Guests

The battle at Red Rock Mountain outside Black Moon Royal City spread like wildfire, passed from mouth to mouth by the people of the Black Moon Kingdom.

In just a few short months, Luo Ya, the Night Orchid Sword Saint, had become the talk of the Western Continent, his fame no longer confined to the sixteen nations of the Dark Alliance.

It could be said that Luo Ya had now become the brightest rising star on the Western Continent!

After all, he had only entered the Saint Realm thirty years ago, yet he had just forcefully slain Harvey, the Phantom Sword Saint, a veteran powerhouse of the Parosi Empire. That was an astonishing feat!

It was common knowledge that Harvey, the Phantom Sword Saint, had been a peak Saint Realm powerhouse renowned across the Western Continent for years. He was no obscure nobody.

Before Luo Ya defeated him, Harvey had also been an idol to countless people in the Parosi Empire.

But no one had ever imagined that someone as powerful as Harvey would meet his end in a small place like the Black Moon Kingdom.

Riding on Harvey's corpse, Luo Ya's fame grew ever greater. His final move, "Black Hole Devour," which had killed Harvey, became more and more exaggerated with each retelling. Some traveling bards even gave it a new name: "Gate of Hell"!

Gate of Hell—just as the name suggested, the move was said to open a gate leading straight to Hell!

In the legends of the Valen Continent, Hell was an utterly terrifying place, a dreadful world where only those burdened with grave sins were dragged after death to suffer endless torment. And yet, people called Luo Ya's ultimate move the Gate of Hell. That showed just how deeply it had shaken everyone who witnessed it.

When listeners in other places heard the rumor, they were naturally curious about what kind of strange and powerful move it could be. The mere name "Gate of Hell" was enough to stir up endless speculation among listeners in other nations.

Inside the study at Yelan Castle.

"Gate of Hell? Those traveling bards certainly have vivid imaginations." When Luo Ya heard the amusing tale, he only laughed it off.

In this world, Hell wasn't merely a place that existed in legends. It was a genuine Supreme Plane.

"Hell, huh? I really want to go there and explore as soon as possible!" If he hadn't already known how dangerous Hell was, then when he first learned of the existence of the Supreme Planes, he probably would have been just as excited as many other Saint Realm powerhouses and teleported straight there.

"Roar!"

Just as Luo Ya was imagining the strange sights of Hell, a Dragon Roar like a thunderclap suddenly came from the distant sky.

"Hmm?" Luo Ya instantly appeared beside the balcony, his sharp gaze fixed on the sky beyond it.

In the eastern sky outside the balcony, about five hundred meters above the ground, a black dragon a hundred meters long was circling in midair.

The black dragon's eyes were as large as wagon wheels, and the black scales covering its enormous body gleamed with a chilling light. Its massive wings, spanning a hundred meters when fully spread, beat slowly with great power.

It was unmistakably a Black Dragon!

Beneath the sunlight, the black dragon's glossy, jet-black scales reflected a dazzling gleam. A closer look revealed two graceful women standing atop the head of this Saint Realm Black Dragon.

"Milia, have you come all this way to spar with me again?" Luo Ya flew straight out from the balcony and hovered in the air outside the castle, smiling as he greeted the blonde among the two women.

This blonde girl was Milia, a powerful female Sword Saint whom Luo Ya had met after breaking through to the Saint Realm.

Besides her impressive strength, Milia was also strikingly beautiful.

She had a lovely face and a pair of exceptionally rare bright silver eyes. Her brows held a sharp, refined confidence, and her golden hair was swept up in a spirited style that was a pleasure to behold.

Her pure white, form-fitting swordswoman's outfit accentuated her graceful figure, and its gold patterns and embellishments lent her an even more noble and elegant air.

"You've certainly been making waves lately. I heard all about you even on Wind Forbidden Island." Milia smiled and nodded in reply. The deep blue cape she wore fluttered in the breeze, adding to her charm.

"By the way, Milia, who's this?" Luo Ya took his eyes off Milia and looked toward the other elf standing on the Black Dragon's back.

This wasn't the first time Luo Ya had met a powerful elf. In fact, he had only learned that he couldn't cultivate life magic because he had once met an elf Saint Realm powerhouse.

The elf before him seemed just as formidable. She had long, flowing silver hair and a pair of mysterious grayish-purple eyes. As she looked at Luo Ya, her face remained completely expressionless.

It was common knowledge that elves were exceptionally beautiful, and this silver-haired elf was striking even by the standards of elven women.

The only flaw was that she seemed a little too cold.

"She's a new elven friend of mine. You can call her Beiya." Milia guided the magical beast Black Dragon down toward the ground outside Yelan Castle, then generously introduced her companion.

"Beiya has been cultivating in the Forest of Elves all this time, so she's a little shy in some social situations." Once they were closer, Milia immediately took her somewhat absent-minded friend by the hand and went with Luo Ya into the castle as his guest.

"Luo Ya, don't let Beiya's silly-looking appearance fool you. She's not weak at all. Besides being skilled in life magic, she's also quite accomplished in the Laws of Darkness."

"Actually, we came because Beiya wanted to discuss her cultivation of the Laws of Darkness with you." Since they were close enough, Milia could use Soul Transmission even though she cultivated the Laws of Wind, which weren't particularly suited to the soul.

As it happened, Luo Ya had taught her that technique himself.

"Oh? Miss Beiya is proficient in the Laws of Darkness too? Then perhaps we can spar on the mountain behind the castle later." Yelan Castle had a Martial Arts Arena, but if he was going to fight another powerful Saint Realm expert, the mountain behind the castle was a better choice.

"Sure." The white-haired elf, Miss Beiya, turned her head and gave a slight nod. Then, as if she had thought of something, she expressionlessly took a strange purple fruit out of her Spatial Ring and handed it to Luo Ya.

"This. Tasty." Still as concise as ever, Miss Beiya seemed very happy about Luo Ya's suggestion and was sharing some of the food she had brought along.

But could a strange-looking purple fruit like this really taste good?

"This is a specialty of the Forest of Elves—Purple Berries. I've tried them, and they really are quite good." Seeing Luo Ya's curious look, Milia casually explained. Then she took the delicate wicker basket from Beiya with easy familiarity. It held about ten fresh fruits known as "purple berries."

"They really are good." Luo Ya didn't refuse the elf's kindness. He bit into a purple berry in front of them and found it unexpectedly sweet and delicious, far tastier than any fruit he had tried before.

"What aspect of the Laws of Darkness has Miss Beiya cultivated?" The three of them ate and chatted, and Luo Ya was the first to broach the subject.

Since Milia had praised her as "not weak," Luo Ya hadn't even considered the possibility that Beiya might not yet have comprehended any law mysteries.

After all, at the Saint Realm stage, whether or not one had comprehended law mysteries made an enormous difference to one's strength.

That much was clear from the fact that both Milia and Luo Ya could easily subdue Saint Realm magical beast companions.

A Saint Realm powerhouse who hadn't comprehended any law mysteries couldn't defeat these hulking beasts with their astonishing physical strength.