Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 1129

Chapter 1129

No response came.

Father only stared at me, his brow deeply furrowed.

I hadn’t considered how he might react.

Because, in a way, I had already anticipated it.

“I also had a request to fulfill, so just letting things be would have been…”

I tilted my head slightly.

*Kuuuuung—!!!*

A violent surge of qi rushed past me.

Father had thrown a punch. I evaded it, but the searing heat that followed made my eyes water.

*Fwoooosh.*

It was his other arm.

Fierce flames coiled aggressively around his right arm, which was already poised to strike.

Seeing that, I twisted my body.

The fire would project forward in a straight line.

At least, that was how it appeared.

One.

A feint.

Tuan activated, tracking Father’s movements.

That flame was a distraction.

The instant I recognized it—

*Fwaaaaah—!!!*

Fire flooded my vision.

There was hardly any aggressive intent behind the attack.

Its sole purpose was to rob me of my sight.

Had he refined this ability? Even when I channeled qi into my eyes, I couldn’t see past it.

My vision was completely obscured.

My qi sense was suppressed, and my sight was stolen.

That was the power of these flames.

Then—

*Fwaaaah—!!*

A gap appeared in the blinding inferno.

Something shot through from the left.

A fist.

Father’s fist drove straight into my side.

I curled my arm to block.

His strike landed against the tightly tensed muscles I had gathered for defense.

*Kuuuuung—!!!*

A violent shock sent my body hurling backward.

I was flung clear of the fire’s obscuring range, and what came into view—

*Bang—! Bang, bang—!!*

—was a wall.

I crashed through it, my body ricocheting off the shattered structure.

*Rustle.*

Tumbling across the ground, I became covered in dust and debris.

“Ptooey.”

I spat out fragments of rubble that had gotten into my mouth.

The bits I spit out scattered into the air.

Beyond their arc, I saw something.

*Fwoosh—!!*

“…Ha.”

Father was already right in front of me, his fist clenched.

The heat concentrating at its core was suffocating.

Is he actually trying to kill me?

This wasn’t the level of qi one uses against an ally.

*Tch.*

Clicking my tongue, I swiftly twisted my body.

During the rotation, I grabbed a handful of dirt.

I flung it at Father, using the momentum.

*Kwaaaaa—!!*

As if such a crude trick was beneath him, Father blasted it away with a surge of flame.

That was fine.

I never expected it to work anyway.

It was just to create the briefest of openings.

Even a fleeting moment was enough.

*Crunch—!*

“…!”

I sprang up and closed the distance, seizing Father’s wrist with my hand.

And then—

*Ssssshhhhh—!!!!*

A burning pain flared in my palm.

The searing heat around his wrist attacked my skin.

*Zzzzzzzzz.*

Ah, damn.

I let go and widened the gap between us.

The moment my body absorbed the heat, my Nine Flames Firewheel instinctively reacted.

It tried to push back the flames, activating my resistance.

I suppressed the reaction, stepped back, and shook my hand.

*Slap, slap.*

I brushed the lingering heat from my body.

The attack had been blocked by the qi reinforcement around my hands.

“…Attacking before I can even finish talking is a bit much, don’t you think? You could at least let me finish my sentence.”

“……”

Father stared at me.

The eerie gleam in his red eyes made my insides shrink.

I was certain he was weaker than me.

But the sheer presence he radiated was inexplicable.

As the silence grew heavier—

“Is there a need for words?”

Father spoke.

“…What?”

“We’ve said enough.”

*Fwoooooosh—!!!*

Scarlet flames erupted around his body.

The heat radiating from him began to affect the entire area.

“…Wasn’t this supposed to be a spar?”

“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

“…Well, yes.”

I hadn’t expected him to charge without a moment’s pause.

I thought he’d at least give me a little time.

“Haa…”

I wasn’t usually this impatient.

Or was I?

If it were me—

If someone had said they wanted to fight, I probably would have tried to crush their skull immediately.

Looking at it that way, maybe Father was the more reasonable one.

…Maybe not.

Judging by the sheer intensity of his energy, I wasn’t so sure.

*Ssshhhhhhh…*

The heat radiating from Father grew stronger.

And at this point—

“What’s going on—?!”

“What the hell…!!”

The Namgung family’s martial artists, who had been patrolling the area, began rushing in, drawn by the commotion.

Even those who simply sensed Father’s aura were converging on this spot.

“A-Aren’t those the walls…?”

“What are you two doing…?!”

One by one, baffled onlookers approached.

No wonder.

We had suddenly started a fight in the middle of a banquet.

Rumors would spread instantly.

Soon, this place would be crowded with spectators.

But despite knowing that—

*Fwoooosh—!!*

Father showed no sign of stopping, flames gathering in his hand once more.

Ah. That one’s…

I frowned at the sight.

Is he seriously trying to kill me?

The moment I tensed—

*Kwoooooosh—!!*

Father lunged at me.

I caught a glimpse of the sphere in his grasp.

Flame Orb (Yeomok).

A secret technique of the Gu family, unleashed from Father’s hand.

A densely compressed sphere of fire, rotating violently.

What should I do?

Under normal circumstances, I would have created my own Flame Orb to counter.

But right now, I can’t.

I couldn’t use that method at the moment.

In that case, I had no choice.

Seeing the approaching Flame Orb, I lowered my stance.

*Tugwang—!!*

I gathered my energy.

Heaven-Shattering Dance infused my body.

I adjusted my center of gravity to my left foot.

Qi surged from my heart, pooling at my instep.

The energy quickly formed into gray qi that wrapped around my foot.

I need to speed this up a little.

I really didn’t want to do this.

But at this point, there was no choice.

I increased my speed.

With a slight recoil, my movement accelerated.

*Fwip.*

My body moved.

The sound followed after.

Then—

*Smack—!!*

“…!”

Father’s eyes widened.

I had just kicked his Flame Orb.

It rebounded before he could react.

The orb shot diagonally upward, spinning through the air.

And then—

*Kwooooooooom—!!!!*

The moment it got far enough from its caster, the Flame Orb exploded.

“H-heok…!”

“What the…!!”

As the compressed flames unraveled, the internal rotation rebounded, triggering a massive explosion.

Everyone was startled by the violent spectacle.

“How could something that small…?”

The onlookers’ eyes gleamed with fascination at the power of the Flame Orb.

But beneath the fiery display, I was already moving on to my next action.

Father was momentarily caught off guard by the loss of his Flame Orb.

But only for an instant.

He quickly regained his composure.

*Wuuuuung—!*

A circular formation began to take shape around him.

Countless smaller Flame Orbs formed in midair.

This was a variation of the technique.

Individually, they required far less energy than a single large one.

However, they were much easier to control and adjust mid-battle.

*Kiiiiiiing—!!!*

The Flame Orbs cut through the air and shot toward me.

I swiftly maneuvered my footwork.

*Bang—! Bang, bang, bang—!!!*

Countless Flame Orbs streaked toward me, but I weaved through them, dodging each one.

All the while, I gradually closed the distance toward Father.

As a few more came flying in, I did as before—

*Bang—! Kwoooom—!!*

A Flame Orb exploded right in front of me.

The force of the blast obscured both me and Father.

Father frowned.

His qi sense must have been disrupted by the explosion.

I had deliberately layered my inner energy over the blast, dulling his ability to detect me.

This was my opening.

I lunged forward, slipping through the blind spot.

With a fist wrapped in qi, I drove my strike into his abdomen.

*Baaang—!!!*

The hit landed clean.

I pushed forward with all my strength.

*Kwoooom—!!*

Father was blasted backward, scattering the smoke as he skidded across the ground.

*Kraggggh—!!!*

But he did not lose his footing.

His feet tore into the earth, slowing his momentum.

“……”

Father finally came to a stop, clutching his abdomen.

…Damn, he’s one tough bastard.

I swallowed dryly as I watched.

Did he just tank that?

He had taken a direct hit to the solar plexus, but he didn’t even let out a grunt.

His face barely showed a trace of pain.

Even worse—

Did he reinforce his defenses mid-fight?

As if anticipating my attack, he had condensed qi over his solar plexus just in time.

It was an impressive level of reaction and judgment.

“……”
“……”

Father and I locked eyes.

The surrounding martial artists reacted to the scene.

“…He’s matching Divine Dragon?”

“How is this a fight between Late-stage master martial artists…?”

By appearance, Father and I both seemed to be at the Late-stage master level.

But the battle unfolding was far beyond that.

The warriors looked on in astonishment.

“…I see.”

Father nodded, as if coming to a realization.

“This won’t do.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I’ll do this properly.”

With those words, an immense wave of energy surged from his body.

…Oh.

My body tensed involuntarily.

*Fwoooooosh—!!!!*
*Zzzzzzzzt. Zzzzzzt.*

The rings in my body trembled, threatening to spin out of control.

I forcibly suppressed them.

*Fwaaaaah—!!!*

His energy erupted skyward.

The night sky, once dark, began to shift.

Red Heaven Flames.

The entire area grew sweltering.

He was expanding his domain.

The Gu family’s secret art devoured the night sky.

The heavens burned crimson.

And then—

“Here I come.”

Father’s entire being seemed to merge with the flames, as if he had become fire itself.

“……”

I scratched my cheek.

Hmm.

I glanced to the side, letting my energy spread slightly to check something.

It seemed like—

This should be enough.

I had accomplished my objective.

Nodding, I immediately turned back to Father and spoke.

“Ah.”

I raised both hands.

“I surrender.”

“…What?”

Father’s face contorted, an expression I rarely saw.

“What are you saying?”

“My request has been completed. There’s no need to continue.”

“…What?”

Father hurriedly scanned the surroundings.

After a long moment of searching, he let out a deep sigh.

“Haa…”

He exhaled sharply and withdrew his energy.

As if he had suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.

Something crucial.

Father had forgotten—

Namgung Hyung.

Namgung Hyung was gone.

While all attention had been fixated on the battle—

While every gaze, including Father’s, had been locked on me—

Namgung Hyung had seized the moment and fled.

And with that—

Success.

My plan had worked.