TN: And we're back! sorry for the week long hiatus, it was not intentional since I had to get my right leg in a cast after tripping 3 floors down a stairwell (like an idiot ://) and be unable to use my PC setup upstairs BUT I should be OK now.
Anyways, Thanks for Arcanic Madness, WeissAkumu and WolfWTF for becoming as Supporters!,
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"Then wouldn't this little one just start slaughtering everything in sight?"
Tail couldn't help but interject, sounding excited. "Even if she's hopeless and can't hold it steady, I definitely won't show any mercy."
"I won't either!"
Huohuo immediately retorted. "I just can't handle sudden scares, that's all. If I'm mentally prepared, I wouldn't be afraid!"
She stood up, brushed the dust off herself, lifted the small flag in her hand, and asked Sylvester with bright eyes, "Does that mean I won't ever have to be afraid of ghosts and monsters again?"
"Those demons and evil spirits don't amount to anything," Sylvester said with a smile. "Raise your hand and you can scatter them to nothing."
"And its functions go far beyond combat. You can also choose to absorb the defeated enemies' souls into the banner—cough, the flag."
"Turn them into your servants, command them at will, make them charge into fire and water for you."
"And the stronger you become, the stronger the souls you cultivate will be. Absorb soul power, grow stronger yourself—over and over again. The future is extremely promising."
"Whoa—this thing is that terrifying?"
Tail stared at the flag with lingering fear. Remembering how he had almost been sucked in earlier, he shuddered. Wouldn't that mean I nearly became this little runt's slave? The thought alone made his flames flicker violently.
But Qingque hesitated. "Forcibly controlling people's souls… that sounds kind of sinister, doesn't it?"
Relying on her so-called broad reading experience, she immediately seized the key point. "Isn't this exactly the kind of thing villains use in storybooks?"
Huohuo reacted as well. "Yeah!"
Recalling the earlier scene, her gaze wavered. "And just now, the flag was emitting black smoke, and those ghosts all looked so miserable…"
She looked up at Sylvester pitifully. "This thing… it isn't really something only a great demon would use, right?"
Faced with their doubts, Sylvester first glanced at Qingque. "You're a clerk at the Divination Commission—read fewer idle novels."
Then he said solemnly, "And how is that black smoke? That was clearly purple qi."
"Do you know about Purple Qi from the East? That's the most orthodox and highest-grade power in Xianzhou legends."
"Do you even hear what you're saying?"
Qingque replied flatly, "I may stay up late playing tiles, but my eyesight is perfectly fine. That was clearly black."
"Exactly!" Tail chimed in. "I saw it clearly too."
Huohuo also looked up weakly. "Boss Sylvester… you're not lying to me, are you?"
Yet Sylvester showed not the slightest embarrassment. He rolled his neck and looked at them with a pitying gaze, as though mourning the injustice done to the flag.
"You people are all just ordinary mortals. That was purple qi, no doubt about it."
"It's just that the quality was too high. Purple qi has nowhere higher to go in rank, so it could only grow denser."
"And once it's dense enough, it looks black. That's all."
"Uh…"
The three of them exchanged uncertain looks.
Sylvester's tone and demeanor were far too confident, to the point that they themselves started doubting their own judgment.
And this shop had never been known to sell fakes.
Could he really be telling the truth?
Was it really because the purple was too concentrated that it looked black?
Huohuo and Qingque were just about to accept it—
—but Tail still refused to back down. "Then what about the ghosts inside it? Since when do upright people command ghosts?"
Sylvester silently looked at Huohuo, then at Tail, who was floating in midair like a ghostly flame.
Huohuo and Qingque made the same motion in unison.
For a moment, the shop fell into complete silence.
Tail was so embarrassed that he snapped. "Hey, whose side are you two on?"
"And I'm a Heliobus, an essence of stellar fire! I'm not the same as some lowly ghost!"
The two women finally turned back to Sylvester.
Tail wasn't entirely wrong. Enslaving defeated enemies really didn't sound like something a righteous person would do.
"I know," Sylvester said calmly, completely unfazed.
He continued matter-of-factly, "You're all trapped by stereotypes."
"Let me ask you—those slaughter-happy Borisin. Does simply killing them truly repay the countless planets they ravaged?"
"And beings like Hoolay, who are nearly impossible to kill—letting him linger on, is that really fair to the innocent people he murdered?"
"Well…"
That question left them speechless.
The disasters brought by the Borisin, the lives they had taken, far exceeded their own deaths.
Even wiping them out completely could hardly be called justice for the victims.
As for Hoolay, it was even worse.
There had long been calls on the Xianzhou to throw him straight into a star and end everything once and for all.
Yet most foxians opposed it.
Because his crimes were too great—unless he suffered endless torment, they would never accept his quick death.
Seeing them fall silent, Sylvester finally smiled.
"So, you see. Because of this flag, those unforgivable villains must continue atoning for their sins even after death."
He slapped the counter lightly, eyes blazing as he spoke with conviction. "How could such a Curio possibly be an evil artifact?"
"This is clearly a top-tier treasure for upholding justice!"
"A dual advancement of humanity—in combat power and in ethics and social sciences. You could give everyone one and it still wouldn't be too many."
After speaking, he shook his head and sighed. "Such a righteous companion, yet mistaken for an evil object. Truly disgraceful."
After Sylvester's passionate declaration, the flag had practically become the shining light of justice upon the world.
The light was just a bit dark—no, a bit purple.
"Well…"
They exchanged looks once more, each seeing hesitation in the others' eyes.
What Sylvester said made a certain amount of sense, but something still felt off.
They wanted to say something, yet didn't know where to begin.
"Ahem. So… what's the name of something this powerful?"
Tail, usually bold and unrestrained, stiffly changed the subject.
Seeing that they had already been successfully bluffed, Sylvester wisely chose not to pursue the matter further.
If I can't fool you lot, I'll write my surname backwards.
Of all things to give Huohuo, it just had to be this. Was the Curio Trash Can deliberately testing his improvisation and sales skills?
Please. He was a professional.
In response to Tail's question, Sylvester swayed slightly and spoke with deliberate gravitas. "Once, vile cultivators slandered it and called it the [Ten Thousand Souls Banner]."
"But those who uphold justice know the truth. This Curio commands the masses. Where the banner points, there lies the path of light. Only a great leader may wield it."
"So, its true name is…"
He enunciated every word clearly.
"The [Human Sovereign Banner]."
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