647 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

### Chapter 647: The Northern Rabbit --- Swooosh---!!! A chilling cold descended like a crushing wave, suffocating under its immense pressure. "Ugh...!" I clenched my lips tight, letting out a muffled groan. This was the most resistance I could muster. Hissssss---! The force surged in, causing my meridians to expand. Trying to accommodate it was excruciatingly painful. Yet, there was nothing I could do to stop it. 'Stopping it would mean exploding.' If I tried to block or resist the flow, my body wouldn't be able to handle it and would burst. The sheer magnitude of the energy was overwhelming. The relentless cold rushed past my meridians and settled directly in my heart. No, saying it “settled” is too gentle; it was forcibly crammed in. It wasn't just the cold scattered throughout the Northern Sea; even the cold inside the palace mistress was being shoved into my heart mercilessly. 'Damn it.' How did it come to this? As I struggled to accept the energy, I wracked my brain for a solution. But the only thing I could do now was endure. Trying to handle such a vast amount was akin to capturing an ocean wave in a jar. Even knowing my capacity was full, the cursed Heaven Devouring Art didn't stop trying to devour everything. It kept cramming more in. As the cold continued to invade my body, the Nine Flames Circle Art activated, attempting to radiate heat, but it couldn't keep up with the vastness. "Grrr...!" A chilling breath escaped from my lips. Cold emanated from deep within me. Since mastering fire techniques, this was a first. The expanded meridians were turning into sources of pain. My body's vessel was at its limit, staggering from the strain. Barely moments after I started accepting this energy, I had reached full capacity. Despite abandoning attachments and stretching my limits, even that had been overwhelmed. I was forcing myself to contain it, but who knows how long I could maintain it. And this overflowing energy was all biting cold. If I couldn't neutralize it with heat, my body would freeze first. Caught between a rock and a hard place. That's where I found myself. 'Damn it.' Had I known, I wouldn't have touched it. What I thought was an opportunity turned into an act of holding a knife to my own throat. 'The entirety of the cold from the Northern Sea is pouring in.' Was this chaos triggered by the shattering of the Ice Crystal and the collapse of the palace mistress? 'This is insane.' For hundreds of years, the bloodline of the Ice Palace had amassed an enormous amount of energy through their life force. All of that was converging into me. 'Was this all meant for Mang?' Perhaps it was supposed to be. Mang had been gathering energy consistently for his revival, and with his plans thwarted at the last moment, perhaps it was meant this way. Crack--! "Gah--!" The energy surged beyond my meridians, swelling even my muscles. The enormous quantity of energy began affecting my flesh. 'What should I do?' My body's vessel had reached its limit. The energy was seeping out, filling my flesh. I could barely contain it there, but if it filled my flesh to a bursting point... 'I’ll explode.' The body, unable to handle the energy, would burst, and the resulting cold would spread across the Northern Sea again. With the Ice Crystal shattered, nothing could stop it. 'The Northern Sea would become a frozen wasteland.' Swooosh--!! The cold relentlessly coursed through my limbs and back, penetrating all over. The heat couldn't keep up, and I could feel my flesh freezing. Crack. The fingertips extended towards the palace mistress froze. If I died here, the Northern Sea would end. Thinking of it, I clicked my tongue internally. ‘That’s a problem.’ I couldn't care less if the Northern Sea suffered, froze, or perished. It means nothing to me. However... 'The kids are here.' I could abandon Wuhyuk, considering the mess he caused. Pajon would survive no matter where he was thrown, so he was fine too. As for the Sword Demon, if I died, he'd turn into a rampaging monster, better if I died here to spare others from his wrath. But I couldn't do that to Namgung Bi-ah and Tang Soyol. ‘So, what do I do?’ I wasn't afraid to die. Still, the thought of my death leading to theirs frightened me. Was this attachment? 'No.' More a greed than an attachment. The power obtained by becoming a dragon was tempting; it’s indeed greed. I'm too greedy to let this consume me. ‘So…’ So, how should I handle it? Yang Cheon-ah, don’t ask. You already know the answer yourself. 'Idiot.' I laughed without meaning to. Was I talking to myself now? I must be losing it. Whoosh---! I moved the internal energy within me. Hisssss--!! Sensing this, the cold churned even more violently. Despite knowing my limits, the Heaven Devouring Art greedily continued to consume. I hadn't fed it as many demonic stones recently; it might be going mad. 'Were you that hungry?' I hadn't had the time lately to feed it demonic stones. Could that be its resentment? 'You're not planning to kill your master, are you?' I wanted to believe that, though it seemed more like a hope than certainty. The moment I tried to control my internal energy, the intake of cold increased. Damn it, you ungrateful thing. After all the feeding and housing without charging rent, you want to kill me? ‘Fine, let’s see who will survive.’ I grit my teeth and exerted force. Fwoooosh---!!! Inside me, the Nine Flames Circle Art began spinning rapidly. Energy was still flooding in through the palms. In this state, trying to apply my internal energy independently was an invitation to a powerful backlash. 'But who cares? I have no other choice.' There’s no other way. Unlike other geniuses, I had no talent for fine-tuning the energy. The only thing I knew was how to destroy it. 'Let's see who gives out first.' If an endless cold storm was approaching, I'd just have to engulf it in flames. A cyclone of frost and flames churned within me, opposites colliding violently and creating rippling disturbances. It was madness—a gamble where one wrong move would lead to my body exploding or falling into internal chaos. Yet I couldn’t stop—knew I wouldn’t survive whether I lost to the frost or simply halted the effort. ‘I’m done for either way.’ Once I ignited the flames, there was no turning back. Either I somehow contained the frost within my body, or I would freeze to death as the flames lost and I shattered. Win or lose. Those were the only outcomes. The question lingered. ‘If I could absorb all of it, how much could I gain?’ If I managed to contain this immense cold, how much power would I wield? ‘Maybe even double my current strength.’ It was a storm of energy. An amount far beyond what any human could comprehend. Success would mean a dramatic increase in power. Swirl---!! The energies within twisted, with the frost threatening to claim my body and the flames striving to contain it, whirling into a vortex. It was wild and sharp, the sensation akin to having my skin ripped apart. ‘But, oh well. I’m used to this.’ Thanks to the endurance honed through the Heaven's Path Martial Arts, the pain of tearing flesh was something I could laugh off. The real concern was... ‘The vessel.’ The vessel, full to the brink with energy, was the issue. A little more and it would overflow. It was already spilling over, soaking into my flesh. Normally, I would have considered this a fortunate event, perhaps even aiming for rebirth. But... ‘It’s useless to me.’ This energy, too vast for even my body to manage, continued to pour in relentlessly. Fwooom---!! ‘First, empty the vessel.’ I released a tremendous burst of heat. If there was no space, I’d simply have to make some. Ssssssss---!! Smoke rose as if something were searing away from my body, a result of friction from the opposing energies. The more energy I expelled, the more cold rushed into my body. The two seemed hell-bent on destroying each other, threatening to bring the whole house down in the process. I captured the cold within the vacated spaces of the vessel. Thud-! Forced into place, the energy caused a violent reaction. “Ugh.” Drip-! Blood burst from my mouth, staining the palace mistress’s chest with red. “Hoo....” Exhaling revealed a cloud of cold. Having expelled a substantial amount of heat, the freezing process was accelerating. My body grew sluggish, my breaths slower. And yet... ‘For some reason, my mind remains clear.’ There was no sensation of crisis. I wasn’t afraid, nor did I hesitate. Squeeze-! I captured the frost with flames. The vessel was full. The body, claiming it was satisfied, swelled oddly. Emptying and refilling was tiresome. ‘Then, I better release it outside.’ Hooaaaaaaah---!! I grabbed hold of the spiraling cold, flinging it outward where it spread widely. “…Huh.” I faintly heard Pajon’s startled breath escaping. Was it a mistake? ‘I’m not sure.’ I didn’t know if what I was doing was right, nor why I was acting this way. For now, I merely moved according to my pounding heart and instinct. Even knowing that mishandling this energy could lead to death, I twisted the flow without hesitation. Whooooosh---!! Energy too vast to contain was dispersed quickly. Including a slender thread of heat allowed me to guide the frost as if it were my own energy. It piled up, over and over, until the amassed flow resembled a tangible barrier. That’s how vast this energy was. ‘How fascinating.’ So much energy...even if it wasn't mine, using the heat to control and imprison it. To think I’d attempt such a thing without considering the method or outcome. ‘One pause or moment of hesitation could have disastrous consequences.’ With the vessel filled, I moved the excess outside for now—a mad idea I acted on without realizing. ‘And it works.’ But why does it work? Even I didn’t understand it. Yet, if it works, it’s a good thing—this wasn’t the time to question it. ‘What matters starts now.’ Whoooosh.... A sense of emptiness. It meant the endless flow of frost had come to an end. ‘Meaning.’ The heavy energy swirling around me now was the entirety of the frosty energy that had spread across the Northern Sea. I hadn’t checked on the surroundings. The immediate concern was handling the palace mistress’s frost. ‘Just a little more.’ Though absorbing other energy with the whirling frost was difficult, it wasn’t impossible. Focus now. Hissssss--!! I felt the remnants of cold, hesitant as if they were stalling. I couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘Scared?’ As improbable as it sounded, the energy seemed to be crouching nervously. ‘Why did you push me? Annoying me like this.’ There would be no mercy. I enveloped the frost completely with invisible energy, then employed the Heaven Devouring Art to absorb it all. Sssshhhh---!!! The last of the frost filled the empty spaces in the vessel. ‘It’s over.’ I absorbed all of the palace mistress’s frost. As I sensed this, I stood up. The depth of energy ingested left me with an unsettled stomach. ‘How absurd, being upset from consuming so much energy. Ridiculous.’ Was this some form of luxury or indulgence? It didn't feel particularly good. Moreover... ‘It isn't completely over yet, either.’ There was still a swirl of collected frost around, and the gathered energy within me wasn’t yet fully under control. Having absorbed more than I could contain already, how was I supposed to encompass the rest of this gathered energy? ‘Should I just expand the vessel?’ The vessel had already been expanded significantly. Though even if I tried to expand it more, I wasn’t sure it was possible. ‘Then...’ How about the reverse? Instead of expanding the vessel, reduce the volume of its contents. That way, everything could fit. Squeeze-! I clenched my fist tightly. Thump-! My heart pounded fiercely as the residual heat came to the fore. Simultaneously, I commanded the heat restraining the airborne frost. ‘Compress it.’ Whooosh--!! The rotation quickened. The frosty energy trapped within the vessel was caught in my energy’s spin as well. Thus, I added momentum, trying to compress it further. The cold energy swirling around me began to converge, as if realizing what I intended, displaying signs of resistance. “Heh.” You want to resist? I bore down with more force. The energy reacted violently, as if ready to burst through the metaphoric door. Snap-! Blood vessels burst in my eyes. I ignored it. ‘Faster.’ And smaller. It turned out that the knowledge I'd accumulated throughout my life came in handy here with this spinning and compressing technique. Whooooom---!!!! When I felt the energy nearing, I spread open my clenched fist to regulate its flow. Instantly, the cold from outside sucked into my palm. Whoooosh-!! The high-intensity energy whipped up a gale. At the height of feeling this sharp energy, a moment later— Buzz. The cold finally coalesced into a form resembling a flame’s heart upon my palm. A sphere about the size of a human head. An overwhelming force could be felt from within the sphere. Having finally managed to confine it into this form, it was now time to indulge. Crush-! I employed the Heaven Devouring Art on the sphere, swiftly consuming it. Thanks to the compression, the energy flowed into me without resistance. The cold seeped naturally into my heart, merging with the frosty energy of the palace mistress. In that moment of realization— “Whew!” Fwoooosh---!!!! I ignited flames from within, enveloping the cold. It was to purify the energy. The cold was immense; against it, my flame seemed small. Even so— ‘I can do it.’ I had confidence my flames wouldn’t be overpowered by it. Thud-! Thump, thump, thump—!!! It was a reckless battle. It wouldn’t be surprising if the vessel shattered. My frozen, sluggish body was a problem, and the meager amount of heat made it even more difficult. However— ‘You’re greedy, aren’t you? You should be able to swallow at least this much.’ If it couldn't handle such an amount, how would it handle anything else? Fwoooosh---!!!! I continued to fan the flames. If necessary, I would harness Seoncheongi too. Hissss—!! The flames brimming with greed relentlessly devoured the cold. Though the cold raged in defiance. ‘Stay still and don’t cause trouble.’ With each punch-like sway of my flame, it tore through the adversary. And eventually— “…Whew….” I managed to exhale and open my eyes. “Ah.” Drip. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand, feeling something trickling down. My body was drenched with sweat. “...” Curious, I lifted my hand slightly. Fwoosh-! Flames sprang to life, forming a small flame heart, which I promptly tossed onto the barren ground. That tiny flame heart flew and touched the ground below. BOOOOM---!!! Despite its size, the explosion was immense. “Hmm.” Observing the ground, now in chaos from the blast, I finally confirmed it. My energy capacity had surpassed its peak from my past life. Furthermore— “…I have reached Gu-seong.” The Nine Flames Circle Art finally ascended to the highest realm, Gu-seong. This meant— I had finally surpassed the limits of my previous life.