[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-childhood-friend-of-the-zenith":3,"chapter-childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-841":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Childhood Friend of the Zenith",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1240641,1667,"Chapter 840","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-841",841,"\u003Cp>Thud. I brushed my body off here and there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pain still lingered in my body.Normally, it wouldn’t hurt this much. But this time, the backlash was severe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ugh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Groaning, I endured the repercussions.My bones still ached, and my muscles were screaming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, damn it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a mistake. I thought I’d give it a try, and now I deeply regretted it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Imitating someone else’s body is too much, isn’t it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed that while I could modify my own framework, completely transforming into a different one was beyond my limits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had to change not only my height but also wrinkles and physical traits. Maintaining that required an enormous amount of energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I’d been even a little slower, the Qi Transformation Technique might have unraveled.No, it definitely would have unraveled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Haaah….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a sigh and wiped off my sweat.I thought my proficiency had improved, but trying something like this ended up like this. Was this level still beyond my reach?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was disappointing, but at least there was one consolation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…The keyword is “still.”’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t use it yet. But doesn’t that mean I might be able to use it easily someday?It was a glimmer of hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack—! I adjusted my shoulders, aligning the parts that hadn’t returned properly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This also meant the disguise I’d just created was of extremely poor quality.Very poor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If it had lasted any longer, I wouldn’t just have been exposed—it likely would’ve come undone.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given how hastily it was crafted, Ilcheon Sword must have noticed.He’s sharper than I expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘He said he noticed as soon as he arrived.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He immediately detected the anomaly spreading through the forest.That alone showed how perceptive he was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it made sense—after all, the one who had tampered with this forest was none other than the Shadow King.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…You can come out now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The response came from right beside me. I didn’t even need to look to know it was the Shadow King.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thanks to you, it went well. Thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It was nothing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As always, the Shadow King dismissed it as no big deal. Without him, I wouldn’t have been able to pull off this stunt in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I mentioned earlier, disguising myself as another person was a poorly executed endeavor.Even if I managed to make it similar, the details were off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The number of wrinkles, the subtle tilt of the eyes, even the curves of the body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing could be perfectly replicated, and for those accustomed to constantly observing their opponent's bodies, it was enough to create a sense of unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, what should I do?Wouldn’t it be better to choose a different method?I pondered this but, fortunately, a solution existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The method was simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the disguise was so flawed it could be easily noticed, then I just had to ensure it couldn’t be noticed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Of course, that doesn’t mean using a mask or something like that.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead of hiding my face, I chose to obscure Ilcheon Sword’s vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not his literal eyes, but….\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Blur his senses.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I dulled the clarity of his senses so he couldn’t perceive things properly.That was the goal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were many ways to achieve this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using formations, spreading pressure to suppress his perception, or even poisoning him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were countless options, but none of them were available to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t know how to use formations properly. Spreading pressure would immediately alert Ilcheon Sword.Poisoning him wouldn’t be any different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, what options did I have left? The answer was simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If I can’t do it, I’ll ask someone who can.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rather than risk detection by trying it myself, I asked someone who wouldn’t be noticed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, I had an expert in this field by my side.I immediately asked the Shadow King.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I requested him to subtly dull Ilcheon Sword’s perception without drawing attention, the Shadow King executed it without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, he seemed to be doing something around the mountain, but I couldn’t discern the specifics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The important thing was this:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Whatever he did, Ilcheon Sword couldn’t maintain his composure.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the moment he stepped into the mountain, his perception began to dull, little by little, without him realizing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I was a bit worried when he said he noticed something.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He mentioned sensing something odd, but fortunately, he didn’t seem to grasp the full extent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Thanks to that, everything went smoothly.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his perception dulled, Ilcheon Sword couldn’t properly identify my poor disguise.This also helped cover up my lackluster acting skills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘And now I know I can’t use this trick twice.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was clear this method couldn’t be reused anytime soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Not bad.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tried it, and it didn’t fail.On top of that, I gained valuable insight, so it wasn’t a bad outcome at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, one concern remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Did he believe everything? That’s the question… but it should be fine.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he didn’t believe it, as long as he reacted accordingly, that was enough.The important thing was that Ilcheon Sword must have been sufficiently shaken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I recalled the flicker of doubt in Ilcheon Sword’s eyes moments earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘How far will you fall?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought himself flying high, but it was laughable to even say he’d been up there in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real question was, how far would Ilcheon Sword plummet? Would he crash into the ground and die?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Or….’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would he realize he’d never been flying to begin with and choose to self-destruct?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either way, the outcome wouldn’t change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>******************\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a little early for dawn to arrive,but the night had already fallen, and lanterns illuminated the grounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rustle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sat inside the room, examining two letters as though comparing them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…The east is the same… and the directions they identified are similar….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I scrutinized them carefully, checking for differences or similarities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The letters were none other than mission reports, sent by those assigned to reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The difference between them was that one was from the deployed team, while the other came from self-directed operatives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the mission began, I’d been receiving reports in this manner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmmm….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I reviewed the contents, I frowned in discomfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The information is too similar.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason was that the reports from both sides overlapped significantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This means they’ve probably caught on.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I chuckled softly and folded the letters.On the surface, overlapping information might seem like a good thing, but from my perspective, it raised a lot of questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had taken steps to ensure the information wouldn’t overlap in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason for that was simple:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It’s easier to obscure the truth this way.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most of the information sent by the Alliance was false—more than half of it, to be precise.That wasn’t surprising. I had set it up that way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the most effective method to weed out those who couldn’t keep up.The incompetent ones always revealed themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The information being so similar at this point means one of two things.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, they felt it was too dangerous and decided to step back. Or…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘They’ve realized it late.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they’d figured out that I’d assigned multiple people to gather information,it could only be one of these two scenarios.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Hmm.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t really need to take further action since I’d already filtered out the ones to be discarded.But one thing bothered me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘How did they find out?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How exactly did they figure it out? That part gnawed at me.The fact that multiple people had been assigned to gather information was something only I knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d even tied up loose ends to prevent them from questioning one another.For them to have noticed under these circumstances…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Did someone leak it?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought crossed my mind that someone might have intentionally let the information slip.And if someone had leaked it…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Was it you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned to the most suspicious person without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man looked startled. The man in question was none other than Mun Do-hyuk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you talk about these letters to anyone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“N-no…!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mun Do-hyuk jumped in shock at my words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I swear! I don’t know anything about the reports!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmmm….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rustle.I waved the letter in my hand like a fan, watching Mun Do-hyuk. He stiffened under my gaze and lowered his head to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tension he radiated was palpable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whether you did or didn’t, it doesn’t matter. I was just asking.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As I said before, it was too late now.I’d already identified everyone worth investigating.And that included him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which is why it was even stranger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re quite the enigma.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pardon…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why did you betray them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why had this man come to my side?No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…As I mentioned before….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, it’s genuinely baffling.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d heard his reasons, but they didn’t make sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because they didn’t remember your name? Even you must find that reason flimsy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason Mun Do-hyuk gave for betraying Ilcheon Sword and coming to me was laughable:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He claimed it was because Ilcheon Sword didn’t remember his name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What the hell is that?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was absurd.To betray someone over something as trivial as a forgotten name?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah, maybe it didn’t matter since he was a spy all along. But even then, betraying the Azure Dragon Division to join me was odd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, from an outsider’s perspective, my side was clearly at a disadvantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…I…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mun Do-hyuk began to speak cautiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…I’ve been with the Azure Dragon Division for years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Four years, wasn’t it?Not a long time, but not a short one, either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was nothing more than a grunt, but I did my duty and worked hard. And yet….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And yet Ilcheon Sword didn’t remember your name?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t even muster a laugh.What kind of pathetic complaint was this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He probably wasn’t saying this to ask for anything, but there was only one thing I could say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s because you were too useless to bother remembering.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mun Do-hyuk’s head drooped even lower at my words.For an older man to look so pitiful… it was almost sad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just look at yourself. The fact that you came over to my side over something so trivial only proves you’re not trustworthy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coming to me just because of a forgotten name?That was a laughable reason for betrayal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did he think I’d be pleased he defected to my side?Sure, I’d use him if I could. But as a person, I found him detestable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps my distaste showed on my face because Mun Do-hyuk glanced at me and hurriedly added,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Th-that’s not the only reason.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh? Then what is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…I-I can’t be certain, but….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hesitated, his lips trembling as though unsure whether to speak. Finally, he managed to say,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…I had a feeling that it would be better to join you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Me? Over Ilcheon Sword?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And what’s that feeling based on?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…I’m sorry. It was just a hunch.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, I tilted my head slightly.So, it was a mix of his name being forgotten and a vague feeling that brought him to my side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Hmm.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe his intuition wasn’t as dull as I thought.The idea crossed my mind for a brief moment.\u003C\u002Fp>",1862,"2026-06-05T15:10:19.687Z",1,"novelbin.me","ceaea47d89a5088a1987b190184ade04360031a2e4c51c1349281e63165f8e4f","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-842","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-840",974,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fchildhood-friend-of-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]