The Martial God with Psychic Powers

Yeon Woo Jin turned his gaze toward the children who had fallen from the cliff.
Shiver—

The moment Shin Dowoon caught sight of Woo Jin’s eyes, he snapped into motion, immediately resuming his sit-stand routine with renewed vigor.
Chanting loudly as he moved.
Meanwhile, Woo Jin curled one side of his mouth into a smile and began walking toward the lower-level students, who were breathing sighs of relief.

The mid- and upper-level students, including Jang Woon, watched with pity.
They knew exactly what that smile meant.
“Hell’s about to open.”

“Ugh… That brought back memories. Chilling ones.”
“Hey, hey. Don’t make eye contact. Just train. If he looks your way, we’re all screwed.”
“Y-Yeah, good idea.”

The older students backed away as far as they could, focusing only on their own training.
Meanwhile, Yeon Woo Jin reached the cliff base where several younger students sat on the ground, resting.
“Resting, are we?”

The kids bolted upright the moment he spoke.
They, too, had once tried to rebel against Yeon Woo Jin.
But after learning who he was, they had submitted completely.

Because to defy him meant not just their own deaths—but the downfall of their entire clans.
“Who said you could rest? Hm?”
“S-Sorry, sir!”

“M-My arms gave out, so I-I was resting for a moment!”
“M-My legs… They wouldn’t stop shaking…”
“Oh, is that so? You’re just weak, then.”
“Y-Yes, sir…”

“I didn’t realize. I forgot our juniors are all so physically fragile.”
They weren’t weak.
If you went around saying someone at Peak-Level, Seven Stars, was weak, you’d be laughed out of any martial circle.

But this place was different.
Here, even Peak-Level, Seven Stars cultivators were everywhere.
And Apex-Level elites roamed like it was nothing.

Whoever first said the southern region of Mushincheon was the weakest… they deserved to have their mouth ripped open.
This was a den of monsters.
And the monster they all feared—the one even the monsters trembled before—was now smiling at them.

That smile was terrifying, even though it reached his lips.
“I should have started by improving your constitutions. Can’t believe I forgot that.”
Improving their constitutions?

How?
That should’ve been the moment they ran back to the cliff in silence.
But the naïve lower-level students just stared blankly at Woo Jin, clueless.

 
****
“Aaaaargh!”

“Gyaaaaaah!”
“Guueegh!”
Bloodcurdling screams echoed through the Baekyak Medical Hall, as if rising from the depths of hell.

The students’ bodies twisted into unnatural contortions.
Below them was a strange, circular sigil carved into the floor.
Yugayeokgeunjin—the Reversed Muscular Flow Formation.

Among the twisted bodies was Shin Dowoon.
It wasn’t fair.
All he’d been doing was diligently following orders, sitting and standing like he was told.

"You're already at it—might as well join in."
And now, this agony?
The forehead flicks were child’s play compared to this.

Crack—
“Guhhh!”
Pain shot through his body as his joints popped out of place.

This was hell—a living hell.
“Cough!”
A spray of blackened blood burst from Dowoon’s lips.

Woo Jin, watching, smiled with satisfaction.
“There it is.”
The man actually looked pleased that someone was coughing blood.

Insane.
But… weirdly, the moment Dowoon vomited blood, his body began to feel lighter.
The pain vanished.

And with the pain gone, he felt more flexible. Looser. Free.
All around him, others coughed as well.
“Cough!”

“Cough!”
The blood they expelled was all black and thick.
Then, like magic, their twisted bodies began to straighten out.

“That was the stagnant demonic Qi that had been blocking your energy channels. Now sit cross-legged and begin controlled breathing.”
At Woo Jin’s command, the students immediately folded their legs and began un-gi-josik—breath control and energy circulation.
 

A short while later, they opened their eyes, expressions fresh and clear.
“This is crazy… My inner power increased!”
“Mine too!”

“Me too!”
“My body feels so light!”
Cries of joy erupted from all sides.

Shin Dowoon looked down at himself in awe.
His body really did feel lighter.
Just then, Woo Jin’s voice echoed in their ears.

“Feels light now, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Then it’s time to carry them again.”

“…Huh?”
Woo Jin nodded toward the boulders scattered across the area—the same ones they had discarded earlier.
“What are you waiting for? Pick them up and climb.”

“Again?”
“Why? You don’t want to? Still too heavy? Should we do the process again?”
In an instant, their faces turned ashen.

The lightness was wonderful—but the process that brought it about?
Unbearable.
Not one of them said a word as they sprinted toward the boulders.

Grabbing them quickly, they began their ascent with a kind of madness in their eyes.
Satisfied, Woo Jin turned his head.
There, Shin Dowoon was lifting his boulder, doing sit-stands with a hardened expression.

“Senior is! The sky itself!”
Yeon Woo Jin gave a small nod.
“Now it’s running properly.”

 
****
Jeon Yeo, the head instructor of Baekyeong’s higher division.

He was a man of scholarly inclination and had always favored the literary students.
So when his grandson Gwak Pyeong announced he would transfer into the martial division, Jeon Yeo was not pleased.
He was afraid Gwak would disrupt the hardworking study culture he had cultivated.

But the reality proved different.
Once Gwak arrived, the entire atmosphere of the academy changed.
The students, who used to glance nervously around, now smiled with confidence.

When Jeon Yeo investigated, he found that Baekyeong had been considered the weakest faction in all the southern region.
Because of this, its students were constantly bullied by other higher-division academies.
That was when Jeon Yeo realized—

This was Mushincheon.
He had forgotten, blinded by the vastness of it all.
This was a land where the strong were honored.

Jeon Yeo felt guilt.
His complacency had put his students through hardship.
From then on, he gave Gwak Pyeong his full support.

And then—unbelievably—his grandson conquered the southern region.
The southern region, long deemed the weakest among all Mushincheon territories, had once considered Baekyeong its weakest node.
Now that same Baekyeong had risen under Gwak’s guidance to dominate the entire south.

How could Jeon Yeo not be proud?
Thanks to the reputation they had built, the incoming class this year was especially strong.
Perhaps that was why Gwak insisted on staying behind in the academy.

Jeon Yeo understood.
He probably wanted to watch his legacy grow.
And that legacy—

Jeon Yeo was curious about it too.
So, unlike before, he began to take interest in the students.
But as he observed, something strange began to emerge.

The martial students were improving at an abnormal rate.
A truly unprecedented rate.
It wasn’t just one or two.

Almost all of them had seen explosive growth.
“Most of them were First-Class at best… and now they’re all Peak-Level? How is that possible?”
What on earth ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) was happening in the martial division?

Sensing that something unusual was unfolding, Jeon Yeo came to a conclusion:
“I need to find the person who knows the most about them.”
There was one man who knew the martial division better than anyone.

Yang Munseong, the head of the Ascension Hall’s Recruitment Division.
“Oh my! And who do we have here—Senior!”
“Hahaha, it’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“Hahaha! I've been keeping busy. You know how it is, with the new semester just starting.”
“Of course I do. I’m the Academy Director. How could I not?”
Yang Munseong greeted Jeon Yeo warmly, clearly pleased by the visit.

Like Jeon Yeo, Yang Munseong was also a man of letters—of the scholarly path.
And it was none other than Jeon Yeo who had helped him make his way into the Central Administration.
“I can’t believe you came all the way to see me, Senior. I should’ve gone to you instead. My apologies.”

“No need. I know how busy you are. It doesn’t matter who visits whom, not between you and me.”
“Thank you for thinking that way.”
“Here. I brought a gift.”

“A gift too!”
Sniff sniff—
“Gasp! This… this is Celestial Princess, isn’t it?”

“Your favorite drink, if I remember correctly.”
“That’s right! I’ve been too busy to enjoy it lately. Thanks to you, I finally get to meet this beauty again.”
Yang Munseong quickly instructed his attendants to bring out a table for drinks.

“Please, you first.”
Pour—
He filled Jeon Yeo’s glass first, then poured one for himself and asked,

“So… what favor do you need?”
“Hm?”
“You came to ask me something, didn’t you?”

“Ah, was it that obvious?”
“Hahaha, you’ve never been good at hiding things, Senior. You still wear guilt right across your face.”
“Do I?”

“For you, I’d do anything. Just say the word. If it’s within my power, I’ll make it happen.”
“Just hearing that is thanks enough.”
“No, not just words. I’m only in this position because of you, Senior. I’m not the kind of man who forgets his debts.”

Hearing that, Jeon Yeo downed his glass in a single gulp.
Then, more cautiously, he began to speak.
“Well… as you know, our Higher Division conquered the southern region last year.”

“Hahaha! I heard! Congratulations, Senior!”
“Thank you.”
“But… is there a problem?”

“Not quite a problem… Something just seems strange.”
“Strange, how?”
“The students’ cultivation levels… they rose too quickly.”

“Too quickly?”
“Yes.”
“That’s strange. If that were the case, I should’ve received a report.”

“You didn’t?”
“No, this is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“Then someone may be intentionally withholding information.”

Jeon Yeo’s expression grew grave.
He had only come out of curiosity, yet the head of the Recruitment Division didn’t even know what was going on.
“How rapid was the advancement that it has you so concerned?”

“Kids who were at First-Class level a year ago… are now all Peak-Level.”
“Hahaha! Is that all? You’ve just forgotten how martial students develop, Senior.”
“You think I’m just overreacting?”

“Yes. In the Higher Division, advancement is fast. A student’s cultivation level can differ month to month. That’s why the Recruitment Division has an Evaluation Corps—to track these fluctuations. Sometimes the kids don’t even realize how far they’ve progressed.”
“Is that so…”
“Exactly. That’s probably why I never got a report. Unless someone went from First-Class to Apex-Level in one year, it wouldn’t even flag anything. Hahaha!”

“There are.”
“…Pardon?”
“There are four such students.”

“…What do you mean, four?”
“Four kids who jumped from First-Class to Apex-Level.”
Clatter—

Yang Munseong dropped his cup.
“You’re… joking, right?”
“I’m not.”

“That’s impossible. If something like that had happened, I would have been notified immediately. There are two assigned inspectors stationed at Baekyeong, no less.”
“Seems they didn’t report it.”
“No report…”

When was the last time he read anything from Hwang Sung?
He had been so preoccupied with the more prestigious academies, he’d overlooked Baekyeong entirely.
Panic flashing in his eyes, Yang Munseong called out to his aide outside the room.

“Bring me a complete record of Baekyeong Higher Division’s cultivation level changes over the past year. Immediately!”
“Yes, sir!”
Yang Munseong’s face turned serious.

There were only a few known ways to achieve that kind of rapid growth in such a short time.
And even those methods were reserved for figures on the level of the Five Divine Pillars.
Outside of that, only one method remained.

Don’t tell me… could it be Demonic Arts?
Martial techniques not born of humans—but of demons.
Forbidden techniques said to originate from the Demon Realm.

Their signature trait: explosive growth in cultivation.
But upon reaching the peak of their demonic path, the user transforms into a creature that lives only for blood and slaughter.
It was possible.

If one of the students had stumbled upon such a technique and shared it with others…
That would be a catastrophe.
“…What’s troubling you?”

“Senior… have you heard of Magong?”
“I have. The Forbidden Arts. One must neither learn them nor possess them. They’re cursed.”
“Exactly.”

“You’re not suggesting… our students are learning Magong, are you?”
“I’m saying it’s a possibility.”
“I don’t believe it. My grandson—Gwak Pyeong—is the one who trained those kids.”

“I’m not saying it’s definite. But we can’t afford to rule anything out.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“I’ll go investigate it myself.”

“To Baekyeong?”
“Yes. I’ll confirm the truth with my own eyes—and put your worries to rest.”
“Thank you. I truly appreciate this.”

“No thanks needed, Senior. I would’ve gone even if you hadn’t asked. That’s how serious this is. Let’s end the drinks here. I have much to look into.”
“Understood.”