The Martial God with Psychic Powers

The ones who entered Pyeong Cheon’s sight—

Every single one of them exuded overwhelming presence.
"Is this really the South?"
He couldn’t believe it.

There was no way a region with such individuals could be the weakest.
Following Jang Woon’s lead, he arrived at a room where Sunwoo Baek was seated.
Now that he noticed—he wasn’t wearing the uniform of a senior student.

"A mid-level student?"
And yet he was the top student?
Come to think of it, the one who had introduced himself earlier as the second-ranked was also a mid-level student.

"The mid-level students have taken control?"
“Welcome. We’ve been expecting you.”
At Sunwoo Baek’s greeting, Pyeong Cheon returned the bow with a martial salute.

“It’s an honor to meet you. I am Pyeong Cheon, second-ranked of Hwangyong High Division, Eastern Region.”
“I am Sunwoo Baek, first-ranked of Baekyeong. Please, have a seat.”
“Thank you.”

“I’ve heard Ho Cheon of the North has begun to move. It seems that’s why you’ve come.”
He even knew the details.
Which meant they were keeping an eye on both the East and the North.

And why would they ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ do that?
Pyeong Cheon realized:
“They’re aiming for it too. The unification of Mushincheon’s High Divisions.”
It wasn’t just the North he needed to be wary of.

The South—whom he hadn’t even considered a threat—was baring its hidden fangs.
As Pyeong Cheon’s expression began to shift, Sunwoo Baek let out a faint chuckle and said:
“What’s the matter? Are you starting to think we’re targeting the East as well?”

“Well, that is…”
“Let me be frank with you. Yes, we are. We’re targeting the East as well. Our ultimate goal is to unify the High Divisions.”
Just as he had suspected.

“And even so, you would propose an alliance?”
“The enemy of my enemy is a friend, is it not?”
Still, Pyeong Cheon considered the South a more manageable opponent than the North.

Losing to the North would mean becoming subordinates—but with the South, he believed they could stand as equals.
Moreover, if they allied with the South, the West would naturally follow suit. With the combined strength of the three regions, they could overwhelm the North.
But Sunwoo Baek refused.

“We decline. Even if only briefly, allies are still allies. And if we become allies, we wouldn’t be able to strike the East.”
“The North is truly powerful! If we don’t unite our strength, the South will be their next target after us!”
“If they come here, it’d be a favor. Saves us the trip.”

They weren’t speaking the same language.
Now that they’d swallowed the West, it seemed nothing was beyond their reach.
Sensing that continuing the conversation would be fruitless, Pyeong Cheon stood from his seat.

“There’s no point in talking any further.”
He turned and said:
“We’ll meet again soon.”

Then left the room.
Once Pyeong Cheon was gone, Jang Woon spoke quietly.
“He’ll be back—with troops.”

To which Sunwoo Baek nodded.
—
Outside, Pyeong Cheon stormed out, breathing heavily as he glared at Baekyeong High Division.

“If you refuse to move… then I’ll conquer this place myself and use both the South and the West as tools.”
He would have to move quickly.
Fortunately, the other High Divisions in the North were strong as well, so Heukho’s complete takeover would take some time.

Still, there wasn’t much time.
He had to concentrate his strength, subjugate Baekyeong, and seize control of both South and West.
Taking a deep breath, Pyeong Cheon infused his legs with energy and sprinted away using light movement.

—
Eastern Region, Hwangyong High Division.
Pyeong Cheon, breathing roughly, rushed to Yang Gang.

Bang!
Bursting through the doors in a panic, he was met by Yang Gang’s startled eyes.
“You’re back already?”

“Huff… huff… huff!”
“What—are you going to pass out? What did you do to end up like this?”
“Huff… I ran… full speed… huff…”

“Why?”
“Huff… Let me… water…”
Gulp, gulp—

After guzzling down the water, Pyeong Cheon finally calmed his breathing.
“You settled down now?”
“Yeah.”

“So? How did it go? Will the West cooperate?”
“No.”
“They refused?”

“The West… has already been taken.”
“Taken? By who? Ho Cheon of the North?”
“No. The South.”

“What?”
“Baekyeong of the South has already seized the West.”
“You mean that Baekyeong—the one that unified the South?”

“Yeah. That Baekyeong took the West too.”
“So they really are powerful?”
“Seems that way. That’s why I went to Baekyeong.”

“And?”
“They refused to cooperate too.”
“Hm.”

“Then let’s take Baekyeong for ourselves.”
“Huh?”
“If we do that, we’ll naturally control both the South and the West. Don’t you agree?”

“Well, true…”
“Let’s take them, and use the South and West kids as human shields. Once the North’s forces are exhausted, we’ll strike them. What do you think?”
Seeing the venom in Pyeong Cheon’s eyes, Yang Gang tried to calm him down.

“Just calm down first.”
“Calm down? I’ve just been humiliated by those South bastards, and you want me to calm down? It wasn’t just me they insulted—it was all of Hwangyong!”
“Hm…”

As Yang Gang fell into thought, Pyeong Cheon pressed on.
“Maybe this is actually a good thing. The final battle with the North is inevitable, and we only have one job. If we take the South and the West first, we can win against the North too. Then you’ll be the first in Mushincheon history to unify the High Divisions. A living legend.”
At those words, a smile formed on Yang Gang’s lips.

Unification of Mushincheon’s High Divisions.
To become a legend…
Just imagining it made his heart pound.

Yang Gang turned to a waiting student nearby.
“You. Run to Jogyong High Division and bring me their top student.”
“Yes, sir!”

Seeing this, Pyeong Cheon smiled brightly.
“You conquered Jogyong?”
“Yeah. Forced them to submit yesterday.”

Jogyong High Division was the second strongest in the East, after Hwangyong.
“Have the Jogyong kids suppress the remaining High Divisions. We’ll head for Baekyeong.”
“Good idea. Jogyong should be enough to handle the rest.”

“But we’ll need information on Baekyeong.”
“Do we?”
“They’ve conquered two regions. We can’t treat them like the old South.”

Hearing Yang Gang’s cautious words, Pyeong Cheon sighed.
He wasn’t wrong.
“Fine. I’ll find out.”

“Be thorough. You can even get intel from the West’s students who fought them directly.”
“Got it.”
 

****
“Hmm.”
Yang Gang reviewed the material Pyeong Cheon had gathered.

“I looked into it—and now I know why Baekyeong has grown so powerful.”
“It’s because of the Shin Clan’s young master?”
“That’s right. From what I found, even Bango of the Western region was defeated by the Shin Clan’s young master. They say that during the battle with Heukseok High Division, only underclassmen were sent out. You know what that means? It means everything was handled by Shin Dowoon’s crew.”

“So what you’re saying is that the true top student of Baekyeong… is Shin Dowoon.”
“Exactly! The one who met me when I visited—that guy was obviously a puppet propped up by Shin Dowoon.”
At Pyeong Cheon’s words, Yang Gang nodded.

If the Shin Clan’s young master had intervened, then Baekyeong’s sudden rise in strength made sense.
“As expected, there’s always a reason for everything.”
“If the Shin Clan’s young master really is their top student, wouldn’t attacking recklessly be too much of a risk? From what I’ve heard, the Shin Clan treasures him immensely.”

“No matter how much they treasure him, do you really think they’ll get involved in a fight between students? That would just tarnish their reputation. It’s also the kind of dishonorable act Tianzhu despises most.”
“True. Lord Tianzhu values fair competition above all else.”
“Forget it. Let’s not worry about it. What’s his cultivation stage?”

“Officially, it’s listed as Apex-Level, Second Star… but considering he beat Bango, it probably hasn’t been updated.”
“Then he’s at least Apex-Level, Third Star.”
“Most likely.”

“Even if he’s reached Fourth Star, he’s no match for me.”
“Of course! You’re Fifth Star.”
“I recently advanced to Sixth.”

“What? For real? That’s insane! Wait—doesn’t that put you on the same level as Ho Cheon from the North?”
“Yeah. I can handle Ho Cheon… the problem is our students. The power gap is too big.”
“Which is why we need to take Baekyeong—seize control of both the South and the West.”

“You’re right. Good. We depart tomorrow.”
“Got it! I’ll relay the order to the others.”
 

****
A large number of visitors had arrived at Baekyeong High Division.
They were the students from the Eastern region’s Hwangyong High Division.

At the front to greet them stood Sunwoo Baek.
“I am Sunwoo Baek, first-ranked student of Baekyeong.”
At his introduction, Yang Gang scoffed.

“Feh! Not you—bring out the real top student!”
“Excuse me? What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb! We already know the truth! The real top student of Baekyeong isn’t you—it’s someone else.”

Sunwoo Baek visibly flinched at Yang Gang’s words.
Seeing that reaction, Yang Gang was certain.
That the true top student of Baekyeong was the Shin Clan’s young master.

The other students began to stir as well.
“There must be some misunderstanding. I am indeed the first-ranked student of Baekyeong.”
“So you’re going to keep mocking us to the end? Baekyeong only became this strong because your real top student has been secretly supporting you all from behind the scenes!”

With a smug expression that said I know everything, Yang Gang continued.
“Show yourself—true top student of Baekyeong!”
The students’ gazes turned.

It was human nature.
Once a truth is revealed, people can’t help but look toward it.
Following their gazes, Yang Gang turned his head.

He expected to find Shin Dowoon standing there.
A triumphant smile formed as he looked toward that direction—only to see someone entirely different seated there.
With one hand pressed against his forehead.

“What the hell? Why are they all looking at him? That’s not Shin Dowoon.”
His appearance didn’t match at all with the one Yang Gang had seen.
Frantically, Yang Gang looked around.

Then he spotted Shin Dowoon, standing off to the side.
“There you are!”
Yang Gang stared at Shin Dowoon, hoping he’d meet his gaze.

But something felt wrong.
Shin Dowoon looked… afraid.
The young master of the Shin Clan was afraid of someone?

Yang Gang focused more carefully.
It wasn’t just fear in his eyes—there was reverence too.
The kind of look reserved for someone you truly follow from the depths of your soul.

Then it struck him.
Something was wrong.
All these Baekyeong students were standing here with solemn expressions, ready for battle—yet that guy was sitting there, leisurely watching like it was a show?

And they were letting him?
That didn’t make any sense.
Could it be?

Yang Gang’s expression stiffened ominously.
And then, he saw it.
The boy who’d been seated slowly stood up.

He looked around at the Baekyeong students before opening his mouth.
Sigh. “Are you all just naïve… or just dumb…? How can you fall for it that easily…?”
The boy who had claimed to be Baekyeong’s top student—Sunwoo Baek—hurriedly apologized.

“S-sorry. He sounded so confident that I thought maybe he really knew…”
“Forget it. Guess I’ll have to step in now.”
The one who stood up—Yeon Woo Jin—looked straight at Yang Gang.

Shiver—
Tremble—
Yang Gang’s eyes met Yeon Woo Jin’s, and he was terrified.

He wanted to get out of there.
He didn’t want to be in the same space as that man.
Clueless, Pyeong Cheon asked:

“Who the hell is that? Why is he acting like he’s the top student?”
To that, Yang Gang replied in a trembling voice:
“That guy… he’s the real one.”

“What are you talking about?”
“That guy over there… he’s the true top student of Baekyeong.”
“Not Shin Dowoon?”

“No. It’s him.”
“Why are you shaking so much?”
“He’s strong.”

“What?”
“Someone like me… I’m nothing to him.”
“Yang Gang! Snap out of it! What’s wrong with you? Are you under some kind of soul-cursing technique?”

Ignoring Pyeong Cheon completely, Yang Gang turned to Yeon Woo Jin and said:
“W-we concede!”
Yang Gang’s sudden declaration.

The Hwangyong students all jolted in shock.
Even Pyeong Cheon was stunned, quickly covering his mouth.
“What are you doing?! Are you insane?”

“There’s no point in fighting.”
“What are you saying—?”
Crack—

Grind—
Just as Pyeong Cheon was trying to calm Yang Gang down—
A massive pressure crushed down on his entire body.

It felt like invisible ropes were tightly coiling around him, slowly constricting.
It hurt.
It was a formless, unseen force—there was no way to escape it.

And then, he saw it.
Even though the boy was walking slowly…
There was nothing beneath his feet.

Pyeong Cheon’s voice trembled in shock.
“V-void Step…?”