The Martial God with Psychic Powers-Chapter 39

The shallow depth of the attack was something Jang Un was well aware of.

Even though this attack had landed properly, it hadn’t delivered much of a shock to the opponent.

For now, his internal energy was low, and his cultivation level was still insufficient.

On top of that, he hadn’t yet fully mastered the Divine Lightning Art.

But even so, Jang Un smiled.

Because he had achieved his intended goal.

“There he is!”

The shouts of people echoed from behind.

“Damn! Looks like more time passed than I thought.”

The Masked Attacker glared at Jang Un and spoke.

“The humiliation I suffered today—I’ll come back and return the favor soon enough.”

Leaving those words behind, the masked man quickly fled the scene.

“After him!”

Martial artists of the Martial God Sect started chasing in the direction the masked man had disappeared.

Jang Gong rushed to Jang Un’s side and checked on him.

“A-Are you alright?”

“Yes. Are you okay, Father?”

“I’m fine. But... I have a lot of questions for you.”

“This doesn’t seem like the best place for a conversation.”

“True... Let’s find the others first.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jang Un looked in the direction the masked attacker had vanished and shivered.

He was recalling the eerie and ominous energy he’d felt from the man.

“It was a kind of energy I’ve never felt before. What the hell was that?”

****

The death of a security patrol member in the residential district sparked fury throughout the entire Martial God Sect.

After all, someone had snuck into the great Martial God Sect and killed one of its own martial artists.

The Martial God Sect Leader flew into a rage and ordered the culprit to be found. Soon, every division of the Martial God Sect was mobilized in a full-scale operation to track down the offender.

As part of that process, Jang Gong and Jang Un were summoned for questioning.

The two of them became suspects.

All the other members of the patrol had died, and only the father and son had survived. On top of that, their cultivation levels weren’t that high, and yet they had held out until reinforcements arrived. That alone was enough to raise suspicions.

Jang Gong and Jang Un gave a truthful ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) account of what they had experienced, but the investigators didn’t find it easy to believe them.

“So, you’re saying you and your son worked together to stop him?”

“Yes. How many times must I say it? All we did was hold him off until backup arrived.”

“Would you believe yourself if you heard this story?”

“Well...”

Jang Gong trailed off.

Would he believe it himself?

Probably not. He would have written it off as utter nonsense.

“That’s why, even if it’s uncomfortable, I ask for your understanding. Can you at least describe the martial art that man used?”

“He called it the Soul-Reaping Demon Blade!”

At Jang Un’s words, the investigator’s expression twisted.

“What did you say?”

“The Soul-Reaping Demon Blade... That’s one of the techniques from the Heavenly Demon Hellblade, isn’t it?”

“No way. Are we talking about the Blood Cult bastards?”

“The Heavenly Demon Hellblade is definitely one of their arts. That makes it highly likely it was them.”

“You’re saying you survived a fight against someone using the Heavenly Demon Hellblade?”

The investigator’s gaze grew even more suspicious.

“What martial art do you use?”

“I’ve trained in the Divine Lightning Art.”

“Thunderchild’s Divine Lightning Art? Where the hell did you learn that?”

“B-By chance...”

“So by chance, where exactly?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

At Jang Un’s answer, the investigator’s eyes turned cold.

“Do we look like we’re playing games to you?”

Jang Gong and Jang Un were on the verge of exploding in frustration.

No matter how truthfully they explained things, no one believed them. They were running out of options.

“At this rate, I don’t think we’ll get any real answers by being nice.”

At those words, Jang Un snapped.

“What the hell do you think we did so wrong? All we did was risk our lives to hold him back!”

“That’s something we can verify through the investigation.”

Jang Gong had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

Right now, the Martial God Sect was in turmoil.

With the Little Sect Leader selection looming, the entire sect was on edge, and everyone wanted to wrap things up quickly.

And the easiest way to do that?

Make up a fake culprit.

All they wanted was for him to say the attacker was from the Blood Cult.

Wouldn’t that be perfect?

He was just a patrol squad leader. No one would come looking even if he disappeared.

He had only been promoted to squad leader a month ago...

A fleeting dream, huh? So this is how it ends.

Jang Gong looked at Jang Un.

At the very least, he had to save his son.

Facing the investigators, Jang Gong said,

“My son is innocent... Let it end with me.”

“Oh ho! So now you’re ready to talk?”

“I’m begging you. My son hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Fine. If you speak, we’ll let your son go unharmed.”

“Please... keep that promise.”

“What, don’t trust me?”

“No. I trust you.”

“Good. Now... let’s hear it. Are you a remnant of the Blood Cult?”

“Father! What the hell are you doing!”

Jang Un realized something was terribly wrong and rushed to stop Jang Gong from speaking.

“Get that brat out of here. He’s in the way.”

The moment the investigator stood up to drag Jang Un away—

Bang—

Crack—

The door exploded inward as a man stormed in.

The investigators froze like they’d turned to ice the instant they saw him.

The man glared at them, and without anyone needing to say it, every single one of them leapt to their feet and stood at attention.

“What the hell are you all doing?”

“W-We were interrogating a suspect!”

“Suspect? Who?”

“Th-Those two seemed suspicious, so we were questioning them...”

“Haah... So you’re telling me, you’re interrogating people who were doing their job for the Martial God Sect, treating them like suspects?”

“N-No, sir! Th-They were just about to reveal their identities...”

SMAACK—

“Gahk!”

CRASH—

The man slapped the investigator across the face with such force that he was flung across the room like a rag doll.

His cheek was torn open and flapping, and blood poured from his ear.

“You’re the suspicious ones, aren’t you? What the hell were you trying to hide by framing these two?”

“L-Lord of Heavenly Martial Hall! P-Please, this is a misunderstanding!”

At the words Lord of Heavenly Martial Hall, Jang Gong and Jang Un looked at him with wide eyes.

Cheon Ho-seong. The Lightning Death Sword.

Ranked eighth in the Martial God Sect hierarchy and commander of a direct division under the Sect Leader.

“That’s something an investigation will reveal. Right?”

Snap—

At Cheon Ho-seong’s finger snap, martial artists from the Heavenly Martial Hall entered, tied up the investigators, and began dragging them out.

“W-We’re innocent! L-Lord of Heavenly Martial Hall!”

“They’re the suspicious ones. Beat them until the words Blood Cult remnants come out of their mouths!”

“Yes, sir!”

“N-No! Please! Spare us!”

“We were wrong!”

Cheon Ho-seong ignored their cries, casually picking at his ear.

Then he turned toward Jang Gong and Jang Un and bowed with a formal fist-to-palm gesture.

“I apologize that the two of you, who acted on behalf of the Martial God Sect, were put through such a disgrace instead of being rewarded.”

“N-No! We—we were only doing what we had to do!”

“You were only doing what you had to do. And yet there are so many in the Martial God Sect who can’t even manage that. If only there were more squad leaders like you, Squad Leader Jang Gong, then the Martial God Sect would finally have the dignity it deserves.”

“Please, speak less formally. I’m of much lower rank!”

“Haha! Does it make you uncomfortable?”

“Yes, it does.”

“Alright then. I’ll speak as I usually do.”

“Thank you.”

“Well, I’ve got nothing more to say for now, but you’ll probably be hearing good news soon. So for today, go home and get some rest with your son.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Oh, and this.”

Cheon Ho-seong held out an envelope.

“Use it to calm your nerves and enjoy something good to eat.”

“Th-Thank you very much.”

“Well then, we’ll meet again soon.”

Cheon Ho-seong, who always said what he wanted and disappeared in an instant.

Jang Gong stared blankly at the door Cheon Ho-seong had just vanished through.

The shattered remains of the door made it clear that what he had just witnessed had been real.

“Father! What were you about to say earlier?”

Jang Un asked, and Jang Gong smiled as he replied.

“It was nothing. Let’s just forget about it.”

He wanted to ask more, but chose to respect his father’s wishes.

“Yes, sir.”

“But anyway, what do you think this is?”

“Maybe it’s a promissory note?”

“Is that so? He said to go eat something nice, so he probably left a good amount.”

Jang Gong opened the envelope with a hopeful look.

As expected, it contained a promissory note.

But the amount written on the note was far from what they expected.

“F-Father... how much is this?”

“Looks like... he may have given us the wrong one.”

The promissory note was trembling in his hands.

It was for ten thousand silver coins.

****

“I’ve handled everything as you ordered.”

At Cheon Ho-seong’s words, Yeon Woo Jin nodded.

“Thank you, for stepping in like that.”

“What are you saying, Young Master? It was your command. Of course it was my duty.”

“Have they caught the masked intruders?”

“They’re still tracking their trail.”

“Do we really think they’re remnants of the Blood Cult?”

“One of the fugitives was reportedly using the Heavenly Demon Hellblade. That technique was famously used by the Blood Cult’s Guardians.”

“Did they figure out what they came to the residential area for?”

“Seems they were searching for something... but with the chaos, they gave up and retreated.”

“Searching for something? In the residential area?”

“That’s just speculation. Whether they came to find something or to do something—it’s not clear.”

“They left a message for Jang Un, saying they’d return, right?”

“That’s what I heard.”

Yeon Woo Jin stroked his chin.

“Looks like we’ll have to move the timeline up.”

“Timeline for what, sir?”

“The kids’ body modifications.”

“...What?”

Cheon Ho-seong looked puzzled, and Yeon Woo Jin gave him a wide smile.

A chill ran down Cheon Ho-seong’s spine.

He only smiled... so why did it feel so cold?

“Want to try it too, Uncle Ho-seong?”

“W-What are you talking about?”

“Body modification. Hm, well... for someone like you, the changes might not be dramatic, but you can still become even stronger.”

At the word stronger, Cheon Ho-seong’s eyes lit up.

“I’ll do it.”

“It’s going to be painful.”

“If it’ll make me stronger, I’ll endure it!”

“Good.”

Yeon Woo Jin was pleased.

It gave him a chance to test things out first.

Compared to the fragile kids, Cheon Ho-seong was sturdy—so even if something went wrong, it would be easier to manage.

****

“Uuuuurgh!”

A scream like a lung being torn apart echoed from deep within a cave.

There, in a bizarre posture, was Cheon Ho-seong, enduring extreme pain.

Crack.

His joints made sickening popping sounds.

Tear-rip-rip.

His muscles emitted nonstop tearing noises.

“Uuuugh! E-enough already...”

Right now, if someone asked him anything, he’d confess to everything.

That’s how unbearable the pain was.

Why the hell did I agree to this?

He regretted it endlessly and prayed that this torment would end as soon as possible.

“We’re almost done with prep. Let’s begin.”

...What?

What do you mean "begin"?

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

Then what the hell was all that up to now?

Hearing that the process was only just beginning, Cheon Ho-seong nearly lost his mind.

Don’t tell me it’s going to get worse from here?

No way... right?

Please...

As he desperately hoped—

Snap—

Rrrrip-rip-rip.

Sounds rang out, on a level of intensity completely different from before. Cheon Ho-seong’s eyes rolled back, and he passed out on the spot.

Even while unconscious, his body continued to transform.

His muscles swelled and realigned. Joints dislocated and reconnected.

His entire skeleton was being reconstructed.

It was Yoga-Reversing Heavenly Martial Formation (瑜伽易筋天武陣)—an advanced evolution of the Muscle-Reversing Yoga Formation.

Even a messed-up body could be reshaped into one fit for martial arts.

It was nearly identical to bone-shedding and flesh-transformation, a process akin to rebirth.

But the pain was far greater than with the original formation.

That was inevitable.

When every muscle and bone in your body is being reshaped, there’s no way it wouldn’t hurt.

Still, if it meant becoming stronger, most would jump in without hesitation.

Just like the now-unconscious Cheon Ho-seong.

Cheon Ho-seong was a supreme martial master, ranked eighth in the Martial God Sect.

Even someone of his caliber had passed out from the pain.

This was the very peak of human suffering.

It wouldn’t kill him.

The body had been preconditioned and reinforced to survive.

That early pain before the process began—that’s what it was for.

As his bones changed, Cheon Ho-seong’s skin contracted, and his wrinkles began to fade.

It wasn’t quite bone-shedding transformation, and it wasn’t reversing age (반로환동), but he was visibly getting younger.

Hummmmmm—

As the Yoga-Reversing Heavenly Martial Formation reached completion, it began to emit a blinding light.

Crackkkk—

Cheon Ho-seong’s body floated into the air within the formation, and the light was absorbed directly into him.

The energy implanted into the formation earlier was now being drawn into Cheon Ho-seong’s dantian.

As the light faded, his body slowly descended back to the ground.

His now-radiant form gleamed like polished jade—perfectly balanced in symmetry and harmony.

Yeon Woo Jin, watching this, smiled in satisfaction.

“Better results than I expected. Just to be safe... let’s run a few more tests.”

Two names popped into Yeon Woo Jin’s mind.

Later stories would say that Ma Ryang and Jeokseong, despite not being present at the time, felt an overwhelming chill and dread that day—for reasons they couldn’t explain.