Childhood Friend of the Zenith

While a massive wave of heat engulfed the Heavenly Dragon Academy, a bloody wind swept through the mountain.

Young Prodigies were being slaughtered by martial artists from the Unorthodox Faction, filling the mountain with the stench of blood.

Amidst it all, the mountain trembled under an immense surge of Combat Qi.

Slaaam-!

The ground shifted with each powerful punch he threw.

Cggck-!

His foot ground against the ground.

The force of his attacks was so intense that each movement left a mark.

He ripped and shredded it all.

The mountain would never be the same after this.

Bi Eejin was loyal to the nature of martial arts.

In the end, martial arts existed for destruction.

To protect someone with it?

He’d long since discarded such a narrow-minded notion.

To protect something, one had to destroy something else.

Many martial artists focused on training their martial arts to increase their level, but the essence of martial arts was destruction.

To achieve that, one needed sublimity, persistence, and relentless training.

All of which could be respected.

However…

Drip… Drip…

The Dishonored Venerable, no, the current Bi Eejin wasn’t concerned about such a thing.

For him, martial arts were merely a means toward his own idea of perfection: the destruction of heaven.

Drip…

Blood dripped from his hand.

His hands were covered in blood, a sight that would chill most. And not all of it was his own.

Bi Eejin shook the blood from his hands and looked down at the struggling figure before him.

Blood that splattered everywhere, belonged to that body.

Bi Eejin spoke, his expression calm.

“You are lasting longer than I expected.”

It was a compliment.

The opponent had withstood eight or nine strikes. Bi Eejin had said his opponent would win if he endured ten, but he hadn’t expected him to last past five.

He was full of arrogance, but he was also confident in himself.

His martial art was strong enough for him to be.

It held the power to shatter heaven itself, and beyond.

That is why he named his martial art the Destruction of Heaven.

Bi Eejin looked at his opponent, who could barely keep breathing, and asked a question.

“What was your title again? The Lord of the Black Palace, was it?”

The figure before him was none other than the Palace Lord.

“Haah…”

The Palace Lord exhaled as if responding to Bi Eejin’s question. He was clearly in poor shape.

“…Why…”

The Palace Lord spoke in a very quiet voice.

“What?”

Bi Eejin focused his ears.

Now, he could hear the Palace Lord more clearly.

“How… come… it doesn’t work… against you.”

“Hmm?”

Bi Eejin tilted his head, puzzled by his opponent’s words.

Thankfully, he was able to realize it shortly after.

“Oh, are you referring to that?”

Bi Eejin briefly knew what the Palace Lord was referring to.

A trace of toxic Qi that still lingered within Bi Eejin’s body.

He’d sensed it just before the fight with the Palace Lord began.

At first, he was curious about it.

It was the first time he felt something like this, and it felt very nasty and toxic.

It was indeed a strange Qi, one that not only obstructed his own Qi flow but also slowed his movements.

He wondered if it was a type of poison at first, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Perhaps it was one of the abilities that belonged to the Palace Lord.

Whichever it was, it indeed got in the way.

However,

“It was pointless.”

For Bi Eejin, it was no real obstacle.

“It was a nuisance, but in the end, all I had to do was block it.”

It might’ve been problematic if it had been poison, but since it was a form of Qi, Bi Eejin only needed to use his own Qi to block it, keeping it from interfering with his body.

The Palace Lord’s pupils began to tremble at his response.

“…That… is… impossible…”

It seemed like it was too shocking for him to understand.

The Qi his heaven blessed him with, was very critical to a martial artist’s body.

Yet, even with that Qi entering Bi Eejin’s body, he had managed to block it with his own Qi.

On top of that, he was able to win against the Palace Lord in the process.

“How… can you do such a thing…? What are you…”

Separating one’s Qi from foreign Qi wasn’t as simple as picking salt from a pile of sand.

It was more like trying to separate alcohol mixed in a flowing river.

How was such a thing possible?

Just what is that thing standing in front of me?

As the Palace Lord stared in shock, Bi Eejin tilted his head in mild confusion.

“It’s as simple as just doing it. What’s the problem?”

It was doable, as long as one tried hard enough.

What was the problem with it though?

Bi Eejin simply couldn’t understand the Palace Lord.

He dismissed the shocked Palace Lord and began looking around.

Then he gazed towards the Heavenly Dragon Academy.

If he wasn’t mistaken, something seemed to be happening there too.

His senses didn’t reach that far so he didn’t know for sure, but he at least knew that a problem occurred there as well.

This is… is it that child?

He sensed a faint trace of peculiar Flame Qi, along with dense killing intent and Combat Qi wafting past his cheeks.

This Flame Qi felt the same as the one that child used.

However, it felt much denser and hotter than before.

For a moment, Bi Eejin thought the child had overcome his wall and grown stronger… but he quickly dismissed the idea.

He was sitting somewhere in a perfected form of Peak Realm, but he still had some ways to go to reach the next level.

Moreover, he was still just a young kid.

Even Bi Eejin hadn’t reached Peak Realm at that age.

It was impressive enough that the child was even aiming for Fusion Realm after reaching Peak Realm.

At his current rate, he would reach Fusion Realm by age twenty.

If that really happens, then it’ll truly go down in history.

Fusion Realm at the age of twenty.

No one in history had even come close to such a feat.

This made Bi Eejin want him even more.

The child had enough talent and body for his martial art.

How disappointing.

Once again, Bi Eejin was reminded of how lacking his own body was.

He fixed his weak body through training, experience, and herbs in his secret vault, but that was only a temporary solution at most.

Bi Eejin’s weak body and Qi prevented him from reaching Fusion Realm.

It was to the point where he couldn’t even wield his Heaven Destruction Art effectively; using it ten times strained his body to its limits.

The martial art was created for his past life’s self to begin with.

A frail, talentless body was clearly unfit to handle such an art.

He’d used the technique six or seven times so far; any more, and the backlash on his body would be severe.

He was fortunate that the battle ended before that happened.

Bi Eejin sharpened his senses while wandering around.

The scent of blood still hung in the air, though it seemed to be fading.

Strange.

It seemed like a good thing, but it also didn’t feel right.

If this ambush could be dealt with so easily, it likely wouldn’t have occurred in the first place.

Just because the Academy’s instructors and students were present didn’t mean they could overcome the ambush, even if they matched the attackers’ level.

The more powerful attackers were on par with the instructors, yet Bi Eejin sensed something unusual.

I must learn what is happening.

A frown naturally formed on his face. He didn’t want to involve himself with what was happening in the Central Plains.

Though Bi Eejin was regarded as an Orthodox Faction martial artist on the surface, he didn’t feel aligned with either side.

However…

I have no choice this time.

It was problematic how the troublemaker of Bi Clan was also here as well.

Bi Eejin didn’t want that child to be put in danger.

Why must I go through this mess at this age…?

He had never married or had children to avoid such burdens, yet here he was, entangled in it all after regaining his youth.

How ironic it was.

I’m sure the other children managed to escape.

He was slightly concerned for the injured children, but he trusted they’d gotten away.

After all, he’d informed the Sword Venerable, Wi Hyogun’s descendant, beforehand.

With that thought, Bi Eejin turned his gaze back to the Palace Lord.

He saw a destroyed body that was going to lose its life any second.

Though his opponent was of a higher level than Bi Eejin and wielded a strange power, defeating him had not been difficult.

Bi Eejin had torn through his body in a few strikes, confident he could defeat anyone as long as he anticipated their moves.

He clenched his fist.

He considered informing the Murim Alliance about him before finishing him off but decided against it.

He didn’t want to leave a potential threat behind, nor did he want to involve himself further, it would only expose his identity.

Bi Eejin planned to go back to Bibi after finishing his business. He put her in a safe place, but it was possible that something might have happened to her.

He turned his waist.

Kwak-!

He stomped the ground with his foot and strengthened his balance.

His target was the Palace Lord’s head.

He aimed to end it with a single blow, but just as Bi Eejin’s fist neared the Palace Lord’s head,

Squeeze-!

“…!”

Bi Eejin’s fist froze in midair.

He hadn’t stopped himself.

Someone had seized his wrist, forcing him to halt.

With a sharp gaze, Bi Eejin looked at the one who’d stopped him.

They grabbed his wrist after suddenly appearing.

Bi Eejin hadn’t sensed their approach.

He may have been exhausted from expending so much energy, but he was still shocked.

Tap-!

He twisted his wrist and slipped free from the grip.

Despite the strength in the grasp, he’d escaped with ease.

Bi Eejin quickly put distance between himself and the newcomer.

“Who are you?”

If they could approach him and halt his attack undetected, they had to be an exceptionally skilled martial artist.

Bi Eejin observed the person.

First, he saw shoulder-length black hair and pale skin.

Their face weren’t visible due to their hair getting in the way, but Bi Eejin had a strange feeling after looking at the person.

Their presence feels faint.

Though they stood directly in front of him, it felt as if they weren’t truly there.

Bi Eejin couldn’t get a grasp of the person.

That was likely why he’d missed their presence entirely.

He steadied his breathing and calmed his body.

Then, he repeated his question.

“I asked who you…!”

Just as he was about to finish, Bi Eejin suddenly dropped to one knee.

“Huff…!”

Thud-!

A sharp pain surged through his Dantian.

The pain felt as if it was squeezing his body, radiating up to his neck.

This is…!

The mysterious toxic Qi that entered his body before his fight against the Palace Lord.

It was now raging wildly within his body.

His Qi began to surge uncontrollably, draining his strength as pain coursed through him.

“Ugh…!”

He tried his best to endure it.

Bi Eejin glared at his opponent with bloodshot eyes.

“…Is this your doing?”

He realized this had started the moment the figure appeared.

“…”

In response, the figure in front of him remained silent.

They merely turned their head to look at him.

As Bi Eejin caught sight of his opponent’s face, a look of horror spread across his own.

Bi Eejin wasn’t the only one shocked.

The bleeding Palace Lord, kneeling nearby, also looked stunned at the sight of the small figure’s back.

“My…! My heaven…! Why are you…”

As the Palace Lord spoke, the mysterious figure stepped toward Bi Eejin.

Rumble.

With each step, a dense black aura poured from the small figure.

It resembled the martial art the Palace Lord had used, but it was far denser and even more menacing.

This was dangerous.

Bi Eejin knew that he was in danger. Despite such an aura, he wasn’t able to get a grasp of his opponent, nor was he able to tell how powerful it was.

He wondered if it was the pain clouding his senses, but he was sure that wasn’t the cause.

As it drew near, the figure extended a hand cloaked in black aura toward Bi Eejin.

It was to grab Bi Eejin’s neck.

The small hand moved swiftly toward Bi Eejin’s neck.

It felt cold.

It wasn’t just somewhat cold, but ice cold.

Right as the hand was about to grasp Bi Eejin’s neck,

Swoop-!

Someone yanked Bi Eejin backward by his clothing.

Thud!

Bi Eejin tumbled to the ground, but he’d escaped danger.

“Ugh…”

Bi Eejin coughed out loud and stood up.

He still felt pain, but he thankfully was able to move a little.

When he looked to see who had saved him, he was struck by shock once again.

It was none other than Wi Seol-Ah that saved him.

Bi Eejin had clearly told her to go somewhere safe with the others, yet here she was, having saved him.

Though grateful, he couldn’t help but feel confused seeing her.

“Why…?”

It was understandable.

Wi Seol-Ah was pointing her sword toward the presence in front of her with fierce eyes, and the presence too looked back at Wi Seol-Ah with a strange expression.

It tilted its head, studying Wi Seol-Ah from head to toe.

Was it… fascinated by her?

It was possible.

The figure’s reaction was strange.

It was like Wi Seol-Ah was staring into a mirror, the figure looked exactly like her, enough to send chills through Bi Eejin.