Garfield’s wrist remained still, the phantom shape had not fully arrived, yet his divine weapon was already at He Yiming’s side, stealthily and without warning.

He Yiming was secretly enraged. The Dark Council truly was full of scoundrels, employing tactics virtually identical to those of the Old Ancestor of the Yellow Springs—both favored striking from ambush to secure victory.

However, for the current He Yiming, even the slightest energy fluctuation nearby was instantly detected. He snorted coldly, and suddenly a small golden vest materialized on his body, shielding all the vital areas of his torso.

Almost simultaneously, purple light flickered around Bai Ma, coalescing into a net woven from pure lightning.

Clearly, even Bai Ma, with the keen intuition of a top-tier Sacred Beast, had sensed the anomaly in the surrounding space and reacted immediately.

The suddenly appearing dark silhouette seemed wary of Bai Ma’s lightning; it flickered momentarily, visible then invisible in the air, before slithering like a living spirit-snake around Bai Ma’s form and striking directly at He Yiming.

A strange expression crossed Garfield’s eyes. The moment his divine weapon successfully struck He Yiming, he almost couldn't believe what he was feeling.

In his estimation, even if He Yiming was merely a recently ascended peak expert of the Human Dao, the Ninth Heaven realm was the Ninth Heaven realm; there was no way he could be struck so easily by a mere touch.

He had to remember that the divine weapon he unleashed was the infamous imitation artifact, the Dark Chain—a super-tier divine weapon as renowned as the Staff of Light.

Although the Dark Chain in his hand lacked the exaggerated power of a true artifact, he was confident that upon striking a person, it could shatter any protective armor, no matter how formidable.

The threefold amplification ability of a Human Dao peak expert was not something a mere protective divine weapon could possibly resist.

Yet, Garfield’s expression instantly changed, morphing into one of extreme dismay.

His Dark Chain had indeed struck He Yiming’s body, but the sensation it delivered was completely different from before.

The imitation divine weapon felt as if it had struck a massive boulder; not only did it cause no damage to the stone, but the sheer force of the impact generated such a powerful recoil that his vital energy rippled violently, nearly causing him to lose perfect control of the Dark Chain itself.

Garfield’s face shifted; he finally understood why He Yiming had allowed himself to be struck so easily—it was deliberate on the other's part.

However, even this master of the dark world could not discern the material of the vest covering He Yiming.

Although he and Franklin were currently cooperating as equals, His Holiness the Pope had never intended to share any details regarding He Yiming with him.

As for the newly ascended Venerables from the West, although they had witnessed the exchange between He Yiming and Franklin, given their limited insight and experience, none dared to casually discuss matters with the President of the Dark Council unless Garfield initiated the inquiry.

Consequently, Garfield was entirely ignorant of the existence of such a terrifying protective divine weapon on He Yiming.

With a slight flick of his wrist, the black ray of light dissolved. But at that very moment, a loud, piercing shriek erupted around Garfield.

As the sound peaked, Garfield’s body swayed violently, rocking like a tumbler doll.

Then, an invisible force pierced through his torso, tearing open a massive hole in his chest.

This time, it was He Yiming’s turn to be utterly dumbfounded. After deliberately taking the impact of the enemy’s divine weapon, he had immediately retaliated in kind.

The Aurora Sword in his hand vanished from sight, stabbing out with lightning speed.

He was absolutely certain that the opponent's divine weapon could not penetrate his Profound Turtle Shell, but his Aurora Sword would surely cause his adversary a profound shock. Furthermore, the sword contained the Aurora of the North Sea, and the combination of the two would be a nightmarish existence for Garfield, who cultivated dark power.

However, his current action proceeded unexpectedly smoothly; the Aurora Sword pierced through his opponent’s chest without any resistance. In that instant, He Yiming even doubted whether he was facing an impostor.

But the moment the thought arose, He Yiming knew something was wrong.

Because the pierced Garfield simply floated downward—yes, weightlessly, as if devoid of bone structure, carried gently by the wind toward the sea surface.

Only then did He Yiming clearly see that what he had pierced was not Garfield’s actual body, but merely one of his garments. The true patriarch of the dark world had already vanished without a trace.

Upon their meeting, the two had exchanged a single blow in an extremely short span of time. Though it was only one strike, both had exerted their full strength, holding nothing back. Yet, after this single exchange, their mutual wariness reached its absolute peak.

A black shadow flickered in the distance, and Garfield reappeared before He Yiming.

He was now clad in a black robe, identical to the one drifting down from the sky; even He Yiming hadn't noticed when he had switched into it.

Franklin spoke coolly, “President Garfield, please be cautious. That vest he is wearing should be the legendary Profound Turtle Armor; even with a divine artifact in hand, it would be difficult to injure him significantly.”

Garfield’s eyes narrowed slightly in anger. “Your Holiness the Pope, why did you not mention this sooner?”

Had he known the situation earlier, he would not have chosen a direct assault the moment the turtle shell materialized on He Yiming.

Franklin scoffed. “You did not ask; why should I speak?”

Garfield was instantly silenced. Although they were currently allied, their respective factions were ancient, mortal enemies. Garfield certainly wouldn’t pass on such valuable intelligence to his adversary.

Garfield huffed furiously. “Then do you have any warnings for me now?”

Franklin leisurely replied, “He Yiming possesses quite a few treasures. Among them is an invisible sword imbued with the Aurora of the North Sea, and the Five Elements Rings he holds, capable of releasing five times the power, significantly higher than ours.”

He Yiming listened to their conversation with a faint smile, while his main focus was fixed on the depths of the ocean. The Old Ancestor of the Yellow Springs was truly extraordinary; once he concealed himself, even He Yiming could not track his whereabouts.

This man truly deserved the title of the world’s foremost assassin. If anyone could surpass him in this regard, perhaps it was only the one currently watching the spectacle from above, holding the treasure pig—Number One Hundred and Eight.

Garfield gazed deeply at He Yiming, then sighed after a long moment. “The Northwest lineage is indeed remarkable; they prepared so many fine things for you.”

He Yiming chuckled slyly, thinking to himself that the Northwest lineage had given him nothing but a title and no other actual advantages. But there was no need to voice that sentiment now.

With a wave of his wrist, the five massive beams of light abruptly flared. With another flip of his hand, all the lights converged above Garfield’s head and slammed down violently.

Having understood the utility of the Five Elements Rings, Garfield naturally wouldn't allow them to unleash their maximum power unchecked. He casually waved his hand, and a strange black iron rod shot skyward, seemingly intending to pierce through the scattered energy on the spot.

However, at that precise moment, he saw the subtle, minute smile playing on the corner of He Yiming’s lips.

Moments later, Garfield understood the reason. The five-colored light above his head had completely faded at some unknown time; all that remained was an incredibly powerful, golden light.

The instant this light appeared, it was like a true mountain, descending with unimaginable might and momentum, pressing down heavily.

The expressions of both Ninth Heaven experts changed drastically. They instinctively knew what kind of power could release such intense pressure.

But they hadn't expected He Yiming to deploy such a supreme technique—a power that even for Ninth Heaven experts was a last resort—right at the beginning.

Divine power was exceedingly rare for others; even for these Ninth Heaven powerhouses, absorbing even a sliver of divine power was difficult. Once depleted, replenishing it would take a considerable amount of time.

Thus, unless facing a critical juncture, they would never deploy this near-ultimate weapon, which served almost as a deterrent.

But He Yiming was different. Within his Dantian, he possessed five types of divine power alone, although only three of them were formless. For him, wasting some of this power was not a major concern.

After all, his rate of replenishment was beyond what others could imagine.

Garfield’s figure swayed once more; he seemed about to repeat his trick, using that peculiar movement technique to evade.

Yet, He Yiming suddenly raised his eyebrows, and the Aurora Sword began to spin rapidly, weaving a massive sword net around his own body. Simultaneously, all of He Yiming’s focus locked onto Garfield, like an invisible eye holding his body firmly in its gaze.

Garfield snorted in anger. He still chose not to clash head-on with the Divine Power descending from above, instead plummeting downward like a hard stone.

The eyes of several observers brightened almost simultaneously; they seemed to be waiting for something.

As expected, the seawater beneath Garfield suddenly cracked open, and a black sword radiance, like a viper hidden in darkness for countless years, revealed its sharp, venom-laced fangs and lunged viciously towards Garfield’s body...

Ps: Five updates today, requesting monthly passes and recommendation tickets, thank you... Tomorrow and the day after are Saturday and Sunday; White Crane will only manage three updates, apologies ^_^