Childhood Friend of the Zenith - Chapter 113

༺ Azure Heavenly Sword, Namgung Jin (1) ༻

– Brzzzzzzt-!

Unrestrained Qi started to run rampant around my body as if a storm was raging inside of me.

I didn’t know where the violent Qi originated from, but it quickly passed through the middle abdomen and continued to climb upward.

My middle abdomen was like a calm pond.

It took me quite a lot of effort to finally calm down the different Qis inside of me after reaching the peak realm...

All my work was wasted, because it felt as if a huge boulder had fallen on it now.

‘God damn it.’

I couldn’t actually say it out loud. I couldn’t afford to even open my mouth as it might mess up the flow of the Qi.

-Thud-! Slam-!

I devoured the flower like a maniac. The impulse was so sudden that it made me question if it was even my own will.

Honestly, eating it was fine, since that was my plan anyway.

My plan didn’t account for the Qi that the flower held inside.

‘Is it just Qi, Taoist Qi, or could it even be demonic Qi?’

There were too many types of Qis that I could feel from it. What kind of flower was this for me to feel all this?

「You also have a bunch of stuff like that in you, so you are no different.」

‘...Stop making fun of me, I’m trying to focus.’

He wasn’t wrong.

‘If it wasn’t me that ate this flower, they would’ve probably died right away with their insides being destroyed.

I wasn’t exaggerating. This flower wasn’t something that could be called just a simple herb.

Demonic Qi was always a dangerous Qi to martial artists.

Not only did it make them go mad, but it disabled the Qi they possessed and it made their body weak.

That was something that many didn’t understand when they were blessed by the Heavenly Demon.

The ones that were bestowed demonic Qi by the Heavenly Demon itself still went mad, but their body didn’t become weak nor did they face death.

Instead, their bodies actually became stronger thanks to the demonic Qi, which allowed them to reach higher realms.

‘How does that make sense?’

This was another reason why I questioned if the Heavenly Demon was truly human.

Not only did the Heavenly Demon possess outstanding power, but it was also achieving these feats that discarded all logic, challenging our understanding.

I was certain of it because I had lived as a demonic human before.

Demonic Qi could not coexist with normal Qi.

Which was why this flower felt that much stranger.

‘For what reason were they growing this flower?’

Not only did this flower hold Qi and demonic Qi, but it also held Taoist Qi. Taoist Qi was understandable since it wasn’t much different compared to normal Qi.

Demonic Qi was another story, however.

The only reason why my body was able to hold all those different types of Qi inside my body was because the demonic Qi had been given to me by the Heavenly Demon.

While I was sweating with Qi flowing around my body, Elder Shin spoke.

「It seems like it’s still bearable.」

‘Yeah, thankfully it’s bearable for now.’

The pain I was feeling right now wasn’t as bad as when I had absorbed demonic Qi from the Sword Master.

That was why I was able to think about other stuff during the process.

‘Did they not make this flower for it to be consumed?’

No matter how I looked at it, this flower could not be consumed, so maybe they had created it for a whole different reason.

If one wanted to endure after consuming three different kinds of Qis, they had to possess the exact same mix in their body.

The different types of QI had to be able to coexist in one’s body, and if they couldn’t, they would break it apart.

‘That is some bullshit.’

Basically, one would need a miracle to be able to eat this.

Elder Shin spoke.

「Three different types of Qis coexisting in the same vessel... It’s as if this was created just for you.」

Such a thought had also struck me.

With all the crazy stuff that had happened to me, this idea wasn’t that far-fetched. Nonetheless, there was no way that was the case here.

‘If they created it for a different reason than consumption, I don’t know what that reason it. And if they meant for it to be consumed...’

That meant that there was someone in the Black Palace that was just like me. Someone who would be fine even if they consumed the flower.

Who was that?

‘The Palace Lord?’

The Lord of the Black Palace, also known by some as the Dark Pavillion, was a person that was one of the top martial artists of the Unorthodox Faction. I didn’t know much about them. I only heard that they died after being defeated by the Murim Alliance in a battle.

But thinking about it now, I wondered if that person had really died.

I had to doubt every single thing when it came to the Black Palace because of their connection to the Demonic Cult.

‘But what if it’s not that person?’

Was it for the Heavenly Demon itself? Are they already making moves behind the scenes?

It was a horrifying thought.

I had to pray that that wasn’t the case. If the Heavenly Demon was already orchestrating its appearance at this time, then all the information I knew from my past life would be useless. The timeline would be just too twisted.

– Ssssss...

The Qi that rampaged inside my body started to calm down. The absorbing process was being finished.

To prove that, my Destructive Flame Martial Arts started to purify the demonic Qi that had been absorbed, and the amount of Taoist Qi in my body increased.

「Not bad.」

Elder Shin’s tone was positive, because the vast Taoist Qi inside of me showed off its presence along with a scent of plum blossoms.

The increasing Taoist Qi would help me in the future as it could be used to pacify the unrestrained wild Qi coursing through my body.

With all this increased my Qi reserves, I was going above the realm of martial artists that had been training for sixty years.

‘It took me so long to reach this stage before.’

“Oh, right. I did send him this.”

His reaction indicated that he had forgotten about it. ‘I heard that you sent this to the Celestial Plum Blossom so that it’s given to me, what are you on, old man...?’

“It’s nothing much.”

“You also said the same about Mount Hua’s treasure last time...”

“That was a practical joke, but this time it really is nothing.”

There was no credibility in those words as it came from none other than the Second Elder himself.

When I stared at him with doubt, the man bonked my head with his huge fist.

– Smack!

“Ugh!”

I rolled on the floor, hurt by the sudden impact.

‘This crazy old man, I swear...!’

Despite me reaching the peak realm, I still couldn’t dodge the Second Elder’s bonking.

“You brat! How could you doubt me like that! I personally came to see you because we haven’t seen each other in a while!”

“But you shouldn’t just use your fists like that! What will you do if my head breaks, senior?!”

“Break my ass! I only gave you a cute tap!”

“A cute tap...?”

‘I heard the loud smack coming from the top of my head, and you’re saying it was just a cute tap...?’

「I guess being shameless is a unique hereditary trait in your household.」

My head was ringing already, but the harsh words that came from Elder Shin stabbed straight into my chest.

The Second Elder spoke to me while I was rubbing my head.

“Anyway like I said, it’s nothing much, so just keep it on your arm like that.”

“Why do I have to keep it on when it’s nothing much?”

“Do you want another taste of my fist?”

I shut up at his threat. ‘I swear I’ll get you back next time...’

I didn’t know why everyone was trying to hang things on my body recently, whether it was the Second Elder or Gu Huibi.

While looking at me avoiding his eye contact, the Second Elder smirked.

“Despite reaching that level, your shitty personality is still the same... I don’t know if I should be happy or not.”

“What brought you here in the morning?”

“I told you, I just came to see you.”

“Then you should’ve just sent a servant to summon me. I planned to visit you today anyway.”

“And I planned to train today anyway.”

It seemed like he wasn’t lying since the Second Elder’s thick muscles looked even more pumped than usual.

He really must have been training before we ran into each other.

“Oh, did you hear that Yeonseo came out?”

“Second sister?”

Gu Yeonseo, who I had last seen back on Nine Dragons Day, finally came out from her closed training.

Although it did bother me that the last time we had seen each other we weren’t on the best of terms.

‘I don’t think I have to visit her.’

If she needed anything, she would come to me herself.

“I’ll- “

“Oh, and some people from Namgung Clan came as well.”

The old man’s interjection made my eyes open wide from shock.

“The Namgung Clan?”

“Yes, I believe they came because of your fiancée.”

It had only been one day since Namgung Bi-ah had arrived in Shanxi. There was no way they could have come here this fast since it would have also taken time for the letter to reach them.

‘Does that mean they were already here?’

It seemed like they had been waiting for Namgung Bi-ah to arrive in the Gu Clan.

“I wonder why we’ve been having such important guests over recently, whether it’s from the Tang Clan or the Namgung Clan.”

“I’m sorry, but I have to go somewhere.”

“Hmm? Where are you... “

I passed by the Second Elder, in a hurry to leave. I was just thinking of walking at a fast pace, but Qi started to flow around my body.

Qi only acted on will. This meant that it was activated by my emotions getting the better of me.

‘This is urgent.’

I noticed that I was feeling desperate, but I didn’t know why I felt this way.

It took no time for me to go to the guest house that Namgung Bi-ah was staying in.

It was thanks to the increase in my Qi that I was able to get there so fast.

When I arrived, I saw that Namgung Bi-ah was already outside the building.

However, the situation was strange.

She looked like she had just woken up from sleep, and her white skinny arm had been grabbed by someone.

Judging by how it seemed like she was putting strength into the arm that was being grabbed, the person holding her couldn’t be weak.

It didn’t seem like a good situation, so I planned to go over there to stop whatever was happening.

I also wanted to know what was going on.

“What’s going on her-“

– Slap!

I stopped my steps after hearing a sharp sound.

Namgung Bi-ah’s head was turned around.

Her cheek became red, and blood flowed down her mouth.

– Blaze.

Along with heat, my body instantly burst into flames.