Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 400

Kwaarrrrrlung!

Yeon Ho-jeong’s destructive rampage showed no signs of stopping.

Surprisingly, he was running in the opposite direction from Muk Bi and his group. Normally, he would have taken care of his allies first before engaging the enemy, but now he was acting completely differently.

Kwarung! Kwaarrrrrlung!

Amidst all this, the destructive power of the Gwangryong Axe [a large, powerful axe] was truly outstanding. He was displaying even greater strength than during his duel with Yang Cheon.

It wasn’t because of the Wood Spirit Pill that Yang Cheon had given him. In that brief moment, he had begun to incorporate some of the martial principles he had gleaned from Yang Cheon during their duel into his own martial arts.

‘Indeed.’

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He swung the Gwangryong Axe so fiercely that its shaft was bending.

The Yeon Family’s Divine Art, a fusion of the Wall-Penetrating True Energy and the Dragon Robe Divine Art, was exploding with power, releasing a massive amount of true energy [internal energy used in martial arts]. This released energy supported the White Tiger Energy, making it unstoppable. Whether it was a building wall or a rock, everything was being reduced to dust.

‘Certainly, while he may be inferior to me in the art of instantaneous power release, Yang Cheon’s power release is better for generating continuous destructive force.’

The Four Divine Arts are undoubtedly the best in the world in terms of form and style. The true energy of the Four Divine Beasts, which supports these techniques, unleashes near-perfect power in all aspects: attack, defense, evasion, and counterattack.

Unlike other martial arts, there are no techniques that can be called ultimate moves. The free-flowing techniques of the Four Divine Arts, which are implemented according to the situation, are themselves ultimate moves and the strongest martial arts.

And that is in line with the fundamentals of martial arts implementation. Rather than gathering a lot of true energy to unleash destructive power, the Four Divine Arts is about responding to the opponent’s attacks and delivering the best strike.

The best is the shortest, and the shortest is the strongest. That’s why the Four Divine Arts are martial arts for the battlefield. You need to quickly deal with one enemy and move on to the next.

‘Therefore, there are definitely things that are missed.’

It was said that if one reached the Yellow Dragon Divine King Art, the final mystery of the Four Divine Arts, one could overwhelm the world with just their energy techniques.

But that was still a distant goal. In other words, with the current Four Divine Arts, he had to engage in fierce battles with those stronger than himself, and to do so, he needed various ways to make the Four Divine Arts even more powerful.

Of course, the basis was always the Four Divine Arts. The key was how to utilize it with what martial principles.

And in this battle with Yang Cheon, Yeon Ho-jeong had learned a great deal from him.

‘It’s always new.’

A look of wonder appeared on Yeon Ho-jeong’s face.

The world he thought he knew so well, the world he even prided himself on having mastered in some aspects, always showed him new things, as if mocking his assumptions.

He learned principles he hadn’t realized, in areas he hadn’t thought were lacking, from another master.

‘The world is vast, and there is no end to learning.’

Kwaarrrrrlung!

Yeon Ho-jeong, having blasted away the last rock and created a huge path, finally stopped.

Paahhh!

Sama Hyeon, who had quickly caught up, stood beside him.

“Where are you going?”

Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.

“You followed me without even knowing where I was going?”

Sama Hyeon said coldly.

“Didn’t you tell me to follow you?”

“I just met you today. And yet, you followed me without hesitation?”

“……!!”

“Your skills are certainly outstanding. It’s hard to believe they’re at that level for your age. You also have a good eye for people. I look forward to seeing how much you’ll grow in the future.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes gleamed.

“But you definitely have shortcomings. And those are not things that can be overcome with effort. I hope you’ll be more cautious in the future.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s tone towards Sama Hyeon had changed to an informal one.

Surprisingly, Sama Hyeon didn’t even notice the change in Yeon Ho-jeong’s tone. Yeon Ho-jeong’s skill and aura had made such a change seem natural.

Sama Hyeon’s eyebrows twitched.

“I don’t think now is the time to teach me.”

“There’s no time for learning. Even in moments of crisis, you can learn from your enemies.”

“…….”

“If you want to soar higher, don’t neglect learning. It’s a lecture you won’t hear anywhere else, but I won’t charge you tuition.”

“Enough. So, why did you run all the way here?”

Sama Hyeon looked back.

The scene of terrifying destruction was laid bare. The path he had created by smashing through the outer walls of buildings and breaking all sorts of rocks and stone walls was enough to inspire awe.

‘It’s truly incredible.’

No matter how great the reputation of the Byeoksan Ho Clan was, it was still just a rising star. Sama Hyeon, and most people in the world, believed that.

But rumors were just rumors.

‘It’s an astonishing display of power. I don’t know about anything else, but his destructive power is… comparable to that person, or perhaps even greater…’

At that moment, Yeon Ho-jeong spoke.

“The assassins will be here soon. You know that, right?”

“Yes.”

The assassins who had attacked the abandoned building had failed to pursue Yeon Ho-jeong and Sama Hyeon because Sama Hyeon, who had followed Yeon Ho-jeong, had cut off their pursuit with various hidden weapons and poison mists.

But that was only a temporary measure. No matter how skilled Sama Hyeon was, unless he had directly trained in poison arts or used extraordinary hidden weapons and explosives, they would inevitably catch up.

“You don’t mean to tell me you trusted me and came all the way here?”

“Of course not. How could I gamble on how great your skills are when I just met you? I’m not that reckless.”

“Then?”

Yeon Ho-jeong looked around.

“Before I met you, I surveyed the terrain in this area. If we were to be attacked, where would be the best escape route? If there wasn’t a suitable escape route, where should we create one? I thought about it quite a bit.”

“……!”

“I also finished discussing how my subordinates should respond if we were to retreat, where we should meet up later, and what we should do first.”

Sama Hyeon’s eyes wavered.

Yeon Ho-jeong looked at Sama Hyeon and said,

“No matter how strong an individual’s martial arts are, they can’t overcome the power of a group, and even a group can be easily defeated by a small force if they fight without a plan. That’s basic.”

“…….”

“When you’ve done all you can and there’s nothing else you can do, that’s when you have to rely on your own skills. People who don’t know any better say that the greatest value in the martial world is power, but the real ones are different. They know that things like awareness and intelligence are just as important as power.”

Yeon Ho-jeong turned his body.

“Keep that in mind. If you don’t want to be forcibly removed from the martial world.”

Being removed from the martial world meant death.

Sama Hyeon, who had been silently watching Yeon Ho-jeong’s back, asked as if throwing a question.

“Why are you doing this?”

“What do you mean?”

Since the situation had reached this point, Sama Hyeon couldn’t help but ask.

“Why are you telling me these things?”

“You said you didn’t want to hear it before, but now you’re suddenly asking? But sure, why not. It’s better to distract yourself for a moment than to be constantly tense.”

“…….”

“It’s because I like you.”

“In what way? You don’t know anything about me, do you?”

‘That’s not true.’

“I don’t. But there’s such a thing as a feeling, isn’t there?”

Sama Hyeon smiled coldly.

“That’s a contradiction. According to what you’ve said so far, giving me such advice just because you have a good feeling is also…”

“I said that awareness is as important as intelligence. And awareness isn’t just about quickly grasping the situation. The intuition that comes from long experience is also important.”

“…….”

“Either way, your betrayal has been discovered by the Yin God. In other words, our connection has already been forcibly made.”

Chwaarrrrrluk!

Yeon Ho-jeong released the Azure Dragon Chain from his upper body.

“Even if it’s a temporary alliance, a comrade is a comrade, and this much generosity isn’t difficult.”

Clang!

Yeon Ho-jeong, having attached the Azure Dragon Chain to the end of the Gwangryong Axe’s shaft, looked around.

Sama Hyeon’s eyes deepened.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s sudden act of connecting a chain to his axe seemed very unusual.

“What are you doing?”

Chwarruk. Chwarruk.

Yeon Ho-jeong, wrapping the Azure Dragon Chain around the entire shaft of the Gwangryong Axe, replied,

“Also, to survive in the martial world, you can’t just focus on one thing. This is the most stable escape route that I carefully chose with the Open Clan. But there was one problem.”

“Problem?”

“If there are attackers, they could assume that we would choose this path.”

“……!!”

“What I know, the enemy also knows. That’s why we need double and triple plans. Only when even that doesn’t work can we say the old-fashioned phrase, ‘Do your best and leave the rest to fate.'”

Sama Hyeon quickly looked around.

The two true energies of Yin Fire Crimson Flow and Yin Cold White Flow combined, pushing his senses to the extreme.

But his senses didn’t detect anything. Apart from the sound of the light breeze, he couldn’t feel any other noise or presence.

Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.

“It’s a useless effort.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve learned the Yin God’s martial arts. Generally, no matter how high the level of an assassin’s martial arts is, it won’t work against a master who has trained in the same type of martial arts. They’ll be completely devoured.”

“……?!”

“Even if you’re a genius, you can’t beat your master with your current skills.”

Yeon Ho-jeong forcefully stomped his foot.

Kwaaaang!

The sudden explosion of his footwork was truly immense. It was emitting an overwhelming vibration that shook an area of about twenty yards in radius.

In that moment, Sama Hyeon felt something subtle being detected by his senses.

And the moment he felt that something, Sama Hyeon’s face turned pale.

“When an assassin’s martial arts reach their peak, they can disrupt the target’s senses with just their killing intent. It’s even easier if it’s a novice who has learned the same martial arts. Just by disrupting their true energy, you can turn your opponent into a fool.”

Yeon Ho-jeong slowly swung the Gwangryong Axe.

Whoooosh.

It was as if the invisible wind was changing its flow with the movement of the axe blade.

It was then.

Fwoooooooom!

A tremendous explosion echoed from far down the passage that Yeon Ho-jeong had broken through.

Surprisingly, the explosion wasn’t caused by the assassins. To be precise, it was the sound of the clear shockwave of a Taoist martial art that was deflecting, defending against, and returning the assassins’ attacks.

Yeon Ho-jeong clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, they’re always late.”

A moment later.

Paahhhhh!

Ok Cheong, covered in blood, quickly approached Yeon Ho-jeong.

“Master! Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. What about you?”

“I’m fine. I’m still full of energy.”

“Then I’ll leave this fool to you. As I said before, this guy must not die. Protect him with your life.”

Ok Cheong clasped his fist in salute.

“I will obey your command, Master.”

Sama Hyeon felt dumbfounded.

“Protect me? You mean me?”

“Yes, you idiot. Now that your master has appeared, you’re not even as useful as a pebble.”

Srrrruk.

Yeon Ho-jeong drew the White Dragon Axe.

In his right hand, he held the Gwangryong Axe with the Azure Dragon Chain wrapped around it, and in his left hand, he held the spotless White Dragon Axe.

Whoooooooom!

The White Tiger Energy enveloped Yeon Ho-jeong’s entire body, emitting a terrifying fighting spirit.

Yeon Ho-jeong roared.

“Come out!!”

Jjeoooooooong!

The terrifying White Tiger Roar shook the mountains and forests.

“…This is just great.”

Whooong.

Fifteen yards in front of the group.

Two figures, a man and a woman, appeared with a gust of wind.

It was Yayul Jeok and So Bang.

Yayul Jeok said calmly,

“Did you notice our presence? You’re a much more impressive man than we expected.”

Hwaaaak!

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes filled with a terrifying killing intent.

“You’ve come, you bastard?”