I Became The Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 8.
A heavy silence fell over the room.
Yoo Kang-ho was astonished, while Yoo Jung-yeon watched with amused eyes. Yoo Min remained silent.
The disciples who had been glancing over during their training were also shocked, as were the instructors.
“…….”
“…….”
But between Yoo Baek-jun and Yoo Moo-hak, only silence flowed.
Yoo Moo-hak’s gaze pierced through Yoo Baek-jun.
“Yoo Baek-jun.”
A deep voice resonated through the room.
It was Yoo Moo-hak’s voice.
“What brings you here? This is no place for someone with no talent or interest in martial arts.”
Yoo Baek-jun met Yoo Moo-hak’s eyes.
The emotionless pupils made it hard to believe they belonged to a father looking at his son.
It seemed as if Yoo Baek-jun’s existence had only just been acknowledged.
‘No, are the rest of the family the same?’
Yoo Jung-yeon, Yoo Kang-ho, and even Yoo Min.
Though they pretended otherwise, their eyes held a trace of contempt when they looked at him.
Yoo Baek-jun let out a quiet laugh.
“I suddenly developed an interest in martial arts.”
“Interest? You? The same brat who refused to learn martial arts as a child, saying you didn’t want to learn techniques for killing people?”
“Ah, well, I might have said something like that.”
Yoo Baek-jun tilted his head slightly.
“But nearly dying to a monster changes one’s perspective, don’t you think?”
“Your perspective changed?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Come closer.”
Yoo Moo-hak gestured.
Yoo Baek-jun rose from his seat and knelt before him once more.
“Say it again, Your perspective changed?”
“When you’re about to die to a monster, what does it matter whether it’s a technique for killing people or not? I discarded those old thoughts back then.”
“Then?”
Yoo Baek-jun grinned at Yoo Moo-hak.
“I want to learn martial arts from one of the Four Grand Masters, Father.”
“Nonsense! You think the Grand Masters would teach someone like you? Even a stray dog would laugh at that!”
The response didn’t come from Yoo Moo-hak.
Yoo Kang-ho shot up from his seat, his voice laced with anger.
“Ha, martial arts. Martial arts, he says.”
Yoo Moo-hak chuckled quietly.
Though he was smiling, no emotion could be seen on his face.
His eyes scanned Yoo Baek-jun’s entire body.
Though improved by the effects of the elixir, his frame was still painfully thin.
“…….”
For a brief moment, Yoo Moo-hak’s eyes gleamed as he observed that body.
Pitiful, yet something had changed. A faint glimmer of talent now existed where there had been none before.
“You want to learn martial arts. You?”
“Yes, me.”
Yoo Moo-hak clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“No. The talent you possess is too insignificant to make teaching you worthwhile. Especially not from a Grand Master.”
“What if I prove otherwise?”
“Oh?”
He had already anticipated this.
Still smiling, Yoo Baek-jun spoke with an uncharacteristic confidence.
“I’ll prove my talent. Enough to make the Grand Masters deem me worthy of teaching.”
“How?”
“Well then.”
Yoo Baek-jun pointed to the side—at Yoo Kang-ho, who was still glaring at him with disgust.
“In exactly one week, I’ll defeat Brother Yoo Kang-ho in a spar.”
“Me?”
Yoo Kang-ho let out a disbelieving laugh.
“Do you take me for a joke? To say such a thing to someone who’s never even learned martial arts!”
“What do you say, Father?”
Yoo Baek-jun ignored Yoo Kang-ho. So did Yoo Moo-hak. The two only looked at each other.
Their gazes locked in silent assessment.
“…Fine.”
Permission was granted.
“Do as you will. But remember, this is your last chance. If you fail…”
Yoo Moo-hak’s voice dropped to a low, decisive tone.
“I will strip you of your status as a member of this family. You’d best be prepared for that.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Yoo Baek-jun bowed his head.
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
He smiled soundlessly.
* * *
The given deadline was one week.
If he could defeat Yoo Kang-ho, he would earn the right to learn martial arts from one of the Four Grand Masters of the Sword Saint family.
It was essentially a reward from the event.
“A free chance to learn skills, I can’t let this slip away.”
Earlier, he had felt Yoo Moo-hak examining his body. It wasn’t just a casual glance.
He had assessed Yoo Baek-jun’s bones and muscles.
‘My stats rose from F-rank to C-rank, so he must’ve noticed the change.’
This was the minimum requirement to trigger the sparring event.
On top of that, his Heavenly Martial Body and the vastly increased Magical Power he now possessed.
Had he failed to meet these conditions, Yoo Moo-hak would’ve outright dismissed the idea of a spar.
“While my dear eldest brother is away, I’ll solidify my position as much as possible.”
Yoo Baek-jun turned his gaze to the training hall before him.
Despite its aged exterior, the interior was filled with state-of-the-art training equipment.
‘Well, more importantly…’
Yoo Baek-jun activated a device.
Whirr—!
The device absorbed magical power, and a short distance away, a blue silhouette materialized.
A dummy made of magical power.
‘It’s a bit different from a regular training dummy.’
This one could move. Though limited, it was even capable of attacking.
With this, he could raise his proficiency and stats.
Though slower than sparring with a real person, he was currently in a buffed state.
“I’ll raise every stat and skill by at least one rank. I won’t be sleeping much for a while.”
It was grueling training .
But when it came to training, no one was more prepared than him.
* * *
Yoo Baek-jun began his training.
At first, the trainees who watched him were all left speechless.
“That weak Yoo Baek-jun is training?”
“Ha! Didn’t he run away crying last time Lord Yoo Kang-ho tried to train him?”
“I wonder how long he’ll last this time.”
Everyone couldn’t help but laugh.
Though it was his own doing, it was also because Yoo Baek-jun’s reputation within the family was that bad.
―Gentle but indecisive.
―A weakling unfit for a swordsmanship family blessed with innate martial talent. A disgrace to the family.”
Someone who must never become the family head.
Yoo Baek-jun wasn’t a bad person.
Born into a high position as a descendant of the Sword Saint family, he treated people well.
He was far from being a troublemaker.
―This is the Sword Saint family. A place ruled by the logic of strength. The weak have no place here.
The problem was that this was the Sword Saint family, a place that revered only martial prowess.
Yoo Baek-jun, who had no innate talent for martial arts, was an object of scorn.
―Look at that scrawny body. How can someone like that even practice martial arts?
―He’s the very embodiment of the family’s shame. No wonder the family head treats him like he doesn’t exist.
Even when he treated people kindly, they ridiculed him, calling him nothing but a fool who only knew how to laugh.
Whenever they saw his frail, almost sickly thin figure, they openly mocked him.
They sneered at how, despite training since childhood, he couldn’t even perform proper martial arts.
“He won’t last long like that.”
That’s what all the disciples thought.
Most instructors felt the same way, though a few saw things differently.
And so, one day passed, then two, then three. Contrary to everyone’s expectations.
“Huh? He’s still training?”
Yoo Baek-jun was still showing up at the training grounds. In fact, he arrived earlier and left later than any other trainee in the family.
“I came at 4 a.m., and he was already here.”
“4 a.m.? I left at 1 a.m. last night, and he was still here then!”
“Wait, so he didn’t sleep at all?”
Yoo Baek-jun was literally training all day.
He pushed himself to the point where his entire body was drenched in sweat, using lightness technique nonstop and relentlessly practicing the Three Disasters Fist technique and skills against magical power dummies.
“Pfft, is that even a fist technique? He’s a descendant of the Sword Saint family, yet he’s using fists instead of a sword!”
“Well, it’s not like the family head or the instructors ever taught him swordsmanship. Tsk,tsk.”
“And that’s the Three Disasters Fist Technique! A cheap skill you can buy at an auction for a few hundred thousand won…”
The Sword Saint family revered the sword.
From the grandmaster down to the disciples, everyone practiced swordsmanship, treating all other combat methods as heresy.
And here was the family’s heir, using a cheap fist technique circulating in the market instead of the family’s sword arts.
It was nothing short of outrageous.
“Tsk, tsk, resorting to such martial arts. Considering Lord Yoo Kang-ho’s swordsmanship, the outcome is obvious.”
But a few instructors saw things differently.
“That movement…”
One of them was Instructor Han Seong-ah.
She focused on Yoo Baek-jun’s movements.
Originally, she had no interest in the family’s heirs. But seeing him use a fist technique, she couldn’t help but watch.
‘His movements are unbelievably good.’
What particularly caught Han Seong-ah’s attention was the fluidity of Yoo Baek-jun’s Three Disasters Fist technique.
Though limited by the technique’s inherent flaws, his movements were oddly refined.
And his stance…
‘It doesn’t waver. He maintains a solid posture while executing each move.’
When Yoo Baek-jun moved using his Lightness Technique, it was nothing short of astonishing.
‘He can maintain Lightness Technique all day while running around? Just how much magical power does he have?’
While other instructors were blinded by prejudice and ignored Yoo Baek-jun, she was accurately observing the results he was achieving.
And with each passing day…
He was growing stronger.
Anyone could see his muscles developing and his stamina increasing day by day.
All from just three days of training!
“How is this possible?”
“Instructor Han Seong-ah, is something wrong?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
Han Seong-ah let out a thoughtful hum.
People said Yoo Baek-jun had no talent. She had thought so too.
But seeing him now, a sudden realization struck her.
‘The child of a tiger is still a tiger.’
A tiger’s offspring could never become a dog.
Perhaps Yoo Baek-jun had inherited Yoo Moo-hak’s exceptional body after all.
Even if he himself had rejected it until now.
‘But why a fist technique?’
That was the only question lingering in her mind.
After watching Yoo Baek-jun for a long while, Han Seong-ah cautiously approached him.
* * *
Yoo Baek-jun’s training wasn’t anything special.
“Huff, huff!”
He just ran around the training grounds using Lightness Technique and practiced fist techniques against magical power dummies.
The only difference between him and the other trainees was that he did it all day.
“Hah, hahk!”
And even after training all day, his form never slackened.
Yoo Baek-jun’s posture as he ran around the training grounds for hours was so perfect it drew admiration.
― Due to the effects of training beyond your limits, your Strength and Stamina stats have increased by 1.
― Due to the effects of the elixir, your Stamina and magical power stats have increased by an additional 1.
You have gained insight into Lightness Technique. Your proficiency in Lightness Technique has increased by one level.
The results were flawless.
Yoo Baek-jun relentlessly pummeled the magical power dummy using the Three Disasters Fist Technique and Heavy Strike.
― Due to the effects of training beyond your limits, your Strength, Stamina, and Agility stats have increased by 2.
―Due to the effects of the elixir, your Stamina and Agility stats have increased by an additional 1.
―Through training, you have gained insight. Your proficiency in the Three Disasters Fist Technique and Heavy Strike has increased by one level.
With the combined effects of his Heavenly Martial Body and the elixir, his stats were rising at a terrifying rate.
Of course, part of it was because his current stats were still at a low C-rank.
Once he reached B-rank, they wouldn’t rise as quickly. Still, it was plenty fast.
‘And with the quest on top of that…’
Yoo Baek-jun smiled as he looked at the quest window.
[Blood, Sweat, and Tears.]
The blood, sweat, and tears you shed today will not betray you. Repeatedly push your body through harsh training beyond its limits to temper it.
The condition is met when the ‘Training Beyond Your Limits’ message appears at least five times in a day.
―Reward: 100P, stat increase
With his stats already rising quickly, the quest was like adding wings to a tiger.
“Huuuk!”
Yoo Baek-jun stopped training and opened his status window.
[Yoo Baek-jun]
Strength: C (61/100)
Agility: C (57/100)
Stamina: C (59/100)
Magic power: B (11/100)
[Unique Ability: The Book of the Martial God (EX, 1★)]
[Trait: Heavenly Martial Body (S)]
Skills:
Herbal Medicine Preparation (B)
Lightness Technique (D, 4★)
Three Disasters Fist technique (D, 4★)
Three Disasters Mind technique (D, 3★)
Heavy Strike (D, 4★)
Elemental Manifestation (A, 1★)
He had grown considerably.
Yoo Baek-jun glanced at a mirror. Though still thin, he could see muscles beginning to form.
‘This is the third day. With about four days left… I have plenty of time.’
This wasn’t his first time grinding like this.
When it came to raising stats or skill proficiency through sheer effort, he was more confident than anyone.
Yoo Baek-jun grinned and was about to resume training when—
“…Young Master, are you all right?”
Someone spoke to him from the side.
Yoo Baek-jun turned his head.
A tall, well-trained woman with short black hair and an elegant demeanor.
It was Han Seong-ah.
‘Finally, she’s here.’
One of the reasons Yoo Baek-jun had trained in the crowded training grounds was for this moment.
The event with Han Seong-ah had begun.
