Rebirth of the Thunder God

"Hoho. This is the sword of Diancang."

"..."

As Namgung Hui stealthily withdrew his sword and widened the distance, the envoy from the Association shook his head and said.

"No. It's subtly different from the sword of Diancang. On top of that, there's no way a woman from the Namgung family would know the sword art of Diancang."

He was inferring and judging on his own.

Although he was close to the truth, the traces of Diancang in the sword art Namgung Hui had performed were faint.

It was also created based on the insights Namgung Hui possessed.

And the influence of the True Three Talents Sword Art he had recently learned was also mixed in.

Although the swiftness of the Light-Splitting Sword Art was that of Diancang, the framework was that of the Thunder God.

"And above all, the technique that killed the hero of the Asura Division was the principle of Penetrating Force, which is not found in Diancang."

"To think you noticed that. Your eye for detail is quite good."

Penetrating Force.

A principle of issuing force, it was usually a technique of striking a point with a bare hand to transmit shock to the inside.

But Namgung Hui had clearly struck the chest of the Asura Division member with a sword.

If so, did that mean he could perform issuing force even with a sword?

Whether he had realized that or not, the envoy from the Association nodded his head and continued.

"Did you achieve issuing force with a sword's edge, not a sword's light? Rather, it might be a skill possible because a sword's edge is duller than a sword's light."

As if not believing the envoy's remark, the Ghost Saber opened his mouth.

"No. Envoy, even so, is that theoretically possible? Isn't it a technique that wouldn't work at all if it's even slightly off? Rather, I think the user could get hurt."

As the Ghost Saber said, if the opponent were to face him with a sword's light stronger than a sword's edge, the user could suffer internal injuries in reverse due to the force itself being pushed back.

But Namgung Hui had not faced the Asura Division's saber's light, but had just struck his chest with a terribly swift sword.

It could be called a flash of lightning.

So much so that the name 'Light-Splitting Sword Art' was not embarrassing at all.

"It's a technique with no theoretical problems. Aren't martial artists supposed to achieve even the impossible? By the way, it's a little surprising that a woman from the Namgung family uses a swift sword. Then again, it's hard for a woman's body to use a hegemonic sword. It's an excellent choice."

"You are right. A hegemonic sword does not suit a woman. Seeing as she knows her place, her head seems to be good, unlike that bandit fellow. Hahaha!"

"That's enough of insulting the deceased. Let's get back to the mission. She's not a woman to be taken lightly, so this time, let's go in together."

"Alright. Then I'll take the first move."

The Ghost Saber readjusted his grip on the Wolf Fang Saber and circled around Namgung Hui.

He was not charging straight in, but was scanning for an opening.

He was certainly different from the bandit of the Asura Division who charged recklessly.

Should he say that he could glimpse some experience?

If he didn't have that kind of composure, he wouldn't have been able to survive in the unorthodox path until now.

In an instant, the Ghost Saber's eyes flashed, and the Wolf Fang Saber immediately let out a cry.

-Whoong!

The Wolf Fang Saber was drawn incomparably faster than the Asura Division member's.

A clean movement, as if to show what cutting was.

The Ghost Saber's stance, honed through actual combat, was flawless and clean, and perhaps because of the sleek blade, it even looked elegant.

-Chang, chang, chang!

The Wolf Fang Saber was drawn successively to the left and right.

As the stance unfolded, rotational force was added, pushing Namgung Hui's figure back.

"Hahaha! How does my Wolf Fang Saber taste? This is the greatness of the saber art that you swordsmen ignore!"

Indeed. A heavy weight that could not be imitated with a thrust.

The mercilessly swung Wolf Fang Saber carried a considerable amount of pressure.

A completely different feeling from a sword, which was specialized for thrusting rather than cutting.

In the Central Plains, since the sword was commonly considered the best, the reaction of such a saber user might be natural.

A hundred days for a spear, a thousand days for a saber, ten thousand days for a sword.

The king of all weapons, the sword.

Unconsciously, people considered the sword to be the best, so they often ignored saber users.

Occasionally, such disputes between saber users and swordsmen even turned into scenes of murder.

The spear was mainly handled by the military, so it was set aside.

The relationship between those two, when seen occasionally, was to the extent that they looked like a cat and a dog.

Since it was the perspective of Namgung Hui, who had once insisted on only using his bare hands, it would be more objective.

The reason Namgung Hui had chosen the sword was not because the superiority of the saber and the sword was clear.

This was purely a matter of taste.

Or he had to focus on the martial arts he would learn.

Since Namgung Hui was a person of the Namgung family, he had no choice but to choose the sword.

'The saber is also a really excellent weapon. It's not for nothing that generals insist on the spear or the saber. It's because they can show off that much powerful martial prowess.'

Honestly, if they were to enter a battle of pure physical bodies without sword Ki or sword light, the saber would boast a more powerful force than the sword.

That was because a cut was harder to block than a thrust. A thrust, which was made up of a point, was relatively easy to defend because one only had to block one point.

On the other hand, a cut, which came in over a wide area and had rotational force added to it, was bound to be difficult to receive with a bare body.

Just as Namgung Hui was not pushed back for nothing just now, a saber strike with weight boasted a heavy force.

But if there was sword light, a thrust was also quite powerful.

Because just grazing it could lead to a fatal wound.

It wasn't for nothing that the sword was called the ten-thousand-day sword, the king of all weapons.

If it was covered with Sword Ki like this.

-Slice!

The story changes.

A sword strike that was definitely faster than a saber strike.

With the addition of sword light, the power that was lacking compared to the saber was more than sufficiently covered.

In the aftermath, the Ghost Saber's clothes fluttered and floated in the air.

Drip, drip, drip.

Blood flowed down, as if his flesh had been cut.

"When was my arm cut? I definitely dodged it..."

"It was just cut now. Are you a blind man with open eyes? You were looking with your eyes open, and you couldn't even see that?"

"That's not what I meant. The moment you extended your sword, I definitely twisted my body to dodge the trajectory."

"It seems my sword was faster than you perceived. So are you going to keep running your mouth?"

The Ghost Saber staunched the bleeding on his arm and then looked at the envoy next to him.

"It seems I can't do it alone. Please help me."

As if to show that he hadn't survived up to the 12th rank for nothing, he immediately admitted that he was weaker than the opponent.

And he didn't put up his pride and even asked for help.

"Yes. I have roughly figured out the opponent's skill level. Let's go together."

The Ghost Saber nodded his head, gripped the Wolf Fang Saber tightly, and changed his stance.

If his previous stance was to put force into a rotational strike, this time, his center of gravity was light, as if he intended to focus on speed.

So that he could pull out his foot at any time.

-Phat!

And so, leading his light body, he swung the Wolf Fang Saber at Namgung Hui again.

It didn't have a stronger force than before, but its speed was extraordinary.

A sharp saber strike headed for Namgung Hui's waist, and as if waiting for it, the envoy's sword strike followed at his head.

Whoosh, whoosh! Swish, swish!

The saber strike and the sword strike were tangled around Namgung Hui in a dizzying manner.

And Namgung Hui also joined in, moving his feet dazzlingly as if dancing.

-Cha-chaeng! Kang, kang!

The coming and going sword strikes gradually became faster, and the sense of speed picked up.

The opponents, having decided to land effective hits rather than fatal wounds, focused on speed rather than power.

And so, amidst the dazzling and elegant exchange of offense and defense, the number of cuts increased, and drops of blood scattered in the air.

As they say, you don't know you're getting wet in a drizzle.

Although they had not allowed each other a fatal blow, the ground was already stained red, emitting a fishy scent.

Drip, drip, drip...

Blood was also dripping from Namgung Hui.

To be precise, it was flowing from his sword, not his body.

Looking at such a Namgung Hui, the Ghost Saber spoke as if in despair.

"Hah... She won't allow a single hit? She's a more tenacious bitch than I thought. Envoy. Stop holding back and let's get serious if you've got a read on her."

"...I'm not holding back."

"Don't lie. You haven't even performed your true ultimate technique yet."

"There was no opening."

"An opening?"

"I mean there was no opening to be seen. Did you think I was just going to stand by while the number of cuts on me increased like this? Due to the nature of my martial arts, it's difficult to perform if there's no opening to be seen."

Only then did the Ghost Saber make a serious expression.

He seemed to have thought that the envoy from the Association had been holding back until now.

And for good reason. The envoy had not performed any special stances.

He had only taken simple movements that were no more than the Three Talents Sword Art.

He had judged that this was all to get a read on her, but since he said it wasn't, the Ghost Saber's expression couldn't help but harden.

"No. The opponent is just a talent of the younger generation. She's not one of the ten great masters of the orthodox path!"

"The opponent's martial prowess doesn't get lower just because you shout like that. Calm your excitement a little."

Although the Ghost Saber was usually one who did not lose his composure, he had lost his temper a little at the opponent's unrealistic martial prowess.

Of course, the direction of that anger was not Namgung Hui, nor the envoy from the Association, but himself.

How long had it been since he had felt so frustrated and helpless?

It was a feeling he might have felt when he faced the Heretic Faction Leader.

"It seems she's a master who has returned to youth. Otherwise. How can she have such an achievement at that age? Come to think of it, the application of her stances was also not that of a talent of the younger generation. It was that of an old martial artist who had been through all sorts of hardships."

As expected of the Ghost Saber with good intuition, he had pierced the core of Namgung Hui's martial power.

Since it was a matter that the envoy from the Association also agreed with, he also nodded his head and continued.

"Even in my eyes, her martial prowess is not like that of a mere talent of the younger generation. Even the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult would not have such experience. Even the number one master of the orthodox path, the Divine Monk, would not have shown such an achievement at this age."

"So what are you going to do now?"

"What is there to do. If plan A didn't work, we have no choice but to go with plan B."

The envoy from the Association, who had finished speaking, sent a hand signal to the bandits who were waiting behind.

At that, the bandits who were holding axes began to surround the Hyeongmun Escort Agency.

It was their intention to actively utilize their numerical superiority.

On top of that, Namgung Hui, a person of the Namgung family, would not just stand by and watch the Hyeongmun Escort Agency group die.

In other words, their intention was to shake Namgung Hui by taking the Hyeongmun Escort Agency as hostages.

Namgung Hui looked at the bandits who were narrowing the siege and let out a deep sigh.

"Sigh... So you're going to come out like this in the end? Then I have no choice either."

Namgung Hui also wanted to reduce the killing as much as possible.

Should he say it was a natural phenomenon that occurred as his realm gradually rose?

It was a feeling of learning the weight of life as it became easier to take it away.

That was why, regardless of orthodox or unorthodox, there had to be a justifiable reason to take the opponent's life.

Of course, he wasn't trying to completely forbid killing like the immortals, so if they were to exude killing intent so recklessly, Namgung Hui had no intention of letting them off.

'But I can't just fire off the Explosive Thunder Palm. Then I have no choice but to perform the martial art I newly learned.'

In dealing with a large number of enemies, there was no martial art as efficient and effective as the Explosive Thunder Palm.

However, since the Explosive Thunder Palm was a representative martial art of the Thunder Sect, there was a high probability that his true identity would be revealed to the enemies.

Of course, it wouldn't matter much if his identity as Namgung Hui was revealed here, but he didn't want to reveal his identity as Namgung Jayeon just yet.

Because there would be many more useful things to use it for.

That was why Namgung Hui decided to perform the martial art he had newly acquired from the Imperial Palace's treasury.

-Gooooooh...!

As the internal energy gathered in his palm, a small whirlwind raged.

Soon, a huge internal energy surged from Namgung Hui's palm and roared out into the world.

-Kwarreureung!!

The energy that had left Namgung Hui's palm, as if the heavens and the earth were splitting open, gradually grew in power and began to take on a certain shape.

The shape of a black and reddish palm.

It resembled the Tathagata's Divine Palm in some ways, but there was a clear difference in the energy it possessed.

The envoy from the Association, who had recognized it, opened his eyes wide and shouted.

"This is the Esoteric Sect...!"

But his voice was soon buried by the ensuing roar.

(End of Chapter)