[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-childhood-friend-of-the-zenith":3,"chapter-childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-267":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Childhood Friend of the Zenith",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1240093,1667,"Chapter 267: Winter Is Coming (1)","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-267",267,"\u003Cp>My Dantian, now empty, still felt like a void. My body was extremely exhausted, not just from the Demonic Qi but from the loss of most of my Qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt this way even with a body that didn’t feel exhausted even if I released endless flames, so this meant that transforming someone into a Demonic Human demanded immense energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pondered this while feeling the damp air of summer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should I have killed him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked myself if I should have killed Namgung Cheonjun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, it might have been better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t a regret, just a question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How would I have cleaned up the mess after his death? How would I explain everything?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Putting aside those questions, I wondered if it would have been better to kill him instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I put Demonic Qi into Namgung Cheonjun’s body deep inside his Dantian, and it began to spread and smear into his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This process wasn’t much different from when he absorbed Blood Qi or when the Heavenly Demon transformed people into Demonic Humans in my past life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The problem is,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…is that I was capable of doing such a thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just why?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I repeatedly opened and closed my hand, but I couldn’t grasp the feeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only explanation was that it all happened naturally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s weird enough that I regressed with Demonic Arts to begin with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My body after regression was definitely different from a Demonic Human’s, and I certainly wasn’t one right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qi flowing inside me was Taoist Qi from Mount Hua’s treasure, with my Demonic Qi stored in a corner of my Dantian. It was hard to call myself a Demonic Human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite this, I was able to use Demonic Qi freely and with full control, which was strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, it felt as if my Demonic Arts were enhancing in a way that made it easier for me to use.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed like it was complimenting my body’s growth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This felt like someone was pushing me from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if urging me to become the Heavenly Demon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What nonsense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It really was nonsense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything happening right now was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was easy to silence Namgung Cheonjun’s from now on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He won’t die as long as I tell him not to, and he won’t speak out if that was my command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was no different from a servant now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I ordered Namgung Cheonjun to die right now, he would kill himself, either by biting his tongue or choking himself to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s what the contract of Demonic Qi was like.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be precise, that was the relationship between the Heavenly Demon and Demonic Humans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The problem is,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like the Demonic Humans that the Heavenly Demon made, there was a chance that Namgung Cheonjun succumbed to madness due to Demonic Qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To prevent that, I gave him a few orders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-Prohibit himself from killing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-Refrain from using killing intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-Do not interfere with me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-Slap himself on the cheek every morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stuff like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I ordered him many things including him blocking his mouth, and it thankfully seemed like he listened to all of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I guess there is no need for a Shackle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heavenly Demon had placed a Shackle on me and other Demonic Humans, a device that would explode in our hearts if we betrayed the Demonic Cult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it seemed like there was no need for me to use such a thing on Namgung Cheonjun as he seemed to be listening to everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did the Heavenly Demon use such a Shackle because it gave more control of power?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or was it because controlling the growing number of Demonic Humans with words alone wasn’t enough?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that wasn’t the case…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps, there was another reason for using a shackle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t understand its purpose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why did the Heavenly Demon do such a thing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was very curious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The difference is,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I realized that I could corrupt others into becoming Demonic Humans, but I wasn’t able to bestow any authority like the Heavenly Demon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or fearful that I might one day gain the ability to do such a thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I had to choose, it would be the latter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First… I need to figure out what to do with Namgung Cheonjun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides the fact that I turned him into a Demonic Human, I was thinking of ways to use him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tried to get some information out of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I originally planned to extract information by asking how he gained such power, but Namgung Cheonjun responded like this:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-…I’m not sure if I remem… No, I don’t remember.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What a useless bastard…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Namgung Cheonjun just looked like a dumbass as if he lost his memories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wouldn’t be able to lie, which means he’s speaking the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Does that mean Namgung Cheonjun lost his memories regarding Blood Qi when I absorbed all of it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…That didn’t happen back in the tournament of Dragons and Phoenixes, so is it because he became a Demonic Human?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was likely the case. I absorbed his Qi back then, but his memories remained, unlike now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, could this really corrupt his memories?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, yeah it probably is. Which is why it happened, for fucks sake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I traveled through time, so nothing was impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I already knew that there were a ton of monsters in the world after all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sigh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like I could easily gather information…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What should I do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Namgung Cheonjun’s life was in my hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could only escape my grasp by killing himself, with no other options.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I also kindly didn’t tell him not to kill himself, so that was his decision to make.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It becomes easier if he kills himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If not, then it gave me the chance to see what happens to the Demonic Human formed through my Demonic Qi, so it was worth watching him for a bit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterwards,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I feel that I’ve seen enough,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ll get rid of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had no intention of letting him live in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let him live for now because I wanted to check one thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was all the value he had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One thing concerned me though.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would she be sad?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was only Namgung Bi-ah.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would Namgung Bi-ah be sad about Namgung Cheonjun’s death?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was my only hesitation in all of this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because I wouldn’t be fine if I heard that Gu Ryunghwa died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In my past life, I burned all of Mount Hua down for that exact reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I put aside my thoughts and thought about other potential options, but no matter how much I thought about it, Namgung Cheonjun was going to die in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I said, I only let him live for now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a firm decision I made, and it likely won’t change till the end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swoosh-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I heard a sword cutting through the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to that, I woke up from my thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swish-! Swoosh-!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The movements were fast and precise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I expected, it was on a completely different level compared to young prodigies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I had to guess, that’s what I would see from Namgung Cheonjun after he trained for decades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was all I felt from watching this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shortly after,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whew…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man stopped swinging his sword, wiped his sweat and looked towards me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His clear blue eyes made me feel rather uncomfortable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, the man came close to me and asked,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Huh? How’s what?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I asked dumbfoundedly, the man, the Lord of Namgung Clan, Namgung Jin responded once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My movement just now. How did it seem?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Oh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I quickly hid my expression when I heard Namgung Jin’s question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was here right now because Namgung Jin came looking for me ever since the morning, and Namgung Cheonjun was given the permission to leave thanks to that, and I had to be dragged all the way here by Namgung Jin who seemed desperate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How was I supposed to know that a Lord of a noble clan, Namgung Clan out of all clans, would come to me so early in the morning like a puppy that wanted to poop?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ve been doing such a good job running away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How is it my ass… How am I supposed to know?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Namgung Jin showed his sword art, but how would I know anything?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’re good, that’s just it…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like I said earlier, that was all I felt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t know anything about using a sword, so there was no way I could offer insight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, it was the sword art of a swordsman who had reached the Fusion Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no way that I could critique a swordsman at that level just from watching him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But one certain thing is… that he seemed to have changed compared to last time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Namgung Jin’s sword in the past was sharp and quick as well, but now it seemed different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t know it in detail since I didn’t know much about swords, but Elder Shin would’ve said something if he was here, because there clearly was a difference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only thing I was able to say from watching this,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>seemed similar to the Demonic Sword’s style.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the only thought I had in mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it was Namgung Clan’s sword art, so it was obvious that it seemed similar to the Demonic Sword’s,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it just feels different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t a great answer, but that was all to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Namgung Jin’s sword began to resemble the one that Demonic Sword showed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was all I was able to see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I were to put this into words,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How would I describe it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What exactly did I notice to make me feel this way?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was the Demonic Sword’s sword like?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only sword art I knew from Namgung Clan was the one that the Demonic Sword showed me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She enveloped her body in radiant Lightning Qi and swung her sword while striking the ground with lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her swordplay was sharp and filled with killing intent, unlike anything I saw from current Namgung Bi-ah.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just watching from next to her made me tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, her swordplay was perfect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why she was called the mighty Demonic Sword in the Demonic Cult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite her obsession with slaughter, her technique was impeccable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I reflected on the Demonic Sword, I started to hear Namgung Jin’s voice again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Please give me advice that I could use as reference.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Advice… Advice?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What advice?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…Elder Shin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I called him in my mind. There still was no response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You crazy old man! Please wake up…!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how much I shouted, there was no response. What was he doing that he wouldn't wake up?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What do I do now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Namgung Jin was waiting eagerly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t know what kind of advice he was hoping for, nor did I know what to say…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m going to say it again, but I’m not a swordsman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only time I held a sword was when I was young, back when I followed Gu Huibi and Gu Yeonseo and held a wooden sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, I stopped using swords altogether.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I basically knew nothing about this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could offer advice as a martial artist, but I’m sure that’s not what Namgung Jin wants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…What’s there?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How can I escape this situation?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was one thing that passed by my brain as I thought about the Demonic Sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It's said that the peak for a swordsman is different from that of a martial artist; for them, it's becoming one with their sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To become one with the sword, and for the sword to become an extension of oneself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The name wasn’t the important part.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If one used a spear, it would be called becoming one with one’s spear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If one used a bow, it would be called becoming one with one’s bow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Name could be changed whenever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The important part was the meaning that was held inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A state where Qi flowed naturally from the body into the weapon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t about Sword Resonance or Sword Force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, it meant the process of a person becoming one with their weapon of choice, just like how Qi naturally became one with a martial artist that reached Peak Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I briefly understood what it meant, but it was still difficult for a close combat martial artist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Close combat martial artists began to shine at Peak Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It's when Qi starts to merge with the body, making close combat martial artists stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was probably called becoming one with one’s fist, but I didn’t know about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t know if I reached that state and there was a chance that I did, but I at least knew that this process was different from a swordsman’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did she say back then when I asked her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I recalled the past, and the Demonic Sword responded this way when I asked her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-It just happens with time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s what she said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Obviously, I was the dumbass for asking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, I asked her further into it afterwards, but she only said things that I wasn’t able to understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did she say…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…To focus on the flow of lightning?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I believe that was what she said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I think she gave such an explanation since she used Lightning Qi herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But how am I supposed to understand that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was the flow of lightning?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Do I get an understanding of it if I watch the sky on a storming day filled with thunder?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever the answer, I couldn't understand it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, it was stupid of me to ask something from the Demonic Sword in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shouldn’t have been hoping to learn something from them when they reached their level with sheer talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For someone like her, it would have been easier to ask why I couldn't do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that’s not the important thing right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightning or what not, I had to figure out what to say to Namgung Ji-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Hmm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I began to speak, but Namgung Jin was staring at me with a blank expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…What the, why are you staring at me lik- “\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had to shut my mouth midway for some reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was because I felt something from Namgung Jin’s expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wow…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s really insane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked like he had an enlightenment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did he really gain something? Just like that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did I do to make him react like that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t even do anything speci-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thought passed by my mind for an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it because I mumbled something about lightning just now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Demonic Sword's advice wasn't helpful for me, but it seemed to work for Namgung Jin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This isn’t something that’s impossible to think about, no?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Considering how they used Lightning Qi, it didn’t seem unlikely that they thought about such a thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I remembered watching a bonfire for days to learn about flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the way, it ended up in me raging after not learning anything, stepping onto the bonfire and getting burnt badly by it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What a maniac…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A martial artist specializing in Flame Arts got burned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What kind of nonsense is that…?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…Anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Namgung Jin gained an enlightenment just now from what I said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meant that it helped him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn't understand how thinking about the flow of lightning helped, but Namgung Jin definitely gained enlightenment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The outcome of such an enlightenment could’ve been good or bad, but only one thing came into my mind right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Can I leave now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This happened by chance and it was true that I gave him some sort of advice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It pricked my conscience, but I had none to begin with, so it should be fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, I could just tell him that this much was enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I took a glance at Namgung Jin who was blankly staring into nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I noticed his clear Qi that he hid inside his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Lightning Qi that tingled to look at, moving as if it had a will of its own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t seem to have been in the right place, but it was flowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…If I touched him right now, he might die just like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he put all his focus on one thing right now, he would die by me simply touching him because it would mess up the inside of his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Namgung Jin like that, I quietly spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh… I’ll be going now, okay?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I spoke but Namgung Jin gave no response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was obvious, how would he say something in his current situation?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would have been respectful to stay by his side, but I hoped he could handle it himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plus,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isn't it unfair he gained enlightenment just from hearing about the flow of lightning?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I understood that enlightenment usually was sudden, but this was unfair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I should’ve been the one gifted with enlightenment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It hurt my stomach because it felt like I practically fed him a spoonful of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m getting heated all of a sudden. Maybe I should just touch him right now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could make him end up in the state of Qi deviation just by tapping his shoulder right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone opened the door to the training ground from behind and entered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t turn my head to check who it was because I felt a familiar scent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What… were you doing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Namgung Bi-ah's voice, and I responded without turning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Staying by his side.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though I thought I sounded a bit too serious just \u002Fgenesisforsaken\u003C\u002Fp>",2944,"2026-06-05T15:09:39.031Z",1,"novelbin.me","97e79b249aa624916ce754b0dfda13f129d62fe1f260d046e07919ecf22cf1a8","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-268","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-266",974,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fchildhood-friend-of-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]