Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1332

‘He’s huge!’

Sa Mun-Hyang’s eyes wavered.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, standing before him, felt as immense as a mountain.

‘This guy… he’s already like the Young Sect Leader.’

The force reminded him of the Young Sect Leader from back then.

Sa Mun-Hyang noticed that Yeon Ho-Jeong’s power was almost depleted. He probably had trouble just standing, like himself.

Yet, he was still so imposing. He exuded an aura that made it seem like he could stand firm against any master in the world, or even the entire world attacking him at once.

A faint fear flickered across Sa Mun-Hyang’s face.

Chiiiik!

With all but one soul returned to their rightful place, his dull skin regained its original color. He was no longer a body of a military order possessed by ghosts.

“I’m giving you a chance…”

Sa Mun-Hyang smiled coldly.

It was a smile to hide his fear.

“Do you know?”

“……”

“I came to this Shandong and killed countless people. I defiled women and tore apart children. I dismembered children in front of their parents, and I ripped off parents’ heads in front of their children. I did it with my own brood.”

“……”

“As the vanguard of the current martial world, I have committed unforgivable acts, yet you say you’ll give me a chance? You won’t avenge those who died in terrible pain?”

Sa Mun-Hyang suddenly burst into loud laughter.

“Hahahaha!”

The laughter vibrated through the air.

“That’s nonsense that even a dog wouldn’t believe. You’re not giving me a chance.”

His expression hardened again.

“You plan to wipe out all the seeds of our sect. That’s why you told us to go back.”

That was partly true.

Yeon Ho-Jeong had told them to take their forces and return. To go back and find their own place to die.

But the true meaning of his words was to withdraw the forces of the Demonic Sound Sect stationed in Shandong and the foreign enemies attacking Hebei at this very moment.

If Sa Mun-Hyang died, the Demonic Sound Sect’s forces would also go berserk.

The choice of revenge was easy. But it was difficult to put aside that desire for revenge and try to minimize the immediate damage.

That was exactly why Yeon Ho-Jeong was trying to persuade Sa Mun-Hyang. To go back, to prepare for their attack.

Sa Mun-Hyang, a demon who had ruthlessly trampled on the lives of others to become a god, could never understand the decision of a great hero.

Furthermore, if Sa Mun-Hyang tried to invade the Central Plains again with his forces, a final war would break out due to the martial forces united to fight against them.

After that, if they declared surrender and the leaders were all killed, the innocent followers would be spared. But if they started another war, then it would be an all-out annihilation.

The regrets of his master, the heart of a great hero that Yeon Ho-Jeong had realized, the vanguard’s fighting spirit to not leave the enemy unscathed, and the will of the Divine Martial General to move forward with everyone.

It was a proposal that encompassed all of that, which made Yeon Ho-Jeong great.

“So, what’s your choice?”

Sa Mun-Hyang gritted his teeth.

‘Move.’

He had enough power left to kill this one. His heart was shrinking, but if they actually fought, the guy would never be able to beat him. That was the state he was in.

Yet, his power wouldn’t move.

‘Move!’

Wooong! Woooong!

The Blood Demon Qi began to twitch slightly.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes turned cold.

“You show it with actions rather than words.”

He slowly raised his fist.

In that instant, Sa Mun-Hyang felt as if his mind and body were being sucked into an abyss.

‘This is…’

He had only raised his fist, but his power stopped again.

Cold sweat beaded all over his body. His breathing became erratic, and his face turned pale. He wanted to step back immediately, but he couldn’t move a single finger.

It was a battle of will that transcended the common sense of power and martial arts.

Flash!

A pure white aura surged from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body.

At this moment, having drawn out his final strength, Yeon Ho-Jeong had finally reached the realm of his master, Cheon In-Ryong, who had shaken the world back when he was the Blood Demon Sect Leader.

The realm of the Invincible Yellow Dragon Emperor, the strongest master in martial arts history, who was called the greatest of all time. The very realm that the man who changed the fate of the world had walked.

Hwaaaak!

It felt like light was descending from the sky.

Yeon Ho-Jeong felt his master smiling behind him. It was a smile full of pride and apology, of satisfaction and pity.

‘Master.’

The fist, full of determination, vibrated slightly.

‘Master, I will now kill the worst demon who is entangled in a bad relationship with you and me, the two Divine Martial Generals.’

He had failed to minimize the damage, but this time, he had no choice but to seek the understanding of the people of the world.

He hoped they would understand the wrong choice of a martial artist who had dedicated his entire life to stopping the Three Teachings.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes turned yellowish-white.

Sa Mun-Hyang shouted involuntarily.

“No!”

Kwaang!

The descending fist created an explosive sound.

Puhwaaaak!

Blood splattered, staining the ground red.

* * *

“……”

Yeon-Wi, who was meditating in a cross-legged position, suddenly stood up and looked towards the distant north.

“Father?”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong, who approached Yeon-Wi with a puzzled face, felt a chill run down his spine.

‘This is?!’

Wooong!

A low hum and a white aura revealed itself.

It was an aura like mist or haze, but it quickly filled the entire barracks and even expanded its territory outside, writhing.

‘It’s not Sword Qi!’

It wasn’t Sword Qi, but it felt like a part of it.

Not only that, but the auras of all the other Five Great Divine Arts were also felt.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s eyes shook greatly.

‘Yeon Family Divine Altar!’

It was the Yeon Family Divine Altar located in the upper dantian [an energy center in traditional Chinese medicine].

It was unprecedented to have formed an altar in the place where a god resides. But to spread that spiritual energy to the point where it was visible to the naked eye was truly absurd.

At this level, it was no exaggeration to say that he had the body of a divine being. Even though he only felt the divine energy of the upper dantian, not his power, Yeon Ji-Pyeong knew that he had not even reached his father’s toes.

‘Incredible! The Yeon Family Divine Altar is originally a collection of power, a technique that constantly increases power using high-density power… but to have it in the upper dantian!’

In other words, his father’s upper dantian divine energy, like the existing Yeon Family Divine Altar, would also infinitely increase his power.

The total amount of power would vary depending on talent and enlightenment.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong was confident. His father’s divine energy was now greater than that of Tak Mu-Ja, the Sword Immortal of the Wudang Sect. Perhaps he possessed one of the most remarkable upper dantian divine energies in the history of the martial world.

“Ho-Jeong.”

On the other hand, Yeon-Wi couldn’t even pay attention to the divine energy he was scattering.

He felt the soul of his blood relative in that distant north. Just as Tongcheon Jin-In, one of the Three Great Masters of the Jianghu [the martial world], had looked over the entire continent, he too could clearly grasp the presence of his blood relative, connected by the Heavenly Principle.

‘How can this be? Ho-Jeong’s divine energy is this powerful?’

Yeon Ji-Pyeong was surprised by Yeon-Wi’s upper dantian divine energy, but his surprise was nothing compared to Yeon-Wi’s.

‘It’s incredible! It feels like it’s going to cover the entire world!’

A sense of ecstasy appeared on Yeon-Wi’s face.

It was the feeling of an artist looking at a master spreading ultimate divine energy, not his son.

‘Ah!’

Yeon-Wi’s eyes became hazy.

Hwaaaak!

The energy of the Yeon Family Divine Altar increased in density. Just by feeling his son’s energy, his own upper dantian divine energy also developed.

The energy of blood relatives, connected by the Heavenly Principle, was full of supreme enlightenment. Even someone who had reached a higher realm than Yeon-Wi would not be able to feel Yeon Ho-Jeong’s power right now.

Father and son, parents and children.

That loose net, which could never be severed even if one tried, was raising Yeon-Wi’s realm.

‘You have soared so high. It’s truly amazing. How did you achieve such enlightenment…’

At some point, Yeon-Wi’s face hardened.

‘It’s going even higher?’

The pure white divine energy of his son, turning white-hot, was burning even more strongly and brightly.

Even before, it was difficult to call it a human aura, but now it was even more so. The white energy, which was beyond imagination, was increasing in density without limit, finally reaching a point where it could not be sustained by a human body.

‘Ho-Jeong! No!’

Yeon-Wi knew what such a density of true energy would bring about.

‘If you increase your power any further, you will…!’

He would disappear from this world.

He would advance to the realm called ascension in Taoism and nirvana in Buddhism. Whether it was ascension or nirvana, the divine energy that had risen to the point where this world could not sustain it would not bind a material existence to the world.

In simple terms, it meant death.

‘Ah…’

Yeon-Wi sighed.

If ascension was real, if nirvana was real, he should have blessed his son’s journey to such a world.

But Yeon-Wi couldn’t do that. Even though it was a realm that the whole world should celebrate, Yeon-Wi couldn’t send his son to a world he didn’t know.

Furthermore, he wanted to see his son in this world. It was called ascension and nirvana, but it was no different from actual death.

How much had his son suffered all this time?

He had never lived his own life properly, wandering all over the world and fighting against foreign enemies.

Yet, he was a kind fellow who would beat his chest, saying it was all his fault whenever someone died. To the enemy, he was a terrifying general, but to Yeon-Wi, he was one of only two sons in the world.

‘Ho-Jeong, you haven’t even lived like a human yet. How can you try to reach the heavens so soon?’

It was then.

Hook!

Yeon-Wi’s eyes wavered.

Even from that far distance, he felt it. The divine energy of his son, which had been infinitely amplified, had suddenly decreased drastically.

‘Why?!’

The moment he had the question, he realized.

‘He’s been attacked!’

He hadn’t given up on amplifying his divine energy himself. In the first place, his son was likely unaware of his own condition.

It was closer to someone forcibly cutting his divine energy in half. It was clear that he had suffered damage or an unimaginable shock that had cut off the endlessly rising divine energy.

Uduk! Ududuk!

Suddenly, the sound of bones breaking came from Yeon-Wi’s body.

“F-Father?!”

An unusual change. Yeon Ji-Pyeong was greatly flustered.

But there was nothing to worry about.

Yeon-Wi was using the amplified divine energy to heal his internal and external injuries and to finely adjust the arrangement of his muscles and bones.

It was too small a change to be called a rebirth, but his will to unconsciously put his body in the optimal state had even changed the position of his muscles and bones.

Hook!

As his internal and external injuries were healed, his power surged fiercely.

“Ji-Pyeong. I must go north.”

“Father?”

“I can’t properly check Ho-Jeong’s condition. It seems like a big problem has occurred, but I don’t know exactly what the situation is.”

Yeon-Wi looked at Yeon Ji-Pyeong.

“You come too.”

He didn’t say, ‘You stay here and protect this place,’ or ‘This is not a place for you to interfere.’

His son, who had become a dignified master, was as reliable as Yeon Ho-Jeong. Furthermore, if his older brother was in danger, it was not right for his younger brother to ignore his condition.

If the father and both sons had all grown into masters worthy of praise in the Jianghu.

If they had developed enough to shoulder the crisis of the world together, then they should now help each other.

A look of determination appeared on Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s face.

“I don’t know what you saw, but I understand. If you just tell me the direction, I will assist you, Father.”

Yeon-Wi smiled.

“You are reliable. Now, let’s go quickly.”

Yeon-Wi and Yeon Ji-Pyeong decided to head north without hesitation.

The men of the Yeon family were heading towards the land of the Evil God.