I Became the Successor of the Martial God Chapter 143

I Became the Successor of the Martial God

Chapter 143.  

The current Yoo Baek-jun is a talent monster.  

It’s not self-praise—it’s because he possesses the Heavenly Martial Body.  

One of the effects of the Heavenly Martial Body.  

[Heavenly Martial Body (S)]  

―A divine talent for martial arts bestowed by the heavens, and a body optimized for it.  

―Can quickly comprehend and learn any martial art and rapidly grow the body.  

―Also enhances the power of skills used.  

There’s a line that says he can quickly comprehend and learn any martial art.  

In reality, Yoo Baek-jun has used this to great effect so far.  

And of course, this time was no exception.  

“You…!”  

He was making good use of it.  

A muscular swordsman was glaring at Yoo Baek-jun. With eyes wide in shock and disbelief.  

Well, it couldn’t be helped.  

“Are you copying my swordsmanship?”  

Because Yoo Baek-jun was mimicking the swordsman.  

He observed every detail—the swordsman’s form, movements, everything—and practiced until it became his own.  

And he did it in actual combat.  

“Fight properly! This kind of fight…!”  

“I give up the trial.”  

“You bastard!”  

The swordsman seemed to want a fair and honorable fight, but that wasn’t Yoo Baek-jun’s concern.  

Right now, there was only one thought in Yoo Baek-jun’s mind:  

‘I need to raise the proficiency of the Heavenly Destruction Sword Technique .’  

There are techniques that can only be learned once proficiency reaches a certain level.  

In other words, to master the sub-skills of the Heavenly Destruction Sword Technique, he planned to at least reach an A-rank here before leaving.  

‘Luckily, I have a good training dummy.’  

Yoo Baek-jun smirked as he looked at the swordsman.  

“Don’t laugh, you damn bastard!”  

“Ah, don’t be so cold. Come on, as a senior, you can do this much for a junior, right?”  

“Don’t talk nonsense!”  

The swordsman roared and charged.  

The taunt worked perfectly. Yoo Baek-jun continued to observe and study his swordsmanship.  

‘This is why the Heavenly Martial Body is broken.’  

Being able to copy someone’s martial arts just by watching them—how is that even fair?  

But the Heavenly Martial Body made it possible.  

‘It’s the biggest reason why I took all those risks to obtain the Book of the Martial God in the first place.’  

―The proficiency of the Heavenly Destruction Sword Technique has increased.  

‘Hmm, this should be enough…’  

He’s raised it sufficiently.  

After forfeiting the test, Yoo Baek-jun fell into thought for a moment. Should he grind more here?  

‘No, if I keep going, the swordsman will become too strong to handle.’  

This is the perfect stopping point.  

Besides, there’s a good training dummy waiting on the 4th floor, where he can grind to his heart’s content.  

“Fight seriously, successor!”  

“Oh? Can I fight seriously now?”  

The expression of the enraged swordsman changed.  

He could feel the aura of the man in front of him, who was always smirking, shift.  

Yoo Baek-jun gripped his sword.  

“I was just about to do that.”  

* * *  

“This… this is absurd.”  

The swordsman let out a hollow laugh. Yoo Baek-jun watched as he slowly faded away.  

“To grow this much in such a short time, you…”  

It seemed he wanted to say something more, but the swordsman disappeared before he could finish.  

Yoo Baek-jun sheathed his sword.  

“Hmm, I’ve built up quite a bit of proficiency in the Heavenly Destruction Sword Technique.”  

He checked his Status window.  

Heavy Strike, Ground Kick, Joint Strike, Gale Kick, along with Berserker and Heavenly Destruction Sword Technique.  

Compared to when he first arrived, his proficiency had increased significantly. Almost all of them were close to A-rank.  

‘It’s like I’ve been grinding for over a month.’  

It’s not strange for them to have risen this much.  

In fact, it’s almost strange they haven’t risen more, considering the effects of the Heavenly Martial Body.  

It goes to show how much time is needed to raise skill proficiency.  

‘Has it been about 3 or 4 months since I entered this world?’  

Yoo Baek-jun sighed as he climbed the stairs. 

Since he hadn’t been in Heroes Road for long, he didn’t have much time to build proficiency in the first place.  

“What? It’s only been 3 or 4 months?”  

Subjectively, it feels like over a year has passed.  

That’s how busy he’s been, without a moment’s rest.  

Yoo Baek-jun felt strangely depressed.  

“Sigh.”  

And finally, the 4th floor.  

Here, too, a test opponent was waiting.  

‘Good, nothing’s changed.’  

A giant statue.  

No, a man who looked like one stood there.  

A warrior clad in incredibly thick armor, carrying a massive shield.  

―This floor will test how the successor deals with someone with extreme defensive capabilities.  

―Defeat that warrior.  

―Only then will the gate open.  

His appearance matched the test perfectly. The only visible skin on the fully armored warrior was his face.  

“I am the shield that protects my allies!”  

The warrior laughed heartily and slammed his shield into the ground. 

The shield was so heavy that the impact made the ground shake.  

“If you wish to ascend, you must break through me! But do you think you can?”  

He was a man overflowing with confidence.  

In truth, his defensive prowess made him a difficult opponent to defeat.  

Under normal circumstances, he’d be a tough foe.  

But,  

‘High defense means he can endure attacks for a long time. In other words…’  

He’s the perfect training dummy.  

Yoo Baek-jun smirked.  

“Let me hit you a bit first.”  

“What?”  

The warrior seemed taken aback by the unexpected reply.  

Yoo Baek-jun clenched his fist without another word.  

And the battle began.  

* * *  

It wasn’t even a battle, really.  

“Ha! Pathetic! Attacks like these won’t work!”  

Yoo Baek-jun used the warrior purely as a training dummy to raise his skill proficiency.  

“Hmm! Not bad! But still not enough!”  

Thanks to his high defense, the warrior could endure skills for a long time, and Yoo Baek-jun began breaking his armor while using all sorts of skills.  

“T-this…!”  

How long had he been pounding the armor?  

Finally, the armor shattered under the blade of his Iron-Cutting Fist.  

The warrior’s eyes widened in shock.  

“I never thought anyone could break my armor! As expected of someone who made it this far…!”  

“Pick up your shield.”  

“What?”  

Yoo Baek-jun provocatively wiggled his fingers before immediately drawing a spear from subspace.  

And then—Nine Dragon Fang.  

The warrior hurriedly raised his shield.  

“You still have your shield left.”  

“W-what the hell!”  

“Pick it up, damn it! Or I’ll break your teeth!”  

“Ugh!”  

Yoo Baek-jun mercilessly continued his assault.  

Finally, even the shield broke, and the warrior, having lost everything, slumped to the ground in despair.  

“To think… my proud shield could be shattered so easily.”  

The warrior let out a hollow laugh.  

“You’re strong. You pass. Go ahead…”  

“I’ll forfeit the test.”  

“What?”  

He’d lost count of how many times he’d heard that.  

The warrior stared at Yoo Baek-jun in disbelief, and soon, the floor reset.  

Even the armor he’d been wearing was restored.  

“W-what are you doing? The match is over! As the winner, you should ascend…!”  

“What are you talking about? My grinding isn’t done yet.”  

“G-grinding?”  

“Yeah, you bastard.”  

Yoo Baek-jun raised his sword.  

“I’m not leaving until I hit A-rank today.”  

“What the hell are you saying?!”  

“You’re going to get beaten to death!”  

A one-sided beating ensued.  

Break the armor and shield, forfeit the test, and when the warrior desperately attacked, he’d dodge using Lightness technique, tauntingly evading every strike.  

“Uwaaah!”  

This process repeated for days.  

The warrior, worn down by the endless pain, was half out of his mind. 

How could he stay sane when the same cycle kept repeating?  

But Yoo Baek-jun was perfectly fine.  

No, he was actually in a great mood.  

―Lightness Technique proficiency has increased.  

―Nine Dragon Fang proficiency has increased.  

―Heavenly Destruction Sword Technique…  

His proficiency was rising.  

Continuously.  

‘With this, I won’t have to worry about proficiency for a while and can focus on clearing events!’  

It felt like a weight had been lifted from his mind. On the other hand, the warrior who had to face him was probably feeling the exact opposite.  

Anyway,  

“Ugh… s-stop, please…”  

The warrior, completely broken, fell to his knees.  

Yoo Baek-jun checked his Status window.  

Most of his skills had reached A-rank.  

He could grind more here, but the warrior’s defense had also improved, and raising proficiency beyond A-rank was too much effort.  

‘The efficiency drops a bit.’  

Yoo Baek-jun nodded.  

“Yeah, this is enough.”  

“Uuuugh…”  

He raised his sword high.  

“You worked hard, senior.”  

Swoosh!  

And that was the end.  

Yoo Baek-jun bowed his head, clasping his hands together as the warrior’s figure faded away.  

“Kinda feel bad, honestly.”  

The swordsman on the 3rd floor was relatively fine, but the 4th-floor warrior had completely lost his mind, so he felt a bit guilty.  

Though it’s not surprising, considering he’d been nothing but a punching bag, unlike the swordsman.  

“Now, the final floor?”  

Yoo Baek-jun looked at the stairs leading to the 5th floor.  

A sort of boss battle awaited him there. Unfortunately, grinding wasn’t an option.  

‘If I try to grind there, I might die.’  

The whole point of grinding is to survive—dying in the process would be nonsense.  

Yoo Baek-jun climbed the stairs.  

Unlike the previous floors, the stairs to the 5th floor were long and different in appearance.  

“……”  

When he reached the 5th floor.  

A vast, empty floor greeted him.  

Unlike the lower floors, the overall color scheme was closer to pale gold, adorned with peculiar decorations.  

Yoo Baek-jun cautiously stepped forward.  

Rumble—!  

Suddenly, the sound of thunder echoed from somewhere.  

The moment Yoo Baek-jun looked up—  

A blinding yellow lightning filled his vision.  

Instinctively, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again—  

“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a visitor.”  

A familiar figure stood before him.  

A man who looked at least 2 meters tall, with a build like a bodybuilder—massive and sturdy.  

His face was hidden behind a demonic mask, and he held a long spear in his hand.  

Yes, someone all too familiar.  

“Nacheol.”  

The warrior before him was Nacheol, the guardian he’d met in the Martial God’s trial grounds.  

Of course, there were differences.  

Back then, he’d been a stone statue—now, he stood in his original, living form.  

In other words—  

‘He’s in peak condition, huh.’  

He’s stronger now than he was back then.  

Yoo Baek-jun stared at Nacheol as the latter slowly removed his mask.  

“Welcome, successor.”  

Beneath the mask was the face of a middle-aged man.  

Nothing particularly remarkable—except for the countless scars covering his entire face.  

―This floor will test the power the successor possesses. Use everything at your disposal.  

―Defeat that warrior.  

―Only then will the gate open.  

A voice whispered in his ear.  

As soon as it faded, Nacheol raised his hand toward the ceiling. 

A spear wreathed in thunder and lightning materialized.  

A Thunder Spear.  

“No need for words. Use everything you have to defeat me.”  

Nacheol’s spear pointed at Yoo Baek-jun.  

“I will test whether you are worthy.”  

A brief silence fell.  

Just as Nacheol was about to urge Yoo Baek-jun into action—he moved.  

Crackle—!  

Yoo Baek-jun drew a spear from subspace. 

A Thunder Spear, just like Nacheol’s, crackling with lightning.  

Nacheol’s eyes, which had been expressionless, widened.