Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 645

Hwang Seok-Tae, rushing towards where Pae-Yul and Gang Ryang were, was shocked.

Thud!

Gang Ryang had a long, diagonal wound across his chest. It was a sword wound inflicted by Pae-Yul’s strike.

His clothes were soaked in blood, and his face was extremely pale. He was in a much more serious condition than it appeared.

“Damn it.”

Pae-Yul gritted his teeth and placed his hand on the wound.

“Use your inner energy! Seal the blood points to stop the bleeding… !”

“Cough! I, I can’t.”

The bleeding wouldn’t stop. Pae-Yul quickly forced his inner energy into Gang Ryang’s wound.

Whoosh.

The inner energy that seeped in probed every inch of the wounded skin and muscle.

Pae-Yul’s eyes wavered.

The penetrating sword strike had instantly ravaged Gang Ryang’s insides.

Given the severity of the hit, this level of injury was to be expected. It was fortunate that his entire upper body hadn’t been blown away. Gang Ryang had managed to minimize the impact by twisting his body at the last moment.

‘Why?’

Gang Ryang was not someone who should have been hurt to this extent.

This attack was one he had blocked several times before reaching the level of a martial master. Of course, he had blocked it with all his might, but Gang Ryang was much stronger now than he was back then.

‘Damn it! This is not the time to be thinking about that!’

Pae-Yul refined his inner energy to the maximum and channeled it into Gang Ryang’s body.

Swoosh.

The barrier of inner energy temporarily sealed the damaged tissue, stopping the bleeding.

But this was not enough. He had to quickly suppress the blood points to block the blood from gathering at the wound itself.

‘……?!’

Pae-Yul’s eyes wavered for a moment.

‘The blood points are damaged.’

He couldn’t seal the blood points. About a third of the blood points near the wound were not functioning properly.

It was a much more severe injury than he had anticipated. That was why he was more flustered and just as puzzled. A person who had broken through to the level of a martial master should have their inner energy flowing freely throughout their body, protecting their blood points as soon as they were wounded.

“Cough!”

Gang Ryang, leaning against a tree, coughed up red blood.

Pae-Yul, as well as Hwang Seok-Tae, were flustered. They couldn’t do anything right away.

It was then.

“Just a moment.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had approached silently, sat next to Gang Ryang.

“B, Brother?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, after carefully examining Gang Ryang’s face, placed his hand on his solar plexus.

Whoosh!

The Azure Dragon Energy that poured in instantly spread through Gang Ryang’s liver and out to his skin.

At the same time, the White Tiger Energy was activated, forcibly expanding his lungs. This was to increase the amount of air he was inhaling.

Furthermore, the Vermilion Bird Energy flowed into his heart, lowering his heart rate. His heart was beating so violently that it was worsening the bleeding.

This was enough. With this momentary measure, Gang Ryang’s complexion became somewhat calmer.

Just as he was about to relax, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed.

‘This is?!’

Yeon Ho-Jeong, after looking at Gang Ryang for a moment, withdrew the Three Divine Energies and drew upon the inner energy of the Bright Light Divine Pill.

Swoosh.

A miraculous thing happened in an instant.

The Bright Light True Energy that seeped through Gang Ryang’s wound drove out the impure energy and sealed the blood points. The purely concentrated energy breathed life into the damaged blood points.

“Haa!”

Gang Ryang, taking a deep breath, immediately dropped his head. He had fainted.

Yeon Ho-Jeong sighed.

“Let’s move him for now.”

A while later.

“Cough!”

Gang Ryang, who woke up with a slight cough, frowned and raised his upper body.

“Ugh.”

A sharp pain shot through the wound.

Fortunately, the Ghost King True Energy had seeped into the wound and was actively beginning the healing process. The internal injuries had also been somewhat corrected, and the bleeding had stopped.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

Gang Ryang looked around.

There were three men looking at him with worried eyes.

Pae-Yul sighed in relief and grumbled.

“You almost died, you know. I can’t believe you couldn’t block that attack.”

Even though he was the one who almost killed him, Gang Ryang couldn’t blame him.

No, he should blame himself. As Pae-Yul said, he couldn’t believe he had been so easily defeated by that attack.

This was a matter of a warrior’s pride. His body wasn’t in bad condition, but the guy who started the fight was careless, and he fell without even exchanging a few blows. It was a miracle he hadn’t died.

Gang Ryang, quietly looking down at his wound, bowed his head to Pae-Yul.

“I’m sorry. I must have lost my focus. I caused unnecessary trouble.”

Pae-Yul’s face became uncomfortable.

Even though they were close, it couldn’t be easy to hear an apology from someone who had almost died.

“Why are you apologizing? Thinking about it, it seems like my strike was stronger than usual. It’s my fault.”

“No, please don’t say that.”

At that moment, Yeon Ho-Jeong spoke.

“It’s no one’s fault. It’s something that can happen in a martial arts match between warriors.”

“That’s true, but…”

“To add to that, although I didn’t see the fight, I don’t think Ryang, you were careless.”

Carelessness is a habit. You might be careless once in a while, but considering Gang Ryang’s usual self, he wouldn’t be careless just because his level had increased. Especially not against Pae-Yul.

Pae-Yul’s eyes deepened.

“It seems like my sword…”

“Ryang wasn’t careless, but the problem is the demonic energy that had infiltrated Ryang’s body.”

“What?!”

Pae-Yul and Hwang Seok-Tae were shocked and looked at Gang Ryang.

Gang Ryang was also surprised and looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong.

“Demonic energy? I don’t practice demonic arts…”

“Of course, you haven’t learned demonic arts. The problem is that the demonic energy that had infiltrated your body caused Senior Pae-Yul’s sword force to amplify momentarily.”

“…Huh?”

Everyone was bewildered by Yeon Ho-Jeong’s words.

Yeon Ho-Jeong sighed.

“You reached the wall of martial mastery during the fight, right?”

“Yes.”

“The enlightenment of martial mastery can be gradual or sudden. But what they have in common is that there is a process of readjusting the body to contain inner energy that transcends human limits.”

“…?!”

“In that process, it seems that the demonic energy of the guy you were fighting had infiltrated your body.”

Gang Ryang asked, as if dumbfounded.

“Is that even possible?”

“It’s not a normal case. However, the demonic energy I extracted from your body while treating you was tainted with death energy.”

Death energy, meaning the energy felt from dead beings.

“Death is yin, and yin gathers low. The same goes for demonic energy. Although there is yang-based demonic art, the nature of demonic energy itself is against the natural order, so it has a good affinity with death energy.”

“…”

“It’s foreign, so anyone can feel it, but the demonic energy of the dead is extremely persistent. It seems it had infiltrated your body through the wound and was lying dormant.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Pae-Yul.

“Senior’s inner energy detected that demonic energy. Since ancient times, the divine arts of the Nine Great Sects are incompatible with demonic arts, and that applies to both Taoist and Buddhist martial arts.”

“Then?”

“Yes. Senior’s sword strike momentarily amplified to destroy the demonic energy hidden in Ryang’s body.”

“…Huh!”

Pae-Yul clicked his tongue.

“My inner energy detected the demonic energy on its own without me knowing?”

“It’s not something that any martial art can do. The martial arts of the Nine Great Sects are the pinnacle of Taoism and Buddhism. Moreover, the martial art that Senior has cultivated is one of the most renowned divine arts of the Mount Emei Sect.”

“…”

“The movement of energy that opposes incompatibility is much more sensitive than we imagine. Of course, unless you have refined your inner energy to Senior’s level, it wouldn’t be controlled to this extent.”

“So, if I were to fight a demonic practitioner, my sword would become stronger?”

“Conversely, the demonic arts of a demonic practitioner would also become stronger against someone who has cultivated the martial arts of a celestial being.”

“…!”

“That is incompatibility. It’s the same principle as water evaporating in fire, but fire being extinguished by water.”

Pae-Yul, who had been quietly looking at Yeon Ho-Jeong, asked abruptly.

“What about your divine art?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong shook his head.

“My martial art is fair. It’s not as sensitive as this against anyone. It’s just that my condition and senses are important.”

“I see.”

Pae-Yul sighed in relief.

At least, he was somewhat relieved by the fact that his will was not involved in the incident that almost killed Gang Ryang.

Gang Ryang scratched his head.

“Anyway, I’m so ashamed. I should be helping, but instead, I got injured like this…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s measures were so excellent that there was no need to go to a doctor. Self-healing was enough.

The problem was the timing. The damage to the blood points was quite severe, so it would take at least a month to return to his original state.

Yeon Ho-Jeong chuckled.

“Well, it can’t be helped. That’s how things are in the martial world. If you want to solve problems in the best condition, you can just have a match within the sect. Don’t worry about it.”

“Still…”

“Well, since there’s someone who made you like that, even if it wasn’t intentional, they’ll work harder for your share.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Pae-Yul.

“Isn’t that right, Senior?”

Pae-Yul nodded heavily.

“Yes, that’s how it should be.”

He was not in a state to joke around.

Even though he always grumbled, he had grown fond of Gang Ryang. He had almost killed his comrade, so he was not in a good mood.

Yeon Ho-Jeong got up.

“I was going to meditate, but the mood is gone. Let’s rest for today, and tomorrow we’ll try moving around a bit.”

“Alright.”

With that, the group went to their respective places to rest.

Hwang Seok-Tae had something he wanted to say to Yeon Ho-Jeong, but he eventually gave up and went to sleep.

The next day, the group rode their horses back towards Shaanxi.

They couldn’t go as fast as yesterday because of Gang Ryang. Still, it was a fast enough pace, and Gang Ryang was constantly circulating the Ghost King True Energy, so his complexion improved over time.

Another day passed, and then two more days.

Finally, they were about to reach Shaanxi.

“Whoa, whoa.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was riding in the lead, slowly reduced the speed of his horse. At the same time, the group also slowed down, following Yeon Ho-Jeong.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed.

Pae-Yul, next to him, frowned.

“Who are those people?”

About thirty yards in front of the group, a group of people was stationed.

Even though they were quite far away, they could feel their stern aura. Especially the old man with the white beard at the front, who exuded an aura that was as abundant as clouds and as dangerous as lightning.

‘They are masters.’

They were people who exuded a very dangerous aura.

However, the martial arts they had cultivated were orthodox. Not just any orthodox martial arts, but a group that had mastered the martial arts of the Nine Great Sects.

“It’s the Chongnan Sect.”

“Yes, I felt it too.”

“They are people you rarely encounter in this vast land. Although Shaanxi is right in front of us, this is still part of Sichuan’s territory.”

Pae-Yul’s eyes deepened.

“They were waiting for us.”

“It seems so.”

“What could be the reason?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong said calmly.

“I don’t want to know, and I don’t need to know. We just need to keep going our way.”

“They don’t seem like they’ll just let us pass?”

Thud!

Yeon Ho-Jeong put on the Heaven Piercing Armor on his shoulder.