The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 107

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Youngest Son of the Nakhyang Jin Family – Chapter 168

The distance between myself and the Gok Ok that had flown away reached fifty paces.
I propelled my body forward in a single burst, closing the gap, and stretched my hand toward the solitary Gok Ok.
Shhhhk-!
In that instant, I twisted my body to evade the sword energy slicing through the air.
As I confirmed the blade passing mere paper-thickness away from my extended fingers and regained my balance, I saw Yeom Ji-hak approaching and reaching out first.
Of course, I could not allow him to easily claim what I had barely wrested away.
I drew my sword.
My blade, blooming with shimmering sword force like heat waves, carved a path between him and the Gok Ok, then flicked it downward again.
But Yeom Ji-hak’s sword, swung in response, struck mine away once more, and then curved like a serpent, diving toward my neck.
Yet it was merely a threat.
For him, the Gok Ok took precedence over my life.
I evaded the incoming blade while swinging my sword again, targeting the hand of the one attempting to seize the Gok Ok.
Chwaak-!
“…!”
Faced with the threatening strike, Yeom Ji-hak hastily withdrew his hand, but my blade proved faster, and the back of his hand was slightly cut.
Yet for Yeom Ji-hak, there was no such thing as surrender.
His sword swung again, carrying ominous intent as it flew toward me.
Chwaak!
The blade scraped perilously across my chest as it rose, and using the moment to evade it, I rushed forward once more toward the Gok Ok.
There was no need to be entangled in this.
I twisted my body, creating distance from Yeom Ji-hak’s blade, and extended my sword.
Karrung-!
As Yeom Ji-hak’s sword flew in again and our blades crossed, they locked together, and we began pushing and pulling against each other.
Karrung- Karrung!
Throughout this, offense and defense exchanged ceaselessly.
Our locked blades continued to shift and push and pull, yet both our minds were entirely focused on the singular will to claim the Gok Ok.
Chwaaaaak-!
Soon, our locked blades scraped across the ground toward the Gok Ok.
Tangled together in a struggle of yours and mine, we repeatedly drew near to the Gok Ok only to fall away, and it was Yeom Ji-hak who ultimately seized the advantage.
The moment his blade tip was about to lift the Gok Ok, I urgently shifted my momentum, channeling moonlight into my strike.
“Damn-!”
In the blink of an eye, I struck my blade along the edge of Yeom Ji-hak’s sword, deflecting his tip, and flicked the Gok Ok away, sending it flying even farther.
Simultaneously, both Yeom Ji-hak and I launched ourselves toward it.
Kakakakakakang-!
Our blades continued to collide as we flew upward.
Each time our swords met, brilliant flashes of light shimmered beautifully, as we clashed endlessly and held each other in constant check.
Despite the overwhelming difference in skill, the balance of the fight did not easily collapse because Yeom Ji-hak’s entire focus was directed toward the Gok Ok.
To the Divine Sect, the weight of the Gok Ok was nothing less than the very presence of the Divine they served.
“You bastard—!”
Then.
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Yeom Ji-hak’s sword grew sharper still. His eyes blazed with lethal intent—he had decided to kill first and claim the artifact afterward.
Shing—!
“Ugh?!”
I twisted my body to the side with desperate speed, but I could not evade the blade entirely.
Simultaneously, a follow-up technique surged toward me as I faltered.
Zing—!
Glimpsing the future unfolding in my mind, I understood.
Evasion was impossible.
Then I had no choice but to block.
Unlike before, I channeled my inner force into my blade with every ounce of strength, meeting his incoming sword head-on.
Clang—!
Yet the sword energy that bloomed like heat shimmer offered no salvation. Yeom Ji-hak’s blade came down with even greater force, shattering my sword in two with a single stroke.
Whoosh—!
The blade that followed, swift as a striking serpent, pierced straight through my chest.
Had I not glimpsed even a fragment of the future, the wound would have been fatal.
“Hehehehe—! Enough of these games!”
Seeing my broken blade, Yeom Ji-hak’s lips curled into a cruel smile. However remarkable my growth, I remained a swordsman who relied primarily on my blade.
With his weapon shattered, he seemed confident this battle would not drag on much longer.
Yet a broken sword does not break the spirit.
I had spent over a decade fleeing from them, hunted without respite.
I could not have failed to prepare for such circumstances.
I had already faced this on Taeaksan.
I extended my fist.
Boom—!
“Ugh?!”

Bare-handed combat.

In the past, I had merely imitated the martial techniques of Jang Chuchyeong after witnessing them.
But now, I had observed Gu Gunbaek’s martial prowess countless times, and having absorbed the more perfected techniques of Jang Chuchyeong, I had created anew—a movement refined to completion.
The foundation was Gu Gunbaek’s Heaven-Breaking Star-Shattering Fist and Savage Beast Heavenly Soul Technique, but I had reinterpreted them in my own way to create something new.
To be precise, I had copied and rewritten them.
Though they could not be called identical due to differing internal cultivation methods, they had reached a level sufficient for use in such circumstances.
The way I had twisted Moryeong Hyeok’s bones was also the work of this unnamed martial art.
The fist force blooming at my fingertips and toes, shimmering like heat waves, flew forward with terrifying speed, pressuring Yeom Ji-hak.
Faster than wielding a sword.
That was the essence of the Opposing Palms technique.
Pap-pap-pap-pat!
For Yeom Ji-hak, who had only countered the flow of water with his blade, my sudden transformation was not something he could adapt to easily.
Even if he was one of the Twelve Sovereigns, said to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Ten Emperors.
But it would not last long.
One must not underestimate the keen perception and experience of a master of high caliber.
He would adapt soon enough, and when that moment came, the danger would be mine.
Therefore, there was only one thing to aim for.
The Gok Ok.
The only way to break through this situation was to absorb its power.
Though I could not discern what force lay within it, based on my experiences thus far, it would only prove beneficial—never detrimental.
“You dare mock me with such shallow tricks!”
Yeom Ji-hak’s angry voice pierced my ears.
In that instant, his blade grew even sharper.
So keen that merely looking upon it felt like being cut, and sensing the chill run across my entire body, I leaped backward.
Saaaa-ack!
Then his sword swept through the air.
A brilliant, massive circular light expanded in the blink of an eye.
Ching!
The moment I perceived it, I threw myself flat against the ground at insane speed.
Screech! Boom-boom!
Everything the great circle touched was severed.
Trees, rocks, and vegetation alike.
The range reached a full thirty feet, and every cross-section was cut with such horrifying cleanness that it was chilling to witness.
Slide—Crash!
Rocks tumbled down and trees toppled, creating tremendous noise.
But that was not the problem.
He comes.
Ching!
Yeom Ji-hak, rushing forward at insane speed, was suddenly before my eyes.
His blade swept down in an instant.
Whoooosh!
I barely managed to evade the attack, but I couldn’t fully escape the aftermath—blood erupted from my chest as the ground was gouged deeply beneath me.
Yeom Ji-hak’s blade, sharp enough to cleave through diamond itself, showed no mercy anymore. It descended with greater precision, keener edge, and no respite for resistance.
Screech—!
Something else was severed and sent flying as I collapsed.
Blood gushed from my shoulder blade, and I rolled across the ground simultaneously.
Scrape—!
His sword whistled past my head.
Even as I felt the severed strands of hair falling, I had no moment to catch my breath—I could only roll and tumble across the earth.
Boom, boom, boom—!
This was brutality of a different kind than Gu Gunbaek’s.
The Yeom Ji-hak who had leisurely countered me while reading my emotions was gone. Now his blade flew with savage ferocity, threatening and terrifying, pressing relentlessly.
But I couldn’t remain passive.
If I continued to be driven back like this, there would be no end.
A single move.
I needed something to break this momentum.
While dodging the blade, my eyes darted across the surroundings.
Was there anything?
As I searched, the severed hilt of a sword caught my eye. I hurled myself toward it, grasped it in my hand, and faced Yeom Ji-hak as he came at me again.
His expression was stolid, his eyes devoid of emotion.
It felt less like he was hunting prey and more like he was about to crush an ant beneath his foot.
The way he advanced with an enormous sword aura enveloping his blade seemed capable of instilling fear in anyone.
Then he swung.
The moment I saw it, I launched myself forward.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—crack!
Four blade strikes descended in rapid succession, and I felt a burning pain across my thighs and abdomen.
But it was fine.
The distance control had been perfect—the wounds weren’t deep.
Rather, now was the time.
The moment his eyes flashed with light, I etched his movements into my mind and prepared for what came next.
Swish, swish, swish—!
The blade descended.
As the familiar sword pattern unfolded before my eyes, I moved swiftly, beginning to evade each strike one by one.
Watching Yeom Ji-hak’s emotionless eyes grow wider, I wielded the broken half-blade in my hand with ferocity.
Clang—!
But with the swing, it was cleaved in half once more.
It was then that a smile appeared at the corner of Yeom Ji-hak’s mouth.
The distance had closed sufficiently, and now there was nothing left to evade or block his blade.
However, the same applied to him.
Whoosh—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!
“…?!”
Thwack—thwack-thwack—!
In an instant, I unleashed every remaining poison dart in rapid succession.
Yeom Ji-hak, startled, swiftly wielded his sword to deflect them, but the distance had already closed, and the darts moved faster than anticipated.
No matter how exceptional one’s reflexes, it was impossible to block every projectile fired in such a barrage.
Moreover, I had aimed for places his protective energy could not shield.
Squelch—!
“Gahhhhh—!”
The final dart that flew late pierced cleanly through one of Yeom Ji-hak’s eyes.
The opposite side from where I had cut before.
Clutching both eyes with his hands, he staggered backward, screaming, writhing in agony for a long moment before his breathing grew ragged and heavy.
I gazed upon him and sneered.
“Now that both sides match, you look even more impressive.”
“이놈…… 이놈…… 이놈—!”
With a fierce roar, Yeom Ji-hak reached out his hand.
As he tore out the embedded dart, his eyeball came away with it.
“Ahhhhh—!”
Splatter—!
I watched as Yeom Ji-hak, blood streaming from his hand, threw away what he held, his body trembling in agony. Yet despite the ample opening before me, I did not advance.
Tingle-tingle—
My senses rang out a sharp warning.
Do not approach.
Yeom Ji-hak’s senses were sharper than ever before. No matter how anguished his cries, the moment I stepped within that razor-sharp awareness, his next move would come at me even faster.
Soon, his breathing steadied, and he fixed his gaze upon me once more.
An even more explosive momentum erupted—fury and killing intent that pressed against my skin.
Even the word “chilling” could not fully capture the sensation.
He drew upon every ounce of his power.
Crackle-crackle-crackle—!
The very earth split and the wind roiled from his aura alone.
His remaining eye blazed crimson with blood, and the sword in his grip now shimmered with a blood-red blade energy of incomparable intensity.
“This is not good. As expected?”
The very form I had witnessed at the summit of Taeaksan.
His true full power was finally being revealed.
Whoosh—!
“…?!”
“…!”
Yet something strange occurred.
The raging momentum vanished as if severed by something. The arena, which had been thick with tension, fell silent as if nothing had happened, and even the howling wind grew calm.
Footstep-footstep—
Then came the sound of someone’s approaching footsteps.
Gu Gunbaek?
No, that’s not it.
Footsteps so utterly ordinary they could belong to anyone.
A sound devoid of any tension whatsoever.
The rhythm of those approaching steps was so composed that with each echo, I found myself forgetting this was a battlefield—forgetting the urgency of our dire situation.
“This… what is…”
Then.
Yeom Ji-hak’s mouth fell open.
His face had turned an eerie shade of pale, his eyes trembling.
As if terror itself had seized him.
The moment I swallowed hard and carefully turned my head.
A shadow figure emerged from the darkness.
With an air of absolute certainty, as though the Gok Ok belonged to him alone, he reached out and grasped the fallen artifact, then—
Crack!
He shattered it in one swift motion.
The broken Gok Ok crumbled to dust in an instant, swirling through the air before being slowly absorbed into his body in a sight both wondrous and terrible.
As I stared at him in stunned silence.
At last, the man emerged fully from the darkness.
And in that same moment, Yeom Ji-hak’s voice struck my ears with overwhelming force.
“…Gwanbaek!”

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