Rebirth of the Thunder God

"Seomun Hye? Isn't that woman an orthodox faction member?"

"It would be more accurate to say 'was'. Because the Demonic Phantom has accepted her as a disciple."

"Then does that mean she has become one of our Blood Cult members? Indeed. It's not like there are no people who have converted among our cult members. Hmm... If she's such a beauty, should I also give it a try?"

"Don't get on the Demonic Phantom's bad side and just come to your senses. And would such a beauty even give you a glance?"

"Still, isn't it worth a shot, even if it's a fruit you can't eat?"

"You'll be the one getting stabbed by a sword if you do that. By the way, when is the family head coming...?"

"Since he went out of the Divine Cult, won't it take at least half a month? Seeing as he prepared various things and left, it seems he won't be coming for a while."

"Then there will be no one to say anything even if we just play around for a while. Hehehe!"

Namgung Hui, at the mention of Seomun Hye's name and the fact that she had become a disciple of the Demonic Phantom, half-closed his eyes and was lost in thought for a moment.

'Did the Demonic Phantom kidnap her? Or did she voluntarily become a disciple?'

Whatever the case, it seemed to be a clear fact that she was in the Blood Cult.

And he even began to suspect that she might have converted from the orthodox faction to the Blood Cult.

Since Namgung Hui knew the cause well, he could not just ignore their words.

It would be the same for Beak Seolhwa, which was why she had volunteered to tail Seomun Hye.

Perhaps, like the sense of responsibility Namgung Hui felt, a certain weight had settled in a corner of her heart.

'Then I'll leave the matter of Seomun Hye to Seolhwa and deal with the small fry in front of me first.'

Although Namgung Hui had described them as small fry, the martial artists of the direct line were all masters who could not be taken lightly.

They were all masters of the Transcendent realm.

Transcendent masters, who were hard to see even in the Central Plains, were as common as dirt at the Blood Heaven Peak.

As the voices stopped, Namgung Hui secretly approached the window, took out Chichi, and stuck him to the wall.

Then, as if Chichi had heard something in advance, he immediately began to scratch the wall.

-Sak, sak, sak!

"Did a rat come in to avoid the rain? Something is scratching hard below."

"Hurry up and chase it out before the rat steals our food."

"Tsk. If you're so worried about the food, you can do it. Why are you telling me to do it?"

"You're closer to the window. Don't tell me you're scared of a rat?"

"Am I you? Alright. I just have to chase it out."

Jeobeok, jeobeok.

A member of the Dugu family approached and threw open the window.

Kkiiik...

And at the same time, a light flashed as if lightning had struck from the sky.

-Teolseok.

As the person who was opening the window suddenly fell backward, a member of the Dugu family who was watching from behind stood up and opened his mouth.

"Dugu Hwan. What are you doing now? Are you playing a joke on me... Who are you!"

Did he read Namgung Hui's presence?

This opponent did not fall for Namgung Hui's trick right away.

He had tried to knock him out while he was off guard.

"If you're asking about me, I'm a man who has lived closer to the Dugu family than anyone else."

Hadn't he grown up bickering with Dugu In and Dugu Sang since he was young?

Perhaps more emotional expressions had been exchanged than with the members of the Dugu family in front of him.

"So it wasn't a rat. It was a bat. I don't know how you got in here, but I'll make you regret coming in."

-Chaeng.

The martial artist of the Dugu family drew his sword and took a ready stance.

He was confident, as if he had no intention of reporting to the outside.

It was hard to tell whether he had a strong fighting spirit or was just stupid.

If so, he just had to check it himself.

Namgung Hui rushed forward without even drawing his sword.

-Swiiik!

Namgung Hui's fist flew, cutting through the air.

At Namgung Hui's faster-than-expected offensive, the martial artist of the Dugu family immediately moved his body back and took a defensive stance.

-Kang! Kang! Ting!

But at the fists that Namgung Hui extended in succession, the sword eventually lost its owner and fell to the floor.

This was the gap between the Transformation and the Transcendent realm.

Of course, if a master of the Transcendent realm were determined to hold on. He might have been able to hold on a little longer, but Namgung Hui was not an ordinary Transformation, nor was he a novice like his opponent.

Since the opponent had lost his sword, the result was obvious.

"W-wait! If it's because you're hungry, I'll give you food. Let's talk."

"What I'm hungry for is something else, but I'm not going to kill you anyway, so you don't have to be so scared. Then, for a moment."

Namgung Hui subdued the opponent's paralyzing acupoint and also struck the acupoint of the Dugu family member who was lying down, making him sit on the floor.

Then he set up a soundproof formation and looked around to see if there were any other presences.

'Hmm... Did people flock to the Red Turtle's side? It seems these two are all I have on my side.'

Since he had subdued his opponents, Namgung Hui decided to interrogate the people in front of him first.

"If you just answer well, not only will your life be spared. There's a high probability that it will end with just a conversation. Do you understand?"

"A-alright. I'll answer whatever I know, so hurry up and ask."

Perhaps because he was a more timid man than he thought, he was still trembling and watching Namgung Hui's expression.

Was it because these guys also had little real combat experience?

They were certainly milder than the Demonic Cult of his past life.

"Where did your Dugu family head go?"

"The family head went out of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. It seems he went out because there was a problem with his business in the Central Plains."

The merchant guilds and trading companies that were written in the ledger Namgung Hui had seen.

There were also recruited small and medium-sized families written there, and among them was the familiar name of the Ouyang family.

As they say, the honey trap.

It was said that there was a great handsome man in the Dugu family, and they had seduced several families in this way, including the eldest daughter of the Ouyang family.

Since that list was still imprinted in Namgung Hui's mind, he resolved to go out to the Central Plains and look for them later.

"Really? You don't know what kind of problem it is?"

"I don't know. The family head wasn't sure either, so he went to check it himself."

Since there was a problem, it was welcome news for Namgung Hui.

"And you mentioned the name Seomun Hye a while ago, is that person the precious daughter of the Seomun family, the White Flower, Seomun Hye?"

"That's probably right. I heard she was one of the Four Flowers of the Martial World."

"Did she join the cult voluntarily? Or was she kidnapped?"

"I don't know that either. Only the Demonic Phantom or Seomun Hye herself would know. But since the Demonic Phantom has often forcibly brought people with a talent for illusion, it's not impossible."

If so, that was a relief.

Because there was a high probability that Seomun Hye had not converted and joined the Blood Cult.

The Demonic Phantom must have seen Seomun Hye's beauty and talent and kidnapped her.

If she had intended to join the Blood Cult, she would have at least left a letter at home.

Telling them not to look for her in the future.

'And the distance from Anhui Province to Guangdong Province is quite far. There's no way she wouldn't have been spotted coming all the way here.'

Seomun Hye's beauty was slightly less than Beak Seolhwa's.

That was enough to be a great beauty. In the first place, wasn't she called one of the Four Flowers of the Martial World and praised as the White Flower because of such beauty?

If such a beauty came down, traversing the Central Plains, she was bound to be noticed.

She would definitely be spotted by the eyes of the Beggars' Sect, which was said to have a hundred thousand members.

Nevertheless, the fact that there was no information from the Beggars' Sect meant that someone had deliberately hidden her appearance and brought her here.

'Well, since I've decided to leave it to Seolhwa, I guess I'll stop here with Seomun Hye.'

Namgung Hui immediately brought up the next question.

"You mentioned the Demonic Phantom just now, what kind of person is the Demonic Phantom?"

"The Demonic Phantom... It's a bit complicated and long to explain, is that okay?"

"It's fine. The more detailed, the better. Go on."

Rather, the martial artist of the Dugu family, who had become a prisoner, even smiled brightly at the thought of introducing the Demonic Phantom.

This guy. He was quite suspicious.

Had he been frustrated because he couldn't talk to people all this time?

The history of the Demonic Phantom began to pour out of his mouth like a torrent.

"The Demonic Phantom is the Radiant Left Emissary of our Heavenly Blood Divine Cult. And he is the great Demonic Human who is ranked 5th in the hierarchy."

"Not a Demonic Person, but a Demonic Human?"

"That's right. Of course, since a person comes before a demon, wouldn't it be a Demonic Human? The word 'Demonic Person' is a derogatory term that the people of the Central Plains use for us, so it's a word that should be avoided even more. It would be easier to see it in the same context as the Demonic Cult."

"Hmm... I see. If the Demonic Phantom is ranked 5th, then the people higher than him are at best the Vice Cult Leader and the Young Cult Leader, so there are only two left."

"And if you exclude the oldest, the Demonic Physician, there's only one left."

"Who is that?"

"It's the Great Prince, the son of the Young Cult Leader. He's in closed-door training right now. It's been 10 years since we cult members have seen him."

What kind of great martial art was he learning that he would go into seclusion for 10 years?

Could it be that he was in seclusion to restore the lost Heavenly Demon Divine Art?

Even if he had a great talent, restoring the Heavenly Demon Divine Art of the world was close to impossible.

The reason the person called the Great Prince had not shown himself for 10 years was probably because of that.

Well, even if he wasn't restoring the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, there was a high probability that it would take 10 years because the training was not going well.

Because demonic arts usually had a fast achievement, so there was no reason for it to take 10 years.

"And I'll explain more about the Demonic Phantom. He has installed illusion formations throughout this Hundred Thousand Mountains area. Gwangcheon Peak, Blood Heaven Peak, the clan village, and the outer village. It means that no one who is not permitted can enter. Come to think of it, how did you get in?"

"I came in with permission, of course."

"Who on earth...?"

"I don't think it's time for you to be asking questions. By the way, you mentioned the outer village just now, where is that?"

"Hmm. That's a place where the branch families mainly live, but it's not a place you can just ignore. Because the Demonic Phantom also resides in the outer village."

"He's not a direct descendant, but he rose to the position of Demonic Phantom?"

At Namgung Hui's question, the martial artist of the Dugu family straightened his shoulders and said.

"Yes. That's why I respect the Demonic Phantom. Although he started behind others, he is a progressive person who eventually rose to the position of Demonic Human."

This seemed like a great thing even to Namgung Hui.

Usually, the direct line and the branch line were not just different in where they lived.

As much as their living places were strictly separated, they were discriminated against from the martial arts they learned.

In the Sichuan Tang family, where the distinction between the direct line and the branch line was strict, if you were not a direct descendant, you could not even learn poison arts and assassination techniques.

That was why the people of the branch line usually became physicians or artisans.

Well, since the treatment of artisans and physicians was not bad, the branch lines did not have much complaint.

In that context, for the Demonic Phantom, who would not have been taught proper martial arts, to have achieved such a great accomplishment was a deed worthy of respect as a martial artist.

As Namgung Hui nodded, the excited martial artist of the Dugu family continued to explain about the Demonic Phantom.

"On top of that, he is not filling his own selfish desires from the current faction fight of the Divine Cult."

"What does that mean?"

"In other words. As the Radiant Left Emissary, he is maintaining a neutral position."

"Hoho. It seems there are also people who maintain a neutral position, excluding the radical faction and the moderate faction. From what I've heard, the Demonic Physician seems to be like that too."

"Of course. The Demonic Physician is the Radiant Right Emissary."

Thanks to his light tongue, he had unexpectedly obtained a lot of information.

Should I say that the organizational chart of the Blood Cult was being drawn to some extent?

Beak Seolhwa must have gone to that outer village to track Seomun Hye.

But I hope she wasn't discovered by the Demonic Phantom, who was ranked 5th.

Still, since she had experienced the Demonic Phantom of her past life, he believed she would be better at dealing with illusions than Namgung Hui.

Namgung Hui, having obtained a satisfactory answer, did not feel like torturing the Dugu family member in front of him.

If he was so cooperative, there was no need to use a torture method like the Bone and Muscle Separation.

The root of evil was not the young martial artists of the Dugu family like these, but the family head or the elders who gave the orders.

Namgung Hui, who had obtained a satisfactory answer, was about to strike the martial artist's acupoint.

-Kwang! Kudangtangtang!

The wall collapsed, and the Red-Haired Monster, who had parted ways a while ago, was thrown in.

(End of Chapter)