[{"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-514":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},1240340,1667,"Chapter 513","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-514",514,"\u003Cp>“Father?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The word slipped out unintentionally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realizing I had said it, I was so shocked that I almost covered my mouth.Did he hear me? My father turned his head toward me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our eyes met.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My father’s eyes widened.Was he surprised to see me suddenly appear? That thought crossed my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Ah.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I quickly realized that wasn’t the reason.The reason for his reaction was probably—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It must be because of the way I look right now.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My body had reverted to its original appearance after releasing the Form Shifting Technique.Though remnants of my previous transformation lingered, there was a significant change in my appearance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until just moments ago, I’d been marveling at my reborn form.And now, here I was, standing in front of him looking like this—it was no wonder my father was surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What is this place?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I took a glance around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How deep underground had this place been built?Even though I’d descended quickly through a hole, the amount of time it took suggested that it was made at a considerable depth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention, the faint poison and the scent of blood mixed into the air were unpleasant.An aura thickly pervaded the space, mingled with heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just sensing it made the hairs on my body stand on end.The atmosphere was that oppressive, almost suffocating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What is this situation? What’s going on here?I narrowed my eyes as I looked ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why was the Celestial Master, bleeding, kneeling down?And why was the Tang Clan’s Elder looking as if he’d lost his senses?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I was planning to deal with that old man tomorrow.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had already arranged my movements in advance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no point in waiting any longer, so I had asked Nahi to prepare a secluded place where I could capture and interrogate him quietly by tomorrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘This complicates things.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, what am I supposed to do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Did Father do this?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did he take down the Elder? Did he leave the room and just go on a rampage?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Father…?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t understand it easily.I was certain my father wasn’t someone who acted impulsively, without any plan or reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But here he was, unleashing his fury like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could it be…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…because of me?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because I nearly died from poisoning by the Tang Clan?Did my father suddenly appear after days of absence and cause this upheaval because of that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t tell.If it were any other father, he might indeed respond that way if his child had been harmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I thought my father was different from those kinds of people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘No way.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The circumstances pointed in that direction, but still, the thought seemed unlikely.Besides, how would my father even know that the Elder was behind it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he arrived in Sichuan yesterday at the earliest, could he really have figured out everything in such a short time?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘That’s impossible.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he knew everything, acting with such certainty is another matter.Where did such confidence come from?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Where would it come from? It’s a simple answer. At least, for a martial artist, that is.]‘…Noya?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In response to the question that surfaced in my mind, Noya calmly provided the answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Strength. What else does a martial artist need?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once he knew about the incident, his core motivator to take action was his strength.For a martial artist, it’s ultimately their power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strength vast enough to bear any responsibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Though it may seem somewhat brutish, it’s the simplest truth.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And at least in Zhongyuan, it was the most crucial truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which means—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…He simply unleashed it, is that it?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I knew my father was strong.Though I wasn’t sure exactly how strong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very least—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Stronger than me.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stronger than I had been in my previous life. And perhaps, not weaker than the Heavenly Demon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s what I believed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…If he did this to the Celestial Master…’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked at the Celestial Master, kneeling on one knee before my father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>White beard stained with blood, his shoulder looking unnaturally damaged.It was likely injured from a powerful blow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Based on the circumstances, my father seemed to be the one who put the Celestial Master in that state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Even if he caught him by surprise, could he really do that?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I recalled a time in the past when my father ambushed the main hall of the Black Night Palace, killing a martial artist of the Hwagyeong level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wondered if this might be something similar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘But, even if that’s the case… the Celestial Master seems far too intact.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging from the concentration of inner energy in the air, there had indeed been a battle.And from the density, it seemed to have taken place just moments ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That made it even stranger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It hasn’t been long since Father left.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though I moved swiftly, barely any time had passed—maybe less than a quarter of an hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘In that brief span, he reduced the Celestial Master to this state?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, my father’s appearance was unchanged from when he left the room.No signs of fatigue, just as pristine as before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If a battle really took place,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…Then he must have completely crushed him.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would be safe to say that he utterly overwhelmed the Celestial Master, a man renowned as one of the Three Lords of Heaven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gulp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought brought a dry swallow to my throat.This was no mere display.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I better never try to defy him.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I suspected that my father had lived while concealing his true power, but I hadn’t expected it to be on this level.…I definitely should avoid provoking him in the future, a resolution that settled naturally in my heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Anyway, that aside.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glanced past the exhausted Celestial Master and looked toward my father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My father was slowly approaching the Celestial Master, his left hand unclenched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It glowed in a vivid red, a faint heatless shimmer rising from it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could immediately tell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How much inner energy was gathered in that palm.The sight alone made me suppress a gasp of surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘That…’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d seen it before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only once, on that day in my previous life when I fought my father.It was the same power I saw back then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…The pinnacle of the Gu Flame Wheel Technique.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The final secret art of the Gu family’s martial techniques.Only those who mastered the Gu Flame Wheel could wield it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Third son.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At my father’s voice, I trembled instinctively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m sure I told you to wait, didn’t I?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, that… I apologize….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My father shifted his gaze from me back to the Celestial Master.The look in his eyes was anything but ordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Is he… planning to kill him?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Celestial Master?Oh, that’s no good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What should I do?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would be troublesome if the Celestial Master died at my father’s hands here.It wasn’t that I was trying to act virtuously now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason was simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I still haven’t learned anything.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I still didn’t have the information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Celestial Master’s presence in this strange place seemed related to the Elder, and besides,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The Divine Doctor’s words also matter.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I remembered the Divine Doctor’s warning to be cautious around the Celestial Master.As I mulled over a way out, searching for a solution, my father spoke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did you find me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pardon…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It should have been impossible with the Fire Wheel Star in place.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fire Wheel Star?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My father’s words made me recall the small sun floating in the sky.Was that what he called the Fire Wheel Star?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So that means—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I was right about why I couldn’t sense him.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was exactly as I’d suspected, the same power Noya had spoken about—the manifestation of intent.It was that which had concealed his presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did you find your way here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…I burned the link and created resonance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My father’s gaze flickered with intrigue upon hearing my answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Resonance… So there was a method like that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Huh?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I froze, catching a glimpse of my father’s expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…Is he smiling?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked like the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I only saw that expression for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well done.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My father unexpectedly praised me.Hearing it, I couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crunch!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kuh…!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then, my father grabbed the Celestial Master’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh no!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Father…! Wait…!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fwoosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A massive scarlet flame burst out, radiating light.The Celestial Master’s body became engulfed in flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though it was fire, the color was intensely red—so red that it seemed impossible for such a flame to exist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘This is bad.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I bit my lip as I watched. The Celestial Master had finally burned to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enveloped in flames of that magnitude, not even his bones would remain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I began to feel a surge of panic, my father turned his gaze back to me.His eyes met mine as I stood there with my mouth agape, and he spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry, he’s not dead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My father’s words made me give him a bewildered look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’s engulfed in these impossible flames, yet he’s not dead…?Is he implying he’s still alive, if only barely, though he might die soon?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As his grim tone brought a slight cold sweat to my brow,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I burned away the unnecessary.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My father explained, as if to clarify.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The unnecessary? I still didn’t understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Had it been anyone else, I would have burned him to death. But for the sake of your betrothed, I’ll let it go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Ah.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing my father’s words, I remembered belatedly.The Celestial Master was part of the Namgung family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caught up in the situation, I’d momentarily forgotten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Right… He shouldn’t be killed, even for that reason.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That thought crossed my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even if I’d remembered, would I have done anything about it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My thoughts, cold and detached despite the situation, denied that I would have intervened.I had always been ruthless, but after my transformation, I felt even less humane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suppressing the nauseating sensation, I asked my father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Father.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Speak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Celestial Master aside, what’s with the Elder…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I gestured toward the Elder.Unable to flee, he simply sat trembling as he watched the burning Celestial Master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My father’s gaze shifted to the Elder.Meeting his eyes, the Elder began to shake uncontrollably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard he poisoned you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing him say it so casually made me clench my fist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My father’s words meant he had come because I had been poisoned.This unfamiliar emotion made me avert my gaze slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…How did you know it was him? You haven’t been here long.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hadn’t even told the Poison King about it yet.My plan was to apprehend the Elder and extract all the information before saying anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But how had my father known to suspect the Elder?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To my question, my father simply replied,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An unexpected answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…What do you mean…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just now he said the Elder had poisoned me, yet now he says he didn’t know?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s quite different from what you said earlier…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing my confusion, my father provided a more detailed explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The only thing I was certain of was that one of the Elders was responsible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…So?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So I planned to capture all the Elders and verify it one by one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listening to my father’s words made my mind go blank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did I just hear?So…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…Not knowing exactly who, he planned to capture all the Elders?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a statement overwhelming in many ways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I tried to gather my scattered thoughts, my father looked at the Elder and continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It took half a day. The time spent tracking the presences of the Tang Clan’s Elders.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half a day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did I understand where my father had been when he suddenly disappeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The time had been used to memorize the presences of all the Elders within the vast Tang Clan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s why I sought out the one I found most suspicious. Judging from your reaction, I was correct.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, my father walked over to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve sent a message to the Poison King, so he should arrive soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When did he manage to do that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Celestial Master’s flames will die out before the Poison King arrives, so don’t worry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, he warned me not to interfere.Not that I had any intention of doing so, intimidated as I was by the flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My father slowly approached me and finally stopped in front of me.His cool gaze swept over me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling his eyes on me made me break out in a cold sweat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though I had just made an excuse about my transformation,how could I explain my current appearance?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I regretted it immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Damn it, I shouldn’t have come looking for him.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I should have listened and waited. Now I was about to get scolded for acting recklessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no excuse to be made.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eyes, now tinged with a faint blue hue.The blue tint in my hair, the scales marking my skin, my enlarged frame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I might be able to pass off the size as a result of the transformation.But the rest? No chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I scrambled to think of a plausible explanation, my father spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I closed my eyes tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no avoiding it.Just as I was bracing myself to be reprimanded,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…I see.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Startled by the change in tone, I opened my eyes slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emotion in his voice was unmistakable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an emotion I’d never felt from my father before.In his voice, which seemed as calm as usual, I could clearly sense it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You truly are…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That emotion was unmistakably—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…your mother’s child.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was longing.\u003C\u002Fp>",2248,"2026-06-05T15:10:08.481Z",1,"novelbin.me","12219fcb1e4002d978f963ed3b48d8df968409efcbde538558d277f11020bd8f","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-515","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-513",974,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fchildhood-friend-of-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]