In the blink of an eye, Yang Gang's body had twisted into a grotesque form.
The screams that had burst from him fell silent at so point.
The sheer agony had made him pass out.
The other students, watching in horror, trembled violently as their pupils quaked in shock.
Yeon Woo Jin turned his gaze to Pyeong Cheon.
“Next.”
“M-?”
Yeon Woo Jin nodded.
“I-I think I’m good, actually...”
Just as he tried to talk his way out of it, he saw Yeon Woo Jin reach out his hand toward him.
And in that mont, his body was pulled toward Yeon Woo Jin as if by so invisible force.
“Gah!”
He tried to resist with everything he had, but it was useless.
His body floated into the air and was dragged forward helplessly.
Everyone was stunned—Yeon Woo Jin was using Sky-Stepping and object manipulation through air like it was nothing.
Thump.
And so Pyeong Cheon, now in Yeon Woo Jin’s grasp, began contorting just like Yang Gang.
Foaming at the mouth, he too passed out.
The remaining students tried to flee in terror.
But of course, they failed—dragged back one by one and subjected to the sa treatnt.
****
The students slowly ca to after having passed out from the pain.
When they opened their eyes and checked their bodies, there was sothing... different.
It felt lighter.
The flow of qi was smoother—more natural.
That’s what it felt like.
Yang Gang could sense the qi moving clearly along his right side. It was a definite improvent.
It had been painful, yes—but the results spoke for themselves.
The others felt the sa.
Everyone wore satisfied expressions.
Yang Gang cupped his fists and bowed in gratitude.
“Thank you, my lord! I can clearly feel how refreshed my body is!”
The other students followed suit.
“Thank you, sir!”
Yeon Woo Jin smiled as he looked at them.
“I’m glad to hear that. It must have hurt quite a bit, huh?”
“It’s fine! You did it all for our sake!”
“Exactly! That kind of pain is nothing—we can take it!”
They all spoke with pride, thinking the ordeal was now over.
“I’m relieved to hear that. Today was just the first day, so I went easy on you. I hope you can all endure what's coming.”
Wait—what?
They all stared at Yeon Woo Jin in a daze.
Yang Gang, speaking on their behalf, asked,
“You an... today wasn’t the end?”
“What are you talking about? I said from the beginning—today was just the start, just an inspection.”
That was just an inspection?
“Your qi ridians are severely misaligned. I’ll have to work on you for a few days. Still, it’s fortunate—you all said you can handle pain whenever.”
But that was only because they thought today was the end...
The idea that pain like this would continue for days made their faces go pale.
Whether he knew how they felt or not, Yeon Woo Jin smiled brightly.
“Well then, that’s it for today. I’ll see you all again tomorrow.”
As Yeon Woo Jin turned to leave, Yang Gang snapped out of it and spoke quickly.
“Then... allow to guide you to your quarters for rest.”
“Hmm? No need. I’m heading ho.”
“Pardon? You an... now? You’re heading back? That far?”
“It’s not that far.”
How fast would one have to be for that distance to not seem far?
Even with top-tier movent arts, it would take at least three shichen—six hours.
For them, running all day at full speed was the only way to make the trip in a single day.
How could that possibly not be far?
Yang Gang tried again to stop him.
“Please don’t. My lord, please rest here. I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of.”
“Really, it’s fine. It won’t even take a mont.”
What did that an?
After thinking a mont, Yang Gang clapped his hands.
“Ah! You must have secured a place to stay nearby.”
Yeon Woo Jin gave him a small smile.
“Nope. I’m talking about my house in the South.”
“...What?”
So he hadn’t arranged lodging nearby?
Just as Yang Gang tried to insist again—
“Well then, see you tomorrow.”
Fwip—
He vanished.
It wasn’t a movent technique.
He simply... disappeared.
As if he had never been standing there at all.
Yang Gang looked around, stunned.
“W-Where’d he go?”
The others looked around as well, but there wasn’t even a trace left behind.
“I didn’t even see him move.”
“He just vanished...”
Yeon Woo Jin had disappeared at a speed beyond sight.
Yang Gang was the first to acknowledge it.
Yeon Woo Jin wasn’t soone ordinary humans like them could asure.
“...I think we’ve ended up serving soone far beyond anything we imagined.”
At Yang Gang’s words, everyone silently nodded.
“Let’s get so rest... We’ll need it to survive tomorrow’s hell.”
At those words, everyone lowered their heads and trudged off toward their hos, heavy-footed.
****
One month later.
Hwangyong had completely taken control of the Eastern region.
In that ti, the North had also been subdued by Heukho High Division.
The students in both territories believed the ti was approaching.
That the North and East would soon clash to determine who was strongest.
And that they too would be called into the fray when the great battle ca.
In the North, at Heukho High Division, Ho Cheon sipped tea as he listened to his advisors.
“There are reports that Hwangyong in the East has been making contact with the South and West. Upon further investigation, it seems they’ve been actively communicating with the South.”
At this, Yuk Gwang—the second-ranked student of Heukho—sneered.
“Pfft! Are you kidding ? The South? Are they seriously trying to throw the Southern kids at us to wear us out?”
The others chid in one after another.
“Like the South’s going to help? What’s the angle there?”
“I could understand the West—they might try a sneak attack. But the South? Aren’t they the weakest out of all four?”
“Looks like the Eastern bastards are getting desperate, now that they have to face us. They should’ve just lowered their heads and lived peacefully under us.”
“Still, we can’t underestimate them. Hwangyong has taken over the East.”
“What about the West? Didn’t they try contacting them too?”
“From what we’ve seen, nothing’s co of it. Looks like talks fell through.”
“Because the West isn’t full of idiots. Kekeke. So, Ho Cheon, what’s the plan? If we take down Hwangyong, we’ll be the first High Division to unify Mushincheon. And you’ll go down as the first top student in history to pull it off.”
At Yuk Gwang’s words, Ho Cheon smiled faintly.
“Let’s wrap it up before we head out for field training. If we pull off the unification before we go, the instructors will treat our High Division differently.”
“Right. And we might get assigned to better sectors too.”
“Maybe even Central!”
Everyone looked at Ho Cheon with sparkling eyes.
Ho Cheon nodded.
“Alright. We’ll take the East next week. Be in peak condition.”
****
Sensing sothing unusual in the North’s movents, Hwangyong quickly reported to Yeon Woo Jin.
Yeon Woo Jin, already observing every move made by the North, simply nodded.
“With all the progress you’ve made this past month, I’d say it’s ti we tested it out, wouldn’t you?”
At that, Yang Gang thumped his chest confidently.
“Of course! Just leave it to ! I’ll make Ho Cheon of the North kneel and offer the entire Northern region to you, my lord!”
Pyeong Cheon and the others also nodded with resolute expressions.
It was a far cry from a month ago, when they were agonizing over how to even begin approaching the North.
“So then, I don’t need to worry about anything, right?”
“Correct! My lord can simply rest. We’ll take care of everything.”
“Reassuring.”
In truth, the two regions were fairly evenly matched in power.
What tipped the balance slightly was that the top student of the North had a higher cultivation rank, which put the East at a disadvantage.
But after a month of Yeon Woo Jin’s physical remodeling, Yang Gang’s cultivation level had risen from Sixth Star Apex-Level to Seventh Star.
That boost had significantly increased his confidence—and enabled him to subjugate the Eastern region in short order.
The students of the Eastern High Divisions, stunned by Yang Gang’s unexpected strength, barely put up a fight before surrendering.
“Good. Then I’ll trust you and take my leave.”
As Yeon Woo Jin prepared to depart, Yang Gang cautiously asked,
“Um, my lord.”
“Yes?”
“There’s sothing I’ve been curious about.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve been wondering just how fast your movent arts are. How are you able to travel between the South and East so quickly?”
“Ah, that. So you were curious about that? It’s not movent arts.”
“...Sorry?”
“It’s not a movent technique. I just... move.”
What was that supposed to an?
Just “move”?
Like, what—he just zooms from the South to the East?
Yang Gang couldn’t help but laugh at his own ridiculous imagination.
“What?”
“Ah—my apologies. It was just that the thought that ca to mind was so absurd that I laughed without thinking.”
“What were you imagining?”
“I pictured you just going pop! and appearing directly in the South.”
“You were right.”
“Right, exactly—wait. What?”
“That’s exactly what I ant.”
“You’re... joking, right?”
“I’m not.”
Yeon Woo Jin moved over and grabbed Yang Gang.
The two of them vanished instantly.
Pyeong Cheon and the others scrambled, looking around in alarm.
Then, a mont later, the two reappeared in the exact sa spot.
Yang Gang stood there, completely stunned.
He muttered in a daze,
“I-It was real...”
Pyeong Cheon asked,
“W-What was?”
Yang Gang looked at him with vacant eyes and said,
“I... I just went to Baekyeong. In the South...”
Utter nonsense.
Or rather—it would’ve been, if not for the fact that Yeon Woo Jin was standing right there.
He bit his tongue.
How could he possibly have gone to Baekyeong and back in that brief mont?
Say sothing that makes sense.
“No, really... I got there and Sunwoo Baek and Jang Woon were welcoming .”
Was he hallucinating?
But Yang Gang felt wronged.
It had really happened—why wouldn’t they believe him?
He looked pleadingly at Yeon Woo Jin.
In response, Yeon Woo Jin simply smiled—then reached out and grabbed Pyeong Cheon.
Pop—
They disappeared.
Monts later, they reappeared.
Now Pyeong Cheon was the one with a vacant look.
He muttered,
“I-It’s true...”
****
At last, the North made its move.
Led by Heukho, students from Jeokho, Cheongho, Baekho, and Hwangho High Divisions began a full-scale mobilization to attack the East.
To prevent any potential disaster, the Recruitnt Office discreetly dispatched nurous observers.
Their aim was to ensure that no student was seriously injured or killed.
Of course, they planned to monitor everything from afar, without the students noticing.
This was shaping up to be a major event—one that hadn’t happened in Mushincheon in a very long ti.
The fact that students themselves were leading large-scale operations to dominate entire regions was unprecedented.
All of Mushincheon’s attention turned to the showdown between the North and East.
Families of the students in both regions focused their full attention on the coming conflict.
Whoever won here would effectively beco the dominant power among the High Divisions.
The East responded by gathering all its High Division forces in the region.
The battlefield: Fallen Dragon Plain.
Countless students from both the North and East stood in formation, facing each other down.
From a distance, the Recruitnt Office observers watched closely.
“Phew! Impressive.”
“No kidding. I thought they were just kids—but that’s clearly not the case.”
“Still... this is a first, isn’t it? High Division students independently initiating a region-wide power struggle?”
“Yeah. That’s why Mushincheon’s so focused on it.”
“These are kids destined for greatness. Watch them closely. One of them might be your superior soday.”
“In that case, I’d better start making a good impression now.”
“Hahaha. Who knows? Maybe we’ll land a sweet position off of it.”
As the Recruitnt Office joked among themselves, Ho Cheon, top student of the Northern region, and Yang Gang, top student of the East, finally ca face-to-face.
It was their first ti eting.
Their initial impressions: surprise.
Ho Cheon was shocked to see soone who could match his own level, and Yang Gang was stunned that—even after raising his cultivation—he still couldn’t confidently say he could win.
Ho Cheon’s level was higher than he’d anticipated.
Ho Cheon spoke first.
“I used to think that if I just set my mind to it, unifying Mushincheon’s High Divisions would be effortless. But now that I’ve t you... I realize I was gravely mistaken.”
“Thanks for the complint,” Yang Gang ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) replied. “Everyone talked about Ho Cheon of the North like you were sothing extraordinary. Honestly, I thought it was overblown. But seeing you in person—I think the rumors don’t do you justice.”
Ho Cheon chuckled.
“I was planning to propose your surrender, but... that’s off the table now.”
Yang Gang grinned.
“You’d better give it everything you’ve got. Our crew... isn’t so easy to handle.”
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