The Regressed Martial God Monopolizes Everything - Chapter 32
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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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Episode 32. Ill-Fated Reunion (2)
Beneath the fluorescent lights that faintly illuminated the dim Training Room, Jung Hyun-soo sat in a lotus position, appearing utterly motionless at first glance.
Yet even in that stillness, his body—examined closely—underwent continuous, subtle transformations.
Having consumed the Combined Spirit Elixir to take the first step toward the ultimate Geumgang Bulgoe, Jung Hyun-soo’s closed eyes snapped open.
[Spirit Elixir consumption successful.]
[Trait ‘Strong Bone’ has been acquired.]
Jung Hyun-soo had labored through an entire night, struggling to draw out the elixir’s full effect.
[Trait: Strong Bone]
[Grade: Rare]
[Effect: Bones are strengthened. The effect continues progressively, gradually becoming harder.]
Jung Hyun-soo was no mage—he was a combatant who fought through direct engagement. For such a person, bone density was invaluable.
Unless one possessed healing power on par with a Saint-grade, capable of performing miracles on the spot, not even the sharpest mental fortitude could compensate for broken limbs in combat.
‘Though the grade is merely Rare, the utility is beyond question.’
Strong Bone—the first step on a path where his very essence hardened progressively, ultimately leading toward Geumgang Bulgoe.
Now that he’d gained the power of bones themselves becoming stronger, the cumulative damage his body endured would decrease significantly, making it far more effective—especially for someone like Jung Hyun-soo, who unleashed devastating assaults to overwhelm his opponents.
[Get something to eat.]
Jung Hyun-soo checked his smartphone and headed straight for the Dining Hall.
Jung Chul, who had been sitting at the head of the table with his eyes closed, lifted his head and regarded Jung Hyun-soo.
“You’ve arrived?”
“I didn’t want to keep you waiting.”
“I was already eating.”
Jung Hyun-soo took his seat and spoke.
“Where’s Hyun-ah?”
“She went to Yonam.”
“She’s working hard.”
…….
“What is it? Do I have something on my face? Or are you saying I’m handsome……?”
“Something’s changed. There’s a firmness radiating from within you now.”
Honestly, Jung Chul found Jung Hyun-soo astounding each time they met.
‘What on earth is my father……?’
They might be the closest people in the world to each other, yet to Jung Hyun-soo, Jung Chul remained the most distant.
The caliber of formidable enemies he needed to defeat as a Returnee, the shallowness of the Tower that humanity remained ignorant of, the future approaching—all felt more familiar than Jung Chul did.
One thing was certain: Jung Chul was far more powerful than Jung Hyun-soo had vaguely assumed.
The fact that he could read Jung Hyun-soo’s transformation at a glance meant his perceptiveness could never be weak—for one sees only what one knows.
‘At minimum, he’s at the level of Chairman Ji Sang-wook.’
Then what of those Battle Mages under Seon-woo Hyun who had torn through such a man so easily?
They had never appeared again, even as the world collapsed afterward, which left Jung Hyun-soo perplexed.
Was his father not weak, but those enemies simply strong?
Suddenly, a suffocating weight pressed against his chest.
‘I know the weaknesses of my enemies. I know exactly what I must obtain. Yet when it comes to my own family, I know nothing at all…….’
“Hah.”
A sigh escaped unbidden.
“What’s with the sigh from a young man at this hour of the morning?”
“I couldn’t say.”
With that, a book came flying across the table toward Jung Hyun-soo.
“What is this?”
“Can’t you tell by looking?”
“This is…….”
Jung Hyun-soo read the title with trembling eyes.
[Cheongryeong Mangsang Gong]
It was the secret manual of the Cheongryeong Mangsang Gong—one of the Five Kings’ techniques, spoken of as transformation itself, infinite change incarnate.
“If you keep acting out like this, a protruding stone will surely invite the chisel.”
Cheongryeong Mangsang Gong was transformation. The realm where transformation reached its extreme was movement itself—Bobeop.
What was contained in the insights of one of the Five Kings, called the East Wind King, was not merely Bobeop alone, but the moment Jung Hyun-soo’s most pressing need—the subtleties of movement technique—appeared unmistakably before him.
Jung Hyun-soo opened the secret manual as if enchanted.
The moment he glimpsed the inscribed principles, admiration spilled forth unbidden.
‘If I had possessed technique of this caliber then, I might have evaded Seon-woo Hyun’s attacks. No—before that, I wouldn’t have sustained a fatal wound in my battle with Samjae.’
Previously, he had indeed acquired supreme movement techniques and Gyeong Shin Beop that existed in the world, but the rank was entirely different.
“Ordinary people cannot turn past the first page in their lifetime, while gifted ones merely mimic the third movement. Even geniuses cannot achieve mastery—so it’s said to be the very symbol of obscurity and was long avoided.”
Jung Chul, who hadn’t heard those words at all, watched Jung Hyun-soo burying his face in the manual and continued.
“I think I can give this to you now. You’re still young—go out there and fail, struggle, and learn.”
Jung Hyun-soo found himself unable to escape the teachings of the Cheongryeong Mangsang Gong, which he had been told captured the essence of the East Wind King’s secret art—a power as transformative and boundless as the wind itself.
“What are you doing?”
He was simply sitting at his desk, reading.
Jung Hyun-ah had asked as she passed by after coming home, but he couldn’t remember what he’d answered, if anything.
Emptiness.
When you truly examine nothingness, is there actually nothing there?
If even in vacant space there exists a form, then perhaps it is our own mind—the one that calls it “nothing”—that constitutes the true reality.
All Forms.
Delve into the abyss of emptiness, and countless universes bloom before your eyes, they say.
Are these fragments the remnants of a shattered boundary? Or are they the birth-cry of existence negating itself, being born anew?
Or perhaps they are both.
Death, after all, is the most honest door—the one that proves the very essence of all life.
Like that cold, infinite silence he had felt when clawing his way back from death, piercing through his skin with its chill. What exists can cease to be.
“…!”
Jung Hyun-soo’s eyes snapped open.
Cheongryeong Mangsang Gong.
‘This is a martial art that can only be perfected through experiencing death.’
In that moment, a question resolved itself—why even Garam’s first Guild Master could not replicate the later stages.
The passages written in the secret manual could only be brought to life if one understood them and resonated with them,
but without experiencing that death, this martial art could never be unleashed!
He didn’t know what connection All Forms had with death, but Jung Hyun-soo was certain.
‘I alone…’
In all the world, only Jung Hyun-soo could master this technique—the Cheongryeong Mangsang Gong.
[You have entered the path of Cheongryeong Mangsang Gong.]
[…the Underworld has faintly acknowledged you.]
Jung Hyun-soo let out a quiet laugh.
He’d suspected it would respond the moment he grasped something related to death, so there was little to be startled about.
In time, when the collapse of the tower would bring the gate-breaching conditions into being, and the wraiths of the Underworld—one of the twelve races invading Earth to seize it—would come,
what did it matter that one of his future enemies now took notice?
And so, as Jung Hyun-soo immersed himself in the Cheongryeong Mangsang Gong, time passed until the day of the Exchange Event arrived.
* * *
“Don’t you dare cause any trouble.”
Jung Hyun-soo let Jung Hyun-ah’s words slide off him as he stared up at the towering building.
It was the headquarters of the Ilseong Guild, which reigned at the apex of South Korea’s top-ten guilds.
A colossal structure that rose five hundred meters into the air.
Standing as a landmark of South Korea, it displayed the Ilseong Guild’s prestige, and into that building Jung Hyun-soo stepped.
“Since you’re here representing the guild, don’t even think about backing out.”
At Jung Hyun-ah’s warning, Jung Hyun-soo exhaled heavily.
“You want me to go to some place crawling with kids?”
It was a gathering where all participants from the top-ten guilds came together.
True to its name, it was a place for exchange—the hierarchy could be determined by the duels of the Exchange Event itself, but before that, they would measure each other through their backing and become acquainted. It was, in short, an exceedingly aristocratic affair.
And by aristocratic, Jung Hyun-soo understood this to mean he’d stand out like a sore thumb.
“Aren’t you young as well?”
“What would you know.”
“Oh, honestly. As if anyone actually wants to be here.”
The two representatives of the guild took their seats at a table bearing the name “Garam.”
“Oh, Min-jeong!”
“You came, Hyun-ah.”
Whether Ji Min-jeong and Jung Hyun-ah exchanged greetings or not, Jung Hyun-soo folded his arms, closed his eyes, and sank into the Cheongryeong Mangsang Gong.
How much time had passed?
“…What are you doing right now?”
At Jung Hyun-ah’s voice, thick with displeasure, Jung Hyun-soo’s eyes opened at once.
A pale, hollow-looking man had seated himself between Ji Min-jeong and Jung Hyun-ah, who had been chatting until moments before.
“Can’t you see? I’m just honoring the spirit of the Exchange Event itself.”
The man extended a wine glass toward Jung Hyun-ah.
“Go on, have a drink.”
At that, Ji Min-jeong shot up from her seat.
“How extremely rude. No matter if you’re the heir to the Mirae Guild, this is unacceptable behavior toward someone you’ve just met—and besides, Hyun-ah is a minor.”
“Rude? This is an opportunity.”
“What did you just say?”
“You think just anyone can pour a drink for the heir of Mirae Guild? Watch your manners. Not all Top-10 Guilds are created equal.”
Among the Top-10 Guilds, Garam ranked dead last by visible power, reputation, and achievements.
They quietly handled the dirty work necessary for the world…….
“If I like you, maybe you’ll escape being a second-rate guild. Who knows…….”
The blatant contempt, combined with the sticky gaze fixed on Jung Hyun-ah, drew a scoff from Jung Hyun-soo.
“It’s nothing new for a mongrel to come from a dog.”
“…What did you say?”
“Are your ears plugged, you bastard? I’ll overlook the prattle of a brat this once, so quit stirring up trouble and get lost.”
Everyone watching gasped at Jung Hyun-soo’s words.
Park Young-soo—heir of Mirae Group, which occupied the top rank among the Top-10 Guilds.
Though he frequently made headlines in the society pages for various incidents and scandals, at least as a Hunter destined to inherit Mirae Group, he was called top-tier for his age.
A Gold-rank Hunter at thirty with countless Gate clears to his name and a Tower record reaching the 30th floor, no one expected anyone would hurl such crude insults at Park Young-soo.
“Fuck, the bastard thinks he’s sacred now, so he’s got delusions? The little shit who wouldn’t even dare meet my eyes before!”
Park Young-soo launched forward at Jung Hyun-soo in an instant.
Blinding speed—his primary weapon—deployed through the Mirae Guild’s secret skill, Geom Dal Bi Ryu, a first strike channeling the swiftness that let the guild dominate not just South Korea’s Hunter market but also dispatch conquest teams abroad for profit.
A razor-swift blow, sharp as a comb of light, crashed straight into Jung Hyun-soo’s chest.
‘It landed!’
Feeling the blade catch at his fingertips, Park Young-soo was certain he’d broken Jung Hyun-soo’s nose—the nose of someone flaunting his so-called sanctity.
“Huh?”
Something wasn’t right.
He was on the defensive, his hand arriving too late—yet why was Jung Hyun-soo drawing his strike inward like a trap?
Crack!
And as if that weren’t enough, an explosion erupted from Jung Hyun-soo’s chest.
Gush—gush—gush—gush—gush!
Blood fountained from Park Young-soo’s mouth in a torrent, spraying like a waterfall.
Their eyes met, but Jung Hyun-soo’s pupils had turned pitch black.
As Park Young-soo slowly crumpled backward, everyone watching turned to stare at him with cold, merciless eyes.
“Jung Hyun-soo!”
“Hey, snap out of it!”
“You! You bastard! What the hell did you do! A Gold-rank Hunter attacking a Bronze-rank like that?”
In the chaos, Ji Min-jeong immediately grabbed her smartphone and dialed.
“Hunter Crime Division? A high-rank Hunter just gravely injured someone here. Send the Hunter Association Nights immediately.”
To be continued ▶
The Lone Devouring Regressor
Author
Cheon Ya
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
For inquiries: [email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260515012
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited.
Violators may face criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes submissions from writers.
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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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