Rules of the Spirit Realm

"Aina, look, since you've already put on this outfit, shouldn't you..." Xia Lun's fingertips gently traced the lace trim of the exquisite maid outfit Aina was wearing.

"Heh," Aina chuckled lightly, her fingertips playfully scratching Xia Lun's chest with a hint of warning. "Xia Lun, don't push your luck."

"Why not?"

Aina: "What do you mean, why not?"

"Haven't you called me that before?" Xia Lun's face showed a perfect blend of grievance and anticipation. "You never minded calling me that before."

Aina's eyes revealed a touch of sly confusion. "Call you what?"

Xia Lun didn't overthink it. "Master, of course."

"Oh?" Aina instantly broke into a bright, triumphant smile, her voice sickeningly sweet. "Are you calling me? My cute little manservant, Xia Lun?"

Having successfully taken advantage of Xia Lun, Aina giggled. Xia Lun wasn't angry either; he merely shifted slightly, his arms tightening around her.

"Mmm—"

Xia Lun's embrace was incredibly warm and reassuring, making Aina wish she could completely melt into it.

Aina could also feel his steady, drum-like heartbeat, a testament to his overwhelming affection and love for her.

Xia Lun held Aina motionless, a faint smile playing on his lips.

What a terrifying guy. Was Xia Lun actually an incubus? Just a simple hug was enough to make her fall this deeply.

"What did you just say?" Xia Lun's palm gently cupped Aina's burning face, the pad of his thumb clearly feeling her clenched, slightly trembling jaw.

"Despicable... Hero, I never expected you to be this kind of person..." Aina's voice carried an accusation of bashful anger. The mere thought of Xia Lun loving her this much made it impossible for her to keep her rationality.

A slightly damp strand of hair clung to the corner of her rosy lips, adding a touch of disheveled charm.

Xia Lun considerately brushed the strand of hair away with his fingertips. "So what?"

"Then I really didn't misjudge you... I didn't let you go back then and tied you to my side." Aina bit her lower lip lightly, her eyes shimmering like water. "I can't let you go ruin anyone else."

"Ah." Xia Lun let out an exaggerated sigh. "Then you are truly magnificent, Lord Demon King, to sacrifice yourself to a devil like me... The world should engrave a monument for you to record your great achievements..."

Xia Lun wiped a non-existent tear from the corner of his eye, pretending to be deeply moved.

Aina gritted her teeth in annoyance, leaned her head back slightly, and then delivered a headbutt to Xia Lun, who was still speaking in that sarcastic tone.

A Demon King's headbutt was no laughing matter. Even Xia Lun saw stars from the impact.

Naturally, the truth was exactly the opposite of what they were saying.

The one engraved on the monument was Xia Lun.

And it was Xia Lun who hadn't let Aina escape, preventing her from having the chance to wreak havoc upon this world.

Their childish roughhousing ultimately ended with Xia Lun's deep kiss. Aina's token resistance crumbled instantly, and their body temperatures rapidly climbed as their lips and teeth intertwined. That innocent playfulness quickly ignited into an adult heat, turning into a scorching intimacy.

A faint blush washed over Aina's body, contrasting with her snow-white skin like a freshly ripened peach, exuding an alluringly sweet fragrance.

"Aina... you are so beautiful." Xia Lun's eyes were filled with nothing but intoxication and infatuation.

"Mhm..." Aina's consciousness was already somewhat blurred. Her delicate chin rested weakly on Xia Lun's broad shoulder as she nodded with a glazed gaze. She instinctively pressed her body tighter into Xia Lun's embrace, as if trying to merge their very existences into one.

An embrace with a lover was actually as addicting as poppies.

The exquisite maid top was eventually slipped off by Xia Lun with patient dexterity and placed perfectly intact by the bed, it would still be needed for next time.

The sheer skirt remained on Aina, like a layer of flowing mist. Not only was it not in the way, but it also added a touch of translucent temptation.

"But actually, I still want to hear you call me that." Xia Lun intertwined his fingers with hers, kissing Aina's delicate cheek, his voice carrying a bewitching huskiness. "Can you? Aina."

Aina's little hands balled into fists, afraid that her out-of-control nails might scratch him. "Wu, you sure demand a lot, Master..."

...

Bang!

His consciousness felt as though it had been struck by an invisible giant hammer, or like a drowning man finally surfacing for air.

Xia Lun abruptly opened his eyes.

All the romance, the warmth, Aina's scent... vanished without a trace in an instant.

Now, he was standing inside a... library so massive it defied imagination.

Around him were rows upon rows of neatly arranged, seemingly endless bookshelves... along with countless glowing orbs of souls, silently floating and drifting in the void between the shelves.

This, of course, was not a real library, but the manifestation of the Spirit World in this place.

Hmm, because this was Olifendor, the Spirit World took the form of a library here? It certainly fit Xia Lun's stereotypes.

"Be careful, Xia Lun."

Aina's voice, laced with concern and gravity, echoed directly in the deepest depths of Xia Lun's heart.

"Don't worry."

His sharp gaze swept over the floating motes of light and the profound shadows between the bookshelves, not daring to relax in the slightest.

The Spirit World... this was a place where even Aina hadn't been able to glimpse the full picture.

As it stood, if he wanted to take his strength a step further, he might have to start here; this was also the advice Aina had given him.

A longsword gleaming with cold light appeared in Xia Lun's hand.

This longsword was one of the treasures from Aina's vault; a blood-red light flowed along its blade, looking exceptionally fierce.

This was a projection of Xia Lun's spiritual power... The Spirit World was a realm of mind and soul. As long as one had sufficiently powerful spiritual energy, theoretically, they could do anything.

However, in reality, the power one could exert here was not much different from in reality.

It was like how an ordinary person, even if they possessed enough spiritual energy, would be completely unable to imagine how to fly or how to level a mountain with a single punch because they had never experienced it in reality. Thus, they wouldn't be able to exert much power in the Spirit World either...

Even Aina, evidently, could not create something she had never seen before here.

Only specially trained witches or astrologers could exert greater abilities here than in reality... but even then, it wouldn't be too outrageous.

And the longsword in Xia Lun's hand was not created out of thin air by him, but rather subconsciously taken out of his spatial ring.

This was obviously something he could do in reality, so doing it in the Spirit World was a breeze.

The Spirit World... this was a profound realm whose full scope even a Demon King like Aina could not perceive. Every step could lead into an unknown trap.

It required him to give it his absolute one hundred and twenty percent focus.