I Became the Successor of the Martial God Chapter 67

I Became the Successor of the Martial God

Chapter 67.

There was no way Yoo Baek-jun wouldn’t know that Han Seong-ah and Ja-yeon were thinking that way.  

After all, that was exactly what he had been aiming for.  

‘Ja-yeon, to put it nicely, enjoys nurturing talent. To put it harshly…’  

She was a talent fanatic.  

Having served Yoo Moo-hak up close for the longest time, her way of thinking was similar to his.  

The only difference was her belief that the most talented individual should rise to become the family head.  

‘Until now, she remained neutral because she believed Yoo Tae-rang was that person.’  

But now, seeing what he had shown her, her thoughts were gradually changing.  

“Considering Yoo Tae-rang will return soon, I need a Supporter to protect me.”  

He wasn’t entirely unprepared.  

He would extract clues from Shin Woo-hyun, who was currently being interrogated, and pass them to Yoo Jung-yeon.  

Then, to uncover the truth, Yoo Jung-yeon would start targeting Yoo Tae-rang.  

‘Buying time with that, while getting the Grandmaster Ja-yeon to support me, would be the best way to keep Yoo Tae-rang from acting recklessly.’  

He wasn’t sure if it would work out, but he had to try regardless.  

‘Well, that’s that. For now, I should focus on training.’  

The immediate priority was overcoming the Great Invasion.  

Yoo Baek-jun and Han Seong-ah devoted themselves to training day and night for several days.  

As a result, they achieved success.  

[Heavenly Destruction Sword Technique (B, 3★)]  

—A sword technique used by the Martial God. His descendants refined and developed it over generations.  

—It contains destructive techniques and versatile moves to adapt to various situations.  

—When combined with the unique mind technique of the Heavenly Destruction Mind Technique, it enhances the body and amplifies the power of skills.  

*Moon Cleaver: Rotate the body in a wide arc while swinging the sword, releasing a circular sword wave to cut down enemies.  

*Thunderclap Strike: Feint to deceive the enemy before bisecting them. Even if they dodge, the ensuing shockwave deals heavy damage.  

*Sword Barrier: Creates a defensive barrier around the sword, capable of blocking enemy attacks.  

*Blood Flow Acceleration: While using the sword technique, circulate magic through the body. Distributes magic to bones and muscles to strengthen the body and enhance skill power.  

The Heavenly Destruction Sword Technique.  

Not just that, but the proficiency of the Heavenly Destruction Mind Technique, previously B-rank, had also greatly improved.  

It was now close to reaching 5 stars.  

‘Well, that’s a characteristic of the Sword Saint’s family.’  

The sword techniques, mind techniques, and Footwork techniques taught by the Sword Saint’s family were all organically linked.  

Learning one could lead to breakthroughs in the others.  

‘No time left. This much is enough for now.’  

The reason he had only now learned the Heavenly Destruction Sword Technique was because of Blood Flow Acceleration.  

A skill that consumed a lot of magic but greatly enhanced physical abilities.  

With his stats still lacking, he needed such a skill to fight the demons.  

‘This Blood Flow Acceleration can be used even when executing martial arts from other Martial Gods, not just the Heavenly Destruction Sword Technique.’  

An incredibly useful skill.  

In fact, it was one of the reasons swordsmen of the Sword Saint’s family were exceptionally strong.  

The problem was its absurd magic consumption.  

‘Well, there are ways to compensate for that.’  

Yoo Baek-jun waited briefly.  

It was about time for an achievement message to appear.  

[Achievement: Successor of the Martial God Unlocked]  

—Successor of the Martial God: Learned four martial arts related to the Martial God and achieved significant progress.  

—Reward: 500P and a B-rank trait selection ticket.  

This message made him glad he had unlocked the achievement system early.  

He had also completed the ‘As befitting the Successor of the Martial God’ quest, bringing his total points to 900P.  

‘I should learn a magic-related trait.’  

Learning magic-related traits from the Book of the Martial God honestly felt like a waste of points.  

Even martial-related traits were already stretching his points thin.  

But magic was different.  

‘A trait that increases total magic and recovery rate. There’s one that stands out.’  

Just as Yoo Baek-jun was about to open the Book of the Martial God, he noticed his phone ringing.  

It was Chae Jeong-jun.  

“Hello.”  

—Long time no see, Yoo Baek-jun. I haven’t seen you lately—how have you been?

“Yeah, I’m good. What’s up?”  

—Ah, right. About the cooperation with the government or military you mentioned before—

Before leaving Seoul, Yoo Baek-jun had asked Chae Jeong-jun to seek cooperation from the government or military in preparation for the Great Invasion.  

However, he had been skeptical about its feasibility. Pressuring them could work, but…  

Honestly, it wasn’t worth the trouble.  

—I contacted the government and military, and they’ve given a tentative agreement. But they said they can’t move without concrete evidence.

“Is that so?”  

—Yes. Even Ranker-level hunters… they can be mobilized in a national crisis, but there’s no justification to summon them now.

“Then it’s fine.”  

—Huh?

Yoo Baek-jun looked up at the sky outside.  

“Soon, there will be justification.”  

The time for the sky to darken had come.  

***

There was an old folktale passed down in Halpeon.  

—If you don’t listen to your mother, the monster under the ground will come and snatch you away!

—Waaaah!

A monster lived beneath Halpeon.  

A creature that lusted for humans, deceived them, and devoured them.  

But it was just a folktale.  

No one truly believed it—it was only used to scare children.  

“How much time has passed…?”  

But the monster was real.  

The Underworld, called the Demon Realm.  

Long ago, the demons, who once ruled the world, were defeated by humans and sealed underground.  

Over time, the truth became history, history became legend, and legend became a story no one believed.  

“Now is the time… to escape this wretched underworld.”  

A world where no natural light reached, illuminated only by the artificial glow of luminescent stones.  

Valum, the commander of the 8th Legion, looked down at his troops transporting supplies.  

“The Gate is opening!”

“Prepare the supplies! Prepare for war!”

“Haaa! How long has it been since we last saw the surface?!”

Seven legions were preparing for the impending war. Their commanders as well.  

“……”  

A lone demon watched them.  

A man with four pairs of grotesque wings, ashen-gray skin, and massive horns.  

“Yes, you’re right, Valum. The time has come.”  

The oldest living demon, the commander of the seven legions of the Demon Realm—Mephisto.  

He looked upon his kin.  

“Two thousand years.”  

That was how long they had been trapped underground.  

For the first thousand, they were completely sealed, unable to even think.  

The next thousand, they slowly regained their senses and struggled to rebuild their race.  

“We were defeated… but…”  

They lost a war they should never have lost—against humans.  

As a result, they were imprisoned in the Underworld.  

The defeated had no right to speak. But being trapped for thousands of years was too cruel.  

“……”  

He saw young demons running around.  

The seal still affected them. Newborn demons grew weaker, unable to develop properly.  

For the sake of their race’s future, they had to escape this underworld and return to the surface.  

“Lord Mephisto, all the legions are nearly ready. We can depart tomorrow.”

“Good…”  

A massive demon with eight arms—Gaph, commander of the 1st Legion, reported to Mephisto.  

“Our numbers have dwindled greatly.”  

Mephisto muttered as he watched the demons preparing below.  

Gaph smiled bitterly.  

“Thirteen legions have been reduced to seven. We’ve lost many.”

“The failure of the first invasion was a grave mistake.”

“Yes…”

When Mephisto first learned of the other world and sent his legions, he had underestimated their strength.  

The result was a disastrous defeat—six entire legions annihilated.  

“We cannot afford another failure.”  

But their sacrifice was not meaningless.  

Mephisto looked at the giant jar below, glowing with a blue light.  

A vessel made from the bodies of fallen demons, containing their souls.  

“That will open the path to the other world for us once more.”  

“…Yes. This time.”  

“All the legions, all of our kind will march together. Even this very land… If we fail, there is no future anyway.”  

That jar held immense power.  

Originally, it was meant to break the seal imprisoning them underground.  

But Mephisto believed targeting the other world was more feasible and found a way to use it to create a Gate.  

“Have we made contact with Barwe on the surface?”  

“No. Communications have been cut off.”  

Barwe was the demon who had tested whether the jar could breach the seal’s cracks.  

The experiment was a success—but only possible because of his unique trait as a Dream Demon.  

‘With the power of the Dream Demon Legion, controlling the humans of the other world would have been easier…’  

He wanted to find a way to reestablish contact, but time had run out.  

“There are no second chances now.”  

Stone-carved structures deep underground—structures where his kin had been forced to live in confinement.

“We depart tomorrow. For the future of our race, this time… we must succeed.”  

Mephisto steeled his resolve.  

* * *

“Huh… Is that dust from China?”  

The sky was pitch black.  

So dark that even in broad daylight, the surroundings were as dim as night.  

This phenomenon wasn’t happening anywhere else—only in Seoul.  

“No way.”  

Yoo Baek-jun clicked his tongue as he looked up at the sky.  

He was currently in Seoul.  

The blackened sky was proof that the Great Invasion was imminent.  

‘Those bastards… No doubt they’re spouting nonsense about doing it for their kin or whatever.’  

But in Yoo Baek-jun’s opinion, their imprisonment underground was… their own fault.  

The demons were the ones who broke coexistence and attacked humans first.  

Bzzzt!  

His phone rang.  

It was Chae Jeong-jun.  

—Yoo Baek-jun! Are you almost here?

“Yeah. What about you?”  

—I’m inside the building. It’s just—

Chae Jung-joon hesitated.  

—I’m sorry. I spoke confidently earlier, but the permits for magical weapons and evacuation orders…

“It’s fine. Let’s talk inside.”  

Yoo Baek-jun looked at the building ahead.  

The Hunter Association’s headquarters.  

The reason he came here was simple.  

The permits for magical weapons and evacuation orders that Chae Jeong-jun had promised were now void.  

Thanks to whom?  

‘The Association Chairman.’  

Like any organization, the Hunter Association wasn’t entirely clean.  

To be precise, the lower and middle ranks were decent, but the upper echelons were rotten.  

‘In the Han Chang-woo route, one of the early objectives was purging the Association’s corrupt leadership. Well…’  

Honestly, he had expected both permits to fall through.  

He could have pushed it through using the Sword Saint family’s influence, but he deliberately chose not to.  

“Maybe I should take this opportunity to clean things up.”

This was a perfect opportunity to crush the Association’s corrupt higher-ups, though he didn’t strictly need to.  

Yoo Baek-jun intended to use this as an opportunity.  

“Young Master, I’ll accompany you.”

“Mm.”  

Han Seong-ah and several other swordsmen joined him.  

Yoo Baek-jun headed toward the Association with them.