Lava Island

Luo Ya made full use of the Jet Propeller to accelerate along the way; it had to be said, six Jet Propellers were truly fast. Twice, he nearly collided with merchant ships due to the excessive speed, and had Luo Ya not steered away in time, the Black Pearl's Seastone-reinforced bow would have been fine, but the ships he hit would have inevitably been destroyed with their crews lost.

The reason he kept accelerating was that the next island was the one Annajia had mentioned, the one inhabited by dragons, where the Supreme Grade Sword was also located.

Accompanied by sparks and lightning all the way, Luo Ya arrived at the island marked as Lava Island on his nautical chart.

This was an uninhabited island; no humans lived here, so naturally, there were no ports or docks to speak of.

It earned its name because the climate on the island was extremely sweltering, and its center was an active volcano that erupted from time to time.

Ships usually bypassed this island because there was simply no need to land.

Of course, given Luo Ya's personality, he would have explored such an island even if no one had mentioned it to him.

Luo Ya secured his ship and went ashore on Lava Island, carrying a large supply of alcohol. After all, it would be extremely difficult to find water to drink in this island's temperatures.

As soon as he stepped onto the island, a wave of scorching heat rushed toward him, and Luo Ya was drenched in sweat after only a few steps.

With no other choice, Luo Ya took off his shirt and trekked through the woods bare-chested.

Although they were called woods, the trees here were not tall, and their trunks and leaves were crystalline. The leaves glowed with a red light and looked extremely beautiful.

Luo Ya plucked a few, discovering that their texture was far harder than ordinary leaves. He casually tucked a few into his pocket as a souvenir.

As Luo Ya ventured deeper, he encountered the first creature on the island: a strange-looking ostrich.

It looked very much like an ostrich and stood about two meters tall, but its body was covered in large feathers that were also red and shimmering with luster.

When Luo Ya discovered it, it was eating leaves from a tree. Upon noticing Luo Ya, it let out a strange cry and dashed away on its two long legs.

Before Luo Ya could react to what was happening, a fishy stench swept in from the woods on his right.

Luo Ya subconsciously gathered his Haki and kicked out, Drill Dragon Nail!

With a bang, a giant tiger was sent flying backward, its colorful entrails spilling onto the ground.

It seemed it had mistaken Luo Ya for prey, but unfortunately, the roles were now reversed, and it was destined to become Luo Ya's meal.

If this had been before Water 7, this tiger likely wouldn't have hunted Luo Ya, because his killing intent used to be so overt that he had been like a human air conditioner on the summer islands he visited.

Back in Water 7, even the Yagara Bulls hadn't dared to carry him around.

However, after Luo Ya perfected his Demon Form in Water 7, his control over himself had reached a new level. Not only did his various techniques undergo new changes, but his killing intent was now internalized.

This resulted in Luo Ya looking no different from an ordinary passerby in his daily life.

To describe the current Luo Ya in one sentence: other than being handsome, there was nothing else to say.

After Luo Ya chopped off the tiger's limbs and packed them up, seeing that it was getting late, he found a random, spacious cave.

He set up a campfire, preparing to taste what this red tiger tasted like.

As Luo Ya evenly applied seasonings to the tiger leg, it sizzled and popped under the scorching flames, dripping red grease and emitting the aroma of roasted meat.

"It smells quite fragrant, though the color looks a bit like it's been glazed with sugar," Luo Ya mused, looking at the tiger leg.

"Whatever, it won't kill me anyway." Seeing that the tiger leg was roasted through, Luo Ya steeled his heart and, driven by hunger, began to eat.

He grabbed a roasted tiger leg and started devouring it.

To his surprise, Luo Ya froze after the first bite; the roasted leg was unexpectedly delicious—fatty but not greasy, melting in his mouth, and it actually had a hint of sweetness.

Luo Ya immediately began to eat heartily, drinking the beer he had brought along as he ate.

It was a pity that beer was a fine drink when iced and horse urine at room temperature, but this warm beer actually tasted strangely good.

After eating and drinking his fill, Luo Ya spread the tiger skin he had peeled off onto the ground and went to sleep early. However, he hadn't been asleep long before he was woken up by the heat, drenched in sweat.

With no other choice, Luo Ya got up early the next morning, ate some of the remaining tiger meat, and set off toward the center of the island.

He had expected the weather to be cooler in the early morning, but this island lived up to its name as Lava Island; the temperature remained constant twenty-four hours a day.

As Luo Ya ventured deeper into the island, his Observation Haki sensed something once again.

Of course, Luo Ya's Observation Haki was still quite poor; he could only vaguely sense that an animal was approaching, and it seemed to be quite large.

Roar! Accompanied by a loud roar, a wild boar with two tusks rising to the sky and a body covered in red scales charged out.

As Luo Ya dodged to the side, it slammed into a thick tree with a bang.

This wild boar was a dark red color, and even on all fours, it stood at least four or five meters tall, with a body length of at least ten meters.

Seeing that its charge had been dodged, the wild boar roared loudly at Luo Ya again, seemingly trying to drive him away.

"Interesting, do you think I've invaded your territory?" Luo Ya smiled and snapped his fingers to light a cigarette.

Seeing that the little guy in front of it remained unmoved despite its roaring and driving, the wild boar grew angry and pawed the ground with its hooves.

Lowering its head, it roared and charged at Luo Ya once more.

With a bang, Luo Ya's hands, covered in Haki, formed claws and grabbed the wild boar's two massive tusks.

Man and beast began to wrestle.

Seeing its tusks held by the little guy in front of it, the wild boar roared while its hooves frantically dug into the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

As the wild boar exerted force again, Luo Ya gritted his teeth, let out a roar, and lifted the boar up before throwing it away.

As the wild boar crashed into several trees with a bang, Luo Ya, drenched in sweat, smiled and said, "Stop looking for death."

The wild boar that had been sent flying staggered to its feet, looking as if it had been dazed by the impact.

After failing to steady itself, it collapsed to the ground with a thud, gasping for air as fine white foam bubbled at its mouth.

Seeing this, Luo Ya smiled and continued his journey toward the depths of the island.

As he ventured deeper, Luo Ya began to realize the island's strangeness; for every stretch of distance he covered, a stronger beast would block his path.

These creatures possessed an intense territorial instinct, attacking Luo Ya even though he was merely passing through.

Each one was stronger than the last, and some had even mastered Armament Haki. More strikingly, they no longer bore scales or feathers.

Instead, they were covered in a transparent, shell-like armor. Upon closer inspection, Luo Ya discovered that these shells were hollow, filled with flowing, viscous magma, and their defensive capabilities far surpassed the red feathers and scales found on the island's perimeter.

Finally, as night began to fall, Luo Ya reached the foot of the mountain.

Before him stood a pitch-black peak, its summit belching thick black smoke accompanied by flickers of fire. Magma flowed from the peak all the way to the base, forming deep fissures that made the entire mountain look as if it were splitting apart.

With night descending, the volcano appeared even more treacherous, resembling a rift to hell.

A large number of animals had gathered at the base, all sharing the same peculiar hollow armor, drinking the magma that trickled down.

Many of the animals would howl in agony after drinking, only to collapse and fall still after a few struggles.

However, a small number of them grew brighter and more vibrant after drinking; the magma within their shells flowed more violently, and their bodies swelled in size.

Watching this bizarre scene, Luo Ya was deeply shocked. He could only marvel at the diversity of life, finding it hard to believe that creatures could survive by consuming molten lava.

Gradually, the animals at the base dispersed once they had their fill.

Luo Ya surveyed the volcano before him and took out his flask to calculate his supplies.

The alcohol was all gone, leaving only one waterskin of fresh water.

After a moment of thought, Luo Ya tilted his head back, lifted the skin, and chugged the water until he was full.

Since I've come this far, I can't just turn back without taking a look, Luo Ya thought. He wiped the water from his lips, tossed the empty skin aside, and began his ascent.

The mountain didn't look very large, but climbing it proved to be unexpectedly grueling.

The entire black mountain was composed of volcanic rock that had yet to cool, remaining in a fluid-like state with absolutely no handholds.

Luo Ya had to dig his fingers into the surface, gripping tightly as he climbed upward.

When Luo Ya finally reached the summit, he found a wide, thick stone platform circling the crater. He stepped onto the stone and walked toward the rim.

Here, the thick smoke and fire were so choking that Luo Ya could barely keep his eyes open. Fortunately, the volcano wasn't erupting at that moment; otherwise, having nowhere to stand on the magma-covered platform would be the least of his worries. While the energy from a massive eruption wouldn't kill him, he would certainly be blasted into the sky to "fly" freely.

Luo Ya walked to the edge of the platform and peered into the volcano.

The sight that met his eyes made him widen them in disbelief. Inside the crater, a vast sea of magma churned, occasionally bubbling up.

Coiled within the lava was a massive fire dragon—or rather, to be precise, a Magma Dragon.

The dragon was indeed red, just as Annajia had described, and its appearance was essentially identical to that of an Eastern dragon.

It possessed dragon horns, whiskers, and claws, yet its entire body seemed to be made of flowing magma, constantly shifting.

If not for Luo Ya's keen eyesight, he might not have even realized a dragon was lying there.

As Luo Ya observed the creature, he noticed a uniquely shaped long sword rolling along with the magma on the dragon's body.

The blade was long and narrow, glowing the same bright red as the dragon, and the hilt appeared somewhat damaged, as if it had partially melted.

The patterns on the blade resembled Scorching Cloud, yet they were distinct.

Luo Ya let out an excited roar upon seeing the sword. When he had originally chosen Scorching Cloud as a substitute for Ryujin Jakka, he had done his research.

Scorching Cloud had been forged in imitation of the Supreme Grade Sword, Flame Evil.

Flame Evil was known as the "Blade of the Fire God," and legend had it that it wasn't crafted by a blacksmith, but discovered by a great swordsman inside an erupting volcano.

The records didn't specify exactly how miraculous it was.

But that didn't matter; what mattered was that a Supreme Grade Sword represented the pinnacle of sword intent.

Ordinary mass-produced blades differed from Skillful Grade Swords and above primarily in their materials.

While there might be a slight difference in materials between a Skillful Grade Sword and a Supreme Grade Sword, the true distinction lay in the sword intent and Haki imbued within them.

One had to remember that it was the person who achieved the sword, not the sword that achieved the person.

Only through years of tempering by a top-tier swordsman's intent and Haki could a blade become a Supreme Grade Sword.

The twenty-one Great Grade Swords were, frankly, just missing a top-tier master or the accumulation of time.

Luo Ya's excited roar startled the sleeping Magma Dragon.

As the dragon's massive eyes snapped open, its fiery red slit pupils locked onto Luo Ya, and it let out a thunderous dragon's roar.