Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 1115

Chapter 1115

The location Namgung Jeohwi guided us to was a more secluded part of the family estate.

A trail extended behind the main house. It wasn’t ornate, merely a walkway bordered by covered passages.

Unlike the wild, untended plant life around it, this space had an oddly deliberate sense of order to it.

An artificial quality. It meant someone was caring for it.

Step.

Namgung Jeohwi moved ahead and addressed us.

“……Stay close behind me.”

Worry was plain on his face. Noting that, we matched our speed to his.

As I trod onto the path behind him—

Zap—!

“……”

A faint, prickling feeling grazed over my skin. I gave no outward sign.

I see.

They had attempted to make it undetectable. It was so weak, so delicate, that if I hadn’t been holding my senses in check, I might have completely overlooked it.

The instant we crossed into the passage, I registered the presence and narrowed my eyes just a fraction.

You’re observing, aren’t you?

Watching or feeling.

If I had to choose, it was probably the latter. I moved on silently, feigning ignorance as I contemplated the source of that power.

The trail climbed upward, tracing the side of the mountain. Yet the walking was not difficult.

It was a properly kept road.

As we proceeded cautiously along the earthen path—

Zap.

“……”

The sensation of lightning energy intensified.

It wasn’t yet sharp enough to hurt, but its purpose was clear.

Was it growing stronger the deeper we went? Should I continue to disregard it?

This is becoming aggravating.

Even with my senses dulled and my energy hidden, the irritation was mounting. Annoyance simmered inside me.

By now, it was practically being flung at us openly.

Ssshh…

For the moment, I maintained the act. I didn’t wish to respond, so I bore it.

But just as I prepared to keep suppressing it—

Fwoooosh—!!!

“……!”
“What in the—!?”

Abruptly, a surge of heat exploded next to us.

A violent burst of energy caused Namgung Jeohwi, who was in front, to spin around in shock. I also looked toward the origin of the heat.

It was my father.

He was shaking off flames that wreathed his body.

“What… What are you doing?”

Namgung Jeohwi asked, visibly unsettled by the sudden act.

My father, however, replied with an expression of complete detachment.

“Something was bothering me, so I incinerated it.”

“……”

His tone was impossibly matter-of-fact.

Hearing that, I was briefly at a loss for words.

Incredible…

So, my father had detected the lightning energy too. And he had simply burned it away with fire.

The issue was—

He absolutely knows who that energy belongs to.

The owner of that lightning was somewhere in these mountains. He had to understand the implication of erasing someone’s energy so brazenly.

And yet, my father just brushed himself off as if it were nothing.

For a heartbeat, the flames around him continued to dance.

Fwoosh…

Then, shortly after, the fire vanished entirely. He had annihilated every trace of the lightning energy.

“Hah…”

Namgung Jeohwi released an unsteady breath. He seemed to have just comprehended what my father had done.

“Deputy Commander… Right now, you just—”

At that instant—

Rumble—!!!

Oh, wonderful.

A peal of thunder roared from the summit of a far-off hill.

The sky was utterly clear—devoid of any clouds.

And yet, the sound of thunder cracked through the air as if it were the most normal thing.

Did I just anger someone?

Without a doubt—the owner of that lightning was moderately displeased.

And as if to confirm my suspicion—

“Interesting.”

Zap—!!!

A low, resonant voice rang out, sending a cold shiver down my spine.

Ah, perfect.

Yes, they were definitely angry.

Whoosh—!!

A crushing pressure fell. The very air seemed to grow heavy.

Ssshhh—!!!

The plants surrounding us were flattened by the invisible force.

“Urgh…!”

Namgung Jeohwi let out a pained grunt. His legs shook under the pressure, struggling to keep him upright.

In comparison, my father and I stood completely unmoved.

That was when I understood—

Damn it, I made a mistake.

If I had thought this through, I should have staggered a little when Namgung Jeohwi did. But I had remained too still, too composed.

It was far too late to pretend now. So I just kept standing there, weathering the force.

And then—

“Heh… heh… heh…”

Laughter reverberated.

Rumble—!!!

From the distance, another thunderclap boomed, and a searing arc of light ripped across the sky.

Crackle—!!!
Kuaaaaa—!!!

A colossal bolt of lightning hammered into the earth.

Light flooded the area, followed by a delayed, earsplitting crash.

Whoosh—!!

A shockwave blasted outward, sweeping over everything in its path.

I narrowed my eyes, bracing against the gust.

A plume of dust mushroomed from the point of impact, momentarily obscuring my view.

Then, as the dust settled—

The figure now standing before us became visible.

…Heavenly Lord.

Naturally, it would be him.

One of the Three Masters, the former Head of the Namgung Clan in this age.

Even though he had relinquished the title, he remained the true authority within the family.

He looks youthful.

Far younger than the Heavenly Lord I had known in my time. But then, this was the past.

“How amusing.”

Ssshh…

With every step he took, the ground crackled and smoked.

The heat from his lightning energy was scorching the earth beneath his feet.

“Where did the Clan Head find such children?”

“…Father.”

“I’m certain my instructions were explicit, were they not?”

The Heavenly Lord’s focus turned to Namgung Jeohwi.

His glare was so intense I unconsciously swallowed hard.

“I instructed you to permit no one inside the barrier for a time. And.”

As he spoke, his form vanished.

When he reappeared, he was standing directly in front of Namgung Jeohwi.

“That includes you, Clan Head. Was I not clear?”

“……!!”

Cold sweat trickled down Namgung Jeohwi’s temple.

His eyes flickered, his body trembling faintly.

Simultaneously, the ambient pressure lessened.

Which meant—

He’s focusing all that pressure solely on Namgung Jeohwi now.

Instead of spreading it across the area, he was concentrating it into a direct attack.

For someone who hadn’t attained Hwagyeong, withstanding it must be agony.

“Guh… Kugh…”

Even so, Namgung Jeohwi held his ground, refusing to buckle.

Soon after—

Tsk.

At the sound of the Heavenly Lord clicking his tongue, Namgung Jeohwi’s breathing finally steadied.

“Guh… Haah… Hah…”

Watching this play out, a thought occurred to me.

The Heavenly Lord’s control is far too absolute.

I had been curious why Namgung Jeohwi, despite being Clan Head, couldn’t freely mobilize troops or order evacuations.

Because authorization from someone above him was required first.

The Heavenly Lord’s standing was so supreme that, ultimately, nothing could proceed without his consent.

“…I apologize. The situation was… too urgent…”

“Yes, I’m sure it was. Which is why I will overlook it on this occasion.”

The Heavenly Lord’s blue eyes flashed before his attention moved from Namgung Jeohwi to us.

Zzzzt—!!!

Hah.

An overpowering wave of lightning energy forced its way into my body. The pressure, laced with lightning, aggressively pushed inward.

Fwoooosh—!!!

At the exact moment the Heavenly Lord released his energy, my father burst into flame.

His body emitted a counter-surge of heat, refusing to be dominated.

The sheer power of it distorted the air itself.

As I expected.

It was breathtaking.

Such compression and rotational force at that stage…

When I was at Hwagyeong, I couldn’t produce anything like this. Or perhaps I could have, but the energy cost would have been at least double.

As I stood there, quietly appreciating my father’s flames—

“Hahaha.”

The Heavenly Lord laughed as he observed him.

“I had grown somewhat interested upon hearing a promising young talent was coming. But this… this exceeds all anticipation. So, you are this generation’s Divine Dragon?”

My father gave a single nod.

“Deputy Commander of the Azure Dragon Division, Gu Cheolwoon. I greet the Heavenly Lord.”

Creak—!

Despite his laughter, the lightning aura grew even denser.

As if he wanted to test the absolute limits of my father’s endurance.

“How peculiar. Where did a child like you come from?”

The Heavenly Lord looked genuinely perplexed by my father’s flames.

Truthfully, even I, who practiced the same arts, found it bewildering.

My father wasn’t a regressor like me.

So how had he achieved this level? Where did those incredible stats and that monstrous aptitude originate?

While he was watching with fascination—

“I must acknowledge your boldness,” the Heavenly Lord said. “To burn away my energy as if it were trivial. I find that rather appealing.”

“Thank you.”

“I only deployed it as a test, merely to ascertain something. But for you to nullify it so effortlessly… You may well be the finest I’ve encountered in generations.”

“……”

The man was lavishing praise upon my father, yet his expression didn’t shift.

I was still deciding how I should respond to all this—

“That is precisely why I have a question.”

The Heavenly Lord inclined his head slightly.

“The Divine Dragon stands here, burning my lightning away with his fire.”

His gaze shifted—away from my father and onto me.

Then.

Crackle—!

“—!”

Before the sound could even arrive, my head turned on instinct.

Kiiiiing—!!!

A blinding streak of lightning shot past my cheek.

BOOOOOOM—!!!

The bolt detonated behind me.

For hell’s sake.

I didn’t look back.

I kept my eyes fixed ahead.

“…What are you?”

The Heavenly Lord’s stare drilled into me, his eyes now sharp with clear purpose.

“What exactly are you, to resist my lightning without manifesting any energy of your own?”

“……”

Hearing that, I slowly dragged a hand through my hair.

Damn it.

“…Ah, for crying out loud.”

I messed up.