Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Chapter 729

I had no words as I watched Bong Soon approach with a bright smile.

Her body was covered in bruises—a considerable amount. While there were no major injuries, the numerous small wounds made it clear how grueling the match had been.

Bong Soon’s battered state was proof enough of how difficult the bout had been.

‘But she lost.’

I grabbed my throbbing forehead.

She lost. Bong Soon ultimately lost to the Sword Dragon.

“Hehehe!”

I had to endure a headache as Bong Soon laughed like it had all been fun and games.

Naturally, everyone had watched the match, and we all knew why she lost.

‘It wasn’t all that different from Seong Yul’s fight….’

A difference in levels.

It was the same thing I had seen in the match between Peng Woojin and Seong Yul.
However, unlike those two, the gap wasn’t overwhelming this time.

It was close—almost evenly matched.

‘But the situation played a big part.’

I had asked Bong Soon something before the match.

Looking at Sword Dragon, I had asked her if she could win.

And Bong Soon had answered:

Maybe in a match like this.

‘But in a fight to the death, I’d win.’

She had said it with absolute confidence.

And honestly, I didn’t disagree.

A fight to kill.
If it had been that kind of battle, Bong Soon would have had the upper hand.

Sword Dragon was still more like an immature orthodox martial artist.
How much real-life combat experience could he possibly have?

But Bong Soon was different.

‘…She’s just a wild beast.’

She doesn’t hesitate to kill, using any means necessary.
If it had been a fight where they were trying to kill each other, I honestly believed Bong Soon had a higher chance of winning.

Of course—

‘I couldn’t be certain about that either.’

What Sword Dragon had shown in the match was beyond what I’d imagined.

‘His plum blossoms have grown even thicker.’

His sword dance had become sharper and more refined.
The sword energy he carried felt deeper and steadier.

‘He must have trained properly.’

I could tell just by looking at his muscles.
His body had grown absurdly tough through grueling training.

‘That’s how you build a proper foundation.’

Even if his advancement was slow, his focus on fundamentals was unshakable.
If Sword Dragon reached Hwagyeong, the efforts he put in would become an immense advantage.

And to be honest, if left alone, Sword Dragon had a high chance of becoming the next Sword King.
Woo Hyuk might be a contender, but in terms of swordsmanship, Sword Dragon seemed to be ahead.

‘Well, that’s that….’

Still, I hadn’t expected Bong Soon to lose here.

I had considered the possibility, but it was disappointing nonetheless.

‘Was it because she couldn’t use her treasured sword?’

Bong Soon wielded the heirloom of the previous Sword Queen.

However, weapons were prohibited in this tournament, so she had to leave it behind.
Without her treasured sword, Bong Soon wasn’t able to show her full strength.

But then again—

‘The same goes for Sword Dragon.’

He couldn’t use his weapon either.

That much was obvious.

‘Since he also possesses a divine sword.’

For some reason, two of the Divine Swords remained.
The one reclaimed by Mount Hua likely belonged to Sword Dragon.

‘Sword Dragon didn’t use his Divine Sword in the match either.’

So both of them had limitations.
And in the end, Bong Soon lost.

‘Tsk.’

This was the point where I had to accept it.

‘Looks like I’ll have to move to the second plan.’

I had prepared two strategies involving Bong Soon.
This second one was in case she lost in the match.

‘I’ll have to contact the Hwangbo patriarch later.’

I needed to assess the situation quickly and adapt.
With that decision, I let out a sigh and turned around.

“…So.”

I pushed aside the bruised Bong Soon and faced the person who had come looking for me.

“What do you want?”

Someone had been waiting for me.

“…”

The man flinched at my words.
A clean-shaven head, a well-defined face, and those familiar golden eyes.

It was Yu Yeon—the Divine Dragon of Shaolin.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

I frowned as I asked. Yu Yeon scratched his head awkwardly and spoke.

“…I came to greet you.”

“Greet me?”

I tilted my head.

“What kind of greeting?”

We weren’t exactly on greeting terms, were we?

And yet—

“I wanted to check on you. Benefactor.”

Divine Dragon awkwardly bowed, showing respect despite his discomfort.

I stared at him for a moment before nodding.

“Sure. How have you been?”

“I’ve been well.”

“No, you don’t look like you’ve been well.”

“…”

Divine Dragon coughed, clearly understanding what I meant.

He was wearing bandages across his chest.
Probably wounds he had gotten from fighting Wi Seol-ah.

‘Those wounds were pretty bad.’

They might not have been fatal, but there was no way they could heal in a few days.
Anyone else would have forfeited the next match, unable to continue.

And yet, despite those injuries, Divine Dragon had returned to the arena.

‘Was it his decision, or someone else’s?’

Even if Shaolin was more corrupt than I thought, would they really force an injured disciple into a fight?

‘You never know.’

People were unpredictable.

“Can you even fight in that condition?”

I gestured at him with my chin. Divine Dragon bit his lip slightly.

“…I can.”

“Hmm.”

I didn’t say it out loud, but I figured he might end up dead.
What was the point of me worrying about him?

I held back my thoughts and looked around.
The stares were intense—most people were already focused on Divine Dragon.

‘The impression he left last time was enormous.’

Unbelievable strength for someone not yet in their prime.
Divine Dragon had already become a symbol to many.

For some, he was a rival.
For others, an object of admiration.

Either way, his position had grown too high to simply call him a promising talent.

Naturally, everyone’s focus boiled down to one question:

‘If the Twin Dragon and Divine Dragon fought, who would win?’

The Twin Dragon who crushed the Blade King.
The Divine Dragon who announced his presence to the world.

Who would win if they clashed?

It was the question on everyone’s mind, but it couldn’t happen now. The Twin Dragon had withdrawn.

Still, people remained curious about the outcome.

And the funny part—

‘Public opinion is split.’

Half thought the Divine Dragon would win.
The other half bet on the Twin Dragon.

How ridiculous.

‘The Blade King’s reputation has fallen this far.’

A king-ranked martial artist being compared to someone not even in their prime.
And people thought it was a 50-50 match? How absurd.

‘That old man must be shedding blood tears right now.’

Not just tears—

He was probably smashing everything in sight.

And it was all because of Paejon.

‘Damn old man.’

Paejon’s actions had caused this mess.

‘…Though it did ease suspicions about ties between the Demonic Cult and Paejon.’

Still, it was a headache.

Suppressing another sigh, I turned back to Divine Dragon.

“So. What do you want?”

“…”

He wouldn’t have come all this way just to greet me.

Like I said earlier, we weren’t exactly on greeting terms.

Divine Dragon didn’t respond to my question.

To be exact, he couldn’t respond. He just fumbled, opening and closing his mouth as if he couldn’t figure out what to say.

It was frustrating enough that I was about to snap at him when—

“Oh! It’s that guy!”

Bong Soon suddenly cut in, completely out of nowhere.

“The bald one! So shiny!”

“…What the hell?”

“Can I touch it again this time?”

Her words, spoken like a kid discovering a new toy, made my eyes widen.

What the hell is this crazy woman saying now?

“What do you mean, ‘again’? What’s that supposed to mean?”

‘Again’—did that mean she had already touched it before?

“Yeah! I touched it last time! It’s super smooth. Young Master, you wanna feel it too?”

I said it as a joke, but Bong Soon spoke with eyes gleaming like she’d found treasure.

Goddammit.

‘This is seriously pissing me off.’

I looked at Divine Dragon with a sheepish expression, but—

“…Uh…um…”

To my surprise, Divine Dragon froze and started stammering like he’d malfunctioned.

What the hell is wrong with him now?
His face and ears were bright red—it was bad.

“…”

And that’s when it hit me.

…No way.

“Hey.”

“…Y-yes?”

Divine Dragon flinched and responded nervously as I called out to him.

I stared and asked.

“Did you fall for her?”

“…!”

Divine Dragon flinched so hard it was almost comical.

“Oh. Don’t tell me….”

“What? What’s going on?”

I was about to continue when Bong Soon interrupted again, and this time I felt dread.

“Do you want to mate with—guh!”

Of course, she spouted nonsense, so I smacked her on the head.

“Argh, that hurt…!!”

“…For God’s sake. Just shut up and go sit in a corner.”

I was too embarrassed to deal with her any longer.

I kicked Bong Soon toward Tang So-yeol, silently telling her to take Bong Soon away for treatment.
Rubbing her sore butt, Bong Soon disappeared with a stupid grin.

Finally, it was just me and Divine Dragon.

“…Whew….”

Suppressing my growing irritation, I ran a hand down my face.
I was too mortified to even look up.

“Ahem….”

Divine Dragon also cleared his throat awkwardly.
And then—

“That’s not it.”

He suddenly started explaining himself.

“…What’s not it?”

“I mean, I’m not harboring feelings…or anything like that. I follow Buddha’s teachings and would never…harbor impure thoughts about a woman….”

“I don’t care. You don’t have to explain.”

“…Huh? Oh. I see….”

“Come on, monks are still men. It’s not like you can’t like women. She’s crazy, but her face is decent enough. It’s understandable.”

“N-no! That’s not what I meant!”

“Whatever. So, why are you here? If you don’t have a reason, get lost so I can rest.”

I cut him off, trying to get to the point.

Divine Dragon froze for a moment, then his expression shifted.

As expected—he did have a reason.

What was it?

Why had he come looking for me?

Just as my curiosity peaked—

“…I have a request.”

Divine Dragon finally spoke up.

“In a short while, I will face you in a match.”

“That’s right.”

It was already decided in the brackets.
But why was he bringing it up?

“…When that time comes….”

“When it comes?”

“…I ask that you fight me seriously.”

“Hm?”

I looked at him, startled.
What the hell was this guy saying?

“...What do you mean seriously?”

“I came to ask that you give your all in our match.”

“Hmm.”

I wanted to tell him I was always serious.

But I shut my mouth when I saw his eyes.

This guy was serious.

His eyes burned with determination—too intense to brush off lightly.

“…Hey.”

So this time, I dropped my playful tone.

“Yes.”

“If I do that, you’re dead.”

“…!”

Divine Dragon’s shoulders trembled at my words.

“Maybe if you weren’t injured. But in your state? Are you insane?”

“…This is nothing. I can handle it.”

“What the hell are you talking about, you bald idiot?”

“....”

Maybe because I was being too harsh, Divine Dragon’s face stiffened.

But I didn’t stop.

“This isn’t something you can ask for. It depends on how you act.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Make me take it seriously. Then I’ll give you what you want.”

“…”

I didn’t know why Divine Dragon was asking me this, but his sincerity was clear, so I gave him a proper answer.

If you want me to be serious—then act like it’s worth my effort.

That was what I meant.

Divine Dragon’s eyes burned even hotter as if he understood.

“I understand. I’ll prove myself.”

Buzz.

‘Hmm.’

Something brushed against my chest.
Divine Dragon’s intent stirred my Qi in response.

“Today, I will defeat you.”

I smirked.

“Yeah? Go ahead and try.”

“…”

That was it.

Divine Dragon bowed respectfully and turned to leave without another word.

Was that really all he came for?

To ask me to take the match seriously?

‘Did this bald idiot hit his head or something?’

I almost wanted to laugh.

And yet, something about him lingered.

‘What is it?’

Watching his retreating back, I couldn’t shake the feeling.

It wasn’t anything specific—

Just instinct.

No logic, no reason.
Normally, I’d dismiss it as nonsense.

But I couldn’t hold back and called out.

“By the way.”

Divine Dragon stopped.

“That match-up…was that your doing?”

“…”

Divine Dragon stood in silence.

A few seconds passed before he finally answered.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Without turning around, he gave his answer and walked away.

As I watched him disappear, I became certain.

“Hah. Look at that.”

It was obvious.

“That bastard planned this, didn’t he?”