Not even for a moment did anyone mourn Ji Lin's death.

Ji Lin, being an ancient person, was naturally no match for Lin Yu, who had been surfing the internet for a long time, in terms of eloquence in mocking others.

Unable to gain the upper hand verbally, her current desire has changed.

Taking back the Xuanyuan Sword is no longer important.

It doesn't matter if we retaliate against those people from Shenzhou, etc.

Right now, all she wants to do is tear that boy's dog mouth apart!

"Now—you can die!"

The moment Ji Lin leaped onto his horse, he immediately steered it towards Lin Yu in a charge.

To be honest, if Lin Yu were to dodge now, considering his current speed and the horse's speed, he felt that the maneuver would be quite difficult.

However, if you try to parry from the spot...

Mirror Mind, start.

Royal Guard, activated.

Lin Yu, who had activated these two skills, could feel that the galloping horses in front of him seemed to have suddenly slowed down a lot in his eyes.

Instead of competing with the opponent in speed and precision, it's better to take a gamble now and solve the problem at its root.

Ahead of Lin Yu, Ji Lin, who had launched a charge, had already raised his right hand and lifted his greatsword.

She knew, of course, that the other person standing there couldn't possibly be because they were scared out of their wits, but the question was—did it matter what the other person was thinking right now?

As a cavalryman charging into battle, why should Ji Lin care about the other party's thoughts at a time like this?

As long as she can knock down the enemy with her horse, and kill the enemy with her weapon, she has absolutely no need to know what the enemy is thinking!

Normally, when both sides are roughly equal in strength, cavalry riding warhorses can use the momentum of their horses to knock infantry to the ground and then finish them off.

However, at this moment, facing Ji Lin and his horse charging straight towards him, Lin Yu simply assumed a fighting stance and began to concentrate his power on his right fist.

Facing the galloping horse, Lin Yu, who had already gathered his strength, attacked the horse's head from the side with his right fist.

In Ji Lin's view, this was undoubtedly a reckless act.

At this moment, she had already raised her greatsword. Before Lin Yu's fist even made contact with the horse, the greatsword in her hand would definitely be able to cut off his arm.

However, Ji Lin, who wielded the greatsword, failed to achieve the desired result.

"Varied--"

In the instant before the weapon failed to inflict any damage on the enemy, Ji Lin watched as an incredibly terrifying energy suddenly erupted from the opponent's fist.

At the same time, Lin Yu, having finished charging up, poured all his power into his gauntlet and punched the horse in the head.

"Galaxy Cosmic Phantom!"

With a single strike, Ji Lin's horse was hit directly in the head.

Although this creation is formed from Honkai Energy, it still retains some characteristics of living beings.

Horses with their heads smashed open are, of course, rendered unable to move, much like living creatures.

Ji Lin, who was riding a horse, fell to the ground after the horse was 'killed'.

In Ji Lin's eyes, Lin Yu's ability to hit the horse's head so accurately was more like a blind cat catching a dead mouse.

However, for Lin Yu, after he activated his abilities such as Mirror Mind, Cosmic Phantom, and Royal Guard, it was inevitable that Ji Lin, who was charging straight on horseback, would have his horse killed.

Because Ji Lin chose to charge in a straight line, Lin Yu had the opportunity to charge up without having to judge the enemy's direction of advance. He could use the Mirror Mind to calculate the enemy's arrival time in advance.

Because the Cosmic Phantom has the characteristic that 'while charging, the user can automatically and perfectly block most attacks,' Lin Yu, who now possesses almost superhuman abilities, no longer needs to worry about Ji Lin's slash at his arm and can attack with peace of mind.

Because of the characteristics of the Royal Guard, Lin Yu was able to absorb Ji Lin's attack on him using the characteristics of the Cosmic Phantom, and then turn it into destructive power under his control, thus integrating it into his fist.

After all the buffs had stacked up, it wasn't surprising that Lin Yu could smash the horse to pieces with a single punch.

As for why I didn't use the Cosmic Phantom technique when facing Rita earlier—it's perfectly normal to use different tactics against different opponents.

At that time, Rita was extremely mobile, and under this premise, Lin Yu's reckless charging of power actually left him with a significant opening.

This opening wasn't enough to kill him outright, but given Rita's previous mobility, Rita probably already made a run for it by the time Lin Yu finished charging up.

As for Ji Lin —who has now lost her mind and started riding charge horses, she never thought Lin Yu was her match from the beginning, and the charge horses themselves only had speed but no maneuverability.

For Lin Yu, who has mastered the art of "Mirror Mind," this kind of enemy, whose tactics are full of flaws and whose mindset is also problematic, is actually easier for him to deal with.

"You... you actually dared to kill my horse?!"

Unable to accept that his warhorse had been shattered in one blow, Ji Lin, the moment he fell, flipped over and leaped into the air, then used his greatsword to slash at Lin Yu's head.

"Die!"

"Ah, leaping into mid-air, that certainly looks fierce, but the problem is..."

Facing the enemy with an extremely fierce expression, Lin Yu listlessly set up the Phantasm Lantern Barrier above his head and began to gather his power into his right fist again using a different power flow method than before.

At that moment, as Ji Lin passed through the Phantasm Lantern Barrier, he immediately felt that the intensity of his energy seemed to have weakened.

The next moment, unable to change his attack in mid-air, Ji Lin had no choice but to grit his teeth and slash at Lin Yu's head with his sword.

Faced with this attack, Lin Yu suddenly exhaled a breath of turbid air and slammed his right fist into the giant sword in the enemy's hand.

Then—

"Hai Hu - Explosive Fist!"

Lin Yu, using this martial art for the first time, shattered the giant sword in Ji Lin's hand, whose energy intensity had been weakened by the Phantasm Lantern Barrier, into pieces with a single blow.

Faced with Lin Yu's attack, Ji Lin, who was extremely shocked, also sensed a power flowing into her body through the giant sword.

In that instant before she could suppress her power...

"Explode it for me!"

Under Lin Yu's 'command', all the vital parts of her body exploded instantly, as if Lin Yu had completely controlled them.

After exchanging only two blows, Ji Lin, who had just been spouting nonsense, was now lying on the ground.

Why did things turn out this way?

I only lost the Xuanyuan Sword, why am I like this now...?

—How could they be so easily defeated by a mere brat?

Chapter 114. Not even a moment of mourning for Ji Lin's death.

Seeing Ji Lin lying on the ground, Lin Yu, who had just been preparing for a great battle, never expected that his opponent would fall like this.

Although the black horse summoned by Ji Lin at this moment had lost its 'armor' and thus its defense was reduced because Lin Yu had dealt with the Anti-Entropy Titan beforehand...

Although, in the original work, Ji Lin's actual combat strength was only at the level that could be defeated by an injured A-Class Himeko plus three B-Class recruits...

Although this time she didn't have the Xuanyuan Sword stained with black in her hand...

But I only used one move!

Even if the Hai Hu Explosive Fist is very strong, even if I have the Divine Key and have an equipment advantage over you, my attack on you is only one move!

You were down after just one move; doesn't that look like a scam?

Despite his complaints, Lin Yu wasn't about to completely give up on the opportunity that was right in front of him just because of them.

Seeing Ji Lin lying on the ground, badly injured, Lin Yu rushed to her side and punched Ji Lin hard in the neck.

Under his merciless iron fist attack, Ji Lin's neck was easily broken by Lin Yu.

Looking at the woman with unfocused pupils in front of him, Lin Yu felt as if he were in a dream.

He had expected an incredibly intense battle, but it ended just like that...

Even though Ji Lin's life force was slowly fading away, Lin Yu still felt that something was wrong.

Just as he was about to do something else, something on Ji Lin suddenly floated toward Lin Yu.

Before Lin Yu could dodge, the Stigmata on his right hand suddenly began to sting.

"This is..."

Looking at the Stigmata on the back of his hand, which was emitting a stinging sensation, Lin Yu suddenly felt that the power of the Stigmata had become much stronger.

Is this... Ji Lin's Stigmata?

Despite possessing such terrifying power, her performance in this battle was so poor.

Brave young man, thank you for freeing me from this endless prison.

Ah?

After looking around, Lin Yu realized that there was no one else around.

[No need to look around anymore. I'm simply using the remaining power from the Stigmata to speak with you alone.]

[Perhaps you've already guessed my name. I... am the warrior you just fought, Ji Lin.]

I actually died in the battle five thousand years ago.

[As the holder of the Stigmata, even after my death in battle, I relied on the power of the Stigmata to maintain my soul in an immortal state.]

Oh, there's no problem here.

However, during this time, I gradually succumbed to decadence.

I've begun to hate the humans I once protected, and these thoughts are becoming increasingly extreme and dangerous.

Even though I know deep down that this way of thinking is wrong, I am still a human being...

In endless solitude, I realized that while my power surpassed that of ordinary people, my emotions were not so different from theirs.

No, no, no, being able to maintain self-discipline for five thousand years is already quite impressive. If it were me, I'd probably have fallen into depravity in seven days and then gone out to do bad things in Chiyou.

You... are really being modest.

In short, after realizing that my way of thinking was getting closer and closer to Honkai, I deliberately sealed away my power.

Some of this power was used to suppress Chiyou's heart, while the rest was used to suppress the darkness within me.

Oh, I see. So the person I just beat up was a second-degree cripple.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense.

In the original story, Ji Lin bestowed her power upon Kiana and the others, but here, Ji Lin uses this power to suppress the fighting power of Black Ji Lin.

I wondered why she was so bad at the game, and now I know why.

But now, because you have overcome my dark side, my power has weakened.

Before my power completely dissipates, I can only attach it to you and bestow this power upon you.

Before I disappear, I want you to promise me—don't use this power for evil purposes.

It's hard to say.

Facing the soon-to-disappear Ji Lin, Lin Yu looked at Chiyou, who was still moving beneath his feet, and spoke to Ji Lin in his mind.

I certainly won't do bad things unless it's necessary, but... in order to survive, who knows what I might become in the future?

You may think you're no different from ordinary people, but most ordinary people, including myself, can't guarantee that their thoughts won't change over time.

A female military officer who once donated her income to an orphanage could become a monster who uses orphans for human experiments.

The inventor who assists the saint in punishing evil will become a villain who breeds Honkai.

Besides, I am not as great as they were in the past.

Yes, you're absolutely right, but—at least you didn't deceive me, and that's enough for me to feel that there's nothing wrong with your character.

Go for it, future generations of Shenzhou! The future of Shenzhou and the world...

I'm counting on you.

After saying this, Ji Lin's consciousness completely dissipated from Lin Yu's Stigmata.

For a heroic spirit that had been suppressing Chiyou and herself, she probably had long anticipated this ending.