Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1033

“Black and White Martial Emperor…”Moyong Gun chuckled wryly.

“Isn’t it a title that’s both enviable and excessive, yet at the same time, perfectly fitting for that fellow?”

“Indeed, it is.”

Moyong Woo’s voice was tinged with a hint of nervousness.

Moyong Gun leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

‘Martial Emperor, huh?’

Emperor of martial arts.

It was an utterly arrogant title. Looking at the title alone, Yeon Ho-Jeong was the only one to have taken the title of Martial Emperor, except for the Sword Demon of the Four Directions, who was considered the greatest of all time three hundred years ago.

The title of Emperor was second only to the Divine Immortal and the First Celestial within the Holy Heaven.

It was said that there was almost no difference in martial power between those at the Divine Immortal Emperor level, but even if that were true in combat, there would certainly be a difference in the level of achievement.

Nevertheless, the people of the world said that Yeon Ho-Jeong represented the Holy Heaven.

‘Divine Immortal Emperor, Three Armies… those are all meaningless titles.’

Black and white. One who encompasses both the black and white paths.

Then what is a Martial Emperor? Is it simply a title given to someone who is skilled in all martial arts?

No, it is not.

Looking at Yeon Ho-Jeong’s combat skills, it might be acceptable to use it in that sense, but the reason why the world actually gave him the name of Martial Emperor was different.

The ‘Martial’ in Martial Emperor refers to the martial world itself.

In other words, people have given Yeon Ho-Jeong the title of Emperor of the Martial World.

What an arrogant and absurd title.

If he were simply a master who could use all kinds of martial arts, they might be surprised, but they would accept it. If he were the greatest in the world who had mastered all martial arts, or if he were still young and they couldn’t give him the title of Divine Immortal, they would understand.

‘Emperor of the Martial World, huh?’

This title of Black and White Martial Emperor contained the wishes, hopes, and emotions of everyone living in the martial world. In a way, Yeon Ho-Jeong had achieved something far more difficult than becoming the leader of the Martial Alliance at that age.

Moyong Gun chuckled wryly again.

‘Even though I’ve implicitly joined hands with that fellow, the fact that I feel this unnecessary bitterness every time shows that I can’t be called broad-minded, not even as a figure of speech.’

Moyong Gun opened his eyes and sighed.

“No matter how I think about it, he’s a talent worthy of such a title.”

“I think so too.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Moyong Gun looked at Moyong Woo.

Moyong Gun’s appearance was quite haggard. His beard, which was always neatly trimmed, was now overgrown, and his clothes were wrinkled and disheveled.

Moyong Woo knew that Moyong Gun had been holed up in his residence for the past month, engrossed in something.

‘What on earth?’

Moyong Gun had never shown such a side before.

Rather, the more problems there were, the more serious the situation, the more composed he appeared. That was Moyong Gun’s personality. He was a person who was used to never showing his difficult side to others.

But today, Moyong Gun was different.

Not only his appearance, but his energy was also a bit unstable. His eyes, which had clear pupils and whites, were bloodshot. It was so different from his usual self that it felt out of place.

Moyong Woo cautiously asked.

“Brother.”

“…”

“Is something wrong?”

“That Yeon Ho-Jeong fellow has gained fame representing not only the Holy Heaven but the entire world. I can’t stand it, I’m so jealous.”

It was a joke, but his face was so bad that it didn’t sound like one.

“Brother.”

“It’s hard to catch up with even one thing. Well, it’s ridiculous to even think about catching up. I am me. I’m already struggling to walk the path I desire, the path I’ve chosen, so why am I so swayed by the affairs of others?”

“…”

“Just don’t be like that.”

“…I understand.”

“It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be swayed by others.”

“Yes?”

“It means become a martial arts leader respected by all, and build a reputation greater than Yeon Ho-Jeong’s in the future.”

Moyong Woo’s face stiffened slightly.

He had also heard from Gong Gong Daesa that he would soon be living as the vice-leader of the Martial Alliance.

There had never been a position of vice-leader in the history of the Martial Alliance. Unlike other organizations, the Martial Alliance was a coalition, and there was no absolute power concentrated in one person, so there was no such thing as a successor.

But now it was different.

Moyong Woo, born in this different era, would be the first vice-leader of the Martial Alliance in history.

“I…”

Fearing that he might say something like ‘I don’t know,’ Moyong Gun’s eyes sharpened.

Moyong Woo said in a slightly calmer voice.

“I will become someone who is more suitable to be the leader of the Martial Alliance than anyone else.”

“…”

“Until someone appears to take my place.”

A faint smile appeared on Moyong Gun’s face.

“Are you sure?”

“Originally, I never had any intention of becoming the leader of the Martial Alliance.”

“I know.”

“But people can’t live only as they wish. Someone will tell me. How can you lead anyone when you live a life you didn’t even choose yourself?”

“That’s possible.”

“I will tell those people. If you have never been swept away by the turbulent currents of the times, I will scoff at your words and ignore them.”

“Haha.”

Moyong Gun burst into a hearty laugh.

He was happy with his younger brother’s ambition, and he was proud of his younger brother’s change.

At the same time, he was saddened by the fact that no matter how big one’s dream was, the position of being chosen by the times could not be achieved simply through effort.

“Shall we go out for a bit?”

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

The two went out into the spacious backyard.

Tension settled on Moyong Woo’s face.

Moyong Gun stood with his back to him. His hands were behind his back, but he was holding a sword.

Moyong Gun looked up at the sky without turning around and said.

“At first, I didn’t know either. I just thought it was an ancient martial art.”

“Yes?”

“This martial art, which was discovered by the previous head of the family, my grandfather, was interpreted by my father. And I began to learn it in earnest.”

“…?!”

“One mind technique and one sword technique. That’s all. But with just that, one can discuss being the best in the world. That’s how I saw it, and my father and grandfather believed it without a doubt.”

“…!!”

“When I went into seclusion, I was able to look back at this martial art once again. And when I was in the Shangwu Alliance, I realized that I had not yet reached the essence of this martial art.”

Moyong Woo’s eyes shook greatly.

Moyong Gun continued.

“Originally, it was said that this martial art was created by a genius of the main family a long time ago. There were no documents left, but I heard it from my father. My father must have heard it from my grandfather.”

“…”

“It was a long, long time ago, but it seems there was a competition for the position of family head back then as well. I don’t know his name, but the eldest son at the time mastered the original form of the Qiankun Hundred and Eight Sword Techniques [a complex sword style] to its limit, and the youngest brother, who was the last competitor, developed that martial art further and created this martial art.”

“…!”

“That is the Thunderclap Art and the Ruthless Heavenly Thunder Style.”

Moyong Woo’s eyes shook greatly.

“Brother, could it be?”

“The eldest son, who brought in outsiders and killed the youngest brother, vowed to create a martial art comparable to the Thunderclap Martial Art himself. But as time passed, the limits of his talent became apparent, and only after several generations did the Eight Extremes Mind Technique and the Hundred and Eight Sword Techniques come into being.”

“…!”

“In other words, the Qiankun Martial Art [a family martial art] you have learned and the Thunderclap Martial Art I have learned come from the same root. That is why I was able to quickly improve my mastery of the Thunderclap Martial Art.”

Moyong Gun slowly turned his body.

His eyes were still bloodshot, but his gaze was very clear.

“I don’t know why this martial art was abandoned. If they wanted to abandon it, they could have just burned it, but I don’t know why they buried it so carefully. There must have been unknown events in an era we don’t know about.”

“…”

“But I can assure you, the power of the Thunderclap Martial Art is greater than that of the Qiankun Martial Art. The Qiankun Martial Art may be superior in stability and breadth, but the Thunderclap Martial Art cannot be matched in output and growth.”

“…”

“After a long period of training, I realized that the Thunderclap Martial Art suits me better than the Qiankun Martial Art. I don’t know which martial art will suit you.”

Moyong Woo shook his head.

“Brother, I will learn that…”

“The Qiankun Martial Art and the Thunderclap Martial Art are martial arts that have developed in the bloody history of the main family.”

“…”

“If that martial art were to become famous throughout the world as a technique used by the future greatest leader of the Martial Alliance, there would be no greater glory for the Moyong family in history.”

“…Brother.”

“Furthermore, the position of the leader of the Martial Alliance is a position held by the best of the era, both in the past and now. There is no need to show off your martial power carelessly, but when you do show it, you need to overwhelm everyone.”

Moyong Gun’s face became stern.

“If you are truly going to walk the path of a leader, you must not become a fool who cannot gain the power you could have gained because of unnecessary pride or guilt.”

Moyong Woo, who had been looking at Moyong Gun with trembling eyes, lowered his head.

“I will leave my mark on the world with the martial arts of Moyong.”

“Very well. Furthermore, you must become a martial artist who does not lose to anyone. I will do the same.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Moyong Gun finally smiled with relief.

He took out two books from his chest and handed them to Moyong Woo.

“Take them.”

“Yes.”

The books were thinner than he had expected.

But they felt like a thousand pounds to Moyong Woo.

“I also interpreted them by looking at the original. I was originally going to give you the interpreted version, but I decided not to. I thought it would be more meaningful to look at the formulas and the dharma [Buddhist teachings] directly and reveal the hidden meaning within them yourself and train.”

“Thank you.”

“One book contains the essentials of the mind technique and the sword technique. The other one contains the insights I gained while learning the Thunderclap Martial Art, written down haphazardly.”

It was said that the insights gained by the head of the Moyong family were written down. If it was the insights of a martial artist who was competing for the top spot except for the Holy Heaven, it would be worth a thousand gold.

Swoosh.

Moyong Gun drew his sword.

“If you only look at the essentials, the form will come out on its own. But to refine that form in detail, it will take at least three years.”

Swoosh.

Moyong Woo also drew the Tangma Divine Sword.

“By crossing swords with me, look into this foolish brother’s sword path. If you can reduce three years to three months and ten days, there will be nothing more I can do for you.”

“…”

“Now, come.”

Moyong Woo powerfully swung his sword, and Moyong Gun also seriously received his younger brother’s sword.

“No, you shouldn’t receive it like that there. You need to step your left foot half an inch forward to set up a defense of power, and then you need to pressure with the Heavenly Net Sword of the Hundred and Eight Sword Techniques to cut off the follow-up attack.”

“Good! That was good just now. Since you’ve been in real combat for a long time, you’re throwing out killing blows from moment to moment, but killing blows only show their power when used at the right time. Remember that blow from just now. If you try to fight only with instinct, you can be defeated by even a smart third-rate fighter.”

Since it was not a sparring match that drew out each other’s power using internal energy, there was no sense of excitement. But the sword duel between the two half-brothers, who were trying to understand each other and move to a higher place, was more elegant and beautiful than any fight in the world.

Moyong Gun willingly became a teacher, and Moyong Woo learned the new martial art with all his heart.

Winter was approaching again.

Looking at the ominous dark clouds hanging over the martial world, flames were rising in various places.