Childhood Friend of the Zenith
chapter-241

The Heavenly Dragon Academy.

An educational institution formed to train swordsmen to battle Demons post-Blood Disaster caused by the Blood Demon.

The academy documented every demon's occurrences, traits, weaknesses, and counterstrategies.

Such information was open to all students of the academy and there were even instructors that educated students on these topics.

It might sound quite nice, but…

Well, I mean, it's not exactly a bad place…

Whatever it was, the current Central Plains had more situations where martial artists fought against demons rather than each other, so it wasn't bad to educate people on this.

But it's just that, is it really necessary to go there?

Learning martial arts within one's clan was preferable, and without this privilege, luxury like attending the Academy wasn't an option.

It's a place where everyone does things ontheir own.

It meant those without a strong background couldn't attend.

Without an invitation from the Academy, you couldn't go; and even with one, not meeting specific criteria meant you couldn't enter.

This meant only those from noble clans or their direct relatives could attend.

Since members of noble clans are already trained to fight demons at home.

Moreover, the Heavenly Dragon Academy wasn't the only institution that trained swordsmen.

There are already two in Shanxi, with several others established in each region by the Murim Alliance's approval.

There wasn't any other special reason why many tried to attend the Heavenly Dragon Academy despite knowing this fact.

...It's mostly for honor and making connections.

It was obvious.

They say that the most important thing in life is building connections.

Furthermore, for someone from a noble clan, these connections were paramount.

Graduating from the greatest institution, the Heavenly Dragon Academy allowed one to build connections along with learning some politics which showed just how many purposes this place served.

The importance of this is such that even Father, usually indifferent to these matters, sent all his children there.

If it were up to me, recalling the trouble caused by Gu Huibi, I wouldn't send any more kids there.

But Father, seemingly indifferent, sent all his children there as if he didn't care.

Born into a noble clan, one can't simply choose not to go, all the more if they're going to become the Young Lord of the clan.

…Initially, I planned to run away.

When I regressed, I had plans to escape before it was time for the Heavenly Dragon Academy, but somehow ended up in a situation where escaping wasn't an option.

It's my own doing, so there's nothing to be done about it.

But, given how things turned out, I might as well retrieve that item from the basement.

It was meant to be discovered only after the appearance of the Heavenly Demon, so taking it shouldn't be too problematic, right?

I knew that it wasn't right to do such a thing, but I was telling myself that it was okay.

“…What's… wrong?”

Noticing my unease, Namgung Bi-ah, resting against me, opened her eyes to gently ask.

“It's nothing. I was just reminded of something annoying.”

What should I do?

The Heavenly Dragon Academy could bind me for up to two years, a year at the least.

For the young elites, it might be a holiday or a chance for blood relatives to meet, but to me it was just a waste of time.

How beneficial could the knowledge from there really be?

It'd be nice if I could just pick out what's needed and escape.

Of course,

I haven't run out of options.

I was far from optionless.

It's just a bit, no, extremely bothersome to do.

Tsk.

Setting that concern aside, my mind wasn't only on this issue.

Why so soon?

I had questions about the time of the Heavenly Dragon Academy opening.

It didn't open every year like the tournament of Dragons and Phoenixes and it only opened at a certain time, and I could've sworn there was still some time left until that time came.

It should at least be winter…

Ah.

While pondering, I looked at Namgung Bi-ah leaning on me, realizing why things were moving this way.

“Is it because of the engagement ceremony?”

The engagement ceremony in Namgung Clan of Anhui that I was planning for right after I was finished with my business in the frontlines, it seemed like that decision was made after this consideration.

I guess it means that the ceremony can't be delayed any further.

“…Hmm.”

I looked at Namgung Bi-ah with a peculiar expression.

It wasn't because I felt reluctant to be engaged with Namgung Bi-ah after all this time.

It was too late for me to feel that way, and things were too different.

“…Now that I think about it.”

Isn't she supposed to attend the Academy too?

This thought suddenly occurred to me.

Namgung Bi-ah didn't go to the Academy in my previous life.

Which was fair, because if someone like Namgung Bi-ah went to the Academy, then her becoming famous was inevitable.

Whether it was about her beauty or talent, a story about her would spread.

If I thought about her age, the time for her to go had already passed a while ago.

Namgung Bi-ah turned over twenty this year.

This meant that she was easily old enough to attend the Academy last time it opened.

Did the Namgung Clan delay it?

Rather than delay, it's more accurate to say she wasn't sent at all, as she didn't attend in my previous life.

Looking at it now, it indeed seemed strange.

At the time, whether it was Namgung Bi-ah's future notoriety or her role in her clan's downfall, I wasn't too concerned.

No sane person would join the Demonic Cult. Moreover, when a martial artist from the Orthodox Sects defected to the Demonic Cult, it often resulted in the destruction of their own clan.

It's just that her case was surprising because she was from the Four Noble Clans.

I wonder what happened to her.

What did the girl leaning against my shoulders with her eyes closed experience in my past life to drive her insane and slaughter her bloodline.

By this point in time, I became curious about those things.

Even though, in my past life, I wasn't curious about any of these matters at all.

I was put into a situation where I had to stick around her whether I liked it or not, and I surprisingly wasn't curious about what kind of life the Demonic Sword Queen had..

I guess it was because my own life was crappy enough; I didn't want to pry into another crappy life.

After staring at Namgung Bi-ah, I shifted my gaze to the moon hanging in the night sky.

It was neither a full moon or a crescent moon.

The moon halted midway to fullness, and shone brightly.

What kind of life did you live?

By this point in time, I was regretting a little on how I didn't ask her such a question at that time.

After a moment of moon gazing, I coughed deliberately.

Here I am, rambling again.

It was senseless.

It was nothing but rambling.

Me pointlessly pulling out memories that had been buried away and thinking about them was the very definition of pointlessness.

“You should wake up as well and… Huh?”

I started to wake up Namgung Bi-ah, but Namgung Bi-ah who was dozing off on my shoulders, had woken up at some point and was staring forward.

“…What the, what are you doing?”

“…”

I called Namgung Bi-ah confusedly, but she continued to look forward.

Ssss…

At the same time, I felt Namgung Bi-ah's Combat Qi gradually charge up.

Zap

“…Uwh!?”

Bi Yeonsum next to me, silent till now, flinched at her sudden release of Lightning Qi.

“What are you doing all of a sudden…!”

I tried asking her once more, but Namgung Bi-ah instantly pulled her sword out and swung it in front of her as it seemed like she couldn't hear me.

Cddddk!

“Uggck!”

Her Sword Qi enhanced with Lightning Qi slashed through many trees that surrounded her.

One slash.

Dozens of trees were felled with a single swing, clearing a large space.

This showed how much Namgung Bi-ah had improved.

“Hey! What are you doing all of a sudden this late at night!”

I couldn't fathom why Namgung Bi-ah reacted this way.

I checked my surroundings just in case there was a Demon near us, but I couldn't detect any presence.

It didn't make sense in the first place for Namgung Bi-ah to notice a Demon's presence before I did.

Perhaps Namgung Bi-ah had a nightmare?

I looked at her with that thought, but she responded still staring forward, not looking my way.

“…Stench.”

“There was a stench…”

A stench?

After Namgung Bi-ah's comment, I sniffed the air.

“What stench? I can't smell anything.”

If I really had to describe it, I mostly smelled the forest, and the grass and dirt in it.

It was a forest filled with Demons, but ironically enough, the grass at night had a pleasant scent to it.

“…”

Namgung Bi-ah didn't respond.

Then as she looked forward, she tilted her head randomly.

“…Was it… a mistake?”

“What did you say you brat?”

You say it's a mistake after suddenly getting up and cutting all the trees around us?

As I stared at Namgung Bi-ah speechlessly, she came back to her usual expressionless face and sat down in the spot where she was originally seated.

Tap tap

She tapped the ground, signaling me to sit beside her again.

“…How absurd, seriously.”

I couldn't help but smirk after seeing her like that.

When I sat down beside her again, Namgung Bi-ah leaned against my shoulder once again and shut her eyes as if nothing happened.

The mood around us mixed within the quiet night again.

Brrr..

But it seemed like Bi Yeonsum was extremely surprised because he was shivering after seeing Namgung Bi-ah's act just now.

Though it seems like he's more scared than surprised…

I assume he'll be fine on his own.

I didn't need to worry about him that much.

Also…

I looked in the direction Namgung Bi-ah had swung her sword.

Even if Namgung Bi-ah appeared clumsy,

…Indeed, she is clumsy,

But when it came to this regard, she was very sharp and sensitive.

It meant that her instinct and five senses as a martial artist was extremely high.

Was I really wrong?

When I said that my current sense was much higher than Namgung Bi-ah's.

Clench

Leaving Namgung Bi-ah with her eyes closed and the trembling Bi Yeonsum behind, I subtly intensified my Qi.

Drop

The Qi spreading out from my Middle Dantian merged with the breeze.

I carefully controlled the faint Qi, reaching beyond the felled trees.

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

Tap

Under the dark night, a mysterious person passed through the forest rapidly, stepping on tree branches.

Despite working his feet restlessly, the assassin's mind was filled with complicated thoughts.

How bewildering.

The sword attack that the girl sent out.

When the assassin thought about her brutal but well-controlled Qi, cold sweat began to flow down their back.

…Her Lightning Qi was definitely that of the Namgung Clan's.

The assassin was surprised by the girl's beauty at first, but they had to be surprised one more time after seeing her swing her sword after noticing their presence.

After gaining a good amount of distance, the assassin stopped moving and began to think.

It really is strange.

The assassin was more confident than anyone in hiding their presence and hiding in the near surroundings.

In the past.

It was thanks to their talent that they were able to escape during emergencies and became an Elder of a Clan.

I almost got caught by a young girl.

He felt both dejected and shocked.

It was a very surprising thing for a person at her age to overcome her wall to become a Peak Realm martial artist, but this was a whole different story.

The assassin's presence shouldn't have been caught, but the girl seemed as if she somehow noticed their presence.

Though instead of saying she noticed me…

It felt somewhat different.

But the result was the same.

This almighty Ghostly Dark Tiger was… caught by a martial artist who's around twenty huh.

The assassin felt more spooked than shocked.

I gladly stepped forward as it was the Young Master's request…

The current blood relatives of the Lord were very reluctant to make a request to others due to the situation they were going to put in.

Making a request meant that they had to return the favor someday, which would most likely happen when the Young Master became the Young Lord, or even the Lord one day.

I also didn't expect him to ask me.

Considering how he assassinated people at work, his existence was a flaw for the Hwangbo Clan that was called the clan of Orthodox Sects.

The Young Master coming to the assassin kindly came with a request, and suggested that he will help erase the assassin's past.

Which was why the assassin accepted such a pointless request.

I didn't think it would be difficult to scare some young prodigy.

It wasn't an assassination request.

Shutting down a young prodigy's mouth and killing their spirit with a little bit of bullying was so easy to the point no one would find out about it especially since they were located in the frontlines.

But there was an unexpected problem.

The assassin came to check rather than to initiate his mission.

The girl noticing my presence is one thing…

The biggest problem was the True Dragon that his Young Master spoke about.

The assassin wondered how great he was considering how he defeated the Young Master and his escorts.

…I can't see it.

He couldn't see how much and what the True Dragon possessed.

Unlike how he was able to see that the girl overcame her wall as a martial artist, he wasn't able to see through the True Dragon just by looking.

“…Such a thing shouldn't be happening.”

This meant two things.

It meant that the True Dragon was talented in hiding and controlling Qi to the point that even the assassin couldn't feel it, or it meant that he was at a higher level than the assassin.

The assassin laughed in disbelief as that absurd thought brushed past his mind.

“Ha, it seems like I've gone crazy due to my old age.”

There was no way that the young boy was skilled enough to hide his Qi and presence away from the assassin, and the second was even more impossible.

It seems like I'm not fully in my head as it's been a while since I've gone out for a job.

To be fair, it has already been a few years ever since he last went out for a request, so it was understandable that his rusty body made a mistake.

“…I should first go back and look for a better ti-“

“Well, obviously the cam-“

As he heard a voice from behind, the assassin opened his eyes wide and swung his fist without hesitation.

He swung at the speed of wind with his Qi.

Cwak!

But his arm was caught by the person before he could achieve his goal.

Swoosh!

Furthermore, the Qi around his arm didn't finish its job, so it scattered away in the air in the form of a wind wave.

“How did you…”

The assassin started to sweat when he stared at the one that caught his arm.

Though that person himself had an easygoing expression.

“I doubt that an old man like you went out for a walk this late at night.”

Crack

The assassin gradually felt more pressure in his arm that was caught.

…You…!

The pressure he felt was much stronger than he expected.

Then the two black eyes of the young man that stared at the confused assassin started to turn red, and such a color was so dense and radiant it almost seemed scary.

After seeing him starting to smile lightly and feeling his violent Qi, the assassin realized that something was wrong, but the young man asked a question with the same voice.

“What does the Old Rat of the Hwangbo Clan have to do with me?”

An engulfing flame rose as he asked his question.