Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 466

A terrifying bloodlust erupted from Jeokyeon.

It was hard to believe she had cultivated Buddhist martial arts. The intensity of her bloodlust was reminiscent of a demon who had mastered demonic arts.

Yeon Sim was startled.

“Chief!”

Jeongan was equally surprised.

Even if she had fallen from grace, this bloodlust was far beyond the pale. It was not just a departure from the Buddhist path, but from the human path itself, a truly inhuman and demonic bloodlust.

Jeokyeon growled softly.

“Are you talking to me?!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong didn’t even respond to Jeokyeon, instead speaking to Yang Cheon.

“It’s quite a spectacle, even in the abode of the great Fighting King.”

Yang Cheon sighed.

“If I hadn’t gotten involved with you, this would have been a peaceful place.”

“The permission?”

“You’ve already done the deed, and now you’re asking for permission?”

“But I am the owner of the house.”

“You shameless man.”

Yang Cheon nodded.

“I’ll inform the physician.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Yeon Ho-Jeong’s hand swept across his back.

Swoosh.

His right hand was now gripping the Black Dragon Axe. From the handle to the blade, it was entirely black, yet it possessed a strange luster, a divine artifact.

Jeokyeon’s bloodlust exploded.

“You fiend!”

Flash!

Before Jeokyeon could even push off the ground, a streak of pure white moonlight sliced across the great hall.

Thud!

“……!”

Jeokyeon’s body froze. She slowly looked down at her waist belt.

To her astonishment, her sword, still in its scabbard, had been cleanly cut off and lay on the ground.

‘When?!’

She hadn’t even seen the moment of the strike. It was as fast as a flash of light.

“Where are you looking?”

Startled, Jeokyeon unleashed a palm strike behind her.

Whoosh!

It was a shocking moment. The power of the Guanyin Divine Palm [a powerful Buddhist martial art] that Jeokyeon had unleashed scattered into nothing the instant it was released.

Then, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s left hand snatched Jeokyeon’s wrist.

Crack!

“Kuh-ack!”

Jeokyeon involuntarily knelt. The crude force that penetrated her broken wrist sent shivers down her spine.

Yeon Ho-Jeong spoke coldly.

“Do not harm yourself or others with such pathetic martial arts. Return to your path as a practitioner.”

His foot cut through the air.

Thwack!

With a sound like a bursting drum, Jeokyeon spat out blood and flew into the center of the great hall.

That was the end of it.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s foot had accurately shattered Jeokyeon’s dantian [the center of one’s internal energy]. Her Qi Sea point was destroyed, and her dantian was shattered into pieces. Her life’s worth of cultivation had been reduced to nothing.

Jeokyeon trembled and then fainted. If Yeon Ho-Jeong hadn’t held back, her internal organs would have been completely destroyed, and she would have died on the spot.

Yang Cheon let out a soft sigh of admiration.

‘He’s definitely changed.’

He was different from when he had exchanged blows with him before.

In terms of cultivation level, there wasn’t much difference. The key was the way he manifested his martial arts.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s martial arts could be summed up in two words.

Killing and destruction.

That was why it was so brutal, effective, and incredibly powerful. It was an ultra-violent force that completely crushed opponents with an extreme sense of practical combat.

But now?

‘It’s decomposition.’

Without resorting to violent martial arts and bloodshed, he preemptively dismantled the opponent’s martial arts, completely neutralizing them.

His ability to strike at the weak point was still there, but while he used to break down his opponents thoroughly by exchanging blows, now he crushed them before they could even use their martial arts.

The process of that crushing was also different. He had shifted from breaking, destroying, and bursting to completely neutralizing them.

It was truly an impressive move. It was a martial art far greater than any flashy or powerful technique.

Moreover, even if she was agitated, Jeokyeon’s martial arts were at the level of a sect leader.

‘That guy has truly reached the end.’

The realm of the Martial God.

Standing before that legendary sea called the Limitless Realm, he was gazing at the endless ocean.

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Yeon Sim.

Yeon Sim’s eyes were shaking as if an earthquake had struck.

Yeon Ho-Jeong asked.

“Do you want to avenge your master?”

Yeon Sim had already drawn her sword. The moment Yeon Ho-Jeong’s axe had split her master’s sword in two, Yeon Sim had drawn her sword to stop the fight.

But she couldn’t do anything.

‘I can’t win.’

It wasn’t just that he was a difficult opponent to beat.

‘……This kind of martial art?’

A martial art she couldn’t use, an impossible technique.

No, she had witnessed a level of martial arts that she might never be able to achieve, even with endless effort.

That sense of powerlessness bound Yeon Sim’s body.

People called that powerlessness, in other words, a sense of defeat.

Yeon Ho-Jeong said calmly.

“Do you know what I meant by the conversation I had with the Vice-Chief?”

“……?”

“The fact that the Bota Temple you know is different from the past is all the work of the Vice-Chief over there.”

Startled, Yeon Sim looked at Yang Cheon.

Yang Cheon chuckled and rested his chin on his hand. He looked as if he had nothing to hide, not a trace of guilt in his expression.

Yeon Sim asked in a trembling voice.

“The Vice-Chief did that?”

“That’s right.”

“Why… why?!”

Yang Cheon replied with a tone that felt almost refreshing.

“Because I wanted to obtain Bota’s power.”

It was a simple statement, but it conveyed a terrifying possessiveness.

It was a chillingly simple and personal desire. At the depth of that desire, Yeon Sim felt fear before anger.

The world, the martial world, could be so easily broken just by becoming someone’s target. The fact that the world could be changed by the will of a single person was exactly what this meant.

“……So, we came to ask for help from the enemy who made our sect like this?”

“Enemy?”

Yang Cheon said, as if amused.

“If you truly followed the path of Buddha, you wouldn’t see me as an enemy. The fact that you see me as an enemy means that you also hated Bota’s oppression, didn’t you?”

It was a fallacy.

A peaceful temple that followed the Buddhist path. Just by sowing the seeds of discord in Bota, which saw the world through its own definition of justice, was bad enough. That’s what Yeon Sim thought.

And Yeon Sim’s thoughts were indeed correct.

The problem was with her.

“Admit it. You don’t belong in Buddhism. You want to make a name for yourself in the world, and you want to unleash your talents.”

Yeon Sim couldn’t refute it. Knowing that she had been shaken by Yang Cheon’s words a moment ago, she couldn’t dare to lie.

Yang Cheon said in a definitive tone.

“The collapse of Bota stemmed from your own lax practice, which couldn’t withstand even a simple act of discord. Of course, that’s why I orchestrated the discord from behind the scenes.”

This was also a fallacy. If Yang Cheon hadn’t interfered, Bota wouldn’t have been in this state. If a robbery occurred, the robber should be blamed, not the wealthy person who was robbed.

But.

‘…….’

Yeon Sim couldn’t easily speak this time either.

Yang Cheon called it discord. If it were Shaolin [another famous Buddhist temple], would it have collapsed from such discord?

This was a matter of practice, not of martial arts or values. It was unfortunate that they were robbed, but as a Bota practitioner, they also had to reflect on their lax practice.

Yang Cheon said.

“Let me be clear. I want to have you. Your talent is truly remarkable. That Wall Mountain Tiger Chief said you were a sword that could break at any moment, but in my eyes, you are already excellent.”

He was sincere. Yeon Sim’s martial arts were better than Jeongan’s. She was not far behind Yeon Ho-Jeong.

“As you know, Bota cannot return to the past. At least not for now. In other words…”

Yang Cheon raised his chin.

“Everything that bound you, suppressed you, and restrained you has been shattered. In other words, it’s an opportunity for you to throw everything away and come out for the life you truly desire.”

“……!”

“Such opportunities don’t come often. Throw away the Buddhism you don’t believe in and come to me. I promise you much faster and clearer progress than growing up under Bota’s soft teachings.”

A soft smile spread across Yang Cheon’s cold and arrogant face.

“Become a true Sword Queen, not a half-baked one who protects Buddhism and can’t even show her true skills.”

It was a chillingly tempting offer.

The fact that it was the Fighting King Yang Cheon who was saying it made it even more persuasive.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled wryly.

‘He’s really greedy.’

He had no intention of criticizing Yang Cheon. He and Yang Cheon were, after all, the same.

However, he thought that the audacity to say such things to the descendant of the sect he had destroyed was remarkable.

Yang Cheon, who had been quietly watching Yeon Sim, nodded.

“It won’t be easy to decide right away.”

“…….”

“Whatever the case, that half-baked practitioner who fell over there is the leader of the Lotus Flower Gate and your master. In my eyes, she doesn’t have the qualifications to be a master, but in the face of human sentiment, there’s no need to discuss a person’s worth.”

Yang Cheon leaned back in his chair.

“Go to the medical ward with your master. Take care of her and think about it. I can give you as much time as you need.”

Yeon Sim, who had been looking at Yang Cheon with trembling eyes, finally lowered her shoulders. She couldn’t do anything, she couldn’t say anything.

And so, Jeokyeon and Yeon Sim left the great hall with the Mukryong warriors.

“How was it?”

Yang Cheon looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong and smiled.

“Did you see my greed to get both rabbits at once?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong shook his head.

“You’ll get indigestion if you do that.”

“Because I’m a big eater.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Jeongan.

Jeongan also seemed to be full of confusion. However, her clear and deep eyes still shone with the right light.

“The situation has turned a bit strange.”

“……That’s right.”

“Whatever the case, she will be of great help in rebuilding Bota.”

Resentment, revenge.

Those things had to be forgotten for now. Because they lacked power.

Jeongan took a deep breath and clasped her hands towards Yang Cheon.

“We will withdraw for today. It was an honor to meet you.”

Yang Cheon’s eyes gleamed.

“Today? So, you plan to come again?”

“Next time, I will come back as a force of justice.”

Yang Cheon, who had been looking down at Jeongan with strange eyes, said with a disgruntled expression.

“You have a lot of talented people around you.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong gestured to Gang Ryang.

Gang Ryang said to Jeongan.

“Let’s step out for a moment.”

And so, Gang Ryang and Jeongan also left the great hall.

“Hoo.”

Alone, Yang Cheon sighed softly. It was a sigh full of regret.

“Still, I’m relieved that you’re coming.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong said.

“I’m not coming right away. I have to get permission from that side too.”

“You can handle that much on your own, can’t you?”

“Let’s say I can.”

“Okay, when can you come?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes gleamed.

“I have some business to take care of at the Martial Alliance. I’ll take care of that first.”

“Leave the trivial things to others. That’s why you’re so busy.”

“This is something I must handle personally.”

“What is it that makes you so busy?”

“There’s a spy.”

“……?!”

“There’s a spy from the Three Teachings among the Martial Alliance’s officials.”

Yang Cheon’s eyes turned cold.

“……You must be there. Absolutely.”