Childhood Friend of the Zenith
chapter-284

Hearing Bi Eejin, I instinctively shook my body off.

Am I cursed?

If someone actually cursed at me, I swear I would burn them alive.

“Anyway, besides that…”

Because it seemed like Bi Eejin had more to say, I fixed my expression to look attentive.

No, I was pretending to be attentive.

“Hmm…”

“What’s the matter?”

Before he said anything further, Bi Eejin took a step back while staring elsewhere.

“This won’t do. I feel like a sword might show up if I stay any longer.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Let’s meet each other again.”

“…”

“Well, since you didn’t reply, I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Wait, why is that a yes …!”

Bi Eejin disappeared without letting me finish.

The crowd watching us dispersed once they believed that everything was resolved without any issues.

And it seemed like Gu Jeolyub and Gu Yeonseo had disappeared along with them.

Then...

“Phew…”

I was able to slowly retrieve the Qi filling my middle Dantian.

…I didn’t expect the Dishonored Venerable to intervene.

I knew that he was interested in me, but I didn’t expect him to take action personally.

It makes me feel uncomfortable.

But it was also true that he was helpful.

Because I let my emotions get the better of me, I failed to see through Jang Seonyeon’s obvious plan.

Even so, I was pleased.

I was a bit worried thinking that the bastard might have changed, but he was still the same as ever.

So I felt more relaxed about confirming that.

Since I’m here…

Since I already came here, and since I had to look for someone…

I’ll be able to kill him this time.

There were enough reasons to kill the bastard.

Jang Seonyeon would die here.

That was one of my goals for coming to this place.

I withdrew my killing intent that was leaking and looked in the direction the Dishonored Venerable was looking at earlier.

I wanted to see what he was talking about.

“Huh?”

Wi Seol-Ah was standing at that very spot, with the same face cover she wore yesterday.

Even though she was quite far away and there were a lot of people walking around, that was definitely Wi Seol-Ah.

“You.”

As I was about to walk towards Wi Seol-Ah…

-First and second group! We will start the exam! Gather up!

When I looked towards the voice and turned back to Wi Seol-Ah…

“Huh.”

She had already disappeared into the crowd.

I would be able to find her if I tried.

And using some Qi here wasn’t going to make me fail the exam.

However...

Why did you make such an expression?

For some reason, it seemed like Wi Seol-Ah’s eyes were telling me to not look for her this time.

And even though this was just the beginning, I already started feeling uneasy.

“Sigh.”

Nothing was going well for me.

I wanted to take my stress out on someone, but unfortunately, it seemed that Gu Jeolyub had already run away.

“Tsk.”

After clicking my tongue, I started moving.

After all, I had business to take care of.

******************Jo Wiseok, a Second Generation Disciple of the Kunlun Sect, was a martial artist who earned himself the title of Sword of Footsteps.

He was a young martial artist who continued to show excellence and growth and his name had spread throughout the Central Plains.

And when his talent was compared with the other martial artists around the age of thirty, he was a martial artist that had a respectable position if the Young Lord of Tang Clan and geniuses like Shinhyun from Mount Hua were excluded.

“First group’s Choeun Chil from Choeun Clan, you pass.”

That was why he was able to accompany the Qinghai Sword the Heavenly Dragon Academy and earn a spot as one of the instructors, but Jo Wiseok wasn’t really satisfied with this position.

I wonder what the Leader is up to.

There were a ton of things that were happening back at Qinghai, but Jo Wiseok wasn’t able to understand why he came here after leaving all the work to the Elders.

He had to hold back his words as it was his Leader, but He still felt dissatisfied internally.

He wasn’t in a situation where he could afford to be teaching these young children here.

Moreover...

The Sword Queen.

Jo Wiseok then thought about the lady who was the instructor of the second group.

He had known about it since Leader had already informed him, but he still couldn't believe that the great Sword Queen had actually come to the Academy as one of the instructors.

Just from her reputation alone, it wouldn’t have been strange for the Sword Queen to become the Head of the Academy.

It seemed like she had her own reasons to put her pride aside and become an instructor not at Mount Hua, but the Heavenly Dragon Academy managed by the Alliance.

As he was about to frown due to the tangled thoughts in his mind…

Clang!

Jo Wiseok’s eyes opened wide after hearing a clear sound.

When he looked in the direction of the sound, he saw the Young Prodigies admiring someone and his reaction was the same as theirs.

Ha.

It was inevitable.

A young man was sheathing his sword in front of a stone pillar approximately ten feet wide.

Swish.

From the young man drawing his sword to him returning the sword back into the scabbard…

Woong.

His Sword Resonance echoed and a sword mark was etched on the stone pillar, though it wasn’t that deep.

Jo Wiseok’s jaw dropped in shock on seeing that sight.

It’s not just a scratch, but a deep gash?

Their task for the first part of the exam was to leave a scratch on the pillar using any method.

Since they were allowed to use their martial skills to damage the pillar, everyone underestimated this test, but they would have different opinions if they knew what the pillar was made of.

Thousand Year Cold Steel.

It had the sturdiest known steel that existed in the Central Plains mixed in it.

Though it had a very small amount mixed in it, that was enough to make the object unbreakable.

And that was the case for the ordinary-looking black stone pillar.

He wasn’t able to understand how they were able to obtain Cold Steel of Thousand Years for the first exam, but that was the reality.

It was the Head of the Academy who planned the tasks for each exam.

That meant that the Qinghai Sword was the one who obtained that stone pillar.

What was the meaning behind this test?

What was his goal?

Jo Wiseok didn’t have to know.

All he needed to know was if a Young Prodigy passed the exam or not.

Jo Wiseok, who knew all of that, stared at the person responsible for leaving that huge mark on the pillar as he tried to remember his name.

The Meteor Sword, was it?

The only child of the current Alliance Leader, and the young martial artist who was a hot topic recently.

And that Sword Resonance just now must’ve the Alliance Leader’s martial skill.

Rumors did say he was talented.

It didn’t seem like the rumor was false.

While the other Young Prodigies were struggling to leave even a tiny scratch, the Meteor Sword left a huge mark with a single swing. So it wasn’t strange that the other Young Prodigies admired him.

The level of Young Prodigies is extraordinary these days.

Be it the Six Dragons and the Three Phoenixes, the Meteor Sword, or even the disciple of the Sword Emperor he approached personally.

In Jo Wiseok’s eyes, each and every one of them were special in their own ways.

Even so, it seems like the top seat of this exam… is already decided.

That’s how he saw it.

He judged the Meteor Sword to be well over the level of a Young Prodigy since he was able to leave such a mark on that pillar.

Though he had to see how the other Dragons and Phoenixes performed.

He was expecting that young man to take the top seat in this exam.

With that thought in mind, Jo Wiseok started to speak.

“First group’s Jang Seonyeon you pa- “

Craaaack!

Right as Jo Wiseok was about to inform Jang Seonyeon of his result, he heard a monstrous sound.*

*

“Huh?”“What was that sound?”Hearing the Young Prodigies become noisy, Jo Wiseok shouted with his Qi.

“Don’t move as it might be dangerous!”Then, Jo Wiseok looked around while keeping his guard up.

The direction the sound came from…

Isn’t the second group taking their exam there?

Was it an ambush?

The region was surrounded by the members of Kunlun Sect and Murim Alliance, so unless they were at the level of the Dark King, they shouldn’t be able to break through that line.

Jo Wiseok planned to evacuate the Young Prodigies just in case, but he then heard a voice telepathically.

“…What?”

Hearing the voice, Jo Wiseok reacted as if he misheard it the first time.

He was so shocked that he accidentally responded out loud instead of responding telepathically.

“Someone… destroyed the pillar?”It was unbelievable.

******************At the location where the second group was taking their exam, a young man covered his face with his hand and sighed at rocks scattered all over.

“Chuckle…”The Sword Queen tried to hold back her laughter, but it wasn’t easy.

In front of the Sword Queen, who was trying her best to hold back her laughter, was a large hole in the middle of the pillar with the Cold Steel of Thousand Years mixed in it.

Judging by the cracks on the pillar, it looked like it would collapse at any moment.

Then, the person responsible for destroying the pillar violently, murmured quietly while covering his face.

“Ah…”

Gu Yangcheon ignored all the gazes aimed at him and was regretting it mentally.

I should’ve controlled my strength a little.

That was the result of him taking out his stress on the pillar.

He was speechless.

If he thought about the Cold Steel of Thousand Years he had seen in his past life, it was embarrassing to compare it to something like this.

Even so, it seemed like it wasn’t supposed to break that easily as everyone fell silent the moment he made a hole in the pillar.

There must’ve been a reason behind their silence, though it wasn’t very welcoming for Gu Yangcheon.

He didn’t intend to do that.

With that thought in mind, Gu Yangcheon mumbled quietly.

“I’m fucked.”

It seemed like he had already caused a huge incident even though it was just the start of the exam.