Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1009

Moyong Gun’s eyes, gazing silently out the window, were the very picture of indifference.

The atmosphere was extremely chaotic. Though not many people were passing by, it felt as if hundreds were bustling through the streets.

How long had he been staring like that?

Creak.

The sound of a door opening reached his ears.

Moyong Gun’s eyes deepened.

He hadn’t sensed anyone approaching at all. Even with the invisible lightning energy he had spread throughout the area, he had been completely unaware.

If his opponent had intended to kill him, he realized he would have been utterly helpless, caught completely off guard.

Considering his level, just a step away from the Supreme [a martial arts realm], it was a truly terrifying stealth technique.

Moyong Gun slowly turned his body.

A young man stood there.

Moyong Gun tilted his head.

“I don’t recognize your face.”

“I was sent by Vice Leader Yeon Ho-Jeong.”

“……Is that so?”

Moyong Gun studied the young man’s face for a long time before nodding.

“I knew I’d be contacted soon. What did he say?”

The young man took a letter from his chest and placed it on the table.

Moyong Gun looked at the table, then raised his head.

“Just a letter…….”

Moyong Gun couldn’t finish his sentence. The young man had already vanished.

It was truly a terrifying stealth technique. He had never imagined that anyone in the world could wield such a skill.

‘No, there was one.’

He remembered Yeon Ho-Jeong mentioning a legendary assassin, a genius who had inherited the martial arts of the Shadow God. He had casually mentioned that if this person grew properly, he could dominate the assassin world of the Central Plains [a region in China].

‘Could this guy be him?’

If that were true, it meant Yeon Ho-Jeong had even brought an assassin into the Martial Alliance.

‘He must have verified his identity.’

He would have informed Abbot Gong Gong or Jeagal Mun-Ho, if no one else. Yeon Ho-Jeong wasn’t reckless enough to bring in an assassin without verifying his identity, no matter how skilled.

Moyong Gun quickly dismissed the thought and unfolded the letter.

“Hmm.”

His eyes gleaming, he picked up the sword he had placed to one side.

Crack! Whoosh!

The letter, ignited by lightning energy, vanished in an instant.

At the same time, Moyong Gun disappeared from the spot.

* * *

Moyong Gun arrived at a rather large pavilion near the Alliance Leader’s residence.

Whoosh.

He was not inside the pavilion, but on the very top of the roof.

Yeon Ho-Jeong was sitting openly on the roof tiles. Given the location, no one could see him unless they were looking from the Alliance Leader’s residence, but it was a place where only someone with extraordinary courage would dare to sit.

“You’ve arrived?”

“Nice to see you, murderer.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong chuckled.

“Alright, you can call me that for now. I won’t get angry.”

Moyong Gun was certain that Yeon Ho-Jeong had not killed Namgoong In.

“Hoo, the breeze is nice.”

Moyong Gun sat next to Yeon Ho-Jeong, looking at the continuous buildings of the Alliance Leader’s residence.

“Where did you put your axe?”

“It’s too conspicuous to carry around. I asked Ryang to keep it for me.”

“And where did those guys hide?”

“That’s a secret.”

“What secret? You probably have them stationed around the residence of whoever you suspect is behind this.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong gave a strange smile.

“How did you know?”

“Just as you know me well, I know you pretty well too.”

“You’re scary. You weren’t like this in the old days, were you?”

“I’ve just been paying attention. Besides, have you not experienced this kind of thing before?”

“I haven’t experienced this kind of thing. I’ve seen something similar, though.”

“Usually, time is of the essence in these kinds of situations. You have to be cautious and quick at the same time. The fact that you wanted to see me means you’ve organized your thoughts to some extent, which means you’ve already finished deploying your forces, right?”

“Thinking about it, I’m really glad you changed your mind. If the Clan Leader had become our enemy with that insight, it would have been suffocating.”

“Stop with the useless flattery.”

It wasn’t flattery or gilding.

The current Moyong Gun, who had changed his mind, wasn’t as driven as before, but he was much sharper.

Perhaps because he had become so sharp, he no longer needed the same level of drive. The important thing was that Moyong Gun was now an ally, and that was incredibly reassuring.

“By the way, who is that assassin?”

“He’s a guy who mastered the Shadow God’s ultimate technique.”

“Guangdong [a province in China]?”

“That’s right.”

“His talent is insane. Honestly, I didn’t sense him at all until he opened the door.”

“He’s a guy who can penetrate my senses. How much more would it be for you?”

Listening to those words, Moyong Gun realized once again that Yeon Ho-Jeong had become a master of a different dimension than himself.

It was bitter, yet somehow his heart was pounding.

Having someone to chase after was a blessing. Rather, as he let go of his desire for the Alliance Leader position, the longing for martial arts that he had forgotten began to burn within him.

Moyong Gun, calming his competitive spirit that was flaring up once more, asked casually.

“So, who do you think is the culprit?”

“Before that, let me ask you something.”

“Go ahead.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong asked with a serious face.

“Do you believe that people can be controlled with words?”

Moyong Gun frowned.

“It doesn’t sound like a joke.”

“It’s not a joke.”

“It doesn’t sound like you’re talking about something like Soul-Seizing [a technique to control someone’s soul].”

“Of course not.”

“People are influenced by others. The fact that children who are taught by their parents behave the same way as their parents can be seen as the result of a long period of manipulation, if you want to put it negatively.”

“You could see it as manipulation without malice.”

“I suppose so. But why are you suddenly asking about that?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong told him in detail about what had happened at the Namgoong family.

His memory was better than anyone else’s. Thanks to that, he was able to convey the conversation he had with Namgoong In word for word.

“…….”

Moyong Gun’s eyes deepened.

“So it was suicide?”

“That’s right.”

“I thought you wouldn’t have killed him. But I didn’t believe he would have actually committed suicide.”

“Honestly, even I who saw it with my own eyes couldn’t believe it.”

Moyong Gun stroked his chin.

“……It’s a difficult problem.”

A master of the peak realm could do that.

However, a master of the transcendent realm is a realm where not only their inner energy and body, but also their spirit is transformed. It’s too insignificant to call it a rebirth, but broadly speaking, it can also be considered a kind of rebirth.

It varies from person to person, but if you train your martial arts to that extent, the upper dantian [an energy center in the body] grows on its own. Even if you can’t control it, it still grows.

A larger upper dantian than an ordinary person leads to the strengthening of mental power.

It is a fact that they have a stronger mental power than ordinary people, even if their innate nature and character are different. Some see it as pride, others as confidence.

Of course, there are many people who are easily swayed by the words of others even after reaching that level. Most of the people Yeon Ho-Jeong swayed with his terrifying rhetoric were masters who had surpassed the martial sect.

But suicide is a slightly different issue.

Suicide usually starts with a question about one’s own identity.

For a person with strong mental power to commit suicide? That’s really not easy.

“……?!”

Moyong Gun, who had been lost in thought, suddenly had an idea and looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong.

Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded.

“The Clan Leader abandoned a desire that was close to faith.”

“…….”

“It’s hard to imagine how great that pain must have been, but at least we can guess that it was painful enough to die.”

“……It wasn’t just enough to die.”

Moyong Gun spoke honestly.

“I actually thought about suicide.”

“……I see.”

“If I hadn’t found myself quickly, I would have taken my own life during my seclusion.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed.

“As I suspected.”

“What do you mean?”

“Whether it’s a technique or simple rhetoric, it’s extremely difficult to penetrate the upper dantian of a master.”

“That’s right.”

“But once it’s penetrated, it’s also true that they receive a much greater shock than ordinary people.”

“……!!”

The life that was supported by a strong ego is shattered in an instant.

Naturally, the shock is bound to be enormous. From that point on, the issue of life and death enters the realm of recovery, not mental strength.

If they recover, they live, and if they don’t, they kill themselves.

It’s like a person hanging on a cliff by a single rope.

“Masters who have reached the Supreme realm all have eccentric tendencies. It’s not that they were like that from the beginning, but because they live with an enlightenment that cannot be understood by the small minds of humans, they can go crazy if they don’t constantly practice self-cultivation.”

“…….”

“In other words, masters can also commit suicide. Rather, once they collapse, it becomes much more difficult for them to recover than others.”

Moyong Gun’s eyes deepened.

He wanted to say that it couldn’t be true, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

The reason was clear. It was because he himself had already gone through such a process.

“I know a few masters who committed suicide suddenly, just like the Namgoong Clan Leader.”

“…….”

“There are many differences in their suicides. But there are also commonalities that cannot be ignored. The most infuriating thing among them is…….”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face contorted.

“There’s a stench that can only be described as malice, but it’s just a feeling, so I can’t explain it.”

“Malice…….”

“There must be some purpose. But, how should I say it… it seems like there’s another reason besides the purpose.”

“What reason are you talking about?”

“That’s why I’m complaining, because I can’t explain it.”

Moyong Gun did not criticize Yeon Ho-Jeong.

Rather, he took his words seriously. He knew very well how sharp Yeon Ho-Jeong’s intuition was, not just for himself.

“……So, what you’re saying is that there’s someone behind this who is not only controlling people with words but also making them commit suicide, and that the person behind this doesn’t just want to cause chaos in the Martial Alliance?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm.”

Moyong Gun’s eyes deepened.

“Was there any trace of brainwashing on the Namgoong Clan Leader?”

“There wasn’t.”

“To ruin a person with just conversation…….”

“That’s not as difficult as you think.”

“Hmm?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked up at the sky.

“It only takes a single day for a person to go mad. Furthermore, a single incident is enough.”

“That’s an interesting thing to say.”

“It’s something I heard from a former colleague.”

“That’s true. Sometimes, people collapse because of a single incident that seems insignificant to others.”

“Everyone lives with darkness within them. Depending on how you stimulate that darkness, even a person who lived like a saint can become a notorious villain.”

“A single choice…….”

“My father said that was the line.”

Moyong Gun, nodding his head, asked again.

“So, who do you think is behind this?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong stared silently at Moyong Gun.

Moyong Gun frowned.

“You don’t suspect me, do you?”

“You were one of the people I suspected.”

“……Well, I guess that’s possible. Considering what the Namgoong Clan Leader said about a spy unit.”

“You’re smart as always.”

“But it seems like I’m off the list of suspects?”

“I’m sure now. The Clan Leader is not the one behind this.”

“That intuition of yours is really something. So, who do you think it is?”

After a moment of silence, Yeon Ho-Jeong said with a sigh.

“The Clan Leader came to the Martial Alliance alone.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Just answer me.”

“Then, when did the owner of the Gangseo Commerce Alliance, to which the Clan Leader belongs, enter the Martial Alliance?”

“……What?”

“The leader of the Commerce Alliance, the genius whom the Clan Leader himself promoted to leader, when did he enter the Alliance?”

“……?!”

Moyong Gun’s face hardened.

“You don’t mean…?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s expression became indifferent.

“What’s his name?”