204: Chapter 204 Holy Radiance Resonance

Lin Mo looked at him. "I say, are all you idiots from the West Federation this self-righteous?"

The expressions of the several Silver-armored Knights in the rear immediately became incredibly unsightly.

The Adjudicator, however, did not get angry.

He simply nodded.

"Fine."

"Then I will let you see what a true gap looks like."

As soon as he finished speaking, he took a step forward.

Buzz!

The Holy Radiance patterns beneath his feet flared brilliantly at the same time.

The Adjudicator's figure did not vanish directly as before. Instead, in an even more eerie manner, he instantly split into three afterimages, closing in on Lin Mo from three directions simultaneously.

Han Xiao's eyelids twitched. "Clones?"

"Not Clones. It's high-speed displacement combined with Holy Radiance refraction. Don't let your eyes deceive you; there's only one real body!"

The Adjudicator's senses were very sharp, and he instantly judged that Lin Mo's move was not a Clone-like technique.

But the problem was, even knowing there was only one didn't make it easy to block.

Because the sword movements of these three afterimages were almost perfectly synchronized!

Three streaks of gold-and-white sword light slashed toward Lin Mo's upper, middle, and lower sections simultaneously, sealing off all his room to dodge.

Lin Mo's eyes turned cold. He stomped heavily, his entire body sinking abruptly. He raised both arms at once, throwing a punch forward and twisting an elbow back, while his knee lunged out fiercely at the same time.

Bang! Clang! Boom!

Three explosive sounds erupted nearly simultaneously.

Two of the sword shadows dissipated on the spot; they were indeed just deceptive afterimages.

But the real sword strike still grazed Lin Mo's left ribs, cutting in and drawing a spray of blood.

The Adjudicator's true body flashed past, the killing intent in his eyes growing even stronger. He pulled the blade back with the momentum, intending to tear the wound wide open.

But Lin Mo acted as if he couldn't feel the pain at all. He reached back with his right hand, actually grabbing for the opponent's sword-wielding wrist!

The Adjudicator's brow furrowed, and he immediately withdrew his sword and retreated.

Lin Mo, however, had already followed him.

Boom!

Another punch smashed toward his face.

The Adjudicator raised his sword horizontally to block, and was once again knocked back several steps by the impact. The muscles at the corners of his mouth tightened.

He was feeling more and more uncomfortable.

It wasn't simply because he couldn't block.

It was because Lin Mo's fighting style was too savage, too close, and too ruthless, completely disregarding the Temple's rhythm.

When you wanted to create distance, he insisted on rushing into your face.

When you wanted to cut a vital point, he would rather take a wound just to trade a punch with you.

This kind of person was the most annoying.

And the most dangerous.

Because once he adapted to your speed and power, he would only become increasingly difficult to deal with.

And right now, things were clearly starting to head in that direction.

The Adjudicator's gaze turned cold as he suddenly raised his longsword.

At the same time, the priests behind him slammed their staves in unison.

"Holy Radiance, Descend."

Boom—

A thick pillar of platinum light suddenly fell from high above, enveloping the Adjudicator directly.

In that instant, his entire person seemed plated in a layer of dazzling holy gold, and even his pupils took on a cold, sharp golden hue.

Gu Yunting's face stiffened. "External buffs too? This is fucking cheating!"

Han Xiao spat. "Bringing a healer to a fight is shameless to begin with."

Ji Wuchen, however, let out a low shout, "Careful, he's at least thirty percent stronger than before!"

Just as the words left his mouth, the Adjudicator moved.

This time, it was a true disappearance.

Not even an afterimage remained.

Lin Mo jerked his body aside almost purely on instinct.

Squelch!

A sword mark slashed diagonally across his chest. His clothes and flesh split open simultaneously, and a line of blood instantly spread.

Too fast.

Faster than the Condemnation from before.

Before he could steady himself, a second sword strike pierced from behind.

Lin Mo threw a backhand punch, but it only struck a cloud of exploding Holy Radiance fragments.

A fake!

The real killing move was above his head.

The Adjudicator cleaved down from above. Holy white light condensed on the blade's edge into a several-zhang-long Judgement sword beam, slashing down with a terrifying sharpness that seemed as if it would slice through the air itself!

"Lin Mo!" Han Xiao couldn't help but roar out.

The moment Lin Mo looked up, his pupils contracted slightly.

He couldn't dodge it.

Then he wouldn't dodge!

His chest heaved violently as the dragon marrow fire seed and the power of his heart core were pushed to their limits simultaneously. Dark gold patterns lit up from his chest all the way to his arms, and his entire body's blood and Qi surged as if ignited.

In the next second, he crossed his arms and met that Judgement sword beam head-on.

BOOM!!!!!!

The entire altar was instantly swallowed by dazzling platinum and dark gold light.

The massive sound was like thunder.

A shockwave swept out in a ring, blowing away all the surrounding broken bones, rubble, and debris. Even the few Silver-armored Knights still standing on the periphery were shaken and forced back repeatedly.

Gu Yunting raised his arm to shield his face, barely able to keep his eyes open.

"Did... did he block it?!"

No one answered immediately.

Because the collision in the center had not yet ended.

Within that chaotic explosion of light, a figure was being pressed down, sinking continuously.

It was Lin Mo.

His arms were crossed, desperately holding up against the descending sword beam. The ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch, and his calves were nearly buried in the skeletal remains on the altar. The dark gold patterns on his arms shone blindingly; his skin kept splitting open, only to be forcibly held together by his boiling blood and Qi.

The Adjudicator hung in mid-air, both hands pressing down on the sword, his expression cold to the extreme.

"Is this all the strength you have? Too weak! You are not worthy of being my opponent at all!!"

"Kneel!"

The sword beam suddenly sank another fraction.

The ground beneath Lin Mo's feet caved in with a roar, and a trickle of blood finally overflowed from the corner of his mouth.

Han Xiao's eyes were bloodshot, and he raised his blade, wanting to rush forward.

"Don't go over there!" Ji Wuchen grabbed him. "Going in now will only distract Lin Mo!"

"Then we just watch?!"

"Don't panic!"

Ji Wuchen stared fixedly at the center of the clash, his voice trembling under the pressure.

"He hasn't reached his limit yet!"

As if to prove those words.

In the next second, Lin Mo suddenly raised his head.

There was blood in his eyes and pain on his face, but more than that, there was a ferocity that had been completely forced out.

"Make me kneel?"

His voice wasn't loud, yet it managed to pierce through the roaring noise.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

The moment the words fell, the dragon marrow power that had been suppressed within Lin Mo's body seemed to finally burst through the last layer of obstruction, forced open by this sword strike.

Boom!

An even more violent and refined dark gold blood-Qi erupted from within him.

It wasn't a simple outburst.

It was more like a door had been smashed open.

On his arms, the dark gold dragon shadows that were originally just patterns actually began to faintly condense into a layer of pale scale-like phantoms at this moment.

They weren't real scales.

But they already had that essence.

As this power truly flowed through him, Lin Mo's figure, which had been forced down, actually began to stand back up bit by bit.

One inch.

Another inch.

The Adjudicator's expression finally changed.

"How is this possible—"

"Nothing is impossible."

Lin Mo spat out a mouthful of bloody Qi and thrust his arms upward with a roar!

BOOM!!!

That Judgement sword beam was actually forcibly shaken and bounced upward by him.

The Adjudicator himself was sent flying half a zhang into the air by the recoil, his balance visibly faltering for the first time.

And Lin Mo gave him no chance to regain his momentum.

The ground beneath him exploded.

He soared into the sky!

A punch!

Directly at the Adjudicator's chest!

The Adjudicator hurriedly blocked with his sword horizontally, but having his full-power Condemnation strike forcibly shaken off had already disrupted his Qi. It was too late to catch this strike steadily.

Bang—!

This punch landed solidly on the blade of the sword.

The Adjudicator was sent flying back like an arrow struck by a heavy hammer, smashing violently into a massive dragon bone behind him. The impact sent bone shards flying, his chest churned, and he could no longer suppress the blood in his throat, spraying it out on the spot.

The entire area went silent.

Gu Yunting's mouth hung open wide enough to fit a fist.

"Holy shit..."

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment, then he slapped his thigh hard, laughing so much he nearly reopened his wounds.

"Beautiful!"

Ji Wuchen stared fixedly at the flickering scale-like phantoms on Lin Mo's arms, his breathing extremely rapid.

"His Aura just surged by another massive margin."

The man with black wristguards grinned with a mouth full of blood and cursed softly:

"He's really not fucking human."

Across the ruins, the Adjudicator slowly stood up by leaning against the dragon bone. Blood still hung from the corner of his mouth, and several tears had appeared in his originally pristine platinum robes.

He looked at Lin Mo, a trace of wariness appearing in his eyes.

Lin Mo landed back on the ground and slowly straightened up, his Aura even heavier than before.

He raised a hand to wipe the blood from his mouth, looked at the Adjudicator, and said only one sentence:

"Now, am I worthy?"

The Adjudicator did not speak immediately.

He simply stood up straight, wiped the blood from his mouth, and locked his gaze firmly onto Lin Mo.

The surroundings were very quiet.

Even the chanting of the white-robed priests in the rear had briefly broken for a moment after that punch.

Because anyone could see that the situation had become unpredictable.

Just moments ago, the Adjudicator had held the initiative, suppressing Lin Mo with fierce attacks.

But now, the one who had been punched away and sent spitting blood was him.

In a direct head-on clash, he had been beaten back.

For someone of a Temple Adjudicator's caliber, this was already quite embarrassing.

Gu Yunting lowered his voice, as if afraid of disturbing something, and whispered:

"He won't... go crazy with rage, will he?"

Han Xiao grinned. "Better if he does."

"The fear is that he still has something else up his sleeve."

Ji Wuchen did not respond.

Because the answer was almost obvious.

A person at this level couldn't have attained the position of Temple Adjudicator by relying only on the few moves shown so far.

Sure enough.

In the next second, the Adjudicator suddenly raised his left hand and pressed it against the Semi-Holy Radiance badge on his chest.

Buzz—

The badge vibrated slightly.

A deeper, purer golden pattern slowly lit up from within the badge, spreading down his neck like an awakened brand.

And his Aura became increasingly dangerous at this moment.

Han Xiao's face darkened. "What the hell is this now?"

Ji Wuchen's voice tightened visibly for the first time.

"Stigmata."

"High-level Temple enforcers often have a Stigmata implanted in their bodies to forcibly boost their combat power in extreme situations."

Gu Yunting's eyelids twitched. "And the side effects? Power like this shouldn't come without side effects!"

Ji Wuchen stared at the Adjudicator. "Side effects are his problem to worry about. What we need to worry about now is whether Lin Mo can still suppress him."

The Adjudicator looked up, the icy blue in his pupils completely replaced by a layer of pale gold.

He looked at Lin Mo, his expression having unexpectedly returned to a state of calm.

But that kind of calm was more chilling than anger.

"You have indeed exceeded my expectations."

"To be able to push me to this point, you have enough to be proud of, even among the younger generation of the West Federation's Temple."

Lin Mo stood his ground, his expression unchanged.

"Done talking?"

The Adjudicator slowly raised his sword.

"But this is where it ends."

Boom!

The ground beneath his feet suddenly exploded, and he instantly turned into a streak of gold-and-white light, his speed even faster than before by more than just a margin.

This time, even Lin Mo's eyes flashed with a hint of gravity.

Because the opponent wasn't just faster.

Power, sharpness, and the sense of pressure had all been elevated.

Squelch!

The first sword strike slashed head-on. Lin Mo raised his arm to block, but the blade cut into the armor-like dark gold scale phantoms, still opening a deep wound that reached the bone.

Lin Mo's gaze turned cold, and he threw a backhand punch.

The Adjudicator didn't engage at all. With a flash of his figure, he had already circled to Lin Mo's back-left, the second sword strike piercing diagonally toward his waist and ribs.

Too fast.

Lin Mo could only twist his body to avoid vital areas, allowing the sword to tear a gash in his side while simultaneously throwing a reverse elbow strike.

Bang!

The Adjudicator was knocked back slightly, but used the force to flip, a third sword strike cleaving down toward Lin Mo's shoulder from above.

Boom!

Lin Mo braced against the sword strike and kicked out.

The Adjudicator similarly raised his knee to counter.

In a dull explosion, both were shaken back.

But almost the instant their feet touched the ground, the Adjudicator pressed forward again.

The sword was like a rainstorm!

Each strike was faster and heavier than the last.

The center of the altar was instantly riddled with holes. Large amounts of broken bone and stone debris were kicked up by the sword winds. The crisscrossing gold-and-white sword marks nearly wove into a net, enveloping Lin Mo entirely.

Gu Yunting's scalp felt numb just watching.

"Damn... after activating the Stigmata, this guy is like a different person."

Han Xiao gritted his teeth. "Lin Mo is holding on too, and he hasn't lost his rhythm yet."

He indeed hadn't.

Although he had fallen back into a high-intensity exchange, Lin Mo's rhythm had not collapsed.

The wounds on his body were increasing.

But with every additional wound, the fierce Aura on him actually grew a fraction stronger.

Like a beast that grew more ferocious the more it fought in a bloody battle.

The Adjudicator also noticed this, and his brow furrowed deeper.

He had thought that after activating the Stigmata, he would quickly regain control of the battle.

But the reality was that although Lin Mo was being suppressed, he was never truly crushed.

His Physical Body was too strong.

Unreasonably strong.

The pressure-bearing capacity of his bones, tendons, and blood-Qi after being reforged allowed him to grit his teeth and fight back even after taking consecutive attacks of this level.

What made the Adjudicator's heart sink even more was—

Lin Mo's punches were getting heavier and heavier.

At first, he could easily neutralize them with speed.

But by now, every time he blocked a punch, the longsword in his hand felt heavier, and the blood-Qi in his chest became more chaotic.

If this dragged on, even with the Stigmata active, he might not necessarily come out on top.

Thinking of this, the Adjudicator's gaze turned cold.

He couldn't delay any longer.

He had to decide the victory with one blow.

He suddenly retreated, opening up a distance of over ten zhang from Lin Mo.

Han Xiao immediately became alert. "Watch out, he's going for a big move!"

At almost the same time, the priests in the rear all spat out a mouthful of blood and slammed their staves heavily onto the ground.

The massive area of Holy Radiance patterns suddenly contracted, all of it flowing into the ground beneath the Adjudicator's feet.

The Adjudicator held his sword with both hands, the tip pointing toward the sky, as the Holy Light around him suddenly flared.

A layer of fine golden cracks began to appear on the blade of that narrow knight's sword, as if something inside was being forcibly awakened.

Ji Wuchen's expression changed.

"This is Holy Radiance Resonance!"

"This move absolutely cannot be taken head-on. Lin Mo, get out of the way!!"