The Youngest Prince of the Zhou Family - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Youngest Master of the Zhu Family (1)

Prologue

The sky was stained with blood.

The stench of blood vibrated in all directions.

It had been a long, long war.

A great war that had raged for decades!

To eliminate the source of it all, I had wandered for decades.

My once lustrous black hair had faded in color, taking on a dull ashen hue, until finally streaks of white hair became faintly visible.

During that time, the nine sects that had been the pillars of the Righteous Path collapsed.

The five great families that had been the heart and core of the Righteous Path burned to ash.

The Black Pavilion that had occupied the throne of the Dark Path was shattered.

The Righteous Path had fallen, and the Dark Path had vanished.

The flames ignited by the Demonic Path became brilliant hellfire, ultimately turning all of the Central Plains to ash.

They said the world would soon belong to the Demonic Path.

…That’s how it was.

All Under Heaven had collapsed.

The ‘calamity’ that destroyed the world and brought down All Under Heaven slowly walked forward.

A disaster of natural proportions, the source of evil that could neither be avoided nor undone.

The sovereign of the Demonic Path, the Heavenly Demon!

He spoke with authority.

“Not bad, star of the Zhu Family.”

The calamity, the leader of the Demonic Cult who bore the title of Heavenly Demon, slowly approached with sword in hand.

From his entire body emanated a suffocating aura of dominance.

The disaster who had crushed the Ten Supreme Masters, said to be the strongest in the Martial World, like insects.

Such a being now directed his complete hostility toward me.

How unfair.

I thought I could finally see the end.

But it was the Demonic Path, not I, who would see the end.

Again… let me stand again.

Let me try to stand.

Even if I die, I must take your heart with me.

“Ho.”

At my attempt to stand, the corners of the Heavenly Demon’s mouth stretched long.

“You are strong enough. Since you wounded this body, you are surely the greatest under heaven.”

With trembling hands, I picked up the sword that had fallen beside me.

A broken, shattered sword.

Once I had cut down countless Demon People with this sword, but now…

Now it no longer gleamed at all.

“Do you have any last words?”

The calamity took a large step forward.

The Heavenly Demon pointed his sword at my battered form and asked.

“Let’s end this.”

And thus, I would sprout another thread of hope.

Since when had I been righteous?

No.

I had viewed the world trapped by my own stubbornness and prejudice.

Only after the end came did I realize there was a heaven above heaven.

Crack!

The sound of bone splitting.

Blood gushed forth and heart-tearing pain struck me.

“Kugh.”

Already dead blood burst forth like a fountain.

Still… still.

Grab.

The desperate will to kill him no matter what still kept me clinging to life.

“Tenacious. To the very end.”

The calamity swung his sword again.

Slash!

The arm holding the sword was severed.

I had no time to feel pain.

Crunch!

I bit down hard on his shoulder.

With my remaining arm, I squeezed out all my strength and held him tight.

I constricted him with my legs, bit with my mouth, and bound him with my remaining arm.

Just as I had exhausted all my strength, you must be the same.

The calamity couldn’t even resist.

“See you again…”

Laughter came out.

“…!”

The Heavenly Demon’s flustered expression was quite a sight to behold.

“In hell.”

At that moment, the Heavenly Demon’s fingertips trembled.

He flinched.

The one who had seized All Under Heaven, the absolute being who transcended everything.

It was the first moment such a being showed the emotion called fear.

“Mutual… destruction?”

Boom!

I unleashed all my remaining Hidden Power.

My Innate True Energy exploded.

The air shook, and space was torn to shreds.

Blood boiled over.

Bones turned black and charred, flesh burned away.

“Hahaha!”

Suddenly the Heavenly Demon burst into mad laughter.

“It’s meaningless. With everything already ended, there’s nothing that can be undone.”

“Right.”

I smiled while bleeding.

As the Heavenly Demon said, there was nothing that could be undone.

“I’m not trying to undo anything.”

‘Just.’

For revenge, I had wandered the Central Plains for over several decades.

On the day my family was destroyed, I witnessed countless deaths and buried those deaths in the ground.

All for the sole purpose of killing the Heavenly Demon who destroyed my family.

‘Even like this…’

I, who had lived meaninglessly, wanted to atone through a meaningful death.

It didn’t matter if this too was simply my own stubbornness.

I would console myself in this way as I dragged down the calamity that destroyed All Under Heaven.

Only now, finally, did a faint smile spread across my lips.

Crash!

And so, everything burst into flames.

A massive flash of light swallowed the earth of the Blood Sea.

Kwaaaaang!

The day All Under Heaven collapsed.

Along with the Heavenly Demon, the calamity of the Martial World, the last star of the Righteous Path also lost its light.

​

* * *

​

…Huh?

I definitely died…?

What is this soft, tender, and pleasant sensation I feel at my fingertips?

“…Mmm.”

A woman’s sweet voice tickled my ears.

Mmm?

Definitely a woman’s voice…?

Flash!

I opened my eyes.

No, they just opened.

Next to me, some half-naked woman was sleeping.

My hand was wrapped around the woman’s waist.

“Huh?”

Without realizing it, I cried out and got up from my position.

At that moment, my vision spun and something rose up from inside.

“Urgh! Uwaaek!”

The disgusting smell of vomit mixed with the strong scent of alcohol.

Only after completely emptying my stomach could I barely regain my senses.

“….”

The moment I saw myself reflected in the bronze mirror placed in one corner of the room, I froze solid.

Young.

My appearance from when I had passed forty was nowhere to be found, and I had returned to my childhood appearance.

Seeing my appearance, fragments of past memories began to surface.

Holding my aching head, I decided to go outside first.

When I opened the door, a rather unfamiliar corridor was revealed.

‘This place….’

Familiar, too familiar.

But that couldn’t be right.

This was a place that had already burned down long ago.

‘Extreme Pleasure House.’

I’m certain.

This is the pleasure house located in Nanchang, Jiangxi.

The very pleasure house I frequented constantly in my youth.

“Are you awake, Youngest Master?”

The guard warrior standing watch at the door bowed to me.

Ah.

Though it was unbelievable, only after feeling the cool breeze flowing through the corridor did my mind return.

I’ve returned.

And to the most unwanted, shameful period at that.

Regression

“Huh? Our Master Ju? What brings you to wake up so early?”

“….”

The courtesan had also awakened.

Woo Jin, one who died together with the Heavenly Demon in his previous life and returned to the past.

That is my name.

The courtesan gathered her clothes and sat demurely beside me, clinging stickily.

“Move aside.”

Since I needed to organize my thoughts, I lightly pushed her away.

As if accustomed to it, the courtesan pressed her body even closer into my embrace.

“Oh my? Why are you so cold today? Yesterday you were so sweet.”

“Yesterday?”

It was an unfamiliar word.

“What did I do yesterday?”

The courtesan made a playful expression and burrowed into my embrace.

“You told this girl you loved her, didn’t you?”

…No.

I definitely perished together with the Heavenly Demon.

My flesh was torn and even my bones turned to ash and scattered.

But….

“How am I still alive….”

It was a quiet soliloquy.

The courtesan must have seen it as irritation.

“Hmph, so cranky from the morning? Fine, then this girl shall withdraw.”

The courtesan retreated with an expression I had never seen before, looking dejected.

Phew, a headache was coming on.

So let me organize this again.

I embraced the Heavenly Demon’s body and triggered the hidden power within my body to self-destruct.

In other words, mutual destruction.

The Heavenly Demon and I definitely died together.

And yet….

“Have I returned to the past? How?”

No, let’s set aside the complicated stuff for now.

What’s certain is that this isn’t a dream but reality.

“When was this time again?”

The past I least wanted to remember.

A time when my family was still alive and the Demonic Cult had not yet risen to power.

So this Extreme Pleasure House would still be standing.

“Before I came of age.”

I looked once more at my reflection in the bronze mirror.

Only then did memories begin to sprout fresh.

Haa.

This is the face from when I was alive.

No, it was the face from when I was much younger than before I died.

‘Was I fifteen? Or sixteen?’

As far as I remember, the Extreme Pleasure House disappeared when I turned sixteen.

Then my current age would be at least fifteen.

Damn it, my hair was disheveled and my eyes were swollen.

At this time, I spent my days drinking heavily with courtesans every day, wasting my time.

‘While discussing the Martial World.’

Truly ridiculous.

Really, how pathetic I was.

Woo Jin, Woo Jin.

My unchanging name.

But I am no longer that ‘Woo Jin’ anymore.

I know better than anyone that in my previous life, I was a debauched young master whose end was destruction.

“The fact that I’ve returned to the past means….”

It means that the Heavenly Demon, who destroyed All Under Heaven, is also alive in his past form.

Then the fact that the Demonic Cult’s rise, which will happen in at least ten years, will soon become reality.

That cruel Demonic Cult will rise, and the Heavenly Demon will once again bare his angry fangs at the Martial World.

That was what mattered.

‘If I’m fifteen years old… then in five years, my family will surely fall. The Five Great Families? The Nine Great Sects? They’ll all be destroyed.’

No, it’s not just destruction.

They all disappear completely without leaving a trace.

In fact, by the time the Demonic Cult rose to power, it was already far too late.

The Demonic Cult had already been moving beneath the surface, thoroughly corrupting the entire Martial World.

“Still, I suppose it’s fortunate.”

I know.

I know that the Demonic Cult is already moving.

But the important thing is that no one except me knows this fact.

In a world that will soon collapse, only I know the end.

Then…?

What should I do first?

Simply becoming stronger?

That’s important too.

But I can never stop the Heavenly Demon and the Demonic Cult alone.

‘An unreachable existence.’

That was my honest impression of facing the Heavenly Demon.

I recalled the moment when I achieved Mutual Destruction with him at the end.

‘If he had maintained his peak condition, I never could have won.’

That’s the truth.

At that time, the Heavenly Demon was sufficiently exhausted and injured.

It was only possible to achieve Mutual Destruction because the strongest masters of the Martial World fell one by one, leaving wounds on him.

‘This time, even such luck might not exist.’

That was the truth.

Then, if that’s the truth, what should I truly do first?

I had to cut off the things the Demonic Cult had prepared to dominate the Martial World… first.

“The family.”

It was the most important task.

Making the family that would be crushed first safe.

Without the family, I would lose even the foundation to fight.

Didn’t I experience this painfully in my previous life?

Save the family and protect my loved ones.

And… capture the Heavenly Demon.

‘How?’

There is… a way.

Right now at this time, in my previous life I was nothing but a stupid fool who neglected martial arts and only knew wine and women.

But what happened as a result?

The family was annihilated, and the Martial World was shattered.

To devour the Martial World, the Demonic Cult prepared thoroughly and executed their plan without a single flaw.

Yes, perhaps that was predestined fate.

The Demonic Cult was thorough, while the Martial World was deceived by false peace and indulged in all kinds of hypocrisy.

The Martial World, no, there’s no need to even go that far.

What I needed to do first to save the family was clear.

‘Destroy the Demonic Cult while they’re not fully prepared.’

Completely uproot the Demonic Cult’s plans.

Now that the Demonic Cult has begun moving to devour the Central Plains, if I eliminate their plans early?

‘I can completely change the future.’

I might even be able to prevent the Demonic Cult’s rise and the Heavenly Demon’s appearance altogether.

If that happens?

The Central Plains will enjoy unprecedented peace.

I laughed.

Confidence that I could do it welled up.

“Let’s do it, no, I will do it.”

I can do it.

I will definitely destroy the Demonic Cult and protect my family and precious people.

​

* * *

​

I opened the door.

The guard was still standing watch in front of the door.

He must have been standing there all night.

And that face.

Now I remembered.

“…Mu Ying.”

The guy who found me troublesome but fought to the end to protect the family and died.

He is alive.

For a brief moment, I held my breath.

But I immediately maintained an indifferent expression.

“Young Master?”

Mu Ying looked at me as if puzzled.

On his face was the tranquility of one who knew nothing.

Only I know that this face will be torn apart, covered in blood, in five years.

Only I know.

“Let’s go back, Mu Ying.”

“Ah, understood.”

Mu Ying was flustered.

Usually, Master Ju whom he served was not the type to return after just one day of playing.

‘The sun must be rising in the west.’

Well, his whims weren’t a matter of just a day or two, so what could he do?

His master was saying to go back.

​

* * *

​

Nanchang in Jiangxi Province.

Nanchang, which bordered Dongting Lake, was a very wealthy city.

A place where countless tourists and idle rich gathered.

As a result, commerce developed and many entertainment districts were created.

That place was Nanchang.

But there was one thing that made Nanchang even more famous than all that.

The Zhu Family Estate.

The First Family of Jiangxi.

A great family with power, reputation, and history that would never bow down even when compared to the prestigious families called the Five Great Families.

It was a family that countless sects and noble families showed respect to, and that even the Five Great Families could not treat carelessly.

“Huff.”

Arriving in front of the house, I found myself inexplicably short of breath.

Yes, that famous Zhu Family Estate.

This place was my home.

“It’s been… a long time.”

Once, this was simply a place I took for granted.

I used to deliberately wander outside because I didn’t want to be home.

Soon after, the main gate of the Zhu Family Estate opened.

Familiar courtyard, familiar buildings, familiar servants.

But their gazes felt strange.

The warriors standing guard frowned, and the servants whispered among themselves.

“Master Ju returned after just one day? Really?”

“Did something happen? Normally he wouldn’t come home for days.”

“I heard he was drinking heavily at the Extreme Pleasure House yesterday, did he cause some trouble?”

Useless chatter.

I used to pay no attention to it, but now it grated on my ears considerably.

‘Let’s ignore it.’

Without saying a word, I headed straight for the main hall.

As I approached the main hall, the eyes of the warriors guarding it widened.

‘I rarely came here.’

Originally, I was always busy running away.

Father was in the main hall, and I always fled because I hated seeing his contemptuous gaze.

But now it was different.

I had learned of his true feelings far too late.

“Young Master? Do you wish to see the Family Head?”

“Yeah. Open the door.”

I knew he was asking just to be sure.

The warrior, though surprised, soon opened the door to the main hall with a pleased expression.

The door opened, and inside was one unchanging person.

Sword Master, Ju Tae-seong.

The current head of the Zhu Family Estate and my father.

And one of the Ten Great Masters of the Martial World, said to be the strongest in the martial world.

As always, he was quietly reading documents.

His appearance was neat without a single flaw.

His overwhelming presence, cold yet authoritative, took my breath away.

Father slowly raised his gaze.

“…How surprising.”

His tone was calm, but the meaning contained within was clear.

‘There’s no way you’d return after just one day, did you perhaps cause some trouble?’

I bowed my head lightly.

“I have returned, Family Head.”

And at that moment, Father’s hand hesitated for just a brief instant.

A moment of silence.

In the past, whenever I stood in this place, I would act carelessly and playfully.

But this time was different.

Father silently watched me for a while.

That gaze was neither light nor warm.

As always, just cold eyes evaluating me.

However, those cold eyes seemed to waver for just a moment.

Of course, it disappeared immediately.

“…I see.”

A short response.

And he picked up the documents again.

As if he had no further interest.

“Let’s meet at dinner.”

I paused for a moment, then silently bowed my head.

“Yes, Family Head.”

He was a man who never gave up and held his sword to the end to protect the family and his household.

But I still remember.

Father’s head torn off by the Heavenly Demon’s hand, the Heavenly Demon’s cruel killing technique that severed Father’s limbs to deliberately cause pain!

Covered in blood, Father had said.

‘Hurry… run away!’

To his worthless son, Father never had a single warm word until the end.

Really… seeing that consistent appearance.

‘I have returned, Father.’

It felt real that I had come back.

​

* * *

​

There was someone I desperately wanted to see.

Before the Demonic Cult’s rampage, my mother who ultimately couldn’t overcome illness and left this world.

‘I’m fifteen years old now.’

That means… the mother I so longed to see is still alive!

Leaving the main hall, I hurriedly changed direction and headed toward the back garden of the estate.

There, the person using an entire separate residence was my mother, Yu Harin.

How slow my steps toward the back garden felt.

“Oh? My son. What brings you here at this hour?”

As soon as I crossed the gate leading to the back garden, I heard Mother’s voice.

She must have just come out of her quarters in the separate residence and seen me.

“…”

“Son?”

The mother I had so longed to see.

I ran to her in one breath and grasped Mother’s hand.

The joy was brief, the moment I held Mother’s hand, I froze completely.

‘What is this.’

A strange energy that sharply pierced and entered through my fingertips.

At the same time, beyond Mother’s breath that reached my nose, I sensed the lingering traces of fishy poison qi.

Suddenly, a memory flashed by.

In my previous life, Mother had passed away because her ‘condition rapidly deteriorated.’

My mind snapped to attention.

Perhaps, just perhaps…

Was that really an illness?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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