Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 114

The next day.

“Huck!”

Moyong Yeon-Hwa, who had risen from her seat with a groan, was panting.

“…What is it?”

At that moment, the door opened.

“Oh! Young Miss! Are you awake!”

“Red Wind Squad Leader?”

The person who opened the door and entered was Cheon Il-Sang, the leader of the Red Wind Squad who had been escorting Moyong Yeon-Hwa.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Ah… I, I’m fine.”

Moyong Yeon-Hwa looked around.

‘Where am I?’

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot up from her thigh.

“Ugh!”

“Young Miss?”

“…It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

The sharp pain vividly brought back the memories of last night.

‘Yeon Ho-Jeong!’

Moyong Yeon-Hwa unconsciously gritted her teeth.

She asked without thinking.

“Where is that bastard?”

“Yes? Wh, who are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Yeon Ho-Jeong!”

In that instant, Moyong Yeon-Hwa could see the difficulty on Cheon Il-Sang’s face.

“Yeon Ho-Jeong… You mean the eldest son of the Yeon family.”

“What’s going on?”

“Th, that is…”

Cheon Il-Sang stammered.

“I heard that you had a dispute with the eldest son of the Yeon family…”

“So?”

“The situation is a bit strange.”

Moyong Yeon-Hwa glared.

“You’re frustrating me. Get to the point.”

“By any chance, did you send an assassin after someone from the Yeon family?”

“…What did you say?!”

Cheon Il-Sang sighed.

“After hearing that you had a dispute with the eldest son of the Yeon family, I took you to the medical room and then went to confront them directly.”

“Th, then?”

“The rumors are already widespread. At the top floor of Hosun Restaurant, you not only insulted the Yeon family member along with the young masters of the merchant alliance, but also sent an assassin after them…”

Thump!

The wall caved in where Moyong Yeon-Hwa’s fist had struck.

“That’s absurd!”

Cheon Il-Sang squeezed his eyes shut.

“I also think it’s absurd, but the rumors are spreading quickly as if it’s already a done deal. Moreover, the young masters of the merchant alliance…”

Moyong Yeon-Hwa felt an unknown anxiety creeping in like a fog.

“They also admitted to the facts and left for the Trade Alliance headquarters first.”

Moyong Yeon-Hwa’s face turned red.

‘That bastard!’

She had been backstabbed.

Now that she thought about it, he must have deliberately knocked her out. After making it impossible for her to respond to the rumors, he must have won over the fools of the merchant alliance with a few words.

‘Those bastards.’

She felt more intense anger towards the young masters of the merchant alliance than towards Yeon Ho-Jeong.

‘How dare they do this to me!’

She had contacted them to take control of the Zhejiang trade business in the future. If not for that, they were beings she wouldn’t even consider as the dirt under her fingernails.

Such guys had backstabbed her. It was like pouring oil on her wounded pride and setting it on fire.

“Let’s go.”

“Y, Young Miss! Meeting Yeon Ho-Jeong now is a bit…”

“I’m not going to see Yeon Ho-Jeong, I need to see my uncle.”

Moyong Yeon-Hwa bit her lip.

“It’s too late to catch up with them now anyway. I need to go to my uncle and completely control those guys. Revealing the truth comes after that.”

* * *

“Are you awake?”

“Ugh…”

Muk Bi staggered repeatedly.

Yeon Ho-Jeong clicked his tongue.

“You were pouring it down yesterday. Was your first taste of alcohol that intoxicating?”

“Don’t talk to me. My head is pounding.”

“What a funny guy. Then you can just use your inner energy to dispel the alcohol.”

“…Huh?”

“I’m saying dispel the alcohol, you idiot. What are you going to do with your inner energy?”

Muk Bi asked with a bewildered face.

“Can you do that?”

“I can even dispel the body’s impurities, do you think I can’t dispel alcohol?”

Whoooosh.

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint haze rose from Muk Bi’s body. The strong smell of alcohol was a bonus.

“Oh? It works.”

“Would I have asked you to do something that doesn’t work?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Muk Bi as if he was amazed.

“By the way, your inner energy operation method is unique. Is it because it’s mainly focused on movement?”

In the past, when Muk Bi was the leader of the Five Great Generals, he was skilled in sitting meditation, movement, and standing meditation. This was because Yeon Ho-Jeong had passed on some of his martial arts to him.

But that was not the case now. Muk Bi had never cultivated his inner energy through sitting meditation. He was always moving, and accordingly, he protected his body with active inner energy operation.

“The Living Bowstring Method…”

Muk Bi’s eyes widened.

“Do you know the Living Bowstring Method?”

“Huh? Ah, roughly.”

Of course, he knew. The Living Bowstring Method was a divine skill that had earned Muk Bi the nickname ‘Divine Bow,’ and it was extremely excellent in encompassing all types of projectile weapons.

But…

‘It needed to be supplemented.’

The Living Bowstring Method was a divine skill that displayed unparalleled power.

However, the deeper one mastered it, the more problems it caused in the body. Of course, that would only happen if one reached the level of Great Accomplishment.

“How do you know about the Living Bowstring Method?”

“Ah, that? It’s…”

“Did my brother tell you about it?”

“…Something like that.”

“I see.”

Muk Bi’s face became somewhat dark. Even though quite some time had passed, he was still saddened when he thought of Baek Gung-Cheon.

Yeon Ho-Jeong clicked his tongue.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“I’m planning to rest today, but do you want to learn a martial art from me?”

“You’re resting, but you’re learning martial arts? Then it’s not resting, is it?”

“You have to train while resting to improve your skills. Do you have no desire to get stronger at all?”

“Of course, that’s not true.”

Muk Bi shook his head.

“I already have more than enough martial arts that I’m learning. I have no intention of learning more.”

“What if you don’t have a bow?”

“Huh?”

“Let’s say you encounter an enemy without a bow. Are you going to pick up chopsticks and throw them like yesterday? Are you just going to kick them with those legs trained in footwork?”

“Hmm…”

“A true martial artist must be able to fully display their skills at any moment. The martial world is dangerous. You have to be thoroughly prepared because you never know what might happen.”

“I, is that so?”

If he hadn’t experienced what happened yesterday, he would have refused until the end.

But it was different now.

What if those people yesterday had been masters of martial arts that Muk Bi couldn’t handle?

If they had bad intentions, even Muk Bi would have been helpless. Of course, he could have escaped with his excellent footwork, but he couldn’t keep running away forever.

“The beginning of all martial arts is with bare hands. You also need to learn fist fighting.”

“…Okay.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong grinned.

“Good, let’s swing our arms and legs to our heart’s content in the back garden today.”

“Ah, okay.”

“And I’ll also teach you a stable inner energy cultivation method. It’s something that can supplement the weaknesses of the Living Bowstring Method, and it’s great for generating inner energy.”

“Weaknesses of the Living Bowstring Method?”

“There are, such things. I heard it from Baek Gung-Cheon, so don’t look at me with suspicious eyes.”

“…I see.”

Muk Bi nodded.

“I’ll learn it for now.”

He meant that he would learn it and discard it if he deemed it useless.

Yeon Ho-Jeong liked Muk Bi’s attitude.

A person who knows their own limits rarely makes the wrong choice.

Until they break their own limits, they should focus on filling their own vessel first. In that sense, Muk Bi might be somewhat ignorant of the world, but he knew how to see the essence of things.

As a martial artist, and as a person.

“Let’s eat and start right away.”

“Yes.”

The two, having eaten a moderate amount, entered the forest next to the back garden.

“It’s quite spacious. We can do it here.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, having put down his Guanglong Staff, stretched his body slightly.

“Shall we see your skills first?”

“My skills?”

At that moment.

Whoosh!

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body shot towards Muk Bi’s front in an instant.

Muk Bi was startled. There was no sign, but he was already right in front of him.

There was no time to shout. He quickly retreated.

Thump!

Muk Bi’s figure retreated backward at a rapid speed.

‘I knew it.’

At that moment, red fire energy shone from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body.

Flash!

Muk Bi’s eyes widened.

‘That footwork!’

The moment he felt the air heat up, Yeon Ho-Jeong approached from Muk Bi’s rear side.

It was a speed that was truly eye-popping. Even Muk Bi, a master of footwork, had lost sight of him for a moment.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s fist aimed for Muk Bi’s side.

Thud!

Muk Bi’s body spun like a top, deflecting the blow.

His movements were certainly good. Even though he hadn’t learned martial arts like Tai Chi Chuan, such as Four Ounces Deflects a Thousand Pounds or Borrowing Strength, he was deflecting the attacks.

It was an admirable move, but it didn’t work on Yeon Ho-Jeong.

He put weight on his deflecting fist and spun his body around.

The following attack was a leg strike that came down like an axe. It was the Axe Foot.

Muk Bi’s expression changed.

The vertically descending leg strike was powerful and fierce. It was neither a blow to deflect nor a power to block.

‘Eek!’

Thud!

Muk Bi hurriedly turned his body.

Bang!

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s heel landed directly on the ground.

But the attack was not over. Axe meant a large axe and a small axe. Having avoided the initial large axe strike, the follow-up small axe remained.

The leg that had changed its axis, the right leg, moved like lightning.

Whack!

“Kuh!”

Muk Bi staggered backward.

‘It hurts!’

He barely blocked it by crossing his arms.

It wasn’t a leg strike that hit with force, but a leg strike that struck quickly. His blocked arm seemed to have become a vital point, and his vision was dizzy with extreme pain.

“Are you just going to keep dodging?”

Whap whap whap!

Yeon Ho-Jeong approached, moving in a zigzag pattern.

There was no time to struggle with the pain. Muk Bi threw his body backward to try and grasp Yeon Ho-Jeong’s movements.

Whoosh!

It was foolish to let the enemy figure you out. Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been moving erratically, moved in a straight line in an instant.

‘Huck!’

It was a straight-line footwork of central breakthrough with a fiery and splendid momentum.

‘Not this time.’

Thump!

Muk Bi straightened his body in preparation for Yeon Ho-Jeong’s attack. He couldn’t block Yeon Ho-Jeong’s quick attacks by just dodging.

Yeon Ho-Jeong closed the distance to one jang [approximately 10 feet].

Just as Muk Bi, who was extremely tense, was about to take a stance.

Clang!

The entire forest shook with a tremendous stomp.

Whoooosh!

White wind was contained in the flame-like energy wave. The hot and murderous energy wave instantly transformed into a majestic and combative energy wave.

Muk Bi’s eyes widened.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s fist was thrown out with the force of a mountain.

Kwaaang!

“Cough!”

It was a fist technique that transcended imagination. Muk Bi, who had been hit by the powerful fist energy, flew through the air and crashed into a tree.

“Cough cough!”

He had no internal injuries, but his vision was spinning and his breathing was ragged.

Muk Bi’s eyes shook as if there had been an earthquake.

‘It’s incredible!’

When he retreated, he was attacked by taking advantage of his retreat, and when he deflected softly, he was attacked with quick attacks that were difficult to respond to.

Not only that.

When he tried to endure the onslaught of continuous attacks by giving himself momentum, he was blown away by an unstoppable powerful attack.

‘He was reading me from beginning to end.’

As the opponent changes, so does one’s own response.

It was a sensory-based practical combat technique that could not be seen in an archer, where caution was a virtue. He hadn’t even used any particularly great moves, but he had been defeated without even lasting a few exchanges.

“Do you know your weakness?”

Muk Bi looked up at Yeon Ho-Jeong with trembling eyes.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, silhouetted against the sunlight filtering through the trees, looked as large as a giant.

“To be cautious in close combat, you need to have the basic skills to be able to take all of the opponent’s attacks. But you don’t have that.”

“… !”

“Animal-like, sensitive, and sensory-based body techniques. If you can master that, you will gain the power to annihilate enemies with a monstrous barrage of shots.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

“Consider yourself lucky. You can’t learn this anywhere else.”