964——————==

Soul of the Evil God

I decided to organize the clues I had to find the Ghostly Spirit Sect.

“It seems the one who knows the whereabouts of the Ghostly Spirit Sect is Green Moon, one of the Thunderbolt Three Saints.”

I’ve also heard that Green Moon has been preparing for the Ghostly Spirit Sect’s independence while leading the Black Moon Group. Of course, I learned this indirectly through Lee Cheong-un, and at the time, there were more pressing matters than the Ghostly Spirit Sect, so I let it slide without extracting more information from Green Moon.

I also had a rough idea of the Black Moon Group’s location. Worried that engaging in this task might lead to a huge mistake, I first contacted Zhuge Sa via Suspicious Fishhook.

[So you’re planning to take down the Black Moon Group and capture Green Moon to find out about the Ghostly Spirit Sect.]

“Is that a bad idea?”

Zhuge Sa said nonchalantly in response to my plan.

[Do as you please! What’s there to worry about messing with those washed-up Thunder God Lineage folks? They haven’t even shown their faces in the world anyway.]

“Got it.”

Seems like there aren’t any major issues. After all, when I got the Suspicious Fishhook, I casually wiped out the clan leader and Namgung Hwan of the Namgung Clan, and Zhuge Sa didn’t seem to mind that at all. I confidently set off towards the Black Moon Group’s stronghold that I was familiar with.

Bang!

As I arrived at the Black Moon Group’s stronghold, I sensed the presence of martial artists nearby. I gauged their levels using Qi Sense.

‘Looks like they are all pretty reputed in Jianghu… Sure, they’re not peak experts, but they’ve got significant power.’

Green Moon clearly took care of the Black Moon Group. It seemed likely that the Thunder God Lineage techniques had been passed down quite thoroughly. Among them, there would probably be individuals worthy of being called successors of the Thunder God Lineage. Considering this, I decided to restrain my killing instincts as I approached Green Moon.

Swish!

“Uh…”

Thud!

I swooped in like a shadow, using my Hand Blade technique to take down one by one as I knocked out eight guys in total. They all collapsed without even realizing what hit them, and it wasn’t until the ninth one that the Black Moon Group seemed to catch on.

“Kill him!”

At that moment, the five in front of me charged at once. I created clones with Qi and quickly sent them out. The clones generated by Qi illusions required great concentration and energy, but it was fine for a brief display. As the five clones rushed at them, they each unleashed their Thunder God techniques to combat the clones.

Boom!

Taking advantage of the chaos, I slipped in to knock each of them out with my Hand Blade. I didn’t use any special tactics; simply exploiting their openings was sufficient.

‘This wasn’t something I used to notice before… Why am I so aware of their openings?’

Back in my peak days, I couldn’t have suppressed opponents this easily.

After the fierce battles in the outer universe, I reached the Absolute Realm, and since then, I’ve felt a significant reduction in tension whenever I perform martial arts, allowing their flaws to come into view naturally. It wasn’t any supernatural ability, but somehow, I felt like my skills in understanding their martial prowess had grown. This must also be the effect of the Absolute Realm.

Without wasting time, I dashed straight into the Black Moon Group’s inner sanctum. There, I caught sight of Green Moon standing with two or three guards, unprepared for me. At that moment, Green Moon seemed to sense my presence and glared at me with sharp eyes.

‘As expected of the Thunderbolt Three Saints. He clearly isn’t someone I can take down in one hit.’

That guy was an elder of the Thunder God Lineage and a disciple of the Grand Master. Years ago, they were renowned peak experts in Jianghu, and now they would be considered old giants of the martial world. Even if Dokgo Seong were here, if two or more of the Thunderbolt Three Saints came at him, he’d have to prepare for death.

But, isn’t it a bit late to be thinking about this now? At least when Gods were merely illusions, every single encounter would have felt amusing…

I descended into the hall with a bitter expression and spoke to Green Moon.

“Green Moon! I am Baek Woong.”

“… An incredible master. What brings you to me?”

As expected, Green Moon must have sensed my rank even without me revealing my Qi. I crossed my arms and said to him.

“I am also a successor of the Thunder God Lineage, seeking to claim the title of Grand Master.”

“I figured as much. So what?”

“I have something interesting to show you. If you are the elder of the Thunder God Lineage, you’ll surely recognize this.”

Swish!

I opened my palm to reveal the Vajra. A jolt of intense lightning erupted from it, and Green Moon’s eyes widened in shock.

“……!!”

As the Vajra dimmed, I clenched my palm and continued.

“This is the Four Great Spirit Deities technique of the Thunder God Lineage, Vajra. I have recovered it, which was lost a thousand years ago when Lee Gun-ak fought the Dragon of the Apocalypse.”

Green Moon trembled, visibly shaken, and chewed his lips in disbelief.

“… I can’t believe it. How could this happen… It’s absolutely impossible…”

“……?”

Green Moon’s reaction felt odd. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something felt off.

Sensing a sense of discomfort, I plowed on.

“I came to find the Vajra, and I can confidently declare myself the strongest in the current Thunder God Lineage. If that’s the case, I believe I can be deemed worthy of the title of Grand Master. Today, I hope to take you under my wing and revive the Thunder God Lineage.”

Green Moon’s eyes sparkled. His immense Thunder God prowess emanated around him.

“Baek Woong! I acknowledge that you’re an absolute master rivaling Lee Cheong-un from six years ago. However, as a martial artist, I cannot concede defeat without a fight!”

Crackle!!

I stood my ground, staring straight ahead as the storm of lightning erupted around me due to Green Moon’s formidable aura.

“Are you suggesting you want to compare lengths?”

“Why? Are you not confident?”

“Of course not…”

I smirked and easily gripped my long sword. Then I said,

“I’ll give you five chances. Come at me comfortably.”

“… Sure!”

Green Moon must have wanted to witness my martial skill firsthand as the person fit to gather the Ghostly Spirit Sect. Also, in such a fight, I’d need to showcase the gap in our levels, so I intentionally decided to concede five chances. In the past, I couldn’t have even thought about conceding against a master of the Thunderbolt Three Saints—but now, for some reason, I felt confident.

Zoom…!!

The first move was Green Moon’s Magnetism Ghost Blade. The moment he drew his curved sword, it felt as though time and space were being sucked into the tip of the blade, with a purple lightning aura radiating from his entire body. I reflected on the sword technique.

‘Magnetism Ghost Blade… Its real name is the Magnetism Ghost King Killing Blade.’

When I first learned of its shape, I didn’t know its intricate details, but knowledge came when Lee Cheong-un directly subjugated Green Moon and taught me their martial arts. The Magnetism Ghost Blade was originally called the Magnetism Ghost King Killing Blade, regarded as the absolute sword technique of the Thunder God Lineage. Even though it was considered a secondary technique due to the spear being the primary weapon in the Thunder God Lineage, martial artists who mastered the Magnetism Ghost Blade were almost undefeated in Jianghu.

Clang!!

Green Moon’s strike descended upon me like a thunderclap. Of course, given my level, I could dodge or counterattack, but since I opted to concede five chances, I let the attack land. The moment our swords clashed, I felt the purple thunder from the Magnetism Ghost Blade penetrate me like dark currents.

‘Release the power into the ground.’

Planting my left foot firmly into the ground, I controlled the flow of Qi with my mind. As the dark energies formed from the Magnetism Ghost Blade surged inward, I directed them into the ground without resisting the force, taking a step back. As a master of Tai Chi, I believed I could excel in this flow.

Thud!

“……!!”

The instant we exchanged blows, Green Moon’s countenance turned pale. As a fellow expert, he quickly grasped how I’d effortlessly released the tension from his potent strike.

Clang!

Clang!

Green Moon unleashed another wave of powerful attacks, yet each time, I managed to read his movements and deflect them easily. Six years ago, he was known for creating heaps of corpses with his Magnetism Ghost Blade, but in front of me, he was utterly powerless.

Eventually, struggling to retreat, Green Moon murmured in disbelief.

“Y-You already know the Magnetism Ghost Blade!”

“To claim the title of Grand Master, shouldn’t I know at least that much?”

“……”

“That makes five moves. Now, I will subdue you in ten seconds.”

“Ugh!”

Swish!

I executed the Hell King’s Hand against Green Moon. Surprised that I was using the techniques of the Ghostly Spirit Sect, Green Moon hesitated just long enough to attempt to strike my wrist with the Magnetism Ghost Blade—at that moment, I unleashed the Essence of the Hell King’s Hand, particularly the Absolute Slash, and directed a gust of energy at him.

Boom!

Caught off-guard, Green Moon flew into the air from the impact as I rained down punches on him. Green Moon quickly lashed back with dozens of strikes, dismantling the pressure of my attacks, but I seized the opening to launch the Invincible Sword technique, striking at the acupoint on his shoulder.

“Ugh!”

In the blink of an eye, Green Moon’s left arm was immobilized, though he let out only a brief scream, quickly spinning in mid-air to unleash his Magnetism Ghost Blade’s might back at me. I met his counter with cold eyes and channeled the techniques.

Three Treasure Technique!

As the Three Steps of Heaven, Earth, and People flowed smoothly, I naturally grabbed ahold of his neck. Normally, such an easy subjugation wouldn’t be possible, but right now, I saw huge weaknesses unveiled by Green Moon’s counter.

Crack!

“Ugh…”

Instantly overpowered, Green Moon gasped for air as I released my grip around his neck.

“To go for a counter after acknowledging the skill gap between us, how arrogant. With your shoulder restrained, do you think you can challenge my incomplete technique of merging the mind and blade?”

“……”

Green Moon lowered his head deeply.

“I can’t believe it… Are you the reincarnation of Lee Cheong-un? I never imagined there would be such a powerful master… I didn’t even think there could be someone as strong as the Master of the White Lotus Sect…”

“Now keep your word.”

“Fine. I will submit to you, Baek Woong.”

“That’s not enough.”

“What do you mean?”

I glared at him, still crossed-armed.

“Reveal all the secrets and history of the Ghostly Spirit Sect to me! I won’t be satisfied with your personal submission alone.”

“……!!”

Green Moon’s facial expression was one of shock. After a short moment, he lowered his head.

“The only absolute master like you in the world can be said to be the Master of the White Lotus Sect… Learning your Ghostly Spirit Sect techniques would be useless… It’s pointless…”

“Only techniques? No, I need to know all your powers as well.”

“Th-That’s…”

“Shut it. Since you’ve lost, as the leader of the Ghostly Spirit Sect, reveal all secrets to me.”

As I made my ultimatum, Green Moon was at a loss for words.

Then, he suddenly said something shocking.

“… I am not the leader of the Ghostly Spirit Sect…”

Huh?

I widened my eyes, puzzled by what that meant. A moment later, Green Moon fidgeted and carefully said,

“The true leader of the Ghostly Spirit Sect is someone else. I will escort you to him.”

Since he had acknowledged his defeat, Green Moon bore a defeated look in his eyes.

“Nonsense!”

Frustrated, I shouted. Then I continued,

“Didn’t you habitually claim to be leading the Thunderbolt Three Saints and the Ghostly Spirit Sect? What kind of half-baked excuses are you trying to throw at me?”

“It’s true…”

“Your words are nonsense. According to that logic, on the day the Thunder God Lineage crumbled, why didn’t that so-called leader stabilize it and prevent defeat to the Su Shin Sect? The result was the total takeover by the White Lotus Sect. Does that make sense?”

As I expressed my anger, Green Moon struggled to reply.

“… That too will be explained by that person. Please… Don’t press me any further. I’m merely an underling.”

“……”

“There’s been no other fifty years than to obey that individual’s will.”

No way.

Could there be a hidden master who could command the mighty Thunderbolt Three Saints?

‘Damn it. This must be a lie.’

But for Green Moon to come this far to make something up…

I hesitated while considering whether to use the Soul Exchange Technique on Green Moon, eventually opting to nod.

“Fine. Lead the way.”