Monochrome Sovereign (Novel) - Chapter 137 - A Rabble (1)
Chapter 137 – A Rabble (1)
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Translated by Heavenly Cat
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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The new year had passed.
In the end, as everyone expected, the establishment of the Murim Alliance was decided. Although it was a decision made after sufficient discussion, those in the know knew it was a decision by a majority.
As soon as the establishment of the Murim Alliance was decided, the organizational chart under the Murim Alliance was also created at a frightening speed.
There were already precedents of past ancestors, and the process of reviewing and adjusting the conceptual charts designed by the heads of each faction before the announcement was incredibly fast.
In that way, the Orthodox Murim Alliance was formed. The heads of the Nine Sects One Gang and the Six Great Clans were given the title of Honored Guest of the Murim Alliance, and the Alliance Leader position was still vacant.
The rumors struck the entire Central Plains in an instant.
The resurrection of the Murim Alliance. It was the beginning of a massive change that would shake the Central Plains Murim, which had been tamed by peace.
Thud!
“Keuk!”
“Do not retreat!”
Paaak!
Yeon Ho-jeong, who closed the distance in a single breath, threw a punch.
Ok-cheong opened his eyes wide.
‘Again!’
It was an ordinary punch.
A punch that came in straight without any variations. The speed was not that fast, and its power was also not to the extent that it could not be blocked.
However, he had repeatedly fallen for that punch until now. To be exact, he had fallen for the attack beyond imagination hidden behind that punch.
‘No more!’
He could not fall for it this time as well. Primordial Qi flashed in Ok-cheong’s two eyes, which were burning with will.
Hwoooong.
A strange light emanated from Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes.
He discarded the iron sword he held in his hand and wrapped his fists with both hands. Ok-cheong’s both hands, fully loaded with Primordial Qi, emitted a bizarre rotation.
‘Hm.’
Bwoooong!
Yeon Ho-jeong’s body whirled along with the rotation of that internal energy.
Joy lingered in Ok-cheong’s eyes. He had finally disrupted the posture of the Tiger General, who was attacking like a battering ram.
It was then.
Yeon Ho-jeong, whose posture had collapsed, threw a kick technique exactly at Ok-cheong’s shoulder.
Crack!
“Keu-euk!”
Ok-cheong fell on one knee. The internal power of Tai Chi Dispersing Hands contained in his both hands lost its way and scattered.
‘No!’
Paaak!
As soon as he fell on one knee, he retreated backwards. Yeon Ho-jeong was a master of real combat martial arts. He unleashed techniques capable of collapsing the opponent at any time and from any posture. For now, he had to retreat and find a countermeasure.
Hwaaaak!
However, even Ok-cheong, who had become accustomed to fighting through the ignorant sparring so far, could not grasp Yeon Ho-jeong’s limits.
Hwoooong!
‘Ugh?!’
Astonishment dwelled in Ok-cheong’s eyes.
Yeon Ho-jeong did not move from that spot. He just reached out his hand and poured the pure white White Tiger’s internal energy onto his body, and the force was so strong that it felt as if his entire body was bound.
It was for a moment, but hd could not move. The Primordial Qi unraveled the White Tiger Qi that had ensnared her whole body, but that time was more than enough for Yeon Ho-jeong’s attack to succeed ten times.
Bwoong! Puh-eok!
“Gack!”
Ok-cheong fell flat on his back.
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled brightly.
“Eighty-seven matches, eighty-seven wins, and undefeated.”
“Cough, cough!”
“Are you okay?”
“I-I am okay. Uuu-eck!”
Ok-cheong ultimately vomited blood. He had lessened the power in his final blow, but even so, Yeon Ho-jeong’s single palm harbored an extraordinary monstrous strength.
Ok-cheong stood up staggeringly.
“It was not bad.”
“Pardon?”
“This fight, it was not bad. Now you know a little something.”
Surprise lingered on Ok-cheong’s face.
In the fights so far, Yeon Ho-jeong had not praised Ok-cheong even as empty words.
Rather, he cursed and mocked him to the point where his pride was torn to shreds. It was a thorough criticism to the extent of completely denying the cultivation of Sword Intent he had learned until now.
Such a Yeon Ho-jeong praised him for the first time.
‘…Uh.’
How should he say it.
Should he say the feeling was thrilling. Even when he received praise from his master, he did not think it was to this extent.
“T-Thank you.”
“What is there to be thankful for. It is your tenacity that followed me this far that is amazing.”
In reality, Yeon Ho-jeong acknowledged at least Ok-cheong’s tenacity alone. Because with an ordinary temper, it would be hard to endure his ignorant toxic remarks.
His pride must have been hurt a lot. He might have also lost his confidence. Was it around the seventieth match? He had even shown a decline in her skills.
However, Ok-cheong ultimately endured that incredibly toxic daily routine and reached the present.
“Whether you train martial arts alone or exchange blows with an opponent, what is important in cultivation is not time. It is efficient effort.”
“Efficiency…”
“You just let go of your sword, right?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes!”
“Why did you let go of the sword? When you were holding onto it tightly until the end.”
Ok-cheong looked at the fallen sword with flustered eyes.
‘I let go of the sword?’
He only realized it now. That he had let go of the sword and twisted Yeon Ho-jeong’s attack with Tai Chi Dispersing Hands.
‘How could this be.’
To a swordsman, a sword is something that can absolutely never be separated. Letting go of a sword because it is a moment of crisis makes one not a swordsman.
Thud!
Ok-cheong fell to his knees with a despondent face.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was about to praise him, frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“T-To think I let go of my sword.”
“Huh?”
“A swordsman lost his sword. Such a disgrace…!”
Smack!
“Keuk!”
Ok-cheong rolled on the ground. Dirt-stained snow clung heavily to his white Taoist robe.
“You bastard, you should be praising yourself for finally letting go of the sword, so why are you taking a shock?”
“…Pardon?”
Ok-cheong blinked his eyes with an innocent face.
With the thought that they somewhat looked like mournful cow eyeballs, Yeon Ho-jeong continued speaking.
“Your martial arts are all like that without exception. They are all stuck in a mold.”
“A mold?”
“Why must you not let go of the sword? If this were a real battle, you would have died. Just because you are a swordsman, are you going to die holding only a sword until the end?”
“…!”
“Look. ‘A swordsman should be like this’, ‘This cultivation method must follow this operation’, ‘That footwork should be soft, so it operates softly’. It’s all like this, right?”
“T-That is…!”
“Rather, you who learned while being stuck in such a mold are more amazing. How could you reach the realm of a peak master even while doing that? You climbed up purely by the power of talent without a single worry.”
“…”
“In a certain sense, it is a truly monstrous talent. If an ordinary talent continued training while being completely blocked like you, let alone a first-rate, they would live wandering around as a third-rate for their entire life.”
Ok-cheong’s eyes bulged out like goggle-eyes.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s face became serious.
“While fighting me all this time, you must have only looked back on your own martial arts. Right?”
“…Yes.”
“Why did you not try to copy my techniques?”
“Pardon?!”
“I did not attack you with an amazing martial art. I just put power and speed into simple movements that even a street thug in a back alley could use.”
“Ah…”
“If you see through the opponent’s movements and respond, even ordinary martial arts are bound to transform into peak martial arts. Your sense of real combat is extremely lacking. Why? Because you do not try to break out of it.”
Ok-cheong’s face was dyed with shock.
Yeon Ho-jeong gave a bitter smile.
“In fact, it was a part that I could have sufficiently awakened you to with words. But you were too, too severe. If I had spoken a few words, you would have been captivated by them and agonizing over them for days, groaning, wouldn’t you?”
“…”
“Rather than doing that in that time, it’s better to learn the pain and attacking methods with your body while getting beaten up.”
A realm that one cannot catch up to with talent even if they die and awaken.
That was precisely real combat, and experience. If you look at the survival probability in a first real battle, a talented person is definitely higher than an ordinary talent, but the difference is not as big as one thinks.
Ultimately, it is focus. It was will. A person who knows how to immerse themselves in one thing can break the mold at any time, whether fast or slow.
Ok-cheong lacked that.
And at this moment right now, Ok-cheong was able to definitely ‘experience’ what Yeon Ho-jeong was trying to teach him.
“I have brought you to the front of the door, so opening that door and stepping out is your share. You have worked hard all this time.”
“Heok! I-Is the teaching over now?”
Yeon Ho-jeong frowned.
“Then what more do you want to do? We have done enough.”
“B-But I am still lacking a lot! I want to see more of the Great Hero’s cheap attacking methods!”
This bastard was throwing a dagger with an innocent face.
“Be quiet. Repeating sparring beyond this is meaningless.”
Ok-cheong became sullen and dropped his head.
As a disciple of a senior generation’s old master, his seniority was higher than Yeon Ho-jeong’s. For such a person to be so dispirited, it was also a rare sight in its own way.
‘By the way, what was that gentleman the Sword Immortal doing?’
It was a question he had several times while fighting Ok-cheong.
‘He didn’t teach him these things until his disciple became such a blockhead? Is he really a master?’
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was looking at Ok-cheong with pitiful eyes, soon shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, it is a problem that has nothing to do with me.”
“Pardon?”
“No. Now slowly go to your residence. You do not need to come from tomorrow.”
“…Yes.”
Ok-cheong, who stood up powerlessly, took a martial salute.
“Thanks to you, I learned a lot. I have received a great grace.”
“No. I also learned greatly thanks to you. I am rather the one who is thankful.”
Ok-cheong smiled.
‘He is a good person.’
When fighting, he used all sorts of creative curses and scratched his insides fiercely, but when the fight was over, he personally loosened his body and patted her shoulders.
‘He is a great man. Could I also become a person like this.’
A person who had learned martial arts to that level probably had nothing to learn from him. And yet he tells her he learned a lot.
He was a person with a kind heart.
At that time, Yeon Ho-jeong suddenly shouted.
“If you are done greeting, hurry up and go, you punk!”
“Heok! Yes! I will see you later!”
Ok-cheong hurriedly left the Destroying Army Pavilion.
A gloomy smile was cast on the face of Yeon Ho-jeong, who was looking at Ok-cheong’s back while clicking his tongue.
“Hmm. Hmmm. Eueheum.”
Ku-ung!
Yeon Ho-jeong, who powerfully stepped with a stomping step, lowered his posture.
‘It probably felt like this, right?’
Hwoong.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s two fists smoothly cut through the empty air.
Surprisingly, it was Wudang’s Tai Chi Chuan. It was not the gymnastic form of Tai Chi Chuan circulating in the market, but the real Tai Chi Chuan that only Wudang’s disciples could learn.
‘And from here…’
Pa-pa-pang!
A feeling of heroism was felt in the fist technique that pierced seven points in an instant.
And it was soft. It was a fist technique as fast as a flash of lightning, but inside it, the wave of internal energy flowing smoothly was moving violently.
‘Good. I copied it perfectly.’
Ok-cheong had not made the forms he learned and acquired into his own. In other words, he was executing all the martial arts he learned close to their original forms. So to speak, it could be called the original copy of Wudang’s martial arts.
And while teaching Ok-cheong, Yeon Ho-jeong was able to copy most of his techniques. Of course, it was merely the form of external martial arts.
“Keu-eu, as expected of the Wudang Sect. To think that I can create this level of flow in the atmosphere even though I only copied the form? It is an outstanding masterpiece, an outstanding masterpiece.”
At that time, a strand of voice was heard.
“You are disgustingly cheap.”
“Keuk!”
Yeon Ho-jeong was startled. Because he was so focused, he had not even realized someone had approached.
Muk Bi frowned.
“Do you like stealing other people’s martial arts?”
“Stealing! I just naturally learned it while teaching that guy. Well, isn’t it good? We both helped each other out.”
“Eee-ig, eee-ig!”
“Tsk, do not look at me with eyes so full of contempt.”
Yeon Ho-jeong giggled undignifiedly.
“Sigh, stop laughing and follow me.”
“Hm? Where to?”
“Clan Head is calling for you.”
“Why me?”
“How would I know. I did hear him say something about the military.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s face, which had been full of playfulness, quickly became serious.
“It has begun.”