The Martial God with Psychic Powers

At Namgoong Cheon’s summons, the Young Lord, Namgoong Myeong, rushed over at once.

Namgoong Cheon handed him a letter.
“What is this?”
“A letter to deliver to the Hwangbo Clan and the Peng Clan of Hebei. You’ll be making the trip.”

“Understood. I will depart immediately.”
“No, you’ll be traveling with someone.”
“Pardon?”

“Go with our benefactor. Remember this well. Just because he is younger than you does not mean you may act carelessly. Treat him as you would treat me, always.”
“Of course. By any chance… is this to introduce him to the Hwangbo and Peng Clans?”
“Indeed. You know both families well, so I’m sending you with him. This is a matter of great importance. You must not approach it lightly.”

“Understood.”
Seeing Namgoong Myeong nod with a serious expression, Namgoong Cheon smiled faintly.
“For you, this journey may well become a fateful opportunity.”
“An opportunity?”

“Our benefactor has agreed to train you personally.”
“What?”
“He is stronger than I am. Such a person offering to train you—if that isn’t a fortunate opportunity, what is? Learn well, grow stronger, and return.”

“Y-Yes, understood.”
Namgoong Myeong was bewildered.
He had heard people say this benefactor was stronger than his own father, Namgoong Cheon, but he had never seen it with his own eyes and hadn’t truly believed it.

He simply thought his father was speaking highly of him out of gratitude.
But from how seriously his father spoke now, ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) it didn’t seem to be an exaggeration.
Curiosity sparked within him.

Could he really be that strong?
He wanted to experience it for himself.
“Understood. I will do my utmost to learn and grow before returning.”

“Hahaha! That’s the spirit! Hold onto that mindset! Never forget—you must show the utmost respect to our benefactor at all times.”
“Yes! I will remember that again and again.”
“Good! And take this as well.”

Namgoong Cheon handed him a bundle of banknotes.
“You’ll cover all travel expenses with these.”
“Yes.”
“I’m grateful. Finally, I have a chance to repay a fraction of the favor we owe.”

“I feel the same.”
“Now, go and prepare.”
“Yes!”

 
****
The next day.

Namgoong Myeong, fully prepared for the journey, went to meet Yeon Woo Jin.
When he arrived at Sincheonjang, Yeon Woo Jin had already finished preparations and was waiting.
“Apologies for being late.”

“Not at all. We’ve only just finished preparations ourselves.”
“But… what are all those packages?”
“Ah, since we’re headed to the Hwangbo Clan and the Peng Clan of Hebei, the Changcheon Trading Group requested we deliver these secured goods along the way. Since we’re traveling that way, we may as well handle the delivery.”

The Changcheon Trading Group was his own family’s enterprise.
To go this far for them…
He could only feel grateful.

“But… wasn’t this an urgent matter?”
“It is. That’s why we’ll be moving quickly.”
“Quickly?”

“Ah, you heard from the Patriarch, right? That you’ll be receiving training from me.”
“Yes, I’ve heard. I am lacking, but I’ll do my best to learn.”
Yeon Woo Jin smiled and pointed.

“Then, carry that one.”
“Pardon?”
“We’ll be traveling without carriages. You’ll be carrying everything on your back while running with lightness technique.”

“A-All of that cargo?”
“Yes. Keep this in mind—you will run without resting until your internal energy is depleted.”
He had never run while carrying such heavy cargo before.

But what could he do?
He had to obey.
“U-Understood.”

“This is part of your training, so you cannot take it lightly.”
“Yes.”
It was a type of training he had never seen before.

Would this even be effective?
Doubt briefly crossed Namgoong Myeong’s mind.
 

****
“Huff… Huff…!”
Namgoong Myeong gasped for breath as he struggled to keep up with Yeon Woo Jin’s group.

His cultivation level was Seventh Star of the Hwagyeong Realm.
Yet he was barely able to follow the escorts, whose cultivation levels were much lower than his own.
It came down to the difference in internal energy management.

He had never distributed his internal energy over such an extended period while running before, so it was exhausting.
And the heavy cargo only made it worse.
When in his life would he have to run carrying such weight?

Never—until now.
It was grueling. He wanted to collapse, but he clenched his teeth and pushed forward.
Even those with lower cultivation than himself were running well; his pride wouldn’t allow him to stop.

Grinding his teeth, he squeezed out every ounce of internal energy, forcing his body to follow the group.

They had been running for some time when the path suddenly veered off the main road.
They weren’t following any proper route.

Ahead, there was no path—only a sheer cliff face.
Did they take a wrong turn?
He wanted to warn them, but he was too exhausted to open his mouth.

Sure enough, a towering cliff appeared, blocking their way.
They would have to turn back.
Just as he thought that and prepared to turn—

“We climb over.”
Huh?
Climb?

Where?
Surely they didn’t mean that massive cliff…
On his back were valuable secured goods that had to be delivered to the clients.

Climb the cliff while carrying these?
What if they fell during the climb?
Huh…?

At that moment, the escorts began scaling the cliff without the slightest hesitation.
They climbed as naturally as spiders crawling up a wall.
It wasn’t their first time doing this.

Had they always transported goods like this?
The suspicion crossed his mind.
Still, he had agreed to follow orders, so Namgoong Myeong grabbed hold of the cliff.

A hollow laugh escaped him.
He never imagined he would experience something like this.
More importantly, his internal energy was nearly depleted.

If he miscalculated, his internal energy would run out mid-climb.
Namgoong Myeong began focusing, carefully distributing just enough energy to his body.
It was harder than expected.

He had never used his energy this way before.
Using minimal internal energy meant relying more on his muscles, which rapidly accelerated his fatigue.
But if he used his energy as he normally would, it would be depleted, and he’d fall.

If it were just his body, it might be manageable, but the weight of the cargo made it even harder.
At that moment, Namgoong Myeong gained insight.
He realized how dependent he had been on his internal energy all this time.

Gritting his teeth, he ignored the screaming protests of his muscles and slowly ascended the cliff.
He had climbed about halfway.
Conserving his internal energy had drained his stamina, causing his arms and fingers to weaken.

As his strength failed, he naturally leaned back on his internal energy, which rapidly diminished.
Near the top, just short of his destination, Namgoong Myeong’s strength gave out completely.
He tried to resist with sheer willpower, but his body no longer obeyed.

His arms failed him, and his body plummeted from the cliff toward the ground.
To die like this—what a pathetic end.
He clenched his eyes shut.

But time passed, and the ground never came.
At this height, he should have already crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces.
Cautiously cracking his eyes open, he saw the world frozen in place.

What kind of sorcery was this?
Widening his eyes, he looked around.
“Huh?”

Unbelievable.
His body was floating midair.
What the…?

Stunned, Namgoong Myeong spotted Yeon Woo Jin below, calmly looking up at him.
Could it be…?
Had Yeon Woo Jin caught him using Heogongseobmul—Sky-Grasping Technique?

Lifting a human body with Heogongseobmul was no easy task.
Especially at such height.
And he still had heavy secured goods strapped to his back.

Yet there wasn’t a trace of strain on Yeon Woo Jin’s face.
Or was there…?
Just as he thought that—

Yeon Woo Jin’s body began rising into the air.
“W-What?!”
Startled, Namgoong Myeong watched as Yeon Woo Jin floated up beside him.

“Did you gain any insight from this experience?”
Namgoong Myeong nodded.
“Good.”

Yeon Woo Jin was floating midair.
What kind of movement technique was this?
He had never seen such a thing.

Could a movement technique allow someone to hover so naturally in the sky?
Not that he knew of.
Was he truly… flying?

As Namgoong Myeong gaped at him, Yeon Woo Jin chuckled softly and asked:
“What’s wrong? Surprised?”
“Y-Yes… This… doesn’t seem like any movement technique I’ve seen…”

“I’m using Sky-Grasping Technique on myself to hold myself in midair.”
“What…?”
It was an utterly unheard-of, absurd method.

Wait a moment—wasn’t he himself currently being lifted by Sky-Grasping Technique?
And yet, Yeon Woo Jin had also lifted his own body into the air in that state.
A monster…

Only now did Namgoong Myeong realize that what Namgoong Cheon had said was the truth.

In fact, Yeon Woo Jin wasn’t floating midair because of Sky-Grasping Technique.
It was one of the abilities granted by his psychic powers.

The ability to fly freely through the sky at will.
“Let’s go up first.”
Yeon Woo Jin slowly floated upward toward the top of the cliff.

Namgoong Myeong, still hanging in the air, was dragged along behind him.
 
****

Namgoong Myeong sat blankly, dazed.
He still couldn’t tell whether what he had just experienced was a dream or reality.
Yeon Woo Jin extended something toward him.

A golden-colored pill.
“This is an Inyeondan. Take it.”
“Pardon?”

Inyeondan? Wasn’t that the miraculous pill worth one hundred gold taels each?
Could he really take this?
His heart ached just looking at it, unable to bring himself to swallow it. Seeing this, Yeon Woo Jin spoke.

“The intensity of your training will only increase from here on. You’d better take it.”
At Yeon Woo Jin’s words, Namgoong Myeong quickly tossed the Inyeondan into his mouth and began circulating his qi.
Yeon Woo Jin assisted, ensuring Namgoong Myeong could absorb the energy of the Inyeondan to its fullest potential.

Moments later.
Namgoong Myeong opened his eyes, filled with awe.
His internal energy had increased.

His dantian had expanded, and his meridians felt wider.
Above all, a fullness of energy unlike anything he had ever experienced before surged through his body, filling him with vitality.
As expected, the pill wasn’t priced at a hundred gold taels for nothing.

Namgoong Myeong quickly stood, offering Yeon Woo Jin a respectful fist-salute of gratitude.
“You’ve shown me great favor once again.”
The man who had saved his life was now giving him such a precious pill.

The benefactor of his clan had now become his personal benefactor.
To Namgoong Myeong, Yeon Woo Jin said:
“We’ll be camping here tonight. Once you’re finished with preparations, come over to that clearing.”

“Pardon?”
“I’ll take a look at your martial arts.”
“Ah, understood.”

This was someone he had acknowledged himself.
And that person was offering to assess his martial arts.
This is what people called a fateful opportunity.

Excitement blossomed across Namgoong Myeong’s face as he helped the other escorts set up camp.
 
****

Thud.
A ragged, tattered figure collapsed onto the ground.
It was Namgoong Myeong.

Excited by the offer to have his martial arts reviewed, he hadn’t expected it to be an actual, full-contact sparring match.
There had been no “review” to speak of.
He had been struck for real, and the pain had been all too real.

He had lost consciousness several times from being beaten senseless.
This was already the fifth time.
He wanted to stop.

But he felt the presence of Yeon Woo Jin’s hand approaching once more.
That hand terrified him now.
After that hand passed over him, his body would be completely restored.

Torn flesh, broken limbs—everything.
In Namgoong Myeong’s eyes, Yeon Woo Jin no longer seemed human.
He was a god.

And that terrified him even more.
If your opponent was a god, there was no escape.
Even if he tried to run, where would he go?

This was the benefactor of his clan.
His father would drag him back and hand him over to Yeon Woo Jin again.
In that case, the only option—

Was to endure.
With tearful eyes, Namgoong Myeong slowly forced himself to his feet.
It felt like he was trapped in a relentless nightmare.

“It seems you still haven’t grasped the lesson.”
Yeon Woo Jin’s murmured words.
Hearing that, Namgoong Myeong snapped awake.

A lesson?
Was he implying that unless he realized the lesson, this would continue indefinitely?
“No choice then. We’ll continue.”

So that was the answer.
Namgoong Myeong’s anxiety flared.
What is it? What am I supposed to realize?

If he wanted to escape this nightmare, he had to find that realization.
This time, rather than recklessly charging forward, he calmly observed himself, analyzing with care.
Only then did Yeon Woo Jin smile faintly.

It was worth whispering within earshot after all.
A few more rounds should do it…
As Yeon Woo Jin approached with a grin, Namgoong Myeong swallowed nervously and tightened his grip on his sword.

Huh?
In that moment, he sensed something strange.
Now that he was paying attention, he realized that when he became tense, he unconsciously accelerated his internal energy circulation.

That led to rapid depletion of his energy and caused his martial movements to become awkward.
As a result, his strikes lost their power.
Hoo…

Namgoong Myeong began to focus.
Let’s approach this the same way I did climbing the cliff.