Childhood Friend of the Zenith
Chapter 380: Good Work (1)

An overwhelming presence.

The man now clearly understood what that meant.

Due to the heat pouring out from Gu Cheolun’s body, breathing became difficult, the crickets singing in the grass were silenced, and the wild animals nearby escaped the area.

Rustle.

It was still a cold spring, but the whole area was engulfed in heat.

Moyong Tae spoke under the suffocatingly heated air while gazing at his opponent.

“…Tiger Warrior.”

Gu Cheolun gazed at Moyong Tae and his black eyes and hair slowly turned red.

Not only that, his presence also grew as well.

Moyong Tae hid his shock after seeing Gu Cheolun’s current state.

Was the Tiger Warrior always this strong?

Rumors said that he, the Tiger Warrier who previously ruled the Central Plains, was past his prime, and yet, his presence was utterly overwhelming.

Does that mean he was hiding his strength?

Moyong Tae couldn’t understand why Gu Cheolun would hide his strength, but he could, at the very least, grasp his true power.

As a martial artist who was active around the same time as Gu Cheolun, it was impossible not to know of the Tiger Warrior’s past achievements.

At the time, Gu Cheolun was known to be the strongest Heavenly Dragon back when he was a Young Prodigy.

He was the youngest person to become the Captain of the Heavenly Dragon Army, the Alliance’s number one unit.

The Sword Emperor, who was the Alliance Leader at the time, even stated that the Tiger Warrior would become the Zenith in the future.

All martial artists in the Central Plains have had a dream of becoming the Zenith.

The Sword Emperor, who was the closest to the position, stated that the Tiger Warrior would become the Zenith, so people held high hopes for him.

Their hopes continued up until the Heavenly Dragon Army was almost fully annihilated. In addition, the Sword Emperor then stepped down as the Alliance Leader, and the Tiger Warrior became Lord of the Gu Clan and made himself at home in Shanxi.

After time passed, people stopped talking about the Tiger Warrior, and the man who was renowned as a ferocious man who spread fear to the Unorthodox Faction was starting to be called the Lord of the Gu Clan instead.

When his daughter, the Sword Phoenix, started to make a name for herself, people started to believe that the Tiger warrior was past his prime, that he wasn’t able to recover from the wounds accumulated inside the Abyss.

These rumors continued to spread as Gu Cheolun almost never displayed his strength after he took up his position as Lord of the Gu Clan, with some exceptions, such as when the True Gate of Demons opened in Shanxi.

However…

…They were all false.

Moyong Tae became certain after seeing the current Gu Cheolun.

All of those rumors being spread in the Central Plains… were false.

The Gu Cheolun who stood in front of him wasn’t some martial artist who could just be considered as one of the Hundred Masters of the Central Plains.

The White Heavenly Sword, Moyong Tae was a Fusion Realm martial artist ranked among the Hundred Masters of the World.

Despite this fact, Moyong Tae was certain that he would lose against Gu Cheolun if they were to fight.

From Gu Cheolun’s overwhelming presence and heat alone, Moyong Tae was certain of his defeat.

This man, who bears such an unbelievable presence, is considered the same rank as himself?

That is nonsense.

Cggck-!

“…!”*

*

Moyong Tae placed his hand on his chest as the pressure in the air tightened.*

*

“White Heavenly Sword.”

“…Huff… Ugh…”

Gu Cheolun started walking towards Moyong Tae who started to sweat.

“I asked what you were doing.”

Gu Cheolun’s voice contained a dense anger.

Even though his tone didn’t change at all, he clearly displayed his anger.

“Aren’t you going to respond?”

“…Ugh…”

Rather than choosing not to respond, Moyong Tae couldn’t.

Without a care for Moyong Tae’s situation, Gu Cheolun slowly reached his hand out towards him.

Moyong Tae felt death approaching as Gu Cheolun’s big hand started to cover his vision.

Right as Gu Cheolun’s hand wrapped around Moyong Tae’s face,

“…Father.”

Pause.

Gu Cheolun froze after hearing Gu Yangcheon. Then, he turned his head towards him.

It has been almost a decade since Gu Yangcheon called him ‘Father’.

When Gu Cheolun froze, Gu Yangcheon walked towards him and spoke.

“I am fine.”

Gu Yangcheon too seemed like he was having a hard time breathing, judging by his voice, but he still continued to speak.

“The Lord of Moyong only wanted to give me a simple lesson. It’s a misunderstanding.”

“…”

Gu Cheolun stared at Gu Yangcheon for a moment.

His red eyes made Gu Yangcheon feel uncomfortable, but Gu Yancheon didn’t look away.

After a few seconds, Gu Cheolun retrieved his hand from Moyong Tae and stood back up.

Cough.

Moyong Tae was finally able to breathe once more.

It was only because Gu Cheolun withdrew his overwhelming heat and presence.

While staring at the heavily breathing Moyong Tae, Gu Cheolun spoke.

“White Heavenly Sword.”

At Gu Cheolun’s call, Moyong Tae wiped his cold sweat and looked up.

“Is that true?”

“…”

Moyong Tae thought about his answer for a moment. He wondered if it was acceptable for him to receive Gu Yangcheon’s help here, but he was afraid of what Gu Cheolun would do if he were to act pridefully.

He wondered if Gu Cheolun would really end his life, but Gu Cheolun’s action earlier made it seem like Gu Cheolun was seriously trying to kill him.

With that thought, Moyong Tae responded, clenching his mouth.

“…It is.”

“…”

Hearing Moyong Tae’s response, Gu Cheolyun took a step back, making a strange expression.

It looked as if he was creating some distance between them so that Moyong Tae could stand back up.

Then…

“I apologize. I misunderstood the situation.”

Gu Cheolun apologized with a calm tone.

The important thing about his apology was that he didn’t sound sorry at all.

He most likely knew that Gu Yangcheon covered for Moyong Tae.

Despite this, Gu Cheolun let it slide by apologizing, and Moyong Tae, who was also aware of this, stood up while biting his lips.

“…I’m also at fault for making the situation look so misleading. Don’t fault yourself.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

After an exchange of fake apologies and thanks, Moyong Tae gazed at Gu Yangcheon who was standing behind Gu Cheolun.

Gu Yangcheon looked back at him with a strange expression.

Right as Moyong started to wonder why he was doing so…

-…I’m sorry. If you aren’t satisfied with this, I will make sure to properly visit you in the future.

…

Gu Yangcheon telepathically apologized to Moyong Tae.

He didn’t even know what Moyong Tae would do to him if they met again, so how was he able to say that with such confidence?

Moyong Tae still disliked Gu Yangcheon, but he wasn’t in a situation where he could afford to ask him any further questions.

-There is no need.

-…!

Gu Yangcheon opened his eyes wide in shock after hearing Moyong Tae’s response.

Speaking informally this time, Moyong Tae replied.

-There is no need for you to come visit me.

-But…

-I will visit you again in the future.

-…

Did he mean that he would kill him for real the next time they meet?

Right as Gu Yangcheon’s lips were about to start shaking…

-I will come with my daughter next time, so be prepared.

-…

-I’ll say this now you don’t misunderstand, I still haven’t given you mu approval.

-Understood.

-And my stance will not change.

-I understand.

Moyong Tae said he would come with Moyong Hi-ah next time. Does that mean he wouldn’t draw his sword?

As Gu Yangcheon was deep in his thoughts, Moyong Tae brought his fists towards Gu Yangcheon in a sign of respect.

“…It is becoming late, so I shall take my leave first, as long as there is no problem with that.”

“You may do so.”

“Even if it was expected, I apologize for what I have done to your son, and I will apologize again in person the next time I see him.”

Gu Cheolun nodded to Moyong Tae, and Moyong Tae then let out an exhausted sigh and disappeared.

Once Moyong Tae’s presence could no longer be detected…

Woong-

Gu Yangcheon felt a barrier being set up around him.

Of course, this was done by Gu Cheolun.

Gu Yangcheon made a vague expression after looking at Gu Cheolun and the barrier.

After scratching his head…

“My Lord.”

He finally started to speak.

“Yes.”

“Why did you do that?”

Gu Yangcheon asked.

Before Gu Cheolun was able to ask what Gu Yangcheon meant by that, Gu Yangcheon continued…

“You’ve been watching us this entire time.”

Gu Cheolun’s eyes widened slightly at Gu Yangcheon’s statement.

******************

Father had been watching me this whole time.

I was certain of it.

“Why did you bother oppressing the Lord of the Moyong Clan?”

From the start of my conversation with the Moyong Clan’s Lord to me challenging him to a duel, Father had been watching from the very beginning.

When Father heard my question, he responded with a shocked expression.

“How did you know?”

He confirmed my suspicions.

Despite not actually detecting his presence, I was certain due to one reason.

“I just felt like you would do that.”

“…”

“You aren’t the type of person to be late, nor would you forget about a promise.”

I was the one who asked Father if we could talk about my mother, and we promised to meet here after the meal.

I didn’t believe that Father would be late, and even believed he would arrive early.

Quite frankly, my assumption was on point.

“So I’m curious. Why did you let this happen?”

Why did Father decide to postpone his interference?

He could’ve prevented this whole thing from happening.

The strength Father just displayed was more than enough to stop Moyong Tae.

Just how strong is he?

Even though I was a Fusion Realm martial artist, I couldn’t even get a grasp of how powerful my father was.

At the very least, I was certain that Father was overwhelmingly more powerful than the White Heavenly Sword.

This was the second time in this timeline that I’ve witnessed his strength.

He showed it for the first time in the Black Palace, and he showed it again here.

I was only able to see his martial strength two times, but I was certain now.

Father was powerful.

I couldn’t even dare to imagine his true strength.

“…I’m curious as to why you chose to stop the White Heavenly Sword at the time you did.”

As I asked my question, Father’s hair color started returning back to normal and he also retrieved the leftover heat in the air.

As the air became easier for me to breathe in, Father responded.

“I only did what was necessary.”

“Necessary?”

“Yes.”

What did he mean by that?

“I originally had no plans to interfere.”

“Then why…”

“It was because he was thinking about fighting you seriously.”

“…!”

“Do I need to say anything else?”

Moyong Tae was starting to become serious…

Father was willing to let it slide if it was just a short lesson, but he intervened as Moyong Tae was crossing the line.

“…Does that mean you were trying to seriously kill him?”

I recalled the heat that my Father’s hand contained.

If he wrapped his hand around the White Heavenly Sword’s face, it may have caused a horrifying result. Thankfully, Father shook his head.

“I only did what was natural. Even if you didn’t stop me, I would’ve chosen a similar method and let him go.”

“…”

He purposely did all of this, including expressing his anger, to push Moyong Tae into an unfavorable position.

Was this all calculated?

This thought only made Father seem scarier.

“…That much is understandable. But is this really okay?”

“What is?”

“You’ve been hiding your true strength. I’m wondering if it was okay for you to show it to the Lord of the Moyong Clan like this.”

He must have had a reason for hiding his strength, yet Father showed it to Moyong Tae like it was nothing.

Hearing my question, Father responded with a confused tone.

“Third child.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“You seem to be mistaken.”

“Huh?”

Father stared at me with his usual sharp gaze, and then spoke while tidying his hair with his big hands.

“I have never once hidden my strength.”

“…!”

I gasped at Father’s response.

He never hid it in the first place?

“I simply never had to show it.”

“But, the rumors stated… “

“Are other people’s words really that important?”

“Not at all.”

“I agree. I only used as much of my strength as was necessary. There is no special meaning behind it.”

This wasn’t something I expected.

Father never hid his strength to begin with.

He had no reaction to any of the rumors being spread throughout the Central Plains.

Not only that, he also claimed that he never needed to use his true strength, which was extremely shocking for me.

…I didn’t expect this in the slightest.

I truly was not aware of his true capabilities.

It all made sense though, considering Father’s personality.

But even so, I believed that he at least slightly cared about the rumors.

As I was still dealing with the shocking news, Father spoke to me.

“Third child.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“You seem to have overcome your wall.”

“…”

I hid my reaction after hearing his sudden words.

Father was referring to how I overcame my wall and reached the Fusion Realm.

“…Yes.”

“When did you overcome it?”

“It’s been a little over two months.”

“I see.”

Gu Cheolun nodded at my response and had no further reaction.

His son reached Fusion Realm before even reaching the age of twenty, yet his reaction couldn’t be any lamer.

What a great father he-

“Good work. It must have been hard.”

“It was. Thank- …Huh?”

Shocked, I opened my eyes widely and stared at Father.

However, he no longer had his gaze on me.

Instead, he was strangely staring elsewhere.

“My Lord…?”

“You said you had some questions you wanted to ask me.”

“Ah, yes.”

I wanted to ask where he was staring at, but Father skipped straight to the main topic.

It almost seemed like he was signaling me not to ask.

I gulped nervously.

I was reminded of why I came here to meet with Father alone.

That’s right, I came here to ask questions.

With my gaze on him, I started speaking to Father.

“My Lord.”

Father gazed back at me after hearing my call.

Facing his red eyes, I spoke.

“I heard that my mother is still alive.”

“…”

Father’s shoulders slightly moved when I asked him that question.

After checking his reaction, I continued to speak.

“…I wanted to ask… if you know my mother’s whereabouts.”

“…”

Father stood silent for a long time at my carefully asked question.

Was he thinking about how I found out or why I was asking this question?

As I was coming up with answers to his inevitable questions, Father spoke.

“Yes.”

“…!”

“I do.”

My heart started to beat rapidly at my father’s answer.