Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 234

Sigh… Sigh…

Yang Cheon’s face, unconscious, looked more peaceful than expected.

His breathing was steady, and his complexion was as rosy as a young man’s. Looking at his exposed arm muscles, his body seemed to be in good condition.

Yet, he was unconscious.

“The physician says it’s difficult to accurately assess the Vice-Chief’s current state. However, they suspect that his inner energy is gradually moving towards his upper dantian [an energy center in the body], and that might be one of the causes.”

“Does he usually drink a lot?”

“He does. But I don’t think mere alcohol could harm the Vice-Chief’s body.”

It was a natural analysis.

Even a master of the peak realm can almost immediately expel alcohol from their body using inner energy. This was a skill achievable even by those who weren’t peak masters, as long as they had a good understanding of inner energy.

Moreover, inner energy constantly circulates within the body. The true energy that flows through the body of a martial artist is several to dozens of times greater than that of an ordinary person who hasn’t trained in inner energy. Therefore, even the strongest alcohol would hardly harm a master’s body.

Not to mention the Tyrant King, who was considered a transcendent being in the current martial world.

“And one more thing.”

“Hmm?”

“There’s a golden handprint on the Vice-Chief’s chest.”

Lightning struck in Yeon Ho-Jeong’s pupils.

“A golden handprint?”

“Yes.”

“…Are you suggesting he was ambushed?”

“No, I’m not.”

Baek Seo spoke in an unusually stiff voice. He must have been trying hard to compose himself.

“I heard that the scar was from a past fight the Vice-Chief had with a master.”

“……”

“It’s something only I among the Twelve Zodiacs have heard about. Of course, I’ve never seen it myself.”

“If that mark hasn’t disappeared, does that mean he’s been suffering from internal injuries?”

“That’s something only the Vice-Chief would know. However, the physician didn’t mention anything specific, so I believe the possibility is low.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Baek Seo.

Baek Seo still had a stoic expression.

“Why did you call me?”

“……”

“Although I have the Vice-Chief’s trust, it’s a stretch to call me his confidant. Aren’t the Twelve Zodiacs seniors who have served him longer?”

“The Vice-Chief trusts you more than anyone else.”

“……”

“At least within the Black Dragon Unit, there are no more than three people who receive as much favor from the Vice-Chief as you do. Considering that the Vice-Chief doesn’t even trust the countless disciples he has taken in, the trust he has in the Head of the Intelligence Department is truly exceptional.”

Disciples.

The madman they had encountered when the Myeolsa Army fought their first battle came to mind.

“The authority to handle the affairs of the Black Dragon Unit rests solely with the Vice-Chief. At least for now.”

“……”

“If it were the Vice-Chief, he would have called you first. That’s why I stopped the other leaders and brought you in.”

Indeed, Baek Seo was no ordinary person.

He wasn’t the type to lead an organization, but he was the best at assisting a leader.

“But don’t misunderstand. The Vice-Chief trusts you, but I don’t.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded.

“That’s how it should be.”

Baek Seo also nodded in response.

“You’ve seen the Vice-Chief, so now talk to the physician. Use your authority as the Head of the Intelligence Department to handle what’s needed, and also find other physicians.”

“I will. Before that…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes deepened.

“May I take his pulse?”

Baek Seo’s eyes turned cold.

“Do you know medicine?”

“To some extent.”

“I cannot allow you to touch the Vice-Chief’s body with just a basic understanding.”

“Who knows? Maybe I can catch something the physician missed with my limited skills.”

“……”

“I understand your concern, but I also came to the Vice-Chief with great ambitions. For my own sake, the Vice-Chief cannot die now.”

It was a truly audacious statement.

However, that statement earned Baek Seo’s trust. The fact that he said it was for his own sake, not out of loyalty, suited Yeon Ho-Jeong surprisingly well.

Baek Seo, who had been staring at Yeon Ho-Jeong, took a step back.

“I will only allow you to take his pulse.”

“Thank you.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong carefully rolled up Yang Cheon’s sleeve.

Yang Cheon’s hands were covered in calluses. Even though he must have shed several layers of skin due to his extreme inner energy, the fact that calluses still remained meant that he had not been neglecting his training.

Yeon Ho-Jeong grasped Yang Cheon’s pulse.

‘……’

Impressive indeed.

‘The elasticity of his blood vessels and acupoints is astonishing. Although weaker than my past self.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong couldn’t hide his admiration.

‘Truly, the Tyrant King.’

One of the countless reasons why the Thirteen Seats of the Holy Heaven were called the strongest in the martial world and monsters that no one could match was this inner energy.

Not only was the quantity immense, but the quality of the inner energy itself was on a different level from other masters. If the flow of a supreme master’s inner energy was like a stream, the flow of the Thirteen Seats of the Holy Heaven was like a river about to overflow.

Overwhelming power. Even if they released the same amount of inner energy, the speed and destructive power were incomparable.

‘To disrupt such a powerful flow…’

Yeon Ho-Jeong knew. The flow of Yang Cheon’s inner energy, which had been using telekinesis, was gradually collapsing.

It was a subtle yet significant flaw. At first, he was puzzled that the person himself didn’t notice it, but then he thought that a third party might be able to notice it more easily.

People who walk familiar paths don’t pay much attention to the stones on the side of the road.

‘Hmm.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been examining Yang Cheon’s body, couldn’t hide his inner doubts.

‘For now, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the flow itself.’

He looked down at Yang Cheon’s chest.

The chest was covered by clothing. According to Baek Seo, there was a golden handprint there.

‘Shall I check the subcutaneous nerves of his chest?’

Whoosh.

The green-blue Azure Dragon Qi entered through Yang Cheon’s pulse. The mysterious true energy of the Eastern Sky glowed faintly as it traveled up Yang Cheon’s wrist.

Soon, the true energy passed through his upper arm and shoulder, and seeped into the skin of his chest in an instant.

It was then.

Crack!

It was as if a streak of lightning flashed.

Thwack!

Yeon Ho-Jeong hurriedly removed his hand from the pulse.

Baek Seo asked in a surprised and flustered voice.

“What’s wrong?”

“……”

“Head of the Intelligence Department.”

“……?”

“What happened? Did you find something?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong was silent. He just stared down at Yang Cheon’s chest with endlessly deep and cold eyes.

Baek Seo wanted to hit his chest in frustration.

“Hey!”

“…The cause.”

“……”

“I haven’t found the cause. However, I felt something unusual from the wound on the Vice-Chief’s chest.”

“……?!”

“It’s difficult to say for sure. We need to call a physician.”

With those words, Yeon Ho-Jeong left the Black Dragon Hall. He seemed to be in a hurry for some reason.

Baek Seo tried to grab him in a hurry, but Yeon Ho-Jeong had already left the Black Dragon Hall.

‘So it was you.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes, as he left the Black Dragon Hall and returned to his residence, were bloodshot.

‘The Lord of the Demonic Yin Sect!’

Yin Desolate Divine Palm.

One of the unique martial arts of the Lord of the Demonic Yin Sect, along with the Yin Desolate Finger, it was his favorite technique.

The Yin Desolate martial arts were not the strongest martial arts of the Lord of the Demonic Yin Sect. Nevertheless, the reason he enjoyed using these two martial arts was that if one was struck by the Yin Desolate martial arts, their heart meridian [a key energy pathway] would rupture unless they immediately expelled their energy.

Heart meridian rupture. This meant instant death. No one had ever survived with their heart meridian torn to shreds.

No, there was one person.

Tang Gwan.

Tang Gwan, who had suffered a fatal wound with his chest pierced by the Lord of the Demonic Yin Sect’s Yin Desolate Finger, had stubbornly pushed a feather needle into his sternum.

Tang Gwan was the strongest in the Central Plains when it came to poison, so it was possible that he had somehow delayed the rupture of his heart meridian. Of course, Tang Gwan should also be considered to have died from the rupture of his heart meridian in the end.

‘That’s not what’s important now.’

Something was bubbling up inside his chest.

However, as time passed, he was able to regain his composure. After all, getting angry now wouldn’t help him catch the Lord of the Demonic Yin Sect.

Yeon Ho-Jeong was lost in thought.

‘The important thing is, why didn’t Yang Cheon die immediately?’

He didn’t know if history had changed. However, in this timeline, Yang Cheon seemed to have fought quite fiercely with the Lord of the Demonic Yin Sect.

‘The golden handprint. That is a typical mark of the Yin Desolate Divine Palm. But if he died, even that mark should disappear.’

Thud.

Yeon Ho-Jeong stopped walking in a secluded passage and leaned against the wall in a shaded area.

He crossed his arms and pondered.

‘Aside from losing consciousness and collapsing, Yang Cheon’s body was perfectly normal. The flow of inner energy for telekinesis was strange, but there was no actual problem with his dantian, acupoints, or blood vessels.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes deepened.

‘It’s the Yin Desolate Divine Palm. The mark of the Yin Desolate Divine Palm was gradually eating away at Yang Cheon.’

Was the truth not yet known? It didn’t matter. Yeon Ho-Jeong was certain that Yang Cheon’s abnormality was due to the Yin Desolate Divine Palm.

The reason was that the basic principle of the Yin Desolate Divine Palm was a hidden palm strike.

A hidden palm strike meant penetrating force. And while penetrating force was specialized in causing internal injuries, it didn’t necessarily kill the opponent.

Depending on the user’s ability, it could kill a person instantly or cause continuous internal injuries.

And the Lord of the Demonic Yin Sect that Yeon Ho-Jeong knew was skilled enough to control that level of power as naturally as breathing.

‘In the end, that’s what it is. The existence of Black Yang, and from the beginning, the Lord of the Demonic Yin Sect didn’t join hands with Yang Cheon. He tricked Yang Cheon into becoming his puppet and planned to use him as a stepping stone for his advance into the Central Plains.’

In fact, that was quite predictable. He just wasn’t sure.

But how should he interpret the fact that Yang Cheon collapsed so quickly? With the Lord of the Demonic Yin Sect’s skills, he wouldn’t make a mistake?

‘Could it be that he’s already trying to take over the Central Plains?’

If that was the case, this was no ordinary matter.

‘……’

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been lost in thought for a while, suddenly smiled coldly.

“This is interesting.”

Too many incidents had happened at once, and even he was momentarily confused.

However, after thinking about it carefully, there was a way to solve all these problems.

“I can’t be sure, but the Demonic Yin Sect is slowly trying to infiltrate the Central Plains. Moyong Gun is going crazy, and I and the practical team need to safely escape from the Black Dragon Unit…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes blazed.

“Yang Cheon, you really should be grateful to me.”

That night.

“Senior.”

“Have you found the physicians?”

“Yes. And I’ve come back because there’s a matter to discuss.”

“Discuss?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong said in a blunt tone.

“The Vice-Chief was supposed to meet with the Moyong Clan Head. And we’re expecting a response from the Moyong Clan Head within three days.”

Baek Seo’s eyes deepened.

“But the Vice-Chief has collapsed.”

“However, we cannot cancel this meeting. The reason is that the Vice-Chief proposed the meeting first.”

“…What does the Head of the Intelligence Department say?”

“That’s right.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed sharply.

“Provide me with the leaders and troops. I will go to meet the Moyong Clan Head as the Vice-Chief’s representative.”

Isn’t life all about taking a chance?