Dark and Light Martial Emperor

Chapter 1. Prologue

“Is he dead now…?”

Even a zombie dies when its neck is cut off. How much more a human?

Thud!

The Wind-Thunder Axe that slipped out of his blood-soaked hand fell to the ground. The axe that he used to swing around like a stick was as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Yeon Hojeong looked at his hand.

His hand, wrapped in broken chains, was completely crushed. It was amazing that he could wield an axe as big as a human body with this hand.

Clang!

The broken chains fell off.

“I knew this would happen.”

He forgot his pain in bitterness. With this hand, he couldn’t even hold chopsticks, let alone an axe.

But he had exchanged his neck with the leader of the Evil Lust Sect, the most vicious of the Three Sects. Of course, he and the bastard were both in a state where they couldn’t eat or drink.

“Is he dead?”

Yeon Hojeong turned his head.

He saw an old man sitting against a small rock. It was Mo Yonggun, the leader of the Orthodox Faction and the Martial Alliance Leader.

“Can’t you see his neck is gone?”

“I can’t see it.”

Yeon Hojeong frowned. He looked closely, and saw that Mo Yonggun’s eyes were very dull. He had gone blind from excessive internal energy consumption and severe internal injuries.

He walked up to Mo Yonggun and collapsed.

“It’s over.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Yeah, he had worked hard.

The Orthodox Faction and the Black Path joined hands to destroy the Evil Lust Sect. The two groups, who had been enemies for hundreds of years, had overcome their deep-rooted hatred and distrust because of the Evil Lust Sect’s wickedness.

That wickedness, and the unprecedented alliance, would end today.

And so would his life.

“Are you okay?”

“…Well, more or less.”

“After all, you’re the first one to be called the Black Path Grandmaster, a giant among men. You should be at least that much.”

That much…

Yeon Hojeong didn’t tell him that the last strike of the Evil Lust Sect leader had severed his heart meridian.

He was barely alive with a tiny bit of internal energy, but he would die soon.

“What a surprise. Why did you lift me up?”

“I just told the truth. If it weren’t for you, we could have destroyed the Black Path Alliance ten years ago.”

“Then you would have been wiped out before today.”

“That’s true. They say it’s a blessing in disguise, but who would have thought we would benefit from you guys.”

Yeon Hojeong chuckled.

Mo Yonggun, who had been silent for a while, opened his mouth.

“Why did you make that choice?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Weren’t you originally from the Black Path? If you had come to our side, you would have been a famous master in the world. Why did you switch to the Black Path and become their leader?”

“Why are you bringing that up?”

“I want to clear my curiosity before I die.”

Mo Yonggun’s voice sounded strangely hollow.

Yeon Hojeong looked down at him and sighed.

“How long can you hold on?”

“Half an hour at most.”

Damn it.

Normally, he could see through someone’s physical condition in an instant. His heart meridian was broken and his true energy was weakened, and his senses were dulled.

‘Is this guy done too?’

This is kind of bitter.

“Do you have any last words?”

“My life is my last words.”

“That’s like the Martial Alliance Leader.”

“So what’s your answer?”

“It just happened that way.”

Of course, there was a reason. But he didn’t want to babble about his past in front of a dying person.

Mo Yonggun smiled.

The smile of a blind person made the viewer feel an inexplicable sadness.

“That’s like you.”

“I’ll see you off on your last journey.”

“Thank you.”

People change when they are about to die. Me too, this guy too.

“And.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you talking about?”

“…”

“You bastard…”

Thump.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes widened.

“Kwek!”

Yeon Hojeong spat out blood. A foul smell rose from the blood he spat out.

He looked down at his vital point. There was a tiny needle stuck in there that was barely visible to the naked eye.

‘Cow hair needle?!’

He lifted his trembling head and saw the old man’s face covered in blood. The old man’s face, which was breathing heavily, looked unusually dark.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes turned red.

“Da-Dangwan…!”

The head of the Tang family of Sichuan and the vice leader of the Martial Alliance, are big shots.

Yeon Hojeong had clearly seen Dangwan’s chest pierced by the Evil Lust Sect leader’s Dark Wasteland Finger. Even if his heart was spared, his heart meridian would have burst from the finger wind. How was he alive?

No, why did he attack me?

“I won’t ask you to understand.”

Yeon Hojeong glared at Mo Yonggun.

Mo Yonggun spoke in a bitter voice.

“Who will stop you when I die? The current Orthodox Faction martial world… can’t stop the Black Emperor City.”

“Kuluk!”

“I’ll apologize in the afterlife. Come with me.”

Damn it, he would have died anyway.

His barely connected heart meridian snapped. His internal energy evaporated, and his internal organs melted from the Tang family’s deadly Intestine-Cutting Powder. The pain was so severe that he couldn’t even scream.

You bastard, you used such a poisonous poison even with poison?

Thud!

Yeon Hojeong knelt down.

At the same time, Dangwan collapsed. He was the first to die after completing his last mission and relaxing.

“Why…”

He didn’t even know what he said.

Mo Yonggun’s face was filled with guilt.

“I’m really sorry.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes gradually turned dull.

‘Why is the end always so shitty?’

It went from bad to worse, and from best to second best.

It was always like that. His fate was so good and so bad that it was unbelievable.

He had learned a legendary martial art, but he couldn’t become the best in the world. He thought he had made it, but it turned out he was the leader of the Black Path faction.

He had a tiring life where he couldn’t be the best but had a lot of responsibility.

But still… he lived hard.

‘Master. You have to apologize properly in the afterlife, you bastard.’

* * *

“Always strive to be loyal to the Yu family, and may you enjoy a thousand years of glory and harmony with the gods…”

A clear and pure voice echoed in a steady tone.

‘Hmm?’

A heavy fragrance wafted over the soothing voice.

‘What’s this? Did I come to a temple?’

But it wasn’t a Buddhist chant.

“Please continue to look after us and help our family maintain its glory for a thousand years.”

A graceful voice accompanied the movement around him.

Yeon Hojeong opened his eyes.

‘Huh?’

Everyone around him was kneeling and bowing.

Yeon Hojeong blinked.

‘What’s going on?’

But why?

This place seemed familiar. The people’s clothes, the simple and elegant altar, it seemed like he had seen them somewhere before.

Then, someone tapped him on the back. Yeon Hojeong turned around without knowing.

His mouth gaped open.

“Huh?”

A boy who only stuck out his head from the bow appeared. And his face turned pale.

The boy gestured urgently. He seemed to be telling him to bow quickly.

But Yeon Hojeong couldn’t do that.

“Jipyung?!”

The solemn atmosphere suddenly froze.

The air cooled rapidly. But Yeon Hojeong had no mind to feel the mood here.

The boy in front of him.

The boy with a lively face and starry eyes was his younger brother. He had died with his family in the massacre twenty-six years ago.

‘Is this a dream? An illusion?’

That couldn’t be. He hadn’t lived an easy life that would confuse reality with dreams or illusions.

Even if it wasn’t real.

He had wanted to see his family, even in a dream, even though their relationship had broken down. Yeon Hojeong felt a fierce emotion rising from the depths of his chest.

“Pyung-ah!”

Yeon Hojeong hugged the boy.

The boy, Yeon Jipyung, looked flustered. He must have thought he was crazy.

The boy whispered quickly.

“Hyung-nim! Don’t do this! You’ll get in trouble!”

“You kid!”

This warmth and subtle trembling.

He was definitely his brother. Yeon Hojeong’s vision blurred.

“Hyung-nim! Hyung-nim! Ah, why are you doing this…”

That’s when it happened.

“Hojeong.”

Yeon Hojeong’s body stiffened.

His brother’s face and voice were just as he remembered. And so was this voice.

Yeon Hojeong let go of Yeon Jipyung and slowly turned his body.

A middle-aged man stood in front of the altar, glaring at him with a scary look.

“What are you doing?”

It wasn’t a scolding or a question. It was just a plain voice with a weight that was hard to bear.

He had been afraid of and hated that voice when he was young. He had avoided meeting his family because he didn’t want to hear that voice.

“Father?”

The middle-aged man, Yeon Wi, furrowed his brows.

His son, who walked up to him with a dazed look, was very different from usual. His eyes were filled with emptiness, disbelief, surprise, and emotion.

It was a quite impressive moment. His eldest son had never looked him in the eye since he was young. He was a guy who couldn’t straighten his shoulders under the oppressive pressure.

“Ah, father!”

Yeon Hojeong ran towards Yeon Wi. He looked like he was going to hug him right away.

Yeon Wi’s hand moved.

He grabbed Yeon Hojeong’s wrist and squeezed it.

Thud!

‘Ugh!’

Yeon Hojeong knelt down. The energy that flowed through his wrist drained the strength from his legs.

“How dare you cause a commotion during the ancestral rites? Are you out of your mind?”

This spine-chilling voice sounded dear to him now.

Yeon Hojeong lowered his head.

Yeon Wi looked down at his son and saw a hint of confusion. Yeon Hojeong’s face was full of sorrow as he looked at him.

Something was wrong with his big kid today.

“I’ll deal with your crime of disrupting the rites later. Go to the study and wait.”

It was the same cold tone as usual.

But the answer was different.

“Yes!”

Wasn’t that too confident, this?

Yeon Wi was rarely flustered and turned his body, and Yeon Hojeong got up and looked around.

Everyone who participated in the rites was looking at him. The eyes of the twenty or so people were all filled with confusion.

Yeon Hojeong smiled and looked around, and his face suddenly hardened.

‘Wait.’

He realized that this was a strange thing, too late.

He looked down at his chest.

There was no cow hair needle.

‘Did I not die?’

But that wasn’t all.

‘No, beyond not dying…’

Yeon Hojeong looked around again, and his face was filled with astonishment.

‘This is my past, isn’t it?’

He examined his hand and body. He brushed his hair and looked at his clothes.

That’s right. This was his body, but not his body. His body, honed by countless battles, was full of scars, and his hands were covered with calluses.

His slender physique and clean hands were definitely the body he had when he was young.

“How can this be? Is this really possible…”

“What are you mumbling about!”

Yeon Wi finally snapped. Yeon Hojeong bowed his head awkwardly and left.

He left and looked around again.

“…This is really my home!”

One of the seven great families, the best names in the martial world.

It had only been fifty years of history, but its presence was no less than the other six great families.

The iron family.

Yeon Hojeong, the eldest son of the Yeon family of Boksan, had returned.