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Childhood Friend of the Zenith (Web Novel) - Chapter CH.1078: The World of Ascension (8)
Chapter CH.1078: The World of Ascension (8)
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I don’t have many memories of my father.
That was simply how my life was. I never went out of my way to learn more about him.
The biggest reason was that I wasn’t particularly curious about his life.
What kind of life had he lived?
Gu Yangcheon’s father, the head of the Gu family—what kind of man was he before he became that?
I had never wondered. I had never felt the need to wonder.
That’s why, even when I later heard stories about my father from others—
I never felt much interest.
I only had a single question.
‘Why did Father end up as just one of the Hundred Masters?’
I knew that wasn’t the case.
Father was strong.
Even now, when I had reached the realm of transcendence and was counted among the Three Supreme Masters, I wasn’t sure if I could win against him.
When he was younger, he was called the Divine Dragon, wasn’t he?
That, too, I knew.
During the Great War of Righteous and Demonic, he had been called Flame Ghost, earning countless achievements.
‘Then why?’
Why did my father settle for being just one of the Hundred Masters, never revealing his true strength?
And more than that—
‘Even after achieving so much, why does no one know about it?’
For someone who had accomplished so much and possessed such power, too few people knew his name.
It was all a mystery.
Of course, all the heads of the Gu family had been like that.
But to me, my father was a man whom I could only describe as an enigma.
That’s what I had believed—
Until now.
"......."
I stared at the young man before me.
The young version of my father.
And I was flooded with countless thoughts.
He looked slightly older than me.
But he definitely wasn’t thirty yet.
He was tall. Naturally—Father had always been much taller than me.
Broad shoulders, strikingly masculine features.
Simply put, he was handsome.
If Shin Noya were here to see this, he’d probably say—
"Wow, the mysteries of genetics. How did it happen that such a miserable thing came from a perfectly built person?"
I could practically hear that bastard’s voice saying it.
Like all members of the Gu family, my father had that uniquely fierce appearance.
But his well-defined features gave him a refined kind of ruggedness.
And his unusually tall stature—rare among the Gu bloodline—only added to his striking presence.
‘Damn it.’
I held back the sigh that threatened to escape.
Even thinking about this felt overwhelming right now.
Thump—! Thump—!
Even suppressing the surging power of Nine Flames Firewheel Technique was a struggle.
‘Damn it, calm down.’
The energy inside me was reacting violently to his presence.
I tried to suppress it, but the backlash was too strong.
I clenched my trembling chest and looked at my father again.
He was young—of course, that much was obvious at first glance.
‘But... damn.’
He was strong.
Stronger than I had expected. He wasn’t even thirty yet—
‘...His cultivation level is unreadable.’
I couldn’t clearly see his realm. He was concealing his power.
‘His mastery of Nine Flames Firewheel Technique... it’s at the Eighth Star?’
His martial arts were nearly perfected—almost at Great Mastery.
‘I could try to read his realm.’
But if I forcibly probed, he would notice. His perception was at that level.
Which meant—
‘At minimum, he’s at Hwagyeong.’
He had already reached Hwagyeong at this age.
‘That’s insane.’
To be at Hwagyeong at this age?
Sure, there were prodigies like Namgung Bi-ah, Wi Seol-ah, and Tang So-yeol who had reached that level young.
‘But this...’
This was beyond even them.
It was truly shocking.
Just as I was reeling from the realization of my father’s strength—
"Mi Horan."
A deep voice rang out.
At the sound of my father’s voice, my mother flinched.
"What are you doing?"
"......."
His crimson eyes turned to her. His expression was unreadable.
Avoiding his gaze, my mother responded.
"Can't you tell just by looking...? I was working."
She was working.
But—
"I told you not to move around inside the main faction’s grounds without permission, didn’t I?"
"......."
At his heavy words, my mother let out a small cough.
"...I just had some free time, that’s all..."
That, too, was surprising.
My mother was making excuses. That was rare.
Then—
"See? If you just stayed put, you wouldn’t be getting scolded."
From the side, Moyong Biyeon interjected with a smug tone.
She looked utterly pleased with herself.
My mother shot her a chilling glare.
"Tch..."
Seeing that, Moyong Biyeon awkwardly hid behind my father.
"...Haa."
With a sigh, my mother turned her gaze to me.
"Anyway. Sorry about this. I had my reasons."
The way she said "anyway" irritated me, but I didn’t bother pointing it out.
I had enough on my plate just dealing with my father.
As my mother spoke to me, my father’s gaze shifted back in my direction.
Our eyes met.
His crimson irises burned.
For a while, we simply stared at each other in silence.
Then—
"Ah, do you know who this is?"
Suddenly, Moyong Biyeon spoke again, dropping her formal speech.
"It’s the famous Divine Dragon. Cool, right? You’re lucky to see him in person. Oh, and he also happens to be my—"
"Gu Cheolwoon."
Before Moyong Biyeon could spout any more nonsense, my father cut her off.
Then, he extended his hand toward me.
A large hand entered my vision.
I stared at it for a moment—then grasped it firmly.
"Baek... Yangcheon."
Our hands met. I didn’t feel anything in particular.
I had done my best to suppress Nine Flames Firewheel Technique, so he shouldn’t have noticed anything.
"......."
"......."
A brief silence passed.
Once again, it was my father who spoke first.
"Are you here to take the test?"
"Yes."
My father nodded at my response.
"I see. I hope you achieve good results."
"Thank you. It’s an honor to meet you."
"Likewise."
"I... need to leave now for my next test."
I let go of his hand and turned away.
I walked off quickly. I had to get away.
I feared that my pounding heartbeat would somehow reach my father’s ears.
And so, I fled as if running away.
* * *
After Baek Yangcheon disappeared—
Gu Cheolwoon silently watched the direction the young man had gone.
Was his hurried pace because of the test?
As he observed him closely, Moyong Biyeon spoke up beside him.
"Strange, isn’t it?"
Gu Cheolwoon turned to look at her.
"Since when do you take an interest in other people? And a man, at that. Oh! Do you... like men? Is that why you were never interested in—"
"That’s not it."
He cut her nonsense short. He didn’t want to hear such things.
He was about to ignore her and look away when Mi Horan spoke.
"Did you sense something?"
"Sense something?"
"Yes. That person— Paejon has already declared him as his disciple."
"......."
"What? Paejon!?"
Moyong Biyeon reacted with a start.
"That Paejon!?"
"Yes. That Paejon."
"...Huh? But why? He didn’t seem that remarkable."
At first glance, he was just another martial artist.
Sure, he had an unusually fierce face and strangely blue eyes.
But he didn’t give off an overwhelmingly powerful impression.
And yet, that Paejon had accepted him as a disciple?
As Moyong Biyeon struggled to make sense of it—
"......."
Gu Cheolwoon gazed once more in the direction where Baek Yangcheon had disappeared.
Mi Horan, who had been watching him, tilted her head in curiosity.
"You definitely sensed something, didn’t you? You're acting differently than usual."
"......."
"You don’t normally introduce yourself first. You don’t usually offer a handshake. Why did you act that way?"
"Who knows."
Why had he done that?
Gu Cheolwoon looked down at the hand he had shaken.
There was no particular sensation. The young man had seemed ordinary.
Thump...
‘Strange.’
Yet, his heart had reacted strangely the moment he saw him.
Even his danjeon had been subtly heating up.
Had he sensed something—without realizing it?
Without meaning to, he had nearly released his energy while shaking hands. He had barely held himself back.
Baek Yangcheon.
A name he had never heard before.
A young man with blue eyes.
As he etched the name into his memory—
"And you, too."
"Huh?"
Mi Horan suddenly turned to Moyong Biyeon, her eyes filled with irritation.
At the unexpected glare, Moyong Biyeon flinched.
"M-me? What about me?"
"Why did you drop formal speech with him right away? That was rude."
Moyong Biyeon had immediately spoken to Baek Yangcheon informally, despite meeting him for the first time.
It had annoyed Mi Horan enough to call her out on it.
Moyong Biyeon clapped her hands together.
"Oh, you’re right! I did do that. Huh? Why did I do that?"
She had spoken to him casually from the very beginning.
For all her carefree nature, she usually wasn’t that reckless.
"...Why did I do that?"
She genuinely couldn’t understand her own behavior.
It was just—
"It just felt like I was supposed to."
"...What kind of nonsense is that?"
"I mean, don’t you think he looks like someone?"
"Who? Baek Young Master?"
Who was she comparing him to?
Moyong Biyeon pointed at Gu Cheolwoon, who was standing beside her.
"This guy. Doesn’t he look a bit like that young man?"
"Don’t be ridiculous. Who are you even comparing?"
"W-why are you getting mad? It’s just an observation!"
Was she mad?
Their faces were completely different. What was she even saying?
It was absurd.
‘If anything, just their eyes. But that’s it.’
Their eye colors and the aura in their gaze felt somewhat similar.
But that was all.
It was just an atmosphere.
"Hmm... If Tang Seon saw him, she’d definitely like him."
"......."
No one argued with that.
Because it was probably true.
...Baek Yangcheon.
‘He’s bothering me.’
As the name settled into Mi Horan’s thoughts—
"Let’s go."
Gu Cheolwoon said, walking forward.
At his movement, the two women fell silent and quickly followed.
