Childhood Friend of the Zenith - Chapter 121

༺ This isn’t it...? (1) ༻

The Heavenly Dragon Gu Cheolun.

The lord of the Gu Clan that was now called the Tiger Warrior.

Namgung Jin and Gu Cheolun, back when they both had been in the Murim Alliance, didn’t have a good relationship even at that time.

The fact that there weren’t too many young prodigies back then played a part in this, as many often speculated about who was the stronger of the two.

Namgung Jin, who was prideful, wasn’t about to just sit back and listen to this.

The arrogant young noble then searched for Gu Cheolun and challenged him to a duel...

Which he lost completely.

Namgung Jin remembered.

The heat and flames that filled up the entire sky.

The red eyes that looked down at him from amid those flames.

How could he forget, when that memory of his still haunted him to this day?

That wasn’t the only reason he ended up hating Gu Cheolun, but this memory was something he could never forget.

He despised Gu Cheolun.

Not only was his pride hurt, but he also held resentment due to the friendship that had been ruined.

And, most importantly...

It was indeed his fault that he had lost her.

But it was also Gu Cheolun’s fault that he had neglected the flower he had gotten.

How could it not be a sin, when he was willing to let go of everything just for a woman that he didn’t even know the name of?

Even when he learned the secrets of the Gu Clan, Namgung Jin’s mind didn’t change...

The sword shone brightly under the moonlight. Around the time Namgung Jin surpassed the peak realm and set foot into the fusion realm, the Lord of Heaven told him.

‘You are empty inside. You must first fill that void up.’

He most likely wasn’t referring to Qi, and Namgung Jin wasn’t so stupid that he didn’t understand that.

A long time had passed since then. He had trained for countless hours and experienced countless life-and-death battles in this time, but Namgung Jin was still in the same spot.

He didn’t notice any progression, and it was hard to say if he was even the Lord of the clan.

Even with the help of his clan, he was still not complete. He may have reached the fusion realm, but any enlightenments he gained didn’t stick with his body.

Was there something wrong with his body, then?

One morning, his grandfather ordered his people to call for the Immortal Healer.Aall newest chapters on n.o./velbi/n/(.)com

Namgung Jin had a check-up from the Immortal Healer, but after looking at the man’s body, the Immortal Healer said strictly, “I’m not sure what kind of treatment you want, but there is nothing wrong with your body.”

The Immortal Healer had found no problem with his body. That meant that Namgung Jin was stuck and unable to overcome the wall as a martial artist.

As the Lord of the Namgung Clan, he needed more strength to live up to that title.

Namgung Clan was a martial arts clan, so it was hard for a weak person to sit at the apex of it.

Namgung Jin had reached the fusion realm and had been easily able to achieve a spot amidst the top hundred masters of the world, but it was still not enough for him to be the lord of the Namgung Clan, which was why he planned to take power from other places to use for himself.

Whether that was the Gu Clan that he so despised, or anything else.

– Slash!

The point of the sword skimmed Namgung Jin’s cheek along with the wind. The thought of giving his opponent ten seconds disappeared, replaced by frantically looking for an opening in between the sword slashes that kept coming at him.

Namgung Jin had an advantage in speed.

And that was the same for strength.

Not using Qi? That shouldn’t have been a problem at all, as he had much more experience when it came to using a sword, or at least he prayed that that was the case.

So what was the problem, then? What was it that made it so that he couldn’t block that sword? Just because Namgung Jin was stuck at a wall didn’t mean that he was a weak martial artist.

But even so, for him to be pushed back by a young prodigy...

Gu Yangcheon didn’t seem to have gotten any basics down, even though those should be learned by every aspiring swordsman.

It looked like he was swinging his sword at random, but it also looked like he was making only necessary movements.

‘Am I dreaming?’

The almighty Azure Heavenly Sword, Namgung Jin, couldn’t even predict the movements of this young prodigy.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t read his movements because he was too slow, he just simply couldn’t understand it.

‘Even if this is a dream, this shouldn’t be happening...!’

The sword slashed the air.

Namgung Jin had great movement, and this was a duel between swords and nothing else. Namgung Jin was also the king of swords, so it should be impossible for him to be pushed back.

– Swish swish!

The sound of swords slashing through the air gradually became clearer. Qi had become one with his body after surpassing the peak realm, so his movements were naturally infused with Qi without him having to focus on it.

And even if he couldn’t use martial arts with the use of Qi, he thought that there was no way that he would lose when it came to speed.

The Namgung Clan’s art may have been the best of sword arts, but this skill couldn’t be done without the use of Qi.

However, that wasn’t the only thing that the sword of Namgung had.

They were still able to effectively use their sword without Qi.

When Namgung Jin made up his mind, he used the Azure Heavenly Tidal-

– Clang!

“...!”

The sword Namgung Jin was holding was pointed at the sky.

Gu Yangcheon hit the sword away when he found an opening due to Namgung Jin not using Qi.

Along with the sword being blown away, Namgung Jin also let his guard down, giving Gu Yangcheon an opening. His chest was unprotected.

‘Damn iit...!’

It was Gu Yangcheon’s victory if he swung his sword right there. A dirty thought of using his Qi flashed in Namgung Jin’s mind.

He had learned that he should do anything and everything to achieve whatever he wanted, but that also hurt his pride as a martial artist.

Namgung Jin already accepted his defeat, unable to respond to the incoming sword attack, but Gu Yangcheon’s sword didn’t strike him as he had been expecting.

“What are you doing?”

Gu Yangcheon put his sword away and asked Namgung Jing while standing still.

“I told you to give it your all, so what is it that you’re doing?”

‘Stop interrupting me and stay still.’

「This is way different from what I asked you... Why are you doing this?」

‘Have you never wondered why the child of Namgung couldn’t earn the Sword Dragon title?’

「Are you telling me it’s because the current sword of Namgung is at fault?」

I had a hard time understanding Elder Shin. Namgung Cheonjun was talented, at least compared to others at his age.

He had the talent for him to be called a genius, but Yung Pung was simply more talented than him.

Even if Elder Shin’s words were true, I couldn’t understand why he was acting this way in this situation.

“Can you call your sword complete when you can’t even perfect it without the use of Qi?”

“What are you...”

“I tried to give you a hint, but I guess there is no point...”

Namgung Clan’s art used by Namgung Cheonjun and, of course, Namgung Jin, wasn’t very powerful without the use of Qi.

This was the case for other clans’ arts as well, but I understood Elder Shin a bit more after hearing this comment.

The openings that he showed while using his sword. The movements that only became complete with the use of Qi.

It was as if Qi was patching the flaws of this form. The openings that were barely noticeable would be covered with the use of Qi, so it was understandable why he neglected this flaw.

Namgung Myung’s sword art...

Demonic Sword’s sword art...

Both of us who had seen their form were able to see how big the difference was between him and them.

The short swordplay that Elder Shin had shown earlier was certainly similar to the sword of Namgung, but I was able to see how big the difference in quality between the two was just because of those small things.

Even I, who didn’t have much knowledge in swordplay, was able to see this, so how would Namgung Jin not?

「I guess he completely forgot about our bet.」

His expression was destroyed. It was as if he couldn’t escape what he had just seen.

He looked as if he had swallowed a bunch of bitter seeds.

How Gu Yangcheon was able to use a sword, and how he had such talent, none of that mattered to him.

The words that humiliated him, his servants that were on the floor in pain. All of it was long gone from Namgung Jin’s mind.

It seemed like he had also given up on the bet.

To see the lord of a noble clan in this state... It bothered me that I witnessed such a pathetic side of him, but I couldn’t do anything about it.

“...Lost. I lost...”

Namgung Jin admitted defeat. The man that was fiercely dueling with a kid even despite the difference in power, was completely shattered after seeing a short display of swordplay.

“I’ll go on my knees or apologize if that’s what you want, and I’ll do anything that you ask of...”

Is he asking me to tell him what that was?

「He lost his mind.」

‘He should first search how he can achieve such sword art.’

Was Elder Shin’s sword really that shocking to him? He looked like he couldn’t even think logically at this point, let alone keep his cool.

He was a fusion realm martial artist, no less. Something was certainly strange.

「Does he have a mental problem or something?」

“...Hmm.”

Elder Shin let out a sigh while looking at Namgung Jin. It seemed like the old man also found something strange in the lord’s behavior.

‘Maybe not, it kinda looks like he’s smiling?’

“Do you want to know?”

「Elder Shin?」

I quickly called out to Elder Shin after hearing his question. Was he really about to suddenly teach it to Namgung Jin?

‘Why? I get that this isn’t what you wanted, but I did come out victorious.’

「I mean I get that part, but are you really going to teach him?」

‘Teach what?’

「The sword art the Thunder Sword used.」

‘If he was friends with the Thunderous Sword, I get that he was disappointed that his swordplay hadn’t been passed down to his descendants, but it’s still illogical for him to just suddenly teach him right here.’

Elder Shin responded to my question.

‘How could I teach him that? I don’t even know the basics.’

「Huh?」

What is he on about now?

Namgung Jin looked like he was ready to get on his knees at any moment after hearing Elder Shin. To see that a man filled with such arrogance would be so easily destroyed was something else.

‘Since I already showed him what I was capable of, I couldn’t just use my talent as an excuse for why I was this strong. Not only did I show him Namgung Clan’s sword art, but I also showed him an evolved form of it, so I had to come up with a different excuse.’

‘Does Elder Shin have something in mind?’

「Then what are you...」

‘Of course it’s up to you to do the rest.’

「Pardon?」

What did this old man just say now?

‘Up to me to do the rest? What nonsense is he spouting? How could I teach Namgung Jin the swordplay of the Namgung Clan?’

While I had many nervous thoughts in my head, I quickly called out.

「Elder Shin... Wait, what are you doing?」

Elder Shin completely ignored my words, and spoke to Namgung Jin.

“From now on... You will treat me as your master.”

「You... crazy old man...」

His words made my head explode. I desperately tried to say, but Elder Shin still had full control of my body,

There were lights outside, on the way to the guesthouse. It was Gu Clan’s people who had heard the news, and Namgung Bi-ah that appeared.

Namgung Bi-ah’s eyes became wide after seeing the Namgung Jin that was kneeling and me who was completely untouched.

“I’m fucked...”

That was the first thing I said after I had gotten back my body.