Childhood Friend of the Zenith

The daily routine at the Heavenly Dragon Academy wasn’t too complicated.

Students were required to complete two hours of morning training after waking up.

Then, they would have lunch and begin their military training.

Instructors were assigned to students based on their intellectual level, and they had the choice to either conduct lessons or engage in a completely different type of training. Personally hated the lessons the most.

“Therefore… in order to deal with the blue Demons, you must destroy  their Demonic Stone so that they die for sure and reduce the risk of explo- “

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this.

It was only worse because I already knew everything.

I’m sure the other students had already learned all of this from their clans and Sects, making these lessons hell for everyone.

They all had their mouths shut, but they were probably fighting for their lives in their minds.

Fighting against drowsiness that is.

“Ugh…”

Pe Woocheol, sitting next to me, kept pinching his thigh to stay awake.

He might start bleeding if he keeps it up -

…I think he already is.

Hmm…

I wondered why lessons like these were needed for killing mere Demons, but when I thought about it, they were.

Knowledge like this was crucial in a world where people fought Demons, not yet each other.

…Truthfully, I did have some regrets.

When I became a Demonic Human, or even before that, during my time in the Murim Alliance, I nearly died to Demons more than once or twice because I lacked knowledge about them.

Of course, I was fine now, having built up experience through brute force.

I’ve built up a ton alright.

I even got to count how many fangs a red Demon had in its mouth when I was inside it.

To be honest, instructors could teach about green and blue Demons, but how could they teach about red Demons?

There was no solution to it.

No martial artist in this current timeline had ever encountered red Demons.

A Gate of Demons at such an extreme level hasn’t opened yet, after all.

This meant that the only person who knew about red Demons in this timeline was me.

However, that would only be true if I was the only one who had regressed.

All of it was pointless because of that.

That was also why the students barely paid attention during these lessons.

They were not only capable of defeating green Demons, but they were easily able to win against blue Demons if they were over First-rate and didn’t let their guards down.

Some blue Demons might possess special powers, but they still didn’t pose much threat if these Young Prodigies used their Qi.

They basically weren’t dangerous at all.

I, too, probably wouldn’t have any trouble with them as long as they don’t charge at me from every direction all at once.

It might be a different story if some of them were different in any way, but even when I was in the Frontlines for more than a year, I never ran into any trouble.

They were actually a great help to me as I was able to feed the bastard in my stomach.

The most dangerous moment I faced there was probably when Gu Huibi got mad at me.

That said, the current world was at peace.

Demons still existed, and the Gate of Demons continued to open regularly, but the world had learned how to deal with them swiftly.

It still caused harm to ordinary people, but by now, they had accepted it as part of life.

They simply told themselves they were unlucky.

The world of peace?

In my eyes, it was the world of oblivion instead.

Everyone had deluded themselves into thinking it was fine to live in this world, as it had been this way for centuries.

Not that I care.

I already knew what kind of world I was living in.

I turned my head to observe others.

The room was filled with students struggling against drowsiness.

They sought a more comfortable life by building connections and bringing honor to their clans and Sects, but no one knew.

Once the calamity is brought down to the world, everything would be destroyed.

Whether green or blue, the red Demons were leagues above them, making these lessons irrelevant.

The red ones will appear in two to three years from now.

They began to appear in groups after the Heavenly Demon;s arrival, but the time of their first appearance wasn’t too long from now.

Where was the location again?

Was it Sichuan, or was it Seo-Ahn?

Or, if neither, was it Qinghai instead?

The Central Plains were shaken when a red Demon appeared for the first time in ages, but I wasn’t able to remember it clearly as it’s been a long time.

“Tsk.”

It was important information, but I’d forgotten it.

…Once the red Demon appears, the formation of many armies will break.

No one could fight against red Demons unless they were at Peak Realm, and at the end level of it at that.

How many perfected Peak Realm martial artists were there in the Central Plains?

Barely over a thousand.

Only a thousand martial artists in the Central Plains capable of fighting red Demons.

Could such a small number be able to endure the red Demons’ onslaught?

They only managed to stop them after forming a proper system, but by then, the world was already in flames.

It’s a problem.

If I could somehow stop the Heavenly Demon from appearing, I could prevent all of this from happening.

But if I failed, everything would unfold just like in my past life.

Creak.

The chair creaked loudly as I leaned back.

I closed my eyes and began to think.

I need to start spreading information, little by little.

Information about the red Demons’ weakness.

It was necessary to slowly spread that information to the world.

Of course, only those who believe me will believe it, as I had no proof of encountering them.

But I had to do it regardless.

Should I let the Beggar’s Sect know?

The Hao Clan might be better for this.

“…ther.”

Or, maybe I should tell the clans or Sects ab—

“Brother.”

“…Oh.”

As I was deep in thought, a rough voice snapped me back to reality.

“Are you okay?”

It was Pe Woocheol.

“What the? Are we done?”

“Yes, it just ended.”

It seemed like the lesson had come to an end.

I heard it would take two hours, but it flew by since I’d spaced out.

“You don’t have the best look on your face right now. Are you okay, brother?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

I felt stiff.

I hadn’t been able to focus during the lesson, so I ended up spacing out more.

I don’t have a day to relax, since I still have to do training.

Ever since I found the location that seemed to be the secret vault, I’d been using my free mornings for solo training.

I still wasn’t fully healed from my injury, but I could train again since most of it had recovered.

Even so, it was only mental training for now.

It’s not easy.

I needed to raise my level as quickly as possible.

My impatience was making it harder to overcome my wall.

It was a strange thing.

I feel like I meet all the conditions for it.

My physical strength was still a bit lacking, but my Qi was enough.

It would be odd for me to lack Qi after devouring all sorts of things.

This much should allow me to overcome my wall,

So where am I getting stuck?

Yet, I still couldn’t overcome it.

I thought about why I couldn’t overcome my wall, then I remembered—I hadn’t reached the Fusion Realm in a normal way in my past life.

…Ugh.

Instead of reaching that level through many enlightenments and a long time of training, I forced my way there using the Qi I gained from my Demonic Absorption Arts.

It was easy to say my Qi broke through the wall simply due to the sheer amount I possessed.

Given how I reached that level, it’s no wonder I’m struggling to overcome this barrier the normal way.

…Though this problem would be solved if I got my hands on the White Demonic Stone.

This issue wouldn’t exist if I absorbed the White Demonic Stone, but as I’ve said before, I wanted to absorb it after reaching Fusion Realm.

Only then would I be able to make full use of that stone.

I would lose more than I gained if I became too greedy.

Because of that, I had to be patient.

I’m out of time. This isn’t a good situation.

I couldn’t do what I did in the past.

If I did, I’d face the same outcome as before.

I had to find a normal way to increase my level from now on, but that only made me more anxious.

If only Elder Shin was here.

Ha.

I smirked when that thought passed by my mind.

I lived my past life doing whatever I desired, yet now I was seeking someone to teach me.

I still was good for nothing.

“Brother?”

“Yes, I’m tired. Let’s go eat.”

I stood up.

What’s the point of thinking about it if no answers come?

I’ll just continue to work hard.

Instead of wasting my time thinking about it, I need to use this time to do what I must.

I had no time to be demotivated.

What a great life this was, for fucks sake.

“Woocheol.”

“Yes, brother.”

“We didn’t learn anything too important, right?”

“Yes, as always, nothing too special.”

“…”

Wait, it might not be anything special to me, but wouldn’t it be different for you?

I looked at Pe Woocheol, speechless, when he suddenly clapped his hands, as if he’d just realized something.

Clap!

It was very loud due to how big his hands were.

“Oh, it wasn’t anything special… but the instructor told us to—“

“You were here.”

Just as Pe Woocheol was about to tell me something, someone appeared and cut him off.

“Hmm?”

When I checked to see who it was, I saw a handsome-looking face and a sword on his waist.

His outfit, symbolizing Wudang, was more than enough to tell me who it was.

“Haven’t we met before?”

The handsome man looked at me with a smile.

He was one of the few people in this world I could trust.

“…Water Dragon.”

The Water Dragon, Woohyuk.

“If it’s no trouble, would you like to eat together?”

A friend from my past life had come looking for me.

******************The Water Dragon, Woohyuk.

He was one of the few friends I had in my past life, and a Young Prodigy who ranked at the very top, even among the Dragons and Phoenixes.

He was the biggest hope of the Wudang Sect.

Despite his lazy and easygoing personality, he became sharp whenever he held his sword, which made him stand out.

One clear lesson I learned during the war against the Demonic Cult was that he wasn’t as lazy or easygoing as he appeared.

Instead, I was able to learn that he was always sharp.

The only reason so many people were able to survive in such dire situations, was thanks to Wi Seol-Ah, the Water Dragon, and Snow Phoenix, who tirelessly worked to save them.

-Give it three chances.

-Flame.

From time to time, I remembered his annoying face that always bugged me.

He must have enjoyed teasing me, always coming to taunt me.

His chuckling afterward only made him seem like a crazy bastard in my eyes.

He is a crazy bastard.

-Leave without me, I’ll follow you in a bit.

He was definitely a crazy bastard, sacrificing his own life for a worthless worm like me.

-Let’s have a drink when we meet again.

That memory haunted me to this day.

“Hey, did you know the rice here tastes really good?”

“Isn’t that meat…?”

“It’s good, would you like to try some?”

“…No, I’m good.”

A Taoist was eating meat.

As far as I knew, people from the Wudang Sect didn’t eat any kinds of meat.

Is that okay?

“…Senior Brother, please…”

A person who seemed to be his Junior Brother, was making a sobbing face.

As I expected, it wasn’t okay after all.

He stubbornly ate even with people stopping him though.

That was something I remembered from my past life.

I recalled a bastard from the Wudang Sect eating meat like it was nothing.

“Junior Brother.”

“…Yes?”

The Water Dragon began speaking seriously to Woo Eehyun, his Junior Brother from the Wudang Sect.

“Do you know what the most important rule of the Heavenly Dragon Academy is?”

“…What is it?”

“It’s to forget about your backgrounds, and to live as a student of the Academy.”

“So?”

“This means that as long as I’m here, I’m not a Taoist.”

“…Which means?”

“Doesn’t that mean I’m allowed to eat meat, since I’m not a Taoist?”

“…What do you think?”

“Tell the Head to come to me if he’s so annoyed by it!”

“Wow, he really is crazy.”

He even mentioned the Head of his Sect.

Was he really a martial artist from the Wudang Sect?

I nodded, watching him.

The younger Water Dragon was just as crazy as the one I knew.

So he’s been like this ever since birth. That makes me a bit glad.

Putting that aside…

“So, why did you look for me?”

“Hmm?”

I had to ask the necessary questions.

Meeting the Water Dragon at the Academy was one of my goals, but I hadn’t bothered seeking him out since I had so many other things to do. I didn’t expect him to visit me first.

Is he holding a grudge from the last time?

Peng Ah-hee mentioned the Water Dragon had asked about me.

I didn’t know why, but maybe he was upset about when I interfered in his fight with Yung Pung?

But that wouldn’t be like him, given his personality.

As far as I knew, he wasn’t the type to hold grudges.

“Surely you must have a reason for you to visit me.”

“Of course I do. But Young Expert Gu, may I ask you something first?”

“What?”

“Why are you talking to me in a formal way?”

The area around us grew silent after the Water Dragon finished speaking.

His words, in a way, sounded cold to some.

“As far as I know, I’m older than you.”

“That’s right.”

It was around two to three years.

The Water Dragon was indeed older than me.

“So why are you speaking informally to me?”

-So why are you speaking informally to me?

I heard the Water Dragon’s voice twice.

It was because we had the same conversation in my past life.

There was no way I spoke formally to the Water Dragon in my past life, as I was far more disrespectful back then.

The Water Dragon had asked me the same question back then.

However, I wasn’t able to back down due to my pride.

-You do it too if you’re unhappy with it.

It wouldn’t have been surprising if I had been beaten to death by any other martial artist.

It was essentially the same as a nameless weakling pretending to be strong and trying to start a fight.

Even though it wouldn’t have been strange for him to swing his fist, the Water Dragon just smirked.

“Fine then.”

He was no different from him in my past life.

He was cool with it and gave a short response.

This shocked the people around us.

Woo Eehyun looked at his Senior Brother with disgust, while others stared at me, wondering what my problem was.

Even if I had a shitty personality, I never was this disrespectful.

However, the Water Dragon continued to speak as if he wasn’t concerned about the gazes of others.

“Since we’ve dropped the formalities, does that make us friends?”

His being cool with everything made everyone speechless.

Seeing how he hadn’t changed from the Water Dragon I knew in my past life even made me smirk.

The bastard was the same as ever.

One thing was different, though,

-What are you talking about, won’t you screw off already?

“Yes.”

My response was different this time.

“…Huh? I didn’t expect you to accept my offer.”

The Water Dragon showed a shocked reaction.

I had no intention of refusing his offer in the first place…

Setting aside the Water Dragon, who for some reason seemed disappointed, I continued speaking.

“So, because we are friends, I’ll ask this. Why did you come looking for me?”

“To come see my friend of course?”

“Save your jokes for later.”

I had no intention of letting him off the hook.

“So that means you’ll listen to my jokes later?”

“Will you tell me after I beat you up or before?”

“Why don’t I have the choice of telling you without getting beaten up at all…?”

The Water Dragon smiled after falling silent.

The others around us watched our conversation, wondering what kind of nonsense this was.

They looked as if they were wondering how things could progress this way.

I didn’t know either.

It has been like this ever since my past life.

“It’s not anything special,”

The Water Dragon’s expression turned serious as he got straight to the point.

“I happened to hear that you were forming a clique of your own.”

“…What?”

I frowned at his words.

Clique? My clique?

What clique?

I stared at the Water Dragon, baffled by his sudden nonsense, but he continued speaking without giving me time to think.

“Let me in it.”

“In my clique…?”

The Water Dragon nodded.

His request was so nonsensical that it left me confused.

He came all this way just to ask if he could join my clique?

He came to me for such a retarded reason…?

Why, though?

He was probably the least interested person in the Heavenly Dragon Academy, so I struggled to understand why he’d come to me with such a request.

“What do you think?”

Because the Water Dragon wasn’t speaking quietly, every student around us had their gazes on us.

After all, the Water Dragon was trying to join the clique of the brutal True Dragon.

After seeing him speak with such eyes, I suddenly had an idea.

It wasn’t anything special, but I wanted to tease him a little.

It would also be nice if I could squash a rumor about me in the process.

“…Sorry, but I can’t accept you in my clique.”

“…!”

The Water Dragon’s eyes widened in surprise at my refusal, as if he hadn’t expected it.

“W-Why?”

“I’m not the one in charge of making those decisions.”

“What?”

“My clique… uh… um…”

I thought for a few seconds, but I couldn’t afford to think for too long.”

“Y-Yes, if you want to join the CheolYang Cheol Clique, you must get approved by our leader.”

“…CheolYang Cheol Clique? Your leader?”

By the way, I came up with the name CheolYang Cheol by combining Cheol Jiseon’s ‘Cheol’, Gu Yangcheon’s ‘Yang’, and Pe Woocheol’s ‘Cheol’.

I regretted it immediately though.

Surely, I could’ve thought of a better name than that dumb one.

“Brother, we had a name like th- …Urgh!”

Pe Woocheol tried to question me, so I pressed my foot against his to silence him.

-The True Dragon… wasn’t the leader?

-Then who is it? The person capable of controlling that brutal True Dragon?

The area around us became rowdy.

It was because I hadn’t set up a sound barrier before speaking.

By the way, Moyong Hi-ah, Tang Soyeol, and Namgung Bi-ah didn’t even bother looking this way.

They seemed to have already realized I was up to something nonsensical.

They knew all too well.

Putting on a serious expression, I spoke to the Water Dragon.

“…The Mad Dog, Cheol Jiseon.”

“…!”

“He is the leader of our CheolCheol Yang Cliq- “

“Brother, wasn’t it Cheolyang Cheol instead?”

“…If you want to join the CheolYang Cheol Clique, you must get approval from him.”

The Water Dragon’s eyes widened at my response.

Was he really that shocked?

After rolling his eyes around for a moment, the Water Dragon responded.

“…Who is that?”

“It’s a guy.”

The Water Dragon’s reaction couldn’t be any lamer, but that wasn’t the case for everyone around us.

Another rumor about the Mad Dog Cheol Jiseon was about to spread.