Rebirth of the Thunder God

"Fairy. You're here. Muchi is hungry."

"This is no time to be whining about food. The Martial Alliance is looking for you."

"The Martial Alliance? Bukgung Jinwu told me never to get caught. This is big trouble."

Namgung Hui's suspicion turned into certainty the moment he heard the surname Bukgung.

The Bukgung family.

One of the Six Demonic Families, just as the Orthodox Faction had Namgung, the Demonic Cult had Bukgung.

They too, like the Namgung family, had many people with outstanding martial arts and great insight.

At least, the people of the Bukgung family that Namgung Hui had met in his past life were all strong and intelligent.

'Then that man named Muchi must be a person of the Blood Cult. But why is Seolhwa defending a person of the Blood Cult?'

If the other party had been a weak woman, he could have thought that the Moon Maiden Palace might do so, but he couldn't understand why it was a strong man.

'Don't tell me! Seolhwa likes that man...?'

Otherwise, the current situation could not be explained.

A woman in love.

If so, she could certainly defend and protect an enemy.

Namgung Hui, more than anything, did not want to admit this fact, but other than that, it was impossible for his head to understand.

As soon as he admitted that fact, anger surged for some reason.

An instinct to destroy everything arose from somewhere deep inside.

A heart demon.

This was dangerous.

Before his concealment was broken, Namgung Hui quickly descended the mountain and threw himself somewhere.

To a place even Namgung Hui himself did not know.

While Namgung Hui was disappearing, Muchi turned his head in the direction Namgung Hui had been and said.

"Fairy. Wasn't there something over there just now?"

Beak Seolhwa glanced in the direction Muchi was pointing and said to him.

"You must have felt it wrong because you're hungry. For now, let's think about what to do next."

Beak Seolhwa didn't need to protect Muchi to this extent.

It was just that the sense of responsibility from her past life had captured her.

'It's not a good thing for Muchi to be discovered like this. How much information can a simpleton like this leak to the Orthodox Faction?'

On top of that, she couldn't let a guy who looked so innocent disappear as the dew of the execution ground.

She didn't know what the guy named Bukgung Jinwu was thinking when he sent Muchi, but she had to either send him back to the cult or find the object or person he was looking for instead.

'The object he mentioned was the sacred artifact of the Divine Cult, the Sacred Fire. And the person was someone I've never seen before.'

Finding such a person was practically impossible.

And finding the sacred artifact of the Divine Cult in this vast Central Plains was no different from finding a needle in a desert.

Having no other choice, Beak Seolhwa decided to persuade Muchi.

"Muchi. Listen carefully. The Martial Alliance has dispatched the Four Divine Troupes to find you. It's impossible to find the sacred artifact and the person of the Divine Cult like this. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

"So I'm saying, do you have any intention of returning to the Divine Cult like this?"

"I don't know. Jinwu told me never to come back unless I found at least one of the two. But since you're saying it, fairy. I think it's okay to go back."

Beak Seolhwa let out a sigh of relief, thinking he was at least listening to her.

"You said the Divine Cult is in the Hundred Thousand Mountains of Guangdong Province right now. Alright. I'll take you there."

To get from Jeongju, Henan to the Hundred Thousand Mountains of Guangdong Province, one had to cross Hubei and Hunan provinces.

In that process, could Muchi really pass through without any trouble?

In Beak Seolhwa's eyes, not at all.

Now that his appearance had been roughly revealed, he wouldn't be able to cross Hubei Province, where the Wudang Sect and the Jegal family were, safely.

'I'll have to ask Namgung Hui for a disguise at this opportunity. Since it's come to this, I have to explain it to him anyway.'

Beak Seolhwa nodded, making a plausible plan.

"Fairy. You look somewhat anxious."

"It must be your imagination."

"Still, thank you for taking me. I don't think Bukgung Jinwu will say anything if I go with you, fairy."

"Wait a minute, I'll bring some food and a friend."

"Food is good. Muchi will wait."

Beak Seolhwa looked at the drooling Muchi and shook her head as if she was fed up.

"Then I'll be back. Be as quiet as a dead mouse."

* * *

Namgung Hui, who had left the wild mountain, ran relentlessly to shake off his heart demon.

Was it because he had adapted to the heart demon to some extent?

Unlike before, he didn't see any signs of Qi Deviation.

And perhaps due to the effect of the Clear Mind Heart Method he had given to Eun Seolrin, his boiling anger had subsided somewhat.

"Hoo... Why do I have to get angry over something like this? I don't understand myself."

Namgung Hui muttered to himself and then let out a small laugh.

Since when was it?

Whenever he thought of Beak Seolhwa, an unknown feeling arose from a corner of his heart.

At first, he thought it was because they were best friends.

But what Namgung Hui was doing now was as if.

'It's like I'm jealous of that guy. Don't tell me I...?'

Namgung Hui shook his head vigorously and denied the current situation.

What was important now was not feelings.

There was still a mountain of work to do.

He had to uncover the conspiracy of the Hoicheon Association.

And he had to infiltrate the Blood Cult.

Finding a marriage prospect, which was his original purpose, was not a high priority right now.

At first, he had thought their conspiracy was not that big and had taken it lightly, but after realizing that the main body of the Hoicheon Association was more complicated than he thought, he couldn't just watch.

Northern Heaven, Demonic Heaven, Imperial Heaven.

Each one alone was not an opponent to be taken lightly.

'I might really achieve the feat of cultivating myself, managing my family, ruling the country, and bringing peace to the world.'

The martial world outside the Central Plains.

The remnants of the Demonic Cult.

And the forces of the emperor, which was no different from facing the country.

If he defeated all of them, it would be no different from conquering the world.

Namgung Hui moved the turmoil in his heart to his head and continued to have more complicated thoughts.

In the meantime.

He saw a rather familiar person at the entrance of an unknown mountain.

A young martial artist in black martial arts robes, simple but wearing fist guards.

'That guy is the Mad Dragon. Why is he here?'

He didn't know exactly which force the Mad Dragon belonged to, but it was a clear fact that he had learned the Mad Demon's unique martial art, the Heaven-Shattering Mad Demon Fist.

Then, this was a golden opportunity to find out when he had encountered him in such a remote place.

Namgung Hui immediately executed his movement technique and descended in front of the Mad Dragon.

"Who... It's the Hidden Dragon. What brings you here?"

"I didn't come looking for you. I came because I have something to ask."

"Isn't that the same thing? Well, anyway. I'm busy right now, so I'll deal with your curiosity later."

The Mad Dragon tried to pass Namgung Hui and go somewhere.

-Tak.

Namgung Hui grabbed his shoulder.

Then the Mad Dragon looked at his shoulder and asked.

"What is this? Are you asking for a fight?"

"Yes. Let's have a fight."

"Hahaha! If it were a normal day, I wouldn't have backed down, but I'm a really busy person. You've won the martial arts tournament. Can't the winner be a little patient? Then this..."

The Mad Dragon tried to brush off Namgung Hui's hand and move forward.

Namgung Hui uttered a word.

"Heaven-Shattering Mad Demon Fist."

The Mad Dragon stopped his steps in an instant and asked.

"!? No, where did you hear that?"

"That's for you to find out. With those fists of yours."

"Hah! This is a really interesting guy. Alright. Fine. I'm busy, but opening your mouth is more important. Come at me."

Namgung Hui, taking advantage of the element of surprise.

Immediately thrust at his face with the Sun-Shooting One.

-Sagak!

His hero's cap fell, and blood seeped from his forehead.

Before the Mad Dragon could even wipe the blood flowing from his forehead, Namgung Hui continuously thrust his sword.

-Shukshukshuk!

This time, his hair was also cut off in clumps and fluttered, and his ear was half-cut and dangling.

"You son of a..."

-Sagak!

The Mad Dragon was so flustered he didn't even have the leisure to curse.

He was finally able to distance himself from Namgung Hui after getting a large cut on his cheek.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Namgung Hui looked at the drops of blood flowing down the Mad Dragon's cheek and said.

"I came at you because you told me to. Can't you even last one exchange? The Mad Demon in the afterlife might rise again."

"Were you hiding your skills all this time? This is not the skill I saw at the martial arts tournament."

"Rather than hiding my skills, I hid a few martial arts. Since I'm from the Namgung family, I have to spread the martial arts of our family, right? So I mainly used my family's martial arts at the martial arts tournament."

"...So the real monster wasn't the Divine Dragon, but you. To think you went easy on even that terrifying Divine Dragon."

"So, have you bought enough time? It seems you've more or less come to your senses, so this time, you come at me."

"That's enough. I realized it with that one exchange. I can't beat you. Even if I pull out my hidden card. You must have more hidden cards too. To be this strong without even seriously using the martial arts of the Thunder Sect... The General doesn't seem to know everything either."

Namgung Hui narrowed his eyes and said.

"Did you just say General? Are you a member of the Demonic Heaven?"

"Oh. To have found out about the Demonic Heaven, your investigation skills are also outstanding. Or has a traitor appeared on our side? It doesn't matter to me, though."

"Seeing as you can't win with your fists, you're trying to do it with words. Alright. I'll also tell you how I knew about the Heaven-Shattering Mad Demon Fist. How about we exchange the information we want?"

"Not a bad proposal. Since someone has already leaked information to you, it won't change much if I join in. Alright. But can I ask first?"

Namgung Hui briefly recalled his memories of the Mad Demon and nodded.

"Go ahead. But I won't tell you a lot of information from the beginning either."

"That's enough. Where on earth did you hear the words 'Heaven-Shattering Mad Demon Fist'?"

The Mad Dragon's eyes, who had asked the question, turned cold in an instant.

Like a snake aiming for its prey.

It was an attitude of not wanting to miss a single word from Namgung Hui.

"That's. Of course, information I got from our family. I don't know if you've heard the rumors, but I found a few hidden documents in our family's archives. The story about the Demonic Cult was one of them."

"...So that's what it was. Indeed, it's not even called the Heaven-Shattering Mad Demon Fist these days, so our side wouldn't have said it. If they had, they would have called it the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Emperor Fist."

"It's called the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Emperor Fist these days? The name is too arrogant."

"Hmph! That's because I haven't achieved great completion yet. When I do, we can have a fight then."

"I don't have time to wait until then, so I'll move on to my question. Demonic Heaven, what on earth is your purpose? Why did you join the Hoicheon Association instead of joining the Blood Cult?"

The Mad Dragon briefly tapped his knee and then continued.

"I think I can tell you this much at my level. Do you know the families called the Six Demonic Families in the Divine Cult?"

"I do. The Biwolcheon family, which has produced the most cult leaders, then the Hyeokryeon family, the Dugu family, the Danmok family, the Bukgung family, and the Yuryeongma family. Those are the ones."

Was it because Namgung Hui fluently listed the Six Demonic Families?

The Mad Dragon looked at Namgung Hui with a meaningful gaze.

"...It's amazing that you know this much. But there's something you don't know. The Yuryeongma family was annihilated long ago, and now the Baekri family has entered the New Six Demonic Families instead. Well, that's also an old story."

'Indeed, the information I knew was from 60 years ago, so it wouldn't be strange if a few families had disappeared.'

While Namgung Hui was nodding, the Mad Dragon's words continued.

"The reason I brought up the New Six Demonic Families is nothing special. It's because there was an internal conflict among these six families. It's not a big secret, and it's a matter that will be known someday because of the Blood Cult anyway."

"There were always a lot of squabbles and noises."

"You speak as if you've seen it. Well. As you said, what organization doesn't have such noises... It intensified in earnest while being pursued by the Martial Alliance 50 years ago. After the Yuryeongma family was annihilated, the Young Cult Leader Faction and the Elder Faction were divided."

"The Young Cult Leader Faction and the Elder Faction. It seems the young generation and the old generation were divided."

"Yes. The Young Cult Leader Faction was the young generation, and they even had the next cult leader, the Young Cult Leader, so their justification was solid."

"But there were people who supported the Elder Faction? Doesn't the cult leader exercise absolute power in the Demonic Cult?"

"Well, that's true to some extent, but since the Young Cult Leader hadn't ascended to the position of cult leader right away, the influence of the elders was also considerable. And more than anything, the elders insisted on immediate revenge."

"Those with not much life left would have been blinded by immediate revenge and joined the revenge. That's the Demonic Heaven of the Hoicheon Association?"

"Exactly. Starting anew like the Blood Cult requires a lot of time and resources. But what if you join an existing force and take revenge? That doesn't take that long. We've already taken revenge to some extent."

Namgung Hui, who had seen the diary of the first cult leader, was about to say something.

'If he asks how I knew this, I have no words. The Hoicheon Association was also looking for this diary, so there's no need to tell him.'

As Namgung Hui maintained his silence, the Mad Dragon's words continued.

"So the Elder Faction joined the Imperial Heaven and became the Demonic Heaven. And we plan to take revenge on the Martial Alliance. Isn't it simple?"

"Then can you join forces with the Blood Cult again?"

The Mad Dragon shrugged his shoulders and said.

"That's up to the higher-ups, so I don't know. But looking at the atmosphere these days, I'd say probably not."

Indeed, Namgung Hui had heard from Hu Gai that they were looking for the sacred artifacts of the Divine Cult to secure their justification.

If the two forces had decided to join, they wouldn't be so desperately searching for the sacred artifacts like this.

'On top of that, if the Young Cult Leader had properly succeeded, the Blood Cult wouldn't have this much influence. The Young Cult Leader 50 years ago definitely did not properly inherit the Heavenly Demon's true succession.'

He thought that the elders plotting such a conspiracy was probably based on the powerlessness of such a Young Cult Leader.

Anyway. Right now, the Demonic Heaven and the Blood Cult were scouring the entire martial world to find the symbols of the Divine Cult.

The Asura statue that symbolized the cult leader had been destroyed, so there were only a few left now.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Art, the symbol of the Heavenly Demon.

The Mark of the North Sea, which was said to be the symbol of the Vice Cult Leader.

The blue Sacred Fire, which symbolized the Saintess.

There was nothing that specifically represented the Young Cult Leader, so finding those three was the priority.

In fact, setting aside the others, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was a must.

'It's not good for it to fall into their hands. It was a martial art that my sworn brother was so sick of.'

He had heard that the Heavenly Demon was more than 10 years younger than his sworn brother.

And yet, he had fought his sworn brother to a standstill.

In the impoverished Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, would he have eaten more spirit medicines than his sworn brother?

That was definitely not the case.

Still, the fact that he had fought his sworn brother and not been pushed back meant that his martial talent was superior to his sworn brother's, or that the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was far superior to the martial arts of the Namgung family.

Namgung Hui, thinking he had roughly gotten the information he needed, said to the Mad Dragon.

"Mad Dragon. Do you have any more questions?"

"Yes. I answered you all this time to ask this, so I have to get to the real main point. Hidden Dragon. No, Namgung Hui. What on earth is your identity? How do you know about the New Six Demonic Families that even the Martial God didn't know about?"

(End of Chapter)