Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1063

A pain shot down his spine.

‘How long has it been?’ he wondered.

A chunk of flesh was torn from his right side, a hair’s breadth away from a fatal wound. Even with his vision blurring, he managed to sense the killing intent and twist his body to minimize the damage.

He used his Divine Spear Qi to quickly close the wound and stop the bleeding, but the pain was considerable. The injury to the pressure point on his side made his body want to curl up in agony.

“Tch!” he clicked his tongue in frustration.

There was no follow-up attack. So Hyun-rip had also struck Mak Won’s face with the shaft of his spear.

So Hyun-rip asked, his face stiff with a mixture of pain and disbelief, “What kind of martial art is that?”

Wham!

Mak Won charged without a word.

Even at such a close distance, he ran with all his might. Mak Won’s fists and feet, moving like lightning, threatened So Hyun-rip’s entire body.

Pow pow pow pow!

The sound of air being torn apart was tremendous.

Mak Won’s fist and foot techniques were impressive, but So Hyun-rip’s evasion skills, which didn’t allow a single blow to land in that short distance, were also worthy of praise. Even with a large wound on his side, his movements were not restricted at all.

It was a tense yet strange exchange.

Usually, when martial artists at their peak fought to the death, they would use stronger techniques and more powerful explosive force to inflict internal and external injuries on each other.

In other words, the main focus would be on a battle of qi [internal energy]. Those who had reached that level had all shed their human forms and had extremely free control over their qi, so they naturally judged victory by their understanding of qi.

However, the two men’s fight was different.

While freely manipulating their qi, they were fighting like warriors who had trained extensively in external martial arts, using both real and feigned attacks.

In a way, this might be the ideal of martial arts. Although they had transcended their human forms, they still had human bodies, so it would be reasonable to decide the outcome through ‘movements,’ no matter how high a level they had reached.

Although the two men possessed lower-level martial arts even in the Heavenly Realm, their fight itself was the closest to the essence of martial arts.

A fight as pure humans, not as transcendents who aspired to the realm of the gods.

So Hyun-rip, who had been constantly retreating in the face of Mak Won’s incomprehensible back-hitting techniques and weapon skills, finally launched a counterattack.

Whoosh!

Although he couldn’t understand the method of martial arts implementation, he had improved his ability to respond by watching dozens of fist and foot attacks.

So Hyun-rip, who had moved to Mak Won’s rear flank with the Lightning Flash Step, unleashed a leg technique aimed at the lower body.

Thud!

A booming sound erupted as So Hyun-rip’s leg technique struck Mak Won’s steel-hard thigh.

It was a traditional leg technique, not a strange back-hitting technique with hard-to-read trajectories like Mak Won’s. It wasn’t just Mak Won who had mastered the numerous fist and foot techniques accumulated in the Martial Sect. So Hyun-rip’s leg technique showed his skill in attacking his opponent with the most powerful blow at the necessary moment.

Mak Won’s body staggered, and So Hyun-rip also faltered from the recoil.

Flash!

Without even turning his body, Mak Won thrust the White Lightning Spear between his arm and side, accurately aiming for So Hyun-rip’s neck.

Clang!

So Hyun-rip deflected the White Lightning Spear with the shaft of his Black Obsidian Spear and took a step back, unleashing his True Stance [a powerful stance that maximizes the user’s power].

Wham!

The flash of black obsidian, released with an explosive True Stance, shot towards Mak Won’s chest in an instant.

It was a Dragon Furnace Flash that had exploded at close range. It was an attack that could neither be blocked nor avoided with the existing methods of response.

Zzzzzzzzzing!

Yet, he blocked it.

Mak Won’s reflexes, deflecting the Black Obsidian Spear’s energy with the shaft of his White Lightning Spear, were unbelievably impressive.

So Hyun-rip’s eyes flashed.

Just as he had become accustomed to the incomprehensible fist and foot techniques.

It seemed that Mak Won had also begun to get used to the Sea Mist Dragon Flash. His sharp eyes, which seemed to have loosened up, were always fixed on him, and all he could hear was his own breathing, and all he could sense was the killing intent within his own movements.

A terrifying concentration, a mad passion to win this battle at all costs, was evident.

‘It’s still too early,’ So Hyun-rip thought.

The Sea Mist Dragon Flash was divided into three forms, and what Mak Won had seen so far was only one form.

Zzzzzzzzzing!

The White Lightning Spear spat fire.

Although he didn’t want to, So Hyun-rip couldn’t help but admire Mak Won as he frantically blocked his attacks.

All sorts of martial arts were coming out of the six-foot-long spear. From thrusting and swinging spear techniques to striking and pushing staff techniques, to sword techniques that naturally induced slashes by swinging it like a dual sword, and even the energy of sword techniques that were much freer and lighter than ordinary spear techniques.

It was a movement that transcended the original form of a weapon. Even when trying to overwhelm him with overwhelming power, Mak Won’s internal energy was not inferior to So Hyun-rip’s.

Bang! Pop pop pop!

The continuous clanging sounds gradually turned into explosions.

Mak Won’s White Lightning Spear was gaining a ferocious power. It was the pinnacle of external martial arts, the Heavenly Martial Weaponry technique, which grew more powerful over time. Even So Hyun-rip, known as the Spear King, could not afford a moment’s carelessness.

‘But,’ So Hyun-rip thought, a glint in his eyes.

Whoosh! Bang!

Shaking the Black Obsidian Spear held in both hands, the flexible shaft swayed up and down, twisting the White Lightning Spear’s trajectory.

Even with the blazing Heavenly Martial Divine Weapon, the trajectory could not be prevented from being shaken. Mak Won tried to rotate his body as he followed the deflected White Lightning Spear.

At that moment, a chilling killing intent swept over his body.

The killing intent multiplied in an instant, turning into ten, twenty spear blades, trying to shred his body.

‘Danger!’

Whoosh!

He stopped rotating and kicked off the ground, flying into the air. It was an instinctive response.

And then.

Mak Won’s eyes, looking down from the air, widened as if they would tear.

‘That is?!’

The Black Obsidian Spear wrapped around So Hyun-rip’s hand had multiplied into dozens of spears.

It wasn’t just creating afterimages, but each one was a spear with substance. At least, that’s how it felt to Mak Won’s eyes and senses.

Dozens of spear blades, aiming at all directions in a semi-circle around So Hyun-rip’s body.

“Uwaaaah!” So Hyun-rip roared.

With a fierce shout, dozens of black spears were fired like an explosion.

Pow pow pow pow!

As if firing them by detonating gunpowder.

The dozens of spear blades flying towards Mak Won in the sky boasted a fierce killing intent and tremendous speed.

‘I can’t block it,’ Mak Won realized.

He couldn’t use the Battle Art of Weapon and Body, which maximized the freedom of his body. No, he shouldn’t use it.

Whoooosh!

Mak Won, having put all the Heavenly Martial Divine Weapon into one White Lightning Spear, unleashed the pinnacle martial art of the Martial Sect, the Dragon Whisker Spear Technique.

Clang clang clang!

Mak Won’s face contorted.

He used the Dragon Whisker Spear Technique, which was close to the extreme of Illusionary Spears, with the Heavenly Martial Divine Weapon. Yet, every time he deflected a black spear, the joints of his entire body creaked and his internal organs were shaken.

Bang!

Mak Won tried to escape the range of the attack by using the White Steel Flight in the air.

However, his judgment was a mistake.

‘……!!’

He tried to disperse the impact by going higher into the air, but what Mak Won saw were dozens of black spears that were softly bending and moving.

The black spears, which had been fired at different positions, were wriggling like living snakes, heading towards Mak Won.

‘This is!’

Just like the Myriad Falling Flowers that Tang Gwan used [a technique that creates numerous flower-like projectiles].

Although the number of weapons could not even be compared, the freedom of the spears was truly comparable to the Myriad Falling Flowers.

‘Controlling Spears with Qi!!’ Mak Won realized in shock.

The secret technique of sword control was unfolded with spears.

The problem was the number of spears. Although they were clearly not real Black Obsidian Spears, they had the same appearance as real spears and even possessed destructive power. He had never imagined that such a martial art could exist in the world.

Madness flickered in So Hyun-rip’s eyes.

‘This is the end,’ he thought.

The second form of the Sea Mist Dragon Flash, the Dragon Riding Flash.

It was a wide-area and ultimate technique that created tangible spears by pouring extreme internal energy into the understanding of controlling spears with qi, and then pouring them onto the enemy.

In the past, So Hyun-rip had used this technique to shatter the Plum Blossom Sword Formation of the Mount Hua Sect in one blow. Moreover, at that time, it was a martial art that was not even half-completed.

He was confident that the current Dragon Riding Flash had the power to send any master of the Heavenly Realm to the other world.

‘Your martial art was useful. At least, it will remain in my memory,’ So Hyun-rip thought with a grim satisfaction.

Dozens of black spears poured down on Mak Won.

Clatter!

The spears of true qi, materialized by the Divine Spear Qi, exploded, creating tremendous pressure.

Even though it was a martial art he had used, So Hyun-rip suffered internal injuries from the pressure. This was because his internal energy consumption was so extreme that he could not perfectly protect his body.

“Cough!” So Hyun-rip coughed, his face pale as he spat out blood.

The skin on his back and shoulders cracked due to the pressure. If his internal energy had been insufficient, everything from his muscles to his bones would have been crushed.

Kugugugung!

The ground within a radius of about ten yards around So Hyun-rip shook and then became quiet.

Whoooooosh!

White snow powder moved with the wind, creating a huge whirlwind. The whirlwind slowly subsided, spreading beautiful water vapor in all directions.

‘Not a single piece of flesh will be left. Farewell,’ So Hyun-rip thought, wiping the blood from his mouth, and stood up.

He swung the Black Obsidian Spear greatly to pop his dislocated shoulder back into place, and then, startled by an unknown energy, he turned around.

“……!!” So Hyun-rip’s eyes widened in disbelief.

There was Mak Won, covered in blood all over his body.

So Hyun-rip’s mouth dropped open.

“You… how?!”

“Although I completed the Heavenly Martial Divine Weapon several years ago, it was only three months ago that I perfected this martial art,” Mak Won said, his voice strained but resolute.

Tsutsutsutsu.

A white energy rose from Mak Won’s body.

A light that was much brighter than the scattering snow powder, yet comfortable to look at.

On the other hand, his skin was dyed silver-gray like a sharp sword. Moreover, like So Hyun-rip, the skin all over his body was cracking.

However, there was not a single place where he had been pierced by the Dragon Riding Flash.

That was why he was able to survive. If even one place had been pierced, he would have died on the spot.

The Heavenly Martial Divine Weapon, the Heavenly Martial Steel Body Technique.

It was a secret technique that raised the body’s hardness to a level beyond ten thousand years of steel, the closest thing to an indestructible body in the current martial world.

If the Sea Mist Dragon Flash boasted extreme attack power by containing the essence of spear techniques, the Heavenly Martial Divine Weapon was a versatile martial art designed to handle ten thousand martial arts.

It was connected to the path of mastering all martial arts that the Martial Sect pursued, and Mak Won had gone one step further, even perfecting a strange technique that drastically increased the strength of his body with true qi.

Looking at Mak Won’s appearance, So Hyun-rip finally realized.

Why the elders in the sect had only looked at Mak Won, why they had coveted his martial arts even though he had left the sect on his own, and why they had tried to make Mak Won the new sect leader of the Martial Sect. He could understand it all in an instant.

However, even if he understood it with his head, he could not understand it with his heart.

“You bastard!!” So Hyun-rip roared, his voice filled with rage.

Clatter!

So Hyun-rip, squeezing out the last drop of his remaining internal energy, emitted a murderous aura.

“I will kill you, and I will let the world know that I am the true successor of the Martial Sect!”

“You can’t develop further because you risk your life for such a trivial reputation,” Mak Won replied calmly.

“Shut up!” So Hyun-rip yelled.

Wham!

So Hyun-rip charged.

His spear, running forward with the Lightning Flash Step, moved according to the trajectory of the last third form of the Sea Mist Dragon Flash, the Dragon Soaring to Heaven, which he had only used once in his life.

Whoosh!

Facing the powerful shockwave pouring down like a tidal wave.

Mak Won, who had opened the secrets of the Heavenly Martial Weaponry Technique, charged forward without any techniques, simply trusting in the power he had reached in the heavens.

The final clash of the strongest of this era, born from the Martial Sect.

Clatter!

The martial arts of the two men, colliding head-on, created a field that enveloped an area of about twenty yards in radius.

The heavens and earth were astonished, and the wind groaned. Red blood droplets, startled, scattered in all directions.

In the scattering snow powder.

Only one shadow stood tall.