Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 431

‘This can’t be happening.’ Beom Oh was in utter shock. ‘The Grand Master admitted defeat?!’ Of course, even he could see that the Grand Master had clearly lost. It was just that he didn’t want to accept it. The problem was that the Grand Master had admitted it so easily. ‘How could he…’ How could he do that? ‘Isn’t he even upset?’ The Grand Master had severed ties with both the Buddhist order and the secular world, choosing to spend the rest of his life in the fires of Mount Bul. But as they say, connections aren’t so easily broken. In fact, after talking to him a few times, it was clear that while he claimed to have cut ties, he still looked after the next generation of the Arhat Hall leader of Shaolin, where he had once belonged. In the same vein, the Grand Master had distanced himself from martial arts, but he hadn’t completely severed his ties with that world. The martial path, the martial world, martial arts. Once someone has lived in that world, they can never truly leave it. That was the same for all the elders on Mount Bul. Yet, he admitted defeat so easily? ‘He must have held back. If I can see it, then Yeon Ho-Jeong must know it too.’ That was why Yeon Ho-Jeong had said that. If he had shown his full power from the start, this result would never have happened. However, the Grand Master’s words were shocking. ‘Whether it was seriousness or carelessness, the result is the result.’ Beom Oh felt a chill run down his spine. ‘The result is the result…’ The strongest Arhat Hall leader in Shaolin’s history, a symbol of chivalry who had subdued and defeated more villains than any other Arhat Hall leader. A legendary master who was a symbol of respect and fear for all the Shaolin martial monks at the time, due to his fiery temper and immense competitive spirit. And yet, he had so cleanly admitted defeat. And to someone much younger and weaker than himself. ‘What on earth changed the Grand Master so much?’ Of course, Beom Oh had never seen Tam Gyeong in his prime. He had seen his face, but he had never seen him in action. But sometimes, you don’t need to see something to know it. Beom Oh felt a sense of kinship with Tam Gyeong. Beyond being from Shaolin, he could feel a kinship in their personalities. Tam Gyeong must have felt the same way. He must have had a stronger competitive spirit than anyone else, and he must have been exceptionally talented. That was why the frustration of his growth being halted must have been so great. And… ‘…Like me, there must have been someone who enlightened him.’ The martial world is a wilderness. In the wild, there is no such thing as playing around. A deer would never think of playing with a tiger. The moment it did, it would die. That is the wilderness, the law of nature. You have to live each moment, each day, with all your heart for a long life. Even then, it’s rare to find an animal that dies of old age. Then what about the martial world? ‘Held back, checked, played around, showed respect…’ Beom Oh’s eyes trembled. ‘They’re just excuses, worse than idle jokes.’ If it were a martial arts match, there would at least be a chance to learn. But in a life-or-death battle, you die without being able to make a single excuse to anyone. There isn’t even a chance to protest. That is life, and that is the martial world. In discussing victory or defeat, excuses are nothing more than impurities. That was an understanding he had already deeply accepted since coming to Guangdong Province. There was no reason to be shocked by it now. Yet, Beom Oh was greatly shocked by Tam Gyeong’s attitude. ‘It’s different.’ Tam Gyeong, the Grand Master, Gak Ro. They were the same person, but also completely different people. ‘Gak Ro, the martial monk of Shaolin, was a furious King of Wrath that everyone feared. The Grand Master of Shaolin was just a kind old man. Tam Gyeong, the person in charge of Mount Bul, is a sage who is burning the rest of his life for a single purpose, and he will continue to do so.’ Why? If this was also a moment of enlightenment, then it was, but for some reason, Beom Oh felt tears welling up. ‘I shouldn’t have tried to imitate him.’ If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha [a Zen saying meaning one should not be attached to any particular form or idea, even enlightenment]. ‘I already knew that, so why did I try to be like others?’ It is right to look back at oneself while observing the attitudes of others. However, if you think that everything about that person is right because of their position, and try to follow them exactly, then that is impure. ‘The answer is already within me. Whether it’s martial arts, self, or Buddhist faith, it all starts when I take a step.’ Whoooosh. Golden qi surged from Beom Oh’s body once again. It was a much more subtle light than before. It was so faint that you might not even notice it, but the moment you caught the light, its auspiciousness would calm your heart. Not an enlightenment of martial arts, but an enlightenment as a person. In Beom Oh’s heart, the transparent core of the five desires and seven emotions cracked with a soft pop! Whoooosh. The Great Brahma Divine Art pulsed, and the gentle yet powerful subjugation qi began to compress to a high degree. Shaolin’s martial arts are martial arts of enlightenment. The deeper your Buddhist faith, the better the quality and quantity of your qi accumulation, and the higher the principle you reach, the more the power of the martial arts itself changes. That was why Shaolin’s martial arts were so great. Those who seek power must be qualified to obtain it. Only those who have such qualifications will not use great power for evil. In other words, Beom Oh had been on the verge of breaking through the wall of martial arts, even though he had neither a deeper Buddhist faith nor pursued the principles more than other monks. And now, he was finally beginning to fly as a monk who had learned martial arts. Ding. Ding. Ding… The faint sound of a temple bell echoed. The inner energy of the Great Brahma Divine Art was transforming into the qi of wisdom that pierced the truth of the Great Vehicle Dharma [Mahayana Buddhism]. A thorough martial art of enlightenment. An absolute martial art that cannot be acquired by knowing the Buddhist scriptures and formulas. One of Shaolin’s greatest divine arts and one of the two great abilities, the great ability of Prajna [wisdom], was changing Beom Oh’s qi from its roots. * * * ‘Not a disciple?’ What did that mean? Tam Gyeong smiled. ‘That’s a statement that could lead to misunderstandings. To be precise, it seems that your master and the person I know are the same person. However, the mysterious person I met and the mysterious person who taught you seem to be very different.’ ‘That sounds like wordplay. In the end, it’s the same person.’ ‘Is it the same person just because the shell is the same? If that person’s soul and enlightenment are different, then they can never be considered the same person.’ Tam Gyeong turned his head and looked at Beom Oh. ‘Just like that child over there.’ Yeon Ho-Jeong also turned his gaze to Beom Oh. Whoooosh. Even from that far away, the faint qi that emanated from him seemed to penetrate to the bone. The depth of that power was truly astonishing. Beyond being strong or overbearing, it was a qi that made one’s heart naturally solemn just by facing it. It was like that of the Great Master Gong Gong. Although different from the Great Master Gong Gong, a similar kind of power was leading Beom Oh to a new realm. ‘Not the Supreme, but Prajna. Amazing. Martial artists say that Shaolin’s strongest martial art is the Supreme Great Ability. That’s wrong. The Prajna Great Ability is in no way inferior to the Supreme Great Ability. However, the fact that that child has awakened to Prajna proves that, unlike his nature, he has constantly pursued wisdom. The Supreme is more secular than Prajna.’ Tam Gyeong nodded. ‘So, another Arhat Hall leader who can take responsibility for Shaolin in this era has been born.’ ‘…’ ‘Tell me. Is the Beom Oh you know the same person as the current Beom Oh?’ Yeon Ho-Jeong couldn’t dare say that they were the same person. Tam Gyeong’s smile deepened. ‘The mysterious person I saw had eyes that not only broke down Shaolin martial arts at a glance, but also dismantled the very principles of martial arts. In other words, it was like the Prajna Great Ability. In fact, he knew how to make his opponent retreat on their own without having to use his hands.’ ‘…’ ‘But you are different. Your Four Gods Martial Arts are closer to the Supreme than Prajna. You can’t see through the principles at a glance, but you are faster and stronger, and the result of your martial arts is fixed as your survival and the death of others.’ ‘People are different.’ ‘Since people are different, martial arts must be different. I can see it from your martial arts. The Four Gods Martial Arts have a clear form, but that form is just an example that is close to perfection. The most important thing is how the person who cultivated the Four Gods implements the martial arts in any given situation.’ It was a statement that pierced the essence of the Four Gods Martial Arts. There was no one who had ever seen this fact just by exchanging a single move. Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes were filled with a new sense of wonder as he looked at Tam Gyeong. ‘In other words, the Four Gods Martial Arts are more about the spirit than the form. You can accumulate senses and experience on your own, but depending on how it is passed down, the tendencies of the successors and the way they implement the martial arts will change.’ ‘I…’ ‘Of course, I don’t know much about the Four Gods Martial Arts. I’m just saying what I feel. And looking at your martial arts, I can see that you haven’t just followed your master’s teachings, but have completely internalized them.’ ‘…’ ‘However, it is clear that your master’s teachings played a big role in you achieving your current form.’ Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been listening quietly to Tam Gyeong’s words, asked as if throwing a stone. ‘You said you don’t know where my master is?’ ‘I don’t. As I said, if I knew, I wouldn’t have made such an unreasonable request of you.’ ‘Then there’s only one thing left between us. Whether the person you know is the same as my master or not, let’s find out later.’ ‘Hmm.’ Whoooosh! Thud! Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had grabbed the Black and White Twin Dragon Axes with telekinesis, hung the axes on his waist. ‘What do you want to see and learn from my Four Gods?’ ‘Let’s finish the deal, is that it?’ ‘That’s right.’ ‘Good. Then I’ll tell you.’ Tam Gyeong took a deep breath. He looked quite tense. No matter how old he was, this was a situation where something he had been working on for a long time could be resolved, at least in part. Before that, age, experience, and wisdom were useless. ‘You said that if I wanted, you could even tell me the scriptures and formulas of the Four Gods?’ ‘You’ve over-interpreted it.’ ‘Haha, but don’t worry. I don’t need the scriptures and formulas of the Four Gods Martial Arts.’ ‘Then what do you want to know?’ ‘The formulas that belong to the Four Gods, but are not the Four Gods.’ ‘…?’ ‘You know a martial art that is clearly the Four Gods Martial Arts, but is not entangled with the Four Gods Martial Arts. To be precise, it’s not a martial art, but a path you must take to reach enlightenment.’ ‘What is that…?’ ‘I found out by chance. When the Four Gods reach their peak, and the souls of the Four Gods Generals are fully prepared, another new world opens up.’ ‘…?!’ ‘A martial art that is clearly the Four Gods Martial Arts, but transcends the Four Gods Martial Arts. The scriptures remain, but the formulas do not, an invincible realm that must be reached solely through enlightenment, like that Prajna Great Ability.’ ‘…!!’ Alarm spread across Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face. Tam Gyeong said with a dark expression. ‘You know it. Then I’m sorry. For making an unreasonable request.’ ‘…’ ‘That’s right. The only thing I will ask of you is the scripture regarding the Yellow Dragon.’