[{"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-866":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},1240716,1667,"Chapter 865","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-866",866,"\u003Cp>Pama.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A power that repels and obliterates demonic energy, delivering fatal blows to those imbued with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the very reason the Sacred Sword and her blade regiment were formed, and why she became a beacon of hope in the war against the Demonic Cult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sole hope.The light of Zhongyuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A miracle capable of opposing the Cheonma, the absolute ruler, and bringing about victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was Pama.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A force that demonstrated absolute power over demonic energy.A power only the Sacred Sword, Wi Seol-ah, had ever possessed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘How did this end up happening?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How did I come to wield such power?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stared at the white flames coiling around my hand, lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No... no...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Celestial Stream Sect’s Master was trembling, his despair evident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked pitiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The enormous frame that had once towered over eight feet tall, and the skin that seemed inhuman, had both reverted to their original forms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, it was worse than his original state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d lost even the robust physique he once had. Despite being a martial artist, his body was now so emaciated it seemed like a brittle twig that might snap with a touch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had lost all vitality. The Celestial Stream Sect’s Master was in no condition to be called normal. His appearance resembled someone who had...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Lost their innate energy.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The very source of life that all humans possess. He looked like someone who had been almost completely drained of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why had this happened?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It must have been my flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I meant to incinerate him completely.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d intended to burn him to nothing, leaving no trace of even his bones. But instead, something else had been burned away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps the unknown energy that had warped his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My flames had consumed only that energy, leaving his body weakened and pathetic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is why I now called the energy within my flames Pama.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It’s similar to the power Pama displayed.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I recalled the Sacred Sword in my previous life, wielding her power against the demonic beings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She used theMoonlight Slash Swordto summon countless blade techniques imbued with Pama, effortlessly dispatching the demonic beings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When demonic energy encountered Pama, it was destroyed. For those whose bodies were saturated with demonic energy, the destruction of that energy was tantamount to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, when the Sacred Sword appeared, the Demon Sword Queen would often appear to face her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the Demon Sword Queen was called a demonic being, she had never received the Cheonma’s blessing, which made her uniquely suited to face the Sacred Sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A power that exists solely to counter demonic energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was Pama.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...Can this be called Pama?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I viewed my power as Pama, yet I couldn’t be certain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason was simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘This isn’t destruction.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What I had just demonstrated wasn’t destruction but rather erasure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it had been destruction, the Celestial Stream Sect’s Master would be dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he wasn’t. The alien energy in his body had simply been erased, leaving him human once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could this still be called Pama?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What’s more...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘His energy wasn’t demonic.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Celestial Stream Sect’s transformation wasn’t caused by demonic energy. Even so, my flames had erased it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should that still be considered Pama?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t make sense to me. But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I am certain of one thing.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something unusual had happened to my flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...And it isn’t so different from what my father once demonstrated.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I vaguely recalled a moment when my father confronted the Heavenly Elder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, he had reached out and erased something, after which the Heavenly Elder’s erratic personality had suddenly stabilized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘So this was always a latent ability of the Flames Firewheeln Technique.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This must be the transformation that occurs upon reaching mastery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘When the Flames Firewheel Technique reaches mastery, it gains the ability to burn away foreign energies.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what about the power my father displayed in the Northern Seas?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The way he erased a White-Rank beast in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was that power my father referred to as the future I must reach?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then there was the question of...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoosh—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Why did the color of my flames change again?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The new abilities and the altered color of my flames were mysteries I needed to unravel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Please... I...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I approached the trembling old man, crouching down to meet his gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As our eyes locked, the Celestial Stream Sect’s Master flinched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A moment later, rage filled his expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Smack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Guh!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he could say another word, I slapped him across the face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His frail body toppled over as if caught in the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t we have some things to discuss?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...You... you...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hadn’t used internal energy in the strike; I didn’t want him dying too easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grabbing his hair, I forced him upright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Guhk...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were many things I needed to figure out. Luckily, some of them could be answered immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I raised my hand, preparing to touch the Celestial Stream Sect’s Master—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ssssss---!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hm.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sensed movement by the door and glanced toward it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed someone had arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Welcome.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I apologize for being late. It took some time to find this place.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The figure approaching the entrance was none other than the Shadow King.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Everything has been dealt with, as you instructed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nodding at his calm words, I watched as the Shadow King surveyed the space, his gaze shifting between the Celestial Stream Sect’s Master and me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you require assistance?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wasn’t sure what kind of help he was offering, but anything from the Shadow King tended to be terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shook my head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, I’m fine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Understood. Then...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief pause, the Shadow King continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There’s something you need to check.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tilted my head in curiosity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*************\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I followed the Shadow King up to a higher level of the structure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There appears to be a special formation embedded in this space. That’s why it took me so long to locate you,” he explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that so?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I’d asked the Shadow King to handle the task, I’d also requested he return to me immediately after finishing. I’d wondered why he was delayed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Seems like there’s something strange here.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It appeared there was a formation spread across the entirety of this space. For me, the sensation had been faint and unfamiliar, but it hadn’t been difficult to reach my destination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. If I hadn’t sensed the energy from the lower level, it would’ve taken me even longer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The energy he mentioned was likely the flames I had unleashed earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Even the Shadow King couldn’t detect it?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What kind of barrier could block the senses of someone as formidable as the Shadow King?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How about now? Can you still sense it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No. It seems the formation has been deactivated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His response narrowed my focus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that it had been released implied there was a trigger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If there’s a trigger...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One thing came to mind—the tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sapling with its white leaves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could that be the cause? If so...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It might have something to do with the changes that occurred after I absorbed the leaves.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps deactivating the formation was one of those effects. Of course, I couldn’t be certain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I continued following the Shadow King, we came to a room at the end of the hallway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door was smaller than the iron gate I’d seen below, but it was still sizable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The smell of blood.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as I saw the door, the scent of blood hit me. I immediately stepped inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door was already ajar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I entered, I saw the source of the stench.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room was filled with bodies, slaughtered beyond recognition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood had pooled on the floor, soaking every inch of the space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These things...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The corpses were odd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dozens of mutilated bodies lay scattered, their forms eerily similar to the grotesque transformation the Celestial Stream Sect’s Master had undergone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned to the Shadow King, who, as if anticipating my question, spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They consumed an unknown internal core, which triggered their transformation. I managed to eliminate some before they could transform fully, but for others, I was too late.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, some of the bodies still retained a human appearance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, he had killed them all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘They ate some kind of core.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned to the others behind me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And what about that one?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By “that one,” I meant the Celestial Stream Sect’s Master, whom I’d incapacitated earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. He consumed something... and then started to transform.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘So their transformation was induced by ingestion, not a natural process.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they ate something, it was likely the same thing I had absorbed earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked back at the Shadow King and asked, “Do you know what it is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I do not. However...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gestured to the bodies he had slain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They appear to have been afflicted by a curse similar to mine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words came as a telepathic message, his voice tinged with both malice and disdain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I agreed with his assessment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though slightly different, the forms of these creatures unmistakably resembled...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Dragons.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beings similar to me. Or perhaps, similar to the Shadow King.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While their transformation wasn’t complete, it was clear enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These things were dragons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Celestial Stream Sect’s Master’s mutated form and the creatures lying dead in this room—they were all the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘They consumed something and became dragons.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An artificial transformation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could such a thing even be possible?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are there more of them elsewhere?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All confirmed targets have been eliminated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is there a possibility there are others?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are none within the range of my senses.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that was the case, they were either extremely far away or this was the entirety of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I trusted the Shadow King’s ability to sense them, but...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘This place is full of too many uncertainties.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing here could be taken at face value.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Splash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stepped further into the room, the blood squelching beneath my feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What kind of place is this?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was the purpose of this room?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging by the state of things, it wasn’t much different from what I’d seen in the underground chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room was smaller, but the presence of furniture hinted that it might have served as a resting area.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I surveyed the space, something caught my eye in the center of the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘A pond?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A small pond lay there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why was there a pond in a place like this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was strange at first glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Approaching it cautiously, I peered into the water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment I saw it, my eyes widened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath the surface was something massive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something far beyond imagination.\u003C\u002Fp>",1775,"2026-06-05T15:10:20.656Z",1,"novelbin.me","56f77bfc302a507c8bdc4b9652a1d95ac8ca8ea8b49572eb456417dae23da4ab","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-867","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-865",974,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fchildhood-friend-of-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]