Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 343 (Part 1)



343 (Part 1)

”'<344th Chapter: The Return of the Red Sky. (3)

Whoosh-!

The qi that had risen in the qi center of my body was continuously spewing out like an exhaust.

As qi exited the body it transformed into heat.

Flames surrounded me.

I could feel my hair turning red.

Whoosh-!

A wheel made of flames spun wildly around my body.

Under one ring.

A second ring was formed.

The qi was creating a storm within my body.

Pressure built up inside me.

If I let go even a little the backlash could burst forth and I could end up spitting blood a dangerous situation.

But there was no problem.

As I reached the transformation the power to hold onto the qi grew stronger.

And my body had become resilient enough to endure it.

I could withstand it for as long as needed.

I was ready.

Realizing this I immediately recited the words.

“Red Sky.”

Boom-!

The ring that had been spinning around me.

The heat that was spewing outwards.

In an instant it shot up into the sky.

Following the form of the storm I felt inside.

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Flames and heat intertwined creating a vortex.

It shot straight up.

Crack-!

It pierced the black sky.

‘Ugh what—

I watched the process with my own eyes.

Like a frozen river cracking.

It was slowly shattering as it was pierced by flames.

‘Is the durability weak?’

It seemed like a type of formation but something felt subtle about it.

It didn’t seem like it would break easily.

Was it because I had crossed the wall?

No that wasn’t it.

There had been gaps from the beginning.

Breaking from the inside wasn’t that difficult.

‘What’s going on?’

How long had it been since I returned from the demon realm?

I estimated a few days.

I hadn’t counted the days there.

I thought that much time had passed.

So what had happened in just a few days?

I still couldn’t tell.

Though it had been years since I stepped on the Central Plains.

Fortunately I didn’t feel any sense of alienation.

Was it the World Tree’s arrangement?

Recalling how I had suffered for a long time due to the intense sense of disconnection in my previous life.

I could say it was a relief.

Or perhaps it was the blessing of the mark he had bestowed upon me.

As I thought of this I suddenly closed my eyes.

‘Fold it away.’

I folded my thoughts.

Constantly seeking questions.

That was something to do after the fight was over.

It was a realization I had barely salvaged after a long time of honing my mind.

I had known it from the beginning.

But it hadn’t easily settled into my body.

I vaguely grasped it and draped it over my body.

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My qi swirling in the qi center.

The heat spewing from my body was hot.

But my head cooled down.

Drip drip.

Fragments of energy fell from the sky.

Unfortunately I couldn’t break everything.

It seemed I didn’t have that much power yet.

I had only managed to break the sky above the Divine Dragon Hall.

Outside of a suitable gap.

A sky stained red entered my sight.

The secret of the Nine Families.

Having reached the transformation I could finally use this power.

It was the influence of the Red Sky.

The sky was dyed a deep red as if it were sunset.

It was different from the blood-red sky I had seen in the demon realm.

The shallow pink that mixed in was probably due to the qi in my body.

Seeing that I nodded slightly.

‘I’ve reached it.’

I felt once again that I had reached the transformation.

Breaking through the peak of the martial artist’s grave.

I had finally reached the transformation after doing all sorts of things.

My senses had changed.

Compared to when I was at the peak my feelings had deepened.

My perception widened.

And it had become clearer.

Thus I could tell.

How thick and wide the morale spread around me was.

‘An ambush?’

Some crazy person had attacked the Divine Dragon Hall.

Well most of the unorthodox sects were probably crazy to begin with.

It wouldn’t be strange.

And the person in front of me was likely one of them.

The size was roughly similar to that of an Elder.

A level that transcended humanity. It was literally like a bear.

The weapon he primarily used was a saber.

I recalled the martial artist from the Black Night Palace whom I had killed on the volcano.

‘It’s Mukcheol.’

Seeing the black blade it was quite a good saber.

The level of the martial artist was…

Transformation.

From the looks of it it seemed to be quite a significant level.

Moreover seeing the blue-haired sword lying on the ground bleeding.

It seemed that old man had incapacitated him.

‘Who could it be?’

If he was an unorthodox sect that had reached the transformation.

Most of them were known monsters.

Could he be one of the Three Maos?

Was there someone among them who used a saber?

“The red sky….”

As I thought about the old man.

He quietly murmured.

“I felt a presence I had sensed before. You… are you a descendant of the Nine Families?”

“Do you know me?”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t know as there’s only one place that can ignite flames and dye the sky red.”

He seemed to have recognized me by my characteristics which made my shoulders slightly lift.

What puzzled me was.

‘Could he be someone who has seen the Red Sky?’

Was he someone who had seen the martial arts I was currently using?

Could it be my father?

That was possible.

Or perhaps.

‘My grandfather?’

That could also be the case.

It didn’t matter what it was.

Even if he had seen this somewhere.

‘At this point it’s quite noticeable.’

It was beyond just igniting flames and burning.

Changing the color of the sky.

Naturally it couldn’t help but stand out.

The heat that dyed the sky red.

Slowly descended heavily pressing down on the surroundings.

The influence of the Red Sky was gradually unfolding.

The secrets of the Nine Families each held a meaning.

Among them the Red Sky was.

In my perception it was a kind of arrogance.

The Red Sky.

Filled the qi in the qi center and the flames ignited by it created a realm.

The symbol of that realm was the red-dyed sky.

In the area filled with heat under the changed sky.

The flames of the Nine Families would never extinguish.

They burned even hotter.

Not a single enemy remained in sight.

Until they all burned to death.

In a way this could be seen as one of the martial arts representing each of the three families.

A similar martial art was the Emperor’s Sword Form of the Namgung Family.

Maximizing the absolute presence.

Slowing down the opponent’s movements.

That too was an expression of the realm.

The Nine Families took on the absurd form of dyeing the sky red.

Reaching the transformation and breaking through the qi center had a ridiculous level of difficulty.

‘How far have I come?’

I clenched my fist to check.

Roughly.

The power I had gained since my return was.

Half of my previous life.

Or perhaps even a little less than that.

Was it fast?

Or was it slow?

I didn’t know.

There was still a long way to go.

“You…”

The old man looked at me and spoke.

“Are you the Ho-hyeop?”

Huh?

I had a moment of disbelief at the sudden mention of my father’s alias.

“Ho-hyeop wouldn’t easily come out of Shanxi would he?”

“Do I look that old?”

My father was somewhat older but being a martial artist he hadn’t aged much.

Still I shouldn’t look that old.

“If you’re not Ho-hyeop… could it be that you’re Jin-ryong?”

Finally reaching the answer the old man’s eyes widened.

Seeing that I nodded.

“Couldn’t be…”

The old man’s reaction was one of disbelief.

“I heard you haven’t even reached adulthood yet.”

“But.”

“How… how did you cross the wall?”

Ah so that’s why.

Reaching the transformation at an age not yet an adult.

It was probably something that wouldn’t be found even if I searched through all the records in the Central Plains.

So it wasn’t strange for that old man to react like that.

I didn’t feel much excitement but still.

‘What significance is there in what I gained through my return?’

To others I might seem like an absurd genius.

In my previous life I had longed for such a situation.

Yet now I felt little excitement. It was quite a pity.

Nodding my head.

I spoke to the old man in a somewhat blunt voice.

“It’s not the time to worry about that.”

The heat that had been rolling from my body moved even faster.

I could feel my body gradually heating up. Along with it my fighting spirit began to rise.

‘Ha.’

As soon as I returned to this realm I was already in a brawl.

Why is my life so devoid of peace?

Did he feel my fighting spirit?

The old man’s eyebrows twitched.

“You’re a rough kid not even asking who I am?”

“What’s the point of asking?”

As I said earlier.

“I don’t usually mix words with the unorthodox sects.”

Why would I bother talking to those scoundrels?

If there was a need to converse.

I could just break their limbs.

And learn only what I wanted. There was no need for polite conversation.

“The important thing is that you’re an internal martial artist.”

“Why do you think that? I might not be an enemy.”

At the old man’s words I let out a clear laugh.

It was an obvious sneer.

If he was going to say that.

“Erase the killing intent in your eyes before you speak.”

At my words.

The old man’s expression turned cold.

That was enough.

The exchange of words was all.

The Black Dragon Sword had heard more about Jin-ryong than I had expected.

Starting from the fact that I was ‘that’ Ho-hyeop’s child.

The bloodshed that had created the death of Gu Chang-jun whom I had woven together quite usefully.

Thanks to that my relationship with the Palace Head had become somewhat messy.

But the Black Dragon Sword didn’t care much about that.

They said I was the youngest peak martial artist.

It was a talent worthy of being recorded in history.

But even so I was just a prodigy.

I judged that there was still a long way to go before blocking my future.

Moreover.

When I was heading to the Divine Dragon Hall to announce that the Black Dragon Sword was alive.

If there happened to be Ho-hyeop’s child there.

I had thought I could just get rid of him together.

No matter how much he could fly he was still just a young tiger.