Childhood Friend of the Zenith

It had been a day since I arrived in Henan.

As we had departed early on purpose, I had around four days to spare before I had to enter the Heavenly Dragon Academy.

Well, even though I had a few days to spare, I didn’t really have anything I needed to do.

“Ugh…”

“Your posture is getting sloppy. Do it properly.”

“Ough…!”

A groaning sound could be heard from beneath me.

Gu Jeolyub was doing push-ups and I was sitting on top of the bastard.

“Put more strength into your arms.”

“Ough…!”

“Good, now let’s increase the weight.”

“No, wait…!”

Thud!

“Agh!”

The instant I increased my weight using Qi, Gu Jeolyub faltered and collapsed to the ground.

“Tsk tsk, how can a man not even endure this much?”

“…No ordinary man… can endure this…”

“Muyeon was just fine.”

“…Ngh.”

When I compared him with Muyeon, Gu Jeolyub seemed bothered but didn’t show much of a reaction.

It seemed like Muyeon had been on Gu Jeolyub’s mind lately and because I knew that, all I could do was just stare.

It’s likely because of Gu Sunmoon.

Ever since Gu Changjun had passed away, the First Army’s Captain and the First Elder had been managing Gu Sunmoon as Lords, but Gu Sunmoon would need a proper Lord to lead it one day and the person who was most likely to be appointed, was either Muyeon or Gu Jeolyub.

To begin with, both of them were raised and taught in Gu Sunmoon, furthermore, they were also quite talented. So, there was a high chance that one of them would be appointed as the future Lord of Gu Sunmoon.

Though there were obviously many other martial artists belonging to Gu Sunmoon, none of them was as talented or had the potential as these two.

Originally, Gu Jeolyub would’ve had the highest chance.

Putting aside the matters of possibility, originally Gu Jeolyub should’ve been the one to receive the position of the Young Lord of Gu Sunmoon. But all thanks to Gu Changjun meeting a dishonorable death after betraying the clan, it became difficult for his kin, Gu Jeolyub to be given the position of Lord.

Hmm…

It also seemed like Gu Jeolyub wanted to earn that spot through his own efforts, instead of receiving it simply due to lineage.

But that was quite the difficult task.

He has Muyeon as his competitor after all.

He was a rather difficult opponent.Whether it came to talent, prowess, or even nature, Muyeon always had the upper hand.

Is he trying to improve because he knows that?

If that was the case, I could cheer him on.

Moreover, wasn’t this arguably a form of support?

I have to make him work hard for his own good.

Hmph, it’s definitely not because I’m not fond of him or anything.

It wasn’t because of that at all.

After all, I’m not that narrow-minded.

“Alright, since we brought it up, how about we go for a spar?”

“…What do you mean bring it up? That’s so random.”

“You like the idea as well? I’m glad.”

“…”

Gu Jeolyub looked like he had just swallowed a bug.

You piece of…? I’m doing this to help you.

And in the process, I would also get to relieve some of my pent-up stress, so wasn’t it perfect?

As I was about to grab the unwilling Gu Jeolyub by his neck and drag him to the backyard, I stopped after I felt a sudden presence.

“Young Master?”

Gu Jeolyub muttered in confusion.

“Pardon me.”

But hearing the voice from behind us, seemed to clear up his confusion..

“You woke up.”

Not even bothering to turn around, I responded to the voice.

“Yes, embarrassingly, I just regained consciousness.”

“I don’t think I hit you that hard.”

“Haha, the journey here was rather long…”

When I turned my head slightly to get a glance, as I expected, it was none other than Yung Pung.

“It has been a while, Brother Gu.”

“Indeed. It’s been a while.”

Hmm, was it around two years since my last visit to Mount Hua?

Compared to back then, Yung Pung had changed a lot.

Not only had he grown taller, but his body had also developed to that of an adult’s, making him look like a proper martial artist.

“Hmm…”

Still, I couldn’t help but frown as soon as I saw Yung Pung’s face.

How annoying, he’s still as handsome as ever.

I said this before, but gifted bastards always seemed to have handsome faces.

Which was rather annoying.

On top of that…

When I observed Yung Pung’s body, I could sense it immediately.

He overcame his wall.

I wasn’t able to observe him properly the day before, but Yung Pung had overcome his wall and reached the Peak Realm.

Seeing that, I smirked without realizing it.

Hah! It seems like everyone and their dogs are overcoming it.

I was an exception since I was a special case, but how were these bastards able to overcome the wall that easily?

The Peak Realm was a level that was barely achievable even after a lifetime of training.

It was a process of Qi breaking into the middle Dantian and the body becoming one with Qi.

And because it was a level that required one to break through their shell, it wasn’t something that was achievable through sheer effort alone.

…This is why I hate geniuses.

Just because I gave them a little push, they broke through it so easily, so how could I not feel stressed?

And from what I knew, Yung Pung hadn’t even reached the age of twenty yet.

Isn’t he younger than Namgung Bi-ah by a year or two?

Despite that, Yung Pung had reached the Peak Realm in just a span of two years.

Well, considering that he was already a First-rate martial artist when I last saw him, it wasn’t all that strange that Yung Pung reached the Peak Realm.

“Haha…”

Noticing my gaze, Yung Pung scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Seeing that, I opened my mouth.

“...Congratulations.”

“Thank you…! It was all thanks to Brother Gu!”

“What did I do?”

“Though I didn’t realize at the time, I know that you helped me.”

“Hmm…”

My face couldn’t help but sour at his words.

I helped him, huh?

Technically, it could have been called ‘help’, but honestly, I just beat him up because I wasn’t fond of him back then.

They really knew their stuff when they said that geniuses gained enlightenment just by tripping on a rock.

“I didn’t even do all that much.”

That was the truth, because all I did was just beat him up.

Yung Pung just smiled in response and brought up a different matter.

“I thought I worked fairly hard… but after seeing you, I realized that I still have a long way to go.”

“…”

It was a rather uncomfortable compliment.

Moreover, that meant that Yung Pung was at a level where he could somewhat read my level.

As expected, guys who had the potential to fly, will spread their wings no matter what.

Yung Pung was just one of those with the potential to fly.

“But why did you do that yesterday?”

Putting this matter aside, I couldn’t understand why he caused that incident yesterday.

“…Ah.”

“I didn’t think you were someone like that. Did you perhaps wake up on the wrong side of the bed?”

I heard that Yung Pung was the one who drew his sword firstand started the fight. I don’t think he had any ill intentions, but since he chose to fight using Qi on a crowded street, it was a problem.

Hearing my reprimanding question, Yung Pung put on a sheepish smile.

It seemed like he also realized that he had messed up.

“…I was too greedy.”

“Greedy?”

“Yes. Ever since I overcame my wall, I’ve been having a hard time calming myself down.”

I felt like I could somewhat understand Yung Pung’s answer.

The process of Qi smearing into his body gave him energy and because of that, his Combat Qi was spilling out. But no matter the circumstances, in the end, it was still his fault for not being able to control it.

Starting a fight because he was drunk on his Qi wasn’t a smart thing to do..

Because he knew that, Yung Pung slowly lowered his head towards me.

“Thank you. I’m once again indebted to you.”

“There’s no need to thank me.”

Back then, I wasn’t the only one observing the fight, and judging by how she appeared right after, it was highly likely that the Sword Queen was observing them as well.

Still, I wonder why she chose not to stop the fight though. Maybe it was because a martial artist from the Kunlun Sect was observing them as well?.

If I remember correctly the Qinghai Sword is the Head of the Heavenly Dragon Academy this time around.

The Qinghai Sword.

He was one of the Ten Masters of the Central Plains.

I heard that the Kunlun Sect would be managing the Academy this time, so that seemed to be the reason.

I wonder what would’ve happened if I had decided not to intervene at the time.

I guess I could’ve stopped them myself.

I only smacked their heads and made them faint because I was pissed off, but I could’ve probably stopped them without having to do that.

That wouldn’t have been a bad choice either.

“Anyway, why is the Sword Queen here?”

“Ah…”

Hearing my question, Yung Pung gave me an awkward look.

Was that a question I wasn’t supposed to ask him?

“We came together because she said that she… has some business here.”

Business, huh?

Judging his reaction, it seemed like he couldn’t tell me what it was.

I wasn’t able to really talk to the Sword Queen either because she left right after carrying Yung Pung yesterday.

“Then, are you the only student who came here?”

“N-No, I came with other seniors as well.”

I nodded hearing Yung Pung’s response.

It was as expected.

From what I knew, there were a few Third Generation Students around Yung Pung’s age.And surely Yung Pung wasn’t the only one invited to the Academy.

However, passing the test is an entirely different story.

As I was lost in my thoughts, Yung Pung lowered his head once more.

“I came here today because I heard that you were here, and I wanted to greet you while also expressing my gratitude..”

“You didn’t have to go out of the way to do that. And doesn’t your neck hurt?”

“…It’s fine.”

Looking at his reaction, it seemed like it still hurt.

Did I hit him too hard?

Anyway, since he reached Peak Realm, he’ll heal quickly.

“Khm. Uh, she’s doing well... right?”

“? Who… Oh, are you talking about Senior Gu?”

“That’s right.”

Seeing that her master, the Sword Queen was here, I was curious about what my little sister was doing alone.

“She is constantly busy.”

“Busy?”

“That’s right. Her master may not be present, but she is receiving a lot of attention from her seniors.”Judging from Yung Pung’s answer, it seemed like she was receiving a lot of love.

I’m glad.

We did exchange letters occasionally, but I was still a bit concerned as her letter contained a bit of resentment thanks to me knocking her out before I left last time. I also wasn’t able to go all the way there to visit her.

As I was once again lost in my thoughts Yung Pung spoke up.

“I’m glad that I was able to meet you, even if it was for a while.”

“You are leaving?”

“My seniors are waiting for me, I don’t think I can stay any longer.”

It seemed like he had really come just to greet me.

As I watched Yung Pung about to leave without regret, I spoke up.

“Do you want me to return it?”

I was referring to the item that was currently in my possession, the item Yung Pung had given me before I left Mount Hua last time.

Knowing that I would run into him here, I brought it along with me, but Yung Pung looked shocked after hearing me, as if he hadn’t expected me to remember.

Before long he regained his composure and shook his head lightly.

“I want you to hold onto it for now.”

“…Then when should I return it?”

I didn’t have some odd hobby of holding onto another dude’s stuff, did I?

Meanwhile, Yung Pung put on a serious expression and spoke with a determined voice.

“I want you to return it once I reach a level that is equivalent to yours. “

“…Oh.”

Looking at his expression, he seemed to be really honest.

…But it was rather mortifying.

I wasn’t strong when it came to things like this, so it was a bit difficult for me.

I didn’t know what his goal was, but out of all people, why did he choose me?

“That might be a bit hard, you know.”

I gave him a realistic answer.

However, Yung Pung only gave me a bigger smile as if he was satisfied with my response.

“I knew you would say that.”

He seemed to have taken it the wrong way, but I guess it was fine since he looked happy…

“I’m happy that I was able to meet you again, Brother Gu.”

“…I’m happy that you feel happy.”

“If time permits, I’ll come see you again.”

“You don’t need to bother if you are bus- “

Showing his respect one last time, Yung Pung left quickly, without even hearing my response properly.

He’ll visit me again?

Fair. We’ll be seeing each other again once we both pass the test anyway.

Unless a natural disaster occurred, there was no way that Yung Pung wouldn’t pass the test and the same could be said for me as well, so it was likely that we would run into each other once we passed.

Be it Yung Pung or that bastard, Woo Hyuk.

Seeing Yung Pung leave, I was about to move when I heard a voice from below me.

“Young Master…”

“Hmm?”

“…Can you… stand up now?”

“Eh? Oh, right.”

Only after hearing Gu Jeolyub’s voice did I realize that I had been using him as a chair the entire time.

“Khm. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

Feeling bad for him I stood up and Gu Jeolyub struggled to pick himself up.

Wait, was I using Jeolyub as a chair the whole time I was speaking to Yung Pung?

And wasn’t it weirder how Yung Pung didn’t care about it at all…?

“…Ough. I’m fine now. We shall return as wel— “

“Where are you going? We still have our spar left.”

“…”

“Oi, bastard, don’t you dare pretend you didn’t hear me. Follow me.”

“…Shit.”

“What did you say?”

“N-Nothing. I-I just… stepped on some shit. Yes, I stepped on shit.”

“Who are you trying to bullshit? I know you swore at me. You got a death wish?”

“You heard it all, so why even pretend like you didn—Agh!”

Gu Jeolyub rolled off like a ball from my kick.

This fucker! He’s getting worse and worse as days go by.

I kicked a few more times rolling him towards the backyard and then began our fun sparring session.

Oh, also so that no one would hear Gu Jeolyub’s screams, I made sure to set up a sturdy Qi barrier.