Lin Luo vs. The Entire Red Wings (Second Update, Seeking Votes) : Bring on the monthly tickets! Don't worry about me not being able to keep up. Whether it's six, seven, or even eight updates, if you cast your votes, I will absolutely deliver the chapters—that’s a promise! …… The battle against Kato primarily revolves around distance management, a fact evident even in the fight between Negi and Ryudo. Negi could suppress Ryudo at close range, although he was later countered in close combat. However, the reason for that outcome was simply that Ryudo was vastly superior to Negi; if Ryudo had gotten serious, a real contest would have been impossible.

Between Lin Luo and Kato, no such issue exists. In fact, in terms of overall combat power, Lin Luo surely surpasses Kato. The only nuance is that certain techniques are forbidden in this match, so the gap isn't vast, making territorial advantage the key factor to contest... This is also an excellent practical drill; sparring against diverse opponents accelerates one's growth.

As stated before, the result is unimportant to Lin Luo; the process is what matters.

Through several successive Void Flashes, Kato couldn't even track the speed. By the time he reacted, Lin Luo was already beside him, unleashing the Lightning Fist in an instant.

Kato retreated, blasting out a white ray: Mute Fist vs. Lightning Fist.

Boom!

A dull collision echoed. Rather than stopping, the two escalated their attacks at an even faster pace. Lin Luo desired to close the distance to suppress his opponent in close combat. But Kato was well aware of his own weakness; he wouldn't willingly succumb to such a disadvantage and exerted his utmost effort to maintain separation.

The Mute Fist struck with lightning speed, one following the next with virtually no interval. It either landed before Lin Luo could initiate his Flash or immediately after it concluded, making evasion purely based on speed incredibly difficult.

Lin Luo’s Light of Illusion, however, was equally unpredictable. While its speed wasn't fast—no, it hardly even registered as attack speed, easily dodged even by those from the World of Light—its terrifying aspect lay in its sheer number. In less than a moment, there were already hundreds of white orbs drifting slowly in the air, almost covering the entire arena. This placed immense pressure on Kato.

If he didn't clear the light orbs along his retreat path beforehand, his maneuverable area would shrink drastically. Eventually, he would either be surrounded by orbs or forced into close quarters with Lin Luo; either way, he was destined to lose.

Though the battle was fraught with peril at every turn, it didn't drag on. After all, Al’s stamina was limited. "Copying" someone stronger than himself, or with comparable power, is a state that cannot be maintained long. Thus, in under three minutes, Kato transformed back into Al once more.

Lin Luo stopped at that moment too, withdrawing all remaining Light of Illusion, and smiled toward his opponent. "Ready to switch out?" While pressing the advantage wasn't impossible, it would be useless against Al’s methods. He knew better than anyone that the instant Al reverted to his base form was when his defenses were weakest, meaning he wouldn't be without contingency plans, making a follow-up pursuit unnecessary.

"Heh heh," Al chuckled lightly. "Copying someone stronger than oneself is extremely difficult. Even with my power, maintaining it for more than ten minutes is the absolute limit. Since you wish to challenge the Red Wings, I naturally cannot disappoint you."

Saying this, Al once again pulled a magic tome from the fluttering books. A slip of paper shot out with a swish!

"Can the swordsmanship you imitate possibly match the real article?" Standing in the smoke was a young man wielding a longsword, appearing to be in his early twenties—it was none other than Eigaon Konoe.

"Ah! That's Father!" In the audience stands, Kinoka shot up with a gasp upon seeing the scene.

"Huh? That’s your dad?!" The three girls beside her were startled by her shout and asked in surprise, "Kinoka, why is your father participating in this competition?"

"I don't know. I remember Father being in Kyoto." Kinoka looked bewildered, unable to figure it out. But soon she smiled, "Well, it doesn't matter. I'm already thrilled to see Father. Plus, he looks much younger! Haha, how interesting."

The young women were speechless; she was too casual about it!

On the stage, the battle between Lin Luo and the "Eigaon Konoe" had already commenced. Eigaon Konoe was a master swordsman; in terms of sheer swordsmanship, few in this world could surpass him. Moreover, the version here was Eigaon Konoe from ten years ago, right in his prime, having fought the Creator. Both his stamina and combat power were at their zenith—far beyond the present Eigaon Konoe, who hadn't fought in a decade and had been enjoying a peaceful life.

The sword Eigaon Konoe held was real, not a wooden practice sword. Although the tournament prohibited real weapons, Kounel never intended to compete for the championship. After his fight with Negi, he would have accepted even if Lin Luo had asked him to forfeit. However, since the opponent demanded a match against the Red Wings, both Lin Luo's strength piquing his interest and the reputation of the Red Wings themselves meant it would be inappropriate not to go a little serious.

As for winning or losing, someone at his level wouldn't give it a second thought.

The audience shared a similar sentiment. While real weapons were somewhat questionable, no one wanted to call a halt at this moment. No one minded if Kounel was breaking the rules; seeing an electrifying battle was the most important thing.

Perhaps sensing the mood of the crowd, the organizers seized the moment and proposed... allowing the use of real weaponry to a certain extent, provided no lives were taken.

This proposal was naturally met with overwhelming support.

"Real weapons are allowed? Chō-Rinon is thoughtful indeed. In that case, I must also engage in a contest of swordsmanship with you... my future father-in-law." Lin Luo smiled faintly, already holding a silver tachi in his hand.

The Eigaon Konoe Al copied possessed identical abilities and appearance, but his personality remained Al’s own. Hearing Lin Luo’s words, he immediately burst into laughter. "What a sensible, good son-in-law. Then, offer your respects to your father-in-law."

With that, he swept his sword, and a visible, sharp blade energy shot out like lightning toward Lin Luo's knee.

Damn it! A slip of the tongue!

As Lin Luo dodged the sword strike from the Eigaon Konoe, he was filled with regret. He had almost forgotten that this Eigaon Konoe was actually Al, that schemer. The man was actually trying to trick him into performing a kowtow! If it were the real Eigaon Konoe, Lin Luo could argue that he was dating his daughter, and offering a bow wouldn't be a big deal—but at another time. But Al? Damn it, why don't you just die! You don't have a daughter for me to date!

"Demon-Slaying Sword... Second Stance!" The Eigaon Konoe’s first strike missed, and he immediately launched the second: the pinnacle technique of the Shinmei style. White light roared forth like a colossal dragon.

"Demon-Slaying Sword... The Blade Vowing to Turn You Gay!" Lin Luo fought back without concession, unleashing the same technique. Given Al’s treachery just now, he decided not to hold back with his words either.

The "Eigaon Konoe’s" brow furrowed. Although a smile remained plastered on his face, prominent veins had started to pop. In all his long life, he had finally encountered someone whose tongue was sharper than his own. He stopped talking, but the speed of his swordplay abruptly increased.

The dazzling sword shadows revealed no discernible trajectory; dozens of strikes were delivered in an instant, each aimed at Lin Luo’s vitals, simultaneously locking down every avenue of retreat... This wasn't Al intending murder, but fighting with everything he had.

This guy really is far stronger than the current Eigaon Konoe!

Lin Luo had sparred with the genuine Eigaon Konoe not long ago. While the real man was formidable, he hadn't exerted such immense pressure. But this one was chilling—similar to Sasaki Kojirō in the Moon World, his swordsmanship had reached a realm akin to the Dao, directly comparable to a Noble Phantasm.

Given this, even Lin Luo, despite his confidence, dared not engage in a pure test of swordsmanship. To be honest, his swordsmanship could pass him off as an unrivaled master before ordinary opponents, but against true experts, it devolved into the play of a novice.

Light Flash activated! Flash Step engaged!

By combining these two speed techniques simultaneously, Lin Luo’s velocity instantly increased dozens of times beyond normal. He stopped relying on his eyes to see, instead using his Perception Field to capture air current fluctuations, allowing him to parry the incoming attacks one by one at extreme speed.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!……

In the blink of an eye, their forms crossed, and they stood back-to-back.

"Incredible. The bodily speed and neural reactions of these two have far surpassed the limits attainable by ordinary people. How did they train themselves?" Among the onlookers, some voiced astonished admiration. To the average person, the exchange between Lin Luo and Eigaon Konoe seemed like a single clash, but to those within the underground world who possessed some measure of strength, those less than one second had contained at least thirty exchanges, and none had missed their mark.

This was simply beyond human capability.

After only a moment's pause, they spun around to attack again. Real steel added a layer of danger and heightened the thrill, but for Lin Luo, this kind of practical combat was what he loved most. Using wooden swords would have been far too childish.

The three minutes vanished instantly. In terms of swordsmanship, Eigaon Konoe held the advantage over Lin Luo, but in terms of speed, Lin Luo surpassed him. Thus, their battle did not yield a definitive victor.

Then, Al, now floating again, pulled out a third magic tome. Only four minutes remained, and besides Nagi, only one member of the Red Wings was left who hadn't been used: the 'bug-like' powerhouse, the Hero of a Thousand Blades—Jack Rakan!

"Finally, it’s your turn? Now this will be interesting."

Lin Luo was extremely eager for this confrontation with the bug of an uncle.