Chapter 1174: Half-step to G.o.dhood
Despite the fact that Edmund made it sound as if there was plenty of hope, Elder Zumar couldn’t bring himself to relax at all. After all, apart from the temptation of the so-called G.o.d’s Whispers, there was a real and substantial difference in strength between Lin Li and Poer, which the temptation of G.o.d’s Whispers could close. So what if Lin Li did not get tempted by the G.o.d’s Whispers? One was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, while the other was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. The two could not be compared to each other at all.
Although High Priest Poer was surprised that Lin Li could also hear the G.o.d’s Whispers, the thoughts he had after recovering from the shock were exactly what Elder Zumar feared. Even if the other party could hear the G.o.d’s Whispers, what did that mean? He was truly at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and there was nothing Lin Li could do!
Thinking of this, the astonishment on High Priest Poer’s face immediately vanished, and he resentfully said with menace, “Quit getting up to such tricks. Even if you’ve heard Him, so what? Do you really think I’ll spare you on the account of this?! This time, no one can save you. After I kill you, the Gilded Kingdom will become the new ruler of the Breezy Plains under my lead.”
After saying his piece, High Priest Poer waved the holy artifact in his hand forward, and a huge ray of light blasted towards Lin Li and the others, not giving Lin Li a chance to speak at all. The Light Slash was several hundred meters long, resembling a crescent. Not only did it target Lin Li, it even aimed for the other members of the Tower of Dusk who were within the range of attack.
At this point, Lin Li finally saw clearly what the holy artifact that High Priest Poer was holding. It looked just like a fist-sized gemstone, or rather a large diamond that was embellished in aquamarine metal. It looked like the pendant from a necklace, and the reason that its appearance was blurry was because the large diamond was emitting a dazzling ray of light that was as bright as the sun. If not for the fact that High Priest Poer was using the power of the holy artifact at close range, and allowed the light to dim momentarily, he would look like he was holding a sphere of light in his hand.
In the face of High Priest Poer’s attack, Lin Li’s expression remained calm, but deep down, there was no trace of negligence and carelessness at all. After countless battles spent honing his skills, Lin Li had long gotten rid of that mentality.
Seeing that ray of Light Slash shoot over, Lin Li waved the Helios’ Scepter in his hand, and the Light and Darkness Sword immediately appeared in front of him while the crescent-shaped light slashed over. The attacks from both sides were incredibly terrifying, and in an instant, it was as if heaven and earth had collided. Amidst the deafening roar, the aftershocks of the collision instantly swept out in all directions, shaking the ground into even smaller particles of yellow sand. Next, a huge crater that was more than 10 meters deep was formed.
Once they saw this scene, the people behind Lin Li immediately understood that such a level of combat was simply too intense for them to partic.i.p.ate in. Hence, after catching Lin Li’s hint, Connoris and the two Undead servants immediately retreated from the battlefield while protecting the mages of the Tower of Dusk.
Watching the people of the Tower of Dusk retreat, High Priest Poer did not attack them, and instead looked at Lin Li with a sinister smile. He then said, “Okay then, I’ll let them live for one more moment. Once I kill you, I’ll let them accompany you soon!”
As soon as High Priest Poer finished speaking, he suddenly felt a piercing chilliness rising up from behind him, but he didn’t turn around to look, and instead he retracted the large pair of phantom-like wings on his back, just like a bird retracting its wings. They formed a ma.s.sive light shield, and there was a ma.s.sive boom immediately afterwards as a Light and Darkness Sword darted out from the void, and slashed at the light shield.
Although High Priest Poer was blasted by the ma.s.sive blow and his body was swaying, he apparently did not suffer any damage. After stabilizing his body, he even laughed triumphantly, and pointed his staff at Lin Li before hollering, “How can you harm me with an attack of such a low level? Don’t you understand? Any resistance from you will be in vain!”
However, Lin Li was not the type who liked talking nonsense while fighting. Although the sneak attack did not work, he was not in the least bit discouraged, and when his body flashed, dozens of Light and Darkness Swords surfaced. With the swing of the Helios’ Scepter, he rotated like a windmill towards High Priest Poer.
Moreover, after the dozens of Light and Darkness Swords were released, Lin Li did not stop there, and instead continued to raise the Helios’ Scepter high while continuously chanting an incantation. As the chanting proceeded, a ma.s.sive ball of lightning that was like a shooting star in the void began darting towards High Priest Poer like a thunderbolt.
Although High Priest Poer’s abilities had been increased to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, he was still far from being able to compare with Lin Li in terms of combat. He was the high priest of a kingdom, and he would naturally have his subordinates handle most matters. It would not be wrong to say that he was living in luxury. There was no need for him to engage in a battle personally at all. However, Lin Li was different. Not only had he experienced several adventures, the experience he had gained in countless battles was definitely not what ordinary people could compare to.
Hence, High Priest Poer might be powerful, but he was obviously not strong enough to suppress Lin Li. If High Priest Poer really ascended to G.o.dhood, his powerful divine might could make Lin Li immobile. However, he was only at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and no matter how close he was to the Divine-realm, he was still not there yet.
High Priest Poer was like a bull with ma.s.sive power, while Lin Li was like a swift and agile cheetah. Even if a bull had the power to knock mountains down, it would be akin to being powerless if he couldn’t strike the cheetah. Sooner or later, the cheetah would find an opening and kill it.
High Priest Poer coped with Lin Li’s attacks in a disheveled manner. Although he did not suffer much injury, he could not keep up the smugness any longer. He just said that he could easily get rid of Lin Li, but he was now in such a pathetic state!
“Poer’s power was increased by force, and he doesn’t have enough corresponding combat experience. Whoever’s going to win the battle is not confirmed yet.” Although Edmund was injured and lost the power to fight, his vision was not affected.
As for Elder Zumar and the rest of the Gilded Kingdom, they finally felt less worried even though they could not follow the battle as clearly as Edmund did. However, deep down, they still didn’t think that High Priest Poer would be defeated. After all, the pressure of the peak Sanctuary-realm power was too much. They just hoped that Lin Li would expend Poer’s power before Edmund recovered. However, it would be more realistic to hope that they would both end up in a terrible state.
The team of the Tower of Dusk was also nervously paying attention to the battle in the sky. Norfeller had a few impulsive urges to rush up to help, but was dissuaded by Connoris. Although Norfeller had already reached the Sanctuary-realm, and reached the mid-stage, his strength was really insufficient. If he went forth, he would only be creating more trouble for Lin Li.
At this juncture, the battle in the sky had already entered the cooldown stage, even though it had only started a short while ago. Besides, the strength of Lin Li and High Priest Poer’s behavior seemed to have been reversed. Lin Li was completely suppressing High Priest Poer who was obviously stronger, beating him up into a pulp.
Of course, the holy artifact in the hands of High Priest Poer was definitely not a lousy good, since it could become the holy artifact of the Illuminati. With the help of the power of this holy artifact, High Priest Poer did not suffer any substantial damage even though Lin Li had dealt him a great blow. The Light and Darkness Swords and powerful Sanctuary-level attack spells were all useless in the face of the defense created by the power of that holy artifact.
However, although he did not suffer any substantial damage, High Priest Poer was feeling terrible. He was full of confidence about killing Lin Li and subduing the Illuminati to bring the Gilded Kingdom to infinite glory just now. However, he couldn’t even deal with Lin Li, let alone achieve the rest of his goals. Besides, there were still the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council to deal with in Anril.
At the thought of this, High Priest Poer felt a burning sensation on his face, as if everyone below was mocking him. He waved the holy artifact, and thousands of rays of light were emitted at once, forcing Lin Li to retreat far. Immediately afterwards, he raised his arms high, and fully activated the power of the holy artifact.
Under High Priest Poer’s pushing, the holy artifact of the Illuminati and the large diamond on it started emitting a light that got increasingly intense. It was no longer a glowing light, but an existence that was like a white hole. The power became increasingly terrifying, while the divine might was more and more intense. It erupted from the white hole.
When High Priest Poer was trying to activate the power of the holy artifact without hesitation and suppressing the seven monuments of the ancient G.o.d of Light, he seemed to have felt a call as he maximized the power. Poer was holding the holy artifact, and under the light, there were shocking changes to his body. His hair, skin, and bones seemed to have turned into crystals of light, just like with the previous Winged Angels. However, his power was several times larger.
With the changes to his body, High Priest Poer’s strength also began increasing rapidly. The peak of the Sanctuary-realm was already the limit in the first place, and there was little room for further improvement. However, High Priest Poer’s strength continued to increase, while his body also emitted a hidden divine might. The divine might was no longer provided by the holy artifact, but rather was generated by Poer. That just meant that his strength had approached or even reached the so-called demiG.o.d realm.
At the same time, High Priest Poer’s expression changed rapidly, and he no longer looked as sinister and resentful as he used to. Instead, he had a peaceful expression; in fact, he seemed emotionless. Of course, despite the lack of expression on his face, his eyes were still fixed on Lin Li. He obviously still regarded Lin Li as the most important opponent at the moment.
Seeing the changes that had occurred in High Priest Poer’s body, Edmund’s face instantly turned pale, and he murmured, “H-how is that possible? How did his strength rise to the level of a demiG.o.d?!”
“What? DemiG.o.d?!” Elder Zumar, who was at the side, initially also just felt that High Priest Poer’s strength had become greater, but he was so sh.e.l.l-shocked when he heard Edmund’s words that he turned pale.
The demiG.o.d realm was said to be the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, but also a transcendence from the Sanctuary-realm. That was the realm that was truly the closest to the Divine-realm. A demiG.o.d was one who was only half a step away from becoming a G.o.d and a true deity. It could not be reached purely through acc.u.mulation of power. One had to comprehend the various Laws or find their own path to G.o.dhood. That was precisely the reason that Saint Edmund was so surprised because he didn’t believe that a single object would allow one to become a demiG.o.d.
When Lin Li, who was fighting with High Priest Poer, noticed the changes to the latter’s body, his expression finally became much more sullen. Lin Li had met a powerhouse who had become a demiG.o.d once in the great rift of the Eternal Darkness Altar. It was the Flame Dragon Lothar. Fortunately, it had just woken up from a long slumber then, and Lin Li had the branch of the Tree of Eternity as well as the Seed of Eternity. Only then did he manage to have a close shave with death while making the almost-invincible Flame Dragon Lothar go back to sleep in the fire element plane.
However, Lin Li did not think that he could use the same method, because he had to face a powerhouse that was a DemiG.o.d without the help of powerful Sanctuary powerhouses like Rogge and Nefa this time.