Childhood Friend of the Zenith - Chapter 306

The Head’s room was situated behind the students’ dormitory in the Heavenly Dragon Academy.

He was a master martial artist who was approved by the Murim Alliance, and he was appointed the Head position of the Academy as he was the most powerful martial artist who could protect the students if danger occurred.

I really have to go all around the place.

On the contrary, the instructors’ rooms were in the opposite direction, forcing me to take numerous turns to reach my destination.

...He should’ve just sent me straight to the Head’s room.

Why did I even bother going all the way to Cheol Hwanho?

Now I have to take all these extra turns because of it.

Rustle.

The crunch of leaves underfoot tickled my ears as I walked.

After some grumbling and walking, I found myself nearly there.

One upside was that I got to skip a lesson, having been called during lunchtime.

Unless they delved deep into a topic, it was pointless for me to learn it—these were things I’d already experienced in my past life.

Are there no escorts around here?

One unexpected thing was the absence of Kunlun Sect escorts guarding the place.

To be fair, there was no need for any guards when you were as strong as the Qinghai Sword.

The only one likely capable of sneaking past Qinghai Sword’s senses was probably the Sword Queen.

This meant that as soon as I approached him, I’d already entered his sensory range.

I wonder why the Head called me alone.

Did he have some special reason?

With that thought, I kept moving forward.

I’ll find out when I see him.

I slowly entered the building.

Despite its exterior, the building felt larger inside. I noticed several rooms and wondered which one to enter.

Slide.

Then, a door slid open, and my eyes met the person stepping out.

“Huh?”

“Ah.”

A lady with brown hair surrounded by a golden aura

The person responsible for making me feel concerned.

It was Wi Seol-Ah.

“Why are you coming out from there?”

I accidentally spoke in a loud voice.

Wi Seol-Ah looked surprised too, as if she hadn’t expected to see me here.

Like her, I had to be extremely surprised as well.

I couldn’t feel her presence from inside.

Sensing the Qinghai Sword was one thing, but I couldn’t even detect Wi Seol-Ah, despite her being here.

This meant,

There is something that’s making everyone’s presence here faint.

Was this the Qinghai Sword’s doing?

That probably wasn’t it.

To my knowledge, he didn’t have the power to pull off something like this.

I had plenty of information about the Qinghai Sword.

I didn’t know much about his martial strength, but I knew about the title he has yet to get in this timeline.

Then, was it a treasure’s power?

That was the most likely.

I didn’t know what kind of a treasure it was, but it was certainly effective.

“You...”

“The... Head called me for a moment.”

“The Head?”

The Qinghai Sword called Wi Seol-Ah?

Is it because of the Sword Venerable?

It’s possible the Qinghai Sword called her because she’s a descendant of the Sword Venerable.

I wasn’t sure if that’s what happened, but Wi Seol-Ah’s reaction suggested otherwise.

Embarrassment? It was written all over her face, but why was she embarrassed after seeing me?

“...You.”

When I called out to Wi Seol-Ah with suspicion, her shoulders flinched.

“Did you cause some trouble?”

“...!”

Wi Seol-Ah lowered her head the moment she heard my words, I seemed to have hit the nail on the head.

It looked like I was right.

Wi Seol-Ah was called here by the Head because she caused trouble?

I was curious about what she did to warrant being called to the Head’s room instead of the instructor’s.

No, it was more surprising that Wi Seol-Ah caused trouble in the first place.

“What kind of trouble did you- “

Just as I was about to ask Wi Seol-Ah,

Slide-

A closed door slid open by itself,

Swoosh!

And a gust of wind blew from within the room.

I could sense that Tao Qi was densely infused with the wind.

-Come in.

Then, a heavy voice echoed telepathically in my mind.

Just hearing the voice in my head felt like my whole body was echoing.

For me to feel this much just from his voice, huh? The Qinghai Sword is at a much higher level than I thought.

I expected him to be weaker than the Celestial Plum Blossom, but I suppose one of the heads of the Ten Sect Alliance wouldn’t be weak.

“Wait outside.”

“...Outside?”

“Yes, I have something I want to talk to you about, so you better wait.”

Ensuring she wouldn’t run away, I stepped into the room before she could even respond.

As soon as my foot crossed the line that separated the room from outside,

Woong-!

“...!”

It felt as if a powerful Qi wrapped around me.

The air felt distinctly different from the outside.

Cold sweat trickled down my body from the density of the Qi.

This old man.

I brute-forced my way through the dense Qi and kept moving forward.

The air wasn’t dense enough to choke me, nor was I sweating because the atmosphere was unbearable.

Is he trying to kill a man?

With just one movement from the Qinghai Sword, the Tao Qi in the room turned violent.

I pressed on through the thick atmosphere.

As I walked at a steady pace, I began to see a figure seated ahead.

It was an old man, small in stature with white hair, but at my current level, I couldn’t gauge the sharpness of the sword within him.

The old man’s eyes were closed, but he was certainly looking at me.

“How impressive.”

As I arrived, the old man began to speak.

“I was curious about what kind of a child you were, given the rumors,”

People called this old man by many titles, but none of them were derogatory.

He was one of the Three Fists of the Seven Steel.

He was also one of the Five Sword Masters.

The head of the Kunlun Sect in Qinghai.

And...

“The rumors hardly do you justice.”

He would soon be called the Demon of Qinghai.

One of the Heavenly Demon’s right-hand men now looked at me with a smile.

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

The Qinghai Sword.

Or rather, the Demon of Qinghai.

The old man was known by both titles during the time of calamity.

This was around the time when the Heavenly Demon first emerged in the Central Plains.

At that time, the Orthodox Faction held great power, and no one truly grasped the extent of the Heavenly Demon’s might.

They saw no reason to fear a nameless figure claiming they would destroy the Central Plains.

No one believed a single individual could dominate the vast Central Plains; it seemed an impossibility.

Yet, despite this, many succumbed to the Heavenly Demon, becoming Demonic Humans, later known as the Great Demonic Humans.

They were the first to turn to the Heavenly Demon, driven by their own greed.

“Are you unhappy because of it?”

“Not at all.”

It wasn’t like that.

It’s just that I felt scared.

How could I not be when some old man I barely knew was fond of me?

Besides, I didn’t exactly have a face that appealed to the elderly.

In fact, it would be suspicious if they did.

“I do still need to give you some form of punishment so... Yes, sweeping the floor in your dormitory should suffice.”

“...”

“That’s an amusing expression. You look as if you don’t understand at all.”

“You are correct.”

“If you want, I could tell you why.”

“Then could you- “

“However, then I’ll take back what I said about you and go on with your suspen- “

“Thank you for liking me. I will not let you down.”

I cut him off before he could finish his ‘kind’ offer.

“You are quick.”

“I hear that a lot.”

Sure, it’s nice that he likes me.

Who cares why?

Satisfied with my response, the Qinghai Sword smiled.

“You aren’t too similar to your father.”

“...Now that’s a first.”

Everyone always told me I looked like my father, but the Qinghai Sword’s words were something I had never heard before.

“Do you know my father well?”

“We aren’t completely unaware.”

Whenever I met with key figures of clans and Sects, they mentioned my father.

Because I knew how active my father used to be in the Central Plains, I wondered if these two had some sort of relationship, but how do I say this?

It felt like it went deeper than that.

As I was lost in my thoughts, the Qinghai Sword spoke to me.

“I was only curious about you thanks to the rumors about the True Dragon, so you may take your leave for today.”

I tilted my head after hearing his response.

Was that it?

That was more anticlimactic than I expected.

However...

“I’ll be taking my leave now then.”

“Yes, I hope to see you again.”

I didn’t bother asking any further questions and quickly made my way out.

I was relieved that the punishment wasn’t severe.

It was always right to run before they changed their minds.

Slide.

After Gu Yangcheon hurriedly left the room and closed the door, the Qinghai Sword stared at the door with his piercing white eyes.

He thought about the face of the young man he just spoke to.

He grew up well.

The moment the True Dragon approached the building, the Qinghai Sword was shocked by his presence.

His Qi was very great in strength.

Not only did he enter the room filled with dense Qi, but he was also able to speak in it.

That child should’ve been in Kunlun Sect.

If that was the case, Kunlun Sect might have been the birthplace of the future Zenith.

Was that disappointing?

Yes, it was.

However, he was still glad to see him.

He isn’t like his father.

He thought about the Tiger Warrior.

The young hero who sought for justice and fought against the Unorthodox Faction wasn’t capable of joking around, but his son didn’t share that trait, despite their similar appearance.

In fact, that was preferable.

That would be better for him in life after all.

Two.

-This is our second meeting.

The Qinghai Sword had told Gu Yangcheon this was their second meeting, but that was a lie.

This was actually their third encounter.

It’s just it was in the past and is a forgotten memory for Gu Yangcheon.

Well, it’s understandable since he was too young to remember.

He had been just a child, barely walking while holding his mother’s hand, so it was no surprise that Gu Yangcheon didn’t remember the Qinghai Sword.

The Qinghai Sword recalled his conversation with that lady in the past.

—I do not need your kindness.

—However, if there’s ever a chance in the future, I hope you treat my child well... that much is enough for me.

It was long ago, and though only the Qinghai Sword remembered, he still held onto it.

He took a sip of the tea that was still warm.

Despite him brewing it himself with his unskillful hands, the taste wasn’t bad.

******************I left the Head’s room and stepped outside.

“Jeez, I’m shaking.”

Only when the cold winter breeze hit me did my body finally loosen.

“...I should hold back on causing more trouble.”

I had caused trouble without thinking of the consequences, but I needed to be more careful from now on.

At the very least, I had to hold back until I finished my business here.

Though of course,

...Is that even possible?

I wasn’t confident at all.

I had many tasks to handle, so it seemed unlikely I could hold back for long.

“I’m sure everything will be fine.”

I wasn’t in a situation where I could pick a different path, so I had to do it regardless.

I am glad that he let it slide though.

I wonder why he’s fond of me.

I couldn’t understand the Qinghai Sword one bit.

Why would he like me when we’ve barely met?

Did I unknowingly help the Kunlun Sect somehow?

That’s not it.

I never was involved with them in this life, and I never helped them in my past life either, instead, I beat up the martial artists who came from it.

It only made me more confused.

I don’t know. But it’s a good thing.

Instead of the Qinghai Sword, I had to prioritize something else right now.

Where is she?

I’d clearly told her to wait outside, so where had she gone?

I clearly told her to wait outside, so where is she?

Did she run?

It was possible; she tended to bolt whenever she saw me.

Though of course, I planned to catch her this time wherever she went.

Why am I playing hide and seek at this age...

Right as I had that thought, I was thankfully able to find Wi Seol-Ah.

Wi Seol-Ah was looking at something while crouching down in a field of grass.

What is she doing?

Was she observing ants or something?

She didn’t even notice me approaching her because of how focused she was.

After arriving right behind her,

“What are you doing her- “

But just as I was about to speak,

Huh?

I noticed something strange about Wi Seol-Ah.

Wi Seol-Ah was making a strange hand movement in the air while being in a curled position.

I felt some strange sensation from the area around her hand.

Wait.

...Is she perhaps?