A New Journey

Within the Soul Space constructed of black flames, Luo Ya awoke. Seeing the familiar environment around him, he thought to himself that he was safe.

The Great Grade Sword, which had been burning in the center of the space amidst the black flames, had vanished, and countless wandering souls were surging into the void.

Luo Ya sat to the side, savoring the pleasure of his soul power skyrocketing. Just then, a blue Kobold broke free from the black flames and lunged at him.

With a swish, Ryujin Jakka flew out on its own, slicing the creature in two. Like the other wandering souls, it gradually turned into black ash under the scorching heat of the flames, merging into the black, scorched earth.

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

This soul was the soul of the Devil Fruit that Ambux had consumed. By absorbing it, Ryujin Jakka would henceforth be able to absorb the souls of other Devil Fruits to use as fuel.

It had been impossible before because a Devil Fruit is only able to be reborn because a contract is signed the moment it is consumed.

While the host is alive, the devil serves them. When the host dies, the soul becomes nutrients to nourish the devil within the fruit.

Once the devil digests these nutrients, it is reborn in the sea, only to repeat the cycle once it encounters a new host. Nourished by the passage of time, the soul of the devil within becomes incredibly powerful.

Essentially, the currently weak Ryujin Jakka did not possess the ability to bypass a host's physical body and soul to strike directly at the devil.

The reason Luo Ya had felt the souls of the Devil Fruit users he killed previously were weak was that he could only snatch a tiny fraction from under the devil's nose.

The reason he was able to absorb this fruit's soul—aside from Ryujin Jakka having recovered significantly after digesting two Great Grade Swords—was that this Mythical Zoan type had appeared too few times.

It was only because the soul torrent formed by Ambux's rampage had not yet been brought under control by the devil within the fruit that he was able to absorb it.

Anubis was truly worthy of being the god of death in mythology; its control over the soul was exceptionally high.

This was also the reason Ambux had been able to absorb the consciousness of one hundred thousand people and hold on for so long before going berserk. A normal person would have gone insane with just ten people wailing in their head, let alone one hundred thousand.

It was also thanks to this fruit that although Ambux had gone mad, he hadn't died yet. According to the contract, the devil cannot absorb the soul as long as the host is still alive.

It was through a series of coincidences that Luo Ya had achieved victory.

Killing Ambux and absorbing the Anubis Fruit could be said to have greatly strengthened the "Cinder Embers" ability.

Furthermore, once Luo Ya finished burning all these wandering souls, his strength would see a massive leap forward.

The most direct manifestation of this was that Luo Ya's soul power was materialized as Sword Intent. Once he woke up, his Sword Intent would undoubtedly undergo a qualitative transformation.

After a vast amount of soul power was absorbed, Luo Ya finally regained consciousness.

The moment he opened his eyes, Luo Ya surveyed his surroundings and realized he was lying in a residential house, with a man holding a gun standing at the door.

As soon as he saw Luo Ya wake up, the man shouted toward the outside, "The Black Flame Swordsman is awake! Lady Betty!"

Belo Betty arrived at the sound of his voice. She walked in with a cigarette dangling from her lips and looked Luo Ya over.

"The black flames on your body burned for three days before they went out. It seems I've earned a favor from you."

"Heh, pass me a smoke first." Betty tossed a pack of cigarettes to Luo Ya. He lit one casually, and the two began to puff away.

As they smoked, neither knew what to say. It was only then that Luo Ya noticed Betty's attire was quite distinctive.

A woman wearing a tie with a bare chest? She only wore a single coat, left wide open. A large expanse of snow-white skin was exposed.

Two mountain peaks stood tall, and he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Seeing this, Betty puffed out her chest, and the "white rabbits" on her front bounced with her movement.

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

"How could I be so bold?" Luo Ya said he was embarrassed, but his hand had already reached out. Before he could get close, Betty slapped it away.

"You really don't stand on ceremony." Betty rolled her eyes and spoke to Luo Ya with a serious expression.

"We've basically finished moving all the wealth out of the Osama Kingdom. Is there a specific island you need us to drop you off at next?"

"No need, I can just sail there myself. Besides, we've been through life and death together now. Any interest in getting to know each other better?"

"Heh, that won't be necessary. I took your pants off to check on you while you were unconscious. I'm afraid of needles."

Betty teased him as she walked out to call her companions, preparing to withdraw from the Osama Kingdom.

Luo Ya scratched his head upon hearing this. He had thought he could share a moment of mutual affection with Betty, but he hadn't expected that even though this woman dressed quite provocatively, she was actually rather conservative.

Arriving at the shattered port, Luo Ya watched as Betty and her group boarded their ship.

He shrugged and stepped onto the Black Pearl.

Once on board, Luo Ya felt his stomach protest. "Damn, they didn't even leave any food." Luo Ya grumbled about Betty, then went to the ship's galley to whip up something to fill his stomach.

After eating, he went to the helm to adjust his course, setting sail toward Markonis Island, in the direction of the Norberto Kingdom.

There were two reasons for returning to the Norberto Kingdom. First, the routes through the Grand Line were fixed; perhaps there were brilliant navigators who could traverse them at will, but with Luo Ya's level of skill, it was better to stick to the established routes.

Moreover, the island Annajia had given him clues about regarding the Great Grade Sword was located on this very route.

The second reason was to return and recuperate. After all, digesting so many souls had left Luo Ya feeling lightheaded and off-balance; he needed a good rest.

On the return journey, Luo Ya went full throttle. Whenever he didn't see other ships on the way, he would activate the Jet Propeller to accelerate wildly.

He made it back to the Norberto Kingdom in half the time it had taken to get there.

As Luo Ya locked the ship and stepped onto the pier, Annajia and Madalina, who had been waiting anxiously, rushed toward him in excitement.

"Master, you're too strong!" Madalina cheered. Before Luo Ya could respond, Annajia, who was standing nearby, suddenly lunged forward, embraced him, and kissed him passionately.

Madalina stood to the side, feeling somewhat awkward, until they finally parted after a long while.

Luo Ya looked into Annajia's eyes, which seemed ready to melt, and couldn't help but pinch her cheek. "You're very well-informed, aren't you?"

"Look, Master, the latest bounty poster. Black Flame Swordsman Luo Ya, bounty of 570 million Beli, for the destruction of the World Government affiliate, the Osama Kingdom. Not a single one of the 100,000 people on the island survived." Madalina handed over a bounty poster with excitement.

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

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

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

Luo Ya and his party headed straight for the royal palace.

After they had their fill of food and wine, Luo Ya was dragged back to the bedroom by Annajia.

After omitting ten thousand words, Luo Ya lay on the bed, bare-chested, stroking the smooth back of Annajia, who was in his arms.

"How long can you stay?"

"About three or four days, then I have to leave soon."

"I'll go with you!" Looking at the earnest Annajia, Luo Ya patted her backside, producing a rhythmic slap-slap sound.

"This is a novel without a main heroine; at least for now, I'm not ready, and we can't break the setting."

"But the Norberto Kingdom has the Millennium Dragon as its guardian beast now; it doesn't need me. I want to follow you."

"Enough!" Luo Ya interrupted Annajia, flipped over, and pinned her beneath him.

Their faces were pressed together, and they could feel the hot breath from each other's lungs.

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

Ten thousand words must be omitted here again...

After these three days of aerobic exercise, Luo Ya's lightheadedness had completely vanished, and he felt refreshed and invigorated.

With this massive soul energy digested, Luo Ya's sword intent had increased significantly. Although he was still far from entering the Fourth Realm of Swordsmanship, his limit for manifesting blades in the Infernal Fire Prison had at least doubled, reaching thirty-two fire blades.

That day, under the gaze of Annajia and Madalina, Luo Ya activated the Black Pearl and set off on a new journey.