Monochrome Sovereign (Novel) - Chapter 33 - Conviction (3)
Chapter 33 – Conviction (3)
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Translated by Heavenly Cat
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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A tension that could not be hidden appeared on Myeong Ho-rim’s face.
Not only him, but the young talents who were resting nearby and those who were in the middle of sparring also focused their attention on the two.
Yeon Ho-jeong had proved his skill by defeating the Lightning Hero Chu Seong.
Myeong Ho-rim was the third son of the Number One Clan under Heaven and had cultivated his martial arts more deeply than anyone else here.
As the two faced each other, an unknown silence fell. Although some might not admit it, it was a duel between the two strongest people in this place.
Naturally, the level of attention had to be high.
Myeong Ho-rim belatedly opened his mouth.
“Though it’s somewhat late, I saw your duel with Hall Master Chu well.”
“Thank you.”
“It was an extraordinary spear technique. Did the Yeon Clan have such martial arts?”
“They are not comparable to the Myeong Clan’s.”
Myeong Ho-rim laughed pleasantly.
“Isn’t quality more important than quantity? My eyes have been opened by your mysterious spear techniques that I’ve never seen before.”
Yeon Ho-jeong also smiled back.
“I too wish to gain some insight into the true martial arts of the Number One Clan under Heaven.”
It was a meaningful remark.
Unaware of his inner thoughts, Myeong Ho-rim laughed.
“Haha, I wonder if they will satisfy Young Master Yeon.”
“You are modest.”
Whoosh.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who grasped and spun the middle of the iron staff, seemed already prepared.
“Though it was a messy place, now that we’ve finished the appetizer, let’s move straight to the main course.”
By appetizer, he meant the close-quarters combat from before.
Remembering the combat from yesterday, Myeong Ho-rim’s expression hardened.
‘He was no ordinary person. And today too.’
The methods shown in the fight with Chu Seong were practical, every single one of them.
However, Myeong Ho-rim saw Yeon Ho-jeong’s true ability hidden within the ominous techniques.
‘It’s not because the martial arts are good. The point is in what situation and how he unfolds those martial arts.’
Yeon Ho-jeong knew how to execute his weapons accurately at the optimal moment.
That was a difficult thing for anyone. It was a method that would be impossible without an immense number of real battles, regardless of talent.
Just where did this young man experience such real battles?
‘Moreover…’
When Chu Seong received the initial three moves.
‘Then, there was definitely something.’
He had felt an unknown spirit bind Chu Seong.
No, to be precise, it seemed that way. It felt as if Yeon Ho-jeong had done something, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.
‘Whatever it is, there’s no doubt he has something more than meets the eye.’
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes shone.
“Shall we begin?”
“Good.”
Myeong Ho-rim picked up a wooden saber that had fallen on the ground.
It was a gently curved wooden saber. It was different from a wooden sword.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes shone.
‘Saber techniques?’
He recalled the time when his clan was invaded by a mysterious group in the past.
Whether in his past life or now, after returning to the past, he had never forgotten the situation then. The shock was so great that he remembered almost everything.
‘There was definitely a saber user then too.’
It wasn’t just a saber user. There were swordsmen, fist fighters, and even spearmen.
The attackers all used weapons most commonly used in the martial world. Not a single person used hidden weapons with clear characteristics, mandarin duck axes, whips, or iron pens.
If the Myeong Clan were truly the mastermind clan that attacked the Yeon Clan.
And if he could glimpse traces of them in the saber techniques of Myeong Ho-rim, the third son of that clan.
If the Myeong Clan were truly the culprit, how should he move forward?
‘…’
Yeon Ho-jeong cleared his thoughts.
‘It might not be the Myeong Clan. Premature judgment is forbidden.’
The reason he intentionally created the training atmosphere was not simply to compete with Myeong Ho-rim.
It was to compete with all of them. It was because there might be something he had missed.
But there was nothing. No matter how much he thought, he couldn’t find any similarities between the martial arts of other clans and the martial arts of the attackers.
On the other hand, yesterday, he felt a sense of alienation similar to the attackers from Myeong Ho-rim’s aura.
Sssk.
Myeong Ho-rim lowered his stance.
“Now, I am ready.”
“I am too.”
“Then let’s begin.”
Pah-ak!
The two lunged at each other simultaneously.
Although they were not using their full strength, they were fast. It was a footwork faster than anyone else training here.
Yeon Ho-jeong unfolded his martial arts without hesitation.
Whoosh!
The Whirlwind Staff Technique was unfolded. Staff techniques as free and soft as the wind flew toward Myeong Ho-rim’s shoulder and side simultaneously.
Myeong Ho-rim’s eyes flashed.
‘Strong!’
He could tell with just one move. Just how great Yeon Ho-jeong’s weapon skills were.
It was on a different level from the bare-handed combat. The staff techniques wielded by drawing out Jade Gauze True Qi contained the contradictory properties of lightness and heaviness simultaneously.
Myeong Ho-rim swung his wooden saber.
Clang!
It was an excellent response.
There was no wasted movement in Myeong Ho-rim’s movements as he swung the two-handed wooden saber. He was cutting off the heavy iron staff’s power from its very root.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s foot stomped the ground.
Thump!
The counter-force that rose strongly through his thigh supplemented the strength in his waist.
Pang!
In an instant, a thrust burst forth.
The strike that received the rotational force of his waist was incredibly fast. Myeong Ho-rim quickly lowered his stance and struck the wooden saber upward.
Kaaa-gak!
Myeong Ho-rim’s eyes wavered.
Even without looking, he could feel it. That the surface of the wooden saber was slightly gouged by the thrust of the staff.
‘Tremendous strength!’
Tung!
Myeong Ho-rim, who pushed the iron staff away and threw his body backward, was momentarily startled.
Whoosh!
As if he had expected the retreat, Yeon Ho-jeong was already approaching.
The distance was incredibly close. To the point that there was no time to swing the wooden saber.
Simultaneously, the iron staff was also moving. The iron staff entering with a horizontal strike was so fast that it was even slightly bent.
‘I can’t block it?!’
He was driven into a defensive position after only a few exchanges.
If things continued like this, he would surely be hit. It was not even a close match, nor had he made a mistake, yet he was about to be unsightly brought down.
‘Carelessness…!’
Despite knowing that the opponent’s application of techniques was extraordinary, he was driven to this extent. He could only see it as having been careless.
Carelessness. Defeat. Mistake.
Three words stimulated Myeong Ho-rim’s pride.
Whoosh! Clang!!
The arm that grasped and swung the iron staff became heavy.
Before he knew it, the wooden saber was blocking the iron staff. He had blocked it even though it was a timing where it was absolutely impossible to block.
Woo-oo-oo-oong.
A faint golden aura arose from the body of Myeong Ho-rim, who held the wooden saber with both hands.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.
Finally, Myeong Ho-rim had pulled out his true strength.
Whoosh.
The golden aura that was emitted spread in all directions like a haze.
It was truly a beautiful sight. Beyond the greatness of the temperament, it was simply surprising that true qi could be materialized to this extent.
‘Incredible.’
Ga Deuk-sang let out a cry of admiration.
‘With an aura as vivid as that, he is not lacking even compared to a peak master.’
Tung!!
Yeon Ho-jeong retreated.
Myeong Ho-rim was about to carry out an attack immediately when he was startled.
Yeon Ho-jeong did not simply retreat. He grasped the end of the staff and thrust it out as he swung; a powerful release of force struck even his chest.
It was as if an awl attached to the end of a whip were flying. It could not be blocked with a simple release of internal energy.
“Hap!”
Boom!
In a single downward strike that cut cleanly diagonally, the force was burst.
Whoosh!
Yeon Ho-jeong rushed in again. He had attacked before Myeong Ho-rim could even recover his stance.
‘What the…!’
It was unbelievable stamina.
The attack and evasion were too fast. The problem was that this kind of exchange consumed an extreme amount of stamina. No, before that, it was a combat method that excessively overworked the muscles.
In fact, Yeon Ho-jeong’s body was flushed red. It was because he was squeezing his muscles to their limit.
‘Show it to me.’
Yeon Ho-jeong swung the iron staff.
Myeong Ho-rim retreated repeatedly at the staff techniques that preempted all directions and drove forward.
‘Unfold your martial arts properly!’
Thump!
The tip of the staff smashed the blue stone floor.
Right at that moment, Myeong Ho-rim’s counterattack began.
Tung!!
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes widened.
In an instant, as if his arm had lengthened, Myeong Ho-rim was striking down with the wooden saber diagonally.
It was an exquisite counterattack technique. It was not Myeong Ho-rim’s reflexes, but the martial arts technique itself that focused on counterattacking.
Clang!
He quickly recovered the iron staff and blocked, but the impact remained deep.
It didn’t end there. Myeong Ho-rim’s saber techniques were only beginning.
Boom!
Myeong Ho-rim, who lunged forward by kicking the earth.
It was the Demon Decapitating Saber Technique following the Nine States Myeong Clan’s true martial art, the Golden Gauze Divine Art. It was a powerful martial art that had not even been a generation since its creation, yet was only passed down to blood relatives.
Clang! Clang!!
The saber technique wielded with both hands was solemn and powerful.
However, there was no great characteristic in the routine. As if representing the truth that simple things are strong, he gave strong power and fast speed to simple movements.
Clang!!
In an instant, Yeon Ho-jeong was pushed back. Though he was blocking by spinning the iron staff with both hands, it seemed a counterattack was not properly working.
Myeong Ho-rim’s eyes flashed.
It was a sentiment of wanting to see the end now that he had grasped the victory. He pulled up the power of the Golden Gauze Divine Art to the maximum.
Zzzzzing!
The golden true qi burned even more brightly.
Simultaneously, the aura loaded on the wooden saber gradually whirled.
‘…?!!’
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes bulged.
‘This is?!’
The third strike of the wooden saber was flying toward him.
The routine and the principles contained in the technique were different. However, he had seen the aura swirling inside that blade.
To be precise, he had a memory of seeing the method of qi operation.
Clang! Boom!
Under the powerful strike, the iron staff was bounced off and scraped the ground.
The true qi contained in the blade was rotating of its own accord. However, that rotation was not visible to the human eye.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes, his sense of qi, were feeling it.
A sense of alienation that was fundamentally different from Central Plains martial arts.
On the surface, it seemed to contain honesty and depth, but the method of internal energy operation itself was vastly different from Central Plains martial arts.
And that martial art…
‘Palm!!’
In an instant, Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes shone brilliant blue.
Whoosh! Boom!
“Ugh!”
Myeong Ho-rim’s body was pushed far back.
His eyes wavered.
‘Wh-what a tremendous martial art!’
He looked at the wooden saber.
The wooden saber was almost completely broken. If he hadn’t pulled up the Golden Gauze Divine Art with all his might, he would have suffered a serious injury from this blow.
Myeong Ho-rim looked at Yeon Ho-jeong.
Sss-ss-ss.
A brilliant blue aura flickered from Yeon Ho-jeong’s body. The Jade Gauze True Formula, one of the Five Great Divine Arts of the Yeon Clan that was not inferior to the Golden Gauze Divine Art, was burning.
He was in a posture with one knee on the ground, holding the iron staff with both hands. However, the posture of holding that iron staff was strange.
It was a posture as if he were holding a crescent blade or a giant axe, not spear or staff techniques.
In an instant, a chill ran down Myeong Ho-rim’s spine.
‘It’s not his real martial art!’
That was right. The close-quarters combat, staff techniques, and even spear techniques Yeon Ho-jeong had shown until now.
All of them were not Yeon Ho-jeong’s true martial arts. Yeon Ho-jeong’s true ultimate technique was something much stronger and much more explosive than those.
Sss-k.
Yeon Ho-jeong stood up as he was, with his head bowed.
It almost seemed like he was bowing, and it also seemed as if he didn’t want to show his face.
“It would be best to end the duel here.”
Was it an illusion? Yeon Ho-jeong’s voice sounded somewhat cracked.
Discarding the broken wooden saber, Myeong Ho-rim made a fist-and-palm salute. His both hands, forming the salute, trembled slightly. The impact had been too great.
“I have learned a lot.”
“As have I. Then.”
With those words as the end, Yeon Ho-jeong crossed the training ground toward the inner court. He walked so fast that even Yeon Ji-pyeong could not catch up with him.
The single road leading to the residence in the inner court.
A terrible killing intent blazed in Yeon Ho-jeong’s two eyes.
“…It’s the Myeong Clan.”