Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1155

I was reminded of the time I met Yin Master Ha Eun-Gyo in the past.

Her presence was truly remarkable. It was only natural, considering she was one of the Three Supremes of Seongcheon [a prestigious martial arts group]. Moreover, Yeon Ho-Jeong was clearly inferior to Ha Eun-Gyo at the time.

Ha Eun-Gyo’s energy was unique.

Back then, I simply thought it was mysterious and moved on, but now, based on my upper dantian [energy center in the forehead], which is filled with vigorous divine energy, I realized there was something truly special about it.

‘It was extremely transparent.’

The countless martial artists I’ve met so far each had their own distinct characteristics.

The Fighting King Yang Cheon concealed a beast-like energy. It was as if I were looking at a giant beast like a mountain. Like the Black Lion Energy he had mastered, he was a man who had harnessed the ferocity of a lion as large as a mountain.

What about the Sword Master of Namgoong?

The Sword Master, who had earned the title of invincible with a single sword, had an energy that resembled a cloudless sky. It was endlessly blue, and as you approached, it grew darker, like a sky walking somewhere between the sun and the moon.

Tak Mu-Ja was like a cloud, and the Demonic Immortal Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi gave the impression of a blazing red flame. The Dao Master Jongli Baek was like a towering pillar supporting the sky.

Like that, the supreme martial artists Yeon Ho-Jeong saw each had clear characteristics. They were skilled at changing their aura and could emit forces of completely different natures, but at a glance, you could tell what they were like.

But Ha Eun-Gyo was different.

She was mysterious and beautiful, but now that I think about it, that was closer to her innate nature.

I couldn’t feel anything from Ha Eun-Gyo.

She was so transparent, so clear, that it was as if you could bump into her on the street and not know who you had bumped into. She was that ambiguous.

‘It felt like no kind of energy could stand against her.’

A person like a formless piece of glass. She was a martial artist who made it unclear how to even attack.

This was why, while the presence of other supreme martial artists could be mistaken, Ha Eun-Gyo could never be mistaken.

And now, Yeon Ho-Jeong was certain that Ha Eun-Gyo was beyond that hill.

“It’s the Yin Master.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes deepened.

“There’s no way I could not recognize her.”

“Damn it.”

Jin Yang’s face contorted terribly.

Yin energy was the most difficult type of martial art among many.

He had actually fought against a black-clad expert who used yin energy. Even though he was inferior to him at the time, the shockwaves emanating from his slightly modified zither were so troublesome that they forced him to only evade.

That was the extent of the yin energy of a master whose name was not well known. If it was the yin energy of the Yin Master, who was said to be the strongest in the martial world, you might die the moment you entered her sight, let alone approach her.

“But it’s strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“Senior Ha is one thing, but…”

The Blood-Drinking Evil Energy.

‘I was sure that the Blood-Drinking Evil Energy was a bizarre martial art that would cause a cultivator to suffer a qi deviation [a dangerous imbalance of internal energy] or die if they were not of the Evil Sound Sect Leader’s bloodline.’

That was reconfirmed through So-Bang, the illegitimate child of the sect leader.

‘Did all those guys inherit the sect leader’s blood?’

It wasn’t entirely impossible.

In the first place, the Evil Sound Sect Leader was also a child of a human. There was no way he wouldn’t have siblings, and if you looked at the collateral lines, there would be many people with the same blood.

The problem was whether the Evil Sound Sect Leader had kept them alive.

Of course, Yeon Ho-Jeong didn’t know about the atmosphere or lifestyle within the sect. But it was possible to make a reasonable guess.

It was said that even the Divine and Blood Cults went through a tragedy of fratricide to become the best. There was no way that the Evil Sound Sect, which was the most evil of the three sects, wouldn’t do the same.

‘Of course, it’s not impossible, but…’

The Evil Sound Sect Leader was a person who had cultivated his inner energy to the ultimate level. Moreover, during the time of the Blood Cult’s Three Great Families, the Evil Sound Sect inherited the task of spreading the blood of the Blood God to the world.

If they had been focused on kidnapping healthy women and having children, how many children would they have had?

But Yeon Ho-Jeong had one question in mind.

‘I heard that children who were not capable were all disposed of.’

Those with weak blood only defiled the sect leader’s authority.

It was natural for the Evil Sound Sect Leader to eliminate those who were incapable and without talent. Before considering how immoral it was, it was something that could happen in a cult with fanatics.

‘That’s strange. If so, those hundred experts who came with Senior Ha can’t be the sect leader’s children.’

The hand holding the Mad Dragon Axe tightened.

‘How did they master the Blood-Drinking Evil Energy to that extent?’

The level of each and every one of them was worthy of being called a supreme expert.

There were as many as a hundred of them. It was true that there were many experts in the world Yeon Ho-Jeong lived in, but a group of a hundred supreme experts was a force that would be considered the best elite anywhere.

‘I’ll have to clash with them directly to find out.’

And before that, there was something to confirm.

“Jin Yang.”

“What is it?”

“Can you stop a hundred supreme experts?”

“That’s the wrong question.”

“Huh?”

“You should ask if I can defeat them.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong chuckled.

“If it’s a one-on-one fight, it wouldn’t be entirely impossible. But they are a united force. If they form a formation and push you relentlessly, it would be difficult even for you.”

“You won’t know until you try.”

It wasn’t arrogance. It was confidence.

Yeon Ho-Jeong thought that Jin Yang’s confidence was due to the new divine skill he had awakened. He probably wanted to use that divine skill in battle, and his body was itching to do so.

“Let’s rest for now.”

“Huh? Aren’t we going to charge in now?”

“What did you hear? From now on, I’m the real Black Emperor Lord. We have to wait for Gang Ryang.”

Jin Yang shook his head.

“Weren’t you the lord before? Seriously.”

He said that, but he sat down with a thud and immediately entered a meditative state.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was looking down at him with a smile, also got off his horse. The Black Blood Demon Horse knelt down, snorting.

‘Well, this guy is right.’

He had always been the Black Emperor Lord.

And the Dark Emperor.

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at the hill again.

‘Please rest well until we meet face to face.’

It was unknown why Ha Eun-Gyo had entered Shanxi with the Evil Sound Sect’s forces.

The important thing was that she had also sensed Yeon Ho-Jeong’s energy.

Yet, the fact that she hadn’t crossed the hill with her forces meant that she was determined to face Yeon Ho-Jeong there.

In other words, just by Yeon Ho-Jeong being here, they wouldn’t move rashly. Yeon Ho-Jeong’s very existence had a deterrent power that could prevent meaningless sacrifices.

‘Let’s hear what happened and what the situation has been like.’

***

The next morning.

“We greet the Lord!”

The loud voice was filled with overflowing loyalty and powerful inner energy.

Those who came with Gang Ryang were the Dark Guard Commander and the hundred members of the Lord’s secret escort unit, the Protectorate.

All members of the Protectorate were experts who had mastered stealth techniques comparable to the Dark Guard Commander. The stealth technique of the Protectorate Captain Han Jung-Myung was also like that, and unlike the members who had mastered defensive martial arts, he was an expert with complete offensive and defensive martial arts.

“You’ve worked hard to come a long way. I look forward to working with you.”

“Loyalty!”

With one word of pledging loyalty, all the members of the Protectorate disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Stealth techniques that made them disappear like ghosts even when you were watching them. It was possible because they had mastered the top-level evil arts and strange studies that Yang Cheon had gathered while unifying the black martial world.

The Dark Guard Commander Heo Baek bowed his head silently. As the head of the intelligence unit, he was the one who would accompany the Lord and immediately report information from all over the Central Plains.

‘Look at this?’

Jin Yang was inwardly surprised by Heo Baek’s martial arts.

He had heard that he was one of the experts that Yang Cheon had deliberately raised, but he had never imagined that he would be an expert who had surpassed the Martial Ancestor.

It was a blow to his pride that the head of a mere intelligence unit was not much inferior to him.

Gang Ryang could immediately read Jin Yang’s thoughts. Well, he had the same thought when he first saw Heo Baek, so it wasn’t hard to understand.

He would have teased Jin Yang if it were normal, but it was a pity that now wasn’t the time.

“Just in case, we don’t need to rest.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded at Gang Ryang’s words.

“Good. Let’s go.”

Heeheehing!

As Yeon Ho-Jeong mounted the Black Blood Demon Horse, Gang Ryang and Heo Baek also mounted their horses.

Jin Yang grumbled.

“Damn it, this makes me look like a page.”

“You’re too big to be a page, brother.”

“You’re going to die.”

Gang Ryang turned his head, suppressing a laugh.

Yeon Ho-Jeong handed the Mad Dragon Axe to Jin Yang.

“Hold it and follow me.”

“Why are you doing this to me, even the captain!”

“It is said that weapons are the life of a martial artist. I am now entrusting my life to you.”

“…”

“I wouldn’t entrust the Mad Dragon Axe to the Protectorate Captain either.”

At those words, Jin Yang’s expression brightened.

“Ahem! I know that. Well, let’s go then.”

The Protectorate Captain had to be in stealth, so he couldn’t be entrusted with a weapon.

Jin Yang knew that too, but wasn’t it human nature to be moved by a single word that was so transparent?

Gang Ryang sent a telepathic message to Yeon Ho-Jeong.

[Sometimes when I see Brother Jin, I think he lives life so easily.]

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

Gang Ryang wouldn’t know. How difficult and exhausting it was to live life as simply as Jin Yang. He wouldn’t be able to live like that if it wasn’t worth it.

“Then.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes changed.

Whoosh!

His empty presence instantly began to press down on the surroundings with a weight of ten thousand pounds.

Not the Black and White Emperor, nor the eldest son of the Yeon family.

It was the energy of Yeon Ho-Jeong, the Black Emperor Lord, the leader of the Black Martial World Alliance.

“Let’s go.”

The Black Blood Demon Horse, which had charged ahead with a refreshing cry, began to climb the hill.

The hill, which was neither high nor low, was conquered in an instant under the hooves of the Black Blood Demon Horse.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had reached the top of the hill, looked down at the hundred or so masked figures in the distance.

And among them, a woman sitting on a particularly isolated rock, looking south, caught his eye.

Flash!

As if understanding the master’s heart.

The flowing Yellow Dragon Energy tightened strongly, and the Black Blood Demon Horse’s eyes emitted a bright blue lightning.

Heeheeheehing!!

It was more intense than any cry it had ever made. It was a demonic roar that could be heard hundreds of feet away.

Saaak!

Even though they were far away, a reddish killing intent was transmitted. It was the evil energy emitted by the hundred masked figures in bizarre costumes.

“Uh…”

Jin Yang frowned.

“Those bastards are quite something?”

At that moment, Yeon Ho-Jeong spoke.

“Commander Gang, Commander Heo.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I have something important to discuss with the Yin Master.”

The Black Blood Demon Horse walked forward again.

“I will not invite anyone else, so make room.”

A powerful voice that could not be disobeyed.

Whoosh!

Gang Ryang and Heo Baek, who had jumped off their horses, descended the hill at an incredible speed.

They reached the bottom of the hill in an instant and immediately charged towards the hundred masked figures.

“Kaaaah!”

As one of the masked figures made a bizarre sound, all hundred experts spread out and blocked Ha Eun-Gyo’s path.

A strange light appeared in Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes.

It was a familiar formation, though he didn’t know its name. It was the unique formation of the Evil Sound Sect that he had seen in countless battles in the past.

And behind them, Ha Eun-Gyo, sitting on the rock, still didn’t even turn her head.

“Jin Yang.”

“Speak.”

“If those two don’t take down half of them within a quarter of an hour, you join in too.”

Jin Yang grinned.

“That sounds good.”

Just as the two of them had descended halfway down the hill.

Kwarurung!

The battle between Gang Ryang, Heo Baek, and the Hundred Lustful Ghosts began.