The POS system clearly identified him.
"It used to be 6 times faster, and now it's increased by another 200%…"
There was no need for complicated math.
Exactly 12 times.
Compared to a third-rate internal energy cultivation method, the speed at which he was accumulating internal energy had increased twelvefold.
With three energy cores (danjeon) accumulating power and boosting effectiveness, even his efficiency in absorbing energy had now skyrocketed.
With simple calculations, training in Geon-Gon Hapil Singong for just three years would now let him accumulate an entire gapja (60-year cycle) worth of internal energy.
In fact, considering Geon-Gon Hapil Singong becomes progressively faster at accumulating energy, it wouldn't even take a full three years to build up that much internal power solely through its cultivation.
That's why Soohyeok focused solely on mastering Geon-Gon Hapil Singong.
He had other high-level martial arts techniques in his mind, but whether in Hwan Continent or on Earth, he had no need for them.
Even if there were a cultivation method with 15 times the efficiency, Geon-Gon Hapil Singong, which accumulates internal power like compound interest, would still be faster in the long run.
Rather than dabbling in many things, it was better to master just one properly.
In that regard, Geon-Gon Hapil Singong was without doubt the ultimate internal energy method in the world.
"And now, I've finally reached Transcendent Peak."
As mentioned, the defining trait of the Transcendent Peak realm is the complete materialization of internal energy.
Martial artists below Peak cannot achieve full materialization.
They can emit flashes of energy like lightning, but only in brief, fleeting
moments.
Until now, Soohyeok had relied on such fleeting bursts of power.
But now that he had reached Transcendent Peak, it was different.
Just as if he were clad in armor made of energy, he could now maintain this materialized energy around his entire body at will.
For martial artists like Soohyeok, who preferred using their bodies over weapons, this realm was a long-held dream, a monumental barrier.
Martial artists who rely on physical combat face countless disadvantages compared to weapon users, due to the inherent difference between forged steel and flesh, blood, and bone.
A sudden burst of internal power might allow one to deflect even a blade, but in prolonged battles, even a small mistake could lead to severe injury-and injury, of course, becomes a fatal weakness.
Despite this, many martial artists on Hwan Continent still believed that pure physical training was the true path to martial mastery. It might seem like stubbornness, but it wasn't without reason.
What changes when someone who has mastered the art of using their body reaches Transcendent Peak and can fully and continuously materialize their energy?
It's simple.
Their entire body becomes a weapon.
Weapon users become adept at channeling power through their weapons.
They might even produce sword energy (geomgi) or mimic energy strikes (gwonki) with fists.
But they cannot coat their entire body-feet, shins, knees, elbows, knife-hands, wrists-with energy.
Because they've always relied on fixed channels of power, they lack flexibility.
But physical-type martial artists are different.
To survive and win against weapon-wielders, they develop the flexibility to channel internal power through various body parts even from lower realms. They even discover how to unleash explosive energy from them. They engrave these experiences deep into their muscle memory.
Just like Soohyeok had.
Peak and Transcendent Peak-just one level apart-but Soohyeok could now fight in a completely different way.
It wasn't wishful thinking to believe that just reaching Transcendent Peak would make him virtually untouchable for a while.
With infinite internal energy regeneration and now having achieved
Transcendent Peak, Soohyeok was confident that at least on Earth, few could
match him.
"Now I can finally say I'm using real martial arts."
With a satisfied expression, Soohyeok materialized energy around his entire body, confirmed the result, and slowly stood up.
He had certainly grown stronger.
He brimmed with confidence in his power.
But that didn't mean he was satisfied.
He was a greedy monster.
That's why he had become the strongest martial artist on Hwan Continent.
Even when he took things slowly, he never allowed himself to be lazy or complacent.
"Should I start with a morning jog?"
Both his mind and body were already awake.
His steps as he left the house were filled with strength.
***
Soohyeok's mornings were early.
He would wake up shortly after Yang Seungbon, who had returned from a late-night driving shift, had gone to sleep. Sitting in meditation, he would channel and circulate his energy in the early hours, then push himself through brutal physical training under the name of rehabilitation.
There was no choice but to move early.
As he ran, Soohyeok often thought:
"The human body is like delicate steel."
It's easy to break if handled poorly, but within reasonable limits, hardship actually forges it into something tougher and stronger.
Some say there's a limit to how far that can go, but Soohyeok didn't believe that at all.
There were no pre-set walls.
Even before people awakened as "gifted," there had always been "superhumans."
They were still human, but their abilities defied human norms.
Soohyeok deeply engraved in his mind that these beings had grown by refusing to set limits on themselves.
The term "racial modifier" so often used by the Dimensional Union-he had buried that idea somewhere deep in his mind, barely even remembering it
anymore.
That is, until just moments ago.
"
"…Who are you?"
The early dawn, before even the sun had risen.
A young blond man suddenly blocked Soohyeok's path as he sprinted.
Dressed in a pure white suit, he radiated an odd, almost unreal sense of dissonance.
He looked, on the surface, unmistakably human.
A white-skinned, blond-haired Westerner rarely seen in the East.
He was handsome, too.
But that wasn't why he felt so unsettling.
It went deeper than that.
It was the strange, indescribable feeling of encountering something that didn't quite belong in this world.
Ironically, Soohyeok knew this feeling all too well.
Unfamiliar, yet oddly… familiar.
"A Gwaeryeoknansin like you still exists on modern Earth?"
Gwaeryeoknansin
as the term suggests – refers to beings who possess monstrous power and create chaos: ghosts, demons, or yokai. In other words, supernatural entities with terrifying strength.
In truth, Earth today wasn't far off from such a concept.
The monsters that came from beyond dimensions were exactly that.
While their strength and expression differed from the Gwaeryeoknansin Soohyeok had in mind from the Hwan Continent, monsters still fit that category.
Races like elves or beastkin were a different story.
Though they possessed unique powers, they lacked that ominous, disturbing presence that seemed destined to throw the world into disorder.
Only monsters, ghosts, and yokai gave off such an aura.
Just like the being standing in front of him now.
"Gwaeryeoknansin… Now that's a word I haven't heard in ages."
The man rolled his crimson eyes, calmly meeting Soohyeok's gaze.
He stroked his chiseled jaw thoughtfully, as if lost in contemplation.
Soohyeok quietly drew in his internal power as he watched.
He stayed fully ready to materialize his energy at a moment's notice, his attention focused entirely on the stranger's every movement.
He had no choice.
The Gwaeryeoknansin before him was truly powerful.
So overwhelming, in fact, that Soohyeok was reminded of the "racial modifiers" he'd long pushed to the back of his mind.
The impressive outer appearance was nothing but a façade.
"I must say, I'm impressed. It's been a while since someone saw through me at a glance
a mage…
"
and you're human, not even a Daoist or
A flicker of eerie energy flashed in the stranger's crimson eyes.
At the same time, Soohyeok moved.
From his outstretched palm, a burst of materialized blue energy surged toward
the man's golden hair like a tiger's paw swiping down.
Even the stranger was surprised by Soohyeok's sudden attack.
"What the-?!"
Faster than expected.
He had been relaxed, but even so, he hadn't thought he'd fail to dodge completely.
Several strands of hair were ripped out, and pain twisted his face.
"And he's perceptive."
He had tried to strike first with a mental-type spell, but before it even activated, Soohyeok had already reacted.
And now, there wasn't a single opening.
As the first attack barely missed, Soohyeok instantly closed the gap again, throwing a punch.
If dodged, a knee followed.
Multiple narrow misses passed in a blur. Then, a line of red blood erupted across the stranger's high-bridged nose.
It had been cut – the edge of Soohyeok's energy-coated knife-hand slicing like a blade.
"Hrrggh… W-Wait! Hold on!"
The man cried out urgently, but Soohyeok didn't stop.
His relentless assault crashed down like a torrential storm, completely engulfing his opponent.
"What, you-Vladimir of the Universal 8-start a fight and now you're whining? That's pathetic."
Soohyeok's cold voice pierced through the chaos.
The man-Vladimir-stared in disbelief.
"Wait… you know who I am?"
Then again, it would be strange not to know.
He had always sought attention, was incredibly famous, and never shied from publicity.
Soohyeok had simply framed him as a Gwaeryeoknansin—a monstrous
being and dealt with him accordingly, which led Vladimir to assume he was unknown.
That false assumption led to a moment of panic-and another opening.
"Ugh?!"
His sleeve was caught by a technique of Golden Thread Hand.
The next moment, Vladimir's world spun.
CRASH!
His back slammed into the stone pavement with a sickening thud, his mind reeling from the shock.
"Did I just… get thrown?"
He couldn't even remember the last time that had happened.
As Soohyeok had said, Vladimir was a Gwaeryeoknansin—an ancient,
non-human existence who had lived on Earth for ages. Among such beings, he was one of the strongest.
Even other hidden supernatural beings on Earth couldn't help but show awe in his presence.
They trembled before his power.
They knelt.
Because they knew, plain and simple-they couldn't win against him.
And yet, a mere human had just thrown him.
This had never happened.
Not even once.
And yet, Soohyeok had done it while knowing exactly who and what Vladimir
was.
Utter disbelief flooded his mind. As the world spun, he saw Soohyeok climb on top of him and raise a fist.
Vladimir felt a cord of reason in his mind snap.
His eyes burned with rage.
"I thought you were an interesting human, and I was willing to play a little… but you DARE-!"
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]