"W-What? How can there be so many?!" Seeing the tens of thousands of the living dead and malevolent spirits, Tsuchimiya Kagura gasped sharply, her face etched with sheer terror, nearly dropping the chicken leg she was holding. Since obtaining Hakurei, her strength had taken a qualitative leap, making her comparable to Isayama Yomi. Her resolve was iron-clad, but—

The enemies before her completely exceeded her capacity to handle. Just in the visible scope, there were at least fifty to sixty thousand spread across the landscape, with countless more spirits surging towards them from every direction... With such numbers and relentless assault, she couldn't possibly finish them off even if her arms grew numb from ceaseless slaughter!

Isayama Yomi’s expression was equally grave. Such a massive horde of the living dead was enough to make one’s scalp tingle just by looking at them. However, her temperament was considerably firmer and calmer than Tsuchimiya Kagura's. Upon spotting the enemy, she swiftly picked up Shishioh lying nearby, placing her right hand on the hilt and assuming an offensive posture.

"Unusual..." Lin Luo frowned slightly. Although this city had entirely become a city of the living dead—with no other sign of living humans besides themselves and a few exorcists—the sudden appearance of such a massive number was too peculiar. If the city had housed a million people, this horde represented almost a tenth of the entire population.

Noticing the subtle flicker of anxiety beneath the forced composure of the two young women, Lin Luo couldn't help but grin. "You two stay here and eat in peace. I'll take care of these enemies first."

"What?!" Hearing Lin Luo's words, both young women cried out simultaneously. Even the usually composed Isayama Yomi couldn't maintain her composure, staring at Lin Luo in disbelief. "You're going to deal with all of them alone?"

"Brother Lin Luo, that's too dangerous. Even with your strength, you can't possibly fight them all by yourself with these numbers," Tsuchimiya Kagura quickly interjected. She understood the principle of quantitative change leading to qualitative change; Lin Luo could defeat Sanzu River, but that didn't mean he could handle tens of thousands of malevolent, living dead spirits.

Lin Luo smiled faintly, offering no further explanation. He simply extended his hand to Isayama Yomi. "Could I borrow your Shishioh for a moment? I don't have a suitable weapon on hand." While his storage space held many weapons, they were merely common wooden swords and iron blades, incapable of allowing him to exert his full power. Without the ability to utilize creation rules, he couldn't conjure Sacred Treasures either.

"Uh... Yes, alright." Perhaps it was Lin Luo's confident smile that reassured Isayama Yomi, or perhaps the sheer scale of the enemy numbers pressed a huge weight upon her, causing her to hand Shishioh over to Lin Luo almost instinctively.

Taking Shishioh, Lin Luo drew the ōdachi with a ōu sound, spun it a few times in his hand, and then lightly flicked the blade with his finger. His mastery of swordsmanship and material analysis immediately allowed him to assess the quality of this nodachi. While it wasn't a peerless treasure blade, nor could it compare to a Sacred Treasure, it was nevertheless a rare fine sword, significantly better than Setsuna’s Yukikaze.

"Indeed, I should get a better weapon for myself. It's a pity I didn't rob the Shining Loli's Gate of Babylon when I was in the Nasuverse; she should have a tachi suitable for me... Never mind, let's deal with these disgusting things first."

Putting aside his regrets, Lin Luo glanced back at the two young women and said with a smile, "Just as I said, you two eat up without worry. I'll resolve this quickly."

With that, Lin Luo walked forward.

Isayama Yomi and Tsuchimiya Kagura were speechless, yet they didn't try to stop Lin Luo. After all, he appeared entirely confident, suggesting he wouldn't attempt something he couldn't handle. Furthermore, their stamina hadn't recovered, and engaging in battle in their current state would only be a hindrance. As for eating peacefully, that was impossible. Both watched Lin Luo’s retreating figure intently, not shifting their gaze for a single moment.

Lin Luo did not charge directly into the throng of the living dead for slaughter, like a singular general holding a pass against ten thousand foes. Instead, halfway across the field, he leaped high into the air, instantly soaring over fifty meters off the ground. Shishioh erupted in dazzling white light in his hands. "Zanmakyō, Second Blade..."

Countless beams of white light converged on the blade, instantly engulfing the entire tachi. The brilliant radiance extended for over ten meters. As the blade turned upward and he began his head-down, feet-up descent, the tachi in his right hand swept out sharply. The entire 360-degree radius was enveloped in white light, forming a massive circle.

"Today marks the anniversary of the birth of a new Yuri pair... Lily Blossom—Original Version!"

"..." Hearing the name of the technique, Isayama Yomi and Tsuchimiya Kagura were utterly speechless, their composure shattered.

But what shocked them even more was the sheer power of this unorthodox technique. They had initially assumed Lin Luo, while strong, was only slightly superior to Sanzu River, still within the scope of what they could comprehend—especially since Lin Luo had ambushed Sanzu River. Now, they realized they had been profoundly mistaken.

The colossal ring expanded instantaneously, rushing outward in all directions, forming a vast curtain of light that enveloped thousands of the living dead in the blink of an eye. Then, one by one, lilies bloomed across that light curtain. In an instant, nothing was visible but the blinding white radiance.

The light screen continued to spread, and the lilies continued to bloom. Only when the light curtain reached a hundred meters did its momentum cease, but the attack had only just begun, for the lilies were in the process of unfurling... When those budding flowers completely transformed into six-petaled lilies, the true assault descended.

Swish! Swish! Swish!...

Petals rained down from the sky, fluttering everywhere like falling snow. And when these petals touched the bodies of the living dead and malevolent spirits, it was as if a spark met tinder... Boom! Every single one exploded.

Boom! Boom! Boom!...

The colossal sounds of explosions drowned out all other noise; the sky-obscuring white light submerged everything. Only half a minute later, when the detonations finally ceased, did sight and sound return to normal. However, the swarming masses of the living dead and spirits were nowhere to be seen; they had vanished along with the white light. Only hundreds of meters away could some straggling living dead be observed, yet none dared to enter the area previously covered by the attack.

Not out of fear, but because the residual power held them back!

Thump!

Lin Luo landed softly, sheathing his ōdachi with a ōu sound. When he turned around, he found the two young women staring, jaws practically hitting the floor. They were completely dumbfounded.

"Snap out of it," Lin Luo said, walking over and gently tapping their shoulders, which finally brought them back to reality. At this moment, however, the way they looked at him was akin to reverence for a celestial being.

They weren't sure how many of the living dead and spirits that single strike had annihilated. They only knew that the horde that had previously made their scalps crawl, save for a few wandering figures approaching from the distance, was now reduced to a countable number... To wipe out nearly a hundred thousand living dead in a single move—was this truly something humanly possible?

Lin Luo's power had utterly shattered their understanding of common sense.

"Here, take your Shishioh back. Now, let's talk while we eat." Lin Luo handed the tachi back to Isayama Yomi and then sat down on the ground.

He hadn't spent all his time in the Sky Castle playing games or idling away time with women. He had rigorously practiced strengthening his sword techniques, magic, and other abilities, especially the Second Blade. After all, as a supreme-grade Zanmakyō, it possessed immense destructive power against spirit-type beings, yokai, and even the undead. Since Gensokyo was filled with such entities, he naturally devoted extensive study to it.

The inherent attack power of the Second Blade, when fully utilized, was world-class, but that was only within the context of the Mahō Sensei Negima! plane. To contend with stronger opponents, he needed to transcend limits and reach higher realms. The result was the fusion of the Law of Illusions with the Second Blade.

The fusion with the Law of Illusions was the pinnacle of all his abilities; it could merge with almost any power, save for the Destruction of Black Rock. Perhaps the Second Blade should now be renamed the Fantasy Blade.

Taking Shishioh from Lin Luo, Isayama Yomi felt it vibrating slightly in his hand. This wasn't just an ordinary tachi; it was a blade embodying the spirit beast Shishioh, hence its name. She had always believed that, no matter the circumstances, this sword would never react negatively, yet now she felt it trembling in fear.

This greatly shocked Isayama Yomi. To make the spirit beast Shishioh feel dread was almost unbelievable, yet considering the sheer destructive force of Lin Luo's previous attack, it seemed inevitable. If an ordinary sword had been used, it might have shattered long ago.

Gazing at Lin Luo’s placid expression, Isayama Yomi’s heart was filled with curiosity. She had been working as an exorcist since she was ten and was considered a veteran in that world, familiar with many powerful figures within the community. Yet, she had never heard of anyone named Lin Luo. Logically, a person of his caliber, no matter how discreet, should be famous in the exorcism world. Moreover, judging by his demeanor, he didn't seem the type to hide his power.

Who exactly was he? And why did he save them?

Isayama Yomi knew that regardless of what the future held, she would never forget the scene from this day.

...

Like Isayama Yomi, another person would never forget this day.

"Damn it all!" In a dark room, the cold, sharp-featured young man cursed loudly. "He actually cleaved nearly a hundred thousand of my soldiers with a single sword strike, and without even using rule power! Are the Three Kings all such monstrous beings? This is insane!"

He could not remain calm. Controlling malevolent spirits required the expenditure of his power, and Lin Luo's strike, while not fundamentally debilitating, had caused him considerable pain.