The impact sent a shockwave through the clearing. The beast didn't even get a chance to scream before its body exploded into fragments of flame and ice, scattering into the air like shattered glass.

The echo of the attack had barely faded when the ground beneath Max trembled violently. Dozens of glowing cracks appeared on the frozen and scorched earth. From those cracks, creatures began to emerge one after another—wolves cloaked in fire, serpents of molten rock, and avian beasts made of solid ice. The entire valley seemed to have come alive, as if responding to his presence.

"So, the monsters of this area reveal themselves," Max said, his voice low but steady.

One of the fire wolves leapt at him with a snarl, its mouth blazing with molten light. Max's figure blurred. A flash of blue lightning streaked across the sky, and in the next instant, the beast's head was gone—its body collapsing to the ground, cut cleanly in half.

Another came from behind, wings of frost slicing toward his back. Max didn't even turn. The air around him twisted, the third level of the Concept of Space activating instinctively. The attack bent away mid-flight, as though the very air had refused to allow it to reach him. The creature howled in confusion before a single red streak flashed through its neck, ending it instantly.

The battle escalated quickly. The valley's outer area erupted into chaos as flame and ice monsters of every kind swarmed him. Some were small but quick, darting around like shards of light. Others were towering beasts that shook the ground with each step.

Max stood calmly amidst the storm. His hands tightened around the hilt of his sword, and arcs of red lightning began to flicker across the blade's edge.

"Heaven-Piercing Thunderclap Sword," he murmured softly.

He vanished.

Thunder exploded across the valley as red and blue light intertwined. Each swing of his sword created a violent arc that tore through the battlefield, severing both fire and ice beasts alike. Flames roared as ice shattered, and every motion he made left behind a glowing trail that distorted the surrounding air.

When a beast lunged from the side, Max extended his palm. Space rippled, and the creature's body folded unnaturally upon itself before bursting apart into fragments of light.

Minutes passed in the storm of destruction. Each wave of monsters fell faster than the last, their cries drowned beneath the clash of lightning, flame, and distorted space.

Finally, as the last creature collapsed into nothingness, the valley fell silent once more.

Max exhaled quietly, lowering his sword. The faint crackle of lightning around him faded, replaced only by the distant hiss of evaporating steam.

"All of them are gone," he said calmly, scanning the area with his Three Dimensional Body. There were no more traces of life nearby. The elemental energy in the air was calmer now, as though the beasts' deaths had restored some form of balance.

Satisfied, he sheathed his sword and turned his gaze toward the distance, where faint flashes of red and blue light intertwined at the horizon.

"That must be it," Max said, his tone calm but resolute. "The Valley of Frozen Ash."

Without hesitation, he began walking toward it, the mixed air of fire and frost swirling around him with every step.

As Max continued forward, the landscape around him began to shift more drastically with every step. The distorted balance between flame and frost he had felt earlier was now intensifying, becoming almost unbearable.

The temperature fluctuated wildly—one breath burned his lungs with searing heat, the next chilled him to the bone with a cold sharp enough to make the air feel like blades.

A faint orange glow appeared on the horizon, mingling strangely with the soft shimmer of pale blue mist. As Max moved closer, the haze cleared, and the full sight of the Valley of Frozen Ash finally unfolded before him.

It was unlike anything he had ever seen.

The valley stretched endlessly, carved deep into the earth like a wound in the land itself. On the left side, flames blazed endlessly, roaring up from cracks in the ground. Rivers of molten lava flowed like blood through dark red stones, and pillars of fire erupted at intervals, their heat warping the very air. The rocks glowed faintly, and the earth pulsed with a fiery rhythm as if alive.

On the opposite side, the world was frozen in deathly silence. Massive glaciers rose like walls of glass, shimmering faintly under the reflection of the flames across the valley. The air there was coated in a constant fog of frost, and shards of ice floated through the wind like drifting petals. Even the ground was frozen solid, cracks spreading across its surface like veins of blue light.

Between these two extremes lay a narrow path of blackened stone—charred yet strangely resistant to both flame and frost.

That path stretched deep into the valley's center, where the two elements met and clashed violently. There, waves of fire and blizzards of ice collided again and again, creating violent bursts of steam and energy that shook the entire valley.

Max stood at the edge, watching the endless conflict unfold before his eyes. Every clash of flame and frost produced a blinding light and a thunderous sound, like the heavens themselves were splitting apart. The ground trembled beneath his feet, and yet the place had a strange beauty—a harmony within its chaos.

"The Valley of Frozen Ash," Max murmured under his breath, his eyes narrowing slightly. "One side burning with life and rage, the other cold and still like death."

He could feel the pull of both elements on his body. The left side of his skin tingled from the unbearable heat, while the right side felt like it was being frozen solid. Even with his strengthened body and the First Divine Vein flowing within him, the pressure of the valley's opposing energies made his blood surge violently.

"The balance between flame and ice… this must be the key to the trial here," he thought to himself. He looked around carefully, sensing the faint ripples of energy that marked the boundary of an ancient formation.

The air itself shimmered faintly with old runes and markings, revealing that the entire valley was a trial ground—one left behind by some ancient power.

He took a slow breath, steadying his aura. "If I can master the harmony between these two elements, I might finally break through the fourth level of my flame concept."

With that, Max stepped forward, placing his foot on the blackened stone path.

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