Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 860

Great Master Gong Gong, who had been silently watching Yeon Ho-jeong, sighed.

“That’s a foul.”

“……”

“Saying it like that is a foul, Vice Leader.”

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.

“It’s for the sake of the world. If necessary, we can use fouls, tricks, and even backstabbing.”

“I’m really not confident. I’m someone who thinks that shouldn’t be done in the first place.”

“Do you truly think so?”

Yeon Ho-jeong asked Master Seung-hyeon.

“Master, in your opinion, is the Great Master not suitable as the Martial Alliance Leader?”

Master Seung-hyeon shook his head.

“Who else in this era is more suitable for the position of Alliance Leader than the abbot of Shaolin?”

“Hey, Master.”

“Haha, the Vice Leader simply asked me a question. I’m just honestly conveying my thoughts, so the Great Master can’t say anything about it.”

Great Master Gong Gong sighed once more.

Yeon Ho-jeong asked Jeagal Mun-ho.

“Strategist, what do you think of my idea?”

Jeagal Mun-ho chuckled.

“You’re really something. Bold and dangerous.”

“Indeed.”

“But like a strategy from your mind…”

“Haha, a strategy?”

“It’s fascinating.”

Jeagal Mun-ho smiled and said to Great Master Gong Gong.

“You were already prepared to burn yourself out, weren’t you?”

“Strategist.”

“Can’t you burn for everyone?”

Die valiantly.

Such terrifying words were not something to say while smiling. However, the three of them burst into laughter.

They knew that the words ‘die’ and ‘burn’ didn’t literally mean death. At the same time, they knew that Great Master Gong Gong’s abilities and character were more than sufficient to discuss the world.

Great Master Gong Gong shook his head.

“Even after reaching this position, this humble monk has many worries. Even after shaking them off, they always seem to follow me. I recite Buddhist scriptures several times a day because of these lingering worries.”

Great Master Gong Gong had become serious.

The faces of the three people who had been laughing also turned serious.

Yeon Ho-jeong asked.

“What worries do you have so many of?”

“Too many to list.”

Great Master Gong Gong looked up at the ceiling and said.

“Sometimes, I think about throwing away the Buddhist law and living as I please. Like you said, sometimes I suddenly think about wielding power as much as I want.”

It was unexpected. Great Master Gong Gong seemed like someone who would never have such thoughts.

But he was also human. He had cultivated himself with his innate talent, his Buddhist heart, and compassion, which he had gained by throwing himself into the river of Buddhist law, but there were still places he hadn’t completely washed away.

“It has grown in size every time I’ve risen to a position that others consider important.”

He was someone who had started as a mere monk, became the youngest Arhat [a Buddhist saint], the youngest head of the Arhat Hall, and then quickly rose to the position of abbot after serving as one of the Eight Great Protectors.

It wasn’t because he was the disciple of the legendary martial arts master, Mu Heo. In reality, Gong Gong’s talent and martial prowess were exceptional, and his abilities were outstanding.

However.

In the midst of everyone’s admiration and bowing, Gong Gong couldn’t smile. From some point on, he couldn’t find his pure self anymore.

“I still remember when I became the abbot and received everyone’s congratulations.”

Great Master Gong Gong smiled bitterly.

“I wanted to drink poison wine that I had never even tasted before. I wanted to put a cigarette in my mouth that others were smoking. Do you know why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Because I knew that no one would say anything to me even if I poured down alcohol and puffed out cigarette smoke. I wanted to see the faces of the monks who would be flustered but wouldn’t dare say a word, so I wanted to do it.”

Master Seung-hyeon’s eyes deepened.

He couldn’t understand Great Master Gong Gong’s feelings. For him, who had lived his whole life as a friend of nature, who knew hierarchy but thought everyone was part of the earth, Great Master Gong Gong’s worries were something he couldn’t understand.

However, he also felt like he understood.

Just because I haven’t lived that way doesn’t mean I can’t empathize with others’ worries or troubles. Master Seung-hyeon had never done it before, but he vaguely understood Great Master Gong Gong.

And Yeon Ho-jeong and Jeagal Mun-ho understood Great Master Gong Gong even better than Master Seung-hyeon.

“Half of my life has melted into the Buddhist law. And the other half has been a struggle to throw away my worries.”

“……”

“If someone like me sits in the position of Martial Alliance Leader? How much greater will the worries be then?”

“Wouldn’t that be training?”

Unlike Great Master Gong Gong’s voice, which seemed stifled as if he was suppressing his emotions, Yeon Ho-jeong’s voice sounded refreshing.

“What do you mean?”

“Are you lamenting the worries that have come? Or are you afraid of them? Or perhaps, are you afraid that the training you have achieved will be nothing in the face of the worries that are growing larger and approaching?”

Great Master Gong Gong sighed.

“It’s all of them. I’m afraid of worries.”

“I hate bugs.”

“……What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“In places with clear air and high humidity, bugs grow to be abnormally large. I’ve seen countless bugs like that.”

“……”

“But because I knew there was a path there, I had no choice but to go even though I hated it. And I killed all the bugs that stuck to my body. I crushed all the snakes and centipedes that were wriggling to poison me.”

“……”

“I wandered around Yunnan like that for several months. It was a terrible memory.”

Yeon Ho-jeong placed his hand on his chest.

“But I’m alive like this. I achieved what I wanted, though it was difficult, and I came back.”

“……”

“If I hadn’t walked that path because I was scared and uncomfortable with bugs, I would still be regretting it now.”

“Hey, Vice Leader. I…”

“If you’re afraid of greater worries, then just walk on. But if you don’t want to accept the reality that worries come even after decades of training…”

Yeon Ho-jeong turned his gaze to Master Seung-hyeon.

“I won’t bother the Great Master anymore. Instead, I’ll pester the Wudang Sect Leader.”

Master Seung-hyeon chuckled.

Yeon Ho-jeong turned his gaze back to Great Master Gong Gong.

“As someone who thinks about the Martial Alliance regardless of position, there’s a reason why the Strategist and I think you should be the Alliance Leader. It’s a somewhat hasty judgment, but not only us, everyone will think so.”

Master Seung-hyeon nodded.

“That’s right. Even if there are those who are dissatisfied, no one will dare to say it’s a wrong choice.”

“In other words, we acknowledge your abilities and character, and at the same time, we want your sacrifice.”

In his calm voice.

Yeon Ho-jeong emphasized the word ‘sacrifice’.

“Are you afraid that greater worries will come? Don’t worry. There are so many people who can correct you if you ever go astray.”

“……”

“Don’t you want to acknowledge your worries? You should rise to the position of Alliance Leader even more. Facing them in a place where you have no choice but to acknowledge them will become good fuel and make the pure flame in your heart grow even bigger.”

It was strange.

As Great Master Gong Gong listened to Yeon Ho-jeong’s words, he felt as if his voice was similar to that of a high monk reciting Buddhist scriptures.

It was a truly bizarre experience. How could his voice sound so smooth even though he was speaking somewhat provocative words? He couldn’t tell if it was because Yeon Ho-jeong was special or if his own mind was strange.

“Doesn’t the fact that your worries are growing mean that you are getting closer to the light?”

“Light…?”

“You didn’t throw yourself into the infinite darkness because you were afraid that your worries would grow bigger.”

Great Master Gong Gong’s eyes wavered.

Yeon-wi’s eyes and Moyong Gun’s eyes also saw it. Of course, Yeon Ho-jeong, who had made a name for himself in Seongcheon, would also see it.

But that was a story of the past. The place he stayed was still right in front of infinity, but he had stayed there for too long, and he was losing the enlightenment he could have gained one by one.

“I am an inadequate person.”

“That’s right. You’re inadequate, so you don’t acknowledge it.”

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.

“You don’t think about why everyone wants you to be the Alliance Leader.”

“No. I’m thinking about it. That’s why I’m grateful, and that’s why I’m ashamed.”

“No. That’s not thinking. It’s closer to avoiding responsibility.”

“Avoiding responsibility?”

“The reason we want you to be the Alliance Leader isn’t because we want you to do something well, but because we think you wouldn’t do badly.”

“……!!”

“Furthermore, it’s because we know that you will definitely sacrifice yourself in the moment you have to. There aren’t many people who can resist that kind of temptation and make a decision.”

“……”

“And you know that too. But you’re stubbornly refusing under the pretext that you’re afraid of worries.”

“……”

“If you truly didn’t want to take the position because it was burdensome and you hated it, how could we force you like this? But until now, you haven’t really said that you hate the position.”

“That is…”

“This kind of opportunity doesn’t come to just anyone, Great Master.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s smile became warmer.

“It’s an opportunity to overcome the greatest worries, the most dangerous and deepest worries. As a monk who follows the Buddhist law and an elder of the martial world, how can you refuse this great opportunity?”

Great Master Gong Gong sighed.

“An opportunity to overcome worries…”

“I think it would be fine if Master Seung-hyeon here became the first Alliance Leader instead of you. He’s someone who would clearly sacrifice himself like you.”

Master Seung-hyeon joked.

“I might become obsessed with power and live a life of debauchery.”

“Nevertheless, I want you to be the Alliance Leader.”

Yeon Ho-jeong, ignoring Master Seung-hyeon’s words with a laugh, spoke seriously.

“I think someone who knows their limits, someone who knows their own vulgarity, is more suitable for the Alliance Leader than someone who is closer to a divine being than a human.”

The person closer to a divine being than a human was Master Seung-hyeon, and the person who knew his limits was Great Master Gong Gong.

That was how Yeon Ho-jeong saw the two of them. Master Seung-hyeon coughed awkwardly because he was burdened by Yeon Ho-jeong’s praise, and Great Master Gong Gong was ashamed because he thought he was more flawed than knowing his limits and vulgarity.

Looking at the two of them, Yeon Ho-jeong said to Jeagal Mun-ho.

“I’ve said everything I wanted to say. If I try to persuade him more, I’ll just become the bad guy.”

“Wasn’t that your role? You’ve become the Vice Leader of the Black Dragon Unit, and you’re talking nicely.”

“Hahaha! I’ve been marked as a ruthless person in people’s eyes, I can’t be marked by the Bonggong people too, can I?”

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had risen from his seat, looked at Great Master Gong Gong.

Had he been caught up in worries in that short time?

Great Master Gong Gong’s face, as he stared blankly at the table and muttered, was full of seriousness and absurdity.

Master Seung-hyeon looked at Yeon Ho-jeong with admiration.

“Your heart’s words have reached the heart of an Arhat.”

“Is that so?”

“You’ve planted worries. Did you give him a prescription so that he can overcome greater worries?”

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled and bowed his head.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to hide.”

“Hide? What do you mean?”

Yeon Ho-jeong looked to the east.

“Someone else is coming. I have a feeling they’re looking for me.”

“Huh?!”

“I’ve said everything I needed to say, so I should go train and pester my brother.”