Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 937

“Hah… Hah!”

Tang Gwan knelt, his breath ragged.

He was certain he’d never pushed himself this hard in any fight before. Not even during the trials to become family head had he felt this drained. Back then, the mental strain had been far worse than the physical, but now, both his mind and body were utterly exhausted.

‘Still, I got him.’

He had unleashed every hidden weapon he possessed. Yuhyeok’s back, riddled by the storm of projectiles, looked like a honeycomb. In truth, such an attack should have torn his body to shreds, leaving him unrecognizable. It was a testament to the enemy’s incredible resilience. Fortunately, this assault seemed to have worked, as the overwhelming demonic energy emanating from the fallen foe had vanished.

Thud!

Tang Gwan collapsed, landing heavily on his rear.

“Family Head!”

Muk Bi rushed to his side.

“Are you alright?”

Tang Gwan, panting, managed a weak nod.

He wanted to speak, but no sound came out. His breathing was erratic, his inner energy sputtered, and his head spun.

Ok Cheong watched Yuhyeok with a tense gaze.

‘Is it over?’

From Yuhyeok’s riddled body, a faint, ominous demonic energy still flickered. But compared to before, it was a mere shadow. Only the inner energy of a child just learning martial arts remained.

‘But he’s still alive.’

Whooong!

Tang Gwan and Muk Bi turned their heads. From Ok Cheong’s sword, the Hongwon energy [a type of pure, righteous energy] blazed.

Ok Cheong spoke calmly.

“I think we need to finish this properly.”

He meant to sever Yuhyeok’s head. It wasn’t something a Taoist should say, but the other two nodded. They knew how dangerous that beast-like demon was.

Tang Gwan gasped, “Muk Bi, go bring Senior Mak Won. He took a serious hit.”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?”

Even in this state, he refused to lose his composure as family head, and Muk Bi couldn’t help but smile. As Muk Bi headed towards Mak Won, who lay some distance away, Ok Cheong approached Yuhyeok.

That’s when it happened.

“Cough!”

Some distance from Yuhyeok, Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi, his body battered, collapsed, coughing up blood.

Ok Cheong’s eyes widened.

The old man’s arms were twisted and broken, and his left leg was bent at an unnatural angle. Unstable demonic energy flickered throughout his body, but unlike other demons, a strong life force pulsed within that energy.

“…Who’s there?”

Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi’s voice was weak. It was different from Tang Gwan’s, who had simply exhausted his strength. It was the lifeless voice of someone on the verge of death.

Ok Cheong, who had been watching the two, sighed and said, “I am Ok Cheong of the Wudang [a famous Taoist sect].”

“Wudang… Wudang Mountain…”

When he heard Wudang Mountain, only one person came to mind: the monk from long ago.

Sword Saint Tak Mu-Ja.

He had never met him, but that damned monk had claimed to have achieved a much higher level of enlightenment than himself, so he thought he might have ascended by now.

‘That’s how it fades away.’

Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi had no regrets. Although he had been betrayed by his great disciple in his later years, and even faced the tragedy of killing that disciple with his own hands, that was also part of life. There was a brief moment of regret, but it wasn’t enough to make him want to go back.

Whooong.

The demonic energy, about to fade, wailed sadly. Seeing that he wasn’t dying even after all this, he thought he was quite tenacious.

‘It’s okay now. Even if I die…’

At that moment, Ok Cheong spoke, “Are you Hyeok Ryeon, the Forest Lord?”

It was a question to confirm his identity.

Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi didn’t answer. He didn’t have the strength, nor was he in the right state of mind.

Ok Cheong continued, “We came from the Martial Alliance. Gongja Cheon Hyo-Rak is also behind us.”

He didn’t know why, but he felt compelled to tell the fallen old man this.

‘……’

Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi’s blurred eyes slowly regained their focus.

He thought he had lived a life without regrets, but hearing that his son was nearby, he didn’t want to die like this. The human heart was so fickle.

“Is Hyo-Rak alright?”

A deep affection laced his weak voice.

Ok Cheong nodded. “Yes, he is. He is well and unharmed.”

“I see…”

Was that enough?

No, it wasn’t. Since he hadn’t died even in this state, he wanted to see his son’s face at least once before he died.

Whooong! Whooong!

The remaining demonic energy, except for the bare minimum needed to sustain life, scattered like smoke. It was the minimum demonic energy to maintain life. His demonic energy was constantly attacking his internal organs, bones, and nerves, causing irreversible inflammation.

By leaving only the minimum demonic energy to sustain life and scattering the rest, the path to death was significantly slowed. Instead, it was excruciatingly painful. The demonic energy was a force that both kept him alive and killed him. By leaving only the minimum, hardened energy and scattering the rest, there was no part of his body, from his bones to his internal organs, that didn’t hurt.

Ok Cheong could clearly see Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi’s condition, thanks to his Hongwon energy.

Just as he was about to move him to a more comfortable spot out of pity,

“Be careful…!”

Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi’s weak voice was filled with urgency.

“Yes?”

“That guy, because of your energy… !”

Startled, Ok Cheong turned to look at Yuhyeok.

Chiririririring!

The hidden weapons embedded in his back were all pulled out and fell to the ground.

Whoooosh!

Intense demonic energy began to surge from Yuhyeok’s body again.

Ok Cheong had never been this surprised in his life. He had said he would finish it properly, but he thought Yuhyeok was on the verge of death. Yet, he was not only not dead, but was recovering his strength again.

In that moment, Ok Cheong remembered Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi’s words.

‘My energy?!’

Only then did Ok Cheong realize. Yuhyeok was dying from Tang Gwan’s merciless hidden weapon barrage, but his dantian [energy center] had not been destroyed. The energy remaining inside had reacted to Ok Cheong’s divine energy and began to revive. It was a vicious recovery power caused by the principle of mutual generation and restraint, where the quality of the demonic energy Yuhyeok possessed overwhelmed Ok Cheong. It was a conflicting energy, but if one side’s energy overwhelmed the other, the tide could always turn. In that respect, the Hongwon Art was superior to any Taoist divine skill, but Yuhyeok’s energy, which had exploded the very source of life, easily surpassed Ok Cheong’s Hongwon energy.

Of course, this was not the time to be surprised. Ok Cheong swung his sword like lightning.

Clang!

Blood flowed from Ok Cheong’s palm, which was holding the sword hilt. The protective gear had been torn.

‘This can’t be!’

He had struck down at his neck in one go, and the force was immense. Tang Gwan’s martial arts, which had embedded so many hidden weapons in this body, were truly amazing.

This was not the time to dwell on such things. Ok Cheong quickly picked up Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi and moved away.

That’s when it happened.

Yuhyeok’s hand grabbed Ok Cheong’s sleeve.

Ziiip!

Ok Cheong’s sleeve was torn long. If he had been a moment slower, his left arm would have been torn off completely.

“Kuh…”

Yuhyeok slowly raised his body. His eyes were not normal. His demonic energy had recovered due to the backlash against the Hongwon energy, but he had actually stopped breathing and come back to life. His extremely confused mind could no longer be called human.

However, even in that confusion, a single, incredibly powerful will remained alive.

Yuhyeok kicked off the ground. He was trying to go to Bang Won-Hu, or rather, to Cheon Gyo-Hong, the former cult leader.

That’s when it happened.

“Stay there.”

Thwack!

Yuhyeok, who had kicked off the ground, tilted and rolled on the floor. He had plowed a length of ground and turned his head, growling.

A man was caught in Yuhyeok’s red vision.

It was Tang Gwan.

His mind and body were extremely exhausted, but his telekinesis was incredibly powerful. It was Tang Gwan’s power that had grabbed Yuhyeok’s ankle and knocked him down as he tried to run.

A terrifying aura settled on Tang Gwan’s exhausted face.

“You can’t go there without my permission, you damn brainless fool.”

He was truly a nuisance, more than words could express.

“The martial general of the Divine Flame Cult didn’t die in one hit either. So I melted all his insides. But you’re even worse.”

“Krrrk.”

“Good! I’ll kill you until you die!”

Tang Gwan shouted and activated the Emperor Poison Art. The inner energy he had used up to the bottom began to blaze, fueled by Tang Gwan’s immense will. The inner energy, which was no more than a bean, absorbed the energy of nature, transformed into a powerful poison essence, and then into Emperor Poison Qi. The speed was like lightning. In an instant, Tang Gwan’s dantian was filled to three-tenths, and dark green light emanated from his eyes.

Yuhyeok’s instincts detected Tang Gwan’s killing intent. A force of superior divine skill that was impossible to ignore, so sharp that it shook even the mental strength of a demon who had broken through the Saintly Demonic Realm.

Thwack!

Yuhyeok’s speed was not much different from before. It was a terrifying speed and durability. Rather, he seemed more dangerous than before because he was running in a state of madness.

Whoosh!

Tang Gwan’s body brushed past Yuhyeok.

Bang!

The hidden blade embedded in Yuhyeok’s shoulder exploded, bursting his right eardrum. Fragments of the exploded hidden blade were embedded all over his face, emitting white smoke.

“Ughhhhh!”

It was poison. A hidden blade filled with Emperor Poison Qi.

Fwoosh!

Tang Gwan’s face turned pale. He hadn’t been able to dodge properly while embedding the hidden blade. The flesh on his side was tattered. It had been torn to shreds by Yuhyeok’s fingernails. The pain ran down his spine. But even that pain was forgotten in the face of the terrifying pressure and destructive killing intent.

And even in such a moment, his reason remained calm.

‘This won’t do.’

Crack! Bang! Thud!

He unleashed the Three Yang Divine Palm into the gap that had been torn by Hyeok Ryeon-Hwi’s fingernails earlier. Yuhyeok was in pain, but Tang Gwan’s body was slammed into the ground by his subsequent body blow. The impact was so strong that his vision flickered. The reason he hadn’t died even after taking this blow was because he had used his sharp mental strength to exert telekinesis, slowing down Yuhyeok’s charge.

‘Yes, this won’t do.’

Thump!

Yuhyeok’s hands slammed down on the spot where Tang Gwan had been. Cracks appeared in the ground within a radius of three yards. The ground, which had been broken and exploded once, groaned and ached again.

Tang Gwan, who had already flown high into the sky.

Yuhyeok’s head turned towards Tang Gwan. Yuhyeok’s completely distorted face was truly that of a beast hunting its prey.

He had risen into the air, so it would be good to move with the Sky Walk [a technique to move through the air], but he couldn’t. Only one-tenth of the Emperor Poison Qi he had accumulated remained. If he used the Sky Walk in this state, he wouldn’t be able to block the follow-up attack. Then he would die.

‘What should I do?’

His cold reason scanned, analyzed, and discarded dozens of methods.

‘There’s no way.’

His body began to fall.

Yuhyeok couldn’t even wait for that, and explosively unfolded his body, which had been curled up, and shot towards Tang Gwan.

Despair settled on Tang Gwan’s face.

‘There’s no way…’

If he dodged, he would die. If he didn’t dodge, he would die. There was nothing he could do.

‘Damn it! After cursing so freely, is this where it ends!’

It couldn’t be. Even if I die, I have to blow this guy’s head off. Of course, he valued his life, but if he couldn’t deal with a beast who had given up being human, he wouldn’t have the dignity of the head of the Sichuan Tang Family.

‘Alright.’

In a split second. Tang Gwan was prepared to die. He thought that even if he died here, he would take this damn beast with him.

‘This time for sure…!’

In that moment, a bolt of lightning struck Tang Gwan’s head.

‘……?!’

He saw three hidden blades flying faster than Yuhyeok’s charge.

Those hidden blades were flying because of his telekinesis. It was a skill pulled by pure will, not inner energy.

‘Hidden blades…?’

Why did I pull in hidden blades?

How do those hidden blades move according to my will without even a shred of inner energy?

At that moment, what flashed through Tang Gwan’s mind was Yeon Ho-Jeong’s illusion-like martial art. The enlightenment of a martial god who could realize what he imagined.

‘If I become a hidden blade.’

Flash!

Tang Gwan’s figure disappeared from that spot.