Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 567

Dark King, Dang Hyeong.

He was a figure who, despite being a pillar of the Seongcheon Thirteen Seats [a group of powerful martial artists], was known as the worst person in the Jianghu [the martial world]. It wasn’t because of his bad nature. It was because the poison and hidden weapons he wielded were that dangerous.

Even someone who had only learned the Dang family’s martial arts for a year could kill hundreds with a few handfuls of poison.

The pinnacle of such Dang family martial arts was Dang Hyeong. He was Dang Gwan’s father, the previous Clan Head, and a master praised as the strongest martial artist in the history of the Dang family.

Naturally, his level of danger was beyond imagination. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if he set his mind to it, he could destroy an entire sect in less than a moment.

A super-high-risk figure in the Jianghu. A master of a prestigious family whose strength and ruthlessness were not well known to the world.

Yet, he was an absolute master whom everyone in the world considered the most dangerous in the Jianghu.

That was Dang Hyeong.

“The current situation of the Dang family, though I haven’t seen it myself, I can deduce that it is very bad. And with an extremely high probability.”

“……”

“Did you see the guys we fought this time? They were all from the Sichuan Three Powers [three influential martial arts groups in Sichuan]. And they had countless top-notch assassins.”

“……”

“This is not a force that can be gathered in just a year or two. Especially, there were some who, though not part of the Three Powers, had mastered the martial arts of the Three Powers. Each one was worthy of being called a supreme master.”

“……”

“At least ten years. It means there were traitors in all the strongest, most renowned, and most influential sects in Sichuan.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes gleamed.

“I don’t know about Qingcheng and Emei [two famous martial arts sects]. But the Dang family has the Clan Head and the previous Clan Head. With their abilities, it would have been hard for them not to know that this was happening.”

“……”

“Yet, there must be a reason why this is happening.”

Dang Gwan, who had been quietly looking down at Yeon Ho-jeong, sat back down.

He called for the waiter.

“Do you have any Oryangyeok [a type of strong liquor]?”

“Yes, yes!”

The waiter was very nervous. Not only was Dang Gwan’s atmosphere intimidating, but he was also the one who had rented the entire tavern for two days.

“Bring as much as you have.”

“Yes!”

Soon, the waiter brought ten bottles of Oryangyeok.

Yeon Ho-jeong smacked his lips.

“If you drink all that, your insides will melt away.”

“Shut up.”

Dang Gwan filled Yeon Ho-jeong’s glass.

Dang Gwan, who had placed the bottles on the table, held up his empty glass.

“Pour.”

What a consistent person.

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled and filled Dang Gwan’s glass.

Dang Gwan emptied his glass in one go.

“How much do you know about the realm of Seongcheon?”

Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.

“Only as much as others know.”

To be precise, he only knew the realm he had achieved.

During his time as the Black Demon Emperor, Yeon Ho-jeong was one of the strongest in the world. There were many others who had broken through the Limitless Realm and gained the power to topple even the heavens, but few had combat power as high as Yeon Ho-jeong.

Among those few were Moyong Gun and Dang Gwan. Their martial prowess was almost equal to Yeon Ho-jeong’s. It wasn’t a matter of realm, but of combat power.

That was Yeon Ho-jeong’s martial art. He was a person who maximized his purely combative power, excluding lofty enlightenment or ideals.

But other strong individuals were different.

Depending on the martial arts they had mastered and the values they pursued, their martial arts showed completely different forms.

Their levels were similar, but their goals were different, and because their goals were different, their combat power varied greatly. It was an extremely small difference, but with that subtle difference alone, victory or defeat could easily be decided, as their martial arts were playing in a different dimension.

Nevertheless, there were also masters who reversed the tide of battle with their will alone, despite the clear differences.

Even those who had broken through the Limitless Realm were not free from the essence of fighting.

Victory or defeat hinged on the smallest things, and they easily won or suffered devastating defeats with the slightest differences.

That’s why Yeon Ho-jeong knew the realm of Seongcheon well, and at the same time, he didn’t know it well.

It was only natural since everyone pursued different things. Of course, he clearly knew the common aspects shared by those who had reached that realm.

“I don’t know.”

Dang Gwan held out his glass again.

Yeon Ho-jeong filled his glass.

Dang Gwan’s face, as he fiddled with the full glass, looked somehow bitter.

“I have never reached that realm. Naturally, I don’t know what that realm is like.”

“I suppose so.”

“In any field, as you enter higher levels, it becomes more difficult to explain to others. Because the meaning becomes ambiguous.”

“That must be the case.”

“You can define the beginner and intermediate levels with words, but the realm that goes beyond the advanced level cannot be described in writing. Nevertheless, the fact that there are those who have entered that realm means that they have realized something beyond what can be expressed in words.”

Yeon Ho-jeong agreed with Dang Gwan’s words.

People talk about supreme masters and the wall of martial arts, but in reality, even defining such realms differs from person to person.

How much more so would the Limitless Realm be?

The fact that the current martial world can be compared to the peak of its golden age three hundred years ago is because there were thirteen masters who had broken through the Limitless Realm in the Central Plains.

In reality, the Limitless Realm is a realm where even one person appearing in a generation is considered remarkable.

That is also called the Limitless Realm because there is a need for an easy-to-call name, but those who have not reached that realm do not know what that realm means.

“You just said that you know as much as the world knows. That’s wrong. Unless you’ve reached that realm, no one in the world knows about the Limitless.”

Yeon Ho-jeong laughed inwardly.

“I suppose so.”

Dang Gwan, who had been silently looking down at his glass for a moment, emptied his glass.

“Not knowing about the Limitless is also related to my perception of the person called Dang Hyeong.”

He said Dang Hyeong.

Not father or former Clan Head, but Dang Hyeong.

Dang Gwan shook his head.

“I cannot define the Dark King.”

“Why is that?”

Yeon Ho-jeong asked with a serious face.

“Aren’t you still father and son? I don’t know what kind of past you have, but you must have built some kind of relationship, whether it was affection or conflict, so how can it be so ambiguous?”

Dang Gwan held out his glass.

Yeon Ho-jeong filled his glass again.

“My father was displeased with me.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes gleamed.

Dang Gwan, who had emptied his glass, looked out the window.

“My father was a terrifying monarch. There has never been a time as frightening and suffocating as his reign among the past Clan Heads.”

“……”

“Thanks to that, the main family’s notoriety increased several times over. But my father didn’t care about such things. He was engrossed in making the main family stronger and greater. And to do that, he believed that stricter family laws and thorough settling of grudges were necessary.”

“……”

“But after breaking through the Limitless Realm, my father’s thinking changed.”

Dang Gwan’s eyes deepened.

“He realized that the strict laws and firm settling of grudges, though good in the short term, would eventually darken the future of the family.”

“……”

“My father is also a human. Although he suddenly realized the reality, he couldn’t break down his own politics that he had built up until now in an instant.”

“I suppose so.”

“And coincidentally, the time came for me to inherit the position of Clan Head.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes deepened.

Even though he hadn’t heard the whole situation, he felt like he knew. How much conflict there must have been between father and son.

Dang Gwan chuckled.

“I was young too. At the time, I had quite a childish mind. I thought, ‘You did that too, so why are you telling me to avoid absolute power? Were you that reluctant to hand over the Clan Head position?’”

“……”

“The main family’s politics had a high level of participation from the previous generation. Although they had stepped down from the front lines, the previous generation’s figures did a certain amount of oversight to prevent mistakes by the current core members and to give guidance.”

“That’s not a good custom.”

“It’s not good. That’s one of the bad habits that occur when the bond between blood relatives is excessive.”

Dang Gwan shook his head.

“As soon as I became the Clan Head, I fixed that first. I completely blocked the political participation of the retired previous generation figures.”

“There must have been a lot of backlash.”

“There was. And I locked up all those who rebelled in the prison.”

Dang Gwan’s eyes flashed.

“Bad habits are just bad habits. Those who disobey the Clan Head’s orders, whether they are from the previous generation or the current one, cannot be forgiven.”

“……”

“As an example, I even locked up the former Great Elder, my father’s younger brother and my uncle, in the prison.”

Yeon Ho-jeong sighed.

Dang Gwan shook his head.

“My father understood me. But understanding and emotion are in different realms.”

“……”

“After that, my relationship with my father almost completely broke down.”

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been quietly watching Dang Gwan, said casually.

“It seems the previous Clan Head was particularly fond of his grandchildren.”

“He may have disliked his son, but he didn’t dislike all of his bloodline. After my relationship with him deteriorated, he took great care of my children.”

“I see.”

Now he understood. Why this father-son relationship was such a mess.

Was the reason Dang Gwan disliked Dang Hyeong simply because he pressured him to change the family’s laws? No. Family ties are not so weak that they can be severed by such things.

From before that, the rift between father and son must have already deepened. If Dang Gwan’s words were true, Dang Hyeong must have been very strict with his own children as well.

In the end, this was not a matter of who was right or wrong. Fundamentally, if they did not understand each other, their relationship could never be restored.

Yeon Ho-jeong asked cautiously.

“I understand that the two of you don’t have a good relationship. Then, what do you think about the fact that the previous Clan Head doesn’t know about this situation?”

“He wouldn’t know.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Dang Gwan closed his eyes.

“Because he confined himself.”

“Confined himself……”

“It must have been his own way of respecting me. At the same time, it must have been his anger towards me. No matter how much of a Clan Head I am, his brother was imprisoned by his son. He couldn’t have felt good.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Since then, my father has never come out of his confinement.”

Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.

“I understand everything you’re saying.”

Dang Gwan chuckled.

“You really have no problem saying anything to a guy like you.”

“It’s a good thing to know as much as possible about the environment of the operation site before going into the operation.”

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had emptied his glass, asked.

“Just one more question.”

“……”

“If we start by trying to restore the relationship with the previous Clan Head, would you refuse?”

Dang Gwan closed his eyes.

Yeon Ho-jeong continued.

“I don’t know the details of the Dang family’s situation yet. But if we assume the worst-case scenario, we also need to use all the means we can……”

“I won’t refuse.”

“Yes?”

“If the relationship with my father improves… it wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

“Then……”

“But even if the relationship improves, I don’t want my father to get involved in this matter.”

“Clan Head.”

“It’s not because of my personal pride. That’s the life of those who have inherited the blood of the Dang family. We don’t care about the means and methods of settling grudges, but before that, there are principles that we must never break.”

Dang Gwan’s eyes were firm.

“You probably won’t get involved in this situation either. Unless I die.”

Yeon Ho-jeong sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“Sometimes you’re so bold and unconventional, but in these areas, you’re frustratingly stubborn.”

“I have no intention of seeking the understanding of others.”

“Damn it.”

Yeon Ho-jeong filled Dang Gwan’s glass.

“Order some food.”

“Weren’t you going to rest?”

“Do you think I’d feel like resting at this point? Stop getting on my nerves and order already.”

Dang Gwan frowned.

“You impudent bastard.”

Truly, there was probably no one else in the entire world who would talk to the Clan Head of the Dang family like this.