Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 946

Yeon Ho-Jeong was dreaming. This dream, so vivid and real, was a continuation of the one he had before awakening the Yellow Dragon Divine King Art.

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked around.

A desolate mountain. The trees were broken and cut down, making it look like a rocky mountain from afar.

And within it, there were he and his master.

“How is it?”

The young Yeon Ho-Jeong, having finished his energy circulation, spoke.

“I feel lighter. And…”

“You’ve gotten faster, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I have.”

His master spoke with his usual stern face.

“The Four Divine Energies are a divine art that can perfectly control the five viscera and six entrails [internal organs]. It has countless other abilities, but as long as one is born a human, those who cannot properly handle their body will face limitations in any domain.”

“Yes.”

“To properly control the five viscera and six entrails means you have properly cultivated the middle dantian [energy center in the body]. The Four Divine Energies go a step further. Unlike other martial artists who control their insides with one or two internal energy cultivation methods, the Four Divine Energies allow for extreme cultivation of each organ. What does this mean?”

The young Yeon Ho-Jeong did not answer immediately. Rather than pondering the question itself, his expression showed caution.

After a moment.

“Does it mean that one can achieve absolute equanimity, or perhaps the extreme expression of emotions?”

“Accurate.”

There was no praise, but what appeared on his master’s stern face was clearly admiration.

Of course, as a child, he had difficulty understanding his master’s emotions, the subtle changes in expression hidden beneath his impassiveness. It was only now, looking back as a third party, that Yeon Ho-Jeong could properly see his master’s face.

His master said,

“If you cultivate the middle dantian well, you can achieve equanimity and strengthen the five viscera and six entrails. On the other hand, the Four Divine Energies extremely activate the five viscera and six entrails, enabling limitless cultivation of the middle dantian.”

“It’s the opposite, then.”

“It is the opposite. That’s why some once called the Four Divine Energies a demonic art. To those who only knew rigid martial arts, the cultivation method itself seemed close to defying the heavens.”

“…”

“And that statement, to some extent, can be considered correct.”

“Yes?”

His master looked up at the sky.

Between the scattering clouds, the not-so-bright sunlight was struggling to shine.

“Is it only those that reek of demonic energy that are called demonic arts? Anything that goes against the proper principles is a demonic art, an evil art. It can also be called the left path, as the people of the Central Plains [ancient China] say.”

“But…”

“Yes, the Four Divine Energies are a sacred energy. It emits an energy that is deeper and purer than any divine art of those called the righteous sects.”

“Yes. Furthermore, I do not believe that the cultivation of the middle dantian through the Four Divine Energies goes against the natural order.”

“Why do you think so?”

“I believe that the natural order certainly exists. However, there are many ways to follow the natural order. The Four Divine Energies are not a martial art that goes against reason, but rather one of the many ways to reach the natural order.”

“You are better than me.”

“Yes?”

His master, who had been looking up at the sky, lowered his head.

“I never had such thoughts when I was your age. It was only after many years of experience and setbacks that I finally regained peace and realized it.”

“Ah…”

“And when I realized that, I opened the Yellow Dragon.”

“I, I see.”

“Perhaps you might reach the Yellow Dragon much faster than I did.”

The young Yeon Ho-Jeong lowered his head.

“I do not have the talent for that.”

“Does martial arts rise according to talent?”

“Isn’t that so?”

“We cannot ignore talent. However, true martial arts bloom through constant self-cultivation and timely training.”

“What is timely training? Is it not the constant daily cultivation that is the essence of martial arts…?”

“Of course, you must constantly cultivate. But if you lift a hundred-weight stone today and a two-hundred-weight stone a year later, how many weights will you lift in ten years? Will you train by lifting a thousand-weight stone?”

“…”

“Training is in life. Life always seeks change, and my heart and circumstances are never the same from day to day.”

“…”

“Naturally, training must also change. There will be times when you need to train even while carrying stones, and there will be times when you need to look closely at your own knowledge and emotions through meditation.”

“…I see.”

“And sometimes, there will be moments when you have to fight to the death with an enemy. In the end, even if you have learned the same martial art, the amount, quality, and direction of training will be completely different for each person.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong was very surprised.

‘We had such a conversation.’

Even before obtaining the Yellow Dragon, he realized that he had forgotten so much.

Of course, his master’s teachings had more differences than similarities. He was a person with such vast knowledge and enlightenment.

“Then…”

“…”

“How can one perceive the moment when training needs to change?”

“Ask yourself.”

“Myself?”

“If you have truly deepened your martial arts day by day, your instincts will tell you what kind of study you need.”

This was also something Yeon Ho-Jeong did not remember.

To be precise, it was something he vaguely remembered. However, he had never used his master’s words as a guide for his training.

Hearing it now, he was reminded of it anew. It was the same as the dream he had before awakening the Yellow Dragon Art.

“That’s enough for today, go to sleep.”

“But it’s still…”

“Haven’t you been replacing sleep with energy circulation? A person needs to sleep. Even if you reach the Yellow Dragon, you must not give up sleep. Sleep is like a natural remedy that restores every part of a human, from head to toe.”

“Understood.”

The young Yeon Ho-Jeong bowed his head and lay down. There was no pillow or blanket. Lying on the cold stone floor, the young Yeon Ho-Jeong fell into a deep sleep before he could even count to ten.

In that moment, Yeon Ho-Jeong realized.

‘Could it be?’

Watching his sleeping disciple, his master’s expression changed.

The face he did not remember was clearly smiling.

His eyes were curved in a gentle arc. His unique stern expression had completely disappeared, replaced by a soft and benevolent smile that pierced Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes.

His master opened his mouth.

“The past five years have truly been like a dream.”

Indeed, it was so.

This dream that Yeon Ho-Jeong was having was the day before his master disappeared without a word.

“I don’t know how I ended up meeting someone as dangerous as you. The way of heaven is mysterious. It is truly unknowable.”

His master sat next to his sleeping disciple.

His old hand came up to his disciple’s forehead.

“I thought there was something that would never change in this world where it is difficult to be certain of anything. I saw it as fate. I saw it as natural talent.”

His master closed his eyes.

“The fact that you and I met was also because my heart, which recognized your natural talent, reached the heavens, and the fate that was finally connected was completed. The relationship between master and disciple is a fate given by heaven, no different from the parents and siblings bound by the heavenly order.”

It was a strange voice.

Yeon Ho-Jeong thought his master’s voice was like a song.

Each word permeated his heart. There was no fancy technique or mournful melody, but there was an emotion that resonated throughout his body.

“But yesterday, my thoughts changed.”

His master closed his eyes.

“The meeting between you and me was not some predetermined fate. Our master-disciple relationship was created by you, not me.”

What did this mean?

Yeon Ho-Jeong could not understand his master’s words.

“I thought your natural talent was outstanding. Although you were buried in a sea of resentment and hatred, I chose you because your innate nature was like a cloudless sky. That’s what I thought.”

Flash!

His master’s face, when he opened his eyes again, was like that of a detached Taoist [a follower of Taoism].

“I was wrong. I did not choose you because I saw your natural talent. We met because you and I are bound by an absolute fate that was created since the beginning of time.”

“…”

“It was you who chose me as your master. The foundation of the masterpiece of fate, which was not even drawn in the first place, was completed by the look in your eyes when you looked at me. I only colored that picture, and if you were not there, I would not have been either.”

His master, having removed his hand from his disciple’s forehead, sighed.

“By meeting you, this master was finally able to overcome the terrible demonic energy that had stained my soul. I still cannot understand how that was possible, but I know for sure that it was because of you.”

Whoosh.

A wind blew.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been looking at his master with complex eyes, was suddenly startled.

White powder was scattering from his master’s shoulders. It was a beautiful and sacred energy that was both comforting and overwhelming to see.

Yeon Ho-Jeong opened his mouth.

“Master.”

A voice that could not be heard.

His master, turning his shoulder, took something out of his pocket.

It was a small bead with a reddish aura. It was only the size of a thumbnail, but even in the dream, it was giving off a chilling aura.

“Originally, this object should not exist in this world. Its very existence is against the heavens, it is chaos. My ancestor, arrogant after obtaining an uncontrollable demon, deviated from the cycle of nature and went down the path of eternal annihilation. And he almost turned all the people of the world into lost souls for countless eons.”

“…”

“This object is a demon, a ghost, and just possessing it can drive a person mad. Even I, who was said to have the greatest talent in the history of the Blood Cult, could not be free from the power of this object.”

His master’s fist, holding the bead, tightened with great force.

Crack!

When his master opened his hand again, the red bead had become sand finer than the sand of the desert.

Yet, it did not scatter in the wind. Just seeing that, one could feel that it was an object that defied the laws of nature.

“But now, I have finally broken free from the curse of this ghost, and my ego, which I realized because of you and regained because of you, is about to reach the light.”

His master sprinkled the red powder on his sleeping disciple’s forehead. The red powder, which did not scatter in the wind, fell directly onto his disciple’s glabella [the space between the eyebrows].

The powder did not accumulate. As if there was an invisible hole in his glabella, every single grain was sucked into his disciple’s glabella.

Whoosh.

The light powder that had been scattering from his shoulders gradually began to rise from his entire body.

His master’s body gradually became transparent.

A mysterious sight that could not be seen anywhere else. Yeon Ho-Jeong intuitively realized.

This was what was called ascension to immortality, spoken of in myths and legends.

The strongest demon, born from the seed of evil, had laid down everything and reached the Way [spiritual path].

“Master!”

“There is no more Divine Jade.”

“…”

“If you live a life true to yourself and then return to heaven, it will be difficult to meet again, and if you live a life not true to yourself and die, you will come down to earth again and repeat a lonely history alone.”

“…!!”

“It is thanks to you that I destroyed the demon that could erase the existence of tens of millions of people. So, you should also receive a share of the blessing of defying the heavens.”

Whoooooosh.

His master was scattering.

Tears flowed from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes.

“The first hundred years, I lived like ten years. The second hundred years, I lived like one year.”

“…”

“And the last hundred years, when I met you, remained with me as a fleeting regret and brought me a thousand years of joy.”

“…!”

His master closed his eyes.

At the same time, his master’s body disappeared, and only the voice he left behind remained.

“Live with a smile.”