Childhood Friend of the Zenith-Chapter 607: The Curse of the Ice Crystal (3)

I tilted my head slightly at his words.

"Supreme Ruler?"

The cold I had been feeling faded momentarily.

The statement was that surprising.

Had he just called someone the Supreme Ruler of Zhongyuan?

"What does that even mean?"

I stood there, dumbfounded by his words.

"The Supreme Ruler (至尊)?"

The Supreme Ruler of Zhongyuan.

No faces came to mind upon hearing those words.

The term referred to the one hailed as the greatest under heaven.

"But no one in Zhongyuan holds such a title right now."

Currently, there wasn’t a martial artist in Zhongyuan who fit that role.

The Three Supremes at the edge of Cheonoecheon were just that—three individuals.

The Wudang Sword Saint, as the Alliance Leader, stood beneath even them.

The heads of the three great families—or rather, the current three great families—were merely in their physical primes as martial artists.

They were far from being called the strongest.

So who could this person be referring to as the Supreme Ruler?

"Could it be the Sword Sovereign?"

The former Alliance Leader and one of the Three Supremes who led the Alliance during its golden age.

While not the supreme under heaven,

he was renowned as the Greatest Sword Under Heaven (天下第一劍). Could he mean the Sword Sovereign?

It wouldn’t be strange.

With Cheonma absent, the Sword Sovereign was often brought up as a contender for the title of the greatest.

Moreover—

"This man might have ties to the Sword Sovereign."

The man before me could have a connection to him.

He might have met him in person.

Or simply heard of him.

I wasn’t certain.

So I decided to ask directly.

“Are you referring to the Sword Sovereign?”

[Hmm...?]

When I mentioned the Sword Sovereign, the man’s eyes flickered.

Watching him, my brow furrowed slightly.

Those eyes were unsettling.

His breath, his gaze—everything about him was irritating.

[The Sword Sovereign, yes... there was someone like that.]

From his words, it seemed the Sword Sovereign wasn’t who he was referring to.

Then who was it?

"I don’t know, and now’s not the time to care about this."

Supreme Ruler or not, what difference did it make?

What mattered was—

“...Are you the Lord of the Ice Palace?”

Who was this person in front of me?

In truth, there wasn’t much to deliberate on.

I already knew who had summoned me.

And just from the aura emanating from him, I could guess his identity.

Shiver.

My fingertips trembled.

The cold pierced through my internal heat and dug into my skin.

The pressure from his aura bore down heavily on my shoulders.

He was powerful.

Far stronger than the Black Lion or White Lion who guarded the door earlier.

"So, this is the ruler of the North Sea."

Beyond Zhongyuan, in the savage outer martial world.

The master of this frigid land where snow fell across the skies of the Four Seasons.

The Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace.

That was the man before me.

To my question, the man responded immediately.

[Though I’m hardly in a presentable state, yes, that’s the role I held.]

“You speak in the past tense.”

[Heh...]

The Lord chuckled at my comment.

Every exhale released a wave of icy air.

[In this fallen state, how could I claim otherwise?]

“Hmm.”

I studied him carefully as he spoke.

Starting from his right jawline, ice crystals had spread across his shoulder and encased half of his body.

I shifted slightly, looking down.

The ice extending from him had not only covered the floor but also climbed the surrounding walls.

"What is this?"

How had this come to be?

Was the ice emanating from him?

Or was it the other way around, with the ice binding him?

As I stared at the ice in fascination,

[Once again, I must ask—do you truly have no connection to the Supreme Ruler?]

The Lord’s voice cut through my thoughts.

It was the same question as before.

“What is this ‘Supreme Ruler’ supposed to be?”

My reply carried a hint of annoyance.

Answering these tedious questions felt like a waste of time.

And suppressing the hostility I felt toward him was exhausting.

Frowning deeply, I fixed my gaze on him.

[Gu Cheolwoon.]

“...What?”

[The Supreme Ruler’s name is indeed Gu Cheolwoon.]

“...Excuse me...?”

Hearing the familiar name, I nearly lost my composure.

Why was my father’s name coming up here?

As if the strange dreams I’d had about him weren’t enough.

Now, the Lord of the Ice Palace was casually mentioning his name.

And worse—

‘...Supreme Ruler?’

What was with that terrifying nickname?

The discomfort I’d felt earlier melted away, leaving only bewilderment in its place.

The Lord seemed to notice my reaction and continued speaking.

[Judging by your response, it seems you’re connected. Perhaps...]

Was he about to realize I was his son?

If he had pieced together enough of the situation, it wouldn’t be surprising—

[Are you perhaps a nephew or from his maternal family line? You don’t seem to be a direct descendant...]

“I’m his son.”

[Ah, I thought you bore a resemblance.]

“Don’t lie.”

[No, really...]

The Lord trailed off briefly, choosing his next words carefully.

[I just thought the resemblance was... unfortunate.]

“Please stop talking.”

[Hmph.]

I felt my mood sour further.

[In any case...]

The Lord moved on, seeming to realize he had touched a nerve.

Though I was annoyed, I decided not to pursue it for now.

[So, you are indeed the son of the Supreme Ruler.]

“Why do you keep calling him that?”

I asked with a mix of confusion and irritation.

The title felt absurdly overdramatic.

At my question, the Lord raised an eyebrow, as if I were the strange one.

[What else would I call the Supreme Ruler, if not by his rightful title?]

“...”

No matter how many times I heard it, I couldn’t get used to it.

While it might have been meant as praise for my father,

it only left me with a peculiar sense of discomfort.

[Fascinating.]

The Lord chuckled softly, clicking his tongue.

[To think I’d live to see the day I met his son.]

“...What is your relationship with my father, exactly?”

I asked cautiously.

If he and my father had been on bad terms, this situation could become even more troublesome.

The Lord’s answer was short.

[We were friends.]

“Friends?”

Hearing that, my eyes widened slightly.

Friends...

I blinked in surprise before blurting out:

“My father had friends?”

I froze after speaking.

That didn’t come out right.

[Haha.]

The Lord laughed at my slip-up.

As he laughed, something flaked off his cheek—was it a scale? That’s how it seemed.

[At least, that’s how I considered it. Who knows what he thought?]

“What does that mean?”

[If not a friend, then you could call him my benefactor.]

“Benefactor?”

Not only had the Lord of the Ice Palace referred to my father as a friend, but also as a benefactor.

Hearing that, I thought,

"What on earth did he get up to in his youth?"

Every person who knew my father seemed to react this way.

Some feared him.

Others spoke of him with reverence and gratitude.

It seemed clear he had been extraordinary in his prime.

But no one seemed to know exactly what he had done.

Or perhaps, more accurately, they just wouldn’t tell me.

At that moment—

[So the Crimson Feather is his son... though you don’t resemble him much—]

“Pardon?”

[Ah, nothing.]

I narrowed my eyes at him.

He clearly muttered something at the end, but now he was just smiling innocently.

"What is with this man?"

He was so different from what I had imagined. Completely so.

[What a curious twist of fate, wouldn’t you say?]

He even changed the subject smoothly. His evasiveness was maddeningly skillful.

"Yuri said he was a terrifying man."

Stoic, and... something else.

I couldn’t remember all the rumors, but they didn’t match this person at all.

[My father received help from yours, and now I receive help from you.]

“...”

The Lord spoke lightly, but his words carried weight.

"Did I just hear something incredible?"

He had mentioned that his father—likely the previous Lord—had received help from my father.

Now I was burning with curiosity.

I might have caused my fair share of trouble in my time.

But what kind of chaos had my father stirred up in his youth?

"That explains why he let my antics slide so easily."

Although, in my previous life, I had been the disgrace of the Gu family.

That wasn’t the case in this life.

Perhaps my father’s lenience was because he had caused just as much trouble in his own time?

[Haha.]

The Lord’s laughter grew louder.

Buzz...!

Whether by coincidence or not, the cave trembled with his deepening laughter.

[Ah, forgive me. It’s been so long since I reminisced, I couldn’t help myself.]

The chill in the air intensified.

It was noticeably colder now.

"Cold, huh?"

I chuckled bitterly to myself.

It had been so long since I felt something like this.

Not since the early days of my regression.

I brushed my arm, rediscovering the sensation.

[Now that I’ve asked my most pressing question, shall we move on to the main topic? Are you ready?]

At his words, I straightened my posture.

“Yes.”

Finally, the main topic.

[First... what should I call you?]

“Call me whatever you like. It doesn’t really—”

[Then I’ll just stick with Crimson Fea—]

“My name is Gu Yangcheon, Lord.”

[Very well, Young Master Gu.]

“Yes.”

That damned “Crimson Feather.”

I swear, I’ll pluck every feather of the fool who started that.

As I quietly ground my teeth in frustration,

[Young Master Gu.]

I froze at his words.

The atmosphere shifted dramatically.

The chill turned razor-sharp, as though it pressed against my throat.

That’s how it felt.

[Can you truly lift this curse?]

Curse.

At his words, I scrutinized the Lord of the Ice Palace more closely.

A body encased in ice.

Skin covered in scales.

Vertically slit pupils.

Not only was his appearance far from ordinary, but it was hard to even call him "human."

Taking all this in, I asked the Lord,

“By ‘curse,’ are you referring to your current condition?”

[Indeed.]

The cold emanating from his body was intense.

And that’s precisely why it was puzzling.

‘If this is what he calls a curse...’

Could it be similar to what Moyong Hee-ah endured in my past life?

‘But hers was nowhere near this extreme.’

The affliction Moyong Hee-ah suffered from, though severe, paled in comparison.

While her body had slowly frozen from within, unable to withstand the cold energy,

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‘This...’

The Lord’s condition went far beyond that.

The cold not only escaped his body but actively formed chunks of ice.

Even his physical form was undergoing changes.

If that were the case for Moyong Hee-ah as well,

‘Did she end up dying in a state like this in my past life?’

It wasn’t a thought I wanted to entertain.

I didn’t know how her life ended.

At some point, Seolbong had vanished without a trace.

There were no details about how she died,

or in what condition she passed away.

The Moyong family had only formally announced her death.

The Lord’s words brought many thoughts to my mind.

"The Curse of Frozen Purity."

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The choice of word was difficult to ignore.

"The Shadow King used similar language."

The Curse of Dragon’s Blood.

The Shadow King had referred to his own body as such,

stating that only I, who had become a dragon, could lift it.

The Lord’s current state bore a resemblance to that.

Could it really be a coincidence?

‘No.’

I didn’t believe it was.

"This Curse of Frozen Purity... is it, like the Shadow King, also tied to dragons?"

The thought crossed my mind.

The pieces fit too well to dismiss.

If that were the case,

‘Then the reason I could cure Moyong Hee-ah’s affliction...’

Could it have been because I was tied to dragons as well?

Not just a result of my body being altered by the fusion of the Mado Cheonheupgong and Guyeomhwaryungong,

but a deeper anomaly stemming from the change in my very existence.

Could that have been the key to healing Moyong Hee-ah’s illness?

If so, it would explain a lot.

The lingering mysteries that had troubled me were beginning to fall into place.

But the more things made sense, the more unsettled I felt.

‘This means I was never truly meant to be human, doesn’t it?’

Where did it all begin?

The fact that I was able to cure Moyong Hee-ah’s illness in this life,

when it had been impossible in my previous one,

suggested that some anomaly occurred in this life.

An anomaly involving me...

"...There are too many to count."

There were countless possibilities.

So many that it was overwhelming to even begin pinpointing one.

But in the end, it all came down to one:

‘Regression.’

The act of turning back time and returning here.

Could that have been the root cause?

It was something I couldn’t confirm. It was only the most plausible explanation.

"The one thing I’m certain of right now is..."

The Lord’s Curse of Frozen Purity was likely connected to dragons.

If that were true,

"Does the Lord know about dragons?"

And if so, how much were the people of the Ice Palace connected to them?

If they were aware, did they view them as enemies?

Or something else entirely?

These were things I needed to approach carefully.

As my thoughts multiplied,

[You seem to be deep in thought.]

“...!”

The Lord’s voice interrupted me.

[Take your time. I can wait while you ponder.]

Right.

I had been asked a question.

"What did he ask again?"

Ah, whether I could lift the curse.

To answer that...

“I don’t know.”

I gave a deliberately vague response.

[You don’t know?]

As expected, the Lord expressed his doubts.

I elaborated quickly.

“I have treated someone I believed was afflicted with a similar ‘curse,’ but I can’t say for sure if their condition was the same as yours. Additionally...”

I paused to steady my breath.

“Even if it is similar, I can’t guarantee I’d be able to cure your body.”

[Hmm.]

That was the best answer I could give.

The scale of the Lord’s condition was far beyond what Moyong Hee-ah had suffered.

If I rashly claimed I could heal him and failed, the consequences would fall squarely on me.

So I chose my words carefully, expressing my uncertainty.

[I see. That is understandable.]

The Lord nodded in agreement.

[It means you would need to confirm first.]

“Yes.”

I couldn’t know just from looking.

Could I really heal such a condition?

As that question lingered in my mind, I decided to speak.

“May I ask a question now?”

The Lord nodded his permission.

[Go ahead.]

“How did things get to this point?”

[...]

Without hesitation, I threw the question out.

“Your condition, this situation—everything is a complete mess.”

I didn’t bother holding back my words.

At this point, I was long past worrying about etiquette.

[I imagine the princess explained it to you already. Are you asking for more details from me?]

“She did. But...”

Her explanation wasn’t enough.

“From what I’ve seen, the situation is far worse than what I was told.”

The Lord’s health had deteriorated, and the family responsible for their military strength had rebelled.

I was told they wanted me to heal the Lord before it was too late.

“But this is beyond that.”

This wasn’t just an ordinary rebellion.

This was The Bloodline Rebellion.

Not a mere family uprising, but a revolt by blood relatives aiming to claim the throne.

“Did you really not know this, my Lord?”

[...]

The Lord fell silent at my question.

But his expression gave it away.

He knew. Of course, he knew.

He wasn’t a fool.

“I’m sure I’ll hear more once I’m outside, but I need you to explain this part to me.”

I kept my gaze steady on him.

I knew recalling a rebellion led by his own blood must be painful.

But I needed the information.

I had to gather as much as possible. Only then could I—

"Go after them."

Find them and kill them.

What did my physical state matter?

Even if my body were to break, I would go.

With that resolve, I was about to press further when—

[Indeed.]

The Lord nodded.

[This rebellion was led by my bloodline.]

I wasn’t surprised by his answer.

It was predictable.

What I wasn’t expecting was—

[However, I don’t know who initiated it.]

“Pardon?”

His next words left me stunned.

A rebellion led by his bloodline, and yet he didn’t know who was behind it?

"What on earth...?"

It was absurd.

Did someone within the bloodline conceal their identity while instigating this rebellion?

As I frowned in confusion, the Lord continued.

[From the information I’ve recently uncovered, it seems the rebellion was started by the Blue Wolf’s child—Vioe-gun. He led the rebellion with the support of certain bloodline members.]

[However, I’ve yet to uncover which bloodline gave him legitimacy.]

The Ice Palace—specifically the family tasked with military power—

It wasn’t the family head who started the rebellion.

"It was the child of the family head?"

It was strange.

Was their family management so terrible that something like this happened?

It felt similar to...

"Wait, isn’t this somewhat like my situation?"

A fleeting thought crossed my mind.

It wasn’t a perfect parallel, but the similarities were enough to make me pause.

I pushed the irrelevant thought aside and focused back on the conversation.

At that moment,

[Given the situation with Vioe-gun, I have a question for you as well.]

The Lord’s words caught my attention.

“...What do you mean?”

The traitor, Vioe-gun.

What could he have to do with me?

The Lord continued.

[I’ve heard...]

[That Vioe-gun was a close friend of yours.]*

“...?”

The Lord’s words baffled me. A friend? That was nonsense.

“A friend? I don’t know anyone like that.”

[You truly don’t?]

“Yes, how would I know someone from the North Sea?”

[The youngest son of the Blue Wolf, Vioe-gun. In Zhongyuan, he is known by another name.]

The Lord’s gaze fixed on me as he spoke his final words.

[Dormant Dragon Woo Hyuk.]*

At that moment, my mind went completely blank.