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After talking for a bit, we headed toward the desert that’s located much further north in Gansu Province. This was a desert I had passed through a few times, mainly because it was north of the White Lotus Sect, and it was an area nearly anyone leaving the region had to go through.

This desert was also a hub for many trade routes with the western regions, and while it wasn’t completely deserted, it was home to small kingdoms and tribes. So, it wasn’t entirely barren. Having been a deputy leader of the White Lotus Sect, it felt somewhat familiar, and I found it interesting.

“I feel like I’ve been here so many times… Is Gin Nara really living here?”

But since the Thief Gang mentioned that Gin Nara’s usual hideout was here, I decided to trust them, as they had a relatively close relationship with Gin Nara compared to the other Eight Parts of the Divine. As we transformed into human forms, Asura and the Thief Gang rescued a camel from the entrance of the desert, and I was left dumbfounded.

“Can’t we just run across the desert? You guys can do it.”

The extreme environment of the desert wouldn’t hinder beings of such high caliber, like a Demon King. Asura, sitting atop the camel, clicked his tongue.

“Cut the nonsense and get on a camel. If we make ourselves too obvious in front of a suspicious guy like Gin Nara, he’ll get on guard and hide.”

“Ah.”

“I’ve known him for a long time, and he’s quite clever, which makes him very suspicious. We need to be careful until we can even talk to him.”

That made sense!

Realizing the wisdom in Asura’s words, I bought a camel nearby and climbed on. This place served as a key supply hub for travelers and merchants, providing food, water, and camels before entering the desert.

Suddenly, I felt something from afar and turned my gaze toward some riders mounting their horses.

“That’s…!”

They were experts concealing their internal power—an impressive amount of Qi was emanating from them. Moreover, I could faintly sense flames of different colors emanating from each of them.

“Red… Blue… Turquoise…?”

I could see three distinct colors of flames swirling near their Dantian. For some reason, those flames were vividly clear to me, and noticing my reaction, Asura looked confused.

“What’s wrong?”

“Asura, can’t you see those flames?”

“…? What flames are you talking about?”

Asura couldn’t see them. If an ultra-expert like Asura couldn’t perceive them, then this was undoubtedly more than just a simple Qi phenomenon.

“I need you to help me figure this out.”

I wanted to confirm this phenomenon, so I requested cooperation from Asura and the Thief Gang, and they agreed. After a short while, I walked with the Thief Gang toward them, and as the travelers from the caravan prepared to trade, the Thief Gang greeted them.

“Greetings. I am Geol-seon, the one known for opening the way. It is an honor to meet you Eastern heroes of Jianghu.”

“Hm!”

“Geol-seon?”

They appeared quite surprised by my presence. After exchanging glances, the one who seemed the most skilled and in a higher position dismounted from his camel and greeted me respectfully.

“It’s an honor to meet the renowned Tai-sang of the Open Schools and one of the Three Great Masters.”

“Haha. You’re quick to believe my words.”

“We haven’t met formally, but I had seen you from afar at the True Heaven Alliance. It’s… an honor to meet again.”

“Oh? What brought you to the True Heaven Alliance?”

The middle-aged man’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.

“Let me formally introduce myself. I am Nak Hon Il-gyeom Gwak Do-byeong, one of the Elders of the Fire Spirit Techniques. I once served as a diplomatic envoy for the True Heaven Alliance.”

“I see… I believe I’ve heard your name around these parts of Gansu. You’re surely the master of the strongest steel sword from the Fire Spirit Techniques.”

“Haha. I’m stumped by your compliments.”

They continued their chatter, and I felt certain of my observation.

‘As I thought… They are White Lotus Sect members.’

The White Lotus Sect also frequently engaged in trade through this desert, and the nature of their Qi was familiar to me, so I had a suspicion.

Moreover, considering that this Elder Gwak Do-byeong’s skill level was that of a perfectly mastered peak expert, he would certainly rank within the top 60 count of all the experts across Central Plains, behind the likes of the Bright Dragon, Sword Demon, or Master of Shadowless Sword—but still, it was rare to encounter an expert of such caliber.

‘Hmm. I feel like I’ve seen that face at least once while being part of the White Lotus Sect…’

As I was caught in thought, Gwak Do-byeong, the Elder, continued speaking.

“Anyway, what brings the renowned Geol-seon to our trade?”

“Nothing special. I was just intrigued that such an expert like you would join a mere caravan for escort duty.”

“Haha. As you know, this desert is quite treacherous. Bandits trained in martial arts do emerge, and unknown demon beasts also occasionally appear. I regret we didn’t bring more White Lotus Members.”

Hearing that, the Thief Gang glanced back at a dozen experts standing nearby.

“Indeed, those are the White Lotus members they boast about. Just like I heard, despite their young ages, they possess incredible internal strength.”

Yes, those experts were indeed White Lotus members! All were teenagers or in their twenties, but the Qi radiating from them surpassed that of even seasoned peak experts significantly. This was precisely the appearance of the White Lotus members, who had acquired immense internal power at such a young age through the use of Sacred Lotus.

I sent a secret message to the Thief Gang.

[It’s done now. I’ve confirmed everything I needed.]

The Thief Gang exchanged pleasantries and concluded the conversation with Gwak Do-byeong. As we began moving through the desert on our camels, Asura spoke up.

“So, what was the point of chatting with those White Lotus folks?”

“I saw flames at their Dantian. I wasn’t sure where they were from, so I wanted to clarify.”

“Flames?”

I nodded and elaborated.

“I wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but now I get it. The red is from the Fire Spirit Techniques, the blue from the Su Shin Sect, and the turquoise from the Wind Spirit Techniques.”

Asura’s eyes widened with interest.

“Oh… You mean you could perceive the essence of internal power by its color? That’s quite a unique ability I’ve never heard of.”

“Well, not really the essence of internal power but rather… the color of the soul.”

“What? The color of the soul? You could see that?”

“…”

While Asura was shocked, I couldn’t easily explain it and stayed silent.

‘Those who have mastered the Four Great Families and acquired Natural Spirit Energy… that pure internal power’s color could potentially be seen as the soul’s color… but somehow, the energy budding in their Dantian seemed to move as if it were alive.’

Thus, I felt that rather than the essence of internal power, it was almost like a distinct individual soul. However, many convoluted concepts and theories intertwined before I could simplify that understanding. The conclusion was straightforward, yet reaching it involved much of the martial arts theory I had learned. I pondered hard to explain it, but when my thoughts faltered, I let out a sigh.

“Damn… It’s just something like that.”

“…If we assume what you’re saying is true, why can you suddenly see that?”

“I have no idea… Maybe it’s because I’ve been exerting my powers a lot lately.”

Indeed, every time I used the power of the Thunder Soul, I felt a strange sensation rising within me, as if something was trying to break through the shell. Every time that shell cracked a bit more, it felt like I was gaining some unknown, peculiar ability. Realizing that made me feel a bit creeped out.

‘Am I unknowingly… growing stronger?’

What on earth is this Thunder Soul all about?

As I fell into silence, the Thief Gang next to me chimed in.

“If you keep going straight for about 170 li, you’ll reach the Hangryong River. Gin Nara disguises himself as the merchant managing the freshwater springs of the river.”

Hearing that, Asura, who had roamed these lands like his own home, displayed his knowledge.

“Hm. I thought we were headed to the famous Moon Blade River in Dunhuang, but it seems not.”

“Since he needs to disguise himself, he wouldn’t favor that well-known spot, would he?”

“That makes sense.”

“Don’t give away that you noticed Gin Nara once we enter the Hangryong River. I’ll find a meeting spot for us.”

“Got it.”

We were able to reach the Hangryong River after some time traversing the desert. It was one of the few places where water gathered in the desert, and travelers typically took a break here. When I saw a robust figure bustling around preparing food while adorned with a white headdress, I was inwardly taken aback.

‘Gin Nara!’

That was undoubtedly the human form of Gin Nara that I had seen countless times in my life!

Is he really living here as a human?!

Had I not heard about his identity from the Thief Gang beforehand, and if I hadn’t seen his human form in my past life, I wouldn’t even have suspected him to be a Demon King!

As I marveled at that, the Thief Gang silently approached him and seemed to exchange a few words. While we were eating and resting at the Hangryong River, the Thief Gang gestured for us to join him, and we entered the large building at the river.

There stood Gin Nara, clad in a white headdress, just after serving food. He looked at us with a highly curious expression and said,

“What brings you here? You two didn’t seem that close before.”

In response, Asura crossed his arms and replied brusquely,

“This guy asked me to suppress the southern Tianzhu forces. I agreed, but since I can’t arbitrarily deal with them without a plan, we came to seek your wisdom.”

“Oh… that’s unexpected. I thought you would more likely be annoyed at such matters, yet you even seek specific strategies from me.”

“So, will you tell us or not?”

“Hmm.”

As Gin Nara pondered for a moment, he replied.

“On the surface, the Brahmin Sect is led by their master Parvati, but she is merely a mid-tier god, the wife of the Destroyer God Shiva. The real threats are Krishna, the avatar of Vishnu who assists Parvati, and Jin Guk-jun, the peak expert of the Southern Barbarian who is the embodiment of absolute mastery. If you can kill Krishna or Jin Guk-jun, it would deal a heavy blow to the Brahmin Sect, but the latter certainly possesses overwhelming power, so I recommend assassinating Krishna instead.”

“Krishna?”

“Correct. As long as you don’t unleash the combat-type avatar Arjuna, you’ll have enough strength to kill him. Krishna’s current location is in the underground barrier of the central royal palace in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. If you wish, I can open a Dimension Door directly there.”

“…”

Our trio was momentarily shocked by Gin Nara’s incredibly detailed plans. Particularly I was astounded by his words.

‘What is going on?! These are secrets about the Tianzhu forces I learned firsthand during my thirty attempts… yet this guy has already grasped it all by himself?!’

He could read the situation so accurately that I had no rebuttal!

It wasn’t just me feeling surprised; Asura said in astonishment,

“The details about Krishna’s current location are far too precise. How exactly do you know this?”

“Had you not come, I was planning to summon the Eight Parts of the Divine soon to form an assassination squad. The person in question is the most critical figure and would be considered the planner for the enemy forces, so we must capture him without fail.”

“…….”

“Hey, Asura. Are you motivated? If you are, let’s go assassinate Krishna together. The three of us should be able to prevent his escape and ensure we take him down for good.”

Asura glanced at me with a sideways look at those words. I recognized that as a sign inviting my opinion, and I pondered briefly. Eventually, I sent a secret message to Asura.

Upon hearing my thoughts, Asura nodded.

“Let’s go assassinate Krishna right now.”

“Great. Let’s go!”

*Swish!*

A short while later, Gin Nara opened the Dimension Door leading to the underground royal palace barrier in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and we followed behind him. Soon after, Gin Nara transformed, casting a glance my way as he spoke.

[By the way, who’s this? It seems your identity is guaranteed since you brought him along… but still…]

Asura replied to that.

“He’s my new disciple. Despite appearances, he has considerable skills.”

[Oh? Is he at least a Half-Transition Master? Anyway, I look forward to his performance.]

With that, Gin Nara, in the form of a face-eating bird, looked into the pitch-black darkness of the barrier and continued.

[First, go and deactivate Krishna’s sorcery traps. Follow behind slowly.]

*Whoosh!*

I watched Gin Nara fly away for a while and muttered to myself.

“An assassination on Krishna.”

I unexpectedly found myself involved, yet I also pondered.

Would it be better for me to kill Krishna in this lifetime or spare him?

To be honest, it was partly because I wanted to take this opportunity to meet Krishna and have a chat that I hadn’t pressed Gin Nara immediately and instead came to see Krishna first.