Rebirth of the Thunder God

"You. What would you do if I told you I know the location of another sacred artifact?"

"!? Do you really know the whereabouts of another sacred artifact?"

Namgung Hui found it hard to believe, but he also knew that the Heretic Faction Leader was not one to make empty boasts.

The remaining candidates for the sacred artifact were the Young Cult Leader's and the Saintess's.

He didn't know what the Young Cult Leader's looked like, but he knew the Saintess's sacred artifact was the Sacred Flame.

However, what was also strange was that Beak Seolhwa had said that the sacred artifact called the Sacred Flame could actually be created with the Saintess's ability.

Furthermore, unless one was the Saintess, it was impossible to communicate with the Demonic God through the Sacred Flame.

'But if they insist they had a conversation with Asura, that would be the end of it. Since the ordinary cult members wouldn't be able to hear it anyway, there's no real way to verify it.'

If Seong Sohui was the true Saintess, and she sided with the moderate faction, the radical faction might well try to create a fake Saintess through another Sacred Flame.

He didn't know if it was a Sacred Flame created by a previous Saintess, but if a Sacred Flame did exist, it would be extremely coveted from the radical faction's perspective.

"Since I know, wouldn't I have brought it up like this?"

"But why are you telling me this? Wouldn't it be better to tell your subordinates or disciples?"

"Didn't I already do that? And what was the result?"

Namgung Hui, having realized something, nodded his head and continued.

"...You were worried that the information would leak. However, even if I were to obtain the sacred artifact, I have no intention of returning it to the Faction Leader."

As Namgung Hui said, even if he were to obtain the sacred artifact of the Demonic Cult, there was no reason to return it to the Heretic Faction Leader.

Even if there were, there was no need to give it to someone who was practically an enemy.

"I don't need it either. It just needs to not fall into their hands. If the information leaks in the middle of it like this time, and that too falls into the hands of the Blood Cult... Imagine. What will become of the Central Plains itself."

Even if he was the head of the unorthodox path.

He was a person who would not welcome the destruction of the Central Plains itself.

Wouldn't the Heretic Faction also need someone to exploit in order to live?

If this land were to turn into ruins, they, who were full of greed, might be the ones to suffer the greatest damage.

Well, as for the Taoists of the orthodox faction, they could just live by cultivating themselves frugally.

"Alright. It's not a loss for me, so let's hear where the sacred artifact is."

As Namgung Hui nodded, a sly smile appeared on the Heretic Faction Leader's face as if he had been waiting, and his mouth opened.

"Mount Song. Shaolin Temple. The sacred artifact of the Demonic Cult is there."

* * *

Three days had passed since Namgung Hui returned to the family estate.

The disciples of the Hao Faction who had been staying at the estate had also returned to their original places.

And the people of the newly founded Righteous Heaven Alliance also began to move busily.

By far the busiest person was Namgung Hui, who had become the leader.

After returning from his meeting with the Heretic Faction Leader, he had been spending his time so busy that he had no time to even blink.

Even now, he was unfolding and reading a letter that had flown in from the Hao Faction.

[Junior Brother. Here is the situation in Guizhou Province that you requested and some other information. I have to go and handle another matter that you ordered, so I'll keep it short.]

Namgung Hui had asked On Yuha for the situation in the Guizhou Province area; he needed to know how the Iron Blood Alliance and the Dugu family's merchant guild, which would be around it, were faring.

Since Guizhou Province was the place he would head to right now, it couldn't help but be the highest priority.

In addition to that, he had also requested information about his next destination, the Kunlun Mountains.

On Yuha, being a competent talent, had sorted and sent all the information neatly.

Seeing that the scroll was quite thick, it seemed it would take a rather long time just to read this.

It was a task that would tire his eyes, but for Namgung Hui, it was an incomparably joyful and happy thing.

'Because it means there will be that much more for me to gain.'

Still, Namgung Hui decided to read the thinnest scroll first.

It was the law to eat the most delicious food last.

Since the thicker the letter, the more important the information it would contain, he decided to read it later and picked up and unfolded the letter with the shortest content.

[Princess Jeonghwa, Ju Hwayeong. Safe return.]

[Poison Phoenix, Tang Soso. Safe return.]

'It's a relief that they both went home safely.'

Tang Soso was one thing, but as for Ju Hwayeong, who was framed for treason, he couldn't keep her within the family estate, so he had asked the Hao Faction to smuggle them out.

The Heretic Faction Leader also said that since he had negotiated with Namgung Hui this time, he would not report anything to the Association.

Well, since a deal had been made, it was a matter of course.

If Namgung Hui were to give up on the Demonic Cult's sacred artifact because of this, there would be no particular gain for the Heretic Faction Leader.

'If the Demonic Cult's sacred artifact is really being kept at the Shaolin Temple, it would be difficult for the Heretic Faction Leader to retrieve it even if he died and came back to life. Rather, factions that are easy to plant spies in would be more likely to aim for it.'

The Hoicheon Association, which had recruited a large number of orthodox faction members, of course.

Even the Blood Cult, which had recently stolen the secret manuals of various sects, had that kind of ability.

Of course, the Heretic Faction also had a record of stealing a sacred artifact of the Demonic Cult, but in the end, it was taken away by Muchi, a guardian warrior of the Blood Cult.

In other words, since there was no law that said such a robbery couldn't happen again, the Heretic Faction Leader had boldly entrusted this to Namgung Hui.

To him, Namgung Hui, who was keeping both the Blood Cult and the Hoicheon Association in check, was thought to be the person who could smuggle out the sacred artifact and destroy it completely.

Because the Hoicheon Association could use this as a pretext to attempt negotiations.

And Ju Hwayeong, who was framed for treason, naturally could not return to her own residence.

From here on, it seemed she would take refuge with the support of the Mount Hua Sect.

As the Mount Hua Sect was the orthodox sect closest to the secular world, it was littered with secular disciples here and there.

He hadn't known that the Mount Hua Sect Leader would help to this extent, but he was supporting her both materially and spiritually, as if they were truly related by blood.

Because of that, he could for now turn his attention away from Ju Hwayeong.

He was just waiting for the information about the Imperial Heaven and the Northern Heaven to come from her.

As for the Divine Treasure Fortress, he had already sent a message, so he had no more business with her.

'Then, shall I look at the next letter.'

From here on, the letters were quite thick.

The heavy feel in his hand made Namgung Hui extremely excited.

What kind of information could be written in here?

Swoosh.

The letter opened, and the smell of ink wafted out.

It boasted a vivid handwriting, as if it had been written not long ago.

[Information on Qinghai Province and a map of the Kunlun Mountains area]

In fact, this could be said to be the most important information for this journey.

Because it was the task of tracking the secret manual of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

To put it with a slight exaggeration, it was a grave matter on which the fate of the martial world might hang.

If the Heavenly Demon Divine Art that the Mad Dragon, Cheon Museong, had spoken of really existed, and there was even someone who had learned it, it was unknown how the situation in the martial world would unfold in the future.

Furthermore, if that Heavenly Demon Divine Art were to flow into the Blood Cult.

'A very terrible thing would happen. It would be the same if it fell into the hands of the Hoicheon Association.'

Even now, it was hard to say it was a perfect balance, but the Martial Alliance, the Hoicheon Association, and the Blood Cult were in a state of some balance.

But if the Heavenly Demon Divine Art were to appear, that balance would be broken immediately.

Namgung Hui planned to destroy the secret manual of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to prevent such a situation in advance.

On the one hand, it was a pity that such a peerless divine art would disappear from the world, but Namgung Hui was determined to take bold action.

[The number of mounted bandits in the Qinghai Province area has been rapidly increasing recently. The public security is very poor, and merchant guilds have been complaining of hardships. The three great merchant guilds of the Central Plains have also suffered considerable damage.]

This was not welcome news for Namgung Hui either.

If damage occurred to the merchant guilds like that, they would have to hire that many more escorts and martial artists, so prices were bound to rise.

The rise in prices could have a positive impact on Namgung Hui, who ran a merchant guild, but for him, who had many mouths to feed, the negative aspects were greater.

Because the number of people he had to feed would increase in the future.

After that, trivial news about Qinghai Province was written.

People suddenly disappearing, ghosts being seen at night, and even stories of mounted bandits being attacked by ghosts.

Since it was a rumor whose truth could hardly be ascertained, he just thought of it as an interesting rumor and moved on.

'The public security in the Qinghai Province area couldn't be good after the Kunlun Sect declined. The vast land is full of mountains where mounted bandits can easily hide.'

And On Yuha had hired a famous herbalist to create the most accurate map of Qinghai Province in the Central Plains.

He even had a record of having climbed the Kunlun Mountains, so it was said that the geography of the Kunlun Mountains, which ordinary people would never know, was also drawn.

Namgung Hui looked at the map, which looked complicated at a glance, and decided to put it in his bosom for now.

Since he wasn't in Qinghai Province yet, and the Kunlun Mountains were even farther, he decided to look at it again upon arriving in Qinghai Province.

After that, the last letter, information about the Guizhou Province area.

This was not a map, but was composed entirely of text, and the characters were written very densely.

[In Guizhou Province, the Iron Blood Alliance has become the eye of the storm, and things are flowing very complicatedly.]

[People are flocking from all over, and regardless of orthodox or unorthodox factions, they hope to join the Iron Blood Alliance.]

For Namgung Hui, it was a little unexpected.

He had thought that since it was a time of peace, the orthodox faction's control would be great, but it seemed the orthodox martial world was more corrupt and had more accumulated complaints than he thought.

Then again, wasn't it because of such corrupt individuals that the Hoicheon Association was running rampant even in the Martial Alliance?

The unorthodox martial world, too, with the Hoicheon Association having even recruited the Heretic Faction, was bound to have a lot of internal noise.

The Heretic Faction Leader himself had seemed to have such complaints.

'It means it could become a four-way battle, beyond a three-way one. An increase in variables is not particularly welcome, but if it helps to achieve balance, there is no reason not to welcome it.'

If the Anti-Heaven Alliance and the Righteous Heaven Alliance that Namgung Hui had established were to join in, even the General with his Insightful Eye and Cheongi-ja who could see into the heavenly secrets would find it difficult to guess how things would unfold.

Breaking their predictions like this was actually a good thing for Namgung Hui.

At the end of the letter, the information he wanted most from Guizhou Province, about the Dugu family, was finally written.

[Taejeong Merchant Guild: Location is Anshun County, Guiyang. The number of personnel has been repeatedly decreasing and increasing recently. The number of unfamiliar faces has increased greatly.]

'Wasn't it just the Dugu Family Head who made the trip? Or they could have hired ronin or outside personnel.'

The warriors who had flocked to the Iron Blood Alliance might have applied after seeing a notice.

They say money can even make a ghost work, so there was no reason it couldn't make a person work.

On top of that, since the Taejeong Merchant Guild was one of the major funding sources supporting not only the Dugu family but also the Blood Cult, they had no choice but to pay special attention.

[Dugu Family Head, Dugu Jin. Has visited the Iron Blood Alliance several times. It is difficult to ascertain who he met, but it is identified as an important person.]

This was not very welcome news for Namgung Hui.

That the Iron Blood Alliance and the Dugu family could collaborate.

Perhaps because it was the force of the black market that had separated from the Hoicheon Association, this part could act as a variable.

If the Iron Blood Alliance and the Blood Cult really joined hands, it would be truly troublesome.

'From the perspective of the black market that came out of the Association, it's a perfectly possible thing. Then I must head to Guizhou Province at once.'

Namgung Hui finished taking in the thick report on the trends in Guizhou Province, then packed his things and stood up from his seat.

Now was the time to head to the turbulent Guizhou Province.

He took a step towards the eye of the storm.

(End of Chapter)