Many thanks to imb, Zui Yijian, yeil, and The Poor Nameless for their generous 'Scarlet Float' rewards, elevating them to the status of this book's Mengzhu. …… Lin Luo knew in his heart that the Evil King was stronger than him. He was currently only at the Intermediate Earth Tier level, still a full realm below the Evil King. However! The half-month spent in Gensokyo had allowed him to thoroughly integrate his own power. Even the uncontrollable new strength had seen a breakthrough with Yakumo Yukari's assistance, and his swordsmanship had progressed by leaps and bounds through the battles with Konpaku Youmu. More importantly... during the full-scale war half a month ago, he hadn't exerted his full power due to the presence of the Great Barrier!

Of course, the most crucial factor was that he possessed the Seed of the Holy Stone, an ultimate weapon. Thus, even facing a stronger Evil King, he felt no pressure. Still, the Seed of the Holy Stone was too terrifying, harming both the user and the enemy, so it could only be used as a deterrent, a final trump card reserved only for the direst moments.

"I see. You've grown considerably stronger since last time." Seeing Lin Luo neutralize his killing move with a single strike, the Evil King was not surprised, but instead laughed with delight. His Desperate Demon Lance spun around, and with a chira sound, the air seemed to spark as it was sliced. He declared proudly, "But don't think for a moment that I am the same as before. After half a month of recuperation, my strength has returned to its peak. And in this universe, I will only become stronger. Someone like you stands no chance against me. Let me show you my true power!"

Shua!

Like a flash of lightning, the Evil King, clad in dark armor and wielding a pitch-black demon lance, vanished instantly from his spot. Lin Luo's expression shifted. The opponent hadn't used higher-dimensional traversal, but the speed was terrifyingly fast—too quick to be seen by the naked eye, even exceeding his own perception... Just this speed alone was worlds apart from half a month ago!

Almost simultaneously, Lin Luo felt a bone-chilling killing intent radiating from behind him. Before his consciousness could process it, his body instinctively went into defense. The Mist Rain Sword slashed out backward; the Destructive Black Flame and the Second Katana crossed to form an 'X', weaving together light of black and white.

"Not enough!"

The Evil King's voice, even colder, echoed in the icy air. A long spear suddenly materialized directly in front of the attack, its tip piercing the intersection of black and white. The moment of contact gave the illusion that space itself had frozen, then with a huala sound, following a split second of stillness, the black flame and white light, along with that portion of space, utterly shattered.

What kind of power is this?!

Lin Luo was greatly alarmed. It wasn't surprising that the Black Flame was dispersed, as the Evil King's realm was higher than his. But this situation wasn't mere suppression by superior force; it was a kind of mysterious, incomprehensible power... The Evil King had never used this ability in Gensokyo.

The Desperate Demon Lance, having shattered Lin Luo's attack, continued its momentum unabated, stabbing directly toward Lin Luo's face. Feeling the assault capable of tearing his soul apart, Lin Luo had no time to think. He raised his right hand, deploying the Strongest Shield.

Chi!

The Strongest Shield represented Lin Luo's highest current defensive capability. The moment it appeared, the Evil King's attack was blocked, but!

Huala! Almost mirroring the previous event, the brief instant of stillness ended, and the Strongest Shield shattered like ice, the spear tip striking again.

Having gained insight from the prior clash, Lin Luo naturally would not place all his safety on the Strongest Shield. At the moment of shattering, he activated Instantaneous Movement, blinking out hundreds of meters in the next breath.

"Truly lucky," the Evil King made no move to pursue, instead regarding Lin Luo with the gaze of a cat playing with a mouse, a hint of mockery playing on his lips. "Although my Stream Interception can transport travelers to any world for assassination, once intercepted, both parties can exert their current peak strength. Otherwise, you likely would have been finished by that last strike. You are, indeed, quite fortunate!"

"Current peak strength?" Lin Luo's eyes sharpened. As soon as the battle began, he knew his Rule Power was fully unbound, all abilities at their zenith, identical to when he was in his own world. He had found this strange, but now it seemed to be a "side effect" of the Evil King's ability.

Right! Lin Luo suddenly realized: if his Rule Power was fully unlocked due to the "side effect" of the Interception, then the Evil King must be the same. When attacking Gensokyo, his Rule Power was suppressed, which is why he couldn't exert his fullest strength. So... was that strange power just now the Evil King's Rule Power?

With this realization, Lin Luo dared not be careless again. That power possessed the function of time stoppage. But having interacted with time-ability users, he knew this wasn't a time-based ability; at most, it was an influence. And that freezing spectacle wasn't the absolute zero ice magic like Evangeline’s... A force that seemed like time but wasn't, seemed like freezing yet wasn't—this bizarre and unpredictable power placed a heavy burden on Lin Luo.

He now possessed peak combat strength and didn't need to worry about excessive power expenditure damaging the surroundings, allowing him to unleash his full strength without restraint. But the Evil King was the same. Lin Luo could sense that the Evil King now was more than a full tier stronger than he was in Gensokyo.

Unknown and immensely powerful—that was the most terrifying aspect!

"However, your luck ends here!" Just then, the Evil King grinned suddenly, revealing bone-white teeth. His limbs remained still, yet the Desperate Demon Lance in his hand became indistinct, almost non-existent.

Faintly, Lin Luo seemed to see four or five enemies across from him, rotating and fluctuating without any discernible pattern. He told himself it was an illusion, but even pushing his True Sight to its limit, he couldn't discern the Evil King's true form.

A profound sense of crisis rose in Lin Luo's heart. He felt enveloped by the aura of death and instinctively retreated backward... For someone using a long-reaching weapon, maintaining distance was common sense; one should only intercept enemies that enter striking range because piercing an enemy who rushes in is easier than attacking them. Conversely, closing the distance was suicidal. A spearman's combat style relied on leveraging distance to suppress and control the enemy.

The Evil King had absolutely entered the pinnacle in the art of the spear; whenever he attacked with it, he deliberately maintained a certain distance from the enemy. Conversely, for Lin Luo, close-quarters combat where distances were minimized was the most suitable fighting style, even if their inherent power far surpassed the destructive capacity of their weapons. The essence of combat remained unchanged: distance was forever one of the most critical elements!

Yet, at this moment, Lin Luo did the opposite. Not only did he fail to close the gap, but he actively extended the distance even further. This would make facing the Evil King’s charge significantly more difficult.

In normal circumstances, this would certainly be the case. However... through his Seventh Consciousness, Lin Luo could "see" that closing the distance would spell doom. His life instinct screamed that the further he was from the current Evil King, the better!

"Ultimate Move... Rupture Spacetime!"

Just as Lin Luo stretched the distance to nearly a thousand meters, the Evil King suddenly roared. The entire stretch of earth several hundred meters around him catastrophically caved in with a stomp, and amidst the swirling dust, the Evil King split into five figures. At the moment of attack, the five figures vanished simultaneously, leaving only a black dot flickering in mid-air.

Stillness!

Lin Luo felt it again. The instant the black light shot towards him, time seemed to halt. When he reacted, the five black lights were already before him—a moment so brief he couldn't possibly defend. His body was instantly pierced by the black dots.

Fortunately, he had prepared beforehand, creating sufficient distance, and had already defended vital areas, preventing a fatal injury... The existence of the Divine Healing Spell allowed Lin Luo's wounds to instantly recover, but his crisis was not resolved. Unseen attacks, unseen enemies surrounded him, ready to deliver a killing blow at any moment.

"Damn it, what exactly is his ability?" Looking around at the five black dots distributed nearby, Lin Luo frowned deeply. This bizarre and unpredictable power could even fool his perception; it was truly incomprehensible.

Shua!

Following a brief cessation, the black dots attacked again. They converged into one spot, shooting toward Lin Luo’s chest from behind. The moment Lin Luo sensed it, he immediately swung his blade to counter, but... stillness again!

Pu!

A crisp sound, as if something had been sliced apart. Lin Luo instinctively looked down: his left chest had been pierced by a black dot, and even his heart was gone, blood erupting like a fountain.

Divine Healing Spell... Repair!

"Where is your immortality? Why not show it to me?" Just as Lin Luo's wounds had finished healing, the five black dots merged to form the Evil King’s body. He aimed his demon lance at Lin Luo and spoke mockingly, "Surviving without a heart counts as immortal, perhaps, but it’s far less impressive than last time. If this is all you have, the next blow will take your life!"

"You're worrying about that far too early," Lin Luo stated grimly. His immortality was built on erasing his own existence, leaving only a spiritual body. With the Seed’s presence, he could attain an immortal state; as long as the Seed remained, no attack could kill him. However!

A spiritual body was still just a spiritual body. Although it possessed the attribute of immortality, it came with a drawback: the inability to exert full strength. To maintain maximum combat power, a physical form was essential!

At this moment, Lin Luo pushed the perception of his Seventh Consciousness to the limit, cautiously monitoring every move the Evil King made... Engaging before fully grasping the nature of the opponent's ability was unwise; it was certain death. Without sufficient distance, that power of stillness would shred him to dust in an instant.

Lin Luo actually considered using 'Disappearance' to probe the essence of the Evil King's ability, but he ruled out this method. He sensed the Evil King's current strength far surpassed that during the Gensokyo incident. The fully unlocked and peaked Evil King was roughly capable of challenging someone of Yakumo Yukari's caliber—at least, the heavy pressure he felt was akin to facing Kasen Ibaraki!

And 'Disappearance' was useless against someone of Yakumo Yukari’s level!

"Hmph!" The Evil King sneered, offering no reply. His figure once again dissolved into five black dots. This time, Lin Luo didn't even have the margin to react. His chest and abdomen were thoroughly pierced. Clang, the Mist Rain Sword fell to the ground.

The stillness power the Evil King possessed left him utterly defenseless. However, it was fortunate that the enemy's ability didn't seem absolute yet; he could barely dodge fatal areas. The instant his body repaired, he snatched the Mist Rain Sword like lightning and instantly moved a thousand meters away.

"I see, so that's how it is..." Gazing at the Evil King in the distance, Lin Luo finally understood the nature of his ability.

There is a saying: the instant is eternity. Through his time with Kaguya, Lin Luo understood the truth of this statement better: what seems like forever to some might be but a fleeting moment to others.

The Evil King's Rule Power, much like the ability of the Heart Codex, was about shattering order. The difference was that the Heart Codex's disorder only affected the user, whereas the Disorder Rule could affect the external world.

The so-called stillness was not true stoppage; it was merely the loss of temporal order. That’s why Lin Luo couldn't react, as he still existed within the river of time. When the external order was broken, he would be affected. Naturally, the Evil King was also influenced by this chaotic power, as he hadn't completely detached from order, necessitating a brief pause after each attack.

It wasn't that he was intentionally showing mercy; it was the adjustment of order!

Both the Evil King's Disorder Rule and Lin Luo's Creation Rule were flawed!

"You figured it out already?" Seeing the sudden clarity in Lin Luo's eyes, the Evil King knew his ability had been exposed, but he didn't care. "Having clashed with me once, it’s natural you could discern it. Moreover, I never intended to keep it hidden. The power of Disorder—can you break it?"

His tone carried a heavy undertone of confidence.

"No," Lin Luo replied calmly. Even having understood the Evil King's ability, he couldn't win; continuing the fight was a dead end. However, he still had a second path open to him.

But just as he was about to retrieve the Seed of the Holy Stone, the Evil King laughed. "Perhaps you possess some special power that makes you so unafraid. Very well, I'll share some good news with you to cheer you up..."

"Hmm?" Hearing this, Lin Luo’s action instinctively paused.

The Evil King aimed his spear at Lin Luo, a mocking glint in his eyes. "Did you think my earlier words were mere threats? No, they were facts. While I was intercepting you with the Starlight Avenue, I simultaneously dispatched all my subordinates from my world to launch a full-scale assault on your world. You and your Contractors will face death together!"

"What?!" Lin Luo's face changed drastically.

"You are inferior to me, and your world is inferior to mine. There is no hope left for you!"

"Hahahaha..." The Evil King threw his head back in laughter, his voice unable to mask his triumph and arrogance.

: A good title is so hard to come up with, I can’t even be a title-baiter, damn it! Need comfort! RO