Vol. 1 – Prologue

Late at night. Yeon glanced around warily, her hand tightly gripping her phone.

Even though she was safely inside her own bedroom, her eyes darted around in persistent anxiety. Not fully satisfied, she even pressed her ear flat against the wall to listen.

“Okay, definitely clear.”

Only after confirming she was completely alone did Yeon finally relax. A long sigh escaped her lips, naturally turning into a low groan.

Every single inch of her body ached with a deep, throbbing muscle pain. It was the aftermath of the hellish training session that had dragged on all afternoon. Her instructor was none other than her own father.

A world-renowned fighter, widely considered one of the best on the planet. The man dubbed the ‘Last True Martial Artist’ of the modern era.

Recalling the grand titles attached to her father, Yeon pouted sullenly.

I get that he’s amazing and all, but did he really have to drag me into it?

Her father desperately wanted his daughter to walk the exact same path he did. It would have been one thing if she lacked talent, but even Yeon had to admit her natural abilities were freakish. She was more than gifted enough to warrant the high expectations of a world-class fighter.

In short, she was a born monster. Ever since she was a kid, she had never been outmatched in anything involving physical combat.

The only problem was that Yeon was a girl.

In the world of martial arts, the limitations imposed by biology were stark. When she was young, Yeon could beat down anyone regardless of gender. But as she grew older, she was finally beginning to feel the gap. There was no way her father didn’t know this, yet the man’s stubbornness showed no signs of bending.

“People really need to learn when to give up,” she muttered.

With a bitter sigh, she collapsed onto her bed, a yawn slipping out. If she closed her eyes right now, she would drift off instantly. However, Yeon forced herself to click her phone screen alive. She had one vital task left to complete before sleeping.

Swiping across her screen, Yeon opened her webnovel app. Instantly, a vibrant illustration of a man and a woman in lavish medieval attire filled her sight.

They locked eyes with lethal intensity, striking a dangerously intimate pose beneath a glaringly straightforward title.

 

The Villainous Northern Duke Is Obsessed With Me

 

It was Yeon’s favorite romance fantasy novel these days. A grin unconsciously spread across her face as she tapped the latest chapter.

Absorbed in the text, she was immediately sucked into the story. Her thumb gently stroked the screen, savoring every single word.

This particular chapter happened to be the climax she had been dying to read, the scene where the obsessive male lead practically forces his love onto the heroine.

 

[“If it means having you, I would slaughter every last one of those worthless human beings without a second thought. So, you must choose. Will you let such a tragedy unfold, or will you come to me?”]

[“Elond…!”]

 

“Kyaaa!”

As she let out a muffled squeal, Yeon completely synchronized with the heroine. In her mind, she was a magnificent lady in a gorgeous gown, possessing voluminous blonde hair and eyes so crystal blue they were practically transparent.

In reality, far from having voluminous hair, Yeon was forced to keep her hair cropped short. Long hair was nothing but a hindrance in training. For similar reasons, she had never even worn a pretty skirt. Her father’s philosophy was that if you had time to worry about things like that, you had time to do another push-up.

Maybe that was why.

The word ‘Lady’ felt so incredibly romantic to her. Just imagining herself in a form she could never actually attain made her heart flutter.

“Ah… it’s over already.”

No matter how slowly she tried to read, a single chapter was just too short. She browsed through the other titles on her reading list, but none of them could compare to her favorite.

After scrolling through her phone for a while longer, she finally turned off the screen with a disappointed sigh. It was already way past her bedtime, but her lingering excitement left her wide awake.

If I don’t go to sleep right now, tomorrow is going to be brutal.

Worrying about the grueling training session that inevitably awaited her tomorrow, Yeon forced her eyes shut. But instead of sleep, the vivid fantasy world she had just been immersed in began to unfold behind her closed eyelids.

Yeon mumbled to herself without realizing it.

“I wish I could live just once as a lady…”

If she could, she would gladly possess a character in a novel. Well, even if it wasn’t possession, she didn’t care it wasn’t like a modern person like her could regress, anyway.

What about reincarnation?

That means starting over as a baby. Way too much work.

Realizing she needed to stop indulging in useless delusions, Yeon reached out and pulled a worn, old book from her bedside. It was her foolproof remedy for insomnia, a martial arts novel handed down by her father.

 

Martial Supreme: The Peak of Martial Arts

 

Written in bold, sweeping calligraphy across a faded cover, the title practically radiated an old-fashioned, outdated vibe.

Of course a martial artist would love something like this.

Supposedly, it had been a massive hit back in the day. If a book came out with a title like that in this day and age, nobody would read it.

Who names a book ‘Martial Supreme: The Peak of Martial Arts’ anymore? It should be something like ‘SSS-Class Martial Arts Tearing the World Apart.’

Grumbling under her breath, Yeon flipped “Martial Supreme: The Peak of Martial Arts” open. The front pages were heavily worn, making it look exactly like a math textbook that had only been opened for the first chapter.

 

[The origins of the man hailed as the pinnacle of Martial Arts remain shrouded in mystery. Utilizing martial arts born from infinite internal energy, every time he unleashed his Qi, the white clouds encompassing the four directions would…]

 

The sudden onslaught of classical Chinese characters instantly made her eyelids heavy. It was precisely because of these characters that Yeon had never managed to finish Martial Supreme: The Peak of Martial Arts. There were times she had made decent progress, but she always ended up dropping it.

As she turned the page, the drowsiness that had fled earlier returned with a vengeance, wrapping around her and dragging her down. As expected, when it came to falling asleep, nothing beat Martial Supreme: The Peak of Martial Arts.

‘I wish I could wake up in a romance fantasy novel.’

With that final wishful thought, Yeon drifted off into a deep sleep.

***

That night, Yeon had a dream. It was about possessing a character in the romance fantasy world she had so desperately yearned for.

Having become the heroine of The Villainous Northern Duke Is Obsessed With Me, Yeon thoroughly enjoyed her new life. The voluminous blonde hair that swayed with her every move, the fragile, glass-like blue eyes, and the extravagant dresses….everything was flawless.

Now that she was finally a lady, she even met the male lead, Elond. As they spun around hand-in-hand, she felt as if she had the entire world.

I’ve finally found you Elond! Ahahaha! Ahahaha

“…Huh?”

The strange noise escaping her own lips snapped her awake. Ah.. it was a dream she thought but the moment faded as she stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling.

An unfamiliar ceiling?

As a hardcore webnovel enthusiast, Yeon’s instincts kicked in immediately. This was.. without a doubt, the classic possession cliché.

Did I… did I actually cross over into a novel?!

Just as her eyes widened with a mix of disbelief and sheer excitement, the door was suddenly flung open.

Yeon whipped her head toward the entrance. A young girl stepped into her field of vision. However, contrary to her expectations, the girl was Asian, dressed in traditional historical attire.

“…Uh?”

Yeon blinked blankly, locking eyes with the girl.

Crash!

The ceramic bowl slipped from the girl’s hands, shattering into pieces on the floor. The pungent, bitter scent of medicinal broth immediately drifted into the air.

“Huh… Miss Hwangbo Yeon?”

‘Hwangbo Yeon?’

“Young Miss, you’re finally awake!”

A sudden terrible premonition struck Yeon like a bolt of lightning.

……Wait a minute. Hwangbo Yeon is a name from Martial Supreme: The Peak of Martial Arts.

It was a minor character she had only remembered because they shared the same first name.

Yeon hurriedly scanned her surroundings. Everything looked exactly like the set of a historical martial arts drama. Her heart dropped into her stomach, and her lips began to tremble violently.

Don’t tell me I didn’t possess a romance fantasy, but instead.…..

Sensing something was deeply wrong with Yeon, the young maid cautiously spoke up.

“U-Um.. Young Miss…?”

Only then did Yeon realize the girl was speaking a foreign language and that she was somehow understanding it without any difficulty.

Her head throbbed as a reality she desperately wanted to deny crashed down upon her. Her wish had been granted, but this was not a romance fantasy world. She had transmigrated into Martial Supreme: The Peak of Martial Arts.

“Of all the novels I could have ended up in… why this one?”

A deeply resentful groan leaked from Yeon’s lips.

“Pardon?”

“I… I wanted to be a lady…”

“A lay-dee? Do you mean someone is arriving, Young Miss?”

Faced with the utterly bewildered maid, Yeon slowly lifted her head. Her face was a mask of pure despair, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

As the maid tilted her head at the sight, a desperate wail finally erupted from Yeon’s throat.

“My lay-dee status nooooo!”

The ear-piercing, tragic shriek echoed loudly across the Hwangbo Clan, one of the legendary noble families ruling the martial world of the Central Plains.