Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 1134

Chapter 1134

Sssssss—!

The moon was swallowed by the darkened heavens.

The final glimmers of light dissolved, and shadows fell over the frigid woods.

Darkness descended.

Threatening. Unsettling. Profoundly deep.

Namgung Hyung felt it penetrate to his marrow. Unconsciously, he swallowed, his throat dry.

«Descendant.»

Noe-a’s voice resonated within his consciousness.

His rigid body finally unlocked, just a little.

«Guhk…!»

The breath caught in his chest suddenly released.

«Hahh… Hahh…!»

His muscles tensed on their own.

It was as if a great weight pressed on his ribs, preventing his lungs from filling.

Icy sweat streamed from every pore, soaking his robes.

«What is this?»

What… was happening?

With unsteady eyes, Namgung Hyung stared forward.

Crackle…

A figure in black robes, clutching a bolt of lightning in his fist.

Long hair flowed freely.

A formidable stature, nearly eight feet tall.

And without pause, he crushed the lightning in his grasp.

«…Hah.»

That lightning—

It was not mere energy.

It was the lightning of the Heavenly Lord, the Patriarch of Namgung, the unchallenged sovereign of Anhui.

His grandfather—

A man who could, by his will alone, erase the Namgung name from existence.

And yet, this stranger had just torn that very lightning apart.

Barehanded.

«…Who is he?»

His sight wavered. Though his breathing had steadied, his mind remained clouded.

This feeling—

«…Why is it more intense than when I stood before my grandfather?»

In the presence of the Heavenly Lord, he had known fear.

But now, standing behind this man—

He felt something far greater.

An emptiness—an aura that felt like nothing, yet somehow laid everything bare.

As if the night itself had taken physical form.

That was the impression Namgung Hyung had of this man.

«Cheonma..»

The Heavenly Lord murmured the name.

Then, he released a soft, low laugh.

«I have heard tales. They spoke of a great master emerging recently. So, it was you?»

The man offered no reply.

But Namgung Hyung finally understood who he was.

The rumors had reached him, too.

«A monstrous expert appeared and slaughtered White-Rank beasts and the denizens of Magyeong.»

During a calamity known as the White-Rank Magyeong Gate,

A mysterious absolute being had materialized, exterminated the monsters in a flash—

And then disappeared without a trace.

His overwhelming power was shrouded in secrecy, but whispers persisted.

A being on the level of the Three Masters.

«And that master…»

Was standing right before him.

At that moment—

«Descendant.»

Noe-a’s voice called to him again.

«Run.»

For the first time, its tone quivered.

Namgung Hyung’s eyes widened.

«Run?»

Had Noe-a truly just told him to run?

«Get as far away from that thing as you can.»

«That thing?»

Namgung Hyung didn’t need to ask for clarification.

He knew precisely what Noe-a meant.

The man named Cheonma.

Noe-a was urging him to flee from him.

«Why?»

Why?

He wanted to question it, but in his core, he already understood.

Because his instincts—

His very spirit—

Was shrieking the same command.

Every organ, every strand of energy in his core—

They all screamed.

«Run from that accursed thing.»

They pleaded with him to escape.

And yet—

Clench.

«…Guh.»

Namgung Hyung did not run.

Or rather—he found he could not.

Every rational thought screamed at him to flee.

Every primal urge demanded he get away.

But for some reason—

Something minuscule.

Something so insignificant it was smaller than a speck of dust—

It held him fast.

A faint, quiet whisper.

«Don’t go.»

«Don’t leave this place.»

Just as that slight hesitation rooted him to the spot—

Sssk.

«…!»

The white-masked man—Cheonma—turned his head slightly.

Violet eyes met Namgung Hyung’s.

And in that moment—

«Ah—.»

Something—something indefinable—took hold of Namgung Hyung’s body.

*******

Behind the Mask

«What in the world is his problem?»

Behind the mask, the man scowled.

Namgung Hyung was just standing there, completely stupefied.

«Why is he making that idiotic face?»

It was deeply unnerving.

Utterly revolting to look at.

«I came all this way to save his pathetic life, and he just stands there gaping?»

Why wasn’t he running?

Why was he wasting the precious time I’d bought him?

«Damn it.»

His entire body throbbed with pain.

The energy he’d expended earlier hadn’t fully returned.

His body—this cursed vessel—healed quickly, but not instantly.

Given a few days, he’d be fine.

«But right now, I’m not.»

He couldn’t afford this delay.

In times like these, he almost felt nostalgic for Mangye.

There, simply breathing was enough to restore his energy in a heartbeat.

«Tsk.»

Clicking his tongue in irritation, he adjusted his stance.

And then—

«You call yourself Cheonma.»

The old monster of Namgung—the Heavenly Lord—spoke.

«What, precisely, are you?»

«What am I?»

He tilted his head slightly.

That damn Namgung fool had distracted him for a second.

«You heard me, didn’t you?»

«Hmph?»

He lifted a finger, pointing toward the sky.

«I am the Heavens. Nothing more, nothing less.»

«…Hah.»

The Heavenly Lord let out a low, rumbling chuckle.

And then—

Crackle.

The lightning surrounding him intensified violently.

«The Heavens, you say? So that is why you call yourself Cheonma. A demon sent by the sky? How utterly arrogant.»

KUUUUUUUUURRRR—!!!

Beyond the Black Sky, a brilliant flash of light erupted.

Lightning coiled through the heavens, as if the sky itself was enraged by his words.

«And you dare say that in my presence?»

Heavenly Lord.

A man who had touched the Heavens—not with a weapon, but with his own body.

No one had ever dared to proclaim themselves the Heavens before him.

And now, right before his eyes, someone did.

It was despicable.

«Enough. I no longer care about your identity.»

CRACK—!!!
BOOOOOOM—!!!

The Black Sky fractured.

Lightning flooded the firmament.

«Damn.»

A grudging note of admiration escaped him.

As expected, when it came to pure, destructive force, the Heavenly Lord was the strongest of the Three Masters.

Even the mere aura he radiated carried an immense, crushing weight.

«…The Three Masters.»

Three Masters (三尊).

The Transcendents above the Heavens, the absolute pinnacle of martial artists.

For the first time, he was truly witnessing one of them in their full majesty.

Perhaps it was because he had now also stepped into transcendence—

He could perceive things previously beyond his grasp.

«No wonder they call him a monster.»

How could such a thing be human?

Suppressing a bitter urge to laugh, he muttered to himself,

«It makes no difference what you are. In the end—»

KUUUUUURRR—!!!

The sky tore open as lightning poured down upon the Heavenly Lord.

«I will simply have to discover the answer for myself.»

«……»

Confronted by that overwhelming force, he tilted his head slightly.

PING—!

A shrill, piercing sound split the air.

Or rather—the light arrived first.

BOOOOOOM—!!!

A tremendous explosion erupted from behind. The resulting shockwave alone generated a colossal pressure.

The Heavenly Lord had unleashed his lightning.

«Ah, damn.»

This was going to be troublesome.

He bit his lip, mentally calculating the disparity in their power.

Could he win?

He wasn’t sure.

To be honest, he felt no real confidence.

Even though he had entered transcendence, the time spent at that peak mattered.

And he was severely lacking in that regard.

Could he defend against all this and still emerge victorious?

He didn’t know.

«So hurry up and run already—so I can get out of here too!»

He was waiting for Namgung Hyung to flee, but for some inexplicable reason, the idiot remained motionless.

Instead—

The brat was watching him.

Watching him with eyes full of expectation.

«Damn it.»

«Like master, like disciple.»

He had often wondered why Wu Hyuk had turned out the way he did.

Now, he was sure.

It was because of this very bastard.

They behaved exactly the same.

«Tch.»

Shaking off the thought, he refocused his attention.

KRRRRRMMMBLE—!!

Lightning rained down like furious serpents—

A deluge of thousands of bolts streaking toward him.

Each arc of electricity traced a perfect, lethal path.

The sound of his coat whipping violently in the wind followed.

VWOOOOOM—!
VWOOOOOM—!!

The sound wasn’t that of a swinging blade.

It was the shriek of something far more deadly.

A single touch would mean being shredded to pieces.

«First—»

He needed to analyze.

Evade, then close the distance.

SWISH—!
THUD.

Dodging another ferocious strike, he pushed off the ground, advancing.

The Heavenly Lord’s piercing blue eyes tracked his every move.

KIIIIIIIIII—!!!

The lightning twisted unnaturally, converging on him like a pack of living fangs.

Tens.

Hundreds.

A symphony of electric death.

Lightning Will of Heaven.

A technique only the Heavenly Lord could command.

The full, terrifying might of the Namgung Clan’s Thunder Arts—

Unleashed without restraint.

The forest itself was being consumed.

«Ha.»

Had the old man wanted him to come closer?

Or was it that even at close range, it made no difference?

BOOOOOOM—!!!

The lightning transformed into a torrential downpour.

A thunderstorm given form as countless spears.

«No doubt about it.»

The moment he saw it, he knew.

«I can’t fight this head-on.»

Tua Heaven-Shattering Dance alone—

Would not be sufficient.

His decision was made in an instant.

THUMP—!!

His heart hammered against his ribs.

Power flooded through his veins.

Rings of black fire spiraled around him—

Sparks flying as he compressed them into a single, dense sphere.

Flame Jade Meteor Bullet.

A compacted orb of obsidian flame—

Shot directly into the heart of the lightning storm.

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM—!!!

A chain of explosions rippled through the air—

Electricity detonating in a spectacle of blinding light.

«……!»

The Heavenly Lord’s eyes widened in shock.

He hadn’t anticipated this.

Had he not believed anything could intercept his lightning?

Narrowing his gaze, the masked man observed.

«As I thought.»

That persistent intuition in the back of his mind—

It had been correct.

Without a moment’s hesitation—

He propelled himself forward.

Closing the final distance—

Straight toward the momentarily stunned Heavenly Lord.

«…Hah.»

The old man began to react—

But he was faster.

Tua Heaven-Shattering Dance, Third Form.

Tua Impact Strike.

A single, impossibly fast blow.

Driven straight into the Heavenly Lord’s chest.

BOOOOOOOM—!!!

CRASH—!!!!

«Guh…!»

The Heavenly Lord was hurled backward—

Shattering through ancient trees.

Tearing through the earth itself.

Carving a path of destruction through the landscape like a projectile—

Before finally—

BOOOOOOM—!!!

A massive explosion bloomed in the distance.

Dust and debris mushroomed into the sky.

And as he gazed upon the devastation—

A final, cold realization settled in his mind.

«I was right.»

Watching the Heavenly Lord be thrown back—

The truth was undeniable.

«I can win.»

A firm certainty filled him.

He could defeat the Heavenly Lord.