Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 158

‘Hmm? What do you mean?’

‘I was wondering if there might be an imbalance.’

‘The Four Divine Arts?’

‘Yes.’

‘Explain in more detail.’

‘The energies of the Four Divine Beasts each govern the liver, lungs, heart, and kidneys. By activating these four organs, excluding the spleen, from the five viscera [major internal organs], one can push the body’s robustness to its limits.’

‘That is correct.’

‘I have only acquired two energies so far. Wouldn’t that cause an imbalance within the body?’

‘That’s absurd.’

‘Pardon?’

‘People are born with different constitutions. Some have strong hearts, while others have strong lungs or livers. Does that mean most of them die young due to organ imbalances?’

‘Ah…’

‘The human body is incredibly complex, but it has also evolved to be extremely efficient. This is true for all living things, not just humans. Unless there is an external factor causing an abnormality or illness, the body quickly adapts to the current situation.’

‘So, if one organ is particularly strong, the others will focus on activating the body accordingly.’

‘To put it extremely, a person can survive even if an organ is somewhat damaged or removed, as long as it doesn’t directly affect their life.’

‘The human body is truly mysterious.’

‘Indeed. If I had to pick the most mysterious organ, I would unhesitatingly say the liver.’

‘The liver?’

‘The liver is not as critical as the heart, lungs, or kidneys. Yet, it does the most work in the body. A prime example is detoxification.’

‘Detoxification…’

‘That’s right. It also synthesizes muscles, stores nutrients from food, and boosts immunity against various diseases. It even has excellent regenerative abilities.’

‘That’s an amazing organ.’

‘Once you master all of the Four Divine Arts, you must not neglect any of them. But I am certain that if you go out into the martial world and engage in bloody battles, you will benefit the most from the Azure Dragon energy, which governs the liver.’

‘…’

‘Of course, that is if your body is somewhat complete.’

* * *

The dust settled.

*Whoosh.*

A translucent cyan glow flickered, forming the shape of a dragon before disappearing.

A strange vitality appeared on Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face.

He noticed an extremely subtle fatigue that he hadn’t been aware of, something that even a good night’s sleep couldn’t resolve.

His skin gradually cleared. His sun-tanned complexion remained, but it somehow seemed to glow.

‘Finally.’

At last, now.

‘I have obtained everything.’

The reason he hadn’t touched the Azure Dragon energy until now was clear.

He wanted to mature the energies of the three divine beasts and form an organic relationship, pushing the functions of his organs to their limits.

It wasn’t just because it was the Azure Dragon energy. He intended to draw out the final energy at a decisive moment, whatever it might be.

‘So, if one organ is particularly strong, the others will focus on activating the body accordingly.’

With the functions of his heart, lungs, and kidneys extremely activated by the three divine energies, his liver’s detoxification function was also enhanced, even without the Azure Dragon energy.

Once he pushed his abilities to their limits and then added the Azure Dragon energy, his liver’s capabilities would grow explosively. And following the increased liver function, the concentration of the remaining three divine energies would also amplify rapidly.

A method to complete the Four Divine Arts by utilizing the principle of mutual generation, rather than simply gathering all four divine beasts to build a stable foundation.

‘It was a bit earlier than I expected. But…’

It’s not bad.

His liver had been accumulating fatigue, unknowingly, because it couldn’t keep up with the superiority of his heart, lungs, and kidneys. This meant that there was a limit to how much his organ functions could improve.

In other words, it was the perfect time to summon the Azure Dragon and explosively enhance his organ functions.

*Zzzzzzzzz!*

A strange sound resonated from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body.

He took a deep breath.

‘Hoo.’

*Whoosh!*

With his inhale, the White Tiger energy surged. High concentrations of natural energy entered his lungs, affecting his blood circulation.

*Thump-thump!*

His heart rate quickened, and the Vermilion Bird energy became active. The blood pumped by his powerful heart muscles gave explosive power to his limbs.

‘Hoo-ooo.’

*Weeeeee!*

The liver, the body’s largest biochemical warehouse, began to operate in earnest. The liver, which had achieved explosive growth with the cyan Azure Dragon energy, supplied nutrients to damaged muscles, stored residual power, and converted minute fatigue into components that were easy to expel.

*Thwoom!*

The kidneys, which had been working non-stop for twelve hours, pushed the fatigue components created by the liver toward the excretory organs. Immediately, the Black Tortoise energy activated, completely vaporizing those components through his eighty-four thousand pores.

And finally.

The Emerald Serenity energy, which balanced all four divine energies, brought Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body to perfection.

*Crack!*

The training ground floor, already cracked and broken, cracked once more. The perfectly gathered four divine energies condensed with the power of mutual generation, creating tremendous pressure.

The ground within a five-jang [approximately 15 meters] radius of where Yeon Ho-Jeong stood shook as if an earthquake had struck.

*Pshhhh.*

Yeon Wi, having put down his broken sword, looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong.

‘He’s changing.’

His son’s body, his energy, everything was changing.

From Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body, which was trembling as he crouched like a lion, his fists clenched, translucent four-colored energies flickered like lightning.

And those energies, each writhing, were forming strange shapes.

‘It’s dazzling.’

Yeon Wi looked to the left, to the east.

There, a huge dragon with two massive horns and a white beard was writhing. It had a majestic and mysterious aura.

‘Azure Dragon.’

This time, he turned his head to the right, to the west.

A beast standing on the ground with four thick, massive legs was letting out a terrifying roar. It exuded overflowing dignity and ferocity.

‘White Tiger.’

Yeon Wi raised his head and looked up at the southern sky.

Wings of crimson flames, burning like fire, emitted intense heat that seemed to engulf the heavens and earth. Within its beautiful form, an unbearable ferocity was felt.

‘Vermilion Bird.’

And finally, his eyes turned to the northern sky.

Unlike the three divine beasts that were increasing their presence with dynamic movements, there was a hexagonal monster that silently looked down upon the world. The weight it carried grew with its stillness, the incarnation of the Black Heaven.

‘Black Tortoise.’

Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had now obtained all the martial arts of the four divine beasts.

Surprisingly, the change didn’t end there.

*Wooooooom!*

Yeon Wi’s eyes widened.

‘Emerald Serenity Formation?’

Water generates wood, wood generates fire.

The Black Tortoise energy of water enhances the Azure Dragon energy of wood, and the Azure Dragon energy enhances the Vermilion Bird energy of fire.

Metal generates water, and the Black Tortoise energy, enhanced by the White Tiger energy of metal, adds momentum to the growth of the energy. All energies except the White Tiger had been refined to the highest quality.

Then what about the White Tiger?

Where is the earth energy that will nurture metal, the foundation of earth generating metal?

*Fwoosh!*

It’s the Emerald Serenity energy.

The Emerald Serenity energy amplified the White Tiger energy to match the quality of the three refined energies. The Emerald Serenity energy was filling the missing piece in the principle of the five elements’ mutual generation.

*Flash!*

The light of the heavens surrounded the four-colored divine energies.

‘Amazing.’

Awe appeared on Yeon Wi’s face.

‘He has mastered the Emerald Serenity Formation!’

*Wooooooom!*

The energies of all colors swirled around the training ground before gradually calming down.

‘Hoo-ooo-ooo.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong, taking a deeper breath than ever before, opened his eyes.

Clear.

They were clear before, but his eyes were completely different from before. Within his pupils, where black and white were clearly divided, a powerful martial force, ready for a violent advance, was latent.

Yeon Wi smiled and asked.

‘You rascal.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong also smiled back.

‘I went through all that trouble to build up my martial arts to be a great wall for my son, but if you’ve already reached that point, what am I supposed to do?’

Even as he said that, he couldn’t hide his pride. Yeon Wi’s eyes and the corners of his mouth, which were raised high, clearly revealed his joy.

‘You should go further. You too, Father.’

‘Does that mean I have to cut back on sleep even more?’

‘That’s your problem, Father.’

‘What? Hahaha!’

Despite his impudent tone, Yeon Wi didn’t scold him. Instead, he burst into a hearty laugh that he had never shown before.

Indeed, it was understandable. This monstrous son of his had, at this very moment, taken the first step on the great journey toward transcending human limitations and reaching the ultimate path.

Transcendent Realm.

He had broken through the limit known as the Wall of Martial Arts and finally ascended to the stage where the leaders of the Nine Great Sects and the Six Great Clans stood.

He was still young. As he had just taken his first step, it was difficult to compare him to the masters who had trained for a long time in the Transcendent Realm.

However, the fact that he had reached that level at such a young age was astonishing. Even if one were to search through thousands of years of martial history, how many people would have achieved such a level at that age?

‘Ho-Jeong.’

‘Yes, Father.’

‘Congratulations.’

‘It’s all thanks to you, Father. Thank you.’

‘And Ho-Jeong.’

‘Yes.’

‘You’ve done well.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

‘Are you going to have a drink with me today?’

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who often showed a mischievous side, had never said such a thing to his father before.

Yeon Wi accepted his son’s bold proposal with a hearty laugh.

‘Good. If not on a day like this, when else would I drink with you? Let’s have a big one today.’

Thus, in front of countless martial artists, the reputation of the Byeoksan Yeon family shook the world once again.

* * *

The duel between the Yeon father and son that took place in the inner training ground of the Martial Alliance spread rapidly. Naturally, it also reached the ears of the Moyong family.

‘The Yeon Clan Leader, you say?’

‘That’s right.’

Moyong Woo clicked his tongue.

‘How could he have already…?’

He was genuinely surprised. The surprise was so great that he couldn’t even muster admiration.

Transcendent Realm.

Martial arts are something that constantly deepens, so there is no need to distinguish between first-rate and peak levels.

However, there was an absolute limit that everyone experienced. And people called that limit the Wall of Martial Arts and were at a loss.

It was extremely rare for someone to break through the Wall of Martial Arts and enter a new world.

Would it be even one percent of the countless martial artists in the world? That was how difficult it was to overcome the Wall of Martial Arts.

And a young man in his prime had broken through it.

It was an event that would make the world buzz. It was a different kind of surprise than when he had overturned the famous family as the Byeoksan Tiger [a nickname for Yeon Ho-Jeong].

‘That’s amazing.’

‘Yes, it’s amazing.’

Moyong Gun’s eyes were so cold that they seemed ominous.

Although his gaze was sharp, there was also a hint of honest admiration within it.

‘That monstrous bastard.’

Just when he thought he had reached his limit, he would run far away, and just when he thought he had caught him, he would show off his ability to fly in the sky.

There was no one like him.

Moyong Gun felt a sense of crisis for a moment. He had initially planned to eradicate him from the roots, but seeing Yeon Ho-Jeong’s growth rate, he felt that he could no longer delay.

‘Among poisonous weeds, some die easily, while others grow like monsters in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.’

Murderous intent flickered in Moyong Gun’s eyes.

‘Woo-ya.’

‘Yes, Brother.’

‘After the expedition, we must bury the Myeolsa Army [a specific army or group].’

‘…!’

‘We can’t do it half-heartedly. We have to end it.’