Childhood Friend of the Zenith -
Chapter 360: Gathering of the Orthodox Faction (1)
Thud.
Scrrrch-!
After a sharp scraping sound, a mark remained on the sturdy wall.
I felt some resistance, but I forced my way through.
Slam! Slam! Slam!
Focusing on maintaining a steady Qi flow, I struck out with my fist.
My fist punched through the wall with ease, leaving a clean hole.
Crack-!
Cracks spread around the holes. I continued to throw my fist without caring.
Qi surged from my Dantian up to my upper Dantian, my body screaming to release the heat, but I held it in.
After all, this was how to maximize my strength.
“Huuuu.”
A light breath escaped, releasing steam from my mouth.
Qi drifted out with the breath.
I twisted my upper body around.
Simultaneously, I channeled Qi from my upper Dantian into my fist and threw one final punch.
Craaaack-! Slam!
With a resounding crash, the massive wall crumbled.
Pitter-patter!
As the debris settled, I drew back my heat and Qi from the air and took a steadying breath.
“Phew…”
Guiding my Qi back into my Dantian, I focused on cooling my body down as I observed its state.
Frowning, I examined my body with my eyes closed.
It’s not sinking.
Though I’d reached Fusion Realm days ago, the insights I gained hadn’t settled fully within me.
I’d trained extensively in the Abyss, reaching a level I’d never known.
Only after reaching that state did I return to the normal world.
The enlightenment I found in the Abyss allowed me to reach the Fusion Realm almost instantly back in this world.
I can’t help but notice the difference.
There was a subtle but distinct difference from the level I’d attained in the Abyss.
What’s different?
Back then, I focused on training my mind rather than my body.
I’d known that returning to the normal world would strip everything away, and I believed it was my mind that held me back from reaching Fusion Realm.
In the end, I was correct.
Because of this, I reached Fusion Realm the moment I returned.
But this is only half of what I achieved.
It didn’t mean I’d reached the perfected form of Fusion Realm.
It was unstable.
I felt uncomfortable as if I lost my body’s balance.
If I had to look for a reason…
The first reason is that I’d never reached Fusion Realm using only the Gu Clan’s Art.
This was my first time reaching Fusion Realm using only the Destructive Flame Arts.
Previously, I’d relied on Demonic Qi to reach this level, so perhaps I just wasn’t accustomed to this method.
However, I wasn’t certain and I only considered it a possibility.
If I had to look for a second reason,
There are too many types of Qi in my body.
I carried Flame Qi from the Destructive Flame Arts, Tao Qi from Mount Hua, Demonic Qi, and Blood Qi.
Most martial artists would explode with even two types of Qi in their body, yet I held four.
Each Qi was distinct, and aside from Tao Qi, all were inherently violent.
With my vessel expanded by reaching Fusion Realm, my Qi control was far more efficient than in the Peak Realm.
Other Qis became stronger along with it.
I could feel it.
Every time I used my Qi, I was able to feel the other Qi wanting to poke its head out.
It was as if their presence had grown more assertive.
It was as if they were urging me to call upon them, too.
Either way, it wasn’t a welcome feeling.
Tao Qi wasn’t dangerous, and it coexisted with the others as long as Elder Shin was there to control it, so I’d grown accustomed to its presence.
However, it was a different story for the other two Qis.
They were like Demons.
Demonic Qi bristled at the presence of other Qi, while Blood Qi constantly sought to expand its territory.
Knowing that neither was remotely normal, I restrained myself from using them unless absolutely necessary.
Yet every time I used my Qi, they stirred, begging to be unleashed, which unsettled me.
But that doesn’t mean I can get rid of them.
I couldn’t rid myself of Demonic Qi, which was embedded in my heart, and Blood Qi was beyond my power to remove.
Ultimately, the best option was to avoid using them.
I was successful in making Demonic Qi my own, but the Blood Qi…
While I knew all there was about Demonic Qi from my past life, Blood Qi was a mystery to me.
Maybe my enlightenment was delayed because of the sheer number of Qis within me…
But, of course, that was only an assumption.
…There is one thing I am certain about though.
I’d reached Fusion Realm through mental training, yet here I was, stuck again due to the same issue.
“…Tsk…”
Once my body fully calmed, I slowly opened my eyes.
It had already become evening.
I gazed up at the moon, reflecting on what had happened earlier.
Wi Seol-Ah.
I placed a hand over my chest, my thoughts drifting to Wi Seol-Ah.
I absorbed her aura as she vanished, but I felt nothing from it.
Maybe it was because I’d only absorbed a small amount, but it left me feeling uneasy.
I tried speaking to Wi Seol-Ah, hoping to reach her as I did with Elder Shin, but only the damned beast answered my call.
[ Grr…? ]
Go back to sleep, I didn’t call for you.
[ …Grr… ]
Did Wi Seol-Ah disappear?
The thought made my stomach tighten.
It wasn’t unexpected, though. She herself had said that her power was nearly gone.
Though I had so much to ask and say to her, I was powerless if she truly had vanished.
Back then, Wi Seol-Ah had opened her eyes in my arms.
The image of her wide, round eyes and the voice I’d heard lingered vividly in my mind.
-Master Gu…?
The memory made my heart ache.
Part of me felt relieved that she returned to normal, but beneath that, I felt a strange sense of disappointment and exhaustion.
Wi Seol-Ah looked at me briefly, then spoke, sensing something had changed.
-Sis…? Sis is…
That’s what she said.
Her words confirmed that Wi Seol-Ah was aware of her, too.
Then just how much did she know?
Did she know her full identity? Did that mean she knew my story too?
Should I have asked her about it?
Perhaps I should have.
But that wasn’t the first thing I said to her.
-Sorry.
-Master Gu…?
-Sorry. Later… Let’s talk… later, not now.
I patted Wi Seol-Ah’s head a few times, then took her back to the building before coming here.
I was bothered.
I knew I shouldn’t have left Wi Seol-Ah like that.
Even so, I couldn’t just stand there pretending everything was fine.
Did she really disappear?
It was certainly possible.
However, I prayed that wasn’t the case.
Everything pointed to her disappearance, yet I clung to hope.
I held on because of the voice I’d heard at the last moment.
-Embrace it.
A gentle, warm voice, accompanied by the sensation of soft hands wrapping around my arms.
…Mother.
It was unmistakably my mother’s voice from long ago.
What was going on?
I pondered over it endlessly as I trained.
The World Tree in the Abyss once said this to me.
-Your mother is alive.
It had told me my mother was alive.
It was something I knew already.
…Well, rather than knowing she was alive.
I’d seen my mother enter the Abyss through a gate that appeared midair.
I didn’t know if she survived after stepping inside.
But if the voice I heard truly was my mother’s,
Then where is she…?
How was she able to speak to me?
I tried to speak to her afterward, but there was no reply.
Do you know something?
I placed a hand on my stomach.
The World Tree had mentioned a connection between the beast and my mother, so I asked it, hoping it knew something.
[ Grr? ]
But the bastard responded with a confused tone, not knowing what I was talking about.
I bit my lips in frustration.
She told me to embrace it.
She’d told me to embrace the fading aura of the Celestial Sword.
That’s what her voice had said to me.
If it really was my mother who helped me break free from that paralyzing aura, there had to be a purpose behind it.
Especially if what the World Tree said about my mother was true.
The ruler of Ten Thousand Worlds was it.
An existence that not even the World Tree could easily approach, and the second calamity of the world.
Those two descriptions alone told me that my mother was far from ordinary.
I didn’t understand why my mother would try to help me.
If the voice really belonged to my mother, that is.
It could have been someone else entirely, but I couldn’t be sure.
In the end, I embraced Wi Seol-Ah’s aura as the voice urged, but I had no idea what to do next.
There seemed to be only one solution to this.
I have to find my mother.
It was an absurd conclusion.
I knew there was more than one Abyss, and that they were difficult to reach, but I had to find it, no matter the cost.
Right now, the only person who might know what happened to the Celestial Sword was my mother.
If I were to do that…
I’ll have to go see my father.
The one person who seemed to know what happened to her.
As of now, it was only my father, the Lord of Gu Clan who knew.
After reaching that conclusion, I considered visiting my friends to calm my mind, which was clouded with complex thoughts.
I hadn’t been able to visit them properly since the incident, and, at the very least, I needed to see Wi Seol-Ah now.
Just as I was about to head out…
“…!”
I halted as an ominous sensation washed over me.
Someone was standing in the shadows ahead.
Since when were they there?
I wasn’t able to notice their presence.
The figure was leaning against the wall, their gaze fixed on me.
This incomprehensible sensation, I definitely felt it before.
Which could only mean…
“…I greet you, my Senior.”
I offered a respectful greeting as soon as I recognized him.
Hearing my greeting, the man finally stepped forward.
As he emerged from the darkness into the moonlight, his face came into view.
As expected, it was the Dark King.
I kept my shock in check and observed him closely.
As before, the Dark King’s face was expressionless, his cold gaze revealing no hint of emotion.
The Dark King finally spoke.
“I waited because you seemed focused.”
One of the rules for assassins was that they weren’t allowed to secretly watch another person training, yet the Dark King didn’t seem to care at all.
I didn’t care either.
“Is there something you need from me?”
“I mentioned last time that I’d come visit, if you recall?”
“…You… indeed did.”
He did say that.
Though I hadn’t expected him to actually show up.
Is that man also not normal?
Does he not realize how terrifying it is for someone to hear that the Dark King himself will pay them a visit?
But then again, he likely doesn’t concern himself with such matters; in this world, strength is everything.
He could even kill the Three Venerables.
It was a well-spread rumor.
Rumors had it that the Dark King could kill even the Three Venerables if he so wished.
At first, I thought this was just a fabricated story to enhance his reputation, but seeing him now made me reconsider.
I can barely sense his presence.
Despite him standing right in front of me, his presence felt very faint. Thankfully though, I was able to still feel his presence, unlike last time.
I wasn’t sure what his mask did, but it allowed me to detect the faintest trace of his presence.
Though if he took it off, then I wouldn’t be able to.
“Child.”
“Yes… Senior.”
I was a bit bothered by the way he called me, but I didn’t argue against it.
From his perspective, I was indeed just a child.
He appeared to be in his thirties or forties, yet he was a master active during the time of the First Elder.
This meant that I wasn’t able to judge his age just by his looks.
After a moment, the Dark King spoke.
“The more I look at you, the more I see the resemblance.”
I was used to hearing such a phrase because I heard it so many times.
“I hear that a lot.”
He was likely referring to my father.
That’s what most people meant when they said something like that.
“Hmm?”
Naturally, I assumed it was the same case this time, but the Dark King tilted his head slightly at my response.
…Was I wrong?
“Are you not saying that I look similar to my father?”
“I am not.”
“Oh… then who are you saying that I look similar to?”
Maybe he meant the First Elder.
Though it would be an insult, and strange.
Just as the thought crossed my mind, the Dark King mentioned someone else, as if he’d read my mind.
“I was referring to your grandfather.”
“My grandfather?”
He’d mentioned this last time, too.
I’d been confused then as well. What connection did the Dark King have with my grandfather to keep bringing him up?
As I was about to ask,
“If you resemble him so much… then you can’t not be of the same bloodline as him.”
“Huh?”
The Dark King was saying things I couldn’t quite grasp.
“How curious.”
“I’m not sure what you are talkin- “
Flash.
“…!”
I wanted to ask what he meant, but I couldn’t.
The Dark King disappeared for a split second, reappearing right in front of me as he grabbed my right arm.
Was it an ambush?
Just as I began to gather my Qi, overcoming my initial shock,
“Child.”
The Dark King abruptly pulled up my sleeve.
Dammit…!
I panicked.
In that spot, the trace of my Demonification was left there.
It looked as if there was a scale of a reptile at the size of a thumb.
As I scrambled for a way to handle the situation, he examined my skin and spoke.
“What is your relationship with the Yeon Clan?”
“…Pardon?”
His question threw me off, and I had to ask for clarification.
It was completely out of the blue.
"This translation was made by our team, to read more translated novels please visite www.readernovel.net"