The Youngest Prince of the Zhou Family - Chapter 26

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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 (26)

Kunlun’s Legacy

I couldn’t waste too much time.

Do Gon had let his guard down, and I had simply taken advantage of that opening.

The fact that my skills were still woefully inadequate to claim a complete victory over him was undeniable.

“Huff, huff. We’ve arrived, Young Master.”

Mu Ying carried my exhausted body on his back as he climbed the mountain.

Yu Ran’s internal injuries were quite severe too, so we couldn’t increase our pace, but Do Gon hadn’t caught up to us yet.

The Blazing Chaos Heaven Sword Technique I had unleashed against Do Gon.

There were several reasons why I chose to display this sword technique, but the first was because of its compatibility with Do Gon’s Heaven-Breaking Martial Emperor Sword Art.

How many times had I fought Do Gon in my previous life?

Dozens of times? Hundreds?

As if enjoying a hunt, that bastard had repeatedly released me only to capture me again.

If not for the Blood Hand Poison Emperor’s poison, he would have severed my head long ago…

Well, anyway, it was because of that petty carelessness that his head ended up rolling.

“Kunlun… it is.”

I raised my head to look at the old Kunlun signboard, now so faded that even its colors had disappeared and the letters were no longer visible.

A place no one sought anymore.

A place that had completely fallen to ruin and was fading even from people’s memories.

“Young Master, if we stay here, they’ll catch up to us soon.”

“…Wouldn’t it have been better to cross over to Sichuan instead?”

I shook my head at Mu Ying and Yu Ran’s questions.

With our current physical condition, going all the way to Sichuan would be too much.

It was obvious that Do Gon, filled with rage, would be grinding his teeth as he pursued us.

“This place is safer. Follow me.”

I got down from Mu Ying’s back and headed straight inside.

The interior of the ruined Kunlun Sect had long since lost even the distinction between the Outer Compound and Inner Compound.

Retracing my memories, I walked deep inside for quite a while.

A massive hall that seemed to have once been used as a Great Hall.

Along with the smell of long-accumulated dust, there was even the acrid scent of rotting wood.

It was exactly as I remembered from the past.

Of course, I hadn’t obtained the Thousand-Year Dragon Saliva Essence back then.

But now was different.

‘Found it.’

In the center of this vast Great Hall.

Who would have thought there would be a fateful encounter in such a place?

Creak!

I found the spot on the floor that made noise in the center of the Great Hall.

Then I immediately inserted my hand between the wooden floorboards and applied gentle pressure.

Being an old hall, the floor was almost on the verge of collapse.

Without needing much force, the floor lifted easily.

“Huh.”

“What is this…?”

Surprised sounds came from Mu Ying and Yu Ran’s mouths.

Below the opened floor, stairs leading down into darkness were revealed.

“Let’s go.”

There was no hesitation.

I immediately descended the long staircase, and finally a massive underground corridor came into view.

Following the deep underground corridor to the end, another entrance appeared.

“Here it is.”

At my words, Yu Ran and Mu Ying, who had been following behind, raised their heads to look at the entrance.

The size of the entrance was considerable.

So much so that it was difficult to take it all in at a glance.

“A… cave?”

Yu Ran immediately recognized what the entrance was.

A space embracing vast darkness.

It was definitely the entrance to a cave.

“Wait, there was a cave like this beneath the Kunlun Sect? And how did you know about it, Young Master?”

The existence of a cave leading to who knows where.

Moreover, it was brazenly lurking beneath what had once been a great sect that dominated an era.

Yet this fact couldn’t be found in any records or anywhere else.

“Well, maybe Kunlun had something they wanted to hide too.”

“So how did you know about it, Young Master?”

Yu Ran asked pointedly, her eyes sharp with suspicion.

For Yu Ran, there must be more than one or two things she was curious about.

“I’ll tell you later. Let’s focus on this place for now.”

I cut off her words and stepped inside.

The moment I set foot at the cave entrance, this heavy energy transmitted through my toes.

‘It’s here.’

I felt elation at this sensation different from my previous life.

It felt like the roar of a violent beast that had been sleeping for a long time.

In my previous life, I couldn’t obtain the Thousand-Year Dragon Saliva Essence that was here.

So I could only confirm the empty cave and turn back, and the Thousand-Year Dragon Saliva Essence that had been inside was taken first by the Heavenly Demon.

‘Even if I couldn’t eat it, I should have destroyed it so she couldn’t have it either.’

If I couldn’t consume it, it was only natural to destroy it completely so even the Heavenly Demon couldn’t eat it.

After walking for a while, I soon discovered a massive stone monument and stopped right there.

“Young Master, what is this?”

“It looks like memorial text is written on it?”

Mu Ying and Yu Ran examined the stone monument, which was much taller than they were, and spoke.

“I don’t know about history or origins. I didn’t have time to read this then, and I don’t now either.”

Because this wasn’t what was important.

“From now on, the formation technique embedded in this place will activate completely. At that moment, you won’t be able to feel or see anything.”

“A formation technique?”

“Yeah. Anyway, when the formation activates, absolutely don’t move and stay still in that spot. Even if days pass, you must endure and stay still. You absolutely must not move.”

It was an unprecedented formation technique whose structure changed moment by moment.

I remembered having considerable difficulty here even after achieving a high level of mastery in my previous life.

If you moved carelessly, you would wander forever trapped in the formation and eventually die.

“Then what about that crazy Demon Cultist bastard?”

Yu Ran asked through gritted teeth.

For her, even running away like this was infuriating enough to kill her.

“It’s frustrating, but bear with it. It’s impossible right now.”

Unfortunately, capturing Do Gon with just the three of us would be difficult.

At least someone at the level of Eldest Brother or the Dragon Guard Leader would be needed to have a fighting chance.

After firmly warning the two of them, I placed my hand on the stone monument.

‘Mechanism device.’

Then I quietly closed my eyes and heightened all my senses to the maximum, finding the mechanism device carved into the stone monument.

This stone monument was the medium that would activate the formation technique to conceal this massive cave.

At the same time, it was also another entrance leading to the Dragon Vein that contained the Thousand-Year Dragon Saliva Essence.

Rumble!

With a slight vibration throughout the entire cave, thunderous sounds erupted from various places.

It was a formation technique that had been dormant for hundreds of years.

While it was clearly an extremely dangerous formation technique, it was also our only means of protection right now.

‘World-Mixing Heaven Martial Breaking Power Formation.’

The legacy of Kunlun that both revived and destroyed Kunlun… after hundreds of years, it was slowly beginning to reveal itself in my hands.

​

* * *

​

“Grgh, these bastards.”

Do Gon gripped his sword tightly and rose to his feet.

He recalled the situation from before he had fallen.

The scattered fragments of sword blades.

They had all targeted Do Gon’s lower body.

“Damn it.”

Do Gon grimaced as he pulled out the sword blade fragments embedded throughout his legs with his hands.

His sword style was focused on the upper body.

The problem was that his opponent had grasped this immediately.

‘That little brat…’

Due to his carelessness, he had allowed injuries to his legs, and as a result, he couldn’t respond properly and even sustained minor internal injuries.

The pride of Do Gon, one of the Twelve Demon Lords and the Killing Lord, was thoroughly cracked.

At least he had been able to remain relatively intact because he deployed a sword barrier with beast-like reflexes, deflecting his opponent’s martial aura to some degree.

“Indeed, the Zhu Family.”

Do Gon nodded and acknowledged his opponent.

There would be no more carelessness.

People say the Zhu Family doesn’t measure up to the Five Great Families.

But even that kid who didn’t look older than twenty had momentarily brought him down.

Perhaps they might surpass the Five Great Families and become the sixth great family.

“So that’s why the Sect Leader devoted so much effort to the Zhu Family.”

He had found it distasteful to poison the Zhu Family’s lady and try to collapse the Zhu Family from within.

But now he understood.

It had to be done.

“So, where did they escape to?”

Do Gon asked a subordinate nearby.

The subordinate bowed his head and answered.

“It seems they’ve hidden themselves in the old Kunlun. We’ve currently deployed a large number of Demon Cultists to completely surround that entire area, Killing Lord.”

“Kekeke, they barely escaped only to go to the Kunlun Sect? They’re completely mad with a death wish.”

Do Gon immediately rose from his seat.

“Let’s go, I’ll properly finish this.”

Grinding his teeth and drawing his sword, Do Gon launched himself toward the Kunlun Sect without hesitation.

​

* * *

​

It was a quiet space.

A place so dark that nothing could be seen.

When I slowly opened my eyes, what I saw before me was Father’s face—Ju Tae-seong’s face.

“Fa…ther?”

But the atmosphere was somewhat strange.

An expression as if looking at something pathetic.

An indifferent expression devoid of any emotion.

And… reproach.

“You should have died instead. Because of a useless fool like you, the Zhu Family’s Foster Mother… my wife… died.”

“…”

It was a wound.

I thought it had healed as much as it could.

Father, who had held Yu Harin’s cold corpse in his arms, pouring out only miserable despair.

That soon turned into resentment and regret directed at me.

“Get lost. Never show yourself before my eyes again. If you come into my sight… I might kill you.”

Was he really my biological father?

Ju Tae-seong shouted so coldly that such thoughts crossed my mind.

Even when the Elders tried to stop him, he absolutely would not bend his will.

I became even more broken.

After Mother’s death, the gazes of the Servants and Warriors looking at me became like looking at vermin.

It was a natural reaction since he had treated me that way openly in front of everyone.

So I hated Father.

Yes, with the attitude of “try killing me if you can,” I became even more twisted.

There was also a kind of rebellious spirit.

With the mindset of squandering the family’s money recklessly and just letting everything collapse properly.

I would rent out dozens of entire pleasure houses and summon all the famous courtesans from across the nation to Jiangxi Territory.

Even that wasn’t satisfying enough.

I mingled with Dark Path groups, even formed sworn brotherhood with them, and attacked the Zhu Family’s Warriors.

Yes, I was a wastrel.

No, even that word was insufficient—I was complete trash.

Still, since I was direct lineage of the Zhu Family, the Zhu Family Warriors couldn’t raise their hands against me.

I used that point even more viciously to diligently tear down the Zhu Family.

That’s right.

I was the one who tore it down.

With traitors swarming, the Heavenly Demon appearing, and the Demonic Cult running rampant.

They say the Zhu Family couldn’t avoid the disaster of complete annihilation while trying to resist this.

However…

It’s an undeniable fact that I also contributed to the family’s destruction.

I still had guilt remaining about that.

I should have sought forgiveness from Father, who must have been in more pain than anyone, and changed.

Instead, I committed even more insane acts.

Sigh…

I really was complete trash.

​

‘Do you regret it?’

​

Something else within my consciousness asked me.

I quietly nodded my head.

​

‘What do you regret?’

​

Just, everything.

I regret and repent for everything I did in my life.

​

‘What is it that you desire?’

​

The voice was very faint, as if barely audible, but the meaning contained within it was tremendous.

A being with unwavering will.

Such a being was speaking to me.

“I want to save them all. I want to protect them. I don’t want to lose them again. That’s all there is to it.”

A moment of silence followed those words.

Eventually, a single Faint Light flickered beyond the Dark Space.

It began to slowly approach me, bit by bit.

​

‘Just that? Even if it means your death, will that resolve remain unchanged?’

​

My death.

“Haha.”

Laughter escaped me.

I’ve already experienced death once before.

So it doesn’t matter.

Whatever the reason I returned to this place, what I must do is clear.

​

‘What is that?’

​

The light finally stopped moving.

I slowly reached my hand toward it.

“To save everyone… I must kill everyone. That’s all there is to it.”​

Mother, Father.

To save the Zhu Family like that… and kill every last one of the Demonic Cult’s Demon People.​

I returned to life with only that single purpose, and even if I die, I will definitely protect them.

That was… the one belief I held upon returning to This World, and my unwavering will.

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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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