Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 676

“The air is nice.”

His usual languid expression was gone, replaced by a remarkably refreshed look. It was quite a sight.

Myeong Geuk stretched conspicuously, then turned around.

Twelve hundred red wolves, led by Habok, were glaring with murderous intent. Most were breathing heavily, but considering the forced march they had endured, it was amazing they hadn’t collapsed. Their stamina deserved praise.

Myeong Geuk waved his hand.

“We will advance slowly as the sun begins to set. Once it’s completely dark, we’ll launch a full assault, so make sure everyone manages their stamina until then.”

Habok bowed his head.

“Understood.”

The sun would set in less than an hour.

After a forced march lasting over a day, even a full day’s rest wouldn’t completely eliminate fatigue. Even martial artists who had mastered internal energy would need at least half a day to move comfortably.

However, the Blood Wolf Corps was different.

Their martial arts levels varied, but their stamina was among the best in the Demonic Sound Cult’s combat units. The martial arts they practiced were specifically designed for recovery, a type of evil art that allowed them to cling to their enemies even if their limbs were torn off.

Moreover, as they were personally selected by Myeong Geuk, one of the successors, they possessed top-tier combat abilities. Though called a corps, their force of twelve hundred men far exceeded the strength of most major sects.

“The scenery of the continent is truly something else.”

Myeong Geuk smiled, looking around.

His face was unusually excited. Perhaps it was because a battle was imminent.

“Once we’ve crushed Jongnam [a mountain range and a major sect], we should establish a base here for a while. I like it very much.”

At that moment, Habok approached Myeong Geuk and respectfully offered a bundle.

“Young Master, this is for you.”

Myeong Geuk waved his hand.

“I’m fine, distribute it to the others.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m so full from absorbing the abundant energy of the earth. It’s fine, distribute it to the squad leaders. They need to be sharp to minimize casualties.”

“Understood.”

They had prepared nutritious and easily digestible food for the battle, mostly dried goods.

It seemed Myeong Geuk didn’t need any of it. It was a stark reminder that he was on a different level.

‘I wonder if I can ever reach that level.’

As the leader of the Blood Wolf Corps, Habok held a considerable position within the Demonic Sound Cult. As the commander of a force of twelve hundred men, it was only natural.

However, Habok had been at this level for over ten years. His combat abilities had steadily improved, but he hadn’t broken through his limits and ascended to the heavens.

Now over fifty, it would be difficult for him to break through this barrier and soar.

‘But I can become a useful and loyal subject to someone.’

Though he was addressed as Young Master, Habok had already decided to serve Myeong Geuk as his lord. If Myeong Geuk were to surpass the other successors and ascend to the position of cult leader, Habok would become a first-class contributor with immense power.

‘To achieve that, we must win this battle at all costs.’

Fortunately, it seemed the enemies hadn’t noticed the Blood Wolf Corps’ movements.

It was a strategy that had been carefully prepared over a long period. And this strategy was something he, as the corps leader, had personally suggested to the higher-ups of the Demonic Sound Cult.

Originally, it was a tactic of little significance, but from the moment the Paradise of Sichuan fell, the importance of the Blood Wolf Corps’ strategy had skyrocketed.

‘Once we break through Shanxi [a province in China], we’ll launch a relentless offensive.’

Habok grinned faintly.

‘If I achieve numerous merits at the forefront with the successor, my position will be secure even if the Young Master doesn’t become the cult leader.’

As Habok was imagining the future and encouraging his men,

“Hmm…”

Myeong Geuk, who had been drawing in the energy of nature to restore his inner energy, suddenly felt a strange sensation.

‘What is this?’

It felt like someone was watching him from somewhere.

It wasn’t a feeling that was focused solely on him. It was more like a feeling that the entire Blood Wolf Corps, including him, was being watched.

‘…’

Myeong Geuk’s eyes turned serious.

There were no experts within his range of perception. This meant that the source of this gaze was not nearby.

‘Am I mistaken?’

It was highly likely he was mistaken.

As far as he knew, there was no one in Shanxi who had reached his level, except for the Yin Emperor. Of course, there was a possibility of hidden masters who kept to themselves, but it was pointless to consider that.

‘Or is it some kind of sorcery…?’

Myeong Geuk shook his head.

‘That’s impossible. It must be my imagination.’

He was probably just more sensitive because he was excited.

Someone watching from so far away that his senses couldn’t detect them? It was impossible.

‘…’

Myeong Geuk, with his deeply sunken eyes, looked around and suddenly felt something, turning to look behind him.

‘The Blood Wolf Corps.’

The power of the twelve hundred Blood Wolf Corps members was overwhelming, even for a major martial arts sect.

They were fierce in battle, and their aura was terrifying. Even when they weren’t displaying their killing intent, most experts couldn’t approach them due to the sheer pressure.

In other words, their rough way of life, the killing intent that had become a habit, was ingrained in every member of the Blood Wolf Corps.

‘…No, it can’t be.’

Myeong Geuk’s eyes deepened.

‘There’s no guarantee that there isn’t a master stronger than me in Shanxi, but it’s unlikely that someone would be watching this place at this time, ignoring my senses. Whether it’s martial arts or sorcery.’

Myeong Geuk’s upper dantian [an energy center in the body] was exceptionally more active than other experts of a similar level.

That was why his intuition was sharp, and his senses were much more sensitive than those of other experts at his level. Sometimes, his feelings were so strong that they seemed like precognition.

The Demonic Sound Cult leader had wanted to personally train him because of this talent. Not only was he talented in martial arts, but his naturally developed upper dantian allowed him to quickly sense impending threats.

‘This is unsettling.’

His excited mood calmed down.

The rising excitement turned into composure, and his restored inner energy rapidly circulated through his body, sharpening his senses.

Woo-woo-woong.

His dantian vibrated, maximizing the speed of his inner energy recovery.

“Blood Wolf Corps Leader.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“I’ll take a slow look around as we go.”

“Yes?”

“Signal the start when I give the signal. I’ll act as the vanguard, just in case.”

Habok was flustered.

“Y-Young Master, there’s no need for that…”

Myeong Geuk turned to look at Habok.

Habok’s face turned pale.

“I obey the Young Master’s command!”

Myeong Geuk turned back and walked slowly.

To him, it was a slow walk, but in reality, it was faster than a commoner sprinting at full speed.

Whoosh!

In an instant, he was hundreds of feet away from the Blood Wolf Corps.

Could the legendary Shrinking Earth Technique [a legendary movement technique] be similar to this? His extremely high level of footwork gave his ordinary walk an incredible speed.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

As he focused his will on his footwork, the act of walking remained the same, but his speed increased even more.

Flap! Flap! Flap!

His clothes fluttered in the incredible speed. It was as fast as a top-tier expert using their movement technique.

It was an amazing martial art, a great enlightenment. It was a martial art that even a master of the Saintly Heaven realm [a high level of martial arts] would find difficult to achieve.

It wasn’t that Myeong Geuk was stronger than a master of the Saintly Heaven realm.

His upper dantian was naturally wide open, and the martial arts he had achieved were different from others. More mysterious, more divine.

He was someone who was born with a talent more suited to sorcery than martial arts. In fact, with the permission of the Demonic Sound Cult leader, he had combined the martial arts he had learned with sorcery to create new martial arts.

The footwork he was demonstrating now was one of the many martial arts he had created himself, the Grasping Void Secret Step.

Swoosh.

How far had he advanced?

Myeong Geuk, who had just crossed a peak, stopped walking.

Whoosh!

A strong wind blew from behind him. When he stopped walking, the pressure of the air disappeared, and his back felt cool.

Myeong Geuk turned around.

From the high vantage point, he could see the Blood Wolf Corps far in the distance. They were so far away that he had to focus his eyesight to the extreme to see them.

‘Thirty li [approximately 15 kilometers].’

He absorbed the yin energy rising from the ground as he stepped, stimulating his dantian. His inner energy recovery was actually faster while walking.

On the other hand, his sharp senses had diminished somewhat. By maximizing his inner energy recovery with the Grasping Void Secret Step, he had to sacrifice the sensitivity of his senses.

‘Even so.’

Myeong Geuk frowned.

‘This strange gaze isn’t going away.’

He felt that even if he focused his power on his upper dantian to the extreme, it would be the same as now.

‘…Is this really right?’

If there was really an expert of a similar level watching this place, it was more likely that the presence of the Blood Wolf Corps, rather than himself, was providing information.

The killing intent emanating in the air, the pressure that could only be felt at the targeted location, and so on.

If there was someone who had opened the realm of infinity and made contact with the will of nature, and who had honed their senses to the extreme even in that realm, it wouldn’t be impossible.

‘Even if that’s the case, they can’t keep watching forever.’

Even the upper dantian of an absolute master who had reached the realm of infinity had its limits. If they were to open that ability all the time, they would be no different from a god, not a human.

‘This is confusing. What is going on…’

At that moment.

‘…?!’

Myeong Geuk’s eyes flashed.

‘It’s gone.’

The strange gaze that had been causing discomfort was no longer felt.

It was like a dream. Now that it was gone, he even wondered if he had been too sensitive and had made a fuss for no reason.

‘Strange. When I think about it, it doesn’t make sense that someone could have detected me… Even though I try not to pay attention, I keep focusing on it…’

Suddenly, Myeong Geuk’s eyes wavered.

‘Does a master of the Saintly Heaven realm really exist?’

Could it be the Yin Emperor?

‘Even the Yin Emperor, or even the Fist God, wouldn’t make me feel this uneasy. Perhaps the Sword Immortal would be the exception.’

The martial arts of Buddhism and Taoism were similar yet very different.

If the Sword Immortal Tak Mu-ja, who had reached the pinnacle of Taoist martial arts, had predicted this attack, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to use his divine abilities to sense the moment of crisis and watch from hundreds of miles away.

‘I feel uneasy.’

Woo-woo-woong!

Myeong Geuk’s pupils flickered strangely.

‘I’m getting more and more uneasy.’

At that moment.

Thud!

From far away.

A single echo reverberated from the direction of Mount Jongnam, a distance that was not even visible.

Swoosh.

The green trees of Mount Jongnam still had quite lush leaves even in this weather. The wind passing through the leaves created a strange harmony.

Thud! Crack!

The sound grew closer and closer.

Now he understood the nature of the sound. It was the roar of huge trees collapsing beyond the mountains.

“…!”

The energy emanating from Myeong Geuk became increasingly sharp.

Thud! Thump! Crash!

It was as if a giant siege ram was sweeping across the earth like a gale. The sound, the rough momentum, and the powerful fighting spirit were approaching at a terrifying speed.

How much time had passed?

After a time that could be considered tedious, but which Myeong Geuk could not help but feel tense.

Boom!

Thick smoke billowed from the top of the opposite peak.

Surprise flickered across Myeong Geuk’s face.

On the top of a mountain peak that was over ten li away in a straight line, and a little over twenty li away on foot.

A horned white tiger with red wings, raising two snake-like, ferocious tails, was glaring at him.

Whoosh!

Myeong Geuk dashed forward at a terrifying speed.