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…… Ewangelina was furious—truly incandescently angry. Although she was slightly at a disadvantage at the very start of the fight, she had subsequently gained complete control of the situation; Sakuya had absolutely no chance of winning. Yet, the result was that she lost, and she lost so humiliatingly.

But no matter how unwilling Ewangelina was to accept it, the outcome was sealed. This wasn't a fight to the death, but a martial arts tournament governed by rules and limitations. The stronger contender doesn't always win, and the weaker doesn't always lose.

Utilizing wisdom to exploit the competition's rules is also a form of strength... Of course, that final move by D-Long probably couldn't be classified as wisdom. Since they were fighting on this stage, they had to abide by its rules.

There was nothing to argue about. Even Ewangelina had no intention of breaking those rules. So, despite her resentment, she was resigned to the facts—who could she blame but the fact that her opponent possessed a killing move?

Admittedly, while she accepted the loss, she didn't intend to dwell on it. In truth, winning or losing was never the most important thing to her; a full-out battle was gratifying enough. However...

she wouldn't let Sakuya off the hook. She had already decided: she would capture Sakuya someday, dress her in a sailor uniform, fit her with cat ears and a tail, and then hang her up to do this and that, using whips, candles... a repayment of humiliation, multiplied!

"Hahahaha!" Thinking of this, Ewangelina suddenly burst into loud laughter. She clenched one hand until it cracked, pointed at Sakuya with the other, and declared with dominating authority, "Sakuya Izayoi, you win this time. But don't think I'll let it go just like that!

I swear, I will give you a memory you'll never forget, wahahaha..." "Ugh..." Sakuya felt a sudden, inexplicable chill run down her spine. Ewangelina said it with such deadly seriousness; it seemed she couldn't afford to ignore it. Hmm, perhaps she should start carrying garlic with her at all times, just in case.

"Ewan-chan," Lin Luo reached out and patted her back, calling softly. "What?" Ewangelina snorted dismissively, asking without looking, then turned back, her expression immediately changing as she saw the head of garlic Lin Luo held in his hand. "Do...

do you want to die once too?!" Ewangelina’s mouth twitched, veins pulsed beneath her skin, and her teeth ground together, the sound forced out almost through her clenched jaws. "No, I don't," Lin Luo chuckled, then added, "I just thought you might need a shower. You were submerged in so much garlic earlier; you must smell like it, right?" "Ah!" Ewangelina gasped sharply.

Now that he mentioned it, there was a nasty odor clinging to her. In her previous rage, she hadn't noticed. No, she had to wash it off quickly, or she’d be nauseated to death.

"Chacha Zero, let's go!" Without further hesitation, Ewangelina called out to the Black Heart Doll not far away and hurried toward the edge of the arena. "Want me to help you wash?" Lin Luo asked with a smile. "Go die!" Ewangelina shot him a hateful glare over her shoulder, her face a mixture of shame and anger, before leaving without looking back.

"My, my, what an amusing little cat." Al stood in the viewing stands, watching the scene with a faint smile. …… Since Ewangelina and Sakuya’s fight caused no damage to the stage, after a short ten-minute rest, the final match finally began: Lin Luo versus Sakuya Izayoi. The champion of this Martial Arts Tournament would be decided between these two.

"So, who will claim the championship and the ten-million prize? After so many rounds, we have finally reached the final! Let all our eyes witness the moment the champion is born," the announcer, Kazumi Asakura, said excitedly, then quickly hurried off the stage.

"The moment has finally arrived." Sakuya stood casually and calmly on the stage, arms crossed, smiling at Lin Luo. "This match wasn't hugely significant to me initially, but after seeing your previous fight, I’ve become genuinely interested in facing you." "Oh? What do you mean?" Lin Luo smiled, feigning ignorance, and asked.

"Are you still trying to hide it now?" Sakuya countered. "Don't tell me the 'young lady' who fought me on Library Island that day wasn't you!" Sakuya stressed the word 'young lady' particularly loudly, as if making a deliberate point. "Heh heh." Lin Luo gave a slightly awkward smile.

In his previous battle with 'Lakan,' he had used Mist Incarnation. While others might not have noticed, it wouldn't be hard for the skill of a Maid Commander to detect. Since she brought it up, there was indeed no point in hiding it further.

"That's right, that person was me." "Oh, admitting it quite readily. Then why were you following me? I will respond based on your answer," Sakuya regarded Lin Luo leisurely, the smile in her eyes exerting pressure.

"No, no, you misunderstand," Lin Luo shook his head, spreading his hands. "I wasn't following you that day; it was just a chance encounter. In fact, my objective then was the same as yours." "The same as mine?" Sakuya paused in surprise.

Lin Luo nodded and smiled. "Although I don't know exactly what you were trying to do, sneaking into the library suggests you were either stealing something or researching. The reason I say 'the same' is because I was also trying to steal something at that time." Because their voices were very low, ordinary people couldn't hear what they were saying.

"I wasn't stealing anything, but since you put it that way, I'll provisionally believe you. Of course..." At this point, Sakuya revealed a smile full of intrigue. Unbeknownst to Lin Luo, a throwing knife had appeared in her hand, pointed at him.

"Let me see your 'young lady' form first." Shing! The knife was thrown. In an instant, Lin Luo saw that he was surrounded by throwing knives.

It wasn't a dense, crowded image, but rather knives spaced out yet utterly without pattern—a chaotic formation. This is troublesome, indeed. Lin Luo believed his strength was not inferior to Ewangelina’s.

Logically, Sakuya’s time ability couldn't affect Ewangelina, so it shouldn't affect him much either. Furthermore, he was equipped with interference magic, which should, to some extent, disrupt Sakuya's abilities. But it seemed he had miscalculated.

Sakuya had arranged so many knives around him; she absolutely must have stopped time, and he hadn't noticed at all... This influence was a little greater than anticipated. However, it wasn't entirely irreversible.

While he couldn't detect the time stop, Sakuya definitely couldn't stop his time either. Otherwise, what he would see wouldn't be flying knives, but the outcome of his defeat... In that sense, his interference magic had played a role.

Dodging these knives would certainly not be difficult, but having watched Ewangelina's fight with Sakuya, Lin Luo knew that knives would follow knives. Dodging was futile; the correct approach was to destroy the weapons. Therefore, without hesitation, the moment he saw the knives, a sphere of light—the Light of Illusion!—formed in Lin Luo’s hand.

The Light of Illusion rushed forward and was sliced in half by the first throwing knife, instantly transforming into two orbs of light. Any knife touched by the Light of Illusion immediately ceased its movement and clattered onto the ground. The light orbs fragmented into countless pieces the moment they were cut, intercepting all the throwing knives simultaneously, unable to harm Lin Luo in the slightest.

In terms of bullet hell attacks, Sakuya’s ranking in Gensokyo would likely be quite low. After all, her bullet patterns were unlike others—they were merely ordinary silver knives. Besides having a damage bonus against vampires, they only inflicted standard physical damage.

In reality, the various youkai of Gensokyo feared physical damage the least; several possessed immortality alone. It was only because combat in Gensokyo adhered to Spell Card rules—where a hit counts as a score regardless of actual damage dealt—that Sakuya’s barrage could compare to others. But here, there were no Spell Card rules.

Purely physical attacks, unless they could shatter the opponent’s realm through brute force like Lakan, were virtually useless against Lin Luo. Although his Rule Force was energy-based, it possessed an essential suppressive quality over lower-realm physical systems. "As expected, ordinary methods won't work against you." Sakuya wasn't surprised; the first attack was merely a probe.

Her disastrous defeat against Ewangelina was due to not understanding the limits of her opponent's abilities, and she had no intention of suffering a second loss here. Lin Luo’s power was also quite bizarre. Both his Substitution Technique and the light orbs were forces beyond common laws...

not to mention that gender-bending technique. "Wait a moment." Seeing Sakuya seemingly preparing a second wave of attack, Lin Luo suddenly called out to halt her. "Before the formal battle begins, there is something I need to tell you." "What is it?" Sakuya paused slightly, asking reflexively.

Lin Luo curved his lips into a smile and chuckled lightly. "To be honest, this match isn't very important to me either. I have no need for the ten million prize money.

Therefore, I wish to raise the stakes between you and me." "...What kind of stake are you proposing?" Sakuya asked with slight curiosity. Lin Luo smiled confidently without hesitation. Suddenly, a loudspeaker appeared in his hand, and he announced resolutely and loudly, "Sakuya Izayoi, if I win this match, you become mine.

Conversely, if I lose, I will submit to whatever you desire. Do you accept this wager?" "Huh?!" If Sakuya had only been slightly curious before, hearing this sentence completely stunned her. What did that mean?

Her becoming his...? Could this be—a confession?! No, that couldn't be!

Sakuya could not process it at all. Simultaneously, the audience's enthusiasm was completely ignited, as Lin Luo's words echoed throughout the entire venue.