Just as this world manifested, a heaven-shaking sound erupted within the Heavenly Aperture world, followed by a surging tide of flames sweeping forth like an overwhelming deluge. As the tidal wave of flame traveled, it continuously amassed the fire essence within the Heavenly Aperture, growing rapidly in volume as it hurtled forward.

By the time the flame tide neared Ji Changkong, it had already surpassed the size of a mountain peak. The fire power contained within it, were it on the Five Elements Continent, would be enough to utterly annihilate a small nation!

However, watching the flame tide surge toward him, Ji Changkong remained utterly unmoved, taking no defensive measures whatsoever, allowing himself to be completely submerged by the fiery onslaught.

Battles within the Heavenly Aperture have always been renowned for their brutality and swiftness. Here, because the Aperture cannot sustain more than a few souls for extended periods, the appearance of two souls almost invariably leads to immediate, savage combat without preamble.

Everyone gathered within the Heavenly Aperture understands the preciousness of time and unleashes their full might in an instant, striving to extinguish the opponent as quickly as possible. If one cannot slay the enemy in the shortest time, when the limit is reached, the Heavenly Aperture cannot bear the strain of two souls' power. The entire Aperture might collapse, leaving even the victor with no escape—a certain path to death!

The peculiar environment of the Heavenly Aperture dictates the ruthlessness of its conflicts. Here, there is no idle talk, no meandering negotiation; only combat ignited in a flash. The conclusion of these duels often marks the demise of one party. Those who, like Teng Ye, possessed the wisdom to withdraw decisively were ultimately the minority.

A majestic figure gradually materialized from the swirling vortex above, his expression ferocious. This man stood over two meters tall, his head crowned with fiery red hair that covered the better part of his body, which was inscribed with various arcane symbols. His eyes burned fiercely, like miniature suns, and the veins across his body pulsed visibly.

Even though this was a phantom body conjured by soul power, it possessed an astonishingly corporeal and vivid sense of reality!

This was the manifestation seen when a Divine Soul achieves the pinnacle of the Eight Trigrams Heaven Realm!

Believing that Ji Changkong must have been reduced to dust by such a violent blow, the man swiftly moved closer, intending to devour the opponent's mental energy to replenish his own depleted reserves.

Descending into the region of the flame tide, the imposing brute grinned ferociously, cackling, "Well done. The next wave of the Heavenly Fire Ocean explosion is about to commence; I need precisely this moment to absorb some mental energy."

Saying this, he released his Divine Soul, attempting to probe for the dissipated essence of Ji Changkong.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Suddenly, the ground and sky within the world of the Heavenly Aperture emitted a strange, resonant sound.

The ferocious man’s expression twisted in alarm. He roared, "Brat, you didn't die! Come out and fight me! Either you kill me, or I kill you. Let’s finish this quickly, or we’ll both be wiped out!"

The sound reverberating through the Heavenly Aperture proved that two souls still coexisted within it. Under such circumstances, the Aperture itself would react; as time elapsed, the energy within would become increasingly unstable until the entire Aperture was destroyed. The brute understood that delaying in the Heavenly Aperture meant mutual annihilation, which accounted for his urgent challenge.

"Very well," Ji Changkong's voice suddenly echoed from amidst the sea of flames. "To claim this Heavenly Aperture, I must eliminate you at the fastest possible speed!"

The next instant, nine flames condensed from the Heavenly Fire merged to form a colossal blaze the size of an acre, rolling out from the flame tide and soaring directly toward the high platform of the "Heavenly Slaughter."

In any other setting, Ji Changkong would have used his mental power to splinter the nine Heavenly Flames, employing the esoteric wonders of the Star Cloud Soul Refining Art to make the fire attack more elusive and unpredictable. After all, although the nine flames fused together offered maximum power, their speed was significantly hampered, making them easy to evade.

The reason he unleashed this massive, slow-moving Heavenly Fire, knowing it was easily dodged, was because Ji Changkong understood one thing: the opponent would absolutely not dodge! His adversary, too, desired a swift conclusion, unwilling to allow any opportunity for delay.

His assumption proved correct. The ferocious brute watched the enormous Heavenly Fire approach without the slightest indication of evasion. Having cultivated in this Heavenly Aperture for many years, his soul essence had long since merged with everything within this world. Before Ji Changkong’s flame could get close, he too began to gather all the power residing within the internal world of the Aperture, fusing it with his Divine Soul.

The sprawling flames converged, centering on the brute’s Divine Soul, and in an instant, he transformed into a towering Flame Giant beast, hundreds of feet high. This beast was wreathed in burning fire, wielding a mountain-splitting flame axe, occupying nearly half of the internal space of the Heavenly Aperture!

Roaring like an ancient Celestial God, the Flame Giant unleashed a shout whose sound formed a cyclone of fire and waves, rushing to meet the acre-sized Heavenly Fire. Immediately after, the colossal axe in the giant's hand swung down violently toward Ji Changkong’s head, ready to cleave heaven and earth. Simultaneously, the Flame Giant extended a claw capable of tearing the sky, slamming down heavily upon the single Heavenly Fire.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Crack! Crack! Crack!

The world of the Heavenly Aperture seemed to shatter. Earth-shattering roars erupted from the internal domain. Space warped, the ground ripped apart, searing light shot from the sky, and energy collided violently within the Aperture. These massive impacts hammered against the barrier separating the Aperture from the outside world.

Outside, Meng Gang and Teng Ye could clearly see the Heavenly Aperture contorting continuously, releasing brilliant, terrifying plumes of fire.

"Heavens! That's so powerful!" Meng Gang exclaimed, secretly sucking in his breath. "These two are terrifying. If they fought outside, their power could probably destroy a small star!"

"Be careful," Teng Ye cautioned, his expression grave. "Let's retreat further. The battle inside the Heavenly Aperture has been ongoing for a little too long. That Aperture might explode. If the interior detonates, the resulting power will affect everything around us!"

Upon hearing this, Meng Gang turned pale with fear and hastily followed Teng Ye’s lead, retreating backward while crying out, "He’s inside the Aperture! If it truly explodes, won’t he be doomed?"

"More than doomed!" Teng Ye replied grimly. "If he can't kill his enemy in the shortest time, the only option is to roll out of the Heavenly Aperture immediately, or both will perish together!"

Meng Gang was consumed by worry but utterly helpless, knowing his own strength was insufficient to assist Ji Changkong in any meaningful way.

The acre-sized Heavenly Fire suddenly unleashed an unimaginable, terrifying force. As this massive fire passed through, it instantly enveloped the Flame Giant. Compared to the Flame Giant that commanded half the internal space of the Heavenly Aperture, the acre of fire was minuscule—like a finger-sized spark landing on a man. Yet, this single patch of Heavenly Fire, upon landing on the Flame Giant, instantly reduced it to surging vapor.

Under Ji Changkong's gaze, the arrogant Flame Giant rapidly shrank under the power of the Heavenly Fire. The solar flare points embedded within the fire erupted with astonishing energy one after another; the fusion of just a few flare points held enough power to annihilate a nation.

The Flame Giant finally could not withstand it. In mere moments, it was burned completely away.

As the Flame Giant continued to shrink until it was less than one-thousandth of its original size, the ferocious brute within it gradually began to reappear. Unfortunately, he was already on the brink of death, his mental energy almost entirely exhausted, his Divine Soul unable to resist the assault of the Heavenly Fire any longer. When the Heavenly Fire, now three-quarters its original volume, engulfed the brute, he instantly dissolved into smoke, vanishing completely from the Heavenly Aperture world.

In his final moments, he had expended perhaps seven or eight-tenths of his mental power fighting the fire. After his soul perished, almost no residual mental energy remained.

Ji Changkong was quite disappointed; he had gained nothing. He muttered a curse under his breath and began observing the new state of the Heavenly Aperture.

The moment the battle ended—specifically, the instant the brute’s soul was extinguished—the collapse of the Heavenly Aperture abruptly halted. Subsequently, the flames the brute had gathered began to drift back toward the sky, reforming the pathway connecting to the Heavenly Fire Ocean. In just a short period, the Heavenly Aperture surprisingly returned to its original state. No further sounds emanated from it, as if he and the brute had never fought there, as if nothing had ever transpired. The dispersed energy of the Aperture was rapidly replenishing itself through the newly formed channel to the Heavenly Fire Ocean. Soon, the rich flow of fire energy returned to the Heavenly Aperture.

Ji Changkong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Having finally slain an opponent and forcefully claimed a Heavenly Aperture, he prepared to release the nine Heavenly Flames he controlled and use the newly restored energy of this place to re-temper his own soul.

However, just as he prepared to release the single Heavenly Fire that was constantly draining his energy, fierce fluctuations erupted from the fire channel connecting to the Heavenly Fire Ocean. Faint auras of several other peak experts were subtly leaking through the channel.

Ji Changkong's expression changed sharply. He immediately halted the release of the Heavenly Fire, staring fixedly at the evolving flame channel. He sensed that another massive explosion within the Heavenly Fire Ocean was already beginning to brew! Whenever this occurred, peak experts situated in their own Heavenly Apertures could vaguely sense the presence of others through these fire conduits.