The Martial God with Psychic Powers

Bucheon-gi and Giho exchanged a glance—then nodded.
Slowly, the two of them knelt before Yeon Woo Jin and bowed deeply.

Then, in loud, unwavering voices, they declared:
“Shin Giho! From this day forward, I will serve you as my lord!”
“Shin Bucheon-gi! I will devote my entire being to serving you!”

Yeon Woo Jin stepped forward and helped them to their feet with a calm smile.
“Well done. I’m glad you’re here. Let’s make something of this together.”
“Loyalty!”

“Now then—shouldn’t I give you a gift for becoming my subordinates?”
A gift?
That wasn’t necessary at all.
But the looks from the people around them… were strange.

Pity?
…Was this a gift they shouldn’t be accepting?
What was this uneasy feeling?

“Come on, follow me. Let’s go get your gift.”
“Huh? Y-Yes!”
As Giho and Bucheon-gi followed behind Yeon Woo Jin with no idea what was happening, the kids around them whispered:

“Haven’t heard the screams for a while. Guess it’s about to start again.”
“No matter how many times I hear it, I never get used to how agonizing it sounds.”
“But hey, a gift’s a gift. It’s basically a fateful encounter.”

“Forget it. Let’s just get back to training.”
“Yeah.”
They arrived at a place marked with unfamiliar symbols.

Giho and Bucheon-gi tilted their heads. No matter how much they looked around, there was nothing here that resembled a gift.
Then Yeon Woo Jin grinned.
“You injured your left arm before, didn’t you? That’s why your energy circulation is a bit uneven.”

“H–How did you know that…?”
“And you—yours isn’t severe, but you’ve got meridian dysfunction. That’s why you excel in martial arts but experience severe stamina loss. Once your internal energy crosses the Baekhap threshold, you’d collapse easily.”
Bucheon-gi’s eyes widened.

Yeon Woo Jin was right. It wasn’t severe, but he did have a broken meridian.
“Y–You’re correct.”
What shocked him wasn’t just that Yeon Woo Jin knew—he knew something even his parents had carefully kept secret.
They’d hidden it out of fear that if the clan found out, he’d be deemed useless and discarded.

How could this man know?
“What’s with that look? Inside Mushincheon, my moniker is the Divine Physician of the Sacred Hand.”
“Wha—? Y-You’re that Divine Physician?”

“Mm. I ended up being called that, somehow.”
Unbelievable.
Not just a powerhouse, but a healer whose medicine was said to rival the heavens themselves.

Then just how strong was he, if this was only part of his identity?
They didn’t dare ask—they could only imagine.
I’ll ask the others later.

As the two were still stunned from hearing his moniker, Yeon Woo Jin spoke again.
“Well, shall we begin?”
“Begin what?”

“Treatment—and body enhancement.”
“Body enhancement?”
“Yep. Now relax your mind and lie down over there.”

They obediently lay down.
Yeon Woo Jin then struck their pressure points in an instant, rendering them unable to move.
Startled, the two of them looked up in panic as Yeon Woo Jin calmly reassured them.
“There’s a bit of pain involved in the treatment. But if you struggle, it’ll be difficult for me to proceed. Just endure it for a little while.”

Even with the explanation, the fear didn’t leave their eyes.
Pain? Why is he only mentioning this now…?
“All right. Here we go.”

Clatter—
The soft rattle of the needle box made both of them flinch.
“What kind of martial artists are afraid of these thin little needles?”

Yeon Woo Jin chuckled as he pulled out a long, gleaming acupuncture needle. The two of them trembled in terror.
And in their hearts, they both thought the same thing:
Martial artists or not, getting stabbed with needles still fucking hurts.

 
****
Foam bubbling at their lips…

Giho and Bucheon-gi had fainted cold, twitching on the floor.
Yeon Woo Jin sat beside them, calmly wiping his hands with a damp cloth.

Jang Woon and Sunwoo Baek approached quietly, curiosity plain on their faces.

“Looks like their condition was worse than you expected?”
At Jang Woon’s observation, Yeon Woo Jin nodded.
“Yeah. Their bodies were in far worse shape than they looked. Means they’ve been pushing themselves way too hard.”

“They did say they worked like mad to gain their clan’s recognition.”
“Exactly. Years of pushing themselves in the wrong way completely damaged their qi meridians. They made it to the Hwagyeong Realm, sure—but that’s where they’d have plateaued.”
“That bad?”

“Worse. If they’d tried to push beyond their current level with meridians in that state, the surge in internal energy would’ve ruptured them. It would’ve killed them.”
Yeon Woo Jin looked at the unconscious pair and continued,
“The only reason they even managed to endure this far was because they were born with exceptional physiques. If we treat them properly and train them systematically… they’ll break through in no time.”

His words seemed to strike a chord—Jang Woon and Sunwoo Baek turned on their heels and mumbled as they walked off:
“We’ve checked on them. That’s enough.”
“Suddenly remembered something I need to do.”

The place they were heading?
The training field.
Yeon Woo Jin couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched the two of them hurry away.

They were kids who pushed themselves harder the more competition they saw.
And now, with Giho and Bucheon-gi added to the mix, that competition had only grown.
“Now then… shall we get back to the needles?”

 
****
A few days later.

After what could only be described as hellish days, Giho and Bucheon-gi finally emerged anew.
They felt refreshed. Light.
As though they could take flight at any moment.

The stinging, tingling sensation that used to accompany their energy circulation was gone.
Thanks to that, they could now regulate their breathing and Qi with ease.
Bucheon-gi, in particular, was shocked to discover his meridian disorder had completely vanished.

Yeon Woo Jin truly was the Divine ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Physician of the Sacred Hand.
“How do you feel? Your body feels lighter, doesn’t it?”
At Yeon Woo Jin’s question, both of them bowed low and shouted:

“My lord, your grace is deeper than the sea—how could we ever hope to repay it!”
“We shall repay this benevolence with absolute loyalty, even if it costs our lives!”
Yeon Woo Jin looked down at the two with a faint smile.

“Judging by how clear your voices are, looks like the treatment really worked. Now that your bodies are healed, it’s time to get started properly.”
Properly?
The moment both of them showed a puzzled expression—

Yeon Woo Jin moved again.
Papat—
So fast they didn’t even realize when it happened, their pressure points were sealed once more.

“The treatment’s over. Now it’s time to strengthen your bodies.”
That grin on Yeon Woo Jin’s face—
It brought back the same terror they’d felt right before the acupuncture.

 
****
That night.

Giho and Bucheon-gi sat down with Jang Woon and Sunwoo Baek, completely spaced out.
“You okay…? Probably not, huh?”
“What kind of question is that? Are you asking if we’re okay, or if we’re not okay?”

“No, it just reminded me of back then. We went through it too. I remember how pissed I was when people asked if I was okay.”
At Jang Woon’s comment, Giho let out a weak chuckle.
“We’re okay.”

“Really? No way you should be.”
“Right? Maybe Woo Jin went easy on them?”
“What’s with that reaction? You sound disappointed we didn’t suffer more.”

“No, it’s not like that—”
“We’re really okay. If anything, it felt like a blessing in disguise.”
“Exactly. Our physical condition’s improved for real.”

Giho looked at Sunwoo Baek.
“Just wait. I’ll be coming for that rematch.”
“You think I’ve just been lazing around? Come anytime.”

Their eyes clashed in midair.
Then the two exchanged a grin.
“You look at peace now. When you first arrived, you looked completely drained.”

“Yeah. For the first time, I feel like I’ve found where I belong.”
At Giho’s words, Bucheon-gi nodded in firm agreement.
“But sometimes I don’t know what to do when our lord tells us to speak informally.”

“Oh, that. Inside the High Division, there are always eyes watching. And honestly, he considers you more friends than subordinates.”

“Us, too?”
“Yeah. I’d bet he thinks of you as friends already.”

“So inside the High Division, never call him ‘lord’ or speak formally. He really hates that.”
“If it’s too awkward, just avoid talking altogether. The civilian students here don’t see Woo Jin as Baekyeong’s number one—they think he’s just another civilian student. You have to be careful around them.”
“Yeah. He doesn’t like people knowing who he really is.”

“That’s why, until recently, he had zero interest in the position of Heavenly Lord.”
At Jang Woon’s words, Giho and Bucheon-gi perked up.
Finally—something they’d been dying to know.

“I was curious about that. How come the grandson of the Martial God isn’t one of the official successors?”
“It’s a fair question. We wondered the same thing.”
“Yeah. At first, he didn’t care about Mushincheon at all. His plan was to quietly graduate from the High Division, then retire with the Martial God to some quiet countryside and live a normal life.”

“‘Normal,’ huh…”
It was the word that least suited either the Martial God or Yeon Woo Jin.
“So what changed?”

“He said his thinking shifted while attending the High Division.”
“Right. He wanted to stay with us longer. And to do that, he decided he had to become someone of Mushincheon. But, you know… there’s only one position in Mushincheon that fits Woo Jin.”
That position was the throne of Mushincheon’s Supreme Lord.

“Then why have the competition for successor at all?”
“Oh, that. The Martial God just wanted to hand the throne off quickly so he could retire peacefully with Woo Jin. But then Woo Jin changed his mind too late—by that point, the contest was already underway and couldn’t be stopped.”
“It turned out for the best, honestly. The stronger the candidates become, the stronger Mushincheon will be once Woo Jin leads it.”

They all spoke as though Yeon Woo Jin taking the throne was already a foregone conclusion.
“How strong is our lord… really?”
Giho asked cautiously. Jang Woon responded with a wide grin.

“He’s the greatest under heaven—of all time.”
“Huh? As in, strong enough to become the greatest soon?”
“Not soon. Now.”

“Right now?”
“Yeah. He’s already the greatest there’s ever been.”
“W-What the hell are you saying?”

“Yeah, what about the Martial God?”
“The Martial God… can’t beat Woo Jin anymore. He’s been training like mad lately, trying to catch up.”
Giho and Bucheon-gi gaped, mouths wide open.

“You’re… you’re kidding.”
“What would we gain from lying to you?”
“Exactly. You’ll find out soon enough anyway.”

“You’re saying it’s true?”
“It’s true.”
“Yep. And it’s not just martial prowess. He also possesses a special power.”

“When you witness it, it feels like… like a god is walking among mortals, toying with the world.”
A god, playing at humanity?
“Not only does he have a special power and a mind that surpasses any genius, he’s also called the Divine Physician—and even masters formations.”

“Honestly, if he took the throne of Mushincheon right now, I doubt anyone would object.”
“For real!”
Giho shook his head slowly.

“The seat of Mushincheon’s Lord isn’t something you can just sit in. You need the acknowledgment of its internal institutions, and the support of all the subordinate sects.”
“True. It’s a place where power equals position—but the Supreme Lord is the one exception. You need the ability to harmonize the vast network of powers tied to Mushincheon.”
That rule had been in place ever since the Martial God, Yeon Cheon Baek, had founded Mushincheon. For it to survive after he stepped down, such conditions were essential.

But then, Jang Woon and Sunwoo Baek smiled.
“Yeah, you don’t have to worry about that. Woo Jin might act lazy, but he’s already gradually taking control of Mushincheon.”
“Taking control…?”

“Yeah. Why do you think the Shin Clan heir follows him so faithfully?”
“What?”
“The Shin Clan has already pledged themselves to Woo Jin.”

“W-What?!”
“Most of the families these kids come from? They’re all under Woo Jin already.”
“Among Mushincheon’s internal branches, the Heavenly Lord Division, the Medicine King Division, the Selection Division, and the Strategist Corps are already his in all but name.”

“Wha—what are you saying?!”
“You’re saying even Mushincheon’s core organizations… are already under his control?!”
“And wait—the Heavenly Lord Division? How did that happen?!”

“How else? The Martial God gave permission. Otherwise, none of it would be possible.”
“What if… what if those people are just pretending to follow orders because the Martial God told them to?”
“Nope. All the Martial God said to those heads was: ‘Please take care of Woo Jin.’ That’s it.”

“You’re serious? He didn’t get angry at all?”
“Angry?”
“Yeah! I mean, if your own grandson’s threatening your position—wouldn’t you…”

“Not tolerate it?”
“Exactly.”
“That’s what we thought too—but no. Turns out…”

“The Martial God absolutely adores Woo Jin.”
“You’ll see it for yourselves someday. You’ll see just how much of a doting grandfather he is.”
“A doting… grandfather?”

“I can’t picture that at all.”
“Right? He always looks so stern and commanding in public. But in front of Woo Jin, he turns into the gentlest grandpa in the world.”