Rebirth of the Thunder God

There were two reasons why Namgung Hui was surprised by the Black Spirit's voice. First.

"Pursuit and Kill Squad Leader."

It was because she had recognized Namgung Hui's face.

He had thought that someone might recognize the Pursuit and Kill Squad Leader's face, but he had never thought it would be the Black Spirit.

Seeing the Black Spirit's fierce momentum, it seemed it would be difficult to pass it off lightly.

And the other reason was not only that the Black Spirit's voice was that of a woman, but also that he felt as if he had heard that voice somewhere before.

Where on earth had Namgung Hui heard this voice?

No matter how much he tried to recall, he couldn't remember well.

It certainly wasn't a memory from his past life.

Namgung Hui, at the Black Spirit's fierce glare, could not avoid answering.

"You called, Black Spirit."

"I know you have a separate mission."

"That's none of your business, Black Spirit. We're not even in the same organization."

The role of the Pursuit and Kill Squad Leader was probably to monitor the black market.

There would be no other reason for a martial artist of the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance to periodically visit the black market.

Even looking at the main role of the Pursuit and Kill Squad, there seemed to be no other reason.

In other words, since the Black Spirit belonged to the black market, she was not the Pursuit and Kill Squad Leader's superior.

They would only be checking each other.

"..."

He didn't know what kind of expression she was making because of the bamboo hat pressed down, but he could guess to some extent that she was glaring at Namgung Hui.

Namgung Hui, regardless of that gaze, said.

"I'll be going in now. I came for personal business today."

"Alright."

As Namgung Hui passed her, the people who had been watching also began to disperse.

Namgung Hui, feeling the Black Spirit's gaze weaken, let out a sigh of relief.

The reason Namgung Hui had taken a firm stance against the Black Spirit, risking danger, was.

'If I show a low posture, I'll look more suspicious.'

Not only the Black Spirit, but the Pursuit and Kill Squad Leader's personality would not have been entirely gentle.

If he had shown a low posture to the Black Spirit, he would have only aroused suspicion.

That was why she had managed to let it go after seeing Namgung Hui's arrogant attitude.

'By the way, the black market is really amazing. To build such a large building with three floors.'

The large pavilion Namgung Hui had entered was composed of a total of three floors, and each floor handled different items.

The first floor started with common items, and most of them were rather expensive-looking weapons and accessories.

He had heard that the second floor auctioned martial arts secret manuals and elixirs.

It meant that they did not accept just anyone, as the items were more expensive than those on the first floor.

Then what did the last floor, the third floor, handle?

'Drugs and slaves. They handle things that must be dealt with in extreme secrecy.'

Items that had to be handled more carefully than precious martial arts secret manuals and elixirs.

Although people could not be called items, in the slave market of the black market, they were unfortunately items and commodities.

Namgung Hui couldn't help but smile bitterly at the thought that his sworn brother in heaven would not have stood still if he had known this.

With his current ability, he had neither the capacity nor the reason to deal with the black market.

And so, Namgung Hui scanned the products on the first floor and headed for the auction house in earnest.

The auction was already in full swing.

There were people who leisurely called out their bids, and on the other hand, there were also those who shouted their bids at the top of their lungs.

Perhaps because of that shouting, Namgung Hui's steps were naturally drawn there.

'A treasured sword. Even from a distance, its sharp edge feels like it's piercing my skin.'

Just looking at the blade made him feel a sense of dread.

It was truly made with a focus on killing.

He didn't know who had made it, but it felt as if the smell of blood was wafting from it.

"4,000 silver taels! I can't yield anymore!"

4,000 silver taels. An enormous amount.

Even converted to gold, it would not be a light weight.

Perhaps because of that weight, the sword with the sharp edge was handed over to the man who had shouted.

The man, receiving the sword, took out a promissory note from his bosom and handed it over.

The promissory note was a currency that had appeared during the time Namgung Hui was asleep.

He didn't know what value such a piece of paper would have, but under the promise of the three great merchant guilds of the Central Plains, they would exchange silver and gold as written on that paper.

'It's treated with a special chemical, so it's difficult to counterfeit. But Jo Seongho could probably counterfeit it.'

And so, starting with the treasured sword, various protective gear and accessories were put up on the auction block.

Namgung Hui, having no interest in protective gear or accessories, watched with indifference and then went up to the second floor.

At the entrance of the second floor, there were, as expected, warriors blocking the way.

"From here on, not just anyone can go up. Only those who have proven their qualifications can pass."

Namgung Hui smirked and held out the Pursuit and Kill Squad Leader's identification tag.

"I can go in, right?"

"Yes. You may go in."

His tone became polite. It seemed the name value of the Pursuit and Kill Squad Leader was not low.

Namgung Hui gave a perfunctory nod and stepped onto the floor of the second floor.

From here on, even the materials used for the floor were luxurious.

It was clear that a lot of care had been put into it.

"5,000 silver taels!"

The starting price was already much higher than on the first floor.

On the first floor, the highest price for a treasured sword was 4,000 taels, but here, a single old-looking secret manual started at 5,000 taels.

Namgung Hui enhanced his vision and read the title of the secret manual on the auction block.

[Flying Eagle Movement Technique]

Although it was pronounced somewhat like a curse word, it was a lightness skill that meant flying like an eagle, just as its name suggested.

Despite that ridiculous name, Namgung Hui's complexion was not good.

'That's because. I know which sect that movement technique belongs to. Because it's the representative lightness skill of the Diancang Sect.'

And as it happened, the Pursuit and Kill Squad Leader he had disguised himself as was the last descendant of the Diancang Sect.

Although the movement technique he had learned was not that Flying Eagle Movement Technique, their roots would be the same.

It was a coincidence.

Was it really a coincidence that it had come up for auction?

And if he pretended not to know, he would have no face to see the former Diancang Sect Master, Zhongli Guang.

But Namgung Hui did not have 5,000 silver taels.

'For now, let's just apply the Thousand Li Tracking Incense to whoever buys it.'

Namgung Hui slyly approached the person who had made the final bid for the Flying Eagle Movement Technique.

Pretending to be passing by, he sprinkled the Thousand Li Tracking Incense on the back of his neck.

Now, once he left the black market, it wouldn't be a bad thing to track him.

If. If he belonged to the group that had attacked the Diancang Sect in the past, he could just punish him.

And if he had bought it legitimately, he could just wish him great success and that he would spread the martial arts of the Diancang Sect far and wide.

After that, various movement techniques and internal energy arts were put up.

Among them, there were also some supreme martial arts that Namgung Hui had heard of in his past life.

As such, the auction prices soared to the sky, so he couldn't even dream of it.

Of course, Namgung Hui didn't need them.

And the silver Namgung Hui could mobilize right now was only 2,000 taels.

It was by no means a small amount of money, but here it felt light.

At most, it would be a single accessory from the first floor.

And so, Namgung Hui returned to the posture of a spectator and watched the auction house with a sorrowful heart.

Still, it was fun to watch.

When he saw the martial arts of the past, it stimulated his nostalgia and brought back memories.

'Mysterious Heaven Heart Art, Revolving Lotus Kick, Jade Stream Flying Sword... I know all these names.'

And so, after the auction of martial arts secret manuals passed, elixirs were now put up on the auction block.

If martial arts secret manuals were only needed by martial artists, elixirs were a little different.

Even ordinary people could become healthy and boost their yang ki if they ate them.

In particular, the officials of the court took good care of themselves by eating elixirs that were good for the body.

Among them, the emperor was so greedy that he even received the Great Rejuvenation Pill of the Shaolin Temple as a tribute.

The Shadowless Divine Thief had said that the imperial treasury was full of legendary elixirs such as the inner core of a Ten Thousand Year Fire Fox, a human-shaped snow ginseng, a ten-thousand-year-old ginseng king, and a golden turtle divine pill.

One might ask why he just stored them, but the emperor did not know martial arts.

If a person who did not know martial arts consumed such a special-grade elixir, there was a high probability that they would fall into death instead.

Too much is as bad as too little.

Since even medicine becomes poison if taken in excess, he had just stored them.

The first elixir that came up was a common Polygonum multiflorum that could be seen in the market.

However, the ki it contained seemed to be at least a thousand years old.

"This product is a three-thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum, and the starting price is 2,000 taels."

"2,100 taels!"

"2,300 taels!"

...

"3,000 taels!"

"5,000 taels!"

The soaring auction price was finally sold for 7,000 taels.

As far as Namgung Hui knew, a ten-thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum was about 10,000 taels, so it seemed the price of elixirs had risen recently.

It was probably the result of the land becoming barren after the great war between the orthodox and demonic factions.

Because Mount Kunlun, which was famous for having many elixirs, had been devastated.

After that, a thousand-year-old ginseng and the inner core of a spiritual beast were sold one after another.

Now, as the auction was about to end.

The auctioneer appeared with a shabby-looking elixir.

Perhaps because everyone had gotten what they wanted, or because of the shabby appearance of the elixir, people's interest was less than before.

And the starting price the auctioneer called out was also.

"This product is an unidentified pill, and we will start at 100 taels."

Unidentified.

It could be a great elixir, but on the other hand, it could also be a poison that caused instant death.

One might want to try eating it, but a person's life was only one.

Unless one had a spare life, there would be no need to buy an unidentified pill.

And it was an item that cost 100 taels.

But Namgung Hui, who was examining the pill, widened his eyes.

That pill was also an item that remained in the memories of his past life.

And he knew better than anyone that it was not worth just 100 taels.

Was it because it had been forgotten by people for 60 years?

It seemed it couldn't be helped.

The identity of that pill was.

'Because it's an elixir from the Potala Palace.'

The Potala Palace, the foremost Buddhist sect in the Western Regions.

The palace master was called the Dalai Lama and also called himself a reincarnator.

Such a palace master was a being that could not be grasped.

Sometimes he became an evil person.

And sometimes he became a good and virtuous person.

Moreover, his martial arts were also so powerful that when he came out to the world as an evil person, he was called the Blood Monk and sometimes turned the whole world into a sea of blood.

At that time, he was so cruel that even the Demonic Cult was no match for him.

However, since it was a considerable distance from the Central Plains martial world and its cycle was extremely long, it was not strange that modern martial artists did not know about it.

If it hadn't been for his master's work, Namgung Hui would not have known the identity of that elixir.

'Still, there's no room to doubt the efficacy of the elixir. I'll buy it.'

"100 taels."

"100 taels. Is there anyone else who wants to bid..."

"150 taels."

A low voice that did not suit the auction house was heard.

But people couldn't help but be quite surprised by that voice.

The owner of the voice was a person who had frequented the auction house the most, but had never bid before.

'The Black Spirit. To suddenly interfere. Is it because of what happened earlier?'

Namgung Hui, knowing the true value of that elixir to some extent, had no intention of meekly giving it up to the Black Spirit.

Even if it meant pouring all of the 2,000 taels he had.

"200 taels."

"300 taels."

...

"1,000 taels."

It had reached a thousand taels in an instant.

Could it be that the Black Spirit had also recognized the true value of that elixir?

There was no sign of yielding at all.

Namgung Hui had thought he would readily give up to 2,000 taels, but his stomach churned at having what he could have gotten for free taken away.

'Even if I use all 2,000 taels, I might need more money.'

Jo Seongho might charge a fee for the restoration of the diary.

It could be hundreds of taels.

As Namgung Hui was lost in agony, the Black Spirit suddenly sent a telepathic message.

-If you give up here, I will give this to you.

-What do you mean? If you were going to yield it to me, you shouldn't have bid in the first place.

-I will tell you the reason if you back down here. What do you think? How about you trust my words for once?

Namgung Hui was lost in thought for a moment.

Whether it was okay to trust the Black Spirit.

But since it was also a burden to bid more than 1,000 taels, he decided to play along with her for now.

-Alright. I'll back down now.

"No more bids. Then it's sold for 1,000 taels."

The Black Spirit, as if it were no big deal, took out a heavy purse and handed it to the auctioneer.

And then, the Black Spirit, who had received the elixir, passed by Namgung Hui and said.

-If you want to receive it right away, follow me.

Namgung Hui nodded and quietly followed her.

And so, the place they arrived at with the Black Spirit was a small room in the basement, and seeing as it was equipped with various tea sets, it seemed to be a reception room.

And since it was thoroughly soundproofed, it was extremely secret.

"So. What's the reason you called me here by spending a large sum of money? Could it be that the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance..."

"I know you're not a person from the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance. To be precise, you're not the Pursuit and Kill Squad Leader."

"?! "

It seemed the Black Spirit had seen through Namgung Hui's disguise.

(End of Chapter)