Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 935

Chapter 935

A sensation coiled around my heart, tight like a bandage constricting a wounded arm.

Energy that had always remained separate was now being twisted together by force.

The scorching heat of the Nine Flames Firewheel.

And the piercing ache of Tua Pacheonmu slowly began to intertwine.

No, it wasn’t blending.

It refused to mix, coiling like oil and water in a volatile suspension.

“Khhh…!”

My breathing grew labored. The power in my core began to churn with violent intensity.

A tsunami was raging within.

It was as if lightning were flashing across a stormy sky.

Earthquakes seemed to ripple through my very foundation.

Everything that had been precariously stable was now tearing apart at the seams.

Was this a catastrophe?

Simply observing it made me feel as though terrifying things were tearing through my insides.

«Ugh…»

A moment later, pain followed.

The energies that refused to unite were now writhing against one another, and it felt as if my body might burst.

This was a perfect rejection.

It couldn’t even be called mere friction.

This was pure, unadulterated repulsion.

An extreme opposition that would never combine.

«…»

My clenched fingers trembled. I was squeezing them so tightly I thought the bones might shatter.

«Ugh… hhh…»

The energy wasn’t flowing through my meridians—it was being violently expelled in violent, erratic surges.

It felt like my meridians were on the verge of rupturing.

If I hadn’t awakened my body and shed my outer shell, I was certain I would have already exploded.

The pressure was that immense.

The more I experienced it, the more I became convinced that these were truly insane forces.

How could such violently opposed energies even exist?

Forcing them together felt like unleashing two sworn enemies, each determined to destroy the other.

The problem was that I was absorbing the full backlash.

‘Now that I think about it…’

I must be a bit of a madman myself.

I’m the one who went against all warnings, and now I’m facing the consequences.

When I first attempted this—no.

To be precise, when I first declared my intention to try it, they looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

I was already considered eccentric, but this time, the reaction was even more severe.

«Have you lost your senses?»

Paejon asked me, his expression utterly grave.

«Do you have any idea what you are attempting to do?»

«I have a general understanding.»

«And you still intend to proceed, knowing that?»

Paejon spoke as if he could scarcely believe it, staring at me in pure disbelief.

Truthfully, even I thought it was somewhat absurd.

«You’re trying to fuse two fully realized techniques to create something new? That is not the act of someone who wishes to remain among the living.»

I had told Paejong I intended to try and merge the energies within my body into one.

When Paejong heard it, he said to me, half-infuriated.

«I told you before, if you want to die, just say the word. I will gladly grant that wish.»

«Master, your words are too severe.»

«What else am I to say when my disciple suddenly announces he wants to kill himself?»

«Who said anything about dying?»

«It is the same thing.»

Paejon’s tone was uncharacteristically stern.

«I am aware you possess an unusual constitution.»

«Unusual? What do you mean by that…»

«I know you can harbor multiple techniques within your body without collapsing.»

At that point, I saw Paejong frown in genuine anger for the first time.

«Merging them is an entirely different matter. You fool. You seem to think it is like blending water and oil.»

«That’s not it.»

«If that’s not it, then you shouldn’t even be entertaining the thought.»

Paejon clenched his fist and held it out to me.

Within that fist, the energy of Tua Pacheonmu swirled.

«Show me your flames.»

I did as he said and conjured flames upon my palm.

Fwoosh—!!

Paejon spoke while observing the fire.

«The flow of energy is inherently unique to each technique.»

«Even now, you can clearly see the difference between the flow of your Tua Pacheonmu and your flames.»

«The direction and speed of the current are entirely dissimilar. How could you possibly make them work in concert?»

«This is not the same as merely housing different energies within your body.»

Paejon said many things—about how this would not succeed, and how it should not even be attempted.

But I knew he was saying all this to dissuade me.

I understood perfectly that he did not want me to make a fatal error.

So I listened quietly.

The reason for his lengthy lecture was his desire for me to avoid a catastrophic mistake.

After listening for a time, I suddenly interrupted him.

«So…?»

I cut off Paejong’s words and posed a blunt question.

«What?»

«The words you have always said to me.»

«What words?»

During training or in battle, I had always held onto Paejong’s advice.

Now, those words had become my guiding principle.

«If it doesn’t work, make it work.»

«….»

«You don’t mean to apply that here, do you? Even if you can be slow, I am certain you understand the difference.»

Paejon’s tone shifted from exasperation to something nearing anger.

«Whether it works or not is something you cannot know until you try.»

«Yes, it might work. You are correct. But.»

Paejon’s typically kind eyes suddenly turned sharp.

«What arrogance drives you to reach for something new when you have not yet mastered either of the two techniques?»

«….»

I had no retort. His words struck true.

How can someone who has completed nothing attempt to create something else?

I could not argue because his point was irrefutable.

But…

«So, you are saying that if I manage to master even one of them, I should attempt it?»

«You little…»

Paejon’s tone grew heavier, and I could feel his anger rising. I was genuinely intimidated.

«I am serious. You never know until you try. Just as you said, if I complete one, shouldn’t I at least make an attempt?»

It was a stubborn reply. Hearing it, Paejong looked ready to erupt, but then he paused. With narrowed eyes, he said to me:

«Why are you so fixated on this? You have already gained a considerable amount. What more are you trying to achieve?»

The Nine Flames Firewheel and Tua Pacheonmu.

A life filled with countless serendipitous encounters.

In truth, what I had already obtained was more than enough.

Especially compared to my past life.

«….»

It was almost absurd to hear this from one of the Three Celestials himself.

But it was also the first time Paejong had ever spoken such words, so I was taken aback.

If things continue as they are, even the Three Celestials will be within your reach.

There was a firm conviction in Paejong’s voice.

And so, I, too, couldn’t help but think…

If things continue like this.

Someday, perhaps, I could surpass even the Three Celestials, those known as the Heaven’s Beyond.

Though I had only ever quietly contemplated the idea.

«Someday will be too late.»

I knew when that ‘someday’ would arrive.

How long would it take? Ten years? Perhaps even decades.

I did not have that kind of time.

«You still do not understand. This impatience, this belief that you can gain more power by mixing techniques… How do you think that will end?»

Paejon still could not comprehend.

He wondered what certainty I possessed to attempt something so reckless.

I felt the same confusion.

When I first conceived of it, it seemed like a passing fantasy.

What kind of madman would even consider this?

I could have dismissed it as a fleeting thought.

But strangely, the idea refused to leave me.

It felt almost as if an external force was compelling me to think this way.

«Try it.»

«You can do it.»

«If you just do it, a new world will open before you.»

As those feelings mounted, I added one final remark for Paejong.

«If I do it, do you believe it is impossible, Elder?»

«Of course…»

«I am not asking if it is impossible. I am saying that if I can do it, then something fascinating will occur.»

«….»

At my words, Paejong fell silent.

If I succeed in merging the two techniques, what will happen?

Doesn’t that possibility intrigue you?

At that question, Paejong’s expression shifted slightly.

«…That…»

Paejong muttered to himself.

The direction of the energy.

The number of vibrations within it. The meanings carried by two entirely different techniques, all fused together.

If it succeeds, what will happen?

If I could control the friction between the techniques.

And if I could convert the pressure generated from that into power…

«…Something extraordinary would be born.»

Not as Paejong, the teacher, but as Paejong, the martial artist, he had to acknowledge it.

If I truly succeeded, something extraordinary would emerge.

The problem was, it was something no one else could do.

Merely housing two different techniques in one body was a problem in itself.

But I could do it.

Only I could even attempt it.

I did not know why my body was capable of this.

But if I could use it, I would try.

That is how it began.

After hearing Paejong’s words, I made a promise.

It wasn’t a promise with anyone else, but with myself.

If I were to try, I would first succeed in mastering at least one technique.

With that resolve, I finally brought the Nine Flames Firewheel to its pinnacle.

“Hah—.”

After that, I made several attempts over the following days.

I bound the energies together.

Kkkiii—!!!

The recoil erupted noisily.

Binding was possible.

This was the domain of sorcery.

Small threads began to creep in.

These were not threads of energy, but threads woven from sorcery.

With these, I bound the energy.

I had realized one truth about sorcery.

Sorcery was not a simple field to be broken through by sheer energy alone.

To break it easily, one had to either meet specific conditions or disrupt the subtle rules governing it.

What this meant was…

‘It is completely opposite to energy.’

In other words…

‘There is nothing more suited than sorcery for binding energy without letting it unravel.’

I wasn’t entirely certain, but I was sure that sorcery was essential to achieve my goal.

I wasn’t sure of the method to bind it with sorcery, however.

For now, I was operating on instinct.

I was only trying to bind them, and with that, the speed and recoil from the opposing energies were being forcibly woven together.

Kkkiiiii—!!

The violently gathered energy groaned as it coiled around my arm.

The power surrounding my arm made it shake uncontrollably.

It was an immense pressure.

Though I had gathered the energy as tightly as I could, I felt my arm might be crushed from the force alone.

I must be insane.

“Hah…”

Feeling the pressure, I slowly relaxed my clenched fingers.

My arm was trembling violently.

On my left arm, something resembling flames, yet not quite, was wrapped around it.

The color was a chaotic mess.

A damaged flame, perhaps?

It wasn’t the black flame of demonic energy. But it wasn’t a pure blue flame either. It was too murky.

Was this the influence of Tua Pacheonmu?

Perhaps.

But there was no time to analyze it.

“Gk.”

I exhaled sharply and moved my left arm.

My posture was unsteady, and my speed was slow as I fought against the pressure.

But I reached out.

My fist slowly cut through the air. And then, it stopped.

At that moment…

*Thud.*

With a deep vibration.

Kiiiiaaaaaa—!!!!!

The energy screamed.

Aaaaaa—!!!

My breath caught.

It felt like my ears were ringing.

Not just my hearing, but my sight, my smell, my touch—every sense was severed in an instant.

My vision went dark, as if I were floating in an empty night sky.

Is this what it feels like when all five senses vanish?

It felt profoundly alien.

What kind of sensation is this?

Just as I was about to be consumed by this strange void…

*Whoosh—!*

In an instant, my senses rushed back.

*Shaa—!*

I heard the sound of wind.

A scent brushed past my nose.

It was the acrid smell of something burning.

My blurred vision also cleared. What was once invisible was now starkly clear.

«…!»

The moment I saw, my eyes widened.

«…Hah…»

The area before me was a complete disaster.

A massive circular hole had been drilled into the earth, and within it, the flames I had unleashed were still burning.

And…

«…Hahaha.»

Standing at the very center of it all was Shin Noya.

His clothing was slightly torn.

«…You idiot. You crazy bastard.»

He was holding a sword.

«What in the world have you created?»

He stared at me with an expression of utter disbelief.