Monochrome Sovereign (Novel) - Chapter 26 - Reason for Fighting (1)
Chapter 26 – Reason for Fighting (1)
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Translated by Heavenly Cat
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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“Ugh, it’s cold. It’s suddenly turned chilly. I’ll freeze to death wandering around in just these rags.”
His body was shivering, but his expression was bright.
“Finally, I’ve arrived!”
Ga Deuk-sang looked at the massive manor. To be precise, he was observing the signs of presence within it.
‘As expected, there are many.’
He could feel the presence of countless people. What was surprising was that most of them were masters worthy of being called first-rate.
Ga Deuk-sang rubbed his hands with an excited expression.
‘Is this indeed the talent to succeed the clans? They even sent formidable martial artists as escort warriors.’
Rather than the confident Qi of the rising stars, the secret yet sharp Qi of the escorts was more impressive. After all, since they were sending heirs into the Jianghu, where no one knew what might happen, it was only natural to attach masters to them.
“Now then, where shall I go in to see the faces of the young masters and young ladies…….”
It was then.
“And you are?”
“Gasp!”
Ga Deuk-sang hurriedly corrected his posture and looked back.
There stood a middle-aged swordsman. Unlike his blunt expression, which looked as if it were carved from stone, his blade-like aura was impressive.
Ga Deuk-sang coughed.
‘I’ve made another mistake like this.’
If one couldn’t even feel a swordsman of this level of aura approaching, one couldn’t be called a martial artist. He was the type who completely forgot his surroundings once he focused.
“You are concealing a tremendous internal energy. You don’t seem like a simple beggar…… Are you from the Beggars’ Gang?”
“That is correct, Great Hero Mad Wind Sword.”
Shin Mo’s eyes widened.
“You know me?”
“Haha, in a position where I beg for a living, I must at least be quick-witted.”
The martial arts of the Beggars’ Gang rivaled the Nine Great Sects. However, surprisingly, their specialty was not martial arts.
It was information. The information power of the Beggars’ Gang was the best in the Orthodox Murim. Naturally, to become a member of the Beggars’ Gang, one must be quick-witted and intelligent.
Shin Mo looked at Ga Deuk-sang’s waist.
‘Eight knots?’
The knot of the eighth level.
Surprise appeared on Shin Mo’s face.
“The Successor of the Beggars’ Gang?”
Ga Deuk-sang scratched his head as if embarrassed. White dandruff fell in clusters.
“I’m just a rice-eater who still gets beaten by my master at this age.”
Though he expressed himself humorously, no one in the world could ignore the Successor of the Beggars’ Gang.
The Beggars’ Gang was a group evaluated as a power equal to the Nine Great Sects and the Seven Great Clans. As a single sect, it had the largest number of disciples, so it was also called the Ten Thousand Beggars.
The king of all beggars scattered throughout the Central Plains. The greatest tycoon of the Orthodox information world.
Ga Deuk-sang was the successor of such a person.
Shin Mo cupped his fists.
“I was very rude at our first meeting. I did not realize you were the successor of the Beggars’ Gang.”
“Aigoo, please don’t apologize like that! Your courtesy is excessive for a lowly beggar.”
A person who could proudly call himself lowly despite being a tycoon of Murim.
Such an appearance seemed even more grand. Although they had just met, Shin Mo could be certain that Ga Deuk-sang was by no means an easy person.
“But what brings you here since this morning……?”
“Ah! Ahahaha! I just came because I had some business nearby, and I heard there’s a gathering of the rising stars of the Seven Great Clans. I was just loitering to see if I could get a free drink.”
Shin Mo’s eyes sparkled.
There was no way a person who was the Successor of the Beggars’ Gang had only just learned about the gathering of the Seven Great Clans. He had surely come to look into something.
“I’m sorry. I am a warrior of the Yeon Clan, so I do not have the authority to let you in.”
“Eh, it’s fine! A beggar shouldn’t even bother the guests of a banquet!”
Shin Mo nodded.
“Then, I shall head in first.”
“Yes, please go in safely…… Huh?”
Ga Deuk-sang tilted his head.
“By the way, what is that bundle?”
“Ah, this is……”
Shin Mo coughed.
“It’s an errand for the Eldest Young Master of the main family.”
“An errand? What kind of errand is so heavy……”
“Well then, excuse me.”
“Yes? Ah, yes! Please go in!”
Shin Mo entered the manor.
Ga Deuk-sang’s eyes gleamed sharply.
“Eldest Young Master Yeon Ho-jeong.”
The one who burned to death the villain who set fire to the Tower of the Chu Sound. The eldest son of the Green Mountain Yeon Clan, who was once rumored to be a dog born to a tiger.
He knew that Shin Mo was the leader of the Goshawk Squad and that he had performed great feats at the Tower of the Chu Sound. However, even though he met him by chance, he didn’t ask about Yeon Ho-jeong. Because he thought he wouldn’t tell him anyway.
‘Originality is the taste of meeting in person and scratching them gently.’
Ah, I’m looking forward to it.
Ga Deuk-sang pounded on the closed door.
“Hey there! Is there a banquet going on? The smell has been killing me since morning! If there’s anything left, let me have some too!”
* * *
“Whew!”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was drenched in sweat, threw the iron staff aside carelessly.
Having woken up early in the dawn, he had swung the iron staff without rest until now, at the end of the Hour of the Dragon.
‘The Whirlwind Staff is enough at this level. I can move on to the spear.’
Although his body was not yet as mature as he expected, the basics of spear and staff techniques were firmly learned by his body. While learning staff techniques, he was also eyeing spear techniques, but swinging a spear with an actual blade was another matter.
It was much faster progress than he thought. As the delicacy of his martial arts was revived while learning the Black Tortoise, the time it took to learn it with his body was twice as fast.
‘A spear…… As expected, I shouldn’t skip it.’
His true weapon was a massive axe weighing dozens of catties.
To handle that axe like his own limbs, he had to master spear techniques to the level of a master. Since the Black Tortoise Qi was deepening day by day, spear techniques would also be quickly learned by his body.
‘Weapons are weapons, but it is also important to awaken all of the Four Gods Qi. If possible, starting from the White Tiger.’
If the Black Tortoise of the Four Gods Martial Arts was specialized in perfect defense, the White Tiger was specialized in relentless attack. In battle and advancement, there was no martial art like the White Tiger.
Thinking of the Four Gods Martial Arts, his thoughts suddenly turned to the person called the Four Directions Martial Emperor.
‘A martial art with perfect offense, defense, and evasion, and on top of that, he commands a golden dragon?’
Yeon Ho-jeong stroked his chin with a serious face.
‘There are many martial arts that have raised offense, defense, and evasion to a high level. But the part about the golden dragon is what bothers me.’
What if the person called the Four Directions Martial Emperor was truly a successor of the Four Gods Martial Arts?
‘That would mean he even aimed for the Golden Dragon Qi.’
The Golden Dragon Qi was the ultimate essence of the Four Gods Martial Arts.
Though he was someone who believed there was no Absolute Invincible in the world, he thought that the martial art infinitely close to Absolute Invincibility was the Golden Dragon Qi. It was a secret technique of such high difficulty that even Yeon Ho-jeong during his time as the Dark Emperor could not enter its threshold.
‘If it is a martial art capable of drawing out the Golden Dragon Qi, I am confident I won’t lose to anyone I fight. At least in this life…….’
This time, he would never leave the same regrets as before.
Yeon Ho-jeong tried to forget his thoughts about the Four Directions Martial Emperor. He had pestered Zhuge Ah-yeon because he thought the man might be a successor of the Four Gods Martial Arts, but now was not the time to look into the past of a person whose face he didn’t even know.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who had finished bathing with cold water, suddenly felt a presence in the room.
“Is that Pyeong?”
“Yes, Brother.”
Yeon Ji-pyeong greeted Yeon Ho-jeong with a smile.
“Have you finished washing?”
“Yes.”
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Let’s go together.”
“Let’s do that.”
The Yeon brothers left the room and headed for the dining hall.
The brothers were silent as they walked to the dining hall. It was only natural for Yeon Ho-jeong, who originally didn’t speak much, but considering Yeon Ji-pyeong’s personality, it was unexpected.
Yeon Ho-jeong glanced at Yeon Ji-pyeong.
Yeon Ji-pyeong’s expression was bright. However, his eyes were sharply scanning the surroundings.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Yes?”
“I asked what you are thinking about.”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been staring at Yeon Ji-pyeong, sighed.
“You don’t have to worry about your surroundings like that.”
“Yes?”
“I’m saying you don’t need to be tense because of what happened yesterday.”
“Ah…….”
Yeon Ji-pyeong scratched his head.
“I just thought I’d be careful, just in case.”
“I’m sorry. You must have been worried because of me.”
“No, Brother. Yesterday’s incident happened because of the heir of the Tang Clan. You did nothing wrong, Brother.”
Yeon Ji-pyeong’s expression was quite serious. It seemed he thought so sincerely, rather than just saying it because it was good to hear.
Yeon Ho-jeong tilted his head.
“But the fight with the third young master of the Myeong Clan……”
“Haha, I’m trying not to think that far.”
“Huh?”
Not thinking that far? What did that mean?
Yeon Ji-pyeong smacked his lips.
“As I came here, this thought occurred to me. I was truly just a frog in a well. The world is much more interesting than I thought, and just as dangerous.”
That’s true.
“But you were different, Brother. No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t fit with the laws of the main family, but you had a strong self and clear convictions.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s gaze became strange.
He talked confidently about not fitting the laws of the Yeon Clan. It meant he understood the family’s teachings that well.
“I don’t think I’m as smart as you, Brother. But I know this one thing. That you will never do anything that harms the main family.”
“…….”
“I’ll think about whether your way of handling things is right or wrong later. However, I believe in you, and you are not shaken either. That’s what’s important.”
Yeon Ji-pyeong smiled.
A strength not like the smile of a fifteen-year-old boy oozed out.
“Still, I didn’t know your martial arts were that strong. I think I’ll have to learn from you in the future.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes deepened.
That wasn’t it. Rather, he felt as if he should learn from Yeon Ji-pyeong.
The younger brother who had lived his whole life according to the family’s teachings. However, even if he was flustered by his older brother’s unconventional words and actions, he did not abandon his faith in him.
Since he had agonized enough while coming here, that heart that chose to go while believing in his brother now.
‘Did this fellow have such a side to him?’
He was strong.
Perhaps his younger brother was born with a strong nature. It might just be that there was no need to show it until now.
“But why are you scanning the surroundings so much?”
“You said it yourself, Brother. That the Jianghu is a place where killers appear even in temples and saints appear even in back alleys.”
“Hmm.”
“Who knows? Someone might try to harm you because of yesterday’s incident.”
Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.
“Even if someone tries to harm me, will your skill be enough?”
“Why are you like this? Even if I’m not as good as you, Brother, I’m quite decent in my own way.”
Considering his age, it should be seen as impressive rather than just decent.
Yeon Ho-jeong ruffled Yeon Ji-pyeong’s hair messily.
“Uggyagya!”
“Don’t waste your strength and keep your heart at ease. If something happens, I’ll stop it.”
“My hair is getting all messed up!”
“That’s why I’m doing it, you brat.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s tone changed subtly.
His tone when he was inside the clan after returning to the past was exactly like this. However, after coming out into the world, his appearance when dealing with his younger brother was more like a father than an older brother.
It was because it was dangerous, just as Yeon Ji-pyeong said. To protect his younger brother, the appearance of the forty-six-year-old Lord of the Dark Emperor Castle had naturally come out.
However, Yeon Ji-pyeong was not weak. Upon confirming that, Yeon Ho-jeong was able to treat Yeon Ji-pyeong as he did in the clan.
“Anyway, what is for breakfast this morning?”
“I don’t know either? But the smell is definitely Dongpo pork.”
“A meat table from the morning, they really must have money to burn.”
It was when the Yeon brothers arrived at the dining hall, chatting about this and that.
“Burp! Wow, have I grown old too? I’m full after eating just this much!”
There was a beggar who kicked open the door of the dining hall while patting his stomach.
Surprisingly, although a beggar had entered, there was not a single point of contempt in the eyes of the rising stars who looked at him. Though reluctance was glimpsed.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.
‘A beggar? Is he from the Beggars’ Gang? The knots are…… eight?’
He looked at the beggar’s face. The beggar also looked directly at Yeon Ho-jeong’s face.
In an instant, Yeon Ho-jeong saw a vision of the past.
A hero who never stopped laughing heartily even while constantly stroking his dirty, half-white beard. The one who did not spread it to the Orthodox Murim even though he knew the true identity of the Lord of the Dark Emperor Castle.
A few of the good people who treated him, the king of the Unorthodox Path, the same as the leaders of the Orthodox Murim, and the head of the Beggars’ Gang who was a great help in pushing back the forces of the Evil Lust Cult.
Yeon Ho-jeong overlaid the memories of the past on the beggar’s face.
What if the dirty, pitch-black beard became a little longer and dyed half-white?
What if the wrinkles around the eyes and mouth became deeper, and his disheveled hair was tied tightly?
What if the knots increased from eight to nine, and a stylish short staff embedded with emerald was tied to his waist?
“Dragon Head Chief Ga Deuk-sang?!”