202: Chapter 202 has ended.

Thump.

The second heartbeat rang out once again.

This time, it was even heavier than before.

It was as if an invisible giant hand had stretched out from the deepest depths of Black Dragon Gorge and lightly squeezed everyone's hearts.

Gu Yunting's face turned pale on the spot, a sweet taste rose in his throat, and he almost spat out another mouthful of blood.

Han Xiao also suddenly gripped his saber's hilt, the veins on his temples bulging.

"Dammit... is it still alive?"

"A dead thing wouldn't have this kind of pressure." Ji Wuchen's voice was tight as he stared at the churning black mist deep in the gorge.

"It's a lingering will. The Dragon God died long ago, but its will from when it was alive still remains in this skeleton."

He glanced at the cracked altar, the stolen dragon marrow fire seed, and the fallen corpse of the Giant Guardian Beast, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Just as he finished speaking, the black mist in the deepest part of the gorge began to recede on a large scale.

It was as if it were being forcibly pressed aside by some higher level of pressure to make way.

An indescribably massive piece of dragon bone slowly emerged from the darkness.

First, a section of ribs.

Then, the spine.

And then, the silhouette of half a dragon's head lying in the abyss.

Just this exposed part was already larger than the entire altar.

Only then did everyone truly realize that Ji Wuchen's previous comment about "standing on the Dragon God's spine" was not an exaggeration.

The bone path they had walked along was truly just a small part of this ancient dragon remains.

And now, as the will awakened, this divine skeleton that had been silent for countless years finally revealed a corner of its ferocious true form before them.

Gu Yunting looked up at the slowly emerging shadow of the dragon's head, his voice a bit shaky.

"We were... jumping around on this thing's corpse earlier?"

Han Xiao swallowed hard and finally choked out a sentence after a long pause:

"Now that you put it that way, I suddenly feel like I'm pretty brave."

But no one was truly relaxed.

Because that pressure was still constantly increasing.

The Dragon-blood Corpse Lizards and Mutated Bone Beasts on the periphery, which had lost command and were in a mess, suddenly seemed to be held down again. One by one, they prostrated themselves, bowing toward the deepest part of the gorge.

They weren't submitting to the guardian beast.

They were submitting to something more ancient and of a higher status.

The dragon skeletons will.

Lin Mo slowly withdrew his gaze from the depths and let it fall on the blood-gold heart core floating in mid-air.

"Time is running out."

Ji Wuchen immediately understood his meaning: "You're going to absorb it now?"

"Yes."

"It's too rushed." Ji Wuchen frowned.

"You haven't fully refined the dragon marrow fire seed yet. If you swallow this heart core too, you might just blow your Physical Body apart."

"I have to swallow it anyway."

Lin Mo's voice was calm to the point of being cold and hard.

"You saw it too; that thing behind us has woken up."

"If it truly fully awakens, none of us will be able to leave in our current state."

This was absolutely true.

It seemed like they had obtained a great Opportunity, but in reality, the situation was more dangerous than before.

The guardian beast was dead and the altar was broken, but the greatest suppression was only just beginning to surface.

If they didn't seize the time to take another step forward now, by the time the dragon skeletons will truly covered the entire Black Dragon Gorge, they might not even be able to move.

Ji Wuchen was silent for two seconds and finally nodded.

"Then be quick."

"I'll help you keep an eye on the changes in the bone patterns and pressure on the periphery."

Han Xiao also walked to the edge of the altar with his saber, grinning. "Just eat. If anything else dares to come over, I'll hack it down first."

Gu Yunting clutched his chest and climbed up. Though his legs were still a bit weak, his mouth didn't stop. "You guys talk about it like you're just having a meal... This is the essence of a dragon remains. If even the slightest thing goes wrong, it could really kill you."

Lin Mo glanced at him. "Scared?"

Gu Yunting immediately stiffened his neck. "What the hell am I scared of? I'm just afraid you'll explode and splash blood all over my face."

Han Xiao cursed with a laugh on the spot, "Your mouth really is foul."

The atmosphere relaxed for only a moment.

The next second, the third heartbeat rang out from the depths of the gorge.

Thump—

This time, even the ruins of the altar trembled along with it.

Lin Mo stopped talking, reached out, and directly pulled the blood-gold heart core floating in mid-air into his palm.

The moment it touched his hand, a force far heavier and thicker than the dragon marrow fire seed surged in.

It wasn't like fire.

It was more like a scalding, still-beating heart.

It wasn't violent, but it was incredibly overbearing. As soon as it touched his palm, Lin Mo's entire blood and Qi seemed to be pulled by it, beginning to surge in an uncontrollable, synchronized rhythm.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

His heartbeat actually formed a brief resonance with that ancient heartbeat from the depths of Black Dragon Gorge.

Ji Wuchen's expression changed slightly. "Refine it quickly! Don't let it connect with the dragon skeletons will!"

Lin Mo sat cross-legged, his fingers suddenly closing as he pressed the blood-gold heart core directly into his chest.

Boom!

A force heavy to the extreme instantly exploded within his body.

If the dragon marrow fire seed was fire—burning and dismantling bones to reforge them...

Then this heart core was a hammer.

Hammer after hammer, it pounded mercilessly against his flesh, tendons, bones, and blood.

Lin Mo let out a muffled groan, his back muscles tightening instantly. The dark-gold patterns on his skin's surface reappeared, clearer than before, even starting to connect across his chest and back.

Low bone-creaking sounds constantly came from within him, like large tendons being retwisted tight and bones being compressed once more.

Pain.

It was heavier and duller than when he swallowed the dragon marrow fire seed.

Like being pressed under a millstone and slowly ground down.

But similarly, his Aura was also steadily rising at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Han Xiao stood guard on the outer circle, looking back as he hacked down a corpse lizard trying to pounce. His eyelids couldn't help but twitch.

Ji Wuchen stared at the gradually stabilizing rise and fall of blood and Qi in Lin Mo's chest and said softly, "Dragon marrow tempers the bones, the heart core strengthens the blood."

"He is taking two top-tier opportunities to forcibly reforge his Physical Body."

Gu Yunting's mouth twitched. "Others enter ruins to pick up treasures, but he enters ruins like he's stuffing himself into a furnace to be remade."

The Middle-aged Man added a rare comment: "But what comes out usually doesn't look human anymore."

"...That doesn't sound like a compliment."

"It wasn't meant to be," the Middle-aged Man said calmly.

While they were talking, the faint ancient "heartbeat" deep in Black Dragon Gorge suddenly stopped for a moment.

Immediately after, at the position of the dragon head silhouette, two points of dark-gold light slowly lit up.

Everyone's breath hitched simultaneously.

Gu Yunting's face turned green. "It... it didn't really open its eyes, did it?"

Ji Wuchen's voice was heavy. "It's a projection of will."

"But you can also understand it as it looking at us."

As soon as he said this, everyone felt a slight chill down their spines.

Being "watched" by the skeleton of a Dragon God that had been dead for countless years felt far more terrifying than being targeted by a guardian beast.

And even worse, new movements were heard from the other side of the black mist.

This time, it wasn't a guardian beast, nor was it a scattered hidden team.

It was the sound of marching—orderly, powerful, and with a distinct metallic clashing.

Han Xiao suddenly turned his head, his gaze instantly turning cold.

"More people are coming."

Ji Wuchen's expression also darkened. "It's not an ordinary team."

The black mist was slowly parted.

Over a dozen West Federation knights clad in silver-gold battle armor appeared first, followed by several Holy Temple Priests in white robes. In the very center was a tall, cold blonde man.

He wasn't wearing armor, only a white robe with gold patterns. Half a Holy Radiance Badge rested on his shoulder, and he held a long, narrow knight's sword.

Even before he drew near, his Aura was already clearly more than a level above the previous Short-caped Man.

As soon as Gu Yunting saw that badge, his face completely changed.

"Damn, a Temple Adjudicator..."

"The West Federation really went all out this time."

The blonde man's gaze swept over the broken altar, the Giant Guardian Beast's corpse, and his own fallen hidden team members. Finally, it landed on Lin Mo, who was refining the heart core cross-legged, and his eyes gradually turned cold.

"It seems."

"We've arrived a step too late."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable sense of pressure.

Han Xiao stepped forward with his saber, smiling fiercely.

"If you're late, then get lost."

The Arbiter didn't even look at Han Xiao, merely raising his hand slightly.

Several Holy Temple Priests behind him raised their staves simultaneously. Large areas of milky-white light patterns quickly spread beneath their feet, actually managing to withstand part of the dragon skeletons will's pressure.

Clearly, these people had come prepared.

"Hand over the dragon marrow fire seed and leave the dragon remains heart core. I can make your deaths a bit easier."

Gu Yunting cursed in a low voice, "How are these foreign devils all so good at acting tough?"

Han Xiao rolled his wrist holding the saber, his gaze becoming increasingly dangerous.

"I love hitting people who act like they're a big deal."

Ji Wuchen didn't respond.

Because he knew that the Temple Adjudicator in front of them was truly on a different level from those before.

If Lin Mo were in his peak state now, they wouldn't necessarily be afraid.

But unfortunately, Lin Mo was still refining the second Opportunity and could not be interrupted at all.

"Hold them off," Ji Wuchen said in a low voice.

"No matter what, we have to stall until Lin Mo finishes his absorption."

Han Xiao didn't waste words and took a step forward with his saber.

He had many wounds, and his clothes were already soaked in blood, but at this moment, the hand holding the saber was very steady, and his eyes were as fierce as a wolf's.

"If you want the dragon marrow fire seed, you'll have to get past me first."

The Temple Adjudicator finally turned his gaze to Han Xiao.

In those ice-blue eyes, there was no anger or contempt, only a high-and-mighty indifference.

Like looking at a stone blocking the road.

"Kill him."

He spoke flatly.

As soon as he spoke, two Silver-armored Knights charged out at the same time.

They were extremely fast.

In almost a single breath, they crossed over ten yards and lunged at Han Xiao from both sides.

Two knight swords whistled through the air, sealing off his throat and ribs respectively. Their coordination was extremely sharp, clearly not ordinary elites.

Han Xiao's eyes sharpened, and he slashed horizontally!

Clang!

He forcibly parried the first sword, but the second one stabbed in almost through the gap. Han Xiao twisted his body violently, and the sword tip grazed his ribs, immediately drawing a string of blood droplets.

"Damn it!"

Han Xiao cursed under his breath and slashed back at the knight's shoulder and neck, forcing the knight to retreat half a step.

But before he could continue his pursuit, a third figure had already pressed up from behind.

It was a white-robed priest.

He tapped his staff, and large milky-white light patterns instantly spread under Han Xiao's feet, wrapping around his legs like chains.

"Get lost!"

Han Xiao roared, his blood and Qi exploding, forcibly shattering most of the light patterns. But in that brief stall, the Silver-armored Knight on the left had already slashed down with his sword.

Pfft!

A long bloody gash was immediately opened on Han Xiao's chest, and he stumbled back three steps.

"Han Xiao!" Gu Yunting's face changed.

"I'm not dead yet!" Han Xiao spat out some blood and grinned instead.

"Again!"

"You really aren't afraid of death." Gu Yunting gritted his teeth and suddenly threw out his Spirit Blade, aiming straight for the white-robed priest's face.

But the priest merely waved his hand, and a translucent light shield appeared in front of him.

Clang!

The Spirit Blade was knocked away on the spot.

Gu Yunting's face turned green. "How are these fanatics getting tougher and tougher!"

"It's not that they're tough, it's that you're too weak."

A cold, indifferent voice suddenly came from ahead.

Gu Yunting's heart chilled, and he instinctively retreated rapidly.

In the next instant, the Temple Adjudicator's figure appeared where he had been standing. After his sword missed, he swept it horizontally. The blade drew a bright arc, cleanly cutting through a section of broken bone nearby.

A layer of cold sweat immediately broke out on Gu Yunting's back.

If he hadn't retreated quickly, it wouldn't have been a bone that was cut.

"Do you have any sense of honor!" Gu Yunting couldn't help but curse loudly.

The Arbiter didn't even bother to respond. With a turn of his wrist, a second sword strike had already come.

Too fast.

So fast that Gu Yunting could barely see it.

Just as the sword was about to pierce his shoulder, a short blade suddenly cut in from the side, precisely parrying the sword tip.

Clang!

The Middle-aged Man stepped in front of Gu Yunting, his gaze grim.

"Step back."

Gu Yunting gasped for air. "If you were half a beat slower, I'd have retreated into my next life."

The Middle-aged Man ignored him, but his hand holding the short blade was already slightly numb.

With just one strike, he knew the gap.

This Temple Adjudicator's strength was more than just a level higher than those West Federation hidden team members earlier.

On the other side, the man with black wristguards had also engaged fiercely with two Silver-armored Knights.

He followed a hard-hitting style. Every blow of his war hammer was powerful and heavy, smashing the ground and sending bone fragments flying, forcing the two knights not to take the hits head-on for a moment.

But the problem was, the opponents didn't compete with him in strength at all.

One on the left and one on the right, they circled and fought.

From time to time, the priests in the back would fire Holy Light beams to suppress him.

Just as the man with black wristguards missed a hammer swing, he was struck in the side by a sword. Half of his wristguard was sliced off, and he cursed in frustration: "These brats only know how to gang up on people!"

"These brats only know how to gang up on people!"

"What's wrong with ganging up?" Gu Yunting shouted while retreating. "Do you think they're here to play fair in a ring with you!"

It wasn't that Han Xiao and the others weren't trying.

It was that even if they tried their hardest, they could only barely stall.

The people brought by the Temple Adjudicator were clearly trained in coordination. The knights were responsible for close-range suppression, while the priests handled crowd control and finishing blows. Their offense and defense were extremely fluid, giving them almost no chance to pick them off one by one.

More troublesome was that the Arbiter himself hadn't truly fought seriously yet.

He just stood at the forefront, occasionally cutting in with a sword strike that forced Han Xiao and the Middle-aged Man into dangerous situations.

It was as if the rhythm of the entire battle was held in his palm.

Ji Wuchen stood at the edge of the altar, staring at the bone pattern changes while shouting urgently:

"Don't clash with them head-on! If we stall until Lin Mo finishes his absorption, we win!"

"No shit!" Han Xiao forced back a knight in front of him, blood constantly dripping from his chest.

"I'd love to kill them, but the conditions don't allow it!"

Just as he finished speaking, a white light suddenly shot from the staff of a priest in the rear.

Han Xiao had just blocked the knight in front and had no time to dodge. He was hit squarely in the shoulder by the white light. Half of his body went numb, and his movements slowed noticeably.

The Temple Adjudicator's gaze turned cold, and he finally stepped forward.

"It's over."

When his voice fell, he was already in front of Han Xiao.

One sword, from top to bottom.

...