An enormous light surged into the sky.
The crimson light covering this light made seeing it hard, but that was clearly a green light.
Chun Sungjae, who was nearby, laughed at this familiar sight. ‘That’s the light of Missionary!’
The same phenomena had also occurred to him. The green light made that a certainty.
‘Noona also became the disciple of the Serpent Bearer!’
That wasn’t all. Chun Yooha was emanating smoke.
Chun Sungjae made a fist. ‘She ranked up!’
This phenomenon had happened when he had gone from the A rank to the S rank.
A commotion erupted amongst the disciples who stood in front of Chun Sungjae.
“What the hell? Did she just rank up?”
“Chun Yooha did?”
“Wait a moment! If Chun Yooha ranked up, doesn’t that mean she is now at the SS rank?”
“What? That’s crazy!”
Most disciples thought the upper limit of upgrades was the S rank. This was to be expected since they thought the SS rank was the domain of the Zodiac Saints. Even those called the strongest amongst the new generation of humans had a hard time approaching this territory.
After all, only ten of them existed in the entire world.
Of course, Chun Yooha was one of them at the S rank, but…
“Wait a moment! If she has become an SS-rank, how much stronger has she gotten?”
“She’s truly in the Saint rank now!”
“!”
The one yelling this was Chun Sungjae.
The disciples glared at him. They seemed to want to say something but kept their mouths shut in the end, unable to refute Chun Sungjae’s words.
Moreover, what did Chun Yooha becoming an SS-rank imply?
‘Zodiac Saint.’
Of course, the Serpent Bearer already had a Zodiac Saint in Lee Gun. She would just have the same qualification as the other Ten Stars, but there should be no drastic change.
However…
‘It’ll be troublesome for us if her power grows any further.’
That was why they glared at Chun Sungjae. For some odd reason, hatred appeared in their eyes. It wasn’t simply because Chun Sungjae had stolen their treasure.
‘That little kid was rated highly by Heiji-nim.’
When they had finally contacted Heiji using the Pisces Saint’s Communication skill, she had delivered these words to them.
[You have to stop that child from awakening as a Saint rank.]
It seemed Heiji had a hunch that Chun Sungjae would become a Zodiac Saint. And that wasn’t all.
[The Fairy Monarch that, that child took will be too problematic.]
The fairies were already at the same rank as the Constructs. Moreover, the Fairy Monarch that Chun Sungjae took was called the first Fairy Monarch Elysion. However, this was merely a title given to a fairy.
The fairies of the Gemini temple were merely spirits or guardians summoned from the sacred garden. They were just given a new skin whenever they were summoned.
[Its true name was the god’s wisdom pouch Mimir.]
Yes! Chun Sungjae had picked out the one spirit that a supreme god had coveted and tried to sacrifice its one eye to obtain. It was the god containing all the knowledge and wisdom of the world.
That was why even the Gemini had wanted to summon and obtain this spirit. Yet, Chun Sungjae had chosen this being and run away with it.
Anyway, the Fairy Monarch would be forever out of reach if Chun Sungjae awakened as a Saint rank, so they had to do the task fast.
Currently, Chun Sungjae’s body was too weak to contain the Fairy Monarch, so the spirit could easily be pushed out. However, if he possessed a Saint rank body, he would become one with the Fairy Monarch. The situation then would be as Heiji had said.
The spirit couldn’t fall into the hands of Lee Gun.
‘If the thirteenth Zodiac obtains the “Bundle of Wisdom,” his temple will become a handful.’
Therefore, all of them raised their arms, signaling the commencement of the attacks.
Chun Sungjae became angry as he desperately waved. “Damn it! I can’t summon Dad anymore!”
His contribution seemed to be the problem. He could no longer summon the Archer Saint.
This made the Gemini disciples laugh. Chun Sungjae’s weakness was obvious.
‘Close quarter combat!’
The power magicians with thick arms stepped forward. Accompanying them were the members of the Cancer temple, which was known as the crime temple.
“Die, weak brat!”
“!”
A blunt weapon came swinging at Chun Sungjae’s head.
Ggahng!
The blunt weapon stopped right next to his head. Chun Sungjae had blocked it with his arm.
This surprised the owner of the weapon. ‘This bastard blocked my club?’ He blocked it with an arm that looked like it would break easily?
Chun Sungjae grinned. ‘This is the payoff for the hardship.’
His uncle had let the Constructs stick to him for a reason. Although it had been a short amount of time, Chun Sungjae’s reaction speed and agility had considerably increased when the Constructs had almost killed him. His poor stamina had significantly improved. That wasn’t all.
‘As expected of Uncle!’
Chun Sungjae became ecstatic when he saw the defensive gear covering his arm and upper body.
<Don’t Go Around Getting Hit> Armor – S rank
– Attack absorption (Up to 80% of the attack) – S rank
– Reflect (Attack damage equivalent to the total magical energy of the user will be reflected) – S rank
– I’ll kill you if you mess with my disciple skill – S rank (additional attribute)
It was a holy item Lee Gun had made for him. Normally, it looked like a black t-shirt. But when one put magical energy into it, it turned into a defensive gear covering his upper body and arms.
If the matter were up to him, Chun Sungjae would put the holy item away and just clean it every day. However, his uncle would beat him up for that.
Anyway, that didn’t matter.
‘It’s doable with this item.’
Soon, the magical energy of the Serpent Bearer flowed into Chun Sungjae’s hands.
Nevertheless, someone among the Cancer disciples started to laugh. It was a woman.
Chun Sungjae was about to clash with the disciples when…
Along with the woman’s laughter, a black shadow surged up around him.
Boom!
Unexpectedly, this was a Saint rank power.
The flustered Chun Sungjae quickly turned his head. Due to his outstanding perception, he immediately discerned the shadow’s identity.
‘Is that the Crab Saint?’
However, he didn’t even have the chance to look for his opponent. The shadow swallowed him up.
Koo-goo-goohng!
It was like an enormous black orb.
[Crab’s Tomb]
The woman laughed after trapping Chun Sungjae.
She seemed to be a general of the Cancer temple, but this sphere was something only the Cancer Saint Jean-Louis could use.
Amongst the twelve Zodiacs, the Cancer was an envoy closest to death.
Jean-Louis had snuck into the crowd and made himself look like a disciple. An evil smirk appeared on his lips.
‘Yes. Lee Gun cannot have Mimir.’
That wasn’t all. The best way was to kill the sprout before it could grow.
However, Chun Sungjae possessed a skill that allowed him to summon the Archer Saint. That was why Jean-Louis had put so much effort into creating this item.
He made sure Chun Sungjae wouldn’t be able to come out even if the Archer Saint was summoned. The item also couldn’t be penetrated by the power of the Fairy Monarch.
And so, Jean-Louis laughed.
“Take care of it right now.”
“Yes! General!”
Chun Sungjae cursed when he heard the voice within the black sphere. ‘That damn bastard is the Cancer Saint.’
No magic could be used within the sphere. Chun Sungjae couldn’t even use the skill that summoned his father. The reason was simple.
‘Shit! This wall’s rank is SS.’
He could see how powerful it was with a glance. Unfortunately, his highest-level skill was at the S rank. ‘I can’t break it without an SS-rank skill.’
On top of that, a weird barrier was restricting the power of the Fairy Monarch.
Chun Sungjae’s eyes started to grow dim.
[Oh contractor, hurry up and break this wall.]
Hearing the Fairy Monarch’s voice, Chun Sungjae ground his teeth.
‘Are you messing with me? I can’t break this skill. You should know better than anyone.’
The Fairy Monarch clicked its tongue as if it found him pathetic.
[Oh foolish contractor, you have the talent and the blessing of a Zodiac. Do you plan on doing nothing with it?]
“!”
Suddenly, a light rushed out of the black sphere.
The Cancer Saint, who was outside the sphere, flinched. He could feel the power of the serpent within the light. ‘This power… It can’t be…’
Something surprising happened within the black sphere.
[You have used the Demigod status.]
[You have acquired the qualification needed to become a Zodiac Saint.]
* * *
Around that time…
[According to the rule of the Leo temple(Rule of the Victor), you have absorbed their power.]
[You have leveled up.]
[Chun Yooha – SS rank]
Chun Yooha’s badge notified her of her awakening and upgrade.
Accompanying the crimson light, Oliver fell over while vomiting blood.
Boom!
Chun Yooha heard a familiar voice.
[You have completed Missionary: 100%]
[You have become a disciple of the Serpent Bearer.]
[Following the <Gospel of Lee Gun>, a new page has been created in the Serpent Bearer’s bible: Lee Gun Compendium!]
[You have acquired the qualification to become a Zodiac Saint.]
“Ah…! Over there!”
After the red lightning pierced his stomach, Oliver’s transformation was canceled. His bloodied body crashed to the ground. Additionally, the black armor around his body was completely demolished.
Boom!
The mouths of the Leo disciple had fallen open as they witnessed this. It was the same for Stevens, who was out of his Demigod status.
They had never imagined Chun Yooha could defeat Oliver. Of course, she had always been superior in terms of achievements and records, but battles were a different story.
At the end of the day, Chun Yooha was an S-rank and Oliver an SS-rank.
‘There is an ability gap between their bodies.’
Yooha was not only talented but also hardworking. She was obsessed with becoming strong, and it was why this was possible.
She had been obsessed with becoming strong because of the comrades she had lost.
‘Of course, there’s also the connection to her like for Lee Gun. I can’t discount that.’
At that moment…
‘!’
Stevens flinched when he realized Chun Yooha was next to him. This girl had been trying to stab him until a moment ago, and now, she held a weapon made by Lee Gun. His fear was expected.
“Hey, wait a moment… At the very least, wait for me to break my contract with your father!”
Clank!
Chun Yooha retracted her spear, surprising Stevens. This made Stevens ask, “What the hell? You aren’t going to attack me?”
“I’ve fulfilled my requirement. I’m fine now.”
“W-What??”
Suddenly…
“Kuhk!”
Oliver, who had been motionless until now, suddenly threw up blood. He seemed to be in pain.
The Leo disciples tried to go to him on reflex, but someone stopped them. Oliver had borrowed power from the unknown civilization. He had tried to kill the Leo Saint, then lost to Chun Yooha. He wasn’t worth approaching.
Oliver, who was in pain, looked bitter. “I lost to that bitch…”
When Oliver glared at her, Chun Yooha was about to say something, but…
“What an idiot!”
As the voice rang out, Oliver screamed.
Boohoo-gahk!
Everyone was surprised.
The one who had appeared atop Oliver and kicked his head was none other than Lee Gun.
“L-Lee Gun-nim!”
Lee Gun gestured with his finger. The spear in Yooha’s hand whined as it flew toward him, like a child greeting its parent.
Lee Gun didn’t pay attention to that as he lifted the spear into the air. “As if receiving help from the unknown civilization wasn’t enough, you can’t even accept defeat. What a loser!”
Poo-oohk!
“Koo-oohk!”
He brought down the spear on Oliver’s stomach, where the core of the unknown civilization was contained.
Lee Gun snorted. “You didn’t lose to a bitch. You lost to Chun Yooha.”
“…!”
Chun Yooha’s eyes turned round.
At the same time, Oliver grated his teeth, and the Leo disciples cheered.
“General Chun won against general Oliver!”
“There’s a new head general of the Leo temple!”
“Also, congratulations on becoming SS-rank! You’re the perfect Ten Star now!”
“Congratulations, General Chun!”
“You’re now the head general of the Leo temple, General Chun!”
“That’s right. According to the rules, you will take over Oliver-nim’s position starting tomorrow…”
Baffled, Lee Gun looked at the Leo disciples. “What the hell are you talking about? She’s not your general. She’s in my temple now.”
“What?”
“Why do you think I’m here?”
Stevens was the one most surprised by Lee Gun’s vicious smile. He seemed to have realized the intention behind that smile.
‘Shit! He plans to steal our main fighter!’
The light had covered it up, but Stevens was certain he had seen the light of “Missionary.” This meant Lee Gun had accepted Yooha as a disciple. Stevens felt a headache. ‘If the Leo finds out about it, it’ll be a pain!’
However, he didn’t panic. Although she had received the light of the Serpent Bearer, she hadn’t received the blessing. She was still in interim status. He could bring her back before she received the blessing.
However, it seemed Lee Gun had read his thoughts. The man immediately used his skill.
[You have activated the <Blessing> skill.]
Lee Gun’s eyes changed into the eyes of a serpent.
An incredible light blinded Chun Yooha’s vision, and her vision suddenly changed. She was in space. Something appeared in front of her. However, what she saw was different from what her brother saw.
