Rebirth of the Thunder God

The reason Namgung Hui clenched his fists was not because he was scared.

It was because his competitive spirit was stirred.

'He's not as good as the Mount Hua Sect Leader, but at this level, it should be quite fun.'

Among the people Namgung Hui had fought so far, there was no one he could call a master except for the members of the Dugu family and the Moon Maiden Palace Lady.

The elder of the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance and the master of the Crouching Tiger Fortress could be called masters, but their level was common in the martial world.

Even at the Martial Alliance tournament, there would be plenty of famous masters of that level.

The man called the Squad Leader before him was at least among the top hundred masters.

The man called the Squad Leader drew his sword and said.

"Then. It would be fair for you to witness my martial arts as well. For now, just receive three of my techniques."

Normally, one would yield the first move to a junior, but the man called the Squad Leader strangely attacked first himself.

In a way, he could be called not just clever, but cunning.

Namgung Hui also needed to grasp his martial arts, so he readily yielded the first move and observed his techniques.

'A swordsman, and a not-so-strange starting technique. Still, it seems he has learned an orthodox one.'

Moreover, seeing as he hadn't leaked his energy until now, it seemed he had learned a special martial art for concealing energy.

-Swish!

The Squad Leader's sword fiercely cut through the air and flew straight at him.

But strangely, he felt a killing intent from behind, not from the front.

Namgung Hui trusted his intuition.

He quickly turned around and swung his sword.

-Clang!

A dagger with a reddish tip was deflected.

But Namgung Hui had no time to appreciate it.

Because he felt a killing intent from behind again.

-Kang!

This time, it was the Squad Leader's sword.

A quick sword, but also a stealthy assassin's sword.

There was no doubt about this man's identity; he was an assassin.

'He attached daggers to the trees here and there in advance. What a cunning fellow.'

Even though he didn't know Namgung Hui would come, his preparedness was thorough, having placed his subordinates in advance.

And to think he had hidden these hidden weapons.

If his Purple Thunder Ki hadn't been on high alert, he would have been in trouble.

"As expected. You block this much as a basic. Now that two moves have passed, try and block the last one."

The Squad Leader, as if he had no intention of hiding it anymore, pulled a thin silver thread in the air.

Namgung Hui, thinking the attack would come from behind again, watched his rear, but this time the attack came from under his feet.

And with a considerable explosion.

-Boom!

The explosion occurred right under Namgung Hui.

The Squad Leader's attack and the stealthy dagger felt as if they had forced Namgung Hui's position, like herding a mouse.

But Namgung Hui, as soon as he felt the slight vibration of the explosion, used a phantom-like movement and moved from his spot.

This was also a skill made possible by the achievement of the 8th star of the Purple Thunder Divine Art.

The so-called Electric Charge Net.

'The electric charges spread in all directions act like an insect's antennae.'

With this, the Squad Leader's three techniques had passed.

The opponent had only attacked Namgung Hui as a test, but he had used several skills, including the phantom-like movement, resulting in a considerable consumption of internal energy.

Perhaps because of that, the Squad Leader nodded with a satisfied expression.

"I didn't expect it, but you were a successor of the Thunder Gate. It wouldn't be strange for the Namgung family to have a connection with the Thunder Gate. The past Thunder God and Martial God were close friends..."

"So have you finished your estimate?"

"Hahaha. An estimate. It's more or less out now. Will you come this time? I'll yield three techniques."

"You attack first and call it yielding? I didn't know you had a talent for jokes. Then, without reservation, I'll go this time."

Finishing his words, Namgung Hui did not throw himself at the opponent.

Instead, he threw himself backward and unleashed a Thunder Burst Palm at an innocent large tree.

-Boom! Crack!

The middle of the tree trunk ruptured and it fell down.

When a tree falls, leaves and fruits should pour out.

Why were daggers pouring out of the large tree that Namgung Hui had felled?

"Hahaha! You're also quite thorough in your preparations. To think you'd take care of that first."

Thunder Energy had the property of flowing through metal.

Namgung Hui had used that to spread his electric charges in all directions and find the daggers.

By getting rid of that large tree, half of the hidden weapons in the estate were gone.

"Then I'll go for the remaining two techniques."

This time, Namgung Hui rushed straight ahead.

But he had to stop his body as soon as he started running.

Because a thin, invisible silver thread was about to cut his face.

Namgung Hui, having stopped his feet, said.

"Your offer to yield three techniques was a lie."

"I was just standing still. You were the one who was about to stick your face in it."

The fight with the Squad Leader felt like playing a game of chess.

If he moved a piece, another move was waiting, and he would probe the opponent's intentions and strike at their weak points.

In that process, Namgung Hui had lost a major piece.

Of course, it wasn't that Namgung Hui had only suffered losses.

First, he had removed almost all of his hidden weapons.

And he had grasped not only his level but also his personality sufficiently.

Namgung Hui asked.

"Do you know an animal called a hedgehog?"

"I've never heard of such a spiritual beast."

"Well, it's not a spiritual beast, but it's a rather rare animal. Anyway. You resemble it."

"It seems to be a very clever animal."

That wasn't what Namgung Hui meant.

Hedgehogs were timid and defended themselves by raising their spines.

The daggers hanging all around were like a hedgehog's spines.

And he had said it because even the fact that they both moved mainly at night seemed similar.

"Let's stop the mind games and get to the main point."

"Yes. I've seen everything I need to see, so do as you please."

Namgung Hui nodded and immediately stomped his foot with a Tremor Step.

Not just a Tremor Step, but a heavy foot stomp imbued with Purple Thunder.

He was imitating the Heavenly Demon's Reigning Step that he had seen during the great war between the orthodox and demonic factions.

-Boom!

The ground overturned, and the gunpowder buried in the ground exploded.

As soon as the explosion was heard, thin silver threads tightened from all directions.

As if to trap Namgung Hui in a net.

-Swish! Swish!

He dodged the silver threads, slipping through them like a loach.

Now that the ground had overturned, the floor was no longer flat.

It was a terrain where one could easily misstep.

But Namgung Hui roamed the estate freely, as if he had eyes on the ground.

"Hahaha! You called me a hedgehog, but you really resemble a loach."

Namgung Hui didn't care whether the opponent was mocking him or not.

He was just removing the spines one by one to hunt the hedgehog.

Even beasts had a hard time hunting hedgehogs.

Their spines were so sharp that if one tried to hunt them rashly, they would get injured instead.

'I'm almost there.'

There weren't many of those spines left now.

The Squad Leader, who had been standing still until now, slowly began to move his feet.

He was probably preparing his final move.

Namgung Hui also slowly moved his feet.

His steps gradually quickened.

The distance between them narrowed.

When the distance between the two was now within reach.

As if with one mind, they threw themselves at each other.

-Pang!

Internal energy exploded from the Yongquan point.

Namgung Hui, feeling a sense of buoyancy, quickly plunged into the Squad Leader's body.

The Squad Leader, as if he had been waiting for this, spread silver threads in all directions like a spider's web.

Namgung Hui threw himself into that net and wrapped his entire body in Purple Thunder Ki.

As his body flashed with a Purple color.

-Thump. Thump. Thump!

All the silver threads snapped, and the spider's web scattered in the wind.

It was because they had melted, unable to withstand the heat of the Purple Thunder Ki.

The Squad Leader, without even a moment to be surprised, quickly raised his sword to block Namgung Hui's fist.

-Kang!

At the explosive power of the Purple Thunder, the Squad Leader's sword was pushed back a long way.

In that gap, Namgung Hui's other fist plunged into his empty chest.

-Thwack!

His ribs broke and pierced his lung.

A bowlful of fresh blood spurted out.

"Gah!"

The Squad Leader, without even a moment to catch his breath, was busy stumbling backward from Namgung Hui's continuous barrage of fists.

But now the ground was not even, and in the end, the Squad Leader misstepped.

-Tumble.

"Even your rolling looks like a hedgehog. But now that all your spines have been pulled out, you can't be called a hedgehog anymore."

Then the predetermined course of action was obvious.

Namgung Hui's fist, this time, landed on the Squad Leader's face.

-Crack!

With a sound like a watermelon breaking, the Squad Leader passed out.

As expected, once all his spines were pulled out, he felt weaker than his actual skill level.

On the other hand, if his spines had been intact, he would not have been able to avoid a tough fight.

Well, even this much was a considerable fight against Namgung Hui.

He had used up a whole sixty years' worth of internal energy, so Namgung Hui's dantian was in a rather empty state.

If he had prepared more thoroughly, Namgung Hui's body would not have been unscathed either.

'Still, I'm glad I was able to capture him without killing him. Then shall I start the interrogation now?'

Namgung Hui, with a wicked laugh, dragged the Squad Leader into the pavilion.

* * *

The Tendon Splitting and Bone Grinding technique, performed with the Purple Thunder Divine Art, boasted an even more powerful might.

To give a rough idea, it would be easy to understand if one imagined the feeling of having gout all over one's body.

Of course, since Namgung Hui could control the intensity, it could be much more painful than that.

The man called the Squad Leader, despite having a tolerance for pain, opened his mouth in less than half a shichen.

"Alright. Squad Leader. First, tell me what kind of squad leader you are."

"...I am the third leader of the Dark Shadow Squad."

"Dark Shadow. So that's why the spies were called shadows. Is your role to raise the shadows?"

"It was in the past. Now I lead them and give them orders."

"Who is the one who gives you orders?"

"Naturally, it's the corps commander. Who else would it be?"

"What is the name of the corps, and who is the corps commander?"

The Squad Leader paused for a moment and gave a sneer.

Namgung Hui, displeased, narrowed one eye and asked.

"What's so funny?"

"I just laughed because my situation and your situation are so hopeless. We are just chess pieces. No matter how hard you try, you won't be able to catch the body of the Association, let alone its tail. No. Even if you catch the body, it will be a problem."

"We'll know that when we catch the body. Just tell me who the corps commander is."

The third leader, as if it were such a big deal to say the name of his direct superior, opened his mouth with a determined expression.

"The name of the corps I belong to is the Black Tortoise Corps, and the name of the corps commander is Im Daepung."

"Black Tortoise Corps? It's the same as the name of the Martial Alliance's Four Divine Corps. Could it be..."

Namgung Hui had to stop in the middle of speaking. The reason was.

"Hey. Third Leader, why did you suddenly stop breathing? Don't tell me you're trying to perform the Turtle Breathing Great Art? You think I'll fall for..."

-Thud.

The third leader collapsed like a reed.

And blood began to seep from his seven orifices.

In other words, he had died as soon as he had uttered the name Im Daepung.

'A restriction.'

But it felt quite different from the restrictions of the Blood Cult members he had seen before.

Theirs were activated loudly, and a turbid energy was felt in advance, giving off a sense of foreboding.

But the third leader's restriction showed no signs beforehand.

And above all, no strange or turbid energy was felt.

Then.

'An orthodox restriction. Don't tell me...!'

The Black Tortoise Corps Commander Im Daepung that the third leader had mentioned somehow seemed to be referring to the Martial Alliance's Four Divine Corps.

And the 'body' that the third leader had mentioned seemed to be much larger than he thought.

Although no evil emanated from the third leader, a greater sense of foreboding than that of the Blood Cult members emerged.

* * *

Namgung Hui searched the Hoicheon Association's safe house, but he didn't find much.

If there was anything to be gained, it was that he had found quite a few usable daggers.

Other than that, the only information was the Black Tortoise Corps Commander that the third leader had spat out.

And there were no usable valuables or supplies.

So he boldly set fire to it and set out on his way.

Since the estate was located in a remote place, it didn't seem like the fire would spread nearby.

As he was returning the way he came, he couldn't see the figure of the Mount Hua Sect Leader's son, Yong Ucheon.

Naturally, since he had spent over half a day at the safe house, it wouldn't be strange if he had returned on his own.

But as if to mock Namgung Hui's guess, Yong Ucheon's figure was seen at the entrance of the inn.

And with a stranger at that.

(End of Chapter)