Thunder God's Reincarnation

Chapter 30

Dan Seol-Young breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Baek Mu-Gun. However, she soon grew concerned if he could deal with more than twenty masked men alone.

She heard stories about the Thunder God’s successor from Cheon Yu-Hwa. According to her, the Heavenly Thunder God’s Swordsman Guyang Hwi, the predecessor of the Thunder God’s successor, possessed such powerful martial prowess that it was difficult to find anyone able to rival him before he could even turn thirty years old.

Even though Seol-Young thought the Thunder God’s successor could handle this much, she couldn’t help but be worried because of Mu-Gun’s young age. On the other hand, Mu-Gun’s sudden appearance flustered the masked men.

The man standing in Seol-Young’s way also felt anxious about the unknown figure’s unexpected appearance. However, he calmed down upon realizing Mu-Gun looked to be in his twenties and that he was alone.

“Who are you?” the man asked Mu-Gun.

“I should be the one asking that question. Who are you, where did you come from, and why you are aiming for the Heavenly Secret Hall?”

“What an ill-mannered brat.”

“You don’t seem to know a lot about murim. In this world, age isn’t important. All that matters is the martial arts you possess.”

“Are you saying your martial prowess is higher than mine?” The man replied, dumbfounded.

“Why don’t you confirm it yourself?”

“I find no need for me to do so. My men are more than enough.”

“We’ll see about that,” Mu-Gun commented with a smirk.

“You little brat, how dare you act so arrogant!”

When Mu-Gun belittled them, the masked men charged at him, no longer capable of suppressing their anger. Mu-Gun immediately tossed the Flying Golden Shield he was holding.

The Flying Golden Shield spun fiercely and flew toward the masked men. Not expecting such a move, they hurriedly tried to block it. However, it contained power beyond their wildest imagination.

The Flying Golden Shield deflected a saber and severely crushed the chest of the first masked man it made contact with, blasting him away. The shield didn’t stop, however. Instead, it flew toward the other masked men. Shocked, they swung their sabers in an effort to block it, but the outcome remained the same.

In an instant, ten masked men had collapsed on the floor with their chests destroyed. Mu-Gun lightly caught the Flying Golden Shield when it returned.

Then, without delay, he threw it toward the remaining masked men.

“D-dodge it!” The leader shouted.

Mu-Gun’s opponents hurriedly backed down, finally realizing stopping it was futile. However, it had an effective range of fifty feet. Retreating was useless unless they could cover a longer distance before it could catch them.

With a sharp, piercing sound, the Flying Golden Shield flew quickly toward the retreating masked men. While they were flustered, a black shadow suddenly appeared before them and released a precise saber qi toward the incoming projectile.

As the Flying Golden Shield ferociously pushed against the man’s weapon, the man clenched his teeth and shook his saber outward, distorting the shield’s trajectory and causing it to fly past them. Mu-Gun easily retrieved it.

The man’s expression stiffened after blocking the Flying Golden Shield. He had almost dropped his saber. And his right hand, which was still in shock, had become numb.

As soon as the shield came back to Mu-Gun, he threw it toward the man.

Its speed and power were incomparably higher than before since it was aimed at a single target. Clenching his teeth once more, the man raised his saber to defend against it.

A loud roar broke out the moment Mu-Gun’s shield and the man’s saber collided head-on. However, the latter’s saber qi could no longer deflect the Flying Golden Shield. On the contrary, the shield managed to pierce through it.

‘This crazy shield!’

The man’s expression twisted at the Flying Golden Shield’s power as it pushed through the saber. The moment he was put in danger, the masked men around him charged toward Mu-Gun and rained down attacks on him.

Mu-Gun immediately unsheathed his sword and executed the Overflowing Moonray Slash, a technique of the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art. Sword qi which looked like rays of moonlight emerged from his sword.

The group of masked men, who charged toward him solely based on the fact that he didn’t have the Flying Golden Shield in hand, fell with their necks and chests pierced by the Overflowing Moonray Slash’s sword qi. Despite so, their deaths were not in vain.

To deal with them, Mu-Gun had to break off the qi flow connected to the Flying Golden Shield. As a result, the man who almost got split in half by the Flying Golden Shield managed to escape the crisis. He gritted his teeth at the sight of his subordinates dying on his behalf.

He was never a match for Mu-Gun. Hence, he had to use a different tactic. As he thought so, Seol-Young came into the eyes of the man. If he used her as a hostage and threatened Mu-Gun, he would be able to escape from this place. Perhaps he’d even be able to trade her life for the Heavenly Secret Record and the Heavenly Secret Spirit Plaque.

The man immediately dashed toward Seol-Young.

“How are the bad guys always so consistent?”

As he looked at the man, Mu-Gun clicked his tongue and raised his hand. A golden lightning then formed over it, took the form of a sword, and cut through space to pierce the man’s legs.

“Kuhkk!”

The Thunder Sword Cannon penetrated the man’s legs like skewers, causing him to scream and fall to the ground. Surprised by the man’s sudden approach, Seol-Young was about to wildly swing her whip sword. When lightning stabbed through him, she looked at Mu-Gun in shock.

“Always keep in mind that it is forbidden to let your guard down,” Mu-Gun told her as he approached the fallen man.

“Kuhkkk, who the fuck are you?” The man asked after groaning in pain.

“I’d like to ask you the same question. Who are you guys?”

“Ughh, I’ll tell you one thing. I don’t know who you are, but you messed with someone you shouldn’t have. And it will cost you your life,” the man spat his last words before biting the poison pill hidden in his mouth.

“Kurghhh.”

As soon as he did, his mouth foamed up and he quivered. Not long after, he grew limp and stopped breathing.

“Foul bastards.”

Mu-Gun clicked his tongue upon witnessing what happened to the man. Considering they managed to manipulate a person with such strong malice, whoever was behind them wasn’t just any ordinary individual.

“Thank you.”

Seol-Young bowed to Mu-Gun while holding onto her bleeding arm.

“Is your arm okay?”

“This is nothing compared to what my colleagues suffered,” Seol-Young replied as she sorrowfully looked at the fallen Heavenly Secret Guardians’ cold, lifeless bodies.

Seeing her that way made Mu-Gun think she was a good-natured person.

“Still, bleeding can lead to dire complications. Go inside and get it treated.”

“What about you, Thunder God’s successor?”

“My name is Baek Mu-Gun.”

“Ah, so you’re Young Master Baek.”

“I plan to pay the Heavenly Secret Hall a visit,” Mu-Gun had a rough idea of the situation.

“The Heavenly Secret Hall?”

“I have to deal with the person who sent these men.”

“But it would be too dangerous to go alone. There will be enemies stronger than these people at the Heavenly Secret Hall. And they’ll be far superior in numbers as well.” Even though they had only just gotten acquainted, Seol-Young was already feeling concerned about Mu-Gun.

“They’ll come here anyway if I don’t go. And even if we try to run away, they’ll simply hunt us down. For the future’s sake, we have to eliminate all the enemies at the Heavenly Secret Hall.”

“That’s true, but—”

Before Seol-Young could complete her sentence, Mu-Gun interrupted her.

“You don’t have to worry about me. Just take care of Hall Leader Cheon. And make preparations to leave this place as soon as I return.”

The Heavenly Secret Hall’s main base and this manor, which served as a safe house, had been compromised. If they stayed here, they would be attacked again even if he had dealt with the enemies at the Heavenly Secret Hall. It would be best to move their base to another place.

“Understood. Please be careful.” Seol-Young answered with an affirmative, though her worried expression remained.

“Don’t worry. Oh, do you have any beef jerky or dry rations left? I’m quite hungry since I haven’t eaten anything for three days.” Mu-Gun sensed her worry and tried to divert the topic.

“Ah! Why not have a meal before you go? I’ll quickly prepare a meal for you.”

“It’s fine. I should get going before those people figure out what went down here and take measures.”

“I see. Then please wait a moment.”

Seol-Young hurriedly ran to the kitchen. After a while, she returned with a pouch containing jerky and dry rations.

“Thank you.”

Mu-Gun left the manor after accepting it. Seol-Young watched Mu-Gun leave, then proceeded to do what she had to do.

***

Sky Flower House was the most famous brothel in Nanjing’s red-light district, and their gisaeng’s beauty was so extraordinary that it was said even the top-grade gisaengs of other brothels would seem ordinary in the Sky Flower House. The men of this city were bound to look for younger and more beautiful women. It was rare for the men in Nanjing to not want to be in the embrace of the Sky Flower House’s gisaengs.

However, crossing the Sky Flower House’s thresholds wasn’t easy. The reason for that was money. The Sky Flower House charged five times higher than other brothels. And that was just the price for ordinary gisaengs. Those in higher classes were even more expensive. Hence, people without money couldn’t even think of visiting the Sky Flower House.

For that reason as well, most of the customers who frequented it were rich people. Therefore, high-ranking officials often used it as a place of entertainment. However, few knew of the fact that the Sky Flower House was the headquarters of the Heavenly Secret Hall.

That wasn’t surprising, however, since not many people knew of the existence of the Heavenly Secret Hall, which had hidden its true identity via its reputation as the best brothel in Nanjing thus far.

Mu-Gun appeared before the Sky Flower House’s back gate. Looking at the back gate as he chewed on the dry rations he received from Seol-Young, he sensed the qi of a few martial artists beyond it.

“I didn’t expect to be using the Dark Specter Stealth Art like this.”

Mu-Gun lived the life of an assassin in his third reincarnation. That was also the first time in his previous life that he learned martial arts. The Dark Specter Stealth Art was a movement art he learned then, and it boasted the greatest covertness in the dark.

Mu-Gun invoked the Dark Specter Stealth Art and infiltrated through the back gate of the Sky Flower House. There were people standing guard there, but no one noticed his presence.

Mu-Gun knew the Sky Flower House’s building and structure quite well due to his past memories. Hence, he didn’t have to wander around to reach the Sky Flower Pavillion—the innermost part of this brothel.

Since it was located at the center, the ringleader of those who invaded this place would likely be there.

Mu-Gun didn’t have an inkling of intention to fight fair and square. He planned to deal with his opponents one by one after suppressing their ring leader at the Sky Flower Pavilion.

Mu-Gun stealthily climbed to the Sky Flower House’s roof using the Dark Specter Stealth Art, then examined the flow of energy inside it. He sensed several different energies, one of which was especially powerful.

‘Hmmm, that’s at least a Lower Peak Realm expert.’

Mu-Gun frowned as he confirmed the person’s energy flow was stronger than he expected. If it was just that one person, he would have entered the Sky Flower Pavilion without hesitation. However, aside from the Lower Peak Realm expert, he also found a few energies that seemed to be in the First-rate realm. Considering Mu-Gun’s current level, he’d have trouble dealing with their forces.

‘Should I activate the Thunder God's Descent?’

Mu-Gun was stuck at a crossroads.

The Thunder God's Descent was a technique that would call forth the power of the Thunder God, thus allowing him to use the Thunder God’s power regardless of his level. In truth, the Thunder God’s Descent was an Absolute Realm ultimate technique and could be called the Heavenly Descent Thunder God Sect’s essence itself.

However, it wasn’t something that could be used recklessly. In order to use the power of the Thunder God, the internal energy of the Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art had to be consumed.

Just executing it already consumed twenty years’ worth of internal energy. In addition, it would also consume internal energy continuously to maintain the Descent state.

Based on the internal energy Mu-Gun currently possessed, the period of time he could use the power after invoking the Thunder God’s Descent was less than ninety seconds.

To be perfectly honest, that duration was more than enough to exterminate his enemies within the Sky Flower Pavilion. The problem was the enemies outside of it.

The Thunder God’s Descent allowed the power of the Thunder God, a divine being, to be contained and used within a mortal vessel. However, it would inevitably put a huge burden on the user. Hence, after using it, they would fall into a lethargic state.

He could resolve that problem by training until he was strong enough to withstand the aftereffect of the Thunder God’s Descent. In his previous life, he cultivated the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation beyond the 9-star realm. Hence, he no longer fell into a lethargic state even after activating the Thunder God’s Descent.

However, that was all in the past. He had only cultivated the Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation to the 5-star realm in this life. He wouldn’t be able to avoid lethargy after activating the Thunder God’s Descent. If the enemies outside the Sky Flower Pavilion stormed in while he was in such a predicament, his death would be inevitable.

‘I’ve thought about it from all angles, and I don’t think the Thunder God’s Descent is the right choice.’

Mu-Gun eliminated using the Thunder God’s Descent from his options, then considered the Heavenly Descent Thunder God Sword to deal with the enemy.

He would have a chance of winning if he eliminated the expert believed to be in the Lower Peak Realm as soon as he entered the Sky Flower Pavilion. Mu-Gun simulated the path where he entered the Sky Flower Pavilion and killed the Lower Peak Realm master by invoking the Heavenly Descent Thunder God Sword Art.

He imagined various scenarios in his mind, but none of them convinced him of a sure-fire victory.

‘Should I retreat for now?’

He couldn’t risk his life for a method he wasn’t convinced about. Hence, Mu-Gun considered retreating. However, just then, some of the energy flows he sensed inside the Sky Flower Pavilion suddenly began to move away.

‘The heavens are on my side, huh.’

Mu-Gun didn’t know what was going on, but the few people he assumed to be first-rate martial artists left the Sky Flower Pavilion, leaving the Lower Peak Realm expert behind. He then sensed a few new energy flows come in, but they didn’t show any signs of being martial artists.

‘They’re gisaengs,’ Mu-Gun concluded after examining the new energy flows. He had roughly understood the situation. The Lower Peak Realm expert sent his subordinates away and called for some gisaengs.

There was no need to guess the reason behind this action. The expert wanted to be in the gisaengs’ embrace.

‘And he’s greedy too.’

The Lower Peak Realm expert asked for several women instead of just one, so it was plain as day that he wanted to bed several women at the same time.

Mu-Gun cursed the lustful expert in his mind and pondered about the next move he should make. Afterward, he immediately took action.