387 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

The World's Greatest Martial Artist's Childhood Friend - Chapter 388 > Northern Hare - Web Novel Archive * "It seems you're quite alright." "...Yes." After the sparring session, I faced my father, who looked the same as always. The odd thing was, he was deliberately turning his back to me. "Why are you turning away from me?" "It's nothing." "Is my face really that amusing to you?" "...No." 'He's definitely not looking because it's funny.' If even my father couldn't bear to look at it for long, then how bad must it be? 'In all this mess, why didn't that bastard Jamryong say anything?' He's the bigger problem. Gui Hee-bi had burst out laughing the moment she saw me. If my face was hard on my father to look at, then Woohyuk must have noticed earlier, yet he said nothing. 'Did that bastard do it on purpose?' It was obvious he hadn't said anything deliberately to let me make a fool of myself. There's no doubt in my mind, especially knowing him. Since I needed to focus on my father for the time being, I decided to ask some probing questions. "Training in a foreign place... Is there a reason?" My father never trains outside. There's a designated training ground for the head of the family back at home, so it's unnecessary. At least, I knew my father wouldn’t train in another region. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd train for a bit." "It seems like you were training for quite some time." The lingering traces of heat around us suggested as much. It must have been quite a while if the heat remained like that. Couldn't sleep, he said. Did he stay up all night? Such thoughts crossed my mind. "Third son." "Yes?" "Where did you learn that power?" "..." My father abruptly cut to the chase. Skipping any preliminary chit-chat about how my morning was or whether I'd eaten. He went straight to the main point, which was a bit surprising. 'That's typical of Father.' That was indeed characteristic of him. "Power, you say?" "Yes." "What kind of power do you mean?" I thought about playing dumb... "Tuapachenmu." "..." I had to keep my mouth shut at my father's nonchalant mention of that. "It was the martial art of Master Paejon." "...No." I had channeled inner strength and cloaked myself, but I got hit in the face and knocked out before I could even use it. How did Father know about this? Did he realize it as soon as he saw me? "You have imbued yourself with two types of inner energy?" "Well... It just happened that way." In reality, I had four or five types contained within me, but I decided it wasn't the time to mention that. At last, my father turned his back to face me. "Seeing that you're fine with two types of inner energy in your body, it seems you possess something special." Rather than questioning why, he seemed to be confirming the result and seeking the reason. "Yes… I just sort of made it work." "Did Master Paejon tell you to do so?" "No. That wasn't it. I insisted on learning both because I couldn't give up our family's techniques." "Hmm." He didn't seem pleased with my answer, but it was the truth. It was true that I couldn't give up our family's martial arts. It was true that I insisted on learning both. "Leader." "Speak." "Did you knock me out yesterday because I tried to use two types of inner energy?" I wondered if he did it to prevent me from exploding. "Yes." And from my father's answer, I knew that was exactly the case. Well, if someone suddenly whipped out another form of inner energy right in front of others, it might have seemed like a sudden suicide attempt. Turning my head awkwardly, my father brought up another topic. "When did you start learning it?" "Not more than a few months ago." "That means Master Paejon is in Hanam right now." "..." Was that a slip of the tongue? I became cautious, worried that this might cause an issue. "Since it's your choice, I won't say anything else. If learning it isn’t a problem for you, then proceed." "...Yes." "And if, by any chance, you see the master, tell him I'd like to pay a visit soon." "Understood." I could already predict Master Paejon's displeased face when I relayed this, but what could I do when I’ve been caught? Sighing inwardly, I spoke to my father. "Uh... Leader." "Hmm." "So does that mean the wager is off?" My father looked at me with a subtle expression. The spar from the previous day was to gather information about my mother. I couldn't land a single hit, which meant I'd lost the bet. I knew this, yet I clung to it, shamelessly trying. 'Acting tough doesn’t put food on the table. I might as well beg.' It wasn't in my nature, thankfully. "You're being unusually trivial." "...Ahem." It suggested that there was no need to drag out what was already over. Even I found it a bit embarrassing, but it wasn't something I could simply brush off. Also, such talks weren't brought up without any ulterior motives. "Leader, you distinctly said you'd use only one hand yesterday." "..." My father's eyebrows twitched noticeably at my words. From that, I could tell. My father knew exactly what I was referring to. Then, I had clearly seen it. "Then why did you use your right arm?" "..." The hand my father used when striking my face last night was his right hand. "Isn't that right?" My father remained silent. The intense look on his face was quite intimidating, but I vaguely sensed that his expression was one of surprise. "Doesn't that mean I won the bet?" "..." He still wouldn’t answer. Father might have wanted to brush it aside, but there was no way I'd let this go. I’m the best at picking up on others’ actions, and there was no way I would miss this. Before the sparring match, my father sealed one hand. The sealed hand was indeed the right hand. Using it in the end implied that I had won. As I watched my father for his reaction, he calmly replied, "I have no idea what you're talking about." "Wow." I involuntarily expressed my admiration. Never did I think I'd see the day my father would try to evade like this. "Is this how you're going to play it?" "Yet, since you seem quite attached to the matter, I'll grant you another opportunity." "What do you mean attached? What's there for me to regret?" It felt like he was cleverly trying to sidestep the issue. Why would I be reluctant about this? I stared blankly at my father, and a faint chuckle escaped me. His behavior here showed that, ultimately... "You seem determined not to let me go there, don't you?" "I told you from the start." "But I must go. No matter what, I will." "…" "Even if you try to stop me, I will force my way through." I had to go. By any means necessary. I couldn't just ignore the divine sword within me, and in order to unravel the tasks ahead of me, I had to break through. This meant that no matter how much my father tried to block me, it wouldn't change anything. After I expressed my firm resolve, my father fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Very well." "Excuse me?" Very well? As expectations welled up unexpectedly, he continued. "If you wish to go there so dearly, I will set one condition." I frowned at his follow-up. "A spar? Again?" It was a battle I couldn't win right now. I realized fully yesterday the gap between my father and me. Unless I could reclaim all the realms I'd reached in my previous life, I wouldn’t be able to match him with my current state. And reclaiming all the strength from my past life would take an uncertain amount of time as well. "It's not a spar." "Then what?" "What level is your inner strength?" "Seven-Star." To be precise, it's the entry point of Seven-Star. Reaching the Flaming Realm had helped grow the rings of the Nine Flame Revolving Art. "Reach Nine-Star. When you do, I will let you know." "…Nine-Star?" Nine-Star was my realm in my past life. So he means to say I will only be allowed once I've regained my past life's strength. 'Although it's slightly different.' It would differ from my past life. Back then, I focused more on increasing my demonic powers than family martial arts. I would reach it much sooner this time with my current intentions. It's not a bad proposition, but... "Can you tell me why Nine-Star, specifically?" It piqued my curiosity because it was a remarkably precise condition for a mere condition. My father answered without hesitation. "Because only then will you be able to survive." "…" His answer rendered me speechless. I had no idea what kind of place would necessitate such stringent conditions, but judging by his face, I knew there would be no further negotiation. 'Guess this is all I can glean from the arm issue.' Even if I cling to the fact he used both arms. I realized that the sparring itself was out of fatherly consideration, meaning this was as far as I could push it. 'Nine-Star...' While it's technically just two ranks above, the disparity would grow wider the further I progressed. "…Understood. I'll ask once more once I reach Nine-Star." For now, I had no choice but to agree. Although I agreed verbally, I was determined to find another solution while advancing my rank. Hearing my answer, my father nodded. And then... "…" "…" Silence fell, as if the conversation was over. It was quite an uncomfortable silence. I was debating whether to flee or say something more when suddenly... "Third son." Remarkably, my father spoke up first. "Yes?" "Have you eaten yet?" "…" His question left me momentarily taken aback. It was a familiar line. 'Where have I heard that?' A brief moment of thought and it clicked. 'I say it all the time, don't I?' These were casually thrown words, meant to check if there was anything wrong or if I was wandering around hungry for no reason. "I haven't... eaten." "I see." Upon hearing my answer, my father walked past me. He gave a brief command as he departed. "Then let's go eat. Follow me." "…" I stood still, watching my father's retreating figure. For some reason, it felt like the first time he had said this to me. Does it mean he wants to have breakfast together? Pondering over its meaning a bit more, I began to walk cautiously. "…Yes, Father." My simple statement made his shoulders twitch slightly. I wondered if it was odd for him to hear, but... he said nothing. The silence that followed wasn’t the same as before. It wasn’t uncomfortable anymore. That felt strangely comforting.