At this moment, the previously haughty and arrogant warrior priest, subject of the Ancient One, Reverend Jor Har had lost all his aura and was akin to an ant squashed in the mud!
*CRACK!* *CRACK!* *CRACK!*
Both sides were still in a deadlock.
However, the sound of bones shifting could be heard from within Reverend Jor Har's body, as if his bones were about to fall apart, grinding endlessly in a jarring manner.
Reverend Jor Har was like a wooden block that was being hammered into the mud by the colossal palm of the burly man. Without any way of escaping, his bones creaked wildly.
Melee combat fights were the most dangerous and victory was often determined within a few exchanges of moves.
By underestimating his enemy, Reverend Jor Har's [Enraged Heavenly Tiger Gaze] and nameless sonic attack, two of the powerful fatal techniques, were countered consecutively and in a moment of daze, the burly man seized the initiative.
His single mistake had led him to this state. Right now, Reverend Jor Har was motionlessly pushed against the ground by the palm!
Even if Reverend Jor Har had a thousand more techniques, he couldn't use any of them at this moment nor could he summon the Buddhist spirit weapons in his possession.
This was a fight based completely on strength!
As long as Reverend Jor Har was distracted and lost focus of his strength, he would be crushed into sludge by the burly man's palm without even a corpse left!
Even the Holy Maiden, Sylvie Deva was dumbfounded by all of this. She was baffled by this enigmatic, mysterious burly scaleless but strangely still reptilian-looking man.
To think that he could pin the mighty warrior priest of the Ancient One's secretive order motionlessly on the spot!
Suddenly, the burly man nodded with a flicker of admiration in his eyes. "The fact that you're able to withstand this is quite something. Indeed, your fabled old wyrm's order is truly impressive."
Holy Maiden Sylvie Deva was now tongue-tied.
What was this man doing? Wasn't his tone way too arrogant? Didn't he fear the repercussions? In the entire world, which martial artist, be it itinerary or from any of the factions, had the rights to speak to the warrior priests of the Ancient One in that manner?
Even more disturbingly so, the strangest thing was that the burly man seemed to have meant what he said from the bottom of his heart.
Of course, what was even more shocking was that Reverend Jor Har was totally focused and tense in this intense standoff of strength; he did not even dare to relax or breathe heavily.
However, the burly man could still speak!
In other words, he still had additional strength to spare!
What they didn't know was that this burly man, this enigmatic stranger was none other than Aiden in his newly donned form. The one he shaped on the spot a while back to avoid being recognized too easily during the upcoming clashes.
Knowing him, it was only natural that he would speak up against such oppressive force as the Ancient One's Order and that he would bat no eye for someone as fabled as the Reverend. He killed bishops without hesitation, why would he care about an unknown reverend then?
He dared to kill the selected heirs of such strong and powerful factions as Pei Syriac from the Crystal Palace Sect or Yang Zahn from the Malefic Demons Clan!
Aiden had abilities far surpassing the Martial Master realm, going hand to hand with the top powerhouses in the legendary Martial Grandmaster level! That was the peak of the mortal state, the veritable barrier that one needed to somehow surpass to shed his or her mortal coil and become someone… or something more!
Reverend Jor Har's [Enraged Heavenly Tiger Gaze] and pathetic sonic attack combined attack could not affect his mind at all!
A look of embarrassment flashed past Reverend Jor Har's eyes.
He had never endured such humiliation and suppression as one of the strongest warrior priests, reverends of the Ancient One! This burly man's condescending attitude had ignited Reverend Jor Har's deep seated anger completely.
"Do you really think that you can win against me just like this?!"
Grinding his teeth noisily, Reverend Jor Har's eyes gradually shone with a silvery flicker as he uttered slowly. "Empower the mortal mind! Shed one's limitations!"
*CLANG!*
The moment he said those seemingly inconspicuous words, a loud bang sounded from Reverend Jor Har's chest, possessing a resolute metallic intent!
It was as if an indestructible power that could penetrate rocks was about to pierce through and gush out from Reverend Jor Har's chest.
Aiden could clearly sense that the metallic sound earlier on was Reverend Jor Har's heartbeat! After it sounded, Reverend Jor Har's bloodline churned and the strength in his arms increased significantly, steadying his wavering body instantly.
"Huh?"
Nodding at the scene, Aiden's eyes lit up with excitement instead of fear or dread. He muttered. "How interesting…"
Hearing his remark, the white-robed Holy Maiden hurriedly remarked, her tone filled with worry.
"Watch out! That's the profound ultimate technique of their Secret Order! A secret manual, the Diamond Body! By developing a mind that abides in nowhere, one is able to cultivate a diamond heart!"
*CLANG!*
A heartbeat sounded once more, cutting through Holy Maiden Sylvie Deva's voice.
This time round, the metallic sound was even clearer and more ear-piercing, as if it could destroy everything and penetrate all beings! The blood in Reverend Jor Har's body circulated slowly, giving off the sound of flowing lead metal, something akin to mercury.
That was almost the limit of the power of bloodline. It was incredibly powerful, not many things could come close to its power!
Reverend jor Har's arm strength increased significantly and he propped up the burly man, Aiden's palm. As his aura climbed, his eyes shone with frenzy.
Holy Maiden Sylvie Deva continued in a low voice.
"Each time the diamond heart thumps, it would swap blood with the marrow and refine his tendons and bones! At the limit of its level, one's body becomes indestructible and can even fight against pure-blooded ferocious beasts with ease!"
*CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!*
As though he was trying to prove how scary the diamond heart was, the heartbeat coming from Reverend Jor Har pounded even faster as his blood raced within his body.
*SWOOSH!*
The sound of the flowing metal was endless. Terrifying!
"I am not sure who you are or where you are from… but you are way too naive to think that you can kill me with a single palm strike!"
Slowly, Reverend Jor Har spoke with a metallic undertone in his voice that was forceful and resolute. His body was covered with a layer of shiny grayish-silver luster.
The power of bloodline that was triggered by the diamond heart had already cruised through his limbs to every single part of his body!
"Heh… How amusing! Such show from an ant…" Aiden smiled gently suddenly.
*BANG!*
Suddenly, an explosion roared without warning, as though a godly being was beating the heavenly drums fervently, giving off shuddering, forceful thuds.
That sound was so close that it suppressed the sound of Reverend Jor Har's heartbeats!
Reverend Jor Har's expression changed starkly.
Since he was opposite Aiden, he could naturally tell that the sound was coming from the other party's chest!
Suddenly, he felt a sense of uneasiness.
There was no time for the old man to think as he propped his arms up forcefully. Churning his power of bloodline to its limits, he exerted strength in both legs and tried leaping up to break free from Aiden's overwhelming suppression.
Angrily, Monk Jue Chen roared.
"BREAK!"
*BANG!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Suddenly, a thunderous bang sounded from within Aiden's body. It was forceful and massive, similar to how waves crashed onto shores.
Standing in front of the burly man, Reverend Jor Har felt like he was hallucinating. HE felt as if he was pulled into a strange illusion!
It felt as though he was a small boat in a raging sea that could capsize at any moment, washing him away without a corpse left!
He was horrified all of a sudden!
This wasn't the power of a mortal man! This was something surpassing the limits of what was deemed possible! That was the might of the universe!
The Holy Maiden's ears twitched when she heard that sound as she exclaimed in shock. Throughout history, it was known that the limit of bloodline Power was at the mythical level. It was said that it could create illusions and its sound would induce terror by itself!
There were extremely few martial artists in history who had managed to accomplish it. Even with her illustrious background and ample experience she had never met one such person.
Though she has heard some rumors that a strange man emerged in the nearby capital of the Draconic Skink race, in Ugburg and has caused a massive upheaval!
Although it was nothing but a baseless rumor that she had put no weight to it before… now it felt that maybe, just maybe those weird stories could have some truth to them!
Yet, no matter how hard she tried, Holy Maiden Sylvie Deva could not compare this not so friendly-looking burly man to the strange small reptilian from the stories… They felt worlds apart!