Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 482

Whooosh.

It was a humid summer, but the wind blowing through the Daebyeol Mountain Range was very cool.

Especially at night. Countless stars twinkled around the dim crescent moon, creating a strange and beautiful night.

The wind was pleasant, and the scenery was beautiful. The swaying leaves looked like the long sleeves of a dancer.

Cheon Gang’s eyes gleamed.

In the middle of a clearing in the forest, a man stood with his back to him, hands behind his back.

Cheon Gang instinctively knew who he was.

“Lightning?”

The man chuckled involuntarily.

Lightning? It was a truly absurd title.

The man turned around. Then, Moyong Gun’s face was revealed.

Moyong Gun spoke calmly.

“Then what should I call you? Shall I call you Fire?”

“Was it you? The one who called me out?”

It was quite an aggressive tone.

Although he looked younger than his actual age, Cheon Gang was much younger than Moyong Gun. It was a tone that was not easily accepted in the sentiments of the Central Plains [a region in China, often used as a setting in martial arts stories].

Of course, Moyong Gun didn’t pay any attention to the other’s tone or voice.

Just looking at Cheon Gang seemed to make his killing intent rise. He had to expend considerable effort to calm that killing intent.

Moyong Gun asked casually.

“How was life in the prison? Was it bearable?”

Cheon Gang growled softly.

“Did you call me out just to talk such nonsense?”

Regardless of anything else, he had to acknowledge Cheon Gang’s mental fortitude.

His dantian [an area in the body where internal energy is stored] was half crushed, and all his internal energy was lost. Moreover, he was emaciated from his long imprisonment, and he must have been mentally exhausted from being locked in solitary confinement.

Yet, he showed a demeanor that was no different from before. It was something impossible for an ordinary person.

Moyong Gun said with a smile.

“You’ve come out into the outside world after a long time, why don’t you take a deep breath? The air is different from that of the prison, isn’t it?”

“You bastard… !”

“Why? If you like that air better, shall I send you back?”

Cheon Gang paused.

Even for someone with a strong mental fortitude like him, the words to go back to prison and rot were quite threatening.

If it had been a prison full of moisture and swarming with bugs, he would have given up on life long ago.

The Martial Alliance’s prison, as crazy as it may sound, was not like hell. Food was provided twice a day, it wasn’t too dirty, and after being given drugs and losing consciousness, he would wake up to find the space clean.

That’s why it was harder.

If it had been a terrible environment, it would have been different, but it was bearable, so it was even more maddening. The mental strength of a master who had broken through the wall of martial arts could not be broken by that kind of environment, which made Cheon Gang even more miserable.

Moyong Gun smiled.

“Do you know who suggested that the Martial Alliance’s prison not be turned into a sewer? It was me.”

“… !”

“The Martial Alliance is the center of gravity for achieving stability and peace in the martial world in the future. How can the prison of such an important group, no matter how much they are prisoners, be used if there are complaints about inhumane treatment? Therefore, the result of my pushing with my party members is the current prison.”

“……”

“Do you understand? The fact that you can stand in front of me and wag your tongue with such a fierce look is all thanks to me.”

“Stop with the sophistry and tell me your purpose! Why did you call me!”

“There’s something I want to confirm.”

Moyong Gun gestured to the guard with his chin.

The guard bowed his head and retreated.

As soon as the guard disappeared, Moyong Gun said.

“You heard what that guy said, right?”

Cheon Gang bit his lip.

‘Don’t throw away the opportunity to get out of prison.’

That meant that if he listened to Moyong Gun’s request, he could get out of this hellish place.

“How can I trust you?”

Moyong Gun smiled.

“Is there any reason not to trust me?”

“If I don’t get a firm promise, I’ll be played by you and have nowhere to vent my anger. What’s the difference? There is a difference. At least I can refuse to give you what you want, you bastard.”

It was a venomous statement.

Cheon Gang gave a savage smile.

“It seems you want something from me, so I can assume I’m holding the knife, right?”

“You’re an interesting fellow. Are all the members of the Three Teachings [a reference to a group or sect] like you? I mean, do you not know how to distinguish between what’s important and what’s not?”

“You’re the one who doesn’t know how to distinguish between what’s important and what’s not.”

Cheon Gang spread his hand.

His unkempt fingernails were full of dirt.

“I’ve lost my internal energy and my body is in this state, but at least I have enough strength to stab my own neck.”

Moyong Gun chuckled.

“You’re going to die?”

“I admit I don’t want to go back to prison. I’d rather live outside for three days.”

Cheon Gang growled again. He really looked like a beast full of venom.

“So don’t try to play me with some nonsense. I don’t have much to lose even if I die right now.”

This was genuine.

Moyong Gun read the sincerity in Cheon Gang’s demeanor and eyes.

At least ‘now’ it was genuine. If he provoked him carelessly, he would really die.

Moyong Gun smiled.

“Yes, it seems like you’re really going to die.”

“Of course.”

“There are no easy opponents. There’s a reason why even lowly barbarians were able to build such a force.”

Killing intent emanated from Cheon Gang’s eyes.

“Keep wagging your rotten tongue, you trash. Barbarians? Don’t talk nonsense. You’re the ones who are just beasts that only know how to bite each other. No, even beasts form packs. You’re worse than beasts.”

Moyong Gun’s eyes sank.

“To have to hear such words from the likes of you, I guess this is when one says it’s deplorable.”

“Shut up and listen to my conditions first. First, prepare a supreme yang elixir that can restore my dantian. And as a hostage…”

“Die.”

“What?”

Moyong Gun said calmly.

“I said just die.”

“…?”

“Why should I be sorry because of the likes of you? Just die.”

Cheon Gang’s eyes twitched slightly.

“You called me out because you wanted something?”

“That’s right. There’s something I want to confirm with you. But I’ll find out eventually even if I don’t ask you. It’s just a matter of whether I find out sooner or later.”

Swoosh.

Black killing intent flowed out of Moyong Gun’s body like smoke. He tried his best to suppress it, but as he talked to Cheon Gang, his killing intent was snowballing.

“Consider yourself lucky. Because of the situation, I can’t kill you myself. I can’t leave any traces.”

“……”

“If your life was completely in my hands, you would have been preserved alive on the wall of the Martial Alliance Leader’s Hall, neither dead nor alive.”

Shivers!

Cheon Gang felt goosebumps all over his body.

Moyong Gun turned his body around with his hands behind his back.

“Tonight was a bust. Just facing a nobody like you makes me feel bad. I came all this way, but I just ended up feeling bad.”

“……”

“Get lost.”

It was an extremely cold reaction.

Cheon Gang, who had been staring at Moyong Gun, lowered his hand.

“What do you want? Let’s hear that first.”

“Didn’t you hear me say get lost?”

Whoooosh.

A faint true energy [internal energy] gathered in Moyong Gun’s hand behind his back.

“Do you really want me to use my hands?”

Cheon Gang’s eyes wavered.

The question of what he wanted was, so to speak, a test. If he pretended to be unable to win and spilled the beans, it would be proof that he could take the initiative.

But the other’s reaction was no different from before. Rather, as if he was really going to kill him, the concentration of killing intent that was slowly leaking out was getting thicker and thicker.

‘That guy, he really intends to kill me.’

Of course, Cheon Gang also thought that he wouldn’t be too sorry even if he died right now.

However, if he could live, it was better to live. That was obvious.

“I’ll say it one last time. Tell me what you want.”

For Cheon Gang, it was his last gamble. If he said he would kill him even after this, he would really die.

And Moyong Gun’s reaction was the same as before.

Crack!

A golden lightning streak flashed from Moyong Gun’s hand.

The boiling killing intent stimulated the Thunderclap Art [a martial art technique]. Now there was no turning back.

Cheon Gang’s face contorted.

‘Damn it!’

It was then.

“You’ve become very aggressive.”

Cheon Gang was startled by the sudden voice.

Swoosh.

Yeon Ho-Jeong appeared next to Moyong Gun, from the forest.

“I knew you hated the Three Teachings, but I didn’t know you couldn’t control your emotions this much.”

Crackle!

“Calm down. You can’t really kill him.”

Crack! Crackle!

Moyong Gun’s fingers twitched. He was contemplating whether to ignore Yeon Ho-Jeong’s words and tear his neck off in one go, or to endure it.

After a while.

Swoosh.

Moyong Gun, who had suppressed his lightning energy, turned his body around with a calm expression.

Cheon Gang felt a chill. Even though he had emitted such explosive killing intent, his expression now was one of complete composure. It was as if he was a completely different person from the one who had been emitting killing intent a moment ago.

That capricious change brought a strange fear.

Moyong Gun said to Yeon Ho-Jeong.

“I wanted to handle it myself, but it’s not working out.”

“A person with high enlightenment knows how to perfectly control their true energy. However, your lightning energy is the most destructive true energy among the sixty-four hexagrams [a reference to a concept in Chinese philosophy]. Perhaps your temperament has become so aggressive due to the influence of that true energy.”

“My temperament was always aggressive. That guy just ignited it.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled wryly and raised his hand.

“Okay. I’ll talk to him.”

Moyong Gun glanced at Cheon Gang and turned his body around again.

“Finish it within an hour. If I endure any longer, I might just peel off that guy’s skin.”

“I understand.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong walked towards Cheon Gang.

Cheon Gang flinched involuntarily.

“You… !”

He was a man who was as memorable as Moyong Gun, or even more so than Moyong Gun.

It was only natural. He had fought a life-or-death battle with Moyong Gun, but it was this young man who had rendered him unable to fight.

Swoosh.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who stood a short distance from Cheon Gang, looked at Cheon Gang without saying a word.

Cheon Gang’s body flinched again.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face, which was looking at him with clear eyes, was expressionless as if it had been carved. That expressionless face looked even more rigid than a mask.

‘This… !’

Neither Moyong Gun nor Yeon Ho-Jeong saw him as a person. That fact infuriated Cheon Gang.

But.

Twitch!

Cheon Gang couldn’t open his mouth rashly.

Yeon Ho-Jeong was looking at him silently.

There was no way to know what he wanted. If it was anyone else, he would at least read their emotional state by looking at their expression or eyes, but the other person didn’t have any of that.

His eyes looked like they were made of glass, and his expression was more rigid than an iron mask, without any movement.

“……”

A strange silence continued between the two.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s expression did not change, and Cheon Gang’s eyes and cheeks trembled as time passed.

How much time had passed?

Cheon Gang shouted angrily.

“What the hell are you… !”

At that moment, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s hand moved.

Grab!

“Huk!”

His collar was grabbed in an instant.

It was a speed that was not even visible to the eye. Even though he had lost his internal energy, his eye technique, which he had trained his whole life, was still intact, so he could catch most speeds, but he couldn’t see Yeon Ho-Jeong’s hand moving.

Thud!

Cheon Gang grabbed Yeon Ho-Jeong’s wrist with both hands. It was an instinctive action.

And only then.

A smile appeared on Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face. It was only a slight movement of his eyes and mouth.

“Good. That’s how you react.”

Flash!

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes blazed, and his hand, which had grabbed Cheon Gang’s collar, swung greatly.

Whoooosh!

Cheon Gang received a shock as if the world was turning upside down, and began to unleash the supreme martial art of the Shin Hwa Sect [a martial arts sect] engraved on his body.