[{"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-52":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},1240028,1667,"Chapter 51: The Plum Blossom Dragon (1)","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-52",52,"\u003Cp>༺ The Plum Blossom Dragon (1) ༻\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Namgung Clan, the pillar of the Orthodox Factions, is a clan that specializes in sword art and had reached the pinnacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To have endlessly trained their body and put all of their learnings into their sword,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And to have never stopped their training even after they’ve reached their peak,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was what it meant to be a wielder of the sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qi that the descendants of the Namgung Clan used and all of the sword arts they had invented proved that they were masters of the sword,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And they were known as the greatest until the Sword Emperor made his appearance into the world, which caused the clan’s reputation to take a hit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Sword Emperor’ was a title that belonged to Wi Hyogun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And although Namgung Jeolcheon, the Lord of Heaven and another one of the Heavenly Venerables, had gotten a title for himself as well, it wasn’t the one he desired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to walk above the sky as a sword wielder, but since that title had already been given to Wi Hyogun, it was all meaningless to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, while Namgung Cheonjun may have gotten the title of ‘Lightning Sword’ as one of the world’s young prodigies,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He still wasn’t the greatest among them despite his talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was Gu Huibi, the Sword Phoenix.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To make things worse, Namgung Cheonjun wasn’t even able to earn the title of ‘Sword Dragon’.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was only called the Lightning Dragon because that was the element he used, but he wasn’t able to earn the title of Sword Dragon despite being from a clan known for their sword arts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of that, Namgung Cheonjun had done all that he can change that, but the result ended up the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The title of ‘Sword Dragon’ belonged to Mount Hua rather than the Namgung Clan in this generation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Plum Blossoming Sword Dragon of Mount Hua, is the youngest sword wielder in the sect and a man who would be later known as the Plum Blossoming Sword Emperor in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a man with endless talents when it came to the sword, a genius who could already make plums blossom at a young age, setting a good future for himself in the process.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that man was now standing right before me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He appeared to be around two or three years older than me with his hair tied up neatly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And although he was a handsome man with eyes that gave an innocent impression, there was still a bit of seriousness mixed in as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sword Dragon asked me a question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How come I can feel Mount Hua within you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it was then that I knew I was fucked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>* * * *\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This happened not too long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s been a week since I reached the 4th realm of flame arts, and it’s been 15 days since I left for Mount Hua.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I remember Muyeon’s eyes shaking like crazy when he saw me in the morning suddenly at the 4th rank of flame arts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To put a comparison to before, I now felt like I could beat someone like Namgung Cheonjun easily if we were to duel again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it would be different if he also improved during this time as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I now felt like I reached the power akin to the young prodigies of the world by this point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Muyeon’s perspective, it was a huge achievement for me to reach that state at such a young age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And although this all happened thanks to some miracles of some sort…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, what mattered was that I had reached the 4th realm of flame arts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was now able to strengthen my body while also keeping the heat inside my body rather than putting it outside,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which made it much easier for me to continue using my Qi without putting a significant toll on my body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this technique ate up a ton of Qi, so I probably wouldn’t be able to use it for long periods of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kriieek-!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud-!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A demon collapsed on the ground after letting out a cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because such a big body fell to the ground at once, dust spread out everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I looked at the demon on the ground, it was a demon that resembled a horse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Green Demonic Horse was the name of it I believe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This thing came out of nowhere, and scared the hell out of me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>– Blaze!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the hunt had ended, I withdrew the Qi I covered my body with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason why I killed a demon out of nowhere was that while I was taking a walk, a gate of demons had appeared right in front of me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And since I wanted to test my 4th realm of flame arts, I went ahead of the escorts to fight the demon myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Muyeon didn’t bother to stop me as he noticed the new level of power I had achieved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I definitely felt different compared to before when I fought the demon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The toll that was brought on my body due to the heat was reduced by a lot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the destructiveness and the speed of my attacks had also improved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I believe I was now at the same level as first-rate martial artists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it was extremely fast considering my young age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To give a comparison, Gu Huibi reached the 4th realm of flame arts at the age of 17.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And she was considered the greatest of the Gu Clan in history, so I can’t imagine all the attention I would get once I returned home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I would probably get the most attention from the Second Elder.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would probably run at me with a monstrous smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And on the other hand, I would assume the First Elder would also be unhappy with this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t make a move ever since the interaction between me and Gu Jeolyub, but I would assume that he is planning something behind the scenes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m just hoping that it wasn’t anything bad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If possible, I’d just prefer him just not do anything at all.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hoped that he wouldn’t get even more greedy, and that he would maintain his current position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would be a hassle to get rid of an old wolf that tried to use its fangs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But if he does show his fangs, I would have to pull all of them out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you say something, Young Master?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing, I just have a tooth cavity, but it doesn’t hurt so I didn’t bother pulling it out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A cavity?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, I hope that it stays painless, I would have to pull it out once it starts hurting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I let it stay even if it’s giving me pain, it would all rot so I had to pull them out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Investigation is done!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the escorts shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked Muyeon with an interested expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you gonna do with the bones and the leather?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We will bring a small portion of them, but I think we’ll have to leave most of it behind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What a pity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bones and the leathers of a demon sold for a good amount of money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The leather of demons was much stronger and more durable than animal leather so they were more desired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And although this was the leather of the lowest rank of demons, it could still sell for a good amount so I was a bit disappointed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And we are not even halfway there…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt like it’s been a long time, but we still had to go much further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt like such a retard to go on this trip after getting hooked by Heavenly Pill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Nah, this is Heavenly Pill we are talking about here… yeah, this is worth it for Heavenly Pill.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was spending all my days coping with that thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long trips definitely weren’t for me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After sitting down in the carriage and waiting for us to start going again, Wi Seol-Ah who was next to me started to sniff me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huh, is she a dog now…?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I flicked her head because of her strange actions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ow!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah backed off after letting out a short cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it was then that I remembered that the Sword Emperor was leading this carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hit his granddaughter right in front of him, and because of that, cold sweats flowed down my face while me also getting goosebumps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I took a small peek at the Sword Emperor, he was still on the horse not really caring about what had happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…What’s up, why are you sniffing me all of sudden?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t ask ‘Why are you acting like a dog?’ in front of the Sword Emperor, so I asked her the nicest way possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah spoke while rubbing her forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can smell the scent of flowers on the Young Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What scent of flowers?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know… I could smell it though.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Wi Seol-Ah’s words, I pointed to the corner of the carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s probably coming from there, not me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the corner of the carriage, was a small box that had the treasure inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had to look for a box because of all the scent that would linger around me if I put it in my pocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to that, it was easier for me to store without also having all that scent around me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I would look back at the box from time to time just in case anything happened, but that was fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was better than me accidentally absorbing the Qi of a treasure…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…No, it’s definitely coming from the Young Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I ignored Wi Seol-Ah’s mumblings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I saw her speak to herself while holding the box with the treasure in it earlier, so I was leaving her alone as I thought she was just acting weird today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did she say? ‘Hello, stranger grandpa, who are you?’ Something like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t want to talk to her since she was probably really tired today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was definitely not scared because she was talking to herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘There are no ghosts in the world.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t believe in ghosts even after time resurrecting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…I’m going to say it again, but I’m not scared of ghosts…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No way a demonic human is scared of ghosts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I ignored the cold sweats that for some reason flowed down my face, and closed my eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only thing in my mind was to reach Mount Hua as soon as we can.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘This long of a trip, no way I’d do such a thing again.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After returning from this trip, I’m just going to stay home for at least one year, that was my promise to myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The carriage continued to travel a long way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While I was half asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before it became night, we had to go as far as we could, so we continued to go without any breaks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And after traveling for a long time, the carriage suddenly came to a halt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And because it stopped so suddenly, my body shot out forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Woah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah also was about to fall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While I was still barely awake, I first put Qi around Wi Seol-Ah and blocked her with my arm so that she doesn’t get hurt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t going to be a strong fall, but it was better to be safe than sorry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to that, only Wi Seol-Ah’s hair was messed up but she wasn’t hurt anywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I then opened the door and got out of the carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I spoke in a slightly angry tone without me even realizing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was probably because my sleep was interrupted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I left the carriage with a frown on my face, someone was standing in front of the escorts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Huh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My mouth shut right away when I was about to ask what was going on. The person that was blocking the carriage seemed familiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A white outfit with a red plum symbol.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the sword on his hips that had the symbol of plum blossom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was only one place where martial artists wore such clothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The place which the Heavenly Demon and I destroyed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I apologize for suddenly stopping you, but I came here as I was curious about something.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young man spoke gently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice fit his soft appearance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a familiar appearance as well as a familiar voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It belonged to none other than the person I finished off by snapping his neck…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last survivor of Mount Hua.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I am Yung Pung of Mount Hua.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was the Plum Blossoming Sword Emperor, no, he was currently called the Plum Blossoming Sword Dragon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is it really okay for you to do such a dangerous thing, as a martial artist of Mount Hua?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Muyeon complained to Yung Pung.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t seem like he came out of nowhere to stop us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was supposed to be talking to Yung Pung right now as I was the leader of the crew, but since I was still confused about what was going on, Muyeon had to step in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing Muyeon’s words, Yung Pung apologizes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I apologize. I did not want to block the road with such a method, but I had to do it as I had to check something.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Check what?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I wanted to check if that carriage had Mount Hua within it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The direction Yung Pung pointed to was the carriage I was in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What does he mean? Mount Hua within the carriage?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone seemed to be confused at the random words Yung Pung put out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I came to check since I felt a familiar feeling from far away, but it seems like there isn’t anything problematic here after all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He really seemed to be relieved, as he let out a sigh of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Although, I am still curious about one more thing. If that carriage does not have Mount Hua within it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along with Yung Pung’s words, I noticed a familiar scent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the scent of Plum Blossom I had to deal with for the past many days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scent was very close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was because Yung Pung came right in front of me in an instant even though he was far away just a second ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yung Pung’s voice was tender, but also serious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his voice, I was also able to hear the voice I heard from the destruction of Mount Hua along with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢For what reason…!! Why are you doing this to us!!｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How come I can feel Mount Hua within you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Yung Pung’s question, my heart skipped a beat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I thought to myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sigh, it really seems like I’m…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Screwed.｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Screwed-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh…?”\u003C\u002Fp>",2465,"2026-06-05T15:09:38.751Z",1,"novelbin.me","9b0ffa51e49de136fb82557a3667c2a972af507046b3866e51b2b4bdece30b7a","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-53","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-51",974,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fchildhood-friend-of-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]