The Martial God with Psychic Powers

An endless desert stretched to the horizon.
In this barren land where not a single soul could be seen, there remained traces that humans had once lived here.

Dae-mak Gwangya Earthen Fortress.
This place was one of them.
A place so forgotten, even the memory of the fortress's existence had vanished from people's minds.

And yet, there were people here.
Not just a few—but many who resided here permanently.
Whether it was to shield themselves from the rough sandstorms or the blazing sun, they were all draped in black cloth.

Those who had gathered in this place, so inhospitable to life.
Just who were they, that they lived here, together?
At the heart of the fortress stood a large hall, where people had gathered for a meeting.
“You still haven’t figured out a way to infiltrate Mushincheon?”

“Ever since we were discovered last time, their security has become extremely tight.”
Bang—!
“Damn it all!”

The elder seated in the chief’s seat turned and roared.
“That’s why I told you to approach them covertly!”
“M-My apologies. At the time, I believed the best course was to subdue them.”

“Then subdue them! But you failed even at that and only made things more difficult!”
“The blood techniques I hastily learned keep twisting my meridians… And besides, I can’t exactly use demonic arts, can I? The moment we use demonic techniques, the whole Central Plains will light up like wildfire trying to hunt us down.”
“Ghh…”

He wasn’t wrong—so there was nothing to say.
“Damn it. Of all things, why did the power that rose in that place have to be Mushincheon?”
If it were any other faction, they could’ve slaughtered their way in. But not Mushincheon.

On the contrary, it was their side that risked being annihilated.
“At this rate, how are we supposed to bring the Heavenly Demon into the world? He’s surely still yearning for the gate to open even now.”
This was the Heavenly Demon Cult—a group of zealots who worshiped the Heavenly Demon.

The man in the seat of honor was Daehagan, the bishop of the cult.
“Figure it out. Find a solution!”
Everyone lowered their heads, silent.

To them, the place where Mushincheon resided was practically sacred ground.
They knew full well that the gate to the Demonic Realm was sealed at Mushincheon.
That was why they had long worked to unseal it.
After years of waiting for the right moment, they had succeeded in infiltrating Mushincheon when peace had dulled their vigilance.

They had tried to quickly locate the core pillars of the formation maintaining the seal—
But they were caught by patrolling warriors of Mushincheon.
Just as everyone was racking their brains in frustration—

A subordinate burst in urgently from outside.
“B-Bishop!”
“What is it?”

“S-Sir, you… you need to come out and see this.”
“What’s going on?”
“A man claiming to serve the Heavenly Demon has arrived.”

“What?”
At those words, murmurs spread through the crowd.
“It could be a trap from those Central Plains bastards.”

“He’s right.”
“Did he offer any proof of identity?”
“I—proof or whatever—his body is overflowing with dense demonic energy.”

“Demonic energy?”
“Y-Yes. The moment I saw him, my whole body froze—pure terror.”
To emit that level of demonic aura… it had to be real.

The bishop rushed out immediately.
“—!”
Thick demonic energy engulfed the area.

At the center of that aura stood a grim-looking man, his hands clasped behind his back.
The bishop quickly approached and stood respectfully before him.
“I am the one in charge of this place.”

“You… are the bishop?”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
The voice—like it had crawled out from the depths of an abyss—made the bishop’s skin crawl.

“I’ve searched for some time.”
“M-My apologies. We had to avoid the eyes of the Central Plains…”
“You have endured much.”

“Not at all.”
“Your efforts will soon be rewarded.”
“D-Does that mean… you’ve found a way for the Heavenly Demon to return to the world?”

“Yes. A new path connecting this place to the Demonic Realm has been opened. Through it, warriors of the Demonic Realm will soon rise.”
At those words, the bishop and the cultists wept with joy.
“At last…!”

“There is a task for you.”
“Whatever it is, give the command!”
“The Heavenly Demon requires a citadel.”

Crackle—
The man extended a finger to a wooden plank. Lightning surged, scorching a map into its surface.
He pointed to it and said,

“There is a fissure here. Build the fortress there. As fast as possible.”
“Understood!”
“As for the cost…”

Snap—
With a flick of his finger, the air split open and yellow-gold objects tumbled down.
“Will this be enough?”

It was all gold.
“More than enough!”
As the bishop bowed his head, the man smiled faintly.

“Soon, He shall walk the world. Hurry.”
“Yes, sir!”
Whsssh—

With that, the man vanished like smoke.
It wasn’t a dream.
The mountain of gold before their eyes made that clear.

“Bishop.”
“Yes! At last, our world is coming! Begin clearing this place and gather every laborer you can find!”
“If word of the location spreads, it’ll be dangerous.”

“Don’t worry. Before construction begins, we’ll brainwash them all and make them cultists.”
“All of them?”
“Yes. The Heavenly Demon will need countless servants. Gather as many people as you can.”

“Understood.”
“This must never—never—be revealed to the world. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”

After issuing his orders, the bishop smiled darkly.
“Heh heh heh… At last, He shall descend.”
All that agonizing over how to infiltrate Mushincheon now felt like a waste.

“Just wait, world. The humiliation you gave us—will soon be repaid.”
 
****

As the Sincheon Escort Company traveled toward the Hebei Pang Clan,
Hwangbo Gwang, who had joined the party, got ruthlessly crushed by Yeon Woo Jin on the very first day.
And from then on, he endured hellish training all the way here.

But he couldn’t complain.
Namgoong Myeong had endured this same brutal training in silence—and had come through it all.
It was astonishing.

He began to doubt whether the Namgoong Myeong he’d known was the same person.
Even more shocking was that Namgoong Myeong had grown far stronger than he remembered.
Namgoong Myeong explained that he had become stronger through training under Yeon Woo Jin.

From that moment on, Hwangbo Gwang gritted his teeth and threw himself into the training.
And sure enough—he began to grow stronger.
So much stronger that he couldn’t even compare himself to the version of him that had first set out.

It was the first time he had ever felt this rapid a growth.
And at the same time, he realized just how lazy he had been in his training.
Now, he understood clearly—

That Yeon Woo Jin was truly extraordinary.
He now understood why everyone who encountered him ended up choosing to follow him.
Once they stopped by the Hebei Pang Clan and returned, they would have to part ways.

That made him feel regretful.
He wanted to stay by Yeon Woo Jin’s side a little longer.
Then, as if remembering something, Hwangbo Gwang turned to Namgoong Myeong and asked,

“Ah, hey—are you planning to enter the Divine Dragon Tournament this time?”
“Oh, right. The Divine Dragon Tournament is happening soon, huh? It’s being hosted by the Mount Hua Sect this year, right?”
“Yeah. So what do you think?”

“I don’t think I’ll be going. As you know… I need to stay beside my benefactor and assist him. That’s more important than the tournament.”
“Yeah… If you went, I’m sure victory would’ve been guaranteed.”
“What about you?”

“I think I’d be crushed by you.”
“Well, since I’m not going, you can go win it.”
“I’m thinking of not going either. Honestly, being here… feels more important.”

“Are you sure? You’d been looking forward to it forever. You were fired up to show those other sects the might of the Hwangbo Clan.”
“It’s meaningless. What’s the point of proving you’re strong—when it’s just ants wrestling for dominance? The real thing is over there.”
He let out a sigh, looking toward Yeon Woo Jin.

When he looked at him, he wondered what meaning there was in winning some tournament.
It was just frogs fighting in a well, each thinking themselves the biggest.
At Hwangbo Gwang’s words, Namgoong Myeong nodded.

“You’re right. Honestly, that’s why I don’t want to participate either.”
Namgoong Myeong looked toward Jang Woon and Sunwoo Baek.
“Look at them. They’re barely adults, but they’re already stronger than we were at that age. With time, they’ll surpass us. And people like that? There are tons of them by our benefactor’s side. The people we need to compete with aren’t those brats in the Divine Dragon Tournament—it’s the warriors of Sincheon Escort Company.”

“You’re right. They really are strong. If those tournament heirs saw them, they’d realize how complacent their own training has been.”
“Exactly.”
As the two spoke—

“What’s the Divine Dragon Tournament?”
Yeon Woo Jin had entered the conversation.
“Oh! Right. It’s an event where the martial sects of the Murim, excluding Mushincheon, gather to test their strength.”

“It’s held once every four years, and it’s being held this year. The heirs of each sect participate to display their power and bring honor to their clans.”
“Then all the major sects must gather there, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”

“Will their clan leaders attend too?”
“Not the leaders themselves, but usually the upper executives representing the sect will attend.”
“I see. When is it held?”

“In the fall.”
“So there’s still some time. We were going to stop by Mount Hua anyway, so why don’t you attend? Sounds fun.”
“Understood.”

“Is it impossible to participate unless you’re an heir?”
“No, non-heirs can enter too. But their chances of winning are slim, so very few do.”
“I see. Then we should send some of our own.”

“Who do you plan to send?”
“Hmm… Is there a limit to how many each sect can send?”
“Maximum of two.”

“In that case, let’s see. Jang Woon and Sunwoo Baek will represent Sincheon Escort Company. Bang Woon and Jo Deok can represent their ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) respective sects.”
He smiled faintly.
“Um… Are the sects Bang Woon and Jo Deok belong to affiliated with Mushincheon?”

“No. Their sects haven’t registered yet, so they’re not affiliated—yet.”
“Oh, then it’s fine. One of the rules excludes sects affiliated with Mushincheon.”
“Why would they make a rule like that?”

“Obvious, isn’t it? If Mushincheon sects compete, no one else gets to be the star.”
“Exactly. The sects of the Central Plains have a massive inferiority complex about Mushincheon-affiliated factions.”
Yeon Woo Jin more or less understood what that meant.

As their conversation went on, they eventually arrived before the main gate of the Hebei Pang Clan.
“Could you tell me more about the Divine Dragon Tournament later?”
“Of course. I’ll prepare a proper summary and bring it to you.”

“Great. Please do.”
 
****

Clan Lord Pang Hon of the Hebei Pang Clan tilted his head as he received two letters.
“What is this? These two sent letters together? Even sent their young clan lords?”
It didn’t feel like an ordinary matter.

Rip—
He tore open the letters and began reading.
“An important guest?”

Namgoong Cheon’s letter asked him to treat a certain guest with the utmost respect, as he would treat Namgoong Cheon himself.
Who had he sent, that he’d go so far as to write this and send the Young Lord with him?
Pang Hon opened the second letter—from Hwangbo Won.

It said much the same.
That a precious guest from the Hwangbo Clan was coming and should be treated well.
Both letters had one thing in common:

Someone important was arriving. Do not fail to treat him properly.
At this point, curiosity was inevitable.
Just who was this man they spoke of with such reverence?

Who could he possibly be?
 
Moments later,

Namgoong Myeong and Hwangbo Gwang entered the clan lord’s reception hall and bowed.
“Namgoong Myeong, Young Lord of the Namgoong Clan, greets the Lord of the Pang Clan.”
“Hwangbo Gwang, Young Lord of the Hwangbo Clan, greets the Lord of the Pang Clan.”

“You’ve both traveled far. Well done.”
“Thank you.”
Pang Hon’s eyes shifted to the third man beside them.

Was it him?
Was this the one mentioned in the letters?
“And you are…?”

“A pleasure to meet you. I am Yeon Woo Jin, Lord of the Sincheon Escort Company.”
“Sincheon Escort Company…?”