Rebirth of the Thunder God

"Benefactor!"

Since Namgung Hui was currently in the form of Namgung Jayeon, it was natural that he was recognized.

Because he had been in this form when he was with the Hyeongmun Escort Agency.

"Escort Leader Bang. It's been a while."

"Benefactor. If you've come all the way to Yichang, you should have told me sooner. Have you eaten yet? Please give us the opportunity to treat you."

Namgung Hui looked at the merchant guild employees behind him and said.

"Don't you have a prior engagement?"

"Haha. It's alright. If it's the Golden Merchant Guild, isn't it a place that also has a connection with the benefactor?"

"I'm fine, but still, wouldn't it be better to ask them first..."

"We're fine. Isn't she a friend of the young lady?"

The people of the Golden Merchant Guild also recognized Namgung Hui.

Because he had been friends with Hwang Sujin in this form.

"If so, I won't refuse."

And so, Namgung Hui got a chance to eat for free.

And on the other hand, he was also able to vaguely hear the news of the martial world.

"I heard the Iron Blood Fortress has made a bold move this time. Instead of paying an entrance fee to join the Iron Blood Fortress, if you join, the Iron Blood Fortress will give you money. That's why everyone is flocking there."

"Even our merchant guild is at a loss for words. Although the capital comes from the former black market, still, I wonder if the numbers will add up."

"The Iron Blood Fortress said that they are getting rid of all the dirty money on this occasion, and asked us to look at it favorably. That's why public sentiment is better than that of the Martial Arts Alliance."

If you can even summon a ghost with money, why can't you summon a person?

Moreover, there were not many martial artists who had a negative view of the black market.

In the first place, since there were few people who had a relationship with it, it would be reasonable to see it as them not even being interested.

And among the martial artists who had flocked, how many of them were upright?

Although it might not be murder, they would have committed various minor assaults and even theft to some extent.

"Is there any other news of the martial world?"

"Ah. Didn't the martial arts tournament end disappointingly before?"

Because of the Blood Cult and the Hoicheon Association, the ending had been anticlimactic.

Since the winners of that martial arts tournament were Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa, that disappointment was even greater.

‘I wonder what those Peng family guys who caused trouble at that time are doing now. Although the Black Tortoise Troupe Leader said he took care of it well, I'm curious about what happened afterwards.’

Namgung Hui, recalling the past, nodded his head.

"That's right."

"Perhaps because of that, I hear that the Shaolin Temple is holding a martial arts tournament this time. And it's a tournament where everyone can participate, regardless of their faction."

"So the heretic faction can also participate?"

"Is it just the heretic faction? Whether it's the Blood Cult, the Demonic Cult, or even the foreign martial world, they can all participate. However, since the venue is the Songshan Shaolin Temple, it's uncertain if they will come."

"Oho."

It was quite surprising news for Namgung Hui as well.

Indeed, for this kind of news, the escort agencies and merchant guilds were the fastest.

‘They've chosen the venue very well. If it's the Shaolin Temple, it's the place with the One Hundred and Eight Arhat Formation that even the Heavenly Demon had a hard time with. Even if those guys try to pull some tricks, if it's the Taishan Beidou Shaolin Temple, there's a high chance they'll be the ones to suffer.’

The Shaolin Temple must also be holding the martial arts tournament with this in mind.

And its purpose was also probably to gauge the enemies' strength.

Surely they weren't trying to promote friendship or peace.

Because Namgung Hui thought that the current Blood Cult was a force that was difficult to accompany.

‘By the way, I wonder if the Hoicheon Association will participate. Since the Imperial Palace doesn't pay any attention to such martial world events.’

It wasn't just because of the non-aggression pact between the government and the martial world.

The Imperial Palace looked down on such martial arts tournaments themselves.

They said that people hitting each other looked barbaric.

Since they even had a tendency to look down on the soldiers of the military, it was not necessary to explain in detail if it were the martial artists, whom they regarded as even less.

And so, Namgung Hui finished his meal, listening not only to the delicious food but also to the exciting news of the martial world.

No, he was about to. Until he heard the last piece of news.

"And lately, the waterway fortresses have been moving actively. I don't know if it's because of the cold rain that the Water Dragon is said to bring down, but it's quite noisy."

A rumor and experience that Namgung Hui had also heard.

That cold rain had made even Namgung Hui shudder.

But if it were just this, Namgung Hui wouldn't have been so surprised, but the words that followed were important.

"I saw it on my way here just now. The water bandits were chasing a certain boat. It wasn't a merchant ship, and it didn't seem like the water bandits were fighting among themselves. It was a bit strange. Well, it was a good thing for us. Because the water bandits didn't pay any attention to us."

"Wait a minute. Can I hear that news in more detail?"

"There's nothing to say in detail. That's all there is to it. Still, to explain a little more, the people on the boat being chased had a subtly different feeling from those of the Central Plains. It was a style of clothing rarely seen even in the Western Regions. What does the Golden Merchant Guild think..."

Thump.

Namgung Hui, who had kicked his seat and stood up, immediately spread his electric net and crossed the distance in an instant with his Wind God Steps.

Towards the Yangtze River, where the water bandits were said to have appeared.

‘The ship being chased must be Seolhwa's.’

The reason they found the clothing unfamiliar.

It was probably because it was the Hundred Thousand Mountains, a remote place even in Guangdong Province.

Since their roots were also those who had lived in the Tianshan Mountains, it would be somewhat different from that of the Western Regions.

‘But weren't the waterway fortresses, along with the Green Forest, affiliated with the Hoicheon Association? Well, whether it's bandits or water bandits, betraying others is a daily routine, so it's not a big deal.’

Expecting loyalty from bandits or water bandits was an excessive luxury.

In the first place, if they had such loyalty, they would have become soldiers of the military, not bandits who engaged in plunder.

Anyway, since the target of their plunder had become his best friend, he couldn't just stand by.

Namgung Hui, having left Jang Hwang behind for a change, performed the Wind God Steps at full power and reached the Yangtze River in an instant.

He spread his electric net wide.

Not only that, he stood on the surface of the water and used the water current to widen his range even further.

Unlike the atmosphere, the surface of the water accepted the Thunder Ki even better.

The electric net instantly flowed along the surface of the water and enveloped the entire Yangtze River area.

‘Found it!’

There were a total of four ships running fast.

Among them, since a nostalgic energy was coming from one of them, it must be the ship that Beak Seolhwa was on.

If so, he could tell that the guys chasing from behind were the water bandits of the waterway fortress, even without looking.

Namgung Hui, without a moment's hesitation, got behind the water bandits and raised his Thunder God Sword.

Although there was still quite a distance to the water bandits' ship, Namgung Hui, as if such a distance were nothing, drew his sword vertically.

Ureureung!!

The atmosphere let out an angry roar and a flash of light.

Soon, a single bolt of lightning that originated from the sky struck the surface of the water and flowed along the water current.

[Thirteen Flashing Thunderbolts. 11th Stance. Extreme Thunder.]

The Extreme Thunder that Namgung Hui had performed with his heart, as if it were piercing through the ends.

It passed straight through the water bandits' ship.

"Another Water Dragon brat..."

-Kwagwagwang!!

But before the water bandit could even finish his words, the boat was overturned by the water current, and the ship was split in half.

The power of a transcendent stance.

To the extent that it was mistaken for an act of a dragon, it was not a martial art that a mere human could perform.

Well, when you think about it, since Namgung Hui's martial art originated from the Azure Dragon, the water bandit's words were not particularly wrong.

However, it was an Azure Dragon, not a Water Dragon.

Namgung Hui passed the half-destroyed ship and ran on the surface of the water.

There were still two more water bandit ships left.

Moreover, the ship at the very back was not that big and was the smallest.

That's why its speed must have been the slowest.

But the ships in front were as huge as warships and were also fast.

A speedboat that ran on the wind.

Just as the Wind God Steps rode the wind, they also persistently chased after Beak Seolhwa.

-Beak Seolhwa. Can you hear me?

-Hui!

As Namgung Hui spoke through the magic tool, a reply came back right away.

Perhaps because it was an urgent situation, no words were heard afterwards.

But it wasn't a problem.

Because if so, all he had to do was hear it with his own voice.

He wanted to hear her voice directly with his own two ears, not through the magic tool.

Namgung Hui, as if there was nothing to hesitate about, gathered internal energy in both hands.

The Great Hand Seal in his left hand.

The Thunder God Sword in his right hand.

Since he had been formally taught the Two Principles Heart Art, there was no need to be shy about showing it to others.

[Esoteric Sect's Great Hand Seal. Rakshasa's Palm. Radiance.]

[Thirteen Flashing Thunderbolts. 11th Stance. Extreme Thunder.]

A black and blue flash of light flashed.

And it bisected the atmosphere and the surface of the water.

And what was split was everything that existed in that space.

The water bandits' speedboat was also split in half and let out a cracking roar.

"This isn't the Water Dragon's mischief!"

"Shit. Everyone, into the water!"

Now, only one ship was left.

It was the largest, and since it was also close to Beak Seolhwa's ship, it was difficult to easily launch a stance.

Since it would be indirectly affected on the water current, it was possible that Beak Seolhwa's boat might capsize.

Since there would also be people who didn't know martial arts on the boat, if the boat sank, there would be deaths.

Perhaps because of this, Beak Seolhwa was also unable to respond easily.

-Ting, ting, ting!

Even now, she was creating an ice wall in the air and blocking the water bandits' attacks.

But since her internal energy was not infinite, there would be a limit.

They were also aiming for that and were persistently showering her with arrows and hidden weapons.

Perhaps when Beak Seolhwa's internal energy ran out, a proper master would step forward.

‘But that's a story for when I'm not here. Then where.’

Namgung Hui kicked off the surface of the water, flipped his body in the air, and landed on the water bandits' ship.

The feeling of a single noble crane landing on the riverbank.

At the beautiful appearance that did not match the water bandits, all eyes turned to Namgung Hui.

"Was it your doing that our ship behind was wrecked? You've lost your fear."

"Is there a need to be afraid just for sinking a water bandits' ship?"

"Hahaha! Do we look like mere water bandits? If you knew our true identity..."

"You must have come from the Blood Cult. The guys behind you look like real water bandits."

"!? How did you know our identity? Ah. You must be a companion of the traitors in front!"

From the Blood Cult's perspective, they might consider the people who had escaped as traitors.

However, from Beak Seolhwa's perspective, the current Blood Cult, which had changed, was rather closer to a traitor.

That's why she had taken the cult members out like this with a sense of disappointment.

For Namgung Hui, this might have been a good thing, but his heart was not at ease when he recalled that Beak Seolhwa must have been in pain and agony.

"Which of the six families of the Demonic Dao are you from?"

"Don't be surprised when you hear it. We are from the Helian family! The family that has produced the most cult leaders in history."

"Lies. The family that has produced the most cult leaders should be the Biwolcheon family."

"How do you know that?"

"Well, I know it well because I fought with you guys in my past life."

"What, past life? Hahaha! Come to think of it, you must be a crazy bitch. Well, if you weren't, there's no way you would interfere with our event. Let's see how great the martial arts of a crazy bitch are. Attack!"

Although Namgung Hui had said the Biwolcheon family was the best, in fact, the Helian family was also a family that had produced many cult leaders, to the extent that they called themselves the pillar of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Moreover, the Heavenly Demon who had mutually perished with his sworn brother was also a person from the Helian family.

Although the Biwolcheon family had produced the most cult leaders, when viewed in terms of the quality of their martial prowess, the Helian family would be the best.

And the martial artists of such a Helian family all performed their stances at once.

Nine Calamities Demonic Sword.

A cruel sword art that was one of the three major sword arts of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Not only was it cruel, but its power was also indescribably fierce.

Facing the flesh-cutting killing intent, Namgung Hui immediately counterattacked.

But at that moment.

-Hui! Be careful.

(End of Chapter)