The appearance of Yuyuko not only startled Lin Luo but also left almost everyone present dumbfounded, especially the major figures on the magic side. They could clearly sense the abnormality of the girl descending from the sky… People who could fly were not numerous, but not unheard of; some could indeed take to the air using magic or special abilities. Yet, the girl before them exhibited no such overt display of power.

They could sense that her flight was merely instinctual, and furthermore, they couldn't perceive any life aura from her. Was she a projection, or something else entirely?

"Oh my, what a lively banquet. It would be such a shame to miss it. Hello everyone, my name is Saigyouji Yuyuko, just an ordinary specter." Those who had just been wondering if she was a projection nearly spat blood upon hearing this.

Yuyuko drifted down lightly, her feet hovering just above the ground, and began her introduction as if nothing were amiss. However, before she could finish her words, a figure instantly appeared beside her, clamped a hand over her mouth, and shoved the rest of her speech back down her throat.

With one hand pressing down on Yuyuko’s mouth and the other gripping her shoulder, Lin Luo calmly addressed the crowd: "My apologies. She is my sister, whom I lost many years ago. She’s a bit... unconventional in her speech. Please disregard anything you heard or saw; I’ll take her back now."

Lin Luo completely ignored the gaping, stunned expressions of the surrounding crowd, as well as the muffled, protesting squeaks of the gluttonous specter, as he led Yuyuko back to the spectator stands.

"Hey, hey, why did you drag me over here?" As soon as Lin Luo released his grip, Yuyuko immediately complained.

"You should be asking yourself that—what were you trying to do by running up there?" "For fun, of course," Yuyuko replied matter-of-factly.

Lin Luo instantly felt a vein pop on his forehead. He should have guessed long ago; this foodie never engaged in anything serious, and even if a serious event fell into her hands, it would most likely devolve into farce.

"No, you can't go!" Seeing Yuyuko begin to float upwards again, Lin Luo immediately restrained her. This foodie’s current goal might simply be amusement, but once the competition began, abilities and magic would erupt everywhere—it would be a buffet for Yuyuko. She would definitely act... no, open her mouth.

It was already a disadvantage for espers facing powerful magic users, and if Yuyuko caused further disruption, the outcome would become truly unpredictable. He had trained so hard; he didn't want to see his "disciple" defeated in just a few minutes.

However, Yuyuko did have her principles: the principle of eating, drinking, and merrymaking.

Yuyuko, Ibuki Suika, Kirisame Marisa, and Yakumo Yukari—these four together constituted the Four Great Scourges of Gensokyo in terms of indulgence. As one of the Four Scourges, Yuyuko clearly would not yield easily.

But she also had one major weakness: food. Lin Luo finally managed to placate her by promising a lavish dinner whose value, if converted to modern currency, would make one dizzy counting the zeros.

Alas, a rich man’s good meal might allow hundreds in a slum to live comfortably for a lifetime, while Yuyuko’s full meal could plunge any nation on earth into a near-fatal financial crisis… What a disparity; this is truly the highest realm of consumption.

While Yuyuko was appeased by the lure of food, the other side of the event encountered a small problem: the lack of a commentator.

This commentator also functioned as a referee, and one without sufficient strength could not hold the position, as they wouldn't even be able to discern what was happening in the match to explain it to the audience. Originally, it was internally decided that someone from the magic side would take the role, and Aleister didn't fear them making subtle moves. But due to Yuyuko’s abrupt intrusion, the magic side decided not to send anyone—they genuinely wanted to observe what this strange "life form" called Yuyuko truly was.

With the magic side refusing to participate, the science side remained equally nonchalant. Thus, the stage was empty, with only the female host, who hadn't managed to leave earlier, trying to fill the silence by telling stale jokes.

Lin Luo pondered for a moment, and driven by a sense of broad benevolence, he decided to help the poor hostess. He walked onto the stage, took the microphone from her, waved her away, and finally addressed the audience: "Well, it seems the commentator profession has no future. Even the organizers don't want to take on this thankless job. So, to serve the public, I, an outsider, shall reluctantly fill in." Lin Luo had managed to slight both the science and magic sides in one sentence, but they had to swallow their anger and could not retort, precisely because they had ulterior motives from the start.

"Alright, the match begins. First, the number one contestant from the science side..." Lin Luo cut straight to the chase without preamble. He only intended to be a spectator, so he didn't know who the first contestant was, but as he spoke and gestured, Misaka Miler walked out from the contestants' area. She was clearly Number One.

"Next, the number one contestant from the magic side." Lin Luo then extended his hand towards the magic faction.

Neither the British Puritan Church nor the Russian Orthodox Church, the two giants, sent anyone forward. However, from the Roman Catholic Church, the most influential faction on the magic side, someone rose from their seat. It was a woman in a yellow robe, whose ears, nose, and eyelids, as well as her lips, were all adorned with iron rings—so many that her entire face looked unbalanced. To use modern slang, this woman was extremely 'non-mainstream.'

To have her as the first contestant! Seriously, had the magic side decided to bully people?

Lin Luo couldn't help but frown watching the woman, as she was Frenda of the Right Seat of God, possessing the formidable power to single-handedly infiltrate Academy City. Sending someone of this caliber to fight was clearly an indication of ill intent from the magic side.

Lin Luo instinctively glanced at Aleister, finding the man hanging upside down completely calm, as if he had known all along... Indeed, such matters could hardly be called secrets.

The only secret between the two sides was: the order of the participating members.

"Tch, I didn't expect I’d be fighting you. An esper whose scientific ability surpasses even a Saint." As soon as Frenda stepped onto the stage, she completely ignored Lin Luo, focusing only on Misaka Miler, grinning widely. Yet, her laughter held no trace of friendliness; it felt more like a forced suppression of some emotion, especially the word 'science,' which she stressed heavily.

Frenda intensely despised science. With the magic and science sides now supposedly aiming for peaceful coexistence, she was likely the one most resistant to it. However, she was only one member of the Right Seat of God and could not represent the entire magic side; her opposition held no real sway.

In Lin Luo’s view, the only reason Frenda demanded to participate in this match was likely to face off against the science side. Beyond this confrontation, she might never get another chance!

Although Frenda ignored Lin Luo, Lin Luo had not forgotten his duty. He immediately gripped the microphone and addressed the audience: "Alright, both contestants are on stage. On the left is the L-Class esper, Misaka Miler. I believe most of you are familiar with her, so no introduction is necessary. And on the right is one of the Right Seat of God from the Roman Catholic Church, a chuunibyou girl named Frenda. As for what the Right Seat of God means and what a chuunibyou girl is, please search Baidu yourselves. That’s all."

With that, Lin Luo quickly stepped aside, and the massive stage simultaneously began to shift its terrain.

"..." An awkward silence fell over the venue, particularly from Frenda, whose gaze towards Lin Luo suggested she wanted to devour him whole.

However, the atmosphere was quickly broken. Misaka Miler flicked her shawl of hair and offered a slight smile to her opponent. "I also didn't expect my opponent to be the famous Right Seat of God. I hear you possess the Heavenly Punishment spell that can steal the consciousness of anyone who bears hostility or malice towards you. You are known as the ultimate weapon. It seems this match will be quite interesting."

"If you know, then there's no need to say it," Frenda withdrew her gaze from Lin Luo, swung the cross-shaped blunt weapon in her hand, tilted her head towards Misaka Miler, and spat out the cross-shaped Spirit Tool held between her teeth, allowing it to dangle from her tongue via a long iron chain. "Let me thoroughly enjoy this battle!"

The Spirit Tool cross on her chest flashed. Frenda swung her blunt weapon, striking the cross, instantly launching a visible wind projectile towards Misaka Miler.

Misaka Miler reached out a hand and touched the wind projectile with a single finger; it immediately dissipated.

"Haha, truly living up to your reputation." Seeing her attack neutralized so easily, Frenda showed no tension. In fact, the blunt weapon in her hand was only for feints; its strength could only threaten ordinary people. Her true trump card was the Heavenly Punishment spell. With the spell already activated, as long as Misaka Miler harbored the slightest hostility towards her, she would instantly lose consciousness.

Even if they weren't inherently adversarial, the moment anyone launched an attack against her, unless they fundamentally disregarded her existence, attacked unconsciously, or possessed an ability like Imagine Breaker, they would develop hostile intent the moment they struck, and subsequently be harmed by the Heavenly Punishment spell.

Even using hypnosis to mask this hostility was useless, because the Heavenly Punishment spell targeted instinct—the truest emotion.

"The legendary Heavenly Punishment spell is indeed formidable. I just tried to feel hostile toward you, and I immediately felt like I was about to pass out," Misaka Miler stated calmly while looking at her opponent. "However, nobody knows better than I how to defeat someone without harboring hostility. Even with this intentionally irritating outfit, I won't generate any malice."

"Oh, then try it!" Frenda stuck out her tongue, her eyes filled with contempt and disdain. Through this provocative attitude, she aimed to make her enemies detest her more. If she could be hated by the entire world, she would be invincible—this was the very strength of the Heavenly Punishment spell.

Unfortunately, Misaka Miler’s attribute was tolerance; she could absorb even such intense aversion.

After deflecting more than a dozen wind projectiles launched by Frenda, Misaka Miler suddenly spoke: "Did you know? In science, electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental forces constituting this world. And this fundamental force, through a certain kind of alteration, can be converted into other forces, such as... gravity."

Boom!

As Misaka Miler finished speaking, a deafening sound erupted throughout the venue. Then, under the shocked gaze of everyone present, the massive stage, enlarged by projection technology to several thousand square meters, completely collapsed downwards. On the stage, Frenda, Misaka Miler's opponent, was already lying on the ground, unconscious.

The gravity attack—a single strike—had defeated Frenda, known as the ultimate weapon of the Roman Catholic Church. Not only were ordinary people stunned by the force of the attack, but even the magic side had not anticipated this.

Because of the unique case that was Misaka Miler, the magic side finally had a legitimate reason to send high-level powerhouses like Saints and members of the Right Seat of God into this competition. In reality, they knew that ordinary Level 5 espers couldn't defeat Saints. To put it plainly, they were just exploiting Misaka Miler’s uniqueness to secure the greatest benefit for themselves.

With Aleister absent, Aleister was clearly powerless and could only adapt to this seemingly predetermined losing streak.

In the eyes of the magic side, they were destined to lose at most three matches in this competition: Misaka Miler, Accelerator, and Kakine Teitoku. They were confident of winning the other nine matches.

However, to gain more leverage, they still dispatched someone of Frenda's caliber, hoping to win one of those three uncertain matches. They just hadn't expected Frenda to face Misaka Miler right at the start, and for the disparity between them to be so huge.

A guaranteed winning card had turned into a complete rout.

"Soko, bring Frenda down now. It's unavoidable when encountering such an opponent. That is no longer just the power of science; only a Demon God level entity could possibly stand a chance against her," the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church stated calmly. Fortunately, everyone could only participate once, so removing Misaka Miler early was a good thing; at least there wouldn't be any more major variables.

Losing one match was not a big deal; the one who laughs last is the true winner.

"For the second match, it’s the Puritan Church’s turn, I suppose..." As the stage automatically repaired and adjusted, two girls walked up from their respective factions. One was about fourteen or fifteen, with long black hair tied into three braids, wearing a jacket similar to a hockey uniform, holding a four-bladed spear, and sporting a small demon tail on her back.

The other, from the science side, was about the same age, with short chestnut hair and slender, beautiful legs, and a cute face that held a maturity beyond her years.

"Let me introduce them first," seeing the two girls step onto the stage, Lin Luo immediately took up his role. "First, this girl with the little demon tail—she is, of course, not a time-traveling Rin Tohsaka from her chuunibyou phase, but Lesa, a member of the British Magic Society 'Ascension.' Though she has a childlike figure, her proportions are quite good, and her bust size is impressive. Believing herself to be brimming with charm, her mind is filled with thoughts of seducing upwards. Oh, and her demon tail is a Spirit Tool that enhances her mobility and jumping speed in combat. Her four-bladed spear is called the 'Gauntlet of Steel,' capable of turning flames into spear blades, giving her formidable close-combat strength. After the baptism of the Third World War, rumor has it she is a completely different person from two years ago, with her melee skills approaching Saint level... Sigh, Saints are becoming so cheap."

Lin Luo couldn't help but sigh at the end. The dozen or so Saints present immediately clenched their fists, their eyes filled with murderous intent after being mocked.

Lesa was also displeased. "Hey, what do you mean by that? You’re revealing all my information! Wait! How do you know so much about me? Did you specifically investigate me and have some unspeakable goal for me? You pervert!"

Seeing her regard him with the look one gives a wolf trying to break in, Lin Luo could only shake his head inwardly. This girl’s level of narcissism made even Dragon Overlord blush with shame.

Lin Luo ignored the tiger-like Lesa and pointed to the girl from the science side. "I believe many people recognize this girl. That's right, she is a Level 4 esper known as 'Nitrogen Armor,' Kinuhata Saiai. She can automatically control the nitrogen in the air to create high-strength defensive armor. Contrary to her enveloping ability, she herself is a girl with a fanatical devotion to exposing her thighs—an unadulterated exhibitionist. Oh, and it’s worth mentioning that she is now a Level 5 esper."

"What?!" As soon as Lin Luo said this, the venue erupted in noise, especially on the magic side. Even Laura looked slightly shaken. She was very aware of the aptitude assessment for ability users; how could someone jump to Level 5 in just a few days?

Of course, the 'exhibitionist' comment was ignored by them. Even Kinuhata Saiai remained expressionless; she was long accustomed to Lin Luo’s teasing. If she took it seriously, she would lose.

Relatively speaking, Lesa, one of the main characters of this match, was much calmer. Although surprised by her opponent's rank increase, it wasn't enough to make her timid... Level 5, so be it! She wasn't the rookie she used to be anymore!

As Lin Luo retreated to a corner, the stage shifted, and the two girls immediately entered combat readiness.

Lesa attacked first. She licked her lips, and stimulated by the Spirit Tool, her speed suddenly multiplied several times as she charged towards Kinuhata Saiai in a posture parallel to the ground.

Kinuhata Saiai stood motionless in place. With just a thought, the nitrogen in the air began to condense, forming high-strength armor and slamming down towards Lesa.

Nitrogen is colorless, odorless, and non-toxic; ordinary people can barely detect it. Yet, Lesa acted as if she could see it, sharply leaping upwards just before the nitrogen armor struck her, bringing her four-bladed spear around in a wide arc and thrusting downwards.

"Flame Spear!" A spear nearly two meters long, formed entirely of concentrated flame, whistled through the air, instantly piercing the nitrogen layer and shooting toward Kinuhata Saiai.

At this moment, Lin Luo fully demonstrated the importance of his role as commentator. He excitedly explained to the audience: "Everyone saw that! That's the power of the Little Demon Spirit Tool! The narcissistic Lesa used the Spirit Tool to jump at the critical moment, evading the armor attack from the exhibitionist Kinuhata Saiai, and then launched the 'Flame Spear' of Nezha the Third Prince in a counter-attack! But what surprises me most isn't that—it's that I can clearly see, beneath Lesa’s fluttering skirt, a pair of pink, strap-style panties! Everyone, please make sure to watch closely; this is a once-in-a-lifetime treat!"