A New Journey

In the Soul Space built from black flames

Luo Ya awoke inside it. Seeing the familiar surroundings, he thought, Good. It worked.

The Great Grade Sword that had originally burned amid black flames at the center of the space had disappeared. Countless vengeful spirits surged into it.

Luo Ya sat to one side, enjoying the rush of his soul power swelling. Just then, a blue kobold burst free from the Black Flame and lunged at him.

With a swish, Ryujin Jakka flew out on its own and cut it in two. Like the other vengeful spirits, it gradually turned to black ash under the flames and melted into the charred earth.

Only after the kobold's soul was absorbed did Luo Ya understand why Ryujin Jakka had reacted so strongly to it.

This was the soul of the Devil Fruit Ambux had eaten. After absorbing it, Ryujin Jakka would be able to absorb the souls of other Devil Fruits and use them as fuel.

It hadn't been able to do so before because Devil Fruits could be reborn thanks to the contract formed between the fruit and its eater.

While the host was alive, the devil served them. When the host died, their soul became nourishment for the devil inside the fruit.

Once the devil had digested that nourishment, it would be reborn somewhere in the sea and find another host, repeating the cycle over and over. Nurtured over the years, the devils' souls became incredibly powerful.

In essence, Ryujin Jakka was still too weak to bypass a host's body and attack the devil's soul directly.

The reason the souls of the Devil Fruit Users Luo Ya had killed before seemed so weak was that they could only snatch a tiny bit of nourishment from the devils.

The reason it could absorb the soul inside this fruit was partly that Ryujin Jakka had recovered considerably after digesting two Great Grade Swords, and partly that this Mythical Zoan had appeared so rarely.

It had only been possible because the flood of souls unleashed when Ambux went berserk had not yet been brought under the devil's control.

And Anubis truly lived up to its name as the god of death in mythology. Its control over souls was extraordinary.

That was also why Ambux had been able to absorb the consciousness of a hundred thousand people and hold on for so long before going berserk. An ordinary person would go mad with just ten people wailing nonstop inside their head, let alone a hundred thousand.

Thanks to this fruit, Ambux had gone mad but was still alive. Under the terms of the contract, the devil couldn't absorb its host's soul while the host was still alive.

It had taken all these coincidences for Luo Ya to emerge victorious.

By killing Ambux and absorbing the Anubis Fruit, Luo Ya had given the Cinder Embers ability an immense boost.

And once Luo Ya had burned through all these vengeful spirits, his strength would make a huge leap as well.

The most obvious change would be in his soul power, which manifested as sword intent. Once Luo Ya awoke, his sword intent would surely undergo a qualitative leap.

Only after absorbing a vast amount of soul power did Luo Ya finally come around.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Luo Ya looked around and realized he was lying in someone's home. A man holding a rifle stood by the door.

The moment he saw Luo Ya wake up, the man hurriedly shouted outside, "The Black Flame Swordsman is awake! Lady Betty!"

The person who came in response was Belo Betty. With a cigarette in her mouth, she entered and sized Luo Ya up.

"The black flames burning on your body took three days to finally go out. Looks like I've earned myself a favor."

"Heh, got a cigarette?" Betty tossed Luo Ya a pack. He lit one without hesitation, and the two of them started puffing away.

As they smoked, neither of them knew what to say. Only then did Luo Ya notice how distinctive Betty's outfit was.

A bare-armed woman wearing a tie? She had only one other garment—a jacket, worn open. Much of her fair chest was on display.

Her breasts rose prominently, and he couldn't help staring.

Seeing this, Betty thrust out her chest, making her breasts bounce with the movement.

"Is looking all you're going to do? Want to touch?"

"Aw, I'd feel bad." Luo Ya said he felt bad, but his hand was already reaching out. Before he could get close, Betty smacked it away.

"You really don't know how to hold back." Betty rolled her eyes, then turned serious. "We've moved pretty much everything of value out of the Osama Kingdom. Where do you want us to take you next?"

"No need. I can sail there myself. Since we've been through life and death together, how about we get a little closer?"

"Heh, I'll pass. While you were unconscious, I took your pants off and had a look. Needles make me faint."

Teasing him, Betty headed outside to get the others ready to leave the Osama Kingdom.

Luo Ya scratched his head. He'd thought he and Betty might share a willing moment to blow off some steam, but despite her revealing clothes, she was pretty conservative.

When he reached the shattered port, Betty and her group had already boarded their ship.

Luo Ya shrugged and climbed aboard the Black Pearl.

Only after he got on board did his stomach start protesting. "Damn, she didn't even leave me anything to eat." Complaining about Betty, Luo Ya went to the ship's kitchen and made himself something to fill his stomach.

After eating, he went to the helm, set a course, and headed for Markonis Island, in the direction of the Norberto Kingdom.

There were two reasons he was returning to the Norberto Kingdom. First, the routes through the Grand Line were fixed. Maybe skilled navigators could sail wherever they pleased,

but with Luo Ya's ability, it was better to stick to the established routes.

Besides, the island Annajia had mentioned in her lead about the Great Grade Sword was on this route.

The second reason was that he wanted to return and rest. Absorbing so many souls had left him feeling light-headed and unsteady, and he needed to recuperate.

On the way back, Luo Ya went full throttle. Whenever he saw no other ships, he fired up the Jet Propeller and sped ahead as fast as he could.

He made it back to the Norberto Kingdom in half the time the journey out had taken.

After Luo Ya secured the ship and stepped onto the dock, Annajia and Madalina, who had been eagerly waiting for him, rushed over and threw themselves at him.

"Master, you're amazing!" Madalina cheered. Before Luo Ya could respond, Annajia suddenly wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately.

Madalina stood awkwardly to one side. After a long while, they finally broke apart.

Looking into Annajia's eyes, which seemed ready to drip with affection, Luo Ya couldn't help pinching her cheek. "You're pretty well-informed."

"Master, look! The latest wanted poster. Black Flame Swordsman Luo Ya, bounty: 570 million Beli. For destroying the World Government Member State of the Osama Kingdom—

Not a single one of the island's hundred thousand people survived." Madalina excitedly handed him a wanted poster.

Madalina, who used to be as timid as a quail at the sight of blood, had been led astray by Luo Ya.

Luo Ya smiled, glanced at the wanted poster, and tossed it aside.

"Let's eat first. We've prepared a welcome banquet for you, and King Brunen is waiting," Annajia said.

Luo Ya and the others headed straight for the palace.

After eating and drinking their fill, Annajia dragged Luo Ya back to her bedroom.

After skipping ten thousand words, Luo Ya lay shirtless on the bed, stroking Annajia's smooth back as she nestled in his arms.

"How long can you stay?"

"About three or four days. Then I'll be off again."

"I'll go with you!" Seeing how serious Annajia was, Luo Ya patted her round bottom, making it clap.

"We're in a no-female-lead novel. At least, we're not ready for that yet. We can't break the premise."

"But the Norberto Kingdom has a Millennium Dragon as its guardian beast now. It doesn't need me. I want to go with you."

"All right!" Luo Ya cut her off and rolled over, pinning her beneath him.

Their faces were inches apart, and they could feel each other's warm breath.

"Don't waste time!" As Luo Ya spoke, the room filled with a chorus of gasps and cries.

Another ten thousand words had to be skipped here...

After three days of aerobic exercise, Luo Ya's light-headedness had completely disappeared. He felt refreshed from head to toe.

Once he had digested this immense soul power, Luo Ya's sword intent had risen dramatically. He was still a long way from reaching the Fourth Realm of Swordsmanship,

but the most Infernal Fire Prison could manifest was now thirty-two flaming swords, twice as many as before.

That day, under Annajia and Madalina's watchful eyes, Luo Ya set the Black Pearl in motion and embarked on a new journey.