Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 556

“So, it’s here.”

Hwang Seok-tae’s eyes gleamed as he saw Gang Ryang suddenly appear.

“What brings you here?”

“I received a telepathic message from my brother. He said that if I came to this area, I would find you and a guest, Master Hwang.”

“Hmm.”

That meant the street cleaning was over.

How he managed to eliminate all those assassins in such a short time was beyond him. He was indeed an amazing man.

“It was a telepathic message from quite far away. The voice kept cutting out in the middle.”

“I suppose so.”

Gang Ryang looked at Song Ha-shinni.

She stopped her energy circulation and stood up awkwardly.

Gang Ryang clasped his hands in greeting.

“I am Gang Ryang.”

“Ah, I am Song Ha.”

Despite not feeling well, Song Ha’s greeting was full of sincerity and courtesy.

Gang Ryang smiled.

“You have a kind nature.”

“Ah, no, I don’t.”

“Let’s go to our lodgings first.”

Hwang Seok-tae asked.

“What about Pae Yul?”

“He’s resting. I didn’t think it was necessary for both of us to come.”

“That man is so carefree.”

“He’s amazing. He knows when to step in and when to stay out.”

At that moment, Song Ha-shinni asked in surprise.

“Pae Yul? If it’s Pae Yul, are you perhaps talking about the elder of the Jeomchang Sect?”

A look of bewilderment crossed Gang Ryang’s face.

“Do you know Senior Pae Yul?”

“Of course. I visited Jeomchang once before, and we compared our martial arts. He was a person who used very practical martial arts.”

Although they were connected as part of the Nine Great Sects, the locations of each sect were scattered in all directions. There were so many masters in each sect, and the land was so vast, that it was rare to form friendships with masters from other sects.

Fortunately, Song Ha-shinni had met Pae Yul before.

‘Well, he is an elder of Jeomchang, after all.’

Even if he was the youngest, an elder was still an elder.

“Let’s go first. There’s no need to circulate your energy while standing in the cold wind.”

“Ah, but…”

Song Ha-shinni was flustered.

“Is it alright to leave without waiting for Young Master Yeon?”

“He told me to bring him myself. Besides…”

Gang Ryang chuckled.

“The most unnecessary worry in the martial world is worrying about Byeoksanhojang [a title for a powerful martial artist]. That man wouldn’t die even if you prayed for him to.”

* * *

Pow!

The reddish sword energy shattered and scattered from the heavy palm strike that landed like a crushing blow.

Clang!

Contrary to the palm strike, a dagger was deflected by a short, sharp strike.

Two attacks that came like a storm of threatening bladed weapons were easily broken down. His ability to block attacks in an instant without complex techniques, amazing defenses, or evasive maneuvers was superb.

Whoosh!

The powerful energy and fist wind that poured in with a whooshing sound flowed past Yeon Ho-jeong without even touching his clothes.

He shattered all the attacks that came from four directions with a spinning palm strike and leg technique. His instantaneous judgment was at its peak. It was an unbelievable, almost magical display of movement.

Bang!

With a loud bang, Yeon Ho-jeong’s body, which had been dashing forward, reached the face of a middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man, Tang Gwan, who was already pale, became even paler. Even though he was watching with his own eyes, he couldn’t tell when Yeon Ho-jeong had arrived in front of him.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s knee shot out like a cannonball.

Thud!

There was no scream. Tang Gwan spat out blood and flew, breaking through the wall. He must have fainted the moment the impact hit.

“Poisons and hidden weapons are annoying.”

As soon as the battle began, he incapacitated the most troublesome enemy first.

It was easy to say, but it wasn’t easy to make an accurate judgment in that instant. Even if he made a judgment, it was extremely difficult to actually succeed in a surprise attack, depending on the environment and the movements of the masters.

Being able to do that difficult thing as naturally as breathing was the mark of a true master.

Yeon Ho-jeong was a master. His martial arts, his combat skills, and his practical sense were unmatched, and all those elements were perfectly combined to produce optimal efficiency.

“This!”

“Blow his head off!”

That was quite a gruesome thing to say.

It wasn’t the kind of thing a Taoist or a Buddhist nun who cultivated in the mountains would say.

Yeon Ho-jeong flew without replying.

Wham!

It was a powerful fist technique.

A fist technique that approached without a sound and caused an explosion in mid-air.

It was similar to the Shaolin Temple’s Hundred Step Divine Fist, but quieter and sharper. It was as if a predator was quietly approaching its prey and sinking its fangs in at once.

It was the Emei Sect’s famed Vajra Subduing Tiger Fist, delivered with the method of a palm strike through the air. When the Emei Sect’s ultimate fist technique was imbued with high-level martial principles, it was truly worthy of being called the best under heaven.

However.

“Wh-where?!”

It was a powerful and timely fist wind, but Yeon Ho-jeong was not there.

Swish, swish, swish!

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had moved like a ghost along the wall, was now standing behind one of the two Qingcheng swordsmen.

He hadn’t used any great footwork or movement techniques, but his blind spot had been taken.

In the dark night, in a narrow back alley, with movements that confused people’s vision, and with the ability to freely control his presence, no one there could read Yeon Ho-jeong’s movements. They were all masters, but none of them were used to fighting in this kind of environment.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s fist struck the Qingcheng swordsman’s side.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

The swordsman collapsed on the spot. He was incapacitated with a single blow.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s strength was so well-known that even the top masters of the Martial Alliance acknowledged it. On top of that, he had converted the Xuanwu energy, which was effective for infiltration, into a form of rebounding energy and struck with it, so his internal organs must have been completely shocked.

“This bastard!”

Swish!

A cold sword strike scattering red light.

It was fast and powerful. It was a sword technique that destroyed the opponent with powerful internal energy and strength rather than the sharpness unique to swordsmanship.

It was the Red Haze of Qingcheng, a representative technique of Qingcheng. One of the best sword techniques of the Qingcheng Sect, which was said to be difficult to even begin to learn without considerable talent, had appeared in a dark back alley.

White Tiger energy gathered on Yeon Ho-jeong’s hand blade.

Clang!

The White Tiger Art, Tiger King’s Wall Breaking Stance, was recreated with a bare hand blade. It was the White Tiger Sword Technique.

“This!”

The old Taoist of Qingcheng gritted his teeth.

The destructive power of the Red Haze Sword was the best in the martial world. If you only looked at the destructive power of the sword technique, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to call it the best in Sichuan.

Yet, it had been deflected by the opponent’s attack. With a bare hand, no less!

Drop. Drop.

Blood droplets fell from Yeon Ho-jeong’s hand blade.

The output of the Divine Energy, empowered by the Yeon Family’s Divine Elixir, boasted unparalleled power. However, the limitations of a bare hand were clear. Yeon Ho-jeong’s main martial art was not the palm, but even considering that, the destructive power of the Red Haze Sword was astonishing.

“I didn’t put enough power into it.”

Savage intent flashed in the old Taoist’s eyes at Yeon Ho-jeong’s calm words.

“You little brat, where did you learn to be so arrogant!”

It was then.

Thud!

It was a truly chilling moment for the old Taoist of Qingcheng and the Emei elder.

It was the sound of the Emei master who had used the Vajra Subduing Tiger Fist collapsing. Before dodging the fist wind and going along the wall to knock down one of the Qingcheng swordsmen, he had released the Dragon Army Triple Form of the Azure Dragon Art with hidden energy to attack her heart meridian.

The internal energy control of that hidden energy release was so complex that he had poured all the available internal energy into knocking down one Qingcheng person. That was why the power of the White Tiger Sword Technique was not what it should have been.

“I didn’t want to see the Red Haze Sword in a place like this.”

Yeon Ho-jeong wiped the wound on his hand blade with his sleeve. The cut that had been bleeding was no longer bleeding. It had already stopped.

“I wanted to properly exchange blows with it on the serene mountain peaks of Qingcheng. But, as always, the world doesn’t go as one wishes.”

The ultimate techniques of the Nine Great Sects were all great. However, there were not many martial arts among them that piqued Yeon Ho-jeong’s curiosity.

The Red Haze of Qingcheng was one of them. He had dealt with Pung Byeok-ja, the head of the Qingcheng Sect, so it had stuck in his mind even more.

The old Taoist, who had been stunned by the shock, soon roared.

“You cowardly bastard, how dare you speak of the Qingcheng’s techniques…”

Wham!

With a loud bang, the old Taoist spat out blood and flew away.

His speed was truly fast. The Emei elder, who had been standing awkwardly, was horrified and avoided the old Taoist. She could have caught him, but she didn’t seem to be in the right state of mind to do so.

Yeon Ho-jeong lowered his foot.

“How dare you call me a coward.”

Whoosh!

As he closed the distance with a wind-like movement technique, the old Taoist spat out blood again and swung the Red Haze Sword.

Both of Yeon Ho-jeong’s hands emitted a bluish-green glow. Unlike that of the Azure Dragon Art, it was a martial art that emitted a heavier yet clearer light.

It was the Yeon Family’s ultimate martial art, the Reversing Dragon Palm.

Swish! Pow!

The sword energy of the Red Haze Sword grazed Yeon Ho-jeong’s shoulder, and the power of the Reversing Dragon Palm exploded on the old Taoist’s chest.

It was a palm strike that had absorbed and detonated the sword force of the Red Haze Sword. The old Taoist collapsed on the spot. He wasn’t dead, but he looked like he was on his last breath.

“Now, then.”

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had loosened his shoulder once, looked at the Emei elder, Deng Hwa-satae, who had led him here.

“Now, you’re the only one left.”

Deng Hwa-satae swallowed hard.

‘Th-this can’t be.’

She had guessed that Yeon Ho-jeong was a master who surpassed her imagination.

However, she had not thought that he was such a great master that he could defeat all of them in such a short time. In the first place, they were all elder-level masters of their respective sects. Looking at their combined power, she thought that even the abbot of Shaolin could not guarantee victory.

She was wrong.

With this level of power, they could not defeat Yeon Ho-jeong, nor could they defeat the Shaolin abbot, Gong Gong. Although their martial arts were all threatening, they could not use them properly.

It was like holding the best sword in the world but not being a skilled swordsman. Moreover, all of them had long since stopped training in martial arts and cultivation.

This result was inevitable.

“Disappointing.”

Yeon Ho-jeong frowned openly.

It wasn’t a word or expression meant to shake his opponent. He was genuinely disappointed.

“I didn’t think you would have fallen this far. You’re supposed to be masters representing your sects, but your skills are too sloppy.”

“…”

“It’s not about practical sense. You’ve been negligent in training what you’ve learned. It’s said that martial arts regress even if you rest for three days, but looking at you, it seems you’ve abandoned martial arts for a very long time.”

If they had trained properly every day, even Yeon Ho-jeong would not have been able to deal with them so easily. In front of masters of this level, no matter how good one’s practical sense was, it could not be a decisive move that could overturn the total amount of power.

But the fact that it worked meant that they had not even brought out half of their true abilities.

“But, you’re different.”

A subtle sense of anticipation arose on Yeon Ho-jeong’s face, which had been filled with disappointment.

At that moment, Deng Hwa-satae felt a chill run down her spine. Yeon Ho-jeong’s face, looking at her with anticipation, was that of a fighting demon who was mad for battle.

“You’ve trained properly. It’s a flaw that you’re too afraid, but seeing that you haven’t run away, it seems your senses haven’t died.”

If she had run away, Yeon Ho-jeong would have immediately given up the fight and chased after Deng Hwa-satae to kill her. Deng Hwa-satae knew that.

“It doesn’t seem like we have much time, but it doesn’t seem like we need to rush into anything either.”

Crack.

Yeon Ho-jeong raised his fist.

“Kneel. Then I won’t kill you. At least not today.”