Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 948

“Brother, I’m here… Huh?”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s eyes widened.

“Sister?”

Muk Bi was sitting on the windowsill, looking outside.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong looked around the room.

“Sister, where is Brother…?”

“He left.”

“Pardon?”

Muk Bi shook a piece of paper in her hand.

“He left this letter behind.”

“L-left? Where to?”

“I don’t know.”

Muk Bi’s face clouded over.

She had learned a lot from Tang Gwan during this trip to Qinghai. Although it wasn’t highlighted because there were many masters of the Great Void [a high level of martial arts mastery] who had finished a major battle, if she hadn’t been there, there might have been quite a few casualties.

Even so, her actions of going around and taking care of people without showing any signs of it were certainly impressive.

However, she was also human, so she couldn’t help but be tired, and she was able to relieve that fatigue by talking with the Yeon brothers or Tang Gwan.

But now, her face looked so tired. It was as if all the fatigue she had accumulated had come at once, and her gaunt expression was very pitiful.

“It would have been so much better if he had at least told us directly.”

Muk Bi smiled bitterly, while Yeon Ji-Pyeong was bewildered, not knowing what was going on.

At that moment, a somewhat listless voice was heard.

“So, he did leave.”

The two startled people looked towards the door.

There stood Mak Won and Tang Gwan. Unlike Tang Gwan, who looked fine, Mak Won’s face was still pale.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong asked.

“Did you know?”

Mak Won shrugged.

“I don’t know the exact situation, but I could feel that Yeonje [referring to Yeon Ho-Jeong] was a bit impatient. His energy just popped!”

It was a sensation that only those who had entered the realm of the infinite void could feel.

Muk Bi, unlike her usual self, spoke self-deprecatingly.

“Now, he’s become someone I can’t understand unless I reach that realm.”

Mak Won coughed awkwardly. Yeon Ji-Pyeong sighed.

However, Tang Gwan’s reaction was quite different.

“If we’re going to judge whether or not we can understand someone based on their level of martial arts, or what they can and cannot do, then I would have cut ties with that brat a long time ago.”

Muk Bi looked at Tang Gwan.

Tang Gwan, with his arms crossed, was leaning comfortably against the wall. He didn’t seem at all flustered by Yeon Ho-Jeong’s sudden disappearance.

It wasn’t because he had sensed Yeon Ho-Jeong’s energy.

“Sometimes you might feel disappointed, and sometimes you might get angry. Because of that, you might not want to understand the other person and live with a grudge for a long time. That’s how people are.”

“…”

“But if you want to understand the other person, if you want to build a better relationship, you have to have a proper conversation.”

Because it was Tang Gwan who was speaking, his words carried weight.

In that aspect, he was someone who had lived more foolishly than anyone else. He had even lived for over twenty years without seeing his own father, who wasn’t even a stranger by blood.

Because it was a statement that contained Tang Gwan’s realization, Muk Bi couldn’t say anything in response.

“Of course, even if a thousand conversations take place, if those words don’t reach each other’s hearts and scatter into the air, it’s meaningless. The important thing is to have many conversations with the other person, to make them deep enough to allow for clear interaction.”

Muk Bi’s eyes wavered.

Tang Gwan shook his head.

“There aren’t many people in the world who know how to do that. Even I, who knows it, am not good at it. However, even if you’re angry and frustrated by the eccentric behavior of someone close to you, if you don’t intend to cut ties, then conversation is essential.”

“So, you’re saying I should understand the other person?”

“Ultimately, you should understand the other person for your own sake. If you don’t like it, you can just cut ties.”

It was an extremely simple statement, but because it was simple, it was difficult to realize.

Tang Gwan, having uncrossed his arms, spoke to Mak Won.

“Let’s rest a little longer before we go back. If that guy moved separately, he must have his own reasons, so we’ll just act as we see fit.”

“Hmm, the Clan Leader’s words are correct.”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong looked at Muk Bi.

Muk Bi, who had been staring blankly into the air, sighed.

“I’ve shown a pathetic side of myself.”

“No, Sister.”

“Even though I know he’s like that, it’s frustrating when he leaves without a word every now and then. How hard is it to say a few words before leaving?”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong smiled wryly.

“Brother is really bad in that regard.”

Muk Bi, who had been quietly looking at Yeon Ji-Pyeong, smiled.

“Even if he’s a bad brother, you still want to see him, right?”

“Of course.”

Muk Bi sighed deeply once more and put her arm around Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s shoulder.

“It seems like we’ll have to stay a bit longer, so let’s drink some alcohol. There’s some good stuff in the storage.”

“Shouldn’t we get permission from Young Master Cheon?”

“Then let’s get permission and drink together, what do you say?”

“Sounds good.”

As Yeon Ji-Pyeong was leaving the room, he glanced back inside.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong smiled wryly.

‘Brother, you’re really something. Just when I think we’ve gotten a little closer, you distance yourself again.’

* * *

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s movement technique, traversing Qinghai with the Thousandfold Celestial Flight, looked both lofty and incredibly fast.

After completing the Yellow Dragon Divine King Art, the overall form and flow of his martial arts had completely changed. However, even amidst all that, the one thing that hadn’t changed much from before was his movement technique.

The Thousandfold Celestial Flight was not fundamentally a movement technique belonging to the Four Divine Beasts [mythical creatures in East Asian lore]. It was a movement technique from the Yeon family’s secret teachings, and while it showed slight differences in output depending on the internal energy cultivation method, it provided a very stable and fast speed.

If mastered properly, it was possible to move quickly and with endurance with any internal energy. It went without saying for a master who had reached the Great Void.

Because he was carrying three axes, his speed wasn’t as fast as when he was empty-handed, but he was able to escape Qinghai at twice the speed of traveling on horseback.

Traveling alone, Yeon Ho-Jeong was able to modify the key points of the Thousandfold Celestial Flight, which he hadn’t paid attention to before, to fit the Yellow Dragon Art and his own body. It wasn’t a completely new creation like the Golden Dragon Dance or the Dragon Form Footwork, but it was a meaningful training in itself.

And so, Yeon Ho-Jeong reached Gansu.

When night fell, he lit a bonfire and slept, and when day broke, he moved again.

When he was hungry, he hunted or found clear water to catch fish. And when he had digested, he ran again.

He wasn’t particularly in a hurry, but because he was moving with the sole intention of training his movement technique, his speed was incredibly fast.

Several days, and then several more days.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, having passed through Gansu and entered Shaanxi, reached the top of a certain mountain.

It was a dark night. The countless stars and the bright full moon were so beautiful.

After looking up at the sky for a long time, Yeon Ho-Jeong took out new clothes from his bundle and went to a stream to wash for over half a day.

Having tidied himself up, he settled down on a hill overlooking the foot of the mountain and sat in a lotus position. Then, he entered meditation.

A day passed quickly.

He briefly broke his concentration, but as he entered meditation again, two days passed in no time.

On the third day, which followed closely, the sun was particularly hot. The moment he felt it, his concentration broke once more, but he soon fell back into meditation.

How many days had passed?

Even when a sharp wind blew, when the hot sun scorched his skin, when the pungent smell of wild animals wafted over him, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s meditation did not break.

In that solitary yet comforting darkness, Yeon Ho-Jeong thought.

‘Why did I come here?’

Even though he had packed his things and left, he didn’t understand why he was leaving. He had simply run aimlessly.

And he didn’t try to understand himself. It was because his instincts whispered that there was no need to understand.

But now, he had to know.

Now, in deep meditation, he could finally see his own actions, which he couldn’t understand, clearly.

‘Whose will led me here?’

Was it my will? Or was it someone else’s will that my instincts had picked up but my mind couldn’t grasp?

Or perhaps.

‘The Yellow Dragon.’

Krrrrrr!

The huge cavern in his chest, where the Yellow Dragon resided, shook as if an earthquake had struck.

Debris fell from the ceiling. The Yellow Dragon, coiled as if wanting to shatter the entire cave, roared fiercely.

Thump! Thump!

Although it was like a phantom inside his body, the dragon’s enormous body slammed against the cave walls.

It wasn’t a struggle of anger. It wasn’t because of urgency or tension either.

‘Joy?’

That’s right. The Yellow Dragon was roaring with joy.

‘What is it so happy about?’

The Yellow Dragon was an energy with spirituality, a contradictory force that could be both a distinct entity and Yeon Ho-Jeong himself.

It could be this, and it could be that. That’s why awakening the Yellow Dragon Divine King Art is difficult. Even if you understand it with your head, it’s a realm that’s hard to reach unless you realize it with your body and heart.

After reaching the Yellow Dragon, Yeon Ho-Jeong couldn’t properly interpret the Yellow Dragon’s struggle for the first time.

However.

‘It’s comforting.’

He wasn’t worried.

Rather, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s own heart was also pounding in response to the Yellow Dragon’s emotions.

It was hard to explain, but he felt like this moment was going to be a major turning point.

Having formed a group, the group heading to Shinma Forest were people he had to take responsibility for. And he had never once turned a blind eye to the responsibilities he had to bear.

But now.

This moment was different.

He had arrived here following a vague yet intense instinct, as if he had to move even if it meant putting aside all his past relationships for a while.

‘No matter the reason, no matter what situation arises, I just need to exist as myself.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong made a small vow.

However, the next day, his peaceful yet intense vow was shaken to its core.

‘……?’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s ears twitched while he was deep in meditation.

At the same time, his consciousness moved somewhere between reality and meditation.

‘What is it?’

Even in his languid state, he felt tension.

‘Is it an animal? Or…’

It wasn’t an animal.

But it wasn’t a person either. It was clearly a living being, but something that couldn’t be defined as any kind of existence was approaching this place.

Whoooosh.

The Yellow Dragon, which had been struggling for a while and then calmed down, raised its head again and roared.

A drop of cold sweat trickled down Yeon Ho-Jeong’s forehead.

Tzzzz.

A faint red light leaked from between his eyebrows and then scattered.

Flash!

Yeon Ho-Jeong, having finally opened his eyes, looked up at the sky.

Even though it wasn’t a full moon, a moonlight much brighter than that was shining down on the hill.

The flowing clouds were elegant, and the twinkling starlight, like scattered light, writhed and boasted a splendid beauty.

Was it a particularly beautiful sky, or was it the sky as seen through my eyes that was beautiful?

Yeon Ho-Jeong got up from his seat and turned around.

Thump!

His heart beat strongly.

Chiiiiiiiiik!

The Yellow Dragon energy that had spread throughout his body emitted golden smoke. Yeon Ho-Jeong, wrapped in golden haze, finally became complete under the moonlight.

And in front of him, there was an old man.

He wore old, worn-out but clean white clothes, and his hair, neatly combed back, shone with a gray-white color.

He held nothing in his hands, but it was as if he was approaching with thousands of dragons in his grasp.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyelids fluttered.

The moonlight that shone down vibrated intensely, and the twinkling starlight cheered in unison.

In the darkness of the brilliantly burning flames, a surprising light flickered on the tired face of the old man, who was stepping onto the pale earth, one step at a time.

Yeon Ho-Jeong said in a trembling voice.

“Master.”