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[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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Chapter: 02
Baek Do-jin. Black Corporation.
The final mission of his previous life resurfaced vividly in Cheon Woo-jin’s mind.
Even up to the very end, the true scale and identity of their organization had remained elusive.
He had been the top agent of Hyeonwoldan—and yet, as an Unawakened, he ultimately hit the wall of his limitations.
“But if I can overcome this heavenly curse, I’ll wipe those bastards off the face of the earth.”
To take revenge on Baek Do-jin and the Black Corporation, power was essential.
In his past life, he had been a genius swordsman, someone who reached the peak of swordsmanship even without Awakening.
Part of it was natural talent—but what truly allowed him to surpass his limits was a secret manual he had discovered by chance inside a dungeon.
If it weren’t for the Heavenly Combat Manual, I never would’ve mastered the Demon Sword.
After the Gate opened, people Awakened to supernatural powers, and skills allowed them to wield magic and aura.
But martial arts techniques were often dismissed as nonsense—fantasies from another time.
Still, he ignored the ridicule and painstakingly deciphered the mnemonic verses of Heavenly Combat Manual, honing his sword techniques.
Through bone-breaking discipline, he eventually reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
Ironically, his current situation was the complete opposite.
Now, overlapping constitution traits clashed violently within his body, causing massive mana turbulence.
Yet Cheon Woo-jin smiled, feeling the chaos raging inside him.
Ordinary Awakened could do nothing in such a state.
But not him—he had studied martial arts. He had another way.
“Compared to the old days when I risked my life draining my life force just to circulate energy... this? Taming conflicting energies is nothing.
Using the Heavenly Combat Manual, Cheon Woo-jin set out to subdue the rampaging forces and overcome his heavenly curse.
“Hoo…”
He exhaled deeply, then sat cross-legged on the floor.
Closing his eyes, he recalled the mnemonic verses of Heavenly Combat Manual.
Immediately, the conflicting energies within his body began to thrash violently.
KWAKWAKWAKWA!
Yin and yang, along with a whirlwind of unbalanced energies, surged and clashed inside him.
KRKRKRKRK!
His body began to swell as if it might explode, but Cheon Woo-jin bore the pain in silence.
‘I have to endure it. If I slip up, my blood vessels will burst, and my brain and organs will melt.’
With composed breaths, he guided the colliding forces in his body along the Heavenly Combat Manual flow.
WUUUUUUUNG—!
Though it was slow to show results, Heavenly Combat Manual had a unique purification effect—it could harmonize any energy.
That included the conflicting powers filling his bloodstream, which were now being purified and drawn into unity.
KWAKWAKWAKWA!
The chaos still raged, but Cheon Woo-jin silently endured the agony.
He had only to wait—wait for Heavenly Combat Manual’s effects to stabilize the rampaging energies.
‘I’ve waited my whole life for this Awakening. I won’t fall from mere pain.’
The pain was enough to shatter his clenched teeth, but he endured.
How much time had passed?
From his body, steam began to rise.
TSSSSSS—!
Red, blue, and even violet mists began to fill the room.
Simultaneously, the chaotic forces within him began to calm.
Success.
Following the mnemonic verses, he channeled the purified energy to circulate once around his meridians and stored it in his energy core.
The previously colliding forces were now unified. They surged through his bloodstream, spreading across his entire body.
CRACK!
His muscles tore and realigned. His bones shifted and restructured.
This pain was on another level—it went beyond anything he had endured before.
CRUNCH!
His teeth cracked from the strain, and blood streamed from his gums.
Through what felt like an eternity of torment, Cheon Woo-jin endured the inferno of rebirth.
Hours passed.
Gradually, a peaceful expression began to settle on his face.
WUUUUUUUNG!
His body started to vibrate—and astonishingly, it began to float into the air.
Now completely immersed in his training, Cheon Woo-jin didn’t even realize he was levitating in a cross-legged posture.
All his focus was on circulating and controlling his inner energy.
The color of the rising steam changed.
Glowing mists of multicolored light gathered and bloomed above his head like flowers.
TSSSSS—!
Three Flowers Gather at the Crown
A sign that his internal energy had become visible—proof he had reached the peak of martial mastery.
The three blossomed flowers soon faded, then returned—absorbed back through his nose and mouth.
Then, a radiant light burst from his body, flooding the entire room.
FWOOOOOOOSH!
As the light gradually subsided, Cheon Woo-jin returned to the ground, still seated in meditation.
“Haa…”
He let out a long breath and opened his eyes—and in them flickered a brilliant gleam before it gently faded.
At that moment, a message appeared before his eyes:
[Through the secret art Heavenly Combat Manual, you have attained the realm of 'Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.']
[You are cured of 'High-Density Mana Collision Syndrome' (Abnormal Status).]
[New Trait Acquired: Bone-Shedding Rebirth.]
[New Trait Acquired: Immunity to All Poisons.]
[Multiple Awakening traits have been unified and upgraded to ‘Heavenly Martial Physique’ (SS-Rank).]
Reading the message, Cheon Woo-jin trembled with exhilaration.
“I’ve finally Awakened…!”
He could feel the powerful inner energy filling his energy core.
The vitality surging through him was unlike anything he had felt as an Unawakened.
He opened his Status Window to confirm his newly updated abilities:
[Status Window]
Name: Cheon Woo-jin
Class: Undetermined (Under Evaluation)
Awakened Ability: Heavenly Martial Physique (SS-Rank)
└ Skill: Heavenly Combat Manual
└ Inner Energy: 120 years’ worth of cultivation
Traits: Bone-Shedding Rebirth, Immunity to All Poisons
Heavenly Martial Physique… SS-rank. One step beyond S-rank.
By purifying the conflicting energies through Heavenly Combat Manual and storing them in his energy core, he had fused all those clashing traits into one—and his constitution had evolved into a SS-rank state.
The new sensations coursing through his body made him feel as if he had been reborn.
‘So this… is the power of a true bloodline.’
Even in the Cheon Clan, less than 1% ever possessed an A-rank constitution.
An S-rank constitution was a miracle—something only the chosen could have.
But an SS-rank?
That was a gift from the heavens themselves.
“Good.”
Cheon Woo-jin rose from where he sat and examined his body.
Though still lean, he was clearly no longer the sickly, frail figure of the past.
His muscles had definition and elasticity, his skin was smooth yet firm, and he could feel that even his skeletal frame had grown sturdier.
Compared to his past life as a sword prodigy, this new body had gone through a true bone-shedding rebirth—it was vastly superior in every way.
“And with ‘Immunity to All Poisons’ as well, at least I won’t be dying from some petty toxin.”
As he checked over his newly reforged body, another message appeared before his eyes:
[Class identification complete.]
[A new class has been pioneered.]
[New class registered: Soul-less Warrior.]
[ Soul-less Warrior class replaces mana with internal energy.]
[ Soul-less Warrior class allows martial arts techniques to be registered as skills.]
[Achievement reward granted for pioneering a new class. Please check your inventory.]
A new class… and a reward?
Cheon Woo-jin opened his inventory—and found a sword waiting there.
“So this is the achievement reward.”
He’d heard stories before.
In the early days when the Gates had first appeared, people used to receive special items as rewards for unlocking achievements.
Back then, those rewards were extremely useful.
But as higher-level dungeons emerged, those old reward items had gradually become obsolete.
‘Still, I should at least see what this one is.’
He drew the item from his inventory, and in his hand appeared a dual-edged sword engraved with the Big Dipper constellation across the blade.
[Item Info]
Name: Seven-Star Sacred Sword
Grade: SSR
Description: A demon-banishing sword forged with meteoric iron imbued with the power of the Big Dipper.
Special Traits: Soulbound, Evolvable, Demon-Slaying
“An SSR-grade item?”
His pupils trembled slightly as he stared at the Seven-Star Sacred Sword, its blade inscribed with the constellation.
SSR—Super Super Rare—was the highest grade of equipment ever discovered.
Only a handful of such items existed across the entire world.
And this one wasn’t just rare—it was evolvable.
That meant it could grow even stronger with use.
Not the end, but the beginning of its potential.
‘This is insane.’
It might very well be the single greatest sword ever found.
Cheon Woo-jin couldn’t help but let out a deep breath.
But then he noticed something strange.
“The blade isn’t sharp…”
The edge and tip were blunt. Stabbing or slashing with it would be impossible.
He couldn’t understand how a sword of this caliber could be so dull.
As he re-read the item description, his eyes stopped at the final special trait.
Demon-Slaying.
It was a term he hadn’t seen before, but the meaning was clear enough.
The Seven-Star Sacred Sword was a sword forged to destroy demons and evil spirits.
“A sword imbued with demon-slaying power… sounds similar to a Holy Sword.”
He had heard about holy relics before, though most of that information was classified.
If this sword shared similar properties, its SSR grade would be justified.
‘Better keep this sword hidden for now.’
Cheon Woo-jin returned the Seven-Star Sacred Sword to his inventory and moved on to check the other updates in his status window.
Heavenly Combat Manual had now been formally registered as a skill, and a new stat labeled Internal Energy had appeared.
Additionally, any martial arts techniques he acquired could now be registered as skills.
Before acquiring the Soul-less Warrior class, people treated martial arts like outdated fairy tales.
But he had just proven they were real.
As he pondered where to find more secret manuals, one name came to mind: “The Heavenly Sword House’s secret swordsmanship—Cheon Family Sword Technique.”
While not technically a martial art, the Heavenly Sword House had spent decades building their legacy through swordsmanship.
Until he could find more advanced manuals, learning the clan’s sword style would help him hide his newfound power.
‘It’s not yet time to make my move.’
Right now, he was still considered irrelevant in the clan’s succession race.
‘They left me alone because I was sickly. But once they learn I’ve overcome the heavenly curse… they’ll bare their fangs.’
Currently, three candidates were vying for succession within the Heavenly Sword House: Cheon Oh-hyuk, Cheon Ji-hoo, and Cheon Eun-ha.
Ji-hoo and Eun-ha were his full siblings—twin brother and sister, four years older than him.
As direct descendants of the clan’s bloodline, they were already officially recognized as high-ranking A-class hunters.
Each had built their own faction within the clan.
But the truly dangerous one… was someone else.
“Cheon Oh-hyuk.”
Two years older than the twins, Oh-hyuk had been born to a branch family.
But he was so gifted that he’d claimed the Cheon name himself and was recognized as part of the main bloodline.
Though he lacked direct lineage, his skill surpassed every other heir.
After achieving S-rank in the Hunter League, he had surged ahead in the succession race.
Cheon Woo-jin's concern wasn’t about Oh-hyuk’s strength—it was his personality.
‘He’s dangerous. Smart. Pretends to be noble in public but has no problem using dirty tricks behind the scenes.’
Oh-hyuk didn’t hesitate to commit despicable acts in the name of winning the succession war.
Accidents followed him wherever he went—car crashes, surgical mishaps, dungeon “incidents.”
But Cheon Woo-jin, once an elite Hyeonwoldan agent, knew better.
Those accidents weren’t coincidences.
The one who always benefited in the end… was Cheon Oh-hyuk.
‘Once he finds out I’ve awakened, he’ll try to eliminate me.’
Until Cheon Woo-jin had solidified his power, he was practically defenseless against an ambush.
The Heavenly Sword House prided itself not only on its bloodline but also on its brutal, cold-blooded culture of survival of the fittest.
Power was everything.
Even assassinations were quietly tolerated—just another way to determine rank and succession.
To take revenge on Baek Do-jin and the Black Corporation, Cheon Woo-jin needed a strong, stable base of power.
And he knew exactly where that had to start.
He came to a single conclusion.
“I’ll dive into the succession race… and seize control of the Heavenly Sword House.”
And to do that—
He had to act decisively.
“I need to meet the clan head.”
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[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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