1177 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Chirp! Chirp, chirp! The sound of birds accompanies the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling. "......" My eyes narrow as sunlight announcing the morning exposes my face directly. "......Ugh." I first lift myself up. Where could this place be? There is no need to wonder. It's only the ceiling that's unfamiliar; I can roughly tell where I am. '......Gu Family House.' It's the Shanxi Gu family house. I've returned home. Not only does it have that distinctive scent, but the palpable warmth of the Gu family is unmistakable. "......When did I come back?" My knitted brows do not relax. Waking up here means— 'Someone must have moved me.' It was proof that someone had brought me here after I lost consciousness on the battlefield. "Hmm." I bit my lip and got up. In that moment— "You're awake." "......" A voice reached my ears. Turning my head, I saw Pejon. He was yawning as he looked at me. "......Did you bring me here, Elder?" "Who else would have brought you? If Guryun had found out, there would have been a huge commotion." "......" "You would have hoped for that, wouldn't you? Or not?" "I appreciate it." A sense of relief washed over me. He was right. If Guryun had brought me here, there would have been utter chaos. "Sneaking you in ensures there won't be any problems you're worried about." "......Yes." "How's your body?" 'My body.' At Pejon's words, I gently clenched my fist. Wooong—!!! The energy in my body began circulating, a brief meditative introspection to ascertain my physical state. 'Huh?' My eyes widened. The energy swirled through my meridians, but there was a violent sense of dissonance emanating from that place. 'This is.' I quickly drew the energy back to focus on my heart. Thump. Thump. A shallow heartbeat. Of course, my heart is beating since I'm alive, but— 'This isn't right.' Something was different. The energy, which should have moved to the middle dantian, wasn't present. Wooong. I moved the energy to verify with certainty. As expected, the energy didn't originate from the heart. 'This is......' It was from my head. More specifically, a location called the upper dantian. '......What's going on?' Why was the energy that was in my heart now flowing from the upper dantian? It wasn’t that all the vast energy had congregated in my head. Rather— 'It seems to have diminished?' An absurdly large amount had reduced to a mere trace of energy, now concentrated in my head. That wasn't the strangest part. 'There's only one strand.' The flowing energy consisted solely of a single strand. I could hardly feel the once numerous energies. Only a single flow remained. It was concentrated and emanated from the upper dantian. "Isn't it fascinating?" "......" Pejon spoke as I was in shock. "I was surprised too. I've never experienced such a thing in my life. Not only did your energy gather in the upper dantian, but all those complex energies merged into one." "Huh......" "It's astonishing that your body didn't burst from the change. Your family's always been far from normal. How do you feel? Any pain or discomfort?" "......I’m not in pain. Rather—" I felt refreshed. I couldn't fathom how I could feel this refreshed, as if my body were light enough to fly. "It's only natural," Pejon continued, chewing on some dried meat. "Having such a large amount of energy implies you can produce great power, but it also means you burden your body immensely." The amount of fuel, so to speak, was an obvious burden on the body. "Not to mention, you had multiple flows of energy. The fact you endured it at all was already remarkable." I had surpassed normal limits long ago. Even if I hadn't had other crises, I would've faced this peril. Had I not chosen to become something greater, I might have already been ruined. ‘Should I worry this much about the reduction?’ Putting aside the fact that it had gathered in the upper dantian, could it be alright for such a reduction in energy? Compared to the energy I originally possessed, it was truly a mere speck now. It seemed barely enough to execute a single martial technique properly... "Don't think you've lost your energy." Reading my reaction, Pejon clicked his tongue. "Indeed, consider it evolution." "......Evolution, you say?" "Why do you think all that abundant energy disappeared?" "I'm spacing out because I don't know." "......Unnecessary energy vanished, and the pure essence has merged." "......Pure essence?" "Yes. Or should I say it's been condensed?" Condensed or refined...the conclusion of the explanation was the same. "Does it mean the energy has been compressed?" The vast energy I once had was discarded, merging into a single flow. And it left behind this condensed, small energy. '......Condensation.' I moved the energy after listening to the explanation. Whoooo—! 'Indeed.' It was astounding. Whether condensed or compressed, I understood why Pejon described it as he did. 'The energy feels noble.' Noble, sacred. It was so refreshing, it was hard to believe something like this existed within my body. That was the sensation as it flowed and circled through my body. ‘Feels like it's purifying me.’ It purified all impurities, making them unable even to enter. Could energy be this beautiful? As I touched the energy, marveling at its novelty— "Even if it's nothing else, that's enviable." "Pardon?" Pejon said something unexpected. Enviable? Did he just use the word ‘envious’? It felt like the first time I'd heard such words from him. "With such purity, the quality of your martial techniques will naturally rise. You've reached what every martial artist dreams of." "This is really that significant?" "It seems various serendipitous events have benefitted someone who doesn’t even recognize its value. Tsk, tsk..." His tongue clicking seemed genuine. Did this power truly hold such value? I wasn't sure. ‘A single flow. Gathered in the upper dantian.’ N2Q1UkN6Sk9iTEJZNGlLdU5pL0JqcVRlaGRDZDZSb0lyNU92c050Si8zTzAySjA4YkNhSmp6VWtFSWNOeGpOeA I couldn't quite grasp what had happened yet. ‘Should I call this a fortuitous encounter?’ Was this truly to be considered a stroke of luck? That too, I was unsure of. 'Wait a second, what about the seed's energy? What happened to the ancestor's words?' There was a lot to process. Just as my mind was nearing overload— "If you have a lot on your mind, come out later. I've made it look like you fell asleep here while training," Pejon said, rising from his seat. It seemed he had already provided an explanation on my behalf. "Thank you." "And when you do get out, seek the family head. That's what he instructed me to tell you." "......" It wasn't exactly an encouraging message. "I have some business to attend to, so I won't be able to see you today." "......Where are you going?" "Not too far. There's someone around here I need to find." Someone to find? Does Pejon have someone to look for in Shanxi? Despite my curiosity, I didn't press. "Safe travels." My own matters felt more urgent right now. * * * After Pejon left, I quickly stepped outside. It felt like the time just after dawn. I moved slightly, feeling the air kissed by dew. I couldn't remain within the Gu family compound; I aimed to head towards a nearby mountain. Whoosh—!!! "---!" I was startled as my body soared upwards. 'What in the world?' I lifted far higher than expected—from just one step. 'I barely used any energy.' The sense of lightness wasn't an illusion; my body truly felt as light as a feather. Despite its airy nature, it was filled with strength. In the blink of an eye, I reached my destination. Tap. I delicately landed on a single leaf before touching down on the ground. Upon reaching the mountain— Wowww—! "......Oh......" I shivered at the aroma that enveloped me. "What is this?" Laughter bubbled up. The energy of the mountain saturated not just my nose but permeated throughout my entire body. Was this a sensory evolution? No, it was something else. 'I'm absorbing the energy.' The moment I arrived at the mountain, the qi of nature fully infused my being. Filling what I thought was an empty vessel. As if the energy was stacking bit by bit. "Ssss......" I calmly clenched both fists. Then. Whoooosh. A gentle flame erupted. Watching the flame, I furrowed my brow. 'It's changed.' The color of the flame had transformed. It used to be a deep blue flame. 'Now it's lighter.' It appeared considerably lighter. A pale blue, almost nearing a white hue. The divinity emanating from the flame seemed curiously profound, in contrast to its brighter color. Moreover— 'The shape of the flame is somehow different.' The flickering flame had a subtle, gentle essence. Particularly soft. Was it only the appearance and sensation that had changed? 'No.' I immediately understood otherwise. '......It's powerful.' I sensed something within my flame. The energy fed into it was minuscule, but the power of the flame itself was entirely different. It was strong. I'd never ignited a flame of such high quality before. "......How strong is it?" I wondered how powerful this flame would be as an attack. It piqued my curiosity. But even without considering that— 'There's something more fascinating.' Whoosh—!!! I intensified the flame. The clarity of the flames wrapped around my hands grew sharper, along with the energy consumption. Given the limited energy left, it seemed like I’d soon run out. ‘……But the depletion is slow.’ The energy wasn't depleting. No. The flow was declining rapidly, but— ‘The replenishment is faster.’ The rate at which it refilled was astounding. Each time my energy waned, it was replenished from somewhere. So, what is the source of this fuel? This, too, became clear. ‘The ground.’ The ground I stood on. And the trees spread around me. The vast sky. From every single part of this environment, qi flowed into me. ‘Ah, I see.’ I felt it deeply. There was no mistaking it. Somehow— ‘……I’ve become the master of this world.’ Just as the ancestor had said. It seemed I had become the master of this world.