Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 898

The Blood Monk (5)

Thud, thud, thud.

Carriages and horses galloped across the plains. As they pounded over the patchy grassland, a thick cloud of dust billowed up.

The long mountain range stretching far to the right looked like the spine of a giant. The endless plains and mountains, both desolate and awe-inspiring, overwhelmed the humans who were no bigger than ants.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, riding his horse directly in front of the carriage, thought,

‘There’s nowhere to hide.’

He had been to Gansu several times during the Black Demon Emperor era. Moreover, the map provided by the Martial Alliance was so detailed that he knew exactly where they were.

‘There might be some rocks to hide behind, but that’s meaningless.’

The view was too open. In this environment, a clear day would be better than a dark night.

While his head was spinning with these thoughts…

‘……!’

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked up at the sky.

Whoosh.

The dormant Yellow Dragon opened one eye.

Its appearance remained the same, but in an instant, the Yellow Dragon energy filled his entire body. It was instinct.

‘Again.’

He felt an unknown gaze once more.

Having reached the pinnacle of martial arts and fully embraced the energy of heaven and earth, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s senses were beyond imagination.

In terms of sheer sensitivity, Mak Won couldn’t compare to Yeon Ho-Jeong. They might feel the same thing, but Yeon Ho-Jeong could gather more information about what he sensed.

‘It’s truly bizarre.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes deepened.

‘If they can use this technique indefinitely, there’s no power more terrifying.’

Inner energy was a terrifying force.

It was inner energy, or Qi [life force], that made the impossible possible. How could a seemingly frail scholar break a rock with a single punch?

But inner energy made it possible. In a way, it was human knowledge and intense desire that allowed them to gain power beyond human limits.

However, inner energy, or Qi, was not limited to martial arts.

While martial arts pursued physical strength and destructive power, techniques, Taoist arts, and illusionary formations were in another realm of superhuman ability.

However, using the ambiguous power of mental strength to create a mysterious harmony between heaven and earth was not normal.

Yeon Ho-Jeong recalled a conversation he had with his master long ago.

‘Martial arts have been with humanity since the beginning. Even before humans could precisely carve wood to build structures or extract iron to make weapons, martial arts existed with humans from the primordial era. It’s natural. Humans are animals. It’s a natural law that the stronger forces devour the weaker ones.’

‘Then what about sorcery?’

‘Sorcery is different. Sorcery has also been with human history, but it wasn’t as primal as martial arts. Sorcery began with ancient rituals where humans tried to achieve the impossible by borrowing the power of the heavens.’

‘Rituals…’

‘In the end, sorcery is also a harmony of Qi. If martial arts developed to defeat opponents, sorcery developed to achieve the impossible. And it succeeded. Human minds and desires are that tenacious.’

‘Is sorcery that miraculous?’

‘If inner energy turns ordinary humans into superhumans, sorcery is closer to stealing the abilities of immortals. They both wield power beyond human limits, but sorcery is much more difficult, complex, and dangerous than martial arts.’

‘Dangerous…’

‘Especially curses. Most of them break the harmony, making their implementation a heretical and rebellious act. Even those who have seen the end of curses cannot freely wield power beyond common sense. Because the heavens do not allow it.’

At the time, he thought his master’s words were somewhat exaggerated.

But now, Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was absorbing the energy of heaven and earth with his entire body, could finally understand and feel every single one of his master’s teachings.

‘I don’t know if it’s clairvoyance or what, but this is a power that defies providence. That much is certain.’

He not only felt the presence of the eye but also the extremely subtle flow of evil energy mixed within that gaze.

That evil energy was completely different from Gok Gyeong’s.

‘It’s sticky. It smells of blood. It’s definitely a technique close to sorcery among all the techniques.’

Swoosh.

In the vast sky, an invisible giant eye seemed to look down at the group before disappearing again.

‘I won’t be seen.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong was certain. Their sorcery wouldn’t be able to see his existence properly.

He didn’t have knowledge of sorcery, but his understanding of Qi had reached the pinnacle of the Central Plains. No matter how great the sorcery, it couldn’t carelessly touch someone who had transcended the limits of inner energy.

The reason he sent Mak Won on a different path was also for that reason.

‘It’s almost here.’

Furthermore, Yeon Ho-Jeong felt it.

The battle was imminent.

Even if he couldn’t use sorcery or Taoist arts, Yeon Ho-Jeong had the experience of countless life-and-death battles and the ability to sense killing intent.

‘The wind is blowing.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong closed his eyes for a moment, letting the wind of the plains wash over him, then opened his mouth.

“Ok Cheong.”

His voice was calm, yet it cut through the loud sound of hooves and reached Ok Cheong’s ears.

“You received a sword separately from Master Seung-Hyeon, right?”

“Yes, I did.”

“A battle will soon break out. Put away the Songmun Ancient Sword and fight with the sword you received from Master Seung-Hyeon.”

Ok Cheong nodded.

He didn’t know the intention, but it was also an order.

“Understood.”

How long had they been riding?

“Hey.”

Paeyul, slightly slowing his horse, approached Yeon Ho-Jeong.

“Did you feel it?”

“Of course.”

Paeyul frowned.

“If you felt it, you should have said something?”

“There’s nowhere to hide. The plains are so vast that even if they find us, they’ll be far away. We have plenty of time to prepare.”

Paeyul scoffed, then asked in a cautious voice,

“How many enemies are there?”

“I don’t know. But I expect there to be at least over a hundred. I don’t know if those hundred experts will attack all at once, split up, or attack at different times.”

“Hmm.”

“However, there is an expert among them who is difficult to handle. Leave that one to me.”

Paeyul’s eyes flashed.

Even a sect leader of the Nine Great Sects wouldn’t say that an enemy was difficult to handle in front of him. Then?

‘The pinnacle of martial arts.’

Paeyul’s cheek twitched.

‘Damn it, the pinnacle of martial arts is no joke.’

He felt it anew. There were truly many experts in the world.

“Bu Seon.”

“Yes.”

Bu Seon also rode his horse next to Yeon Ho-Jeong.

“Just because you’re on horseback doesn’t mean you have to use unfamiliar swordsmanship. What has protected you so far has always been your two fists.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong placed his hand on Bu Seon’s shoulder.

Whoosh.

Bu Seon’s eyes trembled.

The energy flowing through Yeon Ho-Jeong’s hand was Black Evil Qi [dark energy].

‘It’s incredible.’

It was a high concentration of energy that was on a different level from his own Black Evil Qi. Just the fact that the energy had entered him made the true energy in his entire body roar in unison.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, having removed his hand, said,

“Even if a cavalry battle breaks out, you fight in the way you are most familiar with. Remember that.”

“Understood.”

“Good.”

At that moment, Tang Gwan’s voice was heard from far behind.

“You brat.”

“Yes. I know.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Let’s go for now.”

Krrrrrr!

The group increased their speed. The cloud of dust that was rising became much larger.

How long had they been riding?

Flash!

Paeyul and Bu Seon’s eyes blazed.

The figures of the enemies finally came into view for the two men riding in the lead.

‘……!!’

Paeyul’s eyes shook.

‘What is that?’

Whoooooosh!

The wind that blew seemed to carry a sweet smell.

It was sweet, but somehow a bad smell. It stuck to the body like glue, and it felt like it wouldn’t come off no matter what he did.

And Paeyul could clearly identify the source of that smell.

‘Killing intent!’

It was definitely killing intent, but it was completely different.

Even Paeyul, who had fought countless battles in the Central Plains, was experiencing a type of killing intent for the first time.

It was too strange to be considered a difference in learned martial arts. It wasn’t that the true energy was strange, but it seemed like their very existence was exuding a strange energy.

Bu Seon also felt the bizarre killing intent, and his hand holding the reins tightened.

And beyond that.

Whoooosh!

A sudden, explosive surge of killing intent turned into a storm that swept towards the group.

It was then.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s pupils turned golden.

Whoosh!

He swung the Light Dragon Axe haphazardly, and a semi-transparent golden wind appeared in front of Bu Seon and Paeyul, colliding with the raging storm.

Clash!

There was no explosion. The collision of the storm and the gale, the two winds colliding head-on, scattered and created huge clouds of dust to the left and right.

Neigh!

The horses slowed down, neighing. It wasn’t that the riders pulled the reins, but the horses were frightened.

After a moment.

The group stopped their gallop.

Whoooooosh!

The wind that blew teased the group’s collars.

About fifty yards in front of the group, there were over a hundred soldiers.

Among them, eighteen were wearing blood-red robes and holding stone staffs with ominous images of the Underworld King.

Behind them, the hundred or so others were…

“…Monsters?!”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong couldn’t help but say that.

He couldn’t help it. The hundred warriors lined up behind the eighteen monks were all in bizarre poses.

They wore terrifying demon masks on their faces, and their upper bodies were bent like the backs of beasts. Their long, thick arms reached below their knees, and surprisingly, their fingernails were as sharp as daggers.

If they straightened their backs, their height would not be inferior to Jin Yang. There were a hundred such monsters.

Decisively, their Qi.

The eighteen strange monks didn’t emit any energy, while the strange energy emitted by the hundred masked demons didn’t feel like it belonged to the living.

“They’re unpleasant fellows.”

Tang Gwan openly frowned. Muk Bi next to him also frowned.

Yeon Ho-Jeong shook the reins.

The horse neighed a few times and slowly walked forward.

Swoosh.

Then, a monk appeared from among the hundred demons.

It was an old monk holding a staff instead of a stone staff. His robe was richer and darker than the eighteen strange monks, and his black prayer beads stood out.

The two experts who had come out of each camp stood facing each other about ten yards apart.

“Impressive.”

The old monk, the Blood Monk, had a stiff expression.

“I expected there to be an expert who had reached the Blood Buddha Sutra, but I didn’t expect it to be such a highly accomplished one.”

Unlike the Blood Monk, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s evaluation was quite harsh.

“Small Thunder Sound Temple?”

“That’s right, nameless expert from the Eastern Continent. This humble monk is…”

“Pathetic.”

“……?”

“What did you hope to gain by watching us from this dusty place? Do you have nothing better to do?”

The Blood Monk frowned.

“All disasters come from the mouth. But if you already knew of our existence, then we can skip the formalities.”

“How much?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking how much the Three Teachings gave you for the proud Small Thunder Sound Temple to lick the feet of those morons.”

“……?!”

“I prefer to avoid unnecessary fights, so I’d appreciate it if you could tell me.”

“You…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong tapped his right ankle.

“I can get the money from my master, so don’t be shy and tell me. How much would you charge to lick our feet?”