The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 108

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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 Jin Family of Luoyang – Chapter 169

“Gwanbaek?”
I spoke the name aloud as I confirmed the presence before my eyes.
In the Central Plains, he was an absolute being who had made his name known through his activities under the title Geomcheon Muheo.
Yet in truth, he was a figure of the Divine Sect, the elder brother of the self-proclaimed ‘Divine’ who ruled that place, a man called Gwanbaek rather than by the name Muheo.
Though I seemed to have met him once in the past, even that I could not say with certainty—he was a being far removed from my world.
And yet that Gwanbaek now stood before me.
The words came not from anyone else, but from Yeom Ji-hak’s own lips.
If so, then this man before me must indeed be Gwanbaek and Muheo.
But.
He was young.
The Gwanbaek I remembered was a figure with a shabby appearance and dying eyes, gazing down at me.
Yet the one standing before me now was entirely different.
Young.
Not a single wrinkle creased his face, his eyes gleamed with vitality unlike any I had seen before, and his complexion was remarkably healthy.
Though his youthful appearance seemed distant from the Gwanbaek of my memories, the expression and gaze with which Yeom Ji-hak regarded him unmistakably proved his identity.
Thud—
Then Gwanbaek took a single step forward, closing the distance.
Was that the reason?
Yeom Ji-hak retreated three steps.
“Ji-hak. Why do you step back? Do you perhaps fear me?”
“…!”
At his question, Yeom Ji-hak swallowed hard and sealed his lips.
Yet from his expression and eyes alone, I could tell.
He was afraid.
Without even releasing any killing intent, with merely a single step and a few words, he trembled like an aspen leaf in the grip of extreme terror.
Seeing Yeom Ji-hak in such a state for the first time, even I could not help but feel bewildered.
Especially since these men feared nothing save their ‘Divine’.
Yet from the current situation, I could confirm one thing with certainty.
This was undoubtedly Gwanbaek.
Was his youthful appearance achieved through inner energy cultivation? Or perhaps he had undergone the legendary Reversal of Life and Death spoken of only in legends.
“…So you… were alive after all?”
“Hehe— Would it not be shameful for an elder brother to die by the Priest’s blade? Is it not so, young one?”
Gwanbaek spoke naturally as he gazed toward me.
His tone seemed to seek agreement, yet I could offer no words in response, merely observing the situation unfold.
But Gwanbaek did not seem particularly concerned.
A faint smile played at his eyes as he turned his gaze away once more.
Then, having composed himself, Yeom Ji-hak steadied his breathing and spoke again.
“So that’s it—you were using him to target Gok Ok? This is… a betrayal of the Sect. The Divine Stone belongs solely to….”
Splurt—!
In that instant.
Something unfolded before my eyes that I couldn’t believe even as I witnessed it.
Gwanbaek merely stood there motionless, yet Yeom Ji-hak’s eyes—the very eyes that had been speaking—burst open.
“Krraaaaaaagh—!”
“Oh dear, are you alright? Does it hurt terribly?”
Drip, drip—
Despite the concern in his tone, Yeom Ji-hak’s eyes lay clutched in Gwanbaek’s right hand, freshly torn free.
Blood dripping from them.
As if the wretched screams meant nothing to his ears, he simply clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“Have I not told you repeatedly? When one speaks, it should be done in a manner that doesn’t displease one’s conversation partner.”
“Aaaagh—aaaagh!”
I swallowed hard, watching the scene unfold.
Certainly, he had targeted the eyes in the same way.
Yet Yeom Ji-hak’s screams showed no sign of subsiding—as if the shock was far greater than when the poison had pierced his eyes.
Was that the reason?
Gwanbaek clicked his tongue once more at the sound.
Soon, as if unwilling to hear more, he furrowed his brow and approached.
Step by step.
Upon reaching the wretch, Gwanbaek knelt down and gazed intently at him, whose hands were pressed against his eye sockets, before extending a single finger.
His index finger made contact with the crown of Yeom Ji-hak’s head.
Pitter-patter-patter-patter-pock—!
In that moment, something impossible occurred.
Countless holes erupted across Yeom Ji-hak’s entire body, blood fountaining in all directions.
Trembling—
The light in the wretch’s eyes faded rapidly.
Thud—
His lifeless form collapsed pathetically to the ground, continuing to spill every last drop of blood.
A pool of blood was slowly forming.
Gwanbaek’s gaze, which had been quietly observing this, finally turned toward me.
Flinch—!
The moment his eyes fell upon me, my body trembled involuntarily.
Gu Gunbaek, Hoyeon, Yeom Ji-hak, and Chu Won.
And the images of the Divine Sect’s powerful experts I had witnessed in the past flashed through my mind one by one, yet none possessed the intensity of this man before me.
This being had transcended the very boundaries of strength that the Central Plains’ martial artists possessed.
Now I understood why he was called Geomcheon.
“Are you… Mu Heo?”
“Heh, an ancient name indeed. Though I am not called that anymore, there was a time when I was.”
Gwanbaek answered with composure, a hint of leisure in his demeanor.
He makes no attempt to hide or conceal anything.
Seeing how he seemed willing to answer any question I posed, I almost asked again before catching myself and simply stared at him.
This was the man who gouged out Yeom Ji-hak’s eyes over a single misplaced word.
The thought that I could easily find myself in such a situation made my lips seal shut.
“Heh heh—don’t be so wary. I’m grateful to you, after all. So, didn’t I give you the Eastern Sega’s treasure?”
“You… gave it to me?”
“Indeed. I had originally intended to claim it myself, but one must repay their benefactor, mustn’t they?”
Benefactor? Repay?
Confused by words I couldn’t quite comprehend, I watched as Gwanbaek’s lips curved into a small smile.
Then he slowly approached me.
I felt nothing.
No aura, no presence whatsoever.
It was as though he had become one with nature itself.
Yes—the Gwanbaek standing before me now was nature.
That thought refused to leave my mind.
“Did I not tell you? That your death would be my salvation.”
“…!”
The moment those words left his lips, I recalled the haggard old man I had seen in the past, my eyes widening.
What he had just said—those were the very words that old man had spoken to me.
Could it be that they were the same person?
“Correct. The same person. I doubt you’ll find it believable even now.”
He spoke casually, laughing as he did.
As if such matters were beneath his concern.
“And through your death, you too received salvation. Is that not so?”
“….”
I did not answer.
The fact that the Jin Family now stood intact and that I survived to stand here was undoubtedly because of that death—because I had returned.
As I pondered this, I realized something.
The moment I looked at Gwanbaek with startled eyes.
He nodded as though he had read my very thoughts.
“Correct. I obtained the Emperor’s Gok Ok. I’ve recovered several others as well. Thanks to that, I’m as vivid as this, am I not?”
Just like me.
Knowing the future, if one were to return to the past, they would know exactly what to do first.
While I had struggled to survive and protect the Jin Family, Gwanbaek had prioritized recovering the Gok Oks and seized their power.
“And as you can see, I’ve also claimed the Gok Ok in this place.”
Thud, thud—
With those words, Gwanbaek walked toward one side.
Returning to where the dead Yeom Ji-hak lay, he lightly grasped the fallen man’s sword and turned to face me.
“At first, I considered giving it to you. I thought that if you obtained such power, you might restrain the other side somewhat.”
“Even with such power in hand, do you fear the Divine Sect?”
“Afraid? Hehehehe— mind your words. The Divine Sect holds no fear for me. Only… the Priest frightens me.”
“….”
I cannot say how many Gok Oks he has obtained, but I am certain that the power Gwanbaek wields now far surpasses even what Geomcheon Muheo once commanded.
Yet such a man still trembles before his Priest.
“He must be formidable indeed. Strong enough to trouble even you as you are now.”
“Hehehehe— you bear much resemblance to the Priest as well. In terms of raw talent alone, you are one of the few who can be compared to him. Look at what you have accomplished in this brief span of time. To the Divine Sect, you are a monster.”
Whoooosh—!
In that instant.
Gwanbaek swung his sword with casual grace.
A mere flourish through empty space, yet the air itself seemed to split apart, unleashing a violent wind that tore through the surroundings.
“In any case, meeting like this is fate, and since I hold great expectations for you as an obstacle to the Divine Sect, I shall impart one teaching.”
“To me?”
“Hehehehe— consider this not as Gwanbaek’s teaching, but as Muheo’s final wisdom.”
With those words, Gwanbaek began to move his sword slowly.
A dance.
The blade, cradling moonlight, shimmered as it moved with unhurried grace.
It flowed like wind, then soared toward the heavens, played among clouds as if becoming the moon itself, casting twilight before transforming into rain that poured down.
At times it held thunder and lightning, at others it breathed frost alongside snow.
Soon it became a tranquil stream flowing with the breeze, then transformed into a torrential downpour that became a raging current, shattering dikes and swallowing the very path of water.
This was nature itself.
All of nature was contained within a single blade.
The one wielding the sword seemed to have become the heavens themselves.
A sensation of endless fascination merely from witnessing it.
Each movement was etched into my eyes, refusing to fade.
This was Geomcheon Muheo.
I could understand why people revered him so—the sword’s movements unfolding before me transcended mere beauty into something transcendent.
As Gwanbaek slowly ceased his movements, he confirmed the light in my eyes, a faint smile crossing his lips as he cast the sword in his hand to the ground.
“Consider this Muheo’s final farewell. If you can gain something from it, that would be providence.”
“…Does this mean Muheo no longer exists?”
“Hehehehe, now that I have returned as Gwanbaek, I must abandon Muheo’s life. And now, all debts are repaid.”
“Debts….”
I furrowed my brow, watching Gwanbaek.
He would not have shown me such a thing for that reason alone. Considering the value of the Gok Oks, merely not seizing them from the Eastern Sega would be sufficient repayment of any debt.
Then there is only one conclusion.
He intends to use me.
Did he sense such thoughts?
Gwanbaek wore a gentle smile.
“Did you not use my name as well? I too must make use of you. Hehehehe— so, do not die so easily.”
With that, he turned his back.
As he walked forward with refreshed steps, showing no lingering attachment, I found myself moving without thinking, reaching out to grasp Gwanbaek.
There was still so much I wanted to ask.
Not knowing when I’d have another chance to hear the answers if not now, I moved forward with urgency.
Swoosh—!
A blade suddenly flew at me.
It wasn’t just the blade.
As if to sever the space between Gwanbaek and myself, warriors emerged from the shadows one after another.
They wore masks to conceal their faces.
Unlike me, who wore a yaksha mask.
These beings, clad in plain white masks devoid of any patterns or designs, leveled their swords at me with unmistakable intent to kill.
Do not approach.
I will cut you down.
Their eyes conveyed such resolve, and I furrowed my brow.
These were no ordinary men.
Whether trained directly by Gwanbaek or not, each one emanated formidable presence.
Had such warriors not existed, recovering Gok Ok would have been impossible.
In the end, I halted my advance.
I watched as the white-masked figures who had threatened me with their blades disappeared one by one in pursuit of Gwanbaek.
“This situation has spiraled far beyond what I anticipated.”
I furrowed my brow and exhaled deeply.
The Divine Sect alone was already overwhelming, and now Gwanbaek’s forces as well.
Was I to be caught in a three-way war?
Ah…
A hollow laugh echoed across the plains.

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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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