With a flick of his wrist, He Yiming pulled the fifteen-zhang-long shell of the sea mussel heaven beast upward with the five-colored ribbon of light that resembled a long thread in his hand.

The moment the massive shell was hauled from the water, it instantly kicked up countless sprays of water, creating quite a spectacular scene.

Watching the sea mussel heaven beast, which was undeniably dead, the crowd was filled with complex emotions.

This sea mussel heaven beast had previously caused them immense trouble; its colossal shell was impossibly hard, impervious not only to blades but also to being cooked even by the mighty flames of the Nine Dragon Furnace.

Furthermore, the force of the beast’s water arrows was unparalleled, making them impossible to guard against. During the fierce engagement with the various heaven beasts, at least half of their mental focus had to be dedicated to those miraculous water arrows that shot down from the sky or blasted up from the sea at unpredictable moments. It could be said that although this specific heaven beast never truly engaged in a head-on fight with any individual, its very existence had plunged the group into an absolute disadvantage.

Yet, as soon as He Yiming appeared, he immediately drove the creature into the sea. Only after the main battle concluded did he pursue it, taking just over an hour to slay this most troublesome entity.

Comparing oneself to others truly kills the spirit.

After witnessing He Yiming’s combat techniques and the sheer power he displayed, no one harbored any remaining desire to challenge him.

"Brother He, thank you sincerely," Li Jiangfeng said with genuine feeling.

He Yiming waved his hand dismissively and laughed, "Brother Li is too courteous." He glanced at the corpses of the many heaven beasts floating on the sea. In truth, few of the beasts here had died by his or White Horse Lightning’s direct hand. Those beasts that had been struck by the Five Elements Rings or rendered nearly ecstatic by the White Horse’s lightning power were mostly finished off by Jin Zhanyi and the others, who ruthlessly delivered the final blow.

However, no one dared touch the corpses of these heaven beasts. They merely gathered the remains, stacking the bodies that automatically floated to the surface after death at the bottom to prevent them from drifting away with the waves.

Seeing this, He Yiming immediately understood their intentions. The bodies of heaven beasts held immense value; their inner cores, hides, bones, and flesh were all rare materials for refining pills and crafting artifacts. In the past, the Qilian Twin Devils and others had even proposed pooling their strength to hunt these outer-sea heaven beasts, only abandoning the idea after Li Jiangfeng’s dissuasion. This illustrated their intense desire for these outer-sea creatures.

Yet, now they were willing to collect the corpses without immediately skinning them, extracting the marrow, or taking the cores. This indicated they had reached a silent agreement, waiting for his return.

Noticing that everyone’s gaze had converged upon him, He Yiming smiled slightly. "This time, the harvest is good. Whoever sees it gets a share; let's all divide it."

Relief spread across the faces of Li Jiangfeng and the others. To acquire such a haul of heaven beast corpses all at once was an unexpected windfall, and pretending not to be tempted would have been dishonest. However, recalling the power He Yiming had displayed moments ago and the process by which these beasts were slain, their stirring greed immediately subsided. Only when He Yiming personally permitted them to share did they truly relax. Still, they all knew that the largest portion would undoubtedly be reserved for He Yiming.

The only veteran Venerable among them, Hua Ruijin, let out a long cry, and the distant sea vessel slowly sailed toward them.

He Yiming looked at the ship with surprise. "Brother Hua, you didn't capsize; your luck is quite good."

Hua Ruijin gave a wry smile. "Brother He jokes. I have long resided in the South Sea, and I noticed the wrongness in the waves. I immediately invited all friends to descend into the sea and ordered the ship to retreat swiftly. That is how these disciples narrowly escaped disaster."

He Yiming finally understood. Only an experienced powerhouse like Hua Ruijin could discern an impending crisis from such a minute sign on the water. If he had been aboard the vessel, he wouldn't have noticed anything amiss until the sea monsters and heaven beasts had fully assembled and launched their attack. The Venerables aboard the ship didn't find fault with this, as they knew that once they were targeted by the sea beasts, staying on the boat would have been useless anyway.

Sighing lightly, Hua Ruijin said earnestly, "Brother He, if you hadn't arrived in time this time, I fear some among us would not have escaped this calamity."

The expressions of the others shifted slightly, but recalling the preceding moments, they had to admit that Hua Ruijin was not exaggerating. If such a disadvantage had persisted, the Human Race Venerables surely couldn't hold on and would have scattered to flee. Some certainly could have escaped safely, but equally, some Venerables would have been relentlessly targeted by the sea monsters and perished there. However, until that moment arrived, no one could be certain if they would be the unlucky one.

He Yiming smiled faintly, not taking the bait. For him, this had merely been a small effort. But looking at the peculiar gazes surrounding him, he suddenly realized that, without realizing it, the distance between himself and them had grown to this extent.

"Brother He, how did your engagement with Lord Franklin go?" Jin Zhanyi approached him and asked in a deep voice.

He Yiming managed a bitter smile. "His strength is immense, very difficult to deal with, and incredibly formidable."

Hearing He Yiming use the superlative "very" three times in a row to describe the Pope of the Western Temple, everyone nodded with lingering fear. In the presence of that powerhouse, the few of them wouldn't even have the courage to resist, let alone actually fight him.

Dao of Man Pinnacle—this was the realm just beneath the Dao of Gods. In an age when the Dao of Gods had vanished, this was the strongest realm in the current world. Even the arrogant Jin Zhanyi and Li Jiangfeng, who were somewhat confident about eventually advancing to the Five Qi Great Venerable realm, had no such confidence about ascending to the Dao of Man Pinnacle.

"You and White Horse lost?" Jin Zhanyi asked, surprised. He wasn't shocked by the defeat of the man-beast fusion; although White Horse had displayed the imposing aura of a top-tier heaven beast, losing to Franklin, who had hundreds of years of renowned experience, was only natural. However, Jin Zhanyi seriously doubted why Franklin would allow them to leave if they had lost the contest.

He Yiming smiled wryly. "Brother Jin, we didn't determine a victor because two meddlers showed up."

The hearts of the crowd pounded. He Yiming's answer was too shocking. No victor was determined—didn't that imply that when He Yiming was mounted on White Horse, he already possessed the strength to contend head-on with a Dao of Man Pinnacle expert? Such immense power was enough to shift the balance of top-tier combat strength in the world. But they were even more curious about who could appear to disrupt a battle of that magnitude.

"Brother He, who were they?" Jin Zhanyi hesitated before asking under the expectant gaze of everyone.

He Yiming’s eyes narrowed slightly. Thinking of those two individuals sent a chill down his spine. "It was Garfield and the Old Ancestor of the Yu Family."

"The President of the Dark Alliance?" Jin Zhanyi gasped. The complexions of the others also became quite strange, but after witnessing Franklin's appearance, no one would doubt He Yiming's word. However, the simultaneous appearance of the two top Western powerhouses in the Southern Border domain was deeply unsettling.

"Brother He, the Old Ancestor of the Yu Family also came?" Qilian Great Demon asked skeptically. "Didn't that old man perish?" A flicker of doubt crossed everyone's eyes; it was He Yiming who had defeated the Old Ancestor of the Yu Family.

He Yiming spread his hands, helpless. "I can affirm I wasn't mistaken. This person is not only the Old Ancestor of the Yu Family but his cultivation has also greatly increased, reaching the Dao of Man Pinnacle realm." On this point, He Yiming could certainly vouch with certainty, as he hadn't merely observed it—he had personally fought him.

"Dao of Man Pinnacle?" Jin Zhanyi and the others exchanged glances, all filled with astonishment. If these words hadn't come from He Yiming’s mouth, they would never have believed them.

The Qilian Twin Devils hesitated. The Great Demon said, "According to the intelligence obtained by our sect, the Old Ancestor of the Yu Family is dead, but his corpse was refined into a puppet by the Old Ancestor of the Yellow Springs. Perhaps what Brother He saw was this very puppet." He paused. "But why the Old Ancestor of the Yellow Springs would give this puppet to the President of the Dark Alliance is unknown."

He Yiming thought to himself, What is there not to understand? It’s likely that after the puppet was damaged, Garfield saw it, compelled him to capture it at any cost and control it with a miraculous secret method.

Li Yajing suddenly interjected, "Brother He, on Star Island, your heaven beast White Horse seemed to appear at the same time as the Old Ancestor of the Yellow Springs, didn't it?"

He Yiming gave an awkward laugh and shook his head. "I am unclear on this matter; perhaps he arrived concealed behind White Horse." Although everyone knew this was a deflection, even racking their brains, they couldn't fathom the reason.

He Yiming shook his head slightly. Naturally, he wouldn't reveal the mystery. But now, after White Horse’s advancement, his fear of Dao of Man Pinnacle experts had lessened considerably. Even if the Old Ancestor of the Yellow Springs himself came looking for trouble, he wouldn't fear him like a tiger anymore.

The distant sea vessel finally drew near. Hua Ruijin directed the disciples aboard to load the heaven beast corpses onto the main ship, and then everyone headed downstream toward Glazed Island. This expedition was truly a mix of joy and sorrow for the group. While they had obtained numerous heaven beast corpses, they had also witnessed a Dao of Man Pinnacle expert like Franklin. With the matter of the Thousand-Year Ice Island stirring up hidden currents across the continent, they prayed silently that this sudden change would not engulf their own sects and families...