Childhood Friend of the Zenith

The answer did not come.

Father simply looked at me with furrowed brows.

I didn’t think about how he would react.

Because, to some extent, I had already expected it.

“I also received a request, so just leaving things as they are would be a bit—.”

I tilted my head.

Kuuuuung—!!!

A burst of qi swept past me.

Father had thrown a punch. I dodged, but the heat that followed forced my eyes to roll.

Fwoooosh.

It was his other arm.

Flames coiled fiercely around his right arm, which was poised to strike.

Seeing that, I twisted my body.

The fire would shoot forward in a straight line.

Or at least, that’s what it looked like.

One.

A feint.

Tuan activated, tracking Father’s movements.

That flame was a feint.

The moment I recognized it—

Fwaaaaah—!!!

The flames filled my vision.

There was hardly any aggression in the attack.

It was simply meant to obscure my sight.

Had he refined this ability? Even when I infused my eyes with qi, I couldn’t see beyond it.

My vision was completely blocked.

My qi sense was suppressed, and my sight was stolen.

That was the power of these flames.

Then—

Fwaaaah—!!

A gap in the blinding fire.

Something shot through from the left.

A fist.

Father’s fist came driving straight into my side.

I curled my arm to block.

His fist struck the tightly tensed muscles I had gathered for defense.

Kuuuuung—!!!

A violent shock sent my body flying backward.

I was flung out of the fire’s obscuring range, and what came into view—

Bang—! Bang, bang—!!

—was a wall.

I crashed through it, my body bouncing off the shattered structure.

Rustle.

Rolling along the ground, I became covered in dust and dirt.

“Ptooey.”

I spat out fragments of debris that had gotten into my mouth.