Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 756

757. Heaven’s Path Changes (2)

‘This can’t be!’

From afar, Hongryong Palace, watching the direction of the royal court, swallowed hard.

‘Why can’t I move?’

The martial prowess of those who had their names on the Hongryong list varied greatly.

The act of breaking down martial arts, reinterpreting them, and then creating something new wasn’t something that could be done just by having a high level of mastery.

However, there were those who were naturally born with such abilities. That’s why there were strong Hongryongs and surprisingly weak Hongryongs.

Among them, Hongryong Palace was one of the strongest among the Hongryongs. Given the right environment, even the Hongryong Sword couldn’t stand against Hongryong Palace.

Yet, she couldn’t move.

Twitch!

The moment she tried to take a step forward, her toes curled up involuntarily.

Cold sweat formed on her back. Her neck had long since become damp. Her complexion was pale, and she kept swallowing dryly.

The expression ‘her knees buckled’ was probably used for times like this. It wasn’t a metaphor; her knees were truly buckling, and she felt like she wanted to kneel down right away.

‘Why! Why can’t I move!’

Gritting her teeth, Hongryong Palace forcefully ignited her strong will.

Fwoosh!

With her eyes tightly shut, she unleashed her movement technique.

‘……!’

In an instant, she involuntarily moved her feet backward. She was now a full ten feet behind where she had originally stood.

Hongryong Palace’s face turned pale.

Thump, thump, thump!

A gigantic Asura image appeared in front of her.

It was clearly an illusion. There were many mysterious and strange creatures in the world, and there were many unheard-of spiritual beings, but she had never heard of a three-faced, six-armed Asura image, over ten feet tall, moving alive.

Her reason acknowledged and confirmed it.

However, her heart was denouncing the confirmation her reason had made as a lie.

‘I’ll die.’

If she entered that domain, she would die.

And it wouldn’t be just any death. She would be torn to pieces by the giant with three faces, each with eyes that looked more ferocious than a demon and fangs as sharp as a beast, and six arms that were spewing flames above its head.

‘I’m really going to die!’

She wasn’t afraid of death. She had long since transcended the fear of death through countless life-and-death situations and the power of faith.

That’s why it was even more absurd. She was a tenacious person who wouldn’t even blink if her arms and legs were torn off for the sake of her mission.

‘Why is this happening? Why!’

Thud!

Hongryong Palace was startled and looked down at the floor.

Swoosh!

She didn’t have the strength in her fingers, so she dropped her bow. The bow was sliding down the roof.

‘What are you doing! Grab it! A martial artist dropping their weapon, you should be ashamed!’

However, all she could do was reach out her hand towards the bow that was getting farther away.

She couldn’t do anything else. If she tried to lower her body to grab the bow, she felt like she wouldn’t be able to get up again in that fallen position.

Hongryong Palace, a supreme master, whose martial prowess was comparable to the leaders of major sects, was a master-level expert.

To reach that level, more than just powerful internal energy and a trained body was needed. It was a firm spirit.

Yet, a supreme master who had even transcended the fear of death couldn’t move because she felt like she was about to be torn to pieces. This was definitely not normal.

Then why was she like this?

What on earth had Yeon-wi done to render her incapable of fighting?

‘Is it sorcery?’

It wasn’t sorcery. She knew that.

It was a completely different method. Something tremendous that could break a person’s spirit, even the mind of a supreme master, and collapse their spirit, had ruined her.

She didn’t want to admit it. Except for those who had reached the Limitless [a realm of martial arts mastery], no, even among those who had reached the Limitless, unless they had attained extreme enlightenment, they hadn’t even knocked on the door of ‘that realm’.

But even if her reason didn’t acknowledge it, her heart and body did.

A monster’s realm that had skipped over everything because the enlightenment it possessed was so lofty, even though it hadn’t opened the door to the Limitless, the door to the extreme.

The ideal of martial arts that anyone who wielded a sword, no, anyone who had learned martial arts, wanted to reach without a single exception.

“……Mind Sword?”

* * *

The door to the royal court was split open, and behind it were the Emperor and Empress.

Peng Mu-gang and Jeagal Ayeon knew that. No matter how urgent the situation was, they had to turn their heads to confirm their presence. They had to pay their respects, even if hastily, and then be on guard.

However, the two couldn’t do that.

They were overwhelmed by the sight before them, the fight between Yeon-wi and Gi Woo-heon.

“……Huh!”

Peng Mu-gang let out a groan that sounded like a hollow laugh. Jeagal Ayeon couldn’t even speak.

Crash!

As Yeon-wi swung his sword, the palace gate leading to the royal court and part of the palace wall were shattered and blown away.

It was an extremely destructive sword strike, unlike Yeon-wi. The short sword he was holding was less than two feet long, but it looked like he was wielding a giant sword over ten feet long.

But that wasn’t what was surprising. It was definitely a powerful martial art, but Peng Mu-gang was also capable of such a strike.

What was truly surprising was the very aura that Yeon-wi was exuding.

Clang, clang, clang!

The short sword, moving like a bolt of lightning, collided with the fiery fist strikes, creating a terrifying shockwave.

He wasn’t lacking in power. But Gi Woo-heon retreated. Not just one or two steps, but more than ten steps to get out of Yeon-wi’s full range.

Fwoosh!

As if he had been waiting for it, Yeon-wi, using the Thousand Miles Swift Steps [a movement technique], appeared on Gi Woo-heon’s right side in an instant.

Gi Woo-heon’s face contorted.

Bang, bang, bang!

Against the mercilessly slashing and stabbing sword strikes, the King of Hell’s Fist was unleashed.

Yeon-wi’s body swayed. Gi Woo-heon also couldn’t overcome the sword force and retreated another three or four steps.

‘This can’t be!’

Flash!

Yeon-wi, having brushed away the fire energy in front of him with his left hand’s Half Dragon Palm [a martial arts technique], closed the distance in just two steps and thrust his sword towards Gi Woo-heon’s chest.

It was a merciless killing move. He brushed aside the enemy’s shield and thrust his sword into the exposed gap. A one-hit kill, it was literally a move to kill with one sword.

Swoosh!

Yeon-wi’s sword grazed Gi Woo-heon’s side. Gi Woo-heon, terrified, twisted his body to avoid the sword.

Thud!

Gi Woo-heon, having created distance again, gasped for breath.

He didn’t take his eyes off Yeon-wi until the end, but inside, he was a mess.

‘Why is this happening?!’

In terms of speed and power, he was superior.

Moreover, the fire energy emitted from his entire body constantly inflicted damage on the enemy. He always had a barrier of internal energy around him, so he could react sensitively to the enemy’s attacks.

In addition, he possessed the most vast internal energy within the Divine Flame Sect, except for the absolute masters who had opened the Limitless Gate. The quality of internal energy was more important for a master, but if they were of similar levels, the one with more internal energy would inevitably be more advantageous.

But why?

Swoosh! Swoosh, swoosh! Swoosh!

The chilling slashes targeted Gi Woo-heon’s entire body.

He predicted all the sword strikes with the Fire Wall of the Golden Restraint Purification Art [a defensive technique], but strangely, it was difficult to evade.

Gi Woo-heon’s hand urgently reached towards the sky.

Chirrrring!

The shattered iron pieces of the Heaven and Earth Ring gathered in his hand, creating a whirlwind of flames.

“Die!”

Fwoooosh!

The force of the palm strike, unleashed with the Fiery Divine Palm [a martial arts technique], swept over Yeon-wi in an instant.

Jeagal Ayeon involuntarily shouted.

“Master!!”

Bang!

The flames that had swept over Yeon-wi with a roar scattered in all directions.

The revealed Yeon-wi was shockingly unscathed. He was glaring at Gi Woo-heon with his sword extended in the middle stance, and Gi Woo-heon felt his breath catch when he saw that gaze.

“……What.”

Gi Woo-heon’s eyes twitched.

“What the hell are you!”

It was then.

‘……?!’

In a split second, Gi Woo-heon felt the illusion of dozens of swords pouring down from the sky.

Each sword was a giant sword bigger than the pillars of the palace. There were dozens of such swords, so there seemed to be no place to escape.

Fear momentarily clouded Gi Woo-heon’s face.

The middle dantian [an energy center in the body] pulsed, and the upper and lower dantians resonated.

“Uaaaaaaah!”

Crash!

The threatening golden fire that was surging swirled around Gi Woo-heon’s body, creating a whirlwind that soared high into the sky.

It was the Heavenly Beyond Heaven’s internal energy technique, pouring out all the internal energy he possessed. Instead of shooting out a pillar of fire like before, he himself became a pillar of fire, crushing all the threats that came his way.

Swoosh!

Broken stones and foreign objects soared into the sky along with the swirling golden pillar of fire. The swirling foreign objects seemed to be sucked into the pillar of fire, but soon turned to ash and disappeared.

It was truly a magnificent sight. If it weren’t a life-or-death battle, anyone would have been impressed.

Flash! Thud!

Then, a beam of light pierced through the center of the pillar of fire.

Whoosh!

The soaring pillar of fire scattered and disappeared in an instant.

Swoosh!

The super-high-temperature flames disappeared, and the wind that blew in cooled the heat. A thick haze formed, and frost formed in the area around the royal road.

And in the center of it, Gi Woo-heon stood.

“…….”

Gi Woo-heon silently looked down at his chest.

The short sword that had flown in was pierced through his heart.

“With this…….”

Gi Woo-heon gave a twisted smile.

A face that showed all sorts of emotions, such as fear, shock, bewilderment, and anger.

“You can’t kill me with this kind of attack.”

Even as he spoke, Gi Woo-heon felt puzzled by his own words.

Why am I saying such things? At this time, I should break the sword, recover with the Fire Essence [a source of internal energy], and immediately go on the offensive, right?

“You, you guys have failed. The Emperor? Even if that puppet who’s become a cripple has regained his senses, our…….”

Pshhh!

“Cough!”

Gi Woo-heon groaned and staggered.

The short sword that had pierced his chest was back in Yeon-wi’s hand. It was the technique of manipulating objects in the air.

Flames! Flames!

The concentrated energy from the Fire Essence surged, regenerating the destroyed blood points and restoring the bones, muscles, and even the heart to their original state.

Gi Woo-heon’s Fire Essence, which had reached a high level, was on a different level from others. Even if his heart was pierced, he wouldn’t die.

But.

Shudder!

Gi Woo-heon, who was lowering his stance to prepare for the opponent’s next attack, suddenly felt his legs trembling.

It wasn’t just his legs. The trembling that had started from somewhere in his chest had spread throughout his entire body.

His hands became cold. His earlobes turned red, and his back ached.

His body wouldn’t listen to him, as if he had been fighting for days without rest. His breathing became increasingly erratic, and his vision became blurry.

‘W-what is this?’

It’s strange. Why is my body like this?

It’s just that I was pierced by a sword once, right?

Swoosh.

Gi Woo-heon, who was bewildered and examining his body, raised his head with a chilling feeling.

In front of him was Yeon-wi. It was a distance where they could touch if they fell, less than ten feet away.

Clack, clack!

Gi Woo-heon’s teeth chattered involuntarily.

The moment he saw Yeon-wi’s face up close, his body froze in unspeakable fear.

“One whose heart is broken, one whose mind is lost.”

“…….”

“Since you have lost your will to fight, it is right to let you go.”

Flash!

The illusion of Asura appeared behind Yeon-wi’s back.

“But the current me has forgotten mercy.”

At that moment, Gi Woo-heon realized why he was so terrified and unable to do anything.

Why he was being toyed with by Yeon-wi, even though he had superior power and speed.

Why he was threatened by an invisible sword. Why he couldn’t attempt an aggressive attack, even though he had a body that was fine even after his heart was pierced.

‘This guy didn’t break through the Golden Restraint Purification Art.’

Fwoosh!

One of Gi Woo-heon’s arms flew high into the sky.

‘I couldn’t exert my full strength. I was prevented from doing my best.’

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The remaining arm and left leg also flew away.

In Gi Woo-heon’s eyes, which had collapsed with a thud, emptiness settled.

‘My heart and mind were cut… Mind Sword……’

Thud!

Yeon-wi, who had grabbed Gi Woo-heon’s neck, mercilessly swung his sword, holding it in reverse.

Swoosh! Thud! Thwack! Squeak!