Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Chapter 281: Entrance Exams (1)

As it stopped raining, the sky turned clear, but as the sun had already set and it was night by the time I returned to the inn.

“Ah, Young Master Gu!”

Even though I returned late, Tang Soyeol was there to welcome me.

Was she perhaps waiting for me?

“You’re late today, huh?”

“I had something I had to do.”

“Ah, I see… Have you eaten yet?”

“I had something light.”

Honestly speaking,I hadn’t eaten anything, but I told her that I did.

I didn’t feel like eating anything at the moment.

I also listened to Tang Soyeol for a short while as she cheerfully told me about her day.

“You also need to wake up early tomorrow, so you should hurry and go to sleep.”

“Ah, right.”

That’s right, I had to leave early tomorrow.

That damned Academy.

Being reminded of that made my fairly good mood turn sour immediately.

As I was trying my best to maintain my composure, Tang Soyeol asked me about something else.

“Young Master.”

“Hmm?”

“Did something happen to put you in a good mood?”

“All of a sudden?”

“Yes… You seem like you are somewhat in a good mood.”

“…Hmm.”

Good mood. huh.

-I wanted to see you.

Was it because of what she said right before we parted ways?

I forcefully prevented the corners of my mouth from rising.

“Something like that.”

Because I was trying to hide my smile, my words were more blunt than usual.

Tang Soyeol tilted her head in confusion but I left her behind and thought to myself while heading to my room.

Where did she go?

It was because I haven’t seen Moyong Hi-ah for the last few days.

She did disappear a lot oftenly, so I was sure that she’d return on her own this time as well.

Though she did have to return before she ran out of heat.

Slide.

“Hmm?”

When I opened the door to my room, I saw that the lights were already turned on.

As I wondered if one of the servants had left the lights on, I stepped into the room still lost in my thoughts, but I only then did I realize that someone was sitting on my bed.

“…You scared me…”

I took a step back to see who it was and I saw that it was none other than Namgung Bi-ah.

“What are you doing here? You scared the hell out of me.”

“You weren’t… coming back…”

“What does me returning late have to do with you lying in my bed?”

When I spoke in a tone of disbelief, Namgung Bi-ah slowly got up.

Judging from her messy hair, it seemed like she had been lying down for quite a long time.

It even looked like she had taken a nap.

“Did you eat?”

“…Mhm.”

“Good job.”

I took off my outer garments and tossed them aside.

Then, as I was about to change my clothes…

“Why aren’t you leaving? Go out so I can change.””

“…”

But for some reason, Namgung Bi-ah remained seated on my bed and continued to stare at me.

Because only a single candle was illuminating the dark room, it felt like Namgung Bi-ah’s blue eyes were shining more radiantly than usual.

As Namgung Bi-ah continued to stare at me, it seemed like she had something to say.

Then, she parted her pink lips and asked me.

“…Did you meet her?”

“…!”

I couldn’t hide my shock on hearing Namgung Bi-ah’s question.

I didn’t even have to think about who she was referring to.

Namgung Bi-ah’s gaze told me everything.

It seemed like she was aware that I met Wi Seol-Ah outside.

How did she know?

How did Namgung Bi-ah know that I met Wi Seol-Ah when she didn’t really go out either?

I was both shocked and curious, but I wasn’t in a position to ask her about it.

She was demanding an answer from me.

I stared straight into her eyes as I responded.

“…That’s right. I did.”

I didn’t lie.

I didn’t want to lie to Namgung Bi-ah regarding such matters.

Namgung Bi-ah simply continued staring at me in the same manner after hearing my response.

I didn’t know what that look meant, nor did I know about the emotions it contained.

She then closed her eyes, turned away, wrapped herself with a blanket with a somewhat weary look and laid down again.

“Why did you return alone…?”

Hearing the question she asked me softly from under the blanket, I thought back to what Wi Seol-Ah said to me.

-I’ll come see you later.

-You aren’t coming with me.

-Yes.

Even though we had finally reunited after a long time, her response was firm.

-I’m very happy… that we were able to see each other today.

-…

-See you tomorrow… Young Mas… no…

While tidying her hair fluttering in the winter breeze, Wi Seol-Ah spoke to me with a gentle smile.

-Young Master Gu.

Hearing her gentle voice, I couldn’t help but remain silent.

Tomorrow huh.

Wi Seol-Ah said that she would see me the next day.

That meant that Wi Seol-Ah was going to attend the Heavenly Dragon Academy as well.

She hadn’t changed.

I was pretty happy that I got to see her again, but it wasn’t completely positive.

Parts of history had changed due to my regression and there were many incidents that I was aware of and unaware of that were twisted without my knowledge, but in the end, Wi Seol-Ah’s path didn’t really deviate that much.

Will I be able to change it?

Or if I did change, could I even dare to take responsibility?

My anxiety still remained, but I could no longer afford to run away.

I was no longer in a position where I could ask myself if I could do it or not, but instead in one where I had to do it.

Namgung Bi-ah turned around, stared at me for a moment before turning away once more.

It was understandable for her to be curious about Wi Seol-Ah since they had a fairly good relationship, but it seemed like she decided not to ask any further after seeing my expression.

They are all so perceptive.

Be it Tang Soyeol, Namgung Bi-ah, or even Moyong Hi-ah.

They notice it almost immediately if there was something strange about me, even though I couldn’t do the same for them.

While that made me feel undeserving of them, I also felt thankful and guilty at the same time.

I stared at Namgung Bi-ah’s back for a while before slowly opening my mouth.

“Hey, I need to ask you something.”

“…Hmm?”

“Why are you trying to sleep here like it’s normal?”

“…”

“Get up.”

Tsk.

Namgung Bi-ah clicked her tongue as she got up from my bed.

Judging from her expression, it seemed like she was trying to play it off like it was something natural.

******************The last floor of the inn was especially big when compared to the other floors.

A young man took a sip of his drink while looking down at the people outside.

Moonlit Rice Wine.

It was an expensive liquor sold only in Henan.

Others might have screamed in shock if they knew how much it cost, but the young man continued drinking without a care.

The sight of people walking on the streets outside was enough to serve as a side dish.

One cup followed another.

As the young man emptied half the contents of the bottle…

“Brother!”

An uninvited guest opened the door and barged in.

The young man sighed internally.

He believed that he would be able to have a good rest today.

When the young man looked at the girl with blunt eyes, the girl asked him the same question she had the previous day.

“Are you really the disciple of the elder himself?”

“…Sigh. This is already the fourth time that you have asked me this question today.”

Despite giving her the same answer, the girl insisted on asking him the same question repeatedly.

It was a hassle for the young man.

“It’s because no matter how many times I hear it, I find it hard to believe.”

“I told you… I am indeed his disciple.”

She only shut her mouth after seeing Bi Eejin speak with a sour expression, but seeing that she was sulking, it seemed like she still wasn’t satisfied with his answer.

After seeing her like that, Bi Eejin sighed once more.

It has truly become a hassle.

It was a mistake on Bi Eejin’s part for bringing it up in her presence.

“What’s so wrong with that?”

“…There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just that I now understand why brother is so strong even though you’re so lazy.”

“Since when was I lazy…?”

He was busier than anyone.

It was understandable that it seemed that way to Bibi as she didn’t know about Bi Eejin’s situation.

Tsk.

Even so, he was not in a position where he could explain his situation to her, so he had to remain silent this time as well.

“Then, how did you meet the elder?”

“…Just by chance?”

“You met one of the great Heavenly Venerables… just by chance?”

“Life is full of surprises.”

“It almost sounds like you lived for more than seventy years even though you’ve just turned twenty, brother.”

“…”

Twenty my ass. I’ve lived for at least triple that number of years.

Bi Eejin smiled bitterly in his mind after listening to Bibi.

He hadn’t expected to end up in this situation either.

It was a regret of his.

A regret that led him to do something he shouldn’t have.

“But I’m glad.”

“About what?”

“There was that rumor, you know? That Elder Bi had taken a disciple.”

“Oh.”

She was talking about that?

Bi Eejin couldn’t remember how much he laughed after hearing that rumor.

“I honestly felt a bit disappointed.”

“For what?”

“It would have been disappointing if he took someone from another clan as his disciple… instead of you or brother Cheol.”

The person named Cheol she was talking about was the first child of the current Lord of the Bi Clan.

Bi Eejin smiled after hearing Bibi’s words.

Even though she looked immature, she was still thinking about her brothers.

However...

I can’t afford to take that idiot as my disciple.

Bi Cheol was an incompetent bastard in Bi Eejin’s eyes.

He had a hot temper like his father and he was talented in martial arts thanks to his blood, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy Bi Eejin.

Bi Eejin tried his best to make him into a decent human being by beating him up since they were young, but he didn’t want to deal with him when it came to martial arts.

In the first place, I wouldn’t have cared about it if I hadn’t ended up in this situation.

He didn’t want to deal with the Bi Clan.

To begin with, he had no intention of becoming the Lord.

Bi Eejin, no, Bijuu’s only goal was to create his own martial arts.

If the current Lord of the clan hadn’t gotten down on his knees and begged him to stay, Bi Eejin wouldn’t have stayed, even after ending up in his current situation.

Moreover...

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“You are ugly today as well.”

“…Brother, have you ever been hit by a liquor bottle?”

“No, but I used it to hit a lot of people.”

“Then how about you experience it today?”

If it wasn’t for that chatterbox, Bi Eejin would’ve left the clan, despite the Lord begging him to stay.

Bibi tried her best to swing the liquor bottle, but Bi Eejin stopped it instantly.

Even though her arms were bound, Bibi still had lots to say.

“If it’s true that brother is the disciple of Elder Bi, then that must mean that the rumor regarding Young Master Gu is false, right?”

Pop.

As Bi Eejin opened another bottle of liquor, he made a strange expression after hearing Bibi’s question.

“I don’t know.”

“Huh?”

“It’s possible that I’m not his only disciple.”

“What are you talking about? You just said that you were his disciple.”

“There isn’t a rule that says that you can only have one disciple.”

Chuckle.

Bi Eejin simply chuckled.

Unable to understand him, Bibi felt frustrated, but Bi Eejin had no intention to tell her the truth.

In fact, he found her frustrated look to be cute, so he planned on watching her for a while longer.

While doing so, he thought about the child Bibi had mentioned.

That bastard Gu Ryoon hid him for this long.

The child he met back at the inn.

It was the child that his friend loved like a grandson.

His face was almost identical to his father’s.

Furthermore, it wasn’t just his face that was similar.

You can’t lie about blood.

When Bi Eejin first saw the child named Gu Yangcheon, he was very impressed.

Looking at his well-trained muscles that made his body near-perfect for close combat arts, it seemed like he trained diligently and the Qi inside him was so dense that even Bi Eejin found it difficult to judge.

It was so impressive, that he even believed that Gu Yangcheon might be someone who experienced something similar to him.

Eternal Youth.

A process that required one to throw away everything they had, only to gain mere time.

Bi Eejin wondered if Gu Yangcheon had also undergone Eternal Youth,

But if he did, he wouldn’t have possessed such a body.

The process weakened a person’s blood and body to the point where it was almost impossible for them to regain their original strength.

Bi Eejin too had to go through struggle after struggle to turn his pathetic body into a normal one.

However, it was different for Gu Yangcheon.

His body was perfect for martial arts.

It was unfortunate that his body was on the smaller side which made him have a shorter reach, but despite that, he could still control his body perfectly.

There were only two ways a person could gain a body like that at his age.

One way was for a martial artist at the Peak or Fusion realm to return to their youth and regain their strength after endless training.

The second…

Is to have talent that is higher than the sky.

It was impossible for it to be the first option, which meant that it could only be the second option.

‘To begin with, he’s at this level because he was born with such talents.’

When he first met him, he knew that Gu Yangcheon’s peak wasn’t merely the Peak realm.

A body where his Qi was perfectly balanced within his body, sharp senses that prepared him for any kind of situation, and the flow of Qi showed that he knew the path he had to take.

It was as if he had already reached the Fusion realm before.

He hid it so well that it even took me a while to perceive.

Gu Yangcheon’s Qi was so well-hidden that even the Dishonored Venerable took a few days to see through him.

From what he heard, Gu Yangcheon hadn’t even reached the age of twenty, but he was already preparing to ascend to the Fusion realm?

He was so close to doing so.

The Dishonored Venerable had reached Peak Realm when he had just turned twenty.

If he thought about how there were only two other people in the whole of the Central Plains who reached Peak Realm two years earlier than he did, Gu Yangcheon was already well over their level even if the Meteors from this generation were talented.

If his talents continued to rise at his current rate, then it was obvious that he would become one of the Heavenly Venerables in the near future.

It’s possible.

That was why the Dishonored Venerable was interested in Gu Yangcheon.

It was certainly possible.

Bi Eejin smiled as he looked outside the window.

At first, he wanted to see him because of how much Gu Ryoon spoke about him.

It felt like Gu Ryoon was indirectly asking him to teach the child, so he ignored him.

The second time, he wanted to know how talented the child was because there was a rumor that he said that the child was his disciple.

Bi Eejin didn’t feel angry hearing that.

More than anyone else, it was his earnest wish to take in someone as a disciple.

However, if the person who claimed to be his disciple was someone who lacked the talent and didn’t know their place...

I was going to fold him in half.

He planned on punishing him, but when he met Gu Yangcheon, he wasn’t all that bad.

In fact, he was actually great.

I found it.

It was the moment he was waiting for.

The Young Prodigy with a physique and also had perfect control of their Qi.

It was what Bijuu was seeking for a long time.

Only because of that did Bi Eejin offer Gu Yangcheon a handshake first.

But why did he make such an expression?

Bi Eejin wondered.

When he extended his hand towards him, Gu Yangcheon had his guard so high up, that it seemed strange.

As if he was ready to defend himself if Bi Eejin tried to ambush him, he kept looking around, and he was prepared to deflect all attacks aimed towards each and every one of his party members if a fight happened to break out.

Though, there was one problem.

Why?

Bi Eejin had no clue.

Does he know who I am?

That would have explained everything, but the chances of that being true were low.

It was possible if that bastard Gu Ryoon told him everything, but he wasn’t the type of person to share his friend’s secrets with others despite having a crazy personality.

Then, what did Gu Yangcheon feel to make him be on guard?

Was it instinct?

If that’s the case, then it’s even better.

A martial artist had to constantly maintain a sharp instinct.

How nice.

The Dishonored Venerable took another sip of his liquor.

The more he thought about the child, the more fascinated he became.

Perhaps, just perhaps…

…I might be able to perfect him.

It was possible that, through Gu Yangcheon, Bi Eejin might be able to witness the perfection of martial arts.

And as he thought so, the liquor flowed down his throat like it was nothing.

As he continued drinking, Bibi, who remained standing dumbfoundedly, walked over and pointed somewhere.

“Uh, brother. Over there…”

She was pointing in the direction that Bi Eejin was already looking towards.

“Brother, it’s them… right?”

Bi Eejin nodded after hearing Bibi.

It’s the Harmonic Sword’s army.

A group of people were walking through the night street.

Considering how important tomorrow’s day was, it seemed like they were required to be there.

Thanks to that, the streets were filled with people.

Hmm…

Among that crowd, was a person wearing a white outfit with a symbol of light drawn on it with a dark color.

It was the outfit of the Taeryung Clan who the current Leader of the Murim Alliance belonged to, the Harmonic Sword Jang Cheon.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if the treasure was delivered without any problems.

There was a treasure that Bi Eejin had borrowed from the Murim Alliance for a short while.

He planned to return it when he was participating in the tournament of Dragons and Phoenixes, but he forgot about it and failed to do so. He even wrote a letter as an excuse.

Then, that bastard Gu Ryoon took it after telling him that he would deliver it safe and sound.

I’m sure he took care of it on his own.

Bi Eejin trusted his friend and erased the thought from his mind.

“Then, is the person standing at the front the Meteor Sword?”

Hearing Bibi, Bi Eejin moved his gaze slightly.

He then saw the handsome face of a young man who was leading the group.

“He’s handsome…”

Bibi murmured on seeing the young man.

His face was rather handsome.

His face and jawline made him look like a prince.

“That person must be the Meteor Sword.”

The new martial artist who had become the talk of town recently.

The son of the current Alliance Leader, the Meteor Sword.

“He’s so handsome…”

It seemed like Bibi was charmed by the Meteor Sword’s face, as she wasn’t able to take her eyes off of him.

He has those looks and is good at martial arts?

He was perfect… just perfect.

Bibi could only nod her head.

During this time, Bi Eejin paid no attention to the Meteor Sword or whatnot.

He seemed pretty talented, but he didn’t seem all that special.

Hmm.

Instead, Bi Eejin was more interested in the child who was walking behind the Meteor Sword.

Her face wasn’t completely visible as she had a hood pulled low, but it was clear that she was a lady judging by her body shape, and judging by the sword at her waist, Bi Eejin was also able to discern that she was a swordswoman.

Additionally…

…Oh?

Her faint aura felt familiar.

It was obvious why it felt familiar.

Her aura was similar to the one who made him roll around on the ground a lot.

The sword that held the moon and cut through the sky.

He was reminded of the old man who was one of the Heavenly Venerables, when he stood at the peak of a sharp sword all by himself.

The Dishonored Venerable put on a big smile after reminiscing about that time.

The aura the lady possessed was clearly…

That old man.

The same as the one who created the Moonlight Dance.

He raised a monster.

It was the aura of Wi Hyogun, the Sword Emperor.