Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Rumble.

A thick cloud of dust billowed around me. I shook off the dirt from my body as I observed it. In the distance, I could still sense the presence of Heavenly Lord.

I had landed a strike. The only disappointing part was that it didn’t feel quite satisfying.

"He blocked it."

In that brief moment, he had raised his qi to deflect my attack. As expected—after all, he was someone called the pinnacle of martial arts. It was only natural for him to be capable of at least this much.

However—

"Just as I expected."

There was something I had realized after exchanging blows with Heavenly Lord.

And that was—

"He's trapped in a Heart Demon."

Right now, Heavenly Lord was consumed by a Heart Demon. Just as it had been in my past life, just as it had been in the world I came from—this was the exact same moment when he had been overtaken by it.

For a martial artist, a Heart Demon was nothing short of a disaster. Not only did it prevent them from using abilities they normally could, but it clouded their vision, making it impossible to see or hear what they truly wanted to.

And even worse—

"There’s hardly any way to cure it."

Since it was a fundamentally mental affliction, there weren’t many known ways to treat it.

This strange and fragile thing was what shackled Heavenly Lord.

And I had only realized it in this life.

"Heavenly Lord, once freed from his Heart Demon, was completely different."

It had probably been in Sichuan.

More precisely, thanks to my father, Heavenly Lord had escaped from his Heart Demon.

The Heavenly Lord I had known was nothing like the man I was facing now.

He had been benevolent, strong-willed, and dignified.

At one point, I had even questioned whether this kind, resolute old man was truly the same arrogant and insufferable bastard I remembered.

"But this old man in front of me now—he’s not that person."

The Heavenly Lord I was seeing now was the one from my previous life.

The same man who had been utterly helpless against Cheonma.

The difference was stark—undeniable.

Which meant—

"In this state."

He was beatable. That was my conclusion.