Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 552 (Part 1)



552 (Part 1)

**Chapter 553: The Shaman**

I had to furrow my brows at Youngpung’s words.

“Who…?”

I couldn’t comprehend what had just been said.

Who had become the successor?

‘Did I hear that correctly?’

No matter how I thought about it it seemed like I had misheard.

Then Youngpung spoke to me with a slightly flustered expression.

“Do you not know who the Volcano Sword Master is?”

“No… um please explain.”

It seemed I had indeed heard the alias correctly.

At the very least I needed to see if the Volcano Sword Master Youngpung was talking about was the same as the one I knew.

“The Volcano Sword Master is the 8th Sect Leader of the Mount Hua Sect.”

…Oh my.

“In the past he was one of the five heroes who stopped the Blood Demon during the Blood Demon War.”

Oh my…

“And even now if we were to choose the greatest swordsman of all time he would undoubtedly be among them… Master?”

“…”

Youngpung looked at my face and cautiously called out to me.

My expression was contorting more and more as I listened to the explanation.

‘It seems to be true.’

No matter how I looked at it the Volcano Sword Master Youngpung knew and the senile old man I knew seemed to be the same person.

Then.

‘But what does that mean?’

What did Youngpung mean by that?

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

‘Successor?’

Youngpung suddenly mentioned the successor of the Volcano Sword Master.

I was in a situation where I couldn’t fully understand what Youngpung was saying.

Why would he be the successor?

‘No that can’t be…’

If I were to think about it it wasn’t strange.

‘He is indeed more fitting than I am.’

From the very beginning it made sense that Youngpung who was renowned as the greatest talent of Mount Hua would be the successor rather than someone like me who had no foundation.

The sword techniques were the same and the qi they used was the same.

The only difference was that the old man had a temperament that was a complete mess.

Youngpung did not have that trait.

One thing.

‘I am the successor.’

I could assert that.

I was the successor of that old man.

‘If not me then who?’

In the past I had wanted to escape from the legacy of Shin Noya.

Now it had become the path I wanted to take.

I had inherited Noya’s righteousness.

And for that path I would also stop the Blood Demon.

As I thought about this I needed to grasp the true meaning of what Youngpung was saying.

“…What made you think of that all of a sudden?”

I cautiously asked.

Youngpung cleared his throat a few times before continuing.

“There was a miraculous encounter.”

“Yes.”

I knew that.

Anyone who saw Youngpung now would think the same. The important thing was how that miraculous encounter was related to the current situation.

“Master are you aware of the rumors that have been spreading recently?”

“Recently?”

“There have been reports of incidents occurring at the Murim Alliance branches in various regions. Just a few days ago something happened in Guangdong as well.”

“…Ah um. Yes.”

I was well aware of that.

There was no way I couldn’t be.

“It has been about half a year since the news started spreading… It seems that there were movements in Shaanxi around the time those rumors began to circulate.”

“Movements?”

“Yes. The Alliance requested support.”

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

Originally there was no need for a Murim Alliance branch in Shaanxi since the Mount Hua Sect was there.

But considering the past events with the Black Night Palace.

With the Shaman Sword Master becoming the Alliance Leader it had changed so that branches of the Alliance had to be established in each region which meant a Murim Alliance branch was created in Shaanxi this time.

“…So they requested support from there.”

“That’s right. Just in case something might happen they requested assistance for reconnaissance and patrol.”

“And?”

“Since it was a request from the Alliance the Plum Blossom Sword Masters were dispatched at that time.”

Although the Mount Hua Sect was not closely aligned with the Murim Alliance they were still an orthodox sect so they had to respond to the Alliance’s request.

Thus it was said that several Plum Blossom Sword Masters were sent for reconnaissance.

“Then… was it during that time?”

“…That’s correct.”

As I voiced my prediction Youngpung nodded in agreement.

“…At that time I was outside the Mount Hua Sect for reconnaissance. During the reconnaissance I happened to discover a cave.”

“A cave.”

“Yes since it was a place I had never seen before I entered to assess the situation… and that’s where I found it.”

“What did you find?”

“The traces of that person.”

The ‘person’ Youngpung referred to was clearly the traces of the Volcano Sword Master Shin Cheol.

This meant that.

Youngpung had found something akin to Shin Noya’s secret while conducting reconnaissance.

‘A secret.’

It sounded like that at first.

But I had to question that statement.

“Are you saying that the secret has not been discovered until now?”

If it was a secret that could be found during reconnaissance the Mount Hua Sect should have discovered it long ago and been protecting it.

Now it had only been discovered? That seemed rather strange.

To this Youngpung replied.

“Although it was in Shaanxi it was quite a distant area.”

“…You mean a secret was created in a distant area?”

Not only was it not near the Mount Hua Sect but a secret was created in an area far from Shaanxi.

As I expressed my doubts Youngpung tilted his head and said.

“Isn’t it strange?”

“No it is but…”

There was no need to create a secret within the Mount Hua Sect so it was indeed a matter of no concern as Youngpung said.

However.

‘Given that old man’s personality I doubt he left anything behind.’

Based on Shin Noya’s usual behavior and demeanor.

It seemed unlikely that he would leave something for the future and even if he did it didn’t seem like he would leave it far from the Mount Hua Sect.

Of course this was my perspective not Youngpung’s.

Regarding this matter Youngpung said.

“The previous Sect Leader must have been a wise person so he surely had his reasons.”

“…”

As Youngpung’s eyes sparkled with those words I found myself at a loss for words.

I couldn’t just say that their ancestor wasn’t such a wise person.

Swallowing my words I asked something else.

“…So anyway. Does that mean the current situation with the temple’s body is related to the secret?”

“Ah.”

At my words Youngpung seemed to have forgotten something.

“When I entered there I found elixirs left by the previous Sect Leader along with a letter…”

“A letter?”

“Yes? Ah yes.”

As I interrupted Youngpung looked flustered.

“Did it say anything in there?”

“…That is.”

At my question Youngpung made a troubled expression.

Seeing that I also had to keep my mouth shut.

‘Is this too much?’

It wasn’t just anything; it was a letter from the Volcano Sword Master.

Revealing the words left by the great hero of the Mount Hua Sect to others was an absurd thing to do.

“I’m sorry. I crossed the line.”

Knowing this I also apologized.

“No it’s fine. You might be curious.”

Youngpung brushed it off as if it were okay.

As expected. He was a different person from that foul-tempered old man.

“Then are you saying that the energy comes from inside the cave?”

As I spoke I recalled the events from earlier.

‘I mentioned that the energy felt familiar somehow.’

I had wondered why I kept feeling a sense of familiarity with Youngpung.

That energy felt similar to the aura from the treasures of the Mount Hua Sect that had flowed into my body.

It wasn’t exactly the same but there was definitely a similar feeling.

‘If that’s the case then it must be true that I obtained Noya’s energy.’