Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 596 (Part 1)



596 (Part 1)

”’〈 Chapter 597 〉 Jae-gal.

Whoooom.

Demonic qi constantly moves within my body.

As a result pain rises.

Though I had been trying hard to recover drawing on my energy again makes me scream.

If I’m not careful my recovery will be delayed even further.

But.

There was no choice.

I looked at the old man staring at me from the front.

Even while sitting he had a considerable presence.

His large body of course and the muscles densely packed there were tremendous.

To compare he was just like Elder. His build matched that of the old man.

I had heard that the Jae-gal Family focused more on formations and institutions rather than actual military power.

I never expected their martial strength to be this high.

‘It feels like he has surpassed the realm of transformation.’

The Elder I had killed last time at the Mount Wu seemed much weaker.

He looked far stronger than that.

He might not be at the level of the masters of the Nine Great Families or the Four Great Clans but he felt strong enough to be compared to them.

‘That person…’

He was someone from the Jae-gal clan who was said to be causing trouble in Henan.

I had to chuckle at the old man.

I was surprised.

This time I was truly astonished.

If he hadn’t been wearing a mask he would have seen my entire expression.

‘Wow.’

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What was the reason for my surprise?

Was it because his martial strength was far beyond my expectations? No.

Was it because a member of the Jae-gal Clan looked that strong? That wasn’t it either.

The reason was simple.

It was because the old man was someone I knew.

In fact I knew him very well.

I was very familiar with the old man.

‘That old man was a descendant of the Jae-gal Family?’

The true identity of the old man was none other than.

In my previous life he was a member of the Demonic Cult directly under the Heavenly Demon.

The Captain of the Cheonraheukmangdae.

‘Pilduma.’

He was that old man.

Pilduma was a master who used blunt weapons.

I couldn’t remember his name. No it didn’t matter anyway.

He was the one leading the now-fallen Jae-gal Clan.

His real name was probably something like Jae-gal something so looking at this.

‘He must have been using a pseudonym even during his time as a demonic practitioner.’

That would be the right judgment.

Moreover.

Seeing that he was a descendant of the Jae-gal Clan now gave me one realization.

‘No wonder.’

In the past Cheonraheukmangdae was not only a direct unit of the Heavenly Demon but also the unit that Cheon Yu-rang Jae-gal Hyuk dealt with the most.

They were the ones who took charge of his protection when something happened to Jae-gal Hyuk.

The reason I first targeted Cheonraheukmangdae to deal with Cheon Yu-rang was also that.

I had thought it was strange that Cheon Yu-rang and Cheonraheukmangdae were often intertwined.

‘Was it because they were both from the Jae-gal family?’

This was just a guess but looking at the circumstances I was half convinced.

‘That means both Jae-gal Hyuk and the Heavenly Demon must have known this fact.’

Regardless it didn’t matter.

I was just surprised that Pilduma was a member of the Jae-gal Clan.

It was rather fortunate.

The pieces of the story were coming together.

I hid my expression and spoke to Pilduma.

“Then I shall call you Captain Cheonra.”

“…As you wish.”

Thud.

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Pilduma spat out words and placed something in front of me.

It was a cup.

“There is no good wine to serve a guest.”

I chuckled slightly at Pilduma’s words.

What a boldness. Offering wine to someone who suddenly barged in.

“I don’t particularly feel like drinking.”

“Is that so?”

He didn’t seem to care much about my refusal.

Of course.

‘That old man is probably busy probing me.’

He pretended to be calm but I could feel his gaze.

Pilduma was trying to figure out what kind of person I was.

I quietly stared at him resting my chin on my hand.

If you can see then take a good look.

It was a behavior full of intent.

“…”

Upon realizing this Pilduma shifted his gaze.

He quickly understood that it was a meaningless act.

‘How much is this mask worth?’

The artifact given by the Demon King.

Unlike other worthless artifacts this was a truly effective item.

It not only concealed the inside of the mask when using qi but also had the power to hide my physical condition and level.

It was the perfect item for someone like me whose face would give away everything when lying.

As we exchanged glances Pilduma spoke to me first.

“I heard you broke the formations to come in. How did you do it?”

Was he directly asking about the formations?

Well it could be a point of curiosity.

It was clear that the formations surrounding us were not just ordinary formations.

They were set up discreetly almost imperceptibly.

Even if one discovered them they were complex and intricate enough that they couldn’t be easily undone.

I didn’t know much about formations but even I could tell that this was an impressive one.

Just.

“It wasn’t a bad prank.”

It didn’t pose a significant problem for me.

Ah.

‘It wasn’t me but Seong-yul who did it.’

Seong-yul was the one who broke the formations.

Or should I say did he really break them? He just swiped through them with his sword and that was it.

In my previous life it took several people a long time to dismantle a single formation.

I was astonished that it could be done so easily.

‘I’m glad I brought him.’

Even if I knew the location they said I wouldn’t be able to enter because of the formations.

There was also a funny incident regarding this.

When I asked how he knew the location while wearing a blindfold Sin-ui said.

‘He remembered every step he took to figure it out.’

It meant he memorized the entire path he walked while coming here.

I thought to myself that one needed that level of intelligence to become the best in the Central Plains.

Anyway.

After hearing that I brought Seong-yul along.

It was because I remembered how he easily dismantled the formations with his sword last time.

As expected Seong-yul easily dismantled the formations.

I chuckled at that.

‘Both of them I just don’t like them.’

When I asked how he did it Seong-yul replied.

[For some reason that place was unpleasant.]

He said the same thing.

It was infuriating. This is what geniuses are like…

‘Right there was someone like that in my previous life too.’

Right away Woo-hyeok also broke formations while saying something about hearing this and that.

In this life Namgung Bia also cut through formations while saying something about a smell.

Seeing that all three of them including Seong-yul were incredible geniuses.

‘Should I consider formations as part of talent?’

It was a pointless thought to have at this point.

It would be better to just let it go.

What was important now was Pilduma’s reaction to this.

The old man’s gaze was serious.

Was it because I dismissed the formations?

‘Well it was a formation of that level.’

What would have happened if I had tried to break it myself?

I didn’t want to imagine.

How could my ignorant head possibly break that?

‘What if I had torn it apart with brute force?’

That might have been possible.

However I would have had to fully bear the backlash of forcibly breaking the formations.

That was why I had Seong-yul do it.

So what kind of thoughts was Pilduma having while looking at me now?

Was he thinking I had entered after breaking the formations in one go?

Or was he thinking I had forced my way through the formations?

‘Whatever it is.’

He would see me as an unusual person in either case.

And I wanted that reaction from Pilduma.

‘It seems to have worked well.’

Looking at Pilduma’s reaction now he seemed busy trying to gauge me.

Also since he didn’t know how much power I had he was cautious.

That was exactly the reaction I wanted from Pilduma.

As I quietly stared at him he spoke to me.

“I have heard the rumors.”

I tilted my head at Pilduma’s words.

Rumors? What rumors was he talking about?

“Heavenly Demon (天魔).”

Pilduma’s words made my eyes widen slightly.

“A man wearing a cracked white mask and dressed in a black martial arts uniform turned the Mount Wu into a mess.”

I thought the rumors hadn’t spread much compared to what I had done.

It seemed Pilduma had already received the information.

“When I first heard it I thought he would be an unusual person.””’