1349——————==

Spirit of the Evil God (Soul of the Evil God)

I flinched at Lee Kwang’s words.

Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique!!

This was a top-tier martial skill I had learned with the help of my companions in the future world. It had been honed by the experts of the Thunder God lineage for over 500 years before finally being passed down to me. It was as if everything about the Thunder God lineage was encapsulated in that Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique, and Lee Kwang was able to show off so much with it!

Even after looking again, I couldn’t sense the Intent Heavenly Pillar from Lee Kwang. That meant his skills were so outstanding that he could threaten the Absolute Realm with pure technique. I was puzzled, so I asked him,

“What do you mean? The Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique? The way I taught you to use it shouldn’t have been like that.”

“Master only taught the basics and operational principles of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique, the training methods, right?”

“Yeah.”

“However, after you left, Dokgo Seong, Jin So-cheong, and I got together and did some research and found out. Master knows only the training methods and a single way to properly deploy the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique.”

“……!!”

I gasped.

‘How did he know?!’

All I knew about the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique was the basic training method to create a sphere by honing the Thunder Spirit and use that sphere to unleash techniques ranging from one hundred to nine. Honestly, learning just that was more than enough to wield the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique’s power. I was already busy training other martial skills, so I hadn’t delved deeper.

Carefully, I asked,

“…How did you figure that out?”

“It’s because you barely showed us the advanced techniques of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique. You executed the Continuous Deployment only once in front of Jin So-cheong. And even that was said to be completely unrefined by Jin So-cheong, which gave us a clue. It’s clear that the Master has only skimmed the surface of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique.”

“…….”

“I don’t intend to criticize or anything. Regardless, Master shared this exceptional skill with us, so I can’t blame you for that. Who in the world would share something like the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique with others?”

Swish!

Lee Kwang’s spear tip pointed at me. He spoke with an air of dignity while holding his spear.

“However, speaking ill of Master is exactly the reason for this. Surely, you’ve reached the Absolute Realm because you’re a genius in martial arts! It’s only natural that with that talent, having many exceptional martial arts to rely on, you may have overlooked the training of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique, so we felt it was quite unfortunate!”

“Wha… what?!”

“Did I say something wrong? I heard that Master possesses the same exceptional techniques as Jang Sam-bong’s. And from Master Hyuncheon, it seems that the proficiency in those techniques is definitely more established than that of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique.”

Lee Kwang’s face slightly contorted.

“Aren’t you claiming to be the Grandmaster of our Thunder God lineage? Leaving the essence of the main sect behind, it’s disappointing to see you focus more on the martial arts of the Wudang Sect!”

“…….”

I was taken aback, momentarily staring blankly, and then I couldn’t help but let out a weak laugh.

“Hahaha… that’s…”

Who knew I could be misunderstood like this?

‘Me, a martial arts genius…?’

In Lee Kwang’s eyes, did I appear as a genius?

I was utterly incredulous, but suddenly it made sense. Even when I surpassed my peak back in my past life, I was often misunderstood as a Half-Transition Master because my achievements didn’t match my external age and was sometimes seen as a hidden talent.

The difference was that back then, I intentionally manipulated that discomfort to extract the Vision Divine Techniques from the established masters, while this time I was in the position of teaching, so it wasn’t intentional.

How could anyone guess that despite being a top-tier master with martial skills rivaling that of the Master of the White Lotus Sect, I was, in fact, a dullard who had reincarnated dozens of times?

‘Of course, from Lee Kwang’s and the disciples’ standpoint, they might think I’m actually a genius but negligent of my own Vision Martial Arts, so they believe I’m hungry for the martial arts of other sects…’

While I was regaining my composure, Lee Kwang continued.

“Although I don’t know how you ended up in this bizarre world with Mangnyang, during your absence, we disciples focused on researching and improving the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique. As you can see, we’ve achieved quite a bit.”

“Hmm…”

“I believe I’ll reach the Absolute Realm soon.”

A considerable amount of pride was evident in Lee Kwang’s words. I was listening in a trance when something clicked, and I quickly asked.

“Wait, hold on. It hasn’t even been a month since I left! Are you saying you’ve developed the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique this much in that time?”

“……?”

Lee Kwang raised an eyebrow, looking confused at my question. Then he said,

“What nonsense are you spouting? It’s been two and a half years since you left. With the best of the Thunder God lineage gathered for research, that’s more than enough time.”

“Huh?!”

“Not long ago, I saw Mangnyang take Pasun and others somewhere, and it turns out they came here to help you.”

What?!

“Two and a half years?! Are you serious?!”

“That’s right.”

“Ugh.”

I was in total shock. I gnashed my teeth.

Nailatop, you bastard!

I believed implicitly that time wouldn’t flow here!

Just like any other time, the flow of time in Soeul Village sped up!

‘Damn it! Spending too much time here will be disastrous!’

It was obvious that the flow of time accelerated at least tenfold!

Just spending a year in this outer universe would mean at least a decade had passed back in Soeul Village.

As I was expressing my anger towards Nailatop, Lee Kwang calmly continued.

“Also, Soeul Village has been officially upgraded to Soeul Castle, and the Castle Lord of Seongseo has bestowed upon you the title of Lord. According to the law of the Great Ming Empire, which states that a certain level of military force must be stationed in any given castle, Mangnyang has raised a garrison of a thousand soldiers and taught them all the basics of the Thunder God lineage.”

“……”

“Using past experience, he also taught formation techniques and military tactics. The order was to create soldiers that would be worth a hundred regular ones.”

It looked like Mangnyang had been diligently managing Soeul Village in my absence. Suddenly, I thought of Mangnyang and said,

“By the way, Mangnyang left not too long ago, right? So you’re saying that’s why I’m here?”

“That’s correct.”

“…He didn’t disclose his destination?”

“He didn’t. He kept his secrets and plans to himself except for Pasun in the village.”

“Hmm…”

I had a gut feeling that something was off. Earlier, I had disguised Zhuge Hyun as Mangnyang, but in reality, Zhuge Hyun was just Zhuge Hyun from the outer universe, not the Mangnyang I knew. So it made sense that Lee Kwang suspected that Mangnyang might have traversed this outer universe to be with me, but the real Mangnyang had likely gone off to some completely unrelated place.

Where could Mangnyang have gone?

With just Asura around, where could he possibly head?

‘This doesn’t feel good…’

I felt a sense of urgency. If I didn’t return quickly, something irreversible would happen.

At that moment, Lee Kwang spoke.

“Anyhow, are you sure you can handle either Nailatop or that Hermes?”

I blinked at Lee Kwang’s sudden question.

“Why are you asking that out of the blue?”

“In the end, since there’s a clash of interests, a situation will arise where we have to test our strength. You seemed to be discussing things casually earlier, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that you were harboring a hidden anxiety.”

“……”

“Are you actually unsure if you can deal with those two?”

He really had a knack for sensing things, didn’t he?

I momentarily fell silent at Lee Kwang’s piercing words and then glanced at Hermes, who was listening to our conversation.

“As of now.”

Then Hermes, catching my gaze, chuckled.

“Hehe… Isn’t that too humble? With your skills, Baek Woong, you could match us if you put your life on the line.”

“Humility is nonsense…”

I felt irritated. Hermes seemed to stroke my ego, but we both knew the truth. Both Hermes and Nailatop were divine beings, operating on a cosmic scale and would only be rivaled by the power of the Four Great Spirit Deities or the Seven Luminaries. Even a colossal beast capable of destroying planets would pale in comparison to those two. A being so vast that merely extending a hand required the law of cause and effect—that’s what it meant to be a grand existence.

Lee Kwang again assumed a stance displaying his spear techniques and said,

“Then let me make a proposal.”

“What do you mean by proposal?”

My eyebrows raised at Lee Kwang’s following words.

“I’ll teach you the applications of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique that we’ve researched. In return, you must teach me the essence of all martial arts, including the Seven Great Techniques!”

“What…!!”

“In this training space where time flows ten times slower, you’ve got to build strength before you leave, right?”

I was taken aback and retorted,

“Aren’t we teacher and disciple? So naturally, you should teach me what you’ve gained! Isn’t it unreasonable to set conditions like that?”

Lee Kwang boldly replied,

“You misunderstand the relationship of the teacher and student. Just because I’m your disciple doesn’t mean all of my accomplishments are to be handed over to the teacher. If that were true, it would negate the independence of disciples!”

“No, that’s… ugh…”

It sounded right, but why was he being so irritating about it?!

Attempting to rebut, Lee Kwang interjected.

“If you don’t want to, then leave. I can see clearly how to strengthen myself using the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique alone. But you’ve already reached a peak skill level, so it must feel regretful for you.”

“Ugh.”

Dag nab it! Is this how Lee Kwang was going to try to leverage my weaknesses?!

I was at my wit’s end. The reason I had deliberately withheld the Seven Great Techniques from the Thunder God experts was that I was worried about the pureness of the Thunder God lineage being tainted if I shared exceptional martial arts with them before they mastered the Thunder God techniques to a certain extent. The same reason applied to the obsidian.

I was planning to share it when the time came, but I never imagined I would be forced into a corner like this.

Hermes beside me ooh-ed in admiration.

“Indeed. You’ve trained a fine student. I’m envious.”

“Shut up!”

“With your student, success is guaranteed…”

“I said shut up!”

I genuinely yelled in annoyance.

That bastard wasn’t being sarcastic; he was genuinely impressed!

What kind of people are these?!

After a few moments, I finally calmed my mind and glared at Lee Kwang.

“Alright, Lee Kwang. If you want it, I’ll teach you the essence of all martial arts I know, including the Seven Great Techniques. But as you said, I still haven’t mastered the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique; can you really digest all those miscellaneous martial arts?”

Lee Kwang confidently replied,

“I’m more of a genius than you think, so it’ll be fine. You should worry about yourself.”

“Ugh…”

I nearly let a curse slip but managed to hold it back. It added insult to injury knowing that Lee Kwang was correct. I pressed my temples while saying,

“However, there’s a condition. You must first show me the new application of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique. After all, I am the master, and don’t I have the right to know first?”

“That makes sense. Agreed.”

With that, Lee Kwang adjusted his spear back against his arm and assumed an alert stance.

“May I begin?”

“Go ahead.”

After adopting the Natural Body, Lee Kwang slowly began to explain.

“The Continuous Deployment of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique isn’t too hard, and we all understood it. By arranging each of the techniques from one hundred to nine, their power amplifies or demonstrates synergistic effects every time we deploy it! With just that, honestly, there’s probably no rival besides the Master of the White Lotus Sect in Jianghu. So, I understand why you haven’t mastered anything beyond Continuous Deployment.”

“Sure. But what you executed earlier wasn’t Continuous Deployment at all. What was that?”

“Think it over. What is the true core of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique?”

“……?”

The core?

As I stood there puzzled, Lee Kwang calmly continued.

“It’s the Thunder Soul itself. Having said this much, you should’ve understood by now.”

“Hmm… Why Thunder Soul?”

“Thanks to the Heavenly Thunder Divine Art, the more one achieves through practicing the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique, both the quantity and quality of the Thunder Soul increase. Simultaneously, the speed at which the Thunder Energy spins inside the body also increases. However, is it really necessary to rotate that Thunder Soul nine times to maximize its power?”

“…….”

Um… What is he saying…?

I didn’t get it…

“……”

Lee Kwang sighed.

“Master, do you really dislike me that much?”

“Huh? Where’s this coming from?”

Lee Kwang more sternly replied.

“While it might upset you for me to stand up to you, at the very least, let’s not act like this during training. To put it bluntly, didn’t you initially stomp on my lifetime authority? I’m doing my best to show you the proper respect, so please do not pretend you don’t understand what I’m saying.”

“Ah… Alright, I won’t tease you.”

“Anyway, you should’ve gotten the message. Now let’s move on. If amplifying isn’t necessary, wouldn’t the small rotation alone be enough? This was an inspiration from So-cheong, my disciple, and the Thunder Soul stabilizes with just three pieces. Once the proficiency improves, even two can recreate a technique. Thus, when combining with the Thunderclap, a plethora of variations is born.”

“……”

“I believe I’ve explained everything necessary. Now it’s your turn.”

I blinked at Lee Kwang’s words.

“What? That’s it for your explanation? Give me more details.”

Lee Kwang looked bewildered, clearly it wasn’t a performance.

“……? What do you mean? I thought I’d explained thoroughly and was asking to make sure you understood.”

“Ah… That’s…”

“Sorry if my explanation was excessive. Please forgive your disciple’s wide-ranging concerns.”

To my surprise, Lee Kwang appeared genuinely apologetic while displaying his martial authority.

As unbelievable as it was, it seemed like Lee Kwang recognized and respected me to a certain degree.

I received that display and was momentarily at a loss for words.

“……”

Damn it… This is bad.

‘I really don’t get it.’

Lee Kwang likely believed I was a genius on par with Jin So-cheong, which is why he was behaving like this. He probably felt that a simple hint would lead to my realization!

Hermes beside me seemed to have caught onto something and was chuckling. Then, unexpectedly, he stood up to leave a parting quip and vanished.

“Don’t bully your disciple too much, great martial genius Baek Woong descended from the heavens.”

Swish

Dammit… I swear I’ll separate his neck from his torso by hand.

As I gritted my teeth over Hermes’s mockery, Lee Kwang urged me onward.

“Now, it’s your turn. Teach me the Seven Great Techniques.”

I pondered seriously.

Should I pretend to understand and just pass my turn?

Or should I swallow my pride and ask Lee Kwang for the teachings of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique?

Logically, or rather as a reincarnated individual, I should definitely opt for the former. Time was precious, so I could either accept temporary humiliation or gain decades’ worth of knowledge in return.

But the problem was that it was Lee Kwang. My pride was unwilling to beg in front of someone who had taken my place as a master!

‘…Aha!! That’s it!’

After much consideration, I discovered a third method and pointed at Lee Kwang firmly, “Lee Kwang.”

“Speak.”

I pointed at him.

“You’re still far from it!”

Lee Kwang frowned in response.

“I know that much, but what do you mean?”

“Do you know why I’m pretending not to understand your words?”

“……?”

“That is the attitude required of a Grandmaster.”

At my sudden outburst, Lee Kwang appeared surprised. He was clearly agitated.

“What does that have to do with being a Grandmaster?”

“That attitude itself is the point! Didn’t you realize this while being a disciple of the former Grandmaster Lee Cheong-un? Lee Cheong-un was strict and cold to his direct disciples but played the caring and warm role to those who weren’t. Do you acknowledge that?”

“…Indeed.”

“And he taught even the beginner disciples with gentleness. Since you’ve been a military officer, you likely understand his reasoning.”

“Of course, those with outstanding talents, who inherit true lineage, are taught strictly. Conversely, the beginners and those distanced from the true lineage received more attention. It’s utterly reasonable—why are you making this so lengthy?”

“That’s why you cannot be a Grandmaster!!”

“……!!”

When I yelled that all of a sudden, Lee Kwang’s eyes widened. He seemed truly angered, and it was showing fiercely in his voice.

“What does that have to do with a Grandmaster?!”

“That is your very attitude! Did Lee Cheong-un ignore the beginner or outsider disciples? He had a certain affection for the beginner disciples, believing every sprout should be valued! Meanwhile, you only show deference to the talented and treat the others as mere cash cows for your tribe.”

“……”

“A true Grandmaster cherishes their martial sect as if it were their own. Because I believe you lack those qualities of a Grandmaster, I have been trying to enlighten you all along.”

“…Your tongue is quite sharp. But how does that tie into teaching me the Seven Great Techniques?”

“This is another form of training!”

“Training?”

I nodded and plopped down on the ground. I crossed my arms and stated,

“From now on, I will act as a talentless idiot who can’t comprehend a single thing!”

“……?!”

“You must maintain the dignity of a Grandmaster while teaching me the advanced principles of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique, even when dealing with such a disciple. That is my training task for you.”

Lee Kwang appeared flustered.

“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this? Why are you doing this to me?”

“Do I look like I’m doing this just because I dislike you?”

I adjusted my serious expression and continued,

“No! I may be claiming to be the Grandmaster of the Thunder God lineage! I believe you could potentially be the next Grandmaster! Therefore, in case I suddenly leave this world, I must prepare you to step in as the new Grandmaster.”

“……!!”

“Trust me!”

I asserted confidently, my face impenetrable.

“Only when you suppress your annoying temperament and show the character of someone capable of teaching a simpleton will I finally consider you deserving of being a Grandmaster.”

“……”

“From now on, the Thunder God lineage needs to embrace the weak to stand against the White Lotus Sect.”

Lee Kwang stood still for quite some time, considering all that I had said.

After a moment, he nodded.

“Alright. It may seem challenging, but I’ll give it a try.”

“Hehe. That’s a good attitude.”

With a relieved sigh, I grinned inwardly.

‘Phew, I’m safe.’

This way, I could learn the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique properly without pretending to be a talentless fool in front of Lee Kwang!