A rumbling sound issued from He Yiming's mouth, echoing far out and reverberating across the mountaintops.

Both the Western powerhouse, Gabriel, and the veiled Ding Liyin had faces twisted into extreme displeasure. They finally grasped He Yiming's intention.

This newly ascended Venerable actually disdained engaging them both; instead, he intended to challenge all three Venerables single-handedly.

Upon realizing this, an indescribable feeling of frustration welled up in their hearts. Even for the assassin Ding Liyin, an urge to completely lose control surged in that moment.

Their gazes locked onto He Yiming, as if trying to flay him alive with their eyes alone.

Yet, He Yiming lightly stroked the Five Elements Ring, an arrogant smile playing on his lips.

The battle with Gabriel had filled him with absolute self-confidence. The power unleashed by utilizing the super combat technique, Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting, while wielding the replica divine weapon, the Five Elements Ring, had reached unimaginable heights. He had only needed to exert five or six-tenths of his true energy to completely force a Venerable backward. So, what kind of terrifying might would he wield when exerting his full strength?

He felt an intense anticipation, and the three Venerables who had previously hunted him were undoubtedly the best whetstones for his power.

A long cry pierced the distance, and a figure shot like lightning from a distant peak, rushing toward them.

Recognizing the figure instantly, He Yiming knew this was the third powerful Venerable who had revealed killing intent. His state of mind immediately settled, and his battle intent grew even more profound.

Gabriel and Ding Liyin's expressions became complex, but they both chose silence, tacitly accepting the reality of their intention to gang up on him.

In an instant, Elder Li arrived at the mountaintop. A strange feeling washed over him as his eyes swept over the three figures present.

He Yiming was clearly right there, yet the other two stood quite far from him, forming a vague, standoffish triangle.

He frowned slightly, genuinely puzzled by what those two rascals were up to. Could they be harboring lingering resentment and fear regarding the agreement from that day?

With a subtle shift, Elder Li moved like a phantom, passing through the air. The moment he stopped, he stood firmly behind He Yiming, creating a pincer movement against Gabriel and Ding Liyin, trapping He Yiming at a central point.

He snorted angrily, "Gentlemen, what is the meaning of this? Are you perhaps unwilling to take him down?"

Having arrived late, he had witnessed none of He Yiming's imposing presence just moments ago, which fueled his strong dissatisfaction with their current inaction.

Gabriel gave a cold smile. "Sir, Mr. He is waiting for you."

Elder Li paused slightly. "Why would he wait for me?"

"Mr. He wishes to fight the three of us alone," Gabriel said sinisterly. "We certainly can't disappoint Mr. He."

Elder Li burst into loud laughter, as if he had heard the funniest thing in the world; his laughter held an uncontainable glee and undisguised contempt.

"He wants to challenge the three of us? You two aren't planning to go mad with him, are you?"

Elder Li laughed loudly a few times, then abruptly felt that something was amiss. Neither of his words had elicited any response from the two before him, and judging by their expressions, they seemed to be quite in agreement with the proposal.

He abruptly stopped laughing, his eyes filled with indescribable oddity, sensing that events were subtly spiraling beyond his control.

Focusing his gaze on He Yiming, Elder Li's expression gradually became solemn.

Moments later, he looked up abruptly and exclaimed, "Venerable? You have completely refined the Divine Weapon?"

At this moment, He Yiming was still holding the Five Elements Ring, which was still suffused with his true energy, glittering with points of starlight.

Seeing this, Elder Li suddenly awoke to the realization: this sign of unity between man and weapon—wasn't this the very hallmark of completely refining a Divine Weapon?

He sucked in a sharp breath, all trace of underestimating the opponent vanishing from his mind.

He Yiming let out a soft chuckle. "Sir has sharp eyes. I, He, have just succeeded in refining my Divine Weapon, and my hands are itching for a contest. I hope for your guidance."

The face concealed by the black cloth flushed slightly. Elder Li's voice suddenly turned dry. "Ten days. You actually only took ten days to refine the Divine Weapon..."

Mistifying a Divine Weapon and refining a Divine Weapon were concepts entirely apart.

Mistifying the Divine Weapon was merely the beginning of becoming a Venerable. But after refining the Divine Weapon, one truly became a Venerable.

However, achieving the state of complete refinement from just having mistified the Divine Weapon within ten days—such speed was terrifying beyond measure.

Though Elder Li was an arrogant man, a sheen of cold sweat broke out on him at this moment.

His gaze toward He Yiming now held a shade of hidden fear.

As a Venerable, he, too, had successfully refined a formidable Divine Weapon in the past, so he knew the difficulty involved intimately. Naturally, he harbored a deep, instinctive dread toward this freak who succeeded in refining a Divine Weapon in just ten days.

However, he was, after all, a powerhouse seasoned in countless battles. This feeling only circled in his mind for a moment before he forcibly suppressed it.

Even if he could mistify the Divine Weapon, so what? He was merely a junior who had just ascended to the Venerable realm; how could he compare to him, a Venerable who had ascended for nearly a hundred years?

Yet, in the very next second, his eyes widened instantly. For he saw He Yiming extend his other hand—the one not holding the Five Elements Ring—and beckon him lightly.

This gesture was laden with disdain, as if in He Yiming’s eyes, Elder Li was not worthy of being mentioned in the same breath.

Elder Li’s heart filled with rage. His eyes flashed, and he roared, "Arrogant brat!"

With that statement, his figure shot forward instantly, his hands extended. A mist rose from his palms, instantly condensing into two long swords.

His divine weapons—they were a rare pair of double-edged swords.

When facing ordinary opponents, Elder Li usually fought with a single sword, but facing He Yiming, for some unknown reason, he felt a vague sense of crisis. Moreover, He Yiming's success in refining the Divine Weapon in ten days had caused him intense shock, leading him to deploy both swords from the start, intending to defeat He Yiming in the shortest possible time, perhaps even crippling his martial strength, to force the secret of his prolonged stay in the Ghost Cry Ridge out of him.

The two long swords shimmered with different lights: one vivid red like fire, the other strangely black like water.

As his dual swords struck out, water and fire merged, possessing a unique majesty.

He Yiming's eyes lit up slightly. Most opponents he had encountered previously fought him using abilities of a single element; opponents truly displaying dual-element power were already rare, and those showcasing two opposing elements like water and fire were even more unique.

He felt a hidden sense of fortune; his decision to use these three as a test had not been wrong, for otherwise, how would he have encountered such a rare opponent?

The Five Elements Ring in his hand began to spin again, similarly releasing two distinct colors.

The power of Fire and the power of Metal.

These were also two mutually conflicting force attributes, yet under the control of the Five Elements Ring, they fused together almost perfectly, showing no sign of collision or repulsion.

Elder Li's expression shifted slightly. Something suddenly flashed in his mind.

The Five Elements Ring—this replica Divine Weapon...

Among the three Venerables, he was the only one who recognized the origin of this replica Divine Weapon, and he was perfectly clear about the weapon's formidable power.

He had been so shocked by the news of He Yiming's ten-day refinement that he hadn't considered the weapon itself. But now, upon seeing the Five Elements Ring, legends about this weapon flooded his mind, and he immediately understood that fighting He Yiming with ordinary techniques would be fruitless.

A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes. The twin swords Elder Li thrust forward had initially been on two perfectly level trajectories. If things had continued this way, the two long swords, filled with completely opposing forces, would never have intersected. But at this moment, the two long swords abruptly curved mid-air, intentionally crossing over each other.

The forces of water and fire collided instantly, and the surrounding space violently compressed.

Then, a series of heart-stopping, strange noises erupted. At the central point where the dual swords intersected, a visible, tangible red-and-black sphere abruptly took shape.

Controlling his dual swords, Elder Li shifted the point of contact from the center of the two blades to the tips. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and he shouted, "Open..."

The two long swords suddenly separated at the tips, and the merged red-and-black sphere, crackling with a chilling sound, flew toward He Yiming.

He Yiming moved his body slightly, effortlessly dodging aside. But immediately, he realized he couldn't escape.

At some unknown time, this red-and-black sphere had locked onto his aura tightly. No matter how he moved, it seemed impossible to evade. Moreover, the coordination of water and fire within the sphere was exquisite; not only was there no sign of its power diminishing, but it was slowly absorbing the floating water and fire energy in the space, expanding at an extremely subtle pace.

He Yiming's retreating figure suddenly stilled. He felt a wave of emotion wash over him: none of these powerful Venerables were easy adversaries; every one possessed their unique mastery.

But precisely because of this, He Yiming's will to fight grew even stronger.

His entire body thrummed with power; the stronger the three Venerables before him were, the more exhilarated he became.

He raised the Five Elements Ring high, extending his arm straight out. Under the astonished gaze of the three Venerables, he thrust the Five Elements Ring directly into the relentlessly pursuing red-and-black sphere.

Ps: There will be three more chapters tonight, totaling 45,000 words in three days. Bai He is persisting; please cast your guaranteed monthly votes...