From the distance, sharp, piercing howls suddenly erupted. As they approached this area, the Saint Beast Kings ceased concealing their presence, instead unleashing their full might without restraint.

Every roar represented the resolve and fury of a Saint Beast King; they intended to annihilate every last one of these despicable humans.

A tremendous rumble suddenly shook the ice surface, creating the sensation that the entire expanse of ice might shatter in an instant.

A faint, subtle smile touched He Yiming's lips. Despite the ferocious approach of these Saint Beast Kings, they had exercised surprising restraint, refraining from actually breaking the ice, and even those lurking beneath the waves made no move to surface.

Having clashed with humans numerous times before, they knew that when thirty or more Saint Beast Kings assembled, their combined strength was enough to sweep across the entire Northern Sea unimpeded. However, these humans were different; they possessed a miraculous power that allowed them to ascend into the sky surrounded by a luminous glow.

Once humans took to the air, only a tiny fraction of Saint Beast Kings—the few that could fly—posed any genuine threat to them.

Therefore, these Saint Beast Kings advanced with overwhelming momentum. Perhaps their ultimate goal was not annihilation, but rather to drive the humans away, thereby reclaiming the ice island for themselves.

The ground-shaking noise grew louder and more pervasive beneath their feet. Within their line of sight, the varied forms of the Saint Beast Kings were now visible. He Yiming, enveloped in a shimmering, multi-colored light, had already ascended high into the sky alongside the God-Path Coagulated Blood Man.

Only Di Shitian, fully aware of the immense power wielded by the God-Path Coagulated Blood Man, remained perfectly composed. The others, however, felt varying degrees of unease.

After witnessing the sheer aura projected by the Saint Beast Kings, their primary thought wasn't how to resist them directly, but how to evade the main force and leverage their aerial advantage to pick them off one by one.

After all, flying Saint Beast Kings in the Northern Sea were exceedingly rare, countable on one's fingers. Among this group of over thirty Saint Beast Kings, there were a mere three flyers—a stark illustration of their scarcity.

He Yiming focused his attention on one specific flying Saint Beast King: a colossal, greyish eagle. Purely by appearance, this eagle was quite peculiar, for it possessed four talons.

Though it flew behind the main host of Saint Beast Kings, seemingly guarding their rear, He Yiming could sense an aura about this creature that was distinctly unique, feeling somehow discordant with the others.

Furthermore, when flying, the eagle maintained a significant distance from the other Saint Beast Kings, suggesting a lack of synchronicity, or perhaps mutual wariness.

His brow furrowed slightly, then immediately relaxed, as He Yiming suddenly recalled the origin of this four-clawed eagle.

During his few days residing in the Ice Palace, Bing Xiaotian had briefed him on some prominent races inhabiting the Ice Plains and the Ice Sea. This particular four-clawed eagle was not a creature of the Ice Sea; it was a special spirit beast originating from the Northern Frontier Ice Plains.

Though the Ice Plains and Ice Sea differed by only a single character in name, they were entirely distinct regions. Not only did the species of spirit beasts differ, but their habits were also vastly divergent.

The beast tribes of these two domains did not coexist harmoniously; conflicts frequently erupted over control of the central territories. After tens of thousands of years of stalemate, their relationship was akin to fire and water.

Generally, Saint Beast Kings from the Ice Plains would never venture into the Northern Sea lightly. But this four-clawed eagle was clearly an exception. Its deep penetration into the Northern Sea, coupled with its active alliance with the Northern Frontier Saint Beast Kings, utterly astonished He Yiming.

The deafening crash of monstrous impacts and the shrill, vicious howls instantly flooded his senses, yanking He Yiming from his contemplation.

He looked at the rapidly approaching horde of Saint Beast Kings, a cold, subtle smile flickering across his face.

Let these brutes taste the true might of the God-Path.

He nodded slightly. The God-Path Coagulated Blood Man beside him drifted slightly forward, dutifully positioning itself to shield He Yiming. Then, it slowly raised one hand, as if bearing an immense, crushing weight.

In that instant, the entire fabric of heaven and earth echoed with thunderous, booming sounds. These colossal noises seemed to emanate from ten thousand miles away, or perhaps from the very epicenter of their current location.

For that single moment, only this resounding clamor remained, completely overwhelming the howls of the Saint Beast Kings.

※※※※

The Saint Beast Kings charged with increasing fervor, for they had noticed that among the humans ahead, only two had taken to the air. The rest stood frozen in place like statues, seemingly paralyzed by the beasts’ power.

Seeing the humans' apparent stagnation, the Saint Beast Kings, despite their surprise, were unwilling to forego such a rare opportunity. They quickened their pace, eager to close the distance, overwhelm the humans, and utterly cleanse the territory of the Northern Sea.

Yet, at this crucial juncture, no one noticed that the four-clawed eagle, which had been trailing them, was perceptibly slowing down. Unmistakably, it retreated to the very rear of all the Saint Beast Kings, even falling behind those swimming in the sea.

Moreover, the eagle's bright yet chilling gaze was fixed intently upon He Yiming and the God-Path Coagulated Blood Man in the sky. It seemed overwhelmingly apprehensive, unwilling to cross an invisible boundary.

The Saint Beast Kings drew nearer; the fastest among them was about to enter the hundred-zhang range. Subtle shifts in expression appeared on the faces of Bing Xiaotian and the others.

Though they all possessed the divine art of flight and could ascend to safety regardless of the enemy’s strength, once engaged and entangled, escaping the beasts’ grasp would be far from easy.

But precisely at that moment, the God-Path Coagulated Blood Man in the air finally moved.

It advanced to the forefront and raised its hand.

The ensuing shift in the world brought an unimaginable, colossal shock to everyone present.

The power of Heaven and Earth instantly coalesced onto the Coagulated Blood Man’s arm in a breathtaking, almost violent manner.

This process of absorption was completed in virtually a blink of an eye.

The faces of the onlookers paled dramatically. Except for Di Shitian, everyone stared dumbfounded at the figure, realizing that no matter their prior assumptions, they could scarcely believe what they were witnessing.

Ji Mofan Shu clenched his fists tightly, a faint shadow of despondency flickering in his eyes.

Although he already knew the astonishing strike delivered to the Southern Border Island was linked to the God-Path Coagulated Blood Man, knowing it was one thing; experiencing it firsthand was entirely different.

Having personally felt the sheer force being drawn in by the gathered power of Heaven and Earth, he was consumed by deep regret. Yet, he also understood clearly: the more potent this God-Path Coagulated Blood Man became, the smaller his chances of reclaiming anything.

The Qilin Saint Lord and the Qilin Beast shared looks of profound horror.

They were instantly reminded of He Yiming, who had departed without a word during that previous confrontation. If the Qilin Saint Lord had been grinding his teeth in anger then, now his heart was filled with blank bewilderment—bewilderment and sheer terror at a power that defied all comprehension.

It turned out He Yiming had not been afraid of the Heaven and Earth might he had absorbed; he simply hadn't cared to engage. Had he summoned the God-Path Coagulated Blood Man then, the instantaneous gathering of cosmic power would surely have pulverized them both into pulp.

The Qilin Beast carried the bloodline of a divine beast and had lived for millennia, its inherent blood power honed to its absolute peak. It was only under these peak conditions that they could combine and absorb a portion of the Heaven and Earth power to unleash it as a force of nature.

But even in their combined state, the Heaven and Earth power they managed to gather was less than one percent of what the God-Path Coagulated Blood Man was currently absorbing, let alone the incomparable speed of the process.

While the humans below were merely shocked, the Saint Beast Kings descended into outright terror.

Faced with such immense and unbelievable concentration of cosmic power, these highly intelligent creatures immediately grasped that they had encountered an entity they could not possibly resist.

Almost simultaneously, all the Saint Beast Kings halted their charge. Whether running on ice, swimming beneath it, or soaring above, every single one instantly turned and fled with the utmost speed, desperate to distance themselves from this figure, which seemed as terrifying as a demon or a god.

But the speed of the God-Path Coagulated Blood Man was absolute. Once it extended its hand, the power of Heaven and Earth was instantaneously coalesced. Then, it slashed and pulled across the empty space before it.

A searing beam of light instantaneously swept through the most densely packed area of Saint Beast Kings.

Accompanied by countless agonizing shrieks, everything the light touched was rent asunder. Their thick hides and rugged exteriors, scales so tough that even divine weapons could not pierce them, proved as fragile as paper before this energy, being effortlessly split into two or even more pieces.

The wildly compressed Heaven and Earth power, gathered and then unleashed, was the genuine might of creation itself—a force that made the very sky and earth tremble beneath it.

With a resounding boom that drowned out all other sound, the force of Heaven and Earth erupted completely.

Blood sprayed and chunks of flesh scattered. The larger the Saint Beast King, the more devastatingly they suffered. They strained every fiber to escape, only to tragically discover that their vaunted speed was snail-slow before this cosmic might.

The God-Path Coagulated Blood Man raised its hand high in the sky and waved it twice, gently.

Just two brief gestures—a forward and a backward movement—and the entire tumultuous host of Saint Beast Kings collapsed utterly. They had neither the opportunity to flee nor the strength to resist; they were annihilated in an instant.

The Power of Heaven and Earth,

Irresistible!

Ps: Three thousand characters across two days, doing my best. This time's push for the monthly ticket rankings was completely miscalculated. Monthly tickets require momentum; once that surge dissipates, regenerating it is immensely difficult. However, White Crane is no stranger to the monthly ticket rankings, and I will find my own way to reclaim the brothers' votes from the book halls ^_^ Tomorrow, White Crane will still aim for fifteen thousand. The Ice Island will likely appear tomorrow; the biggest foreshadowing in the Martial God novel is about to be unveiled. For the Ice Island, for the God-Path. Please cast your monthly tickets for White Crane, thank you...