The Thunder Cave Beneath the Earth
At the deepest bottom of the Geumshincheonroemun’s Hyeongroe-dong
It was the place where they punished the latecomers of the Golden Thunder Sect who had sinned.
And Geum Byeok-ho flew into it with lightning crackling around him.
Kwa-rurrrung!
The deepest level of the Hyeongroe-dong.
There, a woman was chained by dozens of iron chains.
“… Hong Su-ryeong.”
Geum Byeok-ho asked the woman, Hong Su-ryeong.
“Information has come in. You supported that bastard Seo Eun-hyun who stole the Heavenly Thunder Banner and announced the new Golden Thunder Sect.”
“….”
“Because of that, the Bongrae Palace suddenly flew into a rage and issued a wanted poster. You were using your disciplinary position in the main sect’s Hyeongroe-dong to clear yourself of the charges, so you didn’t make the list, but public opinion against you is terrible. There are many who say you should be stripped of your elder status right away…”
“… I see.”
“Tell me one thing. Why did you support Seo Eun-hyun? Just because of a duel?”
Hong Su-ryeong smiled faintly at that question.
“Beyond just a duel… he would not do anything that harms the sect.”
“Uuuu…”
Geum Byeok-ho let out a groan.
“What the bastard does is basically burying the sect’s honor in the dirt…”
“I trust him.”
“… Soon the expulsion procedures for Seo Eun-hyun… no, Seokyeong will finish, and with the Founder’s Decree he will be completely expelled from the Golden Thunder Sect. Even after the bastard is fully expelled, if you still side with him, I’ll have no choice but to keep you in the Hyeongroe-dong.”
“I see. Then, until I reach the Four Pillars realm, practicing seclusion here isn’t so bad, is it?”
“… I’m leaving now.”
Whoosh!
Geum Byeok-ho soon left, and from the deepest level of the Hyeongroe-dong, Hong Su-ryeong looked up at the sky.
‘What are you doing, you bastard…’
She stared blankly at the sky and thought of Seo Eun-hyun.
Because the chains bound her, she had somehow been able to survive even when the entire sect was briefly stunned by the Heavenly Thunder Banner.
The chains she herself had forged and bound her with.
Hong Su-ryeong had sworn that she would never remove those chains until she saw the ‘next stage.’
‘He won’t do anything that harms the sect… but Seo Eun-hyun. Still, right now, these chains feel like resentment to me.’
She wanted to run over right now and ask, what is going on with this?
When she had accepted Seo Eun-hyun’s proposal she had decided based on his will, but she had never imagined that what he said would actually happen.
But it had already happened.
‘What should I do…’
Right now, there was nothing she could do.
Because these chains had been made with her own secret technique, they would not open until she released the restraints she had set herself.
‘There is only one thing I can do.’
Raise my realm.
Grow stronger.
That was the best Hong Su-ryeong could do right now.
‘I will definitely grow stronger, raise my realm, and go find you. Seo Eun-hyun. To ask whether what you did really had meaning.’
She wasn’t trying to insult or interrogate him.
Instead, with the belief that Seo Eun-hyun had never done anything truly wrong, she wanted to confirm it for herself.
‘So wait for me. Follow the path you taught me, and definitely…’
Uuuung!
She closed one eye and separated her consciousness.
The separated consciousness moved around her for a moment, then returned to her.
‘I will transcend the extreme of the martial arts I have known until now…!’
Deungbongjogeuk.
Beyond the Ogi-jo-won that Seo Eun-hyun had shown her, she swore she would leap forward.
She swore she would definitely prove Seo Eun-hyun’s innocence.
And she continued her cultivation at the bottom of the Hyeongroe-dong.
* * *
Geum Byeok-ho’s heart was heavy.
Even though he held the title of Taesang-jangmun, he dashed all over the sect to handle the situation.
“…For that reason, Seokyeong will be expelled from the sect. I forbid the formation of any faction that follows Seokyeong any longer.”
Seokyeong had been a genius among geniuses with tremendous status within the sect.
Because of that, there were many followers.
Geum Byeok-ho went around warning those ‘followers’ that they could no longer officially follow Seokyeong.
Meanwhile, he stood blankly before Noeun-bong, the ruins of Bongroedang.
Jin Hwi, the vice lord of the Golden Thunder Sect.
“… Elder Jin.”
Geum Byeok-ho approached Jin Hwi with a troubled expression.
Jin Hwi wore an unreadable face.
To him, Seo Eun-hyun had been both pride and honor.
Although he had hardly taught him as a master, Seo Eun-hyun was his disciple, and Jin Hwi had always respected him.
Thanks to Seo Eun-hyun, Jin Hwi’s lips had not known a smile for the past several decades.
But now, Jin Hwi looked like an old man who had come to a funeral house.
“… Seokyeong… no, Seo Eun-hyun was the sect’s greatest genius.”
Seo Eun-hyun was a genius, the pride of the Golden Thunder Sect.
But now he was not.
That ‘sect’s pride’ had betrayed the sect, stolen the Heavenly Thunder Banner, fled, and was trying to establish a new Golden Thunder Sect.
At the same time, information from the Bongrae Palace said Seo Eun-hyun was communicating with Geumwi, the worst traitor in the sect’s history whom Geum Byeok-ho had been chasing all along.
“… Perhaps we should have been more concerned with Jeon Myeong-hoon’s manners rather than the true intentions of Seo Eun-hyun. It’s all my fault… this master could not see his disciple.”
Jin Hwi sat down in sorrow and let out a sigh.
Geum Byeok-ho stared at his back for a long time, then spoke heavily.
“… With the Founder’s Decree, we will expel Seokyeong.”
“… Yes.”
Jin Hwi answered gravely.
“Stealing the sect’s treasure, denying the current sect, proclaiming a new Golden Thunder Sect, and colluding with the sect’s traitor Geumwi is a heinous crime of the highest order. Besides, he was a young man whose title of future jangmun was already set, so punishing him that severely was only right.”
“….”
“However… elder brother.”
Jin Hwi turned to Geum Byeok-ho and spoke.
Though Geum Byeok-ho had been more talented than Jin Hwi in cultivation, they were disciples of the ancient Taesang-jangmun and brothers in arms.
“Can you… can you buy a little more time before expelling the bastard?”
Jin Hwi said in a trembling voice, touching the ruined remains of Bongroedang that had been corrupted by Seo Eun-hyun’s curse.
“… The Bongrae Palace is pressuring us to formally expel him and track him immediately. The sect’s disciples are also getting restless, so we must expel him quickly.”
“… I see. Understood. If the Taesang-jangmun’s will is so, I will follow…”
He answered listlessly and Geum Byeok-ho left Jin Hwi with a bitter heart.
* * *
“… What do the two of you think?”
Geum Byeok-ho called in the current jangmun Geum Rin and the successor jangmun Geum Jin-chan.
His cousin Geum Rin and Geum Rin’s son Geum Jin-chan both said the same thing.
“It would be best to expel Seokyeong as soon as possible to silence the voices of unrest in the sect, gain support from the Bongrae Palace, and chase after Seokyeong to retrieve the Heavenly Thunder Banner.”
Geum Rin gave his opinion coldly, and Geum Jin-chan let out a groan.
“… Seokyeong… no, Seo Eun-hyun was the symbol of the sect’s hope. If we announce his expulsion with the Founder’s Decree, there will be nothing but whispers across the sect.”
“That is your opinion, Jin-chan?”
“… I don’t know. Logically, expelling Seokyeong is correct. But… the people influenced by Seokyeong are still shaking badly right now. Representative… Myeong-hun is the hardest hit.”
“Jeon Myeong-hoon? Didn’t he hate Seokyeong?”
“I thought so too…”
Kurrrr…!
While they were talking, several bolts of red lightning shot into the sky from Jeon Myeong-hoon’s residence.
“… I see. I’ll go check on Jeon Myeong-hoon first.”
Geum Byeok-ho sighed and flew toward him.
* * *
Geum Byeok-ho landed in front of Jeon Myeong-hoon’s eastern residence.
“… So-hae.”
“Ah, grandfather.”
He saw Geum So-hae, who had a worried face outside the eastern residence of Jeon Myeong-hoon.
“How is Myeong-hoon?”
“… He’s suffering a lot right now.”
“Wasn’t there bad blood between Seokyeong and that bastard?”
“Yes, Myeong-hun saw Seokyeong as a wall and a mountain he had to leap over. But… at the same time, he seemed like a strong support for him.”
“Is that so…”
Kwa-rurrrung!
Again, red lightning raged inside Jeon Myeong-hoon’s eastern residence.
Geum Byeok-ho briefly looked at the lightning, then walked inside.
Kwa-rurrrung!
He brushed aside the red lightning as he entered and felt a jolt from the immense power of the red lightning.
‘Strong…’
He guessed at Jeon Myeong-hoon’s fury.
It was already known among the high-ranking members of the Golden Thunder Sect that Jeon Myeong-hoon grew stronger with his fury.
Even the Founder Yang Su-jin had recorded that he grew with fury, so it was accepted that Jeon Myeong-hoon would be the same.
“Hm?”
But when Geum Byeok-ho arrived in front of Jeon Myeong-hoon, he was surprised by the unexpected sight.
‘I thought he was going wild…’
Unexpectedly, Jeon Myeong-hoon sat in a half-lotus position and practiced the technique calmly.
But seeing the calm Jeon Myeong-hoon, Geum Byeok-ho felt an even more unsettling feeling.
Not the exploding fury, but a hidden, compressed, and refined fury.
“… You have come, Taesang-jangmun. Please forgive me for not standing as I am in the midst of a critical moment.”
“You…”
Geum Byeok-ho widened his eyes.
If he was seeing correctly, Jeon Myeong-hoon was at the stage just before reaching the Yangshin.
He was trying to reach the middle stage of the Yuan-ying realm that was not even a long time since he had entered it.
“… I see. Continue as you are.”
“Thank you.”
Geum Byeok-ho let out a groan at the eyes full of suppressed fury rather than gratitude.
And he spoke to Jeon Myeong-hoon.
“We have decided to expel Seokyeong with the Founder’s Decree.”
“….”
“What is your thought?”
“… Is my thought important? According to the sect’s rules, isn’t expelling him natural?”
“Your thought is important.”
“Why? Because I am a celestial golden thunder physique?”
Geum Byeok-ho shook his head at Jeon Myeong-hoon’s question.
“You have been influenced by Seokyeong…”
Geum Byeok-ho chose his words while looking at Jeon Myeong-hoon, then continued carefully.
“Because he is your close friend.”
“… Close friend. Haha…”
And Jeon Myeong-hoon began to laugh.
“Heheheheha!”
“….”
“You are mistaken. He is not a friend like me. Before we entered the sect, his relationship with me was that of superior and subordinate. And after we entered the sect the relationship reversed, and I have been grinding my teeth for decades trying to return it to how it was.”
“….”
“I have always had inferiority and resentment toward him. Expelling him… it’s really fortunate. Please do so. To me, he was the cause of my rage, the culprit who prevented me from spending time with So-hae, and a little bastard who beat me for things that happened before entering the sect.
Also, he always scratched at my nerves and, pretending to help me improve my strength by beating me and teaching me unnecessary things superiorly, he would sometimes remind me of my hometown when I missed it, no matter how dog-like I was. He would interfere in my relationship with So-hae for no reason, and sometimes even though I couldn’t drink at all he would drink a few glasses. He even helped me accept the Golden Thunder Sect as my family!”
Pa-jik! Pa-ji-jik!
Geum Byeok-ho instinctively took a step back at the sudden boiling blood-red lightning coming from Jeon Myeong-hoon.
“Why! That little bastard made me his family here, yet why did he betray the sect!? Why!? Really! I don’t know why!”
Kwa-ji-jik!
The calm face of Jeon Myeong-hoon gradually distorted with betrayal as he spoke, and the thickness and glow of the lightning gradually grew stronger.
[Why!]
Kwa-rurrrung!
Once again, waves of red lightning swept through the hall, and Geum Byeok-ho raised one arm and drew power to block the lightning waves.
‘… I see.’
Geum Byeok-ho realized.
Jeon Myeong-hoon was no different from the middle stage of the Yuan-ying realm.
If he passed the tribulation, he would reach the middle stage of the Yuan-ying realm right away.
‘This is the celestial golden thunder physique.’
Until now, Jeon Myeong-hoon had been somewhat behind Seo Eun-hyun in growth speed, but at this moment Geum Byeok-ho felt an intuition.
From now on, Jeon Myeong-hoon’s growth speed would catch up with Seo Eun-hyun’s in an instant.
“I want to know… why he did all that while betraying the sect.”
After unleashing his rage once, Jeon Myeong-hoon looked a little tired and spoke.
Geum Byeok-ho looked at Jeon Myeong-hoon and let out a groan.
* * *
In the Golden Thunder Hall.
Geum Byeok-ho sat in the seat of the Taesang-jangmun, thinking about Seokyeong.
He had met the sect’s disciples, conveyed the news of the expulsion, and asked for their opinions.
Logically, expelling him right away with the Founder’s Decree was correct.
But emotionally, he could not do so.
The reason Geum Byeok-ho knew best was his own.
“… Why… why did he betray the sect…”
He swept his own face and sighed.
Seokyeong was the genius who would change the history of the sect.
And Seokyeong was the name that would also go on the list of ‘worst traitors’ together with Geumwi, the worst traitor in the history of the Golden Thunder Sect.
Geum Byeok-ho had trusted Seokyeong.
He too had believed Seokyeong was the pride of the Golden Thunder Sect like Jin Hwi had.
But because of the secret Seokyeong had hidden, the Golden Thunder Sect was betrayed by him.
The fact that he himself had to expel Seokyeong was not easy to believe.
But there was no choice.
Seokyeong had already betrayed the sect, and special measures were necessary.
Seokyeong’s purpose was clear.
‘Probably, as I said earlier, bringing the Heavenly Thunder Banner to the Water Realm.’
If so, more than 70 or 80 percent of the current Golden Thunder Sect’s power would fly away.
If that happened, the Golden Thunder Sect’s position without the Heavenly Thunder Banner was unknown.
In the worst case, the Golden Thunder Sect might disappear into the back of history.
The option of following Seokyeong back to the Water Realm to bring the Heavenly Thunder Banner was actually impossible.
Descending to the lower realm was possible if one reached the Heavenly Person realm or above, but most of the Ascension Sects who had not ascended to the Gwanghan Realm never returned to the lower realm.
Most only delivered information to their descendants left behind in the lower realm, and most did not interfere with the lower realm’s affairs.
Why was that?
It was a very simple reason.
If one descended to the lower realm, one had to ascend again.
Ascension was not a child’s play even after reaching the Heavenly Person realm.
There was danger of dying swept away by spatial storms, danger of encountering bizarre creatures living in the cracks of space, and occasionally ‘terrifying existences’ one could see between the cracks, so ascension was nothing short of a gamble with all one had.
Especially the Water Realm they had ascended to was even more threatened by such dangers.
Entering from the outside was not a problem.
But trying to ascend again from inside the Water Realm, even at the Four Pillars realm, meant waiting again until the Ascension Gate opened.
The Water Realm was especially the world with the world’s curtain of world-ordering power compared to other lower realms, so even a Four Pillars sect leader had trouble coming and going freely.
‘If it were that bastard Seokyeong, even at the Yuan-ying realm he lacked nothing to reach the Heavenly Person realm. He would soon be at the level to go to the Water Realm with his own power. Even if not, somehow he would find a way back through a Heavenly Person level or above supporter.’
Time was urgent.
He had to catch Seokyeong before he returned to the Water Realm.
“… Seokyeong.”
Geum Byeok-ho gritted his teeth.
“I have decided. You are…”
And he finally accepted his complicated heart and succeeded in making a completely firm decision about Seokyeong.
* * *
Noeun-bong, where the Golden Thunder Sect’s treasure had been sealed.
At its peak, high-ranking sect leaders of the Golden Thunder Sect had gathered.
Those summoned by the Taesang-jangmun’s decree.
And from above them, Geum Byeok-ho shouted.
“Listen to me!”
Geum Byeok-ho spoke in a solemn voice.
“We have recently suffered a misfortune. We have been betrayed by the disciple we believed to be the sect’s greatest genius. This is a thing that should never have happened, and it is a heinous crime that denies the sect’s hierarchy, distribution, and master-disciple relations. But this Taesang-jangmun knows. How much influence that disciple who betrayed us had on the sect, and how many followers he had. But listen. Currently, that disciple has fled with the sect’s treasure, the Heavenly Thunder Banner, has proclaimed a new Golden Thunder Sect, and at the same time is conspiring with the sect’s traitor Geumwi. For this, this Taesang-jangmun has decided the punishment for that disciple after consulting with the elders and senior elders!”
Geum Byeok-ho took out the Founder’s Decree from his bosom.
“I declare that the sect’s traitor Seo Eun-hyun will be expelled from the Golden Thunder Sect! However! It is not a permanent expulsion by the Founder’s Decree. We will select a tracking squad to chase the traitor Seo Eun-hyun. And, whether to permanently expel him with the Founder’s Decree or to accept him as a disciple again when the tracking squad captures him and recovers the sect’s treasure will be decided by the tracking squad leader’s decision!”
He looked around at the elders and made eye contact with one person.
“Tracking squad leader, Jeon Myeong-hoon, come forward!”
At that, Jeon Myeong-hoon stepped forward.
“From now on, Jeon Myeong-hoon, the motive and pillar of the sect, will lead the tracking squad to chase the traitor. I entrust the Founder’s Decree to him, and when he catches Seokyeong and retrieves the Heavenly Thunder Banner! Depending on the tracking squad leader’s decision, whether to permanently expel him with the Founder’s Decree or to accept him as a disciple again will be decided!”
Geum Byeok-ho handed the badge engraved with the Founder’s Decree to Jeon Myeong-hoon.
“Because of personal enmity, Heon-won, who is also a Five Pillars realm, is tracking and pursuing Geumwi, the traitor of the sect who colluded with Seokyeong! If the sect’s traitors are caught by the Bongrae Palace, which has the power of Heon-won the Great, they will be punished as they see fit! They are traitors of the sect, but they are ‘traitors of the sect’! So, before they are caught, catch them with our hands and recover the sect’s honor!”
Geum Byeok-ho, Jeon Myeong-hoon, Jin Hwi, and everyone related to Seo Eun-hyun felt an indescribable bitterness in the words that followed.
“Apply to join the tracking squad. Please… end this one who was the future of the sect, even if only with our hands.”
Thus, the Seokyeong Tracking Squad was formed, the sect’s traitor.