Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Three days had passed.

The departure for Shanxi had been decided, and as the days flowed by, the time to set off had finally arrived.

Rumble.

“Haa…”

Standing unsteadily on a mountainside some distance from the Martial Alliance, I let out a deep breath.

It was a place where the ground had been completely wrecked—a space where the scars of battle were clearly visible.

This was also where Paejon had dragged me to last time, showing off his strength.

Now, in this same spot, I was desperately trying to steady my ragged breathing while continuously circulating my internal energy.

“…This is exhausting as hell.”

Only after I managed to regulate my breath enough to speak did I finally let out a complaint.

It was really, really damn exhausting.

Crack.

As I dispersed the residual energy within my body, it shot out and struck the ground, creating a deep indentation.

A clear sign of the immense pressure I had been holding within me.

As my expanded meridians trembled from the strain and my muscles continued to throb from the aftereffects—

“Tsk tsk.”

A tongue-clicking sound came from behind me.

Turning around, I saw Paejon watching me with an unimpressed expression.

“No matter how I think about it, it just doesn’t make sense.”
“…What doesn’t make sense?”

What was he talking about? I asked, confused.

Paejon answered with unwavering certainty.

“Why did I take in a brat like you as my disciple?”
“…”

His tone was filled with genuine bewilderment.

“Was I really that desperate?”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“What’s wrong? You’re slow as hell.”
“…”
“Your physical abilities are monstrously exceptional, and your ability to control energy is something the world has likely never seen before… yet when it comes to martial arts, you’re painfully slow. Compared to what you have, your comprehension is unbelievably dull.”

…Was that a compliment or an insult?

“Still, you have enough grit to push through the fundamentals of martial arts purely through willpower, which is admirable. But despite your lack of understanding, I still took you as a disciple…”
“I’ve already heard that a hundred times, you don’t need to say it again.”
“Right? I figured I must have told you already.”
“…”

He wasn’t wrong.

I had heard it from Paejon countless times before.

When it came to manipulating internal energy, my talent was among the highest in Zhongyuan.

But when it came to actual martial arts, I was slow.

I’d already heard that drilled into my head a long time ago.

But—

“You always say to make the impossible possible.”