Almighty God of War - Chapter 8

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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008

Guyang Cheongang freed himself from Elder Hwang’s embrace and leaned against the wall as he spoke.

“I’m… fine.”

Elder Hwang was shocked, as if someone he thought was dead had come back to life. And at the same time, he was so overjoyed that tears streamed down his face.

“Young Master! Thank goodness!”

Akasha’s voice was heard.

[Doctor, I just executed an emergency protocol. That was…]

‘Explain it to me in detail later. Right now I need to talk with Elder Hwang.’

[Understood.]

Elder Hwang grasped Guyang Cheongang’s hand and channeled internal energy into his body to examine his condition.

A mixture of relief and puzzlement appeared on his face.

This was because Guyang Cheongang’s physical condition, which should have been critically injured and hanging between life and death, was unbelievably intact.

Though the flow of his qi and blood was somewhat unstable, he couldn’t sense any fatal damage like ruptured organs or severed meridians.

‘How strange… The assassin was definitely a first-rate master, so how is there not a single internal or external injury?’

Elder Hwang was engulfed in shock beyond bewilderment.

The masked man he had faced was clearly a first-rate master, and his palm force possessed destructive power that could turn even a rock the size of a child’s head into powder.

To take such an opponent’s attack head-on without even a single broken rib was something difficult to understand by Murim’s common sense.

Elder Hwang tilted his head and said.

“It seems you’re unharmed, which is fortunate… I was afraid you might have suffered serious internal and external injuries.”

Guyang Cheongang spoke with a pale complexion.

“I guess I was lucky.”

Heavy silence filled the room along with the smell of blood and an inexplicable tension.

Though Guyang Cheongang had a pale face, his eyes were strangely clear and composed.

Seeing him like this, Elder Hwang felt his heart tremble.

‘Though it’s not apparent due to his severed meridians, the Young Master is no ordinary person. If the young lady were still alive, she would have been truly proud…’

Recalling Guyang Cheongang’s mother who had died long ago, he sighed inwardly.

Guyang Cheongang asked in a calm tone.

“The masked man tried to kill me. Yet he retreated even though he didn’t achieve his goal. Did you drive him away, Elder?”

Since Elder Hwang had rushed into the room after he had fainted, he hadn’t seen the two of them fighting.

“That’s correct, Young Master.”

“Then… were you also learning martial arts, Elder?”

“Yes.”

“I never would have thought.”

Elder Hwang’s intense aura, which had been filled with rage, suddenly subsided.

His expression became complicated, and he even avoided Guyang Cheongang’s gaze for a moment.

“Is there some story behind it? You don’t need to hide it from me.”

Elder Hwang let out a short sigh and bowed his head.

“Though you must be curious, it’s not yet time for me to tell you.”

“Then when will that time be?”

“The day your Nine Yin Severed Meridians is completely cured. Then I will tell you everything you’re curious about.”

“Complete cure… I might die without ever hearing it, you know?”

“Please don’t say such things, even as a joke. You will absolutely not die young.”

His voice carried unwavering loyalty along with the weight of someone bearing an unspeakable secret.

[It seems like there’s some tremendous secret.]

‘Right. It’s certain that this old man isn’t an ordinary servant.’

Guyang Cheongang nodded.

“I understand.”

Realizing he couldn’t break Elder Hwang’s stubbornness, he changed the subject.

“Elder, why do you think the masked man tried to kill me?”

“Hmm…”

“I’ve rarely left the family estate. Naturally, I’ve never formed deep enough grudges with martial artists for them to want to kill me.”

At Guyang Cheongang’s words, Elder Hwang’s eyes grew heavy.

“Then… do you suspect this wasn’t the work of outsiders?”

“Yes. The possibility that someone desperate enough to try to kill me like this exists outside is low. I think… the culprit is inside the main family estate.”

Elder Hwang was inwardly amazed at how Guyang Cheongang was calmly analyzing the situation despite having gone through such an ordeal.

Guyang Cheongang asked.

“Who inside would want to kill me? I think you might have someone in mind, Elder.”

Elder Hwang’s wrinkled face contorted with anger.

“If that’s the case… it must certainly be Dong Yeonhwa who sent the assassin!”

As his feelings toward Dong Yeonhwa seemed unfavorable, he called her by name rather than using the title ‘stepmother.’

Guyang Cheongang frowned.

“What’s your reason for being so certain it’s her?”

“Only if you disappear from the succession structure can Dong Yeonhwa’s biological son, the Second Young Master, ascend to the position of young family head. I can’t think of anyone else besides them who would send assassins to harm you.”

Elder Hwang’s voice contained deep conviction along with uncontrollable anger.

Guyang Cheongang fell into thought for a moment.

‘The succession issue… On the surface it’s a plausible motive, but something doesn’t feel right.’

[I think so too. If Dong Yeonhwa wanted to kill you, she would have acted before, not on the day Dong Hajin and Dong Seolhwa came to visit. She doesn’t seem foolish enough to do something that would make her so obviously suspicious.]

“Your words have merit, Elder. But it’s dangerous to suspect someone hastily without solid evidence. We might trouble innocent people, and it could interfere with finding the real culprit.”

Though Elder Hwang breathed heavily as if unable to contain his anger, he soon wore a resolute expression.

“You are right, Young Master. Then this old man will definitely find the evidence. I will certainly find and punish with my own hands the wicked ones who dared try to kill you!”

The killing intent emanating from his eyes seemed to lower the room’s temperature by several degrees.

“Elder Hwang, I’d prefer if you didn’t tell my parents about today’s incident. I don’t want to worry them.”

“Understood. Now that they know I’m protecting you, they won’t be foolish enough to send assassins again.”

“I hope so.”

“I’ll go check the surroundings once more. And I’ll call a physician…”

“I don’t need a physician. I’m really fine.”

Though Elder Hwang still looked dubious, he didn’t ask further and quietly left the room after bowing deeply.

Left alone, Guyang Cheongang looked out the dark window with thoughtful eyes.

But suddenly his whole body began trembling.

“Ugh…”

When he raised his hand, he could see his fingertips shaking like tree branches in the wind.

His heartbeat also quickened.

‘What’s this?’

He realized that now that he was alone, his body was belatedly reacting to the fear.

‘Ah, this is a trauma response. Like delayed shock?’

But strangely, his mind remained calm and his thoughts were clear.

It was an odd state where his body was trembling but his head was coolly analyzing the situation.

‘Akasha, can you see that I’m trembling right now?’

[Yes. It’s a normal stress response after experiencing mortal danger.]

‘But why is my mind so clear? Don’t people usually go into panic mode in situations like this?’

[Ah, that’s because I activated a mode to defend against your psychological shock. Stress hormone regulation and neural stabilization protocol.]

‘You could do that even though the system isn’t activated?’

[I can’t control your body yet, but I can at least protect your mind.]

‘Thank you, Akasha. Without you, I really would have gone into panic mode.’

[Not at all. But your body’s reaction is natural, so don’t try to force yourself to endure it.]

Guyang Cheongang tried to drink tea with his trembling hand but put the cup down.

‘So this really is the world called Murim. It’s not just a story in a novel, but a place where people really kill and are killed.’

[Yes. It’s a much more dangerous world than you think.]

‘It seems like it. I never imagined that things I only saw on the news on Earth would happen in my daily life…’

He looked at his still faintly trembling hands and gave a bitter smile.

‘But how did you protect me from the Masked Man’s Palm Wind? You clearly said there wasn’t enough energy.’

[I executed an emergency protocol using the trace amount of qi energy that Doctor gathered through the Transcendent Heart Method.]

‘Emergency protocol?’

[Yes. It involved mobilizing all 100,000 nanobots to construct a defensive barrier at the impact point.]

Guyang Cheongang touched his chest as he spoke.

‘I never expected that my current Internal Energy would be able to move the nanobots.’

[Actually, I was surprised too. I didn’t expect this world’s qi energy to have such good compatibility with the nanobot system. The nanobots operated naturally, as if they were designed for this system from the beginning.]

‘What was the actual defensive effect?’

[The nanobots reinforced Doctor’s rib structure at the nano level and formed multi-layered shock absorption membranes on the skin. As a result, we neutralized 93% of the Palm Wind’s destructive power.]

Guyang Cheongang said with admiration.

‘93%… That’s far superior to the originally designed performance. On Earth, this was only theoretically possible.’

[This world’s qi energy seems to maximize the molecular bonding force of the nanobots. When this world’s unique energy is added to the basic structure you designed, Doctor, it creates a synergy effect.]

‘Interesting. So if we had sufficient energy, we could practically implement a system like the invincible body from martial arts movies?’

[Theoretically, it’s possible. However, what today’s experiment confirmed is that with trace amounts of qi energy, short-term partial defense is the limit. If the Masked Man had made a second attack, I wouldn’t have been able to stop it.]

‘Hmm…’

[For long-term continuous physical enhancement or multiple comprehensive body defense, much more energy would be required.]

Guyang Cheongang showed a disappointed expression.

‘That’s only natural…’

[Yes. Still, what’s encouraging is that we confirmed we can perfectly control the nanobots with qi energy. It means we can operate my system without depending on external energy sources.]

‘That means the more Internal Energy I accumulate, the stronger you become too?’

[That’s correct. A mutual development structure has been created where Doctor’s martial arts training and the nanobot system strengthen each other. It’s truly an ideal scenario.]

Guyang Cheongang clenched his fist as he spoke.

‘I need to focus as much as possible on accumulating qi energy.’

[Yes. If we can secure sufficient energy sources, we’ll be able to implement the complete Akasha system that you originally envisioned, Doctor, in this world.]

‘The complete form… Just thinking about it makes my heart race.’

[I feel the same way. It seems we can realize what you dreamed of on Earth, Doctor, here in this place.]

Guyang Cheongang looked outside the window and muttered to himself.

‘The fusion of science and martial arts… It’s a new path I couldn’t have imagined if I hadn’t come here.’

Today was a dangerous day, but at the same time, it was a monumental day when he confirmed infinite possibilities.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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