Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 534

A strange light flickered in Yeop Seong’s eyes.

“Going berserk… Indeed, according to my investigation, you’re someone who can become more violent than anyone when you deem it necessary.”

“You’re wrong.”

Whooong.

A faint crimson glow appeared in Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes.

“I don’t need a reason. If I get pissed off, I’m the type to make a mess without thinking.”

“No, that’s not it. You might threaten others like that, but the you I investigated is a meticulously thorough and calculating person.”

“You can interpret me however you want. The important thing is, I’m starting to get pissed off.”

Yeop Seong tilted his head.

“So, what are you going to do? Just like I can’t capture and punish you, you absolutely can’t attack me either, right?”

“Why do you think so?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself? You’re a representative dispatched by the Martial Alliance. If someone like that attacks one of the successors of the Mukryong Clan [a powerful martial arts clan]? Do you not know how serious of a political issue that is?”

“You should know that your habit of thinking as you please is what’s tightening the noose around your neck.”

“What?”

Crack!

Yeon Ho-jeong rotated his wrist. A faint heat emanated from his tightly clenched fist.

“Listen here, you foolish friend. There’s no such thing as ‘absolute’ in politics.”

“…”

“Politics is what can smooth over any serious issue. And all politics are rooted in self-interest.”

Yeon Ho-jeong extended his index finger and pointed at Yeop Seong.

“Between you and me, who do you think they value more?”

“That’s a pathetic word game. This isn’t about who they cherish more.”

“You’re right. It’s not about who they cherish more. It’s about who they need more.”

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled as if amused and cocked his head to the side.

“You just said it yourself, didn’t you? That I’m a meticulous guy. Yes. I’m not the type to plan every single move like you think, but I’m someone who can certainly use my head if necessary.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Do you know why I readily accepted this drinking session you requested, even though we have no real connection?”

“…?”

“Did you perhaps think it was a given? That because I’m the great disciple of the Fighting King, Yang Cheon, no one can refuse my request? Were you living with such childish thoughts?”

Yeop Seong’s eyes hardened.

Listening to Yeon Ho-jeong’s words, he realized that something was going wrong.

“What did you do?”

“I haven’t done anything yet. I’m planning to now.”

“What?”

“I didn’t want to resort to such childish tactics, but I’m going to tell the Vice-Chief what you said today.”

“…?!”

“Vice-Chief Yang doesn’t have time to worry about succession disputes. He’s someone who needs to be fully prepared for the war with the Three Sects [referring to rival martial arts factions]. And I’m the one planning with him. Neither the Vice-Chief nor I are people who will get involved in the political games of you little brats.”

“You…!”

“You bet your life on a request? Then you should have prepared for the possibility that the other party wouldn’t grant it. But all you could think of was to harass my people? Are you really Vice-Chief Yang’s disciple?”

Yeon Ho-jeong turned his body.

“If you really wanted to seize power, you should have cleanly crushed the other successors first. If you had, then as you said, Vice-Chief Yang might have thought highly of you.”

“…!!”

“As I said before, you’re living too comfortably. That woman, Buseon, is ten times better than you.”

In that instant, killing intent erupted from Yeop Seong’s eyes.

Whoooong.

The killing intent that poured out caused the air to scatter and gather erratically.

It was truly an immense killing intent. In terms of the density of the killing intent alone, it was not much different from Yeon Ho-jeong’s.

However, Yeon Ho-jeong showed no reaction. He was simply about to open the door of the inn and leave.

Yeop Seong spoke.

“If you open that door, you’ll die.”

It was a terrifying voice.

The voice, mixed with the dense killing intent, sounded like a huge beast growling.

Yeon Ho-jeong said, grabbing the doorknob.

“If you do something stupid, you’ll die too.”

Click.

The door opened.

Yeop Seong’s fist was swung like lightning.

Thwack!

With a loud explosion, Yeop Seong’s body staggered like a branch blown by the wind, retreating to the far wall of the inn.

Yeop Seong’s expression was still distorted with killing intent. But his eyes were stained with shock.

“You’re useful.”

Yeon Ho-jeong had only turned half his body, with one hand extended.

White smoke rose from his large hand. It was the palm technique that had deflected Yeop Seong’s fist wind, the pinnacle martial art of the Yeon family, the Reversing Dragon Palm [a powerful martial arts technique].

“You certainly have talent. If you had poured this talent solely into the martial path, you could have put up a good fight against me by now.”

“…!”

“You’re strong. But that’s all.”

Yeon Ho-jeong clenched his fist.

Crack.

Even though he clenched it slowly, it made a chilling sound.

A sound that he would have scoffed at and ignored before now sounded incredibly menacing.

“Now, then.”

Swoosh.

Yeon Ho-jeong took a step forward.

In that instant, not only Yeop Seong but also the expert acting as a server, and even the two experts inside the kitchen, all flinched.

He hadn’t stepped down hard, it was just a soft step forward, yet the air was changing.

“Shall I lightly give you a taste of the whip?”

Yeop Seong shouted.

“Attack…!”

Thwack!

Before his words could even finish, the head of the expert acting as a server exploded.

Not only that, but the force of the Tiger King Nine Thunder Palm [a powerful martial arts technique] that poured out like a tidal wave turned the kitchen beyond into a complete mess.

Crumble.

One side of the inn collapsed. Three first-rate experts had died in the blink of an eye.

He was truly a ruthless killer. Since they were going to try to kill him anyway, he had taken the initiative and killed them first.

Cruel and heartless. But this was the way of the Black Path [a term for a ruthless and often morally ambiguous martial arts path].

If things went wrong, they would bury not only their opponents but all of their forces in the ground.

They solved all problems with the weight of blood. That was the way of the Black Path.

Whoosh!

Yeon Ho-jeong’s approach speed was terrifying.

In his life, Yeop Seong had never seen anyone move so fast other than Yang Cheon.

Thwack!

With a loud explosion, one side of the inn’s wall was blown away entirely.

The force of the palm strike, which had not diminished even after blowing away a wall, pulverized a large tree some distance away before finally subsiding.

‘…!’

Yeop Seong, who had instinctively dodged, felt a chill run down his spine at the sight created by Yeon Ho-jeong’s attack.

He could also produce that kind of result. The problem was the speed, range, and control of inner force.

‘How can he…?!’

If he used enough inner force, he could also produce such a result.

However, Yeon Ho-jeong had launched an attack that was faster, stronger, and covered a wider range than his own, with an inner force that was practically non-existent.

In just one move, Yeop Seong realized. Yeon Ho-jeong was an extreme powerhouse who had reached a realm he could not dare to approach.

‘Crazy!’

It was an unimaginable situation. He knew Yeon Ho-jeong was strong, but at best, he thought his skills were close to his own.

And that was a reasonable thought. At least, it was for Yeop Seong.

But he had overlooked something.

The fact that Yeon Ho-jeong had reached such a level at his age was already unreasonable, and therefore, there was a good chance that he was superior to Yeop Seong himself.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s attacks continued.

Whoooong! Thwack!

In that brief moment, he reached right in front of him and unleashed a sharp kick like a drill.

He blocked with his arms crossed, but an explosion erupted from the blocked area. It felt like the blocked arms had become another vital point, with immense pain and shock.

‘Like a cannonball.’

It was just a single kick. The power of that single kick was reminiscent of a cannonball fired from artillery.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Yeop Seong immediately took a stance to prepare for the follow-up attack.

But.

‘…?!’

Yeon Ho-jeong was nowhere to be seen.

He had disappeared from his sight again in that instant. He couldn’t even imagine how fast he was.

In that moment, he felt a tingling sensation on the top of his head.

There was no time to think about anything. If he used footwork or movement techniques, it would be too late.

Yeop Seong instinctively rolled on the ground.

And his judgment was correct.

Thwack!

With a single punch that had been driven down from the sky, the inn’s framework, which had been reduced to just bones, was torn apart and scattered in all directions as if hit by a typhoon.

“Kuh!”

A groan finally escaped from Yeop Seong’s mouth.

Even though he had dodged in a humiliating way, the terrifyingly amplified shockwave had caused internal damage.

It was a shocking event.

He hadn’t taken a direct hit, nor had he taken an indirect blow, yet he had suffered internal injuries from just the shockwave.

How terrifying was this martial art? It was a realm that Yeop Seong could not even dream of reaching in his current state.

The same realm of transcendence?

This was a transcendence that was only the same in name. The level was different, and the depth was different. The world they were seeing was different.

“Could it be.”

Whoosh!

Even after unleashing that wide-ranging attack, he had immediately arrived in front of him again.

It was as if he was moving without breathing. His inner force manipulation was faster than lightning.

“You’re not going to tuck your tail and run away like a pathetic mutt, are you?”

“You bastard!”

Whoooong!

Yeop Seong’s hand moved like lightning. It was a martial art that struck with fingers bent like a lion’s paw, the Lion Iron Claw technique [a martial arts technique focused on powerful strikes with the fingers].

Thwack!

Yeop Seong’s eyes wavered.

The hand that should have torn through Yeon Ho-jeong’s abdominal muscles was now caught in Yeon Ho-jeong’s hand.

With his fingers interlocked.

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled coldly.

“You’ve trained hard, but your results are terrible.”

“…!”

“With this much grip strength, can you even withstand your master’s strike?”

A white aura swirled in Yeon Ho-jeong’s hand.

His fingers crushed Yeop Seong’s fingers and the back of his hand.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

“Kyak!”

A scream burst from Yeop Seong’s mouth.

It was a scream that even he was surprised to hear himself make. He had never screamed in any situation before.

But he couldn’t help but scream. The pain of having all five fingers and the bones of the back of his hand crushed was too much to bear while conscious.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s foot moved like lightning.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

This time, he couldn’t even scream. A series of twelve consecutive kicks, fired like cannonballs at close range, focused on his abdomen and ribs.

“Cough!”

Yeop Seong collapsed on the spot. He didn’t fall, but he had no choice but to kneel. Not only had he suffered terrible internal injuries, but five of his ribs had also been broken.

Yeon Ho-jeong dusted off his hands.

“I’ll let you off this much. After all, I can’t kill you, no matter what.”

“Cough! Ugh!”

“Now go home, kid.”

Yeop Seong looked up at Yeon Ho-jeong with trembling eyes.

In that instant, Yeop Seong involuntarily closed his eyes. The look in Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes as he looked down at him was too terrifying.

It was killing intent.

Not just the dense killing intent that he possessed, but a terrifying killing intent that was extremely focused and destroyed the mind.

“Not going? Do you want to die here now?”

“Eek!”

Yeop Seong staggered to his feet and headed towards the Mukryong Clan. He was walking very fast, as if trying to escape in a hurry.

Swoosh.

Yeon Ho-jeong calmed his energy.

“That guy, he has good patience. He just talked too much for no reason. He was blabbering too much, making me use my hands first.”

If he had been a typical Black Path person, there would have been no need to talk this long. He would have already drawn his sword before even half the conversation was over.

In that sense, he was a guy with some merits.

“Experience the feeling of being a hunter who has become prey, and feel it thoroughly.”

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled meaningfully and followed after Yeop Seong.

Now that the tiger has appeared half-dead, the lionesses and wolves who were waiting for an opportunity will bare their teeth.