Childhood Friend of the Zenith
chapter-285

Rustle–

Pieces of rock rolled around and the dust was swept along with the wind.

The cold winter wind blew away the lingering heat.

“What… just happened?”

The prolonged silence was broken by one of the Young Prodigies and the surroundings became rowdy in an instant.

“How is that possible?! They said that Cold Steel of Thousand Years is mixed in it!”

“There is a hole!”

The people who passed the exam just left a mere mark on the pillar, but seeing someone destroy it into pieces, their reaction was inevitable.

Though the situation was really welcoming for the person responsible for that.

Should I have controlled my strength?

No, in the first place, I shouldn’t have used heat.

Although I wanted to leave a bigger mark than the others, destroying it completely was going too far.

I told you to hold back a little, you retard.

I may have felt the need to vent my stress, but I really went too far.

Also...

“Chuckle…”

Why was that person here right now?

Ever since we moved to a field to take the exam, I saw a familiar face among the instructors.

Is this what she meant when she said that I’d find out tomorrow?

The lady was trying to hold back her laughter was the Plum Blossom Sword.

I thought the Kunlun Sect was in charge of this year’s Heavenly Dragon Academy.

But then, why was she here?

Putting aside the fact that the Sword Queen was here as one of the instructors …

The Leader of the Kunlun Sect permitted this?

Allowing a martial artist from another clan to help was one thing, but having someone like the Sword Queen herself was really unexpected.

With the news that the Plum Blossom Sword becoming one of the instructors attracting more attention than that of the Leader of the Kunlun Sect becoming the Head of the Academy, it was strange to see the Qinghai Sword permit it so easily especially at a time when honor and fame were of utmost importance.

I’m sure there were reasons behind this…

But I couldn’t know more than this.

Anyway...

…They have more of this stone, right?

I thought while staring at the stone pillar I had just destroyed.

I was sure they’d have a spare.

It was the great Kunlun Sect after all, so that had to be the case.

But what if they didn’t?

Why do I bother asking?

It would all work out somehow…

As I was slowly coming to terms with my situation while rubbing my face, the Sword Queen spoke after barely managing to hold back her laughter.

“Gu Yangcheon of the second group, you pass.”

When the Sword Queen my result out loud with Qi…

“Gu Yangcheon…?”

Only after that…

“The True Dragon Gu Yangcheon?”

Did the others start to realize that it was me.

Hmm… though I was still not used to that fucking title.

During all this…

Crack.

I saw another person sneakily leave a mark on the stone pillar.

Even though he struck it lightly, a crack still formed on the stone pillar.

And the instructor watching him spoke from among the rowdy voices.

“Second group’s Bi Eejin… you pass.”

After that, Bi Eejin looked in my direction and smiled.

That guy.

It seemed like Bi Eejin managed to take advantage of the crowd being distracted by my ‘test result’.

Damn, he’s cunning.

…I was planning to do the same.

He got one over me.

I didn’t expect him to have the same plan.

Well, it makes sense. The Dishonored Venerable wouldn’t want to draw the attention here.

What would he gain by attracting the attention in a playground filled with children who just started growing their hair?

Yet despite knowing that, here I am doing that exact thing.

I was in the same boat as him.

That was why I needed to have better control over my anger.

Because I failed to control my emotions, I ended up causing trouble like this.

I turned away after staring at the rubble on the ground.

As I walked through the bustling crowd, I thought to myself.

This exam was far from over.

…Since things have turned out like this …

Might as well show off as much as I could since I already attracted their attention.

******************-I heard from the Celestial Plum Blossom.

Back when the Sword Queen met with the Qinghai Sword, his gaze wasn’t really the best.

Well, it was inevitable due to the current situation.

This meeting wouldn’t have taken place if it weren’t for the Head of Mount Hua.

-You want to come to the Heavenly Dragon Academy next month… as an instructor.

-That’s right.

-May I ask why?

The Qinghai Sword’s cold gaze pierced the Sword Queen.

That was definitely the= sharp gaze of someone who honed their sword all their life.

However, the Sword Queen wasn’t really shaken as she was somewhat expecting that.

-And please don’t say training the Young Prodigies is one of the reasons.

-Isn’t that a good reason?

-If you really want me to believe that, you should know better that the world isn’t like that.

-…

Yes.

Such things were unheard of once the Abyss appeared in the world.

And the Sword Queen knew that better than anyone.

-It seems like you want something.

-Yes.

Since the Sword Queen had some business at the Heavenly Dragon Academy, she decided to respond honestly.

The Qinghai Sword then spoke after staring at the Sword Queen for a moment.

-Since the Celestial Plum Blossom requested this of me, and I told him to do as he pleased, I will not deny your request.

-Thank y…

-However, that is only if you listen to my request.

Swoosh.

In an instant, a cool breeze filled the room.

The Sword Queen tensed up as she felt the wind.

The wind filling the room could become sharp whenever the Qinghai Sword desired.

-Sword Queen, you have two choices.

-…I am listening.

-One, tell me the reason and listen to a small request of mine.

He wanted to know the reason she wanted to come to the Academy as an instructor.

Additionally, he also had a small request.

The Sword Queen, who was listening attentively to the Qinghai Sword…

-I’d like to hear the second choice.

Asked for the other option.

Even though the Qinghai Sword said that he’d accept her request if she told him her reason, the Sword Queen still chose the second option.

As expected…

-The second…

The Qinghai Sword answered the Sword Queen.

-…is for you to do me a big favor without telling me your reason.

-I will choose the second option.

The Qinghai Sword was rather surprised to see the Sword Queen make her decision without even pondering over the choices.

-It must be really difficult for you to tell me your reason.

-…I just chose the option that didn’t require me to do so.

-Hmm… Do you even know what I may request you to do?

-I’ll accept it, no matter what.

Hearing the Sword Queen reply without much hesitation, the Qinghai Sword put his hand on his chin and got lost in his thoughts.

Was it because he found it difficult to make such a request?

While the Sword Queen waited in silence, the Qinghai Sword finally spoke after contemplating over it.

-…There’s a red gate in Qinghai.

The Sword Queen was greatly astonished on hearing his words.

Red Gate of Demons, huh.

The Sword Queen accepted the Qinghai Sword’s request and was able to become an instructor, but the words he said that day still lingered in the back of her mind.

…The Red Gate of Demons has appeared, and it will open soon.

It was supposed to open around the fall of next year.

However, it was something else that bothered the Sword Queen.

If what the Qinghai Sword had told her was true, the biggest issue was something else entirely.

The biggest problem was that a Red Gate of Demons hadn’t appeared for a very long time.

If that’s true…

Why did the Qinghai Sword inform her and not the Murim Alliance?

Moreover…

He became the Head of the Academy at a time like this?

If this was happening at the Kunlun Sect, there was no way that the position of the Head of the Academy was more important than a Red Gate of Demons.

Unlike green or blue Demons, which could be dealt with by well-trained martial artists, the red Demons were a different story as per history.

The Sword Queen couldn’t understand why the Qinghai Sword left the Kunlun Sect behind during their time of peril and came to the Heavenly Dragon Academy for the sake of fame and honor.

What is his reason?

It seemed like she wasn’t the only one who had a reason for coming to the Academy.

If that wasn’t the case, he wouldn’t have come here despite knowing the danger his Sect was facing.

However, even though she was bothered by all these thoughts, the Sword Queen still accepted his request.

He asked her for her assistance once the Red Gate of Demons actually opened, and there was no way the Sword Queen would’ve done something like that, even if it was the problem of another Sect.

So for now, it’ll be better if I just focus on this.

The Sword Queen thought about her purpose for coming to this place.

I need to find it quickly.

The Plum Blossom Gem, the item that even the Celestial Plum Blossom was unaware of, was somewhere in the Academy.

And if it weren’t for ‘him’, she wouldn’t have known either, but now that she knew about it, she had to find it for all of the things that were yet to come.

“…Second group’s Seon Eeseok. You pass.”

By the time the last successful applicant from the second group had passed, the sun had already begun to set.

And since they needed to finish the exam on the same day, it seemed like she would be here until midnight.

Once the first part of the exam was over, all the instructors gathered in one place and organized the day’s events.

Many talented people from the Murim Alliance and Kunlun Sect, who each possessed their own title were present, but all their gazes were on the Sword Queen.

After all, it was odd to have someone with the title of Sword Queen title in their midst.

Despite all their gazes, the Sword Queen continued with her tasks.

“…It’s already been half a day, huh.”“It’s surprising that this many people are left, right?”“Indeed, it seems like the applicants this time around are different than before.”“For hundreds of them to remain in this situation…”

Because only a fixed number of people could be admitted to the Academy, this made it rather difficult for the instructors.

While organizing their data, one of the instructors spoke.

“From what we’ve seen so far, there are around ten, correct?”

Convinced by it, most of them nodded their heads.

Everyone was thinking of the same ten people as the instructor.

“… It seems like their ranks have been decided as well.”

Hearing those words, all of them turned in one direction.

They were looking at the stone pillar brought from the Kunlun Sect.

The ones who had watched it unfold could still recollect that scene.

The moment the young man, who wasn’t even twenty, destroyed the pillar with a single strike.

At the same time…

-Would I be able to do that?

They wondered if they would be able to do the same.

Moreover…

True Dragon.

It was at that moment the young man’s title engraved itself into the minds of the instructors.

The Sword Queen looked at the instructors with a strange gaze.

He was indeed a little reckless.

However, she was still satisfied with his performance.

It was true that the Sword Queen had her own reasons for coming to the Academy, but Gu Yangcheon was one of them.

When her disciple informed her that her brother was supposed to attend the Heavenly Dragon Academy, she was curious about his growth.

The Sword Queen then thought of the young man with a fierce expression.

If there’s to be a Zenith in the next generation, it will be that child.

Because of the weight those words held, she wouldn’t even dare to think about something like that.

And she was so after putting aside the current Three Heavenly Venerables and all other Meteors from the current generation.

However, the Sword Queen was certain.

As long as he continued to grow and once he managed to reach his prime, Gu Yangcheon would become the Zenith of the next generation.

He had enough talent and disposition to do so.

At least that’s what she felt.

As the Sword Queen folded a letter in half and tucked it inside her pocket…

“Was there anyone noteworthy from the first group?”An instructor of the second group asked the instructor of the first group.

“Noteworthy huh… there were a ton…”

However, he held himself back.

The first group consisted of :

The Tang Clan’s Poison Phoenix.

The Moyong Clan’s Snow Phoenix.

The Peng Clan’s daughter.

The Sword Dancer from Namgung Clan.

Daughters from the Four Noble Clans were gathered and the blood relatives of Hwangbo Clan, and even the son of the Alliance Leader were included as well.

However, it was strange that the Lightning Dragon chose not to attend the Academy due to business in his clan.

It seemed like the pillar of the future would all belong to the first group, but amusingly, no one came close to what Gu Yangcheon did.

Some memorable moments were when the seemingly sleepy Sword Dancer, who was famous for her beauty, appeared while wearing a face cover and briefly left a cross mark on the pillar and a deep sword mark on the pillar made by the Meteor Sword.

Additionally…

“Is it true? The disciple of the Sword Emperor made their appearance?”

The first disciple of the Heavenly Venerable had made their appearance.

“…It is.”The Disciple of the Sword Emperor.

She had become the talking point after making her appearance and swinging her sword.

Her beautiful aura and movements definitely contained the characteristics of the Moonlight Dance created by the Sword Emperor.

If the True Dragon hadn’t shattered the pillar into pieces, everyone would’ve been talking about the Sword Emperor’s disciple instead.

During this, Jo Wiseok, the first group’s instructor, thought to himself.

I was foolish for thinking that the Meteor Sword would take the top spot

Feeling embarrassed that he tried to judge a book by its cover, he also had to hide his shock when he thought about what the Young Prodigies from the first group displayed.

Even though it wasn’t that easy, the Sword Dancer left a sword mark and disappeared.

Despite her swinging her sword listlessly, the sword mark she left was vivid.

And if she swung her sword seriously…

The Snow Phoenix was a bit disappointing, but the Poison Phoenix performed better than the rumors said.

And compared to his time, the Young Prodigies of this generation were on an entirely different level.

The Sword Emperor’s disciple though…

A single strike.

Coming in last, she made her presence known by cutting the pillar in half.

And the neat cut on the side of the pillar showed how perfect her swing was.

When she displayed her moonlight aura, everyone was certain that it was the Sword Emperor’s martial art.

Jo Wiseok really felt that there were a bunch of monsters in this Meteor Generation.

And because of that, it was hard to believe that this year’s batch would be ordinary.

It’s so strange…

It felt strange seeing so many burning stars.

******************Gu Yangcheon had a big frown on his face as the second portion of the exam began.

The long wait time had already driven him to the edge, but when he heard about the content of the second part of the exam, he was speechless.

But it was something other than the exam content that left him tongue-tied…

“It’s nice to see you.”

“Firstly…”

Gu Yangcheon responded bluntly to the soft voice.

And it was understandable because while the others were given some weak-looking opponents, his opponent was different.

“…Were you really assigned randomly?”“Of course.”

The lady responded with a bright smile to Gu Yangcheon, but he didn’t believe her at all.

Rustle.

As a single flower petal fell to the ground, the beautiful scent of plum flowers began to spread.

Though,

Shing…

Unlike the beautiful atmosphere, the Qi contained in her sword felt rather murderous.

Regardless of whether she understood what Gu Yangcheon was going through or not, the lady whispered.

“Let us enjoy ourselves.”

Gu Yangcheon spoke lifelessly on seeing her smile.

“This isn’t it… seriously.”

The person getting into her stance with her sword in front of Gu Yangcheon…

…Why is everyone out to get me?

Was the Plum Blossom Sword herself.