Childhood Friend of the Zenith - Chapter 148

༺ Friendly Martial Arts Competition (1) ༻

Within the Orthodox Faction, there were three well-known tournaments that stood out the most.

The first one, hosted by Murim Alliance, was called the Dragons and Phoenixes tournament and it’s aim was to pick out the star that shined the brightest,

The second tournament, once again organized by the Murim Alliance, was the Heavenly Dragon tournament.

This was pretty much the biggest tournament the Orthodox Faction had.

It was also a tournament that many martial artists eagerly anticipated since it didn’t follow a fixed schedule for its occurrence, unlike the Dragons and Phoenixes tournament.

And the third...

‘I’ll ignore this one as this won’t ever happen.’

Around the time of this tournament, the world would turn into a mess anyway due to the appearance of the Heavenly Demon.

Though the Heavenly Dragon tournament was scheduled to take place in a few years...

‘The timing of this tournament wasn’t ideal either.’

But both tournaments weren’t really that important in the end.

What mattered was that I had to step forward in the arena for this tournament.

A tournament that was made for the young prodigies.

To see which stars shined the brightest.

And a tournament that could introduce the world to newly emerging talents.

That was what this tournament was for.

It honestly wasn’t without its flaws.

The era of the Orthodox Faction’s pure and honorable generation had already passed.

“Gu Clan’s Gu Yangcheon of Shanxi, third group.”

After checking the paper I picked from the box, I slipped it into my pocket.

‘Third group huh... It’s gonna take a while.’

I got unlucky and was put in the third group.

Any hopes of finishing my match quickly and taking a break faded away.

Ugh-

When I went outside, it seemed like the others had already picked from the box as well.

Tang Soyeol approached me immediately.

“Young Master Gu, did you get to see your group yet?”

“Yes.”

“What group are you in? I got in the second group!”

Thankfully, it seemed like I wouldn’t have to face her too quickly as she was in the second group.

“I am in the third... Why is she acting like that?”

In the middle of my conversation with Tang Soyeol, I saw someone sitting forlornly in a corner against the wall.

Others were looking at her too, but without a care in the world, Namgung Bi-ah continued to repeatedly bang her head against the wall.

What was up with her now?

Tang Soyeol responded with an awkward smile.

“Sis said she got in the first group...”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Wasn’t it good that we were all in different groups?

“She said that it won’t be fun since she has to fight us much later...”

“...”

That crazy... No, I need to hold myself back from saying bad words.

She had appeared calm for a while now, but did she suddenly get possessed by a ghost obsessed with fighting?

Why was she depressed about such a thing?

It was so absurd that I let out a smile, and went toward Namgung Bi-ah.

“...What group...?”

After noticing my presence, Namgung Bi-ah asked me without turning around.

Because of that, I had to respond while looking at the back of her head.

“Third.”

“...Ughhhh...”

“Do you hate it that much?”

She groaned as if she was sick, so I went closer to her and placed my hand on her head.

She flinched at my touch.

Namgung Bi-ah who sat still, nodded her head eventually.

While looking at her, I asked Gu Jeolyub who was watching this next to me.

“You.”

“Yes?”

“What group are you in.”

“I-I’m in the first group.”

“Hey, he said he’s also in the first group.”

“...Lame.”

I told her this so that I could hopefully make her feel better...

But Gu Jeolyub faltered in shock after hearing Namgung Bi-ah’s cold words.

“...Sorry.”

Gu Jeolyub’s face looked so pathetic that I had to apologize to him.

Namgung Bi-ah, with her gloomy aura, started to lift herself up from her distressed position.

‘Does she feel better already?’

But wasn’t that way too fast?

“Are you okay?”

Namgung Bi-ah nodded in response.

“...I thought about it.”

I was genuinely taken aback.

She actually experienced this phenomenon called thinking?

Namgung Bi-ah frowned a little after noticing what I was thinking.

‘She’s way too keen...’

She always looked numb, but she possessed a sharp sense when it came to things like this.

“Continue. You said you thought about something?”

“...Isn’t it okay as long as I win?”

“What?”

“...If I win all my battles, then I could see you, right?”

I also felt like I could relate to him because of what Peng Woojin said to me the last time I saw him.

Though Peng Woojin was truly a maniac.

“I’m not sure why you’re asking me this, but I’m fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes. What I have right now is already more than enough for me.”

I nodded to Muyeon.

As expected, I couldn’t charm him with things like these.

“Young Master, Young Master!”

“Hmm?”

“Do you want to eat dumplings?”

“...When did you bring that?”

I was starting to feel hungry as well.

Wi Seol-Ah brought food for me precisely at the right time, as if she was waiting for that to happen.

“I went to the streets with Sis Hongwa in the morning.”

“Oh... For the clothes that she mentioned last time?”

“Yeah! We bought dumplings along the way!”

I took the dumpling from her, split it in half, and offered the other half to Wi Seol-Ah.

Wi Seol-Ah hesitated for a moment but took it in the end.

Perhaps because of what I said to her last time, she looked hesitant to accept any of my food.

“Young Master!”

“Hmm?”

“Can I go outside later?”

“Where are you going?”

“Errand with Sis Hongwa!”

Errand huh, I didn’t assign anything to her.

‘Did something run out or something?”

Food could’ve been running low, but did they really need to restock when we still had some days to spend here?

I stared into Wi Seol-Ah’s eyes.

But they seemed as round and innocent as ever.

“Go ahead. And make sure you do what I told you last time.”

“Kay! Wear a cover! Listen to Sis Hongwa words!”

“And the last one?”

“If there are no escorts, then take Bro Muyeon!”

“Pardon...!?”

“Yes, you remembered it all.”

Muyeon interrupted in the middle, clueless of what was going on, but I ignored him.

“Have a safe trip.”

When I patted her head out of habit, Wi Seol-Ah shouted while smiling.

“Yup! I’ll do my best! Young Master needs to win too, okay? I’ll be cheering you on!”

What did she mean by doing her best?

I felt like she was doing enough for me already.

‘Just this much is enough.’

Wi Seol-Ah probably wouldn’t have a normal growth anyway.

Even when considering the best-case scenario, her current lifestyle might only last a few more years.

Moreover, rather than for Wi Seol-Ah’s...

I created this situation selfishly for my own sake.

‘Would you resent me later in the future?’

Unlike my worries, Wi Seol-Ah would probably not resent me.

Because the only one who had memories of my past life was me.

Besides, even if she were to resent me in the future, it wouldn’t change anything,

“Right, I’ll do my best too .”

I stood up too after our conversation ended.

I heard people talking outside my barracks.

It seemed like the moment I had been waiting for had arrived.

I then pinched Namgung Bi-ah’s cheek to wake her from her slumber, then took her with me outside.

When I went outside and approached where a lot of people were gathering, I saw a large wooden board with many people’s names on it.

“Young Master Gu.”

Just like before, Tang Soyeol approached after spotting me. It seemed like she had been waiting for me outside.

“The bracket came out faster than expected.”

I nodded to Tang Soyeol, but I had my eyes on somewhere else.

‘Third group... Bi Clan’s Bi Yeonsum.’

It seemed like that was my opponent, but the name didn’t ring a bell.

Given that I couldn’t recall either the name or the clan, it was unlikely that this person held significant influence.

‘...Hmm.’

But this wasn’t the important thing.

I moved my eyes and checked the brackets for others as well.

It seemed like I didn’t have to worry about others.

Judging by the opponents assigned to them, it seemed like we would meet in the later rounds of the tournament.

‘It’s statistically quite difficult for all of us to end up in different groups. Did the Murim Alliance do this on purpose?’

All the blood relatives from the four noble clans were put in different groups,

And other well-known names had also been separated.

‘Though the participants themselves don’t seem to care that much.’

It wasn’t too shocking for this to happen as this wasn’t the first or second time that Murim Alliance did something like this.

All my hopes for the Orthodox Faction had long been burnt away, so from my perspective, they didn’t even have the slightest bit of credibility.

However...

There was one thing that made me frown a little.

The second group.

– Tang Clan’s Tang Soyeol of Sichuan vs. Taeryung Clan’s Jang Seonyeon

As soon as those words caught my eye...

My expression turned serious.

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