The ultimate spear collided head-on with the obsidian spear, and amid the deafening impact, a visible shockwave radiated outwards in all directions, resembling a nuclear detonation. A mushroom cloud ascended from the sea surface, countless gallons of seawater coalescing into a massive sphere before shattering explosively.

This was the Fifth Dimension space, where Lin Luo and the Evil King had been locked in combat for nearly ten minutes.

"Hah!" Amid the rain lashing the ocean, the Evil King charged directly out of the epicenter of the explosion. The obsidian spear in his hand pulsed with terrifying dark light, the trajectory carved by the blade leaving a vacuum in its wake.

Lin Luo’s eyes sharpened. Though momentarily surprised by the Evil King’s strength, his movements were utterly devoid of hesitation. The tachi in his hand sliced out in a circle, from which burst a dazzling white light, as if conjuring a full moon. He then surged forward with the blade, and the moon began to emit fluctuations that shook the Fifth Dimension.

"Second Sword Style... Momentary Millennium!"

At the precise instant their forces were about to meet, Lin Luo abruptly accelerated. His already lightning-fast figure seemed to vanish for an instant. The full moon fractured into shards, countless beams of white light engulfing the Evil King. Amidst the earth-shattering explosion, space convulsed; the Fifth Dimension was beginning to destabilize.

"Hahaha, this move has some power." Yet, through such a violent blast, the Evil King emerged completely unharmed, save for a few scuffs on his armor. With a booming laugh, his entire form dissolved into a streak of dark energy, charging towards Lin Luo. "Now taste this move of mine... Death Rush!"

Crack!

Opposite him, the tachi in Lin Luo’s hand had disintegrated into dust. Although this blade was meticulously forged by Chourin, imbued with immense technological and mystical power, it could not withstand a battle of this pinnacle caliber; it had reached the end of its "life."

Lin Luo couldn't help but frown, looking up. The terrifying dark streak was already upon him. He felt as if he wasn't facing a beam of light, but a demon!

Reaching out, a spear nearly fifteen meters long descended from the heavens, landing precisely in Lin Luo's grasp. With a whoosh, he hurled the ultimate spear forward again, the piercing sound of its passage akin to a lament.

"Useless! Death Rush shatters everything!" The Evil King ignored it, laughing wildly as the tip of his spear slammed heavily into the ultimate spear. After less than a second of stalemate, the spear was blown away, the colossal impact whipping up a spatial storm that instantly shredded Lin Luo's afterimages.

Strange... Strange... Strange...

Lin Luo, having escaped the spatial storm in the nick of time, felt no relief. On the contrary, a profound sense of doubt arose in his mind. No matter how he analyzed it, something felt deeply wrong.

Before entering Gensokyo, Gui Qu Lai Xi had clearly stated that only by joining forces with the Dark King could he barely stand against the Evil King—and even that "barely" offered little chance of victory. Thus, a one-on-one duel meant certain death, which explained the sheer terror Lin Luo felt when the Evil King first appeared.

No one is unafraid of death; Lin Luo was afraid, too. His first instinct was to flee immediately, to reach Kazami Yuuka, and then combine their strength against the Evil King. But... firstly, this space had already been claimed by the Evil King, making escape impossible; and secondly, the Dark King had also warned that running from the Evil King was absolutely forbidden!

The Dark King's words couldn't be wholly trusted, yet they couldn't be entirely dismissed either. So, cornered with no retreat, Lin Luo summoned a desperate courage and challenged the Evil King himself.

Though he appeared fearless, his heart was genuinely trembling. The Evil King was legendary, heralded as the foremost among the Wanderers—a title potent enough to awe anyone. But sometimes, even terror couldn't stop one from having to fight.

However, after nearly ten minutes of combat, Lin Luo was astonished to discover... the Evil King wasn't that strong!

No, that wasn't quite right. In reality, the Evil King's power was formidable. While perhaps not matching figures like Yakumo Yukari or Kazami Yuuka, his status as the foremost Wanderer was undeniable. But... this level of strength did not align with the legends surrounding the Evil King!

Lin Luo was confident that with his current strength, he stood a fifty-fifty chance against the Dark King in a solo fight. He had grown, but it was implausible that the Dark King and the Evil King had remained static; even if their growth wasn't as rapid as his own, they shouldn't be like this now... Although he felt danger every moment during the fight with the Evil King, his Seventh Sense assured him he absolutely would not die!

He would definitely survive this battle!

This fact made Lin Luo feel very peculiar, summed up in one phrase: the Evil King was both strong and weak.

Strong in his power, weak in his persona... The Evil King’s capability did not live up to his grandiose title!

Lin Luo never doubted his Seventh Sense, but why was he having this feeling?

"You dodged that, did you? Then try this move..." Amidst the spatial storm capable of tearing anything apart, the Evil King held his spear, a ferocious grin on his face. He flicked the spear tip forward, and in an instant, he vanished from his spot. "Death Kill!"

He thrust out his spear, and the chaotic spatial storm surged forth.

It was fast, and its power was immense, but... riddled with openings!

That was Lin Luo's assessment of the Evil King's attack. Attacks that seemed invincible were riddled with too many flaws. His Seventh Sense perceived these gaps with perfect clarity. Within that chaotic spatial storm, there was a path to survival; by following that path, he could evade the strike without injury and counterattack immediately.

The question was... were these real gaps or feints?

Lin Luo's thoughts raced; he couldn't make a definitive judgment, but he decided to take a gamble. If his intuition was correct, then... he could easily destroy this Evil King before him, regardless of how powerful he seemed!

The moment the decision was made, Lin Luo hesitated for barely a second. He abandoned the ultimate spear and the ultimate shield, rushing directly into the spatial storm with his physical body.

"Hah, are you seeking death?" Seeing this, even the Evil King seemed startled, shouting a loud mockery. Simultaneously, he increased the force behind his attack, making the spatial storm even more chaotic.

Lin Luo ignored him, having already activated the innate ability of the Stilling Water Realm. Nothing external could interfere with him; his eyes were fixed only on the spatial storm capable of utterly tearing him apart.

Thirty-degree turn, safe on the right...

Lin Luo heightened his focus to the absolute limit. Just as he was about to be shredded, he executed a sudden turn, gliding past the right edge of the storm. Miraculously, the previously disordered, rotating storm veered sharply to the left.

Success. Now, charge straight ahead!

Lin Luo knew he had gambled correctly on the first half, and he immediately charged into the second wave of the spatial storm advancing head-on.

This wave of the storm rotated in a straight line; charging into it was pure suicide. Yet, a bizarre scene unfolded... As he approached, the storm suddenly dispersed, striking out in all directions, leaving only the center safe!

If Lin Luo hadn't charged directly just then, he would have been torn to pieces.

"You..." The Evil King stared, dumbfounded. He finally understood what Lin Luo was attempting, but he couldn't believe the other party had actually found the flaw in the spatial storm.

"It's not that easy!" The Evil King roared, thrusting his obsidian spear forward again. In that instant, the already frenetic spatial storm intensified beyond measure. Looking closely, there was almost no discernible gap, but...

Twenty-seven degrees diagonally to the left...

Sixty degrees to the right...

Thirty centimeters back...

Mid-range, ignore...

The all-encompassing spatial storm enveloped him—Ignored!

"This... How is that possible?" While the Evil King watched in utter shock, Lin Luo navigated through the spatial storm completely unscathed, relying only on his movement. Then, before the Evil King could react, a black sword of flame plunged into his heart, and his body instantly burst into combustion.

"You lost?"

"You won?"

Both voices emerged almost simultaneously, yet both carried a tone of disbelief. The Evil King hadn't expected to lose, let alone lose so simply. Lin Luo hadn't expected to win, and certainly not so easily.

Watching the Evil King's body slowly vanish, for some inexplicable reason, Lin Luo felt no joy. The sense of dissonance that had been unsettling him grew even stronger... This fight was too bizarre!

Why do I have this bad premonition? He’s clearly dead?

Lin Luo frowned deeply, and the moment the Evil King's body completely disappeared, his expression drastically changed. He finally understood the source of that feeling of incongruity!

...

"Success!" At the same moment, at the Hakurei Shrine, the ten minutes had just elapsed. Yakumo Yukari opened her eyes, waved her fan forward, and a small, dark aperture suddenly appeared in the space directly in front of the shrine.

"Suika, open the gap!" As the aperture materialized, Yukari immediately called out.

"Understood!" Suika obeyed, her body instantly swelling to an immense size. Grabbing the edges of the aperture with both hands, she roared, and with a wham, the hole, which was initially only the size of a head, was pulled open into a fissure more than two meters long.

"No time to waste, let's go!"

Under Yukari's anxious cries, Marisa and Sanae entered the fissure first. Suika then shrank rapidly in an instant, slipping through the gap.

Deprived of Suika’s stabilizing power, the fissure began to shrink gradually. Reimu immediately slipped in, but she didn't leave just yet. Placing a hand against the fissure, she looked back and asked, "Yukari, what about you?"

"I must remain here and reclaim the advantage of Time and Place," Yukari said with a faint smile. Only Reimu understood the implication in her eyes. "You know what you must do. This is an incident."

"...I know. I am the Hakurei Miko," Reimu nodded, releasing her hand and vanishing into the Hakurei Shrine just as the fissure sealed shut.

"Now, the next step is to seize the momentum of Gensokyo. I will completely shatter this Fifth Dimension barrier..." Yukari paused, looking at something she glimpsed through the closing fissure.

: First update today; temporarily one or two updates daily, with a surprise at the end of the month. RO