Childhood Friend of the Zenith

I trembled as I looked at the elderly giant.

Dressed in a dull-colored robe, his black hair was far too dark for his age.

He had a languid expression with a long scar running across his cheek.

His body was swollen with muscles, as though it could burst at any moment.

In comparison, his physique was by no means inferior to that of Tang Deok or Elder Il.

No, it might actually be even larger.

‘But that old man is Paejon?’

He introduced himself as Paejon.

A title that honored a warrior’s belief, earned by never retreating despite countless defeats.

Although he could have used the character 霸 (domination), he deliberately chose 敗 (defeat) as a mark of his honor.

Moreover.

He was a teacher who had a profound influence on my life.

‘Wow.’

I couldn’t help but marvel internally.

There was something Paejon had once said to me.

What was it again?

‘If I had my body from my previous life, I would have become the strongest under heaven.’

An arrogant statement to the extreme.

But now, as I stood here, I couldn’t help but think maybe Paejon had been right.

‘…With a body like that, no wonder he lamented every day.’

Paejon, having gone through reverse aging, now had a frail and weak body.

His face was gentle, and before shedding his physical restrictions, his body had been similar to mine.

It was a body with a much smaller frame, one that barely held any strength for a martial artist.

The Paejon I remembered, lamenting the body of his past life, came to mind.

Now, I understood.

If I had been in that body, I would have lamented too.

“...Paejon is here?”
“Is that truly Paejon?”
“The Tyrant of the West… how did he end up here…?”

The martial artists around me were filled with enthusiasm.

The Three Supreme Masters of the Martial World. The Sky of the Orthodox Factions. The highest peak, the zenith of martial arts.

None of us had expected to encounter such a legend in a place like this.

And neither did I.

‘…Why is that old man here?’

I never imagined I’d see Paejon before his reverse aging.

Was this something I had to experience here? Or was it just a coincidence?

As I pondered, I heard him speak—

“Hmph.”

Paejon glanced at the martial artists, his voice disinterested.

“I’m only here to show my face. I have nothing much to say. Do what you need to do.”

His tone lacked any trace of interest.

With such an expression, I wondered what he was even doing here.