Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 792

Having washed, eaten, and changed into fresh clothes, the group quickly headed towards the Mukryong Stronghold.

The closer they got to the Mukryong Stronghold, the more eyes seemed to be watching them. Invisible eyes, the informants of the Black Path, were hidden, observing them.

Amidst those numerous gazes, Yeon Ho-jeong recalled the first time he had come to the Mukryong Stronghold.

The path he had taken, claiming to be a descendant of the Mujong Clan, was one where eyes had followed them everywhere in Honam [a region in Korea].

However, much had changed since then. The very atmosphere emanating from the informants’ gazes was different.

In the past, there had been only wariness and coldness towards a new presence, but now there was a sense of ease towards a familiar figure, and admiration for a master who had risen to the ranks of the strongest in the martial world.

From those drastically changed gazes, Yeon Ho-jeong felt a familiar welcome.

The gazes that admired the strong, the pure, burning gazes.

The eyes of beasts, with a blind yearning for power, something rarely seen in the martial artists of the White Path.

Thump, thump!

His heart pounded faster.

It wasn’t from tension or fear.

Their gazes, the familiar excitement he hadn’t felt since his regression, were naturally raising Yeon Ho-jeong’s heart rate.

Feeling as if he had returned to his hometown after being away for a long time, Yeon Ho-jeong entered the Mukryong Stronghold.

* * *

Yang Cheon was on the same hill in the wilderness where Yeon Ho-jeong had met him after reaching the Supreme realm.

On a flat rock, six bottles of alcohol and several dishes were laid out. It wasn’t extravagant, but the natural setting made the drinking table elegant in its own way.

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been watching Yang Cheon from afar, spoke to Muk Bi.

“Why don’t you go in first?”

Why was that?

Muk Bi, who would usually shrug and agree, stared at Yeon Ho-jeong intently.

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.

“Why? Is there something on my face?”

“Ugliness.”

“…Hey.”

Muk Bi said to Gang Ryang and Jin Yang.

“Go in first.”

Gang Ryang stopped Jin Yang, who was about to step forward.

“Alright. Have a drink and come back.”

Gang Ryang took the grumbling Jin Yang towards the entrance of the Mukryong Stronghold.

Yeon Ho-jeong asked.

“Why aren’t you going back?”

“Why? Can’t I be here?”

Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.

“Of course not. Where wouldn’t there be a place for the most reliable adjutant in the world?”

Muk Bi snorted.

“Let’s go.”

The two approached Yang Cheon.

As before, Yang Cheon didn’t look at Yeon Ho-jeong. He already knew they had arrived, but he simply ate the snacks and drank his alcohol.

Yeon Ho-jeong asked.

“A person has arrived, aren’t you going to look at us?”

Only then did Yang Cheon turn to Yeon Ho-jeong.

“…”

On Yang Cheon’s face, as he quietly looked at him, a mixture of welcome and awkwardness appeared.

“Did you take some elixir?”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“You’ve grown again?”

“People grow when they go out into the world.”

“…Still, this seems excessive? How is it that every time you go out and come back, you’re a level, a level stronger?”

“It just happened as I was fighting enthusiastically.”

“Don’t lie, tell me honestly. Did you take some elixir?”

“You know better than anyone, Vice Lord, that my level is beyond what can be achieved with elixirs.”

“It’s different if it’s something like the Ten Thousand Year Warm Liquid or the Empty Clear Stone Milk.”

“Do those really exist? I’ve never even heard of anyone seeing them, let alone drinking a drop.”

Yang Cheon frowned.

“They exist. I’ve drunk a drop of the Empty Clear Stone Milk.”

He suddenly told a surprising story. Yeon Ho-jeong and Muk Bi couldn’t help but show interest in his words.

“Really?”

“Why would I lie to you? It was twenty years ago, I tried it once near Gansuk Province.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s face showed interest.

“How did you get it?”

“It was luck, I guess. A medicine peddler was selling it. He said it was good for the body and offered it for fifty silver coins.”

Yeon Ho-jeong asked back, dumbfounded.

“Fifty silver coins? Something so precious that you can’t even put a price on it?”

“He didn’t know its value. He must have thought it looked unusual. But he didn’t seem to know what it was. Well, if he knew, would he have offered it for that price?”

“Huh.”

“Honestly, I was also doubtful. I was so interested in such things that I had researched the literature in my youth and memorized the scent, color, and other characteristics, so I recognized it. But I never thought I would actually find it.”

Yeon Ho-jeong looked into Yang Cheon’s expression and eyes. No matter how he looked, he didn’t seem to be lying.

“So, you bought that precious thing for fifty silver coins?”

“No.”

“Huh?”

“I haggled hard and bought it for forty silver coins.”

“…You haggled for that too?”

“Of course. I couldn’t show that I was knowledgeable about the martial world or a strong martial artist.”

“Ah?”

“Of course, I was strong back then, but there were many people stronger than me. And as you know, no matter how strong you are, if they come at you in a mob, who can withstand it?”

Both Yeon Ho-jeong and Yang Cheon now had huge forces behind them, but most martial artists did not.

The saying that one should hide three parts of their skill in the martial world was not for nothing. If it was for survival rather than fame, one had to know how to hide oneself at any time, depending on the situation.

“Sometimes, such things happen in life.”

“So, did your martial arts improve?”

Yang Cheon nodded.

“Just drinking it cleansed all the blood points in my body. I realized then that the medicine itself could have spirituality. That feeling of the upper dantian [an energy center in the body] being completely opened in an instant was a first for me. I didn’t even need to circulate my energy; just drinking it and sitting down had already put my body in the best condition.”

“Huh.”

“It’s a funny thing. Until I built the Mukryong Stronghold, I thought I would never even taste such an elixir in my life, but I was lucky enough to have a connection with it.”

Yang Cheon called it a connection.

That’s right. It could only be described as a connection.

Connections are not only between people. There are connections with treasured swords, elixirs, and even martial arts manuals.

However, whether that connection will be a good one or a bad one will entirely depend on the person who stands on the test of that connection.

“Somehow, we’ve ended up talking about this. That’s not the issue here.”

Yang Cheon’s eyes gleamed.

“I heard about the events in the Imperial Palace.”

“Yes.”

“And about the Prince Bi.”

“Yes.”

“You went out with one purpose, but as expected, you handled several things and came back.”

“I feel more comfortable if I take care of all the miscellaneous things when I go out.”

“That’s right. That’s why I can trust you with such tasks. Regardless of how strong your martial arts are.”

Yang Cheon pointed with his chin to the opposite side of him.

“Let’s have a drink.”

“I’d like that.”

“What about the archer lady?”

Muk Bi slightly lowered her head.

“I’m fine.”

Yang Cheon chuckled.

“Why? Are you worried that I might get drunk and beat your superior to death?”

Muk Bi didn’t answer. She simply stood behind Yeon Ho-jeong.

Yang Cheon grumbled.

“You’re lucky to have such a good subordinate.”

“Rather than a subordinate, she’s a friend.”

“Maybe I should have brought a few with me.”

Yeon Ho-jeong filled Yang Cheon’s cup and said.

“I’m sure you’ve received the reports, but would you like me to tell you separately?”

“Of course, you should. What someone who’s on the ground sees and hears is on a different level than a report.”

Yeon Ho-jeong spoke in detail about the things he had experienced since leaving the Mukryong Stronghold.

Yang Cheon’s eyes deepened.

“Prince Bi was a disciple leader of the Gwanghyeol Cult… and originally a military officer of the Imperial Palace?”

“That seems to be the case.”

“If the movement techniques of the subordinates that the Ghost Lord commanded were that great, then it seems that Prince Bi taught the Triad bastards based on the movement techniques he obtained from the Imperial Palace’s armory.”

“That seems likely.”

“It’s truly sickening. Where on earth aren’t those bastards? I knew that the Triad bastards were lurking in the Imperial Palace, but who would have imagined it would be to this extent?”

“They’re like cockroaches. However, according to the Dragon Head Master, even if he doesn’t know about the outside, there are no Triad spies within the Beggars’ Union.”

“There will still be some, just not enough to be worth digging out. Still, that means they’ve been mostly cleaned up.”

“That’s right.”

“You’ve worked hard. Have a drink.”

The two emptied their glasses coolly.

The snacks had long since cooled in the chilly wind. Still, they tasted good when they chewed on them.

This time, Yang Cheon filled Yeon Ho-jeong’s glass.

“Come to think of it, you’ve already met all three of the Lords.”

“So it seems.”

“The Divine Lord is here, the Ghost Lord is under the Emperor, and the Demonic Lord… he’s become so broken.”

“…”

“That Demonic Lord, he fought with Gwon Shin?”

“I didn’t hear it directly, but judging by the fact that they called him a ‘bald monk,’ it must be Master Mu Heo. What martial monk in the world could have overwhelmed the Demonic Lord?”

“Well, I guess so.”

Yang Cheon shook his head.

“Did I tell you before? That the Blood Jade Demonic Lord’s talent was incredible. That in ten years, he could become one of the top masters in the Central Plains.”

“You said that someone you knew had evaluated him that way.”

“If that person said so, then the Demonic Lord’s talent must have been truly extraordinary. For you to have defeated such a person, you’re truly amazing.”

“I didn’t win with my own strength. I only managed to hold out until the end; if the Ghost Lord hadn’t arrived in time, I would have lost.”

“…Is that so?”

“He was definitely strong. I lost in terms of skill before even considering compatibility. I still have a long way to go.”

Yang Cheon thought that this aspect of Yeon Ho-jeong was truly frightening.

Knowing the timing of martial arts growth? Seeing through the enemy’s weaknesses? Reading the situation with an insight and perception that reached the divine?

All of those were frightening abilities.

But what was truly amazing was the composure of saying that he was weak and lacking, even though he had made a name for himself in the Saintly Heaven before the age of thirty.

Yeon Ho-jeong had the advantage of not being arrogant or conceited, even though he possessed abilities that everyone admired. The White Path might not know it, but at least in the Black Path, there would never be anyone with such a personality.

‘It’s a shame.’

Yang Cheon’s gaze towards Yeon Ho-jeong was particularly complex.

‘If this guy were my disciple, I would feel as secure as if I had truly conquered the world.’

Looking at it coldly, Yeon Ho-jeong could never come over to the Black Path.

It was natural. This guy belonged to the Byeoksan Yeon Clan, a prestigious family of the White Path. He was even the eldest son.

No matter how rebellious his personality was, as long as his roots were in a prestigious family, he could not come over to the Black Path.

‘And yet.’

Despite that, the reason why he kept fixating on Yeon Ho-jeong was because the way he acted didn’t suit the White Path at all.

Beyond not suiting it, he was a pure Black Path person. If Yeon Ho-jeong had been born in the Black Path, everyone would have applauded, saying that the greatest prodigy had finally appeared in the thousands of years of martial history.

It was precisely because of that aspect that Yang Cheon couldn’t let go of Yeon Ho-jeong. Even though he knew that he would never come over to the White Path.

‘With this guy’s skills, he could greatly change the world.’

Yang Cheon, who had been quietly looking at Yeon Ho-jeong, opened his mouth.

“Where…”

“Before you speak.”

“…?”

“I have something to tell you, Vice Lord.”

“Wasn’t the report finished?”

“The official report is over, and what remains is a dangerous matter that is heavily mixed with public and private affairs.”

Swoosh.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s breathing calmed down.

“Depending on the circumstances, a life-or-death duel might break out in this place.”