The Regressed Martial God Monopolizes Everything - Chapter 8
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Episode 8. Debut Stage (2)
Jung Chul was in a poor state, and Jung Hyun-su harbored not the slightest attachment to Yeorum.
Since there was nothing worthwhile to gain, he had no intention of wading into the petty politics of a small place teeming with fledglings, and so Jung Hyun-su devoted himself entirely to training.
Jung Hyun-su stood atop a specially-made Medicine Ball, holding a heavy Barbell and maintaining his stance.
High-weight strength training was essential, but a Hunter could afford to lack none of their physical abilities.
They had to generate explosive power in an instant, adapt with greater flexibility than anyone else depending on the situation, and needed the foundation to sustain combat longer than any other.
That was why the body had to be kept at the absolute limit, always at peak condition.
‘Shallow self-satisfaction training alone won’t suffice—I can’t rely solely on rewards from the Tower.’
Rewards from the Tower and Gates certainly made Hunters stronger. But relying on them alone was folly.
Rewards were merely a bonus. A body honed to madness, anguish over one’s techniques and their refinement—these created staggering differences even between Hunters of equal Rank.
It wasn’t for nothing that those who climbed higher classes clenched their teeth and threw themselves into personal training.
And the most crucial moment wasn’t some lofty peak reached after learning it all—it was right now, at the very first step.
‘Could this be called fortune?’
Remarkably, Jung Hyun-su’s current state was exactly that.
Nineteen years old, and due to his past negligence and lack of talent, he had barely refined anything at all.
Especially regarding magical power—his grasp was so pathetic he was barely past novice level, so it was as good as starting over from scratch.
He had been given the chance to lay the foundation perfectly—that foundation everyone regrets neglecting, the reason the beginning is half the battle.
And he would build it on the experience of reaching SSS-rank!
Thud!
After completing his high-weight strength training and mad-paced endurance drills, Jung Hyun-su seized the massive Greatsword from the training chamber.
Whoosh!
As the blade descended from above, the muscles in his limbs shrieked in protest.
The world held countless weapons, and which one suited or appealed to a person varied widely.
Jung Hyun-su favored weapons that were heavy and unyielding.
And since the blade had to have an edge, choosing a Greatsword was almost a natural conclusion.
The inherent destructive power that came with wielding such a weapon.
If he could only wield it faster through his own discipline and various rewards, it would become a cure-all—an answer to everything.
“Haah, haah!”
The secret to why he had been called the King of the Night was, when you thought about it, simple.
He had trained to the limit and could swing the heaviest Greatsword faster than anyone else.
Just then, sensing approaching footsteps, Jung Hyun-su halted his training.
“At least eat something first.”
It was Jung Chul.
“You’ve arrived.”
Jung Chul regarded his son, who answered without inflection.
His face had gone ghastly pale, and sweat drenched his entire body.
That sweat rolled down his hands in droplets.
His hands, unable to endure the Greatsword, were mangled and caked with blood.
Seeing intermittent muscle spasms, it was clear he was driving his body to its absolute limit.
“Do you abandon the path of obsessing over speed alone and instead walk the way of breaking through the extreme of weight?”
Jung Chul divined precisely what Jung Hyun-su was pursuing from the training alone.
‘Truly, the eye of the Top-tier Guild’s master.’
During his showier days, Jung Hyun-su had pursued fast, flashy swordplay.
“If you swing it fast, that’s speed; if it’s heavy and powerful, that’s weight; if you add destruction, that’s power—wouldn’t those be the distinctions?”
Jung Hyun-su held the position that it ultimately came down to the capacity of the wielder, and the pursuit of direction wasn’t necessarily determined by the weapon’s weight.
A faint smile flickered across Jung Chul’s lips and vanished.
“Right. What matters is intention. And while that intention is important, maintaining it is where most falter.”
“True enough.”
Looking at his son’s reply, Jung Chul clicked his tongue.
“Eat first, then you can continue. Otherwise you’ll collapse.”
Jung Hyun-su was clearly overexerting himself. Jung Chul knew it, and Jung Hyun-su knew it himself.
But knowing that such a period was inevitable if he was to make up for the time he’d wasted, Jung Chul didn’t try to stop him.
At times like this, he needed to eat better and rest with greater intensity.
Focusing solely on training instead of squandering time on other foolishness was the best and optimal approach.
“I was about to do exactly that.”
And then an unexpected situation presented itself.
“…Will you join me?”
“What’s the problem with eating in my own home?”
“Nothing at all.”
“If you don’t want to eat with your father, just say so.”
“No, really, I’m not.”
It just felt strange, that was all.
Thinking back on it now, how long had it been since he and his father sat at home together like this, sharing a family meal?
True to a household devoted to martial arts, the table was laden with food. The two of them ate with frightening speed.
“…When you re-enroll, apply yourself fully to your studies there.”
“Actually, I had something I wanted to tell you.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’m not going back to Yeorum.”
Clack.
Jung Chul’s appetite vanished in an instant.
Just when he thought his son had finally regained his bearings and was ready to move forward, the boy was saying he wouldn’t return to the academy he’d been attending.
“Look, before you throw that—I’m serious. Given where my Hwan-cheon Jin-gi is at right now, wouldn’t going back be a waste of time?”
“You lack social skills. You need to go there, meet people, and learn from them. There are certainly things you don’t yet understand. And Yeorum’s instructors are accomplished Hunters.”
It was hard to argue entirely. The academy’s instructors were certainly capable in their own right.
But could they, no matter how skilled, possibly possess greater ability and experience than Jung Hyun-su himself, or more knowledge of the Tower and Gates?
‘Then they would have hunted the Void Annihilation Dragon and the Colossus King by now.’
To save Garam, clear the Tower completely, and deliver hell to the Hunter Association chairman—every day was precious.
“Give me a chance to prove it. If I produce results that even you can see make Yeorum unnecessary, that should suffice, shouldn’t it?”
“And if you fail?”
“No complaints. I’ll do exactly as you say.”
“Fine then. In that case, arrange your engagement for next year.”
Jung Hyun-su was in the middle of drinking a Protein Drink to settle his stomach when he choked.
“Cough! Cough! I’m sorry, what?”
“Once you’ve put your mind to it, setting up a household would give you even more sense of responsibility and maturity.”
“Father, what are you even saying!”
“You’ve set your own conditions, so I’m setting mine. A father can’t always be the one making unfavorable deals.”
It was Jung Chul’s way of saying: go back to Yeorum, or else.
Jung Hyun-su found himself quietly impressed by the characteristic Jung family logic—either comply, or produce the proof you promised. No middle ground.
‘Blood truly calls to blood……’
But Jung Chul’s pressure didn’t end there.
“I will choose the stage for you. Soon, our guild’s newest Hunters will enter the Tower for the first time.”
Jung Hyun-su’s eyes lit up.
Of course he knew which event this was.
That rookies’ debut—held back then amid the murky atmosphere when the guild was being written off as a failure.
Five of the Top-tier Guilds had participated, making it a showcase that would draw attention as a proving ground for promising talents who would shape the future.
The problem was that Garam had finished last in that very event.
His older brother had caused an incident, and they’d suffered an unavoidable disaster on top of it.
Yet there was another reason he had to go there now.
‘The Tyrant King’s Seed.’
It was a chance to obtain a legendary item.
Jung Hyun-su immediately stood, tearing into the front leg of the roasted whole pig.
“Then there’s no time to sit around here. For now, even eating……”
“Eat your meals here. Family eats at the same table.”
“Yes……”
“But aren’t you curious who you’re supposed to be engaged to?”
At his father’s words, Jung Hyun-su let out a small laugh.
“Whoever it is, I have no intention of becoming engaged. My apologies.”
Jung Chul watched his son turn to leave, and a thought crossed his mind.
There was indeed a change in him.
That alone was enough to be encouraging—at least, that’s what a father’s heart believed.
Jung Chul simply hoped that this would be the moment his son truly put his mind in order.
* * *
When Jung Hyun-su returned to the training chamber, he found something new waiting.
“What is this……”
Evidently No Butlers had visited in the meantime—the training chamber had been cleaned, and atop a table in the corner sat a single manuscript.
‘The Pae-cheon-gi Manuscript!’
Pae-cheon-gi—one of the five divine techniques of the O-wang-mu.
It was the supreme martial art, systematized and mastered by Jung Hyun-su’s great-grandfather, who had been chosen by the Five Kings exiled from the Underworld, perfected through cultivation and study into an unquestionably supreme discipline.
Jung Hyun-su had challenged the world’s pinnacle using only the Hwan-cheon Jin-gi and the Cheon-pae Gwi-wang-mu.
And now, encountering this second Ultimate Technique, the Pae-cheon-gi.
How often had he yearned for the Pae-cheon-gi Manuscript, said to be the perfect match for Cheon-pae Gwi-wang-mu.
He’d once harbored hopes of hearing the Five Kings call to him as they had to his great-grandfather, but they’d only ever answered with silence, leaving him to drown in despair and disappointment.
But none of that mattered now. The secret teachings of Pae-cheon-gi that could quench that thirst lay before him.
There were many paths to passing down a technique.
Some transferred knowledge directly through Skill Books, while others came through enlightenment and oral recitation.
And the latter, looked at from the perspective of growth, was overwhelmingly superior.
His own experience bore this out.
Skill Books allowed immediate mastery, but in gaining that instant comprehension, one lost the struggle and refinement that came with gradual learning—the opportunity to adapt the technique to one’s own nature.
Jung Hyun-su understood intimately that enlightenment and mastery arose from anguish, effort, and trial and error.
And so he’d always favored this raw, head-first approach to learning.
The Forgotten King of the Underworld who wielded Pae-cheon-gi, called the Pae-cheon Tremor Demon, was a figure who pursued the amplification of pure physical force to its absolute limit.
Cheon-pae Gwi-wang-mu, resonating with Pae-cheon-gi, was said to generate vibration waves through sheer physical might, capable of neutralizing an opponent’s absolute defense—which seemed like precisely the remedy he needed for Seon-u Hyun’s defensive magic.
Beyond that, it would prove useful when breaking the scales of the Explosion-Devouring Dragon, and clearly vital in withstanding the overwhelming brute strength of the Colossus King.
‘Gathering at the vessel’s foundation, complete and collected. Knotted, flesh and blood strengthened, breath like stone…….’
Crush, compress, pulverize, crush.
The utmost heaven.
All Qi becomes weight.
Jung Hyun-su drew the energy in slowly, then gathered it rough and forceful.
Twisted flesh and blood became steel, and even breath had to carry the weight of a stone settling into place.
Pound it, suppress it, crush it into being.
Crash!
The force released would eventually trample even the heavens themselves.
The shockwave discharged into empty space struck the training dummy stationed at the center of the practice hall.
Jung Hyun-su stared at the dummy, now sunken deep through its chest, and muttered.
“Still far to go.”
[You have learned Pae-cheon-gi!]
He’d crossed the threshold, but to wield it in real combat would require nothing but endless repetition and mastery.
[Name: Jung Hyun-su]
[Stats: Vitality (11), Strength (7), Agility (5), Mental Power (12), Stamina (8)]
[Skills: O-wang-mu – Cheon-pae Gwi-wang-mu (2-star), Hwan-cheon Jin-gi (10-star), Pae-cheon-gi (1-star)]
And so two weeks passed, with him sleeping and training in the practice hall except at mealtimes.
The day when rookies from five of the Top-tier Guilds would ascend the tower to compete against one another.
Continued in the next episode ▶
The Monopolizing Returner, Martial God
Author
Cheon Ya
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Publishing House
Grae Publishing
Inquiry Email [email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260515012
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law; unauthorized reproduction and copying are prohibited.
Violation may result in criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes your precious manuscripts.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————