The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 117

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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 178

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“Isn’t this going to get us in trouble with you, Na Cheonmun?”
Despite Ryu Gak’s stern warning, we didn’t remain in that place and stepped outside instead.
Since we’d already entered the Demonic Cult’s domain anyway.
I thought it necessary to observe and commit things to memory, and for some reason, Na Cheonmun—who should have been the one to discourage this situation—was readily offering to guide us.
“Haha, it’s fine. Didn’t you come all this way because of me? In a sense, you’re my guests!”
Na Cheonmun gazed at Chaeseoha with a confident expression and patted his chest.
Perhaps because of his gaze, as if to say this was all my sacrifice for you, Chaeseoha turned her head away with a somewhat uncomfortable look.
As if she didn’t want to meet his eyes.
But Na Cheonmun seemed less perceptive than expected, bursting into loud laughter before gazing up at the sky for a moment and then letting out a long sigh.
He was probably thinking about how much of a beating awaited him when he returned.
However, thanks to him, we managed to slip out of the Hall of Twilight Dusk smoothly.
This wasn’t a place we could navigate freely on our own from the start.
We weren’t traveling along established roads, but rather traversing mountains with no paths at all, so a guide was absolutely essential.
I observed Na Cheonmun walking ahead of us.
The sword gripped in his hand caught my attention.
It had no particular distinguishing features, but since this was the Demonic Cult where the greatest blacksmith in the world supposedly resided, I found myself curious about what kind of sword it might be.
“Na Cheonmun. May I examine your sword for a moment?”
“My sword? Of course, that’s perfectly fine.”
Na Cheonmun handed over his sword without hesitation.
I had always believed that for a warrior, a sword was another soul, but Na Cheonmun showed no sign of caring about such things whatsoever.
It could be a characteristic of Demonic Cult members who trust themselves more than their weapons, or perhaps the sword’s quality was so poor that it couldn’t be considered a soul at all.
Looking at his expression, the latter seemed more likely.
He didn’t seem to treasure it at all.
I examined the sword he’d handed me carefully.
It was a blade used by the warriors of the Hall of Twilight Dusk.
Certainly, as it was used by the lowest-ranking warriors, it looked quite shabby.
The blade was dull, as if sharpness didn’t exist, and when I held it up to the sunlight, the surface was rough and uneven, suggesting it was made from rather poor quality iron.
Craftsmen don’t blame their tools, but those who aren’t craftsmen have no choice but to blame theirs.
Even if one protected the blade with inner energy, a sword like this would shatter after a few solid impacts.
They made this in the Demonic Cult where the greatest blacksmith in the world supposedly works?
“Is this the work of someone named Chung-mu?”
“Hahaha! Of course not! That couldn’t possibly be. This sword was supplied from the smithy here. Of course, it is from the Heavenly Demon Forging Workshop, but most of them are made by blacksmiths who just became masters.”
I sheathed Na Cheonmun’s sword and looked at him.
Even accounting for the work of an untrained blacksmith, this was excessively poor quality.
“So this place only supplies defective goods?”
“…Defective goods? This is actually quite a decent sword.”
“We typically call such things defective merchandise. They don’t even qualify as sellable goods.”
I spoke with a slight smile, and Na Cheonmun scratched his head with an awkward expression.
He likely already understood that his sword’s performance was considerably inferior compared to those of others.
Na Cheonmun turned his head with a troubled look.
“W-well, most things that come into the Chohon Hall are like this. Ha, haha….”
The moment I heard those words, I understood.
It wasn’t just defective merchandise.
Certainly, there must be decent-quality swords as well, but because this was the Chohon Hall, they only received the defective ones.
Indeed, since the Chohon Hall was at the bottom, even their treatment reflected that lowly status.
Yet despite receiving such treatment, the attitude of Ryu Gak, the hall master here, was quite arrogant.
I chuckled softly and turned my head to begin surveying the surroundings.
This place was the lower echelon of the Demonic Cult.
And where I stood now was like a marketplace.
Rather than numerous shops lining a street, the establishments were situated on sturdy trees, beneath cliffs, or surrounded by dense vegetation.
As if proving they had constructed everything while minimizing damage to the Tianshan landscape, the buildings blended remarkably well with their surroundings.
Though climbing the mountain to reach those places was a drawback, it was certainly a sight sufficient to demonstrate the stark difference between the Demonic Cult and the Central Plains.
How should I put it.
Rather than fascinating, it felt mysterious.
As I surveyed the surroundings briefly, my gaze shifted once more.
Centered around the marketplace, I could see four halls in the cardinal directions, each distinctly symbolizing their authority and power.
The Chohon Hall occupied the lowest position, and only by ascending gradually from there could one view the next hall.
And behind the hall occupying the highest position, a massive gate came into view, as if controlling access.
I suspected that gate was likely the entrance to the middle echelon.
Had Chu Hyeongi also noticed it?
He stared at the enormous gate with a momentary expression of surprise, then soon directed a question toward Na Cheonmun.
“What is that?”
“The gate leading to Mawun Peak. A wretch like me could never enter there in my lifetime. Haha….”
“Huh? Can’t you just go in?”
At Chu Hyeongi’s expression of incomprehension, Na Cheonmun closed his mouth with an awkward look, unsure what to say.
While cultivating and sending forth proper warriors was supposedly the only way for a hall to gain power, for the Chohon Hall—equipped with weapons no better than defective merchandise and denied even proper martial techniques—such a thing was meaningless.
One could not even hope for a dragon to emerge from a stream.
After all, this was where the dregs gathered.
Yet despite all that, Ryu Jin-hong and Ryu Gak’s attitudes were insufferably arrogant.
I deliberately erased my bitter expression and turned my head.
We had already passed through the marketplace area and entered a considerably secluded place.
With lush mountain terrain and beautiful scenery, it was an appropriate spot to catch one’s breath.
Then, from somewhere, people I had seen before appeared and looked toward us.
They were the burly men I had seen at the inn moments earlier.
Upon spotting us, they whispered something among themselves, then soon directed their gaze toward Chaeseoha standing beside me.
In that instant, Chaeseoha seemed to realize something, and her brow furrowed.
“Oh, right….”
“What is it?”
“That unfriendly gaze. I’ve seen it far too often.”
The moment I heard those words, I realized something I hadn’t paid attention to until now.
From Luoyang to Namman, I had been wearing a veil, so nothing significant had occurred except for Hyeongi, and Namman didn’t seem particularly concerned with her appearance.
But now it was different.
As if cursed, incidents and accidents that followed her were about to unfold once more.
And the moment Chaeseoha saw their expressions, she seemed to understand instantly what was drawing near.
“Well, well—we meet again, Chohon Hall!”
“Haha, don’t tease us so much. Did they want to go to Chohon Hall?”
Five warriors who had approached suddenly positioned themselves before us. With nothing but their imposing stance, a sense of menace filled the air, and Na Cheonmun shrank back, his spirit dampened.
Meanwhile, Namgung Yeon and Jang Chuchyeong clenched their fists.
But the men, indifferent to the sharp glint in their eyes, drew closer with cunning smiles and sneered.
“By the way, warrior. Where exactly did this woman come from? I’ve never seen her before.”
“Ah—well, you see. Haha… she’s one of ours.”
“I’m telling you, I’ve never seen her before.”
The man who had been looking at Na Cheonmun turned his gaze toward Chaeseoha, his smile deepening as his eyes gleamed with interest.
One could sense the determination that he would possess her by any means.
“Warriors! We really must be going….”
“Get out of the way!”
Na Cheonmun stepped forward to block their path and tried to salvage the situation, but it was meaningless before a man whose eyes had already lost all reason.
I watched their crude behavior and reflected.
Though the scenery differed, people were the same everywhere.
And seeing how they hadn’t approached us at the inn but came forward here where few witnesses lingered, I understood one more thing.
There were likely Powerful Experts of considerable skill at the inn, so they had been cautious, but now with no one watching, they saw this as the perfect opportunity to display their strength.
I scratched my head and looked at the man approaching.
Standing still, he alternated his gaze between me and Chaeseoha, then focused his eyes on her and sneered.
“I am Han Gok of the Geumsu Hall. What say you? Since you’re wasted in Chohon Hall, why not come to our side?”
“Geumsu Hall? Is it called Geumsu Hall because you’re not even worth being called beasts?”
The moment Chaeseoha’s voice reached his ears, the man’s face flushed crimson.
Unable to tell whether what he’d heard was reality or a dream, he glanced sideways at his companion.
Even his companions’ expressions had hardened.
Naturally, Na Cheonmun’s face was completely vacant.
“Haha—listen here, young lady. I said I’m from Geumsu Hall? A place incomparable to Chohon Hall!”
“Ah—I’m simply not interested in such things.”
Chaeseoha waved her hand dismissively, genuinely uninterested, and furrowed her brow.
Whether her feelings were deeply hurt, the look in her eyes as she regarded Han Gok was as if she were looking at something lower than an insect.
Was his pride wounded?
Han Gok let out a hollow laugh as if at a loss, then took a breath and steadied himself once more.
It seemed he wanted to leave gracefully no matter what.
But could I tolerate being mocked?
He flicked his tongue and sneered at me.
“My real good place… Kyaaaaaaah-!”
I instantly stretched out my fingers and seized the tongue of the creature flicking it about.
As I applied force, I watched him collapse with a shriek, a cold smile playing at the corners of my mouth.
“Are you a snake? Why do you keep flicking your tongue like that?”
Grrrrgh-!
“Aaaaaaah-!”
I tightened my grip on the fingers holding his tongue.
The man writhed in agony, drool streaming from his mouth, his bloodshot eyes and thrashing body a stark contrast to the arrogance he’d displayed moments before.
Was that why?
Even the watching allies were horrified, and Na Cheonmun stared at me with an expression of utter disbelief.
At that moment.
Splurch-!
“Gaaaaaah!”
My finger pierced through his tongue.
The creature’s eyes then lost their light, and his massive body collapsed flat.
He had lost consciousness from the pain.
“…What, what is…!”
I paid no mind to the voices around me, instead gazing at the wrist of the collapsed man.
There I could see an ornament of the Golden Water Pavilion adorning it, and the moment I seized it without hesitation, not only Na Cheonmun but all the people of the Golden Water Pavilion gasped in shock.
“That makes four hundred ninety-nine remaining. Quite a lot.”
Then, confirming the jingling Demonic Seal in my hand, I looked at the remaining men.
Not expecting that I would seize the Demonic Seals, they all stared at me with faces drained of color.
“What are you doing, Young Master?”
“Huh? Me?”
“Four hundred ninety-five remaining.”
In that instant, understanding my intent, Chu Hyeongi’s body vanished.
The man who had been standing there was gone, only wind remaining, and as he suddenly appeared before the men, I raised his fist high.
Whoooosh-!
The force gathered in that fist was no trivial matter.
Sensing it, the men tried to react in horror, but a power beyond their comprehension was unleashed.
Boom-!
As the tremendous sound echoed, I watched the men scatter in all directions, then picked up a stone from the ground and turned my gaze.
In the distance ahead, I could see a massive bell.
I hurled the stone toward it with terrible force.
Crash-eeeee- Dong-eeeee!
The great sound that followed resonated throughout the entire lower level.
The Demonic Ascension Tournament had begun.

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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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