I Thought I Was Bullying a Nobody, But He's a Martial Arts Genius - Chapter 36

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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 Unaware of Being Bullied, Episode 36
Hospital examination room.
The doctor reviewed the test results displayed on the monitor.
Seo Jun sat in a chair.
Fresh suture marks lined his left eye.
Do Yoon stood behind him with his arms crossed.
Ah Yeon kept her gaze fixed on the doctor’s mouth.
“The wound is deep.”
The doctor spoke.
“The existing cut has reopened, and the skin layer has weakened further. No Sparring for a while.”
Seo Jun’s hand went rigid on his knee.
Do Yoon asked immediately.
“What about competition?”
The doctor flipped through the chart.
“Absolutely not right now.”
Disappointment flickered across all three faces.
“However, if there’s no further trauma…”
Seo Jun’s eyes lifted.
“You can fight again in three months.”
Ah Yeon exhaled softly.
Seo Jun’s shoulders relaxed, just slightly.
The doctor added with finality.
“There are conditions. During Recovery, no direct impact to the eye area. No intense Sparring. Infection management. Monitor the suture site. Recheck in one month.”
Do Yoon nodded.
“You hear that?”
“Yes.”
“What you heard isn’t ‘you can fight’—it’s ‘if you stay put, you can fight.'”
Seo Jun answered briefly.
“Understood.”
The moment they stepped out of the examination room, Ah Yeon picked up her phone.
“I’ll contact Axis right away.”
Seo Jun asked, concerned.
“Are you sure?”
Ah Yeon was already pressing the call button.
“I’ll make sure it’s fine.”
Her voice changed.
The softness vanished.
It turned cold and precise.
“Yes, this is Ah Yeon Kang. I just received the hospital diagnosis. I’m requesting an official consultation regarding the finals schedule.”
Seo Jun stared blankly at Ah Yeon’s back.
Do Yoon let out a quiet laugh beside him.
“Don’t worry.”
“But the tournament schedule…”
“Our sister’s a wizard when it comes to negotiation.”
Do Yoon leaned against the wall.
“Despite appearances, she knows this industry inside out. Athlete management, tournament regulations, promotional timing, contract clauses—she sees it all.”
He gestured toward Ah Yeon with his chin.
“She’s not just someone wearing a manager’s title.”
Ah Yeon walked toward the end of the corridor, still on the call.
“Under athlete protection regulations, postponing the finals is fully justified. Forcing an unfit appearance risks the fighter—recovery before return maintains the draw value.”
Her voice didn’t waver.
“Yes. I’ll send the medical report immediately. However, the official announcement must be coordinated with us first.”
Seo Jun watched quietly.
Do Yoon tapped his back.
“Go home.”
“I’ll wait here.”
“Wait for what—to bleed more?”
……
“Recovery is part of an athlete’s training. Your training today is going home, eating, and sleeping.”
Seo Jun eventually lowered his head.
“Yes.”

* * *
The moment he opened the front door, warmth greeted him first.
Miso soup.
Rice.
White fish.
Seo Jun’s Mother stood waiting in the entryway.
“You’re home.”
The instant she saw his face, she went still.
The Bandage around his eye.
His bruised lip.
The redness of fresh wounds.
But she didn’t cry.
She didn’t force a smile either.
She simply spoke with care.
“You’ve had a hard time.”
Seo Jun’s throat tightened.
“I’m back.”
The table held only gentle foods.
Rice porridge, easy to digest.
Shredded chicken breast.
Boiled eggs.
Warm broth.
His mother had taped the doctor’s instructions to the refrigerator.
“Medicine after meals. Disinfect morning and night. Don’t ice it too long.”
Seo Jun listened without interruption.
“Yes.”
“Nothing spicy or salty for a while, the doctor said.”
“Yes.”
“No exercise either, he said.”
Seo Jun paused.
His mother looked him directly in the eye.
“You follow that one strictly.”
Seo Jun smiled faintly.
“Yes. I will.”
That night.
Seo Jun lay in his own bed for the first time in ages.
There were no roars from the Cage.
No bright lights.
No laughter from Hwang Dae Gun.
Instead, only the sound of dishes from the kitchen.
A small, warm sound.
As he listened, the tension in his eyes slowly began to ease.
His phone buzzed.
A message from Ah Yeon.

Moments later, Do Yoon’s message came through.

Seo Jun stared at the screen and let out a quiet laugh.
He set the phone down.
Beneath the Bandage, the wound throbbed dully.
But for the first time, his heart had grown still.

* * *
The next afternoon.
Seo Jun sat in a Cafe near his house.
A small Band-Aid was affixed beneath his left eye.
The doctor had said it was fine to go out.
Just no exercise, he’d said.
Seo Jun sat waiting with a cup of warm water before him.
A moment passed.
The door opened.
Ah Yeon entered first.
She carried a Tablet and a Document Envelope in her hands.
Do Yoon followed behind her.
His expression was heavier than usual.
Ah Yeon spoke the moment she sat down.
“Negotiation’s done.”
Seo Jun’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
Ah Yeon nodded.
“Just like the text yesterday—the finals are set for exactly three months from now.”
Seo Jun exhaled softly.
The stone that had weighed on his chest lifted slightly.
Three months.
Time to recover.
Time to prepare again.
The path he thought had ended was opening before him once more.
“Thank you.”
Seo Jun bowed his head.
Ah Yeon smiled faintly.
“I’ll consider it repaid when you recover well and fight in the finals.”
That was when Do Yoon set the Document Envelope down on the table.
Thud.
“Don’t get too happy about this.”
Seo Jun looked up.
Do Yoon’s face was not smiling.
“Your opponent is far more formidable than you’d expect.”
Seo Jun’s gaze shifted to the envelope.
Do Yoon pulled out a single Profile from inside.
On the paper was the face of a man.
Hair cut short.
Eyes set deep and piercing.
Lips pressed firm.
There was no trace of a smile.
Even in the photograph, he was imposing.
Seo Jun read the name.
Lee Woo Sung
Featherweight
20 Fights, 18 Wins, 2 Losses
Seo Jun’s eyes stopped at the record.
Do Yoon tapped the numbers with his finger.
“Lee Woo Sung.”
His voice dropped.
“Apart from the Champion, he’s the strongest in the Featherweight division.”
Ah Yeon’s expression changed as well.
“He’s the finalist from the opposite bracket in the current tournament. His ranking is essentially first.”
Do Yoon continued.
“See those two losses?”
“Yes.”
“Both to one man alone—the Champion.”
Seo Jun’s hand stilled.
Do Yoon tapped the paper.
“Lee Sung Jun. Current Axis Korea Featherweight Champion.”
Seo Jun knew of him already.
He’d seen him on the news.
Cold eyes.
A pressing fighting style.
The image of him standing over his opponent, belt around his waist.
That name was one no one who watched KCR could fail to recognize.
“Lee Woo Sung has never lost to another fighter.”
Do Yoon said it flatly.
“Lost twice to the Champion, won everything else. Practically undefeated.”
The noise of the Cafe faded into the background.
Seo Jun studied the Profile picture.
Lee Woo Sung’s eyes.
Even in a photograph, there was pressure in that gaze.
Not arrogant eyes.
Not cruel ones either.
Hungry eyes.
Eyes that chased something endlessly.
Do Yoon crossed his arms.
“Not like Oh Geon Woo, who relies on Wrestling alone. Not like Ma Do Hyun, who leans on reach. Not like Hwang Dae Gun, who fights dirty.”
“What kind of fighter is he, then?”
“Fundamentally strong.”
Do Yoon’s answer was brief.
“Stamina, pressure, Boxing, Clinch, Takedown defense—all elite tier. Few weaknesses.”
Ah Yeon switched on the Tablet.
A short highlight reel played.
Lee Woo Sung drove his opponent toward the Cage.
No flash. No flourish.
One step.
Another step.
He cut off every angle of escape, tapped the face with short Punches.
When his opponent tried to brace, he drove a Body Shot in.
The moment the air left his opponent’s lungs, he landed a jaw strike.
Thud.
His opponent fell.
Seo Jun didn’t look away from the screen.
Frightening.
That was the thought that came.
But his body didn’t shrink back.
If anything, his heart hammered harder.
A man who had only lost to the Champion.
The challenger closest to being the very best in the Featherweight division.
If he could overcome this man.
Seo Jun opened his mouth slowly.
“If I can overcome this man.”
Do Yoon turned to look at him.
Seo Jun’s eyes were blazing.
Not fear.
Anticipation.
Fighting spirit.
A hunger to see something higher.
“Then I’d earn the right to fight the Champion too.”
Ah Yeon’s eyes widened slightly.
Do Yoon studied Seo Jun for a moment.
Then he let out a dry laugh.
“That’s right.”
He slid the Profile toward Seo Jun.
“I showed you this to hear exactly that.”
Seo Jun looked at Lee Woo Sung’s photograph again.
The wounds still throbbed dully.
His body still couldn’t run.
But his mind was already inside the Octagon.
Do Yoon lifted his coffee cup and took a sip.
Then he spoke quietly.
“Hell training starts in a month.”
Seo Jun nodded.
“Yes.”
The word was brief.
But it carried weight.
Do Yoon’s mouth curved higher.
“Good.”
He tapped his finger across the Profile.
“Now we train to catch a monster.”

* * *
Two weeks passed.
The swelling had drained from Seo Jun’s face.
The suture marks near his eyes remained, but the bleeding had stopped.
Do Yoon forbade Sparring.
Instead, he rebuilt his body from the ground up.
Three checks a day.
Weight.
Sleep.
Diet.
Recovery status.
Ah Yeon kept a record every day.
“Heart rate response looks good today.”
“Let’s bump up the protein a bit.”
“The swelling around his eyes went down more. But impact’s still off-limits.”
Seo Jun did as he was told.
If he wasn’t to run, he walked.
If he wasn’t to strike, he didn’t even look at the heavy bag.
His body ached for it, but he endured.
A month later.
The wounds had healed enough to hold.
Training shifted that day.
Punch Sparring was still forbidden.
Instead: Grappling.
Clinch work.
Cage Wrestling.
Technique drills designed so no impact would land on the injured site.
Thud!
Seo Jun’s back hit the mat.
Do Yoon pressed down from above.
“Again.”
Seo Jun gasped and pushed himself up.
“Yes.”
“Lee Woo Sung isn’t some one-dimensional fighter like you.”
Do Yoon spoke flatly.
“He’s a complete All-rounder—no weaknesses in either striking or Grappling.”
Ah Yeon held the Tablet steady.
Lee Woo Sung’s fight footage played across the screen.
When his opponent threw a jab, he erased it with his Guard.
When they Clinched, he struck with an Underhook first.
If they hunted for a Takedown, he lowered his center.
If he went down, he rose instantly.
There were no openings.
Tae Soo muttered from the side.
“How do you beat someone like that?”
Do Yoon answered tersely.
“By creating a gap where none seems to exist.”
Seo Jun stared hard at the screen.
It was undeniably different.
Not as savage as Hwang Dae Gun.
Not leaning on reach like Ma Do Hyun.
Not reliant on Wrestling alone like Oh Geon Woo.
He did everything right.
Which was precisely why it weighed so heavily.
Do Yoon stopped the Tablet.
“But.”
Seo Jun lifted his head.
“Without weaknesses comes the absence of any overwhelming strength.”
Do Yoon’s voice dropped lower.
“The monsters at World Class operate differently.”
His gaze flickered to some distant horizon.
World Class.
That was his target too.
He had even traded blows with fighters who had reached that level.
“Every fighter up there carries one unstoppable weapon—something you simply cannot defend against.”
Do Yoon raised a single finger.
“One man puts opponents on their back with nothing but Takedowns. Another ends fights with his left hand alone. Another’s pressure is so relentless he suffocates his opponent for all five rounds.”
He pointed to Lee Woo Sung’s photograph.
“Lee Woo Sung does everything well. That’s why he dominates domestically.”
Yet the words that followed were not entirely bleak.
“But he never broke through to the world stage. And the reason—he was stopped by our domestic Champion.”
Seo Jun slowly lowered his gaze to his own hands.
Two fists wrapped in Bandages.
The wounds still throbbed dully.
But his fingertips burned with heat.
He asked quietly, with conviction.
“Then what about me?”
Do Yoon looked at him.
“Can I reach the World stage?”
Tae Soo’s breath caught.
Ah Yeon watched Seo Jun in silence.
Do Yoon said nothing for a moment.
Then—thwack.
He struck Seo Jun’s back.
“Arrogant bastard.”
Seo Jun lurched forward slightly.
“You haven’t even reached Champion level yet.”
“…I apologize.”
“But.”
Do Yoon’s tone shifted.
The lightness drained from his voice.
“Your striking is a genuine strength.”
Seo Jun’s eyes rose.
Do Yoon met his gaze directly.
“You watch your opponent’s movement to the end, you steal their rhythm, and you place every strike with perfect precision exactly where it hurts most. That’s not something you can simply learn.”
Ah Yeon nodded quietly.
Do Yoon continued.
“If you hone that to its absolute edge.”
The Gym fell silent.
The heavy bag swayed with glacial slowness.
“One day you might just devour the world.”
Seo Jun found no words to speak.
The world.
It seemed impossibly distant.
Lee Woo Sung had not yet crossed that threshold.
The Champion lay even further beyond.
And past that—nothing was visible.
But for the first time.
The words did not sound hollow.
Seo Jun clenched both fists tight.
Beneath the Bandages, his fingers curled with iron resolve.
Hands that had only known how to take blows.
A hand that had only endured.
Now a hand reaching toward something higher.
He looked beyond the Octagon.
Past the ceiling of the Gym.
An invisible stage.
The distant Cage that was the world.
Seo Jun’s eyes burned quietly.

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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
—————