Childhood Friend of the Zenith-Chapter 551

A day had passed.

After the unexpected encounter with Gu Ryeonghwa and Yeongpung, the late hour left us with no choice but to spend the night nearby in a simple manner.

By the time dawn arrived, I had just finished my usual early morning training.

And beside me was Yeongpung.

Boom!

I casually tossed aside the rock I had been holding. It landed among the gravel, scattering pebbles as I wiped the sweat from my brow and turned to look at Yeongpung.

“Phew…”

Yeongpung, still immersed in his training, seemed entirely focused on controlling his breathing.

Taking a closer look at him, I noticed something.

‘His muscles look significantly bulkier.’

His height hadn’t changed since I first met him. That was expected—his physical growth had already been completed back then.

But still…

‘…How did he get this big?’

Yeongpung, who once had a slim and wiry physique, now sported a markedly different upper body. His muscles were solid and well-defined—not excessively so, but still a stark contrast to his past appearance.

‘What has he been through?’

It didn’t seem like the result of simple training. Could it be a transformation, a complete rebirth of sorts?

‘No, that doesn’t seem right either.’

There was something off—an unsettling dissonance I couldn’t quite place.

And then, as if to confirm my suspicions, I spoke.

“Young master Yeongpung.”

“Yes?”

Yeongpung, who had been swinging a rock around, turned his gaze toward me. I continued as I watched him.

“You’re leaking energy.”

“Ah!”

Startled, Yeongpung quickly worked to rein in the energy spilling out of him.

From the beginning of his training, Yeongpung had been unable to properly control his energy, allowing it to pour out unchecked. While it wasn’t aggressive and seemed to carry a Daoist aura, which made it less uncomfortable, such an uncontrolled outflow was unusual.

“Ah, my apologies. Haha…”

Hearing my comment, Yeongpung scratched his head awkwardly as he gathered his energy. It was something I had noticed yesterday as well, and there was no mistaking it now.

‘He must’ve had some kind of fortuitous encounter.’

A sudden growth in physical strength and an uncontrollable surge of energy—these were hallmarks of only one situation that came to mind.

‘Did he consume a spiritual elixir?’

If it were one of the famous spiritual medicines of the Mount Hua Sect, it might be something like Jasodan. Given the deep and dense Daoist energy he couldn’t control, that seemed like a plausible explanation.

“Hm.”

I decided not to press him further. If Yeongpung didn’t want to talk about it, I wouldn’t force the issue.

‘Still…’

One thing bothered me.

‘His energy feels strangely familiar.’

The energy emanating from Yeongpung struck a chord, a sense of familiarity that I couldn’t quite place. Where had I encountered such energy before? I tried to recall, but no clear memory came to mind.

‘Tsk.’

In times like this, the irritable old ghost of Mount Hua would’ve been helpful. But “now” wasn’t the time to summon him, with so many matters already tangled up.

Setting that aside, I turned back to Yeongpung to ask something else.

“So, young master.”

“Yes, young master.”

I gestured casually with my chin toward a direction where Seong Yul was gazing at koi swimming in the valley stream.

“What’s your relationship with that person?”

“Ah, are you referring to young master Seong?”

“Yes.”

Upon hearing my question, Yeongpung set down the rock he’d been holding and responded.

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“We’re not particularly close, but I do remember meeting him as a child.”

“As a child?”

“Yes. If I recall correctly… it was around the time when the Head of the Kunlun Sect visited Mount Hua.”

So it had been during the time the Azure Sea Sword had visited Mount Hua.

“I saw young master Seong briefly back then.”

“Briefly?”

“Yes. If the young Daoist brought along by the Kunlun Sect’s Head is indeed young master Seong, then I remember him vividly because he was about my age.”

Considering that Yeongpung and Seong Yul were now both in their mid-twenties, they were indeed close in age.

What puzzled me, though, was how clearly Yeongpung remembered something from so long ago. Even though I knew Yeongpung was a genius, his remarkable memory struck me as unusual.

Moreover…

‘That guy seemed to recognize Yeongpung too.’

When Yeongpung recognized Seong Yul, it seemed like the recognition had been mutual. From the faint unease in Seong Yul’s expression, it was clear there was some history between them.

But that wasn’t what mattered right now.

The key point was that the Azure Sea Sword had once visited Mount Hua with a young Seong Yul. This confirmed an important fact: Seong Yul was indeed connected to the Azure Sea Sword.

‘That’s enough for now.’

One lingering doubt had been resolved. Satisfied for the moment, I shifted my attention back to Yeongpung.

“Young master, may I ask you one more question?”

“Of course, go ahead.”

Yeongpung responded with his usual gentle smile.

“Then, why are you and Ryeonghwa heading to Kunlun?”

Hearing my question, Yeongpung’s smile faded. The atmosphere seemed to ripple faintly, as though a subtle tension had settled in.

“…Young master.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t recall mentioning to you that we were headed to Kunlun.”

“Correct.”

“Then how did you know?”

For the first time, I saw Yeongpung’s face devoid of its characteristic warmth. Though we weren’t particularly close, he was always smiling. Seeing this side of him felt strange.

In response, I simply smiled back at him.

“It wasn’t a difficult guess, was it?”

“What…?”

“It was just the circumstances.”

As I spoke, I pointed into the air with my finger.

“The direction you and Ryeonghwa were heading yesterday.”

My finger pointed northward.

“If you head that way, you’ll run right into Mount Wudang, won’t you?”

“…You guessed that just from that?”

Admittedly, that alone wasn’t enough to make an accurate prediction. So, I decided to add another reason.

“A martial artist of the Mount Hua Sect, moving discreetly enough to follow the Sect Leader’s orders, heading toward a region where Wudang happens to be nearby—it seemed reasonable to connect the dots.”

“That’s still quite a stretch, young master. Isn’t it more likely that you’re wrong?”

“True. But…”

I maintained my smile and responded to Yeongpung’s comment with a question of my own.

“What does it matter if I’m wrong?”

“…!”

“If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. That’s all there is to it.”

If it wasn’t true, it didn’t matter.

Hearing that, Yeongpung let out a long sigh. Only then did he realize I had been fishing for information.

‘He’s giving away how inexperienced he is.’

This was a result of Yeongpung’s lack of experience in Zhongyuan. For someone to fall for such a simple probing tactic—it was almost amusing.

“Young master Gu… You’re far more cunning than I expected.”

“Young master Yeongpung, you’re simply too pure.”

To put it less kindly, he was a bit naive.

When I was at his level of experience, if I had been asked such a question, I would’ve stubbornly denied it, even if it meant looking foolish.

I might’ve even growled, demanding evidence. Yet Yeongpung, instead, admitted it outright, which was quite surprising to me.

‘So, Wudang…’

Even though I had been fishing, if that truly was their destination, it raised some questions.

‘Why?’

Why were the two of them heading to Wudang?

And without any senior disciple or elder accompanying them?

Visiting a fellow sect within the Nine Great Schools seemed like an important matter, yet only two younger disciples were traveling for it. That struck me as odd.

‘Something’s definitely going on.’

Though I didn’t see the need to concern myself with Yeongpung’s sudden growth, this matter felt different.

‘Because it involves Gu Ryeonghwa.’

It just so happened to be connected to her. At the very least, I hoped it wasn’t anything dangerous.

“Ugh.”

Yeongpung let out a short groan, his face betraying his frustration at being caught.

He really was bad at lying.

Watching him, I asked, “How exactly are you planning to get to Wudang?”

“...”

Yeongpung’s expression stiffened slightly. Was it a question he found difficult to answer?

He hesitated for a moment, remaining silent for a few seconds. Then, finally, he spoke.

“…This is by the Sect Leader’s order, after all.”

Hearing his response, I gave a small nod. It sounded like he was refusing to say more.

‘This is troublesome.’

Beating the answer out of him, like I might with someone else, wasn’t an option. It was the kind of situation I found most frustrating.

If Yeongpung wouldn’t budge…

‘Should I try persuading Gu Ryeonghwa instead?’

I briefly considered coaxing his companion into revealing more, but before I could act on the thought, Yeongpung spoke up again.

“…However, I do have a condition.”

“A condition?”

His words piqued my interest.

“What kind of condition?”

When I asked, giving him a curious look, Yeongpung smiled once more and replied.

“Would you spar with me?”

“A spar?”

His suggestion took me by surprise, widening my eyes slightly.

A sparring match as a condition for information? What was he getting at?

‘This doesn’t feel like a simple request.’

It might’ve been because we hadn’t seen each other in a while, and he wanted to test himself against me. While that seemed plausible, there was a sense that something more lay beneath the surface.

‘Could it be…’

A thought crossed my mind, and I narrowed my eyes as I asked, “Is it because of your energy?”

“Haha…”

Yeongpung let out a laugh, as if confirming my suspicion.

Of course.

‘It must be difficult for him to control.’

The massive amount of energy he gained from a fortuitous encounter—Yeongpung was struggling to keep it in check, allowing it to leak out.

In situations like this, a master would typically step in to help stabilize the energy. Alternatively…

‘He could forcefully release it through intense sparring.’

Yeongpung seemed to favor the latter approach.

‘Interesting.’

But something about his request still felt off.

‘Why spar with me specifically?’

With the numerous skilled elders and warriors in Mount Hua, it didn’t make sense for him to seek me out for this. If anything, the sect would’ve ensured his energy was stabilized already.

‘That means…’

It was likely that Yeongpung’s fortuitous encounter had occurred outside Mount Hua’s purview. The sect didn’t know about his current state.

After piecing this together, I turned to Yeongpung and said, “Fine. Let’s do it.”

“…!”

Hearing my response, Yeongpung’s face lit up with excitement.

It would probably be the first time in years we sparred together. While we had met briefly at the Shinryong Pavilion, we hadn’t exchanged more than a few words. Our last sparring match must’ve been back when I was heading to Mount Hua.

Yeongpung’s eager expression made it clear he was looking forward to this.

‘…Why does he enjoy sparring so much?’

I couldn’t understand why he seemed so thrilled. A faint sense of unease crept over me.

And at the same time…

‘I feel a little bad.’

Guilt mixed with my other thoughts because…

“The one who will spar with you isn’t me.”

Yeongpung froze, his expression turning to confusion.

“What?”

His reaction was expected. I glanced over my shoulder and called out.

“Hey.”

“...”

Seong Yul, who had been quietly watching the koi, turned his gaze toward us. His yellow-tinged eyes caught the light as he looked at me.

Meeting his eyes, I spoke.

“You. Come over and spar with him.”

“…?”

Confusion flickered in Seong Yul’s gaze.