Rebirth of the Thunder God

"Wait. Stop."

At the powerful voice coming from the sparring stage, Yelu Guang had no choice but to stop his steps again.

And since it was even imbued with ki.

Yelu Guang placed the unconscious man in front of Namgung Hui and said.

"Who are you?"

"To not know me, you must really be a country bumpkin. I am the first squad leader of the White Tiger Squad, Peng Guin."

At the mention of 'first squad leader', the spectators around them began to whisper.

"Isn't the first squad leader as strong as the vice-commander? I heard he might even become the White Tiger Squad Commander in the future."

"There's a rumor that if he hadn't been the young master of the Peng family, he would have been one of the Seven Dragons long ago."

"A truly great person has appeared."

Unlike the whispers of the spectators, Yelu Guang tilted his head at the name he was hearing for the first time.

"Penguin?"

"What are you talking about! It's Peng Guin. Peng. Gu. In!"

"Ah. I'm sorry. My Chinese is not very good. So, is Squad Leader Peng planning to avenge his family member?"

"Isn't that a matter of course? Our Peng family cherishes our blood relatives. Not to mention a younger brother."

"I also cherish my blood relatives. Then shouldn't you not harm others? Think of the unconscious person as your family."

"What kind of nonsense is that? How can our great Hebei Peng family think of that lowly creature as family? It's something only a person with a mixed-up family tree like you could do. Hahaha!"

Crack!

A vein popped on Yelu Guang's forehead, who had been maintaining his composure until now.

"Then stop talking nonsense and come at me. Master Penguin!"

"This brat keeps calling my name wrong. Yes, today is your death anniversary!"

Peng Guin swung his sword like a windmill and flew towards Yelu Guang.

As befitting a martial artist in charge of a squad, he boasted a powerful attack.

A red sword ki tore through the atmosphere and reached Yelu Guang's neck.

-Kang!

Despite it being broad daylight, sparks flew and lit up the surroundings.

Just as Yelu Guang had pushed back his younger brother earlier, this time Peng Guin pushed Yelu Guang back.

As expected of a martial artist of the Peng family.

And the martial art he was unfolding was the representative sword technique of the Peng family.

The Five Tiger Soul-Severing Sword.

As its name suggested, it was a sword technique where five tigers attacked, and it was characterized by five streams of sword ki.

In fact, this Five Tiger Soul-Severing Sword was a martial art of the Shaolin Temple.

But whether there was some kind of deal or some other circumstance, it had at some point become the family martial art of the Hebei Peng family and had been transformed into a martial art that symbolized the Hebei Peng family, not the Shaolin Temple.

That ultimate art of the Peng family was brilliantly unfolded in Peng Guin's hands.

-Clang! Clang clang!

At the barrage of sword ki, Yelu Guang was quite flustered, and his footwork was even disturbed, and he stumbled.

"I'll take one of your arms!"

As if to really cut off Yelu Guang's arm, a tiger-like sword ki fell on his shoulder.

Just as Yelu Guang was about to become one-armed.

-Thwack!

A dagger that flew from somewhere scattered the large sword ki and flew somewhere again.

It was truly strange.

To think that a dagger would return as if it had a silver thread attached to it.

The place where the dagger returned was Namgung Hui's hand.

Since it was mixed with lodestone, it had returned in response to the Thunder Ki.

But others who did not know this principle could not help but be surprised to see this.

"Sword Control with Ki!"

"No way! How can a person who is only of age have such a skill...?"

Peng Guin was also surprised.

Not only was his sincere sword ki blocked, but it was a martial art reminiscent of Sword Control with Ki.

It was a skill he had never heard of or seen in his entire life.

"Could he be a spy from the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance? Our orthodox faction doesn't have such a dagger technique. I heard the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance leader has learned many tricks, so could he be a disciple of the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance leader?"

"Hey. Peng Guin. Does the character written on this identification tag look like the Heretic Practitioners' Alliance to you? You're big, but your eyes are small, so it's a shame."

"And you dare to speak informally to a squad leader of the Martial Alliance? Yes, let's see which family you're from."

Peng Guin focused his eyesight and read Namgung Hui's identification tag, then his expression hardened, and he continued.

"Namgung...! And if your name is Hui, then you're the one who destroyed the Lake Chao Sect!"

"Hey. You and I are probably of the same generation, so don't call me 'brat'. Then I'll call you 'penguin'."

Peng Guin shivered for a moment and then turned his body.

His personality was such that he would have rushed in, but for some reason, he felt like he was suppressing his anger.

As if he had received a certain hint from someone.

'Someone sent a telepathic message. Are there more martial artists of the Peng family among the spectators here?'

No matter how he looked, there were no large men.

Well, just because they were martial artists of the Peng family didn't mean they were all big.

He just thought there must be some kind of collaborator.

"Peng Guin. Get up. We're leaving."

"Brother. If we retreat like this, the face of the Peng family..."

"Go! This happened because you didn't handle it properly. We'll retreat for now and plan for later."

"Yes..."

The Penguin brothers exited side by side.

Perhaps because of their large size, even though only two of them were walking out, their presence was considerable.

The spectators looked at their backs and unknowingly nodded their heads.

"No matter how bad the reputation of the Peng family is, their momentum is still great. To think my legs would tremble just by looking at them."

"But why did the martial artists of the Peng family come to the Black Tortoise Squad and even have a spar?"

"That's because of that unconscious Heon Wonsu over there. Well, I don't know the exact details, but it seems to be because of a love affair."

At the words of the spectators, Namgung Hui learned that the name of the man lying in front of him was Heon Wonsu.

And at the same time, he was reminded of the Heonwon family of his past life.

The Silver Sword Family.

They were knowledgeable in acupuncture and medicine, and their dexterity was outstanding, so they were skilled in the golden capture hand in martial arts.

That Heonwon family had treated numerous martial artists even in his past life and had received a certain degree of recognition for their great achievements.

Although they were not one of the five great families, they were known to everyone in the martial world.

But seeing Heon Wonsu's state, it seemed that was also an old story.

Namgung Hui sent his ki into the pulse of the unconscious Heon Wonsu and woke him up.

"Hey. Get a hold of yourself."

"You want me to set the table for lunch? I already set it..."

"No. I said get a hold of yourself, not set the table for lunch."

"Ah...?"

Only then did Heon Wonsu come to his senses, raise his head, and sit up.

"Did you save me, miss?"

"It's young hero, not miss. Can't you tell by my voice?"

"Shouldn't one not judge a person's gender by their voice?"

"But it's also ridiculous to judge by appearance. Anyway. If you've come to your senses, check your right fingers. They must have been broken by the martial artist of the Peng family. If you don't want it to get worse, let's go to the infirmary right away."

Heon Wonsu clenched and unclenched his right hand, and then frowned as if he felt a pain.

"My fingers are really broken. But with this much, I don't think I need to go to the infirmary. I know how to treat it. Then, just a moment."

Heon Wonsu picked up a tree branch that had fallen on the floor, tied it to his finger, took out a needle from his bosom, and pricked it.

Then, didn't the bruised finger regain its color?

At the strange phenomenon, Namgung Hui looked at him with a slightly impressed expression.

"As expected of the Heonwon family, your acupuncture is amazing. But how did you get into a fight with a member of the Peng family?"

"A fight? I was just beaten up one-sidedly. The reason I was beaten is probably because of Miss Jegal Jihye."

'Jegal Jihye is Jegal Geon's cousin, right?'

"What happened with that Miss Jegal?"

"Nothing much happened. There was just a common physical contact between a man and a woman."

"Physical contact?"

"To be direct, we kissed. In fact, I was the one who was kissed, but Young Hero Peng Guin seems to have misunderstood."

"So you just took the beating?"

"But I can't just fight a member of the Peng family, can I? And how am I supposed to handle the aftermath?"

Heon Wonsu's words also had a point.

And it wasn't that Peng Guin had misunderstood. He must have been jealous because Jegal Jihye and Heon Wonsu had become a couple.

Since he wasn't even Jegal Jihye's older brother, it didn't make sense for him to do this on behalf of her family.

'A kiss... It's been a while since I read the romance encyclopedia that Geon gave me. I'll have to finish reading it tonight.'

Although his purpose had been distorted, the reason Namgung Hui had participated in the Martial Alliance tournament was not for anything else, but to show off his martial prowess in the tournament.

By doing so, he would get numerous marriage proposals, and from there, he would choose a young lady he liked and get married, wasn't that his dream?

Of course, because of the rise of the Hoicheon Association and the Blood Cult, it had been slightly derailed, but Namgung Hui had not forgotten it for a moment.

As Namgung Hui was lost in thought for a moment, Yelu Guang, who had come down from the sparring stage, said to Namgung Hui.

"Brother. It seems we can't look around the Black Tortoise Squad, so let's move."

* * *

Following Heon Wonsu's guidance, they moved to a quiet open space with no spectators.

The shade of the tree was cool, and the surroundings were quiet, and it felt as if just breathing in was purifying.

"So it was you, young hero, not the young lady, who saved me. It's late, but thank you very much."

"Hahaha! It was something a martial artist should do."

"The word 'hero' has become vulgar these days. It's really amazing that you're carrying out such a heroic act."

"By the way, are you okay? It seemed you were beaten up quite a bit by that penguin."

"Ah, that's fine. I've already finished the treatment. But what brought you young heroes to the Black Tortoise Squad?"

Yelu Guang glanced at Namgung Hui and then continued.

"I came to see the martial artists of the Black Tortoise Squad because I heard they were magnanimous. But it was very different from the Martial Alliance I had imagined."

"In what way?"

"First of all, you were being beaten up, but no one around helped you. I think they were watching because of the power of the Hebei Peng family, but still, aren't we martial artists?"

"A martial artist is not necessarily a hero. They are not at fault."

"Still, even a thief's body will move on its own if a child is about to fall into a well. But why do they just stand by and watch when a colleague is being beaten? Can they still be called warriors of the Martial Alliance?"

"It seems you're talking about the Martial Alliance of several decades ago, young hero. Well, it's not that there are no one who thinks like you, young hero, but these days, they've become a rare existence, like a spirit."

"..."

A sense of disappointment appeared on Yelu Guang's face.

Because it was so different from the Martial Alliance he had expected.

But Namgung Hui, as if he had expected this, patted Yelu Guang's back and continued.

"Guang. Don't be so sad. Heroes are originally made by the times. When the world becomes chaotic in the future, they will come out on their own. Like you."

"Hearing you say that, brother, makes me feel a little relieved."

"Come on. Don't be gloomy here. I'll show you around the inside of the Martial Alliance. Follow me."

"Alright."

And so, as they followed Heon Wonsu and entered the inside of the Martial Alliance, someone called Heon Wonsu's name from a distance and ran out.

(End of Chapter)