The Martial God with Psychic Powers

Ma Ryong struggled to resist the overwhelming sleep, but it was futile.
Thud-.

As he collapsed, falling into a deep slumber, a hand reached out toward him, and he slowly began to stir.
"Heh heh heh. Caught a good one. I’m really feeling great today."
Balho, humming a tune, floated Ma Ryong in the air and slowly walked forward.

Then he stopped, turned around, and reached out his hand.
"Ah, I almost forgot! Hellfire Demonflame Saber. Our cute little guy seems to like it, so I should take it along."
Caught up in the excitement of acquiring Ma Ryong, Balho had forgotten the Hellfire Demonflame Saber that had fallen to the ground.

Taking the saber along, Balho hummed again as he disappeared into the darkness.
 
****
Changcheon Sect.

Yeon Woo Jin was preparing to leave on his mission.
By his side, the guild leader Namgoong Hwan paced anxiously, constantly trailing behind Yeon Woo Jin.
It was Namgoong Hwan who had heard the news that the Namgoong family had decided to serve Yeon Woo Jin as their lord.

He had rejoiced at the news, thinking it was truly the right decision.
The problem, however, was now.
Suddenly, a great rebellion was taking place where he was entrusting the mission to his lord.

"My lord, I’ll go on this journey myself."
Namgoong Hwan had now firmly begun calling Yeon Woo Jin his lord.
"No, I know you understand why I need to go on this mission."

"Then may I suggest, rather than a formal mission, you take this journey casually. With me accompanying you, the sects won’t be wary of you."
Yeon Woo Jin smiled and spoke.
"I am the head of Sincheon’s governing office. Of course, I must go."

Namgoong Hwan, feeling guilty for pushing the matter, thought to himself.
There was only one option now.
"Then I will follow as well. I will take care of everything about the journey, so you can relax and not worry."

"You’re coming with me?"
"How could I stay here peacefully while my lord is going? I can’t let that happen."
Indeed.

When the lord wanted to go, it was impossible to stop him outright.
It was better to serve him directly.
Thus, it seemed that there were many more things to manage.
How could he best serve his lord and make things easier for him?

Namgoong Hwan focused all his thoughts on this question.
Meanwhile, Yeon Woo Jin had been feeling an ominous sense lately.
It was as if something was missing.

He had lost something precious and couldn't find it.
"Have I been too focused on the Heavenly Demon Sect?"
Perhaps it was just the weight of too many concerns, he thought.

To shake off this uneasy feeling, he hastened the preparations for the mission.
Perhaps seeing the scenery of the central plains would ease his mind a little.
And he had to deliver the secret martial art manuals to them as soon as possible and warn them about the appearance of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

Since he couldn’t publicly discuss it, he needed to visit the major sects covertly and inform them.
Had he delivered the message to the Martial Arts Alliance or the Demonic Sect directly, they would likely still be fighting over what to do.
Of course, it could be otherwise, but the chances of that happening were slim.

Once the manuals were passed along, the sects would understand the gravity of the situation.
If he returned the secret manuals and told them to prepare for the Heavenly Demon Sect?
No sect would ignore it.

What if he asked the Martial Arts Alliance to return the manuals to him?
That would likely lead to even more fighting, with the Martial Arts Alliance debating whether to trust the intentions of Sincheon.
The reason the Martial Arts Alliance couldn’t unify, even after merging with the Demonic Sect, was the overwhelming presence of Sincheon.

Even though the alliance leader held the position, people subconsciously compared him to the leader of Sincheon and began to underestimate him.
How many would actually listen to the underestimated leader?
Especially since the current leader of the Martial Arts Alliance wasn’t from the Gu Paibang or the Five Great Families, he was looked down upon even more.

The reason for this was absurd.
Originally, the leader was to be selected from the Gu Paibang and the Five Great Families.
But for their own selfish interests, each faction wanted to place their own person on the throne.

This caused daily chaos.
At this rate, it seemed like both the Gu Paibang and the Five Great Families would scatter, so a new solution was proposed.

The Gu Paibang and the Five Great Families would only hold elder positions in the Martial Arts Alliance, and the leader would be chosen from another sect.
The leader chosen this way was Yun Ho Baek from Jinju.

In this situation, would giving them the secret manual help?
It was more likely that the manual wouldn’t even return to their own sect.
There was a saying, "The golden heart of an official darkens with greed."

This was a saying about the gold and power that corrupted officials’ hearts.
It was also true about the secret manuals of the Gu Paibang and the Five Great Families.
How many would resist the temptation to possess them?

This might even lead to the Martial Arts Alliance falling apart.
The reason for handing over the manuals directly was also to make sure they studied them as soon as possible.
Only one person could make this happen—Yeon Woo Jin himself.

He wished he could use his strength to protect everyone, but his body wasn’t infinite, and he couldn’t protect every person in the central plains.
Thus, he had to make sure to strengthen the sects.
Thinking about this gave him a headache again.

It seemed his unease was due to the Heavenly Demon Sect.
It was a bit frustrating.
If only he knew exactly where they were, he would rush over and smash them right now.

Yeon Woo Jin knew his own power well.
He never thought he would lose.
On the other hand, he did wonder.

How strong was the Heavenly Demon?
If it was the Heavenly Demon, how many Transcendence Gates could he open?
Could he open all eight gates?

He was curious.
And his heart raced.
Although it was originally created to suppress his own strength, just opening one gate was enough for few to defeat him.

Thus, he always felt a thirst for more.
He really wanted to fight with all his might, without holding back.
Yeon Woo Jin chuckled to himself.

Thinking about it, he really felt like he was his grandfather's grandson.
He understood now why his grandfather had waited for the Heavenly Demon.
Perhaps the heavens gave him such power for the very reason of saving the world from the Heavenly Demon.

With that thought, Yeon Woo Jin became lost in contemplation.
Suddenly, he heard Namgoong Hwan’s voice.
"My lord, everything is ready."

"Really? Then let’s depart."
"Understood. Everyone, let’s move out!"
 

****
For this mission, those participating in the Divine Dragon Tournament were excluded.
Chun Ho Seong had taken charge of their training, and later, Namgoong Cheon would lead them to the Huashan Sect, where the tournament would be held.

The ones participating in this mission were Gi Ho and Bu Cheon Gi, once known as the strongest of Sincheon’s top students.
In the past, they were called Hyeok Ryeon Ho and Jang Son Cheon Gi, but now they preferred to be called Gi Ho and Bu Cheon Gi.
The two men were so pleased to be joining Yeon Woo Jin that they kept smiling.

Meanwhile, Namgoong Hwan was surprised as he looked at the two of them.
It seemed there were still many powerful figures in Sincheon that he didn’t know about.
The two of them appeared to be no slouches in terms of martial prowess.

If he knew they were from Sincheon’s Five Great Masters, he would be horrified.
But they never revealed it.
They didn’t consider themselves members of that family anymore.

Yeon Woo Jin asked them.
"Don’t you two care about the Divine Dragon Tournament?"
"It would be a lie to say we aren’t interested. But if we join, it’s obvious that it’ll turn into a family conflict, so we’ll pass for now."

"We’re thinking of joining in four years."
Yeon Woo Jin chuckled at their words.
There was actually a reason he had excluded them.

Their martial arts were so famous that as soon as they used their techniques, anyone could easily tell which family they belonged to.
That would throw the tournament into chaos.
The Martial Arts Alliance might misunderstand it as Sincheon provoking them.

That’s why they had to be excluded.
The two understood this well, which is why they spoke of four years from now.

By then, they would have mastered the new martial arts they were currently learning, not those from their old family.

While they chatted, they arrived at a group of people waiting ahead.
Familiar faces.
It was the people from the Jeonggalse family.

The one at the front was Jeong Mun Yeok, the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° head of the Jeonggalse family.
"We heard you were passing by, so we’ve been waiting for you."
"The family head couldn’t come?"

"Heh, I wasn’t waiting for my son. I was waiting for the young master. How could I not come out to greet you when you’re passing through our family’s territory?"
Namgoong Hwan was surprised at Jeong Mun Yeok’s attitude.
Had the Jeonggalse family already become part of Yeon Woo Jin’s followers?

Seeing Namgoong Hwan’s shock, Jeong Mun Yeok smiled and spoke.
"It’s been a long time, Guild Leader."
"Ah, yes. I should have visited more often. I’m sorry."

"Haha, no need for apologies. It seems the Namgoong family also follows the young master."
"It seems the same is true for the Jeonggalse family."
"Haha, indeed. We’re... number one."

At Jeong Mun Yeok’s words, Namgoong Hwan quickly corrected him.
"What are you talking about? Our Namgoong family is number one. Don’t you know where our lord has settled?"
"I thought at the time, it was just a mutual arrangement, but wasn’t it?"

"No! We didn’t just keep it to ourselves. The head of our family has already made the lord his master."
"It wasn’t just in our hearts. You should have served him formally, just like us. Anyway, we’re first."
Namgoong Hwan looked at Yeon Woo Jin with an expression asking if this was true.

Yeon Woo Jin nodded.
It was true.
"Then, where does the Namgoong family rank?"

"Why does that matter?"
"Well..."
"Everyone is precious to me. I don’t discriminate based on such things. I hope we don’t compete over this sort of thing in the future."

"I shouldn’t have mentioned it. Sorry."
Namgoong Hwan bowed his head in apology.
"I’m sorry as well. I spoke unnecessarily."

After both apologized, Yeon Woo Jin relaxed his face and looked at Jeong Mun Yeok.
"How far have you come in mastering the Great Heavenly Star Divine Art?"
At Yeon Woo Jin’s question, Jeong Mun Yeok scratched the back of his head and said.

"I’m sorry, I’m not a martial artist... my progress is minimal."
Yeon Woo Jin smiled and said.
"That won’t do."

He then looked at Namgoong Hwan and asked.
"Can we stay here for two days before leaving?"
"Yes! We’ve planned enough time, so you can stay as long as needed."

Yeon Woo Jin turned to Jeong Mun Yeok and said.
"I’ll take two days to rest."
Jeong Mun Yeok’s expression brightened at Yeon Woo Jin’s words.

The expressions of the leaders of the family also brightened.
"We’ll escort you! You all should go ahead and prepare to welcome the young master."
"Understood!"

As they hurried to go, Jeong Mun Yeok said.
"Let’s go."
Yeon Woo Jin then spoke to Jeong Mun Yeok.

"Once we arrive, show me the retreat room first."
"The retreat room? What for?"
"You said your progress was minimal, right? That won’t do. You should have visited even if you didn’t greet me. I forgot."

That won’t do?
Forgot?
Was there something urgent going on?

"I don’t want to trouble you, young master. I’ll do my best to cultivate and achieve results that will satisfy you."
"No, that’s too slow. We don’t have time to wait like that."
"You don’t have time to wait?"

"I’ll explain it in the retreat room. We’ll start right after dinner, so prepare accordingly."
Although he was curious about what was happening, Yeon Woo Jin had to hold back for now.
"Understood."

"Also, make sure to prepare enough food for two months in the retreat room."
"Huh?"
What’s this about?

"Just do it."
"Alright, I’ll give those instructions as soon as we arrive."