Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 295

Yeon Ji-pyeong was the one who greeted Yeon Ho-jeong upon his return to their residence.

“Brother.”

“Oh? You’re up?”

“Yes.”

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.

“You rascal, I told you to get enough sleep. You’re still shorter than me because you toss and turn at night.”

Yeon Ho-jeong knew better than anyone how much Yeon Ji-pyeong had struggled, how much shock he had received from the first chase and the actual combat.

That’s why he could take this remark as a joke. Yeon Ji-pyeong shook his head.

“You’re still as tough as iron, brother.”

“Iron, my foot.”

“Anyway…”

Yeon Ji-pyeong’s face hardened.

“What about those injuries?”

He had visited the medical room and had all his wounds bandaged. However, the edges of the iron pieces were so jagged that blood was still seeping through despite the hemostasis [the process of stopping bleeding].

Yeon Ho-jeong waved his hand.

“I just had a heated sparring match. Don’t worry about it.”

He didn’t seem to have any serious internal injuries or be greatly exhausted. Relief washed over Yeon Ji-pyeong’s face.

“You still live a rough life, brother.”

“How can martial arts gained by swinging a sword alone be called true martial arts, and how can one claim to have mastered the world by locking oneself in a room and reading books?”

Yeon Ho-jeong shrugged.

“People grow through clashes, whether they’re violent or gentle.”

That was true. Yeon Ji-pyeong especially agreed with Yeon Ho-jeong’s words.

He had engaged in his first life-or-death battle in an unexpected place. And Yeon Ji-pyeong felt that he hadn’t even shown half of the martial arts he had honed.

Study without experience is just an empty shell. His brother’s values were definitely worth learning from.

“By the way.”

Yeon Ho-jeong patted Yeon Ji-pyeong’s shoulder.

“Looking at you calmly like this, you’ve grown a lot.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. You’ve become a proper man now.”

His personality had changed a lot from the past, as much as his body had grown.

He had become much calmer, and even his words had decreased. But it wasn’t because Yeon Ji-pyeong’s personality had become darker.

It was the prudence he had learned while handling family matters himself.

In a way, he had been fighting battles more difficult than life-or-death sword fights. Skill was important, but there had to be even bigger changes in his personality.

“You’re amazing too, brother.”

“What about me?”

“The reputation of the Byeoksan Faction is spreading all over the world. I don’t know how happy I was when I heard that you had broken through the Wall of Martial Arts and were called the best of the younger generation.”

Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.

“The best of the younger generation.”

He was a man who had already reached the pinnacle of the underworld. Furthermore, he was a notorious master who had been an absolute powerhouse, one of the top three in the vast world.

Perhaps that was why he wasn’t particularly moved by the title of the best of the younger generation. To someone who had climbed to the top of Mount Tai [a metaphor for reaching the highest peak], a small hill was just a small hill.

But in reality, it was different.

Although he himself didn’t realize it, Yeon Ho-jeong’s name was sweeping across the Central Plains [the heartland of the martial world]. He was even more famous than Moyong Woo, who was linked to him as the Twin Guardians.

Thinking about it, it was natural.

Moyong Woo was a genius who suddenly appeared, but Yeon Ho-jeong was a passionate fighter who had been challenging prestigious families for years, making his presence known to the world.

Moreover, he was younger than Moyong Woo, and despite being from the Yeon family, a prestigious family of traditional swordsmanship, he was also an unusual master who used an axe larger than a person as his main weapon.

In many ways, he couldn’t help but stand out. As Jeagal Mun-ho had predicted, Yeon Ho-jeong’s reputation was already at the level of a head of a major sect or higher.

“Why should I be excited about being the best of the younger generation? Maybe if I were the best in the world.”

“Is that so?”

“There are as many strong people in the world as there are grains of sand on the beach. I may be called the best among the younger generation, but that’s only because I’m playing in the younger generation’s league. If you really look for them, there are hundreds of people in this martial world who are stronger than me.”

“Still, it’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“Amazing, my foot. I’m still far away. Besides, even the best in the world will die if they’re attacked together. No matter how outstanding an individual is, they can’t overcome the power of a group.”

Of course, it was different for those at the level of the Ten-Three Seats of the Heavenly Star [a very high level of martial arts].

But that was just a difference in realm. The truth remained the same. Could one master who had reached the Heavenly Star level handle three masters of the same level?

“In the end, external evaluations are nothing more than a veil that obscures one’s own eyes. I’m grateful that you’re happy for me, but don’t pay attention to such things in the future.”

It was advice from the heart. Yeon Ji-pyeong bowed his head.

“I will keep that in mind, brother.”

Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.

“You don’t have to keep it in mind. I’m just saying that’s how it is. It’s not like there’s anything left for a martial artist if you take away their reputation.”

“I, is that so?”

“It’s just that the values people consider important are different.”

Seeing this, his brother wasn’t just an extreme person. He had a clear sense of his own values, but he also clearly understood the differences between himself and others.

That was why Yeon Ji-pyeong liked Yeon Ho-jeong. He knew how difficult it was to establish such a firm set of values.

“By the way, have you eaten?”

“Yes. I had breakfast with Father.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s expression immediately turned mischievous.

“I bet you didn’t know if the food was going into your mouth or your nose?”

Yeon Ji-pyeong’s expression became awkward.

“A little… there was a bit of that.”

“Hahahaha.”

“But I was surprised. I don’t know what you went through, but Father has become very gentle.”

“Became gentle… that’s right.”

Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.

“Father hasn’t changed. He was always like that. It’s just that the family’s reputation was heavy, so he didn’t show it.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, I hope you spend a lot of time with Father, at least while you’re in the Alliance. Father will like it too.”

“I understand, brother.”

“Good.”

Yeon Ho-jeong patted Yeon Ji-pyeong’s back.

“You must be exhausted, so get some rest. If you’re bored, you can take a look around the Alliance.”

“What about you, brother?”

“I have something to think about. I’ll see you later.”

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

A subtle sense of disappointment lingered in Yeon Ji-pyeong’s eyes as he watched Yeon Ho-jeong’s back as he quickly went up to his room.

For a meeting between brothers, this much conversation was enough to catch up. But Yeon Ji-pyeong wanted to talk more, to have more conversations.

But as expected, his brother was his brother. He was always busy, and just as passionate. He took good care of his people, but when he had something to focus on, he didn’t look around.

“…Tsk, should I ask him to buy me a drink tonight? I can drink well now too.”

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had entered his residence, immediately went to his bed and sat in a lotus position.

Sitting in a lotus position didn’t mean he was entering a meditative state. It was just that the position was good for thinking.

‘Indeed, this is the limit now.’

He recalled his sparring match with Tang Gwan.

Of course, like Tang Gwan, Yeon Ho-jeong hadn’t used his full power either. To be precise, he hadn’t fought with the determination to truly risk his life.

The killing intent unique to the Vermilion Bird Technique had been present, but if he had truly intended to kill Tang Gwan, he would have at least blown off one of his limbs.

Of course, he himself would have either died on the spot or been left in tatters.

‘It wasn’t a battle where we both used our full power, but it was a battle where we could clearly see each other’s limits.’

Yeon Ho-jeong was able to read almost all of Tang Gwan’s skills through his movements.

‘He’s comparable to Father. No, he might be half a step below Father, but if it came to a real fight, Father would be more likely to lose.’

It wasn’t a matter of whose martial arts were stronger. It was the difference in individual temperament and the compatibility of their martial arts.

‘If I had entered a real life-or-death battle, the probability of me losing was overwhelmingly high.’

It was a natural result since his skills were lower than his father’s. Of course, his ability to deal with poison and hidden weapons might be superior to his father’s.

The problem wasn’t that.

‘It’s okay to wait like this. If I keep training steadily like this, I’ll be able to reach the peak of this realm within a few years.’

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes deepened.

‘But there’s no need to do that.’

Without awakening the Yellow Dragon, his Four Divine Beast Martial Arts were almost honed to their limit.

The entire Four Divine Beast Energy was in perfect balance. There was still room for it to deepen, but there was no more room to expect explosive growth.

That was the case with the Four Divine Beast Martial Arts.

‘Then…’

It was time.

‘I should start touching the Five Great Divine Arts.’

The Biseonjin Energy was a very suitable martial art for supporting the Four Divine Beast Martial Arts.

And it suited Yeon Ho-jeong’s personality. The Biseonjin Energy was the most stable of the Five Great Divine Arts, so it complemented Yeon Ho-jeong’s extremely violent martial arts, creating a synergistic effect.

‘The Biseonjin Energy is at its peak. And I’ve done everything I can to achieve the Way of Synergy.’

His essence, body, and mind had found balance as energy.

Now was the time to switch from a synergistic divine art that enhanced strengths and compensated for weaknesses to a divine art that could maximize his unique strengths.

“…It’s right to go with the Dragon Embrace Divine Art.”

The Dragon Embrace Divine Art.

This martial art, also known as the Dragon Embrace Energy, was one of the Five Great Divine Arts of the Yeon family, and it was excellent at maximizing the destructive power of explosive force.

In other words, it was the most destructive of the Yeon family’s divine arts. As such, it consumed a lot of internal energy, and if one was swept away by their essence, their personality could become rough and extreme.

One of the reasons why the Yeon family’s code was so strict was because of this. Each of the Five Great Divine Arts had such distinct characteristics that one had to have a righteous mind to bring out the true power of the martial art.

‘My martial arts are about a single, fatal blow without thinking about the aftermath. I’m good at suppressing enemies with momentum and crushing them with powerful destructive force.’

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.

‘What if I change the foundation from Biseonjin Energy to Dragon Embrace Energy?’

It would be the maximization of destructive power.

It wasn’t just the power of the Four Divine Beast Martial Arts that would increase, but the density of the explosive force and power that Yeon Ho-jeong used would increase.

“Hoo.”

Yeon Ho-jeong took a light breath and closed his eyes.

‘Yes, the time for change has come.’

It would be a harsh year.

To overcome that year, the moment had come to greatly develop his own stagnant martial arts.

‘This year, I need to resolve most of the conflicts within the Martial Alliance. That’s the only way I can fight those guys.’

Whoooom.

A clear yet deep blue energy rose from Yeon Ho-jeong’s body.

It was the Biseonjin Energy. The Biseonjin Energy, which had reached its peak, had the power to soothe the hearts of those who saw it.

But from now on, it would be different.

Yeon Ho-jeong moved his lips.

After a while.