Only I Am A Reader

Chapter 189 - An Empty Heart’s Path

"Does your heart lie with the spear?"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Leo was being pushed back by something different than strength or skill. He was like a climber who had the peak fall down on him while still being at the foot of the mountain…

'Just who is he?'

While he had recognized the man's name and position, Leo knew too little about him, that was how little the author had mentioned him.

In a battle for the sake of murim supremacy, the four pillars of the Heavenly Strength Society weren't characters that could be brushed around. Cheon Jeong and the others had quite a bit of exposition, but the number of chapters that the Absolute Spear appeared at could be counted within two hands.

The man was a symbol of power, one of the 'absolutes', but his most prominent appearance was single-handedly saving the Heavenly Strength Society by sacrificing himself; he was a power card that the author used to show that things were getting serious.

'This is too much.'

Cheon Chang was going easy on him, but Leo was slowly coming to understand what being an absolute meant. He was no longer completely confused about why he was chosen after the first part of the battle had concluded, but he just couldn't understand his own assumption.

This was a character that suddenly came at him out of nowhere. He didn't plan for it, nor was he aiming for it, compared to his 'internship' under Rain's guidance, things were completely off the rails.

It wasn't some sort of discarded plot, nor was this a hidden path. Leo had unrestrainedly followed the path that he planned for his time in the Heavenly Furnace, but that path led him to a character that he had no understanding towards. Just like the complete personality that Jared exhibited after surviving, this was an off-script situation.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

"...No."

Leo hesitated a bit, but he still gave a truthful answer. There was a chance that the correct answer was the opposite. However, Leo understood that scheming was useless in front of the Absolute Spear.

Planning and acting were no longer of use. At this stage, Leo decided to forgo all pretenses and speak for himself. What Cheon Chang just displayed showed that he would make a great teacher or even a master, but whether Leo qualified or not… lied in his heart.

The sword? The spear? None of these weapons occupied a place in his heart. They were just paths that branched towards his target, whatever weapon was the most convenient was his choice. If something was to be in his heart, then it would be…

"Good."

The pressure on Leo suddenly vanished. The Absolute Spear threw the wooden spear into the weapon rack as a stiff smile blended in with his stiff face, this was worth a try.

"Unlike me… You have a chance."

Leo maintained his vigilance as he clinched the wooden spear, it seemed like his true answer wasn't necessarily wrong, but who knew if a third weapon would be thrown at him?

"Ahem, it's okay to relax, you have shown enough for now…"

Cheon Chang attempted to relax his expression, but his stiff face mostly remained the same, though he did succeed in taking Leo out of combat mode. For some reason, this reminded him of the somewhat clumsy Ray.

"I guess you want to know why I chose you?"

Seeing through Leo was something that Cheon Chang achieved without trying, the child in front of him was confused within expectations, but he wasn't wondering what just happened. He only appeared to want to know 'why'.

"You see… My master, he was well known as a spear master."

He could see the maturity hidden within Leo's demeanor, but that only made him feel more favorable towards him.

"But he was also known as a master of the sword."

His master had picked him for his personality as well. Unfortunately, he was still lacking to become his student.

"He also held many other titles of renown, but his sword and spear were what the entirety of murim remembered him by."

The spear was what Cheon Chang's heart had chosen. Even as someone who started late, it only took him years of training to catch up to his master's spear. He denied being better than his master, but his spear eventually reached an insurmountable peak.

"Unfortunately, I could only inherit one of them."

His heart only had a place for the spear, his sword training still bore fruit, but they were sterile. Although many knew, and most wouldn't believe it even if they heard about it, the Absolute Spear was someone who spent most of his life training with the sword. His close battle with Leo was a testament to the decades he spent on it, but it also showed his limitation.

"However, I didn't give up."

Cheon Chang's skill with the sword had peaked, even dumbing a few more decades into it didn't help. As someone who acknowledged that he still didn't give up his desire.

His presence within the Heavenly Furnace was almost null… that was but an illusion. In fact, he was the one that observed the most. He didn't perform his duty as an instructor up to now, but that wasn't because he found it too troublesome or a waste of time to do. He simply didn't find the right person!

Geniuses who could use more than one weapon had appeared in the Heavenly Furnace before, there were even some greedy ones that wanted to master everything they laid their hands upon. However, none of them met Cheon Chang's criteria.

"And that's how I came to find you."

No matter what, every single one of them had a side that they leaned towards, but this child in front of him didn't. He saw both his sword and spear. He wasn't good enough to judge his sword, but his spear was pure… The battle earlier, the answers, there was no leaning.

"So…"

Perhaps he simply didn't find the weapon that his heart desired, or he was just limited in everything. However, the Absolute Spear had a hunch that neither was the case. On top of everything else, the child's heart was empty. He…

"Do you want to tread my master's path?"