Rebirth of the Thunder God

[Seolhwa. Where are you now?]

[Hui? Good timing. Come here right now. This is the outer village, and to be precise, it's the Demonic Phantom's residence.]

The moment Namgung Hui heard her location, he realized that Beak Seolhwa was also in a difficult situation.

'The Demonic Phantom. A guy who is ranked 5th, it's unlikely he's alone.'

[Did you meet Seomun Hye? How many troops are there?]

[There are seven Transcendent masters and two Transformation masters. Seomun Hye is also in front of me. Can you come right away?]

[Alright. I'm on my way.]

Since he had used up all five uses of the artifact, no reply came from Beak Seolhwa.

He had to join her quickly before she was attacked by them.

If there were two Transformation masters, it would be difficult even for Beak Seolhwa.

Since she would also be in a difficult situation to use the Sosu Demonic Art.

'It seems Seolhwa is also creating a new martial art these days, I wonder if it's going well. Perhaps it's difficult because her internal energy is lacking compared to her past life. I have to give her the Yin-Yang Immortal Fruit that the Blood Qilin gave me quickly.'

He hadn't had a chance to give it to her last time.

In fact, since he was going to ask her to melt the Hwaryeong Divine Pill while giving her the Yin-Yang Immortal Fruit, the timing was also a bit awkward.

He couldn't guarantee how long it would take for Beak Seolhwa to melt it.

And it was the same for Namgung Hui to digest the Hwaryeong Divine Pill.

That was why he had insisted on a time when he had plenty of time and leisure.

But in the current situation, it seemed he would never have such leisure.

The situation would turn urgent due to the people who had come down from the Blood Heaven Peak.

The chaotic atmosphere felt in the market street now was a testament to that.

Namgung Hui asked the noodle shop owner for the location of the outer village and went to find it.

The location was beyond the low mountain where Gwon Cheong had stayed, and he had to go deeper.

Certainly, the Hundred Thousand Mountains were wide and had many high peaks, so even if such a village was inside, it would not be easily discovered.

'Perhaps because there are more branch families than direct descendants, it's the largest among the village scales.'

The market street where the noodle shop was was not small for a corner of a mountain, but this village called the outer village seemed to be at least three times larger than the outer village area.

Compared to the inner village, it would be five times larger.

Namgung Hui found the Demonic Phantom's residence right away without having to ask anyone.

Because it was the tallest pavilion.

On top of that, the distinct presence felt from the Demonic Phantom's residence even made Namgung Hui feel like he was being told to come this way.

'Since he's a guy who usually erases his presence with magic, he must be welcoming me. Then shall I return the welcome greeting?'

Namgung Hui immediately performed a movement technique and ran.

The people of the outer village were wary of the suddenly appeared outsider, but since Namgung Hui was passing by so quickly, they couldn't really stop him.

To them, it would seem as if Namgung Hui had passed by in the blink of an eye.

And so, Namgung Hui flew in an instant with the Wind God Steps and stopped his body in front of the Demonic Phantom's residence.

Then, the martial artists in front blocked his path...

"Please enter."

...he had thought, but rather, they were even opening the door and clearing the way.

Namgung Hui, with a slightly bewildered expression, passed through the main gate and entered the estate.

Although it was called the Demonic Phantom's residence, it was the appearance of an ordinary estate, except that it was two stories high and a little wide.

Far from being splendid, it was so simple that it looked poor.

But Namgung Hui's thoughts had no choice but to change the moment he took another step.

-Hwaaak.

Suddenly, the scene in front of him changed.

The shabby estate that had been seen before disappeared, and a magnificent pavilion revealed itself.

A more grand and noble appearance than the pavilion of the military affairs department.

Although it didn't exude a luxurious feeling, it was still a stylish pavilion that was far from simple.

And most of all, the height had increased to five stories.

And the width also seemed to have increased by three or four times.

Namgung Hui couldn't get a sense of whether this was the real thing or what he had seen just before was the real thing.

Because he had not really experienced the magic system.

'I really have to be careful, if I'm not careful, I might get my nose cut off while my eyes are open.'

Not only had he almost never faced a magic user, but if it was a high-level magic user like the Demonic Phantom, Namgung Hui would have no choice but to have a hard time dealing with it.

If he had known this would happen, he should have asked Jegal Geon or Cheongi-ja for advice in advance.

Namgung Hui tightened the reins of his tension and walked step by step into the pavilion.

As expected, as he entered the pavilion, he began to feel the presences that Beak Seolhwa had mentioned.

Seven Transcendent masters and two Transformation masters.

And he saw a room where he could even feel the familiar presence of Beak Seolhwa.

Since Namgung Hui had nothing to hesitate about, he strode towards that room.

As he approached the front of the room, this time the door opened wide by itself, and a voice leaked out from inside.

"Come in."

A mysterious woman's voice greeted Namgung Hui.

And Namgung Hui, in response to that welcome, revealed himself into the room.

'Seomun Hye, Beak Seolhwa. They're both fine. And the woman on the seat of honor is the Demonic Phantom? As expected of her rank, her presence is extraordinary.'

Excluding the oldest, the Demonic Physician, it would be reasonable to see her as the 4th in the actual hierarchy.

Since this hierarchy also did not represent the actual level of martial power, it could be even higher.

Because the Vice Cult Leader and the Young Cult Leader were high in rank because of their positions.

And even if their martial power was as strong as their rank, the Demonic Phantom, who used illusions, might be more difficult to deal with than the Vice Cult Leader or the Young Cult Leader.

Namgung Hui glanced at Beak Seolhwa and Seomun Hye and then spoke to the woman in front of him.

"Are you the Demonic Phantom?"

"The family education of the Namgung family is terrible. Rank is rank. And to have no respect for your elders."

"!!?"

Namgung Hui was surprised that his identity had been discovered, and then he saw the corner of Seomun Hye's mouth rise slightly and realized that she had confessed.

But the current appearance of Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa was clearly different from before.

He couldn't understand how she had found out.

As if to resolve Namgung Hui's question, Seomun Hye's curled lips moved.

"A woman's intuition is a scary thing. Lord Namgung Hui. I can recognize the Young Palace Mistress no matter what she looks like. I recognized you as a bonus."

Was it an innate ability?

Come to think of it, the guy named Seomun Changhyeon in his past life had also found Namgung Hui's location like a ghost.

If so, it would be no different from saying that it was due to the outstanding ability of the Seomun family.

But to think that it was used to reveal Namgung Hui's identity, it was truly difficult.

'Still, she's not showing any hostility right away. And the guys standing on both sides are also very quiet.'

The Transcendent masters standing on both sides of the Demonic Phantom.

And the man standing close to the Demonic Phantom seemed to be at the level of the Extreme Demonic, and he also resembled the Demonic Phantom a lot, so they looked like siblings.

"Demonic Phantom. Isn't rank something you only consider within the same faction? Still, since you seem to be an elder, I will use honorifics. And since you don't seem to be that old, I will refrain from using extreme honorifics."

"Oh my. This one knows how to flatter too. How old am I..."

"Almost forty..."

-Jjak!

Suddenly, the Demonic Phantom slapped the back of the man who was about to open his mouth next to her.

Judging by the sound, it was so fierce that she could be called the Demonic Fist instead of the Demonic Phantom.

'She's not even forty yet, but she's a Transformation. Her talent is more outstanding than I thought. On top of that, since she's from a branch family, her initiation must have been late, so did she get a fortuitous encounter by any chance?'

In the first place, without a fortuitous encounter, she would not have been able to succeed the Demonic Phantom's progress.

There was a high probability that the Demonic Phantom's arrangement itself had acted as a fortuitous encounter.

Only those with a talent for magic would have been able to discover the arrangement.

Well, whatever the process, the important thing was that the woman in front of him had officially inherited the title of Demonic Phantom.

"Then. Can I know the reason you called me here? Judging by the situation, it doesn't seem like you're trying to be hostile to me."

"Yes. What we want is not that much. The revenge of the previous generation is honestly a story from too long ago, and it's not realistic for us. To be honest, in the current era, the grudge of the Namgung family or the Mount Hua Sect would be greater. Anyway. What I want is first the Saintess, to be precise, Seong Sohui. I want you to leave that child on our side."

Namgung Hui, puzzled, tilted his head and asked.

"She's the great-granddaughter of the Demonic Physician, isn't she? Why are you asking for our permission for that?"

"You were the youngest son of the Namgung family, right? You also had a close meeting with the Divine Physician Sect Leader a while ago."

"Well, we met as a physician and a patient, but to be precise, it wasn't a close meeting."

"Hmm... You seem to be slower with the news than us. To explain briefly, the Divine Physician Sect Leader saw you very favorably and sent a matchmaker to the Namgung family. Of course, this was a matter discussed before you won the martial arts tournament. So what I'm asking is for you to use this as an excuse to buy time from the Divine Physician Sect. No matter how much of a great-grandfather the Demonic Physician is, he can't beat the biological father."

"A fiancé is different. Is that it?"

"That's right. It's not a formal marriage anyway, so you just have to prevent the Divine Physician Sect Leader from moving. If the Sect Leader moves, the Saintess's heart might be shaken. Besides, there are quite a few masters who follow the Sect Leader."

It was a proposal that was not bad for Namgung Hui at all.

It was unlikely that they would harm Seong Sohui, who was to be appointed as the Saintess.

And if Seong Sohui herself agreed, there was no need to oppose it.

'But, it's not like I can just tie up the Divine Physician Sect Leader...'

I'll just take your daughter for a while.

It was a ridiculous thing to say.

Since it wasn't a formal marriage.

Rather, since he could get his nose caught in it, Namgung Hui wanted to refuse.

Because getting involved with the Saintess of the Blood Cult would surely be tiring.

"I don't know the Divine Physician Sect Leader well, but I don't think I'll be enough. It's not a formal marriage, so what pretext can I use to tie him up?"

The Demonic Phantom shook her head and opened her mouth.

"No. You don't know him at all. Alright. Then I'll write you a letter, and you can deliver it to the Divine Physician Sect Leader yourself. You can do that much, right?"

"What if I just say I'll deliver it and don't deliver the letter?"

"Although our factions are different, I have heard of the righteousness of the Namgung family. Since you are also a person of the Namgung family, you wouldn't betray trust, would you?"

"..."

Hearing such words from an opponent who was once an enemy and might still be an enemy, he couldn't betray trust.

On top of that, just delivering a letter. Since it wasn't a difficult task, if he could just get out of here quietly, it was welcome.

"Alright. Delivering a letter isn't difficult, so I'll deliver it. Then is this all the business?"

"No. There's one more thing left. Child."

"Tell me."

At Namgung Hui's urging, the Demonic Phantom smiled, revealing her white teeth, and opened her mouth.

From her mouth, a truly shocking word that Namgung Hui had not expected came out.

"Become my disciple."

(End of Chapter)