The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 139

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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 139

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I fixed my gaze steadily upon Hoyeon.
I watched as his pupils swept across me with practiced speed.
Then came the blade, driving straight toward the space between my brows with lethal precision.
Clang—!
I deflected it in an instant and retreated half a step, but he surged forward, his sword sweeping through the air in pursuit.
It was the Taoist Priests’ celebrated swordsmanship—the Taiji Wisdom Sword.
The martial world spoke of it as the supreme technique without peer, having reached the pinnacle of the mysterious principle of harmonizing yin and yang.
I met his blade and flowed with its current.
Two martial techniques, similar yet distinctly different in nature, clashed against one another, and an endless exchange of deflecting force and redirecting power unfolded between us.
The sound of blade scraping against blade rang louder than the clash of steel.
It spoke to how fiercely we were pushing and pulling against each other.
“Impressive!”
In that moment, the flow of Hoyeon’s sword changed.
The blade became softer, moving as though tracing a perfect circle.
Clang-clang-clang-clang—!
As I matched his movements and held my ground, a massive taiji symbol materialized around Hoyeon.
It was a flawless taiji, yet strangely, Hoyeon’s expression was not entirely pleased.
I gazed upon it and let slip a subtle smirk.
“So you’ve actually managed to master your sect’s martial techniques properly.”
“Haha, having set myself as the Taoist Priests’ rival, it would be only natural, would it not? Yet your martial skill is also considerable. It differs greatly from when you faced Moyong Hyeok.”
Hoyeon shook his head slowly, regulating his breathing.
His attempt to gauge my abilities had long since ended.
Though he seemed to have anticipated something, he had not expected me to hold my ground so thoroughly.
At first, he had employed lighter techniques to probe, but from the moment the Taiji Wisdom Sword unfurled, Hoyeon too had been fighting in earnest.
Yet neither he nor I bore a single wound, and we had both retreated half a step from one another.
This was something that should not have existed in Hoyeon’s calculations.
Though he displayed composure, his eyes were brimming with astonishment.
“Indeed, you are worthy of being the Imperial Regent’s disciple. Such rapid growth is now comprehensible.”
“….”
I said nothing in response.
Yet my silence only seemed to deepen his conviction.
Hoyeon regulated his breathing once more and resumed his stance.
“Today I shall offer you to the Divine and prove my loyalty through your sacrifice.”
“Anyone with a mouth can speak such words.”
A faint smirk crossed my lips, and Hoyeon’s gaze transformed. An extraordinary aura suddenly consumed the space around us, and in that same instant, his form vanished.
I moved my body following the scene unfolding in my mind’s eye.
Hoyeon’s blade appeared from above, flying with precision toward the space between my brows.
The sword edge grazed past me by the thickness of a single sheet of paper, and for a moment Hoyeon’s expression flickered with surprise, but he quickly recovered his composure and swung his blade again.
This was not the Martial Artist’s technique.

Cloud-Piercing Sword Technique.

It was far more refined and sharper than the Martial Artist’s methods.
I laughed upon witnessing it.
“So you’ve devoted yourself to martial arts that belong to neither your master nor his sect.”
“How dare you compare a divine gift to the techniques of mere Taoist Priests!”
Clang—!
Screech!
The moment our blades met, I was driven backward.
His strength and speed were incomparable to Moyong Hyeok’s.
This martial art, similar in nature to the Supreme Heaven Sword Technique yet fundamentally different, was not easy to perceive and react to with the eyes alone.
I blocked and redirected his force.
Accepting his power at its minimum and flowing it away, I did not fall for the apparent opening but instead prepared a stratagem to deceive him instead.
Whoosh—!
Two blades swung simultaneously, shearing through each other’s garments as we retreated. Yet I did not stop there, swinging my blade once more.
Clang-clang-clang—!
Blades heavy with brutal force collided.
Though I strove to redirect his power as much as possible, the gap between him and me did not narrow easily, and I continued to retreat step by step.
“Is this truly all you possess?”
Zing—!
I rolled across the ground at Noho Fortress and evaded.
In that instant, Hoyeon’s swung blade tore through the air and split the massive boulder behind me in two.
His power still remained, cleaving through the forest and undergrowth around us, scattering in all directions.
It was sword energy of a tremendous caliber.
No matter how much support he received from them, he had not obtained the position of Master of the Taoist Priests for nothing—he displayed overwhelming power that made the difference in level unmistakably clear.
What allows me to endure at this moment is thanks to the power of the Jade Orb and the memories of the past.
Had such things not formed the foundation, I had no doubt my neck would have been severed in a single stroke already.
There was one saving grace, however.
In the past, during the battle at Mount Taeag, Hoyeon’s skill was at the pinnacle, yet he has not yet reached that level now.
The memories of the past and his habits.
Drawing upon such things one by one, I swung my blade.
Clang-clang-clang—!
Our blades crossed frantically, spewing sparks.
Whoosh-whoosh—!
I felt something being cut and blood spraying forth.
The pain intensified with each passing moment, yet neither Hoyeon’s sword nor mine could find respite—we clenched our teeth, each determined to devour the other.
Whoosh—!
In that instant, as a blade sliced toward my ribs, I felt its icy kiss and unleashed the Odsak.
Thud!
“Hahaha! Where are you aiming that?”
Yet Hoyeon merely laughed, withdrawing his blade. Soon, with another brilliant flash, it came streaking toward my throat with deadly precision.
Clang!
I deflected it with the flat of my sword, guiding it smoothly past before shifting my blade’s trajectory.
Screech—!
The sword’s edge grazed perilously close, drawing a thin line across my cheek.
“Still far to go!”
Yet the situation had already slipped entirely into Hoyeon’s control.
He, having clearly recognized the vast gulf between our levels, swiftly recovered his blade and pressed his assault anew.
The flow of his sword transformed once more.
This time, the Thirteen Postures of the Taoist Priests.
The sword’s path, sprawling and chaotic before my eyes, shifted and shifted again in an instant, leaving me unable to discern his true target.
I thrust my blade forward desperately.
The moment I parried Hoyeon’s sword as it streaked toward my heart.
Clang—!
With that sharp, piercing ring, a claw technique burrowed through my guard and tore savagely at my ribs.

The Tiger Claw Severing Gate Hand.

It is one of the techniques the Taoist Priests take pride in.
However, the most dangerous aspect lay elsewhere.
*Ching!*
A brilliant flash erupted suddenly before my eyes.
The blade shot forth at a speed that defied comprehension.
Like a serpent rearing its head and striking with fangs bared, the attack was impossibly swift.
*Whoooosh!*
This was the forbidden technique of Snake Horn within the Cloud-Piercing Sword Technique itself.
I moved urgently, evading the strike by mere inches.
The blade meant to pierce my body slashed across my shoulder instead, and seizing that opening, I extended my sword to drag Hoyeon’s blade into the turbulent current alongside me.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
“Hahaha! An amusing technique, but utterly useless!”
Hoyeon erupted into wild, delirious laughter as he pressed his assault relentlessly.
Unlike me, who was being driven backward with each exchange, he had clearly seized the advantage—his every move struck true, and the exhilaration of victory gleamed in his eyes.
“Hah… hah…”
I steadied my mind, exhaling ragged breaths.
Hoyeon drew closer, gradually narrowing the distance between us. Though he displayed an air of leisure, his expression betrayed no intention of lowering his guard.
To any observer, his victory was assured, yet there was reason behind his refusal to relax his vigilance.
A single moment of carelessness could reverse the entire tide.
He understood this well, which is why he remained cautious.
One might say that like a tiger expending all its strength to catch a rabbit, he too was giving his utmost effort, but…
The reality was different. He was simply overly cautious.
One could dress it up in flattering terms, but more bluntly put, he was simply a coward.
Yet despite this, the gap in our levels remained unmistakable.
Even as I poured everything I possessed into this exchange, defeating an opponent who barely flinched seemed far from assured.
In the moment I found myself smiling bitterly.
He moved.
*Shing!*
His blade flew before my eyes, grazing my chin, and simultaneously the current shifted—the principle of yin and yang began to constrict around me with terrifying force.
Sensing the vertigo of being drawn into that vortex, I attempted to retreat hastily.
But then.
*Ching!*
Alarmed by the image flashing through my mind, I raised my sword.
Yet my reaction speed could not keep pace.
In that instant, the absolute techniques of the Cloud-Piercing Sword Technique unfolded before me at a speed that was terrifying in its precision.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
“Kuhahahaha!”
His delirious laughter pierced my ears, and immediately after, blood erupted from my entire body in waves of excruciating agony.
Yet as if it were not finished, another strike came flying.
I desperately drew upon my inner energy to shield my entire body.
This was unmistakably the Profound Heaven Seven Star Palm of the Taoist Priests.
Boom—!
“Kgh?!”
I felt a force that would shatter every bone and organ in my body, and I was hurled through the air before crashing down and rolling across the ground countless times before finally skidding to a halt.
Even as my protective energy shielded my body, something pierced through it, seeking to tear me apart from within.
“Cough!”
I barely managed to steady myself and struggled to rise, but a violent coughing fit seized me, and I felt all strength drain from my limbs.
This was bad.
My mind grew hazy, and my body trembled uncontrollably.
I fought against the overwhelming urge to surrender—to close my eyes and abandon everything—and focused all my will on steadying my breathing and mind.
“No matter how exceptional your talent or how great your master, all of it becomes worthless before the power of the Divine.”
“….”
“Now then, speak. Where is the Imperial Regent? Or will you kneel before the Divine and bow your head to atone for your sins?”
Whiiiiii—
I could hear something like muttering, but all that reached my ears was a deafening ringing that drowned out everything else.
As the mocking expression and eyes of that bastard came into focus, I found myself smiling despite the pain.
The emotion I had felt atop Mount Taeag Summit surged forth once more.
In that instant, a decade and more of memories consumed by vengeance flashed before me like a lantern show, and I finally remembered something I had forgotten.
Ah—I want to kill him.
Yes, this feeling.
The emotion I had buried since opening my eyes until now, forgotten in the struggle to survive. Or rather, not forgotten, but cast into a corner of my heart as I clung to survival and what needed to be protected.
I want to kill.
Merely recalling such thoughts caused the murderous intent I had suppressed all this time to surge forth like a raging inferno.
Even Hoyeon, who had been approaching leisurely, stopped in his tracks.
I rose to my feet, watching him.
I steadied my wavering body and swept away the tangled chaos from my mind, leaving it clean and empty.
Plans meant nothing.
The Imperial Regent, the Divine—none of it mattered.
The Jade Orb, fortune, prosperity—all of it was irrelevant.
None of these things concerned me now.
If they stood before me, I would simply kill them.
I would chase them to the depths of Hell itself and tear their very souls to shreds.
With a long exhale that escaped my lips, I purged all distracting thoughts and the intentions I had harbored.
And what remained was singular.
Only the primal instinct to kill my opponent.
“…!”
In that moment, spiritual energy began to flow through my body.
The power of the Cheong Hyang Dan, which I had never fully made my own until now, settled firmly in my dantian, creating a weighty sensation.
Simultaneously, my ears opened and my eyes cleared, and every sense I possessed transformed.
Realizing this, my gaze turned naturally toward Hoyeon, cold and serene.
The opponent, sensing something amiss, regarded me with visible tension before subtly increasing the distance between us.
The moment I confirmed this, I curved my lips into a sneer and leveled my sword toward him.
The blade I aimed carried a sharpness more acute than ever before, suffused with a killing intent both viscous and suffocating.

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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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