Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 112

Muk Bi’s face lit up with a subtle hint of joy.

“Young Master Yeon.”

“Hoo, that was tough.”

Thud!

The sound of the Mad Dragon Axe hitting the floor shook the entire top floor.

It was an unusual entrance. And with that massive axe slamming into the floor, the atmosphere instantly turned grim.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smacked his lips.

“I haven’t had a proper meal since dawn yesterday. My stomach’s about to stick to my back.”

“Did you have a good trip?”

“Does it look like I had a good trip? I’m exhausted.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong glanced at Moyong Yeon-Hwa and the dozen or so men and women.

Moyong Yeon-Hwa’s face hardened. The young men and women flinched for a moment, but still managed to maintain a composed demeanor.

Yeon Ho-Jeong asked as if nothing was wrong.

“Anyway, what’s going on? Asking for an apology, licking feet, all sorts of nonsense.”

Muk Bi bit her lip.

Just as she was about to speak, Moyong Yeon-Hwa spoke first.

“It seems we meet again. It looks like you’ll be staying here for a few days.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong turned his head.

Moyong Yeon-Hwa stood up.

“Come to think of it, that young lady was with you, Young Master Yeon, wasn’t she?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong chuckled without a word.

It was almost a sneer. The faces of the ten men and women turned red at the sight of that laugh.

However, Moyong Yeon-Hwa remained calm. She showed no agitation.

“That young lady made a slight mistake with our group. However, she seems to be someone who doesn’t know much about the world…”

“Are you Muk Bi?”

“…?!”

“I didn’t ask you. I’m not in the mood to talk to you right now, so don’t bother me.”

Moyong Yeon-Hwa’s expression changed.

Although they were not close, he had always shown her a certain level of respect. But not now. He was suddenly speaking to her informally.

“Are you talking to me right now?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes turned cold.

Moyong Yeon-Hwa flinched involuntarily.

She was a strong woman. She wasn’t intimidated by Yeon Ho-Jeong’s cold gaze.

However, she couldn’t easily open her mouth. She thought there was no need to provoke him unnecessarily.

She had been insulted, but she wouldn’t act rashly anymore. It was an impressive display of patience.

Yeon Ho-Jeong asked Muk Bi.

“What happened?”

Muk Bi couldn’t easily speak.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled wryly.

“It seems like your feelings are quite hurt.”

“…Yes.”

She answered honestly. Yeon Ho-Jeong liked Muk Bi’s honesty.

“I have a rough idea of what’s going on. You, did you make a mistake with those people?”

Muk Bi’s face turned red again. She was angry.

“I… I did make a mistake, but I think they were in the wrong first.”

At that moment, Ha-Seok opened his mouth.

“That lowly thing still…”

Bang!

“Gasp!”

Everyone on the top floor was startled.

Before they knew it, the Mad Dragon Axe was embedded in the wall right next to Ha-Seok. The embedded Mad Dragon Axe slowly slipped down, unable to bear its own weight, and then fell to the floor.

Thud! Clatter!

The floor shook.

It was heavy when he held it, but seeing it like this, one could tell how incredibly heavy it was. At this point, it was amazing how the inner wall, which had been hit by the Mad Dragon Axe’s blade, hadn’t shattered.

Of course, it was thanks to Yeon Ho-Jeong’s internal energy control. If he had swung it with full force, a fifth of the top floor’s inner wall would have been shattered.

“Lowly thing?”

Thump!

Three or four men and women were so frightened that they sat down on the spot.

Ha-Seok swallowed hard. He saw a phantom image of the axe that had passed right in front of his nose.

If it had tilted just a little bit to the side, his body would have been sliced in half.

Yeon Ho-Jeong said in a calm tone.

“Muk Bi is a member of the Yeon family. Even my father treats her as a guest of honor, so who dares to call her lowly? Does the Yeon family of Byeoksan also seem lowly to you?”

Moyong Yeon-Hwa and the young members of the merchant alliance were wide-eyed.

Yeon Ho-Jeong sneered coldly.

“A pig only sees pigs. With your eyes like that, you’ll be lucky if you don’t die on the street, let alone enjoy any glory.”

It was an insulting remark that hit them hard. But no one could open their mouths. They didn’t want that axe on the floor to be swung at them.

“Let’s continue what we were talking about. They were in the wrong first?”

Muk Bi said hesitantly.

“I didn’t want to sit with them.”

“But they kept insisting you sit with them?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

Muk Bi involuntarily looked at Dong So-Bang. Following Muk Bi’s gaze, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s gaze also turned to her.

Dong So-Bang’s face turned pale.

There was no way a teenage girl in her late teens, who had not learned any martial arts, could withstand the presence of Yeon Ho-Jeong, which was subtly radiating out.

Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded.

“One who can’t control his mouth, and one damned woman who bothered people. Let’s start by dealing with those two.”

Chills!

The atmosphere became even more grim.

‘Deal with them’? It was something that only third-rate thugs would say, but everyone could feel the terrifying meaning behind those blatant words.

Dong So-Bang involuntarily slumped down in her seat. Ha-Seok was trying hard to maintain a blank expression, but his fingertips were trembling slightly.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, the Tiger of Byeoksan.

He was the eldest son of the Byeoksan Yeon family, a master who stood alone against the prestigious families. He wasn’t the one who brought down the prestigious families, but Yeon Ho-Jeong was the passionate warrior who played a decisive role in bringing them down.

He was called passionate, but if something didn’t sit right with him, he wouldn’t care about the consequences. How else would he have dared to challenge the prestigious families of the Nine Provinces alone?

A chilling atmosphere, like a thick fog, overwhelmed the room.

Moyong Yeon-Hwa stepped forward.

“Young Master Yeon. Surely you wouldn’t…”

“Shut your mouth.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong openly frowned.

“I’m holding back because of your father.”

“What, what did you say?”

“The reason I’m not tearing you apart first is because of your father. But if you test my patience one more time, I won’t care about the Moyong family or anything else.”

Moyong Yeon-Hwa’s eyes turned cold.

‘How dare he!’

To say such things in front of everyone, she was beyond angry, she couldn’t believe it.

“You…”

“So, what did that damned woman do?”

He completely ignored Moyong Yeon-Hwa. It meant he didn’t want to talk to her anymore, and her face finally flushed red.

Muk Bi sighed.

“No, let’s stop now.”

“Stop? Why?”

Muk Bi said with a confused look.

“I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. It doesn’t seem to mean anything.”

“It doesn’t mean anything?”

“I was angry… but they’re all scared now. There’s no need to shoot arrows into the hearts of those who are scared.”

It was a very Muk Bi-like analogy.

However, her words seemed to have touched the pride of some of the young members of the merchant alliance.

“How dare you look down on us!”

‘Us’, not ‘me’. Even while they were angry, they were subtly showing that they were together.

“Is the Byeoksan Yeon family everything! This is Zhejiang! Do you think you’ll be safe even if you’re one of the six great families of the Jianghu [the martial world]!”

It was a great display of confidence.

The six great families of the Jianghu were not just considered strong in martial arts. Martial arts were a given, and a reputation that was as important as martial arts was also important.

They knew that the Byeoksan Yeon family was the weakest of the six great families.

But there was one thing they overlooked.

Even though their power was weak, the chivalrous reputation of the Byeoksan Yeon family was among the best of the six great families. This was true even before Yeon Ho-Jeong faced the prestigious families.

Those who had only heard rumors and had not experienced the world properly. They laughed at Muk Bi for not knowing the ways of the world, but in reality, they were the ones who didn’t know the ways of the world.

“Did you see that?”

“…”

“Those are the kind of people they are. They’re like rats who don’t know how vast the world is. They don’t even have the brains to think it’s strange that even the descendants of the Moyong family are quietly keeping their mouths shut.”

It was getting worse.

They were about to burst into another roar, but then they looked at Moyong Yeon-Hwa. They could feel something from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s words.

Moyong Yeon-Hwa’s face was flushed red.

“Those who live in the Jianghu are all like that. They forget favors but never forget grudges. Those guys are the same. If you don’t teach them a lesson properly and let them go, they’ll cause you trouble someday.”

“…”

“And yet, you want to end it here?”

Muk Bi nodded. She looked somehow exhausted.

“I don’t want to fight with people who don’t even know martial arts anymore.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

“That’s good too.”

“…Yes?”

“There will surely come a moment when you will regret your nature. But I respect your choice. There must be people as pure as you in this world.”

Muk Bi’s face was filled with confusion.

She had no idea what was going on.

“Then I…”

“But don’t worry too much. I’ll watch your back. I’ll be your support so that you don’t crumble from that regret. I didn’t bring you here without that kind of resolve.”

Muk Bi’s eyes flickered.

Yeon Ho-Jeong patted Muk Bi’s shoulder.

“They say people grow through relationships and conflicts. You endured well.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been smiling at Muk Bi, turned his body.

In his eyes, which had turned, a ghostly fire was flickering.

“Then, shall we talk among ourselves?”

Muk Bi was flustered.

“Why, why are you doing this?”

“Unlike you, I have a naturally bad temper.”

“Yes?”

“I can’t stand by without slapping the faces of those who threatened and mocked my people.”

Ha-Seok gritted his teeth.

“Hey, Yeon…”

Whack!

Ha-Seok couldn’t even scream as he was slammed into the wall.

“Aaaah!”

“Gasp!”

Ha-Seok’s eyes were dazed as he was embedded in the wall. His trembling body slid down. Three or four white teeth fell out of his bloodied mouth.

It was a state where true energy was gathering in every muscle fiber of his body. Even without opening his internal energy cultivation, he could break a tree with a single punch.

He had been slapped with that kind of power, so it was a miracle that he was still alive.

But Yeon Ho-Jeong had no intention of ending it there.

“Who told you to pass out on your own?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, walking over to Ha-Seok, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up, then swung his hand again.

Whack! Whack!

“Kuh-ack!”

He regained consciousness in an instant, but it would have been better if he hadn’t.

Ha-Seok’s face was a mess in an instant. A few more teeth were broken, and his cheeks were torn, leaving ugly scars. His right eye was also swollen instantly.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s murderous gaze stared into Ha-Seok’s eyes.

Extreme fear clouded Ha-Seok’s face.

“Have some…”

Whack!

Ha-Seok, who was slammed into the wall again, lost consciousness. Even if he woke up again, he would probably tremble at the mere mention of Yeon Ho-Jeong’s name.

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Dong So-Bang.

Dong So-Bang hiccuped.

“I, I am from the Great Heaven Gold Chamber…”

“Great Heaven Gold Chamber? Is that a specialty dish of Zhejiang?”

Whack!

“Cough!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong had no mercy.

The process of turning a robust young man into a near-corpse was terrible, but the sight of a young woman being beaten to a pulp was like something out of a nightmare.

Thud! Thud! Crack!

Dong So-Bang collapsed on the spot.

Neither Ha-Seok nor Dong So-Bang died. But they were left with such ugly scars that they would never be able to show their faces again.

It was a cruel handiwork.

Regardless of the other party’s status, he had turned ordinary people who didn’t know martial arts into near-corpses. It was a merciless assault that didn’t suit the chivalrous reputation of the Tiger of Byeoksan.

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked back at the remaining people.

Ts ts ts ts.

His eyes, shining blue like a ghost’s, were filled with the murderous intent of darkness.

“H-Heok!”

They involuntarily knelt down. Their legs had given way on their own.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been glaring at them for a long time, looked at Moyong Yeon-Hwa.

Moyong Yeon-Hwa was trembling. Her eyes were blazing with anger.

“You made a mistake.”

“Explain.”

“What?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong pointed at the young members of the merchant alliance who were kneeling.

“Explain why you used these fools to provoke Muk Bi.”