Chapter 116
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 116.
"...You’re so mean."
Peng So-young said with a flushed face.
She had changed out of her clothes, which were dirty with waste, and wiped her body once with water from a puddle.
Though she was somewhat cleaner now.
"Don’t come too close. You still stink."
"You’re really the worst!"
"Hahaha! It’s good to see you two getting along so well."
Unable to hold back, Peng So-young lunged at him, and Yoo Baek-jun dodged.
Watching this, Ma Un-yeop burst into laughter.
He, too, was wearing new clothes.
"Hmm, I’m not sure if I should accept such clothes. They seem extremely expensive."
"Just think of them as a gift and wear them."
"I feel like I’m receiving too much..."
Ma Un-yeop was so polite that it was hard to believe he was the same madman they had first met.
"By the way, miss, did you say your name was Peng So-yeong?"
"Yes, that’s right."
"If it’s the Peng family, could it be the one I know...?"
"You’re talking about the Hebei Peng Family, right? Probably so?"
Ma Un-yeop looked surprised.
"The Hebei Peng Family—I heard it was annihilated long ago. The family head and his household went missing, and the rest scattered."
"Annihilated? What annihilation? They’re perfectly alive and well. What nonsense, tch."
"Hmm. There were legends that they crossed over to another world. It seems that was true."
The Hebei Peng Family had crossed over to Earth long ago, and in the martial world, they were effectively considered defunct.
According to Ma Un-yeop, those who remained at the time tried to rebuild but failed and became corrupted.
The old Hebei Peng Family no longer existed.
"Then, the Tang Family too...?"
Ma Un-yeop nodded as if he understood.
‘The Sichuan Tang Family also crossed over to Earth.’
Unlike the Hebei Peng Family, the family head didn’t come over, just the heir and some followers did.
They established a new Sichuan Tang Family in China and have been operating in the shadows.
‘I’ll probably have to meet that woman soon...’
Yoo Baek-jun let out a groan.
There’s a rather eccentric woman. He’d prefer not to get involved with her, but to deal with Yoo Tae-rang, he’ll need her help.
‘Peng So-young will be helpful too.’
Yoo Baek-jun checked her status window.
[Peng So-young]
Strength: A
Agility: A
Stamina: A
Magic Power: B+
[Unique Ability: Physical Enhancement (A)]
[Traits: Blooming Talent (S), Sword Prodigy (A), Innate Physique (A), Magic Expansion (A), Combat Sense (B), …]
Her status had completely transformed.
By unblocking her severed and clogged diantans, her magic power had greatly increased, and her physical abilities had improved.
‘Would you look at that?’
Her stats were similar to Yoo Baek-jun’s.
This was due to the passive effect of her unique ability, Physical Enhancement. If activated, her stats would rise even further.
‘...She’s gotten a lot stronger, hasn’t she?’
Yoo Baek-jun scratched his cheek.
It was good to have another useful ally. That’s what he thought.
"Let’s get going now."
"Okay."
Yoo Baek-jun and Peng So-young stood up. They had done everything they needed to do—it was time to return.
"Take this with you."
Ma Un-yeop handed Peng So-young a loose-leaf martial manual.
A book containing a mind technique.
"You must continue practicing this mind technique even after returning to your world. Your diantan blockage isn’t completely cured yet."
"Yes, I’ll do that."
Peng So-young carefully tucked the paper away.
"Is it really okay to just tear it out like this?"
"It doesn’t matter. The important thing isn’t the content but this book itself. It’s the last thing my master left behind, so I wanted to keep it."
"I see... Thank you."
As Peng So-young bowed her head, Ma Un-yeop stopped her. Instead, he bowed his own head.
"Great Hero Yoo, as I said before, I won’t forget this kindness. If you ever return to the martial world... and if you need help, call for me."
His words were filled with sincerity.
Yoo Baek-jun nodded in response instead of answering.
—You have discovered the hidden objective of ‘Madman’s Cave.’ The gate information will be updated.
A message appeared.
[Madman’s Cave]
A cave with nothing inside. Only the corpses of beasts and a madman exist here.
You uncovered the madman’s past and decided to help him. The madman, indebted to you, will repay you someday.
—Difficulty: A-rank
—Entry Limit: 2 people
—Achievement Goal: The Madman’s Recovery
—Clear Reward: Book of the Martial Hermit
The gate’s information had changed.
When a hidden route is discovered, the information changes like this, and the rewards also differ.
And...
‘There should be one more thing, right?’
Yoo Baek-jun waited for the next message.
—Achievement: Pathfinder unlocked.
—Pathfinder: You are the first to discover and achieve a gate’s hidden objective.
—Reward: 300P.
And even an achievement reward.
If curing Peng So-young’s diantan blockage was the primary goal, these were the secondary objectives.
A new skill and points.
Whoosh!
A rift appeared before Yoo Baek-jun—the gate back to the original world.
“I pray that your future shines brightly, young master and young lady.”
"What about you? What will you do now?"
"I..."
Ma Un-yeop turned his back.
"I have vengeance to carry out."
With those words, he left.
Now that he had regained his internal energy, climbing the cliff wouldn’t be too difficult.
"Shall we go now?"
"Wait a moment."
There was one more thing to do before leaving.
‘I should learn one trait.’
Villains would be waiting outside. Min Yi-jae would hold them off, but...
Kim Mok-jun would have to be dealt with personally.
To face him—and to handle the villains yet to come—there was something absolutely necessary.
‘Poison Resistance.’
There was a suitable trait.
—Venom Blood (A)
A 1,500P trait.
It belonged to the woman who was the next family head of the Sichuan Tang Family, mentioned earlier.
[Venom Blood (A)]
—Deadly poison flows through the blood.
—A result of innate talent and acquired training.
Enhances the potency of poisons used and ensures the user does not die easily even if poisoned.
The enhanced poison potency wasn’t particularly useful—he didn’t use poison skills since they weren’t his preference.
The important part was the latter.
‘Even if poisoned, you won’t die easily.’
First, poison resistance is strengthened. Second, even if that resistance is breached, the time to resist the poison’s effects is extended.
Kim Mok-jun’s poison was strong.
This trait alone wouldn’t be enough to completely block it.
‘So I’ll buy time.’
In that time, he would kill Kim Mok-jun.
Yoo Baek-jun stepped through the gate and returned to Earth, immediately signaling Min Yi-jae.
A signal to proceed as planned.
* * *
Juggernaut and Kim Mok-jun walked through the forest.
They were tracking their target by following the clear footprints left on the ground, but...
Something felt off.
"How much time has passed?"
"...An hour has passed."
"Kim Mok-jun, tell me what you know about this terrain."
Ban-yo called out to Kim Mok-jun, who shrugged as if he didn’t know either.
"We can rule out the possibility of it changing."
"Well... Around here, there should be a cliff. If we keep walking, we’ll probably reach it."
"After walking for an hour?"
"Hmm... Probably not."
Ban-yo touched the footprints on the ground.
Since less snow fell inside the forest, the footprints faded slower.
At this rate, they shouldn’t have been walking for long.
"Puppet, what about the monsters?"
"...No response."
Ban-yo clicked his tongue as he stood up.
"...We’re lost."
"Us?"
"Yes."
He slowly looked around.
"Someone must have laid these footprints. To make us lose our way."
Ban-yo signaled Puppet with his eyes. She closed hers and began chanting a spell.
"...You’re right. It’s a barrier. So subtly deployed that I didn’t notice until now. Since I’ve cast Magic Barrier, we should be free of its effects now."
Puppet bit her lip.
"We might have been lost for more than an hour."
"No wonder my senses felt off. It must be a barrier that disrupts spatial awareness."
"But who would—?"
"That’s what we’ll find out now."
Ban-yo ordered his subordinates to stay calm and move carefully. The group advanced again.
And from that moment, the situation changed drastically.
"Argh—!"
"A trap...!"
The moment they realized they were lost, someone began attacking them.
Guild members screamed as they fell into suddenly appearing traps.
Slash!
"Guh...!"
Then, from the darkness, a blade flew out, slicing through a guild member’s neck before disappearing.
Ban-yo growled.
"They’re toying with us."
Ban-yo took a step forward.
This was actually good. Now they knew someone was targeting them—likely an assassin.
"What’s the plan?"
"Simple."
Ban-yo’s right arm began to mutate.
It swelled, twisted, and transformed into something monstrous, no longer human.
"We’ll remove every place they could hide."
Even if they didn’t know where the enemy was, they must be hiding somewhere in the forest, watching.
If they destroyed every tree here, the enemy would have nowhere left to hide.
A brute-force method, wasteful but undeniably effective.
"Graaaah!"
Ban-yo slammed his right arm into the ground.
A black shockwave spread outward, obliterating all the trees in the area.
In an instant, the surroundings became an empty field.
Then, the enemy was revealed.
"Found you."
A man in tattered robes stood up from the pile of fallen trees.
A vicious smile crept onto Ban-yo’s lips.
"An assassin is useless without a place to hide. If we hadn’t known you were here, it’d be one thing... But now that we do—"
Ban-yo’s subordinates quickly surrounded the man, forming an encirclement.
"You won’t get another chance."
Ban-yo was about to move.
But faster than that—
Stab!
The wraith’s body melted away like shadows.
"Gah—!"
"Ambush! Enemies nearby!"
A flash of light streaked through the air, and a dagger embedded itself in the throat of a guild member on guard.
The dagger spun violently, decapitating its target before striking others nearby.
"Over there!"
One guild member pointed in the direction the dagger came from, and everyone unleashed a barrage of attacks.
Whoosh!
Then, from the ground behind the pointing guild member, a black shadow surged upward.
Before Ban-yo could shout, the shadow raised both arms and crossed its daggers.
Slash!
"Urk—!"
The blades mercilessly cleaved through flesh.
Shattered body parts scattered. Juggernaut’s guild members reacted immediately, trying to surround and attack Min Yi-jae.
But that was exactly what he wanted.
"Raaaah!"
Min Yi-jae spun violently, reaching into his tattered robes as he did.
Black daggers shot out in all directions, aimed at every enemy around him.
Screams echoed.
Pant...!
Min Yi-jae stomped the ground.
His figure vanished—moving so fast it seemed like teleportation—as he charged forward, kicking guild members into the air.
Then, a flash of light—
Drip... drip...
Blood rained down like a storm.
Dismembered corpses fell, painting the pure white snow red.
A gruesome sight.
For a moment, the terrified guild members retreated.
"You... Now I recognize you."
Min Yi-jae’s figure was nowhere on the ground. He stood atop the pile of trees where he had first appeared.
"Wraith. I never thought I’d see you here."
No answer came.
He silently stared at Ban-yo, whose mind raced at the sight.
And Kim Mok-jun, watching from the sidelines, was horrified.
‘Why is he here?’
He should be in Busan.
Just hours ago, there were reports of him being at a hospital in Busan.
So why was he here?
‘Something’s wrong.’
Kim Mok-jun sensed it.