Rebirth of the Thunder God

-Knock. Knock. Knock.

Namgung Hui looked at Jo Seongho at the sudden presence.

It was a question of whether there were more guests to come.

As Jo Seongho shook his head, Namgung Hui carefully approached the door and asked.

"Who is it?"

Flinch.

He felt a sense of surprise from outside the door.

Was it because he was surprised by Namgung Hui's voice, not Jo Seongho's?

Soon, a voice was heard from outside the door.

"It's me. Did you take refuge here?"

At the not-unfamiliar voice, this time Namgung Hui flinched.

"It's the Black Spirit. Was this the place you were fleeing to?"

Namgung Hui was surprised that he had fled to the same place as the Black Spirit.

Come to think of it, even if the central island was quite large, it was just a remote island.

There wouldn't be many places to take refuge like this.

"It seems something has happened, so let's all go down to the basement. It doesn't seem safe here either."

And so, Namgung Hui and the Black Spirit followed Jo Seongho into the underground warehouse.

As they each sat on the chairs Jo Seongho offered, the Black Spirit spoke first.

"Did you kill Elder Daesangheum?"

"Yes. I met him while planting the Thunder Burst Bomb, so I had no choice. I had to buy time until the fuse burned out."

If Namgung Hui had just run away, Daesangheum would surely have dug up that place.

If he cut the fuse, no matter how precious the Thunder Burst Bomb was, it would not explode.

The Black Spirit showed a slightly surprised expression and then regained her composure and said.

"I see. Instead, I want to thank you."

"Why? Did he harm you in some way?"

"It's ambiguous to simply say he harmed me. Just know that there's a story. Anyway, since we've successfully destroyed the auction house, let's escape right away. Old man. You've prepared everything, right?"

"That's right. I never expected you to drag this child into it. But are you planning to leave today?"

"Since we've moved things up, I think we have to. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you in advance."

The Black Spirit's tone seemed somewhat affectionate only to Jo Seongho.

Come to think of it, Jo Seongho was also from the orthodox faction, and the Black Spirit, who was from the Jinju Eon family, was also a person of the orthodox faction, so it wasn't strange if they had a connection in the past.

"But, Black Spirit. How on earth are you going to escape from here?"

"The old man here has prepared an escape route. It seems it would be okay for you to ride along."

"Do you think they'll just stand by and watch if we have a boat? On the contrary, the warriors of the black market who have been silent until now will be setting up a formation. And the formation surrounding the central island is the biggest problem."

The reason the Black Spirit and Namgung Hui were able to successfully carry out their plan was largely due to the fact that the auctions on the 1st and 2nd floors were over.

The escort of the auctioneer, the shift change, the carelessness of the day's work being over.

It was something that was possible because everything came together.

Since it was planned by the Black Spirit, who was well-versed in the black market, it was a natural result.

But the escape was different.

Namgung Hui had also seen it on his way, but a formation was spread out on the island itself.

A huge, swirling whirlpool.

The only way to break through it was to have a great formation master dismantle it or to hire a boatman who knew the life path.

But now, none of those things...

"Don't worry about that. I have a knack for formations, you see."

As far as Namgung Hui knew, Jo Seongho did not know formations.

Although he was quite outstanding in landscape painting.

But if he had polished anything for 60 years, it was a time more than enough to achieve great success in that field.

With his outstanding insight and brilliant mind, he was also a good match for formations.

"Even so, how are you going to get through this tight security and launch a boat? The boat will sink before it even reaches the formation."

"That's also true. That was the part I was most worried about when I heard this plan."

Jo Seongho and Namgung Hui's gazes turned to the Black Spirit.

"Don't worry about that. By now..."

-Rumble! Boom!

A strong roar was heard, enough to shake even the basement.

At this rate, it seemed at least ten Thunder Burst Bombs had exploded.

He was also worried that the island might collapse entirely at this rate.

The Black Spirit, at that vibration, said with a faint smile.

"It's done. Old man, have you packed all your things?"

"No. You didn't tell me in advance, so how could I have packed? I didn't have time for that because of this child's request."

"There's no time, old man."

"Sigh... I have no choice. I can only take what's absolutely necessary. You two also just grab whatever looks precious. I can't carry it all by myself."

In any case, if the underground warehouse was not discovered, he could just come back later and retrieve it.

Namgung Hui ordered Chichi to find precious items.

"Kkik. Kkik. (That one. That one. This one.)"

Following Chichi's instructions, he carefully swept up the antiques.

One was a pair of earrings that a woman would use.

One was a piece of cloth of unknown identity.

And the last one was.

'A bracelet to wear on the wrist. What use could it have?'

If it were given by someone else, he would naturally not have even looked at it.

But since it was pointed out by Chichi, the treasure detector, he had to take it.

There must be another secret hidden inside the seemingly ordinary bracelet.

As he packed the three items, Jo Seongho and the Black Spirit also seemed to have finished their preparations to leave.

"The boat is hidden right in front, so let's go out right away. It would be good to escape before the sun rises."

"And now is the chance, when people have flocked to the other side."

Namgung Hui nodded and headed for the end of the island where Jo Seongho was leading.

But despite Namgung Hui's outstanding eyesight, he couldn't see a boat, let alone a wooden plank.

As he looked at Jo Seongho with a puzzled gaze, he opened his mouth with a triumphant expression.

"Of course, it's hidden, so you can't see it even if you look like that. Wait a moment. I'll bring it out right away."

Jo Seongho tapped a rock and touched something on the floor.

-Swish...

Suddenly, a boat appeared on the water out of nowhere.

No, rather than appearing, it revealed itself as if it had been there all along.

Only then did Namgung Hui realize that Jo Seongho had dismantled the formation.

'I was arrogant to think I had learned a little about formations from the Hao Faction Head.'

He hadn't even recognized the formation of Jo Seongho before him.

That meant he was a master of formations, but it also meant that Namgung Hui's insight was only that much.

'I should study formations more on this occasion. It would be good to know some to deal with the Hoicheon Association or the Blood Cult.'

He didn't know about the Blood Cult, but the Hoicheon Association would surely use formations.

"Get on quickly."

While Namgung Hui was lost in his thoughts, the Black Spirit and Jo Seongho had already boarded the boat.

Namgung Hui also nodded and was about to get on the boat.

"Catch them!"

A commotion was heard from behind.

Thump thump. The sound of footsteps echoed, and it seemed at least dozens of people were flocking.

Did the Black Spirit's diversionary tactic not work?

Namgung Hui enhanced his vision and looked closely, but that was not the case.

'The escaped slaves are coming.'

This was something neither they nor the Black Spirit would have expected.

Since the slaves had headed in the opposite direction, perhaps they had changed their destination to this place because of the explosion?

In any case. The reason they had headed here remained unchanged.

And the fact that they had to deal with the warriors of the black market also did not change.

To leave by boat like this, the boat's speed would not be fast.

And since he had to dismantle the formation, he had to buy time.

'It wouldn't be a bad thing to destroy the black market on this occasion. Since it would deal a blow to the source of funds flowing into the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance.'

Namgung Hui nodded and drew the Thunder God Sword.

Moonlight was imbued in the dark sword body.

The Black Spirit, who saw that, said with a slightly surprised expression.

"Are you going to deal with them?"

"Then are you suggesting we run away by boat among ourselves?"

"..."

She also seemed to be contemplating.

No matter how much she had rolled around in the black path, her true nature would be that of the orthodox faction.

Since the Jinju Eon family was a place that belonged to a prestigious family.

Her innate character would be upright.

"I'll join you later. Go ahead and dismantle the formation first."

"Can you really stop them alone?"

"I'm a person who values my own life. If necessary, I'll run away by myself, so don't worry."

"When did I say I was worried about you? Alright. We'll leave first."

The Black Spirit whispered something to Jo Seongho, and Jo Seongho rowed the boat vigorously.

For a crude boat, the boat moved forward vigorously.

By the time the boat was far from the island, the slaves and the warriors of the black market had arrived.

"Sigh... They're really a handful. If you surrender now, I'll at least spare your lives. The later you surrender, the harder it will be for you to see a good end. I'll torture you as cruelly as possible and then kill you. I promise you that."

The slaves looked at the boat moving away in the distance and made a frustrated expression.

Although they couldn't all get on, it was still the only means of escape.

As that hope gradually turned into a dot, a sense of frustration could not help but overwhelm their bodies.

-Thud.

The slaves, who had lost their strength, sat down on the floor. The leader woman who saw that comforted them.

"Hey. Are you all going to give up after coming this far? Aren't you even resentful?"

"We've done as much as we could. What more do you want us to do here? We don't know martial arts, so if we rush in, it's just a dog's death."

The woman bit her lip and then turned her head to look at Namgung Hui.

"Benefactor. It's a shameless request, but could you please save us? I'll definitely repay you later. I promise."

"I doubt what kind of repayment you can offer, but I'll make an investment for once."

The woman's intelligent eyes were too noticeable to just pass by.

The fact that she maintained her composure even in this situation meant that she was no ordinary person.

'It would be a good thing to draw her in as my person and use her.'

It was a time when it was becoming difficult to deal with enemies alone.

The more allies, the better.

Perhaps because Namgung Hui was just staring at the slaves, the warriors of the black market no longer recognized him as the Pursuit and Kill Squad Leader.

And some of them must have seen what Namgung Hui had done.

As if there really was such a warrior, he pointed at Namgung Hui and said.

"Squad Leader. That man is the culprit of this incident!"

"Is that so? To think of setting off a Thunder Burst Bomb in the black market, you have a lot of guts."

"Well, I'm outside the boat. Since I haven't gotten on the boat yet."

"...Don't tell me you're joking in this situation? Looking at you now, you seem to have lost your mind. If you're going to go crazy, go crazy gracefully, why are you being a bitch to us?"

"I don't know about being a bitch. Is this all of you? There are fewer warriors in the black market than I thought."

"You... You had an accomplice. To not even know the reason why there are few warriors in our black market."

Could it be that the warriors of the black market had left their posts due to some incident?

The Black Spirit had not told him anything about this, so he had no way of knowing.

But seeing as the Black Spirit had planned the incident at this time and listening to the words of the man called the squad leader, it seemed this was the time when the black market was most vulnerable.

"Then this must be all of them. One, two, three... twenty. It'll be over sooner than I thought."

"Hahaha! Even if our numbers are small, there are five peak masters."

As the man called the squad leader had boasted, the people who had flocked, although few in number, were not to be taken lightly.

Even though it seemed the slaves had safely escaped, more than half of them had died at their hands on the way.

On the contrary, they enjoyed killing.

Thinking that they were fish they had already caught, they vented their frustration from the current situation on the slaves.

And with five peak masters, it was a force that could easily deal with one super-peak master.

In the first place, a peak master was a rare talent.

The fact that five of them were stationed in the black market was an undeniable proof of their great power.

However.

'I'm in a state where I can deal with about five peak masters.'

It was ambiguous to define Namgung Hui's current cultivation.

Because the insight of his past life had already surpassed the state of transcendence.

And with the addition of the insights of the Purple Mist Divine Art, the Plum Blossom Sword Art, and the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers, the depth of his martial arts could not help but deepen day by day.

Even now, the insight of Hou Yi Shoots the Sun was developing him.

The squad leader completely surrounded the slaves and Namgung Hui and opened his mouth.

"How would you like to die? Water torture? Or should I burn you with fire? Just say the word. I'll do as you wish."

Smirk.

Namgung Hui let out a laugh at the enemy's worthless attitude.

"You don't have to choose, just..."

Just as Namgung Hui was about to finish his words.

-Boom!

A loud noise was heard from the direction the Black Spirit and Jo Seongho had headed.

(End of Chapter)