Rebirth of the Thunder God

'The Hoicheon Association existed even back then? Why did they clash with the Empty Gate Sect Master from two generations ago?'

Since Empty Gate Sect was a sect of thieves, they must have stolen something from the Hoicheon Association.

Otherwise, there would be no reason to chase the number one thief in the world.

To chase the Empty Gate Sect Master, a master of movement techniques, would surely be a waste of manpower, no matter how large a force the Hoicheon Association was.

'But how did the 100-year-old legacy of Empty Gate Sect not get passed down? Did the Hoicheon Association perhaps steal the key?'

He had a rough idea.

Due to some incident, the legacy was not passed down.

It could have been the work of the Hoicheon Association.

It could also have been a dispute with another sect, but Namgung Hui's intuition told him it was the work of the Hoicheon Association.

Because otherwise, there was no force anywhere that could stop the number one thief in the world.

Even the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult could not catch the Shadowless Divine Thief.

'First, I should read the rest of the booklets.'

There were three booklets in total.

Each had a different cover and color, of course.

And the handwriting was also quite different, so it seemed they were all written by different authors.

The handwriting of the 8th Empty Gate Sect Master seemed to be from a single secret manual.

[Phantom Step]

Skimming through the contents, it seemed to be a movement technique that reached the pinnacle of illusion, just as its name suggested.

If he mixed this appropriately with the Thunder Cloud Step, a movement technique that left dazzling afterimages could be born.

'Still, it's a little disappointing. I was hoping for a movement technique that was fast in terms of speed.'

He had faced disappointing moments in chases time and time again.

The moment he chased Dugu In.

The moment he chased the spy from the Hoicheon Association.

And above all, it was quite vexing that he couldn't even catch up to Baek Seolhwa.

Moreover, he had keenly realized on this occasion that the Thunder Cloud Step was inferior to the Mount Hua Sect's Dark Fragrance Float.

In fact, in terms of lightness skills, he was inferior to the Sword God of his past life.

This was a problem.

An outstanding lightness skill was essential to deal with the forces of the Hoicheon Association and the remnants of the Blood Cult that he would face in the future.

Fortunately, a decent movement technique was seen in the remaining two booklets.

[Wind God Step]

Was there a title of Wind God in the past?

He had never heard of it, but the contents of the secret manual were quite profound, just like the arrogant title.

First, as the name 'God of Wind' suggested, it was an extremely fast movement technique.

It seemed to be a secret manual that the Empty Gate Sect Master had stolen from somewhere, and it was indeed a supreme movement technique worthy of a thief's greed.

Since the secret manual was quite profound, it seemed he wouldn't be able to learn it here.

He would have to take time separately and look at it for a long time to understand the martial art.

Namgung Hui put the Phantom Step and the Wind God Step in his bosom and picked up the last booklet.

This one was so old and worn that he was worried it might crumble.

He carefully turned the cover.

Perhaps because it was so old, the letters were also faint, making it difficult to recognize.

An ordinary person would probably have to bring eyeglasses to barely be able to read it.

Fortunately, Namgung Hui, thanks to his outstanding eye power and eye technique, immediately unfolded his Telescope and read the booklet.

[The ■□ master broke the promise. Even though they said they would recognize our □■ if we just cooperated in this war. I have no face to see the cult members. I can't back down like this. I must try to negotiate again.]

[The negotiation was a □. Still, I was able to achieve some results. I obtained the ■gong secret manual. And a huge amount that could be taught to the □. In a way, it was a good thing■. Now I can build up my strength without being sad■.]

[... (omitted) ...]

There was a considerable amount of content written after that, but since it was such an old booklet, names and place names were not read properly.

Still, it wasn't that he hadn't found out anything.

First, seeing the word 'cult members', it seemed the identity of this author was a cult leader or a person of equivalent status.

There weren't many forces that could be called a cult for over 100 years.

First, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult came to mind.

But looking at the calm handwriting and tone, it seemed far from the vicious Heavenly Demon.

The second religion that came to mind was.

The Esoteric Buddhism of the Western Regions.

As its name suggested, it was a secret religion, and Namgung Hui didn't know much about it, but their reputation often changed, so it was hard to grasp.

Sometimes a bad reputation. Sometimes a high reputation.

In some eras, their existence was not even known, and they lived as if they were dead.

It was a group that truly suited the name Esoteric Buddhism.

After that, various groups such as Zoroastrianism, the White Lotus Society, and the Ming Cult came to mind, but since they were all religions that had been destroyed and disappeared, it was meaningless to recall them.

'Well, it's none of my business. It doesn't seem like such a great content anyway.'

As he closed the old booklet, he suddenly felt a sense of incongruity.

The 8th Empty Gate Sect Master had clearly said that he was being chased by the Hoicheon Association because of one of these booklets.

It could be the secret manual of the Wind God Step, but Namgung Hui's intuition told him that they wouldn't have chased the Empty Gate Sect Master so tenaciously just for a martial arts secret manual.

It must be information that should not be leaked to the outside or to other people.

'Are there more secrets hidden in this diary-like thing?'

It seemed there was a need to restore the invisible letters.

Since there was an expert in this field, he would have to try to revive the letters of the diary if he had the chance.

Because he might be able to find out the secret history of the Hoicheon Association.

'Is this the end of the remaining legacy?'

He had thought that the number one thief of his time would surely have left a huge amount of gold and silver treasures in a secret passage like this, but it seemed he didn't have the capacity, just like his hurried handwriting.

To think that the Hoicheon Association had that much power even in the past, it was a moment when he was once again surprised by their power.

'First, I should go back. I still have to finish guarding Miss Eun.'

The moment one's tension is released like this is the most dangerous.

'Will they launch a surprise attack on the last day?' One would often be caught off guard and attacked.

At times like this, one had to tighten the reins of tension.

Namgung Hui, having packed the three booklets, also took out all the luminous pearls attached to the ceiling and put them in his purse.

The luminous pearls were not very large, so they were easy to carry.

He needed to visit the black market to restore the mysterious diary, so it seemed it would be good to put the luminous pearls up for auction.

"Chichi. Let's go back."

"Kkik."

And so, Namgung Hui came out of the dark secret passage.

For some reason, the echo of the cave seemed to resound eerily.

* * *

When he returned to the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild with Chichi, the moon was now shining brightly.

The merchants who had been standing in a long line were no longer seen, as they had all returned to their quarters.

Namgung Hui walked along the deserted path and headed for the Young Guild Mistress's annex.

He was a little late, but he was determined to guard her all night today.

"Young Guild Mistress. Are you inside?"

"Yes. Please come in."

When Namgung Hui opened the door and went in, as expected of the Myriad Gold Merchant Guild where work never ceased, there were piles of documents.

There was no way she would be sleeping at this hour.

"I'm a little late, aren't I?"

"No. I just got back too. The meeting with the Guild Master was quite long."

Namgung Hui let out a sigh of relief inwardly and opened his mouth.

"I will resume my final guard duty. But when I leave, you won't have a bodyguard, will you?"

"The meeting was long because of that matter."

"Oh-ho. But seeing your bright expression, it seems it was resolved well?"

"Yes. The new bodyguards will arrive early tomorrow morning."

"Where are they coming from, and who are they?"

"They are the nuns of the Emei Sect."

* * *

-Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.

Namgung Hui stretched his arms, listening to the chirping of the birds.

Although he hadn't slept a wink all night guarding Eun Seolrin, his body didn't feel very tired.

Instead, he caressed his bosom with a pounding heart.

'The Wind God Step was more outstanding than I thought.'

Late at night, after Eun Seolrin had gone to bed, Namgung Hui had looked through the Wind God Step all night.

Since it was a profound study, he had looked at it all night and was barely able to understand it.

He couldn't even remember the last time he had clung to a single martial art for so long.

It was that rare of a divine art.

To the point where the name 'Wind God' did not sound arrogant.

A competitive spirit also arose, wondering what it would have been like if he had been born in the same era as himself, who was called the Thunder God.

'As the name 'God of Wind' suggests, it is a very outstanding movement technique. Is there a movement technique superior to this in the entire Central Plains?'

The Wind God Step was roughly divided into 3 stages.

The 1st stage, Favorable Wind, was the stage of performing a lightness skill using the wind, not only making the body light but also increasing the speed with the power of the wind.

The 2nd stage, Transcendent Wind, meant transcending even the wind, and it referred to a stage that boasted a speed so fast that the word 'like an arrow' would not be awkward.

It was said that just by reaching the Transcendent Wind, one could stand shoulder to shoulder with a master of lightness skills.

If the 2nd stage was like this, then if one reached the 3rd stage, 'Divine Wind', not only the Shadowless Divine Thief, but he was confident that there would be no one in the entire Central Plains who could match him in lightness skills.

Whether it would actually work remained to be seen.

In any case, having obtained such a peerless divine art, it would be abnormal if his heart didn't pound.

As Namgung Hui caressed the secret manual in his bosom, Vice General Manager Ju Jeongcheon was approaching the annex from a distance.

"Young Master. Is the Young Guild Mistress still sleeping?"

"No. She woke up a while ago and is probably changing her clothes. Ah. She should be coming out now."

Eun Seolrin had woken up earlier than usual to greet the new bodyguards.

Well, since she always went to bed late and woke up early, it wasn't much different from usual, but today she seemed to be paying particular attention to her clothes.

She must have put in a lot of effort to greet her guests.

And so, a moment later, when the door opened, the elegant figure of Eun Seolrin was revealed, giving a slight sense of freshness, different from the impression she had given so far.

As Namgung Hui stared at her, Eun Seolrin smiled shyly and then asked Ju Jeongcheon.

"Where are the guests?"

"They are in the reception hall now. It seems the nuns of the Emei Sect also don't sleep in."

"Who knows. They might have come early because they couldn't sleep all night. Let's go and see what kind of masters have come."

Namgung Hui, also curious about the nuns of the Emei Sect, nodded and led the way.

In his past life, the nuns of the Emei Sect had also shown extraordinary performance in the great war between the orthodox and demonic factions.

Extermination of evil demons.

The nuns of the Emei Sect were similar to the Moon Maiden Palace members, but they had a particularly strong sense of justice.

If the Moon Maiden Palace members were just thirsty for revenge and punishment.

The disciples of the Emei Sect, as befitting a Buddhist sect, often showed a compassionate side.

Well, even so, they had no mercy for the Demonic Cult members.

Namgung Hui, reminiscing about the past, walked towards the reception hall with vigorous steps.

'Is it because I've learned the Wind God Step? Even in a simple walk, I feel the energy of the wind. My body feels unusually light.'

It didn't seem to be Namgung Hui's delusion.

Every time his feet touched the ground, as if the wind were protecting the soles of his feet, no footprints were left.

It was strange.

It really felt as if his body itself had become as light as a feather.

As he led his light body and arrived at the reception hall, a faint sound of voices could be heard from inside.

"Senior Sister. Can we really eat as much meat as we want?"

"Yes. We can't catch and eat it ourselves, but it's fine to be served it here. We're not committing the act of killing ourselves."

"Hehe. That's so good..."

The disciples of the Emei Sect, as if they had read the presence of Namgung Hui's group, stopped talking and stared at the door.

Namgung Hui, at the quicker-than-expected reaction, nodded and thought.

'At this level, I can trust them with the escort. The Emei Sect has sent some decent disciples.'

Since Namgung Hui had led the way, he was also the one who opened the door.

But when the door opened, Namgung Hui couldn't help but be quite bewildered.

(End of Chapter)