Darren Empire, Helen City.
This was a city with very pleasant surroundings. Legend had it that the founding emperor, Swate Darren, had named it specifically to commemorate his most beloved empress, Helen.
Although Luo Ao's father, Bourne, was also a ninth-level warrior, he focused primarily on his own martial path and had little contact with the powers at the empire's center of authority. However, with Luo Ao's emergence as a Saint-level genius, nobles and dignitaries had been coming to visit their family in an endless stream lately.
Part of the reason Luo Ao had made a trip to Firefly Forest was that he did not want to get too entangled with these people.
Both he and his father, Bourne, understood one thing very clearly. In this world, absolute strength alone was the foundation; so-called worldly power was of no use at all. As for those supposed arts of political maneuvering, they were even more of a joke before the truly strong.
Unfortunately, his uncle Yuri did not understand this principle.
"Young Master Luo Ao, you're back. An honored guest arrived recently and is waiting for you." Seeing Luo Ao suddenly appear with Steven, the captain of the guards in front of the estate immediately greeted him with a smile.
Although he was only a guard captain at Bourne's estate, as Young Master Luo Ao's reputation as a genius Sword Saint spread, even his status as a guard captain had risen with the tide.
"Oh? An honored guest?" Luo Ao nodded to him, then entered the estate with Steven, the figures of the man and beast gradually receding into the distance.
Only once Young Master Luo Ao had gone far away did the guards begin discussing excitedly.
"Heavens, what level was that ape magical beast? He only glanced at me, and I was so frightened my heart nearly stopped!" a blond guard exclaimed to his companions only now.
An older guard beside him lowered his voice. "Idiot, didn't the captain tell you to read more? You didn't recognize such obvious features?"
"Mairen, you recognized what magical beast that was?" The blond guard looked astonished.
"Fool, don't you often visit Boyle Hall to look at the stone sculptures?" the older guard promptly reminded him again.
"Stone sculptures? Heavens! That was a Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape! I actually didn't recognize him right away!" The blond guard slapped his forehead, only then remembering that the ape magical beast had possessed a pair of mysterious purple eyes. Wasn't that precisely the signature feature of the Saint-level magical beast, the Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape?
Naturally, there was a reason he had not recognized him immediately.
The stone sculpture of the Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape displayed in Boyle Hall was a perfect, life-size reproduction, standing a full three stories tall. Steven, however, had just transformed into a form only two meters tall, so the guard naturally had not made the connection at once.
"Legend says Saint-level magical beasts can grow and shrink at will. So it really is true..." Hearing the blond guard's murmuring, the other guards' hearts were surging too.
They had never expected the young master to subdue a terrifying Saint-level magical beast, a Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape, on this trip. If that big fellow went berserk, there was probably no one in all of Helen City who could restrain him except Young Master Luo Ao.
"Mother, I'm back." Brimming with youthful confidence, Luo Ao entered the main hall and immediately greeted his mother, Mansha.
"Luo Ao, you're back. Oh! This is a Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Ape!" His mother was a fifth-level Water Element mage, after all, and naturally soon recognized Steven's magical beast species.
The beautiful woman approaching wore a black mage's robe and had a charming dark mole at the corner of her mouth. Although she was already in her forties, she still looked very young.
Quite a few talented young nobles had courted his mother back then. Without his maternal grandfather's say-so, it would not have been so easy for his father, Bourne, to marry her.
"Mother, Kelan told me an honored guest had come. Who is it this time?" If it was not someone of importance, he intended to rest up for a while, then go take a look beyond the Darren Empire.
"This time, it really is an honored guest. The visitor is a member of the imperial family, and they've brought an invitation issued at His Majesty the Emperor's command. I suggest you make the trip." His mother, Mansha, immediately explained, then covered her mouth and laughed. "Besides, this is a good opportunity for you to steal the limelight."
"A good opportunity?" Luo Ao immediately had a bad feeling. Whenever his mother called something a good opportunity, she was usually about to "mess with" him. His older sister Nicole had probably learned that from their mother. When he was little, his sister had "bullied" him plenty.
But once he turned fifteen, his sister could no longer do anything to him. Although she had often bullied him when he was little, he and his sister Nicole were still quite close.
"That's right. This is actually a joint invitation from His Majesty the Emperor and the headmaster of Darren Magic and Warrior Academy, inviting you to give some guidance to those 'heaven's favored children' at Darren Academy."
Mansha knew perfectly well that those so-called "heaven's favored children" were actually around Luo Ao's age, with some even a little older. Yet the most outstanding among them was only at the level of an eighth-level warrior, while Luo Ao, their contemporary, had already broken through to the Saint-level.
The emperor's and headmaster's intentions naturally went without saying. They wanted to give these usually arrogant youngsters a knocking and teach them that "beyond every person stands someone greater, and beyond every heaven lies another heaven."
Someone around their own age was already a Saint-level powerhouse, so what right did they have to be arrogant and complacent?
If someone else did this, the effect would certainly be less than impressive. But if Luo Ao, the genius Sword Saint whose fame had recently soared, did it, these youngsters would have no choice but to accept it.
This would naturally stir their fighting spirit as well. The only worry was that going too far was as bad as not going far enough, and the blow might make them question their lives. If they all ended up like Greet, it might not be a good thing after all.
"Mother, there's probably something you haven't told me in detail, isn't there?" Luo Ao was in no hurry to refuse this matter.
Their family were subjects of the Darren Empire, after all, and the Darren Empire was also allied with the Church of the Fire God. It would not be very good to give them no face whatsoever.
"Hehe, little Luo Ao, among the youngsters qualified to receive your guidance this time is Second Princess Alexia!" Watching his mother, Mansha, wink and make faces at him, how could Luo Ao fail to understand what she had in mind?
"Mother, I'm still young." To be honest, he had yet to meet a woman who moved his heart. Perhaps his standards had risen after he became a genius.
With his current strength and standing, coupled with the fact that he was a peerlessly handsome young man, noble young ladies wanting to marry him were practically an endless stream. However, Luo Ao still intended to find a "Dao companion" who could walk the path of cultivation alongside him.
Otherwise, being able only to watch his beloved grow old and die would be far too cruel.
Although the Boya Continent was vast, it was unlikely to have an extraordinary figure like Beirut. Whether he could find treasures that helped people break through to the Saint-level was still very hard to say.
"Suit yourself. But when I was your age, your sister was already on her way into the world." As Mansha spoke, she deliberately cast another glance at Luo Ao.
"All right, I accept the invitation. When should I go?" Faced with his mother's earnest hopes, Luo Ao could only be forced into playing instructor for once.
Still, with his current realm, he was more than qualified to give some academy students guidance.
"Hehe, that depends on how you want to arrange things, little Luo Ao. Headmaster Kafuro can accommodate your schedule at any time." Seeing her good son take the bait, Mansha's mood immediately brightened considerably.
She had even made a special trip to take a look at that Second Princess, and she was indeed a great beauty. It would be a lovely thing if she could become her daughter-in-law.
"Three days from now, then." To be honest, if it were not to satisfy his mother's wishes, Luo Ao truly had no interest in playing house with these children. Still, come to think of it, he had never visited a magic and warrior academy in this world. This time, he could go in and have a look around.
What should I talk about? Forget it. I'll just share a few practical pointers. Luo Ao really could not be bothered to think about the question. At worst, he could simply give some live combat demonstrations when the time came.