Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 940

Cheon Gyo-hong glared up at Yeon Ho-jeong with fierce eyes.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

Cheon Gyo-hong’s lips curled up.

“Still can’t remember?”

“……”

“How did you end up like this? The unparalleled genius, once called a ‘Philosophical Madman,’ who was the object of both hatred and fear, has fallen so low. Truly, the ways of the world are unpredictable.”

“……”

“Where is the Blood Jade?”

“Blood Jade, you say.”

Yeon Ho-jeong raised his head to look at the sky.

Cheon Gyo-hong, who had been quietly watching Yeon Ho-jeong, shouted angrily.

“I asked where you put the Blood Jade!”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s lips curled up.

“What do you intend to do with that information?”

“……?!”

Cheon Gyo-hong’s eyes wavered.

“Has your memory returned?”

“I have such thoughts from time to time.”

Yeon Ho-jeong lowered his head again, his gaze toward Cheon Gyo-hong was extremely cold.

“You people live such easy lives.”

“What?”

“You only see what you want to see, hear what you want to hear, and believe what you want to believe.”

“……?”

“That must be why you were able to gather so strongly. At the same time, it’s why you’re dangerous, and why you’re still cowering in the same place despite having such great power.”

“Shut up! Do you know the hatred and patience we’ve endured for hundreds of years! The Blood Jade is both a divine object and a demonic one! Even if we were to conquer the world, if someone with the Blood Jade were to reverse time, our dominance would inevitably crumble from its very foundation!”

Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.

“The fact that you fear the power of a single person reversing time so much is proof that your conquest is not righteous, you moronic bastard.”

“What is the reason?”

Cheon Gyo-hong’s face twisted like a demon.

“I need to know why you betrayed us, not some ridiculous excuse!”

“I am not a Philosophical Madman.”

“Nonsense!”

“Nor am I the Four Directional Emperor or the Yellow Dragon Emperor.”

“That’s absurd…!”

“I am merely a disciple of the Four Divine Generals, once called the greatest genius of all time.”

“……What?”

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.

“Confusing, isn’t it?”

It was a statement that didn’t match his expression.

“The fact that my master was from the Blood Cult was a truth that even I, who pride myself on having experienced the ups and downs of life, found hard to accept.”

“……?!”

“But if, as you say, there was a reason why my master betrayed the Blood Cult, I am certain that it was a decision he would not be ashamed of.”

“Shut up!”

“A position with absolute power guaranteed, the ability to transfer bodies, and even an ancient demonic artifact that could reverse time if one reached its ultimate form.”

“……?”

“With so many alluring options laid out, why would he leave the Blood Cult and fight for the world if he wasn’t lacking anything?”

Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.

“Whatever the reason, you will never understand his thoughts. There’s no point in even trying. You will only choose revenge out of hatred for my master.”

Cheon Gyo-hong’s eyes twitched slightly.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s words were indeed correct. No matter how grand the reason, if the Philosophical Madman were to appear, they would pour all the power of the Three Sects to kill him.

“You hid because of the Blood Jade’s ability to reverse time? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“……”

“It’s simply because the time wasn’t right. Because you weren’t confident in achieving a proper victory. The fact that you’ve spent so long conquering the Central Plains and are only now beginning to show your claws means you’ve only just gained confidence, doesn’t it?”

Cheon Gyo-hong’s eyes deepened.

Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.

“Well, it doesn’t matter to you anyway. You’re going to die soon.”

“……”

“Don’t worry about useless things, and go to hell and suffer diligently.”

Cheon Gyo-hong’s lips twitched.

“Hell… I fought my whole life to gain power, and lived worrying about the Madman’s Blood Jade’s time reversal. After death, I couldn’t even go to the afterlife, and was resurrected for the Blood Cult.”

“……”

“Since my consciousness returned, there hasn’t been a single moment that wasn’t hell.”

“I don’t need to know about that. It’s good for me. It’s satisfying to know you’ve lived a hellish life.”

“It’s not just me.”

Flash!

A deep murderous intent flared in Cheon Gyo-hong’s eyes.

“It wasn’t just me who lived in hell. The past cult leaders, those who died because they couldn’t become successors, and countless other followers also experienced hell. All because of you, Philosophical Madman.”

“Whether you consider me my master or not is not important to me. I’ve lost interest in you. A lion is merely annoyed by the buzzing of an insect, not threatened.”

“……!”

“Today’s conversation was enjoyable. Thanks to you, I learned a lot about my master.”

Crack!

From Yeon Ho-jeong’s body, holding the Gwangryongbu [Yellow Dragon Seal], the Yellow Dragon energy flared up again.

“If you can’t go alone, I’ll help you go.”

The moment Cheon Gyo-hong’s face hardened.

‘……?’

Yeon Ho-jeong felt a small explosion within his body.

‘What is this?’

It was violent enough to be called an explosion, but the impact was not significant.

However, he knew something was wrong. His body, which had been fine, was suddenly undergoing an unknown change.

Thud thud thud!

The explosion, once started, quickly spread throughout his body, triggering other explosions.

It was a chain reaction. It was a bizarre phenomenon where he didn’t know what was exploding, and there was no actual impact.

Confusion settled on Yeon Ho-jeong’s face.

‘What the hell is this…….’

Then, the power of the numerous explosions that had spread to his limbs rushed like lightning to the center of his chest.

Bang!

The Gwangryongbu, dropped from his hand, hit the floor with a fierce crash.

“Cough!”

Staggering back a few steps, Yeon Ho-jeong collapsed and clutched his chest.

Trickle.

Dark red blood poured from his nose and mouth.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s complexion turned pale in an instant. Internal injuries were erupting here and there, centered on the point where the explosion had occurred, causing turbid energy.

Even the moment he was injured, the skin all over his body turned blue.

It was a bruise. The fine blood vessels in his body were bursting, and his blood points were twisting, causing terrible pain.

It was a situation he had never experienced before. Even as his vision spun from the excruciating pain, Yeon Ho-jeong pondered what was happening.

Then, Cheon Gyo-hong spoke.

“That is the power of the Five-Colored Hellish Art.”

Yeon Ho-jeong trembled as he looked at Cheon Gyo-hong.

Fwoosh.

Fine powder scattered from various parts of Cheon Gyo-hong’s body. The powder was carried by the cool blue wind toward the western sky.

The time had come.

It was the beginning of death, the moment everything disappeared.

Looking down at his own hands, which were slowly scattering, Cheon Gyo-hong said.

“The Five-Colored Hellish Art is an absolute demonic art that controls all demons. Even if it was disassembled and reassembled, it would have been difficult to eliminate the flaws of the incantation.”

“Kuh!”

“Still, it’s amazing. The more you master the Five-Colored Hellish Art, the more your humanity disappears, and you contain unimaginable demonic energy. In other words, it’s a true hellish art created by human hands. You become a living demon.”

Cheon Gyo-hong smiled bitterly.

“Since demons rule the world, their followers can only become demons as well. Those who mastered the Five-Colored Hellish Art became a disaster, but in the end, they all died by exploding their blood vessels, nerves, muscles, and internal organs.”

“……!”

“Since they contained energy not allowed in the human world, the human body could not withstand such energy.”

Whoooong.

Golden, radiant energy flickered repeatedly from Yeon Ho-jeong’s body.

And then.

Fwoosh!

Reddish smoke rose from various parts of his body.

Cheon Gyo-hong’s eyes widened.

“Could it be healing?”

“Cough!”

Yeon Ho-jeong, wiping away the flowing blood, looked at Cheon Gyo-hong.

His eyes looked tired. But there was no shadow of death anywhere.

“Didn’t you say that my master changed that damned incantation and created an anti-demonic martial art?”

“……!!”

“If, as you say, my master was the greatest genius of all time, there’s no way he would have left a fatal flaw in this martial art that he himself was practicing.”

No, there are limitations to the Yellow Dragon Divine King Art [Hwangryong Sinkong].

It was the door to an extremely deep and vast enlightenment.

It was not a martial art that could be opened just because one’s martial realm was high. The Yellow Dragon Divine King Art required the convergence of all sorts of elements, including enlightenment that was difficult to describe in words, one’s attitude toward martial arts, and one’s life philosophy, and even then, one needed luck to open it.

Now, Yeon Ho-jeong understood why his master had made the Yellow Dragon Divine King Art so mysterious and one with enlightenment.

‘The Yellow Dragon Divine King Art is connected to the end of martial arts.’

The end of martial arts, what is the end?

‘Mind Sword.’

The closest thing to the Mind Sword that gossips talk about was the Yellow Dragon Divine King Art.

The Yellow Dragon Divine King Art was not simply a stronger, faster, or more powerful martial art.

The Yellow Dragon Divine King Art was a foundation.

It was a foundation that supported the body of one who had attained enlightenment of the Yellow Dragon, and it was the ultimate internal energy control method that best realized what one had realized.

Then, what is the martial art of enlightenment? What is the Mind Sword?

It can be said that the form of martial arts changes according to one’s mind and thoughts. If one desires a lightning-like strike, one will truly use martial arts at the speed of lightning, and if one desires a weight like a mountain, one can break a cliff with a single punch.

If one’s internal energy and body are strong enough, one can realize the power one desires and imagines. That was why the Yellow Dragon Divine King Art was the ultimate martial art.

However, there is no such thing as perfection in this world.

Even if one desires lightning-like power, if the amount and quality of internal energy, that is, the power to realize that power, is not sufficient, one will never achieve what one intends.

Yeon Ho-jeong had done it.

While fighting Cheon Gyo-hong, he had broken cliffs and poured out martial arts that were much faster and more powerful than usual without even taking a breath.

As a result, his body had become like this. Because he had continuously displayed power that exceeded his limits.

However.

“A perfect cure is impossible, but……”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s complexion was still pale. However, the bruises all over his body began to disappear little by little.

Thanks to the healing power of the Yellow Dragon energy, which boasted an extremely high density, and Yeon Ho-jeong’s strong mental power to restore his body to its original state, his internal and external injuries were being corrected.

“At least, I won’t die like you.”

Cheon Gyo-hong’s eyes wavered.

“Philosophical Madman. How did you betray us and create such a nasty martial art?”

“I told you, I don’t know. Don’t ask me.”

“Are you truly a disciple of the Philosophical Madman?”

“It’s not something to say to a dying man, but don’t call him a madman. My master was a great man. He is not someone who should be belittled with the word ‘madman.’”

“……Heh heh.”

Fwoosh fwoosh.

Cheon Gyo-hong’s shoulders and chest caved in. Among the flesh that was turning to powder, his white ribs and blackened, dead heart were visible.

“He even fixed the limitations of the Five-Colored Hellish Art… Philosophical Madman, you are truly a monster sent from the heavens.”

Whoosh.

Cheon Gyo-hong completely turned to powder and disappeared.

“Hoo!”

Yeon Ho-jeong touched his chest.

If his five viscera and six entrails had not been trained to the extreme with the Four Divine Energies, he would not have been able to heal his body with just the Yellow Dragon energy and his will.

No, if it had not been trained to the extreme in the first place, he would not have been able to open the Yellow Dragon energy.

Perhaps the Four Divine Energies themselves were just a stepping stone to awaken the Yellow Dragon Art. With that thought, Yeon Ho-jeong slowly closed his eyes.

‘Master. What on earth are you…….’

Thud.

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had fainted, collapsed to the ground.