Chapter 204. The One Who’ll Be Struck by Lightning and Die (4)

Hwangbo Ak had said it.

Paeng Daecheol was a cowardly and weak-willed person.

In fact, Paeng Daecheol’s appearance did not look like that at all.

He might be a little smaller than Nam Geon or Hwangbo Ak, but he was bigger than me or that Dang Clan guy.

His face also had quite a resolute impression.

And surprisingly, that man with a resolute impression and large build was crying and complaining.

“Th-this Thunder Essence here is a very special gem that can contain Thunder Qi!!”

And he said that only with that Thunder Essence could he train the Thunder Heart Art and the Thunder Blade Art?

According to Paeng Daecheol, the martial arts he learned and the Thunder Dragon Blade were left behind by an old supreme master called the Thunder Blade Emperor.

It seemed that the old moniker of the old man I had just met was the Thunder Blade Emperor.

And the reason that guy was crying like that was simple.

It was impossible for a person to train while enduring lightning with their bare body.

Originally, he had to take the Thunder Dragon Blade to a place where lightning struck frequently.

And when lightning struck the Thunder Dragon Blade, the Thunder Essence of the blade would contain that Thunder Qi.

In the end, that guy had been training his martial arts by gradually absorbing the Thunder Qi gathered in that Thunder Essence.

“But then why were you holding the blade directly like a crazy person just now?”

At that Dang Clan guy’s logical point, Paeng Daecheol screamed back.

“It was because my realm had already risen, so the progress was too slow that way!”

He intended to first absorb the power of the lightning, which had been weakened by passing through the Thunder Essence, and then absorb the remaining energy in the gem.

“……No matter how I look at it, that plan seems to have failed, don’t you think? Honestly, anyone could see that you were having a seizure like a person who had fallen into qi deviation.”

When that Dang Clan guy pointed it out logically again, Paeng Daecheol violently shook his head.

“It wasn’t a seizure, I was spitting out the overflowing Thunder Qi! If you hadn’t come, I could have spat out what needed to be spat out and absorbed the rest!”

That Dang Clan guy shook his head from side to side.

He seemed to be dismissing it as nonsense.

From my perspective, it sounded half-right.

Come to think of it, there were still a few years left until the time when the Thunder Disaster was active.

The timing didn’t fit for that guy to have gone crazy because of this incident.

Well, it seemed that as he continued to try like that, something went wrong one day in the future and he went mad.

Or perhaps, as he was consistently struck by lightning, the shock gradually accumulated in his head, and in the future, he completely lost his mind.

While I was continuing my deductions by comparing it with the events of the future, Paeng Daecheol plopped down on the floor.

As if the argument with that Dang Clan guy a moment ago was his last ounce of strength, Paeng Daecheol had a completely dazed look on his face.

“It’s all ruined. It’s all ruined. I’ve lived cooped up in the mountains for over ten years trying to learn martial arts… Now it’s all become useless……”

Looking down at the devastated Paeng Daecheol, I asked him.

“By the way, for what purpose were you learning martial arts?”

He powerlessly turned his head and looked up at me.

His eyes were truly empty.

“If you learned it for revenge, we will carry out your revenge for you. So please tell us the reason.”

Paeng Daecheol, who had been silent for a moment, blushed slightly and said.

“Revenge… it’s not something like that. I just wanted to become a great hero.”

“A great hero?”

“That’s right. I-is there something wrong with that?”

“I never said it was wrong. I asked because I don’t know specifically what you mean by a great hero.”

Among the masters of the Unorthodox Path or the Underworld, there were often crazy pieces of trash who called themselves great heroes.

When I asked again, he answered with the face of a dreaming child.

“I was originally an herb gatherer who followed my father through the mountains. I fell off a cliff while being greedy, but rather, thanks to that, I obtained a fortuitous encounter.”

Indeed, it seemed that was how he had obtained the last tie of the Thunder Blade Emperor.

“Seeing the martial artists who acted high and mighty while tormenting people like my father, I thought since I was young. If only I could learn martial arts, I would want to teach those guys a lesson.”

“You wanted to become a chivalrous hero who punishes the wicked?”

“That’s right. Ahem. And if possible, I wanted to become very famous. That’s why I said great hero instead of chivalrous hero.”

“Hmm.”

It was a strange feeling.

I had no intention of criticizing him for being particularly worldly.

It was an extremely honest goal that anyone could have at a young age.

Suddenly, a memory from my past life came to mind.

The Three Disasters, who were called the calamities of the martial world. Among them, the one called the craziest was the Thunder Disaster.

The reason was simple. It was because he was the most incomprehensible person.

The Lust Disaster and the Blood Disaster had their own rules. Crazy rules that ordinary people could not understand.

But the Thunder Disaster did not.

One day he was fine, and another day he was crazy, shooting Thunder Qi in all directions and turning people into charcoal.

But now that I looked at him, when he was sane, he was a person who lived with quite an innocent dream.

Paeng Daecheol’s eyes, which had been shining as he recalled his childhood dream, clouded over again.

He muttered again with a vacant face.

“What’s the use of that dream? It’s all turned to dust now.”

To console him, I said.

“Even with your current skills, it seems you can build a reputation in the martial world, don’t you think?”

“Without the Thunder Essence, I can’t get any more Thunder Qi. What’s left in my dantian now is the end. Or what, are you telling me to get hit by lightning with my bare body now?”

“……”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

But then, a question came to mind.

“Then, even after you achieve mastery, were you planning to return here to get struck by lightning every time you used your martial arts once?”

The Thunder Disaster of my past life just kept wandering the martial world.

He didn’t do strange things like trying to get struck by lightning.

The problem was that he shot lightning at innocent people every other day.

And that question was solved with absurd simplicity.

“At the end of the manual left by the Thunder Blade Emperor, there was such a passage. It said that once you master the Thunder Heart Art and the Grand Heavenly Circulation becomes possible, you can replenish your Thunder Qi without being struck by lightning.”

He lowered his head and said bitterly.

“Believing only those words, I came to this remote mountain mentioned in the manual. I endured for over ten years, thinking. If I just achieve mastery, I can leave. If I just achieve mastery, I can leave. I gritted my teeth and endured, imagining myself being called a great hero in the future.”

I began to think that this was the reason he had suddenly started holding the Thunder Dragon Blade and getting struck by lightning directly.

Because he had been cooped up in the mountains for over ten years, only training.

It seemed he had overexerted himself in his impatience to achieve mastery even a little bit faster.

“And now, with only a few steps left to mastery, all of that has been blown away.”

“Something seems strange. Isn’t your goal to become a great hero? The martial arts of the Thunder Blade Emperor are just a tool.”

“You need the power to punish the bad guys.”

“Among the trash, there are strong ones, but there are also weak ones. Is your goal to become famous? Or do you want to punish the wicked?”

“Of course, punishing the wicked comes first! If it were just for fame, I could become famous through bad deeds too. I want to hear people’s praise, not torment them!”

“Then wouldn’t it be fine to start by punishing the weak villains one by one?”

“That’s……”

“I know. It’s because you feel it’s a waste of over ten years of training. But you’ve only lost the ability to obtain Thunder Qi. You haven’t lost your martial arts, have you?”

“……”

“Have you no thought of finding a way to replace that Thunder Qi while dealing with weak villains first?”

He looked at me with a complicated expression.

At that moment, Nam Geon, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.

“M-my big brother. C-compared to now, he was very weak in the past. B-but even then, he went around looking for bad guys and p-punished them.”

“That’s right. Thanks to that, Senior Brother became very famous and was called the Ghost Sword.”

At Junior Sister Baek Hyang’s subsequent words, Paeng Daecheol blinked his eyes and asked.

“Ah. Were you a famous person in the martial world?”

His tone had changed subtly.

How should I put it? He was a very peculiar fellow, having a desire for chivalry while also being worldly.

“B-big brother punished a-a lot of bad guys. S-so now, there are almost no people in the Central Plains who d-don’t know big brother.”

“S-so you were a great hero.”

Since I hadn’t said it to receive praise, I quickly asked Paeng Daecheol.

“If you are willing, I will look for a way to replace your Thunder Qi with you. So, how about fighting against the wicked with us?”

I hadn’t intended for it to happen, but the Thunder Essence had broken because I had a meeting with the Thunder Blade Emperor.

Although that guy would go crazy in the future from overexerting himself, he wasn’t crazy right now.

Furthermore, when he was sane, this guy didn’t seem like such a bad person.

Honestly, I felt sorry for Paeng Daecheol, but it seemed like it was for the better.

Because if he kept absorbing Thunder Qi, he would have gone mad.

It seemed much better to find another way together.

Paeng Daecheol, who had been looking up at me quietly, got up.

With a much more resolute expression than before, he said.

“It seems my head had become rigid from being stuck in the mountains for over ten years, training only in martial arts. As the Great Hero said, isn’t punishing the wicked the priority?”

He was sending me a gaze somewhat similar to that of the rising generation of the Twin Heroes Alliance.

At that, Hwangbo Ak next to him burst out laughing heartily.

“Kuhahaha! That’s why I told you. What’s the use of being cooped up in the mountains and only training in martial arts! If you stick with Brother Jin here, your martial arts will also grow very quickly!”

Paeng Daecheol looked back and forth between me and Hwangbo Ak and then muttered in amazement.

“To think that even that crazy bastard follows the Great Hero, calling him big brother. It’s truly amazing, Great Hero.”

It was hard to tell if it was a compliment or an insult.

***

Since there was no longer any reason to stay here, we came down the mountain.

While we were walking, that Dang Clan guy came up to my side.

“By the way, why did we come here?”

Wondering what kind of crazy talk this guy was spouting, I turned my head.

“We came because of Paeng Daecheol.”

“That’s why I’m asking. When you said you were looking for him, I naturally thought you were going to kill him, calling him trash or something. I was wondering if he had committed some evil deed somewhere.”

“……”

“The guys you’ve visited so far. You killed them all, didn’t you?”

“……”

Come to think of it, there was room for misunderstanding.

“What I mean is, how did you know to come looking for Paeng Daecheol, who isn’t even a villain?”

I fell into thought, wondering how I should answer this.

If I talked about regression or something, it was obvious that this Dang Clan guy would start spouting nonsense about me being a crazy bastard again.

After thinking for a moment, a useful method came to mind.

So I stopped my companions.

“As Junior Sister Baek Hyang and Nam Geon will remember, in the past, there was a time when I moved alone to obtain a fortuitous encounter.”

“Th-that’s right. B-big brother left Mount Heng alone.”

“Yes. Senior Brother said that he obtained the Sun Moon Infinite Sword and a spiritual medicine at that time.”

“A-and then he came back to Mount Heng t-together with S-Sopyeong.”

I nodded and said.

“Actually, there is something I learned at that time. The moment I obtained the manual of the Sun Moon Infinite Sword. The old master Sun Moon Divine Sword, who was in the Heavenly Realm, appeared before my eyes.”

Since I was going to release information about the Demonic Cult anyway, I intended to tell them the story I heard from the old master Sun Moon Divine Sword and the Thunder Blade Emperor.

And no sooner had my words ended than that Dang Clan guy waved his finger in front of my eyes and said.

“Has your madness acted up again? How many of these do you see?”

***

Somewhere outside the Central Plains.

On a grand chair with a black dragon pattern engraved on it.

A man who appeared to be in his middle age, sitting there, spoke.

“The Left Guardian Envoy was defeated?”

At his question, the person who had come to report could not easily open his mouth.

He could die the moment he uttered a single wrong word.

Trembling with fear, he could only bow his body low.

“Who is the assailant? Did he say he was supposed to meet with that fellow, the Fighting Venerable?”

A sticky wave of Qi flowed from the man’s body as he spoke.

It wasn’t anger.

It was greed.

“The Buddha Venerable would not have left Shaolin. The Sword Venerable has already been eaten by me, so the only one who could kill the Left Guardian Envoy is the Fighting Venerable, is it not?”

One of the Three Venerables, who were called the sky of the martial world. The man called the Sword Venerable had already melted into his dantian.

It was a very precarious battle where life and death hung in the balance.

But that was now just a thing of the past.

His realm, having absorbed the Sword Venerable, had already reached a far-off place.

Even the Fighting Venerable, who was considered a match for the Sword Venerable, now seemed like nothing more than prey.

At the Cult Leader’s question, the subordinate cautiously opened his mouth, watching his expression.

“I-it is said that it was not the F-Fighting Venerable. I-it is said that he was defeated by a joint attack from a fellow called the G-Ghost Sword and his companions.”

At the subordinate’s report, the Cult Leader tried to recall his memory.

Come to think of it, he had heard the moniker Ghost Sword before.

The rising generation member who had been kidnapped by the Fighting Venerable.

And recently, he had escaped from the Fighting Venerable and was said to be roaming the martial world?

Having organized his thoughts, the corners of the Cult Leader’s mouth went up.

“A worthy piece of prey to replace the Fighting Venerable.”

It was the smile of a predator.

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