Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 706

As Ga Deuk-sang looked at Yeon Ho-jeong with pity, Yeon Ho-jeong frowned and straightened his upper body again.

“My whole body still aches.”

Muk Bi approached with a worried expression and said,

“You should rest more.”

“It’s okay. It’s almost time to eat anyway.”

Yeon Ho-jeong looked at Seo Jeong-gwang and Jin Yang.

The two were looking at Yeon Ho-jeong with complex expressions.

They had heard everything about the conversation with the Jongnam Sect Leader, Sun Woo, and the conversation with Ga Deuk-sang.

They didn’t know what had happened before. However, Yeon Ho-jeong, who had made a tremendous contribution in this battle, seemed to have sacrificed himself to some extent for the greater good.

That sight made their feelings strangely complicated.

Yeon Ho-jeong asked in a calm voice,

“Are you leaving now?”

Seo Jeong-gwang bowed his head.

“Ah, yes. There’s nothing more for us to do here.”

“I see.”

Yeon Ho-jeong got up from his seat.

His inner energy was rapidly recovering, and his internal injuries had also improved significantly. However, unexpectedly, the healing of his external wounds was slow.

‘It’s accumulated.’

By opening the Limitless [a state of heightened power], not only his inner energy but also his body had advanced to a higher dimension. His bones, nerves, blood vessels, and everything else had entered a higher realm that was incomparable to before.

However, as he had realized before meeting Myeong Geuk, after reaching this level, he had only thought about martial arts with stronger output and had never looked back at himself.

‘Has the fatigue of the past few years accumulated without me knowing?’

If you wear new clothes, it takes time for them to adjust to your body.

If he had stayed away from battles for a while and had steadily refined his body and true energy, his external wounds would have healed long ago.

However, because he had been in life-and-death battles almost every day, his body had reached its limit. It was a completely different issue from reaching the realm of Limitless.

‘For the time being, I should take care of my body and organize the enlightenment I gained this time.’

Yeon Ho-jeong looked at Jin Yang.

Jin Yang coughed awkwardly.

“Take care.”

“Come back.”

“……Huh?”

“Settle your sect and come back. That would be better.”

Jin Yang openly frowned.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Why should I settle my sect?”

“Play in the big leagues. Don’t wander around, being mindful of everyone.”

Jin Yang’s face went blank.

It was a statement that was hard to tell whether it was a proposal or an insult. Seo Jeong-gwang was also surprised and widened his eyes.

Yeon Ho-jeong continued calmly,

“You must have seen it too. How dangerous and brutal war is.”

“……”

“I hope it doesn’t happen, but they will most likely engage in an all-out war. Before that, there will be several fierce battles like the one at Jongnam this time.”

“So?”

“You will also find it difficult to escape the vortex of war.”

Jin Yang said curtly,

“That’s something we’ll only know when the time comes.”

“Rather than regretting it then, protect it with your lives from now on.”

“That’s our business.”

“You two have built your current sect from the ground up. With that level of skill, you’ll be able to establish a sufficient foundation to make a living after the war.”

“So, that’s none of your business. We have our own way.”

“Is your own way why you came all the way here because of the Beggar Sect Elder’s threats?”

“……”

Jin Yang’s face hardened.

Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.

“People live in different ways. But it’s too much of a waste to let your martial prowess and brilliant talents rot like this.”

“I’m telling you again, that’s…”

“Why did you save the children?”

“……What?”

“If you trace your route, the path to the Jongnam headquarters would have been much simpler and faster. As people who were forced by threats, you could have just put on a show of fighting and disappeared, but why did you bother to save the children?”

Jin Yang’s face contorted.

“Are you even asking that? Whether they learn martial arts or not, children are children! How could anyone just stand by and watch those bastards chasing after children to kill them!”

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.

Muk Bi also looked at Jin Yang with a strange gaze.

“Well said. Your actions are commendable because they are natural. In other words, you have a line that you know you should never cross, no matter what you do.”

“Enough. I shouldn’t have come to see you. I’m leaving now.”

“Those bastards are like that. They don’t spare children. Rather, they’re crazy enough to cut off children’s heads to break the enemy’s morale.”

Jin Yang shouted,

“Jeong-gwang! Let’s go!”

Seo Jeong-gwang hesitated.

Jin Yang shouted again,

“What are you doing! Let’s go!”

“How long are you going to waste your lives!”

Thud!

At Yeon Ho-jeong’s sudden outburst, not only Jin Yang and Seo Jeong-gwang but also Muk Bi and Ga Deuk-sang froze.

Whoosh!

Yeon Ho-jeong’s aura, which had been empty, became fierce like an erupting volcano.

Yeon Ho-jeong looked at Jin Yang with shining eyes.

Jin Yang gritted his teeth. He wanted to turn away, but his pride, as hard as steel, refused to do so.

Yeon Ho-jeong asked in a quiet voice,

“Are you angry?”

“……What?”

“Were you dumbfounded that a third party told you to settle your sect? Was your pride hurt by the words that you came here because you couldn’t resist the Beggar Sect Elder’s threats?”

“Your way of speaking itself makes people angry!”

“Or is it because I hit a nerve?”

“……!”

Jin Yang’s eyes wavered.

Yeon Ho-jeong said in a deeper voice,

“I don’t know what thoughts you have, what beliefs you hold, or what future you are aiming for.”

“……”

“But I know that you are off track right now.”

“I’m off track?”

“You are. You’re way off track.”

“What do you know about me!”

Harsh words finally came out of Jin Yang’s mouth.

A small smile returned to Yeon Ho-jeong’s face.

“Knowing your own talent and your own desires, yet turning away from them and settling for reality, how can I not say that you are off track?”

“……?!”

Yeon Ho-jeong, who slowly walked towards Jin Yang, placed his index finger on his chest.

“What is it that you truly want?”

Jin Yang looked down at Yeon Ho-jeong with a distorted face.

Yeon Ho-jeong said again,

“You set up shop in Guangdong, and when you heard that the Martial Alliance’s righteous army was on the move, you immediately came up to Shanxi and built a fence again. You lived in Shanxi, and when the war broke out, you were going to escape again, but you ended up participating in the war because you couldn’t resist the Beggar Sect Elder’s coercion.”

“……”

“Is that the life you want?”

Jin Yang growled,

“I decide how I live!”

“Answer the question first. Don’t ignore the opportunity to be honest with yourself.”

“Who are you to give me such an opportunity!”

“If not me, then who will give you the opportunity? Have you ever deeply accepted someone’s sincere concern?”

“……!”

At that moment, Jin Yang was speechless.

Yeon Ho-jeong pointed at Seo Jeong-gwang with his hand.

“You don’t even listen properly to the words of your closest friend. Yet, you consider him a friend. How can someone who doesn’t even understand the hearts of those close to them properly bloom in life?”

Jin Yang involuntarily looked at Seo Jeong-gwang.

Seo Jeong-gwang’s expression was extremely complicated. He was in an awkward position, unsure whether to intervene in the suddenly fiery atmosphere or not.

Yeon Ho-jeong said,

“You came all the way here with your friend because of some unknown awkwardness.”

“……!”

“Did you see the Jongnam Sect Leader? That’s what a leader is like. He was so consumed by the sadness of not being able to take responsibility that he lost his reason. He couldn’t even properly resolve the surging anger, lamenting the reality of not being able to die together.”

Jin Yang’s eyes wavered.

“But you’re different. You always brought Seo Jeong-gwang with you. Even when there was something awkward, you, as the sect leader, should have stepped up, but you made your friend and subordinate find an excuse to get out of it.”

“Tsk!”

“Don’t say it was because it was a minor matter, and that it would be different when it was truly dangerous. You, who don’t even try to take responsibility for these minor matters, have lost your qualifications as the leader of an organization.”

Jin Yang’s body trembled.

But he couldn’t bring himself to refute it.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s voice carried a subtle dignity.

“You are not fit to be a leader right now. You, who have never seriously looked back at yourself, will always be like this.”

“……”

“Start over from the beginning.”

Yeon Ho-jeong took a step back and put his hands behind his back.

At that moment, Jin Yang had the illusion that his figure had grown several times larger. The man who had been smaller than him when he was close had become as huge as a mountain when he stepped back.

“It’s okay if you don’t join me. I hope you will, but if you really don’t want to, there’s nothing I can do about it. Furthermore, it’s okay if you don’t participate in this bloody war. But if you want to fix your own life, start over from the beginning.”

“……”

“I don’t have a grand dream. I just have one firm and simple goal.”

Yeon Ho-jeong closed his eyes.

During his time as the Dark Emperor, he remembered himself standing alone helplessly among countless corpses.

There was a huge man approaching him. There was also a scholarly man with a tired look, accompanying the huge man.

Jin Yang, who patted his back while laughing heartily. Seo Jeong-gwang, who refreshed the atmosphere with his strange way of speaking.

Muk Bi, who was sitting far away, looking this way with a mask on, and Gang Ryang, who was holding his sword. And the last remaining general.

“I risked my life for that one goal. I’ve never imagined life after that. In that respect, maybe I’m similar to you.”

Yeon Ho-jeong opened his eyes again.

His eyes, which had sunk deep and calmly, contained an indescribable emotion.

“Even after starting over from the beginning, my life is like this. From then on, I accepted this life as a destiny given by heaven. Also, this is inevitable because it is the life I long for.”

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.

Jin Yang felt an inexplicable surge of emotion.

He didn’t know why. However, Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes and voice, which seemed to be detached yet had a clear conviction, evoked a strange feeling.

“I hope you will join me. But it’s okay if you don’t. Now, stop turning away from your own desires. I don’t want to see a man like you living like that anymore.”

“……Why?”

“What?”

Jin Yang asked in a heavy voice,

“Why are you saying these things to me?”

“……”

“From the first time we met, you seemed to know me. But I’ve never seen you before.”

“That’s right.”

“Who are you? Why are you trying to bring me in?”

“I am someone who was saved by you, or rather, by you all.”

“What?”

“You were the connections that came into my life, which was just living without a purpose, like a light. Thanks to each and every one of you, I also realized that I am no different from others.”

“……”

“You are all my benefactors. Just know that.”

Yeon Ho-jeong turned his body.

“If you allow it, I will repay that favor from now on. The decision is yours.”