Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 919 Route
The words, spoken with a certain firmness, fell to the ground. Xin Lailai gazed at the young man in the large hat for a moment before finally asking, "Have you decided?"

"Well, I've decided to take Lord Logan's belongings back to Wilhelm Academy, so I'm afraid I won't be able to continue traveling with you, Mr. Black Sword."

"If I'm not mistaken, you're probably not well-liked at the academy."

Xin Lailai glanced at the young man's attire, her gaze lingering for a moment on the obviously worn staff in his hand, before speaking.

Although the other person kept mentioning Logan and the Academy, having seen all sorts of people, how could he not see that the life at the Academy that the other person kept talking about was probably not as wonderful as he described?

“I know.” Faced with Xin Lailai’s revelation, the young man in the large hat simply smiled slightly, then looked up at the brim of the hat that obscured much of his view, and murmured:
“But it doesn’t matter. Whether they like me or not is not important. What is important is that Lord Logan should not be buried here. The academy is where he should have been.”

"Moreover, Mr. Black Sword, there is no need to worry so much. Since I was able to come here from the academy once, I can naturally return to the academy smoothly from here. Moreover, thanks to your guidance, Mr. Black Sword, I have made great progress in the path of magic. It's just a matter of how much time it will take to get back to the academy."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Xin Lailai did not answer immediately. Instead, she closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, glanced at the slowly burning flame beside her, and said calmly:
"This fire will later be upgraded to the King's Fire. Using it should allow us to teleport to a place called the Fire Offering Ritual Site."

"Although it's not always, I should stay there for a while every time I obtain a King's Soul."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xin Lailai turned around and walked towards the blindfolded nun. The young man in the big hat was taken aback at first, then his eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously, saying with certainty, "Yes! Mr. Black Sword, I promise! After I finish delivering Lord Logan's belongings, I will definitely go there to find you!"

After speaking, the young man in the big hat returned to the elevator. With the sound of the lever being pulled, he descended along with the huge elevator platform, quickly disappearing from Xin Lailai's sight, leaving only a shout that slowly echoed up from below:

"That's right! By then... I will definitely achieve something that will make you, Mr. Black Sword, accept me as your student!!"

"..."

The powerful words echoed through the elevator shafts that ran through the entire city, spreading out from the platform as if amplified by a loudspeaker. Xin Lailai listened to the echoes around her ears but didn't say anything, simply looking quietly at the flame in front of her.

"Lord Black Sword, is this really alright?"

As the gentle and melodious voice faded, the blindfolded nun stepped forward softly, as if she had read Xin Lailai's thoughts, and asked in a low voice.

Xin Lailai remained silent for a while, then gently shook her head, gazed at the distant sky, and calmly said, "This is his own choice, and I have no right to interfere."

The direction Wilhelm College was located was far from their planned route, even in the opposite direction from where they were headed. Obviously, they couldn't afford to waste so much time just to escort the young man in the big hat.

Therefore, saying goodbye here for the time being is the best way to handle it. They have their own paths to walk, and the other party also has their own mission to complete. If he were to forcibly interfere, he would only be forcibly distorting the wishes of the young man in the big hat with his own will.

"Let's go, we've been away for so long, it's time for us to go back."

"Ah."

……

……

The site for the fire-giving ceremony.

Clang! Clang!
The crisp sound of hammering echoed from the grotto, which was radiating waves of heat. In front of the forging table, which was full of the marks of time, a robust old blacksmith with a full head of white hair was intently staring at the red-hot iron blank in front of him, hammering it with complete concentration, looking utterly focused.

"Ok?"

But the next second, with the sudden brightness of the surrounding firelight, the white-haired old blacksmith, who was originally immersed in forging, seemed to sense something and suddenly stopped what he was doing, looking up at the passageway in front of him.

"Hehe... It seems that girl... really picked the right person."

As the hoarse, unpleasant laughter subsided, not only the old blacksmith, but also the cloaked old woman who had been huddled in a corner, almost appearing to be a corpse, slowly raised her head. A few sparks of magma rose from her dark eye sockets, and she spoke with some surprise.

"Let's go."

As the hoarse murmurs subsided, the cloaked old woman, her body hunched over, staggered along with her cane towards the passageway to the side. The old blacksmith behind the forging table didn't say much, but silently put down his forging hammer and left the cave with the cloaked old woman, following the long passageway all the way to the sacrificial ground that resembled a gladiatorial arena.

"Hehe... Even the two of you have come out. It seems this has really caused quite a stir."

"But... that makes sense. After all, we're just a bunch of pathetic wretches who don't dare to leave the house. After being cooped up in the corner for so long, it's normal for us to want to see the light when we finally get a chance. After all, we're all losers, haha~!"

The next second, a dejected voice came from above. On the steps, a middle-aged man with a dejected look glanced at the old blacksmith and the old woman in the cloak and said something with some surprise, but then, as if triggered by a passive action, he started saying dejected things again.

Faced with the dejected middle-aged man's mutterings, neither the short old man on the throne nor the old blacksmith and the cloaked old woman below said much. They simply watched the slowly burning flames before them, as if waiting for something.

Time ticked by, and this time, not only the old blacksmith and the others, but even the dejected middle-aged man beside him seemed to sense something. He stopped his incessant, pessimistic chatter and, like the others, quietly looked at the campfire before him. And when this waiting reached a certain critical point…

Om-! !

A dazzling fire spun up, and the campfire, which had been burning quietly just a second ago, suddenly shot out two fire snakes several meters high, as if it had been stimulated by something.

Slender fire snakes coiled in mid-air, like two delicate paintbrushes, outlining two figures in the air, and finally—

[Teleportation complete. You have arrived at the Fire Offering Grounds.]

Pfft!
Two thuds, one light and one heavy, landed, causing the dejected middle-aged man in the shadows to gasp for breath. The short, old man sitting on his throne, seemingly resting, opened his eyes, cracked with magma, and looked at the black-haired youth emerging from the flames. He chuckled hoarsely.

"Heh... After all these years, has another ash finally taken that step?"

"..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xin Lailai, who was standing by the campfire, looked around first, then looked up at the short figure on the throne and said:

"I've found the Soul Forge, and I've obtained the King's Soul as well. Now, it's your turn to speak."

According to Logan's will, the other party, who also received the blessing of the Kingfire, although not made of ashes, also attempted to embark on the path of the Trialers and gathered a great deal of information for it. Among the clues left behind, the one mentioned most often was the old dwarf man before him, who, along with Elizid, was one of the previous Lords of Cinder—"The Soul Forger" Rudolfs.

'O Crowned One who defeated the Devourer, if you wish to follow in the footsteps of the other Lords of Cinder, then journey along the Path of the Pilgrims.'

'With the guidance of the King's Soul, you should be able to find there the Forbidden King who once glimpsed the secrets of the forbidden soul. As the wisest of the previous Kings of Cinder, he must know how to find the other three Kings.'

'Although there are rumors that the Forbidden King was once an incredibly arrogant man, if you, who also defeated a king, were to speak, even he would surely not refuse to answer your question.'

The above information was what Xinlai obtained from Logan's will, and it was another reason why he did not try to gather any other clues in Ishilu, but instead went straight to Rudolfs.

"Hmm... such a certain tone, it seems you already know something."

"However, it doesn't matter. After all, the fact that you defeated that guy Elizid proves that you are indeed qualified."

The aged and hoarse voice fell, and facing Xin Lailai's direct gaze, the short old man on the throne simply tapped the armrest lightly and spoke:

"You are now qualified to become a being of the Ashes. Since you are determined to embark on this path, then cross the long wilderness, traverse the battlefields littered with ancient remains, and journey to the summit of the snow-capped mountains that were once the dwelling place of the ancients."

"Only by defeating the Nameless King who is bound there can you obtain the key to open the gates of hell, embark on the road from the ruins of the old royal city to the City of Sin, confront the Lord of Storms who sleeps there, and quell the storm near the royal city that was caused by him."

"And finally, you will shatter the royal city, crush the glory of the old king, and destroy the cowardly king hiding in his palace. With his blood, you will pave the true path to coronation, and I will offer you this final crown, watching you enter the original sanctuary, piercing the heart of the old king through the flames, and crowning you as the new king in your name."

An aged voice, carrying some invisible power, fell, thundering in Xin Lailai's ears and mind. As Rudolfs spoke these words, a large number of images that did not belong to his memory surfaced in Xin Lailai's mind. At the same time, an indescribable and intense desire rose uncontrollably in his mind.

These are... Rudolf's memories?!
"Hehe, don't be surprised. Even if I've forgotten a lot, this was once the path I was most proud of. Besides, if I'm not mistaken, your understanding of the soul shouldn't be much worse than mine, right?"

The next second, Rudolfs' voice rang in Xin Lailai's mind again. Upon hearing it, Xin Lailai's gaze shifted slightly as she glanced at Rudolfs on the throne. After a moment of silence, she spoke:

"Thank you very much."

Rudolfs was right. Perhaps their research on the rules of souls in the Ash World was far inferior to that of the other party, but in terms of their understanding of the soul itself, they, who had already mastered intermediate-level soul science, were, in a sense, even above Rudolfs.

Therefore, he could tell at a glance that the memory information transmitted by the other party did not have any traces of post-processing, and even provided extremely continuous and complete fragments to facilitate their selection and reading.

Of course, this is on the premise that they also have a very high level of knowledge about souls. Otherwise, if it were someone who knows nothing about souls, they would probably be forced to absorb it all at once, or break it down and read it in fragments.

At the summit of the snow-capped mountain, in the city of sin...

Is this where they're going next...?

Under the campfire, Xin Lailai browsed through the memories transmitted by Rudolfs, and her thoughts quickly became clear and lucid.

"King of Gu Long" - Anonymous

Yhorm, the King of Giants

"King of Saints" Gorslock

According to the information provided by Rudolfs, these three are the targets they must attack next.

In terms of strength, the 'King of Saints' Gothlock, who inherited the bloodline of the first Lord of Cinder and resides in the royal city, is the weakest of the three, even reaching a level only slightly stronger than Ellizid.

Yhorm, the King of Giants, was the strongest. Even Rudolfs could not estimate the exact upper limit of his strength, and could only give the assessment that "he could fight multiple opponents, even against the Lord of Cinder."

As for the 'King of Ancient Dragons' Nameless, he is the most mysterious among the previous Lords of Cinder. In Rudolph's words, even someone as knowledgeable as him could not determine his true origins, only that his aura possessed an ancient quality that did not belong to this era.

In terms of sheer difficulty of defeating them, the easiest of the three to target is undoubtedly the 'King of Saints', Goslock. However, he resides in a royal city surrounded by massive storms, making him impossible to approach.

To quell the storm and enter the royal city, one must defeat Yhorm, the 'King of Giants,' who is located beneath the old royal city. However, to enter the City of Sin, which is buried beneath the old royal city, one must go to the top of the snowy mountain, defeat the Nameless, the 'King of Ancient Dragons,' and obtain the token given to him by the King of Giants.

In other words, there was no choice.

While they could certainly find other ways to cross the storm and enter the City of Sin, the time that would take would be an enormous number, measured in years, or even longer.

Without a doubt, they couldn't afford to drag this out for so long, especially since they could clearly feel the King's Fire's gaze on them intensifying after absorbing the King's Soul.

In practice, this enhanced feedback means that if they choose to sit on the fire now, it will hardly diminish the notarization effect of the brand, which is one of the benefits of becoming a pre-selected Lord of Cinder.

However, the notarization required for their normal activities will be dozens... even hundreds of times more than before.

To put it more precisely, they likely only have one year left... or even less.

In the end, this was undoubtedly a Damocles' sword hanging over their heads, and as for whether they would regret it... the answer is obviously no.

Given the current situation, if they want to deal with the anomalies in the Ash World, they must first absorb Elizid's King Soul in order to regain more power and obtain information from Rudolfs.

Unless they are determined not to touch the King's Soul and King's Fire, and intend to place all their hopes on Yan Yi, who may arrive in time or may never arrive.

But clearly, this choice of sitting and waiting for death is destined to be out of reach for them, who have fought their way through countless battles.

Power is the only criterion for selecting the king in the world of ashes.

In a sense, this statement also applies to pioneers; for pioneers—

Strength is the only truth that allows the pioneers to survive in the abyss and these abnormal worlds.

……

(End of this chapter)