Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 663

The destructive power of the White King Wave was immense. The white wave that erupted like an explosion pulverized over a dozen trees, making it hard to believe it was the power of a human.

“Cough!”

Yeon Ho-jeong staggered, spitting out blood.

No matter how great his mental fortitude or inner energy, there were limits. If he had been repairing his internal injuries moment by moment while fighting, it might have been different, but his insides were a mess after allowing the Yin Fiend Energy to penetrate him.

Yet, his killing intent did not die.

His killing intent burned even more fiercely, and a dark crimson aura surged from his body, dominating the entire forest.

“…!!”

The divine guardian and the masked men who had revealed themselves froze in place.

The divine guardian’s face turned pale. The masked men were the same. Their masks, soaked with sweat, clung damply to their skin.

“Hah… Hah!”

His breathing became incredibly ragged due to the excessive attacks.

With his breathing so rough, it was difficult to control his inner energy. Even in the midst of extreme rage, the Light Divine Core [a core of energy within the body] had maintained a stable state, but now its light kept flickering.

‘What is this?’

Tsutsutsutsu.

The dark crimson killing intent grew darker, and it was no exaggeration to say it had now turned completely black.

The density of the killing intent was beyond imagination.

He had never emitted this level of killing intent, even during his time as the Dark Emperor. As his mind and body were collapsing, Yeon Ho-jeong was finally able to look at his condition with a cold eye.

Throb! Throb!

The killing intent that had blackened his upper dantian [energy center in the head] gradually spread like a fog, heading towards his middle dantian [energy center in the chest].

In that instant, Yeon Ho-jeong’s mind snapped to attention.

It was remarkable that he could awaken a shred of his consciousness even though his upper dantian was completely saturated with killing intent. But now, even that was meaningless. He couldn’t stop the spreading killing intent.

The balance between his mind and body was finally beginning to break.

He had never experienced this before, even while emitting such destructive killing intent. Yeon Ho-jeong was more bewildered than ever.

‘I have to stop it!’

Whatever it was, if the killing intent completely took over his middle dantian, it would be the end.

The middle dantian was the field of the heart. Although it was influenced by the upper and lower dantians, if the center of his heart was stained with killing intent without a single gap, then no one would be able to stop him.

Whirr!

Fierce fire energy rose from Yeon Ho-jeong’s body.

It was the Vermilion Bird Fire, the energy of the Southern Sky originating from his heart. He was drawing the killing intent invading his middle dantian into the Vermilion Bird energy and releasing it outside his body.

Chiiiiiiiiik!

The ground around Yeon Ho-jeong began to sizzle and boil.

Boom!

At that moment, with a burst of sound, Ho Yeon-jong was sent flying backward.

It wasn’t that someone had struck him. Ho Yeon-jong himself had exploded his strength on the ground, sending his body flying.

“Kuh-uk!”

His body, which had survived dozens of axe blows, was truly as strong as steel.

But even such a body couldn’t withstand the Vermilion Bird Fire that Yeon Ho-jeong was emitting.

‘A burn!’

The clothes on his left leg were stuck to his skin. His skin was red and shriveled.

He had moved his body in time, but just being briefly exposed to the fire energy had caused his entire left leg to be burned. If he had been just a little slower, he might have lost a leg forever.

Ho Yeon-jong looked at Yeon Ho-jeong with trembling eyes.

Chiiiiiiiiik!

Yeon Ho-jeong’s body was shrouded in white smoke and could not be seen. Only a shadow, hunched over and trembling, was visible.

He was converting the unimaginable killing intent into fire energy and releasing it. The concentration of that fire energy was producing an indescribable output. The ground around him turned to mud and boiled, and the trees turned to ash and disappeared.

“Th-this… this monster!”

For the first time, fear appeared on Ho Yeon-jong’s face.

‘He’s completely a demon!’

When he was younger, he had seen a master of the Blood Demon Sect [a sect known for their dark arts].

At that time, he thought he had seen a true demon for the first time. The martial prowess they possessed was so immense that his body froze just from looking at them.

But Yeon Ho-jeong was even more terrifying.

Even when he had sensed death, he hadn’t felt fear towards Yeon Ho-jeong. Even when he was in danger of being torn to pieces alive, he had only felt resentment, not fear of his opponent.

Now it was different.

The shadow of Yeon Ho-jeong, shrouded in white smoke, grew larger and then smaller. It looked like the dance of an evil god risen from hell.

‘I have to run away.’

Ho Yeon-jong staggered to his feet.

He spread the Yin Fiend Energy throughout his body. He pushed it to the point where it damaged the source of his life, his innate energy. It was because of the instinct that he had to get away quickly.

‘I have to get away from that guy!’

Ho Yeon-jong, filled with terror, was about to turn around when he suddenly saw the divine guardian and the masked men sitting down about twenty yards away.

Ho Yeon-jong’s face twisted.

The divine guardian and the masked men were sitting there, trembling. They were half out of their minds from the overwhelming fear created by the aura of a transcendent being.

Ho Yeon-jong shouted without realizing it.

“Get a grip!”

His booming voice awakened the minds of the divine guardian and the masked men.

In the meantime, the number of masked men had decreased significantly. Maybe about 150? Over fifty masters had been instantly killed by Yeon Ho-jeong’s White King Wave.

“Get out of here! Go back to the base! That… !”

His words suddenly cut off.

He had almost said ‘that person’ instead of ‘that guy.’ Even though he was clearly the enemy, he couldn’t bring himself to call him ‘that guy.’ That’s how great his fear was.

Ho Yeon-jong shouted again.

“Don’t touch him! Get out of here now!”

“S-Sir Ho?”

“Get out of here quickly! You’ll die if you stay any longer!”

They would die not because of the fire energy, but because of the killing intent.

They were top-tier masters, some even peak-tier masters, yet they could die because of the killing intent. It was an unbelievable situation for anyone.

The divine guardian and the masked men staggered back. Their bodies didn’t move well, but the instinct to survive made them move.

After crawling back about five yards, their reason slowly returned.

The divine guardian shouted.

“Re-retreat!”

Their movements as they moved to the base were terrifyingly fast.

It wasn’t because they had a purpose. It was as if fear was controlling their bodies.

Ho Yeon-jong gritted his teeth.

“Damn it! Help me up!”

Some of the masked men who had regained their senses came back and helped Ho Yeon-jong up.

Only after getting a good distance away did Ho Yeon-jong lose consciousness. He too had exceeded his limits.

And then.

Whirr!

Yeon Ho-jeong’s body, which had turned the surroundings into a sea of fire, was still shaking at this moment.

The Vermilion Bird Fire was getting stronger and stronger. The fire power hadn’t increased, but the range was widening.

This meant that he was finally properly extracting the killing intent that had penetrated his middle dantian. The fact that the concentration wasn’t increasing meant that the killing intent was no longer consuming him.

But it was still a problem.

‘There’s too much.’

Yeon Ho-jeong sighed.

‘To extract all of this…’

To completely extract the killing intent that had stained not only his middle dantian but also his upper dantian, the heat would be transmitted to the entire forest and even the canyon.

The distance from here to the canyon was vast. Even a skilled master wouldn’t be able to feel the shockwave that had erupted here.

And there, were Pae-yul and Gang Ryang, who had been told to wait.

‘Damn it! What do I do? How do I get rid of this killing intent…!’

It was then.

[Accept it.]

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes snapped open.

‘Whose voice is that?’

The moment he questioned it, a clear voice once again pierced his ears.

[Don’t try to extract it. Just open your heart and accept the sound you hear from now on.]

Peeeee.

From somewhere, from some time ago.

Yeon Ho-jeong heard a dry and cool, yet warm and soft melody.

It was the sound of a flute. The smooth, unbroken sound of the flute instantly captivated his consciousness.

‘This is?’

Yeon Ho-jeong exclaimed without realizing it.

‘Senior.’

It was the sound of the flute played by the Sound Master, Ha Eun-gyo.

He wondered why she was suddenly playing the flute in this serious situation, but he soon realized what Ha Eun-gyo’s words meant.

Tsutsutsutsu.

The killing intent he had been extracting with the Vermilion Bird Fire faltered.

The soft melody, the indescribably beautiful and warm tone, was blurring the concentration of the killing intent.

Surprise filled Yeon Ho-jeong’s face.

‘The killing intent?’

The killing intent that even the Dark Emperor’s enlightenment couldn’t properly control was reacting to the sound of the flute.

Only then did Yeon Ho-jeong understand the meaning of Ha Eun-gyo’s words.

Open your heart and accept it.

Don’t try to analyze the situation, don’t worry about the spreading killing intent.

Just entrust your consciousness to the sound of the flute you hear at this moment.

Yeon Ho-jeong closed his eyes.

Peeeeee.

The sound of the flute was like the song of a beautiful bird.

With the chirping of that bird, the world was changing. The dark night turned into a cloudless day, and the burning forest had transformed into a paradise.

It was such a peaceful and beautiful sight. Yeon Ho-jeong, who had fully entered that world, felt the anger and resentment that burned like the flames of hell gradually subside.

Ssssssss.

The speed at which the killing intent disappeared was astonishing.

The black killing intent that had been surging had turned dark crimson. The dark crimson killing intent that had been surging had turned red.

And at the moment when the flute performance reached its peak.

The red killing intent that had been surging like flames became transparent and scattered.

Crack!

Frost formed on various parts of Yeon Ho-jeong’s body. The energy that had been emitting tremendous heat disappeared in an instant, and the air that had been pushed away returned to its place, causing the temperature to drop rapidly.

“Hoo!”

Yeon Ho-jeong let out a rough breath.

Thud!

His legs gave out. His knees naturally touched the ground.

“Cough!”

He spat out a lump of blood that had welled up, and the black, dead blood stained the ground.

Chiiik!

The blood that had stained the ground emitted white smoke.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes trembled.

‘This can’t be.’

Even though he had never learned poison techniques, his blood had become poison, melting the ground.

‘Could it be that what’s in this blood is…?’

At that moment, Ha Eun-gyo’s voice was heard.

“It’s demonic energy.”

Yeon Ho-jeong turned his head weakly.

There was Ha Eun-gyo. Her face, holding a flute in one hand, was also wet with sweat.

“Demonic energy has taken root in your blood.”

“But I…”

“It’s not that you can’t generate demonic energy just because you haven’t learned demonic arts.”

“Yes?”

“Excessive killing intent has turned your true energy into demonic energy.”

“…?!”

“Demonic energy is against the heavens. To go against the heavens is to go against the natural order. Killing intent that can destroy the world is against the heavens, and it has stained your blood and flesh with demonic energy.”

Ha Eun-gyo sighed.

“Fortunately, the demonic energy in your vomit was all of it. Demonic energy has a strong tendency to accumulate. If it had been just a little later, a demonic being of the ages would have appeared in the Central Plains.”

Formless killing intent had become tangible, and the tangible killing intent had transformed into demonic energy.

Yeon Ho-jeong closed his eyes.

“…”

He must be feeling something indescribable. Ha Eun-gyo looked down at Yeon Ho-jeong with her hands folded neatly.

How much time had passed?

“I’m sorry.”

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had staggered to his feet, bowed his head.

“I made you overexert yourself for no reason.”

“No, it’s not like that. Rather, I should be thanking you.”

“Yes?”

“We’ll talk about that later. Anyway, are you okay?”

“I’m okay…”

At that moment, Yeon Ho-jeong staggered and sat down.

Ha Eun-gyo supported his body and smiled.

“You’re a junior who needs a lot of help.”

“…”

“Let’s go to my place for now. They’re too scared to come to my place.”

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