Chapter 328
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 328
The roaring thunder dragon and the swords pouring from the sky descended upon the Martial God.
Intense lightning and exploding blades colliding with the ground obscured his vision.
A lethal strike that no one could withstand.
‘There’s no way this is the end.’
His opponent was no ordinary enemy.
Yoo Baek-jun weaved through the blades, closing the distance between himself and the Martial God.
And just as he expected—
—Kwaaaaang!
The Martial God blocked the attack.
The levitating Swords behind him deflected the incoming blades.
Meanwhile, the Martial God himself focused his energy to repel the thunder dragon.
“……!”
Yoo Baek-jun couldn’t let that stand.
His figure vanished. A moment later, he reappeared as a streak of lightning, throwing a punch toward the Martial God.
Simultaneously, a bolt of lightning struck down.
—Kwa-deuk! Kwa-jijik!
Wreathed in Heavenly Aura, Yoo Baek-jun unleashed an unrelenting barrage of fist techniques.
Their attacks clashed repeatedly.
Yoo Baek-jun and the Martial God exchanged blows, blocked, and counterattacked in an endless cycle.
—Hwaaak!
It was Yoo Baek-jun who broke the stalemate.
The Heteromorphic Hand, which had fired the thunder spear, circled behind the Martial God and unleashed a freezing chill.
Frozen Soul Palm.
A vicious cold that froze everything it touched engulfed the Martial God.
—Kuuuung!
“Hup!”
The Martial God’s body momentarily stiffened and Yoo Baek-jun didn’t miss the opportunity.
—Kwaaaaang!
The Heavenly Destruction energy gathered in Yoo Baek-jun’s hands. He combined the energies and struck the Martial God’s abdomen.
A massive dragon swallowed him whole.
‘Tch, this bastard…!’
The Martial God’s body was sent flying.
The relentless assault left him riddled with wounds, both large and small.
‘The power of his techniques has grown stronger.’
The young Martial God had visually mimicked Yoo Baek-jun’s techniques, adapting and evolving them in his own way.
And Yoo Baek-jun—
‘Did he take what I developed and make it his own?’
He, in turn, learned from the Martial God’s adaptations, using them as an opportunity to refine his own skills.
He had mastered the techniques the Martial God had evolved and made them his own.
The evolved Heavenly Destruction Sword Technique and Heavenly Destruction Fist Technique relentlessly pressured the Martial God.
“Ugh…!”
Clearly, the Martial God was being pushed back.
But he was no ordinary warrior either. He was gradually adapting to Yoo Baek-jun’s combat style, which utilized the Heteromorphic Hand.
However—
‘He’ll probably move like this here.’
At that moment, the advantage of ‘me’ became apparent.
The experience accumulated through countless battles and the data on the Martial God.
Yoo Baek-jun, who had meticulously compiled all of it, had fully grasped the Martial God’s behavioral patterns and began countering accordingly.
‘Is he reading my movements?’
The Martial God let out a small sigh of admiration.
Under normal circumstances, even if he had read them, he wouldn’t have been able to respond properly.
But the Heteromorphic Hand he had created allowed him to keep up.
However, there was one problem.
‘I won’t last much longer.’
Magic consumption.
The magical power required to summon and maintain the Heteromorphic Hand wasn’t an issue.
The real problem was the enormous amount of magical power consumed when those arms used skills.
Right now, Yoo Baek-jun was essentially sustaining the magic expenditure of three people alone.
‘Is he planning to end this quickly? But to face that guy…’
Considering the enemy Yoo Baek-jun ultimately had to face, a quick decisive battle wasn’t the best choice.
As the Martial God pondered this, a hazy mist-like substance appeared before his eyes.
“This mist…?”
A thick, blood-red mist.
A sinister, blood-colored fog filled with ominous energy clouded his vision.
The moment the mist touched him, the Martial God felt his magical power vanishing.
“Hmm! An interesting technique!”
But the Blood Mist Absorption continuously drained Yoo Baek-jun’s life force.
It wasn’t suited for prolonged battles.
Yoo Baek-jun knew that too.
“……!”
And he had found a way to compensate for it.
The blood-red mist hanging in the air condensed, taking the form of swords.
The Heteromorphic Hand gripped the blood swords.
—Chwa-reureuk!
The blood swords elongated like snake swords and began attacking the Martial God.
The moment his attention was drawn to them, Yoo Baek-jun leaped and struck the ground.
—Hwaaaak!
Instantly, the ground split open, and pillars of blood-red energy erupted from within.
All of it was the Blood Demon’s martial arts.
Yoo Baek-jun had brought back Blood Rin and learned the Blood Demon’s martial arts from her, finding a way to compensate for the Blood Mist Absorption weakness.
The Blood Demon’s martial arts engulfed the Martial God.
‘My vitality…’
The blood swords that touched the Martial God stole his life force. The stolen vitality, transformed into blood-red orbs, was absorbed directly by Yoo Baek-jun.
‘So this is how he compensates.’
A faint smile appeared on the Martial God’s lips.
A satisfied, content smile.
—Kwa-rurur… Kwaaaaang!
The two Heteromorphic Hands unleashed a fierce assault, momentarily obscuring the Martial God’s vision.
His sight returned quickly, but Yoo Baek-jun had already vanished.
He reappeared behind the Martial God.
“Hup…!”
Using Grandal to teleport, Yoo Baek-jun immediately gripped the White Sword.
The flow of time seemed to slow.
He closed his eyes, and the White Sword, imbued with mana, emitted a pure white sword energy.
‘Divine Sword Union.’
Kiiik! He stepped forward with his right foot, leaning his body forward.
And then—
A flash of the sword.
The White Sword, cloaked in energy, cleaved through the Martial God’s back in a single stroke.
“…….”
The Martial God’s movements stopped.
Though the sword had split his back, no blood flowed. Instead, white magical power seeped out like liquid.
“Have you found your own strength?”
He spoke slowly.
Yoo Baek-jun nodded.
“That’s enough. Well done.”
The Heteromorphic Hands floating around returned to Yoo Baek-jun.
The Martial God observed them closely.
“I couldn’t understand those arms you wield. Are they an unique ability?”
“Yes, though I don’t know the reason…”
“Is there a need to think too hard about it?”
The Martial God smiled faintly.
“You never had an Unique ability until now. This was simply your chance to create one.”
“But there was the Book of the Martial God.”
“Was that truly your own power?”
“…….”
Yoo Baek-jun shook his head.
The Book of the Martial God was, ultimately, the Martial God’s legacy—something he had passed down to his descendants.
For someone like Yoo Baek-jun, it meant he had no Unique ability of his own.
“Any Awakened can possess their own Unique ability. Not something inherited, but something uniquely theirs.”
“Others could do it too, then.”
“If they have the will for it.”
Suddenly, Jin Seo-yeon came to mind.
As the successor of the Magic Tower, she had inherited an Unique ability from Jin Baek-cheon.
If the Martial God was right, she too might awaken her own innate ability—not just inherit one.
‘But there’s no point worrying about that now.’
Even he had taken a long time to awaken his Unique ability.
Jin Seo-yeon wouldn’t have enough time to awaken a new innate ability.
The enemy was already at their doorstep.
“If it’s an ability even I can’t understand, then neither will he. Think of ways to utilize that Unique ability.”
“Yes, I will.”
The Martial God stepped aside.
Where he had stood, a staircase that hadn’t been there before now appeared.
“Now, ascend. Another trial awaits you.”
The young Martial God waved his hand.
A ripple of white light burst from his fingertips and merged into the Book of the Martial God.
Yoo Baek-jun stepped onto the staircase.
—Ssuuuu…
The figure of the Martial God, who had been watching over him, gradually began to fade.
Yoo Baek-jun climbed the stairs, and the Book of the Martial God guided him forward.
‘…There’s more?’
A sigh escaped him.
When he looked back, the young Martial God had already completely vanished.
“I owe you a lot, one way or another.”
Constantly fighting and being defeated one-sidedly had been endlessly frustrating.
But through it, he had learned much.
‘Even if he’s the Martial God, he can’t replicate an Unique ability.’
That was the greatest takeaway.
It meant the Heteromorphic Hand could become a powerful weapon against the Martial God controlled by the Lord of Rifts.
Moreover, through the Martial God, he had been able to evolve his own techniques.
‘Can I win?’
The doubt suddenly surfaced.
The opponent he had just faced was merely the Martial God in his youth.
Technically, he was still incomplete.
‘But the real one won’t be like that.’
The Martial God he had to face would be in his complete state.
Just how strong the Lord of Rifts, who had fully absorbed that knowledge, would be—Yoo Baek-jun couldn’t even begin to guess.
‘My head hurts, my head…’
But that wasn’t what he needed to focus on right now.
As he climbed the stairs, Yoo Baek-jun recalled the Martial God’s last words.
—Now, ascend. Another trial awaits you.
The Martial God’s words were no lie.
What greeted Yoo Baek-jun at the top of the stairs was a vast battlefield.
And standing there was a man.
“Welcome.”
“You are…?”
A man with long hair, exuding an air of mystery, as if detached from the world.
The same man who had guided Yoo Baek-jun when he first arrived at the highest floor.
“Your arrival here means you’ve earned his recognition.”
“…….”
The man bowed politely.
For a moment, Yoo Baek-jun felt a sense of foreboding.
‘He said he was one of those who followed the Martial God’s will. That he had offered his soul to the Tower of the Martial God…’
One of the followers.
And this battlefield-like environment.
Instinctively, Yoo Baek-jun realized what he would have to do here.
“Just as you faced him…”
The man unfolded the fan in his hand.
Multiple streams of light gathered around him, taking human form.
Yoo Baek-jun frowned.
“I had a feeling it’d be like this.”
Familiar faces appeared.
Nacheol, whom he had once fought on a lower floor. The Martial God’s subordinates he had battled on certain floors.
There were also faces he didn’t recognize.
“Fight and defeat us. And if there’s anything you can learn from us, learn it all.”
“Will that help?”
“Yes.”
The man knelt on one knee.
He placed his hand on the ground. A massive magic circle, large enough to cover the entire floor, appeared.
At first, Yoo Baek-jun wondered what kind of magic it was—but it was a buff-type spell for allies.
“It will be of great help, I assure you.”
Yoo Baek-jun let out a sigh.
If the man was so confident, then it probably would help in some way.
He clenched his fist.
‘No choice.’
Yoo Baek-jun unleashed his fighting spirit.
The Heteromorphic Hands manifested behind him. And moments later—
—Kwaaaaang!
The battle began.
* * *
Yoo Baek-jun was forced into a grueling battle against the Martial God’s subordinates.
The enemies were numerous, and each possessed strength surpassing that of an S-rank hunter.
Fighting such foes…
‘This is actually pretty helpful?’
It was far more beneficial than he had expected.
Battling multiple enemies forced him to wield the Heteromorphic Hands with greater precision and speed.
As a result, his proficiency with the arms increased dramatically.
But that wasn’t all.
‘…So this is how you use it?’
Observing Nacheol and others allowed him to refine his existing techniques and learn new ones.
Even Yoo Baek-jun, who had initially been skeptical, began to focus intently on the battle.
“…Impressive.”
The man knelt.
Yoo Baek-jun stood before him, the now-increased number of Heteromorphic Hands at his back.
“I was skeptical of his plan. But at this level…”
The man closed his fan.
A staircase appeared behind him.
“This is the final floor. I pray you fulfill your task.”
The Martial God’s subordinates on this floor began to fade away.
An intense energy flowed from them, merging into Yoo Baek-jun.
‘My stats…’
He confirmed the message before his eyes—his stats had risen.
He took a deep breath.
“Now, the final one.”
The long and arduous climb up the tower was finally coming to an end.
As he ascended the stairs, Yoo Baek-jun wondered what awaited him.