He Yiming marveled at the sudden shift in the woman’s aura. But this was merely a brief interlude; everyone’s attention snapped back to the fighting arena.

Fan Shuo smiled faintly. “Brother Gao, Fan is deeply grateful that your esteemed sect agreed to this challenge. Regardless of the outcome of this match, I will present you with two portions of Jia Huang Dan as a token of my appreciation.”

Gao Weiliang was visibly moved. “Brother Fan’s generosity is remarkable; I shall thank you on their behalf.”

Jin Zhanyi’s eyes glittered; he was clearly tempted.

Although He Yiming was eager to inquire further, he knew that with the match imminent, distraction was ill-advised. With a subtle mental shift, he suppressed all extraneous thoughts.

The Qilian Twin Devils stood up in unison, their steps perfectly synchronized as they strode toward the central platform, creating the unsettling illusion that only one person was moving.

He Yiming’s heart tightened; his estimation of them rose considerably.

Though he shared a certain rapport with Jin Zhanyi, compared to the Twins, their understanding was like a trickle next to a vast ocean—barely worth mentioning.

Turning, he met Jin Zhanyi’s gaze; both recognized the burning intensity of battle intent reflected in the other’s eyes. They shared a silent smile before rising and stepping steadily onto the arena floor.

Fan Shuo, who had been observing He Yiming intently, now spoke directly. “Brother Gao, this young nephew He is quite unfamiliar. Might I inquire which Venerable Master’s disciple he is?”

Gao Weiliang shook his head with a smile. “Brother Fan, Young Nephew He is not a disciple of our Lingxiao Treasure Hall. He hails from the Northwest Heavenly Pool and is an intimate friend of Martial Nephew Jin. Hearing that the Twin Devils wished to challenge Jin, he volunteered immediately.” He sighed lightly, resignedly. “Though we tried to dissuade him, he was adamant; there was nothing we could do.”

Though Fan Shuo’s face remained jovial, his mind raced through countless possibilities.

The Twin Devils had issued a challenge to a Three-Flower disciple of Lingxiao Treasure Hall, yet now a disciple from the Northwest Heavenly Pool was intervening. Considering the intricate web of relationships between Lingxiao Treasure Hall and the paramount powers across the land over the past millennia, Fan Shuo found his composure difficult to maintain.

A faint smile played in Gao Weiliang’s eyes. He knew that He Yiming’s participation, representing Lingxiao Treasure Hall, would certainly be disseminated through the outcome of this fight.

Once this news spread, the result of the bout would cease to matter. Even if Jin Zhanyi and his partner were defeated, no one would believe they were genuinely inferior to the Qilian Twin Devils. Everyone would assume the loss was due to He Yiming’s insufficient strength.

At the center of the arena, He Yiming had long since withdrawn his focus, his spirit intensely concentrated, his gaze locked onto the two devils before him.

These two identical elders shared every feature, even the precise creases etched around their brows; before they struck, distinguishing one from the other was impossible.

The four stood several meters apart, studying one another for a moment. One of the elders opposite spoke: “Please… be careful.”

The instant the word please left his lips, all four of their hands shot up simultaneously, and the air immediately began to shimmer with an intense, scorching heatwave that surged directly toward He Yiming and Jin Zhanyi.

Only then did the elder finish uttering the word careful.

He Yiming cursed inwardly. Despite his preparations, he still felt a sense of being caught off guard. With an angry snort, he flipped his wrist, unleashing an equally intense torrent of fire-attribute True Qi.

Between the combatants, it seemed as if two crimson fire dragons materialized. This was the tangible manifestation formed from the pure power of Fire after condensing the Flower of Fire. The intense heat radiating from the dragons instantly caused the temperature on the seventh level to spike dramatically.

Miss Qiu offered Gao Weiliang a sweet smile, though her eyes held a deep current of envy.

“Boom…”

The two immense forces of fire collided head-on in mid-air. After a brief moment of stalemate, the combined pressure continued to surge toward He Yiming.

He Yiming’s expression shifted slightly. The sheer power of the fire element they exhibited exceeded his expectations. After all, they had established a tripod of power forty years ago, and now stood only a hair's breadth below the Summit Venerable. Even setting aside the powerful restrictive energy woven into their fire techniques, the raw power of their flame alone surpassed He Yiming’s by more than a small margin.

As the colossal wave of fire power prepared to crush him, a cold smile suddenly touched He Yiming’s lips.

He opened his mouth and violently expelled a cyan flower.

Everyone present, save for Miss Qiu, was at least a powerhouse of the Linear Heaven Realm. They instantly recognized this as a tangible flower, and furthermore, a rare Flower of Wind. However, most could not fathom why he would unleash the Flower of Wind at this juncture.

“Break…”

With a sharp shout from He Yiming, the Flower of Wind before him suddenly burst, scattering into myriad specks that merged into the fire dragons.

The next moment, the flames before him underwent an extremely subtle metamorphosis. Amidst the crimson hue, a distinct trace of cyan abruptly appeared. This blended fire dragon paused momentarily in the air before rapidly expanding. In the blink of an eye, this mixed red-and-cyan dragon seized absolute dominance, completely overwhelming the fire dragon that the Twin Devils had initially controlled.

Every spectator showed expressions of horror, especially the three Venerables. Gazing upon this mingling cyan and red dragon, they felt an almost irrepressible shock.

Gao Weiliang exchanged a glance with Du Wenbin. They had heard Zhang Zhongjin recount He Yiming’s victories against Xiong Wuji of the Totem Clan, but even Zhang Zhongjin was unaware of the concept of the Wind and Fire Flowers, making it impossible for them to have known. Seeing the Wind and Fire unite now intensified their shock far beyond that of the Linear Heaven experts.

Someone had fused the Flowers of Wind and Fire before even reaching the Summit Realm…

A single thought crossed the minds of the three Venerables: What kind of monstrous anomaly is this?

Indeed, the aura emanating from this peculiar fire dragon was one of potent Wind and Fire energy. It was no longer mere fire power; wind force was thoroughly interwoven. Wind fueled the fire’s might, and fire borrowed the wind’s momentum. When these two combined, the resulting might multiplied several times over, and that tremendous pressure utterly crushed the enemy’s powerful yet singular fire force.

A flash of fanaticism appeared in the eyes of the Qilian Twin Devils. Faced with such an abrupt turn of events, their battle intent swelled further.

As the cyan-red dragon advanced with bared teeth and claws, their presence abruptly changed. The fire dragon controlled by the two devils suddenly split in two, dispersing sideways, while a surging power of Water erupted from the center, pouring down upon He Yiming and Jin Zhanyi like massive tidal waves.

The coordination between the Twin Devils was flawless, wielding the diametrically opposed forces of water and fire with supreme efficacy.

Yet, just as the giant water surge swept in, the cyan-red fire dragon in the air vanished abruptly. That immense Wind and Fire force seemed to dissipate into nothingness instantaneously.

At that precise moment, He Yiming stepped forward, forming a bizarre hand seal. As the overwhelming power of Water and Fire raged, he lifted his hands toward the sky.

This was the power of Earth; immense Earth True Qi instantly permeated every corner of the level. Only then did the crowd realize that He Yiming had instantaneously converted the power of the Wind and Fire Flowers into the power of Earth.

This time, not only did all the onlookers gasp in amazement, but the Qilian Twin Devils in the arena displayed a momentary blankness. A single question echoed in almost everyone’s mind: How could he achieve such a swift conversion speed?

Jin Zhanyi, who had been positioned behind He Yiming, saw his opportunity. He had waited precisely for this moment instead of striking earlier. Bending low, he suddenly launched himself forward, piercing toward the Qilian Twin Devils like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

The direction he aimed was not at one of the devils specifically, but precisely at the gap between them.

When the Twin Devils launched their attack, they maintained a highly nuanced distance between themselves, which allowed their attacks to be fluid and varied. But now, as Jin Zhanyi seized the opening and thrust forward at this instant, they immediately felt an impedance disrupting the flow of the Five Elements.

In that moment, Jin Zhanyi seemed transformed into a long spear, striking their vital center, inflicting an excruciating sense of awkwardness. The combined momentum of the Twin Devils was completely suppressed.

The Water and Fire energies in the air significantly weakened, the two opposing forces losing the subtle coordination they previously possessed, instead beginning to counteract one another, hinting at internal conflict.

“Hoo…”

As He Yiming’s hand seal reached its apex, a massive force surged upward, instantly blasting through the Twin Devils’ Water and Fire containment.

In the eyes of the observers, it appeared as if a towering peak materialized from nothingness, breaking through the Water and Fire blockade and rising majestically. What astonished the masters of Lingxiao Treasure Hall even more was that watching this process evoked a strange feeling of familiarity and intimacy. This was the manifestation born from He Yiming’s visualization combining the Heavenly Pool’s main peak with the Heaven-Piercing Pagoda.

Under this technique, the might of the Pillar-Supporting Heaven Seal was displayed to its absolute limit. Even if the Twin Devils’ coordinated power had not been broken by Jin Zhanyi, they might not have been able to suppress He Yiming’s Pillar-Supporting Heaven Seal technique even with their Water and Fire powers intact.

Under the awestruck gazes of the crowd, He Yiming’s Pillar-Supporting Heaven Seal reached its peak extension.

Just as everyone expected him to retract the stance, He Yiming’s eyes flashed with brilliant light, and he flipped his hand seal upward.

Instantly, the wind gathered the clouds; Instantly, the heavens turned over and the earth was overturned…