Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 654

Behind Yeon Ho-jeong, who had grabbed Ji So-hyeon by the scruff of her neck, Pae-yul and Gang Ryang appeared.

Pae-yul frowned.

“What’s with these messy things?”

“I don’t know.”

“Judging by the looks, they’re bandits… Oh?”

Pae-yul’s eyes gleamed.

“They’re not just big muscles. You can’t get muscles like this just by training external skills. They’ve properly mastered internal energy [qi or life force].”

“That’s right.”

“They’re not bandits, these guys.”

“It doesn’t seem like they’re from the orthodox white path either.”

“Then are they from the black path [unorthodox martial arts sects]?”

At that moment, Gang Ryang spoke.

“They are from the black path, but not just any black path.”

“Huh?”

“They’re assassins.”

Pae-yul stared at Gang Ryang with a dumbfounded expression.

“Assassins? Do assassins these days all bulk up like this?”

“It’s because they’re not ordinary assassins. These guys are from the Pursuing Life Hall.”

“What’s the Pursuing Life Hall?”

Yeon Ho-jeong, seeing Pae-yul tilting his head, said,

“They’re an assassin group active in the northern part of the Central Plains. They’re not that famous.”

“Not famous means they’re not skilled?”

“It’s not that they’re not skilled, it’s that they’re thoroughly hidden.”

“Then how do you know about them?”

“I’ve heard of them.”

When he reigned as the king of the black path, countless assassin groups knocked on the gates of the Black Emperor’s Castle to enter.

The Pursuing Life Hall was one of them. He learned about them then.

However, Yeon Ho-jeong did not accept them. Instead, he ordered a background check, and later sent warriors to completely eradicate them.

Even though they made a living by killing people, the Pursuing Life Hall were the kind of guys who had no bottom line.

“I didn’t know these guys were from the Pursuing Life Hall either. I’ve only heard the name.”

The two men looked at Gang Ryang.

Gang Ryang looked at the leader with a sullen face.

“I saw them a few years ago. These guys came down to Honam, saying they had to carry out a request, and the guy who came directly to the main gate was that guy.”

“Directly?”

“Yes. Their purpose was to kidnap and kill a family in Honam.”

“The result?”

“My father refused them outright. Even if the world looks down on the black path, there’s a limit. Those guys made a living by killing and kidnapping civilians.”

Pae-yul frowned.

“Didn’t you kill them then?”

“That was my question too. But now I understand. If we had rashly touched the Pursuing Life Hall, we might have faced attacks not only from the assassin group in the north but also from the black path sects associated with them.”

“That’s something.”

“It’s hard for people with a lot to protect to live according to principles.”

Pae-yul couldn’t call the dead master of the Ghost Iron Sword Clan, Gang Ryang’s father, a coward.

Although the martial world is divided into black and white, the way of living in the world was similar. Even among the leaders of the Nine Great Sects and the Six Great Families, there would be people who knew about them. But they didn’t immediately dispatch warriors to eliminate them.

Everyone had their own circumstances.

“Whatever the case, that filthy assassin group was targeting the disciple of the Yin Emperor?”

Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.

“I don’t know if they were targeting the Yin Emperor’s disciple or just trying to satisfy their base desires. Nor do I care.”

“You don’t care… well, yeah.”

“Let’s get rid of these guys first. Ryang, do some work.”

Gang Ryang grumbled.

“Aren’t you going to help, hyung [older brother or senior]?”

“I heard from Elder Cheoljang that the guys from the Evil Sound Sect have never come to the village. The Yin Emperor’s disciple visited once a day, and sometimes the Yin Emperor came alone.”

“So?”

“We have to wait. Wait for the Yin Emperor to come.”

“……!”

A subtle tension appeared on Gang Ryang’s face.

Yeon Ho-jeong sat on a rock.

“Since the Evil Sound Sect guys are nearby, we can’t send a letter. So, we have no choice but to wait for the Yin Emperor to come himself, worried that his disciple hasn’t returned.”

“Hyung.”

Gang Ryang sighed.

“It’s not the time to say this, but… this is really dangerous.”

“I know.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes gleamed.

“It’s a mission with no breakthrough. Then we have to risk our lives from the start.”

Pae-yul, who had picked up the two fallen bandits, asked.

“Should we leave?”

Even if he didn’t know, the Yin Emperor would be greatly enraged. In such a situation, Pae-yul and Gang Ryang would clearly become a burden to Yeon Ho-jeong.

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled wryly.

“Rather than leaving, please wait near the canyon we passed earlier. If any remnants of the Evil Sound Sect move, report it immediately.”

“Got it.”

“If a fight breaks out on my side, things have gone wrong. So, go back the way you came. I’ll try to escape that way as well.”

Pae-yul scratched his head.

“Can you come back alive?”

“I have to.”

“If you’re going to die, at least mess up the Yin Emperor’s body a bit. That way, I can at least get revenge.”

Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.

“So, you’ll still get revenge?”

“How many guys will call me ‘sunbae’ [senior] in my life? Even if you’re a pain in the ass, I should at least get revenge for you.”

Gang Ryang’s face contorted like a dented brass bowl.

“I call you ‘sunbae’ every time, why are you discriminating against me?”

“Shut up, you. You’re not cute.”

“Huh?! Then are you saying I’m cute?”

Murderous intent radiated from Pae-yul’s eyes.

Gang Ryang shrank back.

“I can’t even joke around. Let’s go, let’s go.”

Gang Ryang, who had stacked the bandits on his shoulder, staggered into the forest.

Only then did Pae-yul relax his eyes and speak to Yeon Ho-jeong again.

“Manage your mouth properly. Don’t unnecessarily provoke the other party.”

“Anyone would think I’ve only suffered losses because of my loose tongue.”

“It’s a tongue that can turn a wedding day into a funeral. Didn’t you know?”

“Ahem!”

“I’m going.”

“Be careful.”

Pae-yul picked up the remaining bandits and disappeared. As expected of a supreme master, he showed no signs of difficulty even with three large men stacked on his back.

Yeon Ho-jeong looked up at the sky.

“It’s much colder than Sichuan.”

* * *

‘Hmm?’

Ho Yeon-jong turned his head.

The old man, Shin Gi-ja, asked.

“What is it?”

“……”

“Samho Law [a type of martial arts].”

“It’s strange.”

“What do you mean?”

Ho Yeon-jong frowned.

“I felt a strangely irritating energy….”

“Irritating energy? Did someone come?”

“I don’t know. It was too fleeting. It felt like the energy of a wild animal.”

Shin Gi-ja chuckled.

“Look at the liquor bottles rolling around in front of you.”

Ho Yeon-jong had emptied a dozen bottles of bamboo leaf wine, saying that the liquor of the continent was delicious.

Because he had forcibly suppressed his internal energy, he was moderately drunk. Nevertheless, because his body always maintained an optimal state, if he got any more drunk, the momentarily released internal energy would drive away the drunkenness.

Even if he wanted to get drunk, it wasn’t easy. Of course, if he deliberately released his internal energy, it wouldn’t be difficult to get completely drunk, but since he was in the Central Plains, he couldn’t relax his mind that much.

Ho Yeon-jong scratched his head.

“The old man is right. I wonder how long it’s been since I’ve been this drunk.”

“It seems you’ve stayed away from alcohol in the mountains.”

“It’s not that I stayed away from it. It’s just that I had nothing to do, so I spent most of my time diligently training alone.”

Shin Gi-ja shook his head.

“Aren’t you strong enough? I don’t know much, but I’ve heard that once you reach that level, mental enlightenment like meditation is more important than practical training.”

Ho Yeon-jong snorted.

“That’s the nonsense of idiots who don’t know anything but pretend to know everything. If enlightenment could be gained just by meditating, then any dog or cow could get it.”

“Hmm.”

“Meditation is one method, and the rigorous training of the body is another. I have no choice but to find the training method that suits me at the time and immerse myself in it.”

“That’s amazing. Actually, I thought you would have become completely inhuman.”

Ho Yeon-jong chuckled.

“Why would you think that?”

“That realm is the realm of the gods. It was said that it’s a realm that cannot be reached by human spirit and flesh. Of course, I thought you would be completely different from before.”

Ho Yeon-jong, who had emptied his glass, said calmly.

“No matter how big the body grows, a dog is a dog, and a cat is a cat. They can’t become wolves or tigers.”

“Does that mean there’s a limit to your talent?”

“It means that nature doesn’t change. If you’re born a dog, you can’t form a pack like a wolf. Even a big cat like a tiger can’t roar.”

Ho Yeon-jong’s face, as he filled his empty glass, looked somewhat bitter.

“I wanted to become a tiger, but I was just a cat. I realized that after reaching this level.”

Shin Gi-ja thought. In this aspect, he had changed a lot.

Ho Yeon-jong, whom he had seen in the sect, was a man who was so full of confidence that he was arrogant.

It was understandable. Ho Yeon-jong was the only one left alive among the Ho Yeon clan. With overwhelming talent and blood-spitting effort, he had reached the point just before opening the door to the heavens, so how could he not be arrogant?

Such a Ho Yeon-jong was now showing a simple and human side.

His martial arts had reached the level of the gods, but he was showing a weak side.

‘They’re all the same.’

Shin Gi-ja realized anew. Humans can never become gods.

Unless they were chosen, like the leaders of the three sects, no one could become a god.

Just look at the Yin Emperor, Ha Eun-gyo? His martial arts must be greater than the Ho Yeon-jong in front of him, but he is losing his reason and helping the Evil Sound Sect just because of his bloodline.

Others, especially the martial artists of the continent, would never believe this situation. They see those who are praised as the Thirteen Seats of the Holy Heaven as half-immortals, so they don’t know that they also have human sides.

“Shall we have another bottle?”

“Is there more liquor?”

“There’s plenty.”

Ho Yeon-jong waved his hand.

“No, it’s midnight now, I should sleep.”

“Do even masters like you have to sleep regularly?”

“Aren’t masters human? You have to sleep and wake up on time to be healthy.”

Ho Yeon-jong got up from his seat.

Shin Gi-ja, patting his back, got up with him.

“I’ll tell the underlings to clean up, so go in and sleep first.”

At that moment, a subtle sneer appeared in Ho Yeon-jong’s eyes.

“You’re going to clean up that place with just those guys?”

“It’s not just those guys. You’re at the forefront, aren’t you? I’m here too.”

“Most of those guys will die.”

“That’s right. Well, it’s not our concern, is it?”

“That’s true.”

Ho Yeon-jong chuckled.

“I’m curious. How much power does the Nine Great Sects have?”

“Don’t underestimate them. No one knows how many masters are scattered in the deep mountains and valleys. There might be a strong person equal to you among them.”

“If there is, I would like to meet them.”

“Don’t. This isn’t a mission where you can satisfy your competitive spirit.”

“I know. I’m just saying.”

Ho Yeon-jong turned his body and headed towards the forest.

Shin Gi-ja frowned.

“Where are you going? That’s towards the village.”

Ho Yeon-jong waved his hand without looking back.

“I can’t sleep if I feel uneasy. I’m just going to check what that energy I felt earlier was and come back.”

Shin Gi-ja clicked his tongue.

“Don’t cause trouble and come back soon. The operation starts tomorrow at the beginning of midnight.”

“I understand.”

Swish.