformed into a raging, towering ocean, utterly extinguishing Su Jun’s raging fire.

Yet, this strike was not finished; his hand did not stop, but continued its trajectory, the power instantly shifting again—from a deluge of water to a giant Guan Dao blade.

The hand, shimmering with metallic light and condensing immense power, ruthlessly sliced through Su Jun’s dual-arm block and drove toward his chest.

As an established Innate expert, Su Jun naturally possessed emergency escape measures. Seeing that evasion and escape were impossible, he suddenly contracted his body, shrinking himself almost like a turtle pulling into its shell.

He Yiming’s aggressive palm swept past his left shoulder.

Just as Su Jun believed he had narrowly escaped disaster, He Yiming’s hand abruptly flipped, and a concentrated, pure innate blade aura cleaved fiercely into his back.

Though he held no actual Guan Dao, He Yiming had honed his Metal element application to such a peak that he could manifest a similar blade-like energy.

While this blade aura wasn't enough to cleave an Innate expert in two, it was certainly not something any common fighter could easily withstand.

Su Jun let out a sharp cry of pain. Copious amounts of blood poured from his seven orifices—eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Countless capillaries burst across his skin, the sheer force of the sharp blow forcing the blood outward. He looked as if he had just crawled out of a river of blood, completely drenched.

He stamped his feet hard, launching himself backward, tumbling heavily onto the ground. His body spasmed a few times before he managed to turn his face around.

His eyes were filled with terror; this dream-like, illusory strike had utterly shattered his courage.

Afterward, his limbs felt weak. Though he still possessed the strength for a fighting chance, the will to raise his hands had completely vanished from his heart.

Their exchange had lasted only a single breath, yet within that breath, an outcome completely unforeseen and surprising to everyone had occurred.

In one move, Su Jun was injured, defeated, broken—and eternally scarred in his psyche.

This wound was far deeper than any physical laceration. If this spiritual scar could not be healed, Su Jun’s martial cultivation for the rest of his life would come to an end right here.

Forget about further progress; even maintaining his current peak state without regression would be impossible.

Six powerful streams of True Qi surged simultaneously toward He Yiming, who had moved into the center of the group. Seeing Su Jun’s fate, the other six felt a shared, deadly fear. If their previous cooperation had been forced by circumstances, now they had absolutely no choice but to combine forces genuinely, unleashing the full pinnacle fighting strength of all six of them.

Facing an expert capable of shattering Su Jun in a single move, holding back any skill now would be tantamount to suicide.

However, inside the encirclement, He Yiming shifted his feet, twisting his body into an almost grotesque posture. He vanished again from their sight. Then, an uncountable series of footsteps reached their ears. At that moment, He Yiming seemed to have multiplied into thousands, leaving his imprint everywhere in that space.

What incredible speed this was; even the six great Innate experts were shocked.

While their combined might was formidable, if they couldn't strike the main target, all their efforts were futile.

In the martial path, a hair's breadth difference equates to a vast chasm. He Yiming, relying on his unique constitution, demonstrated this principle to the fullest.

Under their siege, he used his strange footwork to slip out of the ring once more, returning to the periphery with extreme speed, and instead encircling them in reverse. He then reappeared as ghost-like as before beside an elder.

This elder was the one who had verbally questioned He Yiming earlier. Upon seeing the cold, dismissive smile appear inches from his face, the elder’s heart plummeted. He let out a desperate shout while his body rapidly withered—the common flaw of all Wood element Innate techniques. But when the body became like ancient vine roots, the resulting powerful defense was enough to compensate for everything.

Yet, He Yiming’s cold smile remained fixed, and his hand once again shone with intense metallic luster.

Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting, the sixteenth form.

Like an axe splitting firewood, like a sharp sword piercing a wooden stake, like a broad saber hacking through a log.

He Yiming condensed the Metal power into a single point through the Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting, maximizing its potential to the absolute limit.

The elder let out a bone-chilling moan of agony. After being struck and sent flying over ten meters, he collapsed limply onto the ground, much like Su Jun.

However, compared to Su Jun, his condition was far more grievous. Huge mouthfuls of blood gushed from his mouth, and the light in his eyes began to fade.

In just a few short breaths, his body grew somewhat rigid, his limbs cold, and he slipped into unconsciousness.

He Yiming’s strike had held absolutely no reservations, pushing out as much power as possible from all three hundred and sixty acupoints. Though still less terrifying than the power of the Five Elements unified, it was something an Innate expert inferior even to Su Jun could never withstand.

The faces of the remaining five turned to extreme terror. He Yiming managing to injure Su Jun while surrounded by their initial attack could perhaps be excused—they could argue that the attackers lacked coordination, with several non-Tufan Innate experts harboring selfish intentions, allowing He Yiming to exploit the gap.

But this time, the six had attacked with their absolute best, and the result was identical.

This blow was a true psychological breaking point.

Someone let out a sharp cry, and without regard for the others, leaped away in a desperate flight toward the distance. The next three, after a moment of stunned silence, turned and fled as well, leaving only the last elder standing in place, his expression bleak.

Even He Yiming himself was momentarily stunned by this sudden turn of events.

The opponents still had five left; if they had truly united, they might still have fought. But he hadn't expected their collapse to be so swift.

His gaze fell upon the last remaining elder. He Yiming suddenly felt a sense of farce wash over him and sneered coldly, "Why don't you run? Do you think you can stop me?"

The elder gave a bitter smile. "They are not citizens of Tufan Kingdom; naturally, they can flee. But I am the Guardian Master of Tufan Kingdom; how can I abandon my comrades?"

He Yiming raised his eyebrows, instantly understanding the reason.

Mao Lieguang had mentioned that among the eight Innate experts from Tufan Kingdom, several were Guardian Masters hailing from Tufan’s vassal states.

The relationship between them was similar to that between Tianluo Kingdom and Kaifeng Kingdom—though belonging to the same region, their individual thoughts differed greatly. If the masters from Tufan Kingdom met misfortune, these others would likely not seek revenge but might even secretly chuckle.

He Yiming nodded slightly and stated gravely, "Where is Bu Xingcong?"

The elder glanced at Su Jun and the other injured elder, then extended a hand, pointing in a certain direction. "He resides in the Fragrant Bloom Pavilion in the back courtyard, though I cannot guarantee he is there now."

Bu Xingcong was the Fourth Prince of Tufan. Under normal circumstances, the elder would never divulge his whereabouts. But this time was different; facing He Yiming, this terrifying powerhouse, these Innate experts knew that any further concealment or obstruction would result in no mercy shown.

Though a prince is noble, for a nation, Innate experts are far more vital. If one could exchange the life of a Prince for the lives of three Innate experts, any ruler—save perhaps that Prince himself—would agree without hesitation.

Therefore, although the elder spoke the truth, Su Jun did not interfere, tacitly accepting the disclosure.

He Yiming nodded. "Very good, Mingjin, let's go…"

Xie Mingjin responded excitedly and quickly ran up, following He Yiming toward the direction indicated by the elder.

Only after He Yiming had gone far did the remaining figures collectively exhale a breath of relief.

The elder dared not delay and immediately went to tend to another companion. However, as he helped his comrade up, the lines on his old face grew even more strained.

Su Jun also approached them. The two elders exchanged glances, their hearts sinking simultaneously.

A surge of anger rose in their chests, but it was not directed at He Yiming; it was aimed at the Fourth Prince, Bu Xingcong.

That spoiled young master, relying on his status, had always been arrogant and self-important. Now, for some unknown reason, he had provoked a terrifying expert like He Yiming.

An Innate Master, a long-time friend, seemed destined to perish before their eyes. Realizing this, their resentment deepened.

Su Jun lifted the injured elder. "Let's go."

The two men walked side-by-side, but they headed not toward the Fragrant Bloom Pavilion, but toward the quarters where Mu Jintian was housed.

※※※※

After the numerous Innate experts departed, a dense murmur erupted from the onlookers gathered in the distance. They were all discussing the preceding events, most showing extreme excitement in their eyes.

They hadn't just witnessed a battle between Innate experts; it had been breathtakingly brilliant. He Yiming's sheer power had surpassed their scope of understanding.

Single-handedly challenging seven masters of the same rank, resulting in four fleeing in disarray, and of the remaining three, two injured, one severely—spitting up blood and lapsing into a critical coma. If he died, it would become an event of massive sensation.

Though they did not know the cause of the fight, in that moment, their hearts were filled with exhilaration, eager to proclaim everything they had witnessed to everyone they knew.

Of course, among the soldiers of Kaifeng Kingdom, there was a secret hope that the elder from Tufan Kingdom would indeed perish.

※※※※

He Yiming, holding Xie Mingjin’s hand, rapidly reached the location indicated by the elder.

The area was already in chaos, particularly around a beautiful, quaint pavilion where many people ran about in confusion, perhaps not even knowing why they were fleeing.

Xie Mingjin’s gaze swept the area, then his eyes suddenly brightened as he pointed at one individual. "Big Brother, it's him! He’s an accomplice; he injured all my guards. If not for him, Sister-in-law wouldn't have been hurt."

He Yiming’s eyes narrowed, and he immediately recognized the man.

During his previous visit to this location, he had seen this person once. This was the sole expert at the peak of the Tenth Level of the Acquired Realm who had been following Bu Xingcong!

A flash of rage ignited in He Yiming’s eyes, and his surging aura erupted once more without restraint.

Ps: There is one chapter left, not yet revised; I will try to post it exactly at ten. Those with monthly tickets or recommendation votes, don't hold back; White Crane earnestly begs for monthly votes…

Also, that casual remark I made yesterday, sigh… I didn't expect the monthly ticket surge today to be so fierce. It seems He Yiming’s influence clearly surpasses White Crane’s. White Crane is ashamed!