Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1189

“Hoo, let’s rest for a bit.”

“Yes.”

As Ha Eun-Gyo leaned against a tree, Ji So-Hyun hurriedly fetched water from the stream.

Ha Eun-Gyo smiled.

“I’m fine, you should quench your thirst first.”

“But, Master.”

“Although my recovery is a bit slower than before, this master is one of the ten strongest in the martial world. I’m not yet at an age where I need my disciple’s support.”

Ji So-Hyun lowered her head.

“Then, I’ll be excused.”

After drinking the water, Ji So-Hyun sat next to Ha Eun-Gyo.

“By the way, they’re really fast.”

“Who are you talking about? Lord Yeon?”

“Yes. Lord Yeon, and the two generals as well. Oh, and that black divine horse is just as amazing.”

Ha Eun-Gyo sighed.

“General Gang Ryang and General Jin Yang’s training is truly remarkable. Although they haven’t reached the pinnacle, it’s understandable considering their age. Rather, it’s unbelievable that they’ve progressed so much at their age, almost reaching the pinnacle.”

“Yes.”

“Especially their agility and stamina stand out. Most people in the martial world, once they surpass the level of a martial master, tend to neglect physical training and become complacent with their agility. However, humans, as animals, used to run and catch prey before they knew martial arts. Running is the beginning and the end for all warriors, which is why lower body training is so important.”

“…….”

“This is the strength of young people when they surpass the level of a martial master. Those who are arrogant become complacent, but passionate youths don’t settle and train even harder. The reason why the two of them aren’t falling behind Lord Yeon, even though they haven’t reached the pinnacle, isn’t because of their delicate internal energy control, but because they’ve learned the importance of stamina through countless battles.”

Having learned the importance of stamina, they wouldn’t have neglected training.

The higher the level of a master, the more they feel the big difference in small things. The reason why the two, who trained in ways that most supreme masters don’t, have developed their talents and grown so remarkably is because of that.

“You should also learn from them. Even if you never reach the pinnacle, if you’ve set your mind on martial arts, you need to understand how they see the world.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

It was then.

*Rumble.*

A thunderclap echoed from the cloudy sky.

Ji So-Hyun blinked.

“It looks like it’s going to rain soon, Master.”

“…Yes, it seems so.”

“The thunder sounds strange. Rather than being loud, it’s dark and…”

Ji So-Hyun’s eyes deepened.

“It feels somewhat sorrowful.”

“It sounds that way to me too.”

A faint sadness flickered in Ha Eun-Gyo’s eyes as he looked up at the sky.

“It seems as if the sky is taking away a great artisan who worked hard for this world.”

* * *

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was running alongside the Black Blood Divine Horse, suddenly sharpened his eyes.

‘What is it?’

The recovered upper dantian [energy center in the body] was fluctuating erratically.

It wasn’t that his physical condition was bad. It was as if something unknown was trying to convey something, writhing on its own, giving off a very uneasy feeling.

‘Has something happened?’

The Yellow Dragon Energy naturally surged from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body.

The surging Yellow Dragon Energy soon called upon the Divine King Energy, and the awakened Divine King Energy scanned his upper dantian, awakening intense divine energy.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s vision blurred.

Even as he looked at the path ahead, he saw countless things.

‘What is this?’

*Whoooosh.*

As he entered Sichuan and ran along the mountain path, something hazy was writhing here and there in the mountains.

It wasn’t a substance of this world. Nor was it a fire in the mountains.

Something writhing like ghosts or souls was being captured by Yeon Ho-Jeong’s divine eyes.

*Rumble.*

The sky unleashed thunder.

Shortly after.

*Swoosh!*

The rain pouring from the dark clouds instantly soaked the entire mountain.

It was a rain that felt somewhat sudden. He had expected rain, but he didn’t expect it to come so quickly.

‘This is strange. My chest feels strangely heavy. Could something really have happened in Sichuan?’

How long had he been running?

“Brother!”

Gang Ryang shouted from behind.

“We’ll recover our stamina and then go! Please go ahead!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong waved his hand without answering and increased his speed.

*Heeheeheeheeing!*

The Black Blood Divine Horse, having inherited the Yellow Dragon Energy, also powerfully swung its hooves. Surprisingly, the Black Blood Divine Horse’s stamina was even better than that of the supreme masters Gang Ryang and Jin Yang.

It was a magical creature created to be tireless, but it was also because it had become almost one with Yeon Ho-Jeong by receiving the Yellow Dragon Divine King Energy. As long as Yeon Ho-Jeong didn’t tire, the Black Blood Divine Horse wouldn’t either.

Time passed.

After running tirelessly for another day, the city of Chengdu finally came into view in Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes.

*Flash!*

A dangerous energy surged from the vicinity of Chengdu.

It was an incredibly refined power, but it also felt unstable for some reason. That’s why it was dangerous. If that unstable energy exploded, the entire area would be devastated.

‘Lord Tang!’

Yeon Ho-Jeong instantly recognized the owner of that energy.

‘Is Lord Tang in Chengdu?’

At that moment, the dangerously surging energy subsided again.

It had sensed Yeon Ho-Jeong’s Yellow Dragon Divine King Energy. Tang Gwan, feeling his presence, was calming his own mind.

Yeon Ho-Jeong felt an even stronger sense of unease.

He had composed his energy to avoid showing a weak side to him, but the energy he had felt before was too dangerous. For a master of the pinnacle to be unable to control his energy to that extent meant that he had suffered a great mental shock.

‘Damn it! What the hell happened!’

At that moment, a carrier pigeon flew in from the distance at a terrifying speed.

It was a carrier pigeon from the Beggars’ Sect. Yeon Ho-Jeong instantly mounted the Black Blood Divine Horse.

*Heeheeing!!*

At the Black Blood’s resounding roar, the carrier pigeon circled in the sky before landing on Yeon Ho-Jeong’s arm.

Yeon Ho-Jeong received the pigeon on his forearm, unfolded the small rolled-up letter, read it, and spurred the Black Blood Divine Horse’s flank.

The Black Blood Divine Horse, galloping south, reached Mount Emei in an instant. The speed of the Black Blood Divine Horse, which ran straight through shallow rivers and mountains, was truly incredible.

“Lord Yeon!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong stopped the Black Blood Divine Horse and immediately got off the ground.

It was a face he hadn’t seen in a long time. Ga Deuk-Sang was waving his hand and running towards him.

“Hoo-gae.”

Ga Deuk-Sang smiled brightly.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Indeed. How have you been?”

“Well, I’m the type who can eat rotten food and not get sick.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

There are people you can’t grow fond of no matter how many times you see them, and there are people you feel close to as if you met yesterday, even if you only see them once every few years. Ga Deuk-Sang was definitely the latter.

“By the way, you came incredibly fast. I expected you to arrive within three days, but you came half a day earlier than that.”

“Given the situation. But…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong frowned.

“What is this strange poison energy?”

Ga Deuk-Sang sighed.

“Follow me.”

Shortly after.

“What is that…?”

“They call it the Wind and Earth Sealing Formation.”

Ga Deuk-Sang’s face was filled with dismay as he looked at the strange hemispherical black object with a writhing surface in front of the Great Buddha Pavilion.

“The Blood Demon Cult Leader is trapped in there.”

In an instant, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes blazed.

He instinctively tried to unleash his killing intent, but he struggled to calm his excitement.

*Pffft.*

The Black Blood Divine Horse repeated its snorting. It was affected by Yeon Ho-Jeong’s condition.

“What is the Wind and Earth Sealing Formation?”

“It’s the Tang family’s highest-level formation, a kind of sealing formation and a deadly formation. Once trapped, even a master of the pinnacle is bound to die.”

“Then…?”

“That’s right. The Supreme Elder of the Tang family sealed the enemy’s leader and erased one of his accompanying disciples from the world.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong breathed a sigh of relief.

As he got closer to Chengdu, an unknown anxiety continued to weigh on his heart. But the Supreme Elder had somehow killed the enemy.

This was truly a great achievement. Even killing two disciples was a great feat, and one of them was even the leader of the Blood Demon Cult.

Although it was a sealing formation, so he wasn’t dead yet, the fact that they were leaving the area around the formation empty meant that its power was certain. If it was a formation that the Tang family was confident in, it was truly reliable.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face, which had been looking at the Wind and Earth Sealing Formation with relief, suddenly hardened.

“What about the Supreme Elder?”

“…….”

“Was he badly injured?”

Ga Deuk-Sang replied in a somber voice.

“The Dark King has passed away.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong involuntarily let out a sigh.

‘Senior Tang.’

He didn’t have a deep friendship with Tang Hyeong. In fact, their first meeting was closer to a bad encounter. He had hurled hurtful words at him to get him out.

He was a frustrating old man, but he was also understandable. Yeon Ho-Jeong felt pity for his stubbornness.

Later, when Tang Hyeong, who could no longer stand by and watch the disaster that had befallen his family, came out and made a great contribution to driving out the evil forces, the two of them let go of all the resentment and hatred they had for each other.

After that, he had sparred with Tang Hyeong and shared a decent friendship. He hadn’t built as much of a friendship as with other senior masters, but the fact that they were both masters of the pinnacle living in this world was enough to make him a reliable bulwark in a corner of his heart.

And now he was dead.

‘So that’s why.’

That was the reason for the unease he had felt, and especially why Tang Gwan’s energy was so unstable when he arrived near Chengdu.

His father, with whom he had improved his relationship after twenty years, had lost his life fighting evil forces.

He must have thought it was a death befitting Tang Hyeong. But even if it was a death befitting him, there was no way Tang Gwan’s mind would be normal after his father’s death.

‘You have done a truly great deed. May you rest in peace by the side of your ancestors.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong closed his eyes and prayed for Tang Hyeong’s soul.

“Anyway, it’s fortunate that we’ve defeated a great enemy, but the problem doesn’t end there.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Ga Deuk-Sang.

Ga Deuk-Sang unfolded a map.

“The enemy’s thousand demons, who were forming the northern front, have begun to move. They are coming down through Mount Emei, and it seems they have set their course for this Mount Emei, somehow knowing about it.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes deepened.

“What is their strength?”

“It’s not ordinary. It’s estimated to be at least the level of a major sect of the Nine Factions [powerful martial arts groups], but in reality, it’s believed to be much stronger than that. In terms of simple power, it’s like the entire force of two Nine Faction-level powers moving together.”

The power of two Nine Faction forces.

It was truly an enormous force. Although it varies depending on the situation, if we assume that one master of the pinnacle can handle one major sect of the Nine Factions, then it means that the equivalent of two masters of the pinnacle are moving south.

“Moreover, their speed of descent is so fast that it’s difficult to stop them in advance. The masters who were confronting them chased after them, but they lost them in less than half a day.”

“They didn’t contact us separately, but they’re coming here…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong glared at the Wind and Earth Sealing Formation with cold eyes.

“It seems they are somehow spiritually connected to that guy.”

“We also thought about it that way. It’s hard to believe easily, so it’s difficult to be certain.”

“That’s probably the case. The Three Teachings are basically skilled in evil arts. Especially the Evil Yin Sect and the Blood Demon Cult.”

“In fact, there have been many reports that those guys are more skilled in defense than offense.”

“They are probably the cult leader’s escort unit.”

To protect the successor of the Blood Cult, it wouldn’t be strange for a force equivalent to two Nine Faction powers to exist as an escort unit.

Yeon Ho-Jeong sighed.

“By the way, the Emei Sect shouldn’t act rashly.”

“…Haven’t you heard yet?”

“Heard what?”