Childhood Friend of the Zenith Chapter 1143

I once asked Paejon.

“How many forms are there?”

Just how many techniques existed in Tua Pacheonmu?

“Right now, you could say there are seven… but who knows.”

At my question, Paejon barely reacted, as if the number itself wasn’t all that important.

“The number of forms doesn’t really matter to me.”

“Then what does?”

The number of techniques that made up a martial art—how could that not be important?

I couldn’t understand what he meant.

Especially for martial artists, who dedicated their lives to mastering techniques, that number was everything.

Yet, Paejon answered me indifferently.

“Completion. And satisfaction.”

“…What?”

“If cutting down the number of forms increases the level of completion, then that’s the right answer. If adding more improves it, then that’s also correct. And if it brings satisfaction in the end—then that is what I call the completion of a martial art.”

It was such a simple logic.

If adding a form weakened the art, remove it.

If removing it made things worse, put it back.

That was how one perfected a martial art.

“…So, are you going to keep adding more?”

“Of course.”

“Then when the hell are you planning to master it?”

He had said that perfecting Tua Pacheonmu was his life’s dream.

But if he kept going about it this way, when did he expect to actually achieve that goal?

At my question, Paejon laughed.

“Ahaha. My dear disciple.”

“Yes?”

“What do you think mastery is?”

“Isn’t it when you’ve completely learned a martial art?”

When you’ve learned all the techniques that exist, fully embodying them in your body—wasn’t that what mastery was?

At least, that was what I always believed.

“I see. That’s one way to look at it.”

But Paejon didn’t seem to agree.

“Why? What do you think mastery is?”

I asked, genuinely curious.

“Who knows?”

He didn’t answer me.

Instead—

“At the very least, it’s different from what you think.”

He only shook his head, completely certain of that fact.

“Regardless, techniques can always be changed or added. If I want to, I will.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Paejon was the founder of Tua Pacheonmu.

It was his right to develop it however he pleased.

The problem was—

“…Then when the hell am I supposed to learn all of it?”

He’d create a new technique, then erase it.

Then create another, only to erase that one too.

If he kept going like that, when was I ever supposed to master it?

He made me his disciple because he couldn’t perfect it himself—
𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

But at this rate, when would I ever be able to complete his goal?

I pointed that out to him.

“Ahaha.”

Paejon laughed again.

“If you keep at it, you’ll get there eventually.”

“…”

Damn old man.

Why were all the old men around me completely insane?

Just as I was questioning my entire life—

“Well, at least I won’t be erasing anything before the Sixth Form, so you should be grateful for that.”

“…You won’t erase them?”

“That’s right. I’ve finally reached a point where I’m satisfied with them. And besides—”

Tap, tap.

Paejon lightly knocked his fist against my shoulder.

“If nothing else, the Sixth Form doesn’t need to change. That one is my greatest masterpiece.”

“…”

It was probably the first time I had ever heard Paejon speak about the Sixth Form.

His greatest masterpiece.

A technique so perfect, it required no further changes.

Paejon was practically obsessed with perfection.

A madman whose pursuit of martial arts bordered on insanity.

For a man like that to say something was already perfect…

What kind of technique was the Sixth Form?

What was it that made him react this way?

I had no way of knowing.

Before I ever had the chance to learn it, disaster struck.

And I had completely forgotten about this conversation.

“…Ha.”

Only now, standing here in the present, did I finally understand.

“That’s insane.”

The Sixth Form.

One Fist.

A single strike.

Despite its simple name, I couldn’t even find the words to describe what I was seeing.

The entire landscape had changed.

What was once a lush, vibrant forest now looked like a barren wasteland, as if some natural disaster had struck.

The lingering remnants of Paejon’s energy still hung in the air, carrying a faint, burnt scent.

“Judging by your reaction, you’ve really never seen it before.”

“…Apparently not.”

“Hmm. Why is that?”

Paejon muttered to himself, puzzled.

“By now, you should have learned it already. Why didn’t I ever teach it to you?”

It was just because I had been too busy.

But Paejon was trying to find some deeper reason behind it.

“Was there some particular reason?”

“…No. I really was just too busy.”

“I see?”

“Yes.”

“Then this works out perfectly.”

“…What?”

“You should learn it now.”

“…Excuse me?”

Right now? In this situation?

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“Of course there is! Why now of all times…?”

“What do you mean why? If you haven’t learned it yet, you should learn it from me. Who else are you going to learn it from?”

“…”

This Paejon was different from the one I had known.

But since he only knew that I had turned back time, he didn’t see it that way.

…Do I really have to learn from him here, too?

I wanted to learn the Sixth Form.

For a moment, I had been captivated by the sheer force of his punch.

He was the pinnacle of martial combat.

Shin Noya had once told me—if there was anyone who truly embodied the title of martial artist, it was Paejon.

The man who stood at the absolute peak of martial combat.

The one who had pushed the limits of human strength further than anyone else.

That was the Paejon I knew.

And I needed his teachings.

But—

“No. Not right now.”

I declined.

At least for now.

“Why?”

“…I have something I need to do. And there’s somewhere I have to go first.”

“Going somewhere? Where?”

“Shanxi.”

“…Hmm?”

Paejon tilted his head.

“Shanxi?”

“Yes. There’s something I need to take care of there.”

“Hmm.”

He fell silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.

Then, he looked back at me and asked:

“Do you have a plan?”

“…More or less.”

I had already asked my father for help.

And I had thought of a few alternative methods myself.

Most of them were… violent. And very illegal.

“I see.”

Paejon grinned.

“Alright. If that’s the case, then go ahead. If it’s that important, you should take care of it.”

Did he really understand?

Judging by his reaction, it seemed like he did.

“Alright. That works. Go on, then.”

“…What?”

Paejon gave a small nod, as if he had reached some sort of decision, and began moving.

He walked forward a few paces before turning back to look at me.

“What are you doing? We need to get back. If we take too long, we’ll be late.”

“…”

Thump—!

Paejon leaped into the air, flying back in the direction we had come from.

“Hmm…”

I stared at his retreating figure.

Should I follow?

…Was that really it?

Paejon had given in too easily. It left me feeling unsettled.

But for now, it seemed like I had managed to move past this situation.

Still—

Why do I feel so uneasy?

A lingering sense of discomfort refused to fade.

And as always—whenever I had a bad feeling—

I was never wrong.

We returned to the main headquarters.

Paejon had arrived before me and disappeared somewhere. He was nowhere to be seen.

And when I returned to where I had originally been, my companions weren’t there either.

Naturally, I made my way back to Azure Dragon Division.

“Oh, look who’s back.”

“How was your first mission, rookie? Manage to keep up?”

The moment I set foot inside, my seniors grinned, chuckling as they welcomed me.

They seemed more interested in mocking me than actually greeting me.

“Yeah. It was fine.”

“Fine, huh? Long-term missions are a hell of a grind. Must’ve been tough.”

“Or maybe not. You were at the Namgung Clan, weren’t you? That must’ve made things a little easier.”

“Good point.”

“…”

Their words grated on me.

They knew about the Crimson-Rank Beast Incident at the Namgung Clan.

So why were they acting like this?

I didn’t understand, so I simply stared at them.

“Listen, just because you completed a mission, don’t get cocky. Learn to carry yourself properly. I’m giving you advice as your senior, so take it to heart.”

At that, I nodded.

“Oh, I see.”

These bastards.

They didn’t like the fact that a rookie had handled something big.

So they were trying to put me in my place.

The moment I realized that, I laughed.

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of acting cocky. Besides, it wasn’t even that big of a deal.”

I turned my gaze toward the guy who had been taunting me the most.

“I mean, surely there isn’t anyone here who hasn’t done something that simple before. Especially—”

I stared straight at him.

“—some idiot who’s never even done it himself.”

“What…?”

“The hell did you just say—?!”

The meaning of my words sank in, and they started growling.

“We treated you like a rookie, tried to look after you, and now you think you’re—”

Crack.

“Guh!?”

His head snapped to the side.

I had punched him across the face.

Blood spurted as he staggered back, and with a wet thud, two of his teeth fell to the ground.

“Huh…?”

The guy was too stunned to react.

I grabbed the back of his head and slammed my knee into his face.

Crunch—!!

“Guhhk!”

He collapsed, unconscious.

I turned to the other guy—the one who had been taunting me alongside him.

“What? Got something to say?”

“…”

“If you do, then say it.”

Thud.

I let go of the first guy, and he crumpled to the floor.

The other one was standing frozen, dumbstruck.

I continued.

“Just make sure you’re ready to take responsibility for whatever you say.”

“…”

Was I going to let things slide depending on what he said?

Not a chance.

“Y-you…”

He looked at me like he had never considered the possibility of a junior hitting a senior.

“How do you plan to deal with this?! Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?!”

“What’s there to deal with? You pissed me off, so I hit you.”

“Y-you bastard…! I’m reporting this to the Commander right now!”

Grinding his teeth, he turned to run toward the Commander’s office—

Boom—!!

“Guh!?”

He collapsed before he could take a step.

And it wasn’t my punch that had done it.

The fist that had struck him was twice the size of mine.

“Tsk, tsk. A man shouldn’t run his mouth so carelessly.”

The one who had knocked him out clicked his tongue.

It was Gu Ryunghwa.

“Ah, good to see you, kid.”

He grinned as he looked at me.

Then, reaching into his sleeve, he pulled something out.

A snack.

“If you don’t mind, why don’t we have a little chat? I even have some sweets for you.”

“…”

…The way he phrased that was seriously unsettling.