Childhood Friend of the Zenith Chapter 1230

That man. The name of the man who said he was the Vice Captain of the Shinryu Corps.

I remember it.

The name is clear.

“Was it Taehoan?”

I’m not sure, but I remember it that way. The cross-shaped scar on his cheek.

I remembered it when I saw it.

“I remember him as one of the Taema.”

Early demonic practitioners. They were selected by the Heavenly Demon himself and given demonic qi.

They were the ones who possessed greater power and demonic arts than other demonic practitioners.

That man was one of those Taema-in.

His alias was probably…

“Paema-gwon.”

That must have been his alias. I remember it. I remember that demonic practitioner of that level, but not the others.

But.

“…He was a member of the Shinryu-tai?”

He was a member of the Shinryu-tai? I didn’t even know he was from an orthodox sect. This is the first time I’ve heard that he was from the Shinryu-tai.

He was even a Vice Captain.

He was much more important than I thought.

I looked at him with curiosity.

“Members of the Shinryu-tai will also be participating in this martial arts tournament.”

Kenzo continued.

“I hope it will be a good experience for everyone.”

The participation of the Shinryu-tai. Perhaps because they witnessed it with their own eyes, everyone who had been watching remained silent.

With that, Kenzo turned his back and left. As soon as he disappeared, the Iron Blood Corps members who had been sitting down stood up.

“Have fun. I’ll be watching.”

He speaks while waving his large hand and turns away. I’m not sure if it’s a mistake or not, but at that moment, it felt like he looked at me.

It probably wasn’t a mistake.

“……Hmph.”

Pae-jon clicks his tongue and stands up.

Geom-hu smiles slightly and follows them.

Right after the Heavenly-Ranked figures leave. The remaining people exchange glances.

At that moment.

“Hmm.”

The Vice Captain of the Shinryu Corps turned his head and looked at us.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so many familiar faces.”

The others flinched at his smiling face. He exuded power. He had an overwhelming presence.

“Especially…”

His gaze moved and fixed on something. It was where my father was standing.

“I didn’t expect to see you here. Isn’t that right, Shinryong… No, I should call you Vice Captain of the Blue Dragon Corps now, shouldn’t I?”

“…”

Looking at his father, Taehoan’s eyes flashed with disappointment.

“It’s a shame. Even after receiving that alias, you didn’t come to our side.”

“Greetings, Captain Shinryong.”

His father merely bowed his head slightly to Taeho-an. He said nothing more.

“You’re still as quiet as ever.”

Seeing his father like that, Taeho-an patted him on the shoulder.

“Do your best. Opportunities like this don’t come often. Oh, and…”

This time, Taeho-an’s gaze turned to me.

“You, right?”

“Yes?”

“Are you the disciple of Elder Pae-jon?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

He looks me up and down. I feel like I’ve been getting that kind of look a lot lately.

“…You’re a little different from what I heard.”

“Yes, I’m a little better in person.”

“…Huh.”

He reacts to my words as if he finds them ridiculous. I shrug my shoulders and move on.

“You’re an interesting guy. Or are you just a little cocky?”

“I don’t know.”

“Whatever.”

Dao quickly looks away and turns back.

“Whatever. You’ll find out when you see for yourself.”

With that, he took a step forward. Instantly, his new body disappeared, and he appeared where his troops were.

“As the Alliance Leader said, it’s been a long time since the last festival, so I hope everyone enjoys themselves. I hope there are some new faces. See you later, then.”

With a smirk, Taehoan disappeared. With him gone, the members of the Shinryong Corps also disappeared all at once.

Once the Shinryongdae was completely gone, everyone finally let out the breath they had been holding.

“Huh… Phew…”

“…What was that momentum…”

“It’s the Shinryongdae, after all…”

It seemed like they had been exerting their energy the whole time, as everyone looked exhausted.

“What’s this? If the Shinryongdae participates, I wonder if it even has any meaning.”

Someone who appeared to be a member of the Bi Ryong Dae shrugged his shoulders.

“I was thinking of trying to catch the attention of the Iron Blood Division. But now, there’s no point.”

“It’s obvious that Taeho-an will win.”

“It’s embarrassing enough that the Shinryong Dae is participating, but the Vice Captain is also attending… We’re going to be humiliated.”

Most of the reactions are that there is no way they can win. Is the difference between them and Taehoan really that extreme?

“I guess he was better than I thought.”

I can’t believe he was in the Shinryong Corps. Judging from the reactions, he must have been quite strong.

He didn’t even participate in the duel, but judging from the reactions, he must have been quite strong.

At that moment.

“But something seems different, doesn’t it?”

Someone says curtly amid the reactions.

“No matter how outstanding Shinryongdae is, we have the great Shinryong on our side. He is the youngest Vice Captain of the Cheongryong Corps who kicked away his chance to join Shinryongdae.”

“…”

All eyes are on my father.

Amidst the commotion, I focused on the words “kicked out of the Shinryu Corps.”

“Come on… No matter how outstanding Shinryu is, this is a little different, isn’t it?”

“I guess so.”

The response to those words was lukewarm. They acknowledged Shinryu’s excellence, but they were saying that this was different.

Even so, my father didn’t seem to care at all.

He just remained silent with his usual expressionless face.

“Get ready.”

He said to us as he walked forward.

The sound was still audible, but he seemed unconcerned and kept walking.

“Hm.”

Following his father’s back, the Blue Dragon Corps moved.

Among them, I thought.

“How can I tear them apart?”

How can I tear apart those who spewed such nonsense?

I pondered it calmly and carefully.

*

The preparations for the duel were simple. All the participants were already at the Martial Alliance, and the stage was ready, so all that was left was to start.

That must have been why they gathered so early in the morning.

If it were me, I would have explained everything and asked them to do it the next day. I didn’t know they were going to rush it like this.

They said the duel would start immediately after the explanation.

There weren’t that many people…

“Let’s hurry up and get this over with.”

The Iron Blood Division was rushing us. That old man was probably rushing us because he wanted to get his share.

“…He’s so impatient.”

What’s so urgent that he’s acting like that?

I don’t understand. I was actually glad.

“The sooner, the better.”

If it were more relaxed, I could at least prepare. But that wasn’t necessary.

So, the participants immediately surrounded the duel stage.

There was no audience. It was a space filled only with martial artists.

Well, not completely empty. Those inside the gate were allowed to watch.

That’s why I saw many familiar faces.

I saw Mi-boon and Hyun So-young.

Was that my mother wearing a white headband next to her?

No, she wouldn’t have brought her here like that.

Just as he was trying to convince himself that it wasn’t her,

whoosh!

The person wearing the veil waved her hands frantically in his direction.

“…”

It seemed to be her.

He tried hard to ignore her.

She brought her here? He was about to lose his mind. Wasn’t she supposed to be hidden?

I held back a sigh. I glanced at my father. His eyes were also flickering strangely.

It seemed that he had noticed my mother.

“Oh no.”

I shook my head. Just then.

“Those who have been called, come forward.”

The voice sounded as if announcing the start of a duel. There was no grand beginning. I could tell that it had been prepared in a hurry.

But.

“Cheongryongdae Baekyangcheon.”

“Huh?”

My name was called first.

What’s going on? Is this a coincidence? I looked around suspiciously.

“The youngest is called first.”

So-i, who was standing next to me, explained. Oh, I joined the military the latest…?

Not really understanding, I climbed onto the stage.

As I climbed up, clearly showing that I didn’t want to go, the person who seemed to be the referee looked at me.

“Do you know what to do?”

“No.”

“It seems you haven’t been given any instructions.”

“Yes. This is my first time…”

“Hmm.”

The man nodded and continued his explanation.

“It’s simple. Just call out the name of the person you want to fight and then fight them.”

“Just call out their name and fight them?”

“Yes. Since you’re the youngest, we’re giving you the first chance.”

“……Oh.”

The chance to pick a weaker opponent to fight. Hearing that, I nodded. It wasn’t a bad method, I suppose.

‘No wonder they didn’t draw lots.’

I wondered what they were going to do, but I guess this is it.

“Call out names.”

Who should I call? I looked around, shifting my gaze. The eyes staring at me were full of ambition.

Pick me now, you youngster.

That’s what their eyes were saying. They must love the youngest so much, even though they don’t even look at me normally.

It wasn’t funny, so I looked around.

“Hm?”

I found someone in the crowd.

Everyone was looking at me, but he was the only one pretending not to notice me.

“Ah.”

I saw him and smiled. It was a familiar face. I was very happy to see him.

“I’ll choose you.”

My hand pointed at someone as I spoke. The guy who had been avoiding my gaze. He flinched when he noticed my gaze and my hand. I chuckled at his funny reaction. The young man trembled as he looked at me.

It was Beoryong-dae’s Beom-dong.