As time passed, more and more people noticed changes in the world, including the Council of Guiltina in the northern continent. They soon discovered a new continent to the west of Guiltina, where a different language was spoken.
The Eastern Continent, Icarus—
The language and script of this continent were different from those of Ishgar, Guiltina, and Alakitasia. However, this was not unusual in the world of Earthland.
The distant southern continent, Islante, also had a language distinct from Ishgar's.
The three ancient continents that August had explored spoke yet another different language.
According to August, it was an ancient language that was no longer in use, except in some remote, isolated villages.
The Spiritual Capital—
Located in the western part of the Eastern Continent, this bustling city was the domain of the Luo family, one of the five great families.
Contrary to Aegon's expectations of a heavily guarded city gate, there were only two symbolic guards holding long spears, and no inspections were conducted.
Even Irene and Selene did not stand out here, thanks to the Summer Empire's open policy. There were many merchants from different continents, and the main street, wide enough for eight carriages to pass, was bustling with traffic and voices. Most pedestrians carried swords, and occasionally, some had peculiar weapons.
The magic here was also different from that in Ishgar. Unlike Ishgar, where ability-based and possession-based magic were equally prominent, most mages on the Eastern Continent relied on their weapons.
This distinction was most evident in their top combat forces. Emperor Xiachen wielded a sword, and among the Five Sages, only the Fist Sage Chen Jiang fought with his body.
"It is said that his name was not originally Chen Jiang. He changed it because his punches could sink rivers and break currents. Although… I don't know what that means," Selene said, shrugging helplessly.
Irene shook her head with a smile. "I'm not sure either. Maybe it means something in this language."
Aegon remained silent. He had thought he would understand the language here, but he was wrong. The pronunciation was entirely different from common speech.
For example, the character 'Chen' in Fist Sage Chen Jiang's name was pronounced as "Dang" here.
Even Mera, who was proficient in ancient scripts, had to research for a long time to find out this pronunciation.
"It seems this is their daily dialect, not the official language."
They were interested in Chen Jiang not because of his name but because he was the Fist Sage. Mera had investigated everyone, including Emperor Xiachen.
Mera brought back bad news: "They are all old now and have gone into seclusion. Gun Sage Luo Feihong is already an old woman, and it's said that even in her youth, she wasn't known for her looks."
Aegon, Selene, and Irene immediately understood—she wasn't considered attractive...
This wasn't just hearsay. In the northern continent, Selene was described as graceful and beautiful, the moon goddess dragon. That was people's evaluation of a dragon.
As for an empire's top combat force, being a Gun Sage, and without a description of her beauty, it was telling...
Sword Sage Li Shuyan, another member of the Five Sages, was described as handsome in his youth, but he, too, was old now.
Aegon, who had been somewhat excited, immediately lost interest. However, the unique Eastern cuisine reminded him of the past.
Seeing Selene looking around excitedly like a child, he helplessly followed her. Well, let's treat this as a sightseeing trip. We can cause some trouble before leaving. Seclusion, huh...
The original Black Dragon Acnologia had indeed been to the Eastern Continent, but there were few dragons here. His memories of the Eastern Continent were still from the Dragon King Festival four hundred years ago. The current empire was established a hundred years ago, so he didn't know these people at all.
Even August wasn't very clear about their combat strength because, since the unification of the Eastern Continent, the Summer Empire had opened trade and cultural exchanges, and there were few conflicts, even with the Alvarez Empire.
The law and order in the Spiritual Capital were quite good... there were no incidents of scoundrels or thugs causing trouble.
Soon, something caught the attention of Aegon, Selene, and the others—A martial contest for marriage.
A burly man was knocked off the stage by a long spear. On the stage stood a woman in red, holding a wooden spear. Her red outfit was a form-fitting, martial attire, with tight sleeves and narrow cuffs, and trousers tucked in at the ankles. Despite its practical design, the fabric was clearly expensive, adding a touch of nobility.
Perhaps it was due to the angle, but she seemed to be about six feet tall, with long, shapely legs wrapped in the close-fitting trousers. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail with a red ribbon. Her face exuded a strong aura, with a sharply defined jawline, large eyes with slightly upturned corners, a straight, well-defined nose, and pronounced facial features, adding a touch of masculine charm to her beauty.
Selene raised an eyebrow. "She's beautiful."
Even though it was a different kind of beauty, Selene still found it appealing.
As for her strength, her magical power was higher than Juliet and Heine's. Having such power at around twenty years old was impressive.
The script was a mix of simplified and traditional characters, which Aegon could understand. Surprisingly, it was a martial contest for the marriage of the fifth daughter of the Luo family, one of the Five Sages.
Aegon was stunned. They had said she wasn't attractive. Wasn't this beautiful enough?
Luo Jinghong's name suited her well. Even a fleeting glance made one feel she was beautiful—a true first-sight beauty.
(P.S.: She will have a different name later.)
In fact, the Gun Sage was indeed not very attractive, but after four generations of handsome men and beautiful women, it wasn't surprising that such a beauty appeared.
Mera found a Western Continent merchant who spoke the local language and quickly learned the details.
Luo Jinghong, the fifth daughter of the Luo family, was highly talented in spear arts and well-loved in her family. However, at nearly twenty, she was still unmarried, which worried her parents. But Luo Jinghong insisted that any suitor must not be more than five years older than her and must defeat her to qualify for marriage.
There was also a second condition—she had to find him pleasing to the eye.
Her great-grandmother supported her, so her parents had no choice but to allow the martial contest for marriage.
So, that burly man just now wasn't even twenty-five. I thought he was thirty-five…
The contest had been going on for twenty-four days, and no one under twenty-five had been able to defeat her.
Irene nodded thoughtfully. "No wonder there were so many armed people heading this way."
While Aegon and Irene were gathering information, two more young men were knocked off the stage.
Seeing Aegon preparing to go up, Selene pulled him back, puzzled. "Are you sure you're under twenty-five?"
He raised two fingers:
"First, I don't need to follow the rules."
"Second, I'm eighteen years and 4800 months old."