Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 933

“……”

The old monk, as withered as an old tree, opened his eyes. How long had it been since he last opened them? The pus that had flowed down his cheeks had hardened, looking like pine resin.

The old monk raised his head and looked at the wall. His vision had become very blurry. The Buddhist inner energy he had cultivated his entire life seemed to have fallen below thirty percent.

Still, it was alright. It didn’t seem like he would die immediately.

The old monk opened his mouth.

“What brings you here….”

He had been silent for too long. His hoarse voice seemed to break off intermittently as he spoke.

“It has been a long time since I entered such a deep meditation. Though short, it was deeper than any other time.”

Then, a shadow appeared behind him.

The shadow asked,

“Was it peaceful?”

“How could it be? I am a mere monk who has not grasped even a single grain of the Buddha’s teachings. Since my enlightenment is not deep, I cannot be at peace.”

“Considering the environment where one could easily become most lazy, that level of enlightenment is quite remarkable.”

The old monk smiled. He was so emaciated that he resembled a wooden statue, but his weak smile looked very benevolent.

“I am simply grateful.”

“I should be the one who is grateful.”

“How are you? Is your body feeling better?”

“Thanks to you.”

“Haha, that’s a relief.”

The shadow behind the old monk slowly sat down in a cross-legged position.

The old monk shook his head without turning around.

“Please don’t do that, Martial Lord.”

“Do you still call me that?”

“I have lived long enough. Of course, that is not something I should say in front of you, Martial Lord.”

“You have lived long. I am just abnormal.”

“Haha.”

“But you can live longer. At least until your disciple inherits the title of Fist God, shouldn’t you be alive?”

“What importance does a title have?”

“In the first place, your lifespan wouldn’t have been shortened if it weren’t for me. I feel responsible for you.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“……”

“Thanks to you, Martial Lord, countless common people have lived. If I can help the one who saved the world, that is enough for me.”

“There is no reason for me to live and breathe anymore.”

“Why do you think so?”

The shadow was silent for a moment.

After about fifteen minutes.

“It has been so long since I forgot the passage of time. So, I don’t know exactly when it was. It seems like it was between five and eight years ago. Maybe it was even longer ago.”

“……”

“The Divine Jade has shattered.”

“……!!”

Surprise flickered across the old monk’s face.

“Shattered, you say?”

“Yes. Seeing that I don’t feel much emotion even though that object has shattered, I realize that I have become quite indifferent.”

It wouldn’t be strange to say that he had gone beyond being indifferent, and that the emotions he should have felt had almost disappeared.

The Divine Jade was the object that had made this shadow forget the passage of time. In other words, the fact that the Divine Jade had shattered meant that the shadow had returned to being an ordinary person.

“If my body had been fine, I would have come to you immediately after it shattered. I would have come and retrieved the Hell Qi [a dark, corrupting energy] that had taken root in your body.”

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

“I am sorry to say this to you, but I didn’t feel sorry for you. Even now, I said I was sorry, but I don’t even know how that emotion worked on me anymore.”

The old monk felt a pang of sadness.

This shadow had survived until now, transcending time in a way that ordinary people could not even imagine.

He had lived for the world when he was a Martial Lord, and he had lived for the world when he transcended time. And now, his emotions were worn away, and he had become a monster who could hardly recall his ordinary days.

“Now, there is only one emotion left in me. No, I don’t know if it’s an emotion, but there is something I want.”

“What is it?”

“Peace.”

“……”

“The first hundred years were good. From the next hundred years, it became too much for me. And for the past ten years or so, I haven’t been able to find a reason why I am alive and moving.”

“You don’t need a reason to live.”

“Of course, that’s right.”

There was no particular emotion felt in that answer. It was impossible to tell whether he truly felt that way or if he was just showing a common reaction that had become ingrained in him.

“I think I am tired.”

“You have suffered. So, please live the rest of your life happily and peacefully.”

“Just the fact that there is a rest of my life left means I cannot be at peace.”

“What can I say, having never lived the life of a Martial Lord? But I remember. The words you spoke to me ten years ago, and the look in your eyes at that time.”

“What did I say?”

“You said that someday, whenever the opportunity arises, you would like to pass on your lifelong studies to a successor.”

“……”

The old monk thought that the shadow’s energy seemed to be wavering a little.

The old monk continued, his voice becoming gentler.

“There are many talented people in the world. There are also many people with good character. So, please find a successor and pass on the studies that you have cultivated and accumulated throughout your life.”

“It would be a waste.”

“Of course.”

“But it’s also a hassle to search the world again for a successor.”

“Of course, there is no need to find a successor. You have lived for someone other than yourself for too long. You risked your life for others you had never even seen.”

“Did I? Did I really do that?”

“Perhaps that was also for your own sake. But that is not important. The only thing that is certain is that you have not had a deep conversation with yourself for a long time.”

“How do you know that?”

“Even without inner energy that shakes mountains, without martial arts that can split the sea, and without eyes that can see through the principles of the world, one learns such things after living for a long time.”

“……”

“In other words, it means that even though you have lived much longer than me, you still don’t know that.”

The old monk closed his eyes.

“Even a life that is just wandering aimlessly is fine. But I don’t think peace comes only when you die.”

“Is that so.”

“It is fine to seek a disciple, or to look back on yourself. I just hope that you can have a good rest.”

“A good rest……”

“Peace comes when you die… yes, that could be. But true peace means completion and termination.”

“……”

“Many people in the world end their lives unexpectedly. Whether by their own will or by others, it is truly unfortunate.”

“……”

“I don’t know if you were unhappy, but you have lived a sufficiently difficult life, so isn’t it a good thing to seek a way to find peace while living for the rest of your life? If you can obtain it while alive, there is no reason to choose the easiest path of death.”

The shadow opened his mouth.

“There is some truth in what you say.”

“I am truly grateful that you think so.”

“Actually, I should have changed at the point when the Divine Jade shattered. But seeing that I am still like this, it seems that death is still too early, as you said.”

“Hahaha.”

“But there is something strange.”

“What is it?”

The shadow’s voice became faint.

“I don’t know what it is… but it feels like someone is calling me. I thought I had finally gone mad, but after talking to you, I don’t think that’s the case.”

“You felt someone calling you?”

“I woke up from meditation after hearing that call. To be precise, I woke up after dreaming a dream after hearing that call.”

“What kind of dream was it?”

“A dream of opening the last remaining path for my disciple.”

“……!”

“No, I don’t know if it’s the last. It’s just… it felt like a disciple I had taught a long time ago had reached the Yellow Dragon [a legendary state of martial arts mastery] and was saying this and that. That part of the memory is not clear.”

Agitation arose on the face of the old monk who had opened his eyes again.

Yellow Dragon.

It was a martial art, but also something that was not a martial art.

It was a great divine art, but it was also an enlightenment. Just as the Dao [the Way, a fundamental concept in Chinese philosophy] is difficult to describe in words or writing, the Yellow Dragon could also be said to be the Dao of martial arts.

In other words, awakening the Yellow Dragon was not much different from a monk mastering the Buddha’s teachings and reaching the state of Buddha.

Of course, the old monk did not know much about the Yellow Dragon. It was the same principle as those who did not have their names on the Buddhist records not knowing much about the Buddhist scriptures.

However, when he had received the Hell Qi in the past, he had a discussion with the shadow that lasted for more than half a day.

That discussion was full of martial arts principles that transcended imagination. And the shadow said that the Yellow Dragon was the embodiment of all the martial arts principles he had laid out so far.

Yellow Dragon. Yellow Dragon Emperor.

Through his conversation with the shadow, no, the Yellow Dragon Emperor, the old monk’s level had jumped two stages.

And the old monk realized that for him, martial arts was merely a means. At the same time, he realized that true martial arts, like Buddhism, could not be described in words or writing.

‘Still, it’s a relief.’

The fact that a disciple he had not taken under his wing had opened the Yellow Dragon meant that the Yellow Dragon Emperor’s subconscious desired a disciple that much.

“Did you like the content of the dream?”

“I liked it… yes, I liked it. If such a day comes, I think I would be really happy.”

“Why would you be happy?”

The shadow hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I don’t have any children.”

“That’s right.”

“If, by any chance, there is a fellow worthy of being my disciple, that fellow would be someone I would be willing to give everything to.”

“Of course, you would.”

“If a fellow who is worth giving everything to in my painful life appeared, talent would not matter. I would just think… that they were born with a natural gift to form a connection.”

“……”

“If such a fellow reached the Yellow Dragon, I wouldn’t need to tell him to be careful anymore, so what could be better than that?”

A sense of pity arose on the old monk’s face.

It was not for the sake of proving himself. It was not because his disciple was admirable.

Reaching the Yellow Dragon was the path to becoming absolutely invincible. Since he had opened the gateway to that path, he would be able to live well in this harsh world without any particular danger.

That was why he was happy. The Yellow Dragon Emperor was happy just by the fact that his pitiful but admirable and affectionate disciple could live his own life in this harsh world without worrying about his life.

‘It’s not that you can’t feel anything. Even at this moment, you are more strict and kind than anyone else.’

The old monk smiled and said,

“I hope you will definitely raise a disciple.”

“First, I need to retrieve the Hell Qi from your body.”

“It is my destiny. It’s okay, so now go out into the world……”

That was when it happened.

Whoosh!

The Yellow Dragon Emperor’s energy was shaken for a moment.

“What’s wrong?”

“……”

“Martial Lord?”

“……Yellow Dragon.”

“Yes?”

“……”

“Martial Lord.”

“I felt the Yellow Dragon. No, I don’t know if this is feeling it or what……”

“……?”

“In the current world, is there anyone besides me who has awakened the Yellow Dragon?!”

The old monk could not tell whether the Yellow Dragon Emperor was talking about someone who had truly mastered the Yellow Dragon Art, or someone who had reached the Dao through martial arts.

However, he could say one thing.

“Go.”

“……”

“I can last for another ten years. So, go and confirm it.”

There was no reply.

The old monk knew that the shadow had disappeared.

He closed his eyes again.

“A disciple… you rascal, your incompetent master has not even seen the end of Buddhism, so you must definitely enter Nirvana [a state of perfect peace and enlightenment].”