Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 966

Somehow, it wasn’t a surprising story, Yeon-wi thought.

‘It was strange.’

The Three Cults each targeted different areas to devour the Central Plains martial world.

The Saeum Cult dispatched spies and experts to various regions, starting from Guangdong. The Blood Demon Cult gnawed at the livelihoods and martial forces of Sichuan, the gateway for invading the Central Plains. And the Shin-hwa Cult took charge of the Imperial Palace.

At first glance, it might seem that the Shin-hwa Cult stood out since the Blood Demon and Saeum Cults were in charge of the martial world while the Shin-hwa Cult was in charge of the Imperial Palace. But upon closer inspection, it was actually the Blood Demon Cult that stood out.

The Blood Demon Cult hadn’t even properly deployed their full force from the start. Although the Bi-Wang, Gongson Bi-ryong, was the Blood Demon Cult’s vice leader, he was a demon who had been active in the Central Plains from the beginning, so he should be excluded.

Rather, the Blood Demon Cult gave a strong impression that they viewed the Central Plains, this world, as a kind of laboratory. They summoned dead souls to grant them to others in order to transcend human lifespans. The real demons of the Blood Demon Cult had rarely appeared in the martial world.

‘We’ve always fought against the Shin-hwa Cult.’

Even though the Shin-hwa Cult was in charge of the Imperial Palace, they were strangely often entangled with the Martial Alliance.

This was because they were actually involved in the affairs of the martial world, but considering the characteristics of each area they were targeting, the experts of the Central Plains should have been frequently clashing with the Saeum Cult.

‘Ho-jeong said he also fought with the guardian of the Saeum Cult.’

When he met with the Yin Master, Ha Eun-gyo, he said that the demons from the Saeum Cult were using her to develop strange weapons.

The one Yeon Ho-jeong fought at that time was the guardian who used the Ho-yeon style. Furthermore, he had also fought with the Yayul and So clan women of Guangdong, so it could be said that he had clashed quite a bit with the demons of the Saeum Cult.

But that was all.

Among the battles fought to understand and drive out the Three Cults, there were an unusually large number of Shin-hwa Cult members.

“The dangerous and sometimes strangely audacious attacks of the Shin-hwa Cult were ordered by your son under the Saeum Cult Leader’s command.”

“Ordered…”

Gi Cheon-ung sighed.

“It’s absurd, but that’s how it turned out. I don’t know how audacious they were, though.”

“After finishing your seclusion, didn’t you investigate what your cult had been doing?”

“I couldn’t even investigate. All the real power was already in my son’s hands.”

“You said that the Shin-hwa Cult believes power is the absolute value. Even if the real power was in your son’s hands, how could no one have told you what had been going on when the cult leader, the strongest person in the cult, appeared?”

“Did you forget that I was dying?”

“…?”

“My martial arts have limits. I said it was my lifespan, but my lifespan is directly related to my martial arts.”

Peng Mu-gang, who had been listening quietly, spoke in a calm voice.

“Does that mean your lifespan decreases the more you use your martial arts?”

Gi Cheon-ung looked at Peng Mu-gang.

Even under the gaze of an unbelievably powerful expert, Peng Mu-gang didn’t flinch at all.

Rather, he felt a little sympathy for him in his heart. The Shin-hwa Cult had caused much bloodshed in the Central Plains, but as a father who had experienced his son’s rebellion, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of kinship.

Gi Cheon-ung nodded.

“It’s similar.”

He could have asked more details, but Yeon-wi didn’t push it further.

It was a rule among martial artists not to practice their techniques in front of others. The fact that Gi Cheon-ung had openly revealed his condition was already showing many weaknesses.

“The problem is that my son knows that.”

“How so?”

“The foundation of the Shin-hwa Cult’s martial arts is one. At its peak, they can even devour each other. In other words, they can also see each other’s condition.”

“Even if the foundation of the martial arts is one, if the upper dantian [energy center in the body] is working properly…”

Yeon-wi, who was speaking, sighed.

Gi Cheon-ung smiled bitterly.

“I couldn’t hide anything from my son’s Fire Eyes.”

“I don’t know how you ended up in such a state.”

“Greed.”

Gi Cheon-ung leaned his head against the wall.

“Greed is a double-edged sword. It can make people develop or regress.”

Yeon-wi, who had been listening to him quietly, got up from his seat, dusting off his bottom.

“So, you’re going to join forces with us to bring down the Saeum Cult and return the Shin-hwa Cult to its original state.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Huh?”

“The Shin-hwa Cult is a group that should no longer exist.”

The two were surprised and looked down at Gi Cheon-ung.

Gi Cheon-ung folded his arms over his raised knees. A blue flame flickered for a moment in his hand.

A powerful fire energy was felt, but strangely, it wasn’t hot. His ability to control the nature and pressure of his energy had reached the realm of the divine.

“The Shin-hwa Cult must be destroyed. Not everyone needs to die, but many people should no longer be united under such a bizarre doctrine.”

“…”

“I told the Emperor that I would establish our own force in the Central Plains. I don’t know yet if it will be a sect or a family. But if such an organization can be created, I will ensure that our organization does not interfere in worldly affairs for at least the next hundred years.”

Peng Mu-gang involuntarily asked.

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

The Shin-hwa Cult leader, who had been chased out by his son’s rebellion, was going to create a new sect or family in the Central Plains?

There was no way this rumor wouldn’t spread. It was a fact that everyone would know someday, and there was no way the Central Plains martial world would just stand by and watch.

“No one knows what the future holds. I’m just going to try. I thought about just disappearing, but it’s too regrettable to lose the legacy we’ve built up so far.”

“Hmm.”

Yeon-wi said.

“If your heart, or the abilities and generosity of the person who inherits your will, are good, it’s not impossible.”

Gi Cheon-ung smiled bitterly.

“Finding a successor will be the first problem.”

“Even if everything else is a problem, I think the successor issue will be easier than you think.”

“You’re not suggesting that I pass on my martial arts to a talented child from the Central Plains, are you?”

“If that’s the best way, would you shake your head and say no?”

“…”

“Even if that’s not the way, you already have a child to whom you can pass on everything.”

Gi Cheon-ung’s eyes wavered for a moment.

Peng Mu-gang muttered involuntarily.

“The Physician of the Righteous Path, Gi Woo-hee?”

Yeon-wi looked up at the night sky and said.

“I don’t know what you think of your daughter. But from our perspective, it’s hard to find someone with as beautiful and strong a character as Physician Gi.”

“…”

“Fire is strong but quickly extinguished. She has an inner strength that doesn’t match fire, but I cautiously say that this might lead to even better results.”

“…Woo-hee.”

Gi Cheon-ung said in a somewhat awkward voice.

“Is Woo-hee doing well?”

“She’s doing very well. I don’t know how she feels, but in terms of treatment, I can say that she’s receiving very good treatment.”

“I see.”

“Many people have been saved thanks to her. Even though their skin color and eyes are different, Physician Gi’s noble actions did not discriminate against anyone.”

“…”

“We all owe her a great debt. And she has a nature that makes her feel sorry in front of a patient who has died despite her best efforts. How can we see her in a bad light?”

“Yes.”

Gi Cheon-ung gave a complex smile.

“I’m glad she’s doing well.”

“Do you miss your daughter?”

“I do.”

It was a reflexive question, but he didn’t expect the answer to be ‘I do’ so quickly.

“I’ve had many children. It was like that even before I became the cult leader. They were my children, but they were raised in different directions according to my father’s orders. I was like that too, so I thought it was natural at the time.”

“…”

“Woo-hee is different. She’s the first and last child I had after I became the cult leader.”

“Is that a problem?”

“There’s absolutely no problem. If it weren’t for her mother’s background.”

“…”

“Even a cult leader with absolute power can’t help but be conscious of the eyes around him. Noble bloodlines must be maintained. But I truly loved her.”

Yeon-wi’s eyes deepened.

The Shin-hwa Cult leader speaking of love. He never imagined that he would see the Shin-hwa Cult leader like this, or that his voice would carry such a tender emotion that everyone could share.

“The child’s mother was a strong person. She was a strong person who knew her place but didn’t get caught up in the opinions of others. That aspect was impressive to me.”

“…”

“But I couldn’t properly take care of Woo-hee. My children, who had already grown into dragons and tigers, were sensitive to my every reaction. No matter how many concubines I had, if they were children, they were not objects of affection but objects of competition.”

“I see.”

“I loved her more than any other child, but I never showed her even a hundredth of that affection. That always bothered me.”

Gi Cheon-ung’s eyes wavered.

“It was only a while after I came out of seclusion that I realized. The wife I loved was dead, and Woo-hee had fled to the continent because she couldn’t win her lonely battle.”

“…”

“I couldn’t control my boiling anger. But the more the anger continued…”

“Your upper dantian caused problems.”

“…Yes. I wanted to take revenge, but I couldn’t. And my son knew exactly what my condition was.”

“…”

“In the end, it’s all my fault that things have come to this. If I wanted to kill my son, I could have. We would have died together. But even though I was furious, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

He must have felt like letting things be.

Regardless of the circumstances, the tragedy Gi Cheon-ung experienced was no less than anyone else’s. It was a situation that would have been difficult to endure with ordinary mental strength.

“I think it’s better now.”

Gi Cheon-ung’s eyes, which had been wavering, were lit up again.

“Looking around the cult with a cool head, I saw that there were still people who followed me even in the midst of the chaos.”

“…”

“I will take them all out, dismantle the Shin-hwa Cult, and destroy the Saeum Cult. I will endure my momentary anger and declare a more certain revenge.”

Yeon-wi nodded silently.

Gi Cheon-ung, who had finished speaking with somewhat rough breathing, glanced at Yeon-wi.

“You’re a very strange person.”

“Me?”

“I haven’t even told the Emperor this kind of story.”

“I’m honored.”

“You’re so assertive, but you have a strange talent for opening people’s hearts. Even if you become a beggar, you won’t starve to death anywhere.”

Peng Mu-gang chuckled.

Gi Cheon-ung got up from his seat.

“Let’s bury all the private talk we had today. It’s not good for others to hear.”

“I will.”

“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”

“Let me ask you one last thing.”

“Go ahead.”

Yeon-wi turned his head towards the north in the distance.

“There’s a great expert near the Imperial Palace. His boiling fire energy is impressive. Is he someone you brought?”

“He’s the Guardian General of our cult. He’s the only one among the leadership who hasn’t betrayed me.”

“I see.”

Yeon-wi nodded.

“I understand.”

Gi Cheon-ung also nodded silently and headed back to the Imperial Palace.

Watching Gi Cheon-ung walk away, Peng Mu-gang said.

“I’m reminded that allies, enemies, and foreigners with different skin colors are all just people like us.”

“…”

“Lord Yeon?”

“Hmm? Oh, were you talking?”

“Haha, what are you thinking so deeply about?”

“Ah, there’s something that’s bothering me.”

Yeon-wi turned his head back to the north.

‘Guardian General… That’s strange. He seems kind of hazy.’