Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1011

Moyong Gun, who entered with the door open, smiled and said,

“Were you sleeping?”

“Yes, I closed my eyes for a bit.”

“You must have been tired. The atmosphere is so chaotic; you must have been on edge.”

“It’s nothing compared to you, Clan Leader.”

It was a subtle remark.

It sounded like a humble statement, but to those who sought the truth, it was heard at face value.

“Please, sit down. I’ll prepare some tea.”

“I will.”

Moyong Gun sat in front of the table.

Hong Ik-Cheon, as if accustomed to it, boiled water in the brazier in the room. His hands, selecting tea leaves from a prepared spot, were both practiced and careful.

Hong Ik-Cheon asked, his back turned.

“Did your trip go well?”

“It went well.”

Moyong Gun smiled.

It was a dry, cold smile, unseen by Hong Ik-Cheon.

“Too well, in fact.”

A smile also appeared on Hong Ik-Cheon’s face.

It was a deep, serene smile, unseen by Moyong Gun.

“I see.”

“Are the Alliance members still moving around?”

“They were, but with the sudden death of Clan Leader Namgoong, the entire Alliance is on emergency alert. For now, everyone has returned to their quarters and is waiting.”

“I see.”

“It seems many are not used to such situations and are quite anxious. After you left, Clan Leader, I visited them one by one and tried to reassure them, but that won’t make their anxiety disappear.”

“You are truly remarkable. It’s not easy to be so meticulous at such a young age.”

“Haha, it’s all thanks to the life skills I learned from you, Clan Leader.”

“That’s not true.”

Moyong Gun’s gaze lowered.

“From the first time I saw you, you were extraordinary. Your physique was outstanding, but you seemed more like a very intelligent and bold merchant than a martial artist.”

Pouring the appropriately heated water into the teacups, Hong Ik-Cheon said,

“It’s a pity. As I mentioned before, I actually wanted to become a martial artist, rather than a merchant.”

“You are already an excellent martial artist.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course, although you’ve mastered something closer to sorcery than martial arts.”

“Haha.”

Hong Ik-Cheon’s hands, filling Moyong Gun’s cup and then his own, were incredibly natural and fluid.

“The Water Dragon Divine Needle Technique is certainly an excellent study, but I still don’t know if it’s sorcery or martial arts. It’s all because of my shortcomings.”

“Didn’t you say before? That the method of operation is based on the upper dantian [an energy center in the body], unlike other internal energy cultivation methods, but the way of releasing divine energy is similar to the formulas of internal energy cultivation.”

“I did.”

“Those who learn martial arts also use the upper dantian, but I’ve never heard of martial arts that use the upper dantian as the main dantian. Using the upper dantian as the main dantian can be seen as the realm of sorcery.”

“However, if one cannot demonstrate divine abilities with such a study, it cannot be called sorcery.”

Hong Ik-Cheon placed the two finished cups of tea on the table.

Moyong Gun only reached for the teacup but did not drink the tea.

“Martial arts are also incredibly divine abilities in the eyes of ordinary people. Moreover, you even perform acupuncture with that study.”

“Haha, that’s true. However, acupuncture is a principle that one naturally comes to understand when mastering the Water Dragon Divine Needle Technique.”

“It’s more than that; your skills are outstanding. Frankly, just looking at your acupuncture, you’re beyond the reach of most renowned doctors.”

Hong Ik-Cheon scratched his head and said,

“My master said that the Water Dragon Divine Needle Technique was born from the wishes of the people, so it’s close to martial arts but can also be seen as sorcery.”

“…….”

“He said that sorcery is, in the first place, a study that represents the people’s desire to overcome their unfortunate reality. It’s an extension of things like talisman magic and prayers.”

“I know that as well.”

“The people’s wishes are to live healthily and peacefully. Thus, a study that manipulates water, the source of life, was born, and my master said that it must also be able to care for the body.”

“He was a great man.”

“Yes. He was a great man.”

Hong Ik-Cheon looked out the window.

“Even such a great man couldn’t overcome fate, it seems, as he fell ill and passed away.”

“We all leave one by one like that.”

“I suppose so.”

Hong Ik-Cheon turned his head and said with a smile,

“Please, have some tea. I’ve adjusted the temperature appropriately.”

“About the Water Dragon Divine Needle Technique.”

“Yes? Ah, my martial arts?”

“The other day, Vice Leader Yang saw through your martial arts at a glance. As expected, the eyes of a master who has reached the Limitless realm are something else.”

“They say it’s the realm of transcendents. It’s understandable.”

“He said it didn’t seem like Taoist or Buddhist sorcery. I was quite surprised to hear that. He saw through even the origins of the sorcery.”

“That’s incredibly accurate. After all, I heard that King of the Fist traveled the continent his whole life and developed himself. He must have a lot of experience.”

“I suppose so.”

Hong Ik-Cheon smiled faintly.

“But why are you asking so deeply about my martial arts?”

“May I ask the name of your master?”

Hong Ik-Cheon’s answer was natural.

“He uses the surname Ham. He didn’t tell me his name.”

“I see.”

“Why do you ask?”

“I was wondering if he was from the Central Plains [the heartland of Chinese civilization].”

It was a sharp and provocative question.

Hong Ik-Cheon tilted his head.

“Is that what you were curious about?”

“There are many other things I’m curious about. If I had to pick one…”

Moyong Gun’s hand, holding the teacup, tightened.

“Besides the head of the Jin Merchant Guild who sponsored you, why did all the people who were with you in your childhood die?”

“…….”

“Of course, such people are not uncommon. How many orphans are there in this chaotic world, and it’s hard to count the number of forces that sponsor talented orphans to increase their power.”

“…….”

“So I didn’t suspect anything. Even I can see that you are an outstanding talent. However, there was one thing that bothered me.”

Moyong Gun’s eyes narrowed.

“Why did the head of the Jin Merchant Guild seem like he wanted to distance himself from you?”

Hong Ik-Cheon silently sipped his tea.

Moyong Gun’s gaze deepened endlessly. Hong Ik-Cheon’s action of drinking tea without any change in expression was gradually turning suspicion into certainty.

“He treated you like a son. But that wasn’t all. It was only for a moment, but… I clearly saw that he was afraid of you.”

“Is that so?”

“I investigated the merchant guilds that gathered to form the Commerce Alliance. Actually, there was no need to investigate. Most of them had done my dirty work. They got their hands dirty for some money.”

“…….”

“I thought that the guild head might have been intimidated by your upright character. He sponsored you, but he might have been afraid that you would grow too big and reveal the guild’s secrets that I didn’t know about.”

“I see.”

“But that wasn’t it.”

Moyong Gun, having taken his hand off the teacup, straightened his back and lifted his chin.

“He was simply afraid of you as a person. Am I wrong?”

“…….”

“Why can’t you answer?”

“People are.”

Hong Ik-Cheon’s voice was completely unwavering.

“They are much more fragile and ephemeral than one might think.”

It had changed.

His voice was the same, but Moyong Gun felt that his tone had changed slightly.

“That’s probably why. Because they are so fragile, they cannot live without leaning on and relying on each other, so when two or more gather, they try to form a society through harmony. Yes, the beginning is harmony.”

“…….”

“But once they start to unite, social status is created. They should take care of their own business, but to make things easier for themselves, they create ranks and hierarchies.”

Hong Ik-Cheon smiled.

It was a smile that no longer looked like a handsome young man to Moyong Gun.

“They are beings who cannot live unless they feel superior to others. At some point, they fail to understand the solemnity of life and live only to become superior.”

“…….”

“They become anxious if they don’t become superior, and if that anxiety lasts, they belittle others. It’s because they know in their heads that they are not superior, but they cannot accept it in their hearts.”

“…….”

“People are such weak, fearful, and foolish beings.”

“Hong Ik-Cheon.”

“Why did Clan Leader Namgoong die?”

“……!!”

Moyong Gun’s eyes shook.

He suddenly brought up Namgoong In’s death.

An ominous atmosphere. Moyong Gun’s hand, which was about to restrain Hong Ik-Cheon, flinched.

Hong Ik-Cheon calmly put down his teacup and said,

“Namgoong In tried to become the best. The funny thing is, he was a half-wit who didn’t even know exactly in what area he wanted to be the best.”

“You…”

“His only desire was to be the best. Perhaps even if the Namgoong family became the most powerful family in the world, or if he himself became the greatest swordsman in the world, he would not have been satisfied. Why? Because everything he saw, everything related to him, had to be the best.”

“……!”

“He would never have stopped until the Namgoong family became the most powerful force in the world, until he himself became the greatest person in the world, and until his children also became the best.”

Hong Ik-Cheon smiled brightly.

“His blind obsession with being the best. As he walked that precarious tightrope, I simply blew a puff of wind towards him.”

“…….”

“With that ridiculously weak gust of wind, Clan Leader Namgoong fell off the rope.”

“What nonsense are you spouting!”

Moyong Gun shouted for the first time.

He was someone who had never shown a disheveled appearance in front of others, no matter how angry he was.

That’s how shocking it was. He had also thought of Hong Ik-Cheon as a reliable junior and a young man worth learning from for a long time.

A young talent who had become the center of his reformation.

He had never lived for him, but this young man, who would appear like a ghost when he felt empty and ask to have a drink, had helped him stand upright.

But now, he was saying such absurd things.

“I failed for the first time.”

Hong Ik-Cheon’s expression was still relaxed.

No, it was as if he didn’t know any other expression. The expression he was wearing now seemed like a very human mask, but at the same time, it wasn’t a mask.

A face without guilt, sadness, sympathy, or philanthropy. His face, with a beautiful smile, seemed to contain all the hearts of the universe.

“For the first time, I failed to manipulate a target as I intended. That was you, Clan Leader.”

“You!”

“While drunk, you muttered, ‘Is my change truly the right thing?’ To which I said,”

Why do you have to change? You’re good as you are.

Moyong Gun could vividly recall those words as if he had heard them just yesterday.

“Why do you have to change? You’re good as you are.”

“…….”

“If it had been anyone I had seen before, and if it had been your nature as I knew it, you should have returned to your old self then. You should have gone berserk. Everything you had suppressed and endured should have exploded, making you even more sinister and savage than before.”

“…….”

“You were different. Instead, you smiled and said to me,”

“I came back from the brink of death, so I have to change something, or else I’ll be called a fool.”

“I came back from the brink of death, so I have to change something, or else I’ll be called a fool, you know.”

Moyong Gun’s eyes were bloodshot.

“You, who gave me my first sense of frustration, are a truly interesting person. Is it because you’ve experienced death once and come back that you’re so different?”

“…….”

“It only takes a day for a person to go mad. One incident is enough. It seems you’ve already gone through that process.”

Hong Ik-Cheon smiled and continued,

“Call the people who came with you. I am ready.”