Brothers, Moon Tickets, Moon Tickets, charge forward! I need strength, give me the strength, the power to explode!

Even though I haven't slept since noon yesterday, just watching the Moon Tickets inching upward is the best pick-me-up. As long as the Moon Tickets keep coming, my drive won't cease—full speed ahead!

...

"Teacher Lin Luo, you are truly amazing. I didn't expect to be struck down in a single blow without even time to react. I admit defeat wholeheartedly and admire you greatly." After returning to the contestants' quarters, the high school girl Gao Yin had awakened. She stood before Lin Luo, speaking with deep humility and respect.

Lin Luo was somewhat embarrassed by her praise, chuckling awkwardly. "It was merely luck, and besides, I am older than you. In truth, for a student like you to possess such strength at this age is already remarkable. You will certainly become an outstanding magician in the future."

"Thank you for your kind words, Teacher Lin Luo. You are so incredibly strong yet so modest, and clearly responsible. To be honest, I... I really admire you. I wish you great success in your martial path!" A blush bloomed across the girl's face. As if gathering all her courage, she spoke with her eyes closed, then bolted away without looking back.

"Uh!" Lin Luo froze. What was that all about? During the match, she was talking about demanding a lesson from him for being irresponsible, and now, in the blink of an eye, she was completely different, like a different person, even saying she admired him. Could it be...

"Hahaha, Teacher Lin Luo, you really are something. You’ve captured a young lady’s heart after just one match. If I had your talent, I wouldn't still be single," Long Dao teased, his tone full of playful mockery.

"That's just..." Lin Luo started to say, Of course, look who I am. But before he could finish, he suddenly felt several waves of murderous intent emanating from behind him, sharp and threatening. Startled, he quickly changed his tune. "Don't talk nonsense. Gao Yin's demeanor just now was simply the politeness and respect a student shows a teacher. Besides, how could any relationship exist between a teacher and a student?"

As Lin Luo uttered these words, he failed to notice the slight tightening of his grip on his sword, nor the momentary constriction of his pupils.

"And speaking of which, your match against Negi is coming up soon. You’re being awfully relaxed. If you slip up and lose to Negi, it’ll be a huge embarrassment," Lin Luo smoothly steered the conversation away.

Long Dao laughed heartily and shrugged dismissively. "Negi is your disciple, and the son of that person, and a genius besides. Unlike a good-for-nothing dead weight like me, losing to him wouldn't be much of a disgrace."

"You certainly take things lightly," Lin Luo muttered, rolling his eyes.

Not long after they spoke, the second match began—the promised battle between Negi and Long Dao. As the announcer, Asakura, announced their names, the two walked onto the stage together. Because his attention was focused on the upcoming fight, Lin Luo sensed the hostile aura behind him finally receding, allowing him to let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

Still, thinking back, Gao Yin D Goodman, truly worthy of being the heir to D's will, was quite a dangerous woman. She almost brought out the 'hatchet'—that really gives one a headache and tightens the lower regions.

"Alright, the contestants for our second match are known throughout the school's delinquents: the terrifying 'Death Goggles' Area Instructor, Takahata Long Dao, and the extremely popular middle school teacher, Negi Springfield. Let us look forward to the brilliant battle these two will bring us!" Asakura introduced them enthusiastically to the audience.

Then, under the thunderous applause of the crowd, the fight commenced. Although Negi was not widely favored, the power he unleashed shocked not only the entire audience but also Long Dao himself. From the very beginning, the pace was completely controlled by Negi, who suppressed Long Dao using the combination of Double Instant Movement and multi-pronged attacks integrating magic and martial arts.

This was only natural. While Long Dao held high expectations for Negi, facing a ten-year-old boy, he couldn't get serious right away. Moreover, Lin Luo's training methods, while incorporating some of Long Dao's own combat experience, also included instruction on the skills Negi was historically supposed to learn. Thus, Negi's current strength was slightly greater than it would have been had he only trained under Evangeline in Lin Luo's memory.

Following a continuous flurry of rapid attacks, Negi struck Long Dao with a Thunder Blossom Shattering Fist, knocking him into the lake bordering the arena platform. However, the fight was not over. Even after sustaining such a fierce assault, Long Dao remained completely unharmed. The subsequent phase of the battle unfolded in the exact opposite direction.

Facing a Long Dao who had finally gotten slightly serious, Negi found himself with almost no room to resist his mysterious and inscrutable Silent Fist technique, shifting completely from the offensive to being entirely on the defensive.

The final result of the bout was unexpected by most spectators. With the vocal support of the three female students, Negi managed to knock down Long Dao with a full-power Cherry Blossom Shattering Fist, even causing substantial damage to the arena platform itself, drawing gasps from everyone present.

"The winner of the second match is Teacher Negi Springfield!" Asakura excitedly declared the result.

While the outcome was astonishing, for the majority of the audience, as long as the fight was passionate, who won or lost truly didn't matter. Of course, even in defeat, anyone with discerning eyes could tell that Long Dao had significantly held back during the fight. If he had used his full power, Negi would have been fortunate to last ten rounds.

Because the damaged arena required repairs, the third match was delayed by half an hour from its scheduled time. This buffer gave Negi time to receive congratulations from the three female students, and allowed the contestants for the next match, Setsuna and Asuna, time to step out for some air.

"What are your thoughts on this final bracket?" Evangeline asked Lin Luo while they walked down the corridor accessible only to contestants.

"In what respect?"

"The match-ups, of course. Don't you find it interesting?"

"Indeed," Lin Luo nodded. "The outcome of this first round can largely be predicted just by looking at the bracket. And people at our level won't meet until at least the semi-finals. It's almost as if someone is deliberately manipulating things."

"It's a method to prevent the strong from falling too early. Chou arranged it quite well," Evangeline smiled, seemingly unbothered by the obvious backstage maneuvering. "And I'll be facing the opponent I want soon enough."

"Has Chou Rinne approached you yet?" Lin Luo asked casually.

"Eh!" Evangeline paused slightly, then quickly understood what Lin Luo was implying, expressing surprise. "You know what Chou intends to do?"

Lin Luo smiled faintly. "If I'm not mistaken, she must have joined forces with Sakuya."

"...I see."

As they spoke, Evangeline's expression suddenly shifted. Her gaze locked onto a specific spot, and she froze completely. Over in a corner of the arena, a man in a white robe was speaking with Asuna. In her normal state, she might not have recognized him, but now that her curse was lifted, she instantly perceived his identity.

"That fellow Al is teaching Asuna that thing again, I see," Lin Luo remarked, watching the figures over there.

"You know him?!" Evangeline exclaimed in shock, looking at Lin Luo in disbelief.

"Of course." Lin Luo gave a calm smile. "A member of the Red Wings. How could I not? Though he certainly wouldn't recognize me. Speaking of which, aren't you going to greet him? Perhaps you could get news of Nagi."

"You...!!" If Evangeline had only been surprised before, now she couldn't describe her feelings at all; she was just inexplicably flustered. After staring at Lin Luo for a few seconds, she said in a low voice, "You actually know about this too?"

"I told you, there isn't a single thing about you that I don't know," Lin Luo stated plainly. "Do you want to go see him?"

A flicker of hesitation crossed Evangeline's face, and she took a slight step forward, but then settled back down. "Never mind. He won't be leaving before the tournament ends anyway. Besides, his personality is atrocious; honestly, I really don't feel like talking to him." She turned her head away, a dark line appearing across her forehead, as if recalling some embarrassing past history.

"That's true enough," Lin Luo nodded and said seriously. "All your friends have atrocious personalities. Al is one, Nagi is another, even that muscular guy Lakhan is difficult. Perhaps only Kato and Konoe Uton are slightly better. Is it that the Red Wings are just a concentration camp for oddballs, or is it that you only manage to make friends with people who have terrible dispositions?"

Knowing about Lakhan and Kato didn't surprise Evangeline much, but Lin Luo's last comment made her frown and twitch. "You're no saint yourself, just as vile as that bastard!" The 'bastard' she referred to was Al.

"I'm flattered."

"Hmph!" Evangeline turned her head away, ignoring him. At this point, Setsuna and Asuna's match was about to begin, and she figured watching them fight would be more entertaining.

Lin Luo smiled and said no more, though inwardly, he felt a strange sense of stability. Earlier, if Evangeline had gone to meet Al without hesitation, it would have meant that in her heart, his standing was far below Nagi's, and he wouldn't have known what to do then. But since she hesitated and chose not to go... perhaps he hadn't surpassed Nagi, but at least he was now equally important to Evangeline as Nagi was.

Lin Luo felt this situation was not bad. After all, fundamentally, Evangeline was a nostalgic person, and the impression Nagi left on her heart was incomparably deep; decades of connection couldn't be erased just like that. Emotions were something even the person experiencing them couldn't fully control.

To have occupied a status equal to Nagi, whom she had missed for over ten years, after only a few months of acquaintance—if he wasn't satisfied with that, then he would merely be asking for too much.

Of course, Lin Luo didn't believe he would ultimately lose to Nagi. Setting aside the matter of the World Heart, based on the progress achieved so far, he was absolutely confident he could make Evangeline completely forget Nagi.

And all of this, he knew, would have to be accomplished in the world of magic.

For more novels, visit storyread.net.