Rebirth of the Thunder God

-Thud.

The sound of a person collapsing was heard from in front of the prison.

Since a healthy person wouldn't collapse on their own, it meant it was someone's doing.

But no presence was felt.

Since the underground prison was soundproof and sturdily built, it was almost impossible to feel it.

But contrary to Namgung Hui's worries, the intruder soon revealed his identity.

-Creak. Bang!

The heavy iron door opened, and the intruder's shadow was cast.

He was wearing a mask, so he didn't know who he was, but looking at the clothes he was wearing, he was one of the warriors who had been standing with Ouyang Yeonhui.

"An Ouyang family martial artist?"

The intruder, perhaps not knowing that Namgung Hui had escaped from the prison, showed a slightly surprised expression at Namgung Hui's appearance.

"It seems the Namgung family head didn't press your vital points."

"No. I released it myself. But who are you? You don't seem to be the guy who called himself brother-in-law earlier."

The voice was not the one he had heard in the morning.

Should he say it sounded slightly younger?

Looking at the wrinkles around his eyes and his voice, he seemed to be about thirty years old.

"How dare you call him a guy! You insolent thing!"

"His name was Ouyang Cheon, right? Ouyang Cheon guy. A lowly guy. Guy, guy, guy."

-Swish!

The enraged martial artist immediately rushed at Namgung Hui.

He was even snorting, so he seemed really angry.

What kind of person was Ouyang Cheon that he would get so angry?

‘Didn't he say he had just come down from training in the mountains? But his position is so firm?’

Something didn't make sense, but if he beat up the guy in front of him, he should be able to solve some of his curiosity.

Namgung Hui judged that he could easily subdue him, as the opponent had lost his composure.

But.

-Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

For an excited person, he deflected Namgung Hui's offensive well.

Not only that, but the successive attacks he extended were also quite fierce.

Bare hands versus bare hands.

Fist art versus fist art.

Namgung Hui's pride was slightly hurt as the Thunder God couldn't easily gain the upper hand in a fist fight.

Namgung Hui raised his Pure Thunder Essence and performed the Thunder Strike Fist.

In the dark prison, a blue flash cut through the darkness.

-Zzzzt! Thwack!

In the end, he allowed Namgung Hui to land a blow.

The Ouyang family martial artist, clutching his chest, said with a slightly surprised look.

"Thunder Ki? Could it be the Thunder Sect?"

"You know the Thunder Sect? I have more to ask you now that I've caught you."

Namgung Hui was very curious about how the opponent knew the identity of the Thunder Sect.

He was even more so because he had no special connection with the Ouyang family.

‘They wouldn't remember me. They were not smart guys.’

Namgung Hui, also wanting to get out of the prison quickly, raised his Pure Thunder Essence to the extreme.

Now, the underground prison was so bright with flashes that it was dazzling.

As the tingling Thunder Ki heated up the atmosphere, this time Namgung Hui rushed in first.

-Thwack!

The flash that had been shining for a moment disappeared.

As the light disappeared, the prison was once again filled with darkness.

The Ouyang family martial artist could not immediately adapt to such darkness.

He had already taken a blow to the chest, and now that he was blind, he couldn't chase Namgung Hui's position.

-Thud.

In the end, he was caught from behind in vain.

He wasn't just subdued by an attack.

His vital points had been pressed.

His body trembled with shame.

As the cold air brushed against his cheeks, the trembling of his body became even stronger.

"It's a bit cold here, isn't it? I'll send you to a warm place quickly, so just answer my questions well."

"What do you mean? I have nothing to tell you."

"First, where did you hear about the Thunder Sect? I don't think the Ouyang family is the type to look into old books or things like that."

He wondered if the Ouyang family, not the Zhuge family or the Sima family, would look into such books.

To be honest, the Ouyang family was not a smart family.

Besides, it seemed that the only book that would record the Thunder Sect was in the Zhuge family.

"When did I say I was from the Ouyang family? I'm not from the Ouyang family."

"Is that so? Are you in a hired relationship?"

"That's not it either. Come to think of it, we're the ones who hired the Ouyang family."

"That's a strange thing to say. What are you to hire the Ouyang family? Well. Let's say that's that, for now, tell me where you heard about the Thunder Sect."

"Isn't it a famous place? Don't the people these days even know about the existence of the Thunder Sect? Then how did you learn the martial arts of the Thunder Sect? Even the Martial God wouldn't know the martial arts of the Thunder Sect."

The more this person talked, the more confused he became.

The Ouyang family, no, the unidentified martial artist, spoke as if the Thunder Sect was a really famous place.

Not a hint of pretense was felt in his attitude.

Was the Thunder Sect really a famous place in this era?

‘No. Even searching my childhood memories, there was no one who knew about the Thunder Sect. Even the people of the Namgung family barely remembered it.’

Well, it wasn't particularly strange to know about the existence of a single lineage sect.

Because there were occasionally people who remembered the names of mysterious sects.

It could be a coincidence.

Hadn't Baek Seolhwa also heard about the existence of the Thunder Sect from someone and even found its location?

‘Is someone leaking information about the Thunder Sect? I'll have to find out later.’

"You're not from the Ouyang family? Then where are you from?"

"Do you think I would tell you that?"

"Since you said you knew about the Thunder Sect, you must also know about the Thunder Sect's torture method, right?"

-Flinch!

As if he really knew about the existence of the Thunder Ki torture, a faint fear appeared in the martial artist's eyes.

It was a strange thing, as most of those who knew this were dead.

‘Well, I can just ask him directly. Then.’

Namgung Hui took off his mask and immediately injected Thunder Ki.

The eruption of Thunder Ki, which had reached the 7th star of the Divine Thunder Art, was swift and intense.

The opponent also felt it intensely, and his reaction was also quite intense.

"Kuaaaak!!!"

"This place is soundproof, so no one will hear you even if you scream like that. Shall we see how long you can last?"

One quarter of an hour. One shichen (two hours).

Half a shichen. One shichen.

As time gradually passed, sweat poured from the unidentified man.

That sweat, combined with the cold air, froze his body.

Tremble, tremble, tremble.

His body even trembled from the ruthless cold, and the man was consumed by the cold.

When he was about to fall asleep in the extreme cold, a tingling Thunder Ki struck his whole body.

And when he tried to escape from the Thunder Ki, a cruel cold attacked his whole body.

He couldn't tell if this was hell or reality.

Was that why? As his mental strength was gradually running out, the man who had only been screaming until now began to utter different words.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! Please just stop this!"

"Alright. But if you don't speak properly, next time it's two shichen."

"What? It hasn't even been two shichen yet?"

The man despaired. To him, the time of one shichen felt like an eternity.

But to think that not even two shichen had passed.

"What's wrong? You've endured it well so far. You can't show weakness at the end. Then, tell me where you're from first."

"…I don't know if you know our family, but for now, my name is Dugu Yujin."

"What did you say? Dugu!?"

The reason Namgung Hui was surprised was none other than because the surname Dugu was not unfamiliar.

The Dugu family.

This was one of the Six Demonic Families that had formed the pillar of the Demonic Cult in the past.

That's why he couldn't help but be surprised at his name.

"A descendant of the Demonic Cult?"

"It's not the Demonic Cult, it's the Divine Cult, you brat."

"It's certain. A Demonic Cult member."

The Demonic Cult members hated being called the Demonic Cult.

They denied being the Demonic Cult, saying it was a blasphemy to their religion, and insisted on being called the sacred religion, the Divine Cult.

To be precise, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

But he had heard that their seeds had been wiped out by the hands of the orthodox path fifty years ago.

They had resisted for a full ten years after the Great War between Justice and Evil had ended.

This alone was worthy of being called amazing.

After that mopping-up operation, they hadn't shown their faces for fifty years.

He had thought their seeds had really been wiped out, but to suddenly appear in front of Namgung Hui like this, he couldn't help but not believe it.

"Are you really a Dugu family guy?"

"Even if I tell you the truth, you're still a pain. Then do you think I would risk my life and utter the surname Dugu?"

"That's also true. There's no need to say you're a Demonic Cult member to deceive me. You'd be killed on the spot if you were caught by the Martial Alliance."

"Now that I've told you the truth, let me ask you one thing. Are you also a true successor of the Thunder Sect?"

"Yes. I'm a successor of the Thunder Sect and the current sect leader. If you're a Demonic Cult member, you would know about the existence of the Thunder Sect better than anyone. Then, I'll ask you one last thing. Has the Demonic Cult really been revived?"

Just as Dugu Yujin was about to answer.

-Rumble! Crash!

With a huge explosion, the underground prison shook violently.

That earthquake eventually caused the entire staircase of the underground prison to collapse.

Even in the darkness, the thick dust that was rising was clearly felt.

Dugu Yujin, despite having eaten a lot of that dust, let out a cough and a mad laugh.

"Cough! Cough! Hahaha! It went according to plan. Ten Thousand Demons Bow in Submission! The Divine Cult's Second Coming!"

-Bang!

As soon as he finished speaking, Dugu Yujin's head exploded, and he died.

It was as if a restriction had been activated.

Namgung Hui, seeing that, could only scold himself for his complacency.

‘If it's the Demonic Cult, there must have been a restriction. I was careless.’

Of course, the biggest reason was that he couldn't believe the revival of the Demonic Cult.

Even after hearing the name Dugu, he had been half in doubt.

But now he had no choice but to believe.

The restriction that had been activated in front of him was clearly that of the Demonic Cult.

Namgung Hui quickly gathered his senses.

To have destroyed the underground prison like this meant that they had intended to bury Ouyang Yeonhui as well.

It must be a scheme to silence Ouyang Yeonhui and hide Namgung Hui's body.

‘They sent Dugu Yujin in case I wasn't affected by the Ice Soul Poison. Cunning bastards.’

In the first place, if it was just a matter of dealing with Ouyang Yeonhui, it would have been enough to just destroy the prison like this.

Namgung Hui, who had come to his senses, immediately pounded on the pile of rocks that was blocking the passage.

The thickness alone seemed to be about five zhang (16.5 meters).

It was a size that would take a few days to dig out from above.

If it had been Ouyang Yeonhui, she would have surely died waiting for rescue.

‘But I'm different. This much is doable.’

If it had been the 6th star of the Divine Thunder Art, it would have been impossible, but now that he had reached the 7th star, it was a possible realm.

Namgung Hui stood in front of the rock and raised the output of his Thunder Ki to the maximum.

A flash of lightning brightly lit up the gap in the rock, and Namgung Hui, following that light, thrust out his palm.

Explosive Thunder Palm. Secret Technique, Light Burst.

As the name of the technique suggested, a light exploded in the darkness.

The light particles filled the gap in the pile of rocks.

And those light particles soon exploded, transforming the gap into a passage.

In an instant, a pile of rocks of five zhang disappeared.

But, the ceiling soon shook again, and rocks fell down.

Still, it was enough.

For Namgung Hui to escape from the underground prison.

He quickly kicked off the ground with the technique of the Bow Body Bullet Shadow and flew up.

He leaped a distance of five zhang in an instant and moved his position from underground to the ground.

-Rumble!

As soon as Namgung Hui came out, the underground prison collapsed again and completely sank to the bottom.

Namgung Hui, looking at the surrounding debris, nodded his head.

‘It seems they set off a thunderclap bomb.’

To have prepared a thunderclap bomb meant that they had prepared thoroughly in advance.

In the first place, a thunderclap bomb was a rare item that was not easy to obtain.

Even if you had money, you couldn't get it.

You could only get it if the mysterious sect, the Thunderclap Sect, released the goods.

And you might see it in the black market, but it didn't seem impossible for the Demonic Cult guys.

‘This is not the time to be doing this.’

Namgung Hui quickly turned his body and looked around.

As he had worried, the Namgung family estate was not in a good state.

The walls had long since collapsed, and the magnificent buildings were engulfed in flames.

It was then.

-Crash!

With a deafening roar, a building collapsed completely.

It was not due to a thunderclap bomb, but someone's martial art.

And it was a familiar martial art that Namgung Hui knew. To be precise, a demonic art that the Thunder God knew.

It was none other than.

‘Sosu Mahu's Demonic Art!’

(End of Chapter)