Childhood Friend of the Zenith - Chapter 199

Chapter 199: Marble of Celestial Captivation (2)

Marble of Celestial Captivation (2)

A battlefield was a trace left by a calamity.

It was the proof that it had happened in the past, thus many argued that the worlds hard-earned peace was far from perfect.

With the Gate of Demons left unclosed and lands ravaged by demonic forces, in such environments, normal humans find it impossible to thrive.

But these lands were dangerous because they were filled with demons.

In order to lessen this issue, the Murim Alliance had been working with other martial artists of the Orthodox Faction for the past few years, looking after the battlefields.

Coincidentally, one of such battlefields wasnt too far away from Shanxi.

As such, the Second Elder was able to arrive on the battlefield not long after he got a letter from Gu Huibi.

I can definitely see the crack.

He observed, standing before the gigantic Gate of Demons that loomed before him.

Unlike other battlefields, this land was exclusively managed by the people of the Gu Clan.

This was because only the Gu Clan was assigned to look over this land.

How come you were the one who came, Second Elder?

It had been one month ever since the Second Elder arrived in this land, after receiving the letter from Gu Huibi.

Gu Huibi, who returned late due to dealing with the demons on the other side of the land, asked the Second Elder when she saw him.

The Second Elder burst into laughter at Gu Huibis question.

You called this old man, Huibi. How could I not come when my precious granddaughter is calling for me!

I recall calling for a professional since there seems to be a problem here.

And thats why this old man came! If you are looking for a professional, then Gu Ryoon is the one for the job.

Seems like he did something so that he could leave the clan.

I really wonder how an elder of a clan could be like this.

Im scared my little brother will learn from him

Hmm? Did you say something?

Nothing. Thank you for coming even though you must be busy, Second Elder.

Whatever the situation was, someone like the Second Elder was considered a professional.

As a martial artist who had reached the Fusion Realm, he brought valuable martial force to the table.

Anyway

The Second Elder brushed his beard while looking at the Gate of Demons in front of him.

This is the first time Ive seen anything like this.

Usually, a Gate of Demon would be a mixture of different colors, but the one before his eyes was different.

It wasnt just deep black; it also seemed to be forming cracks in the air around the gate.

Are other gates in other areas like this too?

No. Its only this one.

Hmm.

The Gu Clan oversaw three lands in total.

And this place, in particular, was known for having the smallest Gate of Demons.

Any other problems other than this?

Other than cracks forming in the air and its color changing, there were none.

The Second Elder nodded after hearing Gu Huibis explanation.

I should first let the lord know about this. Since this might be that period of time where a True Gate of Demons opens.

Did Shaolin say anything about this?

Even if the Heavenly Eye didnt mention anything about this, we still have to prepare for an emergency.

After all, they shouldnt fully trust Shaolin and the Heavenly Eye.

With that, the Second Elder fell into a contemplative silence.

How strange.

It seemed like random things were occurring these recent days.

They included both good things and bad things at the same time.

The family troublemaker he had been most concerned about had awakened latent talent, soared into the sky, and was already stepping into the realm of masters after overcoming his wall.

A kid like him would certainly show his worth in the tournament and gain fame from it as well.

I did tell him to go cause trouble, but I am worried.

The Second Elder felt a twinge of regret for suggesting such a thing.

After all, that young troublemaker would have done it without him telling him to do so.

Um

As the Second Elder was lost in his thoughts, Gu Huibi called out to the Second Elder with a polite tone.

Without hesitation, the Second Elder responded.

Yangcheon is doing fine.

Cough!

After hearing the Second Elders response, Gu Huibis expression changed right away, wondering how he knew what she was going to ask.

Werent you going to ask about that?

No, its yes.

After seeing Gu Huibi make an awkward expression, the Second Elder clicked his tongue.

This child was also special.

She was famous for having a nasty and fiery personality in the world, but if it was anything related to her brother, she completely changed.

You need to stop worrying already. Youre not his parent, and you cant be worried about Yangcheon forever.

How come you are saying that when you were the one most concerned about Yangcheon?

Thats back when he still wasnt in the right mind.

But my little brother is still a child.

That was true.

Despite the recent actions that made Gu Yangcheon seem more mature, he was still a child.

However, the Second Elder didnt change his words.

He would soon become the Lord one day, so what Im saying is that he needs to be let go if he already flew up in the air.

It seemed like Gu Huibi understood this as well because she didnt say anything else afterward.

Gu Yangcheons impending role as the Lord had all but been confirmed.

While the Second Daughter, Gu Yeonseo, and the First Elder might hold differing opinions, such disagreements wouldnt alter the outcome.

Even if Gu Yangcheon himself had a different opinion

Even if Gu Huibi possessed remarkable talent and abilities, she wasnt a replacement for Gu Yangcheon.

Gu Huibi knew this as well.

Though Gu Huibi never held greed for the Lord position of the clan to begin with.

Gu Huibi would rather leave the household than deal with the burdensome responsibilities that came with that position.

The calamity that appeared like this was far too sudden.

******************

But in the end, I wasnt able to save Huibi.

That was what the Second Elder had said to me before leaving.

The Second Elders expression was indescribable in words because of how despairful he looked.

The Palace Lord appeared on the battlefield?

The Black Palace Lord was known for not leaving the Palace.

He wielded an art that cloaked him in darkness, a technique unique to the Palace Lord.

Though I only heard about this and never witnessed it firsthand.

But putting that aside, why Gu Huibi?

The Palace Lord appeared himself to bring Gu Huibi to his palace.

Putting aside the fact that something like this never happened in my past life again, it nearly cost the Second Elder his life, prompting Father to leave the clan with an army.

I dont get it

This was quite a serious situation.

After all, there was nothing I knew.

[Because of that, you werent able to ask anything.]

It wasnt the right time for me to ask.

Despite my curiosity about the Dishonored Venerables letter, the mysterious ring, and the reasons behind the Second Elders actions, the gravity of the situation and the Second Elders expression prevented me from seeking answers.

About Gu Jeolyub as well

I also wanted to ask what was happening outside, but I couldnt right now.

It wont be that dangerous even if other elders started to move.

But the problem was that I was confined here, unable to take any action.

[Then why dont you just leave?]

As Elder Shin said, I could break through and leave whenever I wanted.

It wasnt like my Qi was restricted and no restraints were put on me either.

This was just a temporary punishment, as stated by the Steward.

But no matter their intentions, in the end, it was true I killed the First Elder.

And until they found a good reason why I did that or until Father returned back to the clan, I had to stay in here.

The formations set by the First Elder in his basement were very hard to break through.

Since the current force of the clan was weaker than usual, breaking through these formations wouldnt be easy, but I believed it wouldnt take too long either.

I wonder if they are doing fine.

All of this happened as soon as I returned to the clan, so I didnt even get to see their faces.

According to the Second Elder, Wi Seol-Ah was crying every day because of this.

Despite her usual back-and-forth between smiles and tears, thinking of her crying nonstop concerned me quite a bit.

Namgung Bi-ah and Tang Soyeol were staying calm though, right?

I prayed that was the case.

But the problem is

Father might have left the clan, but I wondered if he was capable of finding them.

My knowledge about the Black Palace was limited, and I basically had no information about their whereabouts.

The little information I possessed about them wasnt even about the Main Palace, rendering the details I currently held nearly useless.

I only heard that the Black Palace was destroyed by the Murim Alliance in my past life.

What should I do

I started to contemplate what I should do in this situation.

It was already midnight already, and rather than sleeping, I thought itd be better for me to train my martial arts, but it was impossible to focus right now.

And as I kept moving my body around, struggling to come up with things, the charm attached to my waist fell on the floor.

It wasnt due to my movement, but because the string securing it had worn down.

Right as I was about to pick up the charm back up, a marble rolled out of the little pocket.

It had a scarlet hue.

Oh, this is

Recognition struck me immediately.

It was the item Gu Huibi gave me, telling me to have this on my waist at all times.

She said that she would kill me if I didnt, so I automatically ended up just having this on me at all times.

However, I had forgotten about its presence until this moment.

As I was about to pick up the rolling marble, my hand flinched and stopped.

Tsk.

It was because of the stinging pain and blood that was coming out of my hand.

It seemed like a wound I got back when I was fighting against the First Elder, but I only noticed it right now.

But it wasnt that deep, so I ignored the wound and picked up the marble.

It looks expensive even though she said she bought it from some random merchant.

[Agreed. It doesnt seem like complete junk.]

This marble seemed way too brilliant for me to call this mere junk.

After examining the marble for a moment, I prepared to put it back in the charm bag, when

Ring-

Hmm?

[Oh?]

The marble emitted a peculiar sound, followed by rapid vibrations.

Vbrrrr-!

Whats up with this little thing?

Concerned it might explode, I contemplated throwing it away.

But the marble let out a small light and ceased its movement as if nothing had happened.

Observing the marble, I couldnt help but speak with a sense of absurdity.

What did that crazy woman buy this time?

Despite her claim that it was a lucky charm, it turned out to be a vibrating marble. What an odd item.

It sent shivers down my spine for some reason.

After clicking my tongue, I was about to put the marble back into the charm, but my body froze when my eyes caught something unusual.

Huh?

It was because my field of vision had completely changed.

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