Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 572 (Part 1)



572 (Part 1)

”’〈 Chapter 573 〉 To Henan.

I stepped out of the cave and strolled through the forest.

I didn’t know what time it was but judging by the position of the moon it seemed to be the heart of dawn.

“Shall we rest here?”

I muttered after walking for a while.

I didn’t wait for a response. I simply stopped and waved my hand over the ground.

Whoosh-!

A spark erupted from my fingertips igniting a fallen piece of wood.

Then I used psychokinesis to gather more pieces from around me.

With that a campfire was completed.

The darkness brightened slightly and I sat around it spending some time.

As rabbits roamed nearby I waited by catching one to roast.

Crackle-! Crackle-!

Watching the rabbit slowly cook I thought.

‘I should arrive in Henan within seven nights.’

At this pace it would roughly take that long to reach Henan.

Normally I would have moved while cutting back on sleep.

Even if it was late I would have arrived within three days but now that wasn’t possible.

‘My body isn’t in a good state.’

I had to move while conserving my body as much as possible.

‘If only I had Ddolddol with me… tsk.’

If that guy were here I would have arrived in less than a day let alone three.

Unfortunately I couldn’t use him either.

That guy was currently sent to Jiseon. Given the situation I had no choice but to run on my own two feet.

In a way it might have been better to go slowly while managing my injuries.

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Thinking of that a smirk unconsciously appeared on my face.

‘To think my body is in this state after just one use.’

I had used it excessively on purpose without moderation. Seeing my body in this condition after just one use made me reflect deeply.

The road ahead was long.

I shouldn’t be this disheveled over such a small matter.

‘But I can’t moderate it’

I could use it stronger than now.

There was no way to use it weakly from here.

Then… the remaining option is.

‘I need to grow.’

I had to become strong enough that using it wouldn’t be a problem.

‘If I can complete that it might work out.’

If I could properly use what I aimed to create it seemed like it would resolve things to some extent.

Of course something better than that would be…

‘Reaching a higher realm.’

Breaking through the barriers and ascending to a higher level.

The problem was.

‘Is that really as easy as it sounds?’

It was a realm I couldn’t reach even with overwhelming qi in my previous life.

Transcendental Realm.

That place truly couldn’t be reached solely with qi.

With trivial enlightenment one couldn’t even attempt to step into it.

With a pitiful vessel one couldn’t even try to contain it.

I had to achieve complete mastery of martial arts and fully make the mind image my own.

The master said that if one wished to see the Transcendental Realm that was the condition.

This meant.

‘It’s far away.’

It was a long way off for me.

After all most martial artists die without reaching the realm of transformation.

If one lacks talent they can’t even reach the peak.

‘They said you wouldn’t count to thirty before reaching the Transcendental Realm.’

Among the countless martial artists only a few have reached that place.

To aim for that realm with a body that had just turned twenty was absurd.

I knew this fact all too well.

‘But I still have to try.’

In the end I had to.

Crack.

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I clenched my fist.

At the same time I wondered.

‘How far have I come now?’

I had poured three years into regaining the power of my previous life.

During that time I didn’t just fill it with qi; I rolled with the master and filled it with other things.

How far had I come with that?

Objectively speaking.

‘About eighty percent. Maybe a little less.’

After receiving all the miraculous encounters I hadn’t even reached eighty percent.

It was laughable.

And yet I was scared.

‘That means the efficacy of the Demonic Absorption Technique is that remarkable.’

The power that had lifted me wrapped in gloomy emotions to the brink of the Transcendental Realm.

Using the Demonic Absorption Technique meant that power could be easily accumulated.

But.

‘I don’t need that empty power.’

I knew it wouldn’t lead me to what I desired.

Slowly and heavily. That was what I needed at this moment.

‘…And conversely.’

I was also faced with the damned situation of needing to change that slow pace to accumulate it quickly.

‘Somehow I have to do it.’

What on earth should I do?

I was still in a situation where I had to keep pondering.

Around the time I succeeded in completing the shell of the Fire Wheel Technique.

The master seeing this said.

[At least you’ve taken a step. Now fill it in.]

Having succeeded in constructing the mind image I was now to fill in the incomplete interior.

This also meant to complete the unknown realm of the mind image.

‘If I do that will he tell me about the Five Techniques?’

What a ridiculous statement.

The Two Heavenly Martial Arts were said to consist of a total of seven techniques.

Now I had to finish the Four Techniques and move on to the Five Techniques.

But the condition was that I had to complete the realm of the mind image.

What a terrifying condition that was.

‘So what does that mean the final technique has to touch the Transcendental Realm?’

For some reason it felt like that might actually be the case and it scared me.

If it were the master it really might be that way.

What the Two Heavenly Martial Arts taught was like this.

Achieving artificial Body Reformation.

Forcing oneself to step into the realm of no-self.

Constructing the mind’s eye to see a new world.

Now I was being made to construct the mind image.

The Two Heavenly Martial Arts as the name suggests.

‘The power to transcend humanity and break the heavens.’

I began to understand the meaning of the Two Heavenly Martial Arts as explained by the master.

That old man…

‘Is he really thinking of becoming a god?’

It didn’t seem like a joke.

They said he was a man obsessed with martial arts. That statement seemed to fit perfectly.

How much madness does it take to create something like this?

‘Did he create something like this and still lose to the Heavenly Demon?’

Did he create the bizarre martial arts known as the Two Heavenly Martial Arts and still lose to the Heavenly Demon?

Looking at this.

If the master hadn’t been ruined by the Half-Road Reversal wouldn’t the state of the world have changed a bit?

Now it was just a useless worry.

‘Instead of thinking of such foolish hopes.’

I had to think about what I should do moving forward.

“Ha…”

I let out a deep sigh and reached out.

I was about to eat the fully cooked meat to fill my stomach.

At that moment.

“…Where do you plan to go now?”

Seong-yul who hadn’t said a word the entire time spoke up.

I looked at him while pulling out the meat.

“I told you.”

I said I was going to Henan.

I had definitely said that.

“Is that what you mean?”

“Of course I’m going straight.”

There was no benefit in delaying.

I could handle things in between if necessary but right now going straight was the best option.

‘Because I have things to do in Henan.’

I needed to arrive early and get some work done.

“Why are you asking? What’s the main point?”

I asked Seong-yul.

If he was curious about the destination that was one thing.

But I knew his question wasn’t just that.

He must have laid the groundwork.

I was sure he had something else to ask me.

Sure enough.

As soon as I opened the door with my question Seong-yul brought up the main point as if he had been waiting.

“…The Master told me that he would let me know how to use me.”

“Right.”

That was what I had said to Seong-yul at the shrine.

“I still don’t understand that.”

“Hmm.”

“I also don’t understand what the Master wants to do.”

I thought I had explained it sufficiently but it seemed Seong-yul still didn’t understand.

Or perhaps.

He might not want to understand.”’