Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 367 (Part 2)



367 (Part 2)

“Even if the name is a bit off…”

“See you feel the same way.”

“…Anyway it’s a big deal that a martial artist has an alias.”

That’s true.

An alias is a significant part of a martial artist’s identity.

For a martial artist an alias is akin to their essence.

It’s like a collection of the martial arts I practice my characteristics and the levels I’ve achieved.

Because of this there are many foolish ones who attach grand aliases to themselves.

But such hollow aliases inevitably fade away quickly.

A true alias in the end is a name given by others.

Even the masters known as the Three Existences didn’t become the Three Existences just because they called themselves that.

They were called the Three Existences because countless people recognized them as the three strongest.

The same goes for my father’s alias the Tiger Hero.

The various aliases held by the Clan Heads of the Four Great Families are for similar reasons.

Thus an alias is ultimately a value for a martial artist.

…Still.

“No matter what this isn’t right…!”

Stamping my foot on the ground in frustration Moyong Hee-ah merely watches without changing her expression.

She has seen me do this too many times.

‘It’s all good.’

I’ve been recognized as a master beyond just a prodigy?

Good.

It’s all good.

After all I’ve gained a reputation and it might help me in the future so let’s just accept that.

So Yeom-ra? Even if the alias is a bit ridiculous what can I do?

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No matter how I look at it I thought it was better than the alias I had in my previous life…

‘…No they seem similar.’

…Even so I could manage to overlook it if I tried.

Already everywhere I go people recognize me as So Yeom-ra! Little Yeom-ra! and I’ve been hearing things like how scary or amazing I am.

That too could be overlooked.

What’s important is.

‘Why has the rumor spread so quickly?’

My rumor had spread at an alarming rate.

I don’t know about the situation in other regions but just considering Henan the speed at which it spread was no joke.

How could it be that day and night taverns and inns are only talking about me?

“It’s strange.”

I wondered if I was the only one feeling strange but it seemed Moyong Hee-ah felt it too.

“There’s a feeling that it’s too artificial.”

“Right.”

“But… even so Young Master already knows the reason right?”

“…”

That’s also true.

I vaguely knew the reason I was in this situation.

‘It’s all a setup.’

From my perspective the current situation was largely due to the big accident I caused.

To be precise it was the Murim Alliance that was taking all the blame.

“The speed at which this is happening means the Murim Alliance is involved.”

I was half-convinced of this.

My rumor had the Murim Alliance’s involvement; otherwise it wouldn’t make sense.

The Murim Alliance was currently in a situation where public sentiment was at rock bottom.

They were still being referred to as the symbol of orthodox sects.

Even though they were being tolerated despite their clumsy handling of affairs.

That had been piling up and I thought this recent attack might have caused an explosion.

Thanks to that aside from my story another frequent topic was.

That the Murim Alliance needed to be overhauled.

People were questioning why the Murim Alliance even existed.

So it was even more puzzling.

‘Why me in this situation?’

At first it seemed like they were trying to divert attention from the crumbling reputation of the Murim Alliance.

To be precise it felt like they were trying to cover up the stories about the Murim Alliance that were coming out all day long.

It felt like they were trying to sell me off to charm the people.

This was a method often used by the Murim Alliance when something went wrong.

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So I thought it was something like that again but now it didn’t seem to be at that level.

‘At this point…’

It felt like they were actually pushing me up.

To the extent that it felt like they were elevating me while dragging down the reputation of the Murim Alliance.

‘Why?’

If that’s the case why are they trying to elevate me?

No matter how much I think about it I can’t understand it right now.

I don’t know what their purpose is.

Moreover the biggest problem is.

‘…Why is my alias like this?’

I found myself thinking again about the alias I currently had.

If that’s the case it means the people pushing this name forward are from the Murim Alliance.

Crack—

I bit my teeth and punched my fist.

Bang! Bang!

The sound that echoed in the cave began to erupt again. Moyong Hee-ah who was watching let out a sigh.

“I told you to please take a break.”

“I’ve rested enough.”

Even while answering I continued to punch.

“…You’ve only done it for five minutes?”

“That’s enough.”

“You’re really crazy.”

Moyong Hee-ah said in disbelief but that didn’t stop my movements.

How many days has it been since I started this?

‘I don’t know but it feels like it’s been over seven days.’

I couldn’t tell because I wasn’t counting. This was only counting the days I had spent in the cave.

I had no idea how long it would be if I included the days before that.

At this level I felt tired even just looking at it but there was no choice.

‘If I’m going to do it I have to do it.’

The crazy thing I was doing now was something the master had instructed me to do.

It was a little while after I had asked the master for guidance recalling the past.

It was a bit more than that.

To learn a different internal skill one must empty everything they originally held and fill it anew.

This was an unwritten rule for martial artists.

Everyone thought that it was something that had to be done but.

I remember.

The face of the master who had no choice but to tell me the verses of the internal skill.

And the change in his expression when I contained his internal skill in my body.

It was a kind of emptiness I suppose.

If not it could also be described as shock or trembling.

I managed to successfully insert the master’s unique internal skill without discarding the qi of the Nine Flame Transformation.

It was secondary that I received other martial arts.

If someone were to ask if it made sense to succeed in learning the master’s martial arts in just a few days.

‘It was much easier than expected.’

Surprisingly the master’s internal skill wasn’t that difficult to learn.

The master himself said it wasn’t particularly hard.

Of course that doesn’t mean that containing two internal skills was an easy task.

That was evident from the expression the master had at that time.

-This is absurd.

I thought that since I was just a body that could absorb any energy it might be possible to learn the master’s martial arts.

And it turned out that there were no issues.

‘Martial arts’ might be different and I was slightly anxious about that.

But seeing that I could absorb it without any problems it seemed that this omnivorous body didn’t filter out martial arts.

However.

-You… you really are a celestial body.

It seemed that the master saw it a bit differently.

At that time the master looked at me with a shocked expression and said.

-The way you control the energy flowing in your body to contain two without any issues what kind of control ability is that?

The master spoke as if he had discovered a new world.

But from my perspective I just thought what nonsense is that?

What does “that way” mean and how is the energy being controlled?

Only the master who was helping me learn the internal skill by placing his hand on my back could feel it.

-How is such delicate control possible?

-…Huh?

The master even asked me out of curiosity. Of course the only answer I could give was.

-…I just did it.

That was all I could say.

I didn’t know.

It was such an unlucky thing to say and I briefly worried that I might have offended the master.

But surprisingly the master only had a more excited expression.

What’s with that face? It’s scary…

Was that the problem? It must have been the problem.

The reason I’m doing this crazy thing now.

It’s all because the master instructed me to do so.

Now that I’ve learned the internal skill it was time to learn martial arts.

The internal skill known as Tuapa Cheonmu.

The creator is the master and it’s a martial art that hasn’t even been a hundred years since its inception.

Just the strength shown by the master was enough to call it a divine skill.

Since I had faced it directly I knew best how strong it was.

When I was filled with excitement about how I would learn the initial movements the master said to me with a delighted face.

-Use only the qi of Tuapa Cheonmu to break through this mountain.

-…Huh?

-You can only use your fists. You must not use any other energy.

He suddenly brought me to the mountain to start training and then made that unexpected statement turning to leave the mountain.

As I desperately tried to hold him back to ask for an explanation.

-…Wait a minute…

-Oh and.

The master dismissed my words and said.

-I don’t want to hear the word ‘master’ yet so you don’t have to say it.

Saying that he disappeared quickly.

Now he only occasionally appears to check on my condition and then disappears again.

This was the reason I started this crazy endeavor.

‘A crazy person.’

To break through a mountain using only my fists is that even possible? No matter how I think about it it’s absurd.

‘And I’m the crazy one for doing it.’

Telling me to break through and here I am actually breaking through makes me just as crazy.

Others would ask.

Why are you doing that? Especially not just for a day or two but for nearly two months.

If I’m going to go through this hardship wouldn’t it be better to get stronger the original way?

But from the day I decided to give it a try I realized.

‘This.’

The internal skill known as Tuapa Cheonmu.

I understood why the Tuapa Cheon skill was easier to learn than expected.

It was more of a constraint than an internal skill.

The more I moved my body while using the internal skill the more my muscles screamed in pain.

The qi center felt heavy as if I were carrying iron balls all over my body.