Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 461 (Part 2)



461 (Part 2)

The Thunder Qi is now referred to as the exclusive property of the Namgung Clan.

However the memories of Shincheol who lived in the era of turmoil were different.

The Thunder Qi was merely a byproduct.

The Thunder Heaven One Sword certainly wielded the Thunder Qi and dominated the skies.

The lightning it struck with possessed enough power to erase mountains.

Yet Namgung Myung did not regard his Thunder Qi as particularly important.

What he pursued was:

‘To not collapse.’

To never crumble and to never be defeated.

To use the fastest sword and maintain an unbreakable sword path.

With that to:

‘Protect his precious ones.’

That was the sword of the Namgung Clan and the ideology they should strive for.

Though his unlucky personality and handsome face were not to Shincheol’s liking

That was something even Shincheol wanted to emulate.

His words were not lies; they were reflected in the sword he wielded which was faster than anyone else’s.

However.

“Your sword lacks that.”

An empty shell.

The sword wielded by the so-called Sword King that Shincheol had seen was like that.

And now the sword used by that brat known as Cheonjon was the same.

“To be revered as ‘Honorable’ is simply not fitting.”

“… You bastard!”

Shincheol’s words finally severed Cheonjon’s reason.

Unable to hold back a roar erupted and Thunder Qi poured out from all directions.

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From a distance it looked as if it were raining.

That meant countless Thunder Qi.

It poured down.

The Thunder Qi imbued with Cheonjon’s enlightenment and energy rushed toward Shincheol.

If it were to hit directly it would surely crush bones.

“I told you.”

Swoosh.

With a calm voice a single leaf rose gently from the tips of Shincheol’s feet.

It was a green leaf.

Though it would be correct to describe it as a spark its form and atmosphere were closer to that of a petal.

“Martial arts that forget their purpose are useless no matter what they are.”

A single leaf that fluttered upward.

Swoosh.

Slowly it split into two.

Swoosh… swoosh…

And then it split again into four.

Just before the Thunder Qi poured down on Shincheol the leaf that divided like that.

Before long it completely obscured the sky.

“… Huh?”

Cheonjon could not close his mouth at that absurd scene.

Swoosh—!

Petals clung to the Thunder Qi that was madly falling toward the ground.

Thus the Thunder Qi now one with the petals began to explode in the air with a bang—!

Boom—!

The sound echoed continuously in the air. It was the sound of the Thunder Qi exploding in conjunction with the petals.

The traces left behind resembled fireworks in the night sky.

Yes it exploded.

The enlightenment that Cheonjon had built up until now. The Thunder Qi containing that was bursting forth from the shallow petals.

“… This is nonsense.”

Cheonjon could hardly believe such a situation.

It was understandable when fighting in the form of a demonic beast.

When it was injured it would regenerate and only charged forward with pure desire. He could think that was possible because it was a demonic beast.

But this was quite literally

‘The enlightenment being devoured.’

The enlightenment that Cheonjon had achieved until now had been defeated.

He recalled the Thunder Qi of Cheonjon that had been swept away without a care.

That was truly possible because the opposing martial artist possessed a deeper enlightenment than he did.

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“… That can’t be.”

To trample so lightly was something even the Sword Lord could not do.

Perhaps if it were the Heavenly Demon it might be different.

But one could not say that the opponent was on par with the Heavenly Demon.

Thus it was an utterly unbelievable situation.

Moreover it was a situation that should not exist.

Could he be pushed back?

This Cheonjon?

Creak—!

Cheonjon ground his teeth.

That couldn’t be.

He the pride of Namgung and the sky itself… could not lose to such an unknown being.

Even if he had been left alone after the clan’s destruction that fact would not change.

It should have been that way.

It should have been that way.

As Cheonjon was crumbling

“When one’s eyes are blinded by inner demons even the once-clear reason is bound to darken.”

Shincheol continued.

“Even if it weren’t that….”

As he directly encountered the Thunder Qi he understood even more.

Even if Cheonjon had not fallen to inner demons.

“Ah you would ultimately not reach where you wish to go.”

“… You bastard… truly!”

“If you are going to curse the ancestors who failed to protect you then go ahead. I would like to curse them a bit too.”

Boom—!

As Shincheol’s mockery continued the air opened up and a handful of light began to coalesce.

Shincheol recognized immediately what it was.

‘The Heart Sword.’

The pinnacle of swordsmanship.

It was a sword technique that could only be unfolded by one who had reached Sword Unification.

A sword made of the heart.

There is a saying that if one wishes to cut the sword of the heart activates and splits anything apart.

But the Heart Sword is not like that.

Of course if one wanted to that was possible.

The Heart Sword had a distinct form.

What began to coalesce in the air was indeed the Heart Sword.

The martial arts of the heart mirror created by imitating the heart of swordsmanship.

Seeing that he nodded.

Though he had honed an empty shell of martial arts Cheonjon had ultimately reached that level so Shincheol acknowledged his efforts.

“Not bad.”

The supreme enlightenment reached by a martial artist is always correct.

Even if the one unfolding it is fading away in anger frustration and inferiority complex.

The time he experienced does not vanish.

So.

He had to make it known even more.

“I have consumed so much that there should be no problem in unfolding it.”

Back when he borrowed a body he had been annoyed at how pathetic it was.

But now it was not bad.

His body was trained and the amount of qi was beyond imagination compared to then.

Though he felt emptiness due to the broken vessel it was unavoidable.

But this was enough.

It was sufficient to show that inadequate brat another world.

Shincheol reached out. As he did he spoke.

“Was this also fate?”

Wriggle.

Something wriggled in his left arm.

Feeling that nostalgic movement Shincheol couldn’t help but smile.

Shincheol was a swordsman.

Ultimately to unfold martial arts a sword was needed but he had no sword now.

The original owner of the body was far from being a swordsman.

It should have been that way.

But.

Swoosh—

The bandage that had been wrapped around his left arm unraveled on its own and moved to Shincheol’s hand.

The crimson bandage was nowhere to be found and its color had changed to a light blue.

But Shincheol did not care about such changes. Just because the color changed did not mean the essence disappeared.

He simply smiled at the bandage.

With that feeling Shincheol spoke the name of the bandage.

“It’s been a while Guijeong (晷正).”

Chakara—!

As if responding to Shincheol’s call the bandage transformed its shape.

In an instant it stacked upon itself changing into the form of a sword.

The name of this bandage is Guijeong.

Originally it was a treasure of the volcano and the beloved weapon that Shincheol had used.

‘That bastard treated this as just a bandage… tsk.’

He had spewed so much anger inside.

It was a problem that he had not properly explained what this was from the start. But now it was rather fortunate.

Boom—!

In the air light began to gradually descend to the ground.

Shincheol seeing that gripped Guijeong tightly.

At that moment.

Whoosh—!

“…!”

The air opened above Shincheol revealing countless lights.

Cheonjon could not hide his astonishment at the sight.

It was not just one.

There appeared to be at least three Heart Swords.

With their number and majesty Cheonjon was left speechless.

“Ah yes.”

At that moment Shincheol’s voice reached Cheonjon’s ears.

“In my time…”

There was a distinct hint of laughter in that voice.

Though the expression of the black silhouette was not visible Cheonjon could clearly tell.

That he was smiling.

Feeling Cheonjon’s emotions Shincheol spoke.

“Such a thing should easily yield two or three swords to be called a swordsman.”

In the era of turmoil.

The time when Shincheol lived was indeed like that.