Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 481

Whirring. Whirring.

From Moyong Gun, who had his eyes closed while drawing his sword, a threatening electric light flickered.

Blue lightning energy wriggled all over his body. It was so visible to the naked eye that one could easily tell how powerful it was.

However, surprisingly, the threatening aura unique to lightning energy was not felt at all.

This was as difficult as cutting an object with sword energy without splitting it.

‘His Thunderclap Art is on the verge of completion.’

The control of his energy density had reached its peak. This meant that Moyong Gun’s mastery of the ancient martial art, the Thunderclap Art, was on the verge of completion.

The Thunderclap Art was an unparalleled martial art.

It was said that a human who had seen the end of thunder and lightning could obtain a power worthy of being called a Martial God, and could unleash a power comparable to that of a Thunder God.

‘The ultimate goal of the Thunderclap Art, when viewed from the realm of martial arts, is not to climb a mountain peak but to ascend to the sky.’

Moyong Gun opened his eyes.

The pupils, filled with blue lightning, were as deep as those of a high-ranking monk who had attained enlightenment.

‘It’s the Wuji [Limitless] realm.’

The realm that the strong of Seongcheon had entered was called the Wuji realm by the world.

Wuji meant the beginning of Taiji [Supreme Ultimate], the origin of all things in the universe.

The primordial universe, the extreme of chaos, a realm of contradiction where truth and illusion repeatedly clashed and reconciled.

Moyong Gun was now on the verge of reaching such an unimaginable realm.

The problem was.

‘I can’t seem to grasp it at all.’

The path to Wuji was visible. But the problem was that there were too many paths.

The path to Wuji branched out in countless ways, like the twigs of a tree.

If one took even one wrong path, it would lead to failure. If it were just a simple failure, it wouldn’t be so bad, but it was such a dangerous path that one could potentially lose even the power they currently possessed, making it difficult to take a step forward.

“……Hoo.”

Moyong Gun, who had calmed his lightning energy with a calm breath, opened his mouth.

“Do you see it that way too?”

Moyong Gun turned his head and looked at the wall.

There, Yeon Ho-Jeong was sitting with his arms crossed in a relaxed posture.

Yeon Ho-Jeong tilted his head.

“What do you mean?”

“You are also a practitioner on the verge of reaching the Wuji realm. Do you also see the path as countless?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong immediately understood Moyong Gun’s words.

So, he was a little surprised. He didn’t expect Moyong Gun to ask him about martial arts.

“I see it differently.”

“How do you see it?”

“I see only one path. However, I have no idea how winding that path is, or what dangers lie along the way.”

Moyong Gun smiled.

“It seems that everyone sees a different scene.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong shrugged his shoulders.

“Everyone would be different. Just as the path you took to build your current realm is different from the process I went through to reach this realm.”

“It’s always easier to overcome someone else’s crisis than your own. Listening to you, it seems like you might reach Wuji before me.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

“It seems so.”

“You don’t even deny it as a joke.”

“Wouldn’t someone who tries to challenge it, even if it means losing everything they’ve built up, be faster than someone who doesn’t know how to move forward and can’t even take a step? Don’t you think?”

“……!”

Moyong Gun’s face hardened.

“Have you already started?”

“What’s the problem that would stop me from taking a step?”

“As you said, you could lose everything you’ve built up if you make a mistake. Not as a metaphor, but for real.”

“I know.”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“If I wasn’t scared, would I be human? However, I still think it’s a path I have to take, so I’m going.”

“…….”

“Isn’t it the same for you?”

Moyong Gun, who had been quietly looking at Yeon Ho-Jeong, sighed.

“I understand now how you were able to gain such strength at your age.”

Just listening to Yeon Ho-Jeong’s words, he could tell. That guy had never not challenged himself.

Is that a big deal?

Yes, it is a big deal.

The martial arts he had built up since his childhood, which he couldn’t even remember, could evaporate completely. For a martial artist, that would be far more terrible than losing their life.

And it would be fortunate if it ended there.

Moyong Gun was a powerful ruler. In the world of martial arts, the loss of martial arts leads to the loss of power.

That’s why it’s so difficult to succeed in the martial world. Even if you have the best martial arts in the world, you can’t become a ruler without a foundation, and even if you have power, you have to constantly prove that your martial arts are second to none.

In other words, Moyong Gun’s desire to become the leader of the Murim Alliance was not simply about wanting more power.

The best in the world.

What Moyong Gun wanted was the best power and the best martial arts in the world. He wanted to have both physical strength and absolute power.

‘Huh.’

Suddenly, Moyong Gun felt that he was being ridiculous.

‘To have everything, you must also know how to give up everything… Have I forgotten that principle?’

Trying to achieve a dream is like engaging in a life-or-death battle.

In a fight to the death, do you want to kill your opponent while ensuring your own safety?

I live, and the opponent dies. It is right to fight for such a result. But the process should not be like that.

To kill the opponent, you must fight with the mindset that you too could die.

How can you achieve victory without that level of determination? The person who truly gets what they want is the one who challenges themselves, even considering their own destruction.

If they succeed in that fight, they will gain everything, and if they fail, they will lose everything.

That is what life, politics, and power are like.

‘It’s like…….’

Moyong Gun’s eyes flickered with lightning energy again as he looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong.

‘That guy.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong was constantly challenging himself. Judging by the way he spoke, it seemed like he hadn’t even thought about it.

It was too much to consider it just the vigor or spirit of a young man, given Yeon Ho-Jeong’s abilities and talents.

A smile spread across Moyong Gun’s lips.

It was a smile that felt unusually bitter.

‘I lost again.’

He lost. Not in anything else, but in the attitude of a martial artist, he lost to Yeon Ho-Jeong.

But defeat is the beginning of another realization.

Crackling! Crackling!

Moyong Gun’s lightning energy, which had been filled with blue light, gradually began to turn a bright yellow.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed.

Moyong Gun spoke calmly.

“You’ve given me a good realization. Yes, as you said, I shouldn’t be afraid to take a step. If I’m afraid of that, I should just retire.”

“That’s right.”

“You and I are just dangerous fools walking on a precarious blade. I had forgotten that.”

Whoosh!

The threatening golden lightning energy disappeared in an instant.

Moyong Gun nodded.

“Thank you. I will definitely repay this debt.”

It was a sincere expression of gratitude.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled and came down from the wall.

“I wonder if I’ve given too much of a lesson to someone who will become my enemy.”

Moyong Gun laughed.

“I will give you a splendid defeat.”

“I already knew that your calculations were out of the ordinary. Seriously, giving a defeat as a gift? Is that what you say to a benefactor?”

“It’s the greatest gift I can give.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong chuckled.

“Forget about such gifts, and just grant me one request.”

“I thought you came here in the middle of the day because you had a request. What is it?”

“There’s someone I need to see in the prison. Can you come with me?”

Saying ‘come with me’ meant that he ultimately wanted him to use his power.

Moyong Gun’s eyes lit up.

“Why are you asking me for that?”

“I heard that there are two members of the Bonggong [a secret organization within the Murim Alliance] who are involved in the prison. I know that one of them is you.”

“You only know half of it. Even if I am a member of the Bonggong, I don’t have the authority to bring unqualified people into the prison without orders from above.”

“Isn’t that ‘above’ the Bonggong members?”

“Of course. However, you need to explain why you want to enter the prison and get the consent of the majority.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to let him in. It was because it was actually that dangerous.

The Murim Alliance prison was full of dangerous prisoners.

There were masters from the Guju Myungga [Nine Great Clans], who were destroyed several years ago, and many madmen who had been captured from the border regions. While the Yugun unit was active, other combat units of the Murim Alliance had also been dispatched to various places to carry out operations.

Among them, there were dangerous individuals that even the leaders of the combat units didn’t know about, only the top brass knew.

Naturally, they couldn’t just let anyone in.

“If I were going to get permission from the Bonggong members, I would have asked my father or the military advisor, not you.”

“I guess so.”

Moyong Gun’s expression hardened.

“I don’t know if you know this, but if this fact becomes known to the outside world, the damage will be enormous. Not just for me, but for you as well.”

“We can’t say ‘it’s fine as long as we don’t get caught’……”

“That’s right.”

“Moreover, I need to take one of those prisoners out for a while.”

“It’s getting worse. If we get caught, it won’t just end with a warning. If we make a mistake, we could be demoted and even end up in prison together.”

“Don’t worry. It’s better if we don’t get caught, but even if we do, neither you nor I will be ruined.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I’m going there to find out about the Three Teachings.”

Moyong Gun’s eyes flashed at that moment.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

“Are you a little more interested now?”

“Very interested.”

Moyong Gun said with his arms crossed.

“Explain.”

* * *

The door to the prison opened.

This was the lowest level of the prison.

A guard walked down the hallway.

Although it was a prison, it wasn’t as dark, damp, and uninhabitable as people commonly imagined.

The way prisoners were treated varied depending on the severity of their crimes, but at least the environment of the prison itself was better than anywhere else. The Murim Alliance’s attitude towards prisoners was not as inhumane as other organizations.

Of course, it depended on how you thought about it.

Click!

The guard opened the door to a solitary cell.

Swoosh.

A prisoner, leaning against the cold wall of the cell, raised his head.

Whoosh.

Even though he had lost his inner energy, it seemed like flames were about to burst from his eyes. Just by looking at his eyes, one could tell that he had once reached an extremely high level.

The guard said in a stiff voice.

“Prisoner number two thousand three hundred and seventy-six.”

“…….”

“Get up.”

“……Heh heh.”

The strange man chuckled, his shoulders shaking.

“I’ll get up if you kneel and beg. Try asking while crying.”

The guard silently took out a club from his waist.

Crack!

“Cough!”

The prisoner’s body fell to the side.

He seemed to have no strength at all. Blood was streaming down from his broken head.

The guard spoke again.

“Don’t throw away the opportunity to get out of prison yourself.”

“……What?!”

“Those who want to meet you asked me to tell you that.”

The prisoner’s eyes wavered.

The guard came out of the open door and stood with his hands behind his back.

“Come out, number two thousand three hundred and seventy-six.”

“……Damn it!”

The prisoner, staggering to his feet, wiped the blood from his forehead and said.

“My name is Cheon Gang. Not some number two thousand three hundred and seventy-six.”