Chapter 335
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 335.
A brilliant light erupted.
The white sword held by Yoo Baek-jun emitted a pure white radiance, illuminating the darkness-shrouded interior of the barrier.
Swoooosh!
As if unwilling to let it be, the darkness attempted to swallow the light of the white sword.
But the more it tried, the stronger the sword's light became, driving the darkness back.
—Grrk!
—Kyaaaaak!
“Light… it’s light! Everyone, rally to it!”
The creatures witnessing the phenomenon caused by the white sword writhed in agony.
Meanwhile, the scattered hunters began to gather, relying on the light.
“…….”
Yoo Baek-jun stared at the white sword.
An unknown power flowed from the brilliantly glowing blade.
And yet, that power felt familiar.
‘Martial God.’
Having faced it countless times before, he recognized it. The power imbued in this sword was the legacy left behind by the Martial God.
The energy swirled within his body, unlocking all the latent potential in his blood.
“Huuu……!”
Yoo Baek-jun exhaled deeply.
A pure white aura continuously emanated from him, carrying a power he had never felt before.
A power that made him feel as though he could do anything.
‘Did my stats increase or something?’
He wasn’t sure.
Transcendence was said to unlock all latent potential without detailed explanation.
But no matter what had changed.
“This is enough.”
Yoo Baek-jun sensed the creatures approaching and took a stance.
And then—he swung his sword.
A brilliantly glowing, massive sword energy shot forth, splitting the darkness apart.
Swaaaaah!
—Guh, uwaaaaah……
As the darkness was dispelled, the hidden creatures were swept away by the sword energy.
Creatures torn apart vanished into nothingness.
The Lord of Rifts frowned.
‘That power… it’s unusual.’
A sense of unease crept in.
In the past, the Lord of Rifts had clearly emerged victorious in the battle against the Martial God.
But the wounds suffered in that fight had dealt him severe damage.
‘The Martial God… is this his power?’
That’s why he knew.
The true nature of the power that he wielded.
He couldn’t let him get closer. The absorbed power continued to flow in, and Overlord was undoing his seals.
Just a few more minutes.
—Protect me. Stop him.
The Lord of Rifts retreated, and a crimson barrier unfolded, enveloping him.
Countless rifts appeared in front of him, blocking the way with swarms of creatures.
Yoo Baek-jun assessed the situation.
‘What I need to do now.’
The interior of the dark barrier was filled with rifts and teeming with creatures.
The barrier was far vaster than any barriers Yoo Moo-hak had ever created, so it was only natural that there were more enemies.
‘First, reduce their numbers.’
Countless afterimages burst forth from Yoo Baek-jun, spreading in all directions.
The creatures trying to approach him were blocked by the afterimages, unable to move.
‘Now.’
Yoo Baek-jun raised his sword.
The white sword greedily devoured the magical power he possessed. Having absorbed even the surrounding magical power, the blade shone brilliantly.
“Huuup!”
Yoo Baek-jun thrust the white sword toward the ceiling. The radiant white light gathered on the blade shot upward.
Eight streams of energy split the ground as they scattered, transforming into dragons that soared high into the sky.
—Pathetic.
The Lord of Rifts, realizing what he was attempting, scoffed.
Then, the eight dragons that had taken flight simultaneously descended upon the earth.
Boooooom!
A tremendous explosion erupted.
The massive dragons exploded, releasing blinding white light, and the bodies of the creatures caught in the blast turned to dust and scattered.
“Good, now’s the time!”
Yoo Baek-jun created an opening, and the hunters didn’t miss it.
The scattered hunters quickly gathered and formed ranks.
Ryu Il-woo and the Holy knights stood at the forefront, followed by various guilds and the Magic Tower supporting them.
“Haaap!”
“Draw their attention! Make those creatures focus on us!”
Ryu Il-woo knew exactly what they had to do.
They held their formation firmly, while the Peng family, including Peng So-young, and the Sword Saint family began luring the enemies.
“Kuh…!”
Whoooosh!
A massive phoenix emerged from Yoon Song-ha’s sword, sweeping through the enemies ahead.
Immediately after, she staggered, struggling to steady herself.
‘We don’t have time.’
Though the white sword had illuminated the area, the barrier’s effects hadn’t completely vanished.
It had weakened, but it was still draining the hunters’ strength.
‘The longer this drags on, the worse it’ll get.’
The Lord of Rifts was using the absorbed power as fuel, and with Overlord’s help, he was undoing the seals binding him.
If he broke free from the Martial God’s body, there would be no way to stop him.
“Ugh!”
“Yoo Baek-jun! Hurry!”
Yoon Song-ha and the others knew this better than anyone.
The path created by the phoenix stretched straight ahead.
Yoo Baek-jun nodded.
Booooom!
He took a step forward.
A large stride, then another. A simple movement, nothing special.
But the moment his foot touched the ground, the earth trembled violently.
Grrrroooowl!
With each step Yoo Baek-jun took, violent tremors shook the land, causing the ground to crumble around him.
It was the Lord of Rifts’s Sovereign Step.
—Do you think I’ll just let you?
Countless eyes emerged from the darkness. Crimson energy gathered in those eyes, then shot forth like blades.
Craaaack!
Yoo Baek-jun deployed the Shield and activated the Absolute Shield.
The relentless attacks shook the barrier. Unfazed, the Lord of Rifts clenched a spear in his right hand.
—You’re amusing.
Crackle!
Lightning gathered in his grip.
The Lord of Rifts smirked and hurled the spear with all his might.
Kyaaaaaaah!
A thunder dragon unleashed by the Lord of Rifts incinerated everything in its path as it charged toward Yoo Baek-jun.
The barrier, which had been holding against the attacks, shattered under the thunder dragon’s assault.
Craaaash!
The moment the barrier broke, countless spears rained down from the sky.
Meteor Shower.
But before the attacks could reach Yoo Baek-jun—
“Huuup…!”
Han Seong-ah’s Ghost Blade and dark magic intercepted the falling spears.
Their eyes met. She nodded silently.
Kwaaaang!
A deafening explosion echoed.
While Han Seong-ah blocked the attacks, Yoo Baek-jun advanced.
The distance to the Lord of Rifts was still great.
Swaaaaah!
Countless creatures appeared to block him, but it was meaningless.
A pure white sword energy erased them.
—Suddenly, I remember. In the past, when I fought the Martial God, there were those I devoured.
The Lord of Rifts stretched out his hand.
A massive rift opened, and black creatures emerged from within.
Their true forms, seen here many times before. But the difference was that these were familiar faces to Yoo Baek-jun.
‘The Martial God’s subordinates.’
Those he had already encountered in the Tower of the Martial God.
A man with an air of detachment, his hair exuding a mystical aura. Behind him, Nacheol and other martial artists.
—Isn’t it amusing? Those who once sought to kill me now stand to protect me.
They blocked Yoo Baek-jun’s path.
Their movements seemed solely focused on defending the Lord of Rifts.
And indeed, they were.
‘You said they’d be a great help.’
The man with the fan had said so.
— Fight them, learn from them, take whatever you can—it’ll be a great help.
Now, he understood what that meant.
‘Did they foresee this?’
They had been defeated, their bodies devoured by the Lord of Rifts.
Only their surviving souls had barely reached the Tower of the Martial God.
—…….
The martial artists, led by the fan-wielding man, spread out and formed a formation.
Snap!
The man unfolded his fan.
In that instant, Yoo Baek-jun felt something pressing down on his body.
‘Formation.’
A formation.
The most troublesome aspect of facing the Martial God’s subordinates was their formations.
They strengthened allies while weakening enemies, even disrupting senses.
‘Then.’
The martial artists attacked.
Nacheol led the charge, followed by the others. Yoo Baek-jun engaged them while manipulating his Heteromorphic Hands.
‘As flashy as possible.’
A dazzling assault diverted the martial artists’ attention. Seizing the moment, the Heteromorphic Hands slipped behind the enemies.
Swooosh!
Silently, the Heteromorphic Hands hurled hidden weapons from behind.
The formations they deployed relied on the arrangement of their members to take effect.
‘I’ve seen this formation countless times.’
If the core of the arrangement was known, breaking it wasn’t difficult.
The Explosive Rain Transformation pierced the formation’s core precisely and detonated.
The formation collapsed instantly.
—……!
The fan-wielding man’s eyes widened in shock. But only briefly—he tried to form a new formation, but—
“Don’t move any further.”
From the dense shadows behind him, something surged forth.
It was Min Yi-jae.
With twin daggers in hand, he slashed the fan-wielding man’s throat.
—Grrk…!
The man didn’t die immediately, but Min Yi-jae finished him off decisively.
Then, the Heteromorphic Hand moved.
Kwaaaaang!
Simultaneous attacks from the hands swept through the martial artists.
Yoo Baek-jun charged into their midst, unleashing his swordsmanship as he advanced.
—Keuhk!
—Gruuuuh!
The martial artists couldn’t stop him.
Yoo Baek-jun’s physical abilities, enhanced by Transcendence, surpassed human limits.
This made them easier to handle than when he had faced them in the Tower of the Martial God.
‘Or maybe it’s because they’re just empty husks without souls.’
The Lord of Rifts created another rift, summoning more martial artists.
He was buying time.
Swiish!
At that moment, Ja-yeon appeared in front of the newly emerged martial artists. Her dazzling sword dance sliced through them.
—Like moths to a flame…!
Countless eyes appeared, attempting to attack Ja-yeon. But before they could, swordsmen threw themselves forward.
They deployed sword barriers, desperately blocking the onslaught.
“Family Head, go.”
Ja-yeon spoke calmly.
Yoo Baek-jun didn’t hesitate. He advanced down the path they had opened.
—Will you sacrifice your comrades?
The distance to the Lord of Rifts was still considerable.
But it was gradually closing. Those following Yoo Baek-jun disregarded their own safety to clear the way.
Among them was Jin Seo-yeon.
—How pitiful, watching your comrades die for your meaningless struggle.
Zzt!
Rifts appeared around Yoo Baek-jun. Countless, enough to fill his entire field of vision.
From those rifts emerged massive spheres of condensed magical power.
An uncountable number.
“Kuh…!”
They all shot toward Yoo Baek-jun at once, but Jin Seo-yeon blocked them.
An explosion shook the earth. The barrier wavered precariously, but Jin Baek-cheon aided her.
“Yoo Baek-jun.”
Jin Seo-yeon spat blood.
The momentary expenditure of an enormous amount of magical power had caused internal injuries.
Yet, she mustered her magical power again, casting another spell.
“…We’ll talk later.”
Jin Seo-yeon and Jin Baek-cheon’s magic created one final, massive path.
A path leading straight to the Lord of Rifts.
Yoo Baek-jun sprinted down it.
—All of this is meaningless…!
The Lord of Rifts unleashed every attack to stop Yoo Baek-jun.
Now, there was no one left to shield him. He endured the unavoidable attacks with his body as he pressed forward.
The distance had nearly closed.
—Do you still not understand?!
The barrier protecting the Lord of Rifts came into view.
Yoo Baek-jun took another step.
Craaaack!
Fierce attacks rained down, as if trying to halt him.
He took a deep breath.
‘Getting injured any further is dangerous.’
Yoo Baek-jun prepared to raise his shield.
But then—
—Kuh-huuung!
A familiar cry echoed.
A sudden blizzard swirled, forming a pure white barrier around Yoo Baek-jun.
The barrier absorbed the attacks.
It didn’t block them entirely, but it significantly reduced the damage.
—You…!
Finally, Yoo Baek-jun stood before the barrier protecting the Lord of Rifts.
He raised the white sword high.
Uuuuung!
The blade vibrated intensely.
A massive, radiant sword energy gathered along its edge.
Yoo Baek-jun saw the Lord of Rifts’s horrified face beyond the barrier.
And then—
Swiish!
A single slash.
The brilliant sword energy split the barrier apart.
Yoo Baek-jun leaped through the gap, charging toward the Lord of Rifts.
Then, he saw the Lord of Rifts’s face.
—I’ve been waiting for this.
The Lord of Rifts’s face, once twisted in shock, now bore a deep sneer.
An intense energy condensed around him. The ground split as an explosion erupted, and countless rifts appeared behind him.
The crimson energy before him coalesced into a massive sphere.
—Fool, die!
The sphere shot toward Yoo Baek-jun.
Simultaneously, crimson energy pillars erupted from the rifts, aimed at him.
He swallowed hard.
He had to block it. But how?
“……!”
At that very moment—
Someone appeared right in front of Yoo Baek-jun. A familiar back.
‘Yoo Moo-hak.’
The battered Yoo Moo-hak intercepted the attacks meant for Yoo Baek-jun.
The defenses he deployed shattered instantly, so he used his own body as a shield to block everything.
—What…!
The Lord of Rifts’s face, which had been sneering, twisted in shock again.
Yoo Moo-hak, having blocked the attacks, collapsed. His and Yoo Baek-jun’s gazes met in midair, and Yoo Baek-jun advanced.
The Lord of Rifts stood before him.
‘Remember.’
The clue left by the Martial God.
The fragmented memory contained a clue—a glimpse of the technique the Martial God had created.
A technique to completely eradicate the Lord of Rifts.
‘Split the heavens.’
Heaven-Destruction Slash.
Yoo Baek-jun’s blade cleaved through the Lord of Rifts.
Swiish! A chilling slash echoed. But what was cut wasn’t the Lord of Rifts.
—This is…
What was severed was the space behind him. A long scar formed in the air, creating a rift.
‘And now.’
He pulled the sword back sharply.
Yoo Baek-jun, his right arm drawn far back, exuded a blue energy.
The Lord of Rifts looked up.
—Martial God, you… how?!
To the Lord of Rifts, Yoo Baek-jun, enveloped in blue energy, appeared differently.
Not as Yoo Baek-jun, but as the enemy who had once sealed him away.
‘Split the sky.’
Heaven-Destruction Slash.
Yoo Baek-jun and the Martial God moved as one.
The blade, wreathed in blue energy, pierced the Lord of Rifts’s heart with perfect precision.
And then—
Flaaaash!
Light engulfed everything.