[{"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-79":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},1240055,1667,"Chapter 78: Not Ugly","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-79",79,"\u003Cp>༺ Not Ugly ༻\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Brother…!｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I heard a sobbing voice coming out of my lips while basking under the warm sunlight, unlike the foggy mist that usually was the norm for cold seasons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a memory from my childhood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the woods near our house,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I toddled my way forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was the seeker in this game of hide and seek.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I preferred being the seeker because it was scary to hide by myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brother said that he was confident in hiding himself, so he told me not to worry about only me being the seeker in this little game of ours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Brother… where are you?｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I continued to walk forward, shifting through the branches of the trees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brother wasn’t very good at hiding like he boasted himself to be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would always be found out by me in the end without exception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time too, I noticed a small part of his clothing poking out from behind a tree not far away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My sobbing face soon turned bright and cheerful right away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I found you!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I poked my head toward him quickly to give him a scare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Huh…?｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But unexpectedly, my brother wasn’t there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was only his clothing, the clothing of the Gu clan, stuck in that place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Brother where are—｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Boo—!｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Kyaghhhh｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I screamed out loud and collapsed onto the ground after being surprised from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was so scared that even tears began coming out of my eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I turned around, I was greeted with the sight of my brother laughing at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had sharp and fierce eyes, but when he smiled, he looked very kind and warm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Did I scare ya?｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢I… I was so scared…｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢I knew this would work.｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt annoyed at how proud he looked for scaring me like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of the annoyance I felt, I punched my brother’s shoulders a few times with my small fists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But my brother kept laughing as though my attacks were not able to hurt him at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After laughing for a while, he reached his hand out toward me, telling me to grab onto it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I put a puzzled look on my face but grabbed his hand nonetheless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Let’s go back, Mom is probably waiting for us.｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Already…?｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Yeah, we’ll get in trouble if we stay here longer, you know.｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was not possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>None of us ever saw Mom getting angry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, I just nodded my head anyways as I liked listening to my brother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hand I grabbed, belonging to him, was filled with endless warmth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The clothing he used to scare me was put on me before I could even notice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did it because it was rather cold today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was cold, but I was still able to handle it since there were two of us here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢…Sister Yeonseo bullied me again earlier.｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Sister did?｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Yeah… She glared at me saying that it was her mom, even though mom is ours…｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢I see.｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brother patted my head with those warm hand of his after hearing my words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt like my heart was melting with pleasure when he patted me like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Since sister is also one of us, she can also say that, right?｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢…Yeah, I guess.｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The way brother looked at me always felt so warm and comforting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I liked that about him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t like father’s cold sharp eyes, but brother’s and mom’s eyes always felt warm and I loved that about them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was all I needed in this life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was what Gu Ryunghwa thought back then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢What should we eat for today?｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢I want to eat fish today!｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Fish? Okay, let’s go and ask.｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Yeah!｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After walking a bit together with my brother, we arrived at our home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since it was almost nighttime, the lights had already been turned on, and I could see mom waving her hand toward us from far away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Mommm!｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I powerfully waved my hand toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I then quickly ran towards Mom and hugged her tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mom’s hands were cold because of waiting outside for us for so long…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I still loved those cold hands of hers…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, Mom patted my brother’s head who came after me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the season of cold but I was still able to feel endless warmth due to the people I had with me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was all I needed in this life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought that I would be happy as long as I got to keep such a wonderful life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the small dream that I had at that young age of mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the Heavens didn’t exactly want that to happen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A week later,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything was ruined and Gu Ryunghwa’s life also hit rock bottom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>* * * * *\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At every summer, the Mount Hua Sect usually hosted a tournament for the students enrolled in it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a simple tournament that consisted of the students of the Mount Hua Sect participating in it to decide a winner, however, it was also a process for the sect to choose new swordsmen of Mount Hua.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second-generation students of the Mount Hua Sect that hadn’t already become the swordsmen of Mount Hua were required to participate in the tournament, while it was optional for the third-generation students to participate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Due to that rule, Gu Ryunghwa was technically required to participate in the tournament as she was a second-generation student of the sect, but she was given an exception by the elders and the first-generation students because of her circumstance and was thus allowed to fight the third-generation students instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Gu Ryunghwa rejected that offer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t want to fight the third-generation students and she felt that she couldn’t back down from the tournament for preserving the honor of her Master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>– Swish—! Swoosh—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wooden sword swung heavily by me without stopping for a single instant…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I swung the sword countless times ever since I had joined the Mount Hua Sect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t yet reach a level where I would be able to use the Plum Blossom Sword Arts and there were also other skills of Mount Hua that I needed to learn as well that I hadn’t been able to do yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was getting desperate at this point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even I knew that I was running out of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the contrary, my Master told me to relax and take my time…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying that I had lots of opportunities awaiting since I was still young…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if I do become an exemplary person in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did that accomplishment have any meaning without my Master by my side?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Ryunghwa bit her lips at that thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The end of her Master’s lifespan, the end of this year, that the Immortal Healer mentioned was slowly creeping nearer and nearer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was still so much I had to accomplish before I could even start making my sword blossom with plum blossoms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, I wanted to show my Master the sight of my sword blossoming with those ethereal plum flowers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If I had talent like… that person.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The person that was essentially the youngest among the third-generation students,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the person that was being hailed as the future of the Mount Hua Sect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sword Dragon, Yung Pung.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I had his talents, then maybe I wouldn’t have been feeling so desperate right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And just like that, before I could even notice it, I had started feeling jealous of Yung Pung.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And I knew for a fact that there was no way for me to be like him… which didn’t help in calming me either…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of that,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had the feeling that I wasn’t able to swing the sword in the correct way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Sigh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My hand was stinging due to swinging the sword for so long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, only the thought of proceeding with my training came to mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My Master wasn’t in a state to teach me anything right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I had to teach myself everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Ugh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I was slowly becoming more and more desperate, nothing seemed to be going well for me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And today felt especially worse due to the scene I had encountered in the morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scene of Gu Yangcheon and those girls frolicking around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The family member I’d seen for the first time in a while looked to be in an even sadder state than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The brother in my memories had already died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He died on the same day as my mother left this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least, that was what I felt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kind boy who had infinite warmth in his heart was burnt alive by the smoldering flames of the Gu Clan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the only thing that was left in its stead was an evil, vengeful spirit of abomination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I… I still had a little bit of hope left.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Gu Yangcheon that I had seen for the first time in a long while felt different than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t necessarily the warm brother from her memories, but he was still different from the repulsive person that he had been the last time I saw him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He at least looked like he had thrown away all those disgusting desires of his that he used to have in those sharp eyes of his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which is why I still had some hope left in me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That he would return to the brother I once used to know and cherish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was a pointless thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s impossible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I still wasn’t able to throw away my past even though I thought I had given up on it when I run away from everything in fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I had been distracted by these useless thoughts, I decided to just swing my sword some more to drive them away from my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today was a day when no students of the Mount Hua Sect came to the mountain to train.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was most likely because of the tournament.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I honestly preferred this environment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since it wasn’t easy to train in that uncomfortable atmosphere filled with people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, as I started to train once more…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>–Swoosh\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stopped myself after hearing some distinct sounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>–Swoosh—! Swish swoosh—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sounds of someone swinging a sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, something was different about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the sound that the Mount Hua Sect’s sword arts usually make, this sound was distinctly different from that…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, just what was this sharp sensation that I was constantly feeling?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I moved my steps toward the direction that the sound came from. But I still wondered, what if it was one of the martial artists of the Mount Hua Sect?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though that thought came to my mind, I wasn’t able to stop my steps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I finally arrived at the destination,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>–Swoosh—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My hair started blowing due to the fierce wind generated after each sword strike…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…Huh?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first thing that entered my eyes was her enchanting beauty…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>White hair that flowed along with her beautiful sword art and those alluring blue eyes of hers that only focused on her sword was a truly enchanting sight… and equally annoying for my mind…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every one of her steps, incorporated into her sword arts, was light and swift, however, I was 100% sure that each of those strikes of her sword was nowhere near light as her footsteps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elegance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How come I was able to see elegance blended in between her fierce movements?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was I not even capable of understanding it? Does that mean that she was just that much more skilled in the sword arts than I was?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many thoughts lingered in my head, but my eyes never left the display of her sword art. They were unable to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How can she have such fluid movements?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What does she feel when she swings her sword?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wondered in my mind,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I could ever become skilled enough to swing a sword like that one day…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that thought, I could even hear the excited beating of my heart…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I knew I was distracting myself from training with these thoughts and watching her, however, I had a feeling that I would be able to gain something from the showcase of this phenomenal sword art if I could just finish watching it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the woman was about to swing her sword, cutting the air once again using her ethereal sword arts…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Whew.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She suddenly stopped her movements altogether, not even finishing the last swing…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing her stop, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed and unsatisfied in my heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt like I could’ve gained something if I could’ve watched it in full.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, there was a bigger problem at hand that I had to face other than my disappointment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the fact that I had secretly watched her train.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, I even tried to gain something from someone else’s training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had watched her training as if possessed, but I still had no excuses for doing something like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe I can use the fact that an outsider was training in the mountains of Mount Hua as an excuse?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While I was trapped in my thoughts, the woman’s eyes met with my own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that I took a better look, her face seemed familiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had pale white skin, mirroring her equally white hair, and enchanting blue eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And even though she was covered in sweat right now, that only made her look more seductive rather than just dirty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was breathtaking for even a person of the same gender as me to look at her beauty… and…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was definitely one of the girls that were with Gu Yangcheon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…She was a martial artist?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t have the chance to find out before due to the scene I saw in the morning, but I only thought of her as just some beautiful girl following my brother, but to find out that she was a martial artist…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When our gaze met, I began sweating profusely…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her apathetic face made it impossible for me to know what she was thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She just tilted her head once after looking at me and then nodded once she looked at the wooden sword in my hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What does that mean?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was worried that I would get into trouble for secretly watching her train,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the words that came out of the woman’s mouth were… unexpected, to say the least.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Want to…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pardon?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Duel?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I frowned thinking that I had misheard her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>* * * * *\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now here I was at the present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thankfully, she didn’t seem to have gotten mad at me for secretly watching her train.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t even seem to have cared about that matter, in fact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which only made me wonder as a martial artist myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How can she be like that…?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded after I had been challenged to a duel by her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was wondering in my mind if she was just perhaps trying to teach me a lesson for secretly watching her training, but I soon dismissed that thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I accepted the duel though as I felt that chances like these didn’t really come often in a martial artist’s life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the duel between us began in earnest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I repeatedly charged at her for a long, long time, but I was not even able to manage to brush her clothes with my wooden sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My uniform had already become stained with dirt as I had to constantly roll around everywhere while attacking her, while my body started trembling nonstop as I was out of energy due to moving around without rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked up at Namgung Bi-ah with tired eyes and thought,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…How can I not even touch her even once?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was only by a hair’s breadth every time, which only made me think that Namgung Bi-ah was purposely letting me almost hit her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…But why?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is she trying to teach me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then why…?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After breathing heavily for a while, I finally stood up once again to face her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Namgung Bi-ah who was waiting for me wasn’t even breathing heavily like she did when she was training by herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, she even looked quite bored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At her level, I felt like she would have no problem facing any of the second-generation students.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t know her age, but she looked to be around 20 years of age or maybe a bit older.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wasn’t much older than Yung Pung too. There really were so many talented geniuses out there in the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt like my pride was getting hurt at that thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, I spoke out to her after remembering the events of the morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…We saw each other in the morning, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s your relationship with that boy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, my question had hit her hard for some reason. I could tell that since her emotionless face had broken ever so slightly after I had asked her that question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes seemed to have gotten a bit bigger while a side of her eyebrows seemed to be contorted into a imperceptible frown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Namgung Bi-ah spoke after thinking for some time about what to reply…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fiancée…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…He’s not someone that you should be with.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Hmm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know what happened for you to be with him, but it’s such a waste for you to be with him… For you to be around that disgusting and ugly guy who never puts effort into anything is just… wasteful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So it’s not too late to—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t finish my words…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I felt the atmosphere had suddenly shifted drastically…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman in front of me still had that apathetic look on her face, but something was different about her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>–Thump\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I held my sword up instantly when I saw her taking a step forward in my direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…What the?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something had changed about her, but I was unaware as to what.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The person standing across me reminded me of someone at that instant…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sword Master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My very own Master…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not too long ago, Master had shown me her overpowering presence when she was still in somewhat of a healthty shape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was able to slightly feel the same pressure coming from the woman that was walking towards me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alarm bells went off in my head and I had no choice but to put the little bit of Qi left in me into my sword to defend myself from the incoming danger…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman then spoke out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Not ugly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pardon…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s not ugly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is she angry?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier, the way she spoke sounded so weak and faint, but her voice now felt a bit stronger than before…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging by the overpowering energy, I now knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That she had gone easy on me before, I knew that already but I still didn’t expect her to be so… so powerful…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tried to look for a solution because there seemed to be a misunderstanding between us, but my body had already frozen on spot due to her overwhelming presence and pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was scared out of my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you say something like that…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman’s footsteps became faster. At the same time, her figure instantly disappeared from my eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You deserve to be punished…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a flash of blue light, a wooden sword appeared right in front of my eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I instantly closed my eyes shut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it my mistake?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since just before I closed them… I felt like I had seen flames surrounding me from all sides…\u003C\u002Fp>",3253,"2026-06-05T15:09:38.751Z",1,"novelbin.me","e7e012741d646cee933f97f90d5d2843c1dca241153179d83fee25b3b8094d6e","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-80","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-78",974,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fchildhood-friend-of-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]