Without a word, I manipulated all the surrounding flames and launched a new wave of attacks at Shan Liangyi. Seeing this, Shan Liangyi once again retreated, avoiding the flames while falling back into Earth's atmosphere.

He probably realized that I deliberately brought the battlefield to cosmic space, so he wanted to shift the battlefield back to the Earth environment where I was reluctant to act carelessly, gaining a chance to catch his breath. If he were under conditions of absolute advantage, he wouldn't care whether the battlefield was on Earth or outer space. However, now that he was at a disadvantage, he had to swallow his pride and reclaim the terrain, which he once disdained.

As the saying goes, "Everything comes in threes," this time I also wanted to use the Power of Return to pull him back, but he deftly avoided it. The insufficient proximity was certainly a factor, but more importantly, he had personally experienced the same trick twice already. Being a master of space-time abilities, he was naturally adept at evasion, and our gap wasn't so massive that I could succeed repeatedly in his area of expertise.

I also shifted to the atmosphere, relentlessly pursuing him. Suddenly, he made a reverse attack, and the Yin Yang Black and White Mana turned into thick beams of light, shooting towards me like spears piercing through everything.

Flames wrapped around my palm, and a knife-hand strike countered; the Yin Yang Black and White Mana beams shattered like high-pressure water jets crashing against an indestructible reef amidst deafening shockwaves. Seeing me handle this sudden attack unscathed, Shan Liangyi's expression grew more twisted.

His True Spirit was likely severely injured, yet the wounds weren't severe enough to be lethal. Perhaps due to the advantage of Innate Manifestation Talent, his combat effectiveness temporarily showed no significant signs of decline. However, his emotions were already spiraling out of control, which was something he couldn't accept given the situation.

Not long ago, facing his Yin Yang Black and White Mana left me in disarray, whereas he was at an absolute advantage, forcing me to constantly flee and dodge. Had it not been for the sudden predicament of the Vermilion Bird Seed suffering indigestion midway, he would have undoubtedly defeated me smoothly. And now, even stronger than in that battle, the situation had reversed upon facing me again. Caught off guard, I heavily injured him, and now he had to exert himself to avoid my sharp edge. Before the battle began, he surely hadn't anticipated such a development.

He must know that I, as a true Manifestation Realm, could continue to grow stronger, and must know that I might have had ample time to strengthen myself in the Void. Yet, it seems he still believed he had the strength to surpass me. The reason for such confidence was likely because he was unaware of two things.

One was that Shan Liangyi was ultimately not a true Manifestation. Perhaps he had encountered other Manifestation and Enlightenment practitioners before, but the Manifestation is a Legendary Realm with vast fluctuations in upper and lower limits, and different Manifestation and Enlightenment practitioners are not to be generalized.

Shan Liangyi knew much about my information, but he truly didn't grasp my thoughts, unaware of the soul essence on which my Manifestation Realm was built. Although the principle of "adventure" cannot be equated with "growing stronger," it is in great harmony with the concept of power. Facing crises, overcoming them by any means—based on this ideology, the Manifestation naturally possesses a sufficiently high ceiling of combat power.

And utilizing the opportunities in the Void, I have now realized much of my potential. It is not to say that I will never be able to continue growing in the future, but without special breakthrough opportunities, it can generally be regarded as having reached the current stage's limit. If Shan Liangyi still thought I was the same as last battle, it could only be said that he was fighting a strong and robust adult with the casual attitude of dealing with a child.

Although the battlefield returned to the undesirable Earth, I showed no mercy. In past battles, I had never gone easy on an enemy out of fear of involving the surrounding environment. Since this is a life-and-death fight, everything must serve defeating the enemy. Hesitation leading to an unfavorable situation would only be truly disgraceful.

Soon, I found another opportunity to approach Shan Liangyi. The flames transformed into a close-range bombardment, hitting him fiercely. This time, he used most of his power on defense, avoiding being blown up on the spot again. Yet, both body and soul were gravely wounded, then started to recover at a visibly rapid pace. I gave him little chance to catch his breath and pressed the attack.

After countless clashes, I simulated the same nature of space-time mobility, supplemented by the Power of Return, attempting to pin him down. Another zero-distance bombardment struck, and finally, he failed to guard or avoid it, blown to a state of soul-dispersal.

Immediately, Shan Liangyi's soul restored to an unscathed appearance once again. He let out a hysterical scream, dodging my attacks while trying to find an opportunity to counterattack. His power was still intact, showing no signs of diminished output.

Although knowing my attacks should have effectively damaged him on the True Spirit layer, the lack of direct feedback was truly indescribable. Had I really managed to harm him effectively? Such thoughts even crossed my mind.

Innate Manifestation Talent seemed meaningless for the Third Door stage—I once had such a thought. Now it appears that it was a delusion due to being unaware of my fortune. From an enemy's perspective, it's clear that Innate Manifestation Talent is such a troublesome thing.

However, this was still insufficient to serve as Shan Liangyi's proof of victory reversal.

Initially, he seemed somewhat unable to digest reality, but as he continued to taste his disadvantage, his expression became increasingly furious.

"Escaping from me last time was your greatest mistake, Shan Liangyi. That was your last chance to defeat me," I said.

"Shut up—shut up!" Shan Liangyi was enraged.

Yet his actions remained swift, not swayed by his extreme emotions. And after repeated engagements, I observed aspects of myself that I hadn't realized before.

Although we are all beings of twisted worlds and characters that could affect the world's Reboot, natives like me and the Old Fist God, third Impermanence of the Third Door, do not inherently disrupt the worldview of our origin simply by existing here. After all, our internal worldview has developed and evolved here, sufficiently able to coexist harmoniously.

Yet, the more I observe Shan Liangyi's power, the more out of place it seems. This confirms my suspicion that Shan Liangyi indeed hails from another worldview.

Based on my speculation, it should be challenging for the third Impermanence of the Third Door to fully exert their power in different universes. Much like a sprinter finds it difficult to unleash their full speed on rugged terrain as opposed to a smooth track, the Third Door may possess the ability to twist worlds and exert power against background settings, but this also implies first expending a portion of their power to oppose the world.

Shan Liangyi seems to defy even this principle. What he showcases now is clearly his full power.

In essence, I have not spotted any otherworldly elements in him. The Four Symbols and Five Elements System, along with the Yin Yang Black and White Magic Power reminiscent of Tai Chi Liangyi, seem to be cultural elements identifiable in this world. Perhaps these cultural motifs exist in the otherworld too, but as a visitor from another world, shouldn't he exhibit concepts beyond our understanding?

Considering the extent of his current power, I quickly realized that the truth might be the opposite of what I assumed.

It's not that Shan Liangyi failed to exert a power system beyond this world, but rather, this world's power system has been deeply stained with Shan Liangyi's influence.

Shan Liangyi's "Reincarnation" allows him to repeatedly reincarnate throughout this world's history, and indeed, he has done so. During this process, the history of the demon hunters was continuously influenced and recreated by Shan Liangyi.

This is an act of manually altering the worldview, completely different from the path of the divine seal.

Liu Shuying might have created the concept of demon hunters, but it was unlikely he meticulously set up the entire history and power structure of the demon hunters. The vast complexity of such content might be impossible for his imagination alone to coherently build. The gaps were probably filled by the otherworldly knowledge brought by Shan Liangyi.

Even the demon hunter group originating from this world inherited his power system. In essence, he provided himself, this outcast, a legitimate identity. The "distortion" named "Shan Liangyi" has already deeply rooted itself into the core framework of the world's background. From another perspective, he can even be seen as the "Shadow Creator" of the current worldview.

However, this wasn't likely his initial intention. It is more probable that this was passive.

Under the influence of Liu Shuying's Power of Return, this world was reconstructed on the premise that surface society remained unchanged, while traditional culture related to Tai Chi and the Four Symbols and Five Elements was not only the foundation of mysterious knowledge in the abnormal world but also an indispensable component of Chinese history in the world of common knowledge. In other words, before Shan Liangyi integrated the related system into this New World, the Old World already had the relevant culture, which was then passed on to the New World.

This seems contrary to my previous hypothesis, yet there remains an explanation that allows both views to coexist.

According to my guess, possibly as the New World formed, in order to transform things like Tai Chi and the Four Symbols and Five Elements, which were once merely natural philosophy symbols, into true sources of power and mystery, the Divine Seal Power pulled Shan Liangyi, who was in a state of reincarnation, into this worldview. In other words, it was not Shan Liangyi who actively participated in the world's creation but was ensnared by the power of the divine seal, becoming a cornerstone for the New World's establishment.

"I once heard a theory..." I said with insight, "Just like how a large community of symbiotic bacteria in the human gut assists in food digestion, it's said that substantial portions of the human genome and immune system comprise segments inserted by ancient viruses.

"I thought the third Impermanence of the Third Door was merely a virus-like threat that invited distortion upon the world, but it seems there can also be relationships of mutual achievement.

"Those who've received 'favors' from you may include not only successive Liangyi Inheritors. Most demon hunters from ancient times to the present, even many of the Impermanence, can likely be considered your disciples and descendants."

Upon hearing this, Shan Liangyi didn't display any pride; instead, his expression turned incredibly distasteful.

"What do you mean by bringing this up?" he coldly asked, "Are you, at this point, suddenly tallying up my deeds... Are you planning to find a way to humiliate me?"

"I have no interest in humiliating my enemies. But since you're expecting it, I'll reluctantly oblige," I said. "Shan Liangyi, why haven't you decided to die yet? What exactly are you waiting for?"

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