Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 816

“Hmm.”

Yeon Ho-jeong scratched his head after reviewing the documents.

“What a mess.”

The documents were filled with information about the internal affairs of the nine organizations.

Since those who compiled this information didn’t have high authority within their organizations, a detailed investigation was impossible. However, it was enough to get a glimpse of how the organizations were currently operating.

The combination of the Black Dragon Unit’s intelligence and the cooperation of insiders allowed them to learn a great deal, except for extremely secret projects.

“These are the guys who were running the Black Path.”

In reality, they were called the Black Path, but the marrow they were sucking was from the common people, not martial artists.

Except for two or three sects, they were all destroying their surroundings without any future in mind. It was no different from recklessly logging an entire mountain to create a temporary base.

They even went a step further. They weren’t destroying the area to survive, but exploiting tens of thousands of commoners to gain more wealth and power.

Desire is a great driving force that moves people. But these guys were too extreme.

“I need to fix it from the root.”

Surprisingly, it seemed that this task wouldn’t be as difficult as he thought.

This was also why Black Path sects couldn’t build a long history like the White Path sects and quickly collapsed. They only knew how to establish a base, but didn’t know how to maintain it.

That was understandable. In the Black Path martial world, where betrayal and conspiracy were commonplace, it was never easy to lay a foundation for the future in a moderate way.

They chose easier and more certain methods, so they grew stronger quickly, but they easily crumbled in the face of greater power.

The White Path orthodox sects were not like that. Even if they collapsed under greater power, they quickly recovered as if nothing had happened.

That was the power of history, the strength of a sect with a solid foundation.

And that strength came from the support of the people, the good influence of the sect, and the history and reputation that resulted from it.

‘Even in the past, only two of these sects were decent.’

During the turbulent war of the Black Emperor’s era, the only sects that kept their names were the Green Forest and the Moon Shadow Sect.

The rest had all disappeared or been taken over by the Three Teachings. In particular, the merchant guilds openly helped the Three Teachings and turned the southern part of the Central Plains upside down.

That was the power of money. There was a lot of talk about the romance of the martial world, reputation, and martial arts being the dream and goal of martial artists, but when war broke out, nothing was as important as money.

‘Looking at that, those guys were definitely smart.’

The part that the Three Teachings focused on the most when attacking the Central Plains was the imperial palace and financial power.

During the Black Emperor’s era, they weren’t involved with the imperial palace, but he knew that most of the officials spread throughout the Central Plains had become corrupt due to money.

Moreover, the merchant guilds of that time had no patriotism or pride. They were satisfied as long as they could earn more money, only changing who they were offering it to.

So they actively invested in the Three Teachings. Because the Three Teachings had consistently overwhelmed the Central Plains.

By disrupting the well-maintained flow of the economy, public sentiment became unstable, and the power of the government and the martial world weakened. Corruption was rampant, and all sorts of incidents and accidents occurred.

When that instability reached its peak.

That was when the Three Teachings pushed down into the Central Plains.

“…….”

Why?

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been clicking his tongue while looking at the documents, was suddenly filled with a question.

‘Why?’

Soon, a strange light appeared on Yeon Ho-jeong’s face as he stroked his chin.

‘Why didn’t I think of this?’

The thought that came to him while trying to clean up the Black Path.

It was the location of the battlefield.

“…If a war is going to happen, why in the Central Plains?”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.

The long war in his past life, and the continuous waves of attacks even after his regression.

They were trying to swallow the Central Plains. Since the Central Plains was more prosperous than the outer regions, it was natural for them to try to conquer the Central Plains with their overflowing power.

For whatever purpose, they were aiming for the Central Plains. And the Central Plains was trying to stop them.

And the Central Plains, unlike before, had succeeded in the first line of defense.

“…….”

Was it a problem of a stubborn, fixed perception?

‘Of course, I still don’t know where they are.’

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about finding out. But at the time, it was too daunting. It was also a priority to prepare rather than spend time trying to find out.

After living that way for several years, he hadn’t been able to think about reversing the situation.

‘There’s still a possibility that remnants of them remain in the Central Plains. But on the surface, they’ve been completely cleaned up. If the Beggars’ Union and the Black Path’s intelligence units both say so, then at least they won’t be able to cause chaos here for a while.’

You never know what might happen in the world. But if it’s been cleaned up to this extent, then nothing major will happen for the time being.

“…….”

Yeon Ho-jeong, who was tapping the documents with his index finger as if it were a habit, called someone and asked.

“What is the Vice Leader doing right now?”

“He is having a drinking session with the Twelve Earthly Branches.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, they had said they would have a drink together after work. He had completely forgotten about it because he had so much to think about.

Yeon Ho-jeong smacked his lips.

“I see. Go back.”

“Yes.”

Yang Cheon was also living a busy life. Yeon Ho-jeong was the one dancing in the middle of the storm, but it was Yang Cheon’s job to figure out how to handle the aftermath and worry about the next steps.

‘I should talk about this tomorrow.’

It was then.

“Young Vice Leader.”

“Hmm?”

“A member of your party left a letter for you.”

“Bring it in.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes lit up as he received the letter.

“Did they send someone to deliver it?”

“Yes, they did.”

“I see.”

Yeon Ho-jeong got up from his seat and left his residence.

The place written on the letter was not inside the Black Dragon Unit, but outside.

The moon was shining brightly. The world was bright thanks to the thick snow.

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had climbed up a scenic hill, spoke in a calm voice.

“How did you know about this place?”

Pae-yul, who was looking at the sky with his back turned, said.

“I could see the Ironclad Unit’s training well from here.”

“Have you ever seen it before?”

“I used to watch it often before I went into seclusion. The scenery is nice, and it’s spacious enough to train alone.”

“I see.”

Swish.

Pae-yul, who had drawn his short sword and spear, turned around.

Pae-yul’s figure, backlit by the moonlight, looked quite dark. Meanwhile, his two eyes were vividly alive, and it seemed like someone with a weak heart might faint if they saw them.

“…….”

The two looked at each other without a word.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s gaze was calm, and Pae-yul’s gaze was cold.

After a while.

Shwip!

With a short, sharp sound, Pae-yul approached Yeon Ho-jeong.

Whoosh!

The spear, cutting through the air, aimed for Yeon Ho-jeong’s neck in an instant.

It was a fast and efficient movement. There was no need to talk about efficiency in a straight line, but the moment Pae-yul moved was right before Yeon Ho-jeong’s exhale ended and his inhale began.

Reading the opponent’s breathing and attacking. It was a basic skill for a master, but it was a different story if the opponent was a powerhouse of the Saintly Heaven realm.

Swoosh.

With a simple movement of stepping back and turning his body, Pae-yul’s fast spear strike lost its way.

‘……?’

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.

He thought that Pae-yul would anticipate the attack missing and quickly turn to unleash a sword strike, but instead, he was thrusting his short sword under his armpit without retracting the extended spear.

Thwack!

Yeon Ho-jeong, who dodged the sword with a flexible footwork, was already behind Pae-yul.

Thwack thwack thwack!

It seemed that Pae-yul had anticipated the rear approach. He unleashed three consecutive strikes in the upper, middle, and lower sections, and the speed was as fast and sharp as lightning.

Thud thud thud!

Yeon Ho-jeong, who unleashed three consecutive strikes with one right hand, narrowed the distance and threw a punch.

It was fast, but it was an attack that could be easily anticipated. Yeon Ho-jeong thought that Pae-yul would dodge it.

But he didn’t. Pae-yul lowered his stance and crossed his spear and short sword to prepare for the punch.

Clang!

With a metallic sound, Pae-yul’s body slid backward.

That was all. It was a light sparring match, so he didn’t put his full power into it, but it was still a strike from the Saintly Heaven realm, and it seemed that he hadn’t received any shock except for being pushed back.

‘It’s Qi Gong [a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for health, spirituality, and martial arts].’

It was the power of the powerful Qi Gong technique he had obtained by completing the Guan Il Spear Technique and the Guan Il Sword Technique. It was a wonderful divine art that not only strengthened the power of martial arts but also protected the owner’s body well.

Swoosh.

Pae-yul, who had lowered his stance with his crossed spear and sword, lowered his stance.

“Are you holding back?”

“Should we really go all out?”

It was then.

‘……!’

The haze rising from Pae-yul’s left foot instantly spread throughout his body.

In that instant, Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.

He could tell where the attack was going to come from even before it came. Pae-yul’s intention was clear, and the killing intent of the spear was sharp.

But the momentum was so intense that the target point, which had felt like a dot, was gradually getting bigger. Like pressing a dense ink with a hand to spread it, the target point that Pae-yul’s spear was aiming for was also getting bigger, to the point where it was about to engulf his entire upper body.

‘Amazing.’

There was a killing intent unique to cold weapons, but there was no killing intent from Pae-yul himself.

It was a huge fighting spirit. The fighting spirit was shaped like light and aimed at the opponent, and even Yeon Ho-jeong, who had a deep and vast upper dantian [an energy center in the body, often associated with spiritual power], couldn’t read the striking point.

Yeon Ho-jeong was genuinely impressed.

‘This is why there is no end to the path of martial arts.’

He was impressed by the unique martial way of an opponent who was much weaker than him. Although he was clearly weaker, Pae-yul himself was proving that there was much to learn from the martial arts of the weak.

Fwoooosh!

Pae-yul’s spear, flying like an arrow from a strong bow, was instantly shot at Yeon Ho-jeong’s upper body.

There was no other intention in that attack.

The spear strike, with only the pure will to penetrate, was incredibly honest and possessed an unstoppable force.

Fwoooooosh!!

The snow on the ground scattered left and right and soared up, then flew in a circle following the shockwave that the spear had unleashed.

It was a beautiful and splendid, dynamic yet static, strike that showed a glimpse of martial arts.

Swoosh.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s shoulder area was slightly cut.

His flesh wasn’t injured, but his clothes were cut. It was the same place where Pae-yul had been injured when he fought the successors of the nine organizations.

Pae-yul, who had retrieved his spear, said calmly.

“I guess it’s still not enough.”

“I guess so.”

“It was a strike that I put my soul into.”

A strike that he put his soul into.

It wasn’t just a figure of speech. Pae-yul had shown the best strike he could achieve, and Yeon Ho-jeong had easily avoided it.

However, just because he had avoided it didn’t mean that Pae-yul’s martial arts were insignificant.

“You are amazing.”

“Was I?”

His expression was calm, but Yeon Ho-jeong was very surprised inside.

‘He used the upper dantian.’

The words ‘a strike that he put his soul into’ meant that he had done his best, and at the same time, it also meant that he had drawn out the power of the upper dantian, which was used by the most powerful masters.

‘I didn’t think it would be this much.’

The Guan Il Spear was no longer just an external martial art.

It was like a perfect divine art in itself, encompassing not only internal energy cultivation but also the upper dantian.

“How is it? Do you think you can reach the Saintly Heaven realm with this martial art?”

“It is the person who reaches the Saintly Heaven realm, not the martial art.”

“I know.”

“However, if you are asking if it is a martial art suitable for a powerhouse of the Saintly Heaven realm…”

Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.

“I think I can believe that it is a martial art of the Saintly Heaven realm.”

Pae-yul relaxed his stance with a satisfied expression.

“…….”

Silence fell between the two again.

It was Yeon Ho-jeong who broke the silence.

“Do you have something to say?”

“What I had to say was all in my spear.”

“…….”

“Let’s meet again.”

Yeon Ho-jeong closed his eyes.