Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 619

“…….”

Yang Cheon’s hand, holding a Go stone, paused.

Baek Seo looked at Yang Cheon with a puzzled expression.

“Vice Leader?”

When playing Go, Yang Cheon never hesitated. He would ponder, but once he picked up a stone, he would place it without faltering. This habit was in line with Yang Cheon’s personality.

He had never seen him stop like this, about to place a stone on the board.

*Swoosh.*

Yang Cheon raised his head and looked up at the sky.

*Rumble.*

The sky over Honam had been unusually dark since yesterday. There were many dark clouds, and the air was humid.

*Rumble. Rumble.*

“…Is that thunder?”

It was as if the sky was angry.

Yang Cheon’s eyes deepened.

“Why is this? There’s a strange feeling, a tingling in the corner of my heart.”

Concern filled Baek Seo’s face.

“Perhaps, is there something wrong with your health?”

Yang Cheon had suffered internal injuries for a long time due to his past battle with the leader of the Demonic Sound Cult.

Thanks to Yeon Ho-Jeong, his internal injuries were healed, but the loyal Baek Seo could not forget the memory of that time. If he hadn’t known until the end, he would have lost his lord.

Yang Cheon chuckled.

“Something wrong? Rather, I’m getting stronger every day.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Don’t worry about my body. I’ll live for another hundred years. I’ve made such a fuss trying to take over the world, I can’t afford to be sick.”

“Of course, you must.”

“Well, but…”

Yang Cheon smacked his lips.

“I have a really strange feeling. It feels good, but also unsettling.”

“It seems like it will rain soon, given the humidity. How about we finish here and return to the manor?”

“Oh, come on. I was going to enjoy some leisure on this scenic peak, and you’re already telling me to leave?”

“But…”

“If it rains, we can just play while getting wet. We’re not so weak that we’ll catch a cold from the rain, are we?”

Baek Seo lowered his head.

*Thud.*

Yang Cheon placed the stone.

“Now, it’s your turn. It won’t be easy.”

“Indeed, it’s a clever move.”

Baek Seo stared intently at the Go board, deep in thought.

Yang Cheon, having picked up a cup from the table set with drinks, looked up at the sky once more.

The dark clouds moved with the wind. Their movement was so fast that it was visible to the naked eye. The wind wasn’t blowing here, but surely, there must be a fierce gale in the sky, deafeningly loud.

The direction the dark clouds were heading was west.

“…Is it Guizhou? Or Sichuan?”

* * *

*Ting!*

A string snapped with a sharp sound.

“…….”

The eyes that looked at the broken string were very beautiful. The description ‘phoenix eyes’ suited them perfectly.

*Rumble.*

A faint rumble of thunder echoed from the distance.

It was an unusual sound. As someone who dealt with sound, she could pick up even the slightest differences in sound. She had more sensitive ears than anyone else.

“The sky…”

The voice that flowed out was as beautiful as her eyes.

“…seems to be in pain.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m talking about the thunder.”

“Ah, yes.”

The woman nodded awkwardly and stood up.

“By the way, the string broke. I guess it was old. I’ll fix it right away…”

“No. It’s my fault.”

“…Yes?”

“I couldn’t control my strength. I’m still very immature.”

The woman smiled faintly at her master’s words.

Her master was the greatest artist in the world. At the same time, she was one of the top martial artists in this vast world, within the top thirteen, no, the top ten.

For such a person to say they were immature was absurd. It was excessive humility.

However, the woman tried to learn her master’s humility. Even a martial artist and artist who had reached such a high position humbled themselves. It was not something anyone could do.

“Shall I bring you a new cup of tea?”

“Yes, please.”

The woman bowed respectfully and took the tray out.

As the woman left, the owner of the zither looked out the window at the sky again.

*Rumble.*

The thunder rumbled as if it had been waiting.

The owner of the zither sighed.

“It’s like a mother going through labor. What is it trying to give birth to that it groans so much?”

*Flash!*

At that moment, a bolt of lightning struck nearby in the southwest.

The owner of the zither smiled.

It was rare for her to smile these days, but strangely, a smile appeared.

“It worked so hard to give birth to lightning.”

* * *

*Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!*

A massive slash that seemed capable of leveling several buildings at once vanished in a series of explosions.

“…?!”

What was this, this clear and refreshing air?

*Whoosh.*

The air, which had been intensely heated, suddenly cooled down and then became pleasantly cool.

*Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.*

It was a strange wind.

The wind blowing from the west was hard and heavy. It carried a pleasant coolness, but if you stood still and felt it, you would soon feel a chill that made your skin crawl.

The Western Metal God, White.

The wind blowing from the east was soft and light. It was a wind that traveled on the wings of fluttering petals, and while you might smile at its warmth, it would pass through your body with a coldness that you could never grasp.

The Eastern Wood God, Blue.

On the other hand, the wind surging from the south was extremely hot but as fast as a gale. It was a heatwave that felt weightless. It was fierce, as if it would burn your skin, but somehow, there was a charm that made you want to ride that wind.

The Southern Fire God, Red.

Furthermore, the wind pouring in from the north was extremely transparent yet as heavy as a mountain. The extreme weight made it feel like you would be swept away, but there was a sense of security, a charm of an iron wall.

The Northern Water God, Black.

West and East, South and North.

Because the world was irrational, the gods created a guide for the path to take. And on that guide, they placed divine beasts that were impossible to defeat, imbued with the wishes of all under heaven, to guard the directions.

A direction was the path to take, and the divine beasts guarding the path to take were protecting the world.

The path that life should take, the path that the principles of the world should follow.

And in the center of where those gods were looking, there was a person.

*Ziiiiing! Hwaaaak!!*

A single core rotating at high speed was emitting an enormous amount of internal energy, an amount that a single living body could not withstand.

The speed was truly indescribable. It rotated dozens of times in the blink of an eye. It was moving faster than any substance in a literal instant.

*Wiiiiing!!*

The faster the rotation, the louder the noise-like sound became.

*Tssssss!*

The heat generated by the rotation caused a tremendous amount of steam to rise from the body of the person holding that power.

‘It’s dangerous.’

The owner thought. It was dangerous.

He was controlling the heat with the power of the Southern Fire God and maintaining the moisture level in his body with the power of the Northern Water God.

He was strengthening his bones and muscles with the power of the Western Metal God and giving them strong elasticity with the power of the Eastern Wood God.

Even so, it was dangerous. The divine core, rotating at an unprecedented speed, was emitting enormous power every moment. It was only a matter of time before this diamond body would collapse.

‘Is there a way?’

There was.

The way to prevent the body from collapsing was to stop this rotation.

But that was such a pity. If this rotation stopped, the emission of power would also stop, and the four divine energies that were about to soar into the sky would be bound to this body again.

That could not happen.

He existed somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness, but even so, the master of all things did not forget. He was in the middle of a fight. He was only existing in that unknown world where time was divided, and if this realm broke, he would have to fight again against an enemy that was difficult to handle.

If he gave up this power and fought, he would die anyway. He would try to hold on, but he could not overcome the fundamental difference in power.

He had to go on like this. He had to endure this power.

Based on this power, he had to lead himself to the great realm of the overlord who had cast a shadow of darkness over the world in the past.

Was there a way to not give up the power? Could he move forward to the great realm he had achieved in the past without dying?

‘There is.’

Yes, he could.

It was extremely dangerous, but he could lead himself to the light with a method that he could not try if not now.

What was that method?

‘The Five Great Divine Arts.’

There were a total of four divine arts that made up the divine core.

Byukra Jin Gyeol, Yongpo Divine Art, Sword Extremity, and Divine Palm.

The more divine arts were added, the higher the density of the divine core became, and the strands of energy became extremely thin. Instead of being thin, the bundles became several times more numerous.

It became stronger and at the same time required more delicate operation.

The owner realized.

That with the current strands of true energy in the divine core, he could not make this rotating power his own.

He needed a divine core like light, with much more detailed and much more numerous bundles, all of that power condensed to the same size as now.

The moment he realized that.

The owner began to recite the final martial art formula of the Yeon family’s Five Great Divine Arts.

‘Hwanjeong Heart Art.’

Hwanjeong Heart Art was the gentlest and calmest martial art among the Five Great Divine Arts.

It did not produce powerful force, but the true energy never ceased, always protecting the mind and body, and the energy itself was wise and abundant.

No Yeon family member had ever only trained in Hwanjeong Heart Art to survive in the harsh martial world. However, when Hwanjeong Heart Art reached its peak, like Yeonwi who had seen the pinnacle of Sword Extremity, one would gain the ability to see through all other divine arts at a glance.

Different but the same. The same but different.

Byukra, Yongpo, Sword Extremity, Divine Palm, and Hwanjeong.

Everything of the Yeon family’s martial arts was combined into one to complete the Yeon family’s divine core, the ultimate secret of the Yeon family’s martial arts, and finally form the Light Divine Core, the pinnacle of the divine core.

The mass of true energy that had transformed into the Light Divine Core accelerated the already fast rotation speed tenfold.

*Flash!*

It was light speed. The speed of rotation finally caught up with the speed of light, and it began to converge the power of the ultra-massive mass it was emitting.

*Flash! Flash!*

The flashing light was a weapon in itself.

“Ugh!”

The Sixth Sacrificial Chief involuntarily groaned and stepped back.

He couldn’t open his eyes. It was too bright. It was as if the sun high in the sky had been pulled down to the ground, and tremendous heat and light were spreading throughout this area.

*Tssssssss!*

The emitted demonic energy fluctuated wildly and was subtly oxidized.

The demonic energy was being oxidized little by little, but surely. That meant that the Sixth Sacrificial Chief’s remaining life was fading away even faster.

But the Sixth Sacrificial Chief had even forgotten that his lifespan was decreasing.

‘This is…’

He bit his lip involuntarily. He couldn’t feel the pain even as he chewed on his half-torn lip.

“No way!!”

*Rumble! Rumble!!*

From Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body, which was emitting light as intense as the sun, the four divine beasts soared into the sky.

It was not a metaphor or a hallucination, but reality. The divine beasts of the four gods, made of true energy, let out joyful roars in front of the broken seal.

And.

Above the absolute being who had stolen the light of the sky and completed himself.

The sky that had lost its light was dark and dark.

There was a shining emperor under the dark sky.

Yeon Ho-Jeong closed his eyes.

*Flash!*

And the Dark Emperor opened his eyes.