Chapter 88
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 88.
"Instructor Shin Woo-hyun?! Why are you here—no, what on earth is this state you're in?"
"I thought his return was taking too long, but this..."
The crowd gasped in unison.
Why was Instructor Shin Woo-hyun, who had left earlier saying he had a task to attend to, now in such a state?
And in such a condition, no less.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Yoo Tae-rang's expression froze. In stark contrast, Yoo Moo-hak's face was filled with rage.
Yoo Baek-jun forced Shin Woo-hyun to his knees.
"What are you doing right now? Yoo Baek-jun, explain yourself immediately—what is this madness?"
"I was just about to, Father."
Yoo Baek-jun smiled.
Despite having caused a major incident, his relaxed demeanor left onlookers speechless.
"Father, do you remember? Two months ago, when I was attacked by a monster. I even had to undergo treatment for a while because of it."
"...Yes, I remember."
Yoo Moo-hak nodded.
After that incident, Yoo Baek-jun had changed drastically, so it was impossible not to remember.
Yoo Baek-jun shook his head.
"That was a lie."
"A lie?"
"I was indeed attacked. But the perpetrator was different. It wasn’t a monster..."
Yoo Baek-jun grabbed Shin Woo-hyun’s bowed head and yanked it up.
His face was revealed.
"Gasp...!"
"His... his face..."
It was so disfigured that it was hard to recognize him as the original Shin Woo-hyun.
"It was Shin Woo-hyun."
"What?"
"Nonsense! How could such a thing—!"
"Nonsense?"
The one who had spoken was Jeon Dae-kwon.
Yoo Baek-jun sharply turned his head.
His fierce, predatory glare locked onto Jeon Dae-kwon.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Shin Woo-hyun was your direct Instructor! Your personal instructor since childhood tried to kill you? That’s absurd!"
"How amusing. Here I am, the one who was attacked, and an outsider dares to deny it."
A sneer curled on Yoo Baek-jun’s lips.
But Jeon Dae-kwon showed no signs of backing down.
"Then let’s ask the man himself."
"Himself?"
Yoo Baek-jun lifted Shin Woo-hyun’s chin with his scabbard. The man was barely conscious, as if he had endured severe torture.
"Shin Woo-hyun, wake up."
"Ugh... kuh..."
"Confess your crime. Tell everyone here what you did to me two months ago in the Snowfields."
Shin Woo-hyun’s body trembled violently.
He seemed unaware of who was around him. His lips parted slowly—agonizingly slowly.
"I... was ordered... To take Yoo Baek-jun... to the snowfields... without anyone knowing..."
The crowd held their breath.
"...And kill him."
"By whom?!"
"Silence! Listen quietly!"
Yoo Baek-jun quelled the uproar in the room.
"And then what did you do?"
"I... lied... Told him there was something to see... in the highlands of Seoraksan... Took him there... But I failed."
"If you hadn’t failed, I would’ve died there, wouldn’t I?"
Shin Woo-hyun nodded weakly.
Yoo Baek-jun slowly scanned the room. The grandmaster, masters, attendants—all wore expressions of shock.
Though the meaning behind their shock varied slightly.
He glared at Jeon Dae-kwon.
"Still think it’s nonsense?"
"Kuh... ugh..."
"I was nearly killed by my own Instructor! So I wondered—who?!"
Yoo Baek-jun’s gaze fixed on Yoo Tae-rang.
His expression hadn’t changed in the slightest.
"Wanted me dead."
Silence fell.
A chilling silence. No one dared to even think of speaking.
Except for one—Yoo Moo-hak.
"Speak. Who was the culprit?"
"Even hearing it with my own ears, I couldn’t believe it. That this person would want me dead..."
Yoo Baek-jun kept his eyes on Yoo Tae-rang as a faint smile played on his lips.
"Isn’t that right, Brother?"
"What?!"
"Y-Yoo Tae-rang?!"
"Impossible! There must be some mistake—!"
Yoo Baek-jun hadn’t explicitly named Yoo Tae-rang as the culprit. But his insinuating tone left no room for doubt.
The crowd erupted in protest, stealing glances at Yoo Tae-rang as if gauging his reaction.
"......"
His face was eerily expressionless. Lips tightly sealed, as if the matter wasn’t even worth addressing.
Silence hung heavy in the room.
"Shall we hear it from the man himself?"
Yoo Baek-jun was the first to break the silence. He tilted Shin Woo-hyun’s chin up.
"Speak, Shin Woo-hyun. Who ordered you to kill Yoo Baek-jun?"
"Kuh... ugh... uuuugh..."
Shin Woo-hyun’s body trembled violently.
He didn’t want to speak. But if he didn’t, he’d face unbearable agony again.
Yet if he did...
"Huh... ugh."
Shin Woo-hyun’s thoughts tilted to one side. His lips parted cautiously.
"Yoo... Tae-rang."
"......!"
The name that left his lips.
Those who heard it were stunned anew.
‘Young Master Yoo Tae-rang?’
‘No way. Why would he give such an order...’
The crowd buzzed with confusion.
Thud!
Yoo Moo-hak silenced the murmurs by slamming the ground.
Everyone expected him to say something, but he remained silent.
As if telling them to figure it out themselves.
"......"
"......"
Yoo Baek-jun and Yoo Tae-rang locked eyes.
No words were exchanged. The tension was so palpable that onlookers held their breaths.
Yoo Baek-jun was the first to speak.
"Brother, Shin Woo-hyun just called your name. Don’t you have anything to say?"
"Anything to say?"
Yoo Tae-rang finally opened his mouth.
His face was still blank, but a faint, almost mocking smile flickered across it.
"It’s so ridiculous I have nothing to say. Do you actually believe that?"
His icy gaze briefly flicked to Shin Woo-hyun before returning to Yoo Baek-jun.
"Why would I want you dead? For what? What do I gain from killing you?"
That was the question on everyone’s mind.
Why Yoo Tae-rang? And why Yoo Baek-jun of all people?
"A succession struggle? Hardly."
Yoo Baek-jun was practically a non-entity in the succession race.
Though he hadn’t declared it like Yoo Kang-ho, no one ever considered him a candidate for family head.
At least, not until that day—when he had nearly died at Shin Woo-hyun’s hands.
"It pains me to say this to my beloved younger brother, but Yoo Baek-jun, you may be an heir, but you’re effectively irrelevant to the family leadership."
"That’s true."
"If it were someone else—someone with even a sliver of a chance to become family head—then this accusation might hold some weight."
Had it been Yoo Jung-yeon, this accusation might’ve carried some credibility.
But the target was Yoo Baek-jun.
"But the target was you. I have no reason—no motive—to kill you."
If anything, it only made his own position more precarious.
Yoo Tae-rang stared quietly at Yoo Baek-jun.
Silence stretched once more.
The crowd expected Yoo Baek-jun to counter or present further evidence.
But,
"You’re right, Brother."
Yoo Baek-jun simply nodded. No rebuttal. No additional proof.
Yoo Tae-rang’s eyes twitched slightly.
"I thought the same. No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t make sense. That you, Brother Tae-rang, would target me of all people?"
Yoo Baek-jun let out a dry chuckle.
"Absurd. Targeting someone not even worth the effort... So I considered another possibility."
"Another possibility? What do you mean?"
"I wondered—what if someone is trying to sow chaos within the great Sword Saint family?"
Yoo Moo-hak, who had been silently listening until now, finally interjected.
"Are you saying there’s someone—inside or outside—trying to destabilize our family?"
"Yes. I tried interrogating Shin Woo-hyun to find out, but it was impossible. Even with professional interrogators, he refused to talk. Stubborn, really."
Yoo Baek-jun clicked his tongue.
"So I brought this criminal here as a warning for everyone to be vigilant. Now that my purpose is served..."
His cold gaze fell on Shin Woo-hyun.
"It’s time to kill him."
Shing!
Yoo Baek-jun drew his sword.
Before the surrounding masters could react—
Splat!
"Guh...!"
The blade cleaved through Shin Woo-hyun’s neck.
His head rolled across the floor, blood gushing forth. Yoo Baek-jun stepped on the corpse.
The onlookers gasped.
"Young Master! What is this?!"
"In front of the family head, no less!"
"We need more information about who’s targeting us!"
Amid the chaos, Yoo Baek-jun remained utterly composed.
He glanced around before speaking.
"Ah, I got carried away."
He said it with a feigned look of surprise.
"Since the Sword Saint family’s professional interrogators extracted the information, there’s no need for further details. If necessary, I’ll send them separately."
Yoo Baek-jun wiped the blood from his sword and kicked Shin Woo-hyun’s corpse aside.
"Dispose of the body. A traitor’s remains are best left as fodder for wild beasts."
"Now is not the time for such talk!"
"Yoo Baek-jun."
Yoo Moo-hak’s voice echoed.
"Come to my room later. Explain your actions in a way I can accept."
"Yes, Father."
Yoo Baek-jun bowed his head. Yoo Moo-hak left the conference hall without another glance.
"You’ve got blood on your face, Brother."
"......"
Yoo Tae-rang wiped his cheek.
Blood stained his hand—sprayed from Shin Woo-hyun’s severed neck.
"Someone bring a towel! We can’t have our hardworking elder brother stained with blood."
With that, Yoo Baek-jun turned his back. Yoo Tae-rang stared holes into his retreating figure.
‘What just happened?’
Outwardly calm, Yoo Tae-rang was deeply unsettled.
‘He’s changed.’
Before he left the family to conquer the Gate, Yoo Baek-jun had been nothing like this.
Gaunt, frail, always wearing a gloomy expression.
But now, he was completely different.
‘This isn’t the Yoo Baek-jun I knew.’
His physique and speech aside, the confidence radiating from his face—
The Yoo Baek-jun he knew would never show such an expression.
‘What happened?’
First, he needed to understand what had transpired during his two-month absence.
Yoo Tae-rang signaled Kim Mok-joon and Ha Yeon-jeong. They nodded and left.
"Hah."
Yoo Tae-rang glanced at Shin Woo-hyun’s corpse.
Though the man had been his follower, he felt nothing at his death.
If anything, regret.
‘If he’d lived, I could’ve forged his testimony to my advantage.’
That was his only regret.
Yoo Tae-rang’s eyes narrowed slightly.
And all the while, Yoo Jung-yeon watched Jeon unfold with an unreadable glint in her eyes.