Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1236

Fwoooosh! Geonhyung, having blasted away two troublesome demons, gasped for breath and readjusted his sword. Beomoh’s eyes deepened. ‘He didn’t die.’ It was a strike that had gathered the full power of the Banya Great Ability [a powerful Buddhist martial art], using his remaining battle prowess. And it wasn’t just any martial art, but the Hundred Step Divine Fist. In great sects with histories comparable to the Nine Great Sects [the most prestigious martial arts schools], there exist ultimate techniques that are extremely difficult to master, but once mastered, can kill any expert with a single blow. Among them, the Shaolin’s Hundred Step Divine Fist was an invincible fist technique spoken of like a legend. It was an absolute martial art that was considered the best in terms of pure destructive power, and in the thousand-year history of Shaolin, no more than five people had ever achieved mastery. If a top-tier expert were to be hit by a talented master’s Hundred Step Divine Fist, even a transcendent expert would not survive. Naturally, a transcendent expert’s Hundred Step Divine Fist was far more powerful, and even a master of the Limitless Art could lose their life if struck directly. Moreover, the opponent was a demon, and had suffered considerable internal and external injuries from the previous battles. In such a situation, being hit by the Hundred Step Divine Fist should have rendered him incapacitated, even if he didn’t die instantly. ‘Yet, he rose.’ Geonhyung coughed up blood and shouted. “Charge!!” His eyes were bloodshot, and the blue veins on his face were bulging. It wasn’t because of internal injuries. It didn’t seem like his demonic power was broken either. Yet, he knew that something was seriously wrong with his body. That wasn’t all. Swish! From the bodies of the screaming, vast army, almost all the demons, an ominous energy was rising. Beomoh’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘Berserk?!’ At that moment, one of the elder monks of the Gongja generation, Great Master Gonghyeon, shouted. “The Arhat Hall Master, retreat with the Eighteen Arhats!” Great Master Gonghyeon and Great Master Gongmu approached Geonhyung, unleashing the Vajra Great Strength Palm [a powerful Shaolin palm technique]. Clang! Geonhyung’s sword strikes were extremely rough. He shattered the power of two Vajra Great Strength Palms head-on, but his legs staggered and his upper body shook violently. “Uwaaaah!!” “Kuaaaaah!” Thanks to their commanders, the demons had been showing a semblance of order in their charge, even amidst their madness. Now, those demons seemed to have truly gone insane. They screamed with bloodshot eyes, breaking their formations and rushing forward haphazardly. Thud! Bang! The Henan martial forces, who were attacking the flanks of the demon army, led by the One Hundred and Eight Arhat Formation and the Eighteen Arhat Formation, were taken aback. When they first encountered them, these demons only wanted to charge. Their goal wasn’t to fight, but to reach a certain point in Mount Wudang. Nothing had changed now. But it had become much harder to stop them. The reason was simple. Clang! Fwoooosh! The One Hundred and Eight Arhat Formation shook violently. Thanks to Doje Jonglibaek facing Geonhwang, they were able to stop the leading demons, but now the demons were rushing in, disregarding death, making it difficult to cope. Clang! They were dying easily. The attacks of the Shaolin monks who formed the One Hundred and Eight Arhat Formation were all heavy and dense with internal energy. But they didn’t dodge or defend against those attacks. They didn’t even wave their hands to deflect them. It was a literal human wave attack. Even moths flying into a flame would be better than this. They were drooling and thrusting their heads forward, seemingly not feeling fear even while seeing their comrades’ shattered skulls and brains, charging even more recklessly. The fight was not working. Rather, the Arhats and Shaolin monks’ faces showed signs of being overwhelmed by the death charge. ‘This is not good.’ Beomoh was probably the most composed person on this battlefield, even more so than the Gongja generation monks. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was the calmest and most collected. This was because the wise inner energy of the Banya Great Ability was perfectly protecting his upper and middle dantian [energy centers in the body]. Thanks to that, he was able to maintain his composure even in a battlefield where people were dying like flies. ‘I came prepared to open the killing precept, but this is a one-sided massacre. For the monks, this must be much more burdensome than a life-or-death battle.’ It wasn’t just the monks. Anyone would be mentally broken if they had to kill people who were charging at them, not caring if they died. ‘This is no longer a war.’ War is a way to resolve conflicts through the most violent means. In other words, a fight can only be established if the opponent also shows a will not to back down. For those who have taken up arms to protect the Central Plains, killing an enemy who is charging to their death is not a fight, but a meaningless slaughter. Killing a person is much more burdensome than one might think. Harming just one person is a major event that can completely change that person’s life. Even practitioners who have trained their minds with the inner cultivation methods of the orthodox sects find ‘slaughter’ rather than ‘fighting’ extremely repulsive. That repulsion restricts their actions, and in severe cases, can drive people insane. ‘They probably don’t have such intentions. But if meaningless slaughter is repeated as a result, even if we win this war, many people’s minds will be broken.’ Thud! Thud! Thud! The burden on their minds was piling up incredibly fast. The hands and feet of the Arhats and monks who were stopping the recklessly charging demons were already becoming disoriented. Confusion filled everyone’s faces. They were killing the demons instinctively, with their ingrained martial arts, but their eyes were clouded and losing their light. Whoooom! Beomoh, drawing on the full power of the Banya Great Ability, shouted. “What is it that confuses you so!” It was a terrifying voice. It was not the voice of a benevolent Buddha, but the voice of an enraged Myo-oh [a wrathful deity]. The majestic lion’s roar that spread in all directions made the ears of not only the Shaolin monks but also all the Henan martial forces twitch. “No matter how the enemy comes, we came prepared to open the killing precept. The fact that they are invaders and beings that will spread death on our land does not change. If we do not stop them, it will be our downfall, and even a futile victory will be a glorious fight for the Central Plains.” Whoosh! Golden light rose from Beomoh’s body. It was the aura of a Buddha that seemed to calm the mind just by looking at it. “If I do not go to hell, who will? We have all come here as Myo-oh for the sake of the virtuous people of the Central Plains. If someone has to go to hell, it is right that we go. Isn’t that the mindset with which each of you came here?” The coldness began to return to the eyes of the monks, which had been clouded with confusion and burden. “Remember. We have already stepped one foot into hell. If we kill them all here, hell will only want us. But if you let them go because your actions are burdensome, even those who should not go to hell will go to hell.” Whoooosh! Golden energy surged from the bodies of the Arhats. It was less clear than Beomoh’s, but the combined power of each one was more majestic than any military force. “The training you have accumulated will not fade even if you go to hell. Regain your composure. Even if the World Honored One does not look down upon you, there is already a Buddha within you, so why are you so shaken by fear?” Beomoh’s palms struck Geonhyung’s chest. Clang! Geonhyung flew away, coughing up blood, but even in that state, he managed to swing his sword, leaving a deep wound on Beomoh’s chest. But Beomoh did not waver. Fzzzz! White smoke rose from the wound. The Banya Great Ability was expelling the wriggling demonic energy that was trying to penetrate him. Beomoh’s gaze grew sharper. Rather, the Banya Great Ability was burning even more strongly, opposing the demon. It was as if his martial arts and realm were being forcibly developed by facing the opposing force. Just like that Yeon Ho-Jeong. There was no such drastic change, but the wisdom-filled divine art, the Banya Great Ability, was making Beomoh higher, stronger, and more solid, as if it had its own will. “Do not hesitate! Push them back thoroughly! You are proving why Shaolin’s martial arts are called the best in the world!” “Amitabha!” The Buddhist chant that came from the Arhats’ mouths was unwavering. Clang! Thud! Thud! Thud! A blood storm erupted. The gruesome sight of bodies exploding, flesh and blood staining the empty void red, was everywhere. But the Arhats did not waver. Beomoh’s lion’s roar, imbued with the power of Banya, gave the Arhats, and even the Gongja generation elders, composure and fortitude. Just by regaining their composure, the nature of the martial arts they wielded changed. The punches they threw were imbued with more powerful internal energy. The iron staffs they swung became much faster and more decisive. The martial arts of the Arhats, who had regained their true selves, bloomed like lotuses in a place filled with blood and death, the essence of Shaolin martial arts. “Kuh!” Although the defense of the vanguard had become solid thanks to Beomoh’s enlightened lion’s roar, it did not mean that there were no casualties. The number of Henan martial forces targeting the flanks of the demon army was constantly decreasing. The demons, charging recklessly, were tearing off the arms of the Henan martial artists and clawing at their eyes, thrashing about like madmen. Fwoooosh! Lee Cheol-gyeong’s fist techniques shone. With Beomoh’s voice, the power of the Brahma Heavenly Art [a powerful martial art] returned to its place. Although he could not show the same powerful force as Beomoh, his fist techniques, which had surpassed the martial sect, were steadily sending the demons to hell. ‘Will this work?’ No matter how much they steeled their minds, there were too many of them. It was a great feat that the defense line had not been breached so far. That meant that the formations of the Eighteen Arhats and the One Hundred and Eight Arhats were that outstanding. But there would be a limit. The moment that limit came, they would not be able to stop the demons. ‘I can’t understand it at all. Demonic energy is leaking from these guys’ bodies. It’s not qi [life force], but they’re losing their internal energy.’ Yet, their strength had increased. It wasn’t that they were touching the origin. Most of the demons didn’t even have the reason left to touch the origin. ‘It’s strange. Judging by their condition, their strength should be decreasing, but why…?!’ At that moment, Lee Cheol-gyeong realized. ‘Their power is erratic.’ Demonic energy was leaking from their bodies. If that much demonic energy was leaking, they should have been exhausted long ago. Yet, they didn’t fall. The amount of demonic energy being emitted was fluctuating, and there were times when they seemed to be accumulating energy in an instant, emitting even clearer demonic energy than before. ‘Although we’re holding them back well, we’re getting closer to Mount Wudang according to their movements… Could it be that the closer they get to Mount Wudang, the more they regain their strength?!’ It was absurd nonsense. But that was the phenomenon that was being revealed. The closer they got to Mount Wudang, the stronger their power became. To be precise, they were losing and regaining their power repeatedly. Under that insane release of demonic energy, the entire area was filled with yin energy [negative energy]. It was as if their goal was to pollute Mount Wudang, a mountain full of immortal energy. ‘Dying and resurrecting… resurrecting…’ The Three Cults of Madness. They aimed for the Central Plains, but what were they each pursuing? ‘I heard that the ultimate goal of the three cults is immortality. To live forever, not to die, that is their goal. Of course, I think it’s impossible, but in reality, each of them has achieved their goal to some extent. It’s hard for me to imagine how they achieved such a thing.’ Beomoh’s words from just before the war echoed in his ears. Lee Cheol-gyeong shouted without realizing it. “Fall back from the flanks! Everyone, retreat behind the Arhat Formation! We’ll stop them at the front! That’s the best we can do!” It was impossible to judge logically. But he felt it instinctively. They had to stop them from the front. They had to strengthen the Arhats’ defense and face them head-on. It was the moment when the genius’s talent bloomed. In his first large-scale war, he had read the enemy’s purpose and changed his strategy. The Henan martial forces, who had been disrupting the vast army by repeatedly breaking through and retreating, began to charge to the front again. Amidst the enemy and allies undergoing great changes. Whoooosh! As if to say they would no longer stand idly by, the immortal energy of Mount Wudang began to sweep over the demon army like a storm. Uwaaaaaah!! The Taoists of Mount Wudang, fully prepared to slay the demons. All the forces of Wudang, except for the minimum personnel, were descending the mountain as if riding on clouds.