Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 868

The old monk’s eyes snapped open.

His white eyebrows were long, like a beard. Even with his eyes open, the eyebrows that drooped over half his eyeballs gave him the appearance of an aged Bodhidharma [a legendary Buddhist monk].

“…That fellow is something else.”

His aged voice was devoid of strength.

A cracked and raspy voice, the robe he wore was so large it seemed to engulf the entire floor. There was no vitality to be found anywhere in his appearance.

A withered and emaciated body. His appearance, which made it difficult to guess his age, was closer to a ghost than a human.

“Worldly desires are like snowflakes. If you avoid them because they are cold, they will be frightening, but if you see them as beautiful, they will be exciting. You knew they were beautiful, yet you avoided them for fear of catching a cold. Now, have you finally touched that cool flame?”

It sounded as if he would burst into laughter at any moment. That was the tone of his voice.

That cracked and weak voice created a strange feeling. He was a peculiar monk.

“Go forth, you rascal. I taught you everything thirty years ago. I know that you haven’t reached enlightenment not because of a lack of ability, but because of your will.”

The old monk, his master, did not see his disciple’s choice as a bad one.

Rather, he thought it was remarkable. He did not settle for his overflowing talent, but through a painful training process every day, he was on the verge of reaching the ultimate realm. However, he was afraid that he would be trapped by worldly desires if he entered that realm, so he held back.

He valued worldly desires and Buddhist law more than martial arts. That alone was worthy of praise.

However, while youthful anguish was understandable, if he could not shake off his anguish even after ten or twenty years, that was a foolish act in itself.

Fortunately, it seemed that his disciple, who was more outstanding than anyone else but foolishly inept and stubborn, had finally attained enlightenment.

Trickle.

Dark fluid flowed from the old monk’s eyes.

It was fluid, but its color was black. However, its viscosity was definitely that of fluid.

It was not something that could be mistaken for blood tears. The color and viscosity of the flowing fluid were that intense.

The old monk wiped the fluid with his sleeve.

Sizzle!

The sleeve that wiped away the fluid slightly burned, accompanied by a faint smoke.

“It’s getting worse.”

The old monk felt a sense of bitterness.

In this world, there are things that are good to know and things that are not good to know.

The old monk knew what he should not know. However, it was also something he could not not know. That was what he thought.

The result was this.

“Amazing. How has ‘he’ endured this for three centuries?”

The old monk looked at the sky with a sigh.

The pupil of his left eye, from which the murky fluid had flowed, turned gray. It was as if he had lost his sight for a moment.

Buzz. Buzz.

The golden light emanating from the old monk’s body flickered repeatedly.

It was a highly pure energy, but it seemed unstable for some reason.

‘If this continues, within a few years…’

He had lived long enough, so he had no regrets. If possible, it would have been good to attain enlightenment like Buddha and reach Nirvana [a state of perfect peace], but sacrificing himself for the world instead of attaining enlightenment was not bad either.

However, what was regrettable was.

‘I wish he would visit me once before I become a handful of ashes.’

There was an enlightenment he wanted to pass on to his disciple, not as the Martial God of the martial world, but as the Divine Fist of Shaolin.

Of course, with his disciple’s talent, he would eventually realize what he had realized on his own.

However, the times were changing rapidly. The current world was changing faster, more fiercely, and more ominously than people knew.

He wanted to pass on this enlightenment so that his disciple could accomplish great things in that chaotic world, and so that the lineage of Shaolin could be maintained, even if the history of Shaolin was stained with blood and half-destroyed.

‘Is that also greed…? Well, worldly affairs are like waves. How small and insignificant our conflict must look to the heavens.’

It could not be helped.

The old monk was still a monk. Although his death was near, the path to becoming a Buddha seemed distant.

It was not bad to die as a human. However, as a human, he was not free from the five desires and seven emotions, so he wished he could leave something for his disciple and the mountain temple.

Thump!

His heart beat loudly.

The old monk sighed inwardly. It was another seizure.

How many days had it been since the last one, and already another seizure was returning? The symptoms were getting worse.

Whoosh!

The old monk suppressed the rising energy with the boundless divine art of Shaolin.

In the secret dwelling of Mount Song, which only the former old monks of Shaolin knew, the old monk’s battle continued.

* * *

“…!!”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes widened as he looked at the battlefield.

Not to mention Cheon Hyo-Rak, even the usually unflappable Master Seung-Hyeon was speechless.

“Oh? Have you arrived?”

It was truly bewildering to see Yeon Ho-Jeong greet them so casually with a blood-soaked face.

It seemed that he had caught his breath in the meantime. Yeon Ho-Jeong’s waving hand even looked cheerful at first glance.

His lower body was relatively intact, but his upper body was bare, revealing his ruggedly trained muscles. His body was covered in all sorts of scratches and cuts, but he didn’t seem to be in much pain.

“It seems that someone has business with you.”

“I suppose so.”

Mok Won’s condition was not normal either. In some ways, he looked even worse than Yeon Ho-Jeong.

He had a black iron rod slung over his shoulder, and the end of the rod was bent at a strange angle.

If the iron rod, protected by the absolute divine art of the Heavenly Martial Weapon, Mok Won, was bent, then it must have been an extraordinary battle.

In fact, the energy of the battle between the two supreme masters shook even the outer walls of the Martial Alliance. It was not the energy imbued with the will of absolute masters, but a literal shockwave, so everyone living in the outer walls could feel the energy.

It was fortunate that the two had announced that they were going to have a duel. Otherwise, people would have thought that there was a sudden earthquake.

Jeagal Mun-Ho sighed.

“What on earth is that state you’re in?”

He was supposed to treat them with official courtesy, but the sight was so absurd that he couldn’t help but ask.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled and approached.

“I had a duel with my brother. I created a new martial art, so I had to see how powerful it was.”

“Hmph.”

Master Seung-Hyeon shook his head.

“So, were you satisfied?”

“Of course.”

Master Seung-Hyeon scanned the surroundings.

The land within a radius of over fifty yards was completely devastated.

It was more than enough to imagine how powerful the collision had been. However, there was another trace that Master Seung-Hyeon was paying attention to.

“What is that…?”

“You noticed it too, I see.”

Master Seung-Hyeon’s eyes trembled.

“The Transmitting Force of Tai Chi Fist…?”

“Yes.”

Paang!

Yeon Ho-Jeong lightly hit his palm with his fist and smiled.

“It’s not all about the power of a straight line. If you add the Transmitting Force of Tai Chi Fist, which is the epitome of softness, you can gain immense destructive power and suppression ability. I always intended to combine them into one, and I was finally able to fuse it with my martial art.”

“Hmph!”

“It’s thanks to the teachings of the Sect Leader. Thank you.”

“Can you control it?”

“Yes. That’s why I fought with my brother to confirm it.”

Master Seung-Hyeon clicked his tongue.

“You must visit Wudang later.”

“Yes?”

“I only taught you one strand of enlightenment of Tai Chi Fist, but you took the entire martial art of Wudang based on that. Is there another thief like you in the world?”

“Is that so?”

“I won’t ask you to return it, so please pass on some of your enlightenment to those foolish Taoists. They deserve at least that much.”

“I will definitely make time.”

“Please do. Seriously, even though there was a guy who took the essence of Wudang martial arts with just one Tai Chi Fist, how come those guys can’t even take half of it?”

Master Seung-Hyeon clicked his tongue, his face filled with deep regret.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, feeling awkward, coughed and looked at Jeagal Mun-Ho.

“What’s the matter?”

“Ah, that’s…”

Jeagal Mun-Ho looked at Cheon Hyo-Rak.

Cheon Hyo-Rak, who had been blankly looking around the battlefield, quickly came to his senses and opened his mouth.

“The Sub…”

“You want me to resolve the matter of the Divine Devil Forest?”

Cheon Hyo-Rak flinched for a moment. A deep surprise appeared on his beautiful face.

“How did you…?”

Jeagal Mun-Ho said with a bitter smile.

“Don’t be surprised. He’s a man who can see one or two steps ahead.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong shook his head.

“I heard that something happened in the Divine Devil Forest. You must have come a long way to resolve it, but the Martial Alliance is currently too chaotic.”

“…!!”

“I don’t know if it’s a request or not, but who else is there to order around without any burden other than me?”

Jeagal Mun-Ho said with an embarrassed face.

“It hurts a little when you say it like that.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong laughed heartily and said.

“Isn’t it the truth?”

“It is, but…”

“And that’s also true. Originally, I came as a special envoy because of the Martial Alliance Leader issue, but now that ‘that person’ has made up his mind, there’s nothing much for me to do.”

“Ahem!”

“Besides, the Divine Devil Forest is ruled by the Devil Immortal, who is considered the best in the world. At least a master of the Saintly Heaven level should go to make it worthwhile.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho nodded.

“That’s right. There are other Saintly Heavens besides you, but it’s difficult to ask Senior Sword Saint for help. And I don’t have any connection with Senior White Weapon God, and furthermore…”

“Senior Taoist Master has also arrived.”

“Hmm?”

“He has arrived. It seems we missed each other.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes trembled.

He was surprised, but his voice did not waver.

“Yes, he has arrived.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Cheon Hyo-Rak and said.

“Although time is tight, it’s not so urgent that you have to leave right away. If it were, you would have sent a letter, not come in person. Am I right?”

“…You are right.”

“Then, is it okay to go after seeing the Martial Alliance Leader’s inauguration ceremony?”

“In my current situation, what more can I ask for? Although I am in a hurry, I would be grateful if you would just help me.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong chuckled.

“You’re honest. I like you.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong asked Jeagal Mun-Ho.

“When is the Martial Alliance Leader’s inauguration ceremony?”

“The announcement will be made in three days, and since we plan to keep it as simple as possible, we expect it to be around five days.”

“How do you plan to deal with the public’s backlash?”

Abbot Gong Gong of Shaolin will become the first leader. No one will refuse that.

However, there is an order to everything. The selection of the leader, which was done too abruptly, will be conveyed to many people in a notification style, and there will surely be people who will be upset about it.

Of course, they won’t openly object. Still, if they took more time, they could minimize the dissatisfaction, but it felt like they were handling it somewhat hastily.

“We had no choice but to accept a certain level of dissatisfaction. We thought it was right to proceed as is before the Abbot’s mind wavered.”

“I see.”

“In any case, you can’t go alone. I already feel ashamed to face the Yeon family head and the Vice Head of the Mukryong.”

“Of course, I can’t go alone. I’ll need several people.”

“Hmm, the troops to go with…”

“I will select them. To a minimum.”

“Will you?”

“Yes. I need to discuss with Young Master Cheon about how much force is needed.”

“Okay, thank you. And I’m sorry. I always make you do the dirty work.”

“It’s okay. Ah, since we’re on the topic…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Master Seung-Hyeon.

“I’ll take Ok-Cheong with me.”

“Huh? Oh, you mean Ok-Cheong?”

“Yes.”

“Hmph! Will Ok-Cheong be of any help? Of course, he has grown a lot, but…”

“There’s a reason why the Sword Immortal of Wudang praised him as a talent superior to himself. I didn’t know before, but now I understand.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong rotated his shoulders.

“There are many other things to do. Father, Brother Moyong, the Abbot, and so on. I’m going to be incredibly busy again.”