Cheonma Divine Art
That was the most readily available information when I looked into Cheonma Group. Cheonma Jun, the legendary founder and a first-generation awakener who established the group. It was his unique ability.
Upon activation, it multiplied the user's mana output several times over, with some of that even contributing to the user's own growth. A cheat ability among cheats.
You'd think he'd keep something like that under wraps, but Cheonma Jun was different. He actively promoted it to build his power base—a blatant show of strength that worked like a charm.
In the chaos of post-Cataclysm China, he leveraged it to rapidly expand his influence. And that's how Cheonma Group was born. Sure, they called it a "group," but it started out as little more than a violent syndicate.
Then, two years ago, Cheonma Jun suddenly dropped dead. Cause of death: myocardial infarction.
I wasn't on Earth at the time, so I didn't know, but apparently it caused quite a stir. Part of it was the absurdly mundane cause for such a powerhouse, but the bigger issue was another ability of Cheonma Divine Art that he'd revealed.
"Cheonma Divine Art transfers intact to blood relatives upon death."
In other words, the full power level he'd wielded would pass on directly. The whole world zeroed in on who the next heir from his bloodline would be.
Enter the current chairman, Cheon Ji-hoon. A young man born and raised in South Korea, right next door to China.
Details on what happened after that weren't available. But given how smoothly things went, he probably inherited Cheonma Divine Art from Cheonma Jun and took control of the group without much fuss.
That's the public perception.
But it's wrong. And the real cause of Cheonma Jun's death—myocardial infarction? That had to be backlash from absorption.
Jin So-wol was almost certainly the one who pulled it off. Anyone who knew about absorption would see through that shallow charade in an instant.
That odd aura around Chairman Cheon Ji-hoon's coat? It was likely some kind of artifact that obscured the wearer's mana levels.
"Must've been tough, keeping up the act all this time."
She'd been walking a razor's edge. Whether Jin So-wol truly intended to kill Cheonma Jun or not, it didn't matter. The end result was that he'd died to her absorption.
If it ever came out, she'd be enemy number one to the entire Cheonma Group. A secret she had to bury at all costs. That's why she'd faked everything up to now.
From the phony successor, Cheon Ji-hoon, to every last detail.
"You bastard...!"
Jin So-wol, standing before me, let out a roar laced with fury. The pressure blasting wildly from the center of her barrier carried serious power on its own.
Bang!
Her thighs bulged as she shot forward in the blink of an eye. At the same time, she assumed a stance like gripping an invisible sword in midair.
Blue energy coalesced, quickly forming the shape of a blade.
Clang!
The strike aimed at my nape. I blocked it with my arm tensed—and a fierce shockwave rippled outward. The blue-energy sword shattered, cracking the air itself.
That wasn't a real sword. Just mana condensed and swung like one.
Formless Sword.
A technique even upper-tier demons in my old world could barely pull off.
She's got some moves.
"Ha! You blocked that?"
She must've been shocked. She'd used a weapon; I'd just used my arm.
Still, it wasn't harmless. Bright red blood seeped from where the formless sword had struck my arm.
Bang!
She slammed a kick into my solar plexus with all her might, then leaped back to create distance.
Why open up the range? Planning a ranged attack?
Thud!
I held position, unsure what was coming. Then she stomped hard.
Thud! Thud!
Stomping repeatedly, she charged with thunderous noise. Each step amplified the air-rending whoosh and the intensifying pressure.
Her final step unleashed a monstrous wave of mana from her foot.
The razor-sharp mana surge. Instinct screamed at me: dodge.
Kwaaaah!
I rolled aside just as it hit.
"Heh!"
Her sure-kill attack missed, but Jin So-wol still smirked. As if in response, the dodged mana wave suddenly curved back toward me.
"Tch."
I bolted, but it pursued relentlessly. The hall was spacious but not open field—evasion had limits.
Eventually...
Kwaaah!
The mana wave engulfed me. Felt like my whole body was being shredded by that earlier formless sword.
"Urk."
As it passed, my suit was in tatters. Blood oozed from the rips.
"Haa."
Jin So-wol sighed deeply at the sight.
"If you'd just done what I said nicely, wouldn't this have been better?"
"......"
"By the way, Park Soo-hyeok, who told you Cheon is a fake?"
"Nobody but me knows."
"...Don't lie!"
Kwang!
She stomped again, and another mana wave crashed over me. She smirked at my even more shredded state.
"Has to be Yelena, right? That damn bitch, pretending she knew nothing."
"Didn't you confirm that? Back at the restaurant."
Her eyebrows twitched at my words.
"...How?"
"I was awake the whole time."
"Impossible! The hypnosis should've worked perfectly... Even on awakeners!"
"Hypnosis unique abilities aren't omnipotent. They usually fail against someone stronger."
"...Puhaha!"
She burst into rough laughter, dismissing it as bluff.
"As if. Look at you! Soaked in your own blood like a drowned rat. And you think bluffing will save you now?"
"...Hoo."
"Well, good thing, really. You're not worth partnering with anyway. Right?"
"You really think that?"
Rip.
I tore off the ruined suit. The skin beneath was fully exposed.
"Wh-what are you...?"
"What else? Shaking off the blood."
All the wounds across my body had already healed.
"...Ha! Cockroach-level regeneration, huh?"
"Some analogy."
"Doesn't matter—I'll just do it again!"
Kwaaang!
This stomp carried her full intent to end it. A mana wave twice as massive surged at me.
"Hoo."
I steadied my breath before the colossal wave. If Geommon were here, he'd gripe: Stuck to punches? Useless at range.
Wrong. The misconception started there. Punches don't need direct contact with the enemy.
We're already connected—through the formless medium of the air.
'No place in this world beyond the fist's reach.'
When Lebron first said that, I thought it was bullshit. But at a certain level, no words rang truer.
No place the fist can't reach. Not the enemy ahead, nor this devouring mana wave.
Swipe.
I spread my arms wide and slashed the air. Swift, concise.
A rift followed the trajectory—small but sturdy. The mana wave hit it and began twisting into a vortex.
"Ha! All talk!"
She couldn't see it yet, bellowing in overconfident triumph.
Once the warped wave was fully sucked in, horror dawned in Jin So-wol's eyes.
Swipe.
Another slash sent the rift hurtling her way.
Flick.
I shook my hand, and the rift vanished. The compressed mana wave inside slammed into her.
Kwaaaah!
"Kyaa, kyaak!"
Crack!
Seconds after impact, the barrier enveloping the grand hall shattered with a piercing screech.
In the empty hall's center, Jin So-wol—now a bloody rag—gasped raggedly.
"Hah, haaek... haaek...! Wh-what the hell...!"
"I told you."
I approached the fallen woman slowly.
"I don't think we can work together."
"W-wait...!"
As I reached down...
"Stop."
"......"
I turned. A long-haired man stared our way. No mana scent at all.
"Chairman Cheon Ji-hoon."
"That's far enough."
"...Pardon?"
"Please."
I wondered what his angle was, but he approached humbly.
"What is this...?"
"I'll apologize on behalf of Director Jin for her actions. And compensate you accordingly."
"Ahem."
Flutter.
Cheon Ji-hoon draped his coat over the fallen Jin So-wol.
Makes me look like the bad guy.
The awkwardness hit; I scratched my head.
"I wasn't planning to hurt her anyway."
"Thank you."
He stared me down as he spoke. He'd seen enough of the fight to grasp the situation, yet there was no hesitation in his gaze.
Hoo.
A faint mana aftertaste clung to him now—strikingly similar to Jin So-wol's Cheonma Divine Art.
So he really is Cheonma Jun's blood.
"Y-you...! I'll make sure you...!"
Meanwhile, Jin So-wol—propped up by Cheon—glared murderously.
"Sigh."
I thought she was smart, but this tantrum? She seemed the type to lose all reason once her switch flipped.
"Enough, Director Jin So-wol."
"...Urk."
Cheon's word shut her up. Noticing her state, she clutched the proffered coat.
"...No need for compensation. It's not like you did anything wrong, Chairman."
"So that means...?"
"Get it from her. She nearly got my family hurt with her schemes."
"......"
Jin So-wol flushed—embarrassed or furious?—and bowed her head.
"...What do you want?"
"Hm... For starters, never target my family again. If you do... I won't come for revenge. I'll just spread your little secret far and wide."
"Th-that...!"
She looked like she'd prefer death to exposure.
"Plus, lend a hand now and then when I need it. Mutual benefit."
"...Proposing a partnership?"
Jin So-wol finally spoke after clamming up.
Sorry, but no.
"I said it already: Can't work with you."
"......"
"Talking to you, Chairman."
Cheon raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"That's really all?"
"Yeah. No point picking fights with Cheonma Group."
"...Understood."
"Don't worry too much. I won't ask for anything outrageous."
* * *
Jin So-wol's rampage wrapped up messily. Both our clothes were trashed, but Cheon provided spare suits, letting us rejoin the board meeting.
I offered to return it, but he insisted as atonement. Later I learned a single Barbour jacket cost millions—insanely pricey.
Back in the meeting, I launched into my presentation. Lukewarm response. Not disbelief, just apathy.
A few directors' eyes sparkled with interest. But they kept quiet, wary of backing me and empowering Director Jin by extension.
Went overboard making this.