Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1149

Just then, Je Yeong-sa [a special military unit] and Gang Ryang, who had been fighting in Liaoning Province, returned to the Imperial Palace.

After entrusting the report to the Je Yeong-sa commander, Gang Ryang immediately washed up and headed to Muk Bi. He wanted to see Yeon Ho-jeong first, but Yeon Ho-jeong was too busy and couldn’t be seen.

‘Sister.’

Muk Bi, who had woken up from her sleep, looked much better than before.

‘You’re here.’

‘Yes. I’ve returned safely.’

Gang Ryang sat down next to the bed.

‘I heard from the soldiers. It was a tough fight.’

‘Yes, it was tough.’

‘They were praising you, saying you’re a divine archer sent from the heavens.’

Muk Bi gave a wry smile.

Perhaps because she had talked with Yeon Ho-jeong, her guilt towards the soldiers had lessened considerably.

‘Was the journey here difficult?’

‘What would be difficult about it?’

Gang Ryang checked Muk Bi’s pulse.

‘Your body is quite damaged. Fortunately, your internal energy seems to be stabilized.’

‘I’ve been taking medicine and such.’

‘It doesn’t seem like you’ve improved just from taking medicine and acupuncture?’

Gang Ryang tilted his head.

‘Is it the energy of the elder brother?’

‘Huh?’

‘Or not? Well, maybe not.’

Muttering to himself, Gang Ryang released his hand from her pulse and stretched out greatly.

Muk Bi knew that the elder brother Gang Ryang was talking about was Yeon Ho-jeong.

‘Yeon Gongja’s [a respectful title for a young master] energy?’

It was a state where internal energy automatically circulated through the acupoints, healing internal injuries without conscious effort.

She closed her eyes for a moment and looked inside herself.

And then, she was startled.

‘This energy?’

A streak of golden energy was hidden within the Hongcheon Energy [a specific type of internal energy].

The energy was truly comfortable. And it wasn’t conspicuous.

Even though it was emitting a golden glow, the light was not at all burdensome. Moreover, upon closer inspection, it possessed an incredible density, yet from afar, it remained an almost imperceptible energy.

It was amazing. This power was definitely Yeon Ho-jeong’s true energy. Yeon Ho-jeong was a master who had reached the Limitless realm, and naturally, his true energy possessed a density that surpassed imagination.

Yet, how could it be mixed with her internal energy and circulating without any presence?

‘Fascinating.’

A sudden curiosity arose.

She didn’t know when he had left it, but she didn’t dwell on it. The reality of the true energy residing within her body was too intriguing.

A moment later.

‘Gasp!’

Muk Bi almost swallowed a gasp without realizing it.

‘It’s incredible!’

It was completely different from when she had vaguely felt the energy waves and explosive power of a Limitless master.

Thump-thump!

The pulsating small golden energy.

It was the Yellow Dragon Energy. Moreover, it wasn’t the kind that disappeared quickly, but rather it was close to a small piece of Yeon Ho-jeong’s vast and deep energy, like an ocean, that had been extracted and embedded within her.

It was a minuscule amount, but the power contained within that small amount of true energy was truly astonishing.

‘I don’t even know how to express it.’

It was stronger than any energy she had ever seen. In other words, it was the ultimate.

However, the Yellow Dragon Energy wasn’t just strong. Just as anything reaches its opposite when it reaches its extreme, it seemed that if the framework was broken, there would be something softer and more natural than water within it.

Muk Bi realized.

‘The energy itself isn’t strong.’

The reason she felt this energy was strong was because the density of the true energy was unimaginably high.

In reality, it was weak, but if it was rolled up and made as big as a rock, it couldn’t be split with a single sword strike.

The Yellow Dragon Energy residing in Muk Bi’s dantian [an energy center in the body] was the same. The energy, which was originally infinitely free and mysterious, had become denser due to Yeon Ho-jeong’s overwhelming enlightenment, making it harder than steel.

‘Steel is hard. But it’s not the strongest material in the world. Depending on the shape, speed, and pressure, there are many materials that can easily break steel.’

Just look at water. A single drop of water can’t harm a human body, but when a flood occurs, it has the power to sweep away mountains.

What if that water could be fired as thin as a thread? It would probably possess the ultimate sharpness to cut through any divine sword in the world.

What about the wind? The wind, which is invisible, can become a storm and blow away humans helplessly.

In that moment, Muk Bi exclaimed.

‘The beginning of everything is softness.’

Iron, sand, water, wind.

If their quantity is small and their density is low, they have no effect on people.

However, if a large amount of iron powder is melted and solidified, it can be made into a sword, and if a person is buried in a sand mountain, they will suffocate and die.

The weight of a single drop of water is very insignificant, but when a tsunami occurs, people are helplessly swept away, and although it’s hard to feel the air, it’s difficult to even move when a strong wind blows.

Small things are weak, and weak things are usually soft.

But if that softness gathers and becomes hard, it becomes a weapon of destruction that nothing in the world can stop.

Just like Yeon Ho-jeong’s Yellow Dragon Energy.

‘No, it’s different from that again.’

Just because something is small, weak, or soft doesn’t mean it can be ignored.

A thin, unrefined twig can be broken with a finger, but if a master throws it towards a point, it becomes a threatening hidden weapon.

‘Depending on where the power and speed are directed, and how I handle my abilities, I can achieve vastly different results.’

Just look at her archery.

She had also learned Kwon-gak [a type of martial art] and spear techniques while leading the Myolsa Army.

However, with a fist, she could only inflict damage on an opponent, not pierce through them. With a spear, she could pierce through an opponent, but its size and weight limited its speed.

Arrows are different.

An arrow shot from a bowstring is smaller than a spear and thinner than a fist, but it becomes a weapon that can pierce through anything.

Whoo-oong.

The Hongcheon Energy vibrated faintly, increasing its circulation speed.

It wasn’t intentional on Muk Bi’s part. And she wasn’t even aware that her internal energy circulation speed had increased.

‘So that’s how it was.’

Muk Bi saw the very nature of the Hongcheon Energy.

‘That’s why Yeon Gongja passed on the Hongcheon Energy to me.’

The Hongcheon Energy had a stronger advantage in accumulating energy than any other martial art. Although its subtlety was difficult to compare to the best techniques of the Nine Factions [major martial arts schools], it was a martial art that had reached the pinnacle of the world in terms of gathering and increasing power.

Limitless power accumulation. The Hongcheon Energy was a martial art that could potentially damage the user’s body if they were too greedy.

However, the more internal energy was consumed, the faster the accumulation speed became, and the wider the limits became. If one were to reach the transcendent realm beyond the realm of martial arts, the limit of accumulation would increase even further.

In terms of internal energy alone, she was not inferior to the masters of the Limitless realm. This was partly due to the vast internal energy sealed within her body before she entered the martial world, but it was also thanks to the Hongcheon Energy, which had an enormous advantage in accumulation.

In other words, Yeon Ho-jeong had guided Muk Bi to accumulate greater power more quickly by utilizing the large internal energy consumption of the Nine Dragons Destroying Heaven Bow.

Just like that Tang Gwan.

Tang Gwan already possessed an internal energy level that had reached its limit before he attained enlightenment. In other words, his body and internal energy were fully prepared to reach the Limitless realm.

There are those who break through the wall in an instant with enlightenment, but those who have reached their limits in all areas before enlightenment are in a state where they can gradually break down that wall.

‘No, he might not have thought that far. The important thing is that my energy has reached its limit due to the Hongcheon Energy.’

But.

‘Is this really the limit?’

Yeon Ho-jeong had once said something.

‘In any field, you can’t discuss the pinnacle without ignoring talent. But when limited to an individual, reaching the limit is entirely dependent on effort. There’s no room for talent to intervene. Only those who have tasted their limits even once can come up with a way to break them, and those who have come up with a way to break them will naturally have no choice but to make an effort. The endless mountains of limits. Many have given up because it’s vague, but those who haven’t even tried to reach the point of giving up cannot exercise that right full of defeat.’

Muk Bi thought.

‘This isn’t my limit.’

To be precise, it was her limit in her current state.

But she had realized a way to overcome this limit that didn’t feel like a limit. It was to increase the density, like Yeon Ho-jeong’s Yellow Dragon Energy.

Then how do you increase that density?

‘Rotation.’

The answer came naturally.

Muk Bi was also a master of Qi cultivation [energy cultivation]. She knew how to handle Qi to make it stronger and denser.

However, artificially increasing density doesn’t necessarily make it stronger. Density that is consciously increased will soon return to its original state if concentration is broken.

‘Then what do I do?’

At that moment, what Muk Bi thought of was the word ‘fixation’.

How could she fix the energy that had been rotated to increase its density?

‘Dan (Core)?’

It was the most certain, the most common, and the most difficult method.

A Dan was not something that anyone could form. To form a Dan, one needed their own enlightenment to hold the Qi in place. If a Dan could be formed just by performing an action, all martial artists in the world would have created one.

‘No.’

Even if she could create one, creating a Qi Dan was not about breaking her limits for Muk Bi.

‘To accumulate more power, I need to either expand the dantian itself, or…’

Muk Bi’s eyes flashed open.

‘Or form another dantian.’

The three dantians were complete. Then where should another dantian be created?

‘A dantian within a dantian.’

It was an absurd idea, but Muk Bi immediately immersed herself in it.

‘To create a dantian, I need a material to be the vessel.’

At that moment, what Muk Bi focused on was Yeon Ho-jeong’s Yellow Dragon Energy, which she didn’t know when he had left behind.

Muk Bi strongly wished. That the small fragment of Yellow Dragon Energy would become wider and stronger. Even if the density decreased, she wanted it to become a thin membrane and serve as another vessel.

Whoo-oong!!

The Hongcheon Energy screamed.

At the same time, Muk Bi felt a pain as if her lower abdomen was tearing apart. As the Yellow Dragon Energy tried to increase in size while decreasing in density, the existing dantian swelled and caused pain.

But.

‘It’s working!’

Joy appeared on Muk Bi’s face.

‘It’s only for a moment, but I definitely created a vessel according to my will.’

It was painful, but the Yellow Dragon Energy had expanded slightly. Once expanded, the energy would only wrinkle, but it would not lose its power.

‘If I make that into another dantian, if I can store more Hongcheon Energy within it.’

In any field, if you break through the limits again and again, then the heavens will finally realize that a human has gone beyond the realm allowed to them.

That too was a path towards the Limitless realm. Muk Bi was certain.

Enlightenment was nothing special. The fact that she had come up with a method was also a great enlightenment for a master of Muk Bi’s level.

Muk Bi focused her mind to not forget this sensation, this memory. It was impossible now, but it was definitely something worth trying.

‘……’

A smile spread across Gang Ryang’s face as he watched Muk Bi, who was repeatedly closing and opening her eyes, absorbed in herself.

‘Sister is always the same.’

It seemed like he shouldn’t disturb her for no reason. Gang Ryang quietly left Muk Bi’s room.

Gang Ryang, who had come outside, looked up at the sky.

‘I can rest well today, right?’

At that moment, a member of Je Yeong-sa approached from afar.

‘Commander Gang.’

‘Speak.’

‘The Black Emperor Lord has summoned Commander Gang.’

‘Now?’

‘Yes.’

The Je Yeong-sa tilted his head.

‘I heard something about changing the front lines… Anyway, you should go quickly.’

There was no time to rest comfortably.

But it seemed like he could do something with Yeon Ho-jeong after a long time. Just that anticipation seemed to blow away all the accumulated fatigue.

Gang Ryang quickly ran towards the royal court.