Lin Luo’s face drained of color. To have six Walkers attack at this precise moment was nothing short of a catastrophe.

“Six Walkers are coming…” Lin Luo turned his gaze to the women, simultaneously manifesting the Book of Contracts. The Fourth Space opened, his expression grim. He said in a low voice, “There’s no time for talk. All of you, enter the Fourth Space…”

“What are you saying?” Before Lin Luo could finish, Mikoto exploded, “Are you expecting us to just stand by while you face six Walkers alone? That’s impossible! I’d rather die than go in! Let me make this clear: if you dare forcibly pull me into the Fourth Space, I will never forgive you!”

It wasn't just Mikoto; everyone else wore the same expression, clearly refusing to accept Lin Luo’s suggestion.

Lin Luo grew anxious and quickly explained, “Of course, that’s not what I meant. The opponents are six strong practitioners at the initial Spirit Rank. No matter how arrogant I am, I can’t possibly think I can defeat all six of them alone. There’s no way I’d confront them head-on. But if it were just me, if I needed to escape…”

“In short, no means no!” Lin Luo’s words were cut off again by Rin’s indignant retort, “Are you looking down on us? Before we had the Fourth Space, didn’t we survive facing someone like Cigger, a Level 3, and the Evil of This World? Now it’s just a few measly Level 2s. To just flee in panic now would be too humiliating! Regardless, I absolutely will not go in.”

“I’m not going in either.”

“Me neither,” Mugino and Misaki said in unison.

“Lin Luo, I’ve had plenty of sleep, so there’s no need to sleep inside,” Lei added, clinging firmly to the corner of Lin Luo’s clothes.

“…” Lin Luo saw that everyone was resolute, showing no sign of retreating. Even Lei displayed a flicker of fighting spirit. Lin Luo knew he couldn't persuade them no matter what; perhaps he was the biggest coward after all.

“Fine, then we fight together until the end!” The resolve of the group solidified his own. If he didn't want to lose them, and he couldn't protect them with his own strength alone, then in the end, all they could do was fight together. Reaching out his hand, Lin Luo fixed his gaze on the blue-haired girl. “Lei… let’s fuse once more.”

“Mm,” Lei smiled gently, gripping the hand Lin Luo offered. She felt the shared intent in his grasp, and then, the familiar incantation began.

A white tornado whipped up, enveloping the two of them. Their minds overlapped, grasping the world’s most powerful wind—the Seven-Jeweled Sacred Tree Emerald Wind Blade.

“Then… let’s meet them,” With the blade pointed outward, Lin Luo looked into the distance where six figures were now clearly visible.

“Found them.”

“Haha, five of them! This is a real windfall this time.”

“Heaven aids us.”

“Die!”

The charging Walkers exuded incredibly powerful auras, roaring with excitement as they rushed forward.

Lin Luo’s face remained impassive, but his heart was heavy. He could tell that none of these five Walkers were weaker than Ling Yi… which was only natural; being at the initial Spirit Rank, even if there was a slight difference in combat power, it wouldn't be significant.

Six of them—a bit troublesome, but…

Without any hesitation, Lin Luo raised the Emerald Wind Blade high. A white vortex gathered on the blade, and the next moment, the Ring of the East roared forth. The surging, roaring Ring of the East tore through the air, creating vacuum fluctuations. Amidst the howling gale, it instantly enveloped four of the enemies.

The Book of the Warrior and the Book of Martial Arts belonged to melee fighters. If Mikoto and the others engaged them with their current constitutions, it would be extremely dangerous; the Book of the Assassin, with its unpredictable nature, was also troublesome; and the Book of Nature—while he wasn't entirely sure what 'Nature Manipulation' meant—it was best to block whoever controlled it.

“Damn it, this guy’s attack is way too fierce!”

Feeling the immense destructive force radiating from the Ring of the East, the four designated targets all changed expression. Li Dingzong roared, raising his greatsword and bringing it down like Mount Tai crushing down: “Storm Slash!”

A tornado rose from the ground as Li Dingzong swung his greatsword, swiftly charging towards the Ring of the East. In an instant, the two wind forces intertwined, wind against wind.

However, they only held for less than a second before the Ring of the East shattered the tornado. Then, the white vortex formed countless wind rings that spread outwards, trapping all four of them within the battlefield.

They were all at the initial Spirit Rank. With her current strength, Mikoto could contend with one. Rin and Mugino, both at the peak of the Human Rank, could probably hold off one each. As for Misaki, being two ranks lower, she couldn't form effective combat strength. Therefore… four holding off four—that was what I needed to do.

The moment the attack launched, Lin Luo pushed his own power to the limit, utilizing electricity, iron sand, magic, Atomic Collapse, Rule Power… every usable force was brought to bear.

The switches for his contracted states inside his body never stopped flickering—sometimes switching between magic and electricity, sometimes magic and Atomic Collapse, or even utilizing electromagnetism and Atomic Collapse simultaneously. The use of Rule Power never ceased; his perception domain covered the entire battlefield, using an extra pair of eyes to monitor everything happening inside.

On the other side, Mikoto had already engaged her opponent. The enemy she faced was similar to her in type: Kousaka Taiga, the master of the Book of Magic, a mage with powerful offensive capabilities but a frail body.

For Mikoto, facing such an opponent meant no elemental advantage or disadvantage, nor any absolute superiority in any specific aspect. Thus, the moment she moved, she summoned Heavenly Thunder. With almost no warning, rolling thunder crashed down from the sky, aiming straight for Kousaka Taiga.

But Kousaka Taiga waved his staff, and a yellow halo suddenly enveloped him—a Magic Shield. All the lightning strikes aimed at him were blocked outside the shield.

Of course, being at the initial Spirit Rank meant Kousaka Taiga’s Magic Shield wasn’t unbreakable, but he constantly reinforced it with magic power, making it practically impregnable.

Then, chanting an incantation, a massive fire dragon erupted from his staff, carrying surging flames straight towards Mikoto.

The heatwave hit her face. Although she had reached the initial Spirit Rank, her physique was still too ordinary. Facing the flying flames, Mikoto dared not confront them directly. Black iron sand rose from the ground, controlled like a tide surging toward the fire dragon, while she used the opportunity to jump clear.

“Useless! Iron cannot stop fire,” Kousaka Taiga laughed loudly, only to watch the serpent of iron sand tangled with the fire dragon rapidly melt away. The fire dragon then roared and dove down from above, like an erupting volcano, engulfing Mikoto.

“Not good!” Mikoto’s face changed drastically, but it was too late. She had barely moved when she was swallowed whole by the fire dragon.

“Haha, I got one! I got one!” Five seconds later, seeing no reaction from the other side, Kousaka Taiga cried out excitedly, but—

“What kind of joke is this?” A clear voice echoed from within the sea of fire. Kousaka Taiga’s smile froze instantly. He saw a small figure slowly stepping out of the inferno.

It was the girl who had been fighting him moments ago, but she was different now. A purple outer garment now covered her body. Judging by its shape, it wasn't truly clothing, but rather armor, covering her from head to toe, completely impenetrable to the boiling flames.

“So this is the Spirit Rank,” Mikoto stretched her arms, looking at the purple armor on her body, a slight smile forming. She finally understood what the Spirit Rank entailed. If before she only possessed strong offense, now her defense was also top-tier.

“The match has only just begun,” Mikoto smiled faintly, extending her right hand. A sword of iron sand took shape in her grip. Dark waves surged in the sky once more, and the sound of thunder grew louder.

Clad in lightning armor, transformed into the Goddess of Thunder, Mikoto attacked once more.

“That’s great.” Seeing this scene, Lin Luo finally let out a breath of relief. The moment Mikoto was swallowed by the fire dragon, he had nearly collapsed. But fortune reversed; Mikoto’s lightning was capable of forming armor. With such high defense, what was there to worry about?

“Hold the world in your hands, be the God of my world, come… Glorious Empire!”

While Lin Luo held off the four Walkers, Rin and Mugino jointly attacked the final Walker. Mugino’s Atomic Collapse launched like a map-clearing strike towards the enemy, while Rin activated her Innate Boundary at the first moment, completely enclosing the three of them within her world.

Although she possessed the capability to enclose everyone on the field, the magical energy required would be far greater. It was better to focus on just one opponent.

“Hm, what is this? How interesting.” Mo Xinming showed a slight surprise at the sudden change in environment. Discovering he couldn't leave, he looked at Rin with appreciative eyes. “Quite well done. Is this your labyrinth, beautiful lady?”

Rin gave a cold smile and tossed her black hair over her shoulder. “Hmph. Even if you praise me, I won’t show you any mercy. And you’ll soon find out this is no good place to be.”

Crack.

Rin snapped her fingers lightly, and the jewels of the Empire began to vibrate. “Empire Bombardment! Jewel Barrage!”

As Rin launched her attack, Mugino’s electronic threads also shot out unceremoniously towards the opponent.