When I regressed, I was a martial arts genius

-Yi Jun’s room.

Kim Tae-hyung’s voice echoed through the microphone.

It was now Yi Jun’s turn.

He stepped into the capsule room.

The space was about 10 square meters—fairly large for a single person to train.

This capsule room was a state-of-the-art hybrid of Shinkiji’s knowledge and advanced martial arts techniques, combining machine technology with ancient formations.

Though it was safer than actual combat, the highly sophisticated system meant that if a vast power gap existed, it could potentially lead to shock and even death.

Students, but awakened individuals, had to train as if they were in real battle.

If there were a curriculum like a regular school, then a martial arts academy exclusively for awakened individuals wouldn’t be necessary.

-Do you have any specific monster you’d like to face?

“Anything will do.”

-How about facing a Miner?

Miners were awakened individuals who committed crimes rather than protecting citizens with their powers.

They were part of Saryun, a notorious criminal organization.

‘Showing their true colors already, huh?’

Yi Jun pretended to ponder, scratching his cheek.

Most students practiced against monsters.

Fighting against human-constructed enemies was more intricate than monsters, with more precise movements, making them far more troublesome.

One student who underestimated the system ended up crippled by his opponent and was eventually expelled after losing his life as an awakened individual.

Remaining cautious was essential; otherwise, one could quickly plummet into ruin.

That’s why teachers recommended monsters for practice.

“Very well.”

-If things get dangerous, immediately inform a teacher.

“Yes.”

Yi Jun lightly brushed off Kim Tae-hyung’s faux-concerned tone.

A moment later.

The capsule room lights went out.

When they flickered back on, a vast expanse of white space appeared.

-The environment is a snowy expanse. Good luck.

Snow fell heavily from the sky.

Yi Jun stretched out his hand and caught the falling snowflakes.

Tiny, pure white grains.

The level of detail was so realistic that it felt almost real.

The ground was covered with snow, deep enough to make footsteps sink.

‘Seems they’re dying to kill me.’

The snowy expanse was not only cold but also made movement difficult due to reduced visibility.

It was a field with a difficulty rating bordering on extreme.

However, what mattered more was the virtual enemy he faced.

An elderly man in a white fur coat, trailing a trail of icy mist.

‘They’ve assigned White-Eyed Ice Devil as my opponent for the sparring match.’

On the surface, he looked like a kind old man from the neighborhood.

In reality, he was a ruthless killer.

One of the seven leaders of Saryun, known as the Seven Evil, he was infamous for his gruesome crimes—rape, murder, arson, and his disturbing hobby of murdering children.

Kim Tae-hyung, who openly intended to kill him.

Standing still with a composed expression, Yi Jun heard Kim Tae-hyung’s voice.

-Don’t worry. I’ve lowered the difficulty to D-grade. If it becomes too dangerous, the teacher will stop it.

Kim Tae-hyung was lying.

Though he claimed it was D-grade, the real difficulty was far higher.

Without responding, Yi Jun activated the Hwonwon Divine Art.

‘Still treating me like a fool.’

At that moment, a chime sounded.

Ding-

A quest appeared.

[Emergency Quest 1 – The Will of the Youngest Disciple]
Difficulty: C

Description: The hermit wishes to see how far the youngest disciple can go. Subdue the opponent using the Hwonwon Divine Art.

Completion Condition: Use Hwonwon Divine Art at Level 2 or lower.

Failure Condition: Use Hwonwon Divine Art at Level 3 or higher.

Reward: 250,000 Tech Tree Points, Double Reward.

‘I’ve got another reason to succeed.’

***

The method of measuring ranks in the capsule room was simple.

The examiner’s level of internal energy determined the rating.

In a brief moment, if an individual demonstrated power surpassing their current grade and defeated the opponent, a higher grade would be assigned.

Thanks to the precise system embedded in the capsule room.

Created with perfect precision from the foundation stone, not a single error existed.

‘It begins.’

Bang-

The force emitted from the old man’s hand brushed past Yi Jun’s shoulder.

Just the slightest touch froze his shoulder solid.

The pain steadily intensified.

The martial art used by the old man was the Extreme Cold Technique.

It was the Hanbingjang, a technique from North Sea Ice Palace’s martial arts.

Bang-

The old man released another wave of force.

This time aimed at his legs.

It was an attempt to immobilize him.

‘It feels like fighting a person.’

Using Cheonwangbo, Yi Jun shifted sideways.

Crrrack-

Where the Hanbingjang passed, ice formed instantly.

‘Even though it’s virtual, the level of detail is incredible.’

[Here it comes.]

Instead of simply emitting force, the old man approached using techniques.

The old man appeared directly in front of Yi Jun.

His outstretched palm radiated a terrifying level of internal energy.

“Bingbaeksinjang.”

Following Hanbingjang, the old man unleashed the North Sea Ice Palace’s signature martial art—Bingbaeksinjang.

‘No time to dodge.’

Reluctantly, Yi Jun crossed his arms to block the attack.

Kwang-

“Ugh.”

Yi Jun’s face contorted in pain.

‘The White Eyed Ice Devil.’

Even in a virtual environment, one of Saryun’s Seven Evils.

Though virtual, he was incredibly formidable.

‘This is fun.’

A small smile began to form on his contorted face.

When would I ever face such an opponent?

The hidden desire for battle surged.

In a past life, he wouldn’t even dare to glance at such an opponent.

The thought of a duel with someone of that caliber made his heart race.

Yi Jun raised his Hwonwon Shingong to 2nd stage.

Creak-

The ice that had formed on his arm shattered.

The gray mist began to rise from his body.

The energy spread around him.

As the energy expanded, the falling snow from the sky was being dissolved upon contact.

“It’s my turn.”

The martial art he had only used against the Flame Fox.

Now was the time to showcase his true strength.

Boom-

Yi Jun focused his internal energy on his legs.

His calf muscles bulged.

At the same time, Shin Hyung shot forward.

Continuing his sprint, he leaped into the air.

The target was where the White-Eyed Ice Devil was located.

A gray energy swirled around his fist.

Packing his full internal energy into his fist, he extended it forward.

Crash!

The force of the impact caused the snowflakes to scatter.

The White-Eyed Ice Devil retreated in retreat, already backing up.

‘I can’t let this go.’

He was fully invested in the moment.

Following the retreating Ice Devil, he advanced further.

Once again, gray energy surged into his fist.

As a sufficient level of internal energy gathered in his fist, he swung towards the side of the Ice Devil.

The Ice Devil, aiming to counter with Hanbingjang towards his face, was already in motion when—

Zing-

The Ice Devil blurred and disappeared.

The snowy mountain landscape reverted to a sealed, confined space.

“Oh, that was a great fight.”

The thrill surged through him, overwhelming the desire for victory.

At that moment, all worries were forgotten.

Revenge for the family.

The desire to grow stronger.

Only the urge to defeat the opponent remained.

But then, the virtual reality ended.

The system shut down, and the energy was completely drained.

“Ugh!”

As Yi Jun kicked the floor of the capsule room, Kim Tae-hyung’s eyes in the control room grew wide, as if about to pop out.

‘Insane! That bastard’s energy broke the system!’

No matter how many times Kim pressed the virtual reality button, it wouldn’t respond.

Instead, the grade measurement result appeared.

The screen displayed a D grade.

‘What, White Eyed Ice Devil defeated me!’

The Ice Devil’s martial arts were equivalent to AA-class awakened warriors.

While virtual reality would naturally have a lower difficulty compared to reality, it was still considered C-grade.

A novice student, especially someone at the bottom like Yi Jun, should not be able to face something like this.

‘Yi Jun should have died! Why isn’t the device working!’

Kim Tae-hyung had planned to blame the malfunction on the device’s malfunction, causing the difficulty level to rise.

However, the state-of-the-art equipment couldn’t handle Yi Jun’s energy and shut down completely.

It was almost unbelievable to witness with his own eyes.

Bang!

Kim Tae-hyung slammed his fist into the machine.

He had just lost the perfect opportunity to cover up the situation as an accident.

“Damn it!”

Angry, Kim struck the control room’s equipment with his hand.

While Kim Tae-hyung vented his frustration on the machinery, Yi Jun stepped out of the capsule.

[Quest Completed – The Will of the Youngest.] [You have earned 250,000 Tech Tree Points.] [You have earned an additional 250,000 Tech Tree Points.]

Though it felt like using toilet paper without wiping properly after doing his business, the rewards were undeniably received.

A whopping 500,000 points.

It was unimaginable how much those points could boost his abilities. He was deeply grateful for the quest’s reward.

‘Thanks to the Hwonwon Ring, I emerged with the grade I wanted.’

If the Shinryuk family learned of this, what expression would they wear?

It wasn’t just that Yi Jun, a mere F-grade, had ascended to D-grade; he had also defeated Yi Gi-hong.

His father, the family head, had been humiliated.

The Shinryuk family had an especially strong sense of pride compared to other families.

They would try to cover up this fact by any means necessary.

‘This should be enough to stir the family.’

Yi Jun smiled softly.

The gym buzzed again.

“Did you see the last part?”

“Yeah… It felt like watching a movie with the ending cut off.”

“I had this feeling that Yi Jun would win for a moment.”

“Me too, me too.”

A female student handed Yi Jun a drink as he stepped out of the capsule.

“Senior, you did a great job.”

“Uh? Th… thanks.”

Without thinking, Yi Jun accepted the drink from a first-year female junior.

Receiving a drink after training was the privilege of popular students in school.

A smile naturally formed on his face.

In his previous life, he had been a loner.

Now, he had become someone who received drinks.

[You’re smiling just because you got a drink?]

‘Master, you don’t understand how monumental this is.’

[In my prime, countless heavenly beauties would carry carts of drinks for me. You, disciple, must work harder.]

Such a competitive master, even over trivial things, was Mugeukja.

Yi Jun shook his head.

He wondered what was going through his master’s mind.

The female junior who handed Yi Jun the drink returned to her friends.

“Usually, she doesn’t even look at him, but now she’s outright pursuing him.”

“You should’ve given the drink first to a senior you liked.”

“A senior? What are you talking about? Speak clearly.”

“This girl is such a fox.”

“Ugh, missed it. Next time, I’ll be the one to give it first.”

Yi Gi-hong’s issue, dealing with the delinquents, and now the grade measurement.

All of this had shifted the perception of Yi Jun.

Students continued to question Yi Jun’s grade.

“But isn’t the grade measurement device broken?”

“Exactly. I thought he’d at least get a B grade.”

“At least, a C grade should have been given.”

To them, Yi Jun’s brief display was incredibly impactful.

“Stop making so much noise and be quiet!”

Kim Tae-hyung irritably snapped at the students.

His eyes fell on Yi Jun, whose lips were curled into a smile.

‘That, that bastard!’

The smile seemed like a mocking gesture aimed directly at him.

Frustration boiled over as nothing seemed to go as planned.

‘I need to find a way to deal with him.’

How should he handle Yi Jun?

Should he sneak into the dormitory and kill him secretly?

Or lure him into the mountains and bury him?

Countless thoughts raced through his mind.

Kim Tae-hyung couldn’t focus throughout the grading process.

The day continued into the afternoon.

By 4 PM, Yi Jun had finished all his schedules and was walking through the gymnasium to head back to the dormitory.

“I used to be like those kids.”

Yi Jun spoke, watching the students running around the gymnasium.

Now, he didn’t need to engage in physical training like them.

The basic training had already been completed.

Though he still trained, his body carried a hefty 200kg of mukcheol, iron weights.

After enduring hellish training, mukcheol had become a part of his body.

As Yi Jun was about to pass through the gymnasium, a sudden voice startled him.

“Senior Yi Jun! Hello!”

The cheerful greeting from a familiar junior caught him off guard.

“Uh? Yes… Sure.”

“Are you from F building? I’m from E building right next door. Let’s walk together!”

A feeling Yi Jun had never experienced before.

Fresh-faced freshmen greeting him made him feel good.

‘Snap out of it, Yi Jun. You’re twenty-five inside. Don’t let your guard down!’

He tried to resist being charmed by the young girls.

But how could he?

His eyes were constantly drawn towards them.

The lively freshmen were hard to ignore.

‘I’m eighteen right now, but there’s only a one-year age difference between us.’

As Yi Jun spoke to himself,

[Finally, the disciple has gone crazy.]
The Mugeukja shook his head slowly.

Walking towards the dormitory with the female juniors, laughing and chatting, a group of male students approached.