Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1047

“…Therefore, all the elders have expressed their willingness to actively participate in the war.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong gave a wry smile.

“They would have participated anyway. The important thing is how they do it.”

“That’s true.”

“So, what are they doing now?”

“Most of them are collapsed in the training grounds.”

“Did they fight?”

“Rather than fighting… well, they did fight. Sama Hyeon provoked them a bit, and later it turned into something like a serious sparring match.”

“Well, well.”

Jeong An shook his head.

“I can’t understand it. How is it possible to become closer by fighting?”

“You also got closer to Yeon Sim while fighting with swords, didn’t you?”

“That’s because we had a common goal, and we were close when we were young anyway…”

“People are all the same. Anyway, the elders wouldn’t have been comfortable with me having five people under my command. They couldn’t say anything about it, but when someone picked a fight with them, they must have thought it was a good opportunity to draw their swords.”

“But the sparring seemed more like a learning experience?”

“They’re starting to understand.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes sparkled.

“That to survive, they must become stronger themselves.”

“Doesn’t everyone know that much?”

“Knowing and deeply understanding are different things. Whether they actually become stronger or not, if they try to move forward, they will abandon their previous attitudes and become more proactive.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong grinned.

“These guys, I wondered if they would do well, but they’re quite impressive.”

In the end, a martial artist is about fists and swords.

There’s no need to distinguish between white or black [referring to righteous or evil paths]. If you’ve mastered martial arts and thrown yourself into it, then those who share the same path can only settle things with swords, not words.

“Anyway, that’s how it turned out. If I have time later, I can just go and pick the fruit.”

“I don’t know what the Vice Leader is talking about.”

“You’ll understand as you go along.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong got up from his seat.

“Where are you going?”

“To see Master.”

“To the Vice Leader?”

“I should send him off soon. He’s an elder, but he’s not oblivious.”

* * *

The first thing Yeon Ho-Jeong saw upon entering the Vice Leader’s residence was Yang Cheon standing at the bottom of the stairs leading to the main hall, with twelve experts standing to his left and right.

Yang Cheon was looking up at the main hall with his hands behind his back. His energy was perfectly contained, and his posture was as straight as ever.

Yeon Ho-Jeong couldn’t tell what Yang Cheon was thinking. But he could tell that he was feeling a variety of emotions.

“You’ve come.”

“Yes.”

Yang Cheon didn’t turn around. His gaze was still fixed on the main hall.

Yeon Ho-Jeong walked without hesitation and stopped three steps behind Yang Cheon.

Yang Cheon opened his mouth.

“A long time ago, when I first entered the martial world…”

“Yes.”

“Honestly, I don’t remember what kind of spirit I had when I entered. However, I clearly remember the moment I defeated my first opponent.”

“You must have been overjoyed.”

“I was afraid.”

It was unlike Yang Cheon to say such a thing.

“He was a renowned spear master from Shanxi [a province in China]. When it came to spear techniques, he was one of the top three experts in Shanxi. He was at the bottom of that list, but he was still someone who could swagger around in that area.”

The martial world of Shanxi had fewer experts than other regions. If the best expert in Shanxi went to Shaanxi or Henan [other provinces in China], there would be dozens of people, excluding the Nine Great Sects [major martial arts schools], who would be difficult to determine the winner against.

Moreover, considering that there aren’t many martial artists who use spears, it would be difficult to consider him one of the top ten experts in Shanxi.

“I was weak. I had a solid foundation, but at this rate, I would only barely reach the level of a sect leader of a major sect in my entire life. I wasn’t satisfied with that. Since I had learned martial arts, I wanted to be the best in the world.”

“…”

“But the first person I chose as my opponent was that level of expert. I still remember him. He was a man named Song Hak, who was called the ‘Three Ghost Spears.’ He must have been around forty years old.”

“You have a good memory.”

“We fought for over two hundred exchanges. My body was covered in spear wounds, and he had no problems except for his stamina. I was about to lose my life to my first opponent after entering the martial world.”

Yang Cheon closed his eyes.

The match from that time was still vivid.

“I lured him into being careless and achieved a miraculous comeback victory.”

“Isn’t that skill?”

“Of course, luck is also a skill. However, after that, I did something unbelievable.”

“…?”

“I mutilated his corpse with the spear he had wielded.”

It was quite a gruesome story.

Yang Cheon shook his head.

“I couldn’t stand it. The fact that I could have died to this guy.”

“…”

“His spear was terrifying. I resented my body for not moving as I had trained. My hatred and fear for him grew exponentially. I felt like I would be a loser for the rest of my life if I didn’t mutilate his face and body.”

It was as if he had to disfigure him beyond recognition to forget the fear he had of him.

“But even as time passed, I couldn’t forget his face. It became clearer instead. It’s still like that now.”

“…”

“After winning the fight with him, I immediately went up the mountain. I thought I wouldn’t be able to fight again unless I got rid of this fear.”

“I see.”

“But I came down after three days and fought another spear master.”

“Why did you do that?”

“Because I realized that fear is not something you can get rid of.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

Yang Cheon chuckled and continued.

“That’s how I’ve lived. I defeated renowned experts in Shanxi, crossed over to Hebei [another province in China], and defeated other experts. There were countless times when I almost died. I fought a guy who called himself the ‘Fist Demon’ for over half a day and barely won, and it took me over half a year to recover.”

The recovery speed of a martial artist who has mastered internal energy is much faster than that of ordinary people. Even so, if he didn’t recover to his original state for half a year, it meant he had suffered a fatal injury.

“After that, the wounds on my body decreased. And five years later, I fought and defeated the Ten Handed Demon.”

The Ten Handed Demon was a legendary demon whose martial prowess was said to be comparable to that of the Shaolin Abbot [head monk of the Shaolin Temple] and the Wudang Sect Leader [head of the Wudang Sect].

His evil deeds were great, but he was especially fast and elusive, so he was a demon among demons that everyone was reluctant to fight.

“You must have had a great realization during the recovery period of over half a year.”

“It’s not really a realization. I just deeply contemplated my martial arts. However, if I hadn’t had that time, I wouldn’t have developed this much.”

“…”

“Even when I fell into the swamp of death and fear, I came back to life like a demon. When I was covered in blood and couldn’t move, I would check my martial arts, thinking it was a good thing. As I lived like that, I was eventually called the ‘Fighting King.'”

Yang Cheon opened his eyes.

The main hall he saw before closing his eyes and the main hall he saw now looked subtly different.

“A person can’t always be on a winning streak. I’ve also lost many times. I managed to escape and survive, though.”

“…”

“You can’t reach the top without defeats or rest. That’s how life is. Even if it’s frustrating and empty, this moment can still give great meaning to my life in the future.”

Yang Cheon turned his body.

The two men faced each other directly.

“You’ve been running for a long time without proper rest. Thanks to your potential and heavenly luck, you’ve shown amazing growth, but I think you’re in a state where you could collapse at any time.”

“…”

“It’s okay to leave it to someone else.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong knew. This didn’t mean he should hand over the Vice Leader position to someone else.

“Did you know?”

“How long would someone like you remain ignorant? I thought you would notice something was wrong even if I didn’t tell you.”

It was about the Emperor’s analysis.

The probability of this war not happening until the Central Plains martial world makes the first move is high.

If the war starts, Yeon Ho-Jeong will naturally move first. Yang Cheon thought so, and Yeon Ho-Jeong actually intended to do so.

“The whole world knows how hard you’ve worked to win this war. And those who have seen it up close know it even better.”

“…”

“You may not be satisfied, but there are many strong people in the world. Perhaps there are many who are wiser than you, even if they haven’t shown it. If they combine their strength, they may be able to achieve better results than you think.”

“Master, I…”

“I know, I know.”

Yang Cheon took Yeon Ho-Jeong’s hand.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes wavered.

The image of the Fighting King, with a calm face and rough hands, holding his hand was filled with a tenderness he had never seen before.

“Now I know everything without you saying it. There have been many things, but how much time have we spent together? The past few years have been as dense as decades for others.”

“…”

“Many lives depend on these two hands of yours. I don’t think you don’t know the horrors of war. You know the value of my people better than anyone else.”

“…”

“But you must always remember. That with one gesture, one word, hundreds of lives can disappear. You’ll probably do it on your own, but as time passes, there will be those who will pick on you for being from the White Path [referring to the righteous martial arts factions].”

“…That’s probably true.”

“Even in preparation for that, it would be better to leave the start of the war to someone else. It’s good to live only for war, but you also need to think about your future.”

It seemed that the fight ahead was too big and fierce to think about the future.

To be honest, the probability of dying is much higher than the probability of living. Yet, Yang Cheon was talking about the future.

Yang Cheon, who had traveled the martial world for a long time and accumulated wisdom no less than his martial prowess, was actually saying these words.

Yang Cheon, who had released Yeon Ho-Jeong’s hand, nodded.

“I’m now leaving my dream in this dark and gloomy cave. You go up to the ground and draw your own dream and future.”

“…”

“I’m leaving now. See you later.”

Yang Cheon walked away without saying goodbye.

Behind him, the twelve experts quietly followed. None of them greeted Yeon Ho-Jeong.

It wasn’t that they were ignoring him.

It was just a heartfelt stubbornness to follow only their lord, and not to bow their heads to anyone who was not their lord.

Watching Yang Cheon’s back as he left the main hall, Yeon Ho-Jeong bowed silently. They were connected by a common goal, but the figure Yang Cheon had just shown was filled with the teachings and concerns of a true master.

‘I will see you again.’

That’s how Yang Cheon left.

Beyond the cry of the dark dragon setting in the west.

The will of the Black Emperor, filled with darkness, rises.

A month has passed.