The Martial God with Psychic Powers

Three people with Divine Beast Physiques, which are said to appear only once in several hundred years if at all, had already emerged.
Had the world truly fallen into chaos for these beings to be sent down?

To quell the chaos?
Fate really did seem mysterious.
Myung Cheon stood dazed.

To think he possessed the Azure Dragon Physique, a power spoken of only in legends.
To think that the madness he’d been experiencing all this time was actually caused by the energy of the Azure Dragon.
When Yeon Woo Jin said that even his master’s illness had stemmed from the Azure Dragon’s energy, Myung Cheon was deeply shaken.

It meant that every time he lost himself to madness, his master had risked his life to absorb that energy in his place.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
To have devoted himself that much, just for his sake.
“…Then what should I do now?”

“It’s very late, but you must tame the Azure Dragon’s energy.”
“But didn’t you say it was too late?”
“It is late. The Azure Dragon’s energy has already begun to take over your body. But that doesn’t mean there’s no way. You just need to strengthen your body so you can resist it.”

“Strengthen my body? How?”
“Well… it’s a rather painful process, but if you can endure it, the Azure Dragon’s energy will eventually acknowledge you.”
“If I can make the Azure Dragon’s energy my own… will I become someone necessary to Wudang?”

At Myung Cheon’s question, Yeon Woo Jin grinned.
“Not just necessary. You’ll become one of the greatest Taoists in Wudang’s history.”
It was all but guaranteed that he would rise to fame in the upcoming war with the Demonic Sect.

They had to ensure the Azure Dragon’s energy was fully made his own and made him stronger.
The power of the Azure Dragon Physique was bound to be immense.
Myung Cheon tightly grasped Yeon Woo Jin’s hand.

“Please, help me! I’ll repay this favor for the rest of my life!”
“You don’t need to repay me. Just promise me you’ll use that power to protect the people of this world.”
Myung Cheon blinked in confusion, then nodded.

“Of—of course! I’m a Taoist. That’s something I must do even without being told.”
Yeon Woo Jin smiled, satisfied by his answer.
“Don’t forget that resolve.”

“I won’t!”
“Good. Then let’s begin the treatment. We’ll go slowly—doing it all at once would put too much strain on your body.”
“Yes! Please take care of me!”
 

****
“Aaaargh!”
A piercing scream, as though his lungs were being ripped open, rang out nearly every day.

The Taoists of Wudang, well aware of whose scream it was, furrowed their brows.
“Sigh. Looks like his madness flares up once a day now.”
“This is bad. What if he really loses it and goes on a rampage?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Shouldn’t we lock him up or send him far away or something?”
“Judging by how quickly he’s deteriorating, I bet he’ll be kicked out soon. We just have to wait and see.”
“Doesn’t seem so easy.”

“What do you mean? Did you hear something?”
“I think the elders approached the Sect Leader two days ago with a proposal.”
“And?”

“He gave a strict order not to even utter such things.”
“...The hell? Why is he so dead set on protecting that bastard?”
“If that lunatic goes into town wearing Wudang robes and causes a scene, that’ll be a disgrace.”

“We’d be lucky if it ended at disgrace. If he kills someone, our reputation will be destroyed.”
At the mention of Wudang’s reputation being ruined, everyone grimaced.
Then one of them spoke up.

“What if we eased the elders’ burden a little?”
“How?”
“We go to him when he’s in a fit of madness.”

“What? Are you insane?”
“He could attack us—how are we supposed to do that?”
“Exactly! We make him attack us. Then he’ll be seen as a lunatic who even assaults his fellow disciples. The Sect Leader won’t be able to protect him anymore.”

“…That actually sounds like a good idea.”
“It does, but… who’s going to approach him?”
“What do you mean who? We all go. If only one person gets hurt, we won’t be able to sway public opinion.”
The Taoists fell into silence, weighing the plan.

“We’ll be sacrificing ourselves to protect Wudang’s peace and future.”
Those words hardened their expressions.
“Yeah. You’re right.”

“We’ll protect Wudang ourselves!”
“Good. Let’s meet tomorrow at this time and head to where he is.”
Everyone nodded.

 

****
Myung Cheon’s body was contorted in a bizarre posture.

His face was twisted beyond recognition as he desperately endured the pain.
Whenever the pain grew unbearable, the Azure Dragon’s energy would surge, and each time, Yeon Woo Jin would suppress it.
Not that it went down quietly.

It resisted fiercely, and Yeon Woo Jin, irritated, had to reveal his true power.
Faced with an even wilder and stronger energy, the Azure Dragon’s energy immediately calmed down.
If the Azure Dragon’s energy had a physical form, he would’ve dragged it into a quiet place and beaten the hell out of it.

Yeon Woo Jin chuckled as he composed his briefly agitated mind.
He still had a long way to go.
To get worked up over something like this?

Clearly, he still lacked training.
“Grrrrgh!”
As Myung Cheon endured the Reverse Muscular Flow Formation, Yeon Woo Jin sank into thought.

Strengthening the body was one thing. Subduing the Azure Dragon’s energy was another.
Reinforcing the body merely allowed one not to be swept away by it.
The true battle with the Azure Dragon’s energy was entirely Myung Cheon’s to fight.

All Yeon Woo Jin could do was prepare the conditions for him to face it as an equal.
If anyone else interfered, the Azure Dragon’s energy would never fully acknowledge Myung Cheon.
Should I throw in some tonic to help him fight better?

Grinning, Yeon Woo Jin vanished in an instant.
 
****

While Yeon Woo Jin was away briefly, the Taoists from the Myeongja Faction appeared.
Seeing Myung Cheon twisting and writhing in agony all on his own, their expressions turned incredulous.
“What kind of crazy stunt is he pulling now?”

“Looks like he tied himself up to stop himself from going berserk.”
“Then he can’t attack us.”
“Let’s untie his twisted body. That’ll rile him up and make him lash out.”

“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
The Taoists grabbed Myung Cheon’s body and began to forcibly unwind his contorted limbs.
“Ugh!”

“Damn, he’s twisted himself up tight!”
“How does a human body even bend like this?”
“Madmen do the weirdest things.”

Grunting and groaning, they eventually forced his twisted body straight.
But that only made things worse.
The Reverse Muscular Flow Formation had a characteristic—if you tried to straighten the twisted body, it would only twist tighter.

And they had no idea that, in doing so, they had entered the formation themselves.
Crrrk.
As they undid the twist, Myung Cheon’s body contorted even more violently.

“What the hell? It’s worse than before!”
“Is that… a position a human body can even take?”
While they were panicking, one of them muttered,

“M-Maybe it’s just from watching him… but my body feels weird too.”
The other Taoists looked at him and gasped.
“Y-Your body…!”

“Huh?”
He looked down, confused why they were staring—and saw his leg bending in an unnatural way.
“Huh…?”

It had just felt stiff at first, but now that he realized it, pain came flooding in.
“Aaaagh! It hurts! It hurts! Hurry, undo it!”
The others moved to help—

But their feet wouldn’t budge.
Their own legs had begun twisting unnaturally.
“It’s a curse! That bastard cursed us!”

“IT HURTS!”
“Help us! I don’t want to die like this!”
They, too, had become caught in the Reverse Muscular Flow Formation.

Crrk.
Crack.
“GUAAARGH!”

“AAAGH!”
Their muscles writhed. Their joints and bones made gruesome cracking sounds.
The formation currently applied to Myung Cheon was in the third stage.

It had gone through stage one and two already. But these idiots skipped both and went straight to stage three.
They were experiencing pain beyond anything they’d ever known.
And the worst part was—they were still conscious.

Just then, Yeon Woo Jin returned.
“…What the?”

He had only stepped away to grab some tonic, and now there were more people.

“Ughhh…”
Why had these people come?
Yeon Woo Jin approached one of them and asked,

“Why are you here? Tell the truth and I’ll release you.”
One of them, desperate to live, answered:
They had come to help Myung Cheon.

Of course, Yeon Woo Jin didn’t buy it for a second.
“Liar. You can stay right there.”
He knew very well that no one in Wudang liked Myung Cheon.

And these guys had come to save him?
Nonsense.
Clearly, they were here to do something unpleasant.

“Tell me the truth. Or I’ll give you pain even worse than this.”
Worse than this?
“You think I’m joking, huh?”

Anyway, it was time to proceed to stage four.
Yeon Woo Jin subtly altered the formation’s diagram.
“KYAAAGHH!”

The screams were on a different level now.
After giving them a taste of stage four, he scattered energy over the group, excluding Myung Cheon.
They stared at him, dazed—the pain had vanished.

“Now, tell me. Why did you come here?”
“Well… that is…”
Eventually, the Taoists confessed the real reason.

Yeon Woo Jin clicked his tongue.
“You couldn’t even support your own peer.”
If this continued, Wudang might break apart.

That wasn’t what Yeon Woo Jin wanted.
Since they were already here, he figured he might as well rework their minds.
“Now, experience for yourselves the kind of pain Myung Cheon’s lived with.”

“…Weren’t you going to release us?”
Yeon Woo Jin grinned and shook his head.
Then he lowered his raised hand—and once again, screams erupted from the Taoists’ mouths.

Yeon Woo Jin simply stood there, watching.
Since I’m already doing this, I might as well reform their minds and strengthen their bodies too.
 

****
The full five stages of the Reverse Muscular Flow Formation were finally complete.
Myung Cheon looked at the sprawled disciples with a baffled expression.

“…Why are they here?”
Yeon Woo Jin asked him,
“Do you resent them? Just say the word, and I’ll make sure they never bother you again.”

But Myung Cheon shook his head.
“No! I don’t resent them. They’re just victims of the Azure Dragon’s energy, like I was.”
A satisfying answer.

“Good. You must always live with that mindset.”
“…Excuse me?”
“You gave a good answer, so I’ll give you a gift.”

“A gift?”
He gestured toward the collapsed disciples.
“I’ll send them back to you as proper people.”

What did that mean?
As Myung Cheon stood there puzzled, Yeon Woo Jin spoke again.
“Now, enter the place I showed you and begin your training. Remember—you must not come out until you’ve fully subdued the Azure Dragon’s energy and made it your own.”

At this point, Myung Cheon would follow Yeon Woo Jin’s word no matter what it was.
“Yes! Understood!”
“Your body has been strengthened, so it won’t be too difficult.”

“Thank you. I’ll never forget this kindness, not even on the day I die.”
“You don’t need to repay me. Just protect the people with that same resolve when the world falls into chaos.”
Why does he keep saying things like that?

As if he knew the world would soon fall apart.
Myung Cheon nodded.
“Yes. I’ll protect them with my life.”

“Good. Then go and claim # Nоvеlight # the Azure Dragon.”
“Yes!”
Myung Cheon bowed deeply and departed for the training grounds Yeon Woo Jin had prepared.

As Yeon Woo Jin watched with satisfaction, the unconscious Taoists began to stir.
“Ugh…”
“Gods… I feel like I died.”

Groaning, the disciples sat up.
Myung Cheon was nowhere in sight—only Yeon Woo Jin remained.
Seeing the one responsible for their agony, rage flared in their eyes.

Yeon Woo Jin looked at them and said,
“Would you all follow me now?”