Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1129

Fwaaaang!

The moment Yeon-wi sensed Master Mu Heo’s presence, he moved. Chal Geuk-pyeong followed right behind Yeon-wi.

However.

‘……?!’

Chal Geuk-pyeong’s eyes wavered.

The gap between him and Yeon-wi, who was running ahead, was widening.

‘How is he so fast…….’

In an instant, he realized.

It wasn’t that Yeon-wi was overwhelmingly fast, but that he was gradually slowing down.

‘Killing intent?!’

The killing intent, manifested by the extremely developed power of his upper dantian [an energy center in the body, often associated with spiritual power], was so immense that even Chal Geuk-pyeong, a master of the world, had to worry about his mind being destroyed and going insane.

Being immersed in such killing intent, his fists lacked proper power, and his footwork and reaction speed gradually slowed down.

If it weren’t for that killing intent, Yeon-wi would have suffered fatal blows more than three times. Although he had shown an impressive display, the difference in martial arts between the two was clear.

However, he had never imagined that the unprecedented killing intent was still lingering in his body, restricting his movements.

‘Tch!’

Whirrr.

He unleashed the Blazing Emperor’s Pure Fire Art to its extreme.

The extreme yang fire that heated his heart surged to his forehead in an instant. Then, the unstable upper dantian energy that had been wavering began to stabilize.

Flash!

Chal Geuk-pyeong’s eyes emitted a divine light.

It felt as if the sun was shining on the dark and damp ground. The upper dantian, which had been like a swamp, had transformed into a forest surrounded by giant trees.

Fwaaaak!

Finally, Chal Geuk-pyeong was able to return to his original self. Although his stamina and inner energy had been greatly depleted due to the merciless duel with Yeon-wi, he was not significantly lacking in his ability to demonstrate his skills.

Fwaaang!

Chal Geuk-pyeong began to accelerate again, catching up to Yeon-wi.

Yeon-wi’s eyes blazed with fire.

Flash!

The Heavenly Net Imperial Sword, which left his hand, flew like a beam of light towards Chal Geuk-pyeong’s forehead.

It was an unexpected attack in a desperate moment. Startled, Chal Geuk-pyeong tilted his head and leaned his body diagonally.

Fwoosh!

It was a hair’s breadth difference.

A cut appeared near his temple. If he had been a little slower, his head would have been blown off.

This was the reality of combat. When fighting, it could be a short battle or a long one, depending on who was stronger and who had better skills.

However, in such chaotic real-world combat, even if one was highly skilled, one’s life could be taken in an instant. It was a matter that had nothing to do with the difference in martial arts.

Flash! Flash!

The Imperial Sword, which had missed, immediately changed direction and aimed for Chal Geuk-pyeong.

Chal Geuk-pyeong could not ignore this fast and powerful sword control technique. He wanted to crush Yeon-wi’s back with his Blazing Emperor’s Hand, but with that one attack, the enemy’s sword would pierce his body.

Although it was possible to recover with the secret art of Hwajeong [a technique that uses fire energy to heal] as long as his head was not blown off or his internal organs were completely destroyed, he had already consumed a considerable amount of Hwajeong to restore his body.

Moreover, sword control was not simply a technique of wielding a sword in the air to kill an opponent. The sword carried a powerful force, and if it pierced the body, the penetrating force could ravage the blood vessels and acupoints throughout the body.

Kwaaang!

The Imperial Sword was sent flying haphazardly by a strike of the Blazing Emperor’s Hand.

The sword, which had been rolling on the ground, flashed again and moved like a beam of light.

The Blazing Emperor’s Hand was an invincible hand technique that could crush even steel, but the blade of the Imperial Sword did not have a single chip. The strength of the Imperial Sword, which was tightly packed with Yeon-wi’s sword energy, was beyond imagination.

‘Damn it!’

Jjeojeojeong!

He sent the Imperial Sword flying dozens of times with a barrage of attacks, but once again, the Imperial Sword, following its master’s will, rushed in like a gale, aiming for Chal Geuk-pyeong’s lower body.

It was an incredible moment.

Chal Geuk-pyeong truly couldn’t believe it.

The enemy had already run far away and entered the heart of the battlefield. Yet, the sword he controlled was relentlessly aiming for his life here.

The speed of the sword control was too fast to ignore and run away, and he wanted to chase after him even if it meant sacrificing an arm, but it didn’t seem like the sword control would stop even if he did.

Chal Geuk-pyeong felt a laugh escaping him, not out of amusement, but disbelief.

‘He’s a real monster!’

He was confident he could win if they fought with strength, if not for that bizarre demonic art.

However, he had never imagined that such a tactic was possible. How far away was he, yet he maintained his sword control while also participating in the battle.

This was not a matter of discussing the level of martial arts. It was thanks to the supreme enlightenment achieved with the sword, and further, the extremely developed upper dantian, that such a tactic was possible.

Kururung!

He saw dozens of Honghwa Order followers being killed by Yeon-wi’s hand techniques.

Chal Geuk-pyeong’s eyes blazed with fire.

“You bastard!!”

This wouldn’t do. Even if it was sword control, being toyed with by just one sword was something his pride as a king would not allow.

Flash!

He unleashed the Blazing Emperor’s Pure Fire Art to its extreme and opened up all of his Hwajeong, the source of his life.

Fwaaaaaang!

Chal Geuk-pyeong dashed madly towards the battlefield.

And behind him, the Imperial Sword followed.

Even with the power of Hwajeong, the speed of the sword control was faster than Chal Geuk-pyeong. It was only natural that a single sword, moved by powerful true energy and will, was faster than moving one’s own body.

Fuhuhuhuk!

The Imperial Sword finally pierced Chal Geuk-pyeong’s side.

At that moment, Chal Geuk-pyeong poured all the power of his Hwajeong into his side.

Bang!

The side where the sword was lodged exploded.

The pain that ran down his spine was so intense that he almost lost consciousness.

Chiiiiik!

The pain was severe, but it was worth the price. Chal Geuk-pyeong grabbed the hilt of the Imperial Sword with his own hand and controlled it, and he expelled all the force that had penetrated his side by focusing his Hwajeong.

Thanks to this, the muscles and flesh of his side had burst, but the Hwajeong began to heal the wound at a rapid pace.

‘This is dangerous.’

Chal Geuk-pyeong realized.

The Hwajeong flickered erratically.

No matter how excellent its restorative power was, Hwajeong was still a forbidden art created by human wisdom. The Hwajeong, which had become one with his essence, was essentially consuming his life force the more he used it.

Of course, it could be restored if he rested for a long time. However, this was the battlefield, and there was not even a moment to restore his Hwajeong.

‘If I were to restore a wound like this one more time…….’

Then the Hwajeong might extinguish.

When a candle goes out, darkness descends. Chal Geuk-pyeong’s life was the same.

It was thanks to Yeon-wi, a remarkable swordsman, who had risked falling into the demonic path and had been slashing at him, that Chal Geuk-pyeong’s Hwajeong had reached this state.

‘My life is only one anyway. It’s not a big deal.’

Kwaaang!

Having escaped the threat of the sword control, Chal Geuk-pyeong approached Yeon-wi’s back in an instant.

Yeon-wi’s eyes blazed with fire.

Whirrr!

Chal Geuk-pyeong unleashed the Blazing Emperor’s Hand, and Yeon-wi immediately turned his body and unleashed the Half-Dragon Palm.

‘……?!’

Yeon-wi felt goosebumps.

‘A feint!’

Chal Geuk-pyeong, who had rushed in and unleashed the Blazing Emperor’s Hand, had disappeared.

‘Damn it!’

Only then did he realize Chal Geuk-pyeong’s intention.

He had anticipated Yeon-wi’s counterattack and had immediately moved to the side to attack the Murim Alliance [a martial arts alliance] forces.

Kwakwang!

Those who had not suffered significant casualties even when clashing with the elite of the Blue and Red Flower Troops, suffered over a hundred casualties from five strikes of Chal Geuk-pyeong’s Blazing Emperor’s Hand.

It was a terrifying martial art. Despite the considerable consumption of inner energy and stamina, he was still displaying his formidable power. It was the majesty of the Divine Flame Church’s King.

Yeon-wi’s forehead emitted a brilliant light.

‘……!!’

Chal Geuk-pyeong, who was gripping the Imperial Sword tightly, realized that he was being flung towards Yeon-wi.

‘This crazy!!’

It was a telekinesis beyond imagination.

No one would use such a reckless telekinesis technique. He had never imagined that there would be an attractive force that could pull even a master of the Heavenly Flower who was determined to resist.

Chal Geuk-pyeong let go of the sword.

The Imperial Sword, now free, was caught by Yeon-wi, and Chal Geuk-pyeong’s twin palms, which had been flung away, blazed with fire.

Kwaaang!

It was an explosion of force, a tremendous shockwave.

Yeon-wi’s face, who had been pushed back by more than ten yards, was pale. He had suffered considerable internal injuries from the enemy commander’s attack, which had been delivered with all his might.

“You bastard!”

Chal Geuk-pyeong, who had lost all sense of reason, was about to attack Yeon-wi.

It was then.

Fuhpuhpung!

The shockwave that exploded in the rear guard far away jolted Chal Geuk-pyeong’s mind.

‘Buddhist martial arts? Gwon-shin [a powerful Buddhist monk]!’

Three thousand troops had launched a surprise attack, and there was Gwon-shin among them.

The surprise attack force was not to be feared, but Gwon-shin was a problem. Even if he were to be reborn, the Five Fire King Cheol Heum-gi would never be able to defeat him.

Flash!

His judgment was quick. Chal Geuk-pyeong unleashed the Fiery Dragon Dash to its extreme and passed through the Silver Flower Troop in an instant.

Fuhung!

Cheol Heum-gi’s body was swept away by the powerful golden palm force.

His whole body was already covered in blood. He had only exchanged about six or seven blows, but Cheol Heum-gi was on the verge of death.

It was the majesty of Gwon-shin, the greatest in the world.

Kwarururung!

The Fiery Dragon Cannon that Chal Geuk-pyeong fired poured down on Master Mu Heo.

The Fiery Dragon Cannon, which rotated and scattered fire, swept over the heads of the troops that Cheol Heum-gi had brought.

Fwaaaak!

Yeon-wi’s eyes wavered.

He saw the fire that the Fiery Dragon Cannon had scattered seeping into the bodies of some of the five thousand troops.

He also saw their inner power explosively increasing for a moment after absorbing the fire.

‘The Evil Spirit’s Fire Absorption Technique!’

Master Mu Heo waved his arm with an indifferent expression.

Kwaang!

A pillar of fire shattered with a loud explosion.

It was an attack that could not be ignored, but it was not an attack that was greatly threatening. That was how Chal Geuk-pyeong’s martial arts were to Master Mu Heo.

It was then.

Beeeep!

In the midst of the battlefield filled with all sorts of noises, Chal Geuk-pyeong heard the cry of a bird flying from the far west.

Chal Geuk-pyeong’s eyes flashed.

‘Finally!’

They had arrived.

The reason why he had deliberately kept the enemy’s attention in the north, the reason why he had poured in twenty-five thousand troops at once to drive the enemy back.

Chal Geuk-pyeong shouted.

“The operation has begun!”

The king’s voice echoed throughout the plain.

At that moment, the two Blue and Red Flower Troops of the Divine Flame Church veered left and right and charged towards the rear. The White Flower Troop and the Silver Flower Troop also ignored the forces of the Murim Alliance of Habuk and turned their bodies, running madly towards their base.

‘What is it?’

Yeon-wi, who had overused his upper dantian, could not sense the ominousness with his mind’s eye as he had before.

However, the enemy’s movements were unusual. The sudden bird cry clearly meant something.

Kwaduk!

He planted the Imperial Sword into the ground and pulled the sword energy up to his forehead.

Flash! Flash!

His wisdom brightened, and his senses were activated.

But that was only for a moment. The activated senses decreased again and then amplified. The power of the sword energy alone was not enough to revive his divine energy.

‘If sword energy is not enough!’

At this moment, he did not know why he made such a judgment.

‘With the Five Great Divine Arts!’

In his desperation, Yeon-wi pulled all the formulas of the Yeon Family’s Five Great Divine Arts, except for the sword energy, and burned his true energy.

Flash!

Blood spurted from his nose, and his already pale complexion turned almost blue.

‘Aaaah!’

But he could see.

The upper dantian, where the power of the Five Great Divine Arts had been concentrated in an instant, the divine energy that had reached a state of saturation, rotated fiercely for a moment, forming a brilliant light green core.

The extreme situation of war, and the sword control technique he had used to restrain Chal Geuk-pyeong, a peerless master, awakened a realm that had only existed as a possibility.

The Yeon Family’s Divine Core was beginning to take its place in his upper dantian. It was a core that only the grandmaster of the Yeon Family’s martial arts could bring forth, a core that could only be created by mastering all five of the Great Divine Arts, and he was making it bloom in his upper dantian with a single moment of enlightenment.

The moment of joy was short.

‘Damn it!’

Yeon-wi looked to the west.

He felt a chilling demonic energy from the far west.

‘Was that what Ho-jeong was worried about?!’

A cavalry unit that had been moving quietly suddenly increased its speed with an explosive demonic energy.

The five thousand Silver Tiger Cavalry who had escaped from the war in Shanxi and the Jima-hu group who had shaken off Tang Gwan’s pursuit were joining forces and rushing towards the western wall of the imperial palace.

Yeon-wi shouted.

“Ho-jeong!!”

The urgent cry of the Judge’s Sword, which could not be heard.

Although the sound could not be heard, the will of the God of War, who had been fully prepared, accurately read the enemy’s demonic energy and his father’s mind’s eye energy.

Kurururung!

The western wall of the imperial palace opened.

Heeheeheeheeing!!

Along with the warhorses that were emitting dragon-like cries, Yeon Ho-jeong led three thousand cavalry and charged towards the Silver Tiger Cavalry.