Chapter 540: Tough Bastard

Lin Mo, now in his soul-bound Argentum-III Decanus Armor, felt the world shift around him.

The accompanying system of the armor set flared with a cool blue light in his retina, overlaying targeting reticles and energy readouts onto the dusty battlefield.

The oppressive weight of the Ancient Stone Ape’s earth qi, which had previously felt like a physical burden, was now negated by the armor’s own Aetheric field combined with his [Stellar Domain].

The armor might look heavy but it was weightless. It’s like he put on light armor without any thickness. Still, he could feel the explosive strength running through the armor’s energy circuit.

The Aether Shard in his chest plate hummed a low, aggressive thrum that vibrated through his bones, syncing with the beating of his heart.

[Target locked.]

[Physical Enhancement: 320%]

[Spiritual Suppression: Active]

[Compensation Protocols: Engaging]

The synthesized voice of the system whispered in his ear that it felt like he had an AI whispering in his ear.

Although it’s possible to turn it off, it’s not that distracting, so he kept it on. It also allowed him to easily be fed with the current state of his armor.

“Let’s see if you can tank this,” Lin Mo muttered, his voice deepening into a metallic growl through the external speakers.

He didn’t use a movement technique. He didn’t need to. He simply bent his knees and kicked off the ground, using both Aether Energy and spiritual energy to launch himself.

BOOM!

The rock beneath his feet exploded into powder and Lin Mo turned into a silver cannonball. The air screamed as he tore through it with the distance between him and the ape vanishing in a blur of silver light.

The Ancient Stone Ape, still recovering from the disruption of its energy nexus, roared in defiance. It sensed the change in its opponent.

The nimble flea had become a buzzing hornet. It raised its massive, stone-encrusted arms, weaving the surrounding earth qi into a dense, floating shield of boulders to intercept him.

Lin Mo adjusted his grip on the [Starlit Dragon Spear]. Without the full fluidity of his starlight qi, the weapon felt like a heavy lance. So he used it like one.

He tucked the spear close to his body, aligning it with his momentum, and braced for impact.

CRASH!

He smashed through the floating boulders as if they were made of styrofoam.

The Aether-forged alloy of his pauldrons shattered the rock on contact, the kinetic force of his charge overwhelming the ape’s hasty defense.

Debris rained down, pinging harmlessly off his armor’s plating.

He burst through the dust cloud and emerged right in front of the behemoth.

The ape’s eyes widened. It glowed with surprised yellow light as it tried to bring its fists down in a panic smash, but Lin Mo was already there.

Whoosh!

Lin Mo drove the spear upwards, using nothing but raw, augmented strength.

The spear tip, unenhanced by qi but backed by the force of a speeding train, slammed into the ape’s chin.

CLANG-CRUNCH!

The sound was like a church bell being dropped from a tower.

Sparks flew as the spear tip gouged into the stone skin and pierced into its flesh.

The force of the blow lifted the massive creature off its feet, snapping its head back.

The ape roared in pain as it stumbled backward, flailing its arms to regain balance.

“Ugh. How is this guy still so heavy?” Lin Mo grunted as he endured the feedback transferred to his arms even through the armor’s natural shock absorbers.

As he landed, his boots dug into the ground as he attempted to reinvent his momentum. Not giving the beast a moment to breathe, the armor screamed for action, the Aether Shard burning hot against his chest as the Aether Energy started to be mixed with his starlight qi.

He stepped in, abandoning the long reach of the spear for close quarters.

He spun the spear, using the shaft to batter the ape’s knees.

WHAM! WHAM!

Each strike delivered tons of force. The stone armor on the ape’s legs cracked and flaked away, revealing the dark flesh beneath.

The Stone Ape roared in pain and rage. It stomped its foot, and a ring of jagged spikes erupted around it, aiming to impale Lin Mo from below.

[Warning: Seismic Activity Detected. Evasive Maneuvers Recommended.]

“Evade? No thanks.”

Lin Mo circulated more energy, pushing the armor’s capabilities to its limits.

WHOOSH!

He shot straight up, clearing the spikes by inches. He hovered for a split second at the peak of his jump, looking down at the ape.

With that, he maneuvered by flipping over and allowed himself to fall, spinning his body to add rotational force.

He pointed the spear down, channeling a whole constellation’s worth of starlight qi into the blade.

Once again, brilliant light erupted and now, combined with the mass augmented by his armor, he shot down like a meteor.

The Stone Ape looked up, crossed its massive arms over its head, and braced itself, channeling every ounce of its earth qi into a final, desperate defense. Its skin darkened, turning from grey stone to black obsidian.

CLANG!!!

The impact created a shockwave that flattened the surrounding forest for fifty meters.

Dust and pulverized rock billowed out in a mushroom cloud.

Lin Mo felt the impact rattle his teeth. The [Stone Skin] became tougher, it seems.

His spear once again failed to pierce it but he could tell this was its last hurrah to prevent him from taking it down.

He landed on the ape’s crossed arms, his boots skidding on it before kicking away.

The ape grunted, buckling under the weight but holding firm.

It suddenly unclamped its arms, grabbing at Lin Mo’s legs with hands the size of boulders. Its grip tightened on his greaves. The armor’s integrity alarm blared.

[Warning: External Pressure Critical on Lower Limbs.]

[Structural Integrity at 85%]

It was trying to crush his legs.

“What a tough bastard,” Lin Mo grunted, feeling the pressure building against his shins. “But you’re holding onto a bomb.”

[Ability Activated: Aetheric Bulwark.]

[Mode: Explosive Discharge.]

Lin Mo triggered the defensive skill, but instead of forming a shield, he inverted the flow, directing the Aether outwards in a violent pulse.

BOOM!

A sphere of silver force detonated from his armor. The ape’s hands were blown open, its fingers shattered by the point-blank energy release.

The beast howled and stumbled back, clutching its mangled hands.

Lin Mo dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch. He wasted no time.

He glanced at the glowing weak point on its back, the one he had cracked earlier with the talisman.

It was healing, layers of stone knitting back together over the fissure.

He needed to get behind it.

But the ape, wary now, was keeping its front to him. Its tail, which looked like a very flexible yet heavy slab of stone, lashed back and forth to guard its rear.

“Fine. If I can’t go around, I’ll go through.”

Lin Mo took a deep breath and focused on his dantian.

The one and a half starlight constellations spun. He visualized the Aether in his armor as oil, while the starlight qi became water flowing through the same channel.

“Don’t fight it,” He whispered, repeating the mantra of his waterfall training. “Harmonize.”

He pushed his starlight qi outwards, forcing it into the Aether-forged conduits of the armor. The suit naturally resisted as his vision flickered in red.

[Warning: Massive Incompatible Energy Signature is causing instability]

“Adapt,” Lin Mo commanded mentally as he pushed harder.

The silver light of the Aether began to twist, tainted by the amethyst hue of his [Psionic-Tempered Starlight Qi]. The hum of the armor changed pitch, becoming a high, singing resonance.

[Resonance Detected. Synchronization forced.]

[Efficiency dropped to 60%, but Output increased by 50%.]

“Good enough.”

The [Starlit Dragon Spear] in his hand suddenly blazed with a blinding, hybrid light.

.

The ape sensed the spike in danger. It stopped regenerating and roared, gathering a massive ball of condensed earth energy in its mouth. It was preparing a breath attack.

“What the hell? Are you a dragon? Die!”

Lin Mo charged once more and the ape fired. A beam of concentrated yellow energy, heavy as a mountain, shot towards him.

Instead of dodging, Lin Mo raised his left arm.

[Qi Solidification: Shield Prism]!

He dumped a massive amount of his hybrid energy into the air in front of him. A multi-faceted barrier materialized.

The beam hit the shield and split before becoming refracted by the prism, blasting harmlessly into the forest on either side of him.

Lin Mo burst through the center of the beam, unharmed.

He pulled his spear back, the muscles in his arms screaming as they were augmented to their limit.

He aimed not at the chest, angling upwards towards the spine and its head.

“[Flowing Star Combat Style]:…”

He paused, the armor’s power surging.

“…[Argentum Starbreaker]!”

The spear thrust powered by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, amplified three times over by alien technology, and focused into a single, diamond-hard point.

PUCHI!

The spear punched through the stone chest plate, the rock-hard muscle and the dense bone.

It buried itself deep into the ape’s chest, the tip emerging out of its head in a shower of stone fragments and yellow light, shattering the regenerating weak point on its spine.

The ape went rigid and its roar died in its throat.

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