"It's you!" Looking at the person before her, Alice could hardly believe it. Trapped in this bizarre space, she had tried countless times to escape, finally resolving to fight to the death. Yet, Lin Luo had broken through and saved her at her most desperate moment. The sheer relief of this sudden deliverance left her almost speechless.

"No need for thanks; this situation partly involves me." Lin Luo smiled faintly, drawing Alice behind him, his gaze locking onto the enemy opposite them, killing intent blazing undisguised in his eyes.

"Wait a moment, that person..." Although Alice didn't understand what Lin Luo meant about his involvement, now was hardly the time to dwell on it. She felt she had to inform Lin Luo of the enemy's "identity," but before she could finish speaking, Lin Luo cut in.

"I know. The Demon Realm God, Shenqi—or perhaps I should say, the False Shenqi!" Lin Luo didn't turn around, peering through the blinding light ahead, still able to see the opponent clearly. "I truly didn't expect this fellow to possess such abilities. But, hmph!"

He left the rest unsaid, merely emitting a dismissive snort. Even with Shenqi's power, he could never possess Shenqi's true strength.

"This is you?!" On the other side, the light had obstructed the view. Only now did the False Shenqi see his attack blocked. He had initially assumed it was Alice, but when the Shield of White dissolved, his expression drastically changed, a flicker of dread hidden in his eyes. "You are Ming Wang?!"

"As expected, you are another thug for the Evil King." Lin Luo smiled calmly; this outcome was well within his anticipation. The Strongest Shield had instantly transformed into the Strongest Spear—nocking an arrow, he loosed it forth, swift as light and electricity, arriving in an instant!

The False Shenqi's eyes sharpened immediately. Against an opponent like Alice, who barely reached the peak of the Spiritual Rank, he could look down on her, insult her, and toy with her at will. But Lin Luo was famed as an equal to his Master. Even without knowing his exact power, such a reputation instantly put immense pressure on him.

And now, his ultimate attack was blocked, while Lin Luo's counterattack filled him with terror. Although this level of attack wouldn't end his life, the sheer contempt and scorn in it made him feel... as if he were facing the Evil King himself!

"Damn it!" The False Shenqi cursed fiercely and immediately employed Shapeshift and Exchange, fleeing with maximum speed. But just as he evaded the light arrow, he felt a ferocious aura rush towards him.

"It seems you were having fun earlier. Now it's my turn to play. I hope you don't disappoint me, Lord of the Demon Realm God!" Lin Luo, who had instantly closed the distance to the False Shenqi, smiled coldly. The Destruction Black Flame transformed directly into a black blade, stabbing towards the opponent's heart.

Lin Luo held nothing back, nor could he afford to. The opponent's strength was undoubtedly Earthly Rank. Though still inferior to him, a foe of this caliber, if truly desperate, could cause an upset in a moment of carelessness. Therefore, he needed to kill the opponent with his strongest power in the shortest time possible!

Lin Luo's attack was too sudden. Both the Strongest Shield and the Destruction Black Flame were decisive strikes—immeasurably fast and immensely powerful. Since the False Shenqi was already gripped by fear, while he dodged the first strike, he clearly could not evade the second.

Slight tear!

With a sound like tearing through tattered cloth, the Sword of Black Flame slammed into the False Shenqi's chest, piercing his heart clean through. Simultaneously, a raging black flame ignited on his body. Without even a scream, the Earthly Rank being was burned completely away by Lin Luo.

"So... so powerful!" Witnessing this, Alice was dumbfounded. An opponent she was utterly powerless against had been slain so easily by Lin Luo. Yet, less than a month ago, Lin Luo was at the same level as her!

"Um, you..." Alice started to speak, but suddenly saw Lin Luo's expression change drastically, as if he had seen something terrifying. Before she could react, the world blurred before her eyes, and she felt herself lifted upward as if soaring on clouds.

At the same time, she heard a deafening boom erupt behind her, shaking the heavens and earth.

When she regained her senses, the soaring sensation was gone. Alice found herself held securely in Lin Luo's arms, specifically in the legendary princess carry... This made her blush slightly, but what concerned her more was something else.

Looking back, she saw an unfamiliar woman half-crouching where she had just been standing, one fist pressed against the ground. Centered on that fist, the entire area spanning over ten meters had sunk inward, sending countless fragments of rock scattering outwards, utterly shattered.

Alice gasped audibly. If she had still been standing there, she would have been pulverized along with the ground!

"Didn't that person just die?!" Alice cried out involuntarily. Although the appearance had changed, the inherent evil feeling remained. It was the False Shenqi, the one Lin Luo had just incinerated.

Lin Luo remained silent, staring intently at the woman opposite him. His heart felt somewhat heavy, for the woman confronting him was... Gui Qu Lai Xi!

"One of the legendary Three Kings. I thought you might be stronger..." The former False Shenqi, now the Pseudo-Gui Qu Lai Xi, rose from the ground, looking at Lin Luo. All fear was gone, replaced only by disdain and mockery. "Turns out you can only manage to kill one of my avatars. You are indeed unworthy of being named alongside my Master."

"Quite an interesting ability." Lin Luo paid no heed to the contempt, smiling lightly. "Before I killed you, you immediately used an avatar to escape. Your ability should be similar to that infinite duplication, right?"

"You figured it out already? Heh heh, it's not that big a deal." Pseudo-Gui Qu Lai Xi sneered, pushing off the ground and charging towards Lin Luo. "That's right, my ability is to create infinite duplicates because I never had a true original body. I am merely a conceptual consciousness. Although my existence is fragile, this very weakness makes me the hardest enemy to defeat. And this woman would be unsolvable for you, wouldn't she? Therefore, you have no chance of winning!"

"Arrogant!" Lin Luo also sneered, but his heart remained wary. Holding Alice, he retreated swiftly, especially since the opponent was currently wielding Gui Qu Lai Xi's power, even if it was less than one ten-thousandth of the original. Furthermore, holding Alice made combat inconvenient.

Boom!!

Pseudo-Gui Qu Lai Xi's punch struck empty air, yet it unleashed a sound like a tsunami, instantly annihilating the surrounding space into utter blackness. The terrifying aura rushing forward was manageable for Lin Luo, but it was overwhelming for Alice.

"Relax. Trust your knight. A weak existence relying solely on borrowed power can never defeat me." Seeing the fear in Alice's eyes, Lin Luo spoke words of comfort, simultaneously tightening his hold on her.

"...Mm." Alice couldn't comprehend this baseless confidence. The enemy's current power had reached an inconceivable level, capable of erasing space—an ability she had never even heard of! Yet, inexplicably, the anxiety in her heart miraculously subsided. She murmured a soft affirmation and leaned her head against Lin Luo's chest... In that moment, even she didn't realize the profound sense of security she felt, a feeling she had never known before.

"Hmph, trying to show off in front of a woman at a time like this? You're courting death!" The disdain on Pseudo-Gui Qu Lai Xi's face deepened as he threw another punch at Lin Luo.

No one knew how strong Gui Qu Lai Xi truly was, but her close-combat skills were undeniably superb, as proven when she casually executed two proxy gods with a single blow. Thus, this imposter only employed melee attacks.

Lin Luo returned the disdain. "Am I not? While it seems you've acquired a formidable ability, have you truly reached its limit? The woman you've transformed into now is far more potent than this; you are, at best, only at the early Earthly Rank right now."

"With immortality and infinite power, I have enough to destroy you!" A fierce wave of punches struck near Lin Luo, and space was annihilated once more.

Lin Luo seemed unable to clash head-on, relying only on evasion. "Then, before you destroy me, let me ask you one question: why kill Alice? The ones you truly intended to deal with should be me and the Host, right?"

"Is that hard to understand? It's merely eliminating anyone who has the potential to become an enemy. To me, there are only those who deserve to die and those who don't. Anyone not serving my Master must die!"

"I see. Then my questions are concluded." Lin Luo sighed, then just before the opponent attacked again, he suddenly threw Alice high into the air and flashed like lightning behind Pseudo-Gui Qu Lai Xi, his right hand held in a blade shape, condensed with black flame, sweeping down in a single cut.

"I should thank you a little. Because I've long wanted to teach this woman a lesson, but she was too strong, leaving me helpless. You allowed me a very good release. Additionally, just how strong I have become now... I don't even know myself."

The Blade of Black Flame sliced through, instantly splitting the opponent in two. Lin Luo then retreated to his original position, steadily catching Alice as she fell from the air.

But the enemy did not die. This time, the form reverted back to Shenqi, standing opposite Lin Luo. "It's useless. You can only kill my avatars. No matter how many times you kill me, unless you eradicate my existence, you can never defeat me."

"Hasn't your existence already vanished?" Lin Luo didn't spare him a glance, instead leisurely tidying Alice's messy hair. His composed demeanor was so serene that even Alice felt Lin Luo looked exceptionally... showy.

"What did you say?" The False Shenqi's face changed drastically.

"Don't believe me? Look behind you."

"Hm?"

The False Shenqi instinctively turned his head. He saw a hand—a woman's hand. Before he could react, his neck was tightly gripped by that hand. Then, in the empty void, half a body suddenly appeared—green hair, and a bright parasol. This iconic appearance belonged to none other than Flandre Scarlet!