Rebirth of the Thunder God

Beak Seolhwa and Namgung Hui listened to the singing of the birds in the mountains and were lost in thought for a moment.

"For some reason, even the cry of the birds seems to sound different."

"Perhaps the birds in Guangdong Province are of a different species, so wouldn't that be the case? By the way, let's not destroy the mountain like last time and go a little further this time."

"Okay."

Fortunately, there was a fairly wide, empty land not far away.

And it was a high cliff, so no noise could be heard.

It was so distant that it reminded him of the Valley of Certain Death where he had fought Beak Seolhwa at the end in his past life.

But it wasn't a problem.

They hadn't met as enemies like back then.

And neither of them would die even if they fell from this height.

Namgung Hui, who had landed lightly on the cliff, asked Beak Seolhwa.

"Seolhwa. Are you ready?"

"Long ago."

"Alright. Then I'm coming right away."

As soon as Namgung Hui drew his sword, he quickly thrust it.

An extreme swift sword containing the mysteries of the Sun-Shooting One.

The trajectory was like watching a meteor shower, so it was subtly different from the Sun-Shooting Sword Art.

At the form of a sword art she was seeing for the first time, Beak Seolhwa asked in an interested tone.

"It's a sword art I'm seeing for the first time."

"I tried mixing the martial arts of the Mount Heng Sect and the Diancang Sect. How is it?"

"Ah! The Mount Heng Sect? It's a name I've heard for the first time in a long time. The Diancang Sect too. Then it's my turn this time."

Beak Seolhwa also thrust her sword in succession.

If Namgung Hui had performed a swift sword, Beak Seolhwa seemed to be performing a soft, flowing sword.

Each and every trajectory was beautiful, as if a fairy had descended and was performing a sword dance.

Namgung Hui shook his head from side to side to deflect the sword and then opened his mouth.

"It's a sword art I'm seeing for the first time too."

"I tried mixing the martial arts of the North Sea Ice Palace and the Divine Cult. How is it?"

"I'm not sure yet. For now, I don't think there's anything to criticize."

Namgung Hui was more surprised by the name that came out of her mouth than by the fact that she had created a martial art.

The North Sea Ice Palace.

The fact that she was from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was as good as admitted, but he hadn't known she would indirectly reveal that she was from the North Sea Ice Palace.

The Lord of Red Cliff Valley had said a while ago that Sosu Mahu was from the North Sea Ice Palace.

She had never publicly admitted it, but this time, the atmosphere was one of naturally admitting that she was from the North Sea.

'Is she planning not to hide it now that she's been exposed? Well, I don't have anything to hide from Seolhwa either. Then let's show her everything.'

Namgung Hui nodded and steeled his resolve.

Although it was just a duel, he wasn't worried about pouring everything he had into her.

There was no trouble of his identity being known.

Nor was there any concern that his duel partner would be injured.

Moreover, he was even at ease about his own safety.

Namgung Hui performed all the martial arts he had recently created and danced.

Sharing a sword with the beautiful Beak Seolhwa, the sight was a magnificent view in itself.

Shwikshwikshwik!

Hwikhwikhwik!

Sometimes thrusting, sometimes cutting.

As sword and sword met, it was as if an instrument was being played in time with the sword rhythm.

Tangtangtang, kangkangkang. tingtingting.

As if Beak Seolhwa was also going to show everything she had.

She performed all the martial arts that Namgung Hui was seeing for the first time.

At the group of unfamiliar martial arts, Namgung Hui was enlightened for a change.

Since he didn't know various sword arts, the sword art of Beak Seolhwa, who was well-versed in sword arts, certainly stimulated his inspiration.

The Emperor Sword Form, the Sun-Shooting One, the Plum Blossom Sword Art, the Heavenly Thunder Sword Art.

On top of that, the Falling Star Thirteen Swords of the Mount Heng Sect he had recently encountered.

And the colorful sword paths of the North Sea Ice Palace and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult that Beak Seolhwa was showing.

All of these stimulated Namgung Hui's mind and brought him enlightenment.

'As Wi Jinmyeong said, it's not that it's just bad for the techniques to be diverse. Because each has its own advantages.'

Namgung Hui swung his sword according to the inspiration that came to him at that moment.

Thrusting and cutting.

Striking down and striking up.

He drew a brilliant trajectory of the sword, going back and forth between diagonal and dotted lines.

Not stopping there, he even operated the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art he had newly created this time.

Kwareureung!

With a sound louder than the Purple Thunder Divine Art, a flash of lightning struck.

A domineering spirit of tremendous power.

A sword momentum that would not be strange for an ordinary person to die instantly from Namgung Hui's sword.

But Beak Seolhwa skillfully created an ice art and received Namgung Hui's sword.

Rather, as if to drive Namgung Hui back, chunks of ice flocked from all sides.

The sky was full of ice awls, as if a blizzard had occurred.

Should I say it was like watching the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers?

Unlike the restriction of needing a hidden weapon, Beak Seolhwa had created these with her own internal energy.

Swaaaaaa...!!

The ice awls that had surrounded Namgung Hui fell all at once.

And they had various rhythms and speeds, so it was difficult to perceive them easily.

Some ice awls were fast, and some were slow.

Moreover, since their size and length were also different, it was like watching feints and variations.

But who was Namgung Hui?

He had fought countless battles with Beak Seolhwa in his past life.

And the insights he possessed had already surpassed the Transformation realm.

Without caring about Beak Seolhwa's chaotic offense, he cleared away all the chunks of ice.

Changchangchangchangchang!

As the ice exploded, the water droplets heated by the thunder ki oxidized.

The numerous dewdrops floating in the empty air reflected the sunlight and created a beautiful rainbow of seven colors.

And as if they had promised.

They stopped their hands, and the duel ended.

Not stopping there, Namgung Hui immediately sat in a cross-legged position and closed his eyes.

He had entered meditation right away, as if not to miss the enlightenment he had gained from the duel just now.

A state of selflessness.

He began to weave the principles that were flashing like lightning in his head into a sword art.

'The Sun-Shooting One, the Emperor Sword Form, the Heavenly Thunder Sword Art, the Falling Star Thirteen Swords, and the beautiful trajectories that Seolhwa showed. I will make all of these my own.'

Chwarararak.

Numerous sword paths stirred in his head, were erased, and were regenerated, repeating.

In the process of re-establishment, he recited the optimal path and incantations and created a sword art of a total of 13 techniques.

Its name was.

'Flash Lightning Thirteen Thunders.'

He had been inspired by the Falling Star Thirteen Swords of the Mount Heng Sect.

Just as stars fall from the sky, thunderbolts also fall from the sky.

The common point between the two was that they possessed a powerful force that could destroy anything.

The power that a star possessed was so great that there was once a ridiculous rumor that the world could be destroyed if a huge star fell.

And a thunderbolt, unlike the ridiculous rumor, was so powerful that most would die if they were actually struck by it.

On top of that, they both had the common point of falling from the sky.

Namgung Hui, based on such a Falling Star Thirteen Swords, gave birth to the Flash Lightning Thirteen Thunders.

When Namgung Hui finished his meditation and opened his eyes, Beak Seolhwa was in front of him again.

To call it a state of being in the same boat, he relied on and trusted her extremely.

If he were to turn into an enemy with her, the sense of loss would be indescribable.

Not yet. Since it was not the time, he took this opportunity to add one more request.

"Seolhwa. I'm planning to take the Small Rejuvenation Pill this time, so please continue to stand guard."

"I'm jealous. You even got the Small Rejuvenation Pill. Why don't they give spirit medicines to the women's division? Isn't this gender discrimination?"

"What gender discrimination? The Dragon's Tooth Sword is also a great prize. Then, if I get a spirit medicine or a spirit herb later, I'll give you one."

"Really?"

"Then shall I give you a fake one? Oh. Come to think of it, that's not a bad idea. I'll just dig up some bellflower roots... Ouch!"

Beak Seolhwa, unable to stand Namgung Hui's sarcasm, pinched his cheek.

Namgung Hui, touching his reddening face, chuckled.

This was a friend.

A true friend for whom past lives or factions were not important.

Namgung Hui, wishing for this relationship to continue, took out the Small Rejuvenation Pill.

Even though he hadn't opened the wooden box yet, a faint medicinal scent tickled his nose.

As he carefully opened the wooden box and removed the wrapping paper, the tempting appearance of the Small Rejuvenation Pill was revealed.

"Wow... So this is the Small Rejuvenation Pill I've only heard about. When will I get to eat something like this? Should I just snatch it and eat it?"

Unlike Beak Seolhwa's words, there was not a single trace of greed in her eyes.

"I'll buy you some bellflower roots next time, so just bear with it this time."

"If you keep talking about bellflower roots, you might become a crazy person."

"What's a crazy person?"

"Anyway. There's such a thing. It's like a slang that only our Divine Cult members know."

Beak Seolhwa was suddenly reminded of the cult members who had teased her by calling her a 'kkondae' or a 'dol-ai.'

She would be able to see the descendants of those cult members soon.

She was worried on one hand if her heart would be the same as now, but on the other hand, she was also excited.

If the home of her body was the North Sea Ice Palace, then the home of her heart was the Divine Cult.

"Alright. I'll eat it right away before I become a crazy person. Please stand guard."

As Beak Seolhwa nodded, Namgung Hui threw the Small Rejuvenation Pill into his throat without a moment's hesitation.

Sareureuk.

Perhaps because it was a spirit medicine from the Shaolin Temple, the best in the Orthodox Faction, it went down smoothly and melted naturally.

But unlike that melting, the moment the spirit medicine disappeared and the medicinal energy rose.

A raging extreme yang ki flowed through his blood vessels like a fierce wave.

To think that it had this much momentum even though it was a Small Rejuvenation Pill and not a Great Rejuvenation Pill.

Namgung Hui had no choice but to raise his evaluation of the Small Rejuvenation Pill even further.

'It's an energy comparable to the Purple Mist Pill...!'

Rather, since it possessed the nature of extreme yang ki, it was a better match than the Purple Mist Pill.

However, unlike the Purple Thunder Divine Art, the domineering momentum seemed to be closer to the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art.

If so, he just had to absorb the energy with the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art.

Namgung Hui began to control the energy of the Small Rejuvenation Pill with the heart method he had newly created this time.

-Huuuuung...!

Even though it was just absorbing energy, a wave of ki spread out.

Beak Seolhwa, who was watching this, was also slightly surprised.

Beak Seolhwa, wondering if something was wrong with Namgung Hui, went closer to examine him.

'Except for his cheeks being red, he's normal. Rather, his ki is gradually changing, so the Small Rejuvenation Pill is different after all.'

Beak Seolhwa stared at Namgung Hui's face and thought for a moment.

Certainly, even though he was in disguise, his handsome face was clearly visible.

Since she knew the original Namgung Hui, she had found traces of him.

But looking at his features one by one in such detail like this was something new.

'Did I pinch his cheek too hard earlier? I put a little internal energy into it, and it's still bright red.'

Beak Seolhwa, feeling a sense of apology, was about to bring her hand to Namgung Hui's cheek, but she suddenly realized it was an important moment and was about to lower her hand.

But at that moment.

-Beonjjeok

An eye light exploded, and Namgung Hui's eyes shot open.

And Namgung Hui's pupils were directed at the tip of Beak Seolhwa's hand.

And finally, Namgung Hui tilted his head and opened his mouth.

"Were you trying to touch me just now?"

"N-no. Why would I touch you?"

"Then were you trying to attack me?"

Beak Seolhwa realized she had been misunderstood by Namgung Hui, but to clear up that misunderstanding, she herself did not understand why she had raised her hand.

Beak Seolhwa, embarrassed, turned red in the face and hurriedly left the place.

Without even knowing that such an action was making the misunderstanding bigger.

As Beak Seolhwa disappeared from his sight in an instant, Namgung Hui half-closed his eyes and looked at her back.

'Don't tell me, she was aiming for now because it would be difficult to subdue me if I became stronger? The hesitation was because of our friendship?'

Namgung Hui, who was letting his imagination run wild.

First of all, since there was no particular reason for Beak Seolhwa to bring her hand to him, there was no other explanation than this.

Moreover, Beak Seolhwa was not unaware of the fact that one should not be disturbed when absorbing a spirit medicine.

No matter how much he thought about it, there was only one reason for her to extend her hand towards his face.

'Did she want me to fall into qi deviation...? Don't tell me...'

It felt as if his heart was collapsing, as if he were really going to fall into qi deviation.

Although his ki had certainly become stronger due to taking the Small Rejuvenation Pill, for some reason, his shoulders drooped, and the energy drained from his whole body.

-Jjak!

Namgung Hui slapped his own cheek to get a grip on himself.

He even shook his head to shake off the delusions and nodded with a determined expression.

'Let's ask her directly.'

Namgung Hui, having made his resolve, rushed to the inn, even performing the ultimate technique of the Wind God Steps with all his might.

And when he arrived at her residence and threw open the door.

There was no one there.

As if no one had ever stayed there.