Childhood Friend of the Zenith Chapter 1138

With a creaking sound, the Heavenly Lord lifted himself up. His movements were unnatural, disturbingly out of sync with the body’s natural rhythm.

Crunch.

Perhaps because he had forced himself to move, his body groaned and creaked. Anyone could see that something was off.

I quietly observed Heavenly Lord. Once he had fully straightened, he turned his gaze toward me.

The moment I met his eyes, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

‘As expected.’

Red.

The Heavenly Lord’s eyes were as red as blood. Just looking at them was enough to irritate me, sending an uncanny chill down my spine.

And it was familiar. I had experienced it multiple times before. Even if I hadn’t, I had already sensed something off about him.

“Hmmm…”

He exhaled slowly. His voice and face were the same as ever, but the presence behind them was on an entirely different level.

“How did you know…? I don’t understand.”

Blood Demon.

Or rather, Dragon Emperor.

The former ruler of the Dragon Realm, a calamity that had plagued Zhongyuan in its early days, and an entity from another dimension that once sought to claim this world as its own.

And now, for some reason, he had set up camp within the Martial Alliance, plotting something in the shadows.

‘Of course.’

I thought as I observed him.

‘He had already tampered with the Heavenly Lord by this point.’

The missing pieces of my suspicions fell into place effortlessly.

‘The question is, when did it begin?’

I had already noticed that something was wrong with Heavenly Lord. Even if I hadn’t…

‘It’s been bothering me.’

The last time I had exchanged blows with Heavenly Lord, I had sensed a faint, fishy scent and an infuriatingly unpleasant sensation.

I hadn’t overlooked it.

‘Now that I see this…’

Looking at Heavenly Lord’s condition now, it was clear—the Namgung family, had already fallen deeply into the Blood Demon’s grasp.

‘…Could it be that even the current family head is under his influence?’

It had always been suspicious that someone so lacking in ability had ascended to the position of Family Head. His competence as a leader wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t fully justify his appointment.

In hindsight, it seemed that Heavenly Lord’s influence had played a significant role in that decision.

‘I always wondered why the Heavenly Lord had chosen that man…’

If the Blood Demon’s hand was involved, then it finally made sense.

“I have a question.”

The Blood Demon, wearing the guise of Heavenly Lord, spoke to me.

“Who are you?”

—Zzt.

Something brushed against my body. A force tried to subtly infiltrate me—I seized it and crushed it instantly.

—Crackle.

As the energy dispersed, Blood Demon’s eyes widened slightly.

“How pathetic.”

“Heh…”

It seemed he had attempted something. But such tricks no longer worked on me.

Having had his energy stripped away, the Blood Demon widened his eyes momentarily before letting out a low chuckle.

“Strange. The time has not yet come… So why has a calamity appeared?”

Hearing his words, I thought to myself.

‘He sees me as a calamity?’

Apparently, he didn’t consider me a mere human.

“Who are you?”

“You already heard my name, yet you ask again. How amusing.”

I smirked and answered.

**“I am the Cheonma.”

“Cheonma…”

The Blood Demon tilted his head.

“You are not one of the Nine Dragons, and yet… How can there be a dragon I do not know of?”

He had realized that I was a Dragon. Of course he had.

‘There’s no way he wouldn’t notice, not with my instincts raging like this.’

A dragon’s instincts were screaming within me, demanding that I tear my opponent apart.

Could I be the only one feeling this?

‘Of course not.’

Dragons were arrogant beings by nature. They could not tolerate anything standing above them.

They would rip and drag their rivals down, no matter what.

And who had taught me this? None other than the Blood Demon standing before me.

Would he feel any differently? I highly doubted it.

‘The real question is…’

It wasn’t about whether he recognized me as a Dragon.

‘It’s that he doesn’t truly perceive me for what I am.’

He had noticed I was a Dragon, but he had failed to see beyond that.

“Dragon Emperor.”

“Heh…”

The Blood Demon reacted to my words.

“…It has been a long time since I last heard that title. Not only are you a surviving Dragon, but you also know who I am.”

“How could I not?”

I recalled the words my mother had spoken when she confronted the Blood Demon.

I needed to weave them into my response.

“You, the broken ruler of a world that has perished. There are few who do not know of you.”

“……”

The moment I mentioned the fallen world, the Blood Demon’s expression twisted.

“How amusing.”

—Hsss.

Suddenly, the air shifted. A faint scent of blood mixed with the oppressive energy emanating from him.

Was it killing intent? Or battle energy? No, it was neither. It was something more ambiguous, something difficult to define.

‘Awe.’

Or perhaps, ‘Reverence.’

I recognized it immediately. It was a presence I had felt multiple times before.

When I stood before my mother.

When I confronted the Abyssal Pit.

Or…

‘When I saw that one.’

That strange existence who had called himself the Master of the Celestial Realm (Taechon).

The feeling he exuded had been just like this.

Which meant—

‘This presence is something unique to rulers.’

Not ordinary humans, nor common lifeforms.

But those who govern and form the foundation of entire worlds.

That difference in nature—it was what I was sensing from the Blood Demon now.

“You do not bow before me, so you must be a being born later… Do you have a purpose…? No, perhaps…”

Something stirred at the Blood Demon’s shoulders. A crimson energy shimmered like heat haze, slowly coalescing into droplets that floated toward the sky.

“Did Taechon betray me?”

“……”

I frowned.

Taechon?

‘Why is his name coming up here?’

That otherworldly ruler who had once tried to meddle with the Mangye, only to fail.

I hadn’t expected the Blood Demon to mention him.

‘So they were connected somehow.’

I had nothing to say, so I remained silent.

And then—

“Amusing. Surely he knows that I still hold his leash… Heh.”

The Blood Demon chuckled as if he had figured something out.

“Since you went out of your way to summon me… you must have your own purpose.”

“Naturally.”

“But unfortunately, time is short. So…”

His overwhelming aura began to fade, his presence diminishing with it.

And then—

Thud.

He pulled a ring from his finger and tossed it toward me.

“We shall meet again. I look forward to it.”

The moment I looked at the ring—

Thump.

The Heavenly Lord collapsed, unconscious.

“……”

The Blood Demon’s presence had completely vanished, but I didn’t remove my mask just yet, just in case.

I bent down and picked up the ring that had fallen onto the ground.

I examined it closely, watching for anything suspicious.

‘Hmm.’

There was nothing particularly special about the ring.

‘Giving me something so seemingly ordinary… That in itself is strange.’

He had handed me something unremarkable and left with the parting words that we would meet again. There was no way this was just an ordinary ring.

‘Should I take it or not?’

I hesitated for a moment. It wasn’t an easy decision.

—Slide.

In the end, I tucked it into my robes.

A meeting with the Blood Demon in this world… Learning of his presence… That alone had been a significant revelation. The thought crossed my mind that I might even be able to extract something useful from him.

‘I don’t know how long I’ll be here…’

But I had to seize every opportunity while I could.

With that thought, I nodded to myself.

And then—

“Hmm.”

I turned my gaze back to the unconscious Heavenly Lord. The remnants of the Blood Demon’s influence still lingered within him.

‘What should I do about this?’

I pondered for a moment.

‘If I could replicate what my father did…’

Back in Sichuan, when my father had nearly crushed Heavenly Lord, he had used the Nine Flames Firewheel to purge the Blood Demon’s traces from him and strip away his Heart Demon.

If that were the case…

‘I should be able to do it too.’

I had reached the same level, attained transcendence, and mastered the Nine Flames Firewheel.

If I used it, I might be able to purge the Heavenly Lord’s Heart Demon as well.

That thought entered my mind.

For a moment, I considered giving it a try.

‘…Hmm.’

But I stopped myself.

‘I should restrain myself.’

I wasn’t even sure how to do it properly. And even if I succeeded…

‘There’s no telling how the Blood Demon would react.’

He was clearly aware of his lingering presence within Heavenly Lord. Making a move recklessly could provoke something unforeseen.

‘I’m sorry, Heavenly Lord, but…’

This wasn’t my world. Meddling unnecessarily would only cause more complications.

‘I’ve already caused quite a few disturbances…’

Still, I needed to draw a line somewhere.

‘At the very least… I succeeded in letting Namgung escape.’

For now, I would leave Heavenly Lord as he was.

After securing the ring inside my robe, I turned my back on him.

His life wasn’t in danger. He would wake up before long.

That was the assumption I made as I walked away.

The next day, all hell broke loose.

**********

The Next Morning

Too much had happened overnight.

Just as people had begun to relax after successfully blocking Magyeong Gate, chaos erupted.

Out of nowhere, the Second Young Master of the Namgung family attempted to run away.

And he actually succeeded.

Even more shocking was the rumor that quickly spread—

“Even though Heavenly Lord moved personally, he failed to catch him.”

“While searching for the Second Young Master, Heavenly Lord was found unconscious.”

The rumors were rampant.

‘…Not even a rumor. It’s the truth.’

Heavenly Lord had moved to stop Namgung Hyung, but the latter had fled without looking back.

And when they went searching for him, they found Heavenly Lord collapsed.

That alone was enough to throw the Namgung family into a frenzy.

‘Ah, damn… He was unconscious longer than I expected.’

I had thought he would wake up within half an hour—perhaps even sooner.

But instead, Heavenly Lord remained unconscious all the way through dawn and into the morning.

‘Tch.’

Was it because of the Thunder Fang energy I had unleashed?

Or was it due to the residual effects of having the Blood Demon inhabiting his body?

Either way, it was too late now. The rumors had already spread.

The Namgung Family Head was struggling to control the situation, but—

‘Well, what can he do?’

I decided to ignore the commotion. As long as I wasn’t found out, it didn’t matter.

Besides, this was nothing more than the consequence of the current Namgung Family Head’s poor parenting.

Just as my father had spent his whole life struggling under the burden of my mistakes.

‘This is what happens when you raise your children poorly.’

If he didn’t like it, he should have done better.

I wasn’t exactly in a position to criticize, having been raised terribly myself—but since it wasn’t my problem, I had no reason to care.

More importantly—

The Namgung family’s mess was the least of my concerns.

I had a much more important conversation to have.

Ignoring the uproar, I faced the man before me.

Early morning.

The Namgung residence was in chaos, but I paid it no mind.

Looking at the man standing in front of me, I spoke.

“So, here’s the thing.”

The young man—**my father in his younger days—**turned to look at me.

I met his burning, crimson gaze and said—

“I’d like to go to Shanxi. Would you take me there?”

“…?”

My father’s face twisted in confusion at my sudden request.