Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 741

Whoosh!

A terrifying aura erupted from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body.

The sharpness of the aura that surged in an instant was truly like a divine sword. The aura instantly pushed aside the cloud-like divine energy that had been surrounding him.

Fwoooosh!

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face flushed red.

The divine energy, scattered unexpectedly, cleared his hazy mood, and his five senses became distinct.

‘I can see it.’

Only now could Yeon Ho-Jeong clearly see Tak Mu-Ja’s appearance. He had seen it before, but unlike then, when he didn’t feel the need to scrutinize and recognize it, he was now back to his usual self.

‘Amazing.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong was inwardly surprised as he re-examined Tak Mu-Ja’s face.

Tak Mu-Ja, the greatest master of the previous generation, must be at least eighty years old.

Yet, just by looking at his face, one would believe he was in his forties. His hair was white, but his eyebrows, beard, and skin made him look younger than his father, Yeon Wi.

Nevertheless, the reason he vaguely recognized him as an old master was due to the profound energy felt in his hair, demeanor, and voice. If those were excluded, one would believe he was a swordsman from a martial arts clan still active in the field.

“Impressive.”

Tak Mu-Ja’s face showed vivid surprise. Despite his age, his expression was as direct as a child’s.

“It seems that question was a great sore spot for you. The aura that scattered even your divine energy is something that fewer than ten people in the history of the martial world have managed to dispel and reveal their true selves.”

“Is that so?”

“Indeed.”

Tak Mu-Ja smiled awkwardly.

“Don’t be too upset. Sometimes we get hazy too. Even those who have mastered the Taoist martial arts their whole lives find it difficult to get used to this divine energy. It’s not just you who feels the ambiguity.”

“That doesn’t matter to me.”

“Is that so?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes deepened.

“Fifty years… what is the basis for such a statement?”

It was quite a sharp reaction. But Tak Mu-Ja answered readily.

“Appearance, martial arts, character, and knowledge can be deceiving. But this cannot be deceived.”

Tak Mu-Ja tapped his head with his index finger.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes wavered.

“The upper dantian [an energy center in the body].”

“That’s right. Those who have cultivated themselves, even in old age, all have vitality in their upper dantian. It’s hard to guess a person’s age just by looking at the divine energy of the upper dantian. However…”

“……”

“If you can read beyond the divine energy, to the flow of history etched into the vessel, then estimating a person’s age isn’t so difficult.”

It was easy to say.

However, it was obviously not something anyone could do. In the first place, most people in the martial world didn’t even properly understand the concept of the upper dantian.

Even Yeon Ho-Jeong couldn’t understand the words about the vessel of the upper dantian or the flow of history etched into it.

“It’s just a way of saying it. It’s hard to explain. Anyway, just understand that I can see such things and let it go.”

“…I see.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded.

“Understood.”

Tak Mu-Ja’s eyes sparkled. His eyes, filled with curiosity, were also like a child’s.

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

“Do I have to answer every question?”

“…Oh ho?”

Tak Mu-Ja burst into a hearty laugh.

“I had vowed to smack my precious disciple on the head if I ever saw him, because he had gone into the arms of a vile beast and abandoned the Taoist sword I had taught him for so long, and started wielding a wicked sword.”

“……”

“But now that I see you, I don’t feel like smacking you at all. Even though you are more than wicked, there is a sense of Tao [the Way, a fundamental concept in Taoism] in your eyes and voice.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong frowned.

“I refuse to have a conversation that is grasping at straws. I don’t understand what you mean at all.”

“Hahaha.”

“If you are displeased with Ok Cheong’s change, I have nothing to say.”

“You fool, Ok Cheong was a Taoist weapon that was hard to find again in the world. Although he was somewhat twisted, his martial talent was greater than mine. If he had continued to learn what he was learning, he would have soared in an instant, but because of you, ten years of accumulated effort have been wasted.”

“Then why didn’t you manage your disciple properly in the first place?”

“What?”

“I taught him how to survive under my command. As a teacher, your regret is understandable, but I don’t think it’s my fault.”

Tak Mu-Ja chuckled.

“How to survive? Kill before you are killed, is that it?”

“Exactly.”

“If you start killing one or two before you die, you will burn the lives of a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand in the future? Isn’t that just being a murderer?”

“Whether he becomes a murderer or not depends on his own capabilities. It was the old master who taught him how to use chopsticks, so just trust your disciple.”

“Ahahahahaha!!”

Tak Mu-Ja suddenly burst into laughter.

“I’ve never seen such a shameless fellow! So, in the end, it’s not your fault at all, is it?”

“That’s right.”

“You rascal! There is fire and water in the world. There is wind and earth too. If you were a fellow with a raging fire like you, you could have chased away the water-like Ok Cheong, but you made him into the same fire.”

“I repeat, I am not good at conversations that grasp at straws.”

“Hahaha!”

Tak Mu-Ja’s laughter was hearty, as if something was very amusing.

After laughing for a while, Tak Mu-Ja stopped laughing and looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong. Although the laughter had stopped, the clear smile remained.

“You are right.”

“…?”

“Actually, it was me who didn’t hold on. Even though I could have held on, I didn’t.”

“I see.”

“I wanted to raise him as a Taoist weapon, but that was just my greed. Of course, if he had been completed, I was confident that he could have become a Taoist immortal, the culmination of the Wudang martial arts, no less than the Three Peaks Ancestor….”

Tak Mu-Ja’s smile changed slightly.

The smile, close to a bitter one, made Tak Mu-Ja’s impression, which had been bright, somewhat darker.

“His heart always yearned for the secular world. I had many concerns, but I taught him with all my passion. Even if he was immersed in the dark and dangerous life of the secular world, I had no doubt that he would return to the center.”

“I was just being blamed for no reason.”

“You fool, believing and regretting are different things. You are the one who ruined such a talent, so you can at least accept the grumbling of the teacher who taught him, right?”

“So, is this enough?”

“What? Puhahahahaha!”

Another hearty laugh burst from Tak Mu-Ja’s mouth.

“The Yeon family of Gangdong has been famous for producing chivalrous individuals recognized by the world for generations. It’s quite strange how a maverick like you was born from such a righteous family.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong also felt strangely the same way.

The masters of the Supreme Realm he had seen so far were all extraordinary.

That extraordinariness was close to an intimidating aura that made it difficult for others to approach them easily. This was true for the enemy Myeong Geuk, as well as for the Yin Master Ha Eun-Gyo, the Dark King Tang Hyeong, and even the Fighting King Yang Cheon.

They were all absolute beings with completely different energies, but no one could maintain their sanity in front of them. They had that kind of ‘power’.

But Tak Mu-Ja was different.

The meeting was too sudden and yet natural. Nevertheless, he didn’t seem like a master praised as a legend.

He felt like just a kind and wise old man you might find in any village.

As Tak Mu-Ja said, he was someone who didn’t fit the title of Sword Immortal at all. In a good way or a bad way.

“Interesting. This is why the world is interesting. I don’t like it, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen a guy who can hold his head high and say what he wants in front of the name Sword Immortal.”

“I’m like this to anyone, not just the old master.”

“I think so. Looking at your face, you don’t seem like the type to be mindful of anyone. Rather, you’re the type to shove your opponent into your own fence and play with them as you please.”

“That much…”

“But you shouldn’t do that in front of the Emperor.”

“…?!”

In an instant, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes wavered.

The sudden mention of the Emperor in the flow of the conversation was enough to confuse Yeon Ho-Jeong.

Tak Mu-Ja rested his chin on his hand, as if showing off. It was another action that didn’t look like a Taoist.

“Don’t you have business at the Imperial Palace?”

“…How did you know that?”

“How did I know? I heard you talking to that wicked fellow Gok Gyeong, so I know.”

“…!”

He heard the conversation from that far away?

‘Is that possible?’

I don’t know. I think it’s absolutely impossible, but somehow, it seemed like this Tak Mu-Ja could use some strange trick to make the impossible possible.

Tak Mu-Ja shook his head.

“How I heard it doesn’t matter. What matters is that with your unyielding personality, going into the Imperial Palace will put you and your entire clan in danger.”

Tak Mu-Ja said clan.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s clan meant the Yeon family. His existence alone could put the Byeoksan Yeon family, one of the six great families of the martial world, in danger.

“I haven’t decided to go to the Imperial Palace yet…”

“You haven’t made up your mind yet. But if there’s no other way, you’ll go to the Imperial Palace.”

“……”

“I didn’t know why you were looking at the Imperial Palace with such concern, but after talking to you, I understand. How could a wicked fellow like you be worried about others? The only people you would worry about are your family.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Tak Mu-Ja with confused eyes.

Tak Mu-Ja’s smile deepened.

“You have good eyes.”

“Yes?”

“You have a monster with three heads and six arms in your heart, but you still care about your family. Yes, that’s how it should be. That’s how you don’t fall completely into darkness.”

Why was it?

When he heard Tak Mu-Ja’s words, he felt that his anxious heart was gradually calming down.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been quietly looking at Tak Mu-Ja, asked in a serious tone.

“You said you wanted to see me.”

“I did.”

“It’s not just because of Ok Cheong, or the battle in front of Wudang Mountain, or Senior Gok Gyeong, or even my age.”

“Of course, it is.”

“What is the reason you are meeting with me alone, leaving Senior Gok and Ryang aside?”

“To help you get a grip.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyebrows twitched.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t know what will happen in the future, but if you go to the Imperial Palace now, you will have a hard time surviving.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you have no standards. You haven’t resolved the worries that have been piling up for so long that you don’t even realize them yourself. So, you don’t know how to deal with the people in the Imperial Palace, and if you happen to meet the Emperor, you don’t know how to act in front of him.”

“What…”

“Because of that, my disciple, and even Wudang in the future, could be harmed.”

Tak Mu-Ja pointed at Yeon Ho-Jeong with his finger.

“Because of you, and no one else.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong was bewildered.

“I…”

“You are a monster, but the spark of chivalry has just begun to ignite in you. Even beyond that, you can’t stand to see the people you hold dear get hurt.”

“……”

“You will have to make a choice someday. The people you cherish, and the people you cherish a little less.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you do that in Sichuan? You poisoned the Dragon Head of the Beggar Clan?”

“…?!”

“No matter how urgent the situation was, how could you do such a thing? Was there really no other way?”

In an instant, Yeon Ho-Jeong felt a chill run down his spine.

Tak Mu-Ja’s face became serious.

“I won’t say much. I have nothing else to say besides this.”

“…?”

“Go to the Black Island.”

“Wh-what…”

“Don’t hesitate, go to the Black Island and devour everything.”