Childhood Friend of the Zenith
chapter-244

Slam!

Crash! Thud!

Hwangbo Cheok's body rolled on the floor with great force, breaking everything around him.

“Ughh…!”

The damage was significant, as his gigantic body, nearly eight feet tall, helplessly rolled on the ground.

In the midst of this chaos, Hwangbo Cheok groaned, clutching his previously injured arm as he lay on the floor after rolling.

It was because his arm hadn't fully healed yet from his fight against Gu Yangcheon.

“Hghhh… Huff…”

Ignoring Hwangbo Cheok, who was wheezing in pain, Gu Yangcheon took a seat on one of the chairs scattered around him.

Sitting with his legs casually crossed, he looked down at Hwangbo Cheok, who returned his gaze with trembling eyes.

“…How did a bastard like you…”

“Are you surprised that I'm here?”

Gu Yangcheon's confident demeanor suited him well.

The air about him, along with his condescending gaze, exuded superiority, forcing Hwangbo Cheok to grit his teeth, feeling diminished for averting such a stare.

How on earth did this bastard find this place?

Just how?

Clink.

Beside a deeply puzzled Hwangbo Cheok, something dropped with a thud and rolled towards him.

“…!”

Upon recognizing the object, Hwangbo Cheok had to stifle a gasp.

This is… How did this end up in the bastard's hands?

It was none other than the seal of the Hwangbo Clan.

The seal was a bit different compared to his own, but it was unmistakably the seal of the Hwangbo Clan.

“Familiar, isn't it?”

Hwangbo Cheok's back shivered after hearing Gu Yangcheon's sudden words, he struggled to maintain his composure.

“…I'm not sure what you are talking about. Why did you have possession of this?”

“Could you not tell what it is?”

“It's Hwangbo Clan's seal. Of course I know it.”

“Yeah, the present you sent me yesterday was holding it.”

Hwangbo Cheok's back was drenched in cold sweat upon hearing Gu Yangcheon's words.

Because his words meant,

The Sixth Elder… was defeated?

He thought for an instant that the Sixth Elder had failed, but he quickly erased such thought and organized his mind.

…The Sixth Elder is a martial artist who has reached the Fusion Realm, no?

He may have reached Fusion Realm near the end of his life, but he earned the Elder spot with hard work and spent decades in the Central Plains with the Hwangbo name.

Moreover, he was a martial artist that endured and survived the darkest parts of the Central Plains.

He was a martial artist who managed to reach the Fusion Realm despite the notorious difficulty for an assassin to elevate their realm.

So then, how was this possible?

Hwangbo Cheok slowly looked up and met eyes with Gu Yangcheon.

“…!”

However, he had to look away immediately.

The moment he glimpsed the blazing red gleam in his shadowed visage, an unfathomable fear surged up to his throat.

Just what is this bastard?

How could such an aura come from a young bastard like him?

Hwangbo Cheok's mind went blank.

As Hwangbo Cheok tried his best to stop his eyes from shaking, Gu Yangcheon began to speak.

“I didn't think our relationship was so close that we'd exchange gifts.”

The voice that pressured him down.

Caught between boyhood and manhood, yet it carried a calm, seemingly indifferent, but dense killing intent.

Hwangbo Cheok knew that this wasn't intentional; it was simply the aura Gu Yangcheon always possessed.

While avoiding those eyes, Hwangbo Cheok spoke with a trembling voice.

“…I'm… not sure what you are…”

“Tsk.”

Gu Yangcheon clicked his tongue as soon as Hwangbo Cheok started to speak.

Pow!

“Ugh!”

Following that, a kick came, and Hwangbo Cheok rolled on the floor again, unable to dodge.

He quickly tried to get up,

Slam!

“Kggh!”

But Gu Yangcheon stepped on his chest, pinning Hwangbo Cheok to the ground.

…My Qi… isn't responding?

He instinctively tried to summon his Qi to resist, but for some reason, his Qi felt as hard as a rock and wouldn't budge.

Did he block the flow of his Qi in that short amount of time?

“Is playing dumb a specialty that bastards like you have? Why bother doing such a pointless thing I wonder.”

“Ughhh…”

“No bastards from noble clans are normal I swear. How could every single one of them be so flawed?”

He spoke as if he himself wasn't from a noble clan.

Press.

“Urghh…!”

Hwangbo Cheok felt like his chest would cave in due to the increased pressure Gu Yangcheon applied

Amidst the severe pain, Hwangbo Cheok surveyed beyond the tent.

Despite Gu Yangcheon sneaking up to this point, and despite the loud noises, no one approached the tent.

A Qi Barrier…?

It was highly possible that Gu Yangcheon had erected a Qi Barrier to prevent any sound from escaping.

If not that…

…He killed them all.

While Hwangbo Cheok had doubts, , the sight of Gu Yangcheon's eyes and aura made it difficult to dismiss the possibility outright

To emit such a dense aura of killing intent...

“Why did you do that?”

Gu Yangcheon asked.

It was neither a question of doubt nor confirmation.

He asked this with certainty.

So the Sixth Elder really died then?

This bastard really killed a martial artist who had reached the Fusion Realm?

As Hwangbo Cheok couldn't say anything in response, Gu Yangcheon continued, his gaze fixed on Hwangbo Cheok.

“It's not just once or twice that something like this happened to me, but it felt really bothersome since this is the first time in a while.”

“…”

“Look at your expression. What are you thinking so hard about, I wonder?”

“…What do I… need to do in order for you to let me live?”

Pause.

Gu Yangcheon's eyes widened slightly upon hearing Hwangbo Cheok.

Then a smile appeared on his lips.

“You are not as dumb as I thought, huh?”

He seemed as if he was satisfied.

Hwangbo Cheok found it hard to breathe when he saw Gu Yangcheon's ominous smile that seemed to be filled with malicious intent.

Just what is it?

What is this bastard that I'm facing right now?

His previously blank mind gradually darkened..

No need to mention that it was fear that made him feel like this.

Sss

The foot that was stepping on his chest was lifted, allowing Hwangbo Cheok to finally catch his breath.

“Cough… Huff…”

As he regained his breath and surveyed his surroundings, Gu Yangcheon had already taken his seat again.

“You don't seem that stupid as I thought, so I wonder why you tried doing such a thing to me?”

“…It's because you laid hands on this Hwangbo first.”

“Perhaps you're stupid, considering the words you uttered just now.”

“Do you… know who you are dealing with right now?”

Gu Yangcheon smirked lightly in response to Hwangbo Cheok's words.

“Fucker, then do you know who I am for you to do such a thing?”

“…”

"This is why I shouldn't talk to people who seem to have only muscles in their brains. It makes me feel like my own brain is rotting."

With Gu Yangcheon's sigh, a heavy atmosphere enveloped the tent due to his dense Qi.

While Gu Yangcheon remained seated, Hwangbo Cheok struggled to rise but was forced to kneel by the overwhelming Qi.

The Qi was so oppressive that it felt as though his own Qi was being smothered by fear.

“Convince me.”

Hwangbo Cheok took a deep breath at the chilling command.

“As you said, I plan to kill you.”

The voice filled with killing intent was telling Hwanbo Cheok that Gu Yangcheon meant what he said.

But how?

How would he come out of killing a blood relative of Hwangbo Clan in a place like this?

Does he not know what'll happen to him afterwards?

Or does he have a way of dealing with the aftermath of his actions?

Whichever it was, it wasn't a good situation for Hwangbo Cheok.

Because whatever the answer was, he was in a life-threatening situation.

If he killed the Sixth Elder, that meant he was a master above his level, or in other words a monster.

Hwangbo Cheok realized too late that he had chosen the wrong person to mess with, but by then it was already too late.

As cold sweat ran down his cheek, Hwangbo Cheok swallowed dryly and stared at Gu Yangcheon.

Gu Yangcheon glanced outside the tent momentarily but quickly shifted his gaze back to Hwangbo Cheok.

Hwangbo Cheok hoped for a moment that someone had come, but that didn't seem to be the case.

Because if someone had come, Gu Yangcheon wouldn't have remained so calm.

As he felt increasingly cornered, Hwangbo Cheok thought to himself,

…Me, the future Lord of Hwangbo Clan, is going to die in a place like this?

Though he hadn't officially been made the Young Lord yet, given the current Lord's poor health, it was clear his time was coming soon.

He had eagerly awaited that day and couldn't bear the thought of dying here.

“So convince me, so that I don't kill you.”

“…What is it that you want?”

“That's for you to figure out.”

Seeing Gu Yangcheon's demeanor, suggesting he would wait for that much, Hwangbo Cheok had to grind his teeth.

He needed to find another way, but what could he possibly do under these circumstances?

Just as he considered escaping with all his might towards the Murim Alliance, hoping it might save him,

“Hey.”

“…!”

“Don't get any ideas. I'll pull your legs out of you if you try to run away.”

He didn't even say he would break his legs, but pull them out completely.

Hwangbo Cheok was known for his sharp tongue, but he found Gu Yangcheon to be on another level.

More than anything, the sincerity in those words frightened him.

“Could you not come to a conclusion?”

Hwangbo Cheok couldn't say anything as he saw Gu Yangcheon speak with an evil smile.

He tried to say something, anything, but his mouth was blocked completely.

…This is…

As panic began to disrupt his breathing,

“Then how about I give you a choice?”

Upon hearing Gu Yangcheon speak with a grin, Hwangbo Cheok realized,

While he had been told to try and persuade, it became clear there was something specific Gu Yangcheon wanted from the start.

“First, I'll ask.”

Hwangbo Cheok regretted his past self that didn't know his place, and especially the time he messed with Gu Yangcheon back then.

“Between the Hwangbo Clan and your life.”

He regretted not realizing sooner that he had been dealing with a devil.

“Which is more important?”

Hwangbo Cheok would most likely regret this until the end of his life.

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

A day has passed.

It was nighttime, and I was slowly walking through the forest.

I had to use a ton of Qi to meet with Hwangbo Cheok and I felt exhausted thanks to that, but I just had to absorb some Qi again for me to feel energetic.

However, that wasn't what was important right now.

Maybe I should've just killed him.

I thought about what happened earlier, as I returned with clean hands.

My original intention was to kill Hwangbo Cheok, but I changed my mind along the way.

The reason was simple.

…It would be problematic to kill everyone just because they annoy me.

I felt that my killing intent had been becoming denser lately, and it was right to control my anger considering how my Demonic Qi was going through changes again.

I can't afford to live this life as a Demonic Human as well.

It's a chance I won't get again.

At this rate, I was becoming a Demonic Human without realizing it, as I began to hesitate less about killing.

Not that I ever really hesitated.

My point wasn't about ethics or morals.

If I had been concerned about such things, I wouldn't have acted as I did in my past life, nor would I have burned people alive in this one.

It's just that I've been letting my emotions get the best of me when I should be killing rationally.

Judging by what Hwangbo Cheok tried to do to me, it was tough to let him go, yet not easy to outright kill him either.

What would happen if Hwangbo Cheok died?

I let him live for the Silent Fist's revenge, but the Hwangbo Clan's life span wasn't that long.

Not only did I know that the current Lord of Hwangbo Clan wasn't in a healthy state, I also knew that the clan would fall as soon as Hwangbo Cheok became the Lord.

Which meant that it might be better to kill Hwangbo Cheok now than later…

I recalled the gaze from the slit of the tent door back then.

It was Hwangbo Cheolwi watching his brother kneeling before me.

…Hmm.

I did nothing about Hwangbo Cheolwi despite sensing him because his look at his brother was strange.

Hwangbo Cheolwi watched silently, then left quietly when our eyes met.

I wondered if he told others about what he saw, but I felt like he wouldn't have done such a thing.

It was instead possible that he would visit me soon. No, he would certainly do that.

I tilted my head while looking at the moon that rose gradually.

It was because the part of my body that held Demonic Qi felt emptier than I expected.

Before I parted from Hwangbo Cheok, I infused his body with both a shackle and Demonic Qi.

The amount of Demonic Qi I put into him was more than anticipated, and this would haunt him while serving as a shackle.

This method was not much different from what the Heavenly Demon used to do.

This really isn't good.

I couldn't shake the discomfort that was brought when thinking about it.

Because it meant that I was capable of doing what the Heavenly Demon was able to do.

…Though it's not exactly there yet.

I wasn't powerful enough to the point I could explode one's heart effortlessly.

The Heavenly Demon was capable of doing such a thing with a small hand gesture, but it was only possible for me to do that by injecting a huge amount of Demonic Qi and using Shackle on a person.

Putting aside the fact that it's hard work… It's a problem that I can't control.

Whether it's Demonic Qi eating away a martial artist's body, or preventing one's movement like I did with Hwangbo Cheok earlier, I now had a bunch of ways of controlling my Demonic Qi.

That was the biggest problem at the moment.

I felt sick.

How did it come to this?

Perhaps, my Demonic Qi evolves along with my level?

That seemed possible.

If this unknown power of mine gets stronger as I grow stronger,

That's a really shitty thing then.

It meant that I couldn't even feel happy about getting stronger, so I couldn't help but feel shitty.

“…Sigh.”

I let out an exhausted sigh.

Everything seemed to go against my will, leaving me feeling more drained than ever.

“Fine, I suppose that's good.”

I said bluntly.

I understood the things that happened to me.

However, what was my current situation then?

This was something I really couldn't understand.

After I quietly whispered to myself, the person next to me reacted.

There was a pleasant scent that tickled my nose, but Ice Qi brushed past my neck at the same time.

Feeling this ticklish sensation, I turned to my companion and asked,

“…Why are you here?”

“Pardon?”

“I didn't see you for a few days, so why are you here all of a sudden?”

I was already about to die from complicated thoughts, but a dark cat that was walking alongside me as if she knew nothing, was really getting on my nerves.

The dark cat spoke to me.

“Did you not hear?”

“Yeah, I didn't.”

“It seemed like the Sword of Heroic Flame didn't deliver the message. I wonder why though? I didn't see him like that.”

“…You.”

My expression rotted after hearing her speak as if she knew nothing.

Today was the day where I dealt with the last thing in the frontlines, and I already planned who I would go with.

They should know that I was going to go with Gu Jeolyub and Muyeon.

“Ah, it seemed like there was a problem…!”

“…”

“I don't know what happened to the Sword of Heroic Flame… but since you have no other choice, isn't it fine for me to tag along instead?”

Why is this girl speaking so shamelessly?

And where did Muyeon run off to?

After putting aside everything that annoyed me, I let out a sigh while looking at the girl with a joyous smile.

I'm sure she heard my sigh, but she still had a smile on her face.

“Young Master Gu, we are going to spend the whole night here if we stall any longer. Though if that's what you want… I'd be glad to do that.”

“…I'm gonna go insane.”

It seemed like she lost her mind in the middle of the night.

Because the girl, no, Moyong Hi-ah was continuously blurting out nonsense, and I had to wonder how I was put into this situation.