Childhood Friend of the Zenith - Chapter 587

“Ui-hyun is dead.”

In the damp underground of Hanam, a man knelt, reporting to someone seated before him.

The figure knelt with his head bowed. Sitting on a broken stone in front of him was an elderly man.

The old man turned his gaze to the man delivering the report.

“The body?”

“We could not retrieve it, but based on the circumstances, it is certain.”

“I see.”

The child had died.

Hearing this, a trace of bitterness flickered across the old man’s expression.

But that wasn’t the only issue.

“And…”

The kneeling man continued.

“…It appears the formation we set has been dismantled.”

At those words, the old man’s brow furrowed deeply.

The formation was dismantled?

Now that was intriguing.

“When?”

“It was undone shortly after we set it, less than one shijin ago.”

“…Oh…”

The old man’s eyes narrowed with interest. This was one of the most surprising pieces of news he’d heard in years.

Who could have done it?

His first thought was the Martial Alliance, but he quickly dismissed it.

The Martial Alliance lacked the ability to dismantle their formations.

Of course, they didn’t.

It was the Martial Alliance itself that had severed the growth of formations and sorcery in Zhongyuan. Having abandoned those arts, their progress had long since stagnated.

The old man propped his chin on his hand, lost in thought.

“One shijin.”

It had only taken them one shijin to dismantle the formation. Whoever had done it must have a deep understanding of formations.

And that was what puzzled him.

Under this vast Zhongyuan sky, no one should be as skilled in formations as his group.

The old man’s gaze shifted.

“Could it be… you?”

He directed his question at someone leaning against the wall.

If anyone could have done it, it would be that person. Someone as adept in formations as they were in medicine.

“Divine Doctor.”

“…”

At the mention of his name, the Divine Doctor’s face hardened.

“…You know it wasn’t me.”

“Of course not. It couldn’t have been you,” the old man said with a dry chuckle.

“After all, if you had any conscience, you wouldn’t have done such a thing.”

“…”

“If it wasn’t you… then who could it be? I cannot say.”

A faint look of curiosity settled in the old man’s eyes.

“Find out. I’m curious.”

“…Yes, Lord.”

At the command, the kneeling man disappeared.

Left alone with the Divine Doctor, the old man turned his attention to him.

“Now then, why don’t you tell me why you brought me here?”

The Divine Doctor finally broke the silence, his tone cold.

“What do you mean?”

“Stop skirting around it. Tell me why you summoned me.”

“Hmm.”

The old man smirked at the question.

“Let’s say… I wanted to see how far the bloodline has wandered from its roots. How does that sound?”

“…”

The Divine Doctor’s expression remained neutral. He didn’t dignify the nonsense with a response.

The old man chuckled at the sight.

“You’re as humorless as ever.”

“Get to the point.”

“Very well. I suppose I should.”

The old man stepped down from the stone and approached the Divine Doctor.

“How’s life outside? Does it suit you?”

“I told you—get to the point.”

“I’m asking how it feels to betray your family and live as a dog of the righteous sects.”

“…!”

The Divine Doctor’s face twisted with rage at the words.

“Master—!”

“Do you have an excuse, Divine Doctor?”

There were plenty.

He could offer explanations, excuses, justifications, but the words caught in his throat.

Because, in the end, they would all be excuses.

The old man continued, his tone calm but firm.

“No matter what kind of life you’ve lived since leaving us, I chose not to interfere because you’re one of us. You know this, don’t you?”

The Divine Doctor’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“Then what is it you want from me now?”

“After all this time, I thought you’d understand. The righteous sects have no future.”

The Divine Doctor didn’t argue.

He knew it to be true.

Since the Sword Sovereign stepped down, countless reforms had come and gone, but none could be called genuine progress.

The sects kept painting a façade of peace, but beneath the surface, they were rotting away.

“And so…”

The Divine Doctor spoke bitterly.

“Are you asking me to join in your pitiful schemes?”

“Pitiful, you say…”

The old man’s eyes grew cold.

“If not pitiful, then what would you call them?”

The Divine Doctor continued without hesitation.

“Blinded by vengeance, unable to see an inch ahead. Sacrificing the few remaining members of our bloodline for nothing—”

Crunch!

The old man’s hand shot out, grabbing the Divine Doctor by the throat.

“Ghh…!”

“Jegal Eui-cheon.”

The Divine Doctor gritted his teeth.

It had been decades since anyone had called him by that name.

“All the bloodline may curse me, but at the very least, you should refrain from doing so.”

“Guhh…”

“Of all people, you—who abandoned the clan’s wrath and fled like a coward—have no right to speak of such things.”

As the grip on his throat tightened, the Divine Doctor was flung to the ground. Thud! His frail body rolled across the floor.

“Guh…”

The old man looked down at the coughing and wheezing Divine Doctor and spoke.

“Yes, you’ve always been that way.”

Among the bloodline that hid in the shadows, unable to forget the humiliation inflicted by the Martial Alliance, the Divine Doctor had always stood out as unnaturally calm.

It was a story from a distant past, one so old that few alive still remembered it.

“You used to say things like, ‘We mustn’t live consumed by vengeance,’ or, ‘We should find a different path forward.’ You even had the audacity to advise the clan head of the time.”

Recalling that, the old man let out a bitter chuckle.

“How absurdly selfish those words were.”

“…”

“What exactly should we forget, and what should we see differently?”

Cluck, cluck.

The laughter echoed in the chamber, carrying through the oppressive air.

“You wanted to forget the burden of the past, didn’t you, Jegal Eui-cheon? Ah, forgetfulness truly is a convenient thing.”

“…Clan Master…”

“Do not call me that.”

He was no longer the clan master.

The clan was no more—what point was there in such a title?

There had been a time when he was called that, but now, that time was long past.

He was simply the Great Master.

That title alone was enough for him now.

“Was it comfortable? Those days of living while forgetting the grievances of the clan?”

“I never forgot the clan—not even for a moment.”

“Is that so? How amusing that those words now seem so hollow, don’t you think?”

The old man’s lips curled in disdain.

A man who had abandoned the clan to live as a doctor for the righteous sects dared to utter such words?

The very notion was laughable.

Jegal Eui-cheon—the most talented figure in the Jegal clan’s history when it came to formations.

He had been hailed as the hope that would lead the Jegal clan to new heights.

“And yet, no one could have predicted that you would abandon everything and run.”

The old man stood before him—a living reminder of the clan’s dashed hopes.

“…Are you saying you resent me?”

“Hmm, perhaps. There was a time when I might have.”

The Divine Doctor struggled to his feet, his body trembling. The old man watched him carefully.

“But what would be the point? You have nothing to say in your defense.”

“…”

A man who had abandoned the bloodline, saving the lives of the filthy righteous sects, had no grounds to offer any justification.

“It has been centuries since the Martial Alliance falsely accused the clan and discarded it like refuse.”

The Jegal clan had been framed for worshipping the Blood Demon.

With that accusation, the Jegal clan, once one of the Five Great Clans, was brought to ruin.

Countless members of the bloodline were slaughtered under the Alliance’s orders.

Those who survived did so by hiding their names and living in the shadows.

Such was the life they had been forced to lead.

“And yet, you dared to say, ‘We mustn’t live consumed by vengeance.’ How could you utter such words—then and now—when you should be the last person to do so?”

“…”

It was true. The Divine Doctor had no right to speak those words.

“Clan Master…”

“Speak.”

There was one problem.

“How… how can you be so sure?”

The Divine Doctor’s voice trembled. His question brought a glimmer of confusion to the old man’s face.

“What do you mean?”

“…How can you be so sure their decision was a false accusation? How do you know it wasn’t true?”

Shaaaa…

The moment the words left the Divine Doctor’s lips, the old man’s expression turned utterly emotionless.

Seeing that, the Divine Doctor’s suspicions deepened.

“Clan Master… Could it be? Did you already know?”

“…”

Silence.

The brief pause felt like an eternity to the Divine Doctor, filled with a whirlwind of emotions.

“Eui-cheon.”

The way the old man addressed him had changed.

“I see now that your intentions differ from ours.”

Expression returned to the old man’s face, but the look in his eyes made the Divine Doctor shudder.

“What a shame. There are so few of us left, and yet…”

The old man spoke with a tinge of regret, but to the Divine Doctor, his words carried a far deeper implication.

“Our paths have diverged, but no matter. You may go.”

“…Clan Master.”

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of harming you. We are of the same bloodline, after all.”

The old man chuckled softly.

“Your willingness to appear in response to my letter… That alone shows where you stand.”

“…”

“This is the end of our conversation. You must be busy, after all.”

The old man’s tone was light, as if he held no attachment to the matter.

Was that truly the case? The Divine Doctor couldn’t be sure.

At that moment, the wall shifted, revealing the doorway he had entered through.

It was a clear dismissal.

“…”

Without a word, the Divine Doctor turned and left. There was no reason to continue the conversation.

The silence lingered even after his departure.

The old man returned to his seat and lowered himself slowly.

Then—

“Will this be alright?”

A voice emerged from the shadows. The old man didn’t react; he had known the speaker was there all along.

In response to the cautious tone, he replied, “What do you mean?”

“…Is it wise to let him go?”

A traitor to the bloodline. While the rest sharpened their blades, he alone had sought peace.

The speaker couldn’t comprehend the decision.

“If you believe his path differs from ours, wouldn’t it be better to eliminate him—”

“Deputy.”

“…Yes, Great Master.”

The old man turned his sharp gaze toward the speaker, who flinched instinctively.

The old man’s eyes held an intensity that made the deputy tremble.

“Have you forgotten our pact? Surely not you.”

“…I… I apologize.”

The deputy bowed his head deeply.

“We do not kill those of our own bloodline. That was the promise we made, was it not?”

“…”

“No matter how much we have lost, no matter how much we crumble, we must uphold this one thing.”

“…But…”

“Moreover, Eui-cheon knows this as well.”

The fact that he had come in person in response to the letter, and the reason he had survived despite his betrayal, were all part of the same truth.

“Even if Eui-cheon were to speak of this to outsiders…”

The old man chuckled, the sound tinged with condescension.

“It’s far too late.”

Even if the Divine Doctor spread word of this matter, it wouldn’t change anything.

The gears had already begun to turn.

The old man shifted his gaze to the unseen ceiling above, as though looking at something far beyond it.

“The wheel is in motion.”

Once set in motion, it couldn’t be stopped.

The hatred and rage he had nursed against the Martial Alliance—never forgotten—was finally ready to be repaid.

The only question that remained:

“Deputy.”

“Yes, Great Master?”

“We will need to lay low for a while.”

“I will inform the others.”

The dismantling of the formation necessitated a slight change in their plans.

While it wasn’t a major concern, caution was warranted.

Of course…

“Whatever happens, it’s already too late to stop us.”

The old man closed his eyes slowly.

“It won’t be long now.”

How long he had waited for this moment.

He had to consciously calm his racing heart.

All that was left was to watch the Martial Alliance crumble.

Nothing could stop it now.

Unless—an extraordinary and unforeseen event occurred to upend it all.