I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 94.
The hall fell silent.
Who is this Kim Mok-jun?
He is a talent recruited by Yoo Tae-rang from outside, a hunter who trained under the Sword Saint family.
He was also someone who proved his talent by completing that training in a short period.
“To be so one-sidedly…”
Yet he lost.
It wasn’t even a close fight.
“Young Master Yoo Baek-jun hasn’t been training with the sword for long. He mainly learned martial arts.”
“No, isn’t it spear techniques rather than martial arts?”
“Just how much skill does he possess? It’s hard to gauge…”
The instructors whispered among themselves.
When he used sword techniques, he seemed to be at a disadvantage. But the moment he discarded the sword, everything changed.
The sight of him pushing forward one-sidedly.
What if he had used a spear there?
“Hmm.”
Ja-yeon, who had been watching, smiled with satisfaction. Beside her sat Cheon Jong-won.
“You seem pleased.”
“Is that how it looks?”
“Yes. From what I see, neither of them revealed their full strength.”
“I’m aware of that. But…”
Ja-yeon looked at Yoo Baek-jun.
“You felt it too, didn’t you? That talent.”
“……”
Cheon Jong-won crossed his arms and sank into thought.
Neither had shown their full strength. But does that diminish Yoo Baek-jun’s victory?
No, it doesn’t.
‘Even if his training period was just over two months, to grow enough to defeat Kim Mok-jun in that time…’
It’s an achievement no one else in the family has accomplished.
Moreover, Yoo Baek-jun started learning martial arts at a late age, making it even more remarkable.
‘Jung-yeon.’
Cheon Jong-won looked at the young lady he had taught since childhood. She was watching the spar with an expressionless face.
‘What will you do now?’
The succession dynamic is becoming complicated.
Enough for anyone in this family to notice, not just Cheon Jong-won.
“Hmm…”
Regardless of what others thought, Yoo Baek-jun was looking at the fallen Kim Mok-jun.
‘Sigh, does this feel like déjà vu?’
Looking at Kim Mok-jun, he couldn’t help but think that. It felt similar to looking at Yoo Kang-ho.
Unlike Yoo Kang-ho, who had been completely shattered, Kim Mok-jun was relatively intact.
“Young… Young Master… You’re… quite strong…”
“Strong?”
Kim Mok-jun trembled as he spoke.
Yoo Baek-jun chuckled at his words.
“How can you judge whether I’m strong or weak when this wasn’t even a proper spar?”
“What do you mean…?”
“There’s no need to go all out against someone who hasn’t revealed their full strength. Don’t you think so?”
“……!”
Yoo Baek-jun flicked the blood off his hand.
“I hope we can have a proper fight next time. Since you’re injured, take him away.”
“Huh? Ah, yes!”
Nearby instructors hurriedly carried Kim Mok-jun away, likely to a healer.
Yoo Baek-jun raised his head.
“Brother, are you satisfied now?”
“……”
Yoo Tae-rang’s expression froze.
Beside him, Yoo Kang-ho squirmed uncomfortably, unable to stay still.
“Brother Yoo Kang-ho said he’d have Instructor Kim Mok-jun stand in for him, so I fought. But if you’d like, I can spar with Brother Yoo Kang-ho right now.”
“You’re quite confident.”
“Better than being unconfident.”
Yoo Tae-rang glanced at Yoo Kang-ho beside him.
He looked terrified. Seeing Kim Mok-jun defeated by fists must have reminded him of the past.
That spar where his bones had been shattered.
“…A frightened dog.”
Yoo Tae-rang swallowed a sigh.
Even if he forced him to fight, he wouldn’t be able to do it properly. It would only lead to a more pitiful outcome.
“Fine, you’re right.”
Yoo Tae-rang turned his back.
“It makes no sense to grant rights to someone unworthy. You’ve grown quite strong.”
With that, he left.
It meant he acknowledged Yoo Baek-jun’s continued possession of Yoo Kang-ho’s assets.
Yoo Baek-jun smirked and turned away.
‘How boring.’
Still, his goal was achieved.
‘To them, my strength is an unknown variable.’
With Shin Woo-hyun’s incident, Yoo Tae-rang wouldn’t dare act recklessly for a while.
The time bought this way is crucial.
‘I need to handle the backlog of tasks.’
The Magic Tower, Peng So-young, and finally—
The Golden Lion Guild.
—Wow!
Yoo Baek-jun grabbed Seol-yeong’s front paw as it greeted him excitedly. The soft, squishy texture felt nice.
Han Seong-ah, holding the cub, looked worried.
“Young Master, are you hurt anywhere?”
“Nah, I’m fine. Neither of us was fighting seriously.”
“That’s what it seemed like. Kim Mok-jun seemed to underestimate you.”
“Right.”
Otherwise, he would’ve used his unique ability sooner. Kim Mok-jun, who wields the ability called ‘Silver Thread Control,’ is insanely tricky.
“It wasn’t a situation where he could go all out, either.”
Kim Mok-jun favors poisons, but he couldn’t use them this time.
This was just a spar.
In a real fight, things would’ve been different.
“Still…”
Yoo Baek-jun looked back.
Toward where the instructors had taken Kim Mok-jun—and likely where Yoo Tae-rang had gone.
“The warning was delivered clearly enough.”
* * *
“Ugh, ouch…”
After receiving treatment from the healer, Kim Mok-jun lay in his room, groaning.
Though treated, his broken bones would likely hurt all day.
“Ouch, I’m dying…”
Kim Mok-jun moaned as he stared at the ceiling.
Someone approached him.
“How was it?”
It was Yoo Tae-rang.
His expression was as cold as ever as he looked down at Kim Mok-jun.
Kim Mok-jun grinned weakly.
“Young Master, you mean?”
“Who else would I be talking about?”
Even though his subordinate was injured, he didn’t care about his condition at all.
Cold as ever, but Kim Mok-jun never expected kindness from him anyway.
“Heh, he was unexpected.”
“Elaborate.”
“He’s strong. I don’t want to repeat what others have said, but it’s hard to believe he’s the Yoo Baek-jun I knew.”
“That much?”
Kim Mok-jun nodded.
Just as he was about to say more, Ha Yeon-jeong appeared behind Yoo Tae-rang and snapped at him.
“Idiot. You didn’t fight seriously.”
“Yeah, I underestimated him. But neither did he, heh.”
“You didn’t fight seriously?”
“I heard he used a spear when fighting in Seoul. And all sorts of flashy tricks.”
“…He didn’t use them this time.”
Ha Yeon-jeong sighed.
“He knew, too. That I wasn’t going all out. Well, he’s right. I was just testing his strength.”
“You planned to test him, but he was stronger than you thought, so you got knocked flat.”
“Ouch, can’t deny that.”
Kim Mok-jun tried to scratch his cheek but winced in pain.
“So he’s stronger than expected?”
“Yeah, not someone to underestimate.”
“…Could you kill him if I ordered it?”
“Hmm!”
Yoo Tae-rang’s gaze grew even colder.
“Alone, it’d be tough.”
“Then?”
“Get me more people. Preferably the expensive ones who’d make your eyes pop.”
“Are you confident you can do this?”
“Not sure.”
Kim Mok-jun grunted as he sat up, his face twisting in pain.
“Give me some time. He’s not an ordinary opponent. I need time to analyze him properly.”
“Take whoever you need from the family’s intelligence division. But—”
Yoo Tae-rang turned his back.
“Bring me solid results.”
“Got it. Who’ll you assign?”
“Ha Yeon-jeong.”
“I’ll contact the Black Shadow Unit. A covert approach will take time.”
Yoo Tae-rang left without another word, Ha Yeon-jeong trailing behind him.
“Hmm.”
Left alone, Kim Mok-jun lay back down and stared at the ceiling.
‘That proper fight might come sooner than expected, Young Master.’
A smirk crept onto his lips.
* * *
The spar was over.
Soon after, the duration of the Extreme Demon Pill wore off, and the moment its effects faded—
“Ughhh…”
Yoo Baek-jun began to groan.
This wasn’t an ordinary pill. A drug made using demons, steeped in vicious demonic energy.
Naturally, demonic energy is harmful to humans, and consuming the Extreme Demon Pill saturated with it—
“It hurts so much.”
Meant suffering for a while.
Yoo Baek-jun was drenched in cold sweat.
—Whimper…
Seol-yeong, lying beside him, whimpered worriedly. Its cotton-like paw gently touched his forehead.
“You little—You should act like this more often.”
—Purr…
The cool paw felt nice.
Yoo Baek-jun closed his eyes briefly, savoring the soft touch.
“By now, my brother must be plotting to kill me…”
—Kyuu?
“He’ll start with gathering intel, and then move on to organizing an ambush, probably in collaboration with some villain group…”
—Awooo?
He hadn’t just played this game once or twice.
Their moves were predictable.
There were other patterns, but since he overwhelmingly defeated Kim Mok-jun in the spar, this was the route they’d take.
“First, I should disrupt their intel gathering.”
Yoo Tae-rang is a cautious man.
Until he accurately gauges the strength of his enemy, Yoo Baek-jun, he’ll move as carefully as possible.
‘It’s about time for sister to arrive.’
Yoo Baek-jun glanced toward the door.
“Young Master, are you okay?”
“Why are you here?”
“Huh?”
Choi Seung-min entered, opening the door. Seeing Yoo Baek-jun and Seol-yeong, he smiled warmly.
“Ah, what a heartwarming sight.”
“I wish you’d be like this more often.”
“Where’s the food?”
“Yes, the porridge you asked for—”
Yoo Baek-jun began eating the porridge Choi Seung-min brought, though it tasted bland due to his condition.
“Are you in pain from the spar? That can’t be. It was one-sided.”
“In a way, it’s because of the spar, and in a way, it’s not.”
“Are you speaking in riddles with me now?”
“No, just bring me that bottle.”
A small bottle sat beside the bed.
A vial of divine water, glowing with sacred energy.
‘Perfect for driving out demonic energy.’
As the sacred energy entered his body, he felt the demonic energy corroding him slowly recede.
A few days of rest in this state, and he’d recover quickly. The problem was, he didn’t have that time.
“Sigh, anything else on the schedule today?”
“Bigtums requested an interim inspection. To see if they’re on the right track.”
“They should just handle it themselves.”
“Should I tell them that? To handle it on their own?”
“No.”
Yoo Baek-jun shook his head. Choi Seung-min still looked worried.
“Wouldn’t it be better to rest?”
“Then people will think I’m bedridden from fighting Kim Mok-jun.”
“You didn’t even get hit during the spar. Also, there’s one more thing. Today’s the day you’re supposed to receive the award promised by the association and the government.”
“Accept it on my behalf. You go.”
“That’s not possible…”
Yoo Baek-jun sighed deeply.
He wanted to refuse, but he had made a promise, so he couldn’t.
No choice but to move, even if reluctantly.
“My body feels like lead.”
“Instructor Han Seong-ah will assist you well. Ah, and you have a guest—”
Creak!
The door opened.
It was Yoo Jung-yeon.
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