Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 930

Chapter 930

The fractured shards struck the ground with a dry, splintering sound.

Upon impact, they dissolved into fine powder, disappearing as though they were nothing more than illusions.

It made no difference if they were large or small; they all shattered identically.

“How…?”

Gubong stared at the scene before him, his face rigid with stunned incredulity.

The barrier constructed of pure darkness had been destroyed.

It had appeared impenetrable, an inexorable force that consumed all in its way. But the absolute dread Gubong had felt only moments before had been nullified—effortlessly, like it was a trivial matter.

*Crack!*

Gu Yangcheon ran his fingers over the coarse, uneven surface of the broken barrier, sweeping the remnants aside as if they were a minor irritation.

His utterly casual demeanor left Gubong speechless.

“What is this bothersome garbage?”

*Tch.*

With a sharp click of his tongue, Gu Yangcheon tossed something onto the floor.

It wasn’t a thing—it was a person.

*Thud!*

A figure with pitch-black hair collapsed on the ground like unwanted baggage.

Gubong’s throat tightened.

It had been decades since he last saw him, but he knew the man immediately.

It was his elder brother.

His face was so badly bruised and swollen from repeated strikes it was almost impossible to identify, yet Gubong was sure.

“Ugh… guh…”

The man let out a low, agonized groan. Blood flowed freely from his mouth.

What could have possibly happened to him?

Gubong wanted to ask but found his courage failing him.

“And what’s your deal?”

A voice cut through his spiraling thoughts.

When Gubong lifted his eyes slightly, he met a pair of sharp, gleaming blue ones staring right at him.

“You know, it’s something I’ve been curious about. Do you just enjoy kneeling?”

Gu Yangcheon smirked, his tone dripping with scorn.

As he’d pointed out, Gubong was indeed on his knees.

“…”

Gubong said nothing, unable to form a reply.

Gu Yangcheon reached out and took hold of Gubong’s wrists.

His hand closed around the cuffs Gubong wore.

*Creak.*

“…!”

Gubong’s eyes shot open in pure shock at what he witnessed.

These were no ordinary restraints—they were forged from refined Yoseok Stone.

Though Gubong had managed to fracture them slightly with his own power, he hadn’t been able to break them completely.

But Gu Yangcheon simply gripped the cuffs and—

*Crunch!*

—shattered them with his bare hands.

“Why are you wearing this trash like it’s some kind of decoration?”

“W-what…?”

Gubong could only stare dumbly at the ruined pieces of the cuffs.

His mind reeled, completely unable to process what had just occurred.

“Ah…!”

Suddenly, Gubong’s focus snapped elsewhere.

Forget that Gu Yangcheon had destroyed the barrier or how easily he’d done it.

What hit him was the recollection of his father—impaled against the wall by that consuming darkness.

He whipped his head around to look at the wall.

“Huh?”

But there was nothing left. Not a single trace.

How was that possible? He had seen it happen himself.

Before Gubong could think on it further, a loud, splintering noise echoed through the space.

*Crackle!*

The surrounding barrier began to fracture at a terrifying speed.

The cracks spread like a wave, and in a heartbeat, the entire structure broke apart.

*Crash!*

The fabricated night disintegrated.

The pieces fell to the floor and scattered like dust.

As Gubong stood there, bewildered, a voice called out from across the room.

“Fascinating.”

It was the voice of the Master of Darkness.

Gubong frowned as he turned to look.

This time, the aura cloaking the man did not hide his appearance.

Unlike before, when the energy had rendered his features indistinct, now Gubong could see him clearly.

A middle-aged man with a stern expression and hair dyed black.

This was the master of this place.

He sat composedly in a chair, legs crossed, looking in their direction.

Gubong looked away, unable to hold his gaze.

“How did you know?”

The man spoke, addressing Gu Yangcheon.

The faint hint of derision in Gu Yangcheon’s voice was clear as he answered.

“How did I know? I saw it.”

“You saw it?”

“Yes.”

What had he seen?

Gubong didn’t understand, and from the man’s perplexed reaction, neither did he.

“That is impossible.”

The man’s voice was full of conviction.

Gu Yangcheon laughed, louder this time.

“If you don’t believe me, that’s fine. I wasn’t going to explain it to you anyway.”

“…”

His tone was cutting and audacious, just as it always was.

Today, however, it struck Gubong differently.

He realized something.

“He speaks to everyone this way…”

Whether he used formal language or not, his words carried the same unchangeable, blunt tone.

“Interesting.”

A glint of curiosity appeared in the man’s eyes.

That curiosity was not aimed at Gubong, but entirely at Gu Yangcheon.

“Are you from Mount Hua?”

“Can’t you tell just from looking?”

Gu Yangcheon pointed to his chest, where the plum blossom crest of Mount Hua was stitched.

The man glanced at the symbol before his eyes shifted to Gu Yangcheon’s hair.

“Black hair, is it?”

His black hair and ears were conspicuous in this place.

The man’s eyes held an implicit meaning that Gubong grasped at once.

“Could it be…”

Was he suspecting Gu Yangcheon of being the one behind the assault?

“This can’t be…”

Gubong scrambled up, meaning to step in, but—

*Grab!*

“…!”

Gu Yangcheon pressed down on Gubong’s shoulder, halting him completely.

His sharp blue eyes locked onto Gubong, delivering a silent order:

*Don’t move.*

“…”

Reluctantly, Gubong sank back down.

“Not entirely black, though. It seems there might be some color mixed in?”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“I have never heard of someone as powerful as you coming from Mount Hua.”

“I appreciate the praise. That tends to be how it goes.”

The man let out a dry chuckle at Gu Yangcheon’s reply.

But then, the atmosphere around them changed suddenly.

“How did you get out of the underground?”

*Swoosh!*

A smothering aura burst from the man, far more powerful than anything prior.

Even under the immense pressure, Gu Yangcheon’s smile didn’t waver.

“How? You were a terrible host, so I let myself out.”

Blue energy erupted violently from Gu Yangcheon, crashing against the dark power.

The temperature in the room soared.

“You put in all that work to see your son, yet you treat visitors like criminals. That’s no way to behave, is it?”

“…”

“You’ve completely ruined the mood.”

As he spoke, Gu Yangcheon’s smile finally disappeared.

*Crack!*

The clashing energies sent deep fissures racing across the room.

It felt as though everything was about to come down.

“Hmm.”

Abruptly, the man withdrew his aura, the oppressive force vanishing.

“I am Black Spirit, the leader here. What is your name?”

“From Mount Hua… Gu Yangcheon.”

“Gu Yangcheon. Join the Black Sect, and I will name you as my successor.”

“…!”

Gubong gasped aloud.

The next leader? His sons were right there—one unconscious, the other estranged—but even so…

“Leader?”

Gu Yangcheon tilted his head slightly.

“I’m not related to you.”

“That is irrelevant.”

“Don’t you need to be a pure bloodline?”

“You are not?”

“…Well.”

Gu Yangcheon seemed to think for a moment before answering.

“Close enough.”

Gubong frowned at the blatant lie.

“Then come to my side. I will make you the leader.”

The same offer was repeated.

Gubong had never heard of such a thing being offered before.

“Hmm.”

Gu Yangcheon rested his chin on his hand as if actually considering it.

Was he seriously thinking it over?

Just as Gubong’s eyes widened in disbelief, Gu Yangcheon shook his head.

“Not interested.”

For Gubong, it was a relief—or was it?

What exactly was fortunate about this?
The thought came to Gubong unbidden, and he swallowed hard.

“Why refuse? Are your ties to Mount Hua so strong?”
“Not particularly.”

Gu Yangcheon shook his head without a hint of hesitation.

“…”

He was confident, openly stating he felt no loyalty to his sect.
It wasn’t entirely unexpected—he had mentioned before that Mount Hua’s fate didn’t matter to him.

What surprised Gubong was that he would admit this in front of his own father.

With Gu Yangcheon’s blunt reply, the Black Spirit pressed on.
“Then why?”
“I don’t feel a strong sense of belonging, but, well, you understand how it is.”
“How is it?”
“You’d prefer to align yourself with the stronger force, right? That sort of thing.”
“…”

*Crack.*

The Black Spirit’s brow furrowed deeply at Gu Yangcheon’s words.

“Are you claiming the leader of Mount Hua is stronger than I am?”
“Oh, come on, what kind of question is that?”

Gu Yangcheon waved a hand dismissively, as if the idea was ridiculous.

Then, with all playfulness gone from his face, he spoke.

“Naturally, there is no comparison.”

*Rumble!*

The Black Spirit’s energy flared violently, a clear sign of his anger.
The tension in the air was palpable—teetering on the edge of eruption.

Gubong assessed the situation, knowing that if his father lost control, the results would be disastrous.
Should he try to interfere?

Before he could decide, however…

*Ssshhh…*

The Black Spirit’s energy began to recede, though not naturally—it was being forcefully suppressed.

“I see,” he said, nodding.

“I respect your faith in your superior.”
“It’s not really about a superior—”
“Then why have you come here, Gu Yangcheon?”

“My reason for coming?”

The Black Spirit’s gaze sharpened, all emotion vanishing from his eyes.

He turned his attention to Gubong.

“You must have had a purpose for going to such trouble to arrange this meeting.”

The Black Spirit was certain that Gu Yangcheon had used Gubong to get here.

And he wasn’t mistaken.

“Ah, that.”

Gu Yangcheon smiled.

“It’s nothing too complicated.”

Looking straight at the Black Spirit, he asked, “I need to meet a few individuals known as generals. Would you happen to know how I could arrange that?”

At those words, Gubong felt like the air had been punched from his lungs.

 

*********

 

The sun was dipping below the horizon, the hour edging into twilight.
Instead of thinning out, the crowd seemed to be growing, likely because of the time of day.

Though the area was quieter than normal due to recent happenings, it was still full of activity.

Amidst it all—

“You have truly lost your mind, haven’t you?”

Gubong muttered, shooting a glare my way.

“What?” I asked, turning to face him.
His expression was contorted with frustration as he looked at me.

“What is it now?”
“You’re insane—there’s no other word for it!”
“Hey, what are you going on about? What’s the issue?”
“All of it! Every single part of it!”

That’s a bit much. I clicked my tongue softly.

“All of what? You’ll need to be more specific.”
“Everything! Using me to get in, your behavior while we were there, and what you said on the way out—it’s all a problem!”
“Aw, come on. I must have done something right?”
“Do you actually believe that?”
“Obviously.”

Truthfully, I don’t see what I did wrong.
Besides—

“It all turned out fine, didn’t it?”

Despite all these supposed problems, the result was acceptable.

“You’re here, walking free and in one piece, aren’t you?”

I’d thought we were finished when we were imprisoned, but we got out without a problem.

Not only that—

“And we got this, didn’t we?”

I waved the plaque I’d received from the Black Spirit in front of Gubong.

Its value?

“Now we won’t need to explain ourselves to every single gatekeeper. Isn’t that handy?”

With this, I could avoid endless interrogations and flashing Mount Hua’s name at every stop.

Despite all this, Gubong still appeared agitated.

I couldn’t fathom why.

Seeing my unconcerned look, he spoke again, his voice strained.

“You don’t understand what sort of man he is.”

A faint trace of fear showed in Gubong’s eyes.

“There is always a scheme behind his actions. He must have a reason for letting us go so easily this time.”
“Well, of course. Do you think a man like him would hand this over for nothing?”

The Black Spirit had said, “See you next time,” as I’d left with the plaque.

“And yet you still… You knew this and went along with it? Knowing what my relationship with him is like?”
“I think you’ve got the wrong idea.”

I spoke to Gubong, who seemed close to losing his composure.

“I don’t actually care about you. I just assumed you were some noble’s son.”
“You—!”
“Oh, and I heard you’re illegitimate, is that right?”

“…!”

“A concubine’s son, or something along those lines.”

Gu Yangcheon smirked as he prodded Gubong’s most sensitive wound.

Gubong gritted his teeth in fury.

He couldn’t let it pass, not this time. He prepared to lunge.

“I’m illegitimate too. A concubine’s son.”

Gu Yangcheon’s offhand confession froze Gubong in place.

“I’m just saying.”

“You…”

“Sorry for using you, but I really needed to. And I’ll probably need to use you again later, so… my apologies in advance.”

“…”

How could anyone be so shameless? Apologizing beforehand for future exploitation?

It was ludicrous, even monstrous.

Gubong’s body shook with anger.

“Just try to see it from my perspective. I have a lot to do—like finding my mother.”

Gu Yangcheon’s words trailed off as his gaze suddenly shifted elsewhere.

Curious, Gubong followed his line of sight.

A familiar figure stood there.

“Her…?”

He didn’t know her name—no one did.
All anyone knew was that Gu Yangcheon had brought her with him, and she shunned everyone except for him.

“She said she wasn’t coming with us today…”

So why was she here?

And more importantly—

“Is she hurt?”

She looked unsteady, clearly in some discomfort.

When Gubong glanced at Gu Yangcheon for an explanation, he was already gone.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

Gubong’s eyes went wide as Gu Yangcheon materialized beside the woman, gripping her shoulder firmly.

“What is the meaning of this?!”

His expression was one of genuine astonishment.