Eris's character still needs refinement. Roa, having been educated in modernism, although he enjoyed the benefits of capitalism, did not think Eris's statement was correct.
Roa wanted to correct Eris's thinking, reaching out to pinch her cheek and pulling it to the sides.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Eris grabbed Roa's hand, trying to stop his actions.
Ignoring the girl's resistance, Roa said irritably, "Eris, that's a bit excessive. You should have compassion for the weak. If we were to follow your reasoning, what would that make me to you? What about Ghislaine? What about Rudeus?"
Eris retorted, "You are different; you are all my family, and I really like you."
For Eris, both Roa and Ghislaine were like family to her.
The girl rarely acknowledges others, but once she does, she wholeheartedly entrusts her back to them.
Roa's argument was some fallacious; specific situations should be analyzed specifically. Can Roa and Eris really be compared?
The answer is naturally no, and such comparisons do not hold.
Roa let go, looking at the slightly blushing girl with a sigh. He reached out to pat her head and said, "Small people have their own survival rules. I hope you won't discriminate against those commoners in the future because of this or that. If given a choice at birth, who would want to be a commoner?"
Roa's words were too profound for Eris. After thinking for a moment, she translated Roa's words and said directly, "You don't like it this way?"
Roa was slightly taken aback but smiled and said, "Yes, I don't like it that way."
"Oh, then I'll try to change."
Eris replied earnestly, her small face full of seriousness.
Roa showed a fatherly smile, feeling a sense of inexplicable achievement at his successful education.
Ghislaine, listening from the side, thought for a moment and said, "There's no need to restrain yourself too much. Eris just needs to be herself."
Roa shrugged and did not say much more.
Eris was still young, and her future path was long. In the first half, her parents would shield her from the wind and rain, but in the second half, she would have to rely on herself.
The golden dusk fell, and the afterglow of the setting sun covered the entire world, dyeing everything in gold.
Eventually, before night fell, they successfully found the location of the Holy Land of Swords.
The entrance was a valley town, bustling with activity. Passing through the valley town and stepping forward, they could see the Holy Land of Swords.
Compared to other names, Roa's first impression of the Holy Land of Swords was ordinary.
Although the area was large, there were no magnificent palaces or legendary swords.
It was just a simple training ground with a few ordinary houses.
The houses were quite ordinary, somewhat resembling a courtyard, but with some differences. The number of houses was not small, but not too many either. Some rooms looked larger, while others appeared smaller.
The decorations of the houses were not entirely the same; some were clearly much more luxurious inside.
Roa turned his questioning gaze towards Ghislaine. Since he was unfamiliar with the place, he did not want to take charge directly, as it would not be good if the old sword god thought he was here to cause trouble.
Ghislaine tilted his head, puzzled as to why Roa was looking at him.
Roa helplessly held his forehead and said to Ghislaine, "What should we do next? I mean, to meet your master?"
Ghislaine showed a look of realization and strode inside. The two disciples guarding the entrance were slightly taken aback when they saw the group.
One of the disciples initially wanted to stop them from entering, but the other quickly pulled him down and bowed.
"Greetings, Lord Sword King."
Ghislaine nodded and walked directly through the door, glancing at the center of the training ground.
It was already night, and the usual sword training students had dispersed.
Ghislaine scanned the area but did not find the old sword god.
Without hesitation, Ghislaine shouted, "Hey, old man, where are you? I need your help!"
Ghislaine's loud voice echoed throughout the training ground, causing some curious students to peek out and whisper among themselves.
"I can't be hearing this wrong; did she just call him 'old man'? She can't be referring to the master, right?"
"I remember now; she is Sword King Ghislaine. Didn't she go on a journey? Why is she back?"
"Sword King?"
The noise was loud, and the whispers made Ghislaine frown, revealing an unhappy expression.
Although it was night, the oil lamps had been lit early, and the light inside and outside the house was sufficient for the students to clearly see Ghislaine's displeased expression. Ghislaine's fierce appearance made him look like a demon when he showed even a hint of displeasure. Soon, everyone stopped talking, but those who were not afraid of trouble still intended to watch the excitement.
The commotion soon arrived as a loud voice came from inside, "What are you shouting about? It's so noisy."
A man with a scar on his face walked out of the room, bare-chested, revealing a strong physique. He looked to be around fifty years old, with gray hair. Fifty years is not considered old in this world, as most people can live to be over ninety. Those who practice martial arts can even reach around a hundred years old due to magical refinement.
For the old sword god, living to over a hundred and twenty years old is more than enough.
Of course, a hundred years for humans is still too short for other races.
In terms of lifespan, even a demon like Roxy, who is not particularly powerful, can easily live for three to four hundred years.
The man was tall, even taller than Ghislaine. The old sword god walked to the center, casually moved a chair from the side, sat down, and looked at Ghislaine with a cold voice, saying, "What are you here for? Didn't you say you wouldn't come back?"
Ghislaine was momentarily taken aback and pointed to Roa and Eris beside him, saying, "I found two talented disciples outside, one of whom is far stronger than me. I can no longer teach him more."
The old sword god scoffed, digging in his ear and casually saying, "So you came to find me just to have me teach that one who is far stronger than you?"
Ghislaine nodded straightforwardly.
The old sword god curled his lip and said, "It seems you haven't changed at all. Fine, since you're here, you can stay for a while, but don't expect me to teach them."
At this point, the old sword god glanced sideways at Roa, who was standing quietly beside him.
Just a glance made the old sword god raise an eyebrow, sit up straight, and begin to scrutinize Roa carefully.
The boy's features were perfect, almost to an exaggerated degree. The old sword god couldn't find any flaws in his appearance.
After looking for a moment, the old sword god said, "Young man, quite handsome, has half the charm I had when I was young. Is this the disciple you mentioned?"
Ghislaine rolled his eyes and corrected the old sword god, "You weren't that handsome when you were young."
The old sword god ignored Ghislaine, frowning slightly, his sword-like eyebrows raised as he looked at Roa with a somewhat strange expression.
"Your name is Roa, right? You practice the Sword God style, don't you?" the old sword god asked.
Roa nodded.
The old sword god reached out, wanting to touch Roa's bone structure, but Roa expressionlessly dodged.
The old sword god shrugged and said, "Don't be so nervous. Let me see what level you are at so I can know if you are suitable to be my disciple."
Roa's mouth twitched. After thinking for a moment, he looked at the somewhat disheveled old sword god and said, "Didn't you say you wouldn't teach us?"
The old sword god picked his nose and continued to size up Roa, saying, "Your strength is quite impressive, isn't it? To reach this level at your age shows you are excellent. I have no reason to refuse, do I?"
After saying this, the old sword god glanced at Eris behind Roa and thought for a moment, saying, "As for you, let's give it a try."
The outcome of their first meeting was not particularly wonderful, at least not for the few of them.
The image of the legendary sixth of the seven great powers collapsed at this moment, and all they could see in him was laziness and arrogance.
However, a hint of aura that inadvertently leaked from the old sword god still made people feel a chill.
The conversation did not end there; the old sword god was very curious about Roa, and a strange light flickered in his eyes.
"I am Gal Farion. You must have heard my name from Ghislaine," Gal Farion said, looking around at everyone.
Rudeus moved closer to Roa, glancing at Gal Farion. The moment their eyes met, he felt as if he was being stared at by something terrifying, and his face instantly turned pale.
Gal Farion glanced at Rudeus and snorted coldly, "You are far inferior to the girl next to you. Your achievements won't go far."
This was Gal Farion's evaluation.
Gal Farion's words naturally made Rudeus feel very dissatisfied, but when he opened his mouth, he found he couldn't say anything.
Upon careful reflection, it was indeed as Gal Farion said.
Gal Farion looked at everyone and thought for a moment, saying, "Ghislaine, since you all came here suddenly, there aren't many rooms available, and the beds are already full. You'll have to figure out how to spend the night. Come find me tomorrow morning to test these two, oh, no."
Gal Farion's gaze lingered on Rudeus, pausing before continuing, "The strength of the three of them."
Facing Gal Farion's half-smiling expression, Rudeus stiffly nodded.
Compared to Rudeus's tense demeanor, Roa felt much more relaxed.
In terms of strength, Roa had nothing to say. The Sword God style had already reached the Sword Emperor level. Even if he had just stepped into the Sword Emperor tier, it would still require true skill for the old sword god Gal Farion to surpass him.
Moreover, Roa was not worried at all that Gal Farion would refuse to teach him.
At just fifteen years old, Roa had already reached the Sword Emperor level. With a little effort, breaking through to the divine level in the future would not be difficult.
This was basically a foregone conclusion; only a madman like Gal Farion would refuse the favor of a future sword god.
The sword path places great importance on inheritance, and the same goes for seniority. Respecting teachers and valuing the way is not just talk in this era.
Many people have only one master in their lifetime, of course, excluding those who share the same source of teaching.
Gal Farion yawned, waved his hand, and went into the house to prepare for rest.
Ghislaine glanced at everyone and said in a still indifferent tone, "You all saw it. Tonight, we have to figure it out ourselves."
Solving it was impossible; the valley town was right at the door, so there was nothing to consider.
Roa directly took everyone to the town to find a room to stay for the night.
With limited rooms available, Eris still clung to Roa as usual, while Rudeus, not wanting to be left out, shamelessly tried to squeeze in with Ghislaine.
He did manage to squeeze in, but Ghislaine appeared indifferent. Roa, fearing Rudeus would act up, called him over and gave him a warning.
Rudeus wore a bitter smile, feeling somewhat wronged, and said, "Brother Roa, you know, even if I want to do something, Master Ghislaine can easily take me down."
Roa rolled his eyes. With Ghislaine's stubbornness, a few casual words could easily fool him. If Rudeus truly had strength, he could deceive Ghislaine eight times in one night.
One could only say that this little lecher was like this.
Roa didn't say much more, directly stating, "In a way, Ghislaine is still your stepmother, after all, that guy Paul has a thing with her. Anyway, I've said what I needed to say. If you really get beaten up by Paul, don't blame me for not reminding you."
Rudeus showed a dissatisfied expression and directly said, "What about you, big brother? Isn't it very comfortable to sleep with Eris?"
"Yeah, how about you? Do you want to join?" Roa glanced at the blonde kid.
He now knew it was time to clean up after him.
Under Roa's gaze, Rudeus felt aggrieved and was strongly indignant at Roa's questioning of his character. With a cold snort, he went to find Ghislaine.
Rudeus decided to stay close to Ghislaine, directly lowering Roa's favorability.
What a harmless sunshine boy; it was all a disguise.
In reality, they were all the same at their core, all scumbags. Rudeus wanted to advise Ghislaine to keep a close eye on Eris and not let good cabbage be stolen by pigs.
The effect was mediocre; Ghislaine's one sentence blocked all of Rudeus's words.
"Such matters, Eris has her own judgment. Her happiness is in her own hands; I will not interfere with her judgment."