Childhood Friend of the Zenith
chapter-273

Up until this day, Gu Yeonseo, a blood relative of Gu Clan and the second daughter of the Lord, believed that she was a genius.

From a very young age, she quickly earned various accolades in martial arts and just like how her older sister Gu Huibi was called the greatest Young Prodigy, she believed that she wasn’t that far behind.

Truthfully, training while having such beliefs showed good results.

She reached the 3^rd rank in the Destructive Flame Arts, her clan’s signature martial skill, and her martial level was well over Second-rate.

Compared to other Young Prodigies at her age, her growth was impressively fast and because of that, Gu Yeonseo was confident in herself.

One day, I will become the martial artist who represents my clan.

Her confidence shot up.

And Gu Yeonseo also had enough talent to back her confidence.

However, she truly had unfortunate timing.

It didn’t take Gu Yeonseo long to realize that and have her confidence shattered.

So, when did Gu Yeonseo’s confidence collapse?

It was definitely last spring.

Yes, it must’ve been when Gu Yeonseo fell to the ground after being slapped by Gu Yangcheon on the Nine Dragons Day.

He was the only son of the Lord, and her little brother who, despite lacking talent, was confirmed to become the Lord one day.

Despite that, the Second Elder and her older sister showered him with love.

As he had no talent, Gu Yeonseo believed that it was impossible for her to lose against her brother, but after she fell flat to the ground the night of Nine Dragons Day, she lost everything.

Confidence.

Possibility.

Hope.

She lost it all.

Her little brother, who she believed to be talentless, started revealing the light he had hidden until that moment, rose up to the sky and even achieved what Gu Yeonseo dreamed of for so long, a spot of a Dragon that represented the Meteor Generation.

When she heard the news, Gu Yeonseo was unable to look into Gu Yangcheon’s eyes any longer.

She may have been drunk on her emotions back then, but the words she said to Gu Yangcheon shouldn’t have been said and because of that, Gu Yeonseo could no longer look into Gu Yangcheon’s eyes, as he was flying in the air.

And that wasn’t all.

Furthermore, on her way to Henan to attend the Heavenly Dragon Academy, Gu Yeonseo coincidentally met with Gu Jeolyub, the descendant of Gu Sunmoon and grandson of the First Elder Gu Changjun.

When they clashed swords, Gu Yeonseo couldn’t help but be shocked by Gu Jeolyub’s growth.

How…?

Gu Jeolyub was either at the same level as her or slightly better not that long ago, but now, he had developed into a skilled martial artist and she was unable to even graze his clothes.

He was definitely above the First-rate.

While Gu Yeonseo, who used to be at the same level as him, was still struggling in Second-rate, Gu Jeolyub managed to reach First-rate in that same time.

She had barely managed to reach the wall to reach the next level, but she didn’t know when she would become strong enough to break through that wall.

A sense of shame filled her body, all the way till her neck.

And during all this, she could see her little brother training in the distance.

All he did was just stand still with his eyes closed, but Gu Yangcheon still called it a training.

She could also see her little brother’s fiancée, the Sword Dancer.

She was an extremely beautiful woman.

Her beauty was so perfect that it would be hard to categorize her on the same level as everyone else.

Moreover, as if she was proving that beauty wasn’t all she possessed, other than the time she spent sleeping, she spent the rest of her time swinging her sword.

Furthermore, there was the Snow Phoenix of Moyong Clan as well.

She didn’t seem to train much when compared to the rest, but everyone around Gu Yeonseo was somehow definitely stronger than her.

And they were around her age as well…

Just how…

How did things become like this?

Was it because I didn’t work hard enough?

No.

She worked hard on fixing her flaws and even reduced her sleep to train at night.

Then how?

How did she end up like this?

Gu Yeonseo couldn’t understand.

The journey was smooth and they were able to arrive in Henan without a hitch.

Gu Yeonseo was forced to attend the Heavenly Dragon Academy on her father’s orders, but she was still unable to look into Gu Yangcheon’s eyes and that only made her feel even more uncomfortable.

Of course, Gu Yangcheon himself didn’t seem that bothered by it all, and Gu Yeonseo was the only one feeling uncomfortable.

They arrived in Henan after what was both a long and short trip for Gu Yeonseo, she came across an incident.

The Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes, no, the now Six Dragons and Three Phoenixes.

Gu Yeonseo heard that two of them were having a spar in the middle of the streets of Henan.

…Ah.

As soon as she heard that news, she quickly rushed to the scene and she saw two young men fighting each other with swords while a noisy crowd spectated.

The one wearing the white outfit was the Sword Dragon and since the light blue outfit belonged to the Wudang Sect, it must’ve been the Water Dragon, but Gu Yeonseo found it hard to keep up with their spar as her eyes were unable to keep up with their swift movements.

Clang!

The sound of their clashing swords were sharp and clear.

Additionally, the explosive sound from their Qi clashing was incredible.

Was that what the best from the Meteor Generation looked like?

After personally watching them for a short while, Gu Yeonseo realized that she would never be able to become one of them even if she reincarnated.

Compared to the Young Prodigies she had seen back at the tournament of Dragons and Phoenixes, they were in a different league.

She had seen the Lightning Dragon, the Poison Phoenix, and the Meteor Sword who had been the talk of the town recently, but even compared to them, the ones she was watching now were on a different level.

At this very spot, she could see what could be called true martial arts.

As their spar escalated, the person who she suspected was the Sword Dragon stopped moving and became calm, but Gu Yeonseo was able to figure out that he was now showing the peak of his power.

A torrent Qi started to storm around him, so much that even Gu Yeonseo was able to feel it from a distance.

She didn’t know the reason behind this, but she knew that it wasn’t going to be easy to break their fight.

Are they okay?

After realizing that, Gu Yeonseo looked around her.

A huge crowd had gathered to spectat the fight.

It was inevitable.

Among the people who would one day lead the Central Plains, the Six Dragons and Three Phoenixes were the peak.

So, how could they ignore a spar between two of them?

However, it was highly likely that the ordinary civilians present would get injured if the two of them fought each other seriously.

Is there no one else here?

Was there no one who could stop those two?

It may have been coincidence or maybe not, but Gu Yeonseo was unable to find anyone capable enough and she couldn’t intervene either.

The Taoist Qi produced by the martial artist from a Taoist Clan felt way too heavy and compared to Gu Yeonseo, their violent sword play was on a completely different level.

At her level, it would be impossible for her to intervene.

Click-

As Gu Yeonseo continued watching them while biting her lips, she felt someone besides her move.

When she looked to see who it was, she saw Gu Jeolyub who traveled along with them.

Crack.

Gu Yeonseo tried to hide her shock as she watched him stretch after drawing his sword.

Is he really thinking of interfering with their fight?

Was he trying to stop them?

Still in shock, Gu Yeonseo screamed internally.

How was he planning to deal with those monsters?

As Gu Jeolyub continued stretching, Muyeon, Gu Yangcheon’s escort, came up to him and asked.

“Will you be alright?”

Gu Jeolyub couldn’t help but frown a bit after hearing Muyeon’s question.

“…Well, no matter what choice I make, I’ll still get bashed. And it’s not like we can leave them be either.”

“I shall assist you.”

Hearing Gu Jeolyub, Muyeon also drew his sword.

It seemed like both of them were planning to rush towards those monsters.

Gu Yeonseo was speechless on seeing their behavior.

She knew that Muyeon was a martial artist who had reached Peak Realm as the clan was bustling with the news.

However, was being a Peak Realm martial artist enough for him to jump in their fight?

As Gu Yeonseo was lost in her thoughts, Muyeon and Gu Jeolyub charged their Qi and were about to rush towards those monsters,

Crack-

But both Muyeon and Gu Jeolyub stopped simultaneously.

It seemed like they felt something.

What now?

As Gu Yeonseo pondered once more,

“Ugh, those crazy fuckers. Why are they doing this after coming all the way here? Did they eat something bad?”

Someone walked past Gu Yeonseo while grumbling.

His voice, which contained a hint of annoyance in it, was becoming deeper as he got older, and was now slightly similar to her father’s voice.

Gu Yeonseo instinctively looked towards the voice, but the owner of the voice already disappeared, his words lingering behind.

Then,

Swoosh!

A huge gust of wind stormed past Gu Yeonseo.

******************As always, the young man Woo Hyuk, who was also called the Water Dragon, could hear a voice in his ears.

-Right, then up.

Woo Hyuk tilted his head upwards after listening to the voice digging into his ears.

He had been hearing that voice from a young age and after joining the Wudang Sect, Woo Hyuk learned his ears were different compared to other people.

Human ears that could hear a thousand sounds, that was what Woo Hyuk’s ears were like.

The sound of leaves moving.

The sound of raindrops falling.

Even the Head of the clan screaming out of anger from his house located on the edge of a cliff.

Woo Hyuk’s ears could hear it all.

Every noise that others would fail to notice.

He could hear everything much louder and clearer than the rest.

It was both a curse and a blessing.

Because he could hear everything so well, even if he closed his eyes, he was unable to sleep that well and he found it hard to maintain his sanity when he could constantly hear loud noises, so it was definitely a curse given to him.

If he was unable to sleep and maintain his sanity due to the noise, then what made it a blessing?

The answer was simple.

-Diagonally, lower your head.

The tip of a sword grazed his cheek as he moved his body after listening to the voice.

All sounds held a meaning, and Woo Hyuk could even hear the sound of his opponent’s movement.

-Look forward, take a step back, then strike.

Swoosh!

A sharp sword was aimed at his chest.

However, it was too late as Woo Hyuk had already moved away from there.

Was that the sound of his opponent’s thoughts?

It didn’t matter.

It may have been a blessing that would make all martial artists jealous, but to Woo Hyuk, it was just a curse that made his life more boring and dull.

It’ll be the same this time as well.

Woo Hyuk already told himself that this swordplay would lead to the same result as always.

However,

Swoosh!

Something felt very slightly different.

“…Woah.”

The tip of a sword scratched Woo Hyuk’s chin as he tilted his head.

He felt a bit impressed after seeing that.

A wave of Qi shot outwards as he stomped the ground.

Woo Hyuk observed his opponent’s sword with his two eyes.

His sword moved a lot, yet he maintained a stable Qi flow. Yet it felt desolate and quick.

Observing the Sword Dragon’s sword, Woo Hyuk thought to himself.

He changed.

After wrapping himself in Qi, Woo Hyuk looked forward to the next move.

In front of him was the man everyone believed would become the greatest Young Prodigy once the Sword Phoenix vacated her position.

The greatest prodigy of Mount Hua.

The youngest swordsmen of Mount Hua.

The genius that people believed would one day receive the title of Sword King, the Plum Blossoming Sword Dragon, Yung Pung.

He was Woo Hyuk’s current opponent.

Still observing Yung Pung, Woo Hyuk started to wonder.

How many years had it been?

The last time Woo Hyuk faced Yung Pung, back when they were younger, he could already blossom plum flowers on the end of his sword and he confidently displayed that he was the proud swordsman of Mount Hua, but now, he seemed different.

He had the peculiar modesty that was a characteristic of all martial artists of Mount Hua, he had respect, but he also had boiling arrogance and the confidence to lift his head.

That was the young boy that Woo Hyuk met.

He understood that.

He possessed the talent and everyone around him called him the greatest prodigy of Mount Hua, so how could he not become arrogant?

If it weren’t for his damned ears, Woo Hyuk believed that he would’ve ended up just like him.

However, that’s what made it boring, at the end of the day, the ones drunk on the world were bound to wither away.

After all, didn’t the cold and beautiful Head of his clan, who always maintained a sharp sword, also ended up that way.

Knowing that, Woo Hyuk quashed his interest in Yung Pung, who looked like a small ember that would be snuffed out.

Back then, Yung Pung’s sword showed talent and great speed, but that was it.

But what about now?

How was Yung Pung now?

In just a few years, Yung Pung had changed completely.

Swish!

His sword grazed Woo Hyuk’s cheek.

Recovering his stance, Woo Hyuk kept his eyes fixed on his opponent's sword.

His sword was fast, sharp, but unconstrained at the same time.

Like plum flowers falling, it was hard to read his movement.

It was something Woo Hyuk didn’t feel the last time they met.

-His foot moved to the left, it’s a fake.

As soon as he heard the voice, a flash of light appeared before his eyes.

Woo Hyuk knew it was a fake, so he took another step forward.

Press.

He squeezed his Dantian and covered his sword with Qi.

Rather than trying to find a direct opening from Yung Pung, Woo Hyuk swung his sword after finding an opening from reading his fake.

Swoosh!

“…!”

Kwak!

But Yung Pung tilted his body, as if he was waiting, and thrust his sword.

After he barely managed to parry it, Woo Hyuk retrieved his Qi and took a few steps back.

That was close.

What was that just now?

His sound wasn’t able to follow his movements.

It was a fascinating sensation.

He never heard this type of sound even from the Elders or the Head of the clan.

Was the Sword Dragon’s sword faster than theirs?

No, that wasn’t it.

The Sword Dragon may have been talented, but he was still just a Young Prodigy and it was still too early to compare him with them.

Then what was it that made it feel this different?

…This.

It’s fun.

Woo Hyuk started smiling.

It was an emotion he hadn’t felt in years.

After gaining some distance, Woo Hyuk spoke while looking at Yung Pung.

“Even though we’ve met after a while, you just swung your sword at me. How did the mighty Sword Dragon become so violent?”

It wasn’t an ambush.

Before drawing his sword, Yung Pung made Woo Hyuk aware of his intentions.

How could he not know when Yung Pung openly displayed dense Combat Qi from a distance?

Yung Pung smiled awkwardly after hearing Woo Hyuk.

“I wasn’t planning on doing this at first… but my curiosity about your sword got the better of me and I couldn’t stop myself.”

“Is that so? I guess that's a good compliment, so how is it? What’s your opinion after clashing with my sword?”

“It is as I expected.”

Yung Pung smiled and lowered his arm.

Shing!

As soon as he shook his sword, the lingering Qi in his sword exploded and resounded through the air.

“It was just as I expected. Woo Hyuk, you are strong.”

“Thank you for your compliment.”

“Once again, I’m glad that I realized that the world I lived in was small.”

His response was strange.

He said that his world was small.

That meant that Yung Pung himself realized that he was just a frog in a well.

Did something happen?

Woo Hyuk didn’t know.

He was curious, but he didn’t want to dig too deep.

“However, …Even after reaching all the way here, I can once more feel how great he is.”

“Hmm?”

He?

Hearing Yung Pung, Woo Hyuk became curious, but he had to push those thoughts aside for now.

Sss…

It was because the wind enveloping Yung Pung had changed.

Observing him, Woo Hyuk became rather surprised as he spoke to Yung Pung.

“Isn’t it dangerous to do something like that here?”

“Woo Hyuk, thank you for accepting my unreasonableness.”

“…Hmm… I didn’t necessarily accept it.”

Woo Hyuk only accepted this spar in hoping for some fun in his otherwise boring life.

Truthfully, he did have fun.

Though, Woo Hyuk’s current expression was filled with laziness and relaxed.

Wind passed Woo Hyuk’s cheek and the scent of flowers brushed his nose.

-It will bloom.

A voice resounded, but the words sounded random.

Even so, ironically, he understood it all.

What else would it mean when a swordsman of Mount Hua bloomed?

Despite not coming from Mount Hua, even Woo Hyuk knew about it.

The only flowers a sword of Mount Hua could bloom were plum flowers.

…Though it’s a bit of a hassle to clash with that.

Press.

Woo Hyuk charged his inner Qi.

Unlike his lazy and nasty personality, his Qi was very stable.

Swoosh.

As soon as Woo Hyuk charged his Qi, plum flowers began falling, slowly and lightly.

As soon as those petals touch the ground, the scent of plum flowers would fill the surroundings.

…Hmm.

During all that, Woo Hyuk wondered if one strike would be enough.

He wondered if it would be okay to use that move as he hadn’t used it since he last sparred with the Head of the Sect.

Though it’s better than dragging this out.

But he didn’t think for long as he wanted to sleep.

As soon as the petals slowly landed on the ground, Woo Hyuk charged his Taoist Qi with all his might and gazed at Yung Pung with radiant eyes.

“Hmm…?”

Then he let out a dumbfounded reaction because Yung Pung showed no reaction even after the plum flower turned to dust after touching the ground.

Instead, Woo Hyuk saw that Yung Pung was becoming lax.

“What…?”

As he wondered why that guy was behaving in such a manner…

Ring-

“…!”

Feeling a sudden vibration near his stomach region, Woo Hyuk felt his body tilt as his legs were lifted in the air.

Then,

“You crazy bastards! Are you trying to destroy the streets?”

He heard a fierce, gruff voice.

Woo Hyuk was supposed to land safely, but he rolled on the ground as his body wasn’t listening despite the unimpactful attack.

“Fuck, why are you guys doing this as soon as I arrived? What a hassle.”

“Ugh…”

“Sigh, bastards with a sword are never normal. Crazy fuckers, once they pick up their swords, they never care about their surroundings.”

Woo Hyuk couldn’t raise his head.

Whose voice was it?

Pow!

“Kugh!”

Just as Woo Hyuk barely managed to move, someone struck his head.

“Why is this bastard acting like this when it’s the first time I’ve seen him in a while?”

“Ough…”

It felt like his whole skull was ringing.

How could a strike feel that impactful when he didn’t even use Qi?

Woo Hyuk started losing consciousness because of the impact and he was finally able to experience true silence.

“Ah…”

Thud.

Woo Hyuk lost consciousness after uttering a single word.

“…What the– why is this bastard lying down with such a creepy expression?”

Then Gu Yangcheon backed away in disgust after seeing Woo Hyuk’s expression.

Moreover, the loud crowd who were spectating the fight shut their mouths and the entire rowdy street became silent in an instant.