Childhood Friend of the Zenith

The Frontline.

A location relatively close to Shanxi. It was an area where the Magyeong Gate frequently emerged, leading the Martial Alliance to designate it as a danger zone.

To counter this, the Alliance established a frontline branch and enlisted the support of righteous sects and noble families under its jurisdiction, having them take turns defending the frontline.

Among these groups, the families and sects based in Shanxi, due to their proximity, invested significant manpower into the frontline.

And, of course, the Gu Family was included in this effort.

The problem was—

"The Gu Family's involvement in the frontline isn’t just about their agreement with the Alliance."

There was a secret tied to the Gu Family’s presence there.

The reason the Gu Family was deployed to the frontline without fail, generation after generation, was because of an egg buried beneath the protective formation.

An egg—or perhaps...

"A seed."

I recalled Kurung calling it that.

That thing, which looked like an egg, was what Kurung had referred to as a seed.

One of the Gu Family’s tasks was overseeing and guarding it on the frontline.

"An anomaly, huh?"

They had called it a classified mission when assigning me to the frontline.

"An anomaly at the frontline?"

In other words, something had gone wrong there, and I was being sent to check it out.

That made me frown.

"What the hell?"

I tried to recall the circumstances of the frontline around this time.

And then I thought back to the recorded history of the frontline.

"Nothing unusual was reported."

At least, as far as I knew, there were no major incidents recorded.

"Ah."

Then it hit me.

"Could it be that?"

There was one thing I could think of.

"If we're talking about the frontline at this time... it has to be that."

This was before the Martial Alliance had fully taken control and reduced its risk level.

"It was when the Unorthodox Faction was still involved."

The suppression of the Unorthodox Faction hadn’t been fully completed yet, and they still lingered on the frontline, occasionally causing incidents.

Among those incidents, one in particular stood out.

"The emergence of the Four Demonic Emperors."

The Four Demonic Emperors—a group of top-tier martial artists from the Unorthodox Faction, said to be on par with the Righteous Sect Kings.

During my time, they had already begun fading into obscurity, their activities gradually dwindling.

But at this point in history—

They were still at the peak of their notoriety and power.

And if this involved the frontline—

"Then it must be the appearance of the Spear Emperor ."