I Will Become a Phoenix More Noble Than the Emperor - Chapter 71

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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71.

He was indeed not a simple wandering wastrel. Nor was he an illegitimate son of the Dobukcheon Baek Family.

He was actually the Crown Prince.

‘Hah… So the Crown Prince was a Super-Deity…’

Since this was truly unexpected, Seon-o had to simultaneously feel the thrilling pleasure of discovering this world’s secrets and the overwhelming uncertainty of not knowing what lay ahead.

‘He wasn’t sick after all.’

Then why had the Emperor kept the Crown Prince hidden?

Only one answer came to mind.

‘Because he thought the Crown Prince would become a threat.’

From the perspective of an Emperor already sensitive about power, having such an excellent Crown Prince would have been a reality he didn’t want to accept.

Then did the Emperor also know that Sa-baek was a Super-Deity?

No, that couldn’t be.

If that were the case, Sa-baek wouldn’t have been hidden for so long. Such a tremendous secret wouldn’t have been managed so thoroughly either. The fact that Sa-baek was a Super-Deity must be a secret known only to Sa-baek himself.

‘There must have been a reason it had to remain secret.’

Sa-baek was hiding even his own identity from the Emperor for some purpose.

‘Since he knows the Emperor well, he probably thought it wasn’t time to step forward yet.’

His thoughts seemed to be organizing themselves. If the assumptions he’d made were true…

‘The Emperor and Crown Prince are enemies.’

That was truly fortunate.

Of course, this didn’t translate to certainty that Sa-baek would side with him. As Cheong-eum had said, Seon-o was not yet the Phoenix. Sa-baek had no reason to help Seon-o.

Even so…

“…”

Seon-o recalled Sa-baek running toward him the moment his surroundings collapsed due to Blood Extreme. That was certainly not a calculated action.

Moreover, hadn’t Sa-baek saved him when he was in crisis due to the Rift Sound Stone?

“…”

Seon-o tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

Since Super-Deities were also human, through the events at Maehwagak and the North Sea, a faint affection toward him must have grown within Sa-baek. At least enough that he couldn’t bear to watch him die before his eyes.

That was probably the same emotion that prevented him from sharing Sa-baek’s suspicious nature with Hwan.

Then he had to rely on that weak affection to draw Sa-baek to his side.

He needed Sa-baek. So he could only hope that Sa-baek would also need him for something.

“Why did you take the drug, you bastard.”

Seon-o, who had been muttering as if annoyed, soon found the answer to that question as well.

Since Sa-baek was in a position where he was being checked even by his father the Emperor, he naturally wouldn’t trust anyone. That’s why he never appeared until the end in the original work.

So Sa-baek still didn’t trust Seon-o.

‘…Gaining his trust comes first.’

Damn, these Super-Deities.

“Did they eat some Spirit Medicine that causes distrust of humans? How is it that except for Hwan, they’re all… Haah…”

As he was rubbing the back of his neck due to his aching head, he felt the carriage’s rattling subside. Recognizing from that subtle difference that they had almost reached their destination, Seon-o’s eyes instantly sharpened.

Immediately rising from his seat, Seon-o opened the small hatch in the ceiling and climbed onto the top of the carriage. When he crouched down, he could see a vast forest spread out before him. Spotting a strangely shaped house located at its edge, Seon-o immediately kicked off and flew up, landing on a nearby tree.

The empty Ghost Carriage continued rattling along by itself, heading toward that house. And when it reached the front door, the main gate opened by itself and the carriage entered inside.

‘That’s the place.’

Having finally found his destination, Seon-o’s throat tightened with tension.

That Bastard’s fortress was located deep in such a vast forest that it was natural it had never been discovered.

From the forest surrounding the house to the high stone wall built by regularly stacking rocks, everything formed perfect symmetry, creating a strange aesthetic.

It was indeed bizarrely fitting for the dwelling of someone who called himself an artist.

‘Art, my ass.’

Snorting, Seon-o leaped up from the tree and stealthily approached the place.

Precariously climbing up the high stone wall and looking down, he could see large earthenware jars filling the spacious courtyard. Behind them stood a single large hall, and behind that was…

‘There it is.’

Seon-o’s eyes flashed as he spotted the large hole carved into the cliff behind the pavilion. That was the entrance to the cave leading underground. Having found his destination in one go, Seon-o leaped down into the fortress and hid behind a large jar platform.

Fortunately, the demons who had consumed the ‘Rift Sound Stone’ were overconfident in their abilities and hadn’t set up any barriers.

‘No, they probably think it would be profitable if superhumans came to them on their own.’

After surveying his surroundings, Seon-o moved behind the jars and quickly approached the cliff. Finally, as he neared the cave carved beneath the cliff, he could feel cold air emanating from the entrance.

Since he couldn’t sense any presence from inside either, Seon-o stepped into the cave without hesitation. As he descended the stone steps, a massive wine storage was revealed as expected. The cave, filled with cold air, was perfect for storing alcohol.

‘So that’s why they built the fortress here.’

The size, which appeared to be at least three times larger than Wang Ho-bang’s wine storage, sent chills down Seon-o’s spine.

All of this alcohol was entirely…

He felt like vomiting from disgust. Just then, the sound of footsteps came from above the stairs, and Seon-o’s eyes widened. Someone was coming down to the wine storage.

“!”

Seon-o quickly flew up onto the largest jar platform nearby and lay flat.

Shortly after, the sound of footsteps entered the storage.

“Hmm, hmm.”

The voice humming cheerfully sent chills down his back. Seon-o held his breath and carefully poked his head out to look below.

A tall man wearing a sky-blue long robe with his entire head wrapped in a hood was dragging someone bound with rope.

It seemed he had captured a superhuman!

Growing serious, Seon-o narrowed his eyes and examined the person being dragged by the creature. As if having given up on everything, not even resisting and trudging along as the creature led, it was a woman with long hair.

Her smooth black hair with a navy blue tint was wet, with water dripping from it. Not just her hair, but her entire body was soaked, looking as if she had fallen into a water puddle and been pulled out.

‘…That back view looks familiar somehow.’

Swallowing his rising curiosity, Seon-o continued to watch the two.

The creature with light footsteps finally stopped in front of a large jar platform. The jar platform, with a subtle blue hue like celadon, was beautiful like a work of art.

“Hmm, this looks good. Ah, how pretty.”

The creature muttered with satisfaction and suddenly turned around, causing Seon-o to flinch and lower his head. However, the creature, who couldn’t even imagine that there was an intruder in his wine storage, only smiled wickedly while looking at the superhuman he had captured.

Taking advantage of that opportunity, Seon-o carefully examined the creature’s face.

A long body with a pale face that looked powdered. Features made of lines so thin it was hard to tell if it was male or female, crescent-shaped eyes, and red lips.

With his hair neatly hidden under a hood and wearing a clear light blue long robe, the creature would undoubtedly appear to be human to those who didn’t know better.

However, Seon-o knew that creature’s true identity.

It was a demon.

Moreover, a high-level demon that had gained strange abilities by consuming the ‘Rift Sound Stone’. That perverted bastard who committed bizarre acts with that power and called it art had named himself ‘Intoxication’.

“Now, then…”

Intoxication was about to demonstrate his ability, wiggling his fingers, when he suddenly gasped and opened his eyes wide.

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