Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 936

Pshhh.

A hand emerged from the pile of rocks, slowly pushing aside the debris of the building.

Trickle.

Blood flowed from his eyes and nose.

Fortunately, his hearing was fine. He could hear a buzzing sound because he was disoriented, but other than that, he was okay.

The real problem was his inner energy.

‘Already…’

The price for forcibly mixing and using the inner energy of dozens of people was devastating.

His internal organs were rampaging madly, invaded by demonic energy. To correct this, he had no choice but to pour in inner energy to calm them, but because that inner energy was demonic, he was becoming increasingly contaminated by demonic energy even as the pain subsided.

‘Interesting.’

Before his achievements with demonic arts, he was confident that his research on demonic energy was unparalleled, not just in this era but throughout history.

Yet, he was dying because of the very demonic energy he had handled his entire life. It was the worst situation, but the thought of such a ridiculous end made him chuckle.

‘Not yet.’

The end was right around the corner.

But not now.

Thump.

The body he raised after pushing through the pile of rocks felt incredibly heavy.

Had his body ever felt this heavy before? Looking back, it didn’t seem like it ever had.

‘No, there was a time.’

He remembered. The time he had met a certain martial monk in the past.

It was a meeting that he didn’t know if it was by chance or fate. That person hadn’t tried to find him, and he himself had thought that he might only meet such a being once in his life. That person was the very one.

A giant of the righteous path. The great mountain of the Central Plains martial world [a term referring to the traditional heartland of Chinese martial arts].

He was the strongest master of the Shaolin Temple of that era, raised by that great mountain.

The old man had wanted to fight him. He had thought they would never meet, but when they did, he couldn’t control his competitive spirit.

However, there was no fight with the martial monk.

More precisely, there was no contest of physical strength. Instead, they shared tea and exchanged their insights.

He didn’t know how it had happened. He had felt competitive, but at the same time, he hadn’t wanted to kill the other person.

At the time, it was meaningless for him and the martial monk to try to gain an advantage. He had thought that there were no true equals in this world, but ironically, the two of them were walking the same path.

At that time, he had a long discussion with the martial monk. He didn’t even remember if it had ended in a day or continued for several days.

And when the discussion ended, the old man felt as if his entire body had become as heavy as a water-soaked cotton ball.

The old man recalled his last conversation with the martial monk.

‘Isn’t it truly ironic?’

‘What is?’

‘This humble monk has not yet grasped even the edge of the Buddhist law, but I feel it in my body. The existence of the heavens.’

‘So, you’re going crazy. A person who studies Buddhist law talking about the heavens?’

‘Haha, that is true. To be honest, I don’t know what the heavens are. But I do know this. Our era will soon come to an end.’

‘Eras always seek change.’

‘However, even if our era ends, I believe the legend that everyone desires will remain the same.’

‘What nonsense is that?’

‘Even if I die, someone will appear to take my place.’

‘That is also the providence of the world. A providence that I, who walks the demonic path, hate the most.’

‘It is the same for you.’

‘……’

‘Even if you die, the heavens will not reduce the myth that the people desire for a while. Nor will they be able to increase it.’

‘Are you trying to give me Zen riddles, you bald monk?’

‘I am not speaking in riddles, but stating a plain fact.’

‘If I die, someone will be born to take my place? Someone to replace this position that you call the Demonic Immortal?’

‘There is one who uses the title Tak Mu. He is called the Sword Immortal. He sees many things, but he is in a position where he cannot control his body as he wishes.’

‘What are you trying to say?’

‘That Taoist, who has attained a much higher enlightenment than this humble monk, said this: The world does not tolerate exclusivity. When the shadows grow darker in the world, a radiance that pushes away the shadows will surely prepare to emerge.’

‘The great elders of Shaolin and Wudang [two of the most famous martial arts schools in China] have both gone mad.’

‘It is okay if you do not feel it now. You are planning to abandon the demonic and move towards martial arts. If you walk the path of martial arts, you will one day understand what I mean.’

‘If you’re not going to show me even a glimpse of the Hundred Step Divine Fist, then leave. If you stay any longer, I might throw a punch first.’

‘Haha.’

At that time, he didn’t understand. The bald monk’s words.

But his body understood. As the bald monk had said, even if his mind didn’t know, his body already understood.

His body was saying this: You will become the bridgehead of the era.

You are functioning so that the world can transform into what it should be.

It was then that the old man felt an unspeakable sense of frustration for the first time. He felt that his existence was being denied because he felt, not with his mind but with his intuition, that his existence was becoming the bridgehead of a new era.

But now he knew.

That it was the flow.

Even that his past life had been shaped by his own will, not by anyone else’s.

He had never looked at the will of the heavens. He had never been obsessed with the righteous acts that the righteous path people talked about, nor had he turned his eyes to base desires.

Only strength.

He wanted the end of strength. He was someone who was satisfied with the fact that he could live as a seeker, even if he couldn’t see the end.

That’s why he didn’t care if he became someone’s bridgehead. In the first place, he wasn’t the type of person to be upset by such things.

The moment he realized that, he was able to escape all frustration, even from the demonic.

“…Who is it?”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The mixed demonic energy gathered by absorption was rampaging wildly.

He could no longer smell. He couldn’t see.

Yet, his heart was at peace. Although he couldn’t see, he could see the world with his heart. Rather, when he became blind, he could see his surroundings more clearly.

“It certainly exists here.”

The one who will take my place.

‘It’s not Hyorak.’

Someone is there.

He was blind and had lost his sense of smell. He would soon lose his hearing as well.

That was why he could feel the will of the heavens, or rather, the providence that he didn’t know if it was the will of the heavens. He, too, had risen to the realm seen by gods and immortals, like the Fist God and the Sword Immortal.

‘Even if the position is vacant, it is not so easy that someone unqualified can rise to it. Surely, someone nearby is fully prepared to reach the Saintly Demonic Realm.’

Whoosh!

The mixed demonic energy spread throughout his body.

He was getting closer to death every moment, but he was filled with immediate vitality.

Thump.

When he took a light step, it felt as if the earth was shaking.

The ground didn’t actually shake. He knew the future that his footsteps held.

That future was shaking the world seen by his mind’s eye.

The old man walked. He walked to where he had to walk.

The place he was heading was where his dying bloodline was, where the scent of his ancestors lingered.

As he walked, he thought.

‘It was a good life.’

He wanted to resolve the final battle himself.

But he couldn’t. The former leader of the Mad Blood Clan, whom he thought was his final opponent, had been defeated by a master from the Central Plains who used the Five-Colored Hellish Art as his foundation.

But it was okay.

If he hadn’t been prepared for death and tried, that fight wouldn’t have happened. Perhaps he might have gone to the Mad Blood Clan’s headquarters as Bang Won-Hu and given the current leader even more power.

‘What will happen, will happen.’

It wasn’t an irresponsible thought.

People do their best to live their lives. Not only people, but animals and plants also do their best to bloom while they are alive.

When each person takes responsibility for their own life, providence moves then.

‘……’

The old man stopped walking. He was going to his ancestor’s bloodline, but suddenly, his feet wouldn’t move any further.

His body was collapsing, but he was calm. It was the point where he was finishing his life. There was no need to rush. If he collapsed like this, he thought that would also be fate.

Fortunately, his fate did not present him with a meaningless ending.

‘There it is.’

The old man kicked off the ground.

The moment he kicked off, his figure was already heading towards the base of the Divine Demonic Forest.

‘So that’s how it was.’

Where his feet were heading, there was a fight.

He thought it was the consideration of some being, whether it was the heavens or something else. Just collapsing and dying was not a death befitting Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi.

“Kuaaaaaah!”

A terrifying beast’s roar was heard.

It was a monstrous cry that contained such immense power that it made his whole body stiff. The amount of demonic energy was also enormous. He could feel an uncontrollable power.

Clang!

“Kuh-euk!”

Someone who had blocked the beast with a desperate will was thrown aside.

He was clearly a master who had reached the Saintly Demonic Realm as well. Even as he was thrown back, he managed to leave three lightning-like sword wounds on the beast’s chest.

Still, the beast ran. Rather, it seemed to be even more enraged as it spilled blood.

‘It’s you.’

The old man raised his hand. Unlike Yuhyeok’s clumsy hands, his were nothing but bones, but his black fingernails, as hard as steel and sharper than a treasured sword, were very similar.

“You half-baked demon, you actually survived!”

Yuhyeok’s voice was clearly directed at him.

The old man smiled.

He silently unleashed a palm strike.

Bang!

It wasn’t a very loud sound.

However, Yuhyeok, who had charged like a gale, couldn’t avoid that strange palm strike and was sent flying backward, spitting blood.

Crash!

Yuhyeok, who had slid back, tearing up the ground, looked at Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi with surprised eyes.

In that instant, even more shock appeared in Yuhyeok’s eyes. Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi had already approached his side and placed his hand on his shoulder.

Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi’s fingernails pierced through his shoulder muscles, which were as hard as rock.

Thud! Splatter!

Five grooves were carved from his left shoulder to his forearm.

It was a strike that tore through skin and muscle and scraped the bone. Yuhyeok’s face contorted in pain.

Yuhyeok’s right hand grabbed Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi’s left wrist.

Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi’s left arm gently moved downward.

Crash!

Yuhyeok’s face was slammed into the ground.

He didn’t even know how he had been slammed. Yuhyeok himself seemed bewildered as he blankly raised his head and looked up at Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi.

Thud!

Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi’s right hand grabbed Yuhyeok’s neck.

‘I can’t kill him.’

With these few attacks, his demonic energy had run out. He had grabbed the guy’s neck, but he no longer had the means to attack.

‘Is this the end?’

Then, Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi suddenly felt his vision become clear. His mind’s eye was still maintained, but his lost eyesight had returned for a moment.

His blurry eyes caught sight of someone.

Someone rushing fiercely behind Yuhyeok.

A middle-aged man, covered in a mysterious glow, was rushing with all his might. His whole body was full of poison, but his eyes were drawn more to the hidden weapons that were moving with him.

The moment he identified that man.

At that very moment, Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi was certain.

‘It’s him.’

Overwhelming inner energy. An incredible skill of manipulating objects in the air.

He had reached the verge of the Saintly Demonic Realm, but he was rushing in with martial arts that didn’t suit that realm.

‘You are the one who will take my place, another Saintly Heaven.’

Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi closed his eyes.

Although he couldn’t kill his enemy, he had exchanged a few moves with satisfaction. That was enough.

‘Welcome to the main forest. Thanks to you, my children live.’

Five-colored energy erupted from Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi’s eyes.

Whoosh!

A powerful suction force was generated from the hand that was grabbing Yuhyeok’s neck. It was his last Demonic Absorption Art.