Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 386



386

**Demonic Sword Thunder Fang (雷牙).**

Known as the “fang of thunder

it is one of the most renowned swords in the world and one of the most famous treasures.

It was none other than the hero of the Namgung Clan Namgung Myung who saved the world during the Blood Calamity and it was the sword he used as his cherished weapon which makes it even more significant.

Moreover Thunder Fang holds a lot of meaning for me as well.

The sword used by the Demon Sword Queen Namgung Bia was also Thunder Fang.

Because of this I was able to observe Thunder Fang quite closely. Although I never had the chance to touch it directly as the Demon Sword Queen never allowed it.

The blade exuded a mysterious aura that seemed almost transparent. Yet it was a sword of unfathomable strength that would never break.

Additionally there was one distinct difference that set it apart from other swords.

But that detail isn’t immediately important so I’ll skip it for now.

What matters here is.

How did the treasure of the Namgung Clan which can be seen as a symbol end up in the hands of a martial artist from the Wudang Sect?

Wudang Gwaeseon Gyudo.

He is the current owner of Thunder Fang the treasure of the Namgung Clan.

As Woo-hyuk said he was indeed a famous figure.

Originally a Taoist belonging to the Wudang main sect he was known to be wandering throughout the Central Plains for some reason.

He was also somewhat famous as a sage. When the demonic beast attacked the village due to the uncontrolled demonic realm Wudang Gwaeseon happened to be there and saved the villagers by defeating all the demonic beasts before vanishing without a trace.

Conversely the reason the alias of the Taoist includes the mysterious word “Gwae” (怪) is due to his often bizarre behavior.

He would suddenly talk to himself and then get angry. Or he would show up unannounced at a Trading Company and create chaos.

He would practice swordsmanship in the air turning the surroundings into a mess. Because he engaged in so many actions that ordinary people could not comprehend they began to call him Gwaeseon.

While he was indeed a sage based on his good deeds his incomprehensible behavior made him a martial artist that people did not want to be close to.

That was Wudang Gwaeseon Gyudo.

However.

‘That man was Jang-ryong’s master?’

This was a story I had never known in my past life. Jang-ryong had never mentioned it to me nor was it a story that circulated in the Central Plains.

Get notified for updates: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

“Ah I didn’t want to say this.”

Even I was somewhat shocked to hear it. Woo-hyuk who spoke it seemed uncomfortable repeatedly sighing.

“He’s a master that’s embarrassing to brag about.”

Only after hearing Woo-hyuk’s follow-up could I understand the reason a little.

…Was that the reason he kept it a secret? Because it was embarrassing…?

It was indeed a rather embarrassing story to blurt out anywhere.

“But… are you really going to Sichuan to find such a master?”

“I don’t have anywhere to stay if I go out. It’s best to say I’m going to stay with my master for the sake of justification.”

That made sense. Although Wudang Gwaeseon was half-exiled from Wudang he was still affiliated with the Wudang Sect.

If Woo-hyuk said he was going out to be with his master it would provide him with a certain justification.

“…So you’re saying you’ll go to Sichuan with me?”

“Isn’t that great? Friends going together!”

“What friends? How many people are in our group?”

I hadn’t had a proper discussion about the details yet but at the point I chose to go to Sichuan there were already a few people who would be accompanying me.

I had already finished talking with the clan leader.

The clan leader also mentioned that he had business in Sichuan so it was fine.

As for Pawu-cheol he had previously suggested going with me to his family’s territory so it would be fine to stop by while we were at it.

Moreover.

Since my family’s main house is the Tang Clan known as the rulers of Sichuan if I were to go with them…

‘Wait does that mean the Poison King will be going too…?’

Thinking about that sent a chill down my spine but there was nothing I could do about it.

Whether by coincidence or fate it was the perfect time to head to Sichuan.

The Divine Dragon Temple had also decided to close due to an unexpected incident.

The graduation period had also been moved up significantly.

The next event I was keeping an eye on would occur in about 2-3 years from now.

If possible I needed to raise my strength before that time came.

Now that I had reached the realm of transformation what I needed to prioritize was.

‘I need to obtain the White Demon Stone first.’

The White Demon Stone is the highest grade of demon beast material.

I had known about its existence and location for a long time but I had kept it aside until I reached a level where I could best accept it.

Now in an era where only blue-grade demon beasts were appearing the existence of the White Demon Stone was incredibly precious.

Moreover when a demon beast dies the stones that come from its body usually lose their energy after a short time.

However the White Demon Stone I wanted to obtain had maintained its energy even after a considerable amount of time had passed.

I wasn’t sure what the principle behind it was.

What was important was that the energy contained in such a White Demon Stone was incomparably vast compared to any elixir.

For someone like me who could absorb the energy of such a stone the White Demon Stone would be the best elixir in the world.

Having reached the realm of transformation albeit in a rather incomplete state I was at a point where I needed to obtain the White Demon Stone even more.

Join our discord and ping me to update more chapters. Discord: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

So in this situation where I had time to spare I was heading to Sichuan.

In that sense Woo-hyuk’s company didn’t matter as long as it didn’t cause any trouble.

“I need to get permission first. Our Clan Head probably won’t allow it…”

“Ah the former Clan Head has already given permission.”

“…What?”

I was momentarily taken aback by Woo-hyuk’s words.

My father gave permission?

“When?”

“Hmm? When you fainted and came back yesterday I asked him.”

“…”

From Woo-hyuk’s words I realized that the duel with my father had taken place last night.

“He said he gave permission…?”

“Yeah? Uh-huh.”

“How?”

“What do you mean how? He just said it was fine for you to go together since you were going anyway…”

It was funny that Woo-hyuk had directly asked my father this and it was surprising that my father had said it was fine.

“Is it really okay then?”

“…Well… do as you wish…”

Having no further justification to refuse I eventually said it was fine.

If a problem arose I would handle it.

‘This is actually a good thing.’

Even though I grumbled that it wasn’t hearing Woo-hyuk’s purpose made it not a bad thing.

That he was going to see Wudang Gwaeseon.

‘So this is how it turned out.’

I had business with Wudang Gwaeseon anyway.

To be precise I had business with Thunder Fang.

At some point Hwang Ah-bul-yeong had said.

– Find Namgung Myung.

This meant that Namgung Myung also had a soul in this world.

Moreover when I was heading toward the Namgung Clan I had also heard the voice of someone who seemed to be Namgung Myung.

What he said was.

‘Find Thunder Fang.’

He had instructed me to find Thunder Fang which was his cherished weapon.

I didn’t know what that meant but I could tell it was related to the new Noya.

‘The real problem is that the new Noya hasn’t shown up yet.’

This old man kept disappearing and not showing up. It was truly frustrating.

Anyway… at a time when I needed to find Thunder Fang.

If Woo-hyuk was going to see Wudang Gwaeseon it wasn’t a bad thing.

It meant I could handle everything in one go during this trip to Sichuan including Thunder Fang.

After calculating that I spoke to Woo-hyuk.

“I have a condition if we’re going together.”

“A condition? What condition?”

The moment Woo-hyuk expressed his confusion I stated my condition.

“If we go to Sichuan introduce me to your master.”

“…Huh?”

“Then let’s go together.”

Upon hearing my words Woo-hyuk’s face contorted.

It was the first time I had seen him make such a face.

For some reason he seemed quite reluctant to introduce me but I wasn’t going to let this slide easily.

After a long hesitation Woo-hyuk finally nodded as if he had no choice.

The deal was struck.

******************

After finishing the conversation with Woo-hyuk.

Having no further business he grabbed me and threw me out the window.

The building looked quite tall but I knew that at his level he wouldn’t die from such a fall so I didn’t mind.

I remembered him crying out that I should at least give him my outer clothes while being thrown.

He would manage on his own.

In the meantime I felt a wave of nostalgia.

In my past life no matter how much Jang-ryong acted up I couldn’t do anything about it which frustrated me but now I could handle it like this.

Creak.

I stepped out of the room and descended the stairs. My destination was of course where my father was.

“Hmm?”

As I came down I spotted Gu Hee-bi climbing the stairs from a distance.

It seemed she had just finished her morning training.

It looked like she was still diligently practicing without skipping any sessions.

Thinking of greeting her with a morning salutation I glanced over and Gu Hee-bi suddenly burst into laughter upon seeing my face.

What’s going on?

“Why are you laughing as soon as you see my face? That’s rude.”

“Ke…keuhk… no… hahaha!”

She couldn’t even contain her laughter and laughed even harder.

“What’s so funny?”

“Haha… ah… little brother what happened to your face?”

“My face?”

“Your eyes… heh heh… did you get hit somewhere?”

I rubbed my eyes with my hand at Gu Hee-bi’s words.

A sharp pain shot through.

Why does my eye hurt so much… ah.

“Your eyes are all bruised. You look ridiculous.”

“…”

I realized it was a wound from my father. Did it bruise that badly?

Gu Hee-bi laughed so hard that she doubled over holding her stomach.

“Who did you get hit by? I’ll teach them a lesson just tell me.”

“Clan Head.”

“…”

“Why are you silent? You said you’d teach them a lesson sister.”

At my words Gu Hee-bi averted her gaze. It seemed she didn’t intend to teach a lesson to the one who hit me.

Finding her reaction amusing I thought about laughing for a moment but decided to let it go.

“Anyway… where is the Clan Head?”

“…Training ground.”

“Training ground?”

Actually I had suspected he might be there and it seemed my guess was correct.

As I was about to walk past Gu Hee-bi she called out to me.

“Little brother.”

“Hmm?”

“Did something happen with the Clan Head?”

“Can’t you tell? I got hit.”

“…No not that.”

When she was teasing me about my bruised eyes she now wanted to know what had happened. It was absurd.

“Then why?”

“Just… the Clan Head seemed oddly in a good mood.”

“What does the Clan Head’s good mood have to do with me…?”

“Forget it.”

Without giving me a proper answer Gu Hee-bi went up first.

I looked at her back with a strange expression before moving on.

My destination was the training ground.

An open space set up behind the inn.

Since it was Henan where martial artists often stayed it felt like the open space had been remodeled into a training ground.

Originally there should have been a few other martial artists around.

But since the inn was rented out entirely by the beautiful lady it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Moreover even if there had been martial artists originally I wondered how many could withstand the heat felt here.

‘It’s so humid.’

As soon as I stepped into the open space the heat was suffocating.

With the heat emanating from the qi I immediately confirmed the source of the heat.

As expected it was my father.

The heat gradually subsided.

It seemed my father had recognized me.

The fluttering robe became still and my father having fully retracted his qi turned around to look at me and spoke.

“You’re awake… um.”

“…?”

Upon seeing my face my father cut off his words and tightly closed his mouth.

I could see his eyebrows twitching. Could it be that he was…

‘…Trying to hold back a laugh?’

Of all people the one who caused my eyes to look like this?

“You’re awake.”

“Just laugh.”

“…What do you mean?”

Now he was pretending not to know.

But it was far too late for that reaction.