Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 415 (Part 1)



415 (Part 1)

Flash.

As soon as I opened my eyes I shot up! Immediately after I circulated my qi to check my physical condition.

Hummm—only after the qi that had escaped from my qi center made a full circle around my body could I finally exhale the breath I had been holding.

Hah.

‘Fortunately there’s no problem.’

I didn’t feel any significant issues with my body.

If I had to nitpick my head was a bit achy?

But that was just the usual headache I always carried so it was fine.

After confirming that my condition was stable I clicked my tongue inwardly. This was because the previous situation was still fresh in my mind.

‘Tsk… Was it only enough to illuminate the surroundings?’

The previous situation referred to the moment I had unleashed the secret technique Jeokcheon in an attempt to push back the domain of the Dark King.

Jeokcheon was also a way to expand the realm of heat.

I thought it might be worth a try but in the end I couldn’t push it back.

It seemed that the Dark King’s domain vibrated as if it were blocking the power of Jeokcheon but that was all.

What a pity.

As that thought crossed my mind I let out a small laugh.

‘What a pity my ass.’

It wasn’t even at a level where I should feel regret so what was there to be disappointed about?

I was just left wondering why I had indulged in such unnecessary pride.

What if I had accidentally provoked the Dark King and something had happened?

Maybe I had let my guard down for a moment.

‘That temper of mine.’

If there was something that didn’t change even after reaching a higher realm and aging it would be my temperament.

With that amusing thought I was about to rise when I heard a voice.

“What are you laughing about?”

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I raised my head and looked in the direction of the voice.

The Dark King was standing next to me arms crossed and the one who spoke was the Elder looking at me as if he found it absurd.

After confirming that I spoke in a calm voice.

“I did well. I did everything as instructed.”

“Hah….”

The Elder frowned at my response.

I felt a bit intimidated by that expression but I had to say what I needed to.

“I reached the Dark King as you said. What’s the problem?”

Hearing my words the Elder finally spoke to me in a voice filled with resignation.

“…I had you put your life on the line to cultivate flexible thinking and responses to killing intent and yet you acted even more violently.”

“Flexible thinking?”

That statement was rather absurd from my perspective. What kind of flexible response could one have in a situation where one had to die every day?

“I meant to say look around a bit instead of just focusing ahead.”

“Isn’t it a bit strange to teach me in this way?”

“I didn’t expect you to break through in this manner either.”

After being tormented by the Dark King for a whole month how was I supposed to cultivate flexible thinking?

The Elder must have hoped I would realize something from this training.

I also didn’t come away empty-handed but when I thought about whether it was truly useful training I felt it wasn’t particularly so.

“…I told you to refrain from violent actions and yet you used an even more violent method….”

“Whatever it is isn’t it enough as long as I get it done?”

“True… In this regard you are right. It seems I was mistaken.”

I thought it was surprising that the old man would admit his mistake.

“Ah you are much crazier than I thought. This is an unexpected mistake on my part.”

“…”

Who exactly is the crazier one here?

This was the most absurd thing I had heard all year.

I had to hear the word “crazy” from that man? It was truly ridiculous.

Suppressing my incredulous feelings I asked the Elder.

“…So what do we do now? Since it wasn’t the way you wanted should we do it again?”

“No there’s no need for that. At this point it seems right for me to give up.”

Give up. The Elder saying he would give up on something regarding martial arts felt different.

“…Is that really okay?”

“When you reach this point you can’t help but realize. There’s a method that suits you better than this one.”

“…Hmm.”

“I won’t bother you about this part so do as you wish.”

Saying that the Elder swallowed his words.

Should I be happy about this? About the Elder giving up?

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‘It doesn’t seem bad.’

The Elder must have judged that it didn’t need to be fixed which is why he gave up.

From that perspective it wasn’t a bad thing.

So does that mean I can do as I please?

That’s probably what it meant and just as I was nodding in agreement the Elder asked me something else.

“By the way how did you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“That the bat’s technique was different from reality.”

“…Ah.”

The Elder’s words were not about anything else.

The power that the Dark King had unleashed.

It seemed that the Dark King had created a realm with his energy but the reality was different.

On the night I fought against the Dark King my body was actually asleep.

I couldn’t understand the principle but the sensations I had been feeling until now felt like a dream.

‘Is there such a vivid dream of pain?’

To me it felt closer to a dream.

The reason I could come back to life even after dying was because of that.

If you ask how I knew this.

“…I only vaguely realized it after being tormented for over a month.”

After dying hundreds of times during that time it was something I could naturally come to understand.

In the first place it didn’t make sense for a person to die and come back to life.

‘Coming back to the past after dying is possible.’

This was… a different matter altogether.

Dying and coming back to life in this manner dozens or hundreds of times was something that couldn’t happen in reality.

Moreover.

‘The fatigue was less.’

When the sun rose and I opened my eyes at the end of my training I was left with only mental fatigue not physical fatigue.

Watching the training where I died every night made me think it was truly insane.

But looking at it this way it meant I was still getting some rest.

Thinking about that made it even more incomprehensible.

‘What kind of power is this?’

It was strange to call it martial arts and it felt different to call it formations.

The most puzzling thing was.

When did I fall asleep due to the Dark King’s power?

I must have done something so I must have been affected but I had no memory of that process at all.

This meant I had been caught off guard to that extent.

‘What could it be?’

No matter how much I thought about it I couldn’t understand.

What method the Dark King used and what form that power took.

‘That’s why it’s even scarier.’

Having experienced it once I felt I understood it better.

The Dark King was in a realm I couldn’t even dare to look at with my current level.

I scrutinized the Dark King with a strange sidelong glance.

If that man was at this level.

Where were the Elder in his prime and the Three Respects?

Where was the Heavenly Demon who had killed all three?

And where was the divine sword that had slain such a Heavenly Demon?

‘…Haha.’

I have a long way to go.

It suddenly hit me.

How far and treacherous the path I wanted to take was.

I cautiously rose to my feet.

As the sun was beginning to rise I was preparing to train.

My body was fine.

Unlike the rough treatment I had received in the world created by the Dark King I had been sleeping well in reality.

‘…Of course the mental fatigue is unavoidable.’

I didn’t know about my mind but at least my body felt relaxed.

Moreover.

‘Was it the Elder who loosened my muscles every night?’

Every time I woke up I had been subtly aware of the changes in my muscles.

It seemed that the Elder had been performing Tui Gong Guo Xue on me every night.

There was no one else here who would do such a thing for me but the Elder.

I had felt this even during our sparring sessions.

Even while rolling me around like a madman in a fit of rage I didn’t express any dissatisfaction to the Elder because I knew he was intentionally hitting the acupoints with qi to prevent any issues with my muscles.

Looking at it this way it wasn’t me who couldn’t sleep at night but rather the Elder who was working hard.

These were the reasons I only cursed inwardly at the Elder and followed his words diligently.

He was an old man who was endlessly sincere about raising his disciples.

‘Doing this every day must be a strain on him too.’

Tui Gong Guo Xue wasn’t an easy method.

It required delicate actions to ensure that the opponent’s acupoints wouldn’t be harmed while infusing qi.

Though imperfect it must have been a strain on the Elder’s body which was still at its peak.

Yet the Elder was infusing strength into my body every day without showing any signs of fatigue.

Knowing that how could I not train? I had to keep going until I succeeded.

As I rose the Elder also stood up shaking off his body.

“Your eyes don’t seem to please me. Were you cursing me again inwardly?”

“This time it was a compliment.”

“The word ‘this time’ implies that you were indeed cursing me before.”

“…”

Oh no.

I fell for the old man’s wordplay.

A slight cold sweat trickled down.

Instinctively I was watching where to dodge if the Elder threw a punch.

Habits are terrifying.

After being hit so many times I now thought about such things.

Bang-!

“Crazy…!”

I turned my head to dodge the outstretched fist.

The Elder looked at me in surprise.

“Oh… You dodged it. It seems you’ve improved a lot.”

“…What are you doing?”

“Since you seemed to expect that I would hit you I did as you expected.”

“…”

With that said I had nothing to retort.

In fact I had indeed expected it.

“Anyway.”

“You say ‘anyway’ after trying to hit someone?”

“Then will you continue?”

“Please continue with what you were saying. I will listen attentively.”

“Haha you little rascal….”

The Elder chuckled before quickly turning serious.

Every expression of his was frightening.

I couldn’t quite grasp what was genuine and what wasn’t.

“Anyway… It’s not the way I wanted but since you’ve completed your assignment as promised.”

The Elder said this and lightly tapped my chest with his fist.

“I will teach you the technique of Tua Pa Cheon Mu.”

‘Finally.’

I let out a sigh of relief inwardly at the Elder’s words.

Was I finally going to learn that damned martial arts properly?

“When do we start?”

Given the situation would we start training in the afternoon?

It had been a long time since I learned martial arts from someone else so it was quite a novel experience.

Even if I said I learned in my previous life it was only the verses and mental methods of Gu Yeon Hwa Ryun Gong that I had mastered.

Other than that I had either practiced alone or occasionally received guidance from an Elder.

To my question the Elder tilted his head.

“When do we start you ask?”

“Excuse me?”

“Of course we should start right now. What do you mean by when?”

“Right now?”

Are we starting training right now? That’s a bit sudden.

Just as I was taken aback by the Elder’s decisiveness I saw a strange smile forming at the corner of his mouth.

“Don’t worry since it’s the first technique it’s not that difficult.”