Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 376



376

The meeting of the orthodox sects has concluded.

Honestly I wasn’t that curious about the content but I had to know from my position.

This outcome could twist my prearranged future schedule.

Thus the mere fact that plans were changing was a significant matter at this moment.

I had to remember the information.

I asked Cheol Ji-seon about the events I had missed while sleeping.

“What happened?”

“…Well that is….”

Cheol Ji-seon hesitated for a moment at my question but soon began to explain.

The first thing the Alliance Leader spoke about was of course the incident of the attack.

-How did things come to this?

Starting from the beginning.

-What was the Murim Alliance doing?

How did the Murim Alliance respond in the meantime leading up to the results?

-What are the plans moving forward?

Now that the incident has occurred how do they plan to handle it from here on out?

The heated discussions about the incompetence of the Murim Alliance began.

Along with the families of the victims.

With the damage to their reputation the affected families and sects and even the Trading Company that supports the alliance.

The Murim Alliance had to present something definitive regarding this.

Otherwise.

‘…It wouldn’t lead to disbandment but it would certainly become quite troublesome.’

If they were to eliminate the alliance immediately problems could arise in the cities protected by the alliance’s forces.

If the branches were to disappear the families or sects responsible for those areas would start managing them.

However considering the costs and human resources involved they couldn’t just pull out recklessly.

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Since others were aware of this they wouldn’t dare to act hastily.

So what was the conclusion?

First of all.

The Murim Alliance decided to temporarily close the Shinryonggwan.

It was a natural schedule to close after graduating a cohort but.

Due to this incident they could no longer continue with Shinryonggwan.

Naturally those who had entrusted their blood relatives or successors there would not want this either.

Thus Shinryonggwan decided to close without a graduating cohort.

Upon hearing this the thought that crossed my mind was.

‘It’s not isolated training is it?’

The fact that Shinryonggwan was closing rather than conducting isolated training.

I had naturally expected that Shinryonggwan would engage in isolated training due to this incident.

But it seemed they were only planning to take the form of a closure contrary to my expectations.

Thinking about the reason for this choice.

‘It’s probably due to their damn honor.’

It must be because of the reputation and honor that Shinryonggwan holds.

In a world where martial artists are equated with swordsmen the prestige of being from Shinryonggwan is not insignificant.

Just the fact of being from there creates connections.

The group consciousness that comes from that can help their descendants rise to higher positions in the future.

This means.

Ultimately they postponed isolated training for their own benefit.

The Murim Alliance must have known this which is why they brought up the closure.

‘It feels uneasy but… in the end.’

Whatever it may be the fact that Shinryonggwan has closed is unprecedented.

This was something that had never happened in my previous life.

‘After all the attack itself was nonexistent.’

Now it’s hard to even guess where things started to go awry.

I could only nod my head.

If I tried to keep everything in my head it would never end so I had to adapt to the changes.

Next was the disposition regarding the mastermind behind the attack.

The Murim Alliance officially announced the identity of the person who attacked Shinryonggwan as the Black Dragon Sword (黑龍劍).

People murmured.

It was only natural.

The Black Dragon Sword was a martial artist from the unorthodox sects executed by the current sword master the legendary Windstorm Sword Wi Hyo-gun.

Records stated that he had already been beheaded and killed.

So the Black Dragon Sword was alive?

Moreover not only was such a person alive but he had also drawn his sword against the orthodox sects after decades.

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This seemed to be quite shocking news for those gathered here.

There is an alliance.

And the monsters known as the Three Zun which the orthodox sects can barely withstand.

Did they really not know that this fragile peace could be shattered at any moment?

It would be fair to say they were intoxicated by peace to that extent.

The Black Dragon Sword currently imprisoned in the alliance’s jail was said to be transferred to the Tang Clan afterward.

‘The Tang Clan?’

I frowned upon hearing this.

I was suspicious about why they were sending him to the Tang Clan instead of the alliance.

‘Why?’

The road to Sichuan is quite long.

If it’s for torture it would be safer to do it within the alliance.

What could they possibly want to do by transporting him such a long distance to the Tang Clan?

As those questions crossed my mind.

A bigger problem arose here.

Since it was a meeting it wasn’t just the Alliance Leader talking alone; it was a place where questions were exchanged.

In a way it could be seen as a place for debate.

In such a situation I was the one who captured the Black Dragon Sword.

Those who wanted to know what had happened were eager to ask me questions.

…The problem was that I had actually been sleeping leaning on my father’s shoulder at that time.

What a shameful sight it was to be a member of a prestigious family sleeping at a meeting.

In the midst of it all I had no memory of waking up from that situation.

What on earth was going on?

‘Was the backlash so great that I couldn’t wake up…?’

That could be the case.

But at that moment Cheol Ji-seon spoke in a strangely tense voice.

“…Your father… was really scary.”

“What?”

“No… never mind.”

Cheol Ji-seon trembled as if he didn’t want to remember.

What on earth had he seen to react like that?

Just as I was about to scold Cheol Ji-seon for not finishing what he started.

“…So instead of you sleeping I had to take the questions.”

“…”

With Cheol Ji-seon’s expression of resignation I had to close my mouth.

Only then did I understand why he had been looking at me with such a dying expression.

I was supposed to be the one answering questions at the meeting but I had been sleeping.

Because I hadn’t woken up to know what had happened.

It meant that Cheol Ji-seon who participated alongside me had been bombarded with questions.

The Clan Head of a prestigious family.

And the Sect Leader of a renowned sect.

The captains of the Trading Companies that make up the Central Plains had bombarded Cheol Ji-seon with questions.

This meant it was quite overwhelming for the timid Cheol Ji-seon to handle.

Moreover since he was living under the surname of the Zhuge family while hiding his name.

He must have been even more nervous.

“…You… did well.”

“…”

That was all I could say.

Cheol Ji-seon still looked exhausted. He seemed like he could collapse at any moment.

But he shook his head and continued speaking.

A lot of things had been exchanged.

After hearing everything I could identify three important points.

– Shinryonggwan has decided to close for at least ten years.

– The alliance is taking the incident seriously and has declared war against the unorthodox sects.

And.

The most important thing.

Since this incident occurred someone had to take responsibility.

Even if there was no wrongdoing.

People needed someone to blame more than anything else.

This matter wouldn’t end without someone taking responsibility.

Thus the alliance sought to announce who would take responsibility.

First.

The Sect Leader of the Kunlun Sect.

Cheong Hae-il-gyeom decided to hold himself accountable and step down from his position as Sect Leader.

Upon hearing that I unconsciously clenched my fist.

Since the Sect Leader had committed a blunder and stepped down from his position.

It was no different from leaving a significant scar on Kunlun.

In my previous life Cheong Hae-il-gyeom had fallen to become a demonic practitioner and stepped down from his position as Sect Leader.

This time he was indeed stepping down from his position but.

The situation had taken a completely different turn.

‘I never expected he would step down from the Sect Leader position.’

Since the person who was acting as Principal was Cheong Hae-il-gyeom.

It seemed to imply that he was willing to take responsibility.

But I couldn’t help but feel a sense of disgust.

‘Moreover.’

That wasn’t the only problem.

While it was a significant matter for Cheong Hae-il-gyeom to step down from the Sect Leader position.

An even bigger issue remained.

That was.

– Nakgyeom Jangcheon’s also chosen to take responsibility and step down from his position as the current Alliance Leader.

Nakgyeom who had been in the position of Alliance Leader for over a decade.

Like Cheong Hae-il-gyeom he decided to step down from his position as Alliance Leader.

“…The Alliance Leader?”

As soon as I heard this from Cheol Ji-seon my head whipped around.

Nakgyeom was quitting as Alliance Leader?

“What do you mean…?”

“Of course when the Alliance Leader brought it up the reaction from the people was immense.”

“Well that’s only natural…!”

For Nakgyeom to resign as Alliance Leader was no small matter.

To take responsibility and step down?

That could happen.

But if that were the case it meant the position of Alliance Leader would be vacant.

And that meant a new Alliance Leader would have to be elected.

That would complicate things significantly.

In my previous life the Alliance Leader was Jangcheong.

And right after the blood feud ended the one who took the position of Alliance Leader was none other than Wi Seol-ah.

But now if Jangcheong were to step down as Alliance Leader.

‘Who would be the next Alliance Leader?’

The next Alliance Leader had to be elected without fail.

Since the Murim Alliance was known as the symbol of the orthodox sects.

The position of Alliance Leader could not be left vacant.

“Ha….”

The situation is becoming too complicated.

The position of Alliance Leader is going to be vacant.

This was a development I had never anticipated.

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

The sun had set.

With my tired head I headed to an inn.

It was the place that Lady Mi had hinted at beforehand.

I assumed that all of the Gu family’s party would be gathered there.

The streets of Henan felt like the most crowded I had seen in recent days.

It was so packed that it was difficult to take a step but.

Fortunately after jumping over a few buildings I arrived at my destination comfortably.

There were relatively few people around the inn.

Lady Mi had rented the entire inn so that must be the reason.

Just before I opened the door and entered the inn.

“Hey… Yangcheon.”

Cheol Ji-seon who was on my back called me urgently.

“What?”

“Can I really go…?”

“You said it was fine. Then it should be okay.”

“B-but….”

Cheol Ji-seon spoke to me anxiously.

The reason being that he was also going to participate in the meal time.

He had said that his family wouldn’t come anyway and he felt sorry for being dragged around so I thought I should at least feed him.

I recalled how Lady Mi had smiled pleasantly when I asked if I could eat with a friend.

“Is it really okay… for someone like me…?”

“What’s not okay? Stop whining and come along.”

“Ugh…!”

After saying that I tossed Cheol Ji-seon off my back.

Now that we had arrived I told him to walk on his own.

Leaving Cheol Ji-seon who was rubbing his backside I opened the door to the inn first.

As the door opened the splendid interior came into view.

It’s usually like that in inns but perhaps because there were fewer people inside it felt even more visible.

As I entered someone welcomed me.

“Oh! It’s been a while.”

A large figure approached with a hearty laugh.

It was Elder Gu Ryun.

For me it was a face I hadn’t seen in months just like Lady Mi or Gu Hee-bi.

Somehow it felt particularly welcoming.

“It’s been a while.”

“Have you been well?”

Ha ha—!

Elder Gu laughed heartily and patted my back.

…It still hurt like hell.

It was a sign of welcome but this old man still had a heavy hand.

“Oh ho. Yangcheon.”

“…Yes.”

Enduring the pain I replied and Elder Gu grinned grotesquely.

“You’ve gotten stronger while I haven’t seen you. I quite like it.”

He then showed off his bicep muscles.

The muscles bulged to the point where the martial arts uniform he was wearing looked pitiful.

It looked like it could burst if poked.

“It seems you’ve been well Elder Gu.”

“Ha ha! I’ve always been well! Yangcheon you seem to have been doing quite well too. I heard you got a new alias? What was it? So-yeom….”

“Oh I’m hungry.”

Before Elder Gu could say anything strange I dashed past him.

I didn’t want to hear it.

-Um? Who are you?

-Oh…. Hello. I’m Cheol Ji-seon from the Cheol family….

-Ah you’re the friend of our Yangcheon. But why is this boy so scrawny? His arms are…

-Yes? Uh…! Aah!

A scream erupted from Cheol Ji-seon who was caught by Elder Gu right after.

But I ignored it.

‘I’ll remember this as a good sacrifice.’

After sending my condolences to Cheol Ji-seon I headed toward where the Gu family members were gathered.

Creeeak.

Upon opening another door I found familiar faces including Lady Mi and my father.

“Hmm?”

I had expected to see those people since it was a family meal but.

In the midst of it all.

“…What?”

An unexpected person was sitting there with them.