Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1340

Thump, thump, thump!

Myeong Hwal, thrown back and slamming into dozens of his own troops, finally stopped by digging his greatsword into the ground.

‘He’s strong.’

Myeong Hwal barely suppressed the urge to cough up blood.

‘To think he’d be this strong.’

The lightning energy coursing through his body was violently disrupting his internal energy.

It wasn’t just threatening the spiritual power of his upper dantian [the energy center located in the head, associated with the soul]. The extreme lightning energy was the culmination of the power of nature. Because humans couldn’t control it, they regarded lightning as the wrath of the gods.

Being struck by such power left him disoriented.

Much purer lightning energy, and the power of the soul imbued within it.

Whoosh!

Myeong Hwal unleashed his energy wave again.

The murderous intent, filled with rage, turned the area into a zone of death. The faces of the elite warriors of the Demonic Sound Sect within that area instantly contorted.

“How dare you!”

Bang!

He gathered his energy with True Awakening, mending his internal injuries and igniting his fighting spirit.

“You’ve only just stepped into this realm! You’re no match for me!”

“I may lose to others, but I won’t lose to you.”

Moyong Gun flicked his hand.

It was a provocation to make Myeong Hwal’s attacks focus solely on him.

“I’ll prove it.”

“You bastard!”

Bang!

Myeong Hwal’s speed as he shot forward, kicking off the ground, was much faster than before.

Moyong Gun’s eyes flashed.

‘Indeed.’

The flow of power had merged from two into one. He had converted the spiritual power of his upper dantian into internal energy, maximizing his power and speed.

Even while blinded by rage, he knew how to discard what was disadvantageous—the mark of a true fighter. It was clear that he hadn’t earned the title of Evil King simply by being strong.

‘I don’t have much time either.’

The moment of enlightenment felt like eternity, but it was ultimately fleeting.

The power he had gained in that fleeting moment was enough, but the problem was that he hadn’t properly adapted to his changed body and true energy.

Moreover, lightning energy was harder to control than ordinary internal energy. No matter how much he focused, the consumption of internal energy was extreme, and even now, as he scattered lightning energy, his internal energy was continuously being depleted.

Unless he reached a level where he could perfectly manage this, he had to settle any fight with a short battle.

Flash!

He stood to Myeong Hwal’s side with a footwork resembling lightning.

Myeong Hwal’s eyes wavered.

Moyong Gun’s movements were also faster than before. The problem was that he couldn’t read them.

No matter how fast the opponent was, he could use spiritual power to know how they would move. But now, he had forcibly drawn in divine energy and converted it into internal energy. He couldn’t read the opponent’s movements.

Moyong Gun’s left palm shot out in a straight line.

It was the Nine Heavens Thunder Palm.

Krrrrrr!

It sounded like real thunder was striking.

Even that roar was a martial art. Just like how the sound master Ha Eun-Gyo used sound techniques, the thunder that shattered eardrums had the power to destroy the eardrums and shake the brain.

Myeong Hwal hastily swung his greatsword.

Clang!

The two men retreated three steps simultaneously.

Swoosh!

The two men who had retreated moved again almost simultaneously.

‘He’s strong, as expected.’

It was almost simultaneous, but Moyong Gun knew. Myeong Hwal was slightly faster than him.

His footwork and lightness skill were faster. However, the opponent’s ability to mitigate impact was superior. There was a difference in skill.

‘I can’t win against him with power.’

He already knew it, but this one exchange made it clear.

The difference in power between me and my opponent.

Flash!

Myeong Hwal’s greatsword split into three and fell.

Moyong Gun controlled lightning, but Myeong Hwal’s swordsmanship was no less than lightning. Any single strike, if hit wrong, could be fatal.

Zing.

Moyong Gun’s lightning energy touched Myeong Hwal’s brow.

‘Here!’

His body moved like a dragon ascending a waterfall.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

He skillfully evaded the three slashes and moved in.

Myeong Hwal could no longer read Moyong Gun’s movements, but Moyong Gun read all of Myeong Hwal’s attack lines. It was the difference in the operation of the upper dantian and spiritual power.

Myeong Hwal’s face turned pale.

A radiance that brightly illuminated his eyes was flying towards his face.

Whoosh!

Even though he had converted spiritual power into internal energy, he still had the experience and level he had achieved. Myeong Hwal narrowly dodged Moyong Gun’s rapid punches by a hair’s breadth.

But he couldn’t stop Moyong Gun’s energy techniques.

Crack!

“Ugh!”

Behind Moyong Gun, who had passed by, Myeong Hwal’s blood dripped.

Blood was coming from his ear. It wasn’t that his earlobe was cut, but the lightning energy that had flowed in had damaged his eardrum.

Whoosh!

He quickly drew up his internal energy, blocking the damaged eardrum and regaining his sense of balance. In terms of internal energy control, he was truly a veteran master.

However, Moyong Gun was already targeting Myeong Hwal’s lower body.

Bang!

Myeong Hwal’s legs were like iron towers.

Lightning energy was an extremely destructive force, but it couldn’t overcome the overwhelming difference in internal energy. If Moyong Gun’s internal energy was similar to Myeong Hwal’s, his legs would have been broken and he would have fallen with this blow, and the fight would have ended immediately.

Myeong Hwal swung his left hand.

Clang!

Moyong Gun evaded the palm strike with a slower movement than before.

‘This is it.’

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two men’s martial arts clashed continuously, signaling the fierce battle to the heavens.

‘Yes, this is the world you see.’

Moyong Gun’s eyes were filled with rapture.

The flow of power he had never seen before was clearly visible. It was strange how he hadn’t seen it before; countless flows of power were revealing their presence in this world.

‘Ah!’

The path of the greatsword as it slashed, stabbed, and swung was clear. He could predict the attack one, or even several, moves ahead.

This wasn’t just about seeing the flow of power.

The martial arts of Myeong Hwal, who wielded the greatsword, were being ‘understood’ at an alarming rate.

Flash! Sizzle!

Myeong Hwal’s face contorted.

The opponent, who was dodging his attacks by a hair’s breadth like a pesky rat, was creating wounds on his body with each exchange.

It wasn’t palm strikes, wind punches, or sword strikes. Just the lightning energy that brushed past was enough to leave strikes that tore the skin and made the bones ache.

“Uwaaaah!”

Krrrr!

Myeong Hwal, who had blown away the area with a desperate burst of power, unleashed his final technique, the Severing Heaven Hundred Slashes.

Moyong Gun’s eyes flashed.

‘Indeed.’

It was a strike that instantly changed the flow of power that had been continuing. He was someone who had fought many battles with masters of similar levels. The moment the opponent understood his martial arts, he was cutting off the flow and opening up a style he had never seen before to create a different flow.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

The area was devastated by the numerous slashes that poured out in all directions.

Clang!

Moyong Gun, who was far away, unleashed the Nine Heavens Thunder Palm. The power released from both palms was accurately being sucked in at the moment the Severing Heaven Hundred Slashes ended.

Myeong Hwal thrust his greatsword forward.

Boom!

The shattered palm strike scattered terrifying lightning energy in all directions.

And at that moment, Moyong Gun predicted Myeong Hwal’s actions.

Swoosh!

Myeong Hwal, attacking from behind, was running towards the troops. He was trying to induce a chaotic battle to disrupt Moyong Gun’s mind.

But Moyong Gun was already blocking Myeong Hwal’s path.

Furthermore, Myeong Hwal had predicted even that and swung a pre-prepared strike.

Bang!

Even Moyong Gun had no choice but to be pushed back this time. It was the moment when Myeong Hwal’s ability to read the next move and the move after that with experience and combat ability, not spiritual power, shone.

However.

Sizzle!

Myeong Hwal’s face flushed red.

The moment he swung his greatsword, Moyong Gun’s lightning-filled finger wind struck his left hand fingers.

The lightning energy that had penetrated the internal energy barrier instantly paralyzed his left hand. It was a sharp strike that couldn’t be normalized with true energy right away.

“You bastard!”

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Moyong Gun’s speed, which had been slow to respond, increased again.

Unless he could predict the opponent’s movements with spiritual power, it would take time to adapt to the opponent’s movements that had slowed down and then sped up.

This was the fighting style of Moyong Gun, who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts.

Bang! Wham! Bang!

Myeong Hwal was helplessly pushed back by Moyong Gun’s attacks, which were unleashing the Thunder Palm like crazy.

No, it was more than just being pushed back.

‘This is bad!’

Each time he blocked a strike, his internal injuries were compounding.

Even with his overwhelming amount of internal energy, he couldn’t defend against it. No, rather, his own internal energy was causing internal injuries in the process of resolving the lightning energy.

Stronger internal energy, more abundant spiritual power, were unable to withstand Moyong Gun’s lightning palm and were walking the path of self-destruction.

‘This is absurd…!’

At this speed, with attacks he couldn’t read, it was impossible to respond.

‘Is this guy even the natural enemy of the supreme masters?!’

It was half right and half wrong.

Myeong Hwal used spiritual power only to increase the destructive power of his martial arts. It was indeed something he would do, but that was why he only thought about increasing the capacity of his upper dantian and didn’t think about handling it delicately.

That was why Moyong Gun’s lightning energy could scatter Myeong Hwal’s spiritual power.

His lightning energy had the property of drawing down or scattering spiritual power with magnetism. Not just anyone could do that just because they had learned martial arts based on lightning energy, but the Lightning Palm, which was more specialized in convergence than emission, had blossomed with Moyong Gun’s enlightenment and developed in a direction that rendered the enemy’s upper dantian useless.

Even other supreme masters wouldn’t easily stop their spiritual power from being scattered by Moyong Gun’s lightning energy. However, if they had trained delicately and thoroughly, it wouldn’t be impossible to respond.

In other words, the reason why Moyong Gun was able to push Myeong Hwal despite the difference in their achieved levels was entirely due to the compatibility between the two. For Moyong Gun, Myeong Hwal was, in a way, the easiest supreme master to fight.

Clang!

The tip of the greatsword was shattered and flew away from a Thunder Palm strike.

The cracks were appearing on Myeong Hwal’s enormous internal energy barrier. The lightning energy that had penetrated had begun to sever the line with the spiritual power that was constantly being converted into internal energy.

Myeong Hwal wasn’t just taking it either. He was somehow gathering his internal energy and launching a counterattack, and by now, Moyong Gun’s body was also covered in blood.

The skin that couldn’t withstand the pressure of the greatsword was tearing or bursting.

‘But I will still win.’

Moyong Gun’s eyes were blazing.

The extreme lightning energy was terrifyingly increasing his thinking speed. In the blink of an eye, while Myeong Hwal was thinking of one thing, he was contemplating two or three things and deploying his martial arts.

‘I can win.’

The lightning energy he had gathered was almost completely depleted. The amount of lightning energy he was pouring out was overwhelmingly greater than the amount he was gathering through breathing.

But he would still win. He could win.

‘I may lose to others, but I will win against you.’

The extreme belief soon became a faith towards victory, creating a stronger and more violent style.

“Uwaaaah!!”

The moment Myeong Hwal, whose internal injuries had reached their limit, screamed and raised his greatsword.

Thwack!

A sword that had flown from somewhere pierced Myeong Hwal’s heart.

Moyong Gun trembled, his hand outstretched. At this moment when he had unleashed his final strike, his internal energy was completely depleted.

Blood trickled down from Myeong Hwal’s mouth.

“Is that why you didn’t use a sword?”

“There was no need.”

“……”

“But I expected there would be a time when I would have to use it.”

Myeong Hwal let out a hollow laugh.

Just like how he couldn’t adapt to the speed that had slowed down and then sped up, he was struck by sword techniques after getting used to palm strikes. It was a tactic he couldn’t predict even with experience.

“Damn it.”

With that one word, Myeong Hwal’s body collapsed.

At the same time, Moyong Gun also knelt down. Due to the extreme consumption of internal energy, internal injuries, and excessive bleeding, he too had reached his limit.

And at that moment.

Krrrr!

The Demonic Sound Sect troops, who had been unable to do anything in the face of the absolute masters’ battle, were split in half.

The last master holding the Blood Jade, Fourteenth King Hyeol Rin, had turned his troops towards Shandong.