Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 490

Not many people knew that Deung Cheon-Gyo had been taken to the Execution Hall.

The head of the Gongdong Sect was a very influential figure. Even the Execution Hall kept Deung Cheon-Gyo’s detention quiet, and since Yeon Ho-Jeong had moved him secretly when he was first apprehended, no one had seen it happen.

In the end, only the top officials, the personnel of the Execution Hall, and the high-ranking members of the intelligence unit under Jeagal Mun-Ho knew about it.

It was fortunate, in a way. If this fact spread throughout the Murim Alliance [martial arts alliance], it would soon spread throughout the world. If that happened, the Gongdong Sect would not be able to raise its head, and in the worst case, it might even withdraw from the Murim Alliance.

Thanks to the thorough groundwork done by Yeon Ho-Jeong, Moyong Gun, and Jeagal Mun-Ho, the problem did not escalate significantly. It was a fortunate thing in many ways.

Of course, the fact that one of the Murim Alliance’s Bonggong [high-ranking officials] had been taken to the Execution Hall was a big deal in itself.

“Hoo.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had come out of Grand Master Seung-Hyeon’s residence, walked around the inner city.

Most of the people who encountered Yeon Ho-Jeong bowed their heads to him. As the head of the Yu-gun unit, he was practically a high-ranking official, so it was not unusual for him to receive greetings from many people.

Yeon Ho-Jeong also silently bowed his head as he walked.

How long had he walked like that?

“……”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had stopped walking, looked at the forest on his right.

‘Impressive.’

It was a familiar energy. It was definitely familiar, yet also unfamiliar.

Although he was deep in thought, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s senses were always keenly aware of his surroundings. Yet, he had not known that ‘he’ was in the forest until he was within about ten yards.

‘That’s a tremendous improvement. Really, there’s no one who’s easy to deal with.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled and walked into the forest.

A moment later.

“It’s been a while.”

“Indeed, it has.”

“I thought I had climbed high enough, but you are still amazing. I thought I could at least put up a fight, but you’ve already climbed several levels above me.”

“I’ve lived fiercely. I’ve also had some tussles with the world.”

“Yes, that’s the driving force to become stronger. Unlike me, who’s been cooped up in a room, just swinging a sword all day won’t lead to progress.”

“To say that, you’ve improved more than enough, to the point of being excessive.”

“Does it seem that way?”

“Yes. Not only have you far surpassed the Wall of Martial Arts, but you seem to have developed martial arts comparable to that of a sect leader.”

“It’s not that much. I’ve just been racking my brain studying swordsmanship.”

“Creating martial arts is no easy task. You must have gained a lot of enlightenment in the process.”

“It’s thanks to the consideration of my Senior Brother, the Sect Leader. He taught me martial arts that I hadn’t learned before.”

“I see.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

“So, have you obtained the ultimate martial art that can surpass ‘Shooting the Sun’?”

The middle-aged man, Pae-Yul, gave a wry smile.

“It’s still difficult to say I’ve surpassed it. However……”

“It’s been completed to a certain extent.”

“You could say that.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Pae-Yul’s left shoulder. The shaft of a short spear could be seen behind it.

After looking at the short spear slung diagonally on his back, Yeon Ho-Jeong now looked at Pae-Yul’s left waist belt.

There was a sword hanging there, but it was different from the sword Pae-Yul had previously carried. Unlike the previous sword, which had a narrow blade and good flexibility, almost like a rapier, this one was a short sword, slightly longer than a small sword.

It was a little over a foot long. The width of the blade was twice as wide as a normal long sword. It was a short but sturdy-looking sword.

“You told me before that you didn’t know whether it would become the ‘Piercing Sun Sword’ or the ‘Piercing Sun Spear’.”

“I did.”

“It seems you’ve caught both rabbits [achieved two goals at once].”

Pae-Yul smiled.

His sharp and rigid impression was still there, but he looked softer than before.

“It was quite a struggle.”

“‘Shooting the Sun’ means shooting towards the sun, and ‘Piercing the Sun’ means already piercing through the sun. When your martial arts are perfected, you will surely gain power beyond ‘Shooting the Sun’.”

He knew that it wasn’t just flattery. Pae-Yul conveyed his gratitude with his eyes, feeling Yeon Ho-Jeong’s sincerity.

“But what brings you here at this hour? Did you know I was coming here?”

“Yes.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Pae-Yul without a word.

Pae-Yul was also silent. He just looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong with eyes that were much deeper and sharper than before, yet also filled with familiarity and caution.

How much time had passed?

“Did you come to stop me from seeing the Elder?”

There are twelve Bonggong in the Murim Alliance. They are called the Twelve Bonggong.

However, the heads of the Nine Great Sects and the Six Great Families alone numbered sixteen. In addition, two representatives from small and medium-sized sects were named to the leadership.

The six from the Nine Sects and the six from the Six Families were the Twelve Bonggong, and the remaining sect leaders and two representatives from small and medium-sized sects were moved to the Murim Alliance’s Elder Council.

Initially, they held meetings together, but the leaders who were not interested in the Bonggong position became elders.

One of them was the head of the Jeomchang Sect.

“Would I be stopped if I tried to stop you?”

“Of course not.”

“That’s like you. Your confidence doesn’t come from arrogance. The confidence of someone who knows themselves well is always frightening.”

“The Jeomchang Sect Leader also told you, didn’t he? That there’s a spy from the enemy among the Murim Alliance’s leadership.”

“Yes.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes deepened.

“I suspect everyone.”

“I know. You would definitely be like that.”

“Considering the possibilities, the probability of a spy in the Elder Council is extremely low. The reason is that there is classified information that only the Bonggong can handle. Therefore, I am almost certain that there is a spy among the Bonggong.”

“I think so too.”

“Yet, you came to stop me?”

Pae-Yul smiled.

“I don’t think the Sect Leader is an enemy spy.”

“Of course, you would think so.”

“However, if by any chance the Sect Leader is an enemy spy, I will personally cut off his head, even if it means severing our ties.”

It was a very brutal statement.

It wasn’t that he had no affection for the Jeomchang Sect Leader. Pae-Yul trusted and followed the Sect Leader, who was also his senior brother, more than anyone else.

Yet, the fact that he said he would cut off his head himself meant that Pae-Yul’s level had become that great.

It wasn’t just his martial arts; his heart had grown as well. He had gained the ability to see the world correctly without being swayed by the seven emotions and six desires.

Confusion arose on Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face.

“Then why did you wait for me?”

“What reason would there be to wait for a junior and former comrade?”

“……?”

“I came to help you.”

Surprise filled Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face, which had been full of confusion.

“Help? Me?”

“That’s right.”

Pae-Yul shrugged his shoulders.

“As I said before, interesting things often happen when I’m with you. After that operation, you must have been very busy as the head of the Yu-gun unit. Every time I heard rumors about you, I barely managed to resist the urge to burst out of my closed-door training room.”

“……”

“I’ve had some achievements, and my patience has reached its limit. I don’t have the talent to be cooped up in a room swinging a sword. Even if it’s a desolate wilderness where it’s hard to see a single blade of grass, I just want to wield my sword and spear while breathing the air of the world.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been staring blankly at Pae-Yul, laughed as if he was dumbfounded.

“You’re the youngest, but still an elder. Doesn’t the Jeomchang Sect say anything?”

“When I showed them the martial art of ‘Piercing the Sun,’ they readily agreed. They were even eager to send me away as soon as possible. They told me to properly engrave how outstanding Jeomchang’s martial arts are in the world and come back.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong laughed involuntarily.

Although their personalities were different, the temperament of the Jeomchang people was similar. Cheok Gang, a soldier of the Myeolsa Army from Jeomchang, had similar aspects to Pae-Yul.

And it seemed that the head of Jeomchang was the same. Normally, a sect would not be able to tell their junior to help someone else, considering their reputation, but the head of Jeomchang did not seem to care about such formalities.

“It will be difficult. You’ll have a headache too.”

“You solve the headache problem. I just want to run wild.”

“Don’t think that I won’t suspect the Jeomchang Sect Leader just because you’re doing this.”

“How many times do I have to say it? If the Sect Leader is a spy, I will cut off his head myself.”

“It’s so brutal, I like it.”

“It’s one of my few strengths.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was smiling, took a respectful fist salute.

“I will not refuse your help, Senior.”

Pae-Yul also took a fist salute.

“I won’t do anything to ruin your work.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, where are you going now?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face instantly turned expressionless.

“I’m going to the head of the Hwasan Sect, Yong Hwa Jin-In.”

* * *

“Strategist.”

“Speak.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s face was indifferent.

Gong Gong Daesa sighed.

“I know how much the Strategist cares about the Murim Alliance, and the Gangho [martial world] as a whole.”

“Thank you.”

“But this time, you’ve gone too far.”

He was talking about the Deung Cheon-Gyo incident.

Jeagal Mun-Ho bowed his head.

“I am truly sorry to the Abbot Daesa. I was going to speak to you separately, but I thought it would be better not to, so I quietly went ahead with it.”

“Catching spies is certainly important. But you shouldn’t undermine the trust between the Bonggong just to catch one spy.”

“Trust… you say.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho said bitterly.

“To be honest, I don’t really understand the trust that you speak of, Daesa.”

“Strategist.”

“Among the Bonggong, there are people who care about the world as much as you or Grand Master Seung-Hyeon, but there are also people who are selfish and greedy, only looking out for their own interests.”

“I know. But it shouldn’t be like this. There are procedures in an organization.”

“Isn’t the work proceeding according to procedure? As you may have heard, it was Head Deung who first attacked Commander Yeon.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes flashed.

“Surely, you’re not thinking that because Head Deung has a position, we should have negotiated that much?”

Gong Gong Daesa felt momentarily speechless.

He had not intended to say that, but he had had similar thoughts. In any case, Deung Cheon-Gyo was the head of the Gongdong Sect. Given his position and reputation, it was true that the matter had been blown out of proportion.

“Strategist. Even if you have strong power, if you commit a crime, you must be punished. But I’m worried that you are underestimating the influence of an individual too much.”

“That’s not true. Rather, it’s a problem because I know it too well. To be more frank, people like Head Deung should not be Bonggong because their individual influence is too great.”

“Oh, Strategist.”

“Daesa.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes flashed.

“Now is the time to set aside face and history and think about practicality. To be blunt, it’s not right to leave seeds of discord when a war could break out tomorrow.”

“What the Strategist says is not wrong. But I don’t think it should be like this. It’s not just about face and history. If the Gongdong Sect withdraws from the alliance……”

It was then.

“Strategist.”

“Report.”

“The head of the Hwasan Sect, Yong Hwa Jin-In, has been transferred to the Execution Hall.”

Gong Gong Daesa’s eyes widened.

Jeagal Mun-Ho, who had moistened his throat with a sip of tea, said calmly.

“Don’t worry about them withdrawing from the alliance. They also know that they have to lend a hand if they don’t want to be defeated individually.”