Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1331

“Unbelievable.”

The Guardian Law Enforcer’s face was grotesquely distorted with disbelief and fear.

“Is that… a human fight?!”

It was unimaginable how much profound power was contained in each and every punch that created such explosive sounds.

That transcendent power was being wielded at an invisible speed. Each strike was accurately landing on the other’s body.

Yet, neither of them backed down. They had been fighting for half a day already, exchanging blows that seemed impossible to block even with the power of the extreme, and yet they continued.

In the midst of it all, there was something difficult to understand.

‘What is the Sect Leader’s anger? And that guy who is fighting him head-on, is he even human?!’

It was then.

“It’s dangerous.”

The Guardian Law Enforcer flinched at Jeok-Heum’s words. He had been so focused on the fight between the two demigods that he was startled.

Jeok-Heum’s words quickened.

“Step back.”

“What…?!”

Whoosh.

Before he knew it, Jeok-Heum had retreated dozens of yards. It was an incredible movement technique. The Guardian Law Enforcer was also very surprised by Jeok-Heum’s movement.

But he couldn’t understand his words.

‘Dangerous? Step back?’

He didn’t know what was dangerous, but he couldn’t follow the order to step back.

He was the Guardian Law Enforcer. He couldn’t intervene in the fight between demigods, but how could he, the one who should protect the Sect Leader, increase the distance?

Kwarururung!!

Suddenly, a storm arose.

At that moment, the Guardian Law Enforcer felt a shock as if he had been struck by lightning.

A primal instinct, shaking the very roots of his loyalty to the Sect Leader, urged him to evade.

‘I have to get away…!’

Swoosh! Kwaang!

With an explosive sound, the Guardian Law Enforcer was thrown backward.

He stopped after rolling more than ten yards, constantly spitting out blood.

‘This can’t be.’

He had suffered internal injuries from a single shockwave. He, who had reached the extreme [a martial arts level of mastery].

‘It’s getting stronger?!’

The power of the two had become even stronger.

As their power increased, the shockwaves emanating from them also increased exponentially. The Guardian Law Enforcer couldn’t even react to the shockwaves.

The Guardian Law Enforcer unconsciously shouted.

“Sect Leader!!”

It was then.

Crack!

A chilling sound rang out clearly.

It was so loud that it seemed to reach hundreds of yards away. The Guardian Law Enforcer flinched once more.

Saaaak!

The Guardian Law Enforcer saw something hazy rising high into the sky.

Then, Jeok-Heum’s voice was heard.

“It wasn’t just one.”

The Guardian Law Enforcer turned to look at Jeok-Heum.

Surprisingly, Jeok-Heum’s indifferent face held a strange sense of elation.

“Was it possible to do that without using the Great Law?”

* * *

‘What is this?’

In his blurry vision, Sa Mun-Hyang saw something white flying away.

‘Sa Gyu-Heon.’

Scattering with a scream.

‘Sa Guk-Jun.’

Ascending to the heavens with joy.

‘Sa Jung-Seon.’

Sinking while releasing hatred.

The owners of the absorbed souls within his body were all leaping out.

‘It’s because of me.’

Sa Mun-Hyang realized why those bound by the military order were leaving his body.

‘Through the passage of heavenly energy….’

He had wanted to become a god as a human. He wanted to possess all the desires that humans feel and live an eternal life.

However, the moment he truly became human was now, while fighting his nemesis. The anger he was now unleashing had been brewing for three hundred years.

As he unleashed everything he had built up with his anger-filled Mind Sword [a martial art technique that uses mental focus], the influence of the military orders diminished. Now, his body was entirely his own.

Then, the souls left through his Baihui point [the crown of the head] on their own. It was surprisingly easy.

The souls he had absorbed over hundreds of years with meticulous planning and greed were all leaving.

Thump!

Sa Mun-Hyang’s body twitched.

In the midst of it all, one soul did not leave. It wasn’t because Sa Mun-Hyang wanted it to stay. That soul wanted to remain in Sa Mun-Hyang’s body.

Sa Mun-Hyang could no longer even sense the existence of that soul.

Bbrrrr.

The Blood Demon Energy surged uncontrollably.

Surprisingly, his power was still overflowing. It had decreased significantly compared to his full state, but it was still enough power to handle several masters of the extreme.

However, even that power did not move as he willed.

Sa Mun-Hyang slowly raised his head.

The shaking vision gradually became clearer.

And there.

Cheon In-Ryong was there.

Sa Mun-Hyang’s eyes trembled.

“Young Sect Leader.”

“Are you seeing things now?”

It wasn’t Cheon In-Ryong’s voice.

He was no longer human, yet he spoke with a voice more human than anyone else. That clear and pure voice was similar to that of a learned scholar.

Once more, his vision changed.

Then, Cheon In-Ryong disappeared, and Yeon Ho-Jeong remained in his place.

Suddenly, Sa Mun-Hyang felt something dazzling.

His vision wasn’t blurring, but becoming incomparably brighter. It was as if he was seeing the light emanating from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s very being.

“Look at me straight.”

Perhaps it was because he had unleashed countless Mind Swords.

The Mind Sword of his nemesis, filled with a cold and restrained anger different from his own, showed no wavering.

That was why he could calmly pour out everything. From Yeon Ho-Jeong’s voice, Sa Mun-Hyang could no longer feel any anger.

And beyond that calmness, he could see that Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body had reached its limit.

Yet, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s expression was calm.

“You wanted to become a god, but now you must have realized. Humans cannot become gods.”

Sa Mun-Hyang’s expression hardened.

The Young Sect Leader’s words came to mind.

‘I am the Young Sect Leader, and you are the Blood King. But both you and I are the same humans. We can never become gods.’

‘Humans cannot become beings beyond humans. I have realized that. And I thought you would understand my will.’

It sounded like a hallucination, but it wasn’t. It was a word he had remembered for over three hundred years. A word that still popped up from time to time, a curse etched into his mind that he couldn’t shake off.

“By synchronizing with you, I saw the past and finally understood everything.”

“……”

“When the Master quelled the Blood Sect rebellion, at that very moment, the Blood Sect was destroyed.”

“……?!”

“You, disguised as the Three Mad Sects, are nothing more than ghosts struggling to not forget your past glory.”

Sa Mun-Hyang’s face twisted grotesquely.

He wanted to shout that it was nonsense, that the Blood Sect was not yet dead. But those words did not come out easily.

To him now, Yeon Ho-Jeong was not just Yeon Ho-Jeong.

He was with the Young Sect Leader, Cheon In-Ryong. That was why the words wouldn’t come out.

The feeling that no matter what he said, it would all be refuted.

And the anxiety that he would unknowingly accept that refutation.

Yeon Ho-Jeong continued.

“I became you and looked into all of your heart. But the Master knew you without doing that.”

“……!”

“You had a chance.”

A chance? What chance?

“Humans are given a chance to look back at themselves. If there was no such chance, you should always doubt yourself. That’s how you can improve.”

“……”

“You didn’t even try to look back at yourself, and you didn’t consider the chance the Master gave you as a chance. You just struggled to make others fit your mold.”

“……!”

“If things didn’t go your way, you should have at least severed ties. If you valued your life, you should have given up everything and gone back. But you didn’t.”

A powerful majesty settled in Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes.

Those eyes were like the eyes of Cheon In-Ryong, who didn’t even flinch while fighting against the Blood Sect forces.

“Those who cannot look back at their desires, those who are swayed by their desires, cannot live their true lives. Perhaps that’s why you wanted to become a god even more. Because you don’t know yourself.”

“……Shut up.”

“So, I will give you one last chance.”

Sa Mun-Hyang unconsciously swallowed.

Giving a chance? That was something a strong person could say to a weak one.

But he couldn’t get angry at those words. He was furious at Yeon Ho-Jeong’s very existence, but he didn’t feel any sense of incongruity with those words.

It wasn’t because Yeon Ho-Jeong’s martial power was stronger.

Even without martial power, Yeon Ho-Jeong was stronger than him. His heart, the way he had lived, his will, were overwhelming Sa Mun-Hyang at this moment.

“Take the remaining remnants of the Three Sects and go back.”

“……?!”

“Go back and think about what you should do. If you accept that… I will let you go for now.”

It was a word that the Yeon Ho-Jeong of the past would never have uttered, even if it meant biting his tongue.

He was a man who had lived his entire life for the destruction of the Three Sects. He had vowed to meet the Emperor and live for a new era, an era where people could live like people, but that didn’t mean his hatred for the Three Sects had faded.

If Sa Mun-Hyang wasn’t the Sa Mun-Hyang of the past, then Yeon Ho-Jeong wasn’t the Yeon Ho-Jeong of the past either.

If he hadn’t met Sa Mun-Hyang like this, he would never have had such thoughts. To Yeon Ho-Jeong, the Three Sects were enemies with whom he could not share the same sky. Not a single follower should be left alive.

But now, having met Sa Mun-Hyang and released all the anger and hatred that had been buried deep within his soul.

Only now could Yeon Ho-Jeong let go of his hatred and resentment, as his master had said.

Whoosh!

A wind blew from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body.

Even though he was covered in blood, there was no smell of blood. The wind he emitted had a strange fragrance. It was a fragrance of memories that calmed the mind and brought a smile to one’s face just by thinking about it.

Sa Mun-Hyang’s eyes trembled fiercely.

‘Mind Sword… Mind Sword….’

This too was a Mind Sword. He knew it, yet he was being affected.

‘How did he reach such a level?’

Even without exchanging blows, the Mind Sword could shake a person’s heart.

If Sa Mun-Hyang had unleashed all the anger he had accumulated for three hundred years, then Yeon Ho-Jeong had also released all the killing intent that had been gnawing at his soul through this Mind Sword Martial Way.

Anger, hatred, resentment.

If those emotions had been the driving force behind Yeon Ho-Jeong until now, now they had been resolved and had become a stepping stone for him to soar higher.

A heart that could speak of forgiveness even to his mortal enemy.

Having faced his mortal enemy, he could release everything and maintain a mind like a clear mirror. Could he truly call his mortal enemy his mortal enemy?

“You did not seize the chance that the Master gave you. But now you know that it was a chance. Therefore, I, the Master’s disciple, am giving you one last chance.”

“……”

“Choose. A temporary truce? Or….”

Yeon Ho-Jeong calmly spoke of death.

“Will you end your four-hundred-year-long life here?”

Sa Mun-Hyang gave a twisted smile.

“You, representing the Murim [martial arts world] of the continent, are going to let us go?”

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m just giving you a chance to find your own place to die, not completely letting you go.”

“……?!”

“Didn’t you hear the words ‘temporary truce’? A truce is only for a very short time. If you retreat now, we will gather our full strength and come for you.”

“……!!”

“Before that, there will be things you can do. But if you choose to fight, then we won’t leave even one of the dogs you raise alive.”

His calmness turned into coldness.

“You won’t be able to expect any mercy from me then.”

“……Why are you giving me such a chance?”

“Because that’s what the Master would have done.”

“……”

“I am resolving a regret that the Master left behind in this world. For that, I can put aside my desire for revenge for a moment. And as you know….”

Woong! Woong!

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes turned into fierce golden eyes.

“You cannot lie to me.”

“……!”

“It’s the moment of choice, Sa Mun-Hyang.”