The Regressed Martial God Monopolizes Everything - Chapter 9

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

Episode 9. Debut Stage (3)
The front entrance of Garam Guild was crowded with people.
It was the day when Hunters who had been scouted to Garam after proving their promising talent finally challenged the Tower climb.
A limousine bus chartered by Garam arrived, and as the conquest team members stood in formation, senior Hunters looked them over with varying expressions.
“Ease up, you lot.”
“Don’t think you can just do what you did before. Give it everything you’ve got. Otherwise, you’ll really die.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Don’t scare them too much. That was only in the early days. How many deaths have there actually been up to the tenth floor lately?”
“Well, that’s true, but. Still, the Tower is the Tower. If I die, that’s a hundred percent death probability, isn’t it?”
Then it happened.
“The Guild Master is arriving.”
The buoyant atmosphere from moments before evaporated instantly.
The new team members lined up with visibly tightened expressions. The veteran Hunters were no different.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“Yes, sir!”
“So this is the day of reckoning. I want you all to recall the time you’ve spent here.”
The team members’ faces immediately tensed.
Garam’s training was merciless beyond measure. One had to thoroughly push personal capabilities to their limits, and at the same time receive instruction in handling various conquest exercises conducted as a unit—it was nothing short of hellish.
“Don’t forget it. That memory will surely prove useful.”
The Hunters were heavily outfitted—armor provided by Garam and other supplies funded from their own pockets.
The Tower was climbed as a group, but ultimately it was a solo venture.
The day the first floor opens is predetermined, and so long as one survives, one can challenge it alone whenever afterward.
In other words, when the Tower opens, the new recruits all flood in at once,
and through whoever reaches highest and fastest, the worth of a promising talent is proven.
“I wish you all the best. Do depart without delay.”
At Jung Chul’s words, the new recruits began boarding the bus.
The last to board was Jung Hyun-ah.
“…And Hyun-su?”
“He said he would run ahead to loosen up his body, sir.”
It seemed like an affectation of sorts, but Jung Chul found only gladness in his son’s newfound change.
Though he gave no outward sign of it.
* * *
A colossal Tower standing tall at the heart of Seoul.
Comprised of one hundred floors, this Tower—which brings ruin to a nation if not conquered within a set time, a curse unto itself—was to Hunters a thing of destiny.
It was not merely the end of the world it threatened to bring; through the byproducts that emerged from the Tower, humanity had come to enjoy many things.
Byproducts of monsters, including Magic Stones, offered new possibilities, and Artifacts and skills obtained from the Tower made Hunters stronger.
Such equipment and skills could also be obtained from Gates that branched from the Tower, and Hunters grew ever stronger to challenge the Tower itself.
The masses saw these Hunters as hope, cheered them wildly, and granted them numerous social privileges.
‘At last…….’
Jung Hyun-ah gazed at the Tower that had created this reality and clenched her fists.
Born as a direct descendant of Garam Guild, she had run forward with eyes fixed ahead for one reason: to prove her true worth within this Tower.
“Oh my, sister!”
Jung Hyun-ah encountered a welcome face at the entrance leading toward the Tower.
“Hyun-ah! How have you been?”
Ji Min-jeong—the only daughter of Hanul Guild, a Top 10 Guild like Garam, and the sole child of that guild’s master.
“It’s been so hard to see your face lately. I’ve really missed you!”
“You’re one to talk? You’re the one who clamped down on your phone to keep training for the youngest record.”
“Hehe. Let’s do our best.”
The two-shot of Jung Hyun-ah and Ji Min-jeong standing together was like a painting.
Jung Hyun-ah with her cat-like bearing, and Ji Min-jeong looking as if the very words “pure charm” had been transposed onto her face.
Even facing a once-in-a-lifetime challenge, some of the Hunters were losing focus, stealing glances at the two women.
“Been a while, everyone~”
Someone approached the two of them.
“Ah, Mu-hyeon. Hello.”
Chae Mu-hyeon—the youngest sibling of Chae Mu-sik, the master of Songkwang Guild.
Though by rank he stood above Ji Min-jeong, the age difference was small enough that they had settled on appropriate terms of address between them.
“Hello.”
“Ah, yes…….”
At Chae Mu-hyeon’s greeting, Jung Hyun-ah lowered her head with a lukewarm expression.
The bitter memories she carried of Songkwang remained sharp.
“I apologize for Seung-jin’s conduct. I should have educated my nephew better.”
“No, no. We were perhaps a bit too forceful on our end as well…….”
Chae Mu-hyeon’s brows arched slightly.
“If he made a mistake, he deserved the correction. A Hunter must never drop his guard, no matter the circumstances.”
Yet even as he spoke, Chae Mu-hyeon swept away Chae Seung-jin’s defeat—the heir to Songkwang—as nothing more than carelessness.
From Jung Hyun-ah’s perspective, it was absurd.
‘Carelessness, my foot.’
She had seen it with her own eyes.
Chae Seung-jin might have let his guard slip at first, but after that, he had thrown everything he had into the fight.
And her blood relative had trampled him utterly.
‘Where the hell is that bastard, anyway?’
The Tower’s gates would open soon, and Jung Hyun-ah found herself scanning the crowd for any sign of Jung Hyun-su, who was nowhere to be seen.
“Oh, hey, everyone.”
“It’s been a while. How’ve you all been?”
Two men approached the cluster of direct descendants from Garam, Songkwang, and Hanul.
“Oh, Kim Min-gi! Jo Seung-hyeok! How long has it been?”
“Ha. Mu-hyeon. You’ve been well?”
“Min-gi, Myeonggeuk’s been tearing it up lately, hasn’t it? You hit the jackpot?”
“Come on, just look at Songkwang. You secured ownership of a Gate with a Magic Stone mine in it.”
“Ugh, the work never stops. I’m dying here.”
“Oh please, the dramatics. We all know you’re thriving.”
“A Magic Stone mine? Everyone knows that’s Sodam’s bread and butter. Seung-hyeok, ease up on us. Lend us some of that Bloodline Inheritance of yours. Actually, no—just don’t use it against us, will you?”
Kim Min-gi of Myeonggeuk and Jo Seung-hyeok of Sodam—two of the other Top 10 Guilds.
Myeonggeuk had earned a reputation for excellence in Gate-clearing operations, making it their specialty.
Sodam, meanwhile, leveraged the Bloodline Abilities that ran in their direct descendants, owning numerous Gates rich with Magic Stones.
They laughed together now, but once the Tower opened, they would become rivals—a tangled web of competition and cooperation that bound them all in complicated ways.
Through the crowd, a solitary figure trudged forward.
“Ugh.”
Jung Hyun-ah’s hand went to her head without thinking.
“What is this guy doing…….”
The sight of Jung Hyun-su approaching was something to behold.
Everyone else had come prepared for their life’s first ascent, laden with armor and gear from head to toe—but he was wearing nothing but a training suit.
Walking toward them in that state, Jung Hyun-su cut quite a figure.
“Wow.”
“Heard you beat Seung-jin. I guess you’ve changed some.”
“But seriously, aren’t you overdoing the confidence? No weapons, nothing—what’s that about, Hyun-su? Ha!”
Upon recognizing him, Jo Seung-hyeok of Sodam stepped toward him, and Jung Hyun-su stopped in his tracks.
“What are you doing? Prep for the clear—you’re not ready.”
“Huh?”
“It opens soon. Get your team in order.”
Jung Hyun-su’s gaze fell only on Jung Hyun-ah and the new recruits from Garam.
“Uh…….”
His eyes flickered past Ji Min-jeong, who stood beside Jung Hyun-ah, but he turned toward the Tower entrance without another word.
“This guy’s gotten real cold. Used to be he wouldn’t even look our way.”
Kim Min-gi nodded in agreement with Jo Seung-hyeok’s remark.
“Seems like he needs some education.”
Chae Mu-hyeon, listening to the pair’s conversation from behind, felt a private smile tug at his lips.
“Nah, what do you expect? Probably just nervous about climbing the Tower, that’s all.”
“Nervous? Does being nervous excuse basic manners?”
“You’ve got a sharp tongue, don’t you.”
“What can you do? The damage is done; damage control comes first. Let’s get our own preparations sorted. And don’t underestimate Hyun-su. He might be hiding something.”
At their age, blood ran hot—tell them not to do something, and they’d want to do it even more.
“You focus on yourself, hyung.”
Jo Seung-hyeok and Kim Min-gi were dismissing even Chae Mu-hyeon.
It stemmed from their belief that he was a discarded direct descendant of Songkwang who’d never even climbed the Tower—still only in his mid-twenties—and Chae Mu-hyeon simply held his smile.
* * *
[The Tower will open shortly.]
A system notification appeared, and Jung Hyun-su spoke to Jung Hyun-ah, who stood beside him.
“Don’t forget the theme of the first floor.”
“Yeah, yeah. You just worry about yourself.”
Decades had passed since the tower thrust up from the ground, and by now the conquest methods for the lower floors were already common knowledge.
“And if anything goes wrong, run west without hesitation. Finding west is simple—it’s to the left of the name you’ve carved into memory.”
“Why are you suddenly nagging me like this?”
“There’s been a report.”
“A report?”
“A dangerous individual has surfaced in the underground market.”
Jung Hyun-ah’s brow furrowed.
“Dangerous, how?”
“At least C-Rank caliber.”
A C-Rank Hunter typically operates between the twentieth and thirtieth floors.
Someone of that tier, who hadn’t yet attempted the tower climb until now? Only just making their debut?
“…That’s nonsense.”
Higher rank meant money. For the underground market’s wanted criminals, rank was especially precious.
Everyone knew the tower let you grow stronger faster—why would someone in the underground have endured all the way to C-Rank without climbing it?
“This person has a purpose.”
That purpose was none other than the Tyrant’s Seed.
“Don’t scatter—move as a group, all of you.”
“That’s already something we’ve studied enough, so you focus on doing your part well. What even is a three-line slipper, anyway?”
Jung Hyun-su’s reason for coming dressed in such casual clothes was deliberate.
A perfect conquest of floors one through ten.
Not a typical Hunter’s ascent, but a proper conquest based on future knowledge, and to obtain the Tyrant’s Seed itself, Jung Hyun-su had come without carrying any weapon at all.
Only by clearing the tower’s conditions in a perfectly unarmed state—as the system recognized it—could he obtain the Tyrant’s Seed.
And the key to that lay in this C-Rank newcomer from the underground market whom he would infiltrate with the rookies.
In the future, a vicious entity with the qualities of what would be called a Tyrant-Force Returner—a black-listed criminal—would obtain it, but this time Jung Hyun-su aimed to acquire those qualities himself instead of that Returner.
[The tower will open shortly.]
[Challengers, complete your preparations and assemble at the entrance.]
[From the moment you enter the tower, your time will be measured individually, so there is no need to enter first.]
[When the countdown ends, the tower will open.]
Enormous numerals stitched across the void.
[10, 9, 8, 7…….]
And as always, the tower was a liar.
While the countdown continued, Jung Hyun-su walked through the tower’s entrance.
“Hey, Jung Hyun-su! You maniac…!”
Jung Hyun-ah’s voice cut off mid-shout.
Whoooosh!
Jung Hyun-su faced a roiling sea of scorching flame.
It had been far too long.
[The first stage is the Forgotten Flame Section.]
Fire embraced Jung Hyun-su.
[Challenger climbing the tower. What is your name?]
Floor one, the Door of Forgotten Names. Here began the stage known as the battlefield of the self that guards one’s name, stretching through to the tenth floor.
To be continued ▶
The Sole Devourer’s Returning Martial God
Author
Cheon Ya
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Inquiries [email protected]
Publication date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260515012
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law and is prohibited from unauthorized reproduction and duplication.
Violation of this may result in criminal and civil legal liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes precious manuscripts from writers.

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