The crowd’s energy is incredible; currently, we’re sitting at second place on the monthly ticket rankings, second only to the great God of Fanqie. I feel deeply honored, and rest assured, the promised bonus chapters will certainly appear. Let those monthly tickets pour in even more fiercely!

...

The iǎ-form Black Compression that Al utilized was not the 'Black' known to common understanding—it merely possessed a similar form but lacked the true essence. It was a micro-control achieved through gravity compression. Its destructive power could never match true Black, yet the technique employed by this fellow was still branded with the name 'Black'… For anyone less capable, touching it meant certain death.

Of course, the members of the Crimson Wings were generally of comparable strength; even Kōei Eion’s combat power was no less than Al’s. The difference lay only in their fighting styles. The Nitōtachi that Lin Luo was currently simulating was precisely what Kōei Eion used—arguably the supreme secret art of the Shinkami style. While his simulation wasn’t perfect, when combined with Rule Force, it could still unleash considerable power. At the very least, in terms of sheer realm, it was not inferior to Al’s current state.

When the Black was cleaved into two halves by a beam of white light, it slipped from Al’s control and plunged toward the lake waters on either side. The power released by the ruptured Black was unimaginable. Even before making contact with the water, a colossal vortex had already churned the surface, sucking countless tons of lake water into the remnants of the Black. The entire pond was drained in an instant, yet the energy emanating from the Black showed no sign of diminishing; even the ground began to tremble.

“This is truly disastrous…” Lin Luo was speechless. Such power was infuriatingly troublesome. If that cleaved Black had simply detonated, let alone this arena, the entire Ryūgū Shrine might have been vaporized in a single moment. That bastard Al was entirely capable of doing it!

Swish! Swish!

Without looking back, Lin Luo raised his hands and sent two streaks of white light toward the rear, directly colliding with the two semi-circular remnants of Black. The remnants bounced away lightly, shooting up into the sky. Then, upon reaching several hundred meters high, they detonated with a massive boom reminiscent of a nuclear blast, unleashing countless waterfalls that refilled the pond once more.

Whether they were from the World of Light or even the Underworld, almost everyone watching this spectacle had their jaws nearly drop to the floor, rendering them incapable of speech.

“Um… Miss Chachamaru, could you perhaps explain what just happened?” one of the young male commentators asked the young woman beside him, his voice stunned.

Chachamaru remained perfectly composed, offering only four words: “Human-shaped nuclear bomb.”

The commentator looked utterly dumbfounded.

On the stage, a layer of white light enveloped Lin Luo, blocking out all the falling lake water. He clicked his tongue and said toward his opponent, “It seems we need to moderate our strength a little.”

“I’m already quite weakened anyway, so it doesn’t matter if I go all out,” Al replied with a dazzling smile.

Damn it! Lin Luo’s brow twitched instantly. He finally understood why even Evangeline often lost verbal sparring matches against this guy. His sheer obnoxiousness was unparalleled in this era… Decision made: I’m going to stomp that mouth of yours flat!

With his mind set, Lin Luo immediately used Continuous Shundō to appear before Al, then lifted his foot and kicked heavily toward his mouth… The principle behind Shundō is to concentrate qi or magic power in one’s feet, generating an explosive force in an instant that increases movement speed by ten or even several dozen times. This differs somewhat from instantaneous teleportation.

With Lin Luo’s current Rule Force, true instantaneous teleportation wasn't perfected; although achievable, using it for attack was rather difficult. Therefore, to make the fight easier, Shundō became a necessary skill to master. For him, it wasn't particularly hard; with meticulous control, Shundō could be executed effortlessly. Furthermore, integrating ancient magic made his version of Shundō superior to others.

“Such an angle of attack? Do you not wish to listen to my sermon? Young man, you show too little respect for your elders.” Al smiled faintly, his body rising like a ghost. He then reached forward and pressed down—this time, it wasn't Black, but a gravity field.

An invisible pressure surged downward. Lin Luo immediately felt his body weigh several times its normal amount, causing his speed and reaction time to plummet. Alarmed, before his opponent could attack again, he quickly used Instantaneous Teleportation to escape.

Shundō is restricted by space and gravity, but instantaneous teleportation is not subject to these limitations; its principle lies in opening a spatial channel for [The text breaks off here to describe the mechanism of instant teleportation].

A flicker of surprise crossed Al’s eyes, but he quickly understood. His opponent could actually utilize a high-level spell like instantaneous teleportation, combined with that powerful and bizarre force. With his current strength alone, defeating him would be extremely difficult.

“No choice, I suppose I’ll have to use this.”

Saying that, Al pulled a card from his sleeve—it was a Pact Contract Card, the proof of a mage’s companion.

“Oh?” Seeing his action, Lin Luo burst into laughter. “Planning to use the power of your harem? How interesting. Let me see then, just how strong you and your harem truly are.”

He had only just taken out the contract item card, not yet activating it, when Lin Luo uttered those words. Al’s expression immediately stiffened, his movements trembling slightly, almost dropping the card. Although he was still smiling, it was clear his smile had become forced.

“Hahahaha! This is too rich, I’m dying of laughter!” Off the stage, in the spectator stands for the contestants, Evangeline completely abandoned her ladylike demeanor, clutching her stomach and roaring with laughter, utterly disregarding her image. It was the first time she had ever seen that fellow Al completely flustered, and she was enjoying herself immensely.

“Master, be careful you don’t actually laugh yourself to death,” Chachazero stood nearby, responsible for roasting her master.

“Young man, one can eat things, but words should not be thrown around carelessly,” Al said, his eyes showing a hint of frustration. He enjoyed collecting lives—whether male or female—if he desired it, his Book of Half-Lives would collect it. But that didn’t mean he maintained a harem! How could one have a harem consisting of both men and women? He wasn't an omni-adhesive.

“Everything I said is true, old man,” Lin Luo laughed. Despite Al’s glossy, smooth appearance, looking every bit the pretty boy, his actual age was ridiculously high. He was even older than Evangeline. Who knew if he was some thousand-year-old monster? Otherwise, he wouldn’t address Evangeline as ‘little kitten’ in a manner a senior speaks to a junior. While partly intended to tease Evangeline, the other half stemmed from a genuine age disparity.

“Are all young people nowadays so unlikable? I’m suddenly interested in collecting your life as well.” Al’s lips twitched slightly, then he flicked the card gently. Instantly, countless books arranged themselves beside him in a crisscrossing, upward spiral. Each was a spellbook, and each spellbook contained half a life of an individual. The count was countless.

“That’s quite the extensive harem you have,” Lin Luo muttered, spitting another critique.

“Hmph hmph,” Al smiled faintly, suddenly grabbing a spellbook next to him and swiftly pulling out a piece of paper. In a flash of light, white smoke enveloped him layer by layer. “Since you wish to challenge our Crimson Wings, you might as well test this out a bit.”

When the smoke dissipated, the original Al was gone. What appeared in the mid-air was now a remarkably capable-looking man in a business suit.

“Kato? Interesting enough.” Lin Luo certainly recognized this man; he was Kato, one of the members of the Crimson Wings, the master of Yagyu Dō. He originally worked for government agencies, cleaning up opponents they couldn't handle openly, killing without mercy. He later joined the Crimson Wings. Although he had died ten years prior, his strength should not be underestimated. Undeniably, he was on the same level as Nagirakan, Evangeline, and the others.

Swish!

The moment Lin Luo finished speaking, the man opposite him launched his attack. A beam of white light, as thick as a human torso, instantly shot toward Lin Luo. Even the disturbance from the airflow conveyed its unparalleled destructive power. Lin Luo’s eyes narrowed, and he dodged aside, but an immediate second beam of white light followed, this time from his right flank. Then, swish, swish, swish—three more beams struck him in rapid succession with almost no pause.

The speed was too fast; even Instantaneous Teleportation and Void Shundō were too slow to evade. Lin Luo had no choice but to counterattack. While dodging the first beam, he used his wooden sword to sever the second, then followed up with a horizontal slash to cut down the third.

Crack! As expected, it was only a wooden sword; it simply couldn't withstand such a colossal clash of forces. As the third beam was deflected, the sword shattered completely, leaving not even a splinter of wood behind.

With the final two attacks remaining, Lin Luo flicked his fingers, rapidly firing two light orbs in return—they were Fantasy Lights. Fantasy Lights possess the quality of fusing with other powers, though this depended on the opponent's strength. Against someone at Fate’s level, Lin Luo could fuse easily, but Kato’s attacks presented more difficulty. Firstly, these weren't pure magic, but a fusion of qi and magic. Fusing something that was already compounded increased the difficulty severalfold.

Thus, Lin Luo only used Fantasy Lights to neutralize them. The moment they contacted, both energies vanished into nothingness. Seizing this opportunity, Lin Luo instantly disengaged from his position.

On the surface, Lin Luo seemed to be on the defensive, appearing to be at a disadvantage, while “Kato” walked forward with his hands tucked casually into his pockets, looking quite relaxed.

But in reality, the one holding the advantage was Lin Luo. Kato’s strength lay in the speed and strangeness of his Soundless Fist. If Lin Luo could withstand the Soundless Fist, he would already be invincible.

However, it was too early to make such pronouncements, as the battle between the two had only just begun, and neither had used their full strength.

“The founder of the Soundless Fist is truly exceptional; let me experience it properly.” Lin Luo’s face broke into an excited smile. He used Shundō again, leaving an afterimage in his original spot, surging forward like lightning.