I Will Become a Phoenix More Noble Than the Emperor - Chapter 21

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

21.

It was a seed that had been hidden inside the Yin Stone.

Looking at the small brown seed, a passage from the original work flashed through Seon-o’s mind.

‘The Yin Stone of the Demon Beast Cave was broken by the very lowest things. A single scattering spark, a thin point of light, a leaf falling helplessly in the wind and a newborn baby’s tender breath, and a single drop of water seeping in and disappearing.’

That was exactly the method to break the Yin Stone. The most fragile, delicate, and gentle power.

Using extremely low Yin Power was just as difficult as using extremely high Yin Power. Only candidates who had reached that level of delicacy and figured out that weakness, not force, was the answer could break the Yin Stone. Moreover, candidates who broke the Yin Stone automatically advanced to the next trial.

Seon-o, who had just joined those ranks, carefully grasped the seed. Instead, her heart became calm.

Finally, she had passed the first trial.

* * *

“…Say that again.”

When Wi Gong-un asked sharply while removing his black gloves, I-so’s face trembled with a start.

“What happened again?”

At his feet, Silk Carps were floating belly-up on the pond that had turned black from just a single drop of poison. It seemed he had been experimenting with a new poison combination and then cutting open the carps’ bellies to examine them.

True to the Super God’s Poison, the carps’ organs had melted into black liquid that soaked the floor, and even the grass touched by that poison liquid had all turned black and was emitting strange smoke.

I-so, who had unintentionally interrupted his training, answered with a troubled expression.

“It’s true. They were making Superhumans into slaves and selling them, and Yawolbang caught them. Soon rumors will spread across the entire continent. Since Yawolbang is involved, there’s no way to stop the rumors either.”

Making Superhumans into slaves?

This was impossible. There had never been such a thing before. There must be some misunderstanding, but that wasn’t important. What made Wi Gong-un’s heart turn cold wasn’t such trivial facts.

If a Superhuman became a slave, they would be worthless Superhumans who would be devoured by demons eventually anyway, so it had nothing to do with him as a Super God. What Wi Gong-un found unbelievable was something else.

“What next.”

“Huh? What next…? Ah. The rumor that candidate Kang Seon-o infiltrated first?”

At those words, Wi Gong-un’s eyes narrowed.

“So that’s… they say candidate Kang Seon-o infiltrated Maehwagak first, found the location of the underground dungeon, and even destroyed the demon those guys had released. Before the Yaweolbang Warriors even arrived.”

The image of Seon-o he had seen in the Great Hall flashed vividly before Wi Gong-un’s eyes. Recalling her disheveled state made him feel incredulous.

“…You’re saying she did that alone?”

“According to the testimony of the Superhumans who were imprisoned there, it seems so. This one doesn’t seem like a candidate to take lightly. How she mobilized the Yaweolbang Warriors… It’s also surprising that the fourth Super God did such a thing.”

I-so muttered as if quite surprised or impressed, but Wi Gong-un didn’t smile.

“Moreover, a power that suppresses Superhuman strength. Ha, if it’s true, that would be truly serious. What on earth could do such a thing?”

“Right, just like how she became the sixth candidate in the first place.”

When Wi Gong-un raised his eyebrows and muttered, I-so’s face went blank.

“Huh? Brother, surely you don’t mean…”

When I-so realized that Wi Gong-un suspected Seon-o and trailed off in bewilderment, Wi Gong-un instead raised the corner of his mouth as if interested.

“As you said, she doesn’t seem like a woman to take lightly.”

When persistent suspicion bloomed and settled in Wi Gong-un’s eyes, I-so just closed his mouth.

Wi Gong-un with that expression couldn’t be stopped by any words. Moreover, Wi Gong-un’s words made sense. Suddenly appearing to become a Phoenix candidate, and now devastating a group that sold Superhumans while revealing that tremendous fact to the world.

With that, Seon-o had succeeded in making the entire country buzz. Right now the capital was all abuzz with that story. The early momentum had shifted to her.

“Brother, what do you intend to do?”

I-so asked anxiously. Wi Gong-un, who had been staring intently into space, soon turned around leisurely as if he had no ulterior motives.

“What would I do? Your sister will have to overcome this herself.”

Huh? Brother wouldn’t do that.

I-so frowned as if he couldn’t trust him at all, but had no choice but to follow behind him.

* * *

At that time, Cheong-eum also heard of Seon-o’s triumph.

While listening to the story a priest had urgently brought, Cheong-eum’s calm expression gradually hardened subtly.

“Candidate Kang Seon-o is involved. We don’t know the exact situation yet, but they say candidate Kang Seon-o infiltrated that place in disguise first.”

Then suspicious wariness also arose in Cheong-eum’s eyes. Seon-o was already a person requiring careful attention for Cheong-eum too. No, anyone would feel that way. She was the sixth candidate that no one had expected.

For such a candidate to be involved in this kind of incident was certainly a suspicious situation.

‘From the circumstances, it seems she proceeded together with Yawolbang, so she should be able to prove her innocence, but…’

Cheong-eum swallowed the impatience that momentarily surged up, then asked in a calm voice.

“Has it also been revealed how the Superhumans were suppressed?”

“It hasn’t been revealed that far yet. It would be problematic even if it were revealed. Shall we try contacting the leader of Yawolbang?”

At the priest’s question, Cheong-eum calmly nodded his head.

“If possible, please also convey that I would like to meet with them. Continue to monitor the progress of subsequent events as well.”

The priest answered that he would do so and left Cheong-eum’s office. Left alone, Cheong-eum completely forgot about the documents he had been reviewing just moments before and gazed into empty space, lost in thought.

‘If there exists a power that can suppress Yin Power…’

Cheong-eum’s heart sank coldly at this unthinkable fact.

Whether that power was sorcery or the work of some spirit medicine, if it truly existed, then conversely there should also exist a method to break it.

Cheong-eum felt his heart freezing as he continued to stare into empty space.

If so, then perhaps even the curse placed upon me could be broken.

For a moment, Seon-o’s voice flashed through his mind.

“Well, I haven’t been awakened for very long.”

However, all of Seon-o’s actions were far too radical for a superhuman who had only recently awakened. Perhaps there was some hidden intention.

But what mattered was that Seon-o had revealed to the world the existence of a method to suppress superhumans that no one else had discovered.

As if responding to me, who had placed my last hope on this competition.

Having grasped onto a slender thread of hope, Cheong-eum finally let out a steady breath.

“…”

Soon regaining his composure, he picked up his brush again.

* * *

“What? Using superhumans as slaves? Hey, you! Does that even make sense!”

“What, are you saying those Yin Cult bastards have completely reformed and been reborn as unparalleled saints from today?”

Soon laughter erupted from all directions and the inn became noisy.

At their reaction, the man who had just brought the news beat his chest in frustration.

“Ah, it’s really true! I heard it clearly with my own two ears! The rumor has already spread throughout the capital and only this place is late to hear it! There’s an uproar saying that a place called Maehwagak brainwashed superhumans, turned them into slaves, and sold them!”

“Ah. Right. How much would one of those superhuman slaves cost? Ah, instead of that, if we put all the guys here up for auction, we’d make a fortune!”

As the drunk men giggled and treated it as a joke, the face of the man who brought the news became so aggrieved he looked ready to die.

A woman sitting at a railing seat on the second floor of the chaotic inn looked down with an expressionless face at the men chattering noisily on the first floor while continuously slurping noodles.

Slurp, having instantly devoured all those noodle strands and cleanly emptied even the broth, the woman stopped a passing server.

“One more bowl. Dumplings too.”

At the brief order, shock appeared in the server’s eyes. This was because more than ten empty bowls were already piled up on the table where the woman sat.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————