On the high platform, one man strode out with powerful momentum. With every step he took, a deep rumbling sound emanated from the ground.

With every step he took, the aura surrounding him grew stronger. With every step he took, it felt as though he was landing directly upon the hearts of the onlookers...

"Boom, boom, boom..." Across the entire plaza, the tens of thousands of disciples turned pale. In the eyes of these postnatal cultivators who had yet to break through to the Xiantian realm, He Yiming seemed to have transformed into a colossal, mountain-like ancient behemoth, moving his legs—thick as celestial pillars—and walking towards them as if planting a deep crater with every footfall.

The might displayed by the approaching Fox-Bear Spirit Beast was imposing, but compared to He Yiming at this moment, it was mere child’s play. Now, the feeling He Yiming gave off was that he was the mountain—that towering, majestic peak that had stood for countless years.

His steps held an inexplicable connection to the entire mountain; with every lift and placement of his foot, it seemed the very earth resonated with him. This was the power of Heaven and Earth—the true might of the cosmos—a grandeur that no human or spirit beast could ever hope to reach.

Ai Wenbin’s eyes widened, and he murmured three words: "The power of Earth..." Li Mingxuan, standing beside him, also wore an expression of sheer disbelief. Looking at He Yiming’s retreating figure, she gazed upon him as if he were a terrifying monster, a subtle thread of fear woven into her demeanor.

For someone of the rank of Summit Venerable to possess such an expression—if He Yiming knew, he would likely laugh unrestrainedly. "Impossible," Li Mingxuan finally managed to choke out.

"He hasn't even achieved the Summit state; how can he command the power of Heaven and Earth?" Ai Wenbin glanced back at her. "Venerable Li, with him, nothing is impossible." Li Mingxuan fell silent, but a distinct pallor suddenly washed over her snowy-white face.

"Rumble, rumble..." With every step He Yiming took, the resounding noise seemed to deepen in intensity. As a human, his weight should be at most about 150 jin, yet at this moment, no one believed it.

In everyone’s minds, this man had become a monstrous beast wearing human skin; his mass was not 150 jin. Instead, it seemed to multiply tenfold with every step he advanced.

Fifteen hundred jin, Fifteen thousand jin, One hundred and fifty thousand jin. By the time He Yiming descended the platform and stood before the dumbfounded Yang Hao and Zhou Datian, he appeared to have become such a fearsome entity.

He swept his gaze across the two figures. Though He Yiming did not speak, and his expression hadn't even altered, Yang Hao and Zhou Datian simultaneously felt an ineffable pressure—a weight so immense they lacked the will to resist.

This was no longer just He Yiming’s personal aura; it was the vast pressure generated by his integration with the power of Heaven and Earth, unified with the entire mountain peak. Under this inhuman pressure, even experts of the Three Flowers realm could not endure.

Almost instinctively, Yang Hao pulled Zhou Datian and they retreated rapidly, vanishing from the combat zone in an instant, becoming mere spectators. Only when they were back atop the platform did they suddenly realize the choice they had made under He Yiming’s imposing pressure.

They exchanged a look, recognizing the shock mirrored in the other’s eyes. Months ago, Zhou Datian had been defeated by He Yiming, but that was due to the overwhelming power of the Five Elements Ring, which, once fully activated, was insurmountable for peers.

Yet, months later, as they faced each other again, even He Yiming’s casual glance, not specifically aimed at them, struck them with dread. Although they both understood that He Yiming’s current momentum—this near-perfect fusion with the power of Heaven and Earth—should absolutely not be possible for anyone below the Summit Venerable rank, having witnessed such majesty, their hearts were now filled with awe for this young powerhouse.

This reverence would be etched into their souls forever. With the two figures before him gone, He Yiming continued his measured stride forward.

He Yiming stood perhaps 1.7 or 1.8 meters tall, while the massive Fox-Bear Spirit Beast towered over three meters—a difference of nearly double their height. Moreover, the Fox-Bear was bulky and stout, far larger than the proportionally built He Yiming.

However, as He Yiming began to move, everyone experienced the same bizarre illusion: the scale between them seemed completely disproportionate. The bulky Fox-Bear Spirit Beast appeared to shrink into a small mouse, while He Yiming swelled into a giant elephant, as if a single stomp of his foot could crush the beast into paste.

This strange sensation thrilled and shocked all observers. Although the vast majority of postnatal cultivators would never reach the Xiantian realm and thus never comprehend what this unity with Heaven and Earth truly meant, this scene before them would undoubtedly be unforgettable for the rest of their lives.

Xiong Wuji and the Fox-Bear Spirit Beast were tense to the extreme; the casual confidence they displayed against Yang Hao and Zhou Datian had vanished completely. At this moment, Xiong Wuji gripped the earth-yellow shield—which was larger than he was—that the Fox-Bear had previously carried.

The veins in his hands bulged due to the sheer force of his grip, and a faint redness flickered in the eyes of both man and beast. An aura far surpassing their previous display surged forth from them.

Yet, even their formidable power could not compare to He Yiming's present state. Xiong Wuji drew a deep breath.

With his cultivation in the martial way, he naturally understood that He Yiming possessed such incredible presence because he was still immersed in that fleeting state of enlightenment. It was by riding the momentum of that mysterious comprehension that He Yiming could enter this perfect integration with the power of Heaven and Earth in such a short span.

This state should not exist in cultivators below the Saint level. Thus, Xiong Wuji was confident that if he could just block—if he could hold for a single moment—he could shatter He Yiming’s near-invincible aura...

Therefore, despite the internal turmoil, he harbored no thought of retreating. Bending low, Xiong Wuji suddenly let out a strange, piercing cry.

Hearing this sound, the Fox-Bear Spirit Beast behind him opened its maw, releasing a torrent of ferocious roars. Then, its hind legs bent slightly, and it leaped high into the air.

In a flash, Xiong Wuji strode forward, tossing aside his great shield. He stretched his arm high above him, appearing to gain height as he did so.

With a mighty grasp, he snatched hold of one of the massive thighs of the Fox-Bear Spirit Beast suspended in mid-air. Then, under the gaze of everyone present, a thick column of earth-yellow light surged from his body, tracing his arm into the thigh of the airborne Fox-Bear.

A violent, enraged roar erupted from the beast. Within the sound was a sense of brutal ecstasy, as if the earth-yellow light was intensely pleasurable.

Subsequently, the entire body of the Fox-Bear Spirit Beast ignited with the same light, which instantly thickened and coalesced into a colossal beam radiating infinite golden radiance. Suspended in the air, it raised both massive paws high, focusing the golden light into a single point above them.

This was the entirety of Xiong Wuji’s strength, the innate divine power of the Fox-Bear Spirit Beast, and its innate talent, forged by absorbing immense terrestrial power from Heaven and Earth—their ultimate strike. The combined strength of man and bear, unified, was unleashed to its absolute zenith, their power perfectly and completely released.

Yet, before them, He Yiming continued to walk unhurriedly. His footfalls were heavier.

As his step impacted the ground, it seemed the entire mountain shuddered. The ground beneath everyone's feet appeared to shake; the whole mountain trembled with his measured pace.

Finally, He Yiming extended both hands. He formed a hand seal—simple and plain: just interlocking his two thumbs and flipping them toward the sky.

His movement was not fast, as if his hands carried a weight of ten thousand jin. All the complex gestures practiced during training were discarded in this moment; he struck out with his life’s most potent blow using the simplest method.

The massive bear paws, carrying boundless force, crashed down from the air, slamming violently against He Yiming’s uplifted hands. Each bear paw was significantly larger than He Yiming’s hands, and the two pressed together were terrifyingly immense.

This crushing force was entirely focused upon He Yiming’s arms, which seemed thin as bamboo chopsticks in comparison. Yet, everything seemed to freeze at that instant.

As if time itself had slowed, the onlookers clearly witnessed: He Yiming’s palms paused for a fraction of a second, then they flipped over... Simply, as easily as an ordinary person turning their hand over.

Then, the giant bear plummeting from the sky, and the man who had gripped its thick leg, were pressed down by that casual reversal. With a resounding crash, a vast, deep crater appeared in the earth.

The Fox-Bear Spirit Beast couldn't even execute its earth-diving technique before it was slammed into the ground by that ordinary-seeming palm strike. Beside its legs, Xiong Wuji was also pinned beneath.

He Yiming’s rotation of his hand, like the turning of a mountain, effortlessly neutralized their strongest combined attack and utterly crushed it. Looking at the massive pit in the ground, and then at He Yiming standing before it, everyone’s hearts went cold, a single thought dominating their minds.

Which one was truly the great bear?