Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Swish.

The night was thick with killing intent, shrouding the cold winter in an oppressive silence.

Henan.

A black cloud drifted slowly towards Henan, moving like a sinister omen.

“Hehe…”

Within the nasty, murky cloud, an old man with white hair chuckled—a dry, raspy voice sound escaping his scarred throat.

The old man was the Black Dragon, a name that once struck fear across the Central Plains. After unifying the Unorthodox Faction for the first time, he tried to seize control of the whole of Central Plains, starting from Sichuan.

“It’s Henan.”

In the distance, buildings lit up the night. It was the domain of the Murim Alliance and Shaolin, the heart of the Orthodox Faction.

The Henan Palace.

The Black Dragon’s chuckle deepened as the palace came into view. How long had it been since he’d last laid on this place? And how long had he yearned to set foot on this land again?

“Great King.”

A man appeared behind the Black Dragon, kneeling as he presented a letter.

“A letter for you, Great King.”

“So fast. They must be desperate.”

The letter was from the one who had summoned the him here. The Black Dragon  could tell from the tone of the letter.  Something had either stirred them up or maybe something had happened to their child.

After reading the letter, he tucked it away, and then turned to his follower.

“Set up a formation. We’ll need to wait for a while.”

“Your wish is my command!”

Those lurking in the fog sprang into action at the Black Dragon’s command, setting up defenses despite the risk of being detected so close to the Murim Alliance’s territory. The Black Dragon, however, showed no concern.

“How about you join them, instead of just standing there?”

The Black Dragon’s shifted toward a figure with dark, brooding eyes. The man stared back, unflinching.

“I am not your servant, Great King.”

The Black Dragon smirked at the Palace Lord.

“I brought you here to repay your dues, and yet you stand there sulking..”

“What made you think that it was a good idea for you to come to Henan?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“This is Murim Alliance territory. You’ve been hiding in the shadows all this time—why show yourself now?”

The Palace Lord couldn’t wrap his around the old man’s recklessness. It was utterly ineddicient.

The Black Dragon simply smiled, his voice dripping with amusement.

“It’s because the time is ripe.”

“…Ripe?”

“If you are so worried, then why did you decide to follow me? Palace Lord.”

“…”

“Hehe, I could see it all. You have hopes for it, correct? The hope for you to find something that could break the Shackle on you.”

The Black Palace Lord frowned at the Black Dragon’s words.

It was because he had hit the mark.

The Palace Lord, along with the other Four Emperors and Five Kings, couldn’t set foot in the lands of the Orthodox Faction because they belonged to the Unorthodox Faction.

No, it was now the Four Emperors and Four Kings, as one had died.

“Even with that mysterious power of yours, I suppose you can’t do anything about the Shackle on you?”

“Watch your words.”

Crack.

A black aura started to rise from the Palace Lord’s body.

Despite a threatening aura coming out from him, the Black Palace continued to smile.

“Are you still trying to escape the grasp of the Shackle that the Tiger Warrior put on you?”

Following the Black Dragon’s words,

Swoooosh!

The aura rising from the Palace Lord’s body surged into a large shape and charged at the Black Dragon. But before it could strike,

Pss…

the black aura disintegrated into dust, scattering with the wind as if it had never existed.

All it took was a small hand gesture from the Black Dragon.

“How about you pick the right opponent, if you want to flail.”

“…Great King…!”

“I only accepted you because I was interested in the darkness you possess. Are you not aware of who you are going against?”

Crack.

The Palace Lord clenched his fist, pulling back his Qi at the Black Dragon’s words.

In the past, during the time the Tiger Warrior for the people of the Orthodox Faction, and the Flaming Demon for the people of the Unorthodox Faction were active in the Central Plains, there was a time when the Tiger Warrior made a visit to each and every one of the Four Emperors and Five Kings due to his hatred for them.

No one knew of this encounter, but it remained a humiliating secret for the Four Emperors and Five Kings, one they never wanted to be revealed.

Yet, the Palace Lord remembered it all too well.

-Leave the Central Plains, and never enter my sight ever again.

The young martial artist’s heat was hotter than any flame, but instead of killing the Palace Lord, he placed a Shackle on him and let him live.

Why though?

The Palace Lord never understood why the Flaming Demon spared him that day.

He wondered if it was because the Flaming Demon wanted to see him flail pathetically.

Whichever it was, the Shackle’s power was overwhelming, forcing the Palace Lord to live like a coward until he found his Heaven.

Even after receiving new power through a blessing, he could only suppress the Shackle, never fully breaking free of it.

The Palace Lord had believed he could kill the Flaming Demon if they met again, but unlike his expectation, he came stronger than before.

One of the Hundred Masters of the Central Plains?

What a joke.

Such a monster like him wasn’t just a mere master of the Central Plains.

The same was true for the figure before him now.

The old man, who should have vanished in death, had instead become an even greater darkness.

“Are you done thinking?”

“…I hope that you don’t forget about our promise.”

Chuckle.

“Of course. After this is done, I shall get rid of the Shackle in your body.”

The Palace Lord wondered what this old man could do when even his Heaven couldn’t get rid of his Shackle, but he had no other choice but to believe him.

The Black Dragon turned away from the Palace Lord and looked at Henan once again.

The lights that shone brightly despite the late hour were still beautiful, captivating the Black Dragon’s gaze.

It was splendid.

The light was so beautiful that it tempted him want to get rid of it all.

“When will you start?”

“Start huh… Yes, a month from now should be fine.”

“Pardon?”

A month of preparation?

The Palace Lord couldn’t understand why it would take so long.

Noticing the Palace Lord’s confusion, the Black Dragon immediately provided an answer.

“Their side also asked me to wait after all.”

The Black Dragon recalled the contents of the letter he had read earlier.

He was asked to wait, as something needed to be done beforehand.

Though it’s rude for that young blood to ask such a thing.

How dare he tell him to wait.

It was disrespectful, but the Black Dragon knew that the child would turn into a big darkness in the future, so he decided to let him off the hook.

“More than that,”

Clack.

The Black Dragon held a marble in his hand, lost in thought.

“I should wait, as I was told that the reinforcements will take some time to arrive.”

“Reinforcements?

Someone else is coming?”

“It might have been safe to proceed if only the Qinghai Sword was present, but unfortunately, I’ve heard the Sword Queen is there as well.”

“So who did you call then?”

The Black Palace spoke in an offended tone.

Even with him, the need for reinforcements meant that he alone wasn’t enough.

After hearing the Palace Lord, the Black Dragon looked back at him with a strange gaze.

“It seems like you still didn’t let go of your pride and guilty conscience. This is why you aren’t able to escape the grasp of the Tiger Warrior.”

Hearing the Black Dragon’s words, the Palace Lord formed hundreds of sharp blades with his black aura.

They were hidden in the darkness of nighttime.

The dense aura once again charged right towards the Black Dragon.

However…

Crack.

The Black Dragon’s hand was quicker.

“Ugh…!”

“You weren’t like this in the past. I wonder what brought you to this state.”

Was it his Inner Demons, or the Palace Lord’s relentless pursuit of his desires?

The Black Dragon didn’t know, nor did he care to find out.

He just hoped that the Palace Lord wouldn’t fully lose himself before he’d used him to the fullest.

A figure like him was a hassle to hide, after all.

“You said you’re curious who the reinforcement is?”

Swish.

A cold breeze began to flow.

Carried by the wind, tinged with the scent of blood, the Black Dragon spoke in his dry voice.

“Dark King.”

“…!”

The Palace Lord’s eyes widened at the Black Dragon’s response.

He was one of the Seven Night Assassins’ chiefs, and the king of assassins who had never failed a mission.

The Dark King.

He was making his way towards Henan.

“With him involved, there won’t be any failures. You only have one task, so remember that.”

The Black Dragon removed his hand from the Palace Lord’s neck and walked away.

For some reason, it felt as if his body gradually became bigger, ever since the moon came up.

“That girl with the Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity. The blood relative of Tang Clan.”

The Poison Phoenix, Tang Soyeol.

“All you have to do is capture that girl and bring it to me. It’s a very easy task.”

“…The Poison Phoenix? Not the descendant of the Sword Emperor?”

The Palace Lord briefly knew of the Black Dragon enmity towards the Sword Emperor, which was why he couldn’t understand.

The Black Dragon answered with a chuckle.

“Hehe… Unlike you, I’m not blinded by my desire for revenge for me to mess up my plans.”

“…”

Leaving the now-silent Palace Lord behind, the Black Dragon walked off into the forest.

The Formation was already in place.

All that remained was to wait for the events that would unfold.

This isn’t a bad opening act to let everyone know of my resurrection.

To let the world know that I*, the Black Dragon, is alive, wiping out the Heavenly Dragon filled with the Orthodox Faction’s hopes and future, isn’t a bad idea at all.*

The reactions of everyone will be amusing after killing a ton of Young Prodigies.

But I wonder what kind of expression you’ll make.

When the Central Plains are drenched in blood once again, all because he failed to finish the job.

Wi Hyogun.

The Black Dragon was very curious about what expression his old friend would make.

After entering the forest, the Black Dragon leaned against a huge tree and closed his eyes.

It was where the moon couldn’t be seen.

It really isn’t long from now.

he thought, eyes shut.

He will not fail this time.

The Sword Queen’s presence was unexpected, but the Dark King was called for her, and the Black Dragon found a way to avoid the sight of the Heavenly Eye.

As long as he acted cautiously to avoid the Harmonic Sword, his plan would not fail.

As long as…

No one like Wi Hyogun was present at the Heavenly Dragon Academy at this time.

******************It had already been a month since I started attending the Academy.

It meant that I repeated this tedious routine about thirty times already.

If I had to pick one thing to complain about, it would be the constant reminder each morning that I had to endure this for an entire year.

What even is hands-on training?

I heard that in a week, we’d be doing hands-on training to practice what we’d learned in lessons.

I was working pretty hard since there was a risk of getting suspended if I skipped training.

Though I don’t mind the lessons.

As I’ve always said, it’s unlikely anyone here knows more about Demons than I do.

And if there were, it would be one of the instructors. There’s no way I’d fail a test on Demons designed for students.

Thanks to that…

-The True Dragon has a violent personality, but he is also smart.

Rumors like that were spreading again.

Like, everything is fine.

But couldn’t they just say I’m smart?

Why did they have to add the violent personality part as well?

How absurd, seriously.

I seriously need to find the person who spread the rumor and fold them into a rectangle.

Who’s bastard was getting on my nerves?

I will find you, no matter what.

Sigh.

A sigh naturally left my mouth.

The rumors, the stares, the fact that I had to stay here for a year—all of it annoyed me. But there was something that irritated me even more.

“…Fuck, how do I do this?’

I was currently by the Head’s building.

I was sitting in the field of grass where I talked with Wi Seol-Ah last time.

My goal was the same as before.

To find the secret vault in the basement of the Heavenly Dragon Academy, and I was searching for a way to break through the Formation.

However,

I can’t feel it…!

I wasn’t able to find the Formation that I felt last time.

Back then, it was clearly visible when Wi Seol-Ah was fidgeting with it.

After waving my hand in the air for some time,

No way…

I frowned as a thought crossed my mind.

…Can I not do it alone?

Wi Seol-Ah had guided my hand to find it.

Does that mean I can’t find the Formation on my own?

That’s a bit problematic.

I thought that all I needed to do was find it again since I knew the location of it, but it was a serious problem if I needed help.

Should I bring Wi Seol-Ah right now?

It might confuse her, but I needed to make a quick decision.

I didn’t have too much time.

Glance.

I turned my gaze to the Head’s building behind me.

I have to finish before he comes back.

The Qinghai Sword wasn’t in his room at the moment.

It was because of the ‘request’ I made to the Sword Queen.

…But I don’t know where Wi Seol-Ah is. What do I do?

If I had known this would happen, I would’ve brought Wi Seol-Ah with me.

I thought I was going to be able to find it alone since I felt it last time.

What should I do?

I wasn’t sure if I had enough time to run back and bring Wi Seol-Ah here.

But it was also impossible for me to cause an explosion in this place while also hiding the recoil that would form from it.

In order to break the Formation, I would need something powerful as the Flaming Sphere.

But if I used that, there’s no way the Qinghai Sword wouldn’t notice the explosion.

Tsk.

I was in a situation where I wasn’t able to do anything.

But I couldn’t afford to just space out.

I didn’t even have the time to hesitate.

In the end, right as I was about to leave to go find Wi Seol-Ah,

“What are you doing here?”

I heard a voice from behind me.

“…What, are you observing ants or something?”

I failed to notice their presence.

Damn.

I remembered just now.

Some unknown power from a treasure, or perhaps another source, had dulled my senses in this place.

When I quickly turned my head around, I saw a person staring at me with a strange expression.

“…What are you doing here?”

When I asked with a speechless tone, the bastard mirrored my expression.

“That’s what I want to ask you.”

Standing there was a tall young man,  I had to tilt my head up to meet his eyes.

Tall height, a handsome face, and a somewhat tired expression.

The young man with the Wudang’s outfit, was a bastard I was very familiar with.

Seeing him, I questioned him again.

“Why are you here?”

The Water Dragon, Woohyuk.

The bastard was watching me.