Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 365

It was on the fifth day of treatment that Yeon Ho-Jeong regained consciousness.

“Ugh…”

“Are you feeling a bit better?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had risen while holding his head, frowned deeply as he asked,

“Where is this?”

“It’s my room.”

At Ki Woo-Hee’s words, Yeon Ho-Jeong looked around.

The room was filled with all sorts of medicinal herbs and various documents.

Even a room that wasn’t an office was like this. He wondered how anyone could sleep in such a place.

“How long has it been?”

“It’s been a full five days.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong sighed.

“I’ve caused trouble.”

“Don’t say that. It’s a doctor’s duty to care for a patient.”

“Why didn’t you just leave me in my room? You probably haven’t slept properly.”

Ki Woo-Hee smiled.

“I know the patient’s details well, but even so, no one can guarantee what might happen to a patient who suddenly collapses. It’s much better to keep them in my residence and check on their condition.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong rubbed his stomach.

“Even after five days, my body feels light? Though I am a bit hungry.”

“Drink some water first. I boiled it a little while ago, so it’s lukewarm and won’t be a burden on your body.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong gulped down the water in the bowl Ki Woo-Hee handed him and let out a deep breath. He definitely felt much better now that he had some water.

Ki Woo-Hee said,

“You’ve accumulated a lot of fatigue. You probably weren’t even aware of it, were you?”

“I wasn’t.”

“That’s just like you, Commander Yeon.”

“I’m still not well-trained enough. To faint just because I was a little tired, how embarrassing.”

Ki Woo-Hee sighed.

“Don’t take fatigue lightly. Fatigue is the root of all illnesses. If you neglect it, you could develop a serious illness later. That applies to both ordinary people and martial artists.”

“I’ll take your advice to heart.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong observed his inner self.

“Hmm, did you say five days? My internal injuries are recovering much faster than I thought?”

“That’s because you have a strong constitution, Commander Yeon. Even with the various energies you’ve cultivated, this kind of recovery speed is virtually impossible. It’s because the density of your life force itself has increased due to extreme training that such rapid recovery is possible.”

“Of course, I can’t ignore the doctor’s help either, right?”

Ki Woo-Hee just smiled.

Yeon Ho-Jeong also smiled and got up from his seat.

“Is there anything else I need to be careful about?”

“I’d like to prepare some herbal medicine for you, but knowing your personality, you wouldn’t take it on time anyway.”

“You know me well. Of course, I’d take it if I felt like I was really dying.”

“Since you’ve recovered on your own, there shouldn’t be any major problems if you take good care of yourself. I just hope you’ll make an effort to manage your fatigue, even when you’re busy.”

“I understand.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong patted Ki Woo-Hee on the shoulder and headed for the door.

Ki Woo-Hee, who had been quietly watching his back, asked as if throwing a question,

“It’s the Shin Hwa Cult [Divine Flower Cult], isn’t it?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong paused for a moment.

“That’s right.”

Ki Woo-Hee’s eyes wavered.

“Is there nothing else you want to ask me?”

“I told you everything, didn’t I? About them.”

“Of course, but…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong glanced at Ki Woo-Hee.

“Doctor Ki.”

“…Yes.”

“You broke ties with the Shin Hwa Cult and joined the Martial Alliance because you thought it was the right thing to do. There have been many complicated incidents, but in the end, you made a clear choice to follow your own path. Am I right?”

“You are.”

“I was a bit rough with you in our previous meetings, but at least from what I see, you’re not good at lying. And one of the reasons you settled into the Martial Alliance is probably because of me.”

It was true. Although his nature was somewhat rough, Ki Woo-Hee saw purity in Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes.

His rough treatment of her, his brutal killing of the Shin Hwa Cult’s experts, and his keeping Moyong Gun in check were all for the sake of peace. At least, Yeon Ho-Jeong himself thought so, and Ki Woo-Hee knew it too.

In other words, Yeon Ho-Jeong was someone who had a significant influence on Ki Woo-Hee’s judgment.

“Since you made your own choice, you have to take responsibility for it yourself. However, you trust me, Doctor Ki. If that’s the case, then I trust you too.”

“…Yes.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

“I’m going now. Let’s have lunch together tomorrow. I’ll buy you something delicious since you’ve suffered because of me.”

* * *

After leaving Ki Woo-Hee’s residence, Yeon Ho-Jeong headed to an unexpected place: an empty space in the Martial Alliance forest.

A place where he had sparred with many people in the past. This place, known only to a few, was quiet as always.

Yeon Ho-Jeong sat cross-legged in the center of the clearing.

He had woken up after five days, so he was hungry and his body felt stiff. In such a case, the best thing to do would be to absorb all the nutrients he had missed and take a nap, but he decided to postpone that for later.

‘Hoo.’

He took a light breath and focused his mind on the Yeon Family Divine Core [a core of energy unique to the Yeon family].

Woong. Woo-woong.

The Yeon Family Divine Core, which was incredibly dense and firmly fixed, emitted a subtle tremor at its master’s call.

‘It’s gotten smaller.’

It was proof that the energy he had released in the previous battle had not yet fully recovered. At the same time, he was constantly circulating energy throughout his body to heal his internal injuries, so it seemed he would have to focus on circulating his energy for at least ten days.

Yeon Ho-Jeong operated the Byukra Jin Gyeol [a martial art focused on internal energy circulation].

Hooo-woooong!

Deep blue energy surged, stabilizing his mind and body.

The Byukra Jin Gyeol was always like this. It stably maintained the body and energy, and as the spirit and energy stabilized, the mind also became at ease.

There was no better martial art than the Byukra Jin Gyeol to start circulating energy. Furthermore, the Byukra Jin Gyeol operated the energy of Byukra, which had permeated the Yeon Family Divine Core, thus activating the movement of the Yeon Family Divine Core as well.

After focusing on stabilizing his mind, energy, and body for a long time, Yeon Ho-Jeong operated the Yongpo Divine Art [a martial art focused on external energy manipulation].

Hwaaaah!

The change was clear.

The pure blue energy that seemed to cleanse the mind just by looking at it disappeared, and in its place, a rough, undulating green energy surged.

A deep green light, distinctly different from the blue-green light of the Azure Dragon Energy, enveloped Yeon Ho-Jeong’s entire body. Although it was a very deep green, it also resembled a forest in a way.

Although their natures were different, their roots were the same. Whether it was the Byukra Jin Gyeol or the Yongpo Divine Art, there was no difference in that they both used the energy of nature, processed to an extremely pure state.

‘It’s a relief. The energies of the two divine arts haven’t been disrupted.’

Before collapsing, he had constantly recalled his battle with Beonjak.

In fact, someone like Yeon Ho-Jeong didn’t need to do that. To be precise, for the Dark Emperor Yeon Ho-Jeong, not the Byuksan Tiger Yeon Ho-Jeong, Beonjak’s martial arts were unique, but there wasn’t much to learn from them.

However, Yeon Ho-Jeong pondered over each and every one of Beonjak’s martial arts. Even while unconscious, even in his dreams, he looked into his martial arts.

There was only one reason.

‘I not only avoided his martial arts, but I even counterattacked.’

The Four Divine Martial Arts were the ultimate martial arts of the world.

Each was specialized in attack, defense, evasion and counterattack, and thorough killing. Although the forms were fixed, they were so free that they could be applied in any way.

That was why they could be used well with weapon techniques as well as fist and leg techniques. And that was also why the difficulty of the Four Divine Martial Arts was so high.

A martial art where the forms were definite but could be changed at any time depending on the situation.

In other words, the prerequisite was to master other martial arts to the tenth level. While other martial arts started with learning the stances, the Four Divine Martial Arts started with completing the forms.

The completed forms were then creatively adapted to the situation.

That was why no genius in the world could bring out the full power of the Four Divine Martial Arts without experience. The more situations one experienced, the more creativity increased, and the more the utilization of the Four Divine Martial Arts was maximized.

And that was why the Four Divine Martial Arts were called the martial arts of the battlefield. It was because one could only hone the use of energy and stances by experiencing blood and death.

Yeon Ho-Jeong was a master of the Four Divine Martial Arts.

After summoning all four divine energies and perfectly mastering the forms, he had plunged into the dark martial world and experienced countless battles. And all those battles had made him grow explosively.

However, in the fight with Beonjak, Yeon Ho-Jeong unexpectedly did not benefit much from the Four Divine Martial Arts.

Nevertheless, he was able to not only avoid all of Beonjak’s attacks but also counterattack.

How?

“Seeing weaknesses…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong recalled Ok Cheong’s words.

‘It’s a talent. You instinctively see through weaknesses, don’t you?’

‘I know that your martial arts are still lacking compared to the two of them. But even so, you attacked the weaknesses of the formation and gradually broke down the formation.’

Eyes that could see through weaknesses.

In fact, it wasn’t something that could be called a talent. Yeon Ho-Jeong had cultivated the Four Divine Martial Arts, which were considered the best in the martial world in terms of form, and had roamed the battlefields for decades with those martial arts.

If one experienced enough real battles to be called a master, one could find the opponent’s weaknesses in any situation. If there were no weaknesses, one could create them and relentlessly attack them to defeat the opponent.

In other words, identifying the enemy’s weaknesses was not a matter of innate talent but a matter of acquired effort and experience.

That’s what Yeon Ho-Jeong thought, and that’s what he was sure of.

But what was it like when he fought Beonjak?

‘I just looked at Beonjak’s martial arts and saw his weaknesses and counterattacked. I didn’t use a single stance of the Four Divine Martial Arts.’

That could be possible against the weak. A relatively strong person would see countless weaknesses in the weak.

However, it was difficult to do that against someone stronger than oneself. No, it was impossible. In a situation where it was difficult to even receive the opponent’s martial arts, finding weaknesses was out of the question.

And Yeon Ho-Jeong had done it.

‘Is it simply because my enlightenment is higher than his?’

No. That was definitely not it.

It was instinct, not reason. Yeon Ho-Jeong could tell that the combination of breaking through Beonjak’s martial arts and landing his own fist techniques was not possible because of enlightenment.

“…This is something.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked down at his fist as if it were something new.

“I wasn’t in a position to advise Ji-Pyeong. If I really have such a talent, it means I’ve been living for decades without knowing it.”

In the first place, seeing weaknesses was relative. That’s why he thought such a talent was impossible.

But that impossible talent was within him.

Just like when he broke through the Myulsa Samsal Jin [a deadly formation], just like when he avoided all of Beonjak’s overwhelming martial arts and counterattacked.

‘I have a talent? Me?’

Yeon Ho-Jeong felt his heart inexplicably pounding.

He suddenly recalled a conversation with his master.

‘Yes, you lack martial talent. You don’t have the talent that fits the genius that people talk about. But you, who don’t have that talent, have completely mastered the Four Divine Martial Arts, which would be difficult for anyone with ordinary talent to master even after ten years of effort, in less than five years.’

‘…It’s all thanks to your guidance, Master.’

‘The Four Divine Martial Arts are learned alone. I merely showed you several paths, and it was entirely your ability to follow and master all those paths.’

‘….’

‘Tsk, how can someone who doesn’t even know that the sword he possesses is the best in the world and is just using it to cut meat discuss the world? You still have a long way to go.’

‘Yes?’

‘That’s enough. But what I can tell you is to look closely at yourself. If you can accurately grasp your own abilities, at least you won’t die on the side of the road.’

Could it be that the conversation back then meant this?

‘Weaknesses…’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes deepened.

“I need to find out more. Whether this is real or fake.”

He had already forgotten about letting Beonjak escape. Even if he was disappointed, he didn’t dwell on things that had already passed.

That aspect of him was more similar to Gang Ryang than Yeon Ji-Pyeong. Of course, it was Gang Ryang who had learned that from him.

Perhaps that aspect was proof that he was still closer to the dark side than the white side.

“Tch, I have no face to see Ji-Pyeong. I should be more moderate in the future.”