I Thought I Was Bullying a Nobody, But He's a Martial Arts Genius - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Fighting Genius Bullied Without Knowing It Episode 015
Whoosh.
Seo Jun extricated his lower body from the tangle with practiced efficiency, pivoting into the superior position.
In one fluid motion, he seized the Mount, his red Gloves descending in a furious barrage.
Crack!
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
Jo Min-seong’s head snapped backward, his face exposed and defenseless against the strikes.
On top of the mental shock came the crushing physical blow, rattling his brain.
‘Dangerous!’
Jo Min-seong’s consciousness flickered back online, and he thrust both arms upward to lock his guard tight.
But in that brief window, the damage from the clean hits had been severe.
His vision flashed crimson, and his breathing grew ragged.
He had to buy time, somehow.
Jo Min-seong extended his arms through the gap in his guard, trying to wrench Seo Jun’s waist in a desperate clinch.
Tap.
But Seo Jun had read his every intention perfectly.
He abandoned the advantage of position without hesitation, pushing off the mat to his feet.
“Get up!”
The referee approached as Seo Jun refused to continue on the ground, hauling Jo Min-seong upright.
[Ah! Seo Jun! He’s refusing to risk further Pounding, demanding Standing instead!]
[A very cold and precise decision. There’s no reason to enter the guard of a Ground specialist!]
The commentators’ awed analysis filled the speakers.
The Standing exchange resumed.
Jo Min-seong sealed his face behind both arms, his torso curled like a tortoise.
An extreme defensive strategy to recover from his damage.
But Seo Jun’s grotesque Body tracking vision dissected every narrow gap with cold precision.
Bang! Crack! Thwack!
Seo Jun’s sharp One-Two punches found their mark, slipping clean through the sealed guard.
Followed by a vicious Uppercut that drove toward the jaw.
“Gaah….”
Jo Min-seong’s legs visibly gave way as he slipped into a Groggy state.
[Seo Jun! He’s seized complete momentum!]
[The striking precision is incredible! Jo Min-seong is just standing there like a Punching bag!]
-His form is insane lol
-A wrestler running from a striker
-Is Seo Jun actually a genius? His striking is so clean.
-It’s over. Jo Min-seong’s legs are gone.
The YouTube chat had flipped entirely.
But outside the Cage, Do Yun’s eyes told a different story.
No one knew the killing intent of an elite athlete better than he did.
“Hey! Seo Jun! Don’t get careless! It’s not over yet!”
Do Yun’s thunder-crack shout split the Cage.
That was the moment.
Seo Jun extended a long Right Straight toward Jo Min-seong’s face.
Whoosh!
Jo Min-seong, who appeared Groggy, suddenly dropped his torso toward the mat like his strings had been cut.
Evading the Straight by inches, he plunged forward into Seo Jun’s clinch with fierce determination.
‘Got him!’
Jo Min-seong’s eyes burned with bloodlust.
He reached out with both arms toward Seo Jun’s lead leg.
One last gambit to drag him back down into the mud of the ground.
But a strange wrongness flickered across his awareness.
‘What?’
Seo Jun’s front foot—the one that should have been planted—had vanished from view.
Only the back leg remained visible.
‘Where did his front foot go….’
Jo Min-seong’s head tilted upward in confusion for just an instant.
Thwack—!!
A sickening, explosive sound tore through the Cage.
“Arrrrgh!”
Seo Jun’s front knee, which had vanished from sight, drove up into Jo Min-seong’s face with devastating force as he charged forward with his tackle.
The perfect counter Knee Kick that Do Yun had drilled into him relentlessly back in the preparation room.
Jo Min-seong’s eyes rolled back white.
Like a great tree toppling, his massive frame crumpled to the Cage floor in a heap.
Thud!!
It was a perfect knockout—not even a single convulsion.
“Stop! Stop!!”
The referee crossed his arms in front of Seo Jun, blocking his path.
A decisive signal that the match was over.
[Round 1, 3 minutes 14 seconds!!]
[Seo Jun has defeated the formidable grappler Jo Min-seong with a knockout and claimed the championship!!]
The crowd erupted in cheers that seemed to shake the stands.
Seo Jun breathed heavily, spitting out his blood-stained mouthpiece.
Do Yun climbed into the ring and tousled his hair.
“Well done.”
“Ha… haha…”
Seo Jun’s awkward smile flickered across the display screen.
The reaction from Team Jujak’s members was more fervent than ever.
“Kyaaaa!! Seo Jun won!!”
“Wooo!! That’s my junior right there!!”
Ah Yeon and Tae Su embraced, celebrating Seo Jun’s victory.
Ryu Tae-hwan, meanwhile, was struck by the depth of Seo Jun’s ability.
‘I thought his flexibility was unusual, but to this degree? And a knockout against an elite wrestler known for his durability… this is something else entirely.’
A wrestler’s chin is beyond ordinary imagining.
The trained neck muscles around the face make it extraordinarily difficult to shake the brain itself and achieve a knockout.
This is precisely why knockout defeats among wrestlers are so rare.
It was reason enough for Seo Jun’s stock to rise considerably.
And.
“You predicted this wouldn’t end here…”
Tae-hwan turned his head to pose the question to his son who had foreseen this moment, only to find Jin Hyuk already gone.
When he turned, he caught sight of his son’s departing silhouette heading out through the exit.
‘Of course—after witnessing a match like that, he’d be fired up.’
Jin Hyuk was strong enough that there was no peer in the country his age to compare himself against.
But now, a benchmark had emerged.
And not from another gym, but from his own Team Jujak.
‘This will be good motivation for him.’
While Tae-hwan basked in satisfaction, Jin Hyuk outside the Stadium was smiling.
“So he can put on that dominant a performance against Jo Min-seong.”
He’d only been training in combat sports for half a year.
And yet Seo Jun, in that span, had dispatched Jo Min-seong—who’d followed the elite wrestler’s path—in the first round.
This was growth that could only be described as genius.
Crack—!
He flexed his fist lightly and his knuckles popped with an eerie sound.
“I want to face him properly.”
Jin Hyuk turned over his desire in his mind as he slipped out of the Stadium.

* * *
[Champion! Seo Jun!]
The announcer’s resonant voice thundered through the Stadium’s rafters.
The presentation stage erected at the center of the Cage.
In Seo Jun’s hands, held aloft, gleamed the weighty golden trophy and certificate of victory.
Click! Click!
Camera flashes erupted from every direction.
Just half a year ago, he’d been a boy huddled in an alley corner, enduring kicks from street thugs.
Now he stood before hundreds of spectators and combat professionals, their eyes upon him, and he held his ground with quiet confidence.
The solid weight of the metal trophy transferred through his palm.
‘I won. For real.’
It was an overwhelming moment that didn’t quite feel real.
Seo Jun raised both arms high with the trophy, savoring the joy of the instant.

* * *
Sizzle!
Thick slabs of pork belly seared to golden perfection on the grill plate.
Oil bubbled and hissed, filling the restaurant with the rich aroma of roasted meat.
“Man, Seo Jun. You’re a real monster, a total monster.”
Tae Su, who’d just stuffed his mouth with lettuce-wrapped meat, muttered through his chewing.
Fresh out of weight-cutting hell, the guy was already on his fourth serving, inhaling meat like he wasn’t breathing at all.
“Who would’ve thought you’d shatter an elite wrestler’s jaw with a knee strike like that?”
“I was fortunate.”
“Don’t give me that fortune nonsense. If that’s fortune, I’d be world champion by now.”
Light laughter rippled across the table at Tae Su’s quip.
Four of them sat crammed into a grilled meat restaurant near the Gym, having slipped out of the Stadium.
Coach Ryu Tae-hwan had excused himself the moment the awards ceremony ended, citing the next training schedule.
Jin Hyuk had already vanished.
But this modest celebration with Do Yun, Ah Yeon, and Tae Su was enough to warm Seo Jun’s chest from within.
“Come on, our champion. Don’t be shy—eat plenty.”
Ah Yeon piled a generous helping of perfectly cooked pork belly onto Seo Jun’s plate.
“Thank you, Director.”
“Ah, speaking of champion, that reminds me.”
Do Yun, who’d been idly spinning his soju glass, suddenly spoke up.
“Listen. Five hundred thousand won is going into your account next week.”
“Five hundred thousand?”
Seo Jun’s eyes widened as he paused mid-chew.
“Five hundred thousand won, sir?”
“That’s right. The prize money from the Rookies Tournament championship.”
Do Yun gestured at Seo Jun’s forehead with his chopsticks as if exasperated.
“You mean you climbed into that Cage without even knowing what the prize money was?”
“I did read through the tournament regulations, but I… didn’t pay close attention to the prize money section.”
Seo Jun scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
Since he’d entered the tournament not for money but for something else, the prize amount had never taken root in his mind.
“You’re really dense, aren’t you?”
Do Yun clicked his tongue and swallowed a mouthful of meat whole.
“Coach, if I may ask…”
Seo Jun leaned forward carefully.
“Isn’t it the normal practice to split prize money with the gym at a certain percentage? I’m not sure if I should be keeping it all…”
A soft laugh escaped Ah Yeon, who’d been sipping soda across the table.
She set down her empty glass with a quiet smile.
“Seo Jun. Do you know what our gym’s policy is?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Amateur tournament prize money goes one hundred percent to the athlete. That’s our rule.”
Ah Yeon set her glass down on the table with a decisive clink.
“And more than that—”
Her eyes crinkled with playful mischief.
“You’re not even a formally contracted professional athlete with Team Jujak yet. We have no grounds to take your money.”
Professional contract.
The words made Seo Jun’s shoulders tense ever so slightly.
“She’s right.”
Do Yun set down his chopsticks and met Seo Jun’s gaze with earnest eyes.
“Right after the awards ceremony ended today, the Axis Korea representative came up to me directly and gave me a heads-up. You’ll be getting a formal professional contract in the coming weeks.”
Thump.
Seo Jun’s heart struck hard against his ribs.
Professional fighter.
Not a paying member learning martial arts, but a real professional athlete who proved his worth through his fists alone and earned money by victory.
That weighty title was no longer a mirage—it had become perfect, tangible reality.
“Signing a professional contract means you’ll be personally accountable for every action you take in the ring from now on.”
Do Yun continued matter-of-factly.
“You can’t rely on thick padded Gloves like you did as an amateur, and nobody’s going to applaud you for a respectable loss. You win and you prove yourself, and you prove your worth through Fight money. That’s all that matters now.”
“I understand.”
“Axis is probably going to offer you pretty favorable terms. You wiped out the entire high school tournament in Round 1—you’re a gifted striker, and the commercial appeal is crystal clear.”
Seo Jun’s lips moved soundlessly as he nodded, steady and deliberate.
The hardened calluses on his knuckles, worn away by striking the Punching bag tens of thousands of times.
A surge of profound emotion washed over him—the crushing, exhilarating knowledge that his brutal sweat and bleeding effort had been wholly vindicated.
Deep in his chest, a hot flame flickered and danced.
“Man, I’m jealous. Seriously jealous.”
Tae Su, watching from the side, raised his glass of soda in a sharp gesture.
“Seo Jun. Go ahead and climb. I’ll get my Professional license soon enough and follow you up.”
It was a sincere congratulation to the junior who had once knocked him senseless.
“Thank you so much.”
Seo Jun lifted his cup of water too, beaming with genuine warmth.
“Hey, Tae Su. You’re going pro?”
Do Yun jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow, his tone dripping with mockery.
“What organization’s going to call someone who eats an Armbar in Round 1? Starting tomorrow, you’re doing two thousand shrimp crunches a day.”
“Coach! On a great day like this when I’m tasting victory—why would you say that!”
Tae Su’s anguished wail reverberated through the restaurant.
“Puh-ha-ha-ha!”
Ah Yeon threw her head back and laughed deeply from her belly, while Do Yun chuckled and ruffled Tae Su’s hair roughly.
Across the grill, the remaining meat was cooking beautifully.
In the midst of that warm, glowing noise, Seo Jun smiled quietly to himself.
It was a night growing deep with a perfect sense of belonging and joy he had never felt before, not since he’d begun fighting.

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