Childhood Friend of the Zenith-Chapter 702: The Divine Dragon Martial Arts Tournament (13)
A line of people stretched before them.
A black-haired woman, seemingly excited, was staring intently at her own hand. Looking at Bong Soon, Tang So-yeol asked:
“...Lady Bong, are you in a good mood?”
“Yes!”
Hearing the question, Bong Soon answered with a bright smile.
“It was so smooth and squeaky clean. I want to touch it again. Do you think that guy will let me touch it again if I meet him?”
“...I don’t know about the texture, but my heart definitely felt a bit tight,” Tang So-yeol muttered.
And calling him "that guy"... Tang So-yeol felt a bit faint at the title.
The Divine Dragon of Shaolin.
Known as the "Shooting Star of a Generation," he was a leading prodigy among countless geniuses and one of the most renowned martial artists in recent years.
The mere fact of his presence already had all eyes focused on him. And then, for someone to reach out and boldly touch the head of such a figure...
Watching the scene earlier, Tang So-yeol had nearly fainted in disbelief.
And yet...
‘Letting her touch it—what even was that?’
The Divine Dragon, who had allowed Bong Soon to reach out and touch his head when she rushed at him, was even more baffling.
‘Was it consideration?’
It could be viewed as kindness, she supposed.
To put it kindly, Bong Soon was innocent. To put it bluntly, she was somewhat lacking.
Was the Divine Dragon accommodating her behavior out of understanding for her naivety?
If he truly lived up to the reputation of being a compassionate Shaolin figure, it might explain his reaction.
But still...
‘That look he gave Bong Soon didn’t seem to align with pure benevolence.’
Compassion and consideration.
The emotions in his gaze seemed slightly removed from such sentiments.
At least, that’s how it appeared to Tang So-yeol.
‘No way.’
Surely not.
A Shaolin figure, said to have abandoned all worldly desires to pursue the Buddha’s teachings, wouldn’t succumb to such base temptations.
Tang So-yeol dismissed it as her own imagination.
“Lady Bong.”
“Yes?”
“What happened earlier was an extremely fortunate situation. It’s a significant breach of etiquette to ask someone, especially someone bald—um, without hair—for permission to touch their head.”
Though hair wasn’t the issue here, Tang So-yeol, flustered, ended up rambling nonsensically.
“Yes, I understand!”
Bong Soon nodded cheerfully as if she somewhat grasped the point, smiling brightly. Then, she added to Tang So-yeol:
“So, I won’t kill that guy. I’ll spare him once. Because I’m grateful.”
“...”
Somehow, the words sounded incredibly chilling.
The fact that they were uttered with such a pure expression only added to the eeriness.
“Lady Bong—”
“We’re closing soon! Everyone, please line up!”
Before Tang So-yeol could say anything further, a warning rang out from a martial ally.
“Ah! I have to go now! Sister, see you later!”
“Wa—wait!”
Before Tang So-yeol could stop her, Bong Soon had already dashed off, following the color-coded badge hanging from her neck.
Watching her go, Tang So-yeol shouted after her:
“Don’t forget the Young Master’s words! Moderation!!”
“Okay!”
Without looking back, Bong Soon waved lightly in affirmation.
Tang So-yeol could only let out a deep sigh as she watched her.
“Ay, such a headache....”
Of all days—no, precisely on this day—it happened to be the same preliminaries.
Gu Yangcheon had instructed her to “just take it easy on her,” and Tang So-yeol had agreed. Yet, it felt far more exhausting than she had anticipated.
A mischievous troublemaker who was hard to handle.
How had someone like her come to know Gu Yangcheon?
‘What are you planning now?’
Narrowing her eyes, Tang So-yeol thought of Gu Yangcheon.
It had been three years since the incident at the Tang Clan.
In that time, Gu Yangcheon had been relentlessly busy.
Apart from the brief periods he spent away for training, he had hardly taken a moment to breathe.
Even during the times they saw each other, the pace of his life seemed almost surreal.
Gu Yangcheon underwent an absurd amount of training daily.
If he had any time left, he would study poison alongside Tang So-yeol or head out for errands.
Even those errands were carried out with an unyielding, tight expression, as though they were part of a greater purpose.
Then he would return and resume training.
She had hardly ever seen him rest or sleep properly.
As time passed, Tang So-yeol began to see unfamiliar faces—people Gu Yangcheon had brought back with him.
Without exception, these individuals all bore signs of having been broken in some way.
Gu Yangcheon’s gaze toward them was as cold as frost.
Was it hatred?
Or avoidance?
His emotions were laid bare, yet he continued to save people.
What was he gathering all these people for?
Though curious, Tang So-yeol never asked.
She knew it would only weigh on Gu Yangcheon.
There was even a time when he returned reeking of blood.
She never asked what he had done then, either.
Later, she learned that he had been eradicating marauding demonic beasts and simultaneously annihilating sectless invaders who had attacked a village.
When she asked him why, Gu Yangcheon had simply replied:
[“I just needed to blow off some steam.”]
Though she knew that wasn’t the entire truth, there was a hint of honesty in his words.
He was becoming consumed.
As each day passed, Gu Yangcheon was changing.
His cultivation advanced, and his knowledge deepened.
The Tang Clan’s leader, the Poison King, once remarked that Gu Yangcheon was far more intelligent than he had anticipated.
A kind of brilliance often referred to as "academic aptitude."
He never asked the same question twice about any knowledge imparted to him, and most of what he saw or heard, he memorized immediately.
When the two were alone, the Poison King had confided something.
If Gu Yangcheon had been born into the Tang Clan, he would have at least reached the rank of elder.
Tang So-yeol suspected the Poison King thought Gu Yangcheon could have been the clan leader, but pride had likely kept him from saying it outright.
A truly remarkable talent.
For such words to come from the Poison King himself, it meant Gu Yangcheon had transcended mediocrity.
Yet Gu Yangcheon often underestimated himself.
He would claim that he was slow-witted, blaming his supposed lack of genius for his struggles.
"If I were a genius, I would’ve done this effortlessly," he would grumble as he worked.
‘What kind of genius is he even referring to?’
Who did Gu Yangcheon see as a genius?
Was he talking about the Three Supremes reigning above the heavens?
Or perhaps the Six Dragons and Three Peaks?
If it was the Three Supremes, maybe. But comparing himself to the Six Dragons and Three Peaks seemed a bit excessive.
‘...Who could possibly surpass Young Master Gu?’
Tang So-yeol herself was one of the Six Dragons and Three Peaks, known as the "Poison Queen."
Even including herself, no one she could think of outshone Gu Yangcheon.
In fact, there was no comparison.
Who would dare to compare themselves to him?
To Tang So-yeol, Gu Yangcheon was a genius bestowed upon the world by the heavens.
His power, his cunning, the sheer presence that captivated those around him—
And even his strikingly handsome face.
There wasn’t a single person more perfect than Gu Yangcheon.
Well, except for his slightly (?) short temper and his overwhelming success with women.
‘Success with women....’
At the thought of that phrase, Tang So-yeol let out a wry smile.
“Hah.”
Then she exhaled a deep sigh that rose from within her.
It was genuinely frustrating.
‘What should I do?’
She still remembered the expression on Gu Yangcheon’s face when Namgung Bi-ah left for the Northern Sea.
At that moment, Tang So-yeol had been certain.
She could never take Namgung Bi-ah’s place.
Though her cultivation had reached a height she had once only dreamed of through grueling and hellish training...
‘It’s bittersweet....’
Despite all her efforts to stand by his side, Tang So-yeol couldn’t shake an unnameable sense of regret.
Was she still searching for a place she would never attain?
Though she tried to convince herself otherwise, she already knew.
‘Giving up is never as easy as it sounds.’
Even when you let go of so much, there are always things you cannot release.
Thinking about this, Tang So-yeol let out a faint smile.
At that moment—
“Tch.”
A strange sound came from behind her.
Tang So-yeol erased her smile and turned to look at the source of the noise.
Not too far away, a man was receiving curious glances from onlookers while staring directly at her.
She recognized him.
The man’s furrowed brow made it clear that he wasn’t looking at her kindly.
Yu Tanggeom.
A martial artist of the Hwagyeong level and an exceptional swordsman.
He was someone Tang So-yeol had had a minor altercation with before.
Judging by his presence here, it seemed he too was participating in the first round of preliminaries.
“...”
Their eyes met as Tang So-yeol stared back at him.
It was remarkable how the fiery emotions she’d felt when thinking of Gu Yangcheon cooled so quickly the moment she saw Yu Tanggeom.
Her body and gaze settled, and she looked at him as one might regard a pebble on the ground.
Noticing this, Yu Tanggeom began walking toward her, the distance between them shrinking with each step.
When only three paces remained between them, Yu Tanggeom spoke.
“It seems that friend of yours isn’t around today.”
Tang So-yeol tilted her head slightly.
“Which friend might you be referring to?”
“The one they call the Little Lord of the Underworld, from the Gu Clan. The young one who insulted me.”
“...”
“I was curious, so I looked into him. Turns out, he’s quite an impressive fellow.”
Yu Tanggeom’s lips curled slightly.
“I wondered why he acted so confidently against me. But given his remarkable talents, it makes sense. I suppose I was the same when I was younger.”
At the mention of Gu Yangcheon, Tang So-yeol’s brow furrowed slightly.
“With such talent, arrogance is inevitable. I hear he’s only just passed twenty. An age when one’s judgment is often lacking.”
Judging by his tone, Yu Tanggeom had done a lot of digging.
“I suppose he let the rumors about his skills get to his head and acted out accordingly.”
By "rumors," he meant one thing:
Few believed the stories surrounding the Little Lord of the Underworld.
The claim that he was the youngest to achieve the Hwagyeong level had been dismissed as false, with that title instead attributed to Shaolin’s Divine Dragon.
Other tales, such as him defeating a Hwagyeong-level martial artist single-handedly, were also assumed to be fabricated. Even the Shaolin Pavilion incident was believed to have involved external intervention.
And yet, the rumors had already spread, so the Murim Alliance had no reason to suppress them.
That was the current narrative surrounding the Little Lord of the Underworld.
Of course, after his brief clash with Yu Tanggeom, it had been confirmed that he was indeed a powerful mid-level warrior.
Still, most assumed that Yu Tanggeom hadn’t been serious during their fight.
It was only logical.
How could a mid-level warrior possibly contend with someone of Yu Tanggeom’s caliber? Surely, he had simply been going easy on the younger man to teach him a lesson.
That was the general belief.
After hearing Yu Tanggeom’s words, Tang So-yeol responded.
“Senior, I’m curious as to what you’re trying to say.”
She cut him off, clearly uninterested in listening any further.
Yu Tanggeom’s expression twisted for a moment.
“You, Lady Tang, are as impudent as ever. Neither you nor that friend of yours seem to understand your place.”
He spoke of the young upstart, bloated with pride from exaggerated rumors,
and the arrogant scion of a prestigious family, clinging to past glories.
Neither, in his view, seemed to know their place.
The Tang Clan’s leader, the Poison King, once remarked that Gu Yangcheon was far more intelligent than he had anticipated.
A kind of brilliance often referred to as "academic aptitude."
He never asked the same question twice about any knowledge imparted to him, and most of what he saw or heard, he memorized immediately.
When the two were alone, the Poison King had confided something.
If Gu Yangcheon had been born into the Tang Clan, he would have at least reached the rank of elder.
Tang So-yeol suspected the Poison King thought Gu Yangcheon could have been the clan leader, but pride had likely kept him from saying it outright.
A truly remarkable talent.
For such words to come from the Poison King himself, it meant Gu Yangcheon had transcended mediocrity.
Yet Gu Yangcheon often underestimated himself.
He would claim that he was slow-witted, blaming his supposed lack of genius for his struggles.
"If I were a genius, I would’ve done this effortlessly," he would grumble as he worked.
‘What kind of genius is he even referring to?’
Who did Gu Yangcheon see as a genius?
Was he talking about the Three Supremes reigning above the heavens?
Or perhaps the Six Dragons and Three Peaks?
If it was the Three Supremes, maybe. But comparing himself to the Six Dragons and Three Peaks seemed a bit excessive.
‘...Who could possibly surpass Young Master Gu?’
Tang So-yeol herself was one of the Six Dragons and Three Peaks, known as the "Poison Queen."
Even including herself, no one she could think of outshone Gu Yangcheon.
In fact, there was no comparison.
Who would dare to compare themselves to him?
To Tang So-yeol, Gu Yangcheon was a genius bestowed upon the world by the heavens.
His power, his cunning, the sheer presence that captivated those around him—
And even his strikingly handsome face.
There wasn’t a single person more perfect than Gu Yangcheon.
Well, except for his slightly (?) short temper and his overwhelming success with women.
‘Success with women....’
At the thought of that phrase, Tang So-yeol let out a wry smile.
“Hah.”
Then she exhaled a deep sigh that rose from within her.
It was genuinely frustrating.
‘What should I do?’
She still remembered the expression on Gu Yangcheon’s face when Namgung Bi-ah left for the Northern Sea.
At that moment, Tang So-yeol had been certain.
She could never take Namgung Bi-ah’s place.
Though her cultivation had reached a height she had once only dreamed of through grueling and hellish training...
‘It’s bittersweet....’
Despite all her efforts to stand by his side, Tang So-yeol couldn’t shake an unnameable sense of regret.
Was she still searching for a place she would never attain?
Though she tried to convince herself otherwise, she already knew.
‘Giving up is never as easy as it sounds.’
Even when you let go of so much, there are always things you cannot release.
Thinking about this, Tang So-yeol let out a faint smile.
At that moment—
“Tch.”
A strange sound came from behind her.
Tang So-yeol erased her smile and turned to look at the source of the noise.
Not too far away, a man was receiving curious glances from onlookers while staring directly at her.
She recognized him.
The man’s furrowed brow made it clear ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) that he wasn’t looking at her kindly.
Yu Tanggeom.
A martial artist of the Hwagyeong level and an exceptional swordsman.
He was someone Tang So-yeol had had a minor altercation with before.
Judging by his presence here, it seemed he too was participating in the first round of preliminaries.
“...”
Their eyes met as Tang So-yeol stared back at him.
It was remarkable how the fiery emotions she’d felt when thinking of Gu Yangcheon cooled so quickly the moment she saw Yu Tanggeom.
Her body and gaze settled, and she looked at him as one might regard a pebble on the ground.
Noticing this, Yu Tanggeom began walking toward her, the distance between them shrinking with each step.
When only three paces remained between them, Yu Tanggeom spoke.
“It seems that friend of yours isn’t around today.”
Tang So-yeol tilted her head slightly.
“Which friend might you be referring to?”
“The one they call the Little Lord of the Underworld, from the Gu Clan. The young one who insulted me.”
“...”
“I was curious, so I looked into him. Turns out, he’s quite an impressive fellow.”
Yu Tanggeom’s lips curled slightly.
“I wondered why he acted so confidently against me. But given his remarkable talents, it makes sense. I suppose I was the same when I was younger.”
At the mention of Gu Yangcheon, Tang So-yeol’s brow furrowed slightly.
“With such talent, arrogance is inevitable. I hear he’s only just passed twenty. An age when one’s judgment is often lacking.”
Judging by his tone, Yu Tanggeom had done a lot of digging.
“I suppose he let the rumors about his skills get to his head and acted out accordingly.”
By "rumors," he meant one thing:
Few believed the stories surrounding the Little Lord of the Underworld.
The claim that he was the youngest to achieve the Hwagyeong level had been dismissed as false, with that title instead attributed to Shaolin’s Divine Dragon.
Other tales, such as him defeating a Hwagyeong-level martial artist single-handedly, were also assumed to be fabricated. Even the Shaolin Pavilion incident was believed to have involved external intervention.
And yet, the rumors had already spread, so the Murim Alliance had no reason to suppress them.
That was the current narrative surrounding the Little Lord of the Underworld.
Of course, after his brief clash with Yu Tanggeom, it had been confirmed that he was indeed a powerful mid-level warrior.
Still, most assumed that Yu Tanggeom hadn’t been serious during their fight.
It was only logical.
How could a mid-level warrior possibly contend with someone of Yu Tanggeom’s caliber? Surely, he had simply been going easy on the younger man to teach him a lesson.
That was the general belief.
After hearing Yu Tanggeom’s words, Tang So-yeol responded.
“Senior, I’m curious as to what you’re trying to say.”
She cut him off, clearly uninterested in listening any further.
Yu Tanggeom’s expression twisted for a moment.
“You, Lady Tang, are as impudent as ever. Neither you nor that friend of yours seem to understand your place.”
He spoke of the young upstart, bloated with pride from exaggerated rumors,
and the arrogant scion of a prestigious family, clinging to past glories.
Neither, in his view, seemed to know their place.
"Arrogance..."
Tang So-yeol repeated Yu Tanggeom’s words with a faint laugh. It wasn’t the smile she wore when thinking of Gu Yangcheon.
This was closer to a sneer.
"Who’s calling whom arrogant, I wonder?"
"What did you say?"
Yu Tanggeom ground his teeth, about to retort, but Tang So-yeol spoke first.
"It seems to me that it’s you, Senior, who’s blind to the world around you. Unlike Young Master Gu, you’ve long outgrown the age of youthful foolishness. How unfortunate."
Her words carried an implicit jab: We can be excused for being young and naive, but you? You’re too old for that. Act your age.
"You insolent wretch...!"
Yu Tanggeom understood her meaning and reached out to grab her.
But—
Swoosh—
"What the...?"
His hand grasped at empty air.
Tang So-yeol had vanished.
Where did she go?
As Yu Tanggeom, flustered, began to look around for her—
Press—
"...!"
He stiffened.
A weight pressed against his back.
"You know,"
A voice came from behind him, making his breath hitch.
It was Tang So-yeol. Somehow, she was now behind him, with her hand firmly pressing against his back.
When had she moved? Yu Tanggeom hadn’t even noticed.
"The plum wine at the Yinghua Inn isn’t particularly good. Strange, isn’t it? They market it as their signature drink, but it’s lackluster."
Though seemingly irrelevant, her words made Yu Tanggeom freeze.
The Yinghua Inn.
It was a place he was familiar with.
In fact, it was the inn where Yu Tanggeom was currently staying.
"The price is a bit higher than other places, and the walls are thin, making it poorly soundproofed. Lady Hwayue moans louder than Lady Yangyue, it seems."
"..."
Sweat beaded on Yu Tanggeom’s forehead.
Hwayue was the name of the courtesan he had been with last night. Yangyue, the one from the night before.
"What... what are you talking about?"
"Just some advice, out of concern for my senior."
Her tone was unsettling. Yu Tanggeom already understood the implications of what she was saying.
"I’ve noticed that you drink with your left hand. It’s odd since you’re right-handed, isn’t it?"
"You little..."
"And after training, you always drink plum wine. Do you like it that much? Two bottles the day before yesterday, four bottles yesterday. With the martial tournament just around the corner, perhaps you should cut back a little?"
Yu Tanggeom’s cheek twitched violently.
Even though he had been suppressing his Qi to remain unnoticed in the presence of the Alliance in Hunan, she had still observed him in such detail.
"Breaking fixed habits is important too, you know. You never know who might slip poison into the wine you drink after training."
"You—!"
He spun around in fury.
At that moment—
Tap.
Something sharp pressed against his chest, right above his heart.
It was Tang So-yeol’s dagger.
At a distance where no one else could see, she had placed the blade right against Yu Tanggeom’s heart.
"Don’t bother sending people after me anymore. It’s starting to get annoying cleaning up after them."
She whispered this warning close to his ear, her breath brushing against him.
"From now on, live with caution. Whatever you do, you’ll never know what I might do in return."
Whether you go to the restroom.
Whether you eat a meal.
Whether you drink wine.
Even whether you embrace a woman.
I can do anything to you. So live with that fear.
Her warning left Yu Tanggeom’s pupils trembling.
Perhaps it was because of the threat, but he couldn’t muster another word and only stared at Tang So-yeol.
Watching him, she gave a bright, innocent smile.
"Well then, see you next time, Senior."
With a graceful bow, she turned and walked away.
As she moved, Tang So-yeol thought to herself.
Should I just kill him?
He was becoming a nuisance, constantly sticking around.
If only he hadn’t brought up Gu Yangcheon, she might have let it slide. After all, he was just another man, and Gu Yangcheon had looked so dashing when he protected her—it had worked in his favor.
But he keeps running his mouth despite his age.
It seemed like it was time to deal with him properly.
With that thought, Tang So-yeol headed back to her quarters.
******************
The back alleys of Hunan.
While the second round of preliminaries was being prepared at the Murim Alliance’s grounds, a figure clutching something hidden in his arms cautiously moved through the shadows.
“Huff... Huff...”
He stepped lightly, darting through alleyways, constantly hiding himself.
He maintained a steady pace, continuously glancing around, his gaze restless and vigilant.
Though his behavior was far from ordinary, his concealment skills were strong enough to avoid detection by those nearby.
I need to hurry...
He had to deliver the information he had discovered to his superiors.
With that single thought driving him, he moved with unwavering determination.
His expression betrayed no fear, his steps were measured and deliberate. If he continued like this, he would make it without being caught.
His eyes burned with excitement at the thought.
The bloodline of the Sword Queen.
As he recalled the information he had confirmed at the Alliance, his lips quivered in anticipation.
He had found someone who appeared to be a descendant of the legendary Sword Queen.
There was no mistake.
Although the physical resemblance was unclear, the object that child carried was unmistakably something he recognized.
I must report this to him...!
This was an opportunity he couldn’t let slip away.
As he turned another corner to ensure his escape—
“You’ve been circling around too much.”
Thwack!
“...Gah!”
A hand shot out from the shadows ahead, gripping his throat and lifting him off the ground.
“Ah, you should’ve just gone straight instead of all this sneaking around. It’s not like that would’ve helped you avoid getting caught.”
“Guh... guh...!”
A pained groan escaped his lips as the sudden attack left him powerless.
He couldn’t even struggle.
The moment the hand seized his throat, he was overwhelmed by an oppressive force.
Who is this?
Are they from the Alliance?
In his agony, the man strained to lift his gaze and get a look at his attacker.
What he first saw was a youthful face, deceptively innocent.
Then came the sharpness of the eyes, sending a shiver down his spine, and the cold gleam within them, causing a second, stronger shudder.
It was a familiar face.
One of the individuals he had been monitoring.
“So... So-yeom...”
He tried to utter the name of his attacker.
“I thought it would take a bit longer, but you took the bait faster than I expected. If I’d been any slower, I might’ve missed you,” the attacker said casually, ignoring whatever he was trying to say.
“...Now then. I’m busy, so let’s keep this quick.”
With his free hand, Gu Yangcheon pulled away the cloth concealing the man’s face.
The revealed features were striking—smooth, delicate, almost feminine, with faint scars marring the otherwise graceful visage.
Gu Yangcheon let out a chuckle.
“What business do the nuns of Sichuan have with our little lunatic?”
The nuns of Sichuan.
A term referring to the Emei Sect , one of the Nine Great Schools, composed entirely of female martial artists.
