I Became the Successor of the Martial God Chapter 114

I Became the Successor of the Martial God

Chapter 114.  

This cave is like a maze.  

The madman knows the way, so he’s fine, but those who come here for the first time are bound to get lost.  

Of course.  

‘Not my problem, though.’  

It is a maze, but there are intersections.  

If he places someone at one of those intersections and lure the madman there, that should be enough.  

“So, you stay here.”  

“M-me?”  

Peng So-young looked slightly frightened.  

The cave was pitch black, with not a single source of light. Moreover, how often would she have encountered a madman like the one earlier in her life?  

“Seol-yeong, stay with her for a bit.”  

—Uuung……  

Seol-yeong shook its head, refusing.  

“Then she’ll treat you to a full-course Hanwoo beef meal. All-you-can-eat buffet style. Until you’re sick of it.”  

—Ukyang?!  

Seol-yeong’s eyes sparkled at those words. 

Meanwhile, Peng So-young looked utterly bewildered.  

Yoo Baek-jun gave her a look.  

“…That’s right, I’ll treat you until you’re sick of it. Want some wagyu beef too?”  

“Wagyu? In this situation?”

Seol-yeong grinned and climbed onto Peng So-young’s shoulder. 

Its appetite-driven expression was truly a sight to behold.  

Yoo Baek-jun sighed and turned away.  

“Stay here, and the madman from earlier will come. Just work together to capture him. Easy, right?”  

“I’ll… do my best.”  

“That’s the spirit.”  

Her fragile demeanor was a bit unsettling, but nothing major would go wrong anyway.  

Yoo Baek-jun left immediately.  

‘He couldn’t have gone far.’  

The madman had completely lost his internal energy.  

Moreover, after being trapped here for so long, his muscles had atrophied, so there was no way he could move quickly.  

Yoo Baek-jun activated his Lightness technique.  

‘I can just follow the smell.’  

A foul, indescribable stench emanated from the madman. 

Right now, that was a huge help.  

Yoo Baek-jun tracked the stench and soon found traces of the madman.  

Tadak!  

‘Footsteps.’  

He immediately dashed toward the sound.  

There, he saw the madman.  

“Grrruuuh……!”  

He was scrambling away in a frantic, unsightly manner, looking utterly desperate.  

Yoo Baek-jun leaped forward using his swift steps.  

“Kaaahk!”  

Just as the distance between Yoo Baek-jun and the madman was about to close, the madman suddenly threw himself sideways.  

There was a narrow crevice in the wall, just wide enough for a person to squeeze through, and he forced his way in.  

“Tsk.”  

Of course, the gap was too narrow for Yoo Baek-jun. Maybe in the past, but not now.  

Yoo Baek-jun visualized the maze’s structure in his mind and headed toward the exit connected to this crevice.  

“Hwaaak!”  

Just in time, he encountered the madman emerging from the crevice.  

The madman fled again. Yoo Baek-jun chased. This tedious process repeated several times.  

And finally—  

“Uh, uhh! He’s here!”  

—Khuahm!  

They succeeded in luring the madman to the intersection.  

Peng So-young, who had been waiting, jumped in surprise.  

“Grrrr……!”  

“W-waaah!”  

Peng So-young gripped her sword.  

The madman, who had been running, bared his teeth like a beast and drew a sword from his waist.  

A rusted, chipped blade.  

“Don’t try to fight him! Just block his path!”  

“Ugh, uhh!”  

Peng So-young and the madman clashed.  

The madman swung his sword wildly—no technique, just like swinging a club.  

Peng So-young tried to block with her sword held flat.  

“Ugh……!”  

At that moment.  

The sword, which had been swinging downward, suddenly traced an uncanny trajectory and changed its path.  

Instead of clashing with her sword, it aimed for her neck.  

“Seol-yeong!”  

—Wungk!  

But this was already anticipated.  

Seol-yeong, nestled in her arm, suddenly leaped out and struck the sword with its front paw.  

The sword was knocked upward with a loud clang.  

“Gahk!”  

The madman’s body froze momentarily.  

But only for a moment—he tried to flee, ignoring the stunned Peng So-young.  

No way they’d let that happen.  

“Where do you think you’re going?!”  

Yoo Baek-jun, using Swift steps, appeared in front of the madman. 

This time, he wouldn’t escape.  

The madman seemed to realize it too.  

“Hwaaak!”  

With a scream, he slashed his sword.  

A technique unfolded from his fingertips—the sword, which had been thrust straight, suddenly changed direction in an instant.  

Just as Yoo Baek-jun raised his hand, infused with aura, to block the sword—  

Clang!  

The sword’s path shifted again.  

Yoo Baek-jun barely managed to deflect the blade that had come dangerously close to his throat.  

‘As expected, his skill is still intact.’  

That was the swordsmanship of Ma Un-yeop.  

He had learned martial arts from an old hermit living in the mountains, and it was highly unique.  

Each technique was wildly unpredictable—the sword’s path changed constantly, making it hard to anticipate attacks.  

But that was in the past.  

‘What do you think you’re doing without any internal energy?!’  

Yoo Baek-jun released a chilling aura.  

The frigid energy enveloping the surroundings empowered him while slowing the madman’s movements.  

“Hruuuuh……!”  

And then—Blood Flow Acceleration.  

Yoo Baek-jun, having maximized his physical speed, rushed at the madman. 

He predicted the ever-changing sword techniques, twisting his body to evade.  

Pwaak!  

His fist struck the back of the madman’s neck.  

A crisp impact echoed, and the madman’s body stiffened. Moments later—  

“Guhhh……”  

The madman collapsed.  

Yoo Baek-jun let out a long exhale.  

“What a pain in the ass.”  

If only he had just surrendered quietly.  

* * *  

It was all just a legend, really.  

They said that, long ago in Murim, the leader of the Martial Art Alliance and the Heavenly Demon once fought one-on-one.

The two battled nonstop for a week, and the aftermath of their clash reshaped the martial world’s terrain.  

‘This cliff is one of them.’  

What was it again?  

The Martial Art Alliance Leader and the Heavenly Demon clashed their weapons, and the ground split with a boom!, and the earth split open with a crack!

That’s how this cliff was formed.  

It was so deep and dangerous that no one could come here—yet Ma Un-yeop had fallen into it.  

‘This cave, too—apparently, it formed naturally from the shockwaves of their battle.’  

Did those two from the past ever imagine?  

That an innocent martial artist would fall into the cliff and cave they created.  

Yoo Baek-jun looked down at the martial artist.  

“It’s about time you woke up.”  

He hadn’t hit him that hard, and he’d even given him medicine to wake up quickly.  

Yoo Baek-jun tapped his foot impatiently.  

“But why are you standing so far away?”  

“Huh? Uh……”  

—Grrruuuuh……  

Peng So-young and Seol-yeong kept their distance from Yoo Baek-jun. Why, though?  

Actually, there was no need to think about it.  

It was because of the madman’s stench.  

‘It does smell a bit.’  

Enough to worry about the odor clinging to his clothes.  

Yoo Baek-jun patiently waited for the madman to wake up. And just as his patience was about to run out—  

Flick!  

The madman’s eyes snapped open, darting around.  

His gaze met Yoo Baek-jun’s. Then, baring his teeth, he began to struggle violently.  

“Kaaaahk!”  

But it seemed he hadn’t regained his senses yet.  

Yoo Baek-jun pinned down the flailing madman, pondering how to make him come to his senses.  

—Uk!  

Just then, Seol-yeong approached.  

It stood in front of the madman’s head and—  

Kwang!  

“Guhk!”  

Slammed its front paw down on his head.  

Thud, thud. 

At a glance, its soft, marshmallow-like paws delivering punches looked adorable.  

But the force behind them was anything but adorable.  

“Ugh, guhk! Kuhuk! Hruuuuh……!”  

Seol-yeong kept smacking the madman’s head as he struggled. 

Surprisingly, a glimmer of awareness slowly returned to his eyes.  

“Kuh! What the… guhk!”  

“Hey, hey. He’s awake now. Stop.”  

—Meow.  

Seol-yeong grinned and climbed onto Yoo Baek-jun’s shoulder, seemingly in a better mood.  

Yoo Baek-jun faced the madman.  

“Hey, Mr. Ma Un-yeop. Are you with us now?”  

“You… who are you?”  

Ma Un-yeop’s voice trembled.  

He seemed fully conscious now.  

“We’re the people you call ‘Outlanders.’ You know what that means, right?”  

“Those who crossed over from another world……”  

Just as Halpeon referred to Hunters as travelers from another world, the martial world called them Outlanders.  

“Ha, haha. You never show up when you’re needed, and now you appear?”  

“How long have you been trapped here?”  

“I don’t know. Years… maybe decades, hehe.”  

Ma Un-yeop muttered despairingly.  

Probably around ten years.  

He was in his twenties when he fell here, so he should be in his thirties now.  

“Why did you come here?”  

“They told me to kill you.”  

“Good. I couldn’t bring myself to end this wretched life, but now I have no regrets.”  

Ma Un-yeop held out his sword to Yoo Baek-jun—specifically, the hilt.  

“If it’s someone else’s hand, I can accept it. Cut my throat with this sword. Then you can return to where you came from.”  

“Don’t you want to live?”  

“Want to live……?”  

At Yoo Baek-jun’s question, Ma Un-yeop let out a self-deprecating laugh and tore off the rags he was wearing.  

His body was revealed.  

“Look at me. My diantan is blocked, my meridians are severed. As a martial artist, I’m useless.”  

A body covered in scars.  

A massive scar marred his dantian area.  

His skin was deathly pale, and the bulging veins looked grotesque.  

“There’s no point in living. I have regrets, but no way to fulfill them.”  

Ma Un-yeop raised his head.  

“Do it!”  

He seemed to want Yoo Baek-jun to behead him in one stroke.  

Of course, Yoo Baek-jun had no such intention.  

“Isn’t there a way to heal your body?”  

“There is. After being here so long… I’ve gained a profound realization. But, but!”  

Ma Un-yeop spat out his frustration.  

“What does it matter if I know the method?! I have no means to achieve it! If I can’t make it happen, it’s nothing but a delusion……!”  

His eyes were filled with despair.  

This cliff was terrifyingly deep, narrow, and steep—almost vertical.  

Without internal energy, escape was impossible.  

And after being trapped alone in this cave for so long, drowning in such negative thoughts—  

It’d be stranger if he hadn’t gone mad.  

But to Yoo Baek-jun, this was good news.  

“So you’ve found a way.”  

Everything was going according to plan.  

Yoo Baek-jun knelt on one knee and met Ma Un-yeop’s gaze.  

“What if… I could provide you the means to achieve that method?”  

“What?”  

Ma Un-yeop’s eyes widened. But only for a moment—a bitter smile soon twisted his lips.  

“Are you mocking me? I’ve despaired enough. Stop playing games and just—”  

Just as he was about to say ‘kill me’—  

Yoo Baek-jun reached into the air. He opened a Subspace, and a large pouch dropped into his hand.  

He opened the pouch.  

“Look. It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”  

Inside were Elixirs.  

The ones Peng So-young had brought, refined by Yoo Baek-jun. Seeing them, a light returned to Ma Un-yeop’s eyes.  

He reached out instinctively, but Yoo Baek-jun pulled the pouch back first.  

“I’ll give you these Elixirs. Aren’t these the means you’ve been longing for?”  

“……!”  

Ma Un-yeop swallowed hard.  

He had given up on everything, wishing only for death—yet suddenly, a path forward seemed to open.  

But nothing came for free.  

“Wh-what do you want from me?”  

Ma Un-yeop realized the man before him wanted something in return.  

Yoo Baek-jun smiled faintly.  

‘Hooked.’  

The fish had taken the bait.