The Martial God with Psychic Powers

The Baekyak Pavilion, which had once been little more than ruins.
Now, it had been completely restored and transformed into a pristine structure.
In fact, the addition of new pavilions had even expanded its scale.

That didn’t mean just anyone could enter.
A formation had been laid over the area.
One part of Baekyak Pavilion, sealed off by a formation no one could breach, was Yeon Woo Jin’s personal quarters.

At that very moment, Yeon Woo Jin was preparing for alchemy in his quarters.
He had now learned proper alchemy. That meant it was time to craft elixirs that would make the children even stronger.
The most important thing was balance.

He couldn’t afford to rush it.
He had to build them up in a balanced way, which was no easy task.
It wasn’t a matter of simply creating powerful elixirs.

So, he decided to craft elixirs tailored to each of their individual constitutions.
There was no shortage of spiritual herbs.
Now that he had properly studied alchemy, he realized just how carelessly he had been making pills until now.

He had made them strong, yes—but at the cost of balance.
That was because he had forcibly gathered the energy of nature and crammed it into the pills.
Unnatural and contrived energy might produce rapid strength, but eventually it hits a wall.

The children’s current cultivation levels were essentially the result of that artificial strength.
That’s why, starting now, he needed to ensure their growth happened naturally.
Natural energy.
That was the energy found in spiritual herbs.

Energy accumulated gradually and harmoniously over the course of many years.
That’s why everyone sought spiritual herbs.
In truth, making pills from spiritual herbs was far easier for Yeon Woo Jin.

Even if one were to gather and inject energy, it couldn’t compare to the energy stored over hundreds or thousands of years within a spiritual herb.
Yeon Woo Jin began making Golden Ring Pills just like he had in the Yakwangdang.
Vmmmmm—.

There was one key difference now: he no longer needed several Heaven's Boundary-level masters around for days at a time.
With his strength alone, Yeon Woo Jin could now finely control the flow of energy in multiple pills simultaneously.
And so, he began refining pills suited to each child individually.
 

****
A night as black as pitch, with no moon in sight.
Sama Cheon stepped out onto the watchtower to feel the wind.

He was calming his weary mind by stargazing, when—
“Hmm?”
Something looked off about the stars.

“Hoo… is His Majesty Ziwei in a foul mood tonight? His light is faint.”
Ziwei Dadi was the Taoist name for the North Star.
All the other stars were shining brightly, but the Big Dipper alone was dim.

Its light was even beginning to fade.
Then, in the next instant—
One star began to shine intensely bright.

Sama Cheon noted its position, and his expression turned grim.
“The Po Jun Star shining that brilliantly… That’s certainly not a good omen.”
When the Po Jun Star shone particularly bright, it always heralded some great upheaval in the world.

War. Rebellion. Or the stirrings of evil forces that bathe the Central Plains in blood.
The intensity of the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} light determined the scale.
And the light now? It was far too bright.

Sama Cheon rushed inside and took out the Zhu Yi Divination Compass.
Click—click-click-click.
He began aligning the plates of the compass to read the future.

Destruction.
The worst possible result.
Just to be sure, he tried again. And again. And again. The result never changed.

Craack—!
Smash—!
The compass cracked open and shattered on its own.

This was beyond a mere bad omen.
He ran back outside.
The Po Jun Star that had been shining so fiercely had returned to normal, and the Big Dipper was once again shining as it should.

“…I have to speak with the Heavenly Lord.”
Sama Cheon whipped his robes and hurried to the Heavenly Lord’s chamber, where Yeon Cheon Baek resided.
 

****
Yeon Cheon Baek greeted Sama Cheon with a puzzled expression as the man arrived in the middle of the night.
“What brings you here at this hour?”

“I just read the signs of Heaven.”
“The signs? Judging from that serious look on your face, I take it the reading wasn’t good.”
“You're right. It’s serious—very serious.”

“How serious are we talking?”
“Serious enough that the world itself might collapse.”
“Hmm. So a force like that is about to appear?”

“I’m not sure. But both the reading and the constellations… Something’s not right.”
Hearing this, Yeon Cheon Baek spoke.
“Well then, let’s have a drink while we talk.”

Sama Cheon nodded.
A short while later.
A modest table was set. The two of them each took a deep drink.

Yeon Cheon Baek wiped the corner of his lips with the back of his hand and asked,
“There’s always a chance you read it wrong.”
“I wish that were the case.”

“What did you see that made you so certain?”
“The Po Jun Star. It shone. Brilliantly.”
“The Po Jun Star?”

“Yes. You know what that means. When it shines, it always brings great calamity upon the world.”
“That’s true. But if I recall… didn’t it shine back when the Blood Sect emerged as well?”
“It did. But this was much brighter than that.”

“Then this means something even more dangerous than the Blood Sect is coming.”
Yeon Cheon Baek’s expression shifted—he looked almost excited.
“You’re smiling, even when the world may be in danger?”

“What else should I do? Cry? If a crisis comes, we simply respond accordingly. Isn’t that why we founded Mushincheon together?”
“I suppose…”
“I wonder who it’ll be. The Blood Sect is out—I erased them from this world myself.”

“There were remnants left behind. Have you forgotten? Last year, the Blood Sect’s stragglers came here looking for something.”
“That’s true. But it’s nothing to worry about. Just some pitiful rats trying to stir up trouble.”
“No, that’s not it. It felt like they were searching for something.”

“Something? Did you find out what it was?”
Sama Cheon nodded.
“On Mount Cheonhwa, we discovered the Soha Robe. That’s what they were after.”

“The Soha Robe… Isn’t that a Daoist treasure?”
“It is.”
“It was on Mount Cheonhwa?”

“Yes. At the summit, there’s a shrine used for rites to the heavens. It was buried beneath that shrine.”
“But why would the Blood Sect want something like that?”
“That’s what I can’t figure out. Why would they seek a sacred Daoist relic? It’s not as if they could sell it to Wudang or Mount Hua.”

“What’s the Soha Robe’s purpose?”
“It’s a legendary artifact said to be used for summoning immortals.”
“Immortals? Could the Blood Sect have been trying to summon their dead cult leader back to the mortal realm?”

“Now that you say that, I’m curious too. I’ll have to investigate further tomorrow.”
“And even if they did succeed—what then? I’d just kill him again. Surely they know that? Especially since I’m far stronger now than I was back then.”
“True. There’s no way they don’t know that. Maybe… they’re trying to summon something else entirely?”

“Are they seriously trying to summon Immortals?”
“As if Immortals would listen to those bastards. They’d probably just slaughter the ones who summoned them and go back.”
“Keukeke. That I’d love to see. The Blood Cult getting annihilated by the very Immortals they called down.”

“What was the Blood Cult’s reason for rampaging through the world, anyway?”
“Who knows? Did they even have a goal? Guess we’ll have to look into that too.”
Chorrrrk—

Yeon Cheonbaek poured wine into Sima Cheon’s cup and said:
“Don’t take it too seriously. If someone tries to throw the world into chaos, we just deal with them. And if we’re worried that powerful ones might show up, we just get stronger ourselves. Isn’t that why we created Mushincheon?”
Sima Cheon stared for a moment at the brimming cup, then tossed it back and looked at Yeon Cheonbaek with a faint smile.

“You’re right. Worrying won’t make problems go away. I’ll head out first.”
“Leaving already? There’s still plenty of wine left.”
“Just in case, I should start preparing to make Mushincheon even stronger. Something truly monstrous might appear in the world.”

Leaving those words behind, Sima Cheon hurried off.
Left alone, Yeon Cheonbaek slowly tilted his cup and fell into thought.
“Soha’s… trying to summon Immortals…”

Sluuurp—
After emptying his cup, Yeon Cheonbaek stood up.
“I should talk to our Woo Jin.”

Whenever something troubling came up now,
the first person Yeon Cheonbaek turned to was no longer anyone else—
but Yeon Woo Jin.
 
****

Yeon Woo Jin was startled to see Yeon Cheonbaek show up suddenly in the middle of the night.
“You weren’t asleep?”
“No, Grandpa. What brings you here all of a sudden?”

“I wanted to see our Woo Jin. Is that not allowed?”
“No, it’s just… You’ve never come this late before. Please, come in.”
“Sure. I brought drinks and snacks to share with my grandson.”

“I was feeling a bit hungry myself—good timing.”
When Yeon Woo Jin smiled brightly, Yeon Cheonbaek smiled just as warmly and stepped inside.
They sat down, and Woo Jin quietly accepted the drink poured for him.

“Here, have a cup.”
“Yes.”
Gulp—

Clack.
They both downed their drinks in one go.
Chorrrk—

Yeon Cheonbaek poured another full glass.
“Grandpa?”
“Let’s have one more.”

Yeon Woo Jin said nothing and emptied that one in one shot as well.
Then he looked at Yeon Cheonbaek.
“Woo Jin.”

“Yes?”
“General Sima was just here.”
“Did Master say something troubling?”

“Hmm. He did.”
“What happened?”
“Woo Jin, can you read the heavenly signs?”

“I don’t know about heavenly signs, but I can read a bit of the I Ching and the stars.”
“They say the Pagun Star was shining brightly.”
“The Pagun Star?”

“Yes. You know what happens when that one lights up.”
“Of course. It’s an omen of disaster in the world.”
“Right. What do you think of this?”

Yeon Woo Jin thought for a moment, then stood up from his seat.
“I’ll go check the constellations first.”
“Go ahead.”

Yeon Woo Jin quickly stepped outside and looked up at the night sky.
The stars looked normal to the untrained eye—
but not to his.
‘The constellations really are moving oddly. Something’s happening.’

He checked the Big Dipper.
Then he observed the surrounding constellations.
He spotted the North Star.

‘The North Star’s light is dim… It’s being swallowed by the Pagun Star.’
He maximized his eyesight and examined the space between the two stars.
Between the Pagun Star and the North Star,
the air shimmered like heat haze.

It wasn’t being swallowed—
the shimmer distorted the light, making it look like it was being devoured.
He had never seen anything like this before.
It was eerie.
And ominous.

Yeon Woo Jin went back inside and told Yeon Cheonbaek:
“It’s definitely not a good sign.”
“What did you see?”

“The energy of the universe has been thrown off balance.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I can’t explain it exactly, but… it just doesn’t feel natural.”

“Heh… Even you’re saying that—it must really be no ordinary matter.”
Yeon Cheonbaek grew serious.
But then Yeon Woo Jin smiled and said:

“What are you so worried about? We’ve got Mushincheon, you, and me.”
Yeon Cheonbaek laughed at that.
“Hearing you say it with such confidence really does ease my mind.”

“Yes. Still, we don’t know what might happen,
so I should probably raise my level properly, just in case.”
“Normally I’d tell you to take it easy, but I can’t afford to.
If we ever face an enemy I can’t handle, I’ll need you.”
“Yes. I’ll make sure I’m truly strong.”

At his answer, Yeon Cheonbaek smiled.
“I couldn’t ask for more. Hahaha!”
Yeon Woo Jin was truly reassuring.

A grandson even he couldn’t defeat.
And the boy hadn’t even reached his peak yet—astounding.
No matter how hard he trained,
he probably couldn’t surpass his grandson anymore.
That thought made him feel a little sad.

But it also meant he could relax,
no matter what kind of enemy appeared—because Yeon Woo Jin was here.
Maybe the heavens had sent Yeon Woo Jin down
in anticipation of an enemy the world could not handle?
Given his extraordinary powers and strength beyond human limits,
it wasn’t hard to believe.

‘Yes… There’s no way the heavens would send down someone like Woo Jin for nothing.’
Yeon Cheonbaek looked at him.
The small, weak boy had grown up to become a dependable young man.

He’d always fought alone, shouldering the world—
but now, he had a solid grandson beside him.
That grandson had declared that he would become the next Master of Mushincheon.
Surely he had done so for Yeon Cheonbaek’s sake.

A devoted grandson.
Yeon Cheonbaek couldn’t help but smile.