Today's tips are intense, and they motivate me to write with great energy. Thank you all for your generosity.

Although the distance between Lin Luo and Sakuya Izayoi was not great, the terrain afforded him a view of her where she could not easily see him. Furthermore, his ability to remain concealed was exceptional. After absorbing the Book of Qi Absorption, he gained the power of Qi Perception, which allowed him not only to sense the Qi of others but also to completely mask his own aura.

Lin Luo had once tested the strength of this ability in the Sky City. Within a distance of ten meters, he concealed himself so effectively that only little SABER could perceive him; even Evangeline could only vaguely sense something, unable to definitively confirm his presence.

While Sakuya's abilities were formidable, in terms of counter-concealment, she was unlikely to surpass little SABER, perhaps only matching Evangeline's level at best.

The reality proved him right: Sakuya had not detected him, which greatly reassured Lin Luo. What he intended to do next required an extremely high level of stealth.

Avatar of Mist—creating an external manifestation. Although it could not utilize Rule Power, it possessed one-tenth the strength of Lin Luo’s main body, allowing for perfect dual control... In the current situation, this ability was absolutely essential.

"That said, it's better to be safe than sorry. If she happens to discover me peeking, my future strategies for winning her over will be complicated. So, I need another layer of defense here... Even though I’ve always been reluctant to use that power, for PAD-chama's sake, I'm throwing everything into this..."

Lin Luo wore a pained expression, feeling a slight urge to weep. But if he was going to win a girl, he had to be prepared for the ensuing chaos in his harem; compared to PAD-chama, this small price was nothing.

"Right then... let's do this. Temperament Shift."

Temperament Shift, another ability absorbed from the Mind Codex, allowed him to alter his personal demeanor into countless states: gentle, world-weary, sunny, miserable, chuunibyou, over-the-top heroic... he could transform into anything he wished—a seventy-two transformation at his fingertips.

In the briefest moment, Lin Luo’s temperament completely changed. He was no longer the sunny youth but a bright, beautiful, short-haired, flat-chested young woman... Of course, an explanation is needed here: only the temperament changed; the physical body remained unaltered. What was there remained, and what wasn't definitely didn't appear.

However, merely by appearance, even if someone stared directly at him, unless they possessed special abilities, no one would ever assume he was a man. Everyone would see him as a tragic, flat-chested girl... well, one could call it a Hideyoshi transformation.

The transformation complete, it was time for the main action. Avatar of Mist activated, and another "flat-chested girl" materialized behind Lin Luo, instantly dissolving into a misty state and beginning to stealthily approach the Maid-Captain dozens of meters ahead.

Because the concealment ability of the Avatar of Mist was slightly superior to Lin Luo's own stealth, the process was remarkably easy. The Maid-Captain was completely focused on searching for whatever she needed and did not notice a Peeping Tom slowly closing in on her.

Twenty meters... fifteen meters... ten meters... five meters... four meters... three meters... two meters...

Undetected. The Maid-Captain's gaze remained fixed on the bookshelves, showing no reaction to the "girl" now extremely close to her.

Lin Luo was inwardly ecstatic. This way, he could discover what she was truly doing. If she was looking for something specific, he could devise ways to increase her affection for him based on that knowledge... Just a little closer, then.

So, the flat-chested girl moved forward, quickly crossing the one-meter threshold, and continued to advance... the two bodies were less than thirty centimeters apart, yet the Maid-Captain still showed no reaction.

Now, let's see what she’s looking for... Lin Luo thought, as the flat-chested girl he controlled poked her head forward. But, at that very moment—

Swish

Almost the instant the flat-chested girl moved, the Maid-Captain vanished from the spot, leaving only a playing card slowly drifting down in mid-air. Before Lin Luo could react, over twenty throwing knives materialized around the "girl," completely sealing off all retreat routes—a 360-degree total lockdown.

The Maid-Captain reappeared one meter behind the flat-chested girl, arms crossed, looking utterly composed. She smiled confidently and casually, her back to the enemy, "An Avatar of Mist? Quite the remarkable ability. Kill."

As the word 'Kill' left her lips, the knives fired simultaneously, instantly obliterating the mist-formed flat-chested girl into a puff of smoke.

Then, the Maid-Captain vanished again from where she stood.

Damn it!

Because the previous scene had been too fast and unexpected, Lin Luo only registered it now. He couldn't be sure if he had been discovered, but staying put was far too dangerous. Without hesitation, he leaped downward, plunging toward the lowest level.

Simultaneously, to deter any pursuit, he created a second Avatar of Mist during his fall to draw the Maid-Captain's attention.

Then, he witnessed the most spectacular scene.

The Avatar of Mist had not yet made a move, but the Maid-Captain appeared behind it like a phantom. A throat slit, a guaranteed kill strike delivered simultaneously—the moment it connected, she slipped instantly into the darkness, vanishing without a trace, her movements fluid, seamless, without the slightest gap or flaw. It was nothing short of breathtaking.

The Avatar of Mist exploded outwards!

Lin Luo was utterly stunned. He had seen plenty of killing—cruel, violent, bloody, reluctant, insane... but he had never witnessed such an elegant method of execution. No lingering movements, one strike in and one retreat out, yet infallibly accurate, leaving no survivors. It was so dashing, so cool.

What is 'cool'? This is it. What is 'handsome'? This is it. The perfectly elegant Sakuya Izayoi—this was her alter ego: the Killing Princess.

Even without using her time abilities, her raw strength was top-tier. Lin Luo believed that if she dedicated herself fully to assassinating someone, unless the target possessed immortal lineage, no one in this world could stop her.

Amidst his shock, Lin Luo felt relief. Fortunately, the library's structure was unique; as soon as he plummeted, he was immediately enveloped in darkness. Even with Sakuya’s skills, silent attacks in pitch black were impossible. If she had pursued him, things would have become quite troublesome.

He also sensed that Sakuya seemed to have already left. That made sense; she had eliminated two perceived external avatars. The main body was still here, and choosing to leave now was the wisest move if she didn't want to expose herself... although she didn't know he was already fully exposed.

"But still, how should I land?"

He could worry about Sakuya later; Lin Luo was more concerned about himself. He couldn't see anything in the darkness. Who knew what lay below? Even if there were no immediate threats to life, accidentally triggering some magical traps would be a huge hassle.

"Whoosh"

Lin Luo cast a light spell, and the surrounding environment immediately illuminated. He then tossed a flare downwards and quickly spotted a large water basin below; the water didn't seem very deep.

"Well, that’s a relief."

Lin Luo chuckled lightly, used a gravity adjustment spell, and leaped into the water, which only reached his knees. Although the surface was murky, he sensed no unusual life forms. Looking around, he felt nothing out of the ordinary. Lin Luo casually chose a direction and soon reached the shore.

Although there were no special creatures here, nor did he sense any magical array fluctuations, the layout was distinctly strange. He had thought the ten-meter-tall bookshelves were tall, but here, the shelves reached dozens of meters high, laden with books.

"How on earth am I supposed to see any of those books?" Lin Luo could only sigh in exasperation.

He proceeded forward while scanning the shelves with his Eye of Truth. Since he had no urgent tasks, Lin Luo examined everything with greater scrutiny.

After an indeterminate amount of time, passing row after row of shelves, Lin Luo failed to detect anything exhibiting a massive magical energy fluctuation. Just as he was about to give up, a faint magical ripple reached his sensing range on the right side.

"Good, I'll check that area out." Though he held little hope, Lin Luo decided on one last sweep.

As he walked towards where the fluctuation originated, the ripple grew stronger with every step closer. However, if he deactivated his sensing range, he could feel nothing at all.

"A magical fluctuation only detectable by the sensing range... that piques my curiosity." Lin Luo felt a hint of anticipation.

Finally, after walking for about ten minutes, Lin Luo found a dust-covered bookshelf in the corner of the third room. It was about two meters long, completely covered in cobwebs. Judging by its appearance, it hadn't been touched in decades.

"How odd. The neighboring shelves are relatively clean; why is this one so disgustingly filthy? Even differential treatment wouldn't result in this state."

Lin Luo found it very strange, but despite the dirt, he walked toward the shelf, as the magical ripple was emanating from it.

"Speaking of which, this is truly filthy. A pungent, musty smell hits me as soon as I get close—it's unbearable. I wish I could just turn off my sense of smell."

Lin Luo frowned as he muttered this, mostly a complaint. Unexpectedly, the moment he finished speaking, the pungent smell vanished, and he could no longer detect any other odors.

"...Is this a joke?" Lin Luo was completely stunned. He hadn't deactivated his sense of smell, nor did he possess such an ability, so why this result? He had only spoken a sentence... Wait.

"Give my sense of smell back."

Whoosh! Instantly, the pungent odor rushed back.

"...Damn it!" Lin Luo became instantly excited. Without a second thought, he knew he had stumbled upon a treasure. This bookshelf—or perhaps something on this bookshelf—possessed a certain degree of wish-granting ability.

But what puzzled Lin Luo was, if that were true, others should have discovered it long ago. The adjacent shelves, while not perfectly clean, were clearly tidied periodically. If someone had spoken during cleaning, the effect should have manifested immediately; it shouldn't be that only he could make things "come true by speaking."

"What could be the reason?"

Lin Luo did not immediately touch the bookshelf but began to ponder. After a while, he suddenly thought of a possibility... Perhaps the reason this dirty shelf was never cleaned wasn't that people refused to clean it, but that they couldn't clean it.

It was similar to the ghostly student Sayaka Koyomi in Class 2-A, whom everyone didn't want to see, but simply couldn't see. Only a select few, like himself, Evangeline, and Negi, could perceive her.

The "non-existence" of this bookshelf was clearly on a level that was outrageously high.

Lin Luo tried deactivating both his sensing range and the Eye of Truth, and then he understood the truth... The bookshelf disappeared from his sight, and the pungent musty smell vanished. All that remained was an old stone wall.

"So that's how it is. Then..." He reached out, but his hand passed through the shelf, touching only the cold wall. He reactivated his sensing range and the Eye of Truth, and suddenly he could see it, touch it, and smell it again.

Everything led to a conclusion.

Ordinary people could neither see nor touch this bookshelf; neither mages nor psychics could perceive its existence. Only the sensing range and the Eye of Truth, which maintained a genuine connection to this world's reality, could interact with it. This meant... this bookshelf, or something upon it—was linked to the Root of the World.

The Root of the World is a profoundly mysterious entity. Even with Lin Luo's current understanding, he couldn't form a correct judgment about it. Its mystery level surpasses almost everything. It exists in every world, yet very few people know of its existence.

In the Nasuverse, only certain Magicians are aware of it, and in other worlds, almost no one knows of the World Root.

The world of Mahou Sensei Negima! certainly has one, but how many know of its existence? Perhaps even someone at Evangeline's level wouldn't know. Thus, it was perfectly understandable why this bookshelf remained undiscovered.

Lin Luo closely inspected the bookshelf. The connection to the World Root wouldn't be the entire shelf; it had to be something on it. The shelf was merely influenced. The reason? He could clearly see markings etched onto the shelf indicating a specific manufacturer.

However, the shelf had been influenced so deeply that it had become an item imbued with inherent magic. That intense magical fluctuation was something even the Eye of Truth couldn't immediately discern separately.

After about half an hour, Lin Luo finally located the core element: an ancient, thoroughly yellowed book.

He took it down from the shelf, blew off the dust, and upon opening it, he saw a line of text on the first page:

"The history of annihilation cannot be reproduced... Let it end here... Opened by the Creator... The Door to a New World..."

"What is this..." Lin Luo was deeply moved.

PS: New power acquired V