The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 203

Ji Cheon-Myeong struggled to grasp the scene unfolding before him.

The Thunder Emperor? No—it can’t be. Why would the United States' top National Treasure be in Korea...

The Thunder Emperor was a living legend; alone, he wielded enough power to threaten all of South Korea, so his appearance here, in their small country, was like a deity arriving in the mortal world—why would he? And what’s more, why would he be attending the National Treasure candidate exam? No matter how Ji Cheon-Myeong thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

This can’t be real.

Ji Cheon-Myeong concentrated mana in his eyes and closely observed the massive man standing among the spectators.

The man was at least two meters tall and as broad as a bear. Ferocious blue eyes flashed under a mane of rough, white hair. And peeking from the neckline of his loose-buttoned shirt...

A lightning-shaped scar.

“Is this a dream?”

Having confirmed it with his own eyes, Ji Cheon-Myeong’s face turned several shades paler. Just then, the Thunder Emperor's eyes snapped toward him, and Ji Cheon-Myeong fell back in his seat, pain lancing through his eyes.

A transcendent... A transcendent indeed...

Only someone like the Thunder Emperor could cause a phenomenon with a mere glance. This was the so-called realm of Formless Will: no longer reliant on Skills or techniques, the Thunder Emperor commanded mana freely, converting it to lightning with but a thought, and attacking him with but a glance.

Ji Cheon-Myeong removed his hand from his eyes, which had become bloodshot and watery, and gritted his teeth. Dammit! Free-form control over mana is clearly such a cheat, so why...

Though barely, Kim Byeok-Jae had also been able to mimic the powers of Formless Will. It was thanks to some passive that slowly imbued killing intent into his mana—allowing him to manipulate his mana flexibly to lethal effect, all without the slightest tell.

Yet despite this, somehow, Kim Byeok-Jae had been the one butchered on stage. The more Ji Cheon-Myeong thought about it, the angrier he became.

“What’s the matter. Your eyes are twitching.” The Thunder Emperor said. He had been standing on the far side of the stadium, but by the time he’d finished speaking, he was hovering directly in front of Ji Cheon-Myeong, a pair of crackling, golden wings stretching from his back.

It was none other than Thunder Wings, a hallmark Skill of the Thunder Emperor.

“Gasp!”

Ji Cheon-Myeong came to his senses then, as did the half-dazed audience.

“T-Thunder Emperor! It’s really the Thunder Emperor!”

“I can’t believe it... An American National Treasure is actually visiting South Korea!”

Excitement washed over the sea of people.

Meanwhile, Ji Cheon-Myeong swallowed.

“Thunder Emperor, you misunderstand. My anger isn’t directed at you.”

Ji Cheon-Myeong rose and dipped into a shallow bow before quickly straightening. As the president of the Korean Players Association, he could show respect to foreign National Treasures, but he couldn’t afford to appear submissive—especially not on national TV. This wasn’t a matter of pride; it was a matter of position.

“You’re pretty cocky for a nobody.”

The problem was that the Thunder Emperor wasn’t the type to consider others’ positions. The Thunder Emperor’s eyes flickered imperceptibly.

Ji Cheon-Myeong’s eyes widened, but he dropped to his knees, twitching.

A burnt smell filled the surroundings.

“You should lower your eye level.”

The moment Ji Cheon-Myeong’s knees hit the ground, all of South Korea was thrown into turmoil.

Everyone watching had been excitedly anticipating the exchange between Ji Cheon-Myeong and the Thunder Emperor. Now they were horrified to see Ji Cheon-Myeong kneel.

That’s right. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

To other people, it looked like Ji Cheon-Myeong had willingly knelt before the Thunder Emperor. Such was the gap between them: one could not even appear to resist, while the other needn’t attack apparently.

“What... is this... tyranny?” Ji Cheon-Myeong asked in a low voice.

He couldn’t speak properly due to his cramping muscles.

“This isn’t tyranny. This is a lesson.”

“Le... lesson... I am... the association president of another country!”

“If you don’t like it, all you have to do is stand.”

Thump!

The Thunder Emperor withdrew Thunder Wings, landed loudly on the ground, and patted Ji Cheon-Myeong’s shoulder, once, twice, thrice... with each pat, Ji Cheon-Myeong’s head fell lower under a fresh wave of electrocution. In the end, Ji Cheon-Myeong’s forehead touched the ground, almost kissing the Thunder Emperor’s shoes.

Gasps and shouts came from the live audience, and the people watching from home stood up in shock.

“Don’t you have any pride?!”

“Even if this is the National Treasure of the United States, to act like this...”

Meanwhile, after a stunned pause, the hosts of various broadcast stations started to speak up in defense: “T-the Thunder Emperor is one of the top three National Treasures of the United States, after all. It’s important to know when to advance and retreat... we should try to understand the Association president’s difficult position, and admire his breadth of spirit—” the broadcast hosts prattled on.

The people, however, weren’t listening.

Ji Cheon-Myeong was the face of South Korea. Moreover, as the president of the country’s Association, he was frequently engaged in coordinating with foreign players and institutes in cross-national operations. Given these responsibilities, Ji Cheon-Myeong’s servile personality was a nauseating revelation. They dared not imagine how much he must’ve bowed and scraped to China and Japan behind the scenes.

The hundred thousand spectators on the scene felt no different. And their following response was a microcosm of the country as a whole—

Rage.

“What a disgrace to our country.”

“Coward! You only dare to act brave in South Korea, isn’t that right!?”

“Disgusting. No wonder we always lose a pound of flesh during diplomatic negotiations.”

The people’s anger spread like wildfire, soon evolving into a single, unified expression:

Boo! Booooo!

Ji Cheon-Myeong was stunned. In some ways, acquiring and maintaining his position as the president of the Association was even more difficult than earning the title of National Treasure: a National Treasure required only requisite strength, whereas holding his position as the Association president depended on public support, much like a politician.

Shit!

Rage, frustration, and desperation all rushed to fill Ji Cheon-Myeong’s heart. His reputation and everything he’d worked so hard to build teetered on the brink of collapse.

He had to fix it, no matter what.

“Haap!”

Ji Cheon-Myeong screamed and ignited his mana. Power flooded his body, reinforcing his muscles and nerves, just barely enough to resist the paralyzing current coursing through him. He was about to lift his knees from the ground when a voice suddenly rang out.

“Hey, what brings you to South Korea?”

It was Jae-Hyeok, shouting from the stage.

Ji Cheon-Myeong’s twitching lips quirked. That little fool actually dares to interrupt the adults. He must be riding high after killing Kim Byeok-Jae, thinking himself untouchable. Good, no—great. Let’s see how you’ll be humiliated.

Jae-Hyeok was on hot coals after killing Kim Byeok-Jae. Once the Thunder Emperor drove Jae-Hyeok to his knees, that would be another nail in the coffin; public outrage would shift back to him, and in the days to come, Ji Cheon-Myeong would have a much easier time distracting from his own disgraceful posture.

Hah! Dumb kid, keep talking, keep helping me! Ji Cheon-Myeong’s face turned red in excitement, and he glanced at the Thunder Emperor.

Sure enough, the Thunder Emperor’s thick eyebrows twitched. His face, which had been expressionless until then, was now frowning, and when he spoke, his irritable voice sounded like the growl of a beast: “Did you need to ask me that?”

Ji Cheon-Myeong smiled inwardly. The effect seemed better than he’d imagined. At this point, he started to wonder if the Thunder Emperor would char Jae-Hyeok black after humiliating him.

Ji Cheon-Myeong’s budding hopes were shattered by what the Thunder Emperor said next.

“Obviously, I came to see you. What else is there to see in such a small country?”

Despite his initial grumbling, the Thunder Emperor’s domineering air melted away, and he grinned.

“I had you investigated and learned about your exam. Naturally, on the off-chance you embarrassed yourself, I had to be here to enjoy it in person. I just didn’t expect the ones embarrassing themselves to be everyone else. What a joke.”

A terrible gleam flickered in Thunder Emperor’s eyes as he swept his gaze over the sword demons encircling Jae-Hyeok.

“Gasp!”

“Ugh...”

The sword demons retreated with pale faces. Their leader, Jin Seo-Yeon, was no different—one look, and her will to fight was completely crushed by his overwhelming pressure.

“So that’s it!” Ji Cheon-Myeong couldn’t take it anymore and shouted hysterically. “So that’s what’s going on! Kang Jae-Hyeok, you’re actually an American spy! You’re playing tricks to undermine the position of the Association!”

Ji Cheon-Myeong worked desperately to shift the narrative, but this time, the crowd was silent.

No one was buying it.

Even Ji Cheon-Myeong’s close associates kept their mouths shut. Anyone could tell that insisting on a relationship between Jae-Hyeok and the United States was far-fetched. As for Jae-Hyeok serving as a spy? That was even more unlikely. The United States had no reason to meddle with a small country like South Korea.

“Everyone, wake up! If the United States didn’t intervene, how could that kid be so friendly with the Thunder Emperor? I’ve been monitoring him for the past eight years and he has never once been linked to the Thunder—wait, no, I mean...”

Half-crazed, Ji Cheon-Myeong said too much before he caught himself.

The atmosphere in the arena became even weirder.

Then, the Thunder Emperor tore open his shirt to reveal the lightning-shaped scar on his chest. He turned to the hundreds of cameras and said, “This is the first and only wound on my body.”

No, it’s not. Jae-Hyeok reminisced over the Thunder Emperor’s sorry appearance after picking a fight with Kyoreh. The more he thought about it, the more the corners of his lips twitched.

“... The Yaksha carved it.” The Thunder Emperor ignored Jae-Hyeok and continued, “It’s natural for me to be interested in the son of the man who was once my rival, especially today, the day of his National Treasure candidate exam. That’s all.”

Having said so much, the Thunder Emperor felt a little awkward. Normally, he wasn’t the sort who used words to defend himself. But he didn’t want people to misunderstand Jae-Hyeok.

“The Thunder Emperor and the Yaksha were rivals?”

“The Yaksha was that strong?”

The reputation of the Yaksha, which Ji Cheon-Myeong had slowly scrubbed over the past eight years, showed signs of recovery in an instant.

“However,” the Thunder Emperor said, shooting Ji Cheon-Myeong a disdainful glance. “ Some petty people were persecuting the boy unfairly. I couldn’t stay silent about it. That said, I indeed interfered with everyone’s national event, so for that I apologize.”

The Thunder Emperor brushed back his white hair and bowed ninety degrees toward the east, then west, then south, and then north. He was bowing to all the people of South Korea. This was the Yaksha’s homeland, after all. His old rival deserved at least that much respect.

“This is unbelievable.”

“He is genuine...”

America’s National Treasure was bowing his head!

It was an unprecedented scene, and the shocked crowd could feel his sincerity.

Meanwhile, Ji Cheon-Myeong raised his voice by several notches, spittle flying everywhere. “Look! He clearly favors Kang Jae-Hyeok! We can’t trust his claim that Kang Jae-Hyeok’s killing of Kim Byeok-Jae was self-defense!”

Ji Cheon-Myeong knew he’d made many mistakes already. His best hope now was to pin criminal charges on Jae-Hyeok, stripping him of his chance for the candidate title. Then, he could retreat first and deal with him later.

However, just when Ji Cheon-Myeong thought he’d found a foothold, the Thunder Emperor made a signal.

“Rachel.”

“Yes.”

Dozens of magic circles appeared on the jumbo screens scattered around the stadium, and the feed changed to show the stage from tens of minutes ago.

Jae-Hyeok and Kim Byeok-Jae stood facing each other.

That’s Memorize! Someone actually used Memorize. Damnit!

Ji Cheon-Myeong immediately became anxious and released a burst of mana.

Bang! Bang bang!

Subjected to peak S-class’s mana, the several jumbo screens burst like overfull balloons. But it was pointless; there were dozens of jumbo screens across the stadium.

A distorted horn sounded through the speaker system, and the image on the screens started moving in slow motion.

Starting at Kim Byeok-Jae, the blue marble stone beneath his feet slowly darkened. The effect spread along the ground toward Jae-Hyeok. And when it reached three feet from Jae-Hyeok, a change occurred: an inky mana seemed to boil from the air, rapidly condensing into a sword-thin tendril that lashed toward Jae-Hyeok.

The crowd recognized the move from one of Death God’s promotional videos. It was Kim Byeok-Jae’s signature killing Skill.

“H-He really intended to kill...”

“......?!”

People sighed with complicated expressions before shutting up and sinking into the next scene; without a single wasted movement, Jae-Hyeok dodged Kim Byeok-Jae’s attack while simultaneously dropping a hand to his sword hilt. In the following frames, Jae-Hyeok’s sword went from fully sheathed to partway through Kim Byeok-Jae’s neck, then back to being fully sheathed. The rest of the video was Kim Byeok-Jae’s head slowly flying away.

“Do you still need to verify it?” Jae-Hyeok paused, then nodded toward the red-faced Ji Cheon-Myeong. “Well, if you do, why don’t you come and test me?”

His enemy was in a corner.

Naturally, Jae-Hyeok had no intention of missing this great opportunity.