Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 389 (Part 2)



389 (Part 2)

“That may be one reason but the important thing is—”

Tap tap. The master rises and looks at me as he speaks.

“If you use it recklessly your body could be ruined.”

“Excuse me…?”

My eyes widen at the master’s words. This was something I had never heard before.

Ruined body?

As my expression fills with questions the master begins to explain with a somewhat awkward look.

“The pain you feel every time you use martial arts is because your body is changing to adapt to martial arts.”

This was something I had felt since I started learning the Tua Pa Cheon Mu.

One of the reasons I thought the master was an absurd person was precisely this.

The idea that the body changes to fit martial arts is in a way akin to forcibly undergoing Body Reformation.

It was like artificially creating a body known as Cheon Mu Ji Che.

The nonsensical pain that comes from that process is something that would be hard for an ordinary person to endure. But if you can endure it it would hold a value higher than any martial arts.

The fact that the master created such martial arts on his own is astonishing.

“In that process… if you experience unexpected shocks or excessive use there might be… slight… issues…”

“…What kind of issues?”

“It’s nothing serious.”

“From the elder’s expression it doesn’t seem like it’s nothing serious at all.”

“Just a little… your heart might stop for a moment or your acupoints might get a bit tangled.”

“…”

What does ‘a little’ even mean?

Hearing the master’s words I felt a moment of dizziness. What he meant was that if I made a mistake I could end up dead or suffer from qi deviation.

I immediately questioned him.

“Why am I only hearing something so important now…?”

“Isn’t that why I told you not to use it in real combat until I gave you permission?”

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“If I had heard this I wouldn’t have used it at all!”

“Come on. How was I supposed to know? You suddenly wanted to use it and start fighting!”

The master’s incredulous response left me equally dumbfounded.

Why didn’t he mention something so crucial?

That statement implied that I could have died if I had made a mistake.

‘Then… did my father foresee this?’

The reason my father had knocked me out with a single strike.

At the time I thought it was because using two energies seemed dangerous. But now I wondered if there was more to it.

“Anyway… you were lucky this time so you got away with it…”

“Anyway?”

“Next time you really need to be careful.”

The master’s attempt to brush it off was quite absurd but I didn’t have much to say since I had caused trouble myself.

Feeling a bit wronged I secretly glared at the master who then asked me something else.

“When do you plan to depart for Sichuan?”

For a moment I thought he had caught me glaring.

“Probably… I plan to leave no later than seven days.”

I needed to discuss the exact timing with those leaving with me but at least I intended to leave around seven days.

In the meantime I had a few things to take care of in Henan.

Moreover…

“Are you sure it will be okay?”

I also intended to resolve the concerns the master had.

It was about this cave where I was currently chatting with the master.

This cave was prepared for training in Tua Pa Cheon Mu.

The condition the master had set was to use only the heart technique of Tua Pa Cheon Mu to break through the cave so I had to finish everything before leaving.

“Seven days is going to be tight isn’t it?”

He spoke with a worried tone but seeing the smile on his face it was clear he was enjoying this.

Indeed that old man wasn’t exactly of a good temperament.

“If it comes down to it I can just cut back on sleep.”

“You speak so nonchalantly. It’s amusing how trustworthy you are.”

“Is that a compliment or an insult…?”

“How does it sound to you?”

“It sounds like an insult.”

“Correct. You guessed it well.”

That damn old man.

Listening to the master’s pointless banter I got up.

I needed to start resting soon. My schedule was going to be very busy moving forward.

After catching my breath from the sparring I began to pound on the cave walls.

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Immediately after I drew up the heart technique of Tua Pa Cheon Mu Tua Pa Cheon Gong and infused it into my body.

At that moment pain surged throughout my entire body.

Grrr—! The sensation of my body tightening and the intense pain surging from within felt as if someone was stabbing me from the inside.

It was still a pain that was hard to adapt to.

Seeing my condition the master chuckled and said

“You keep saying it’s hard yet your expression doesn’t change at all.”

“If I show that it hurts what difference would it make?”

“You’re truly a remarkably stubborn fellow. Ah that’s a compliment.”

“…If it’s a compliment I don’t feel great about it.”

I let out a deep sigh and immediately began to punch the cave.

Bang—! The cave resonated with vibrations causing the master to turn his back.

“Well then keep suffering.”

As the master began to walk away I asked

“Where are you going?”

“I have to go.”

The master spoke curtly and started walking toward the cave entrance.

Then he whispered as he looked at me who was engrossed in training.

“Since your disciple’s father wants to see you I should go see the Clan Head.”

With a thoroughly annoyed expression the master exited the cave and leaped into the air.

His destination was where the martial alliance was.

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

In an unnamed mountain in Sichuan a strange rumor had recently been circulating.

The rumor was that a demonic beast that could speak human language lived in the mountain.

Since it was such an absurd rumor few believed it but those who had encountered it were convinced it was no rumor.

The demonic beast which only moved at night would roar while flaunting its rugged muscles.

After it rampaged only traces of destruction remained.

When the swordsmen who went to confirm the rumor finished their search and returned they had blank expressions as if their souls had left them declaring that there was no demonic beast. However people looked at them and said

-They must have been terrified by the fearsome demonic beast! -Right there’s no way they could have such expressions otherwise!

Thus the strange rumor began to spread in the mountains where an unidentified man was sitting on a rock passing the time.

For some unknown reason the man had thrown off his upper clothes showcasing his splendid muscles.

His age was impossible to determine as his face was obscured by a bushy beard and messy hair.

In one hand he held a fish that looked freshly grilled.

Perhaps he was hungry as he quickly took a bite.

In his other hand he held a letter and while he chewed his food his gaze was fixed on the letter.

As the man slowly read the letter he suddenly frowned.

“Hey how long are you going to keep fussing over fish?”

The man seemed displeased about something but there was no one around him.

“If you’re a sage should you only eat grass? If that’s the case why? You didn’t say anything when I ate a cow last time. Ugh….”

Was it the man’s words that were the problem? Something at his waist vibrated slightly.

Feeling that the man began to shout at the empty air.

“Ah! Don’t shout! Do you think I’m not shouting because I can’t? Your temper is really something else. Just keep it down. Didn’t you say you’d stay quiet for a while after saving a village last time? It’s absurd to speak out of both sides of your mouth.”

Tsk tsk. The man clicked his tongue repeatedly and the vibration of the object intensified.

Soon feeling the vibration the man seemingly annoyed pulled out the object at his waist and threw it away.

“Just cool your head over there. I’ll pick it up later.”

The stick that fell to the ground began to vibrate wildly as if in anger.

Seeing that the man scoffed and ignored it returning to reading the letter.

If it had been the original man he would have argued all day long out of anger.

But now he didn’t want to do that. It was a pleasant day for the first time in a while.

After finishing the letter the man neatly folded it and stuffed it haphazardly into his waist.

It was originally not a long message. Of course even if it was short the content was quite good.

He was in a very good mood right now. Perhaps it was the best he had felt in a long time.

It was no wonder.

The man chuckled heartily and muttered

“I’ll finally get to see your face again.”

The content of the letter was none other than the news that his damn disciple was coming to visit him.