Staring in astonishment at the furious sea waves of Haibo Dong, Xiao Yan shook his head with a mixture of tears and laughter after a long pause, raising his hands to display the two flames. "Haibo Dong, with my current condition, I won't be able to replicate the explosive power I demonstrated back then. This one—my refined version of the Buddha's Wrath Lotus Flame—has been stabilized and will no longer experience any loss of control." "Refined?" Haibo Dong blinked, gazing at the purple flame in Xiao Yan's left hand. Now he realized that this purple flame was no longer an unusual fire, though it was quite hot, it was clearly weaker than the dense, white flame Xiao Yan had previously controlled. "How many secrets does this man truly hold? One moment he's wielding the green flame, then the white, now even the purple—how utterly opaque he remains!" A quick sigh flashed through his mind, and Hai Bo Dong shook his head at Xiao Yan, gritting his teeth. "You crazy man! I don't care whether you've improved or not—go ahead and play your own game! I really don't want to end up like last time, nearly killed by your antics!" With that, the icy dual wings extending from behind him gently trembled, and in the stunned silence of the onlookers, he swiftly ascended until only a small black dot remained visible before he finally halted. Clearly, after the explosion of Xiao Yan's Buddha-angry lotus bloom, the former Ice Emperor had genuinely developed a sense of fear—otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to simply retreat in front of so many people. Frowning at the distant sea wave Dong, Xiao Yan lowered his head, glanced at the others around him—those who were staring at him with strange expressions—and spread his hands, saying, "Senior, he's a bit timid." "Ah..." Hearing this, both Xiao Ding and Xiao Li cleared their throats. Though Sea Wave Dong was older, his strength was indeed formidable. Observing his earlier performance, both of them had felt a certain sense of unease. They exchanged glances and then chuckled awkwardly, asking, "Little Yan, what exactly are you trying to test this time?" "It's just some things I've developed—trying to see if they can succeed. Last time, it seemed to fail, and nearly blew me and Sea Senior to bits. Oh, he's probably a bit shaken by that, which is why he's acting so reserved. Don't worry—this time I've specifically reduced the power. Even if it fails, the damage should be far less severe than last time." Xiao Yan casually shook his head as he spoke. "...," hearing the slight uncertainty in Xiao Yan's voice, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li instantly broke into a light sweat. Though they didn't know Xiao Bo Dong's exact strength, from the fact that he could coalesce wings of qi, they knew he must be at least at the level of a Qi King or higher. To nearly blow such a strong opponent apart—what on earth had Xiao Yan accomplished? They exchanged a glance, then instinctively glanced upward at the small black dots in the sky. Taking a few slow steps back, they cleared their throats and offered a hesitant smile, "I think we'd better step back a bit, so you have some room to operate..." With perfect synchrony, they both moved to the edge of the plaza and halted there. Seeing the two commanders act so strangely, the Mo Ti members surrounding Xiao Yan and his companion grew uneasy. After a moment of hesitation between safety and curiosity, the group quickly moved to the edges of the training field, leaving the once crowded space suddenly spacious and open. That was indeed a powerhouse of the Duke Rank—someone who ranked among the elite even across the entire Gamma Empire. Yet, despite possessing such formidable strength, he was now acting so unsteady, so overwhelmed, due to the very thing Xiao Yan had created. It was hard to imagine just how extraordinary that creation must be. Luobu found himself questioning whether perhaps he had recently done something that displeased Xiao Yan, which had prompted this excuse to eliminate him altogether. After sighing in frustration over his luck for a while, Rob also had to offer a weary nod. Within him, his battle energy surged fiercely, then erupted outward, solidifying on his body surface into a hard, yellow battle armor. It was clear that Rob had summoned his signature move—the Battle Armor—indicating he was genuinely uneasy. Observing Rob, who appeared as if facing a major threat, summoning the armor with such determination, Xiao Yan nodded in resignation. On his palms, the green and purple flames danced independently, then gradually converged as he brought them together. As the two flames slowly merged, intense energy waves surged again, rippling violently around Xiao Yan, much like before—booming like thunderous explosions resonating within his palms. Fortunately, while the force of this surge was less intense than the previous one, Xiao Yan’s protective battle energy around his palms remained sufficient to withstand it. With full concentration, he guided the two flames to gradually merge. Xiao Yan strained to recall the intricate state he had entered at the very last moment before, his black eyes fixed tightly on the point where the flames intertwined—there, the emerald and purple flames surged like streaks of lightning, darting swiftly. High above, Hai Bo Dong observed the intense fluctuations of energy surrounding Xiao Yan, murmuring, "The current fluctuations are indeed much more subdued than last time. It seems this fellow has genuinely refined his approach. Yet, if he fails to control it, the explosive force will still be substantial—after all, that emerald flame is a true anomaly." "Ah, the restless one, always tinkering with these enigmatic things." Hai Bodo smiled faintly and shook his head, though in truth, he deeply admired Xiao Yan's boldness in daring to experiment with everything. Back in the Chuyun Empire, he had once met another powerful being capable of controlling heterofire, yet that individual treated heterofire as if it were part of his ancestors' heritage—never once daring to blend it randomly with other flames, as Xiao Yan had done. To many such masters, that very act seemed like a sure path to certain death. For the first time controlling the flame while fully conscious, Xiao Yan finally understood that the Fiery Resolution Qi he had to channel through those seemingly casual finger taps was vast and formidable—though his ten fingers only lightly tapped nearly seven or eight times, the Qi within his spiraling aura had been reduced by nearly half. Recalling the transformations he had witnessed just before the formation of the Buddha's Wrath Flame Lotus the last time, the deep black pools in his eyes gradually began to be surrounded by hues of cyan and purple flame. After a moment, his tapping fingers suddenly stilled, and his spiritual force surged outward, expanding from his body and then flowing into delicate lines, inching steadily into the turbulent flame. As the spiritual force penetrated, the intense, turbulent energy contained within the cyan-purple flame began to subside gradually. Within just a blink of an eye, the flame that had previously constantly protruding like sharp spines of a hedgehog completely quieted down. Focusing intently on the emerald-purple flame now finally calm in his palm, Xiao Yan exhaled a quiet breath of relief. With his right hand supporting the flame, his eyes closed, the spiritual energy seeping into the flame began to gradually reshape it. As the spiritual energy stirred, the flame, initially resembling a ball, began to slowly pulsate and contract—its size, originally the volume of his head, rapidly shrinking. After a while, a faint, lotus-shaped base of palm-size emerged within the alternating emerald and purple glow. A moment later, the emerald and purple hues gradually faded, and a magnificent, delicate lotus base floated gently upon Xiao Yan’s palm. Above the sky, gazing at the solidified jade-purple lotus seat in Xiao Yan's palm, Hai Bo Dong's eyes narrowed slightly, murmuring, "This boy is truly growing more and more proficient in his control. If he had managed to stabilize the Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus to this level back then, I believe... the eight-winged black serpent king would have been obliterated right there!" "When he next combines two distinct flames, with such refined control, I think no other Duke-level warrior—except perhaps a few exceptionally extraordinary ones—will be able to withstand the sheer force of that explosive power." Exhaling a steady, cool breath, Hai Bo Dong stared at the black-robed youth on the ground, his expression complex, his voice low. Gazing silently at the Buddha's furious lotus flame drawing nearer to Luo Bu, Xiao Yan slowly extended his palm, then suddenly clenched it. With a low cry, he shouted, "Explosion!" As the cry rang out, the azure-purple lotus blazing through the air suddenly halted. Then, the lotus base gently expanded, and then—explosion! Boom!