Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 462

“Ah, you’ve arrived.”

Yang Cheon’s face showed no hint of apology.

“Since the headquarters isn’t on the ground, you must have felt quite stuffy, even though the air circulation is sufficient.”

“It wasn’t comfortable.”

Her voice was quite stiff. She seemed very displeased.

Yang Cheon didn’t erase his smile.

“Still, I heard my subordinates took good care of you.”

It wasn’t the kind of thing to say to someone who had waited for a long time. Indeed, the face of Jeok Yeon, the head of the Lotus Branch, a sub-sect of Bota Temple, revealed undisguised displeasure.

Of course, Yang Cheon didn’t care at all whether she was in a bad mood or not.

“So, you wanted to see this person?”

Jeok Yeon spoke as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Didn’t you say you would respond to our proposal?”

“I did.”

Yang Cheon nodded.

“I certainly said that, but as you know, we also have to carefully consider this matter.”

“A lot of time has passed.”

“It’s a matter that would require several months of consideration. The name of Bota isn’t so light that we can make a decision after just a few days of thought, is it?”

It was a sign that he acknowledged Bota Temple. Jeok Yeon’s expression softened slightly.

“I understand the Vice Leader’s concerns. However, I hope you understand that we are short on time.”

Yang Cheon tilted his head.

“I’m curious. Why are you so short on time?”

Jeok Yeon frowned.

“Didn’t I tell you before? The main branch wants to go out into the world. They plan to make the candidate a symbol of pure force, without giving them trials like before.”

“I heard that.”

“If we delay too long, other branches might try to interfere. The talent of the main branch’s candidate, this child here, is overwhelming compared to other branches, but their greed is getting worse over time. We don’t know what they might do.”

Yang Cheon’s eyes naturally turned to the woman next to Jeok Yeon.

She was of a similar age to Bu Seon, but the power she possessed was truly remarkable.

‘It’s amazing no matter how many times I see it.’

Perfectly contained energy. Her pure martial prowess surpasses even the head of a great clan. She was as powerful as Yeon Ho-Jeong, with no noticeable difference.

It was rare to see such a genius twice. Even Yang Cheon himself hadn’t reached that level at her age.

‘Her inexperience makes her overly naive, but her martial arts level is so high that she should be able to handle most unexpected situations.’

Yang Cheon opened his mouth.

“Was your name Yeon Sim?”

Yeon Sim lowered her head.

“Yes, it is.”

“I’m realizing again, you’ve truly built up incredible martial arts. Considering your age, you’ve reached a higher realm than I did, several years faster.”

“You flatter me.”

“I want to ask you something.”

Yang Cheon wore a playful smile.

“Do you want to become the next Sword Empress?”

It was a sudden question. Jeok Yeon was more surprised by the question than Yeon Sim.

Yeon Sim raised her head to look at Yang Cheon.

In that instant, Yeon Sim felt a pain as if her eyes were burning.

‘He’s incredible.’

Yeon Sim could feel it. She could see it with her eyes, trained by Bota Temple’s divine art, the Bodhisattva Power [a technique that enhances perception and insight].

‘This person is filled with unimaginable desire.’

He had an ordinary physique, neither big nor small.

On the surface, he had a good impression, and he didn’t seem like a bad person at all.

But to Yeon Sim’s eyes, Yang Cheon was a pure mass of desire. Domination, victory, destruction, revenge, and other aggressive desires that a practitioner should never have were overflowing.

To Yeon Sim, that was a much bigger shock than Yang Cheon’s absolute martial arts.

“Why are you looking at me like that? I suppose the question was a bit startling.”

“…No, it’s not.”

Yeon Sim closed her eyes.

“The desire to become the Sword Empress, I certainly have it.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“But…”

“But?”

Yeon Sim, having opened her eyes again, spoke in a much calmer voice.

“If I have to fight against people who are like family to me to obtain the position of Sword Empress, I do not wish for it.”

Jeok Yeon shouted.

“Yeon Sim!”

“That is my honest thought.”

“How can this girl utter such weak words…!”

At that moment, Yang Cheon raised his hand to stop Jeok Yeon’s words.

He looked straight at Yeon Sim and asked.

“Is that your true heart?”

“Yes, it is.”

“I see. In that case.”

Yang Cheon turned his head to Jeok Yeon.

Jeok Yeon’s face was full of bewilderment and resentment. Despite all her persuasion, Yeon Sim, the successor of the Lotus Branch, had not changed her mind. That fact angered Jeok Yeon.

“You, the head of the Lotus Branch, are asking me, Yang Cheon, for help without even properly persuading your own successor?”

Jeok Yeon immediately opened her mouth.

“She’s just confused. This child also understands our branch’s long-cherished wish. It’s just a statement made out of panic due to the situation, so Vice Leader, you don’t need to worry.”

“Do you really hear that child’s statement as a slip of the tongue made out of panic?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’m even more disappointed. It means you haven’t even properly looked into what your branch’s successor is thinking.”

“…!!”

Jeok Yeon’s eyes twitched.

Yang Cheon looked at Yeon Sim again.

“I know that your statement is sincere. If you had dared to lie in front of me, I would not have forgiven you.”

It was the words of the Underworld King. It didn’t sound like a joke.

“That’s why, I am also disappointed in you.”

“…Yes?”

Both Jeok Yeon and Yeon Sim were in a daze.

Yang Cheon’s eyes deepened.

“If your sincerity will not change, then you shouldn’t have come here in the first place.”

“…!!”

“Furthermore, in this era of warring factions, do you think I, who am filled with the desire to conquer the world, would think highly of a practitioner who lives with such a soft mindset?”

“Vice Leader.”

“Life is a struggle!”

At that moment, the two were startled by Yang Cheon’s booming voice.

“I can understand if you don’t want to become the Sword Empress, but how can someone who clearly holds that dream be afraid of struggle and back out!”

“…?!!”

“Is that sword in your hand truly a suitable tool for practice? If it were a tool for practice, why would you be so devoted to swordsmanship! A sword is a weapon for killing! How can someone who wields a weapon properly practice!”

It was an extremely radical statement. And Yang Cheon’s statement also denied the history of Bota Temple for hundreds of years.

Jeok Yeon opened her mouth.

“Today’s meeting is to hear the Vice Leader’s decision, not to discuss our sect’s history.”

“You fool!”

“Wh-what did you say?!”

“When you declared that you would come out into the world and spread the meaning of salvation, saying that the history of Bota for hundreds of years was wrong, why do you hate hearing me say that the history of Bota is wrong now!”

“…!!”

“If you want to practice, delve into scriptures and go through asceticism to gain enlightenment! If you want the world, wield your sword coldly as a tool of struggle! Sword Empress? Did you really think that such a symbol in a group of practitioners would be helpful?!”

It was a stern rebuke.

Because Yang Cheon’s sincerity was contained within, his words had even greater power.

Perhaps that was why? Jeok Yeon hesitated. She couldn’t think of anything to refute Yang Cheon.

Yang Cheon looked at Yeon Sim with burning eyes.

Yeon Sim wanted to turn away from that gaze. But for some reason, that burdensome gaze of desire kept drawing her attention.

“Did you say you wanted to become the Sword Empress? Then become the Sword Empress! Do you want to become a practitioner? Then put down your sword! Someone who avoids struggle with a half-hearted mind, is nothing more than a fool who has lost without even fighting!”

“I, I…”

“Does this world look so easy that it would embrace even someone like that!”

“…!!”

Intense heat shook Yeon Sim’s heart.

Yang Cheon’s eyes flashed.

“You have talent. Your talent and effort to reach such a level despite receiving Bota’s half-hearted teachings are truly remarkable. But if someone with talent ignores and wastes their talent, that cannot be seen as the right thing to do.”

“…”

“If you want to waste your talent, find another path that you truly desire, a path without conflict. But if your heart desires to become a great swordsman, accept that desire!”

Upon hearing Yang Cheon’s words, Yeon Sim received a shock that shook the very heavens and earth.

Accept desire?

The enlightenment that Buddhism pursues is to suppress desire and find the path to liberation. So much so that they consider desire as evil and even make it into an evil god called Mara [a demon that embodies temptation and delusion].

For Yeon Sim, who had received such teachings, Yang Cheon’s statement was absolutely unacceptable.

But, however, despite that.

Yang Cheon’s words, each and every one, were pounding into Yeon Sim’s heart.

Those words are not right. She knows that.

Those words are right. They would be for Yang Cheon.

Then what about her?

‘What do I want, really?’

That was the crux of it.

Yeon Sim was shocked not because Yang Cheon’s words were right. It was because she realized that she had never once honestly looked into what she wanted.

‘I was half-hearted.’

That’s right. She was half-hearted.

Perhaps not just her, but many of Bota’s swordsmen would be like that.

‘But… wanting something itself is a desire, a vexation. Accepting such a thing as a practitioner is…’

Suddenly, Yeon Sim thought.

‘Did I really want to attain the Dao [the path or way, often referring to spiritual enlightenment]?’

She didn’t know. She had pursued the Dao, she had an obsession with reaching the Dao, but it didn’t seem like she wanted it.

‘Then what did I want…?’

In that instant, Yeon Sim’s eyes wavered.

‘…Sword Empress?’

Many people praised her talent.

Many people asserted that she was the closest to becoming the next Sword Empress.

But there were several others in Bota who had talent equal to hers. Their existence was enough to stimulate Yeon Sim.

‘Then why did I want to become the Sword Empress?’

What exactly is the Sword Empress? Isn’t it just a symbol of Bota?

If she were a practitioner, she wouldn’t be greedy for such a symbol. But she was. It wasn’t a mindset suitable for a practitioner.

Finally, Yeon Sim realized.

‘I didn’t want to become the Sword Empress. By becoming the Sword Empress, I wanted to prove myself to the world.’

She had such a desire. She had the desire to be recognized.

Yang Cheon smiled.

Yeon Sim’s energy, who was lost in thought while staring blankly at the stairs, was fluctuating slightly.

‘Not bad.’

Yeon Sim’s talent is great. If that talent blooms, and if he makes that genius his own, she would be a very suitable sword to strike Saeum.

‘This is just the beginning. I will help you find your own truth, and you will become my divine sword to point at Saeum.’

It was then.

“Vice Leader.”

Baek Seo’s voice was heard from outside the main hall.

“You are in a conversation with a guest. If it’s not urgent, come later.”

“That is… someone who made an appointment with the Vice Leader has arrived.”

“Appointment?”

“It’s Yeon Ho-Jeong and his group.”

In that instant, Yang Cheon smiled.

“Let them in.”