During the preceding bout, he had been significantly more subdued than the old man. At least, under the old man’s relentless barrage of punches and kicks, other than utilizing the esoteric movement technique he had recently mastered to evade and neutralize the incoming force, he hadn't managed to land even a single retaliatory strike.

Although he firmly believed that deploying the Five Elements Rings or the Great Guan Blade would surely allow him to reverse the disadvantage, facing the old man who was bare-handed and who had taught him about the Manifested Armor, He Yi-ming found it difficult to brazenly draw his weapon.

Having barely weathered these rounds of assault, the old man immediately called a halt.

Looking up, the old man let out a long sigh and said, “Your skill is profound, sir. This old man cannot defeat you.”

He only said he couldn't defeat He Yi-ming, but he hadn't formally conceded, which indicated that his supreme confidence in his own strength had not been significantly shaken.

He Yi-ming pondered for a moment before finally admitting that, purely in terms of fist and foot combat, he truly lacked the certainty to overcome the elder.

Even though he possessed the Thirty-Six Styles of Mountain Splitting, apart from the final, all-out strike of the Five Elements Convergence, his other attacks had been gradually suppressed by the old man during their head-to-head sparring. This was a gap in sheer capability, one that could not be bridged by willpower alone.

However, his newly comprehended Roaming Fish Movement Technique seemed wonderfully miraculous, causing the elder considerable trouble.

He smiled faintly, suddenly extending both hands. A dense mist immediately billowed from his palms, swiftly coalescing into a unique weapon.

The Five Elements Rings, this divine weapon forged from the union of the five elements, spun rapidly in his grasp, continuously radiating an immense, peak-level aura of intense power.

“Your cultivation is incredibly deep, sir; I am filled with admiration. However, I still wish to experience the divine might of your armament,” He Yi-ming said solemnly. “Please…”

The expression on the old man’s face instantly became fascinatingly complex. His gaze lingered on the Five Elements Rings for a long moment, envy gleaming in his eyes. Finally, he sighed deeply, “This old man possesses no weapon.”

He Yi-ming froze, the Five Elements Rings spinning wildly in his hand coming to an abrupt halt.

It was as if he had heard the most ridiculous thing in the world; He Yi-ming’s face was a mask of disbelief and suspicion. Fortunately, his entire body was currently concealed within a rotating vortex, with wisps of the swirl constantly sliding even across his eyelids; otherwise, that single look would have undoubtedly provoked hostility from the elder.

Countless thoughts churned in He Yi-ming’s mind. This was the first time he had encountered a Venerable who claimed to possess no divine weapon.

If one didn't have a divine weapon, how could they possibly ascend to the Venerable realm?

Suddenly, He Yi-ming remembered the time he first arrived on the island and witnessed the old man battling the one-horned white horse. Even then, the elder had not deployed any weapon. This observation suggested that what he said might indeed be true.

As his thoughts settled, He Yi-ming flicked his wrist, and the Five Elements Rings instantly dissolved into a mist, retreating into his body. The continuously swirling vortex also paused abruptly before wildly surging back into He Yi-ming’s core.

Releasing the Manifested Armor required immense skill, something that needed prolonged practice for the current He Yi-ming. However, retracting it was exceedingly simple; with a mere thought, the Yin Malice Vortex and the Manifested Flower could be made to flee into his body, settling within his Dantian.

Sensing subtly with his mind, He Yi-ming vaguely felt that the Yin Malice Vortex in his Dantian seemed slightly stronger than before.

Although its physical volume remained unchanged, after absorbing a significant amount of the surrounding Heaven and Earth Qi, its might appeared to have advanced another level.

What pleased He Yi-ming the most was that he had finally figured out a method to utilize the Yin Malice Qi—no longer treating it like a treasure to be merely nurtured in the Dantian with no practical use.

Slowly opening his eyes, He Yi-ming smiled apologetically. “Please forgive my ignorance, but is it truly possible to achieve the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown without the need for a divine weapon?”

The old man glanced at him faintly. “This old man is Chu Haozhou of the East Sea. What shall I call Your Excellency, and from where do you hail?”

“I am He Yi-ming, from the Northwest,” He Yi-ming stated without concealment, cupping his hands.

He didn't expect the old man to have heard of his name, though; judging by his tone, he had resided here for at least forty years. It would be preposterous if such a person knew of him.

Indeed, the old man’s expression remained unchanged. “The Northwest? Could you be the Venerable of Heavenly Pool?”

He Yi-ming replied respectfully, “I am indeed under the Heavenly Pool lineage.”

The old man slowly nodded. “The lineage of Heavenly Pool is indeed worthy of its reputation as the foremost sect of the Northwest. A constant stream of talents, commendable, truly commendable.”

He Yi-ming smiled slightly. “Thank you for your praise, Elder.”

He Yi-ming’s background was actually rooted in the Hengshan branch of the Northwest, which itself was a tributary of the Heavenly Pool sect. If he were in the Northwest, he would naturally correct the assumption, but having left that region, He Yi-ming understood the principle of shared roots and saw no need to be so scrupulous.

Otherwise, if news of his precision reached the main branches of the Heavenly Pool Venerables, they might form a different impression of the Hengshan lineage.

Chu Haozhou gazed into the distance, and slowly, an unusual brilliance surfaced in his eyes.

He Yi-ming started internally; he clearly sensed that within this brilliance resided a powerful sense of resentment and a dense killing intent.

Evidently, Chu Haozhou was recalling something deeply painful from his past.

He Yi-ming immediately fell silent, not daring to make a sound. If they had been close acquaintances, He Yi-ming might have offered some words of comfort. But their relationship was merely casual, and He Yi-ming had no idea what tragedy the elder had endured, so naturally, he could offer no solace.

After a long pause, Chu Haozhou sighed deeply. “Brother He, are you perhaps doubting whether this old man is lying?”

He Yi-ming repeatedly shook his head. “With the stature of Elder Chu, deception would be beneath you. Since you say you have no weapon, then you certainly have none.”

A look of satisfaction spread across Chu Haozhou’s face; this statement instantly earned him a great deal of goodwill from He Yi-ming.

“Then are you puzzled by this?”

“Yes, I confess I am quite perplexed,” He Yi-ming admitted, knowing that any Venerable would find the situation strange.

Chu Haozhou’s eyelids drooped slightly. “This old man once possessed a divine weapon, but in the end, I destroyed it with my own hands.”

He Yi-ming’s eyes immediately widened.

For a Venerable, a divine weapon was already integrated into their very being; they were essentially one entity. Even if a divine weapon were utterly shattered, it could be slowly nurtured back to form via the Dantian.

But the old man’s words shocked him to the core—so a divine weapon could be destroyed…

“Elder Brother Chu, why did you destroy your divine weapon?” He Yi-ming asked in a low voice, determined in his heart that if the elder refused to elaborate, he would never press the matter further.

However, Chu Haozhou seemed to have held this matter bottled up for decades. The moment a peer he recognized appeared, he could no longer contain himself and began to speak softly.

Chu Haozhou had once been the direct lineage disciple of a grand sect in his homeland, a sect that held a pivotal position there, boasting three powerful Venerables within its ranks.

But several centuries later, the sect began a slow decline.

Over those centuries, two Venerables reached the end of their lifespans and passed away, and the sect had only produced one expert of the Venerable caliber, Chu Haozhou himself.

Once, Chu Haozhou left on a journey of exploration that lasted a full fifty years. When he returned home, he discovered that his sect had vanished.

The sect’s main headquarters had been occupied by another local power, and the disciples had been decimated; they had been rooted out completely.

In a fit of rage and grief, he sought out several friendly sects to inquire. Only then did he learn that during his travels, the sect’s last remaining Venerable had reached his limit and died.

When news of that Venerable’s demise spread, the high-ranking disciples stationed in various locations returned for the mourning rites; most of the Xiantian (Innate) experts gathered there.

It was at that precise moment that the second-largest sect in his hometown launched a full-scale assault.

That rival sect already had one Venerable, and when facing the former leading sect now lacking a ruling Venerable, that expert moved to kill every Xiantian master present.

Under the lethal strikes of a Venerable-level expert, the Xiantian masters had absolutely no means of resistance; even experts at the Yixiantian (First Line of Heaven) level, or those at the Three Flowers level, could only await their fate.

After all, experts at the Yixiantian level who managed to grasp a certain Heavenly power prematurely, like Jin Zhanyi and He Yi-ming, were exceedingly rare.

Thus, in a single night, that once renowned sect perished, completely extinguished without even a single spark remaining. All its accumulated power was simply absorbed by the victor, and it ceased to exist.

Chu Haozhou flew into a rage and stormed the opposing sect, only to discover unexpectedly that two Venerables had emerged within that group.

It turned out that during those decades, the rival sect had produced another master at the Venerable level.

A great battle ensued between the three. Chu Haozhou’s strength was formidable, and even fighting two on one, he might not have been defeated. However, his divine weapon was merely the most common kind, while the newly promoted Venerable held the foremost divine weapon of Chu Haozhou’s original sect.

In the ensuing clash, Chu Haozhou’s divine weapon finally shattered into mist, and he was forced to flee, ultimately defeated.

Following this catastrophe, Chu Haozhou grieved deeply and resolved to change. He inadvertently arrived on this desolate, uninhabited island, discovering the iron ore vein at its center. Thus, he painfully destroyed his original divine weapon and began slowly refining the Profound Iron here, intending to forge a new, supreme divine weapon uniquely his own.

Ps: Three more chapters tonight ^_^