Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 910

Mok Gye-dam’s eyes, fixed on the Grand Preceptor’s seat, were devoid of color, like clear glass.

The dark reddish carpet beneath his feet was so plush that his ankles sank slightly with each step.

Mok Gye-dam mused. This dark red carpet felt like mud stained with blood, as if he were sinking into a swamp made of the souls of the dead.

‘It doesn’t fit,’ he thought. This mud-like carpet was definitely out of place here.

The Grand Preceptor’s seat in the Divine Demonic Forest was reserved for the strong. However, the Divine Demonic Forest’s concept of strength differed from that of the Demonic Martial World three hundred years ago.

The true Demonic Path was a scene of carnage.

That was the essence of the Demonic: a chaotic blend of violence, betrayal, obscenity, death, mockery, thirst, broken order, and productive destruction that defied human logic.

Therefore, it was pure.

The Demonic was chaos itself. By its very nature, it was bound to be rejected by the human world.

Mok Gye-dam, gazing at the Grand Preceptor’s seat, suddenly felt a wave of disgust.

‘How ridiculous,’ he thought.

Respect for the strong? The idea that only the strong could stand at the top?

He found it laughable that they had remained a mysterious group in the Demonic Martial World with such a half-baked sense of pride.

Respect for the strong was a law of nature. Even the so-called righteous sects of the Eastern Continent, who preached about trivial morals, didn’t treat anyone well unless they were strong.

Serving and admiring the strong was the instinct of all living things. In that sense, even those righteous and evil sects could be seen as branches of the Demonic.

However, the true Demonic Path shouldn’t simply end with looking up to and admiring the strong.

It had to be filled with death and more death, violence and more violence.

Love for betrayal, relationships for humiliation, and coexistence for destruction.

That was the true Demonic Path. To the ignorant, who only saw one side of the world, it might look like hell, but the essence of the world was chaos, and the desire for destruction was the most fundamental desire of living things.

The humans of this world, who lived ignoring their roots, were all impure beings.

Only the Demonic. Those who understood the Demonic were those who knew the rules of this world, and when such a person gained power, he would become the king of the world.

The Divine Demonic Forest, the Divine Demonic Lord, and his followers did not understand this.

“How is it?”

A strange shape flickered behind Mok Gye-dam.

It was like smoke, yet also like a person. It was like a ghost, yet also like a beast.

The being, difficult to define, continued to speak.

“The Grand Preceptor’s seat of the Divine Demonic, which you so desired, is right before your eyes. How do you feel?”

Mok Gye-dam laughed without turning around.

“Do you think I wanted such a seat?”

“Hmm? Then why did you seek power? It doesn’t seem like it was just because you wanted to become stronger.”

Mok Gye-dam inwardly mocked him.

Even the supreme master from the blood-soaked religion that claimed to have inherited the lineage of the true Demonic Martial World couldn’t see what he was seeing.

Seeing this, it was clear that the Demonic was also about enlightenment. He himself had come a long way to truly understand the meaning of a single word.

“Wanting to become stronger is a desire everyone has. I simply wanted to become stronger.”

“Is there nothing else you desire?”

“Not now. I want to rest.”

“Hmm.”

“But when I want to move again, I will once again carry the word of the Demonic and live.”

“What is the Demonic to you?”

“Endless chaos.”

The smoke rippled once. It seemed surprised, yet also amused.

“You will make this vast world chaotic, is that it?”

“Yes.”

“You are an interesting person. You speak similarly to my ancestor who faced the Madman of the Four Colors [a legendary figure known for his chaotic nature] three hundred years ago.”

“Is that so?”

“Though only half as much.”

Only then did Mok Gye-dam turn around.

When he hadn’t looked directly, it was like smoke, but when he faced it head-on, it was a being with a very clear human appearance.

The smoke-like figure was small.

Not only was he small, but his back was severely bent. His clothes looked old, and his skin was wrinkled.

He looked like an old man who was at least eighty years old. The cane he was holding on the ground looked very antique.

He was a strange old man.

He had the kind of appearance one might see in a rural village. His clothes, posture, and face were all like that.

However, if one didn’t look directly at him, one couldn’t feel his presence. He didn’t even have the vitality that one should feel from a person. Yet, it wasn’t like demonic energy replaced it.

It was complete nothingness. That was the old man’s presence.

“You said half as much?”

“That’s right.”

“Why half as much?”

“You said you desire chaos?”

“Yes.”

“There is no true chaos in a concept that can be defined.”

“……?!”

“Chaos is, as it is, chaos. Chaos is a concept that cannot be subjugated. The Demonic also has such an attribute, but if you truly pursued chaos, you wouldn’t be alive now.”

Mok Gye-dam’s eyes wavered.

The old man grinned.

Even though he was so old, all his teeth were intact.

“You are strong. Your talent is outstanding. If you had caught the eye of our sect leader instead of the Divine Demonic Lord, you might have even risen to the position of Vice Sect Leader, the first outsider to do so.”

The Vice Sect Leader of the Blood Fiend Sect.

The positions of Sect Leader and Vice Sect Leader were positions that could not be reached unless one was of direct lineage.

Among them, the position of Sect Leader was immutable, but the position of Vice Sect Leader was not. There were a few precedents where the position of Vice Sect Leader was bestowed upon someone with exceptional achievements, regardless of lineage.

In other words, the highest position that those who carried the Demonic could aim for was the position of Vice Sect Leader of the Blood Fiend Sect. Of course, excluding the Four Evils and the Divine.

“But is it because you learned from the Divine Demonic Lord, that traitor? Your vision is very limited. Well, seeing only what you want to see can also be called Demonic.”

A faint demonic energy filled Mok Gye-dam’s eyes.

The old man couldn’t tell what emotions he was feeling.

‘He’s definitely amazing.’

The old man had lived almost twice as long as Mok Gye-dam. He was also a demonic talent who was called a genius.

However, the young man before him seemed to have been born with a talent far superior to his own. If they were to fight right now, the young man would have no chance of winning, but if he trained for another ten years, he couldn’t be sure how the battle would turn out.

‘It’s a shame. If he had joined our sect, he could have fully blossomed his talent.’

While the old man was feeling regretful.

Mok Gye-dam opened his mouth.

“Did you see him?”

“See what?”

“Did you see the previous Lord?”

The old man grinned.

“I did. He was almost dead.”

“Is he still alive?”

“That man’s vitality is tougher than steel. Amazing. Even in that situation, his mental strength is still intact. He is worthy of being called a great master of the Demonic Martial World.”

Mok Gye-dam spoke as if displeased.

“He is nothing but trash.”

“Even so, you speak ill of your teacher who once gave you affection and guidance.”

“I am naturally narrow-minded.”

“Hahahaha.”

The old man moved his foot onto the carpet.

“But I cannot deny that he is an amazing person. I don’t know his original strength, but just by the purity of the remaining demonic energy, I can tell how high a level of divine being he has reached.”

“He is a nobody.”

“Don’t say that. As I said, just looking at the purity of his demonic energy, none of the sect’s disciples can surpass him. Perhaps the Vice Sect Leader could put up a fight? To kill him for sure, the Sect Leader himself might have had to intervene.”

It was an enormous overestimation.

Mok Gye-dam shook his head. He denied his teacher’s existence to the end.

“He could have surpassed the limits of the Demonic. But even though he could have reached it, he gave up. And he turned his eyes to martial arts.”

“It’s not for nothing that the mainlanders gave him the title of Demonic Immortal.”

“Demonic Immortal? How ridiculous. That man is trash, not even half-baked. To be born with such talent and not have the courage to fully throw himself into the Demonic… it’s disgusting.”

“Hahahaha.”

Even while talking, the old man continued to walk on the carpet.

He passed Mok Gye-dam and stood in front of the Grand Preceptor’s seat, then sat down, patting his back.

In that instant, Mok Gye-dam’s eyes sharpened.

The old man tilted his head.

“Why? Didn’t you say you weren’t interested in the Grand Preceptor’s seat?”

“Get down.”

“Was it all a bluff?”

“That seat is vacant. I plan to destroy it right now.”

“I don’t know if it’s pride or what, but stop talking nonsense and tell me what you plan to do. I’m old, so it’s hard for me to stand.”

“…….”

Mok Gye-dam, who had been staring at the old man silently, spoke in a cold voice.

“You will die by my hand one day.”

“I’m going to die any day now anyway. If you’re trying to threaten me, you’ve chosen the wrong target.”

“…….”

“So, what are you going to do?”

Mok Gye-dam raised one hand.

Whoosh!

In an instant, his hand emitted a bright red flame. His entire hand was emitting red flames, and its power was truly enormous.

Mok Gye-dam looked at the flames.

There was a world within it that was invisible to others.

“They are fighting the Homa Clan.”

“Oh, really?”

The old man stroked his chin.

“You mean the Third Young Master who brought the Martial Alliance forces?”

“Yes.”

“The Invisible Great Formation [a type of military formation] is indeed impressive. I can’t even feel the military spirit and killing intent flowing out.”

“It will be the same on their side.”

“That’s true.”

Mok Gye-dam’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the flames.

“Although they were sent to die… it’s still amazing.”

“Why?”

“Only five of them are fighting against five hundred. More than half have already been wiped out.”

“Oh?”

The old man’s face was full of smiles, as if he were watching his grandson’s antics.

“It seems the Martial Alliance has dispatched some considerable masters. Even if they are just average people who have learned the Divine Demonic martial arts, only five of them are crushing them all?”

“There is a female master with incredible archery skills.”

“Archery? A female master?”

“Yes.”

Mok Gye-dam tilted his head slightly.

“A female master skilled in archery… I feel like I’ve heard of her somewhere.”

“The Divine Archer.”

Mok Gye-dam looked at the old man.

The old man’s face, which had been full of smiles, was now stiff.

“You mean Muk Bi, the Divine Archer. She is a young master considered the best archer in the current mainland martial world.”

“Oh, is that so…”

Mok Gye-dam paused for a moment before continuing.

“I heard that there is a master who travels with the so-called Divine Archer.”

The old man asked in a sharp voice.

“Is there a man wielding an axe there? A young man in his twenties or thirties.”

Mok Gye-dam looked into the flames again.

“…Yes.”

“Unbelievable.”

The old man gave a hollow laugh.

“Yeon Ho-jeong… we are truly stained with a terrible fate.”

The old man came down from the Grand Preceptor’s seat.

“Yeon Ho-jeong is not someone you can handle. Don’t rashly challenge him.”

Mok Gye-dam frowned.

“He is just a young boy.”

“In terms of martial arts, you are much younger. If you were to fight him, you would be miserably killed before you even reach fifty moves.”

The old man, standing at the edge of the carpet, sighed deeply.

“I’m sick and tired of even hearing the name Yeon now.”