I Became The Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 6.
And for about two days.
Yoo Baek-jun visited Joo Jung-won’s Pharmacy and shared the knowledge he knew.
“Now, look. This is….”
“That’s Wolfsbane. It contains a paralyzing poison—once ingested, the victim will collapse and lose consciousness. Eventually, they’ll die of suffocation.”
“Oh, oh, that’s right.”
“But if you blanch and dry it… Hmm, is this a vitality herb? Combining this with Wolfsbane could create a medicine that restores energy.”
“Th-that’s right. You really know your stuff.”
Yoo Baek-jun answered in detail every question Joo Jung-won asked about the medicinal herbs’ effects.
Then, at some point, Joo Jung-won began testing him.
“Pick out the medicinal herbs and poisonous herbs from these.”
He made him distinguish between them.
“From these medicines, pick only what’s necessary and make a wound recovery potion.”
“Understood.”
He had him prepare medicine.
“Look at this patient’s condition and think about what medicine you’d need to combine.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
He even let him consult with an actual patient.
And the result of those tests was obvious.
“You’re … truly astonishing.”
Joo Jung-won stared at Yoo Baek-jun with wide eyes.
“Utterly flawless.”
He had the knowledge to accurately distinguish between medicinal and poisonous herbs.
Not only that, but he also knew how to process poisonous herbs to remove their toxins and turn them into medicine.
“And those combination skills….”
He knew exactly which herbs to combine to create medicine.
It meant he understood the exact effects of each herb. It was impossible not to be amazed.
“Who on earth taught you this knowledge?”
“Well.”
Who taught him that?
After failing thousands of times in the game, he had no choice but to memorize this knowledge, whether he liked it or not.
“I learnt it from books.”
“Hmm, books. Hard to believe.”
Anyway, this was a game.
It didn’t require real-life professional pharmaceutical knowledge. All he needed to know was which herbs to combine—just simple formulas.
And the effects of the herbs.
“Hmm, young master. Do you know why I tested you like this?”
“Not really.”
“I was personally testing whether you were worthy of inheriting my knowledge.”
“Inheriting your knowledge….?”
Joo Jung-won nodded.
“I initially only planned to teach you the basics. But now, I’ve changed my mind.”
“…….”
“I’ll teach you everything I’ve learned in my life. But for that, you’ll have to become my disciple. Are you okay with that?”
Joo Jung-won looked unusually eager.
It was only natural—the disciple he had been searching for was right in front of him.
Yoo Baek-jun pretended to think for a moment, making him antsy, before answering.
“It would be an honor, Master.”
“Ohh….”
* * *
While learning from Joo Jung-won , Yoo Baek-jun also began training his body.
“Ex-exercise? You, young master?”
“Yes, exercise. You can stay in the Estate.”
“No, I mean… Young master…?”
The most surprised was Choi Seung-min.
In all his time serving Yoo Baek-jun, he had never seen him willingly exercise.
But there was a reason he had to.
“Ugh, damn quests.”
It was because of the quests given by the Book of the Martial God.
[First Step to Escape Weakness.]
Your body is far too frail. Like this, even the Heavenly Martial Body would be a pearl necklace on a pig’s snout. Exercise for at least six hours today.
—Reward: 50P, Strength Increase
Yoo Baek-jun looked down at his body.
He was wearing comfortable workout clothes instead of a uniform. Surprisingly, even the smallest size was loose on him.
That’s how thin he was.
“Ugh, Baek-jun, you damn fool.”
There was a reason he had ended up like this.
Yoo Baek-jun disliked exercise, but more than that, the stress of living in this family had worn him down.
“…….”
He glanced around.
He was exercising in the outdoor training grounds, where many of the family’s trainees were
present.
They kept sneaking glances at him.
“What’s that guy doing in the training grounds?”
“Maybe he wanted to read a book outside? He’s a bookworm, after all.”
“A member of the Sword Saint’s family abandoning the sword to be a bookworm. Shouldn’t he have gone to the Magic Tower instead?”
Even though he was just exercising, these were the reactions he got. The trainees’ disdain for Yoo Baek-jun was far from ordinary.
Fortunately, no one outright picked a fight—they just whispered behind his back.
‘Yoo Baek-jun, the youngest of the Sword Saint’s family.’
As mentioned before, Yoo Baek-jun was a member of the Sword Saint’s family. The problem was that he was an outcast.
The reason?
Simple.
He had a gentle but weak personality and no talent for martial arts.
‘Not like he’s a troublemaker or anything.’
In fact, he was so kind it was a problem—the type to laugh and hand things over if someone asked.
A pushover.
“You should’ve just lived like a troublemaker instead. This is just pathetic.”
On top of his lack of talent, his personality made him prefer staying indoors reading over training with the sword.
‘If only he hadn’t been born into this kind of family…’
‘Couldn’t he have lived a normal life, just enjoying books?’
It was a thought that came up every time he saw Yoo Baek-jun’s character.
But what could he do?
He was born into the Sword Saint’s family.
―Weak and incompetent! I can’t believe a wretch like you is my son. Enough, get out of my sight.
The Sword Saint’s family was like a kingdom of beasts.
A place ruled by the law of strength, where survival of the fittest was casually spoken of.
The strong devour, the weak are devoured.
Naturally, as one of the ‘weak,’ Yoo Baek-jun was on the losing side, scorned even by his own family.
Even by his own father.
“Things will be different from now on.”
Yoo Baek-jun smirked.
He knew how to get stronger.
All he had to do was move as planned.
Before Yoo Tae-rang arrived.
“Run, just run.”
Yoo Baek-jun began running across the field using his qinggong technique.
It was a method that served two purposes: increasing both his magical power and physical stamina.
Today, I’ll complete one quest, and tomorrow, another. If I do that, I’ll have 700 points…
With that, he would be able to learn the skill he had been eyeing.
Yoo Baek-jun spent the next six hours endlessly repeating cardio and strength training.
—Quest completed!
—Reward: 50P and increased strength!
Just as his entire body was drenched in sweat and he felt like he couldn’t run anymore, the quest was completed.
Yoo Baek-jun collapsed onto the ground right where he stood.
“Huff… Huff…!”
He felt like he was about to vomit.
He opened his status window to check the results of his six-hour effort. His strength had increased by five points, stamina by seven, and agility by about six.
His Lightness technique proficiency had also risen by one level.
As expected of the Heavenly Martial Body…
The rate of his stat growth was anything but ordinary.
After catching his breath, Yoo Baek-jun prepared to start training again. But then—…
“What is that smell?”
Suddenly, the surroundings grew noisy.
A familiar voice reached his ears.
Yoo Baek-jun sighed inwardly and turned his head.
“Ah, so this is where the rotten stench was coming from. Turns out it’s the sweat of my dear little brother.”
A man stood there.
With brown-dyed hair and a frivolous demeanor, he had a robust physique.
It was Yoo Kang-ho, Yoo Baek-jun’s older brother and the third son of the family.
“Long time no see, Brother.”
“Ah, right. It has been a while. How could we meet when you’re holed up in your room all day? Isn’t that right?”
“Hahaha!”
Yoo Kang-ho was accompanied by attendants and instructors, who burst into laughter when he sought their agreement.
Well, this was expected.
Though they were brothers, Yoo Kang-ho was like an early-game villain in Yoo Baek-jun’s route.
He was the so-called black sheep of the family—wasting money recklessly and notorious for his promiscuity. Every time he stepped into society, he caused all sorts of trouble.
And he absolutely despises Yoo Baek-jun.
From the moment Yoo Baek-jun returned to the family, Yoo Kang-ho had been picking fights endlessly.
Not that it was entirely without reason.
Yoo Baek-jun once saved a female attendant whom Yoo Kang-ho was harassing.
The game only briefly mentioned it, but such an incident had occurred in the past.
Feeling humiliated, Yoo Kang-ho began tormenting Yoo Baek-jun.
“Honestly, your personality is twisted beyond repair.”
“What?”
“Nothing, Brother. I didn’t say anything.”
Yoo Kang-ho stared at Yoo Baek-jun, his lips slowly twisting into a sneer.
“Exercise, huh? Heh, what’s the point of a useless bastard like you working out? You’re just wasting your time.”
He kept provoking him.
If this were his usual self, Yoo Baek-jun wouldn’t have let such taunts slide and would have retaliated.
But not now.
Just a few more days.
It wasn’t yet time to confront Yoo Kang-ho.
He needed just a little more time.
So, for now, Yoo Baek-jun decided to let it go with a smile.
“If you ever need help, just say the word. This big brother will gladly lend a hand. Just like in the old days…”
Yoo Kang-ho left with a laugh.
Watching the attendants follow him, Yoo Baek-jun let out a small sigh.
“You’re really going to regret this later.”
It made him feel like a cheap villain, but he truly meant it.
Yoo Baek-jun got up from the ground. His body had cooled down, so he planned to head back, wash up, and rest—
[One More Set, Champ!]
Muscles grow when you push past your limits.
Don’t think you can? We believe in you!
Let’s train for just three more hours!
—Reward: 50P, stat increase
“Damn it, stop pestering me!”
He wanted to rest, but it seemed that wasn’t an option.
Gritting his teeth, Yoo Baek-jun began running across the field again.
***
While training on his own, Yoo Baek-jun visited Joo Jung-won’s Pharmacy to study.
This continued for four days.
—You have received teachings from the exceptional pharmacist Joo Jung-won. The Herbal Medicine Preparation skill has been created.
—Due to inheriting Joo Jung-won’s knowledge, the effects of the Herbal Medicine Preparation skill have been further enhanced.
The message he had been waiting for appeared.
[Herbal Medicine Preparation (B)]
—Specialized knowledge in herbal medicine preparation, allowing the combination of ingredients to create medicine.
—Medicine created with this skill is 1.5 times more effective than usual.
—Thanks to inheriting exceptional knowledge, additional effects are granted to the prepared medicine.
Yoo Baek-jun smiled in satisfaction.
There was no reason to hesitate now. Late at night, he infiltrated the family’s treasure vault.
Normally, even the family’s heirs can’t access this place, but there’s a secret passage.
He used it to sneak in.
After gathering a few rare medicinal ingredients comparable to elixirs, he quietly left.
This should be enough. Though the guard here will probably get into big trouble…
The next day, he brought the ingredients to the medicine room and laid them out in front of Joo Jung-won.
“What is this? Sunflower, Flame Spirit grass, and…is this Fire Ginseng(火蔘)?!”
Joo Jung-won was shocked at the sight of the Flame Spirit grass.
It wasn’t as aged as a thousand-year-old snow ginseng, but it was still several decades old—a rare find nonetheless.
“Where on earth did you get these? No, what do you plan to make with them?”
“I intend to create an Extreme Yang pill that maximizes Yang energy. Master, please assist me.”
“You want my help? Fine, but what do you plan to use it for?”
Yoo Baek-jun pulled something out from his pocket.
It was a thousand-year-old snow ginseng.
Joo Jung-won’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“Thousand-year-old snow ginseng!”
“I need this to digest it.”
“My goodness, I never thought I’d see this in my lifetime! So, when you said you were attacked by monsters, you were actually after this?!”
“Something like that. So, will you help me?”
Yoo Baek-jun grinned.
Though he didn’t know what Yoo Baek-jun was planning, it was clear he wouldn’t stop even if told to.
Joo Jung-won clicked his tongue. “Fine, how can I refuse when you ask like this?”
The two worked together to craft the Extreme Yang Pill.
Slowly and meticulously, they went through dozens of preparation steps, blending the Sunflower, Flame spirit grass, and Fire Ginseng into harmony.
—The Herbal Medicine Preparation skill has been activated.
—With the assistance of a master Pharmacist, the effects of the Herbal Medicine Preparation skill have been further enhanced.
—The Extreme Yang Pill has been created!
After some time, the pill was finally completed.
[Extreme Yang Pill (A)]
—A pill crafted by a master Pharmacist, containing intensely concentrated yang energy.
Unlike the thousand-year-old snow ginseng, this pill carried overwhelming yang energy.
Consuming it alongside the ginseng would allow the yin and yang energies to balance each other.
“Master, may I have a moment alone?”
“Can you handle digesting it by yourself?”
“Yes.”
“If it seems dangerous, I’ll call for help immediately. But if you’re sure…”
“Understood.”
Joo Jung-won readily agreed and left the room.
Alone, Yoo Baek-jun took out the Book of the Martial God.
Feels like breaking a piggy bank.
It was time to spend the points he had saved up.
