Imperial Capital, Black Lily District.
The Black Lily District was a newly erging secondary district in Calot. It didn’t have the antiquated rigidity of the Upper District, where old aristocratic families were entrenched, but its security and overall environnt were far superior to the Lower Districts, where commoners resided.
Because of this, it was favored by young nobles, rchants, and even adventurers with a certain level of status. To them, the Black Lily District represented freedom, fashion, indulgence, and pleasure.
In front of an elegant manor, Lady Carol scrutinized the young man before her.
A well-tailored and exquisite outfit.
Beneath the ssy black hair was a face that, though lacking sharp edges, had an elven-like softness and beauty.
And those deep, clear black eyes—striking at first glance, like the kind of male lead you’d find in a bard’s poem, sothing that would make readers instantly imrse themselves in the story.
“Mysterious, handso, wealthy… He’s practically a reincarnation of the Count of Monte Cristo.”
“If I were twenty years younger, I’d surely invite you to a dance at a banquet…”
Lady Carol sighed as she looked at Xia Ya.
She checked the property transfer contract in her hands once more, and after confirming everything was in order, she signed it without hesitation.
With that done, she handed a set of keys to Xia Ya and gave him and the blonde girl behind him a glance.
She blinked, and a smile appeared on her lips.
“Well then, from now on, this manor belongs to you two.”
“Congratulations on your marriage.”
With graceful steps, she turned and walked away, clearly mistaking Xia Ya and Ailora for a newlywed couple purchasing their marital ho.
…
After Lady Carol had walked far enough, Ailora finally stepped up beside Xia Ya.
“Didn’t expect that, did you? Even here, you’ve got book fans.”
“Yeah, that was a surprise. Who knew The Count of Monte Cristo was so popular among female readers? Guess wish-fulfillnt stories really do transcend age and gender.”
“And if I’m not mistaken, the perfu Lady Carol wore and the earrings she had on were from the stores we invested in. Looks like choosing to focus on industrial expansion in the Black Lily District was a smart move after all.”
Xia Ya stepped into his newly acquired ho and pulled out various packages from his Spatial Pocket.
Although the Ashen Order’s attack on the academy had concluded without any fatalities—only a few students were injured—it had left the dormitory district in ruins, rendering it unlivable.
And with Xia Ya having made a na for himself during the incident, catching the attention of nurous factions, he really needed a new residence. The academy dorms were just too crowded with prying eyes.
So as soon as the incident was over, Ailora dragged Xia Ya around town, house-hunting.
After thorough consideration, they finally settled on this property in the Black Lily District.
Fortunately, Amaterasu had already been restored in advance, and on top of that, Xia Ya had managed to squeeze quite a bit of extra profit from the Monarch-tier Molten Giant.
Otherwise, there was no way he could afford this manor—spanning nearly 2,000 square ters, complete with a private Summoned Beast training ground and a ditation chamber.
It was proof that even after several years of accumulating wealth, new capitalists still couldn’t match the centuries-old foundations of the aristocracy.
Ailora took the items from Xia Ya and began setting up their new ho.
As she unpacked, she found a silver-white picture fra and held it in her hands for a mont.
It was a magitech photograph from when she and Xia Ya had first arrived in the Imperial Capital—a picture of two young, fresh-faced kids.
Back then, they were about the sa height. Now, Xia Ya towered over her by a full head.
“That noble lady had quite the presence… and she dropped a rather obvious hint.”
Ailora placed the magitech photo fra on the bedside table in the bedroom and spoke in a seemingly casual tone.
“Sorry to disappoint, but I think that kind of scenario only happens in my new work, Hero Abin…”
“A book like that would definitely get banned.”
“Exactly. But isn’t being labeled as contraband the ultimate recognition of its artistic value?”
Xia Ya moved the last couch into place, then looked around at the now fully furnished ho and nodded in satisfaction.
“All in all, this will be our new base from now on.”
As he spoke, Xia Ya pulled a tal box out of his Spatial Pocket.
Opening it revealed a glass container inside, and within the bottle-like vessel, a pure silver liquid slowly flowed.
“rcury of Rebirth, a Fifth-Ring elental Transcendent material with a slight ti attribute.”
“It’s said to be particularly effective for ancient species, especially Relic-class Summoned Beasts, helping accelerate the recovery of their forr status and abilities.”
“This stuff isn’t available to the public. I had to ask Lieutenant Colonel Zieg to redeem it through an internal military channel, using up all our accumulated rit points in the Military Departnt. We might even owe him a significant favor.”
Xia Ya weighed the glass bottle in his hand before passing it to the blonde girl in front of him.
“Don’t refuse. I’ve already broken through to the Third-Ring, and our identities have likely been exposed to quite a few interested parties. Trouble is bound to follow… You need to catch up.”
“Rember our agreent back in Ceylan? To always be soone useful to .”
Ailora took the glass bottle.
She didn’t say much—just looked at Xia Ya, then nodded.
“Give two weeks.”
…
Watching Ailora disappear into the ditation chamber, Xia Ya also turned and headed to the Summoned Beast training ground, which took up half the manor’s entire estate.
It was a facility constructed entirely from reinforced alloy, inscribed with multiple energy-storing formations, allowing it to withstand the outbursts of Monarch-tier Summoned Beasts.
A golden and silver light flickered—Shiny and Silver had been summoned to the training ground.
The little Snow Ferret remained as noble and lazy as ever.
After taking a quick glance at its surroundings, it simply buried its head back into its fluffy fur and dozed off on Xia Ya’s shoulder.
As a Summoned Beast specializing in Illusion Arts, both Tsukuyomi and the newly acquired Amaterasu consud a massive amount of ntal energy when activated.
Unless one wanted to rely on the mind-replenishing potions monopolized by the Alchemist City—absurdly expensive as they were—sleeping was the best way to recover ntal energy.
So outside of combat, Silver was either napping on Xia Ya’s shoulder or in the Soul Pact Space.
Shiny, however, was the complete opposite. The mont it was summoned, it was full of energy.
“Shiny…”
Xia Ya looked at the little Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey before him, speaking with a deep and serious tone.
“Silver has already digested the gains from our last encounter, fully unlocking Amaterasu. It no longer has any offensive weaknesses.”
“But you’re different.”
“Are you really content just being a support? Just acting as our walking storage unit and opening teleportation gates?”
“Chirp chirp! (Of course not!)”
Shiny’s gaze was firm.
Sure, Silver was its self-proclaid Big Sis, but who said a Second Soul Pact couldn’t beco a Main Summoned Beast?
If it didn’t aspire to be the main pet, was it even worthy of being called a Transcendent material?
When Silver acquired Amaterasu in such a badass way, it was so jealous.
“Good, that’s the spirit.”
Xia Ya nodded in satisfaction. “We’ve used up all the Skill Seeds, so abilities like Rasengan, Yasakani no Magatama, and Dinsional Slash will have to wait.”
“But improving your power has never been limited to skill upgrades alone.”
“Before Ailora finishes her breakthrough, we need to enter another Historical Echo. And before that, we must fully digest our previous gains, fill every possible gap, and push our combat strength to the absolute limit.”
“So, for the ti being, I’ve prepared an extrely rigorous special training program. Do you have the confidence to complete it?”
“Chirp chirp! (Absolutely!)”
Shiny’s eyes burned with determination.
It was already a mature Summoned Beast. It was ti to step out of the comfort zone of skill point allocations and truly grow stronger.
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