Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 651

Cheoljanggae didn’t even have time to react, let alone block the attack. It wasn’t that he lacked the ability to do so, but rather that he hadn’t even registered Yeon Ho-jeong’s attack in the first place.

*Flash!*

The axe blade, darker than the night sky, arced like a crescent moon.

*Whoooosh!*

Before the afterimage could even register in the eye, the axe blade was already at Hwgeomja’s neck.

It was truly as fast as lightning. Yeon Ho-jeong, who had somehow ascended onto the flat rock and was now glaring at Hwgeomja, had eyes like a demon.

“Hmm.”

A look of genuine surprise flickered across Hwgeomja’s face. He looked like a child who had just witnessed something extraordinary.

“That’s incredible. So, a person can move that fast.”

The Black Dragon Axe didn’t slice through Hwgeomja’s neck.

No, upon closer inspection, it hadn’t even touched him. It had stopped precisely at a point that seemed as if it would graze his wrinkled skin.

Cheoljanggae was terrified.

“Stop!”

At that moment, Hwgeomja raised his hand.

Cheoljanggae hesitated.

Hwgeomja said,

“If this friend had intended to kill me, my neck would already be severed, and that beggar friend’s body would be in two pieces.”

“……!”

“Isn’t that right? Young powerhouse.”

Yeon Ho-jeong silently glared at Hwgeomja.

Hwgeomja also looked up at Yeon Ho-jeong. A chilling murderous intent emanated from the axe blade aimed at his carotid artery, right next to his Adam’s apple, yet his expression remained unchanged.

Cheoljanggae shouted angrily,

“You! Can’t you put down that axe right now!”

Yeon Ho-jeong turned his gaze and glared at Cheoljanggae.

“……!!”

Cheoljanggae’s face turned pale.

*Thud.*

He unknowingly collapsed on the spot. The terrifying murderous intent emanating from Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes had completely sapped the strength from his legs.

Hwgeomja said,

“Relax your strength.”

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been glaring at Cheoljanggae as if to kill him, slowly turned his gaze to Hwgeomja.

*Saaaaaa.*

He was receiving a terribly silent and destructive murderous intent head-on, but Hwgeomja’s complexion remained unchanged.

“I know you won’t kill me. At least not now.”

“…….”

“Let’s have a drink. It will calm your mood a bit.”

He was frighteningly calm.

Beyond calm, he was even relaxed. It was impossible to know whether he had predicted this entire process or whether he was simply calm in the face of death.

After staring at Hwgeomja for a long time, Yeon Ho-jeong retrieved his axe and sat back down in his seat.

Hwgeomja smiled.

“Young friend, you are well-disciplined.”

Yeon Ho-jeong emptied the cup of alcohol in one go.

*Clang!*

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had crushed the empty cup with his palm, stared at Hwgeomja.

The murderous look from just now was nowhere to be found. His eyes were now deep and calm, like a lake. Eyes that were the spitting image of Yeon-wi.

However, Hwgeomja could tell. Just because his eyes had changed didn’t mean that this young man wouldn’t kill him.

Yeon Ho-jeong said calmly,

“I couldn’t suppress my momentary anger and committed a discourtesy. I apologize.”

His tone had changed.

Hwgeomja laughed.

“Just knowing that you hate the Three Teachings [Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism] so much was a good gain.”

“Is that so?”

“Even if you gave up many things, to have opened the Limitless [a high level of martial arts mastery] at such a young age, you freely control the martial art of ‘Mind Manifests.’ You must have lived a well-matured life even before reaching that realm.”

He speaks of life, not martial arts.

Indeed, that was it. Hwgeomja was different from and yet similar to Seung-hyeon Jin-in. When looking at a person, he looked at the person themselves, not their martial arts.

Yeon Ho-jeong said,

“It seems meaningless to add more unnecessary words.”

It meant to get to the point without lengthy rhetoric or straying off the path.

Hwgeomja nodded.

“Indeed. Before that, there is one thing I want to ask.”

“…….”

“I said I came from beyond the border, but I didn’t say I came from the Three Teachings. I merely stated my secular name.”

“…….”

“Nevertheless, you know that I am from the Three Teachings.”

“You created that atmosphere.”

“Even so, you wouldn’t have been able to make such a firm decision as to draw your axe and swing it. No matter how fierce your nature is.”

“…….”

“How much do you know about the Three Teachings?”

“Enough.”

His eyes were calm, but his expression was stiff.

“I know enough, but there are also mountains of things I don’t know. What is certain is that if the Three Teachings wage war, we will lose our homeland, and the lives of innocent people will be lost.”

“That is it.”

Hwgeomja’s face also became serious. It was different from his previous calm and relaxed demeanor.

“The important thing is that. That many people will die.”

“…….”

“The world changes. Humans are prospering frighteningly, and in fact, this world is ruled by humans. However, in the future, humans will perish, and another species will emerge to rule the world.”

“…….”

“However, we cannot just sit back and watch war and famine as part of the world’s flow. There is a reason why the heavens have given us power. If the world is going to change anyway, I hope that the number of those who suffer will be small. At least, that’s what I think.”

Hwgeomja smiled again.

“You are excessively rough, but you haven’t forgotten what’s important. I’m glad I came to meet you.”

“…….”

“If we don’t get to the point, you look like you’re about to draw your axe again.”

“I’m not very patient.”

“Haha, I understand.”

Hwgeomja’s face became serious again.

Even though he was serious, he looked like he was smiling. A face without any ulterior motives, the face of an enlightened one full of Taoist power.

“There are also Hoyeon clans in the Central Plains. I don’t know if that Hoyeon clan originated in the Central Plains or beyond the border. The important thing is that there is a Hoyeon clan beyond the border as well.”

“…….”

“The Hoyeon clan has been protecting the Small Thunder Sound Temple for generations. They didn’t start as monks, but as a group of warriors who simply protected the Small Thunder Sound Temple, and they grew from there.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes lit up. It was information he was encountering for the first time.

“However, not everyone protected the Small Thunder Sound Temple. Some of the bloodline were dragged to a place called Yeongeumsan every ten years.”

“Yeongeumsan?”

“I don’t know where it is. They are dragged away with their eyes covered.”

Hwgeomja shook his head.

“It took two months. I don’t know if they were just going around in circles or if it was really far away. They move them with their eyes and ears covered and their freedom of movement restricted, and just that alone caused many children to die from the mental pressure.”

“…….”

“Most of the Hoyeon clan members who were dragged to Yeongeumsan were girls.”

“Girls.”

“That’s right. When the girls reach a certain age, they bear children with the lord of Yeongeumsan.”

Yeon Ho-jeong frowned.

“The Hoyeon clan is naturally born with robust bodies. Many people died from various epidemics, but less than ten people from the Hoyeon clan died from disease. Their bodies are strong.”

“…….”

“Most of the children who receive the blood of the lord and the Hoyeon clan are born with great talent. Even more so than the Hoyeon clan.”

Hwgeomja closed his eyes.

“The children born that way learn the best martial arts. However, if they don’t achieve satisfactory results within the period set by the lord, they all lose their lives.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes wavered.

“Their lives…….”

“And it’s not just the Hoyeon clan. There are also the So clan and the Geum clan. There are also a small number of girls who are dragged from nomadic tribes that people don’t know well.”

Hwgeomja opened his eyes.

His eyes, clearer than the moonlight, were filled with sadness.

“Many children died, and many people’s lives were violated. At the same time, Yeongeumsan grew in power by using those sacrifices as a stepping stone.”

“Then Yeongeumsan is…….”

“The Evil Yin Sect.”

“……!!”

“Yeongeumsan is the main base of the Evil Yin Sect.”

In an instant, Yeon Ho-jeong’s fist clenched.

His heart was pounding. Murderous intent surged, and at the same time, the joy of learning facts he hadn’t known before, and anger at the Evil Yin Sect’s behavior, arose in turn.

Hwgeomja paused for a moment and looked at Yeon Ho-jeong.

Yeon Ho-jeong took a low breath and opened his mouth.

“Continue.”

“There is nothing more to say about Yeongeumsan. And about the Evil Yin Sect either.”

“……?”

“That’s all I know about them. However, I wanted to tell you my identity.”

“…….”

“Most of the children dragged to Yeongeumsan were girls, but there were also boys. The boys who were dragged were either enslaved or given various educations and roles depending on their needs.”

Hwgeomja closed his eyes.

“I was a spy of the Evil Yin Sect dispatched to the Central Plains.”

“……!”

“Was I a little over ten years old? Although I was a spy, I was too young. Of course, I was thoroughly trained, so there was no particular inconvenience in doing spy work.”

Yeon Ho-jeong felt a chill.

To be a spy at just a little over ten years old and not be inconvenienced.

Regardless of how they trained him, just imagining a child who didn’t know the ways of the world stealing information within a target sect made his hair stand on end.

It wasn’t the act that was scary. It was the age that was scary, and the ideology of the Evil Yin Sect that trained young children was scary.

“I was discovered spying by a Taoist priest in less than a year.”

“…….”

“That person is my master.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes narrowed.

“Did you become a disciple of Mount Hua then?”

“I endured for three years. For three years, I didn’t reveal which sect I belonged to.”

At most, he was thirteen years old.

At that age, he was caught, but he wasn’t found out to be from the Evil Yin Sect for three years.

It was a terrifying poison. Perhaps most of the spies dispatched to the Central Plains were like that, not just Hwgeomja. Just like that Pung Byeok-ja of Cheongseong.

Of course, Pung Byeok-ja was not from the Evil Yin Sect.

“My master didn’t give up on me, and I finally broke my stubbornness and became a new person. Surprisingly, the Evil Yin Sect didn’t look for me. Well, I guess I wasn’t the only spy they planted in the Central Plains.”

*Thud.*

Yeon Ho-jeong lightly hit the rock with his fist.

*Thud. Thud.*

A seemingly habitual action. Yeon Ho-jeong, who was slowly tapping while fixing his gaze on the rock, tilted his head.

“I won’t deny that I was the most flamboyant among those who fought against the Three Teachings in secret.”

“According to what I heard from Yongseon, it wasn’t just flamboyant.”

“Even so, I don’t know why you would want to see me at this particular time. Of course, I am grateful for the information you have given me.”

Hwgeomja’s smile deepened.

“You are very sharp for a young man.”

“What do you want to tell me?”

“You just said it, didn’t you? That you don’t know why I wanted to see you at this particular time.”

“That’s right.”

“That’s right. The important thing is this timing. There is a reason why I wanted to see you at this particular time when you came to Seomseo.”

“…….”

“The Evil Yin Sect has contacted me.”

“……?!”

“The Evil Yin Sect, which hadn’t contacted me for over eighty years, has secretly contacted me.”

“……How?”

“A mark. Of course, no letters or people came. But I recognized that mark. The mark that was engraved on the pillar of the Cheongmae Hall, which is somewhat far from the main sect of Mount Hua, a mark that I can’t forget even if I try.”

“Do you know that Elder No is alive?”

“I don’t know that. I don’t think so, but you never know.”

“Then…….”

“The important thing is the content of that code.”

Hwgeomja’s eyes were bloodshot.

A moment of change, that intense gaze filled with worry and resentment overwhelmed Yeon Ho-jeong.

“It seems that Mount Hua is going to be in danger.”