I'll make you the furnace and the cauldron, so you can refine Yin and Yang and prove the Great

On the second day of the knockout stage, the first rays of dawn broke through the sky.

The square of the Hehuan Sect was even more crowded than yesterday. Even the inner disciples who usually stayed in seclusion all year round had emerged, crowding in twos and threes on the stone steps and the eaves of the hall, forming a dense, dark mass, like mushrooms sprouting from cracks in the rocks after the rain. The defensive array of the main arena had been reinforced overnight, and the bluish-white light screen shimmered with a fine, flowing light in the morning glow, clearly prepared for the tough battle that was about to begin today.

Li Hanshan stood in the waiting area, his gaze calmly fixed on the arena. Pure Yang energy flowed slowly through his meridians, and the Chongyang Yuan Embryo in his sea of ​​consciousness floated quietly, like a star that had concealed all its light. After his battle with Wang Hao, his self-control had improved even further, and he no longer needed to deliberately suppress it. When the pure Yang energy flowed naturally, it did not leak any excess energy.

"Next match: Li Hanshan vs. Luo Lie."

The referee's voice echoed across the square. The crowd rippled like a lake tossed with a pebble. Whispers rose and fell; some whispered their guesses about the outcome, others excitedly tiptoed towards the ring, while still others simply leaned against a pillar with their arms crossed, wearing an expression that said, "I knew this would happen."

Luo Lie strode out from the front of the crowd, crimson spiritual energy surging around him like a tide, each step leaving a shallow scorch mark on the bluestone ground. Today he wore a deep red close-fitting outfit, his long hair tied back with a crimson ribbon, making him resemble a newly unsheathed flaming longsword, sharp and scorching.

He leaped onto the arena, and after taking his stance, slowly raised his right hand. His fingers slightly spread, and a crimson-gold light suddenly shone from his palm. The light, like molten metal being ignited, seeped from his fingertips, flowed, and converged, finally condensing into a fist-sized flame in his palm. The flame's color was entirely different from ordinary crimson—its core was a nearly transparent white-gold, surrounded by a flowing golden halo, like a miniature sun suspended in his palm.

The defensive array patterns at the edge of the arena rippled violently the moment they came into contact with the lingering heat of the flames. The bluish-white light barrier trembled incessantly, like water rippling in the wind. The disciples watching below involuntarily took a half-step back; some gasped, and others blurted out, "What kind of fire is that?"

"The Heavenly Fire Spirit Body... the complete Heavenly Fire Spirit Body." An older inner disciple's voice trembled. "Once the Heavenly Fire Spirit Body is fully activated, it no longer releases ordinary flames, but innate fire containing a trace of the true fire of the sun. It is said that during the years Senior Brother Luo Lie was in seclusion, he tempered his Heavenly Fire Spirit Body in a fissure deep within the Myriad Spirits Mountains. That fissure is a thousand feet deep; ordinary cultivators wouldn't even last an incense stick's time inside. He stayed inside for a full eighteen years!"

"True Sun Fire... No wonder his fire is so much stronger than the flames of an ordinary peak Nascent Soul cultivator." A disciple beside him murmured, "To be able to temper himself in the Earth Fire Rift for eight years and still come out alive, Senior Brother Luo's willpower is truly terrifying."

Wang Hao stood at the back of the crowd, his moon-white robes fluttering gently in the morning breeze. He gazed at the platinum flame in Luo Lie's palm, a genuine seriousness appearing for the first time in his usually languidly smiling eyes. "True Sun Fire..." he repeated the phrase softly, his fingers unconsciously tightening their grip on the hilt of his sword. "Luo Lie's past eight years have certainly not been in vain. The quality of this flame has likely already touched the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage."

Chang Sheng stood by a stone pillar in the corner of the square, arms crossed, a smile finally returning to his lips. He turned to Wu Qingfeng beside him and whispered, "Even a Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn't dare to directly confront Senior Brother Luo's flames. Even if that old man's Pure Yang Fire is powerful, he might not be able to suppress the True Solar Fire at the same level. He can't win this match."

Wu Qingfeng nodded, his gaze fixed on the white-gold flame, a hint of apprehension mixed with a touch of schadenfreude in his eyes: "With the True Fire of the Sun unleashed, there are probably very few Nascent Soul cultivators who can withstand it. That old man's good luck is about to run out."

In the waiting area opposite the arena, Qin Muyue had somehow squeezed to the front of the crowd, her hand gripping her pipe tightly, her beautiful eyes filled with tension. She lowered her voice and said to Yun Shuyue beside her, "Luo Lie's fire seems unusual… Can Han Lang withstand it?"

Yun Shuyue didn't speak, but the fingers gripping her sleeve tightened slightly.

On the arena, Luo Lie held aloft the platinum flame, his gaze fixed on Li Hanshan, a confident smile playing on his lips. His voice echoed across the plaza, loud and resolute: "Li Hanshan, this flame of mine is called 'Heavenly Fire,' forged over eight years. It doesn't burn the physical body, only spiritual energy. No matter how pure your pure Yang fire is, it's nothing but firewood before Heavenly Fire. The more firewood, the fiercer the fire."

He raised his hand, and the platinum flame slowly rose and expanded in his palm, like a sun being conceived. The temperature on the arena was rising rapidly, even the air was scorched and slightly distorted, and dense ripples appeared on the bluish-white light screen of the defensive array, as if it would be torn apart by the heat wave at any moment.

"Li Hanshan, catch it—"

Before he finished speaking, the ball of platinum flame in Luo Lie's palm suddenly exploded. Instead of shattering into fragments, it bloomed like a platinum lotus flower, silently extending and contracting in the air before transforming into a straight beam of light that hurtled towards Li Hanshan. Wherever the beam passed, even the defensive array patterns groaned under the strain, and several fine cracks appeared on the bluish-white light barrier.

A collective gasp filled the plaza. Someone exclaimed, "This attack... even an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator might not be able to withstand it!" The disciples who had been whispering among themselves fell silent instantly, their eyes fixed on the rapidly approaching white-gold pillar of light on the arena.

Li Hanshan stood still, without retreating. His Pure Yang Meridian surged, and purplish-gold flames erupted around him, like the rising sun breaking through the morning mist. He didn't draw any weapon; he simply raised his right hand, and Pure Yang energy condensed in his palm into a fist-sized purplish-gold fireball. The fireball appeared ordinary, but its surface was covered with extremely fine light patterns—textures naturally formed after Pure Yang energy was repeatedly compressed to its extreme.

The fireball flew out of his hand and struck the platinum beam of light with pinpoint accuracy.

The moment the two flames collided in the center of the arena, there was no loud noise as expected. What the people in the square saw was a bright vortex formed by the purple-gold and white-gold flames, like two streams of ink thrown into water at the same time, spinning, entangled, and devouring each other at the point of contact.

The platinum-gold heavenly fire attempted to melt and assimilate the purplish-gold flames, but found itself sinking into an invisible quagmire after intruding into the purplish-gold flames' range; its speed decreased drastically, and its light dimmed. Meanwhile, the purplish-gold flames trembled slightly under the impact of the platinum-gold heavenly fire, yet maintained a stable structure without a single crack appearing.

Luo Lie's smile faltered slightly. He sensed it—his Heavenly Fire was indeed burning Li Hanshan's spiritual power, but the total amount of pure Yang energy in the opponent far exceeded his expectations. Every time he tried to burn through that purplish-gold defense, more pure Yang energy would replenish it from Li Hanshan's meridians, like a river that could never be drained. He could burn away a drop of water, but ten drops would fill the gap; he could burn away a foot of flame, but several feet would condense and take shape behind it. The feeling was like gnawing on an iceberg, the more he gnawed, the colder it became.

"Your spiritual power..." His voice held a hint of barely concealed surprise and doubt, "Just how much have you accumulated?"

Li Hanshan didn't answer. He took a step forward, and the pure Yang fire around him surged, pushing the struggling white-gold pillar of light back several feet. Luo Lie was forced back half a step by the force, the Heavenly Fire in his palm flickering violently, as if a pebble had been thrown into a lake. He gritted his teeth, pushing his Heavenly Fire Spirit Body to its limit, crimson-gold patterns spreading from his palm to his entire arm, like flowing lava surging beneath his skin.

A second beam of platinum light shot out from his left palm, merging with the suppressed Heavenly Fire in his right palm to form an even thicker beam of platinum fire that hurtled towards Li Hanshan. This time, several defensive array patterns at the edge of the arena shattered simultaneously, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the bluish-white light screen, frantically repairing and collapsing again amidst the humming of the array.

In the square, Chen Jie's gaze finally darkened. He could clearly see that Li Hanshan indeed had the upper hand in the quality of his pure Yang fire. Although the difference wasn't significant, that natural sense of restraint was like a brand, forcing Luo Lie to expend an extra 30% of his spiritual power with each attack to maintain the same output. Chang Sheng's body, leaning against the stone pillar, had unconsciously straightened, the smile on his lips frozen on his face.

"The Heavenly Fire Spirit Body was fully activated... yet it was still suppressed?" Wu Qingfeng's voice was hoarse.