"Body of Light and Darkness?" Franklin's voice finally held a trace of anomaly; he could think of only one possibility, yet this possibility was the most improbable.
Jin Zhanyi and the others gasped in unison. Even those not from the Western world knew precisely what the so-called Body of Light and Darkness signified.
If the most enviable constitution in the East was the Five Elements Body, then in the West, the Body of Light and Darkness was the ultimate legend.
In the Age of Divinity, the mightiest figure in the East was the Old Ancestor of Five Elements, who single-handedly established the Five Elements Sect, wielding the genuine divine artifact, the Five Elements Ring—embedded with the inner cores of five divine beasts—to reign supreme and unrivaled.
Conversely, the greatest powerhouse in the West was the super-being who created Heaven and Hell, establishing a realm for all masters below the Divinity level to comprehend the power of Origin.
Legend held that this supremely meritorious and immensely powerful Divinity master was the only true apex being in the Western world to ever possess both the powers of Light and Darkness.
Although this supreme master never left Western territory throughout his life, he held an unparalleled, supreme status in the hearts of every master in the West. All Westerners believed that had this master lived in the same era as the Old Ancestor of Five Elements, the myth of the East’s unrivaled champion would have been mercilessly shattered.
Thus, when Franklin uttered the words "Body of Light and Darkness," the gazes of everyone present involuntarily held a degree of stunned blankness.
A Five Elements Body combined with a Body of Light and Darkness...
Just what kind of monstrous anomaly was this child!
At this point, the Venerables from the Eastern world, including Jin Zhanyi, calmed their spirits instead.
Possessing such an unbelievable physique, their understanding of his achievements at such a young age suddenly became somewhat explicable.
He Yiming let out a soft snort. Discovering that the opposing Light Dragon could not breach his True Qi armor, his heart settled completely. In his hand, the Five Elements Ring erupted with an even more potent radiance.
This time, he began unleashing the maximum might of the Five Elements Ring without reservation. The five-fold power amplification roared into explosion, surging toward his opponent with a speed in no way inferior to light itself.
A tremendous sonic boom echoed across the sky. As He Yiming exerted his utmost, the surging True Qi, reaching its absolute peak, swept like a gale across a furious sea, imposing an immense, unbearable pressure upon the watching Venerables.
Franklin calmly extended a hand, upon which a short staff suddenly appeared. Now, this short staff, engraved with countless intricate patterns, shone with a brilliance even more intense than before.
Instantly, the forces of two utterly different natures collided violently.
A deeply unwelcome premonition suddenly struck He Yiming. Almost without thought, a flash of white light enveloped him, propelling him upward into the sky as if fleeing for his life.
Just as his body ascended halfway, a brute force far greater than his activated five-fold amplification swept back, blasting a massive crater dozens of feet long where he had just been standing.
He Yiming’s face changed drastically. The full might of a Five Qi Great Venerable combined with the five-fold amplification of the Five Elements Ring—what an astonishing offensive power that represented.
Even the Old Ancestor of the Yellow Springs and the Old Ancestor of the Yu Family could only disperse such power; to completely reflect it back, however, required the elder before him, who was utterly unique.
Gazing at the short staff in the elder’s hand, He Yiming said gravely, "Respected Your Majesty, may I ask what divine weapon this is?"
Franklin paid no mind to He Yiming's query, responding placidly, "This is a replica of the divine artifact, the Staff of Light." The elder’s gaze rested upon He Yiming's Five Elements Ring. He remarked with emotion, "On the divine artifact rankings of East and West, the Five Elements Ring allows a Divinity master with the Five Elements Body to unleash five times their power. However, our Western artifacts, the Staff of Light and the Chains of Darkness, enable the Light Body and Dark Body to unleash three times their strength."
He Yiming's expression shifted subtly. He privately cursed himself; while a Five Qi Great Venerable using five times amplification could still resist a peak Human Dao expert, when a peak Human Dao expert also utilized a divine weapon that amplified power—even if only by three times—it was no longer something He Yiming could withstand.
Seeing He Yiming's face grow grim, Franklin smiled faintly. "You may come down. As long as you remain here awaiting Di Shitian of the Northwest, I will not trouble you further."
Although his tone was level, it subtly carried a captivating, bewitching quality.
He Yiming's head suddenly swam with confusion, and he almost blurted out an agreement. But in an instant, clarity returned to his eyes.
For some inexplicable reason, a feeling settled in his heart: if he truly fell into the hands of this elder, his fate would surely be exceedingly tragic.
Of course, if he were an ordinary Five Qi Great Venerable, facing a peak Human Dao expert, he would have no chance to flee or fight back. Yet, He Yiming possessed numerous deep assurances, so even now, he remained full of confidence.
The moment He Yiming shook off the temptation of that voice, a beam of light suddenly shot up from below, piercing straight toward his body.
Almost instinctively, He Yiming's hand burst with five-colored light. He soared upward with all his might, while the five-colored radiance before him rapidly coalesced into a mystical rune.
Although Franklin’s power of Light could not penetrate his True Qi armor, the triple immense force of a peak Human Dao expert was still something He Yiming could not afford to endure.
If struck by this force, it was questionable whether his armor could even hold.
This rune flashed briefly in the air, colliding with the light possessing infinite brute force. Subsequently, both vanished simultaneously.
Franklin paused slightly, not understanding this strange power that could so easily neutralize his immense force.
The space not far from him suddenly tore open, and a ray of light whistled toward Franklin.
The elder lightly tapped his short staff, and that light immediately slowed down, circling the staff like the most obedient child.
He Yiming’s expression grew more somber. This man's control over his own power had reached an unbelievable level, utterly dashing He Yiming's hopes of using a rune to turn his own technique against him.
With a slight hum, He Yiming curled one finger and began playing it rapidly, as if plucking a pipa. With every pluck, a specific type of power was unleashed.
Suddenly, hundreds upon hundreds of needle-like True Qi shot out from the five-colored radiance, raining down toward the ground like a swarm of hornets.
Franklin paid it no mind at first, but as his consciousness swept over the attack, he let out a faint, almost inaudible sigh, realizing he needed to treat this young Five Qi Great Venerable with greater seriousness.
Among these fine needles of True Qi were contained several different types of elemental power.
Freezing, petrification, blood coagulation techniques, and more. Moreover, several of the True Qi needles were distinctly different, imbued with a Distortion technique that mirrored the effect of his own robes.
Even the appearance of a single one of these strange, specialized powers was terrifying, yet here they came simultaneously. Even Franklin marveled at it.
However, in his eyes, these True Qi needles were merely minor tricks.
He lightly tapped the Staff of Light in his hand, causing a vast expanse of radiance to appear before him. Any True Qi needle that entered this light instantly dissolved completely, leaving no trace behind.
Yet, the smile on Franklin’s face suddenly froze, and his body moved in a bizarre manner.
Since engaging with He Yiming, his feet had remained rooted to the spot; no matter how much He Yiming leaped or soared, he had been unmovable as a mountain. But at this moment, he sprang back rapidly.
Behind him, the sharp sound of a piercing sword suddenly erupted, instantly transfixing the afterimage Franklin had left behind.
However, only the shriek was heard in the air; the flying sword was unseen.
A beam of light shot out from the void, ethereal and ghostly, striking toward Franklin at an even faster speed. The elder’s expression changed slightly. His Staff of Light seemed to come alive, delicately touching this line of light.
As if a venomous snake’s vital spot had been struck, the Aurora of the North Sea suddenly retracted, tracing a brilliant arc in the air before vanishing back into the void.
This sudden turn of events was miraculous, leaving Jin Zhanyi and the others utterly dumbfounded.
That He Yiming could force the peak Human Dao expert away from his position during combat was something utterly unimaginable to them.
Only now did they truly grasp that the power He Yiming commanded also lay beyond the scope of their own comprehension.
A faint flicker of anger finally crossed Franklin’s face. His still-calm visage shifted toward He Yiming in mid-air, but the hazy look of old age in his eyes had vanished entirely, replaced by a distinct seriousness.
He Yiming felt a surge of powerful emotion. The first time he encountered a peak Human Dao expert, he, along with One Hundred and Eight, White Horse Lightning, and Treasure Pig, had been forced into a disastrous retreat. The second time, facing the Old Ancestor of the Yu Family, he and One Hundred and Eight and Treasure Pig together could at least fight on equal terms.
And this time, facing the challenge alone, he had earned the elder’s due regard.
Even though it was merely a serious look, it filled his heart with overwhelming sentiment.
Franklin nodded slightly. "Very good."
His robes suddenly shook, and a strange, shimmering light spread out, casting an eerie glow across the area.
He Yiming paused momentarily, then was suddenly struck by a powerful sense of impending crisis. He inwardly cursed, surprised that even the dignified Pope of the Holy Temple would resort to a technique akin to sneak attack.
A faint, almost imperceptible light suddenly illuminated his body.
Beneath the Five Elements True Qi Armor, another layer of protection had formed.
And at that precise moment, an incomparably great force slammed into him from behind, instantly shattering his Five Elements Armor and striking heavily against his heart...
Ps: Last five days of this month, requesting monthly votes... I have to go to Shanghai this Sunday, and I need to buy my train tickets tomorrow. I heard they are hard to get. Plus, I need to prepare some things, so tomorrow will be four chapters instead. Please forgive me. However, I will definitely complete this month's goal of 400,000 words, I promise!