Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 87

Two days later.

“Oh, you’ve arrived?”

“It seems we meet again.”

“Haha, indeed.”

Moyong Gun was as he always was.

Even in the hot summer, he wore luxurious clothes that covered his sleeves and legs completely. Well, given his high level of cultivation, he wouldn’t be affected by the heat or cold.

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at the table.

On the table, there were about six freshly prepared dishes. Each one was an expensive and extravagant meal.

Moyong Gun pointed to a chair.

“Sit there.”

“Very well.”

Sitting down, Yeon Ho-Jeong looked around.

“By the way, aren’t you with your daughter today?”

“Yeonhwa? That child is at the main family residence. Unlike you, she still has much to learn.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

“I don’t know about martial arts, but her strategic skills seemed outstanding.”

“Hehe, does she appear that way to you too?”

Of course.

During the Dark Emperor era, Moyong Yeonhwa was a heroine who displayed strategic skills comparable to the current Moyong Gun. In fact, thanks to her strategies, the Demonic Cult’s forces suffered considerable damage.

Of course, the Dark Emperor Castle also suffered losses, though they were not obvious.

“If she is well-honed, she will become famous as a peerless sword.”

“How wonderful that would be. In truth, if that child had been a son, I might have made her the next family head in the near future.”

“That’s unexpected.”

“Hmm? What is?”

“I know how you became the family head. Given that, I didn’t think you would distinguish between bloodlines or genders.”

Moyong Gun smiled.

He knew that he knew how he became the family head. Even though the meaning behind those words was profound, he didn’t waver at all.

“I don’t care. But the world doesn’t see it that way. If a woman becomes the family head, many people will point fingers at the main family.”

“Is that so?”

“The position of family head is not something one can attain with ability alone. Martial arts, strategy, character—all are important. However, only if one is a man.”

“……”

“Talent that fits the times is also necessary. I see gender as part of talent. It is the most unfortunate talent that Yeonhwa was not born with.”

That was a lie.

After becoming the leader of the Martial Alliance, Moyong Gun handed over the family to Moyong Yeonhwa.

To be precise, he did not relinquish the position of family head until then. However, he put Moyong Yeonhwa at the forefront as the acting family head.

And before the battle of Mount Heng, he gave the position of family head to Moyong Yeonhwa and went to the final battle.

Was he weakened by the fact that he couldn’t promise tomorrow? Not at all.

That battle had a high probability of victory. He probably didn’t think he would die.

‘He’s trying to keep me in check.’

That’s right.

He might not have any intention of handing over the position of family head to Moyong Yeonhwa right now. However, Moyong Gun was not someone who thought of gender as a talent.

He was just reassuring his opponent. That she was a talented child, but unfortunately, she couldn’t become the family head. That she was an outsider, so there was no need to pay much attention to her.

‘It’s different from before. He’s being a bit more careful.’

After the series of events that buried the Myeong family, his wariness towards him had increased.

So he was hiding things. Even minor details.

‘I need to focus on today’s conversation.’

Moyong Gun picked up a bottle of liquor.

“Is your body fully healed?”

“It’s completely fine.”

“Hehe, youth is a wonderful thing. You suffered such a great injury, yet you’ve already recovered? You surprise me in many ways.”

This was genuine. Moyong Gun was genuinely surprised by Yeon Ho-Jeong’s recovery speed.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled bitterly and raised his glass.

“I’m still far from it.”

“Don’t say such things anywhere else. You’ll be scorned. Well, I guess it’s hard to scorn you. Aren’t you the passionate young man who cut out the rotten pus of the orthodox martial world?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong frowned.

“You have no idea how tiring that is.”

People look at the result, not the process. If it had been Yeon Ho-Jeong, not the Myeong family, who had been defeated, Yeon Ho-Jeong would have been branded as a villain in history.

However, the Myeong family fell, and Yeon Ho-Jeong survived.

Only then did people begin to look at the process. Why Yeon Ho-Jeong fought the Myeong family alone, and how he dealt with them.

Thus, the three characters of Yeon Ho-Jeong’s name were etched into the minds of the martial artists of the era.

“It can be tiring. But accept it. If you pay attention to every single gaze of people, you won’t be able to do anything.”

A cold aura surrounded Yeon Ho-Jeong’s smile.

“I’m experiencing it firsthand.”

And, thanks to you, I will experience it once more.

“Let’s have a drink.”

The two emptied their glasses coolly.

“By the way, why did you call me here?”

“What do you mean? Haha, you and I joined hands to bring down the Myeong family. You should know what kind of punishment the Myeong family will receive before you leave.”

“I don’t want to bother with the aftermath.”

“Are you the type to not care about the bits of meat left on the chicken bones you’ve picked clean?”

“I don’t leave any meat in the first place.”

Moyong Gun shook his head.

“You’re mistaken. The Myeong family is a force that has lived under the name of ‘the best in the world’ for a long time. They’ve been branded as enemies of the martial world, so the ones who escaped won’t be able to brag about it anywhere, but we should keep an eye on them for at least a few years.”

Moyong Gun wouldn’t know. Why Yeon Ho-Jeong was saying these things.

Even if their dantian [energy center] is destroyed, the fake divine energy they learned remains in their bodies. And that energy, depending on the characteristics of the true energy, will stay in one of the heart, liver, lungs, or kidneys, constantly damaging the body.

If they are branded as enemies of the martial world, the minimum sentence is ten years in prison. None of them will be able to complete a ten-year sentence.

“The high-ranking officials of the martial world will surely take care of it.”

Moyong Gun smiled.

He knew that Yeon Ho-Jeong was genuinely uninterested in that part. At the same time, he was urging him to state the real reason he had called him.

‘He’s a sharp one.’

The more he looked at him, the more he wanted him.

And he became wary. The more they talked, the more he felt that he was not a person who could be easily subjugated.

“You are a truly remarkable person.”

“You flatter me.”

“Good. Since you’re glaring at me with those eyes, I’ll have to get to the point out of fear.”

Moyong Gun refilled his glass and continued.

“Do you know of the ‘Huinan Devil’?”

“I don’t.”

“Hmm, I forgot. He was known by a more famous alias.”

“……?”

“The ‘Anhui Blood Bow’?”

At that moment, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed.

Moyong Gun smiled.

“It seems you know him.”

Of course, he knew him.

‘To hear that name here.’

The Anhui Blood Bow.

The first time he heard that name was when he was sweeping through the demonic martial world.

It was a name he had not heard before his family was destroyed. In the first place, he had no interest in the world at that time. He didn’t even know about the Jeagal family’s Socheon Pill [a powerful healing elixir], so how could he know?

However, after his family was destroyed, he learned martial arts from his master and swept through the demonic martial world, he was able to hear the infamy of the Anhui Blood Bow.

Not only that. He had also met the Anhui Blood Bow and even exchanged blows with him.

And later, when he established the Dark Emperor Castle.

Yeon Ho-Jeong made him the leader of the Five Great Generals, the strongest vanguard of the Dark Emperor Castle.

‘Muk Bi!’

The Anhui Blood Bow, no, the Divine Bow Muk Bi.

The peerless archer who had honed archery, a martial art that was difficult to master and rarely used in the martial world, to its limits.

A sniper with a hundred shots, a grim reaper who was infamous for his monstrous strength, able to match the other Five Great Generals even with his bare hands.

Why was that name, that alias, coming out of Moyong Gun’s mouth now?

“The Anhui Blood Bow, I’ll call him the Blood Bow for short. The Blood Bow began to spread his infamy five years ago because of the bloodshed he caused in Huinan, Anhui.”

“……”

“He single-handedly destroyed a sect called the Golden Sword Sect, which was based in Huinan. Do you know the Golden Sword Sect?”

“……I don’t.”

“Hmm, the Golden Sword Sect was a sect that had quite a reputation in northern Anhui. Their martial prowess was considerable, and especially, as their name suggests, their financial power was great.”

“……”

“The Golden Sword Sect was a sect that knew the way of chivalry. With their great financial power, they released their granaries during famines to feed the common people. When the Golden Sword Sect was destroyed, all the people in northern Anhui cried out in grief, or so they say.”

“……”

“Of course, the martial world of Anhui was also in an uproar. They were in a frenzy to capture and kill the Blood Bow immediately.”

“I see.”

“But the Blood Bow disappeared without a trace. They dispatched professional searchers and investigators, but they couldn’t find a single trace of him.”

That was natural.

An archer must have excellent footwork to properly demonstrate their skills. It is the archer’s job to drive the enemy by maintaining distance and constantly checking and firing.

‘That man, his footwork was definitely worthy of being called the best in the world.’

Muk Bi had another infamous name besides the Divine Bow, the Ghostly Spirit. Once he started moving, he could not be seen or caught.

“Recently, he appeared in Mount Bagong in Anhui.”

Mount Bagong was a mountain that straddled Huinan, south of the Huai River.

Moyong Gun frowned.

“The reason is unknown. Whether it’s a so-called morbid reason for wanting to see the site of the sect he destroyed again, or some other reason, I don’t know. The important thing is that he has been staying there for quite some time.”

“Not many people would know about it.”

“You see well. If the rumor spreads, the Blood Bow might run away, right? We are thoroughly controlling the information.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong drank his liquor, trying to calm his mind.

“But why are you mentioning the Anhui Blood Bow?”

“Myeong Heo-Rim.”

“……?”

“The eldest son of the escaped Myeong family is said to have headed to Anhui. And it just so happens that the place he escaped to is Mount Bagong.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong frowned.

“Is it a coincidence?”

“It can only be seen as a coincidence. I heard it from a man named Myeong Woo-San, who was the chief manager of the Myeong family.”

A coincidence… Could this really be a coincidence?

“The Myeong family is said to have established secret hideouts all over the Central Plains. You can think of them as safe houses for assassins.”

“Isn’t that the same for the other Seven Great Families?”

Moyong Gun scratched his cheek.

“Well, yes. Though not as much as the Myeong family.”

“Then, are you saying that there is a Myeong family safe house in Mount Bagong?”

“That’s right. They said there was one in Henan as well, but currently, countless martial artists in Henan are capturing the escaped Myeong family warriors. They said that the closest place besides Henan is Mount Bagong.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes turned cold.

Moyong Gun’s smile deepened.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Please tell me honestly. Are you planning to establish the Martial Alliance?”

Moyong Gun felt a chill before he could be impressed.

‘How can there be such a ghostly fellow?’

He skipped several steps of the conversation and brought up something unexpected.

The problem was that it was correct. It would be known soon, but it was a fact that only the leaders who attended the conference knew about.

“……That’s right.”

“You wouldn’t be thinking of celebrating the establishment of the new Martial Alliance by using the head of the Myeong family’s eldest son, Myeong Heo-Rim, as a toast, would you?”

Moyong Gun burst into a hearty laugh.

“Do you think we are some kind of demonic rabble? You speak such terrible words.”

“……”

“Yes, as you said, the Martial Alliance will be established soon. You know that my dream is to become the leader of the Martial Alliance, right?”

“Are you trying to take this opportunity of the Myeong family incident to push it forward in earnest?”

“Hahahaha.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded.

“I see.”

Although he didn’t show it outwardly, Yeon Ho-Jeong was inwardly cheering.

‘Good.’

You can’t put a person in a place where there is no organization or position.

He thought of Moyong Woo.

A chivalrous person who was more suitable for the position of the Martial Alliance leader than anyone else.

‘It would be good for me if the Martial Alliance is established on this occasion. This is great.’

Unlike Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was cheering, Moyong Gun’s heart was as cold as ice.

‘This won’t do. I have to do something about him after this is over. This guy is too dangerous.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong asked.

“The fact that you’re telling me this important information means that you want to join hands with me again, right?”

Moyong Gun smiled faintly.

His eyes were not smiling.

“That’s right.”

“I’ll ask directly. What can I gain?”

As expected, this guy is the same kind as me.

Moyong Gun, who was hiding his true intentions, took out a document.

“What is that?”

“It’s a permit.”

“A permit?”

“Everything belonging to a family declared an enemy of the martial world is to be returned to the Martial Alliance. The assets, the martial arts books, even the elixirs they possessed.”

“……?”

“If you capture Myeong Heo-Rim, I will allow you to access the Myeong family’s martial arts books. This is the permit that makes that possible.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed.

“Of course, it can be replaced with something else. We can replace it with what you need when the time comes.”

“……”

“What will you do? Will you try to capture Myeong Heo-Rim?”

“Before that, I have one question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Why me?”

Moyong Gun smiled faintly again.

“The young tiger of Gangdong. The unparalleled hero who fought the best family in the world alone for his family. The Little Overlord or the reincarnation of the Six-Handed One.”

“……”

“These are all words that describe you. You have sufficiently proven your abilities to the orthodox martial world. Not to mention to me.”

“……”

“You must have ambitions as well. We should get rid of the remnants of the past and help each other grow, shouldn’t we?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been looking at Moyong Gun with clear eyes, smiled for a moment.

“Would you like a drink?”

It was an acceptance.

Moyong Gun laughed heartily.

“As expected, you’re magnanimous. I knew you would accept. Come, you have a drink too.”

The two burst into laughter and shared a drink. Their eyes, as they looked at each other, even showed a deep sense of camaraderie and goodwill.

However, both of them knew. That the image they were showing each other was a complete act and a lie.

Thus, another event, intertwined with fate and misfortune, came to Yeon Ho-Jeong.