Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 450

There was a giant tree boasting vibrant, life-filled leaves. The branches and leaves that the giant tree extended looked somewhat like a large lotus flower from afar. Jeongan liked that tree. So, after coming to Guangdong, she enjoyed sitting by the tree and meditating. Today, she focused on meditation as well. She tried to empty her mind constantly to erase distracting thoughts and enter a world of selflessness. But….

“Hoo.”

A soft sigh escaped from Jeongan’s lips. Like the efforts of the past few days, she tried to immerse herself in meditation today. And like the failures of the past few days, she failed to fall into a deep meditation today as well. Well, it might not be the time to be calmly immersed in meditation. She tried even harder to control herself during such times, but it was truly not easy.

“You’ll make the ground cave in.”

Jeongan raised her head. There stood Yeon Ho-Jeong with his hands behind his back.

“Ah, Great Hero Yeon.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong chuckled.

“Great Hero, my foot. Drop that embarrassing title.”

He was a peculiar person. His tone was quite rough, but it didn’t sound unpleasant. It was as if his tone perfectly matched his nature. For someone who didn’t like formalities, his tone would sound rather honest.

“Then I’ll call you Ho-jang [a respectful title for a leader or elder].”

“As long as it’s not Great Hero, do as you please.”

“Yes.”

“Anyway.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong tilted his head.

“Did you find the answer?”

“Pardon?”

“Since that incident, you’ve been coming here every day, constantly trying to meditate. Even for a practitioner, that frequency is too much. If it’s not to find something, there’s no need to go that far.”

Jeongan gave a bitter smile.

“Perhaps it’s because my training is lacking, but there have only been many plausible attempts. Far from finding an answer, my head has only become more confused.”

“Is that so?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled. It was a smile that carried a very unique feeling, hard to define.

“The more you try to forget, the more clearly it surfaces, and the more you try to bury it deep, the more it rises to the surface. That’s what meditation is.”

“Are you well-versed in meditation?”

“Countless people who have reached their limits are masters of meditation. It’s the same for me. However, even for masters, the failure rate is still high in meditation.”

“Ah…….”

“Don’t try too hard to forget. Sometimes, it’s not bad to leave your consciousness to distracting thoughts. If you approach those thoughts microscopically, dig them out, and dig them out again, there will be times when what you wanted will clearly appear in places you didn’t intend to look.”

It was a dizzying statement. At least, that’s how it sounded to Jeongan. It wasn’t just a string of plausible words. It was a statement that was hard to make without experience. It was a statement with the resonance of sincerity. Decisively, Yeon Ho-Jeong was a greater master than Jeongan. He wasn’t just someone who used rough martial arts; he was a true master who knew how to imbue each move with an unfathomable martial principle. That fact gave strength to Yeon Ho-Jeong’s words.

Jeongan lowered her head.

“Thank you for the advice that will become my blood and flesh.”

“There’s no need for it to become blood or flesh. Rather than that, focus on protecting your pure and sincere heart. Just protecting that for a lifetime will make your life a difficult journey.”

Jeongan looked up at Yeon Ho-Jeong. Yeon Ho-Jeong was still smiling, looking down at her with clear and deep eyes. In that moment, Jeongan felt a strange feeling.

‘Familiar.’

Why was that? Unlike when they first met and the few times they talked over the past few days, Yeon Ho-Jeong felt strangely familiar today. What should she say… it felt like family or a fellow disciple? The strange aura that emanated from his whole body had a sense of ease and depth that seemed like it could only be produced by Buddhist monks. Was that why? Jeongan, who wouldn’t normally ask such a question, found herself asking it without realizing it.

“Have you ever experienced the bewildering change of someone who was like family?”

Her thoughts were about Hwa-un.

Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded.

“Of course. However, my case was different from yours. I never thought my father was the type to laugh so much and be so relaxed.”

“I see.”

“Rather, my father and younger sibling were the ones who were bewildered by me.”

“Why? Did your personality change a lot from when you were young?”

“Completely.”

“That’s fascinating.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong shrugged.

“Whatever the case, it’s not right to just sit around and waste time like that. Do you do your internal energy circulation every day?”

“Yes? Ah, yes. I never skip my internal energy circulation.”

“Good. Then, shall we exchange a few moves lightly?”

“……Suddenly?”

“You tried to immerse yourself in meditation but couldn’t, and even if you tried to leave yourself to distracting thoughts, what you’ve learned and practiced is selflessness, so it wouldn’t be easy to even attempt.”

Jeongan’s face flushed slightly. She was embarrassed because it felt like her inner thoughts had been exposed.

“In times like that, it’s best to sweat it out with some swordplay. Follow me.”

“Will Ho-jang receive my attacks directly?”

“There aren’t many people here who can properly receive your sword. And the least busy among them is me.”

Jeongan felt inexplicably pleased by Yeon Ho-Jeong’s high praise. And so, the two arrived at a small training ground in a corner of the residence.

“Is this the place?”

“Yes.”

“This place is…….”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

Jeongan cleared her throat.

“There’s no big problem, but… as you saw before, the range of my sword is a bit wide, so…….”

She was too embarrassed to say that this small training ground wouldn’t be able to handle her sword power.

Yeon Ho-Jeong chuckled.

“Before we start, let me add one thing: freely expanding and contracting your sword range is also training. If you only expand the range of your martial arts implementation endlessly, you might lose your finesse.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Even if it’s narrow, try to concentrate and maximize your power according to the situation.”

He wasn’t wrong. Jeongan felt embarrassed for having bragged unnecessarily.

“Then, I’ll go.”

“Whenever you’re ready.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong was empty-handed. But Jeongan didn’t ask why he was empty-handed or if he wasn’t going to bring his axe. The martial arts she had seen Yeon Ho-Jeong use at that time were so powerful that it would be hard to handle whether he had an axe or not. Rather, in such a narrow area, she thought that being empty-handed might be more frightening than having an axe.

Fwaaaang!

Without a starting stance or even a word to begin, Jeongan moved. If nothing else, she liked her competitive spirit. If they were going to spar, it was as good as started even without a word to begin. She knew what a match was all about.

Pshwiiik!

The sharply shot sword grazed past Yeon Ho-Jeong’s hair. It was an exceptionally clean quick sword. Even without using the Myriad Flower Sword Art, her sword was fierce. One of the reasons why she was able to reach a similar level as Muk Bi at a similar age was due to these basics.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s foot kicked off the ground.

Puh-uh-uhng!

A kick that struck the air, and with the sound of a drum bursting, an invisible shockwave spread out in a circle.

‘Fast!’

It was fast and strong. This one kick alone made the tension rise sharply. It was an attack that would have blown her head off if she hadn’t dodged, and even if she had blocked it, she wouldn’t have been able to recover from the shock. Even if it wasn’t a real battle, she could die. It was the same for any spar in the world. Jeongan’s concentration rose to its peak in an instant.

Pa-ba-ba-bak!

The trajectory her sword drew was astonishingly beautiful. Beautiful, and also fast. Before one sword strike could leave an afterimage, a series of two and three sword strikes poured out, to the point where even skilled quick sword users wouldn’t be able to match her.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s hands moved sharply.

Ti-ti-ti-ting!

Jeongan’s eyes shook. Although she didn’t use the Myriad Flower Sword Art, it was clear that it was a quite threatening sword move. He had blocked that dangerous sword move with his bare hands.

‘Terrifying dynamic vision!’

It would have been less surprising if he had blocked it by striking the blade with his hand hardened by internal energy. In that instant, Yeon Ho-Jeong struck the back of the sword with the back of his hand, changing its path. It was a divine defensive technique that was several times more difficult than blocking it while protecting his hand with internal energy. That wasn’t all.

Thud!

The movement of him penetrating her defenses like a snake with a step was also so natural that it made her laugh in disbelief. Fast, smooth, and natural movements. It was as if he knew the opponent would retreat, his insight to seize the initiative half a beat ahead was at its peak.

Puh-uh-uhng!

Jeongan tilted her head back. A fist like steel shot up like a cannon. If she hadn’t dodged, her jaw to her skull would have been crushed to powder.

Paak!

‘Ugh!’

Just as she was about to quickly strike down with her sword, the fist that had shot up moved in an instant and grabbed her shoulder. It was her right shoulder, the one holding the sword. The sword she was swinging stopped an inch away from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s side. Her shoulder joint was grabbed, and she couldn’t move. It was a moment of surprise. In Botaam, where the sword is used as a tool for practice, there was swordplay that could be argued to be the best in the world, but there was no grappling or killing techniques based on a deep understanding of the human body.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had grabbed Jeongan’s shoulder, swung his arm. Jeongan was helplessly spun in the air without any resistance and then slammed into the ground.

Kwaang!

Jeongan’s eyes shook. She fell without being able to use a fall-breaking technique, from the back of her head to her back. But strangely, there was no pain. It was a force that would have been enough to break her head and damage her spine, but it was just a dull impact.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was looking down at Jeongan, grinned.

“I was just trying to get some sweat going, but it ended too easily. You weren’t this weak, were you?”

“I think Ho-jang is too strong.”

“Not for you. But you shouldn’t have been defeated this easily. However, I think I know why you fell so quickly.”

“What is it?”

“It’s because you were half-hearted.”

“……!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had released his hand from Jeongan’s shoulder, dusted off his clothes and said,

“You didn’t decide whether to swing with the intent to kill or just to respond appropriately, so you were defeated so quickly. If you had concentrated a little more, you wouldn’t have had your shoulder grabbed, and your sword techniques wouldn’t have been blocked.”

“…….”

“Whether it’s meditation or a duel, being half-hearted is worse than doing nothing. If you’ve decided on a path, clear away the confusion as soon as possible and jump in without hesitation. Don’t be afraid of adventure.”

Jeongan, who was lying down, closed her eyes as she listened to Yeon Ho-Jeong’s words.

“I’m a coward.”

“I know.”

“Even though I witnessed the bewildering changes of the adults, and even though I knew it wasn’t right, I couldn’t actively stop them.”

“I know that too.”

“Even if I stepped forward, Bota [a place or organization] wouldn’t change. But I should have stepped forward. I should have stopped them at the risk of my life.”

“That’s not it.”

“……Pardon?”

“By you stepping forward, Bota is already changing. The reason I thought you were a coward isn’t because you didn’t stop their rampage.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s because you were half-hearted.”

Jeongan’s eyes snapped open. Her opened eyes were filled with shock. She hadn’t deeply resonated with the previous statement about being half-hearted. But now, these words were mercilessly stirring her heart.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been quietly looking down at her, turned his body.

“I’m leaving Guangdong soon. I’m going to the Martial Alliance.”

“…….”

“But there’s a place I’ll stop by on the way. It’s a group whose leader is the one who provided the excuse for Botaam to become like that.”

“……?!”

“If you’re going to come with me, start controlling your mind and body from today. I’ll tell you in advance, I can’t guarantee your life.”

Light flashed in Jeongan’s eyes.