Rebirth of the Thunder God

"Ahem! Where do you think you are, doing such an irreverent thing in the sacred Shaolin Temple? Come in at once."

Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa, with the expressions of victors, strode into the abbot's room.

A deep fragrance greeted the two.

And contrary to that, the abbot, the Divine Monk, had a clearly uncomfortable expression.

"This is originally a sacred place forbidden to women. However, for today only, I will give you the courtesy of a martial arts tournament winner."

"This junior martial artist, Namgung Hui, greets the Divine Monk."

"The young palace lord of the Moon Maiden Palace, Beak Seolhwa, greets the abbot."

The two people who immediately bowed politely.

Although he had the memories of his past life, the Divine Monk in front of him was the greatest in the world at the time.

A being worthy of receiving such courtesy.

Even if the two of them were to fully regain the martial prowess of their past lives, it would be difficult to guarantee a victory.

‘This is the feeling I had when I faced my sworn brother. He's really strong.’

The more he felt that the Divine Monk was strong, the more his doubts grew.

What on earth had happened to the death of the former Maoshan Sect Leader?

Since he was the abbot of the Shaolin Temple, he would not have married her, but seeing as he had even had a son, it was not a relationship where he would just stand by.

"There is no grain wine to offer. Bring out your business for visiting."

"Then I will ask you directly. How much do you know about the death of the former Maoshan Sect Leader?"

Flinch.

Even if he was the greatest in the world, it seemed burdensome to discuss the death of his lover, as a ripple appeared on the Divine Monk's face.

"You're coming on strong from the start. Are you indeed the Hidden Dragon? Who did you hear that story from?"

"I heard it from the Black Tortoise Troupe Leader."

"I didn't know the relationship had progressed that far. Alright. I'll tell you. She died after encountering a highway robber."

"???"

At the unbelievable words, as Namgung Hui's eyes widened, the Divine Monk continued with an expressionless face.

"You wouldn't believe it. To think that she, who was the sect leader of the Maoshan Sect, would meet her death at the hands of a mere robber. But that is the truth. It wasn't a simple robber, but a robber who had learned a fair amount of martial arts. I caught him and even interrogated him, so it's certain."

"By any chance, was he instigated by someone or raised by someone else?"

"Do you think I wouldn't have figured that out? Although that scoundrel's private life was not clean, he had no backer. It was truly a bolt from the blue."

"..."

Since the Maoshan Sect mainly learned sorcery, their martial arts were not outstanding.

Even Jang Hwang himself had not learned any self-defense martial arts.

A martial power that could lose even to a first-rate or second-rate martial artist.

If the highway robber had learned a fair amount of martial arts, it would not be strange for him to meet his death.

Although Namgung Hui was not convinced, he decided to let it go for now at the Divine Monk's firm statement.

Because there was nothing to be gained by getting on his bad side.

"You wouldn't have stopped by just to dig up someone's past. Bring out what you really want. Since the end of the martial arts tournament is weighing on my mind, I'll grant you a favor. Shall I open the Sutra Depository for you?"

Although he was tempted by the words 'Sutra Depository,' what Namgung Hui had come to find was not a martial arts manual.

The sacred object of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the Holy Fire Mirror.

If there was a place where such an item would be kept, it would be the Shaolin Temple's abbot's room or.

‘It would be the Ancestral Hall where the relics are collected, or the Repentance Cave where the sinners are imprisoned.’

Other than that, the places were far from a place where items would be stored.

The Sutra Depository was also a possibility, but since the Holy Fire Mirror was literally in the shape of a mirror, it didn't quite fit with the Sutra Depository where manuals were stored.

The place where Namgung Hui had placed the most possibility was the abbot's room.

Because if it were a sacred object of the Divine Cult, it was right for the abbot, the greatest master, to manage it himself.

-Chichi. Do you feel anything in this room?

[Uh. There's nothing. Not even a single hair.]

-Well, since monks shave their heads, there are no hairs. Anyway. Since there's nothing, I'll have to go somewhere else. Where is the place that is considered to have the most treasures?

[Hmm... The Sutra Depository where the manuals are? And that deep cave in the basement over there?]

-If it's a cave in the basement, it must be the Repentance Cave. Alright. I'll go there first.

"May I take a look at the Repentance Cave? I'd like to look around the place where the demons were once imprisoned."

"By any chance, are you trying to start learning demonic arts?"

"Of course not. It's just that I think I need to know about demonic arts to face the Blood Cult in the future. Don't the demons in the Repentance Cave sometimes write things like memoirs?"

"Do they only write memoirs? They even leave behind their insights. And that, of a terrifying demonic art."

"I have no interest in such demonic arts. Well, I might refer to it to learn how to break it."

"Yes. If it's a child of the Namgung family, not someone else, it's worth a try. I'll guide you myself, so follow me right away."

As the work proceeded smoothly, Namgung Hui had a satisfied smile.

The Repentance Cave was a place that was never opened to outsiders, so it was even more so.

But now, all those many demons had met their deaths, and since it was a peaceful era, the Repentance Cave was full of martial monks who were just doing wall-gazing training.

And so, following the Divine Monk, he left Xiaoshi Peak and moved to Taishi Peak.

Originally, the word Shaolin meant the small forest of Xiaoshi Peak.

Taishi Peak was strictly not the Shaolin Temple.

But since this land called Mount Song could be seen as the territory of the Shaolin Temple, the entire Mount Song was no different from being the property of the Shaolin Temple.

"This is the Repentance Cave. That deep underground cave, like a bottomless pit, is a prison that imprisons sinners and makes them atone. Although there is no one now."

Namgung Hui looked at the deserted entrance of the Repentance Cave and asked.

"It seems you don't even make them do wall-gazing training these days."

"There are cases where they fall into Qi deviation during wall-gazing training, so we don't make them do it these days. This is why loneliness is a scary thing. Anyway. Since you two are going down this time, I don't think such a thing will happen. Even if you get hurt, the Shaolin Temple is not responsible. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Of course, even if something happens to us, it is not the fault of the Shaolin Temple."

"Yes. Now you can go down using this rope. When you come up, use this rope as well. If you don't come out for more than three days, I will go to find you myself. Then, since I have a lot of work, I'll be going first."

The Divine Monk, who only guided him and disappeared.

It was to the extent that he even felt a slight sense of unease, as if he had given up the Repentance Cave too easily.

But a good thing was a good thing.

He thought that the Divine Monk was doing this out of consideration.

"Seolhwa. Are you ready?"

"Yeah. Then I'll go down first."

"Why? Don't you know that there might be something dangerous below? I think my reaction will be faster."

"Sigh... It's not because of that. If I go down from above, you can see everything from below. Don't tell me you're trying to peek at me?"

"Peek? Ah. But is there a reason to peek? I already remember all the colors..."

Thwack!

Beak Seolhwa, who hit Namgung Hui's chest.

She, with a slightly blushing face, immediately began to go down to the Repentance Cave.

Namgung Hui, chewing on the color that had come to his mind, followed her and entered the bottomless pit.

***

"We seem to be only going down to the basement. At this rate, mushrooms will grow in our lungs."

"I know, right? In a basement like this, there should be a fortuitous encounter, but I wonder if there is."

"But what if there's someone who's been alive for over 60 years?"

"No way. How can they survive without being given food? And didn't the abbot say there was no one earlier? He must have checked. And look at that old man's realm. If there was a person here, would he not know?"

"Well. I thought I was meeting the cult leader. To think that there is such a master in the current era. You live long enough, and you see all sorts of things."

And so, Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa chatted and walked for a long time.

Now, since there was no light coming from above, it was to the point that they couldn't see in front of them without a torch.

But Namgung Hui did not use a torch.

Samadhi True Fire? That consumed a lot of internal energy, so there was no need to use it.

Then what did Namgung Hui take out?

"A night-luminescent pearl? Wow~. You're richer than I thought."

"You just found out that I'm rich? The Moon Maiden Pavilion was also built with my money."

"It seems you've raided a lot of places. But where did you get the night-luminescent pearl?"

"I raided the secret cave of the Empty Gate Sect. There were three of them stuck there. You take one too and let's look at the wall together."

Namgung Hui took the right, and Beak Seolhwa took the left, and they thoroughly examined if there were any traces left.

And he also released Chichi and the Sword Spirit into the Repentance Cave and ordered them to find precious treasures.

Since the two of them had disappeared quickly as if they were excited, it seemed good news would be heard soon.

[Oh! There's an interesting saying written here.]

The Sword Spirit, who was floating on the Thunder God Sword, as if it had found an interesting phrase, had stuck the Thunder God Sword into the wall and was waiting for Namgung Hui.

"What does it say?"

[It seems to have been written by a person from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. They say he endured here for a whopping 30 years. Isn't that amazing?]

"30 years? He's really tough."

Namgung Hui, also curious about what was written, immediately shone the night-luminescent pearl on the wall and read the content.

[After being defeated by Zhongli He, I was imprisoned in the Repentance Cave. At first, I was full of hatred for the people of the orthodox faction, but as time passed, even this hatred faded. It seemed I was becoming like the name of the Repentance Cave, and I was angry at myself. But that also did not last long. ...Omitted... Then one day, there were an unusually large number of cult members who were captured. As if the color of defeat had deepened, the expressions of the cult members were not bright. And more than anything, even the Rain Master, who could be called a key executive, was captured.]

‘If it's the Rain Master, is he talking about the Dao Demon? He didn't die, but was dragged to the Repentance Cave.’

[It was unbelievable that the Rain Master was captured, but what he said was even more shocking. He said there was a traitor inside the Divine Cult. Because of that person, □■■■■...]

Perhaps because a long time had passed, the writing engraved on the wall was not clear.

Even when he enhanced his vision, it seemed the writing itself was damaged, as if something had been damaged.

[...And so, I am about to end my 30-year life in the Repentance Cave. I hope this fact will be passed down to future generations.]

‘It seems the damaged writing was important. It seems someone deliberately erased it. Did the Divine Monk erase it?’

Since Namgung Hui had not yet looked through the entire Repentance Cave, he was not discouraged.

"Seolhwa. Do you want to read this? It's a content that a cult member wrote before leaving."

"Yeah."

Handing over the place to Beak Seolhwa, Namgung Hui looked for new traces.

‘The lines drawn on the wall seem to be counting the days, and is that mural a depiction of the time of the Righteous-Demonic War?’

And so, while Namgung Hui was examining the wall step by step, this time, as if Chichi had discovered something, he sent a voice to Namgung Hui.

[There's a martial arts incantation here.]

Had he really left behind his insights before ending his life?

It seemed it would probably be a demonic art, but Namgung Hui decided to take a look without much expectation.

Just in case a mental demon came from the demonic art incantation, he was even ready to stop reading if it came to it.

Namgung Hui looked in the direction that Chichi was pointing.

But the martial art written there was not a demonic art, but.

[Demon-Subduing Sword Art.]

It was a martial art of the orthodox faction, and it was the representative sword art of the Kongtong Sect.

(End of Chapter)