Childhood Friend of the Zenith

༺ Know Your Place (4) ༻

Looking at the First Elder’s seemingly shocked face, I became certain.

‘As I thought.’

The fact that the First Elder had an illness was something I knew from my past life.

And I knew that his life was already close to an end before he was killed by Father’s fire.

So he probably was doing all this out of desperation.

Furthermore, the reason why I was able to show my fangs to the First Elder so recklessly like this was because I knew that the First Elder was in a weakened state right now.

‘Though he appears somewhat stronger than anticipated.’

I could summarize that from the last clash just earlier.

Unfortunately, it seemed like he sensed my presence and tried to wrap himself with a Qi barrier, but his vulnerability became apparent when he momentarily failed to detect my existence.

Moreover, the reaction that the First Elder showed from that clash just now…

‘To think that he’s a Fusion Realm martial artist…’

A martial artist who has reached the Fusion Realm emits a Combat Qi that distinguishes them as existing in a realm beyond that of ordinary martial artists.

Of course, this sensation could only be felt by those at a significantly advanced level or fellow martial artists who have reached a similar level.

My experiences from my past life and overcoming personal obstacles allowed me to sense a fraction of that sensation.

‘The First Elder’s body is corrupted.’

It was a fact that the First Elder was a Fusion Realm martial artist, but looking at his current state, I could notice his Qi flowing in a bizarre manner.

And if I observed that Qi flow a little more….

‘It seems like it’s preventing the body from shutting down.’

And this was probably caused by his illness.

‘Though it’s not really noticeable as of now.’

It seems like he was keeping it together nicely because he was still maintaining his youth despite being at an old age.

And judging by his appearance from the outside, it seemed like it was possible for him to make it not noticeable to others.

So much to the point that, had I not been aware of the First Elder’s illness, I might not have noticed at all.

The First Elder spoke.

“…You keep blabbering on about stuff I don’t understand.”

It seemed like he was still feigning ignorance, but that didn’t matter to me.

I’ll let you continue pretending to not know anything, if you can, that is.

“You must have been desperate. You are one of the most foxlike people I know, but you did a horrible job with this one.”

“Bastard! I showed you respect because you are the bloodline of the clan! But you only continue to become more outrageous. How dare you speak like that to the elder of the clan!”

The First Elder started to shout, but his outburst seemed comical to me.

Unconcerned, I openly displayed my amusement and spoke to the First Elder.

“I’m sure I told you last time.”

About the dog that not only showed its fangs to its owner, but even attacked its owner and how it ended up after.

“I remember saying that it died of starvation after all of its fangs were pulled out.”

I definitely warned him that day.

Do not mess with me.

“But I wonder why it tried to bite.”

Because he thought my warning was funny? That was understandable.

How could one be scared of a young boy’s warning after all?

But I wasn’t the one he should be scared of.

Not only did he have to worry about Father, the Lord of the clan, but he also should have been scared of the Second Elder, and all the other members of the clan who supported me.

Though Father was probably the one he should be most worried about.

There was no way that the First Elder didn’t know that, but in the end, he laid his hands on me.

Was he certain that he wasn’t going to be caught?

That could have been possible, but in my eyes…

“You were just so desperate to the point you didn’t have the time to worry about the consequences.”

He was just desperate, that’s all.

“Right?”

To my words, the First Elder responded in silence.

Because I knew how he met his end in my past life, it allowed me to grasp a sliver of the First Elder’s desperation.

Yet, being no saint myself, it felt like I was looking into a mirror.

In the end, he just couldn’t contain all his greed in that old and worn body of his.

“Ha.”

The First Elder, who had maintained silence with his mouth closed, released a hollow laughter.

“You keep on speaking nonsense I don’t understand.”

Although he persisted in pretense, the cracks in his mask became very noticeable.

– !

The Qi, which completely filled up the middle dantian, started to react a little.

At the same time, the heat that I contained in my body started to swirl.

Ssss-

The visible steam emanating from my mouth wasn’t because of the cold weather.

This was only due to the heat.

“Keep pretending to not know anything, it doesn’t matter to me anyway.”

“My Yangcheon, it seems like you are the one who’s mistaken.”

The energy beneath the night sky, palpable to my senses, undoubtedly emanated from the First Elder’s Sword Force.

It felt like the Sword Qi in his sword was enhanced by a level.

His body might be breaking down, but he really was a Fusion Realm martial artist.

After all, the Combat Qi I felt from the First Elder wasn’t something I could underestimate.

I ignored the cold sweat trickling down my back because of the dense Combat Qi I felt from him.

“It seems like you don’t know that you did something you will not be able to undo.”

“Something I can’t undo?”

“I don’t know what happened to you, but fine, it is understandable that you think I caused this. Because we don’t have the best relationship after all.”

The First Elder continued to charge up his energy during his sophistry.

I was also charging my Qi and sharpening my senses as I listened to him.

‘This foxlike old man.’

But even whilst talking to me, the First Elder used his Qi, readying his stance.

So that he could block my attack, no matter what direction I came from.

He was setting up a strategic conversation.

“However, you don’t have any proof.”

The First Elder’s sword shook a tiny bit.

It was his sword reacting to the Qi.

There was no Sword Resonance from his sword, but I still couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

“Do you think you will be let off so easily for this if your father finds out about what you have just caused?”

“Aww, are you worried about me because I might be kicked out?”

When I responded to him with a light smile, the First Elder smiled back, expecting this response.

“You are as confident as ever because you are the only son of the clan. But the only thing you get from that… is worse treatments. But it seems like you don’t know that and you seem to think that you will keep your position forever…”

“I don’t know what strange thoughts this old man is having.”

“What?”

“Why do you think that I came here without any evidence?”

I saw the First Elder’s eyes tremble after hearing my response.

“Nonsense.”

“You think I’m speaking nonsense?”

“Because you are cornered, you are speaking nonsense. If you apologize now for the trouble you caused, this old man will let you off despite the fact that the trouble you caused isn’t anything minimal.”

The First Elder seemed to be thinking that I was speaking nonsense at this point, but funnily enough, there was evidence.

It wasn’t evidence of me getting ambushed, but I had a very good excuse I could use that even if I beat up the First Elder almost to his death…

The clan wouldn’t say anything much to me.

“You are still the same as ever, an old and pathetic man.”

The intense heat swirling within me also heated up my body.

Not only did vast amounts of steam come out from my body, but my body was also so excited to the point that it could explode at any moment.

“I don’t know if your illness also affected your mind, but you shouldn’t have let your greed devour you.”

“…Bastard…! Do you think the world is in your hands because you have the lord and the Second Elder behind your back!?”

“Behind my back, my ass.”

Blaaaze!

The light red flame ring swirled around my body.

Unlike the earlier sensation of nearly fainting even with the tiniest flame, I could now summon an immense amount of flame.

[It’s thanks to all that shit you ate up.]

Elder Shin spoke in a laughing tone.

However, I couldn’t argue with him.

After all, I did indeed think that I consumed too much.

Meanwhile, the First Elder’s eyes were trembling as he stared at the flames surrounding my body.

When I noticed what his pupils held underneath his wrinkly eye sockets, I spoke to the First Elder.

“Are you jealous?”

“…!”

“Because you are staring at flames that you can’t make?”

The Gu Clan of Shanxi was renowned for specializing in fire arts.

And that was a correct statement.

All the blood relatives of the clan used Flame Arts with the exception of Gu Ryunghwa who joined Mount Hua.

At any rate, the fastest way to prove oneself as a bloodline of the Gu Clan was with fire.

However, the branch clan lacked this ability.

The process of charging up heat inside their body was similar to that of the Destructive Flame Arts, but that was only heat in the end.

Basically, it meant that not everyone was able to summon flames despite sharing the same surname.

I understood the First Elder’s emotions by reading his eyes.

After all, it was similar to the eyes that I saw from others in my past life.

“You bastard…”

“You also told me I had no evidence.”

I slowly pointed my hand out toward the First Elder’s abode.

“I don’t need to bother bringing evidence when all the evidence is there.”

“Ha, you think there is something you could use there? How foolish.”

“Well, it won’t be in your room. After all, you aren’t that dumb.”

“Then…”

“But what about the basement that’s hidden behind that bookshelf?”

“…!”

The First Elder gasped after hearing my response.

I knew this from my past life.

The basement held all documents and papers detailing all of Gu Sunmoon and the First Elder’s actions.

There were so many that it looked like he had hidden them meticulously.

‘Though it seemed like he got rid of all the important ones after somehow realizing.’

But that would only happen a few years in the future.

Then, what about the current time?

Did the First Elder dispose of those documents, anticipating being caught?

Judging by his expression, thankfully, it seemed he hadn’t.

“How… do you…”

He appeared deeply shocked.

To be fair, I brought up his secret basement like it was nothing when he hid them with lots of effort with formations and whatnot, making his shock understandable.

Just breaking through all of that after finding the secret place took me a month in my past life.

Though I couldn’t fathom how he set up such a formation without detection.

‘Did Father really not know about this?’

I wondered if Father really had zero idea about the fact that the First Elder was hiding this from him.

I honestly didn’t know. It was possible that Father was pretending not to know even though he did.

But that also didn’t seem too likely.

“You think I’ll answer you, even if you ask me?”

I heard the First Elder’s teeth cracking after I responded to him in a mocking tone.

While staring at him like that, I gradually increased my flames.

“Don’t think of this as a mere kid’s tantrum, First Elder.”

The expanding Qi, accompanying the flames, slowly ate away the energy that the First Elder set up before.

It meant that I was widening my territory.

“This is a punishment from the bloodline of the clan.”

With my father absent from the clan, all commands fell to the Steward.

Not the First Elder, who was the highest elder of the clan…

And not any other elders of the clan…

But the Steward.

This had been an unchanged law of the Gu Clan for centuries after the Blood Demon War.

And I, before coming to Gu Sunmoon, got approval from the Steward to come here.

‘Though I honestly didn’t expect him to say yes.’

The Steward let me go after I gave him a brief explanation, telling him that I was going to go destroy the First Elder.

But that somehow worked in my favor.

I was basically telling him to give me whatever punishment because I was going to do this no matter what, but things unfolded more smoothly than I expected.

“Punishment? How dare a brat like you say that you will punish me, even though I did nothing.”

“Think about that yourself if you really don’t know.”

I retorted, signaling an end to the pointless conversation.

“Or just think of this as me fucking you up because I find you annoying because even I think that this feels something like that.”

With that…

A small sun emerged, completely engulfing the First Elder.

******************

The biggest difference between the First Rate and Peak Realm was that the Qi of the Peak Realm martial artist gradually becomes one with the body.

The Qi that only hid inside the dantian would undergo transformation after overcoming the wall along with new enlightenment.

The dantian awakens from its sleep and Qi intrudes that area, further enhancing the martial artist’s body.

It allowed martial artists to see more and hear more naturally without having to sharpen their senses.

And it was a starting point toward surpassing normal human capabilities.

That was what the Peak Realm was.

Then…

What about the Fusion Realm?

Many answered this question, yet all of their answers were different.

In the end, what they meant was the same.

I dare to call this stage a process of transcending.

Being able to do what they previously couldn’t.

In my past life, the demonic human with the Hwangbo surname, the Silent Fist, described this process as becoming God.

At the time, I slapped his head, saying that it sounded like bullshit, but I later grasped the significance behind his words.

A realization that this stage surpassed the Peak Realm on an entirely different level.

And after reaching the Fusion Realm and ascending beyond…

I reached a supreme territory.

That was what I chose to describe it as.

Slaaam!

Flames swept the ground and spread out everywhere.

The sight of flames, seemingly born to devour the area, even instilled a momentary fear within me.

Swish!

Sword Force cut through the flames.

The sword slashed with no flaw in his movement, aiming at me with perfect precision.

I was able to dodge it with ease as it wasn’t too threatening.

Swoosh!

But the second sword wave was the real attack.

“You bastaaard!”

Along with the First Elder’s roar, heat started to storm and swirl in the area.

This was the First Elder’s heat.

“You really want to see blood, I see! Fine! If that’s what you want, then I will teach you a lesson as an adult.”

“Your tongue still hasn’t died yet, huh? Since you are still talking bullshit.”

Tap.

Along with a small sound, I took a low leap.

My airborne was charging at the First Elder at a rapid speed and flames started to wrap around my fist.

The Fiery Fangs of a Beast.

It was the skill I used back in the tournament.

Rooaar!

A giant flame took the form of a wolf, sweeping across the entire area.

The seemingly sturdy rock path shattered, leaving only fiery traces.

If I was fighting against another young prodigy right now like last time, the fight would’ve ended in a single blow.

Swish-!

But my flames were so easily slashed through by his heated sword.

As flames exploded with a loud sound, I observed the First Elder’s movement.

‘So easily? Not exactly.’

The First Elder’s sword was very powerful and fierce, proving his martial arts realm, but in a brief moment in his breathing…

I discerned that he was exerting more strength than necessary.

‘Seems like he’s having a hard time using his broken-up body.’

Which explained why a Fusion Realm martial artist was looking like that.

Even with just a single swing of his sword, I could discern that he was exerting excessive force.

I wondered how many martial artists I saw in this life had also reached that stage.

I couldn’t really count every single one, but thinking about their Combat Qi, if I thought about where the First Elder stood when compared with them….

‘At the very least, he isn’t on the same level as them.’

Even in comparison to the likes of Azure Heavenly Sword, Namgung Jin, I could discern the disparity in strength.

I personally might be rating him a bit low, but if Namgung Jin fought me seriously using all his power, I probably wouldn’t have lasted 10 clashes if I relied solely on pure strength and avoided trickery.

That’s what the difference in realms meant.

Even 10 clashes were honestly quite impossible.

‘Which also means that I still have a very long way to go.’

But what about the First Elder right now?

‘It’s doable.’

That was the conviction conveyed by my instinct and intuition.

Swish!

The First Elder’s quick sword drew a line toward me.

It was a basic sword strike, but since it was executed by an experienced swordsman right up close, it was quite fierce.

It was a familiar Sword Art.

The Red Dragon Sword.

It was the Sword Art that the Gu Clan used.

The extreme power infused into the sword made it dangerous, even if it only grazed the skin.

I was able to know this because I could sense the heat emanating from his sword, despite charging up heat of my own.

“You’re faster than I expected.”

Keeping his breathing stable, the First Elder came charging at me at a fast speed.

For sure, when I compared his Sword Art to Muyeon and Gu Jeolyub, who also used the same art, the First Elder’s movements were like the comparing heaven and earth.

Swish-!

A flash of light skimmed past my cheek in an instant.

‘Tsk.’

If he didn’t have the slight pauses in his movements because of his illness, I would’ve been in danger.

I did not need to look any further than just now.

His body might have been broken, but he still was a Fusion Realm martial artist.

“You showed all that spirit, but yet you are proving nothing.”

“You start talking only after thinking that you could win against me, huh? What a sad old man you are.”

To my response, the First Elder adjusted his posture along with a smile.

Swoosh!

At the same time, a heavy killing intent emanated from the First Elder’s shoulders.

His killing intent mixing with his anger made the air feel denser.

‘Sigh.’

To that, I wiped my forehead. The nasty killing intent had triggered my body’s reaction, leaving my hair wet from cold sweat.

‘It won’t be easy, right?’

[If you already know the answer, don’t bother asking.]

‘So mean of you. What’s so wrong with helping me a little?’

[You don’t even want that yourself, yet you still choose to ask anyway, little shit.]

After Elder Shin’s response, I refocused my gaze.

I still had a good amount of Qi in my dantian.

Around half left, I think?

Despite using a ton of Qi to shoot flames everywhere recklessly, I still had this much left, which really showed how much Qi I consumed in this small body.

Staring at me, the First Elder spoke.

“This is your last chance.”

“What chance?”

“I don’t know how you found out about my condition, but just look at it now. No matter what great talent you have, Yangcheon, right now, all you have is bravado.”

“And?”

“So if you apologize right now, I will accept and let you off nicely.”

“Oh? You are really gonna let me off if I apologize as if nothing happened? And you get nothing in return?”

To my response, the First Elder let out a short laugh.

Then he continued to speak after changing his expression.

“I don’t know about that one. For me to let you off easily, you’ll have to do some things that I demand you to do.”

In the end, he was basically saying that he’d let me off the hook only if I apologized and made him look like the good person here.

To his mouth that continued to blabber with no intention of hiding greed, I asked.

“What will you do if you don’t let me off?”

“I could assure you that it won’t end well.”

He likely couldn’t outright kill me because I was a part of the direct bloodline of the clan.

But he was saying that he was going to do the best he could to ruin my life.

“What, are you going to try and get your hands on people around me again?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

He still continued to pretend.

“However, that is definitely one thing I could do.”

“Ha.”

I let out a forced laugh at the First Elder’s blatant attempt to intimidate me.

Despite his weakened state due to illness, his sharpness remained intact and he made no effort to conceal the greed that had grown with age.

“Even though you are just an animal in the end, it seems like you are unable to see because of your old age.”

“…You.”

“Could you not understand because I’m making it too hard for you? I’m telling you to fuck off.”

To my harsh response, the First Elder flinched for an instant.

It seemed like he didn’t expect to hear such words from me.

Right after, the First Elder charged his Qi further, his expression changing.

In an instant, his energy pressured down throughout Gu Sunmoon.

Even with his illness, his strength was formidable, making me ponder how potent he must have been in his prime.

However, I still wasn’t afraid.

Instead, I even started to feel bitter.

Or it could’ve been anger.

“What did you say?”

Was he asking again because he didn’t expect to hear that kind of response?

Or was he asking again, hoping for a better response from me this time?

To this, I answered clearly.

“If you are a dog living in the corner of the house, then I’m telling you to know your place.”

“Haha…”

Suddenly, the energy that was spread everywhere disappeared like a fog.

No, it wasn’t that it disappeared.

All of that great energy was brought into the First Elder’s sword in an instant.

“Fine, if you are going to come out like that, then I’ll do exactly as you please.”

After hearing the First Elder, I also gathered my Qi.

‘That looks a bit dangerous.’

His already formidable sword had transformed into a weapon that could inflict lethal damage even with a mere graze.

That old man, does he really intend to kill me?

If that wasn’t the case, he, at the very least, was thinking of destroying my body completely.

While watching him, I continued to charge my energy as well.

Shortly after, the First Elder started to move slowly.

“You caused this, so know that.”

The overwhelming power of his energy created an illusion of a sword slowly moving on its own.

And the distortion of space around him filled the air with a palpable sense of dread.

After a light step, the First Elder spoke in his mind.

‘Red Dragon Sword, Seventh Form.’

Sword of the Transient Eclipse.

Along with the sword slashing down…

The moon in the night sky was cut in half.

‘You won’t die.’

The sweeping motion cut through space where Gu Yangcheon stood.

Slash!

As soon as the heavy impact hit the ground, it destroyed everything around it.

The attack was so powerful that the sound of everything being destroyed continued endlessly, demolishing nearby buildings in its wake.

It was the art of Gu Sunmoon and the last form of the Sword Art.

It was the form that the First Elder barely managed to master in his later years.

His attack just now was so weak, compared to when he used the attack for the first time.

But this much was enough.

It was just enough for it to not kill him.

That was what the First Elder wanted.

‘This much shouldn’t kill him, judging by his current realm.’

As the energy continued to sweep the area, the First Elder placed his hand on his chest, breathing heavily.

“Huff… Huff…!”

Using more energy than he needed, his body was experiencing a recoil.

Because of how bad it was, the First Elder felt like he had to rest for at least 15 days.

“…But even so, if I got this much…”

It wasn’t a bad exchange.

The First Elder got a good enough excuse to destroy the Tiger Warrior’s son like that.

And he also bought time to get rid of all the evidence in his basement while keeping Gu Yangcheon’s mouth closed.

This much is…

“Anyway.”

“…!”

“What a crazy old man you are.”

After hearing a sudden voice, the First Elder forced his exhausted body to get up.

That voice shouldn’t be coming out so clearly right now.

Slam!

Before he could react, a fist struck his stomach, doubling him over.

Without having the time to scream with the excruciating pain, his head snapped upward as another fist struck his face.

At the same time, his tooth exploded out of his mouth, blood spattering.

He didn’t have the time to react to what just happened.

The only thing he was able to see was fire.

However…

‘…Blue…?’

The color of the fire was different.

The flames that Gu Yangcheon showed before were a light red hue.

But for some reason, the color the First Elder was seeing now was a stunning blue, reminiscent of a clear sky.

He wasn’t able to watch it for long.

Craack!

In an instant, his leg was shattered, and the First Elder’s body was brought down to the ground.

“Ugghh…”

On his knees, the First Elder could only emit a subdued groan from his mouth.

He couldn’t scream properly as all his teeth had been pulled out.

“I told you.”

After hearing the voice from right in front of him, the First Elder slowly raised his head.

There, Gu Yangcheon was looking down on him in a perfectly fine state…

“That I would pull all your teeth out if you bark too much.”

With blue flames wrapped around his entire body.

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