I Thought I Was Bullying a Nobody, But He's a Martial Arts Genius - Chapter 23

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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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Unknown Fighting Genius, Bullied 023
Blood trickled down past his eye.
His left field of vision blazed red.
Oh Geon-woo’s weight remained crushing.
Shoulders pinned to his chest.
Knees locked over his hips.
His head wedged tight beneath the chin.
The space to escape was razor-thin.
Crack!
Pounding landed across his guard.
Seo Jun’s arm wavered.
The Spectator Stands erupted.
“Get up!”
“Hold on! Seo Jun!”
But their voices reached him distant, muffled.
He felt no fear.
His breath came short.
Pain flared bright.
Blood ran warm.
Yet his mind stayed cold.
‘Lighter than Choi Tae-san.’
That calculation came first.
Choi Tae-san killed both back and hips simultaneously.
Even minimal movement closed every exit.
Oh Geon-woo was different.
The pressure was formidable.
But striking required him to lift his upper body.
In that instant, his weight shifted to one side.
‘His right shoulder rises when he punches.’
Seo Jun’s eyes tracked Oh Geon-woo’s elbow.
Crack!
Another fist.
This time he didn’t block.
His guard opened slightly.
Oh Geon-woo’s eyes lit up.
An opening.
Seo Jun let it through deliberately.
He weakened his left Frame.
His hips moved half a beat too slow.
The corner of Oh Geon-woo’s mouth curved upward.
“That’s it.”
He raised his torso higher.
Setting up for a more powerful volley.
His weight shifted forward.
His right hand climbed high.
In that fraction of a second.
Across the Spectator Stands.
Choi Tae-san stood watching with arms folded.
His mouth curved upward, slowly.
‘That.’
Tae-san recognized it immediately.
A few days prior.
Inside the Team Joojak Cage.
Seo Jun had deliberately let the same opening through.
From the bottom, he weakened his Frame intentionally, inviting his opponent in.
That time Tae-san had laughed and let him off.
Once was fine.
From the second time on, it wouldn’t work.
But Oh Geon-woo was seeing it for the first time.
Tae-san smiled.
‘That’s the same technique he used on me.’
His eyes narrowed.
‘It wasn’t a coincidence.’

* * *
Oh Geon-woo’s fist dropped away.
Seo Jun had been waiting for this moment.
His right shoulder rises.
The pressure from his left knee eases.
His head lifts from Seo Jun’s chest.
His upper body weight shifts forward.
‘Now.’
Seo Jun’s right arm drove inward.
He pushed beneath Oh Geon-woo’s elbow.
At the same time, his left foot pressed against the Mat.
He twisted his hips.
Smooth.
His body slipped sideways and free.
Oh Geon-woo’s fist cut through empty air.
Thud!
The Mat echoed.
“What?”
Oh Geon-woo’s balance collapsed forward.
Seo Jun didn’t hesitate.
He pulled his right knee beneath his body.
His left hand pushed against Oh Geon-woo’s neck.
The same movements he’d drilled with Choi Tae-san hundreds of times.
Frame.
Hip Escape.
Knee Insertion.
Underhook.
The Cage stood just behind him.
Seo Jun drove his shoulder against the Metal Mesh.
He pushed off the Mat with his feet.
Scrape-scrape.
His back climbed up the Cage.
Oh Geon-woo rushed to press his hips against him.
But Seo Jun’s arm was already wedged deep into his armpit.
Underhook.
Oh Geon-woo’s forehead drove forward again, but it was too late.
Seo Jun’s hips were already free.
“Stop him!”
Oh Geon-woo’s Cornerman shouted.
Oh Geon-woo reached down to hook his leg.
Seo Jun pulled his foot free and knocked the grab away.
Crack!
One step.
His knee rose.
Another step.
His waist came up.
The Cage’s Metal Mesh rattled behind him.
Click.
Seo Jun stood.
Completely.
The Spectator Stands erupted.
Roaaaaarrrr!
[He’s up! Seo Jun is up!]
[That escape was exceptional! Oh Geon-woo’s balance broke when he committed to that heavy Pounding strike!]
Oh Geon-woo immediately tried to close the distance again.
But Seo Jun’s left arm was already locked deep.
Underhook.
His right hand drove Oh Geon-woo’s head back.
A position forged through daily repetition against Choi Tae-san.
This time he didn’t let it slip.
Outside the Cage.
Do Yoon let out a low laugh.
“That’s it.”
Seo Jun’s face, matted with blood, filled the broadcast screen.
Blood still trickled from his left eye socket.
But he stood.
He’d come up from the Mat.
Oh Geon-woo’s eyes wavered for the first time.
Seo Jun exhaled ragged breath and tucked his chin.

* * *
Seo Jun rose.
The Spectator Stands erupted.
Roooaaarrr—!
Oh Geon-woo didn’t rush in immediately.
He retreated a half-beat late.
Seo Jun breathed hard with his back against the Cage.
Blood continued to stream from his left eye.
But both feet were planted on the Mat.
[Baek Seo Jun is up!]
[That escape was truly excellent. From the bottom position, he deliberately showed a weak Frame, then hip-escaped the moment Oh Geon-woo threw the heavy Pounding!]
[Exactly! It wasn’t just raw strength. He used the timing when his opponent’s weight shifted forward. The process—Knee Insertion, then the Underhook, then climbing up the Cage—was remarkably technical!]
[An escape that’s hard to call Rookie-level!]
The roar swelled.
Spectators rose from their seats.
“Did you see that? He got up!”
“Wow, he escaped that!”
“Baek Seo Jun really came prepared!”
Do Yoon raised his hand outside the Cage.
“Steady your breathing!”
Seo Jun gave a sharp nod.
Oh Geon-woo regulated his own breath.
His eyes had turned even colder.
[But we can’t breathe easy yet.]
The Broadcast Team’s voice dropped immediately.
The camera caught Seo Jun’s face.
Above his left eyebrow.
Blood from the gash flowed down, covering his eyelid.
Seo Jun blinked.
Crimson blood traced his cheek and fell.
Drip.
Drip.
[The problem is the bleeding. His left field of vision is nearly obscured.]
[For a Counter-puncher, vision is life. If you can’t measure distance, you can’t land the Counter!]
[Especially Baek Seo Jun—he’s the type who reads his opponent’s movement and reacts. With one eye blocked, his reaction time itself could slow down!]
A shout erupted from Oh Geon-woo’s corner.
“Circle left!”
“The wound side! Keep attacking the wound!”
“We’ve got the advantage! He can’t see!”
Oh Geon-woo moved at once.
He didn’t rush in recklessly.
Slow.
Methodical.
He stepped toward Seo Jun’s left blind spot.
Seo Jun turned to follow, but a half-beat too late.
Blood covered his vision.
Oh Geon-woo’s front hand shot forward.
Snap!
Crack!
The jab drove straight into the wound.
Seo Jun’s head snapped back slightly.
The cut above his eyebrow split open again.
Blood dripped heavier now.
Drip.
Drip.
The Spectator Stands erupted in jeers.
“Hey! You’re just targeting the wound!”
“That’s filthy!”
“Coward!”
Oh Geon-woo didn’t react.
He was a professional.
He’d found a weakness, and he exploited it.
He pivoted left again.
Front hand again.
Crack!
Seo Jun’s guard came up too late.
The punch didn’t land with full force.
But it was precise.
It narrowed his vision further.
It opened the wound wider still.
[Oh Geon-woo is absolutely clinical! He keeps targeting the bleeding site!]
[The crowd’s booing, but this is professional fighting. When you see a weakness, you press it!]
Outside the Cage.
Tae-soo’s jaw clenched.
“That bastard’s fighting dirty.”
Do Yoon spoke at once.
“No.”
Tae-soo turned his head.
Do Yoon’s eyes were fixed on Oh Geon-woo.
“He’s fighting well.”
“Sir?”
“Relentless exploitation of a weakness—that’s what a professional does.”
Do Yoon’s face had hardened.
It was praise, but not the kind that felt good.
“Seo Jun doesn’t just have to beat Oh Geon-woo’s fists.”
Do Yoon’s gaze shifted to Seo Jun’s blood-streaked face.
“He has to overcome that ruthlessness too.”
The Referee moved in closer.
He checked Seo Jun’s eyes.
“Can you see?”
Seo Jun wiped the blood with the back of his hand.
It didn’t clear completely.
“I can see.”
Oh Geon-woo circled again.
Left angle.
Same approach as before.
Seo Jun’s eyes narrowed.
His reaction was slow.
His distance awareness clouded.
The Referee stepped in closer still.
His expression had darkened.
Match Stoppage.
The words flashed through the corner’s mind.
Oh Geon-woo threw another jab.
Snap!
Seo Jun was slow to react again.
But this time he twisted his chin just slightly before the punch landed.
The fist grazed the wound and passed by.
Blood sprayed.
Seo Jun’s feet scraped across the Mat.
Snap.
He didn’t retreat.
His blood-soaked left eyelid hung half-closed.
His right eye alone stared straight at Oh Geon-woo.
Oh Geon-woo circled left again.
The Referee stayed close between them.

* * *
The bleeding wouldn’t stop.
Blood trickled down from the corner of his left eye, traced his cheekbone, and pooled at his chin.
Drop.
It fell onto the Mat.
Seo Jun watched Oh Geon-woo with his right eye alone.
His sense of distance wavered.
With the left side blocked, the world appeared cut in half.
Oh Geon-woo didn’t miss it.
He kept circling left.
Toward the wound.
Toward the blind spot.
Snap!
Another jab came flying.
Seo Jun twisted his chin.
It grazed him.
But the blood spread further.
The Referee stepped closer.
“Baek! Your vision alright?”
“It’s fine.”
The answer came, but the Referee’s face had hardened.
If he couldn’t see, it would be over.
If the blood kept flowing, it would be over.
One more solid hit.
He was ready to stop it.
Oh Geon-woo knew that too.
His eyes gleamed cold.
‘Just one more time.’
Oh Geon-woo’s front foot moved again.
Seo Jun’s blind corner.
The roar from the Spectator Stands faded away.
His cornerman’s shouts blurred into nothing.
All Seo Jun’s ears could hear was Oh Geon-woo’s footsteps.
Tap.
Tap.
The front foot scraping the Mat.
The shoulder that followed behind it.
‘Here it comes again.’
Another jab this time.
At the wound.
A fist meant to draw the Referee’s stoppage.
Oh Geon-woo’s left hand shot out.
Snap!
The punch slammed into the torn socket of his eye.
Crack!
Blood scattered through the air.
Red droplets sprayed beneath the lights.
A scream erupted from the Spectator Stands.
“Ah!”
The Referee’s arm shot out immediately.
“Stop—”
In that instant.
Oh Geon-woo’s body went rigid.
As if his chin had struck an invisible wall.
One beat.
His pupils trembled.
Two beats.
The legs that had been braced so stiffly suddenly gave way.
His knees buckled inward.
His feet lost their purchase on the Mat.
“What—?”
Oh Geon-woo staggered backward.
His mouth fell open.
Air escaped his lungs.
“Ugh…….”
The Spectator Stands fell silent.
The Broadcast Team lost their words.
[What?]
[Oh Geon-woo… he’s shaken?]
Do Yoon’s eyes widened from outside the Cage.
He was positioned behind Oh Geon-woo’s back.
He couldn’t see Seo Jun’s arm, or even his shoulder.
All he’d seen was Oh Geon-woo throw his jab.
After that.
Suddenly Oh Geon-woo was collapsing.
“What the hell.”
Do Yoon’s hands gripped the Metal Mesh.
“What’d he land?”
Tae-soo’s mouth fell open too.
“It wasn’t Seo Jun who got hit?”
Do Yoon couldn’t answer.
Even the camera had been too slow.
Everyone had only seen the result.
Oh Geon-woo’s legs had turned to jelly.
His torso bent backward.
His hands clawed at empty air.
In that moment.
Seo Jun stepped forward.
Swift.
Seo Jun’s right eye was cold and fixed.
His left was half-closed with blood and swelling.
His face was a ruin.
But his expression didn’t change.
Oh Geon-woo tried instinctively to raise his guard.
Too late.
Bang!
Seo Jun’s left hand crashed into his face.
His head snapped back.
Immediately after.
Bang—!
His right hand raked the chin.
One-Two.
Short. Precise.
No mercy.
Oh Geon-woo’s body flew backward.
His feet tangled.
His back scraped the Cage, then his body folded forward again.
The Spectator Stands erupted.
Roooaaarrrrr—!
[He’s in! Seo Jun with the One-Two! Oh Geon-woo is badly shaken!]
[What just happened! It looked like Oh Geon-woo landed first, but suddenly his legs gave out!]
The Referee didn’t stop it.
Oh Geon-woo was still standing.
But standing wasn’t the word for it.
He swayed.
His eyes had gone glassy.
Seo Jun stepped forward again.
Blood dripped from his chin.
Drop.
His gaze remained fixed on the reeling Oh Geon-woo.
Expressionless.
Cold.
Not the eyes of a man who’d just taken a blow and worn the blood.
The eyes of a predator who would not let his prey escape.

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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
—————