Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 841

“You’ve lost some weight.”

That was his father’s first line upon seeing his son after a long time.

“I’m sorry.”

That was his son’s first line, full of shame.

“You should be.”

Yeon-wi said with a smile.

“Even so, you rascal, couldn’t you have given me a heads-up beforehand? Of course, I had considered the possibility of you turning to the dark side, but I never thought you’d actually go through with it.”

“……”

“Are you not being mistreated there?”

“No, they treat me well.”

“Well, if Vice Lord Yang has any sense, he wouldn’t mistreat someone as reckless as you. He’d have to treat you well to avoid trouble.”

“……”

“You must have been very busy. The busier you are, the more you need to eat properly.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Also, no matter how busy you are, you must not compromise on your minimum sleep time. No matter how high you reach, a person is still a person. You need to take care of your health when you’re young.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Good.”

He had intended to scold him, but Yeon-wi couldn’t bring himself to reprimand Yeon Ho-Jeong.

How could he? Although Yeon Ho-Jeong’s decision had somewhat tarnished the Yeon family’s reputation, he was someone who had never cared about the family’s standing in his entire life.

Rather, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s judgment was for the sake of the world. In fact, after Yeon Ho-Jeong became the successor of the Muk Ryong Clan [a powerful martial arts clan], public concern about the Muk Ryong Clan’s provocations or surprise attacks had noticeably decreased.

All of that was thanks to his son. He was disappointed that he hadn’t been informed beforehand, but such things happen when pursuing great ambitions.

Yeon-wi patted Yeon Ho-Jeong’s shoulder.

“Given your position, it will be difficult to see you often within the Alliance. But whenever you have time, drop by for a cup of tea.”

“Of course, I will.”

“Good, that’s all that matters.”

The somewhat tense atmosphere relaxed.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong, who had been watching Yeon Ho-Jeong with trembling eyes, finally spoke.

“Brother.”

“It’s been a while.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face showed a mix of joy and surprise as he looked at his younger brother.

“I knew you’d grown a lot, but I didn’t expect you to grow this much.”

“You’ve been too neglectful, brother.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Unlike Father, I don’t have any official position. And since you might leave again at any time, I’m going to stick to you like a leech and bother you as long as you’re in the Alliance.”

“Haha.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong chuckled and shook his head.

“By the way, what’s with your martial arts?”

“Huh?”

“I actually thought you would have broken through to the Martial Grandmaster realm by now.”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong smiled awkwardly.

“I don’t have as much talent as you, brother.”

“That’s nonsense. When it comes to talent, there are few in the world who can compare to you.”

“It’s because I’m lacking.”

“No, not at all.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Yeon-wi and asked.

“This guy is a spitting image of Father, isn’t he?”

“Do you think so too?”

“Yes.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s expression became strange.

“His achieved realm is roughly at the level before Martial Grandmaster, but the sword energy flowing from his entire body is almost on par with Senior Pae-Yul or Brother Moyong.”

His understanding of the sword was on a different level than his peers.

If Yeon Ji-Pyeong had broken through to Martial Grandmaster, he would have been surprised, but he would have also praised him for cultivating his genius talent well.

However, instead of running faster, Yeon Ji-Pyeong focused on refining himself. And that effort had returned as a majestic and unparalleled sword path.

He didn’t show it much, but Yeon Ho-Jeong was genuinely surprised.

“He has embraced everything he could, so once he breaks through to Martial Grandmaster, it will be truly something to behold.”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

It had been so long since he had seen his brother that there was a slight awkwardness. But his brother, who had become the best martial artist in the world, was genuinely impressed by his growth.

He was embarrassed, but also proud of himself. He was relieved that his efforts hadn’t been in vain, and he felt an even stronger desire to improve further.

“By the way.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong glanced out the window.

“Are those observers?”

“They’re from the Hwaryong Clan. Thanks to your wonderful choice, warriors have been assigned to watch you.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong coughed awkwardly.

Yeon-wi said with a smile.

“They’re called observers, but they’re actually helpful people who handle various tasks. Military Advisor Jeagal specifically assigned them, so I’m almost sorry for them.”

“You often benefit from the Military Advisor’s help.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong immediately saw through Jeagal Mun-Ho’s intentions. He probably assigned the observers to quell the indiscriminate negative public opinion towards the Yeon family.

“And…”

They wanted to talk about various things, but Yeon-wi started with the biggest issue.

“Have you heard about the Moyong Clan Head?”

“I haven’t yet… now that I think about it, I haven’t seen the Moyong Clan Head yet. I heard he came out of seclusion.”

“Hmm, it seems Moyong Dae-Su didn’t say anything either.”

“Yes. What happened?”

Yeon-wi briefly explained what had happened.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes widened.

“Did he really do that?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Yeon Ho-Jeong couldn’t believe it.

People change. But there are parts that never change.

Yeon Ho-Jeong thought that Moyong Gun would carry his one desire, to become the leader of the Martial Alliance, even in death.

But he had given up everything and headed to Gangseo [a region in the story’s world]?

“I received information that some organization is gathering there. I was going to meet the Military Advisor today to talk about that, but it seems the Martial Alliance already knew about it.”

“To be precise, it was Hu-Gae who sharply noticed it. I never imagined that the group would be connected to the Moyong Clan Head.”

“The Gangseo Alliance…”

As he had guessed, it was an alliance of small and medium-sized sects.

But he never thought that the organization would be Moyong Gun’s political funds and supporters.

‘He’s scary as always.’

If they hadn’t formed an alliance, he would have never known. That’s how meticulous his personnel management was.

‘Meticulous as it is, but…’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes, looking up at the ceiling, trembled greatly.

‘Did you really change?’

The time he spent with himself was so painful that he even thought of suicide.

Although it was only a few months of seclusion, Moyong Gun’s change, facing his true self, was more meaningful than decades of seclusion.

‘Honestly, it’s hard to believe.’

Knowing that Moyong Gun’s desire wouldn’t easily disappear, and knowing how terrifying his goal-oriented life was, he couldn’t trust him unless he saw it with his own eyes.

But.

‘He’s not someone who would whine in front of others.’

The fact that he lowered his head and spoke of his weakness and past mistakes showed how much Moyong Gun had changed.

‘Whatever it is, he’s become much scarier than before.’

If it wasn’t genuine, Moyong Gun had become so terrifying that he could lower his stiff pride to make his opponent lower their guard.

And if it was genuine.

If he had truly changed himself, Moyong Gun would achieve tremendous growth. A master can leap dozens of steps with a single realization.

That growth, that development, is terrifying.

‘If you have truly changed your perspective on the world, I will welcome you with open arms, even if everyone else points fingers at you. But if that appearance of yours was just a scheme to achieve your goal…’

He would show him hell.

‘But.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong closed his eyes.

‘Moyong Gun is a smart man. He knows that there’s no need to act this way.’

The answer was already there.

The answer was there, but he still couldn’t easily believe it. It was because he had been in such a confrontational relationship with Moyong Gun.

‘If he really changed… it must have been very painful.’

He had personally persuaded Yang Cheon to give up his dream. Moyong Gun had changed himself and was trying to start over from the bottom.

Yeon Ho-Jeong felt a sense of bitterness.

No matter how great their dreams were, protecting his own land had to be the priority. But he felt strange knowing that he was the one who had directly and indirectly crushed the dreams of two giants.

‘Am I destroying other people’s futures for my own goals?’

For the sake of the common good and purpose, his actions were justified.

But he felt a little… no, a lot of guilt.

Seeing Yeon Ho-Jeong looking troubled, Yeon-wi said.

“The Moyong Clan Head believes he did his best in the given circumstances.”

“……”

“Humans influence and are influenced by countless others in their lives. There’s no need to feel too bitter.”

He was like a ghost, reading his son’s inner thoughts.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smacked his lips.

“Somehow, I feel like drinking today.”

“Hold back today. You have to meet the Military Advisor later, don’t you?”

“Yes, I know. Actually, I need to start preparing now.”

“Preparing?”

“About the selection of the Martial Alliance Leader.”

Yeon-wi’s face hardened slightly.

“I trust you more than anyone, but it’s best to be careful about the selection of the Alliance Leader.”

“Yes, it could easily become interference in internal affairs.”

“That’s right. You know it well.”

“I’ll just meet him privately and have a conversation. In the end, the Martial Alliance Leader must be someone everyone can agree on, so there’s nothing I can do by stepping in.”

“Hearing you say that, I feel relieved.”

“Yes.”

After finishing the heavy conversation, Yeon Ho-Jeong looked around again.

“By the way, where is the Tang Clan Head’s daughter?”

“She’s in seclusion.”

“Seclusion?”

“Yes, she’s been training harder than anyone else. It wouldn’t be strange if she surpassed Martial Grandmaster right now.”

“I see.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, Muk Bi, Gang Ryang, Jin Yang.

Moyong Woo, Tang Sang-Ah, Namgoong Pyo, and so on.

In the past few years, talented individuals had raised their realms to unimaginable heights through extraordinary efforts. Of course, they were just a handful of geniuses in the vast world, but when you looked at them one by one, they were not a small number at all.

It was a generational shift.

In the previous generation, there were geniuses who broke through to Martial Grandmaster at a similar age. And the same was true for the generation before them.

Yeon Ho-Jeong could finally feel it. The era, this world of martial arts, was going through another transition.

The old masters of the past were stepping down one by one, and the protagonists of the new era were beginning to show their presence.

Yeon Ho-Jeong sincerely hoped that this turbulent era would not collapse entirely due to the war with the Three Teachings [a powerful antagonistic force].

“Ah, and Father.”

“Yes.”

“I… well, anyway, I have a junior sister now, right?”

Yeon-wi’s eyes sparkled.

“Are you talking about Vice Lord Yang’s disciple?”

“Yes. If you look at the time of her entry, she’s my senior sister, but since I’m a special case, that man said he would treat me as a senior brother first. He said that would look better.”

“She must be a good person.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“But why is she?”

“I gave her a separate task on the way here. She’ll arrive soon, so I’d like her accommodation to be arranged here.”

“Not at the Eight Constellation Pavilion?”

“Yes.”

“Of course, I don’t mind, but is there a reason?”

“That’s…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was about to speak, suddenly flinched and looked out the window.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Hmm.”

A smile spread across Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face.

“The Martial Alliance is a good place. Familiar faces keep gathering.”

“Hmm?”

Soon after, surprise also appeared on Yeon-wi and Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s faces.

“You brat, are you there?”

It was Tang Gwan’s return.