Childhood Friend of the Zenith

I flew for a long time.

Pushing myself to my limits, soaring through the air with explosive bursts of energy.

After what felt like an eternity, about one shijin (two hours) had passed.

“Huff… Huff…”My breaths grew rough, and cold sweat began to trickle down my back.

I finally stopped moving.

“…Hah.

”The moment I paused, heavy breaths burst forth uncontrollably.

The rebound from flying at maximum speed was taking its toll on me.

‘This is worse than when I traveled from Sichuan to Hanam.

’Back then, I had flown for nearly two days straight without rest and felt fine.

But now, just two hours of flight had left my body fatigued.

To be honest, I could probably keep moving for another day in this state, but—‘There’s no way I’d last two days.

’Maybe it was the energy in the air making my body feel lighter.

I had likely overexerted myself without realizing it, unable to properly control my output.

‘Still…’I looked back.

‘I must’ve been flying at twice my usual speed.

’How far had I come?

It was impossible to estimate the distance.

Even I was surprised at how fast I’d flown.

‘This should be far enough, right?

’Northward for two hours.

I had followed Kurung’s instructions and flown to this place.

“...

”Even now, I wasn’t sure if this choice was the right one.

It was purely instinctual.

‘Was it really the right thing to flee, leaving my mother behind?

’Choosing Kurung over my mother in that moment— Was that truly the right decision?

I had wrestled with this question the entire way here, but—‘What’s done is done.

’The moment had already passed.

Once something was done, it was more important to figure out what to do next rather than dwell on it.

I glanced to the side.

The Cheonma was there.

Seeing that I was still holding her wrist, I let go immediately.

“Ah.

”She reacted to my actions.

She didn’t seem tired at all.

‘After covering that distance, she’s not even winded?

’Even I was exhausted, so why was she completely fine?

‘…Is the gap in ability really that big?

’It felt strange, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

I decided to let it slide for the moment and raised my senses.

Whoosh—!

Expanding rapidly, my perception swept the surroundings.

Fortunately, I didn’t detect anything.

The problem was—‘It’s too quiet.

’Strangely, there wasn’t a single trace of anything.

Normally, I would have sensed insects in the grass or wild animals nearby.

But here, there was nothing.

The complete absence of any presence was unnerving and alien.

‘What is this place?

’The more I observed, the less I understood.

What kind of place was this?

I could tell it wasn’t Zhongyuan.

I could even tell it wasn’t the same world I came from.

But still—‘Where am I?

’That was the question that mattered most to me.

I took a moment to catch my breath and recalled the events earlier.

The fight between Kurung and my mother.

I still didn’t know why they had been fighting, but the fact that my mother had appeared here was significant.

‘Mother was said to be the master of a world.

’Muah had mentioned that.

The name of that world was—‘Mangye (The Myriad Realms).

’A world mentioned by both the Blood Demon and Muah.

I didn’t know much about it, but it seemed similar to certain places in Zhongyuan.

Which meant—‘The world beyond the Magyeong Gate.

’This place was likely the world beyond the Magyeong Gate.

‘…But is it always like this?

’It felt oddly peaceful.

Compared to the world where Muah had been, this was entirely different.

That place had been so barren that even weeds struggled to grow, but here, the land was teeming with life, with lush greenery and vibrant flowers.

‘Of course, I can’t sense any living creatures here.

’That part was strange, but still—‘This is Mother’s world.

’Or rather, the world where Mother resided as its master.

“...

”So, what now?

My thoughts came to a halt, hitting a wall.

“This is bad.

”My mind wasn’t working properly.

It was likely due to the events earlier.

“…Mother.

”The image of my mother suppressing Kurung wouldn’t leave my mind.

With her beast-like ears instead of human ones, and those white tails raised high into the air.

Her presence and form were nothing a human could possess.

‘And that unnatural aura I felt from her…’Even the reason I chose to listen to Kurung and flee.

Though I knew it was her, something about her had seemed so dangerous.

Being there had felt like a threat to my life.

My instincts had screamed at me to get away immediately.

“Damn it.

”What the hell was going on?

I racked my brain, but no answers came to me.

“Are you okay?

”The Cheonma spoke, her voice addressing me.

Without turning my gaze to her, I let out a sigh.

“Don’t worry about it.

”“But—”“It’s just… frustrating, that’s all.

”I turned back toward the north.

‘What do I do now?

’I had come north because Kurung told me to.

But if I couldn’t sense anything, what was I supposed to do?

‘Or do I need to go further?

’Should I keep going to find something?

It already felt like I’d come ridiculously far.

“Damn it.

”I furrowed my brow.

Without any information to work with, all I felt was rising irritation.

‘Should I just go back?

’Maybe I should return to where my mother had been.

If I didn’t know what to do, wouldn’t that be better?

“Ah, shit.

”No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find an answer.

Frustrated, I ran my hands through my hair.

What should I do?

How could I get through this wretched situation?

As I was mulling over my options—Whoosh.

“…Hmm?

”I sensed something unusual.

I immediately looked up at the sky.

In that moment—Screeeech—!

“What the fuck?

”The sky tore open, revealing crimson Magyeong Gates.

Not just one.

Dozens.

Dozens of Magyeong Gates filled the air.

“What the hell is this now?

” I narrowed my eyes, heightening my vigilance.

[“Found you.

”]A deep voice resonated in my ears.

[“The filthy young dragon has been located.

The hunt begins.

”]“What?

”A dragon?

A hunt?

As the words registered, my expression twisted.

[“ROOOAAAR—!

”]With a thunderous roar, something began pouring out of the Magyeong Gates.

Thud!

Thud-thud-thud—!

[“ROOOAAAR—!

”]‘Demons?

’What rained down upon the ground were none other than demonic creatures.

In an instant, they flooded the land.

I narrowed my eyes, observing them closely.

They were all creatures I had never seen before.

And beyond that—‘Their colors are different.

’Unlike the typical classifications of green, blue, red, or white-ranked demons, these creatures each had unique colors.

Some had gray fur, others orange.

Their appearances were entirely unlike anything I was familiar with.

‘What are these things?

’As I hesitated, taken aback by these unfamiliar creatures—[“The master was right.

”]Boom—!

A massive figure descended from the largest crimson Magyeong Gate.

The impact scattered dirt and debris everywhere.

[“Indeed, a dragon.

”]Squinting through the violent wind, I looked ahead.

[“I will ask.

You arrogant, vile creature.

”]The overwhelming malice emanating from the figure made my body react instinctively.

Whoosh—!

Flames swirled around me as I raised my stance and cloaked myself in energy.

[“How is it that your kind, who should have gone extinct alongside the Dragon King, have appeared here?

”]As the wind settled, the owner of the voice revealed himself.

He was massive.

Even compared to Elder Il, one of the largest humans I’d ever met, this creature was several times larger.

Next to the other demons, his size made him appear to have two extra heads.

His muscular frame was covered in black fur, and his head resembled that of a bull.

In his hand, he held a massive axe, easily larger than me.

And the most shocking thing—‘It can talk?

’The demon was speaking in human language.

Then again, I’d encountered similar cases before, like the Mangdo I saw in the Northern Sea, or even Dol-Dol.

‘…And judging by its aura.

’The overwhelming pressure radiating from him confirmed that this was no weakling.

As a martial artist, he’d be at least Hwagyeong-level.

Among demons, his presence was comparable to a White-Rank beast.

“What are you?

”When I spoke, the bull snorted, releasing a puff of hot air.

Whoosh!

Flames burst from its nostrils.

[“I have no obligation to answer a lowly creature.

Your role is to respond to my questions.

”]“…Well, this cow sure knows how to piss people off.

”[“If you refuse to answer, it doesn’t matter.

”]Thud!

The demon raised its axe and pointed it at me.

[“The result will be the same either way.

”]“Hah.

”With those words, I raised my aura.

Whether it spoke or not, the outcome would remain unchanged.

That much was clear.

‘So, it planned to kill me from the start.

’I loosened my body and glanced around.

There were many of them.

At least a hundred demons surrounded me.

They hadn’t brought these forces casually.

“Well, this works out just fine.

”A grin spread across my face as I surveyed the horde.

“I’ve been looking for someone to question.

Don’t stumble over your words later, or I’ll make sure you regret it.

”[...

]The bull snorted again as I unleashed my energy.

[“As expected.

”]Rumble—!

His massive muscles twitched, veins bulging across his frame.

[“Dragons are arrogant.

”]“I hear that a lot.

”With that, I pushed my energy to its limit.

Whoosh—!

Blazing blue flames erupted from my body, surging outward in waves.

Whoooosh—!

[“Screeee—!

”] [“Graaaah—!

”]The demons nearest to me were consumed by the flames, their cries echoing as they were reduced to ashes.

Unfortunately, the number I managed to burn was only a fraction of their forces.

[“Rip him apart.

”]At the bull’s command, the remaining demons charged at me from all directions.

I extended my hand in response.

Nine Flames Firewheel.

The blue flames swirled outward, spreading in a wide arc.

But unlike before, these demons didn’t burn easily and pushed through the fire.

‘Their resistance is higher.

’They were different from ordinary demons.

In that case—Clench.

I tightened my fist.

The embers scattered in the air abruptly halted their movement.

Whoosh—!

The scattered sparks transformed into orbs of flame.

Dozens of fiery orbs hovered in the air.

I moved my fingers slightly.

Ssssshhhhh—!

The orbs began spinning rapidly, mimicking the pattern of Nine Flames Firewheel.

They expanded their range as they spun.

Boom!

Boom-boom-boom!

Every time a demon was struck by one of the spinning orbs, an explosion erupted.

[“Screeeech—!

”] [“Grrraaah—!

”]Demons that had previously resisted the flames couldn’t withstand the explosions and were torn apart.

The resulting fire engulfed the ground, turning the surroundings into a sea of flames.

While more than half of their forces remained, this also meant I had wiped out half of them in a short span.

‘Not bad for a warm-up.

’It had been a while since I felt this good.

Given my power’s nature, large-scale annihilation was my specialty.

As I manipulated the remaining orbs, I gathered flames in my other hand.

Reshaping and reconstructing them, I forged a spear of flame.

Once its rotation reached maximum velocity—“Hup!

”I hurled it with all my strength.

The flaming spear shot straight through several demons before reaching its target—the bull demon.

I intended to deal him a decisive blow.

But—Clench!

Boom!

“What?

”The bull demon caught the flaming spear with its bare hand and crushed it.

The resulting explosion lit up the area.

“…Is this guy insane?

”I stared at him in disbelief.

[“How unexpected.

”]The bull demon spoke casually, as if nothing had happened.

At first, I thought he had emerged unscathed, but that wasn’t the case.

His arm—the one that had caught the spear—was blown clean off, almost to the shoulder.

But—Crack.

Crack.

“…!

”Bone and flesh began regenerating before my eyes, and within moments, his arm was fully restored.

‘What kind of regeneration is this?

’It was absurd, on par with facing Mangdo.

[“For a young dragon to wield such power… It’s remarkable.

”]“Who are you calling remarkable?

”[“It seems I underestimated you.

My apologies.

”]The demon stepped forward, silencing the growling demons around him.

[“I am the Chieftain.

”]“...

”[“And now, I will kill you.

”]It was a blunt and crude declaration.

But—Rumble—!

The pressure emanating from him made it clear these weren’t empty words.

‘Damn it.

’This was a completely different level of pressure.

It far surpassed the aura of the Ten Great Masters.

‘This is bad.

’It seemed I’d have to use everything I had.

‘And it’s not just him.

’Fighting someone like that while dealing with the remaining demons?

Not good.

The only silver lining—‘The Cheonma is here.

’She stood behind me, staring at the sky.

I turned toward her, hoping for help.

“Hey.

Stop standing there and—”“They’re here.

”Her words made me frown.

“They’re here.

”“What are you talking about?

Instead of saying that, help me—”“Something strong has arrived.

”“What?

”What the hell was she talking about?

I followed her gaze toward the sky.

“…There really is something?

”There was indeed something there.

Just below the moonlit sky, a figure hovered.

I squinted to get a better look.

Then, it became clear.

“Oh…”The words slipped out as I stared in disbelief.

Floating in the air was unmistakably a human.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he looked down at us with an air of arrogance.

Though not entirely clear, he appeared tall.

Dressed in white martial robes, with white hair and a beard, he was unmistakably an old man.

Honestly, none of that mattered.

What mattered—‘That…’The embroidery on his chest.

The floral pattern embroidered on his pure white robes.

There was only one place in Zhongyuan where such attire existed.

As I stood there, my expression frozen in shock,“Ha-ha,”The old man in the sky let out a low chuckle.

“My, you’re still as ugly as ever.

”With those words, the faint scent of plum blossoms filled the air.