Chapter 326
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 326
The swords clashed.
In a deserted village, two swordsmen exchanged blows without a moment to breathe.
A speed impossible to follow with the naked eye.
Their movements made it clear that both had reached the level of masters.
—Clang! Clash!
The swordplay between the two seemed endless.
But everything must come to an end.
As their swords crossed, a momentary flash of light erupted, and when it faded—
"You damn… bastard…"
Yoo Baek-jun fell to his knees.
A deep wound had opened on his neck, stealing his life.
And just like that, Yoo Baek-jun died.
Again. For what felt like the umpteenth time.
‘It’s quiet.’
Yoo Baek-jun was dead, his eyes closed.
Then, the world of nothingness welcomed him. A world of silence where nothing could be felt or heard.
It wasn’t bad. This stillness was perfect for organizing his thoughts.
‘Can I even win this?’
His mind grew distant.
How many times had he fought? How many times had he lost?
And how many times had he died?
‘I don’t know.’
He had died too many times.
At first, he had kept count, but the number grew too large, and he gave up.
He had fought and lost to that Martial God so many times that he even forgot the passage of time.
‘An enemy that grows stronger…’
‘I’m not an idiot either.’
Amid countless battles, defeats, and deaths, he had memorized everything about his opponent.
Habits in combat, the number of techniques at his disposal, movement patterns—all of it.
The problem was—
‘That damn bastard learns every technique I use.’
The Heavenly Destruction Fist Technique Yoo Baek-jun had used? The Martial God picked it up on the spot and wielded it effortlessly.
Not to mention, any other technique Yoo Baek-jun employed, the Martial God would steal after seeing it just once.
What was even more astonishing was how he refined those stolen techniques.
‘He even develops them into entirely new techniques.’
As the battles with the Martial God repeated, Yoo Baek-jun was clearly growing stronger.
But so was the Martial God. No—it felt like the Martial God was growing even faster than he was.
‘Is this an opponent I can defeat?’
An enemy that never stagnates, only grows.
And whose growth rate surpasses his own.
Could he ever win against such a foe?
‘Intent…’
Yoo Baek-jun shifted his thoughts.
It was something he had considered when stuck in games for too long.
‘There must be a purpose behind this.’
He needed to understand that intent.
If the goal was simply to impart fragmented memories, there were far easier methods.
Yet, the Martial God had chosen not to take those paths, opting instead for this grueling trial.
‘At such a crucial moment, he wouldn’t make me do something meaningless.’
There must be something the Martial God wanted to teach him through this ordeal.
Something he wanted Yoo Baek-jun to realize.
‘The enemy is the Lord of Rifts. But…’
The bastard was sealed within the Martial God’s body.
Not only that, he wielded martial arts like the Heavenly Destruction Sword Technique with terrifying mastery.
His skill had reached a level far beyond Yoo Baek-jun’s.
‘He must have assimilated the memories and knowledge left in the body.’
Otherwise, it made no sense.
The problem was that the sealed body of the Martial God was no ordinary vessel.
Aside from the martial arts the Lord of Rifts created himself, the body contained countless unique techniques from various worlds.
‘We have to assume he can use every martial art the Martial God ever wielded in life.’
The Lord of Rifts would wield the Martial God’s techniques, and even if he encountered an unfamiliar one, he would learn it instantly.
Just like the young Martial God was doing now.
‘A method… there must be a way…’
If he couldn’t counter that, there was no path to victory against the Lord of Rifts.
Just as he was losing to the Martial God now, he would be crushed by the Lord of Rifts.
"……"
The silence broke.
Yoo Baek-jun opened his eyes.
"Finally awake?"
The young Martial God looked down at him with a confident smirk.
Yoo Baek-jun let out a sigh.
"How many times have I lost now?"
"Too many to count. Hmm, I lost track myself… but even then, it is well over a hundred."
"That’s a ridiculous number of losses."
Yoo Baek-jun exhaled deeply.
If that was the count midway, by now, it must have been hundreds.
In all that time, he hadn’t won even once—not a single victory against this man.
"It’s been a while since I’ve felt this powerless. I can’t even begin to imagine a way to defeat you."
"So, do you want to give up?"
"Not a chance."
Yoo Baek-jun shook his head.
Failing, not finding an answer—none of that made him consider quitting.
If he were that kind of person, he wouldn’t have cleared the Heroes Road in the first place.
"This is just cheating."
Even among his struggles, this defeat felt uniquely insurmountable.
Yoo Baek-jun muttered under his breath, and the Martial God tilted his head in confusion.
"What do you mean by cheating?"
"What you’re doing right now. Learning anything at a glance, then refining it into new techniques…"
"Can’t you do the same?"
The Martial God seemed genuinely puzzled. Not just at Yoo Baek-jun’s words—
But that it was Yoo Baek-jun, of all people, saying them.
"…I can learn others’ techniques, but creating new ones? That’s beyond me."
"Do you truly believe that?"
The Martial God sighed.
"Oh, descendant of the distant future. You know nothing."
"Know nothing? What do you mean?"
"The talent flowing in your blood."
The tip of the sword pressed against Yoo Baek-jun’s chest.
The blade shallowly pierced his flesh, and blood trickled from the wound.
The Martial God watched the blood drip from the blade.
"The divine gift for martial arts bestowed upon you by the heavens."
"Bestowed by the heavens…?"
The Martial God clicked his tongue.
"You are strong. But all your strength comes from the martial arts and techniques of others."
Every skill Yoo Baek-jun possessed—
Whether learned through the Book of the Martial God or by other means—
They were all created by others. He had merely learned them.
"You have nothing that is purely your own—no strength that belongs solely to you."
"That’s…"
"It’s not wrong to learn from others, to draw inspiration from them. But you’ve stopped there, never thinking to go beyond."
Yoo Baek-jun was momentarily speechless.
"Use what you’ve learned to forge your own strength."
Their eyes met.
A suffocating silence lingered. Yoo Baek-jun was the first to look away.
"Impossible."
"Impossible? Why? Those with far less talent than you create martial arts, develop their own techniques. So why can’t you?"
"……"
The Martial God slowly sheathed his sword.
The wound on Yoo Baek-jun’s chest healed instantly.
He turned his back and began walking away.
"Despite possessing talent greater than anyone, you’ve set limits on yourself faster than anyone else."
"Set limits on myself…"
The Martial God walked leisurely into the distance without looking back.
"Yoo Baek-jun, you must first discard your fixed perceptions."
“Otherwise, you’ll never find the clue to defeat me.”
Yoo Baek-jun blankly stared at the Martial God’s retreating figure until it disappeared entirely.
‘Is he giving me time?’
Yoo Baek-jun sat up.
The conversation he’d just had with the Martial God replayed in his mind.
‘All my strength comes from others.’
He had created nothing himself.
Everything was borrowed, learned from someone else.
"Is he telling me to create my own skill?"
It sounded impossible.
Heroes Road was a game with near-realistic freedom.
But creating a skill entirely from nothing? That wasn’t possible.
Not because of system limitations—it just hadn’t occurred to him to try.
‘Because it’s a game.’
There was no need to create skills when he could just learn the ones already in the game.
Most games worked that way.
So, without a second thought, he had only ever learned skills.
But—
‘This place… is reality.’
Unlike Heroes Road, which was a simulator, this world was real.
Unlike a game bound by system constraints, where creating something entirely new was difficult—
Here, in reality, it was possible.
‘With the Heavenly Martial Body, it’s possible.’
A divine gift for martial arts, a body optimized for it.
Yoo Baek-jun’s body housed a talent praised as god-given.
"Though, strictly speaking, even this was given to me."
Yoo Baek-jun smiled wryly.
He had gained this talent while searching for the Book of the Martial God, so in a way, even this was a gift from the Martial God.
Regardless, with such talent—
Like the Martial God, who had created countless martial arts, he too could forge his own techniques.
‘What I need most right now…’
Yoo Baek-jun pondered what he lacked most at this moment.
‘I have countless skills.’
Through the Book of the Martial God and various events, he had learned an overwhelming number of techniques.
More than he could ever use alone.
‘The problem is, there are too many, and I can’t harmonize them.’
To be blunt, he had learned many skills but only ever used a select few.
It had always bothered him.
‘A means to harmonize all the diverse skills I possess.’
Yoo Baek-jun looked at his hands.
‘If only I had more hands.’
Hands that could wield weapons, moving freely as he willed.
"Can I create that?"
He wasn’t confident.
This was his first attempt, something he had never even considered before.
Not knowing where to start, he felt overwhelmed.
—Flutter, flutter.
Suddenly, a faint sound reached him.
Yoo Baek-jun, lost in thought, looked up. The Book of the Martial God was fluttering before him.
"What, you want me to learn another skill?"
What he needed now wasn’t a skill he could learn from the Book.
He tried to ignore it, but suddenly, the Book unfurled on its own.
"This is…"
At first, it was just blank white paper.
But then, brushstroke illustrations began to appear. The image depicted none other than the Martial God.
Just like the young Martial God he had seen earlier.
"Looks like he’s pondering something."
In the illustration, the Martial God seemed deep in thought. It wasn’t clear what about.
As time passed, the image gradually changed, and only then did Yoo Baek-jun realize what he was doing.
"…He’s creating a martial art."
The Martial God was crafting his own martial art.
The Heavenly Destruction Sword Technique and various other sword techniques. At first, they were crude, but through trial and error, they improved.
"……"
The illustrations continued to shift, showing the Martial God’s process of developing his own martial arts.
Then, the book closed.
After displaying the images for a while, it fluttered away again.
"You don’t have to be perfect from the start."
Yoo Baek-jun fell into thought, reflecting on what the Book had shown him.
First, he had to try. Through countless trials and errors, something would take shape.
Just as the Martial God in the illustrations had done.
"…That’s my specialty."
Yoo Baek-jun closed his eyes.
In his mind, he envisioned the technique he wanted to create and began devising a way to make it real.
"Hmm."
The Martial God, who had vanished beyond the village, reappeared like a ghost.
A satisfied smile played on his lips as he watched Yoo Baek-jun.
A smile of approval.
"All you did before was charge in like an angry boar. But now, you’ve finally realized something."
Watching Yoo Baek-jun, who had finished his contemplation and was now preparing to act—
The Martial God murmured to himself.