Rebirth of the Thunder God

The identification tag that Chohwa handed over had an unexpected name written on it.

[Tang Hojin]

Not everyone with the surname Tang would be from the Sichuan Tang Clan.

But the very fact that he possessed a rare poison like Green Snake Blood Poison gave weight to the idea that his origin was the Sichuan Tang Clan.

And not only the Green Snake Blood Poison, but the dagger he wielded, or more accurately, his hidden weapon technique, was remarkably similar to that of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

‘Was it the Nine Illusory Kills that the Poison King used? The grip was almost identical to that.’

Then how did a person from the Sichuan Tang Clan become an elder of the Heretic Alliance?

‘He was probably from a branch family or committed a crime in the Tang family and fled.’

Even during the Great War between Justice and Evil, there were quite a few people who betrayed their own camp and defected to the enemy.

In particular, it was not so rare for those branded as criminals in the Orthodox Faction to defect to the Demonic Cult.

There were occasional cases of people fleeing after committing the crime of deceiving their master and destroying their ancestors, or other serious crimes.

‘Especially in the Nine Sects, they would cripple the dantian and cut the tendons of the limbs, which was a punishment worse than death for a martial artist. They must have fled because they hated it so terribly.’

Anyway, for one reason or another, there was no law that said a person from the Tang family could not take refuge in the Heretic Alliance.

The Heretic Alliance was a place that even the Sichuan Tang Clan could not touch carelessly, so it could be said to be a perfect new home.

"Alright, Choyeon. It's a more unexpected name than I thought. But you're saying this will be a problem?"

"Wouldn't it be? The Tang family is a place that cherishes its own bloodline terribly."

"That's only if this old man named Tang Hojin is a true member of the Sichuan Tang Clan. The Sichuan Tang Clan won't defend a guy who's an elder in the Heretic Alliance like this. If they did, their relationship with the Martial Alliance would only become strained."

Namgung Hui didn't mean that he didn't understand Choyeon's concern.

That's how closed-off the Sichuan Tang Clan was, and they cherished their bloodline terribly.

So much so that even Namgung Hui thought of the Tang family as a prison and was reluctant to become a live-in son-in-law.

‘That Poison King bastard was quite something. The kids under him were too.’

Thinking about it again, the people who were close to Tang Hojin might protect this old master even if he was a criminal.

The relationships of gratitude and resentment in the Sichuan Tang Clan, no, in the martial world, were extremely complicated and full of things that couldn't be understood with logic.

‘I'll have to ask about this casually when I go to the Sichuan Tang Clan later. If I can use this identification tag, I'll use it, and if it seems dangerous, I'll just throw it away.’

"Alright. Then there are no other problems, right?"

"No. Actually, this was the main point. Here."

Namgung Hui took the new jade plaque that Choyeon handed him and asked.

"Hui (會, Assembly)? What kind of meeting does this refer to?"

"The problem is that even our Flying Swallow Pavilion doesn't know this jade plaque. It seems this person belongs to another place besides the Heretic Alliance."

"Could it be an organization in the Sichuan Tang Clan?"

"Hmm……. I'm not sure. I've never heard of such an organization in the Sichuan Tang Clan."

"Well, a regional alumni association, or a small gathering… it probably isn't. They wouldn't make such a plausible jade plaque."

One could think that this jade plaque had no particular meaning.

But the exquisite carving showed that this was no ordinary object.

It looked much more exquisite and luxurious than the identification tag with Tang Hojin's name written on it.

Not only the material, but the handwriting was also elegant.

‘Wait. Should I make a request to the Hao Faction? Who knows, they might know.’

"Choyeon. It's okay if I take this, right?"

"Go ahead. I've already made a rubbing of it. Then we'll have to run hard from now on. There are a lot of guys who will be chasing us."

"Alright. Let's leave right away. But my body is in this state, so I need to ride something."

"I've already prepared a boat, so let's cross the river on that."

Perhaps because she was from the Flying Swallows, she was thorough with such means of transportation.

It was worth bringing her along.

And so, Namgung Hui, dragging his body that felt like it would tear apart, crossed the Yangtze River.

The waves of the Yangtze River at night were calm and gentle.

* * *

At the time Namgung Hui and Choyeon were crossing the Yangtze River.

There was someone still staying in Dongling.

‘They left without even cleaning up properly? Aren't they afraid of the consequences?’

That person's identity was none other than the young palace mistress, Baek Seolhwa.

She had dealt with the Blood Hand Old Claw of the Heretic Alliance and had come back after completely erasing the traces.

But when she looked around the front of the inn, it was full of traces of a fight.

And above all, she was very displeased that they had left the remnants behind.

In fact, the riff-raff of the Daexiong Gang were no big deal.

Even if they chased her by the cartload, they would just be annoying horseflies.

However, the Heretic Alliance was a slightly different story.

Not only were they systematic, but they were also the most powerful martial group in the current martial world, along with the Martial Alliance.

Even the Moon Maiden Palace, to which she belonged, was slightly lacking in power compared to the Heretic Alliance.

Ah, maybe not slightly?

‘Above all, the Heretic Alliance bastards have a persistent side.’

The most vicious and cruel would be the Demonic Path.

But in the current martial world where the Demonic Path had disappeared, the Heretic Path was the next most vicious and cruel.

Since they were such bastards, it was not good to leave behind any consequences.

It would only make for a restless sleep.

It was the same now.

They were using the Daexiong Gang members to dig up information here and there.

With murderous glints in their eyes.

"The Blue Robe Old Man clearly said it was Thunder Ki. If we trace that, won't we find his sect?"

"What? Thunder Ki? You mean the energy of lightning?"

"Yes. And the people around here also saw and heard it clearly. They said it was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, so everyone was watching……."

Baek Seolhwa was startled to hear the words that the Daexiong Gang member spat out.

Thunder Ki.

An energy that she also had a deep connection with.

Hadn't she been struck by lightning not long ago?

‘Could it be……! That guy?’

Baek Seolhwa rushed over to the Daexiong Gang member who had spoken.

"Did you just say Thunder Ki? Are you sure?"

"You are……! The one who disappeared with the elder earlier!"

When a Daexiong Gang member recognized Baek Seolhwa and shouted, the gang members began to flock over.

Baek Seolhwa's expression hardened coldly as she looked at the flocking members.

"I can clean up the consequences and ask questions at the same time. This is even better."

Was it because of her cold expression?

Suddenly, the air itself felt like it was turning cold.

* * *

Namgung Hui lightly stepped off the boat and said to Choyeon.

"Choyeon. We have to part ways from here."

At Namgung Hui's thunderbolt-like declaration, Choyeon's eyes widened as she asked.

"Young Master. Are you casting me aside now? Sob, sob! Our relationship was only……."

"That's enough with the jokes, I explained it on the boat earlier. It's better to split up to avoid any potential pursuit."

Namgung Hui's physical condition was such that he could be considered a sick person.

Due to the excessive use of Thunder Ki, he was wrapped in the pain of his blood vessels being torn to shreds.

On top of that, his muscles were also excessively overworked, making them feel as heavy as a thousand pounds.

If the Heretic Alliance were to pursue them, it would be difficult to escape.

Of course, that was if they took a normal escape route.

"Yes. If there's any pursuit, I'll try to lure them away. Ah, and be especially careful with this disguise. Be as mindful of your speech as possible."

"Alright. My, my. To think I'd be dressing as a woman, I've lived a long life."

"Anyone who hears that would think you're over forty, Young Master. Then, stay safe and let's meet at the next rendezvous point."

"Alright."

Namgung Hui was inwardly pleased with this situation.

He was able to part with Choyeon without having to make up various excuses.

It felt like he had gotten rid of a troublesome burden.

However, he was somewhat displeased that he had to dress as a woman to avoid pursuit.

‘Still, my skin is white and my face is pretty, so it's convenient that I don't have to put on a separate disguise.’

If he were an ordinary man, he would have had to put a lot of powder on his face and do a lot of decorating.

But for Namgung Hui, a handsome young nobleman with fine features, the disguise ended with just changing his clothes and letting his hair down.

"I'm really going now."

"Alright. Go quickly. The pursuers will follow otherwise."

"Yes~"

Choyeon, as if she was very worried about Namgung Hui, hesitated before finally taking a step.

Namgung Hui shook his head at Choyeon's appearance and turned towards Mount Huang.

‘Then let's go to Mount Huang, to the Thunder Sect!’

* * *

Namgung Hui paid special attention as he headed for the Thunder Sect.

He did not let his guard down just because he was dressed as a woman.

That was because he already knew how much attention a beauty like Baek Seolhwa had drawn.

‘Of course, I'm probably not as pretty as the young palace mistress. I'm a man, after all.’

Still, he covered his face with a veil and chose to walk on paths with as few people as possible.

Of course, when crossing Mount Jiuhua, which had many bandits, he also took refuge with a security escort service.

The numerous gazes he felt at that time were truly burdensome and even humiliating.

‘Miss. Please have some of this.’

‘No. Eat this. This is more delicious.’

‘Ahem! May I ask where you live?’

It would be a pleasant thing to receive such favors from the opposite sex, but there was nothing good about receiving courtship, or something like it, from the same sex.

Since Namgung Hui was not a man-lover, there was no way he would welcome such gazes.

‘Still, it's a relief that there won't be such gazes anymore.’

Namgung Hui parted ways with the security escort service as soon as he crossed Mount Jiuhua.

The Mount Huang area was as good as his territory to begin with.

He had spent a full forty years training on Mount Huang, so he was bound to be familiar with the geography.

Thanks to using the hunter's path, he arrived at Mount Huang without encountering any people at all.

Of course, he had met some wild beasts in between, so he had ended up having a feast that wasn't quite a feast.

"Burp~! I ate my fill of roasted wild boar for the first time in a while. My clothes are too tight now, though."

Since he was wearing women's clothes, the waist was rather narrow.

His stomach bulged out like a tadpole's.

But it was okay because there was no one to show this unsightly appearance to.

He would be arriving at the Thunder Sect soon, so he wouldn't need such a cumbersome disguise.

‘And once I eat the Thunder Core, I won't have to be so careful with my body.’

Namgung Hui thought of his half-brothers who were eyeing him covetously.

The reason Namgung Hui had secretly left the Namgung family estate in the first place was to deal with them.

Especially the second brother, who did not exist in his memory.

According to Choyeon, the second brother's sect was the Mount Hua Sect.

It was extremely unusual for a child of the great Namgung family to enter another sect.

Even after searching all the memories of his Thunder God days, there was absolutely no such case.

It was a testament to how much the Namgung family's martial arts had regressed, and it was also proof that the second brother did not feel a sense of belonging to the Namgung family.

Anyway, a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect would by no means be weaker than the third brother.

To deal with them all at once, consuming the Thunder Core was essential.

Besides, Namgung Hui couldn't even dare to guess how much energy had accumulated over the past sixty years.

‘Still, too much is as bad as too little. If the energy is too strong, there's a high chance my current body won't be able to digest it.’

Everything is good in moderation, and it tastes good and is good for the body when it's properly ripe.

Namgung Hui climbed Mount Huang with a heart half full of expectation and half full of worry.

After two shichen (four hours) had passed, Namgung Hui, drenched in sweat, arrived at a wide, open space.

‘Phew……. It's the same Mount Huang, but there's quite a difference between climbing it when my realm is low. In my Thunder God days, I would have climbed it in one go.’

Although the process was somewhat difficult, once he arrived at the Thunder Sect, that process completely disappeared from his mind.

He just deactivated the Thunder Sect's formation with a pounding heart.

‘It's been sixty years, but it's coming back to me right away.’

The sight of the Thunder Sect that was revealed after deactivating the formation made Namgung Hui gasp in astonishment.

‘An intruder!’

(End of Chapter)