The Martial God with Psychic Powers

Yeon Woo Jin spoke to Gwak Pyeong.
“Jo Deok is probably your opponent.”

“Understood. Honestly, just standing here doing nothing was getting a bit tiresome. It’s good to finally have something to do.”
In the meantime, Go Seung and Yoo Ji Gwang clashed.
Clang—

Whoooosh—
A shockwave erupted as the two collided, rippling outward in all directions.
“Kuhuhu! You’re better than your brother.”

Yoo Ji Gwang smirked as he spoke. Go Seung mirrored the smile.
“You idiot. You really didn’t recognize me?”
“What?”

“I don’t have a twin brother, you fool.”
“Nonsense! If you’re trying to confuse me, it won’t work!”
“I figured you wouldn’t believe it.”

“Hmph! Then it is a lie!”
“It’s not a lie. But even if I told you the truth, you wouldn’t believe it. So—here, take this!”
Go Seung pulled back and swung his massive blade at Yoo Ji Gwang with blistering speed.

“Heaven-Shattering Cross Slash!”
A massive X-shaped wave of sword Qi flew through the air. Yoo Ji Gwang’s expression hardened as he snapped open his fan and swung it toward the ground, launching himself into the sky.
“Floating Cloud Trance!”

He evaded the slash by soaring high above it, then dived straight toward Go Seung, launching a ruthless offensive.
“Triple Wind Severance!”
Whoooosh—
CRRRRRRRRRK—

The wind, like blades, scraped the earth as it flew toward Go Seung with the force to tear everything apart.
“Heaven’s Defeat Straight Blade!”
CRASH—

Go Seung slammed his blade into the ground, neutralizing the incoming gale. In the same motion, he launched himself at Yoo Ji Gwang with overwhelming force.
Yoo Ji Gwang's eyes widened in shock.
There was someone in Baekyeong capable of neutralizing the Triple Wind Severance?

And that person wasn’t even the top student of the intermediate division?
He quickly twisted to the side to dodge Go Seung’s counterattack.
His mind was spinning.

Was it really true, what that guy had said?
As Yoo Ji Gwang wavered in confusion, Go Seung sneered.
“What’s wrong? Disappointed you didn’t get to smash my leg and slowly break my arm like last time?”

“So your brother really told you everything.”
“Yeah. Think whatever you want. But let me make one thing perfectly clear.”
“And what’s that?”

“You’re going to go through exactly what I did.”
At those words, Yoo Ji Gwang’s face turned red with rage.
“You bastard… I tried to go easy on you and you think you can act cocky?”

Whoooosh—
A tremendous surge of energy erupted from Yoo Ji Gwang’s body.
“Feel it? This is the Peak-Level—Ten Stars. A level you could never even dream of reaching.”

He looked down on Go Seung with disdain, basking in his unleashed aura.
Go Seung gave a slight smile—and released his own pressure in response.
Whoooosh—

A force nearly equal to Yoo Ji Gwang’s spread out from him, suffocating the air around them.
“Well, that’s too bad. I’m Peak-Level—Ten Stars too.”
“…What?”

Yoo Ji Gwang stared at him in disbelief.
“That’s impossible. In the Southern Region… there’s no one like that.”
“Well, now there is. Because I’m here.”

Yoo Ji Gwang didn’t want to accept it, but the energy radiating from Go Seung’s body proved it true.
He clenched his jaw.
Of all places, to encounter an expert on his level right here, in front of all the students he had gathered.

If he lost here, he’d be a laughingstock.
Grinding his teeth, he wracked his brain for a way to win.
Then a grin crept onto his face.

He still had more than the Lightning Wind Fan Art—he had his poison arts too.
With a sinister smile, he lunged toward Go Seung.
As Go Seung raised his blade to intercept, Yoo Ji Gwang slipped into the opening.

But Go Seung wasn’t so easily caught.
He blocked the incoming fan with the hilt of his sword.
And in that instant—

Thwip thwip thwip—
Something shot out from between the fan ribs and embedded itself into Go Seung’s body.
“Hidden Fan Piercing Needle.”

Go Seung winced.
“Damn it. Forgot—you were a specialist in hidden weapons.”
“Seems like your brother didn’t tell you everything, huh?”

“No… I just forgot for a second.”
“Kuhuhu. Don’t worry. You won’t die. But I wouldn’t try using your Qi if I were you. Your dantian might rupture, and you’d never use martial arts again.”
At that, Go Seung grinned.

“The poison hasn’t spread yet, has it? I’ll just beat you before it does.”
“You said you were on my level, didn’t you? Think you can take me down that easily?”
“We’ll see.”

Go Seung suddenly hurled his sword at Yoo Ji Gwang.
“Kuhuhu. Have you given up?”
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Yoo Ji Gwang casually dodged the blade as it flew toward him.
But then, the blade’s path suddenly shifted—turning and pursuing him midair.
“What the—?!”

He hadn’t expected that. He frantically twisted his body to dodge it.
Just barely avoiding the sword—
GRAB—

He felt a massive hand seize his throat.
He turned his head.
Go Seung had closed the distance and grabbed him by the collar.

He had forgotten just how fast Go Seung was—despite his massive frame.
Yoo Ji Gwang tried to pry him off, but Go Seung was faster.
His granite-like fist slammed into Yoo Ji Gwang’s abdomen.

“Mad Rage Burning Fist!”
CRACK—
“Guh—!”

The strike landed square on his dantian.
Yoo Ji Gwang tried to escape, but his Qi went wild from the hit to his core. He couldn’t control it.
Go Seung’s assault didn’t stop.

CRACK— CRACK— CRACK—
Every strike pounded his dantian.
“When you go for someone’s core, you’d better be ready to have yours crushed too.”

“St-stop…! Cough!”
Blood spewed from Yoo Ji Gwang’s mouth.
Even with the same level of cultivation, he couldn’t escape Go Seung’s grip because of his raw physical power.

“I-I’ll… I’ll give you the antidote… just stop…”
Go Seung chuckled.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take it myself.”

CRACK—
“GUHH!”
One last devastating blow sent Yoo Ji Gwang’s body lurching, before he went limp.

He had blacked out from the sheer pain.
The entire area fell silent.
The students from Cheongseok Martial Academy stared at Go Seung in horror.

The Southern Region—the weakest of the regions—and not even the top student of Baekyeong’s intermediate division had taken down their number one.
No one moved to intervene.
They were all too stunned.

Searching Yoo Ji Gwang’s unconscious body, Go Seung found a small blue vial.
It sloshed when shaken—clearly a liquid, not a pill.
He uncorked it and drank it without hesitation.

“W-wait! What if it’s not the antidote?!” Jang Woon shouted in alarm.
Go Seung smiled.
“It probably is. And if it’s not… would you really just stand there and watch me die?”

He looked straight at Yeon Woo Jin.
Yeon Woo Jin gave a faint smile and nodded.
Go Seung turned back to the unconscious Yoo Ji Gwang.

Was he trying to return exactly what had been done to him?
He reached out slowly toward Yoo Ji Gwang.
“Stop!”

Jo Deok stepped forward.
“What is it?”
“He’s unconscious. That’s enough.”

“It’s not even close to what I went through. I passed out, remember? But that bastard woke me up just to crush all my limbs.”
At Go Seung’s words, Jo Deok’s eyes began to tremble.
“W-wait… Are you seriously saying… you’re Go Seung?”

“How many times do I have to say it? What, you think that guy’s a twin too?”
He jerked his chin toward the direction of Sunwoo Baek.
Sure enough, there he was—moving freely. But last time, he’d been carried away, poisoned by Yoo Ji Gwang.

Even with treatment, there was no way he could be up and about so quickly.
Then that meant this man in front of him really was…
“N-no way…”

“So? That means we agree—I should return the favor exactly as I received it, right?”
Go Seung reached toward the unconscious Yoo Ji Gwang again, but in a flash, Jo Deok appeared and blocked him.
“I said, stop.”

“Your academy’s top student lost to me. What exactly do you think you’re going to do?”
Go Seung tried to push Jo Deok aside with an annoyed expression.
But—

“…What?”
He didn’t budge.
Jo Deok didn’t move an inch.

Go Seung’s expression hardened into something serious.
“What… are you?”
“Stop it. Whatever Ji Gwang did to you—I’ll apologize on his behalf.”

At that, Go Seung narrowed his eyes.
“You’re stronger. So why the hell is he the top of Cheongseok?”
The students around them gasped in shock.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?
That this guy outranked Yoo Ji Gwang in strength?
Impossible.

“What nonsense is this? You’re mistaken. I’m not stronger than Ji Gwang.”
“Oh, really? Then I guess we should test it.”
Go Seung launched a vicious strike at Jo Deok.

Jo Deok took the blow and was sent sprawling to the ground.
The Cheongseok students collectively thought, Knew it.
But the look on Go Seung’s face didn’t match theirs.

The moment I struck him… he nullified the force?
He’d felt it clearly.
Right when his attack connected—its power had been diffused.

And Jo Deok had deliberately flung himself back, acting as though he’d taken a devastating hit.
Go Seung’s face twisted.
“What the hell are you playing at?”

“Gah… What do you mean, ‘playing’? You attacked me.”
“You neutralized my strike and pretended to get hit!”
“That never happened. You’re imagining things.”

As Jo Deok replied calmly, Go Seung glanced at the unconscious Yoo Ji Gwang with a cold expression.
Then—he raised his blade and swung it down at Yoo Ji Gwang’s leg.
A strike designed to force Jo Deok’s hand, to make him reveal his true strength.

Just as the blade was about to land—
CLANG—
A blur cut through the air and knocked the blade away.

THOOM—
VMMMMM—
“Ghh!”

Go Seung’s massive blade trembled violently as he was pushed backward.
CRACK—
He jammed the quivering sword into the ground, digging in to brace himself.

RUMBLE—
The sword still vibrated where it stood, sending tremors through the earth beneath them.
“…That’s no ordinary internal force. You really are strong.”

Jo Deok checked Yoo Ji Gwang’s condition, then let out a long sigh as he stood.
“Haaah… So I’ve been found out, huh?”
His words carried a hint of resignation, and the Cheongseok students began murmuring.

“Wh-what the hell? That sounded like a confession…”
“Wait—has he been hiding his real cultivation level all this time?”
“No way.”

“No… It seems real. Didn’t you see that bear of a man get knocked back just now?”
“Why would he hide his power?”
“What’s he covering up…?”

As the murmurs grew, Jo Deok let out a bitter smile.
“Looks like there’s a story behind this,” Go Seung said quietly.
Jo Deok gave a dry chuckle.

“Who doesn’t have a story? Though I guess this one’s going to be a bit of a headache.”
“Then why reveal your true strength now? Why protect that bastard of all people?”
Go Seung’s voice carried quiet suspicion. Jo Deok glanced at the unconscious Yoo Ji Gwang and answered.

“Because he called me his friend. Because he reminded me I had a place. A reason to exist.”
Then he looked Go Seung in the eye.
“And now that my real strength is exposed, if I back down here, the others will lose faith in me, won’t they?”

“They would.”
“Then I have no choice but to put you down—for Cheongseok’s honor, and to protect Ji Gwang.”
CLACK—

Go Seung yanked his embedded sword from the earth and slung it over his shoulder.
“You should’ve done that from the start.”
“If I beat you, Baekyeong will retreat, right?”

“No. If you beat me, you’ll still have to face our Baekyeong top student. For the record—he’s so far beyond me, I don’t even register as a threat to him.”
“I figured. Fine. «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» I’ll defeat you—and then him.”
“Try it. It won’t be easy—wait… What the hell?!”

As Jo Deok finally unleashed his true power, Go Seung instinctively stumbled backward in shock.
From the sheer pressure alone, it was clear—
He wasn’t just a Peak-Level expert.

He was beyond that.
“Hyper-Peak Level…?”
Go Seung whispered in disbelief.

The Cheongseok students erupted in stunned gasps.
He had been hiding that kind of cultivation level while playing second fiddle to Yoo Ji Gwang?
“Now that you know the gap… won’t you just back off?”

His tone confirmed it—he was admitting it openly.
He was a hidden master, a recluse posing as an average student.
Go Seung turned.

Yeon Woo Jin was watching.
There was no way he could show weakness now.
My liege is watching.

Snort—
Go Seung exhaled sharply through his nose and pointed his blade forward.