Above The Sky
Chapter 552 - 552 521 The Great Examination 13

552: Chapter 521: The Great Examination (1/3) 552: Chapter 521: The Great Examination (1/3) The Imperial Capital Grand Library faced a thorough inspection, the likes of which were so intense and grandiose that several high-ranking ministers and aristocrats from the Upper City District went out of their way to ask about the situation.

They cautiously inquired what madness Count Phoenix was up to this time…

To put it diplomatically, which clueless individual had provoked the respected elderly man to anger?

Upon learning that five counterfeit books, replaced furtively, had been discovered in the Precious Solitary Tome Collection Room of the Imperial Capital Grand Library, even those ministers and aristocrats could no longer stay calm.

The situation could be big or small.

If it blew up, the Imperial Capital Guard Corps, the Knight Order of Inspectorate, the Mirror Sea Guard, and the Departments of Truth and Spiritual Knowledge would all be in trouble.

If Axel were to come out and reprimand, every department responsible for the defense and intelligence of the Imperial Capital would shake, and it was uncertain whether a few heads would have to roll.

In essence, the incident indicated that someone had managed to steal from within the strictly guarded, heavily protected, and highly observed first layer of the collection, undetected by numerous intelligence organizations—so what were all those intelligence organizations doing?

Where had all the Imperial Capital’s funds and appropriations had any effect?

On a smaller scale…

Count Phoenix himself might remain unharmed, for after all he is quite old and holds no official position.

Yet the current library director and all related personnel would probably be suspended immediately to atone for their fault, perhaps even reassigned to guard the Dark Tide next to the Dark Mountain Range.

Count Phoenix had a burst of power known to those familiar as the ‘Fenghuang Form,’ triggered unconsciously in his rage.

It’s a ‘Aether True Body’ power at the Fourth Energy Level created based on the Heart Light Body, manifested through bursts of emotion and belief.

In reality, the Earl had contained his anger quite well; this massive power was only manifested for a moment before being retracted, merely triggering the library’s defense protocol.

However, Ian noticed a peculiar change—at the center of which was Count Phoenix himself, the surrounding space about the old man exhibited slight distortions akin to the ‘Void Realm’.

Had Ian not recently visited the Void Realm, he might not have perceived such a subtle change.

This could be quite important information, perhaps a deeply guarded secret of some significant noble?

Worth noting.

“…Do you understand?

Soon, I want each one of you to report all activities from the recent period.

The Lie Detection Psychic is on the way, don’t expect any of you to slip past!”

“Yes!

Director, we understand!”

Just then, Count Phoenix had just released the current director, whom he had gripped by the neck and slapped several times—his own younger son.

Everyone ignored the theoretically actual director, who was a noble, and they just stood respectfully in place.

Even though the current director, having been slapped several times by his own father, was bleeding profusely from the mouth and had lost a few teeth, his face was filled with relief—under his management the library had lost several rare tomes, more than just one.

The moment he became aware of the incident, he wondered if his father would dispassionately disown him or strangle him to death.

Now that he was just slapped a few times, probably because there were guests today, the old man would likely burn out most of his anger by the time they returned home, and at worst he would just beat his son to half paralysis.

Yet Count Phoenix’s rage remained unabated, his eyes gleaming with dangerous gold and red as he turned to look at the captain of the Book Guard Knights.

With experienced ease, he grasped the throat of the Great Knight and roared, “Are you people raised on garbage!

You didn’t notice such a thing!

Five books lost!

Five!

(Upon rechecking, the Earl found two more missing.)”

In actuality, there were nine.

Ian thought to himself, but even he dared not say it out loud.

Should the old Earl find out about this, today there might be a row of people hanging outside the library, turning into a barbecue.

“Director…

this subordinate…

has failed…”

The captain, who was also a Great Knight of the Third Energy Level and a figure of renown in the Imperial Capital, was much like an ant in the hands of the powerful and accomplished Count Phoenix.

The solid neck guard designed to withstand the blast of a battleship’s main cannon was like mud under the old man’s casual grip, “This subordinate…

swears…”

The captain tried to speak with his neck constricted, using Origin Quality to vibrate the air for his voice, but even the Origin Quality sounded broken and discontinuous under the surge of Count Phoenix.

The smell of char came from his body, and even half of his Armored Clothing showed signs of extreme heat and began melting into metallic droplets on the floor.

Seeing this scene, the thought that arose in Ian’s mind was not one of amusement, but a very simple question.

——At the Fourth Energy Level, does one have such authority and power… and this is still in the Imperial Capital, what difference is there between Count Phoenix and a god to ordinary people in his own domain?

And to be honest, although those two who were beaten look quite pitiable, for a Sublimator, it’s essentially like a child being lightly tapped on the palm with a ruler by a parent, amounting to a minor punishment for a major lesson.

Sublimators are that physically resilient, just look at the legitimate curator over there who lost four or five teeth, he rubbed his chin, and his teeth grew back.

Meanwhile, on this side, as Count Phoenix released his grip, the Knight Order’s Captain, half of whose body was almost roasted, took no more than three seconds before his Armored Clothing cooled down and the charred powder flaked off his body, revealing a slender neck that had already fully regenerated.

No Adam’s apple?

It turns out she’s actually a female Great Knight.

As for the steel that was almost vaporized?

That could not even cause the slightest burn on the Great Knight’s skin.

This shows how terrifying the heat was that Count Phoenix nearly used to cook the Great Knight.

“Truly terrifying,”

thought Ian.

Such high Power Level Sublimators, no matter how affable they are usually, if by accident they treat ordinary people with the same attitude they show towards other Sublimators… a village, or all the ordinary people in a small city, could probably be wiped out in an instant.

You can’t even say it’s out of malice.

To them, this kind of force is probably akin to swatting a mosquito absentmindedly.

They must be very, very careful in controlling their power in order to live alongside ordinary people.

“No wonder there is an Upper City District above the Central Urban District… That’s probably where Sublimators of this level live.”

Count Phoenix also seemed to have calmed down now.

His body relaxed, and the presence that caused no change in temperature, but a searing sensation in everyone’s mind and soul, dissipated.

Slap!

He gave himself a slap on the face, scaring everyone present, even more so than when he punished the curator and Knight Order’s Captain earlier— the Knight Order knelt in unison, crying out in grief ‘We deserve to die!’, and the library staff did the same, trembling and kneeling on the spot.

——If the old Earl didn’t hesitate to strike himself, then what about them?

But Count Phoenix paid them no heed, turning his back and leaving the kneeling crowd where they were.

“My apologies,”

he said, worn out by the sight of Ian and the group of Fae who watched the commotion with a mixture of emotions.

The elderly man with white hair said, “Damn it, I didn’t expect the traitor to be so well hidden.

I tried several times and didn’t feel any change in emotions.”

“It’s odd, even if they’re not afraid of my methods of punishment, seeing me hit myself, almost everyone would show some abnormal emotional response, whether it’s ‘this old man is putting on a show’, ‘taking pleasure in my misfortune’ or feelings of ‘awkwardness’ and ‘fear’, there should be some signs… I have studied emotions and souls for so many years, I should be quite accurate in this regard.”

“Why is there no reaction?” he wondered.

“Cheer up,” Mo Feng comforted, “as long as the book is found, it’s okay.

They must need the original since they replaced it with a fake—their regard for the book might even be higher than that of these library staff!”

They were indeed old friends, and this comfort hit the spot.

Hearing this, Count Phoenix’s expression eased considerably: “Yes, indeed, but first we need to find the thief, then try to prevent the thief from destroying the stolen volume.”

But he still sighed deeply: “Alas, my fault was grave…”