Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 396 (Part 1)



396 (Part 1)

After finishing the meeting with the Blue Sea Sword it was already evening when I stepped outside.

There was still some time left until the scheduled meal.

Even if there was a little gap in between it wasn’t enough to train so I was heading to the meeting place first.

‘If I get caught the old man will be furious.’

If the master found out that I was skipping training he would probably start another round of beatings disguised as training.

‘That guy really enjoys hitting people.’

It wasn’t just a delusion.

I was beginning to think that the master’s “hitting” was something else entirely.

From what I could see it was clear that he had accumulated a lot of pent-up energy due to hardly sparring because of the effects of the Half-Return to the Flow.

And he just happened to take it out on me.

‘…Damn it I need to get stronger quickly.’

I had to become strong enough to at least resist or I would just keep getting beaten.

Even while thinking this I realized there was no answer.

‘What kind of ridiculous situation is it to ignore even the difference in realms?’

It was absurd every time I saw it.

Once I seriously tried to give it my all and even used qi.

But that too was utterly crushed leaving me dumbfounded.

‘All paths have been blocked.’

The reason I blocked the master’s qi and only sparred with my physical body wasn’t because it was disadvantageous for him.

It was simply because it was more beneficial for me.

The master would cut off all the movements he used to attack and would find a way to block by slipping into the gaps where qi flowed.

Clearly the master’s physical realm was at its peak yet I who had reached the transformation realm couldn’t win against him in a fight.

Thanks to that I was getting beaten every time we sparred.

In response the master would pull out excessive attacks relying solely on my lack of brawling skills and vast qi.

‘This is what the divine Noya mentioned before.’

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Honestly I had nothing to say about my brawling skills.

I had only focused on the wide-ranging attacks and explosive firepower characteristic of the fire arts.

Even though I was in the martial arts category I had no memory of being devoted to brawling skills.

Recently as I fought with the master I was realizing more and more.

Unlike when I pushed forward based on experience there was a lot lacking to make up for my deficiencies.

‘…A little more.’

No not just a little I had to put in a lot of effort.

Fortunately my personality was quite stubborn and having a talented master by my side made things a bit better.

The same went for brawling skills.

Whenever possible I tried to move while casting the Tua Pa Cheon Gong.

This made walking quite painful but the efficiency wasn’t too bad.

The master was horrified by my actions.

‘I never did such things.’ He looked at me as if I were crazy but since he didn’t stop me it seemed it was fine to do.

Of course from the perspective of the one executing it it wasn’t a pleasant sensation.

Walking itself felt like walking on a thorny path.

Inside my body it felt like someone was continuously stabbing my insides with a knife.

Enduring such pain while moving made me want to stop at any moment.

‘If I can’t endure this how will I move forward?’

It was just pain at most.

There wasn’t really a problem with it. If it was just painful then there was no issue.

Except for the fact that sometimes I felt like I was about to faint from the pain.

Stagger.

As I walked my posture slightly loosened.

‘…Ah I almost fainted just now.’

I shook my head a few times to clear my mind.

Problems arose when I couldn’t concentrate like this but this was nothing.

What was important was that while doing all this I had arrived at the inn that the Poison King had prepared for me.

Looking at the splendid and tall building in front of me I thought.

‘I should have walked a bit slower….’

It was closer than I expected. Damn it.

Once I started having such random thoughts time passed too quickly.

‘Sigh.’

I should go right? It wouldn’t do to turn back now would it?

Just as hesitation began to rise.

‘It should be fine. What could happen?’

After taking a deep breath to regain my composure I took a step toward the inn.

At that moment.

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In an instant countless pieces of information penetrated my senses.

I didn’t show any signs of panic and organized my thoughts in my head first.

‘…Three to the left. Two above. Four in front.’

I could feel the presence of martial artists surrounding the inn.

The sharp scent brushing against my nose and their unique aura hinted that they were martial artists from the Tang Clan.

‘A guard detail.’

Their gazes were clearly directed at me but I didn’t feel any disturbing killing intent or aggressive hostility.

‘It’s annoying to be watched continuously.’

As I pondered what to do I applied the Tua Pa Cheon Gong and drew up my fighting spirit.

Hooook-!

After using it a few times I found that this was also possible.

It felt like I was changing my fighting spirit to be more rough and fierce.

In an instant my fighting spirit spread from my body. I didn’t spread it everywhere but focused it on those watching me.

Then I felt movements of surprise here and there.

Their hidden presence was disrupted by the surge of fighting spirit.

Did they not expect to be discovered? It seemed they sensed that I was aware of their actions and the hostility felt shallow.

Feeling that I thought.

‘What should I do?’

Should I provoke them a bit more?

Since I was in a position that disliked being secretly watched I thought about doing a little more.

But since this was the territory of the Tang Clan I decided to stop here for now.

It felt like the gazes watching me had diminished somewhat. I lifted my head and looked at somewhere.

Among the hidden ones I spotted a figure that seemed to be the captain and smiled slightly.

The masked man widened his eyes at my smile.

He seemed quite flustered as I could feel the surrounding energy becoming disordered.

After glancing at that for a moment I turned my gaze back and stepped into the inn. There was no reason to linger any longer.

Upon entering the inn the first thing I saw was the luxurious interior.

The inside was much cleaner and more upscale than I had expected.

I had already looked around a few inns but this place rented by the Tang Clan felt the most extravagant.

As I casually surveyed my surroundings someone approached and bowed to me.

“Thank you for coming.”

From the attire it seemed she was a servant of the Tang Clan.

‘Hmm?’

As I confirmed the servant I immediately felt a strange aura.

After examining the sense of incongruity I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

‘Goodness.’

Even this woman who appeared to be a servant was a martial artist.

She had hidden it so well that if I hadn’t looked closely I wouldn’t have known.

‘The man outside wasn’t the captain after all.’

This woman felt even stronger.

“The Clan Head is waiting inside. I will guide you.”

As the woman said this and turned to lead the way I couldn’t hold back and asked her.

“Can I ask you something?”

The woman paused and turned her head toward me.

“What is it?”

“Is it always like this?”

“…Pardon?”

“Is this how the Tang Clan usually feels? You don’t seem like someone who would be a servant.”

“…!”

When I indirectly asked why an assassin was doing servant work her eyes widened in surprise.

Seeing that I spoke like a sly fox.

“Oh should I have pretended not to know…? Then I’ll act as if I don’t know. Just guide me.”

The woman looked at me with slightly trembling eyes then bowed her head slightly without answering and walked ahead again.