The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 143

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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 204

Traveling on horseback always leaves traces behind.
Particularly, the depth of footprints varies according to a person’s weight, and if one can properly track them, they can be found even after disappearing from sight.
From the moment I stepped out of the inn until now.
I had been following a single trail.
Undoubtedly Mo Yong-cheon’s.
One cannot erase traces in crowded places, and as a master of the Sword Emperor’s caliber, he seemed not to even consider that someone might be pursuing him.
Even if he suspected a tail, he likely wouldn’t believe he couldn’t detect it.
But if one tracks only the traces from a distance, even Mo Yong-cheon cannot perceive it.
The only problem is an annoying fly that has attached itself to me.
“Where are we going anyway? Huh?”
Cheon Yul, who continued following without even thinking to close his mouth, voiced his complaints toward me as I pressed ahead tracking the traces.
Was he frustrated because I hadn’t even told him our destination?
I furrowed my brow and spoke.
“You needn’t follow. It would be best if you returned to Shanxi.”
“Then let’s fight!”
Ignoring his words that came again, I began accelerating further.
Mo Yong-cheon was traveling on horseback, so I couldn’t afford to waste time leisurely.
The distance would widen in an instant.
I deployed my lightness technique at maximum speed while tracking the traces.
Unless he took rest, the distance wouldn’t close easily, but at the very least I could pursue before the traces disappeared.
“I have no idea what you’re trying to do.”
Cheon Yul grumbled again with a disgruntled tone.
Before I knew it, I glanced at him.
In that instant, startled by my narrowed gaze, Cheon Yul quickly turned his head away and looked elsewhere.
“Be quiet.”
“Ah….”
Hearing his subdued voice, I turned my gaze forward again.
The spacing of the traces was growing wider.
It meant he had run faster from this point onward.
I continued running without stopping.
I couldn’t even tell how much time had passed.
We had set out when the sun was directly overhead, but before long it had set, and then the sun rose again to hang above my head.
“Huff, huff… huff…!”
That was when I heard the rough breathing of Cheon Yul following behind. Looking back, Cheon Yul’s complexion had turned ashen, as if he might collapse at any moment.
“Are you alright?”
“Haa, haa, why are you… fine?”
“I’ve grown accustomed to it.”
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
Cheon Yul let out a hollow laugh, as if utterly flabbergasted.
I had been running at full speed for an entire day without eating or drinking.
An ordinary person would have collapsed and lost consciousness long ago, and even someone trained in martial arts should have been exhausted like Cheon Yul was.
Yet there was no sign of such fatigue on me, so I could understand why Cheon Yul appeared so bewildered.
I found myself smiling despite it all.
“Do not neglect your foundational training. It is truly essential.”
“…Damn it, really. Where on earth did such a—huff, huff—monster come from?”
Though he desperately wanted to collapse right then and there, the sight of me continuing forward without pause only made Cheon Yul grit his teeth harder.
I could clearly feel his determination not to fall behind.
Recognizing this, I increased my pace even further.
“Hey—you bastard!”
A fierce shout rang out, but I did not stop.
I continued forward while carefully examining the traces of the horse.
The depth of the hoofprints carved into the earth and the texture of the soil.
By examining such details meticulously, I could estimate the distance between myself and Mo Yong-cheon well enough.
I pressed on while maintaining careful control.
Only after two more days had passed did I finally come to a halt.
By then, even I was sweating and breathing heavily, so I could finally catch my breath, drink water, and eat a proper meal.
Meanwhile, Cheon Yul, who had caught up after resting for a while, looked even more pitiful.
He could barely breathe properly and looked as though he might collapse at any moment, and his clothes and hair were drenched with sweat as if he had been caught in a downpour.
His face had turned a sickly pale color, and in just this short time, he had lost so much weight that his cheeks had sunken in, making him look like a skeleton.
I threw a waterskin toward him.
Cheon Yul caught the water and hurriedly wetted his throat, then came scrambling over and stuffed dried meat from a pouch beside me into his mouth.
“Ah—I feel like I might live after all.”
“You smell rather unpleasant. Perhaps you should move a bit away.”
“You think you’re the only one? You’re just as bad.”
Sigh—
As if this brief moment of rest was incredibly sweet, Cheon Yul lay his body down with a contented expression. Having run without proper sleep, even the hard ground beneath him seemed unable to overcome his drowsiness.
Watching him naturally begin to snore and drift off to sleep, I let out an amused laugh and turned my gaze away.
Where was this place?
Having ridden hard for four days northeast from Jeongdo, I suspected we were somewhere in the Bokyang region.
We had come quite far.
Simply by observing how Mo Yong-cheon moved while perfectly concealing his identity and traveling discreetly, I could roughly guess where his destination was.
The An Family Mansion of the Divine Sect.
Considering the timing of his movements coinciding with Hye-myeong’s descent from the mountain, it seemed certain that he intended to borrow the power of the new sect leader.
Moreover, he had suffered humiliation before many people.
Being far more prideful than Moyong Hyeok, he would not be able to bear the shame and would have already devised a plan to eliminate Hye-myeong.
Furthermore, if both Hoyeon and Hye-myeong were to die, the anger of the Jeongdo faction would reach its peak, and if he could gently appease them while positioning himself at the center, he could gain overwhelming support.
Additionally, he would be able to identify the location of their branch or the An Family Mansion, and if luck favored him, he might even discover who had become the new sect leader.
“Is it more likely to be a branch leader than a branch office?”
If I could locate the branch office and discern the current direction of the Divine Cult’s movements, that would be ideal, but discovering the face of the new branch leader takes precedence.
If someone I don’t know becomes a branch leader, I’ll need to remain vigilant against everyone approaching until I identify them.
Therefore, even if the situation becomes somewhat dangerous, observing the branch leader first is the best course of action for me.
I rose quietly from my seat and examined the traces left behind.
The spacing between Mo Yong-cheon’s horse hoofbeats had narrowed.
This meant his destination wasn’t far, and thanks to my swift lightness technique, I had closed the distance considerably as his speed decreased.
Judging by the traces, he hadn’t gone far.
Was it a branch office or the An Family Mansion?
Who exactly would be there?
My curiosity continued to surge, but one fact remained clear.
Regardless of which it was, things would not unfold as Mo Yong-cheon desired.

* * *

Mo Yong-cheon, riding his horse, came to a halt at one location. The surroundings were mountains, and all that was visible were trees, dense undergrowth, rocks, and boulders.
The mountain terrain was steep, and everything around looked identical.
Had those unfamiliar with the path entered, they would surely have circled endlessly before collapsing from exhaustion, and even a herbalist accustomed to mountain travel would not survive setting foot here.
The traces visible around testified to this.
Decomposing corpses and bleached bones were scattered throughout.
Those who had wandered in thoughtlessly, unable to find their way, had perished from beast attacks or poisonous plants and creatures.
Mo Yong-cheon gazed upon this and continued following the path.
After traveling along the familiar route for quite some time, a large structure finally came into view—his desired destination.
A manor that was neither ornate nor particularly impressive in appearance. This was the hidden An Family Mansion of the Divine Cult in Hannam.
The moment Mo Yong-cheon stepped inside and surveyed the interior, an exceptionally broad smile spread across his face.
“You’ve arrived, Sword Emperor?”
“At last we meet. I thought my neck would snap from waiting.”
“Haha, my apologies. I was delayed attending to other urgent matters.”
The figure before him was one of the Divine Cult’s protectors.
Auk.
As an executor of the Divine’s commands, he did not belong to the Twelve Angles, yet the intense presence he emanated made it clear he was far from ordinary.
However, Mo Yong-cheon was not surprised by this.
He already knew their strength well, and he had labored ceaselessly to reach their level.
And now, the moment to achieve that had arrived.
Auk lifted a small wooden box before the eyes of all who watched.
In that instant, everyone standing nearby prostrated themselves.
Those belonging to the Snake Angle.
As if displaying their loyalty to him who would soon ascend as the new branch leader, they bowed with their foreheads to the ground.
“The moment you take this, you become Mo Yong-cheon, branch leader of the Snake Angle, one of the Twelve Angles. I trust you will wield the power granted by the Divine for the Divine’s purpose.”
Click—
After Auk finished speaking, he opened the wooden box.
At that same moment, a single Gok Ok that emitted a soft, ethereal glow came into view.
The instant Mo Yong-cheon laid eyes upon it, he was consumed by rapture.
How desperately he had yearned for it.
A power that even his ancestors across generations had strived for, yet never obtained.
The ability to transcend humanity itself and reach the realm of immortals.
Something he desired more than anyone, something he absolutely had to possess.
He never imagined he would obtain it so swiftly.
Mo Yong-cheon extended his trembling hand toward the Gok Ok.
The closer his hand drew, the more violently his heart pounded, and his mind soared so high that the voices and expressions of those around him no longer registered in his senses.
He simply smiled.
Lost in euphoria, his entire consciousness was fixed upon it.
The same was true for the others present.
The gleam in everyone’s eyes as they gazed upon the Gok Ok.
The raw desire of those who wished to possess it.
Ensnared by the mysterious power of the Gok Ok—a power so mesmerizing that merely beholding it drew one’s soul inward—all those in the chamber fell silent, their minds momentarily blank.
Then, just as Mo Yong-cheon’s hand was about to touch the Gok Ok.
CRASH!
Suddenly, with a tremendous sound, a wall on one side shattered.
Startled, those present widened their eyes and turned their gaze toward the destruction.
Mo Yong-cheon was no exception.
What came into view was dust billowing thickly through the collapsed wall, and standing within it was the figure of a single person.
A masked man waved his hand to clear the air.
“Cough! Ah, this dust…”
Soon after, a single utterance escaped his lips, capturing everyone’s attention.
And that was his mistake.
“…!?”
Auk and Mo Yong-cheon were startled by the sudden presence.
But from the opposite direction.
The complete opposite of where the commotion had erupted.
In the brief moment their attention was diverted, another masked figure vaulted over the wall and approached at tremendous speed, then swung a sword between Mo Yong-cheon and Auk.
SLASH!
The instant the sword, imbued with a fierce blade force, was unleashed, Mo Yong-cheon and Auk retreated half a step, and the masked man did not miss this opening.
Before the two could even mount a defense, the extended blade shot toward the wooden box.
“…!?”
The blade moved with fluid grace, catching the Gok Ok upon its edge before flicking it upward.
In the moment Auk and Mo Yong-cheon’s eyes widened in shock.
The masked man’s hand shot out with terrifying speed and seized the airborne Gok Ok.
“No—!”
Mo Yong-cheon cried out in anguish and desperately lunged to seize the man, but his hands found only empty air as the figure had already withdrawn beyond his reach.
I merely grasped at empty air.
And in that same moment.
Whoooosh—!
A torrent of pitch-black smoke erupted forth, consuming everything in its vicinity.

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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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