Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 906

Mok Won returned an hour after the fighting had begun.

“Ha!”

Mok Won sighed, seeing Tang Gwan’s pale face and Yeon Ho-Jeong’s slightly disheveled clothes.

“I’m too late.”

“It seems so.”

“What happened to the enemies?”

“We drove them back. It wasn’t a complete annihilation, but continuing the fight would have caused more damage to our side.”

Mok Won nodded heavily.

Yeon Ho-Jeong asked,

“How was it?”

“I checked all the points you mentioned. Just in case, I looked a bit further, but they weren’t there.”

“I thought so.”

Mok Won blinked.

“You thought so?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong briefly explained the fight they had experienced and the conversation with the Blood Monk.

“It seems there were no sorcerers. That clairvoyance-like sorcery was all the Blood Monk’s doing.”

Mok Won sighed.

“I shouldn’t have left.”

“You didn’t know. Who would have imagined that he could use such an absurd sorcery alone?”

“That’s true, but it’s still a shame. There was no reason for the Tang Clan Head to get hurt like that.”

Tang Gwan shook his head.

“Those who live in the martial world must bear the battles that fall before them. There’s no need for the Divine Lord to say such things.”

Mok Won gave a wry smile.

“I have nothing to say.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong said,

“If you apologize, I’ll feel even more sorry. It was me who sent you to deal with the possible sorcery forces.”

“If you say that, what does that make me?”

“That’s what I mean.”

Mok Won coughed awkwardly.

“By the way, isn’t this the first time? That your prediction was wrong?”

“It’s not the first time. I’ve made mistakes like this often. Though it was rare.”

“Hmm.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong said, stroking his chin.

“Still, it’s not without gains.”

“Gains?”

“While we’re at it, let’s rest a bit longer before we go. Clan Head, please circulate your energy.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong called everyone. He even brought out Cheon Hyo-Rak and Hwa Hyang.

“Let’s see.”

He unfolded the map.

“The area you checked, Brother, is from here to here, right?”

“I checked up to there, and then I looked a bit more to the northeast of Nanju.”

“I see.”

The group stared at Mok Won with their mouths open. No matter how they looked at it, it wasn’t a distance that could be covered in such a short time.

Mok Won smiled awkwardly.

“There’s no need to be so surprised. Even Yeonje can do this much. Even Miss Muk here could do it if she set her mind to it.”

Muk Bi shook her head.

“It would have been impossible.”

“Your footwork is very fast, isn’t it? It’s not much different from mine. It’s not like footwork gets faster just because you’re at the Supreme level. The speed difference between a master and a supreme master isn’t that big.”

“Of course, if I tried, I could do it… but I would have covered a shorter distance. It’s because of the limit of my absolute internal energy.”

“That might be true. But internal energy is…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong raised his hand, stopping Mok Won’s words.

“Let’s talk about martial arts later.”

“Ah, should we?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong pointed to a part of the map again with his finger.

“We are currently in this area. And that Blood Monk was further inside. Considering the path we took and our speed, we can assume that the sorcery was used roughly within this area.”

A small circle drawn on the map.

“I don’t know how far the sorcery can reach. What I felt from fighting him is that their martial arts are similar to those of the Central Plains, but with a different essence.”

“Hmm, I guess so.”

“But they use Qi [vital energy] in the same way. Looking at the limits of Qi, I don’t think a thousand li [approximately 500 kilometers] is possible.”

Everyone nodded.

To look at something happening over a hundred li [approximately 50 kilometers] away with sorcery is absurd. It’s a power that is almost against the heavens, even beyond the word ‘divine skill’.

Unless one has reached the realm of a divine being through extreme enlightenment, ignoring such a distance would be nearly impossible.

Cheon Hyo-Rak suddenly spoke.

“I don’t know if it’s possible, but it’s not like there’s absolutely no way to see a thousand li away.”

The group looked at Cheon Hyo-Rak.

Cheon Hyo-Rak sighed.

“Among the evil arts of the Demonic Path, there are things so bizarre that people of the Central Plains can’t even imagine. I haven’t seen it myself, but just hearing about it makes me wonder if it’s possible with a normal human nature. There are evil secret arts.”

“For example?”

“There might be ways to increase the achievement of demonic arts or maximize the power of sorcery by collecting the blood of vigorous young boys and girls.”

Instantly, anger appeared on the faces of the group.

“It is said that most of those evil secret arts have disappeared now. But even just three hundred years ago, those so-called ‘demonic people’ often used such methods.”

“…”

“That’s why people are so disgusted by demonic people. Of course, it’s not my place to say that, being part of the Demonic Martial World.”

A moment of silence fell.

It was Yeon Ho-Jeong who broke the silence.

“For now.”

He pointed to the map.

“Let’s assume the minimum distance is about this much. Whether they absorb vital energy or whatever, such sorcery is not normal. If the Lesser Thunder Sound Temple could freely use this level of sorcery, they wouldn’t have been stuck in the Western Regions until now.”

Cheon Hyo-Rak nodded.

“That’s right. In the first place, there are very few people who can use sorcery. Anyone can learn martial arts, but without talent, you can’t even enter the realm of sorcery.”

“Even with innate talent, it would be difficult to use this kind of sorcery right away.”

“That’s also true. Sorcery is fundamentally about utilizing the divine energy of the upper dantian [energy center in the body]. Not only is it impossible to use freely, but it takes a long time just to learn how to use divine energy well. Many people die during the training.”

Considering all this, the Blood Monk was also an amazing person. His martial arts were not much inferior to Seongcheon, and he was using sorcery like clairvoyance.

Mok Won looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong and asked,

“Do you think the Lesser Thunder Sound Temple’s sorcerers might participate in the fight against the Divine Demonic Forest?”

“I don’t think they will, but I can’t say there’s no possibility.”

Mok Won nodded.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

“Anyway, thanks to you checking this area, Brother, we can roughly estimate the range of the sorcery.”

“It’s an uncertain distance.”

“How many things in this world can we be certain about? This much is a great gain.”

Paeyul mocked jokingly.

“You’re not making things up to cover up your mistake, are you?”

“Why would I make things up when I have nothing to be ashamed of? I make a lot of mistakes too.”

“Well done.”

The group’s faces relaxed somewhat at Paeyul’s joke.

Yeon Ho-Jeong asked Hwang Seok-Tae,

“How’s the one-armed bastard doing?”

“He hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”

“Hmm.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Tang Gwan.

Although he had corrected some of the internal injuries with the Yellow Dragon Qi, the internal injuries of a person living with poison were difficult to heal unless it was the person himself. The life of a poison user was such that they had to take responsibility for their deadly power.

“Since the Clan Head is like this, we should deal with the spoils of war now.”

“Shall we bring him?”

“Let’s do that.”

Soon after, Daegeumbul was placed before the group. Even though he was forced to kneel, he still hadn’t regained consciousness.

Yeon Ho-Jeong slapped Daegeumbul’s cheek.

*Thwack!*

The sound alone made it seem like his head would fly off. But only blood spurted from his mouth, and his body remained in a kneeling position.

“Kuh…”

Daegeumbul shook his head and opened his eyes.

“… !”

As his blurry vision cleared, Daegeumbul’s face turned pale. He saw Yeon Ho-Jeong.

Yeon Ho-Jeong grinned.

“Hello?”

“…”

“How’s your body?”

Daegeumbul’s eyebrows twitched.

The venom in his eyes, as he stared silently at Yeon Ho-Jeong, was based on an unconscious fear of his opponent.

“One arm is gone, and the internal injuries are deep. The fatal acupoints were avoided, but many of the major acupoints needed for internal energy circulation are quite damaged.”

“…”

“If you rest for about ten years, you might be able to recover to your original level. How does that sound? Hopeful, isn’t it?”

Daegeumbul spat out blood-mixed saliva and said,

“Kill me.”

“Did you think I would spare you?”

Daegeumbul felt a chill run down his spine.

He had never imagined that he would die like this.

He was a born genius, a martial artist recognized by everyone in the Great Thunder Temple. He had always looked up, never down.

At the moment when he thought this situation was like a dream.

He suddenly remembered the words of the Great Thunder Sound Temple’s Abbot.

‘We are Buddhists. The duty of a Buddhist is always to look up. And above us are the footsteps of countless people living on this land. Therefore, we must share enlightenment with countless people and save the weeping masses from the sea of suffering.’

It’s good to be immersed in martial arts, but use that power to care for the people.

That was the destiny of the martial monks from the Great Thunder Sound Temple.

But Daegeumbul didn’t think so. The Great Thunder Sound Temple he saw was a rotten temple. He thought of the people as nothing more than lowly beings, not even as good as a single petal of a lotus flower, let alone future Buddhas.

And now, he had become a petal.

“Of course, I’m going to kill you. You even used fire bombs. If the Ironclad Unit hadn’t arrived in time, our side would have suffered considerable damage.”

“…”

“But I can’t kill you now.”

Daegeumbul gritted his teeth.

“Even if you torture me, I won’t say anything.”

A different light flashed in Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes.

Daegeumbul’s words were not just the determination of a venomous person.

‘Interesting.’

But he seemed to know Daegeumbul’s personality.

Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded.

“It seems so.”

“…”

“I knew it while fighting. I took you as a spoil of war, but I didn’t intend to learn about the Western Region martial world through you. I didn’t think you would talk easily.”

“…Then why?”

“You have to trade with the future when dealing with a merchant who doesn’t give discounts.”

“…?”

“Do you know where the Divine Demonic Forest is?”

Daegeumbul swallowed.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

“I knew you knew. If you know, then it’s safe to assume that your accomplices know as well. Right?”

“…”

“There must be a route they take. To get from the Western Regions to the Central Plains, it’s faster to cross Qinghai than Sichuan. You must know Qinghai well. Is that right?”

“I can’t tell you…”

“Guide us on a path where they won’t chase us. Then I’ll let you go.”

“…!!”

Daegeumbul swallowed again.

“How can I believe those words?”

“It seems there are many boastful people in the Western Regions. But there aren’t many like that in the Central Plains.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes became as hard as steel.

“I’ll take responsibility and send you away. How about it? Will you trade?”

Paeyul, Muk Bi, and Mok Won, who were standing behind, snorted inwardly.

“…Alright. Since I failed my mission, I’ll at least save my life.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong grinned.

“I’m glad you’re quick-witted. Good, let’s do that.”

The people who had snorted all sighed at once.

Daegeumbul’s future was obvious without even looking.