Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 742

Screech.

At the sound of movement outside, the three people rose from their seats.

It was already past midnight, nearing the hour of Chuk [around 1-3 AM]. Since there had been no contact until then, the three of them were naturally on edge.

Jeagal Ayeon spoke first.

‘Is that the Northern Commander?’

‘Yes. I’m coming in.’

It was a different voice than before. Within the unique, gruff, and deep tone, there was a hint of bewilderment.

‘You will not be able to meet the Empress today.’

Peng Mu-Gang asked.

‘Has something happened?’

Asking such a question about the Empress could be considered treason, but Dobun didn’t seem to care. It seemed he was in no position to care.

‘She has been summoned to the imperial court by His Majesty the Emperor.’

‘……?!’

It was late at night. No matter how much of an Emperor he was, summoning the Empress at this hour was not proper.

Jeagal Ayeon’s face hardened.

Right now, arguing over minor details was meaningless.

‘Could it be the Eunuch?’

‘I don’t know. I haven’t yet figured out whether the Eunuch went to His Majesty’s chambers first, or if His Majesty summoned him.’

Either way, it meant the Eunuch had also headed to the imperial court.

Tension filled everyone’s faces.

At that moment, Yeon-wi spoke.

‘It’s dangerous.’

The three people looked at Yeon-wi.

With a stiff face, Yeon-wi continued.

‘It hasn’t even been a day since we entered the palace. But if the Eunuch’s intelligence is good, he might have realized that the Empress is up to something.’

Dobun’s eyes wavered.

‘If the Eunuch is behind this, the Empress’s life could be in danger.’

‘Just in case, I have the Great General’s direct guards following her.’

‘The Eunuch has unimaginable experts under his command. They might not go that far, but if they intend to shed blood, even the entire Great General’s forces might not be enough to protect the Empress.’

This was no time to be prideful. Dobun’s face immediately turned pale.

But he also had something he believed in.

‘I don’t think it will go that far, but as the Head of the Family said, we can’t rule out the possibility. That’s why we have prepared something on our side.’

‘Prepared?’

‘Let’s go to the Great General’s headquarters.’

The three people’s eyes lit up.

Dobun spoke urgently.

‘The Great General will also be departing. I would like you three to disguise yourselves as direct subordinates of the Great General and go with him.’

This was also going too far.

Even though the Emperor’s prestige had fallen to the ground, they were trying to bring martial artists from the Jianghu [the martial world] into the imperial court disguised as the Great General’s subordinates.

It meant that Dobun was swearing allegiance to the Empress and the Great General, but conversely, it also meant that the dynasty, which had lasted for hundreds of years, was in a precarious state.

Aside from everything else, the Emperor had not summoned the Great General, who was the Empress’s brother. Yet, taking even a small number of troops could be seen as a rebellion.

In other words, this situation could put the Empress, the Great General, and all three of them in danger.

The three people looked at each other.

Peng Mu-Gang nodded firmly.

‘Let’s go quickly.’

* * *

It is said that life is a series of surprises.

However, Yeon Ho-Jeong had never been as surprised as he was at this moment.

‘Devour the Black Island…?’

‘That’s right.’

‘What are you talking about all of a sudden?’

‘Your eyes are shaking so dramatically. Haha, do you finally understand now? What was the worry that had been lingering in your heart? What was the worry that had been festering for so long, yet you had been trying so hard to ignore?’

‘…….’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face, as he stared at Tak Mu-Ja with cold eyes, was a picture of confusion.

‘How did you know about what happened?’

‘Hmm?’

‘What happened in Sichuan, the poisoning of the Dragon Head of the Beggar Clan. And my…’

Yeon Ho-Jeong paused, then glared at Tak Mu-Ja with slightly bloodshot eyes.

‘I didn’t know the Wudang Sect’s intelligence was this good.’

Tak Mu-Ja snorted.

‘They are truly ridiculous fellows. They are my disciples, but I can’t seem to feel any affection for them. They have stepped into the bloody Jianghu, so they should strive to live there, but the current Wudang Sect has started to cross the line little by little. Now, they are almost a proper martial arts sect.’

‘…….’

‘However, thanks to that, I was able to see, at least roughly, how the world is turning while staying here.’

‘Did you hear it from the Wudang Sect’s informants?’

‘Do you think Taoists would run around collecting information? It’s information that comes from the secular world or merchant guilds.’

‘But with that alone…’

‘Decisively, I am close with the Dragon Head of the Beggar Clan.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed.

‘So that’s how it was.’

A peak filled with divine energy. An environment so bizarre that even masters who had opened the gates of the Supreme could feel strange signals in their senses.

And the Sword Immortal, Tak Mu-Ja.

Because of the environment, the person, and the conversations they had, Yeon Ho-Jeong had wondered if Tak Mu-Ja truly possessed abilities that only immortals could use.

Even the great Yeon Ho-Jeong had momentarily thought that, which showed how outstanding Tak Mu-Ja’s natural presence was.

‘That’s not all. We don’t know everything about the world. We are just diligently watching a few people who are causing a stir in the current world.’

‘…….’

‘One of them is you.’

‘…….’

‘A passionate young man who engaged in a fierce battle against the Nine Provinces Clan that tried to attack his family, and eventually drove them to ruin. He rose to fame as the best of the younger generation, and now he is traversing the Central Plains, solving all sorts of incidents like a raging fire.’

‘…….’

‘I, and even that bald monk living far away, are watching you.’

The bald monk living far away.

There was no way he wouldn’t know who that was referring to. But that wasn’t the important thing.

Yeon Ho-Jeong felt bewildered.

‘Why?’

‘Why? What a foolish question. Surely, you are not saying that you haven’t realized how the things you have directly resolved are causing a seismic shift in the world?’

‘……!’

Of course, that wasn’t the case. No one but a fool wouldn’t know that. However, Yeon Ho-Jeong had simply not been interested in how the things he had resolved were seen by the world.

He had a lifelong goal. And to achieve that goal, he didn’t need to think deeply about how the world saw him or why the world was watching him.

‘Ah!’

Yeon Ho-Jeong finally realized.

The reason why Jeagal Mun-Ho always deployed him at crucial moments.

The reason why Yang Cheon, leaving behind so many of his subordinates, pondered over the incidents that were erupting all over the Central Plains with him, and then sent him out.

And even the reason why they sometimes looked at him with disbelief.

‘I knew it, but I didn’t understand it.’

He had no awareness of it.

Even though people around him praised him so much for the things he had resolved, Yeon Ho-Jeong would just laugh it off, not feeling even a bit of pride.

It was because it was something he had to do. Regardless of justice or righteousness, it was something he had to jump into and resolve to achieve his goal.

Incidents that could erupt at any time on the path toward his goal.

Such an incident could erupt tomorrow, or even now. If that happened, Yeon Ho-Jeong would immediately rush out to resolve it.

Because it was something he had to do. At least, as far as Yeon Ho-Jeong was concerned.

‘You are already standing in the middle of the vast Central Plains, under the watchful eyes of everyone.’

‘……!’

‘You are young? Because you are young, the impact is even greater. There are many who are jealous and many who are suspicious, but because you don’t care about their gazes, the world is watching you even more.’

Tak Mu-Ja’s clear and deep eyes flashed sharply for a moment.

‘In a sense, if we only consider the immediate impact, you are ahead of even the masters of the Heavenly Sect. Why? Because you are fighting against a group that is trying to set the Central Plains ablaze.’

‘…….’

‘No one can move like you. It’s not a matter of ability. Some can’t act rashly because they want to attain enlightenment, some because they want to follow the Dao [the Way], and some because of their unchanging sense of belonging. But you are not like that.’

‘…….’

‘With your young age and your bold decisiveness, you have overcome all those things. Even the head of the Yeon family, who is known as the Judge’s Sword and is strict about public and private matters, has freely let his son roam the world.’

Tak Mu-Ja’s sharply honed eyes softened again.

‘Each and every step you take, fearlessly and resolutely, is shaking the balance of the world. There is no way they wouldn’t watch you.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong swallowed unconsciously.

He had heard similar words before, but what Tak Mu-Ja was saying was different. It was similar, but it was much more fundamental, a question that went to the root of things.

‘Do you understand?’

‘…….’

‘Even before your martial prowess, with your influence alone, you have already reached the pinnacle of the world.’

At that moment, Yeon Ho-Jeong felt a chilling sensation.

The pinnacle of the world.

Those words came from the mouth of one of the people closest to being the best in the world, not anyone else.

Words he had rarely heard even during the time of the Dark Emperor.

‘But for some reason, whenever I heard rumors about you, I had a strange feeling.’

‘……What is that?’

‘You are clearly from the Yeon family, a righteous family of the White Path. Before considering your age, your soul, bones, and flesh clearly came from the Yeon family. I can see that.’

‘…….’

‘But the blood flowing in your body is not heading towards the righteous path at all. That blood carries a much more desperate and fundamental, primal life of beasts that is hard to understand with human emotions.’

‘……?’

‘The Black Path.’

‘……!’

‘Yang Cheon, who is now the Vice Head of the Black Dragon Unit, right? I heard you did quite a few things with him? According to the information I received, your impression was completely different from when you were in the Martial Alliance. It wasn’t a matter of efficiency, your movements themselves were different.’

‘That’s because…’

‘Because you were moving as part of the Black Dragon Unit? No, that’s not it. Absolutely not. And you are also aware of this.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes wavered.

Tak Mu-Ja leaned forward and stared straight into his eyes.

‘And now, looking at the legendary prodigy sitting in front of me, I am certain.’

‘…….’

‘The place where your blood is heading is not the Martial Alliance. It’s not a path where you handle everything with righteous justice and a clear vision.’

‘…….’

‘Furthermore, you yourself understand it. What kind of life you should live, what kind of decisions you should make.’

‘I am the eldest son of the Yeon family.’

‘No matter what choice you make in the future, you know where the path you should take right now is leading. And…’

Tak Mu-Ja straightened his posture.

‘You also understand that that path is one of the most certain ways to prevent the bloodshed that will befall the Central Plains.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong unconsciously clenched his fist.

Tak Mu-Ja smiled.

‘When I see you struggling in the middle, there are times when I want to jump off this peak and grab the heads of the Martial Alliance executives and Yang Cheon and smash them. But they must have their own reasons, right?’

‘…….’

‘If you want to move properly, if you want to gauge the world with that vision you have reached at the pinnacle.’

‘…….’

‘Become the king of the Black Path.’