Rebirth of the Thunder God

The reason Namgung Hui couldn't help but be surprised was not just because the masked people in front of him were numerous.

And it wasn't because they were stronger than he had thought.

It was because unexpected traps were waiting for Namgung Hui.

Various mechanisms, including the bows aimed at Namgung Hui.

Not only that, but the poison ki flowing in the atmosphere was at a level where an ordinary person would have been poisoned long ago.

'If it's a poison formation of this level, is it the Five Poisons Sect?'

As Namgung Hui stared intently at the masked people, the one who had crossed swords with him opened his mouth.

"To come all the way up here alone, you've got some guts."

"Are you guys from the Five Poisons Sect? Seeing as you're even using a poison formation, it doesn't seem like it could be anyone else."

"Well. Are we the only ones who use poison? There's also the Sichuan Tang family."

"..."

Namgung Hui was so dumbfounded that he couldn't speak.

Wasn't Tang Soso, the precious daughter of the Tang family, in his group?

He tried to subtly shift the blame to the Tang family, but it was no use.

"There's a member of the Tang family in my group, so talk sense."

"You're with a member of the Tang family? That's even better. It's not often we get a chance to take care of a Tang family blood relative. Hahaha!"

The Five Poisons Sect disciple laughed as if he were truly happy.

The disciples forming a formation behind him also had a thick smile spreading across their faces behind their masks.

"Then let's see if you have the skills to come up here alone. Poison Dragon Squad. Commence the formation!"

At the word 'commence', a thick poison ki flew in.

Since poison ki was already flowing in the atmosphere, it didn't take long to reach Namgung Hui. However.

-Sizzle!

There was no way Namgung Hui's Purple Thunder Ki would allow the poison ki.

On the contrary, the thick, black poison mist that was rising up burned fiercely in the purple flash.

It repelled it strongly, as if to burn all the poison ki flowing in the atmosphere.

"!? There's no way the Profound Poison Formation can be blocked this easily. What kind of sorcery did you use?"

"Can't you tell even after seeing it with your own eyes? I burned it with my internal ki."

Since it was an internal ki of a special nature, it would be difficult for an ordinary martial artist to easily recognize it.

In fact, the people who had recognized Namgung Hui's Thunder Ki so far were the strange ones.

Hadn't the Thunder Sect been sealed, if not officially, for 60 years?

If that man called the General hadn't been blabbering about it everywhere, ordinary martial artists would not have reacted differently from the Five Poisons Sect disciple in front of him.

The Five Poisons Sect disciple, who was glaring at Namgung Hui, said as if he had realized something.

"You...! You're a master of returning to youth!"

"..."

At first, he was dumbfounded, but when he thought about it, it wasn't exactly wrong.

Although he hadn't returned to youth, his core was strictly that of an old reincarnator.

So it wouldn't be strange for him to be seen as a master of returning to youth.

Hadn't Namgung Hui also recognized Baek Seolhwa's identity that way?

'By the way, it seems the Five Poisons Sect doesn't know anything about me.'

He didn't know what the Five Poisons Sect was thinking by doing this, but it seemed they hadn't heard anything about Namgung Hui's Thunder Ki.

If they had heard about Namgung Hui, they would have immediately pretended to know after seeing him burn the poison ki.

Especially since that man called the General had been blabbering about the Thunder Sect.

At least, he had to assume they weren't affiliated with that side.

"If you're a master of returning to youth, you should have cut ties with the secular world. Why is a great master like you interfering with the affairs of our Five Poisons Sect?"

'Good. I can use this to probe the Five Poisons Sect's scheme.'

"Interfering? You killed innocent people, so isn't it natural to hold you responsible? Why on earth did you kill them?"

"No. Are you saying this because we killed a few beggars?"

"Just beggars? They were members of the Martial Alliance and the Beggars' Sect before they were beggars."

"Ha! This is a stubborn one. Do you really think they are members of the Martial Alliance? Then why don't you live with the beggars? To be frank, even within the Martial Alliance, they discriminate against them. Have you ever even shared a meal with them?"

The Five Poisons Sect's words had a point.

Even within the orthodox faction, they secretly discriminated against the untidy beggars.

Although there was no high or low in a person's life, the children of famous families unknowingly looked down on the members of the Beggars' Sect.

In any case, even if they belonged to the Beggars' Sect, their status as beggars remained unchanged.

"Then I have a lot to say too. In my eyes, beggars and the riffraff of the Five Poisons Sect are all the same. Beggar, riffraff. Isn't it just a one-letter difference?"

"!!! You really have no fear just because you're a master of returning to youth! If you're a senile old monster, you should go to the afterlife. I'll personally help you on your way to the afterlife!"

The master of the Five Poisons Sect rushed at Namgung Hui again.

Unlike a typical Five Poisons Sect member, he used a dazzling movement technique and even unfolded a sword art.

The Five Poisons Sect that Namgung Hui knew not only didn't have such a movement technique, but the sword art itself did not exist.

-Swish. Swish!

Namgung Hui put aside such questions and faced the Five Poisons Sect disciple.

He thought he would be able to hear something if he subdued the opponent in front of him.

The Purple Thunder Ki wrapped around the Thunder God Sword scattered lightning and went to split the Five Poisons Sect disciple's head.

The Five Poisons Sect disciple, at that extraordinary sword momentum, extended his sword and then quickly protected his head, taking a defensive stance.

-Clang!

With a flash, the poison ki that was lingering around burned up.

Sizzle.

That lightning did not stop there, but it emitted a pungent smell and pushed the Five Poisons Sect disciple's body back a long way.

As the Five Poisons Sect disciple was pushed back by about two feet, the Poison Dragon Squad that was surrounding Namgung Hui released their poison formation and rushed in all at once.

Namgung Hui, seeing the enemies approaching at close range, took this opportunity and quickly drew his sword horizontally.

Swish!

The compressed Thunder Ki oxidized into the shape of a flower petal and scattered.

A purple flash spreading like grains of sand.

He was about to go blind in the shower of flashes.

"Argh! My eyes!"

"Ugh!"

The Poison Dragon Squad members who faced that flash let out single screams and collapsed.

Even the remaining poison ki could not be found, and the breath of the Poison Dragon Squad members was also faint.

But there was still someone standing firm.

It was the Five Poisons Sect disciple who had been pushed back by two feet by Namgung Hui.

On the contrary, he looked at the traps scattered around him and smirked.

"Alright, good. I didn't want to use this, but I have no choice."

Namgung Hui, on the one hand, was puzzled.

If he had activated the mechanisms and traps earlier, the Poison Dragon Squad would not have been subdued so easily.

'Come to think of it, the Five Poisons Sect doesn't have such mechanisms. Are they imitating the Sichuan Tang family?'

But as if to mock Namgung Hui's guess, the activated mechanism was just amazing.

-Boom!

Pungent smoke spewed out from the mechanism, and a fire bomb rushed towards Namgung Hui.

The fired fire bomb reached right in front of Namgung Hui's nose in an instant, so he quickly unfolded his protective ki and crossed his arms.

-Rumble!

The power of the fire bomb mercilessly struck the protective ki.

The transparent barrier cracked, and it mercilessly pushed Namgung Hui back.

Fortunately, Namgung Hui's bracelet formed a shield as if it had a will of its own, so there was no damage.

Thud thud thud...

The fragments of the rock that had risen to the sky fell like a rain of sand.

A thick cloud of dust rose, and arrows rained down through the blurred vision.

Swish swish!

An ordinary person would not have been able to avoid it because of the dark vision.

-Clang!

But with his ki sense sharpened by the Purple Thunder Ki, arrows could not approach him.

Namgung Hui scattered the thick dust with a sword wind.

Namgung Hui, at the tingling sensation he felt inside, realized about the mechanism that the Five Poisons Sect disciple had unfolded.

'This is not from the Five Poisons Sect, but from the Sun God Palace...! No, how can the Five Poisons Sect have something from the Sun God Palace?'

Of course, both sects were located in the southern region.

But just as poison and the extreme yang ki were opposites, the relationship between the two sects was not good.

It would be more accurate to say they were like cats and dogs.

That was why he had not expected the Five Poisons Sect disciple to use something from the Sun God Palace.

And their clumsy way of using it was also strange.

"How can the Five Poisons Sect use the fire bombs of the Sun God Palace?"

"As expected of a master of returning to youth, you recognize something from the Sun God Palace. Then what does it mean that this is in my hands? Of course, it means that our Five Poisons Sect has taken over the Sun God Palace. Hahaha! By the way, I didn't expect you to block even this."

Namgung Hui still couldn't understand.

The extreme yang ki, which was no different from the natural enemy of poison.

Ignoring such compatibility, the Five Poisons Sect had absorbed the Sun God Palace?

It didn't make sense.

'Or it could be the other way around. Anyway, It seems true that they have become one body, so I'll take care of that brat first.'

Namgung Hui threw himself into the shower of fire ki.

In fact, since fire ki was a similar ki to Thunder Ki, it was not a big threat.

The hot ki that was brushing past his skin now was just warm.

And since he had a bracelet that protected his body, there was nothing to be reluctant about.

Namgung Hui, who had reached in front of the Five Poisons Sect disciple in an instant, drew his Thunder God Sword horizontally.

He dominated the space to remove the flying fire bombs.

-Bang bang bang!

The fire bombs exploded due to the Thunder God Sword.

The Thunder God Sword, made of Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron, boasted an elegant appearance without even a flinch at such an explosion.

A sight contrary to the dusty and chaotic ground.

"As expected of a master of returning to youth. To be unfazed even by the heat wave bombs. I have no choice. I have to retreat."

Although he had poured everything he had at Namgung Hui, it didn't work.

The deadly poison of the Five Poisons Sect and the unknown hidden weapons.

And the heat wave bombs of the Sun God Palace.

It was a huge investment, enough to subdue even a super-peak master.

Although he was inwardly bitter that he had not achieved the desired results, there was nothing more precious than his life.

The Five Poisons Sect disciple, who had decided to retreat, this time exploded something else and withdrew his body.

Namgung Hui, as if he had no intention of pursuing, just stood there and watched the thickening smoke.

Tang Soso, who had belatedly climbed the cliff behind Namgung Hui, asked.

"Why aren't you pursuing him?"

Namgung Hui smirked and shook the small bottle in his hand.

"I let him go for now because of this."

"Huh? Isn't that our family's Thousand-Mile Tracking Incense?"

"Yes. If it's the Five Poisons Sect, they might notice it in the middle, but at least I'll be able to investigate the direction he headed or that area. By the way, that brat used a mechanism from the Sun God Palace. The corpses below were probably also hit by the martial arts of the Sun God Palace."

An internal injury technique.

And the heat yang ki.

There wouldn't be many martial arts that churned the inside as if it were burning.

The martial arts of the Sun God Palace could certainly leave such power and traces.

Of course, there were still some suspicious points, but the current Namgung Hui had no way to find out more.

He had no choice but to chase the Five Poisons Sect disciple later or ask the Martial Alliance to examine the corpses.

At the mention of the Sun God Palace, Tang Soso said with a slightly surprised look.

"The Sun God Palace was destroyed 20 years ago. Why are they here?"

"The fleeing Five Poisons Sect disciple said that they had absorbed the Sun God Palace. Well, I don't think it's that far, but it's true that they used something from the Sun God Palace. The traces of the fire bombs on the ground are the proof."

Since Tang Soso also had extensive knowledge of mechanisms, she swept the ground with a curious look.

"It's real. It's a completely different fire bomb from the Thunder Burst Bomb. I have more to do when I go to the Martial Alliance."

"Then let's just clean up and leave. It's better to leave the aftermath to the Martial Alliance anyway."

"Yes. The Vermilion Bird Squad will find out something."

And so, the Namgung Hui group left the place with some suspicious points.

* * *

Zhengzhou, Henan Province, where the Martial Alliance was located.

Zhengzhou was a region with no major characteristics, unlike the capitals of other provinces.

If he had to pick a few, it would be that Mount Song, one of the five great mountains of the Central Plains, was located next to Zhengzhou.

Since Mount Song was there, it was natural that the Shaolin Temple was there.

And the Yellow River, which was called the 'cradle of civilization', also flowed, so it was also the birthplace of civilization.

In fact, the word 'Central Plains' also referred to the area around the Yellow River basin.

That was why Zhengzhou, the political and cultural center, had become the base of the Martial Alliance.

The Namgung Hui group, who had set foot on the land of Zhengzhou, entered a place called the Yellow River Inn and took a seat.

Tang Soso, as if she had been to the Yellow River Inn before, skillfully ordered the steamed carp.

"The steamed carp is very famous in the Yellow River area."

"I know that too. The Yellow River carp has been considered a specialty since ancient times."

"That's right. It's especially good for a woman's skin. Seolhwa, you should eat a lot too."

"..."

Baek Seolhwa, as if her mind were elsewhere, did not answer.

Well, since it was a bustling inn, she was probably just looking at the people.

Namgung Hui also thought it would take quite a while for the food to come out, so he decided to read the restored version of the diary he hadn't been able to see.

[Zhu Yuanzhang broke his promise. He clearly said he would officially recognize our religion if we just cooperated in this war. I have no face to see the believers. I can't back down like this. I have to try to negotiate again.]

[The negotiation failed. Still, I was able to achieve some results. I obtained a martial arts secret manual. And it was a huge amount that could be taught to the believers. In a way, it's a good thing. It seems I can now build up my strength without being sad.]

[The martial arts secret manual that Zhu Yuanzhang gave me had a fatal weakness. The more one learned it, the more vicious and violent one became. I had to find a way to solve the side effects.]

[The believers are going crazy one by one. The side effects of the martial arts, no, the demonic arts, were more serious than I thought. Zhu Yuanzhang. I will punish this traitor someday.]

[I finally created a martial art that removed the side effects. But the threshold for entry is too high. No one has learned it yet except me. Still, I'm satisfied with the power. I will name this martial art...]

Namgung Hui, at the name of the martial art that followed, his eyes wide with astonishment.

(End of Chapter)