Childhood Friend of the Zenith

After gaining permission from the Tang Clan, I stepped outside with Woo-hyuk.

Though I wanted to spend a bit more time with the others, I knew I didn’t have that luxury, so I focused on completing the planned tasks as quickly as possible.

No time to rest.

A truly cursed life.

“Agh, it stings…”As we ran, Woo-hyuk started groaning beside me, rubbing his neck.

I frowned at him.

“Who told you to mess around like that?

”“…I didn’t expect you’d actually bite me!

What do you think you are, a dog?

”“You wanted to be treated like one, so I went along with it.

”He treated me like a dog first; I simply played the part.

I couldn’t see why he’d complain about that.

[“Even so, biting him for real doesn’t show much restraint,”] Shin Noya remarked with a tone of disapproval.

I ignored him and looked away from Woo-hyuk, focusing on the path ahead.

How long had we been running through the densely wooded forest?

Though Woo-hyuk had said it would take about an hour, it felt like we’d gone further than that.

With my legs moving constantly, my mind was also racing.

I’ve set a lot of things in motion… let’s see how they’ll play out.

Before leaving the Tang Clan, I’d given Nahi some instructions.

I was curious to see how that would unfold.

In addition to that…I need to see what kind of response the Poison King will give.

I had to know how he would react to what I’d said to him, as it would determine the direction of my next moves.

[“Youngster.

”]Yes.

[“Do you really intend to kill them all?

”]At Shin Noya’s question, I glanced sideways.

After a brief pause, I answered shortly.

Yes.

There was no reason to hesitate.

It was clear that those involved needed to be dealt with.

This was something I had to do, especially in light of Tang Jemoon’s request.

Knowing it’ll cause issues later, I can’t just leave it be.

[…]At the very least, it was a matter involving Tang So-yeol.

I’d always wondered how she achieved Invulnerability to All Poisons.

Now, the answers were starting to emerge.

Thinking about it made me clench my teeth.

Invulnerability to All Poisons—that supreme yet cruel state.

Was it truly a place any human, let alone a martial artist, could reach?

I hadn’t paid much attention to it before, but now it seemed impossible not to.

The very essence of Invulnerability to All Poisons was complete immunity to a thousand toxins and mastery over poison techniques that reached the heavens.

Could Tang So-yeol have achieved that through a legitimate path?

At least…From my perspective, it didn’t seem like she could have.

Apologies to Tang So-yeol, but objectively speaking, she wasn’t a prodigy.

Compared to the hidden dragons running alongside me now, like Wi Seol-ah, Namgung Bi-ah, and others like Yeongpung, called the First Disciple of Mount Hua, or Peng Woo-jin of the Peng family…And not to mention……the monster who’ll emerge in a few years.

Compared to the next generation’s Divine Dragon from Shaolin, renowned as a miracle, Tang So-yeol’s presence was almost negligible.

To be generous, she could be considered a descendant of a prestigious family—just barely.

That was my impression of Tang So-yeol’s level.

However one looked at it, she lacked the talent to reach the ultimate state of Invulnerability to All Poisons.

Yet in the end, she would ascend to that level and become known as the Poison Queen.

That alone raised unspoken questions.

The suspicion that the Heavenly Martial Physique Creation Project, which was supposedly halted, might still be ongoing, coupled with Tang Jemoon’s warning that Tang So-yeol might be involved…All signs pointed to something happening during her journey to Invulnerability to All Poisons.

To be honest, I didn’t care about that part.

If I were a martial artist who cared about honor and orthodox methods, maybe it would have bothered me.

But I was someone who had used every available method to grow stronger and didn’t care about righteousness or chivalry.

Even if Tang So-yeol had achieved her state through unsavory means, I wouldn’t judge her for it.

The only thing I cared about was this one question:Was this what Tang So-yeol wanted?

That was the only thing that mattered.

If she willingly chose that path, I could overlook it without a second thought.

My priority wasn’t Tang Jemoon’s request or some insignificant clan; it was solely Tang So-yeol’s will.

But if it wasn’t her choice…If she hadn’t chosen it, then I’d tear it all down without mercy.

I wouldn’t hesitate to burn down the entire Tang Clan if that’s what it took.

Would it be difficult?

At one point, I thought it might be a bit much…But now, it didn’t seem so hard.

Could it be because my power had grown?

It’s too early to be arrogant, though.

I’d reached the complete state of Haegyeong from an incomplete one.

This level alone would struggle to wipe out a whole clan.

Yet, strangely, my confidence surged.

Clearly, this was no good.

Something’s different.

Beyond the physical changes, the relocation of my center to my heart—it was clear my emotions had changed as well.

Was this another abnormality caused by the reconstruction of my vessel?

I need to examine myself thoroughly.

Tch.

It was frustrating not to have the time to do so.

Suppressing my irritation, I looked at Woo-hyuk.

“How much further?

We’ve already gone over an hour.

”With an awkward look, Woo-hyuk replied, “Uh… well, he said it was roughly this way?

”“…?

”I furrowed my brow at his uncertain response.

“Hey.

”“Yeah?

”“You don’t know the way, do you?

”“Haha, what a ridiculous question.

”Woo-hyuk laughed dismissively and gestured with his hands.

Right?

There’s no way he’d just lead us blindly without knowing the way.

Sighing in relief, I was about to pick up the pace when—“When have I ever been to Sichuan?

Of course I don’t know the way.

”“What?

”At Woo-hyuk’s smug response, I nearly stumbled.

He doesn’t know the way?

“You crazy bastard!

Then why are you leading so confidently?

”“Well, I figured we’d just go roughly in this direction.

”“Where’s the map?

Hand it over now.

”I snatched the map from Woo-hyuk, who fished it out, and looked it over.

After glancing back and forth from the map to the surroundings, I promptly smacked him on the head.

Thwack!

“Ow!

”Woo-hyuk looked at me with a mixture of resentment and pain.

I was on the verge of losing my temper.

“You idiot!

We went the wrong way!

”“Oh… really?

I didn’t know.

”“Oh?

You moron… trusting you was my mistake.

”Without further ado, I turned around and started running in the other direction, grabbing Woo-hyuk by the collar.

“Gah…!

Why are you…!

”“Shut up.

Since we’re late, we’re going fast.

”With that, I mustered all my strength.

Whoosh— I gathered my energy with full force.

…!

Woo-hyuk’s eyes widened as he watched, but I ignored his reaction and focused straight ahead.

Oh, I did give him a small courtesy warning.

“Hang on tight.

You can manage, right?

”“W-wait!

”Of course, I didn’t wait for his response.

Fwoosh—Blue flames wrapped around my body.

Booom!

With an explosive burst, I shot forward.

The scenery kept shifting in reverse as my speed exceeded anything from before, by several times over.

“Uuugh….

”Woo-hyuk groaned, as though he wanted to say something, but I ignored him and kept going.

Who would’ve guessed that Woo-hyuk was as terrible with directions as Namgung Bi-ah?

“A guy who looks perfectly fine and acts this useless… dammit.

”Whenever he had a sword in his hand, he became someone else, but without it, he was as clueless as they come.

In fact, most geniuses I’d known were like that.

If he wanted to live like that, he could at least give me his looks and height.

Damn it.

Whoosh—I kept running, for how long, I wasn’t sure, until about thirty minutes had passed.

Comparing our current location to the map, it seemed we’d finally arrived.

Should’ve done this from the start.

Even I had to admit it was ridiculous.

To be honest, I was furious, so I’d been running at full power, but I hadn’t realized I could move this fast.

In terms of pure speed, I was twice as fast as before I ascended.

At this rate, I need to verify a few things…From my rough estimate, it seemed I’d gained about half again as much power.

But the feeling was different when I used it in full.

At this point, I felt like asking Paejon for a favor.

Maybe I’ll ask him to spar with me.

Paejon was the only person I could reasonably ask for this kind of favor.

Asking Amwang, the Shadow King, wouldn’t end well for me.

Slowing down a bit, I asked Woo-hyuk.

“Hey, where do we go from here?

”“Ugh…?

”“Pull yourself together.

The directions only got us this far.

”The map only mentioned the name of the mountain range and a general location, so I couldn’t pinpoint anything specific.

It looked like we’d come to the right place, but…Looking around, I only saw trees and rocks.

Still disoriented, Woo-hyuk said, “Hold on… just put me down for a second… I feel like I’m dying.

”“But you need to tell me where your master is…”Meeting him in some forest clearing didn’t seem likely.

There had to be a residence or something nearby.

Where could it be?

Could I have made a wrong turn?

I couldn’t be that bad with directions, could I?

As I considered heightening my qi sense……!

I quickly turned my body.

“Ugh!

”As I moved, Woo-hyuk lurched and let out a sound of surprise, but that didn’t matter right now.

Swish—!

Something shot past me through the space I’d just vacated.

It was a sword energy.

Sssssht!

The slash sliced the air and embedded itself in the ground, cleaving a rock in two.

Thud!

The rock split and fell to the ground.

I landed on the ground quickly, spreading my qi sense outward.

“Kugh!

”I didn’t have time to worry about Woo-hyuk, who, unable to break his fall, landed face-first on the ground.

“Agh… I’m gonna die…!

”“Draw your sword.

”I instructed Woo-hyuk, who was still groaning as he got up, to get his weapon out.

“…Sword?

What sword?

”Yet he seemed oblivious to the situation.

What’s wrong with him?

Woo-hyuk usually wasn’t this dense.

Crunch.

At that moment, someone emerged from beyond the trees.

The one who had fired the sword energy.

Narrowing my eyes, I took in the person’s appearance.

A… beggar?

That was my first impression.

White hair tangled over his face, which was half-hidden, and he was dressed in ragged, worn-out martial clothes.

The man approached us slowly, his bare feet covered in dust, and instinctively, I prepared myself.

Because despite his appearance…His sword was impeccably clean.

The sword in his hand was extraordinarily well-maintained, and a palpable aura pierced into me from him.

Who was he?

As I tried to calm myself while assessing his identity…“Haaah…”The man yawned widely, picking at his ear with one hand.

Then, looking at Woo-hyuk, who was struggling to stand, he sniffed and spoke.

“What’s with the ruckus, running like mad… what a mess you’ve become in all these years.

”Woo-hyuk coughed and gave an embarrassed smile.

“Haha.

Have you been well?

”“Does this look like ‘well’ to you?

”“It’s good to see you’re as lively as ever.

”“Heh, that foul-mouthed disciple.

You haven’t changed a bit.

”“…”Listening to their exchange, I widened my eyes.

Now I understood who this man was.

Could he really be…?

Calling Woo-hyuk his disciple could only mean one thing.

This beggar with the sword was the Wudang Eccentric himself.

But…Why, though?

I struggled to understand.

From their conversation, I should’ve been able to recognize him immediately, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of doubt.

Because the aura emanating from him…His energy…That was the problem.

The Wudang Eccentric was a known master of the Wudang Sect, and as Woo-hyuk’s master, that much should have been certain.

But…Why is it so fierce?

The energy coming from the Wudang Eccentric was far too sharp to belong to a Taoist, and far too wild to seem like someone from Wudang.

This was why I couldn’t immediately confirm that he was the Wudang Eccentric.

“Hmmm.

”Just then.

The Wudang Eccentric’s gaze shifted from Woo-hyuk to me.

Although his face was obscured by his bangs, I could tell he was looking directly at me.

“I followed the wild energy here… but he doesn’t seem like an enemy.

”“He’s my friend,” Woo-hyuk said cheerfully, raising his hand.

The Wudang Eccentric tilted his head.

“Disciple.

”“Yes?

”“…Did you even have friends?

”“I decided to try it out once.

It’s not too bad.

”Despite Woo-hyuk’s response, the Wudang Eccentric’s gaze remained fixed on me.

I relaxed slightly, preparing to show him a respectful greeting.

“Your first friend turns out to be… a complete monster.

What is this kid?

”Lifting his tousled hair with his calloused hand, the Wudang Eccentric revealed his face.

Finally, I could see the Wudang Eccentric’s face.

Hm?

At the same time, I suppressed a gasp.

Setting aside the fact that he was unexpectedly a handsome middle-aged man…His eyes shone with a blue glow.

And white hair, too…?

Across the entire Murim, there was only one family with those unique characteristics…As I looked closely at his features, my brow furrowed.

[“…Wait, huh?

”]Shin Noya, observing the Wudang Eccentric, reacted with shock.

What’s with him all of a sudden?

“Noya, what’s wrong?

”[“No, why….

”]Shin Noya’s voice carried an unusual gravity.

What could it be?

After a few seconds, he spoke in a voice filled with disbelief.

[“Why does that man… look exactly like Myung?

”]…What?

Hearing that, I stared at the Wudang Eccentric intently.

The Myung Shin Noya referred to could only be…Namgung Myung, the Thunder Blade of Murim.