Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1097

“Hah!”

Waking from his sleep, Yeon Ho-Jeong found himself standing, looking around without realizing it.

“Hah, hah.”

His breathing was ragged.

His entire body was drenched in sweat. After reaching this level, it was the first time he had felt such a physical anomaly without even fighting for his life.

His body, covered in cold sweat, trembled with chills. His bloodshot eyes were also not normal.

‘What was that?’

It was a strange dream.

Though it was a dream, it was definitely not an illusion.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s upper dantian [an energy center in the body, often associated with spiritual awareness], which had transcended the human realm, realized that the dream he had was ‘real.’ It was a dream that made no sense no matter how he thought about it, but Yeon Ho-Jeong trusted his intuition more than his reason.

‘Why him?!’

He remembered the moment he had beheaded the Evil Cult Leader, that bastard who deserved to die.

The cracked Pungryeobu [a type of weapon] had reached its limit. Furthermore, the Evil Cult Leader’s inner energy, which had made him nearly indestructible, was also extremely unstable.

There was only one chance. If he didn’t strike in time, his arm would break along with the Pungryeobu, and if he swung in time, he could blow off the despicable bastard’s head.

Fortunately, Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had exerted extreme concentration, accurately targeted the Evil Cult Leader’s weakness.

As a result, he beheaded the Evil Cult Leader and was able to win that ‘match.’

‘How is that possible?’

A beheaded corpse got up and walked on its own.

He had seen cases where bodies, not even realizing their necks were cut, would run and then collapse. In small or large-scale battles between groups, it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe, and as time passed, they could only think about moving their bodies.

Among the soldiers of the Martial Alliance, the Black Imperial Castle, and the Three Sects, there were many who died without knowing how they had died. There were those who tried to shout even though their lower jaws were gone, those who tried to swing their arms even though their arms were gone, and those who tried to kill the enemy without realizing that one side of their head was crushed.

But a body that had ‘fallen’ after its head was cut off rising again?

That was impossible even for a master of the Supreme Art. It was doubtful whether even a god beyond the Supreme Art could do such a thing.

Yeon Ho-Jeong slumped down on the bed.

Droplets of sweat fell to the floor.

‘What the hell…’

He could just think of it as an ominous dream and move on. He had things to do, and he didn’t have time to worry about such nonsense.

However, because that nonsense was related to the Evil Cult Leader, it became the most important thing for Yeon Ho-Jeong.

He had never met the Blood Demon Cult Leader, but no matter how demonic that man was, he didn’t seem to be as bad as the Evil Cult Leader. He was smart, unconventional, and more powerful than anyone else, and he attacked the Central Plains like a beast with a human brain.

‘Surely not?’

It was possible for him to move even after being beheaded. That was also surprising, but what was really strange was that the unidentified smoke that came out of the Evil Cult Leader’s severed neck went into Moyong Gun’s mouth.

What was that smoke? Yeon Ho-Jeong couldn’t tell.

He couldn’t understand it with his head, but his intuition, which had reached its peak, realized that the smoke was something that could reverse the Evil Cult Leader’s death.

‘No way. There’s no way to reverse the result of death. Unless time is turned back…’

At that moment, Yeon Ho-Jeong trembled as a chill ran down his spine.

He had seen someone who had survived the absolute result of death.

‘Me?!’

That’s right. He himself was that person.

No, strictly speaking, what happened to him was somewhat different from that of the Evil Cult Leader.

Yeon Ho-Jeong reversed what should have happened, a process that clearly existed. He was not the only one who survived, but he had returned by going back in time in this world.

In other words, it was a reversal of time. Yeon Ho-Jeong’s survival was just one ‘change’ according to the flow of time, not returning to the past with the body of that era.

But the Evil Cult Leader was different. He seemed to be trying to reverse death not by reversing time, but by his own will.

He hadn’t seen the result, but the fact that it was attempted was itself a defiance of heaven.

‘Come to think of it.’

The cold sweat had stopped.

The chills were still there, but Yeon Ho-Jeong’s expression had regained its original composure.

“…The Blood Demon’s disciples were like that too.”

Sichuan, and Qinghai.

There, he had seen the souls of the dead who had descended by borrowing the bodies of others.

Of course, their martial arts, which had come back to life by borrowing the bodies of others, were close to half-baked.

It was only natural. A true master was someone who had unified their essence, energy, and spirit. Just by pulling in the spirit, which was the realm of the soul, and overlaying it on another person’s body, it was impossible to exert full power.

Of course, because their level in life was so great, they could use martial arts that could not be matched by ordinary masters even with half-baked martial arts, but when they faced true masters, even their second life would be useless.

‘Immortality.’

It came to mind that the Three Sects were trying to achieve immortality in their own ways.

The Divine Flame Sect tried to approach immortality through Hwajeong [a technique focused on internal energy and regeneration]. When he saw Gi Cheon-Woong, it could be said that the Divine Flame Sect had ultimately failed. Hwajeong had pushed the regenerative power of the body to its limit, but it was inevitable that they would die if their necks were cut or their internal organs were severely damaged.

The Blood Demon Cult seemed to be trying to approach immortality with the technique of soul possession. Since the soul possessed another person’s body and had complete control, it could be seen as a more plausible approach than the Divine Flame Sect in a way.

However, its side effects would be much more severe than Hwajeong. Hwajeong was also a technique close to ignoring the laws of nature, but at least it was a technique that adhered to the minimum common sense.

On the other hand, the Blood Demon Cult’s soul possession was truly a traditional technique of defying heaven. In fact, countless heretical groups had challenged soul possession, and all but the Blood Demon Cult had failed.

Then what about the Evil Sound Sect?

‘What kind of immortality are they trying to achieve?’

At that time, the scene of the dream came to mind again.

The Evil Cult Leader, who had been beheaded, moved and poured an unidentified smoke into Moyong Gun’s mouth.

If that was the path to immortality, then the Evil Sound Sect could be seen as having chosen a path no different from that of the Blood Demon Cult. Of course, the fact that a dead body moved on its own was bizarre.

“Damn it.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong cursed and shook his head.

‘What the hell was that dream? Is it true? Even if it’s true, it’s strange. I don’t know what happened in that time. It’s what happened after I died. But how can I have such a dream?’

He had been thinking about it for a long time, but Yeon Ho-Jeong could only think of it as ‘true.’ His reason constantly shouted impossible, but his intuition became more and more convinced that it was true.

“Damn it, it’s like I’m possessed by a ghost. Out of nowhere, I’m fighting with the Cult Leader…”

Suddenly, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes widened.

“Huh?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had gotten up without realizing it, recalled what had happened in his dream.

He recalled it several times, and tried to forget it several times. And then he recalled it again.

“…This can’t be.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been staring blankly into the air, slowly extended his fist.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Even though he was extending it slowly, it felt like the air in the room was shaking.

It was a movement that had no fixed form but showed aggressive attack power. It was an extreme attack technique that destroyed the enemy without retreating.

“White Tiger Art?!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong also moved his feet.

As he moved around the fairly spacious room, swinging his fists, his face gradually filled with surprise.

“The Four Divine Beasts Martial Arts have returned?!”

Black Tortoise, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon.

After awakening the Yellow Dragon, he had lost the forms of the Four Divine Beasts Martial Arts as if someone had intervened and cut out a part of his memory.

But now, all of that had come back to him. There was little unfamiliarity in regaining what he had lost. It was so familiar that his hands and feet moved on their own.

After performing the Four Divine Beasts Martial Arts several times, Yeon Ho-Jeong pulled up the Yellow Dragon Divine King Energy.

Kugugung.

The golden dragon that lived under the huge lake near his solar plexus raised its head.

‘It’s normal.’

The Yellow Dragon Divine King Art was the same. Even without the Four Divine Beasts Martial Arts, he remembered all the martial arts he had learned and mastered so far.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face became serious.

‘Something was strange. I’ve never thought about it deeply, but it was definitely not normal that I forgot the Four Divine Beasts Martial Arts after awakening the Yellow Dragon.’

He thought of his master.

His master was the strongest person of all time who had achieved the Yellow Dragon, but he had not lost his identity as a master of the Four Divine Beasts Martial Arts.

His master’s movements, teaching him delicate movements when he was young, were full of familiarity. He had not forgotten the Four Divine Beasts Martial Arts even after awakening the Yellow Dragon.

However, he had lost the Four Divine Beasts Martial Arts while awakening the Yellow Dragon.

Yeon Ho-Jeong thought it was because of his ‘vessel.’ His master’s vessel was wide and deep, and he would have no problem embracing all the martial arts of this world.

On the other hand, he didn’t have much talent. It was a miracle that he had reached the Yellow Dragon with that talent. But he thought that in order to handle the great power of the Yellow Dragon, there would be things he had to give up.

That was why he hadn’t thought deeply about the loss of the Four Divine Beasts Martial Arts.

But now that he thought about it, it was strange.

The Yellow Dragon Divine King Art itself was a path to reaching the Dao [the fundamental principle of the universe] through martial arts. If the Yellow Dragon Divine King Art was a martial art that discussed the ultimate of martial arts, it made no sense that he had forgotten the Four Divine Beasts Martial Arts, regardless of the size of his vessel.

‘I really don’t know, really.’

Not only did he have a dream from a time he could never know, but the Four Divine Beasts Martial Arts that he had forgotten had also returned.

Yeon Ho-Jeong could not feel anything other than confusion in this uninterpretable situation. And that was what Yeon Ho-Jeong hated the most.

“I should ask him.”

He would put aside the matter of the Evil Cult Leader for a while. The important thing was always ‘himself.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong left the room and went to find his father.

His father, who knew his past life and had pioneered the great realm of the Mind Sword, would be able to give him a great answer, if not the correct one.

* * *

Unfortunately, Yeon Ho-Jeong could not get an answer from his father right away.

“Ho-Jeong!”

“Father?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face, which had been looking around, hardened.

The atmosphere of the imperial palace was as hot as if it were on fire. There was a mixture of tremendous tension, subtle fear, and even a battle intent that seemed about to explode.

“Could it be that the enemy has come?!”

“That’s right. Suspicious movements were detected this morning. According to the information from the scouts, they seem to be waiting about thirty miles away.”

Even in the midst of the urgency, Yeon Ho-Jeong was bewildered.

“This morning? I have not received such information.”

“It seems you were tired. So I deliberately didn’t wake you up. I was going to wake you up soon anyway.”

Yeon Wi pointed to the sky.

“It’s already been five days since you fell asleep.”

“What?!”

“I guess you didn’t know. I thought that since your level is so great, you wouldn’t need food and water, so I left you alone.”

This is a damn mess!

Yeon Ho-Jeong shouted urgently.

“What is the current troop formation? No, I will go directly to the north wall of the imperial palace!”

“Don’t worry. The formation has already been prepared. Let’s go for now.”

The two fathers and sons flew to the north wall of the imperial palace in an instant.