The Martial God with Psychic Powers-Chapter 41

“This is seriously... isn’t this basically a full-body transformation?”

“Y-yeah, I think so? My whole build completely changed.”

“Same here.”

Seon Woo Baek got up from his spot and started moving his body around.

Whoosh—whoosh—

“I always used to have a blockage in my qi flow around here... but now it’s completely smooth. Everything connects naturally.”

“Really? I gotta try too.”

Jang Un stood up, loosened his legs, and took his stance.

Then, with a small leap, he began executing his technique.

Pop-pop-pop-pop—

Countless afterimages instantly filled the air.

Before, he could barely manage ten afterimages at most. Now, there were dozens.

Even after the technique ended, his whole body pulsed with vitality, and his qi continued to circulate without pause.

The two, stunned by the changes in their bodies, turned to stare at Yeon Woo Jin with wide eyes.

“W-Woo Jin... what... what is this?”

“How is this even possible?”

“Think of it as a forced transformation. That’s why the pain was so extreme.”

“O-oh... I see.”

It made sense.

Reconstructing the very structure of the body wouldn’t be painless.

Still, the fact that Yeon Woo Jin could make this possible was far more astounding.

Just how far did his abilities go?

“Now you’ll train to match those new bodies. Be prepared from now on.”

“Why are you doing all this for us?”

Jang Un asked, and Yeon Woo Jin replied with a slight smile.

“So you don’t get hurt. You should at least have enough power to protect your own body. I can’t stand seeing my people get hurt.”

Jang Un and Seon Woo Baek had already experienced that firsthand.

They knew exactly what happened to anyone who touched Yeon Woo Jin’s people.

And Seon Woo °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Baek had lived through it personally.

Maybe that memory came back to him—

He lowered his head.

Jang Un grabbed his shoulder and spoke.

“Lift your head, idiot. You’re Woo Jin’s friend too.”

When Jang Un smiled and said that, Seon Woo Baek gave a faint smile of his own and nodded.

“Yeah.”

Yeon Woo Jin let out a faint chuckle at the sight of the two.

“Enjoy the sentiment while you still can. You won’t have time for emotional thoughts going forward.”

“Huh?”

Both Jang Un and Seon Woo Baek turned their heads, wondering what he meant—but Yeon Woo Jin had already turned around and was walking away.

The two stared blankly at his back for a moment, then quickly chased after him with nervous expressions.

“W-Woo Jin! What did you mean by that just now? Huh?”

Yeon Woo Jin didn’t answer. He simply smiled, ignoring their anxious voices behind him.

****

One month later.

A group of kids had gathered, all surrounding Seon Woo Baek.

They all stared at him with serious, determined expressions.

“Come at me.”

At that short command, the kids all kicked off the ground and rushed at him.

Clenching their teeth, they began attacking Seon Woo Baek without hesitation.

He had always been stronger than them, but not to this degree.

And now, after some time apart, he had returned unimaginably stronger.

The shock was especially great for Gok Yangwoo.

Back when they fought, they were almost evenly matched. But now, even if all the kids here charged him at once, they wouldn’t be able to win.

Thud-thud-thud—

In a flash, Seon Woo Baek’s counterattacks knocked the kids flying.

Still, they couldn’t back down.

A terrifying figure was watching them from behind.

And right on cue, a chilling voice rang out.

“Getting sloppy, aren’t we? Better get your heads on straight.”

Yeon Woo Jin’s calm voice made them all shudder involuntarily.

“If I don’t see attacks that satisfy me... then you can look forward to what happens next.”

He grinned, baring white teeth—and it was terrifying.

The kids all clenched their fists at once.

Now it was life or death.

If they wanted to satisfy Yeon Woo Jin, they couldn’t hold anything back.

Their bloodlust surged, and they charged at Seon Woo Baek again.

This time, their attacks came with a whole new level of intensity.

Rip—!

One of the kid’s strikes tore Seon Woo Baek’s clothes.

Caught off guard, Gok Yangwoo used the opening to land a blow.

Smack—!

But it didn’t seem to do much damage.

Not even a grunt escaped Seon Woo Baek’s lips.

At that moment, Seon Woo Baek’s face twisted, and he began gathering energy.

“Careful! Woo Baek’s about to unleash something!”

Gok Yangwoo shouted in warning—but it was too late.

“Ten Thousand Skies Supreme Wave!”

Qi erupted from Seon Woo Baek’s body in a massive wave, slamming into the kids from every direction.

Boom—boom—boom—!

“Gah!”

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“Urgh!”

“Ugh!”

Crash!

The kids were scattered in all directions, rolling and tumbling from the impact.

Gok Yangwoo tried to withstand it too, but the force was overwhelming.

Damn it! Just how the hell did he get this strong?!

Just as all the kids were being knocked down—

“Enough.”

Yeon Woo Jin’s voice rang out.

The children slowly turned their heads toward him, their faces pale.

“Tsk tsk. You didn’t train properly, did you?”

“N-no! We did what you told us to! We swear!”

“Yeah! We didn’t skip a single day! We followed every single one of your orders!”

“When we couldn’t hit our goals, we stayed up all night to make up for it! Please believe us!”

They weren’t lying.

If they hadn’t trained, they never would’ve lasted this long against Seon Woo Baek.

The fact they took a direct hit from the Ten Thousand Skies Supreme Wave and didn’t pass out proved it.

Yeon Woo Jin knew that, too.

He knew they had trained seriously.

“...Alright. I believe you.”

“Th-thank you...”

Their faces lit up as soon as he said that.

Yeon Woo Jin gave a faint smirk, then looked over at Seon Woo Baek.

“Not bad. Ripped clothes and even a handprint on your stomach.”

“T-that’s...”

“You’re staying after.”

“Huh?! Woo Jin, come on—”

“Stay.”

“...Alright.”

The kids were stunned.

He’d held his ground against over ten people, and just because he got hit twice, he had to stay behind?

It’s Woo Jin! He’s the one who trained Woo Baek!

They all stared at Seon Woo Baek with envious eyes.

And then—

“Since you’ve all trained hard, I thought I’d give you a gift.”

A gift?

They looked at Yeon Woo Jin with confused expressions.

“Anyone who wants to get as strong as Seon Woo Baek—hands up.”

Before the words even finished, every single kid shot their hand into the air.

Some even stood on tiptoe, afraid they might not be seen.

“Oh-ho! So eager? I’m touched. Alright. I’ll give you all a chance.”

“Yeahhh!!”

The kids cheered.

Jang Un and Seon Woo Baek looked at them with pity in their eyes. They knew exactly what kind of “gift” Yeon Woo Jin was talking about.

“Come here in pairs, every day.”

“Okay!”

The kids shouted back with enthusiasm.

Yeon Woo Jin gave them a calm smile.

“I’m going to modify your bodies. The process... is going to hurt a little.”

“It doesn’t matter! As long as I can get stronger!”

“Modification?! You can even do something like that?!”

All the kids stared at Yeon Woo Jin with reverence.

“It’s a method that uses formation arts. It’s not difficult. But it can’t be done in a single day—you’ll need to split it across several sessions. Which means you’ll have to endure the pain multiple times.”

“That’s fine!”

“Good! I like that spirit of yours! I’ll see you tomorrow. Dismissed!”

“YEAH!!”

At Yeon Woo Jin’s words, Jang Un and Seon Woo Baek exchanged confused glances.

Didn’t they finish everything in just one go?

Well... guess they’d see soon enough.

The only problem was that they’d have to witness that horrible scene again.

Just thinking about it made both Jang Un and Seon Woo Baek’s knees tremble and cold sweat break out on their backs.

****

Several days later.

“AAAAAAAGH!”

No one could remember how many days had passed now.

Every single day, the screams of children echoed through this place.

This was the Baekyak Medical Hall.

Once it had been a ruin. Now, it had been fully restored, clean and orderly.

Clean enough that someone could live there.

In fact, Yeon Woo Jin, Seon Woo Baek, Jang Un, and the kids who had completed their body modification were all living there now.

The new form of torture?

The daily screams that rang through the air.

For those who had already experienced the process, hearing those screams was even more agonizing.

Every time they heard it, the pain they had felt came rushing back.

Yeon Woo Jin modified the children’s bodies in five stages.

Jang Un had once asked him why.

“Every person has a different martial arts style, right? If I can tailor their bodies to match those styles, even better. So instead of doing a complete transformation in one go, I adjust their bodies bit by bit to find the perfect match.”

He was about to ask why he and Seon Woo Baek had to do it all at once—but stopped himself.

Just asking might convince Yeon Woo Jin to make him start over from the beginning.

Seon Woo Baek seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Their eyes met, and Seon Woo Baek shook his head slowly.

It was a very clear “Don’t. You. Dare.”

“They’re actually lucky, you know. Compared to the pain you two felt, theirs is a lot milder.”

At that, Jang Un and Seon Woo Baek went blank for a moment—and the kids who had already undergone the procedure were horrified.

What they experienced had felt like the peak of pain. And yet, what Jang Un and Seon Woo Baek went through had been worse?

The kids stared at the two with newfound admiration.

But Jang Un and Seon Woo Baek had a different opinion.

If you had to endure that pain five times, better to just suffer once and be done with it.

Meanwhile, Yeon Woo Jin had confirmed everything he wanted to know.

That the pain could be split into stages.

That no matter how excruciating, it wouldn’t kill anyone.

That the result wasn’t destruction—but physical improvement.

Normally, people would confess everything long before they made it through all five stages.

If someone did manage to endure it all, Yeon Woo Jin had decided he would acknowledge them.

The five stages of pain he applied to the kids?

That was the toned down version.

Later, if his enemies ever fell into his hands, he planned to unleash the process in full—split into five stages with no pain reduction.

It would be at least twice, if not dozens of times more painful than what Jang Un and Seon Woo Baek had endured.

And because it was spread out over multiple stages, there’d be no escape.

From the victim’s perspective, it would be pure madness.

Most torture ends in death.

Yeon Woo Jin’s version ends in a healthy body.

Thud—

Thud—

One by one, kids who had passed out inside the Muscle-Reversing Yoga Formation were being carried out by others.

Yeon Woo Jin used the advanced Yoga-Reversing Heavenly Martial Formation only on his subordinates.

Everyone else got the standard Muscle-Reversing Yoga Formation.

As the unconscious kids were hauled out, Jang Un and Seon Woo Baek remained behind with Yeon Woo Jin.

He smiled and spoke.

“What if we used this on people who don’t listen... or just piss me off? And we didn’t reduce the pain?”

“...Huh?”

It was already hell with the pain dampened—and now he wanted to use it without any mitigation?

That he could say such cruel things without hesitation...

Yeon Woo Jin looked like a devil.

“What do you think? Not a bad idea, right? They won’t die, their bodies won’t be ruined—in fact, they’ll end up healthier than before.”

Yeon Woo Jin smiled brightly as he said it.

Jang Un and Seon Woo Baek made a firm resolution in that moment:

They would never, under any circumstances, get on Yeon Woo Jin’s bad side.

****

The second semester at Baekyeong Martial Academy had begun.

And there was one person who had been eagerly waiting for this moment.

Heo Wook—the student who had lost to Seon Woo Baek and failed to become the Lower-Class First.

Since then, Heo Wook had undergone brutal training under Gwak Pyeong, swearing that he would reclaim the title from Seon Woo Baek no matter what.

Eventually, he became strong enough to earn Gwak Pyeong’s recognition.

Heo Wook now had confidence.

He believed he could defeat Seon Woo Baek and claim the title of Lower-Class First.

Even Gwak Pyeong was surprised.

He had thought Heo Wook lacked talent, but it turned out he was just a late bloomer.

With decent talent and an iron will, Heo Wook had pushed himself through hellish training.

Compared to his old self, he was now in a completely different league.

Gwak Pyeong had to revise his opinion.

Maybe Heo Wook really could become the Lower-Class First.

No matter how hard Seon Woo Baek had trained, it didn’t feel like he had put in as much as Heo Wook had.

In fact, the one who held the most hope wasn’t Heo Wook—it was Gwak Pyeong.

In a way, Heo Wook had become something like his personal disciple.

And before he even realized it, Gwak Pyeong had grown emotionally attached to the boy.

Heo Wook strode confidently into the Black Tortoise Division.

“Seon Woo Baek!”

At the sound of his name, Seon Woo Baek stood up, wearing the exact kind of expression that said I figured this was coming.

“What.”

“I challenge you to a duel!”

He nodded, completely unsurprised.

“Fine. When?”

“Right now! I already got permission from the instructor.”

That explained why class hadn’t started yet—there was no sign of the teacher.

Seon Woo Baek nodded.

“Got it. Let’s go.”

He accepted the challenge so calmly that it irritated Heo Wook.

This bastard... let’s see how long you can keep looking so smug.