The formidable Zhenqi coursed through him. That piercing sense of crisis spread infinitely in all directions.

As the Zhenqi continuously strengthened, this feeling grew ever more intense. At this moment, it wasn't just Mu Jintian, who was at the center of it, experiencing this; even the onlookers surrounding them felt something similar.

In their eyes, He Yiming, who seemed utterly cornered moments before, suddenly transformed into an ancient, ferocious beast. An aura of extreme danger emanated from him. They even gained a fleeting understanding that He Yiming was preparing something, and once his preparation was complete, it would be the moment these two men's lives were decided.

By now, everyone had become tense, but those most concerned and enraged were Mao Lieguang and his group.

Although the other Innate Realm experts held noble statuses, their demise would simply be that—few would champion their cause. But these two were different; both the Tu Fan Kingdom and the Hengshan Lineage viewed them as stars of the future. Thus, their defeat in a fair match was acceptable, but if anything untoward happened to them, even Zhan Tianfeng might struggle to bear the super wrath of those two powers.

As they had stated initially, they hoped these two factions would clash, but within limits acceptable to both sides. If all reason was lost, it would spell disaster for everyone.

Intentionally or not, the gazes of several Innate Realm experts flicked towards Bu Xingcong—this fellow had caused the trouble that led to this predicament.

Mu Jintian’s expression was also extremely grave. After sensing the shift in He Yiming’s aura, he understood that what followed might well be a true battle unto death. With a turn, he settled into a stance, one hand lightly brushing his chest, the other extended flatly.

On the palm he extended, a thick layer of white ice formed, catching the sunlight and scattering an iridescent glow, as if cloaked in dazzling ice armor.

It was precisely because of this strange coloring that all attention was drawn to that hand, yet no one noticed that the hand resting on his chest had, without a sound or trace, gripped a piece of jade.

The moment his hand drew this jade from his chest, the intense coldness sharpened, growing even more potent.

The surrounding air literally dropped several degrees, and even the Innate Realm experts began to find it unbearable.

An unprecedented surge of biting cold rushed upward, causing even He Yiming to shiver slightly.

But it was precisely because of this that a thought flashed abruptly into He Yiming’s mind, as if inspired by sudden enlightenment. He unhesitatingly abandoned his original plan.

The Zhenqi inside him still circulated, but it was no longer the final, terrifying strike of the Five Elements combined.

Unnoticed by others, He Yiming’s Zhenqi began to slowly retract inward, as if unable to resist the fierce cold, inching back until it was entirely enveloped by the cold, allowing the cold energy to penetrate his body.

This alteration was completely unexpected by everyone.

The terrifying aura on He Yiming, which had been enough to make everyone’s heart pound, vanished in an instant.

Not only that, but his Zhenqi dissipated like water receding from the tide, as if a person had thrown open the security door of their home, practically inviting thieves inside.

At this point, an unbelievable notion surfaced in everyone’s minds: Was He Yiming merely a disguised shell just now? Or had he gone mad to commit such a suicidal act?

Because He Yiming had given up resisting with his Zhenqi, allowing the cold to enter his body, a thin layer of white frost coated him, making him resemble a lifelike, frozen statue.

Yet, even in this state, he would not stop. Bracing his stiff body, he charged straight toward Mu Jintian. His legs, frozen stiff, were no longer nimble. He stumbled forward, appearing as if he intended to smash into his opponent with his rigid form.

Regarding He Yiming’s actions, Mu Jintian was equally bewildered, but he was certainly not about to let such a golden opportunity slip by.

With a slight movement, before He Yiming could reach him, Mu Jintian was already beside him.

A sharp killing intent finally flashed in Mu Jintian’s eyes. Since the feud with He Yiming was irreconcilable, one of them had to fall. Now, it seemed certain who that would be.

His extended hand slapped down flatly, though a trace of regret flickered in his eyes.

A seventeen-year-old genius, destined to perish here, and a fallen genius was no genius at all.

A faint sound echoed, crisp and clear in this frigid domain.

All eyes focused on one spot—Mu Jintian’s hand finally landed squarely on He Yiming’s chest, just as he wished.

Water Xuanjin’s vision momentarily darkened; he nearly collapsed to the ground.

He Yiming was someone he had painstakingly invited to replace him as the Grand Master protecting the Tianluo Kingdom, and he was so young, with an infinitely bright future ahead. Even the Tianluo Kingdom would benefit greatly from him. But all this hope shattered in this instant.

Having felt Mu Jintian’s overwhelming strength, even Water Xuanjin held no hope for He Yiming.

No one could withstand such a direct attack of chilling energy. Forget He Yiming of the Hundred Scattered Heavens; even an expert of the First Line Heaven would surely hesitate to allow Mu Jintian to strike his chest like that.

It wasn't just him; the faces of the others mirrored the same thought.

Although an Innate Realm expert had perished before He Yiming, He Yiming’s youth gave everyone a far sharper sting, making them feel as if they were witnessing a bright sun setting just as it began to rise.

However, at that very moment, they saw…

Mu Jintian’s eyes widened, as if sensing something incredible. He did not withdraw the hand pressed against He Yiming; instead, his face grew subtly pale, and even his body seemed to tremble slightly. Simultaneously, the surrounding cold air felt even more biting, forcing the crowd to instinctively step back several paces.

In a daze, the observers seemed to witness a strange spectacle: a bizarre smile suddenly appeared on the face of the ice-encased He Yiming, as if he were not the one in a desperate situation, but rather Mu Jintian, who was fiercely channeling his frost energy.

For a moment, an even colder chill crept into the hearts of the onlookers, though this coldness originated not from the external temperature but from the deepest recesses of their souls.

※※※※

At this time, He Yiming had completely concealed his aura and Zhenqi, and he had deliberately drawn the external cold energy inward.

Introducing a force that was not his own into his body was an extremely perilous endeavor. Normal Innate Realm experts would absolutely never make such a choice. But He Yiming was different. Just as the external cold energy peaked at its maximum intensity, it reminded He Yiming of the small, dark green vial he possessed.

When he first encountered that vial, he had also been frozen by its coldness, and the situation had been far more terrifying.

The cold radiating from the vial was ten times fiercer than the current external environment, instantly freezing him before he could guard against it.

However, that cold energy had not actually killed him; instead, it had been completely absorbed by his Dantian, granting him an additional option for the Zhenqi he could wield.

The issue was that, having always relied on the Five Elements Zhenqi to fight, he was truly unaccustomed to using this new energy. After all, in a life-or-death struggle, employing an unfamiliar power was no different from courting death.

Yet, just as he was about to unleash his ultimate trump card, he suddenly realized: since the power within his Dantian could neutralize an even fiercer cold, this current cold energy should be negligible.

Following this thought, he retracted his Zhenqi and drew the cold energy inside. As expected, upon entering his body, there was initial coldness, but once the energy from his Dantian surged out, all that incoming cold was instantly digested.

This realization completely relieved He Yiming.

Since this cold energy could no longer harm him, he was effectively in an invincible position.

Just as he was about to re-gather his Zhenqi for another three hundred rounds of fierce battle, he unexpectedly discovered another matter that filled him with ecstatic joy.

The external cold energy he had absorbed, after being converted by his Dantian, was now surging into the three hundred and sixty acupoints across his body.

His brow pulsed slightly; the speed of this power increase reminded him of his previous moments of profound realization.

He Yiming never imagined that by accidentally drawing this cold energy in, he would achieve an effect equivalent to a complete epiphany.

This unexpected discovery was enough to make him ecstatic.

His acupoints were already close to being completely full and overflowing; now, irrigated by a massive influx of Zhenqi, they were on the verge of spilling over at any moment.

However, he quickly realized that although a large amount of cold energy was flowing in from outside, it was still insufficient to allow him to break through the final barrier and truly fill every acupoint to capacity simultaneously.

He needed more, stronger cold energy.

At that moment, he thought of Mu Jintian himself—perhaps only the intense cold generated by Mu Jintian’s direct action could satisfy his current need.

By now, a thin layer of white frost covered his face, obscuring his vision. But his extraordinary 'Shunfeng Ear' skill was unaffected.

He could clearly "hear" all of Mu Jintian’s movements. While Mu Jintian hesitated, He Yiming screamed inwardly, Come on! Come on, hit me!

To achieve this, he completely abandoned all defense and charged straight toward Mu Jintian.

Indeed, under this seemingly reckless provocation, Mu Jintian no longer hesitated. His hand, imbued with the chill of death, struck hard against He Yiming’s chest.

An incomparably vast volume of chilling energy instantly poured into He Yiming’s body without obstruction, passing through the meridians and plunging directly into his Dantian.

He Yiming groaned involuntarily in comfort, though the sound was so faint it was barely audible, Mu Jintian, standing right beside him, seemed to perceive something.

His face turned pale, but he refused to believe that there existed anyone in this world who not only feared no cold but actually craved it to enhance his power.

It must be understood that this cold energy was not something He Yiming had cultivated; it was the frost released by Mu Jintian himself, driven directly into his opponent's Dantian.

Under these circumstances, even if one practiced the exact same cultivation technique as Mu Jintian, the only outcome should be Dantian explosion and death.

Yet, what Mu Jintian found bizarre was that despite expending his full effort, the opponent’s Dantian was like a boundless ocean. No matter how desperately he poured in the cold energy, he could not fill this bottomless pit.

Vaguely, he sensed that something was amiss. As the foremost master among the Hundred Scattered Heavens, he decisively intended to retract his hand and retreat. But only now did he discover that He Yiming’s chest seemed to exert a powerful suction, firmly locking onto his palm. If he retreated now, a fierce, surging counterattack would await him—a counterattack against which he couldn't guarantee his own survival.

With no other option, he could only grit his teeth and persist, hoping that He Yiming’s monstrous Dantian would rupture from the cold energy impact sooner rather than later. Perhaps only then could he withdraw with one hundred percent safety.

For a time, the two were locked in a true stalemate, a standoff unlike any seen before. Even the Innate Realm experts watching from the sidelines were completely confused and perplexed. They knew the situation in the field had changed, but what exactly had changed left them utterly baffled.

※※※※

Northwest of the Kaifeng Kingdom’s capital stood a sprawling monastery, which, besides housing monks, also served as a summer retreat specifically for the Kaifeng Imperial Family.

However, within this retreat, one courtyard was strictly forbidden territory for everyone. Even the reigning King of Kaifeng and the Masters of the Grand Hall dared not step foot inside without explicit permission.

This was the residence of the Kaifeng Kingdom’s supreme expert, the First Line Heaven powerhouse Zhan Tianfeng.

His appearance was not overly aged; standing alongside the Innate Realm experts in the Grand Hall, he actually appeared quite young.

At the very least, Elder Yu Jinglei of the Hengshan Lineage looked significantly older than him.

Since choosing this location as his dwelling thirty years ago, he had never left. Yet, as long as he remained stationed here, no one dared to underestimate the Kaifeng Kingdom.

For decades, he had remained in quiet cultivation within this room, as if nothing in the world could disturb him anymore.

Even on this day, when several Innate Realm experts in the city released powerful auras, signaling some kind of massive upheaval, Zhan Tianfeng showed no inclination to intervene.

This stemmed from his profound confidence that once he acted, no matter the event, he could absolutely suppress it. This was the confidence of a First Line Heaven expert in his overwhelming superiority against the Hundred Scattered Heavens.

But at this very moment, he suddenly opened his eyes and stared unblinkingly at a certain location.

There, an enormous surge of heaven and earth energy had erupted, akin to a mountain collapsing or a tsunami crashing.

This feeling, this momentum—his eyebrows twitched slightly, and only one thought circled in his mind.

Could it be that Mu Jintian had finally broken through successfully?

His figure moved, vanishing from the room like a phantom. It was the first time in decades he had left this secluded, paradise-like courtyard; the first time he had ended his seemingly immortal life to once again become a mere mortal involved in secular affairs.

※※※※

The cold energy entering his body grew in volume and intensity, and the conversion speed within the Dantian also rapidly increased.

He Yiming’s Dantian remained like a black hole, absorbing every last bit of power and channeling it, through interconnected meridians, into the acupoints.

The moment all the acupoints reached a certain equilibrium, an inexplicable calm settled over He Yiming’s heart.

He seemed to enter a new state of being. In this moment, he forgot everything, even Mu Jintian, who was still struggling fiercely to channel every last trace of cold energy into his body to help him accumulate power.

Inside him, the three hundred and sixty acupoints were finally completely saturated with Zhenqi. They simultaneously released the excess power.

This Zhenqi flowed smoothly through the nearly imperceptible meridians connecting all the acupoints.

A trickle of Zhenqi flowed into one acupoint, then another, and another. Slowly, all the Zhenqi began to connect; all the acupoints were linked by this overflowing Zhenqi.

At this moment, He Yiming’s vitality soared to an extreme peak. All his acupoints burst open simultaneously, each one seemingly transforming into a Dantian, frantically drawing in external power.

Mu Jintian cried out miserably and was repelled by an incomprehensible, vast power. He fell to the ground, utterly exhausted, his gaze fixed on He Yiming filled with sheer shock.

Everyone else felt the same. They sensed the almost unimaginably powerful heaven and earth energy flowing through the space. They felt a crushing pressure that seemed capable of flattening them entirely. Amidst this transformation of the world’s energy, they felt as small as ants, just like ordinary Houtian practitioners.

With a thunderous roar, it emanated from He Yiming’s body.

A deep pit formed within a ten-meter radius around him. The white frost had vanished completely, leaving behind only He Yiming, who stood tall, as if reborn.

He turned his head, looking coldly at the crowd. Every person whose eyes met his felt an inexplicable sense of restraint.

“Brother He, you…” Water Xuanjin asked, his voice a mixture of surprise and joy. Among this crowd, only he still dared to speak.

He Yiming threw his head back and let out a long cry, like the continuous roar of thunder from the Nine Heavens.

“At the edge of life and death, I become the First Line Heaven…”

Ps: The critical moment for monthly tickets is also a knife-edge moment between life and death.

Advance one step, victory is achieved; retreat one step, all previous efforts are wasted.

The seventy-two bandit troops are pursuing closely from behind. I implore the Crane Friends to use their divine power and push White Crane forward. Thank you…