The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 163
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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 163
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“Uhhhhh….”
Chu Hyeongi groaned softly as his eyes fluttered open.
Unable to comprehend what had transpired, he gazed about with a dazed expression before finally spotting me, his eyes widening in surprise.
“…Young Master, that…!”
“Finally awake? I thought you were dead.”
I remained reclined against Baek Gu’s chest, using the beast as my bed while observing him. The warmth and comfort were undeniable—I could now understand why Chaeseoha had slept so peacefully here.
I rose slowly from Baek Gu’s embrace and approached Chu Hyeongi, whose eyes reflected utter disbelief.
“Don’t you think losing consciousness from a single blow is rather excessive?”
“But when did I ever lose consciousness from a blow?”
Unable to recall being struck, Chu Hyeongi’s expression and gaze suggested he genuinely believed I was speaking nonsense.
From his demeanor alone, it appeared he wasn’t simply feigning ignorance to evade the situation.
“You must have hit your head and lost your memory.”
“That’s not true….”
He grumbled, stubbornly denying reality, yet his protests changed nothing of what had occurred.
The moment Chu Hyeongi’s patience wore thin and he glared sharply at Baek Gu, the golden beast’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
Meeting that gaze, Chu Hyeongi slowly turned his head away, looking elsewhere.
“…But what exactly happened?”
“What do you mean? I’ve trained him well. We’ve become quite close.”
I patted Baek Gu’s muscular frame with a laugh.
The moment my hand made contact, the beast flinched and looked toward me, yet seemed unable to attack, instead snorting in frustration as his anger subsided.
He didn’t merely fear someone capable of wielding Sword Force.
Moreover, an imperfect manifestation—barely more than a shimmer—would pose little genuine threat.
The true reason for his submission.
It was that his spirit had been utterly crushed.
I had completely shattered the aura and momentum of a creature that lived by instinct alone.
“Now that you’ve recovered, you should attend to what you came here to do.”
“Pardon? What am I supposed to do?”
“Why do you think the Elder placed you in this location?”
I gestured toward the Iron Wall constructed of gon-cheol.
Though I doubted his current level was sufficient to leave even a mark, there was no question this was the sole reason he’d been brought here.
Chu Hyeongi nodded in understanding.
He then walked slowly to stand before the Iron Wall.
As he steadied his breathing and clenched his fists, his eyes burned with resolve.
Etching the countless traces of his ancestors carved into the wall into his memory, he began releasing all the spiritual energy he possessed.
Having received considerable instruction during the journey to Namman, even the act of releasing his energy created a pressure as though a massive boulder were bearing down upon him.
He gathered that force into his hands.
Even if it were a Shin Gyo Warrior, if struck directly, the force imbued within would likely prove fatal—and that was before accounting for the divine power woven into each blow.
I watched with keen interest.
A long yawn stretched through the air—
Yet Baek Gu seemed utterly unimpressed.
Despite the overwhelming force and momentum radiating outward, he appeared indifferent, yawning widely and stretching languidly.
Soon after, he collapsed onto the ground and began snoring.
Snore after snore—!
The cacophony of his snoring was so loud that Jang Chuchyeong, who had been concentrating, glanced over at me with an exasperated expression.
Without thinking, I flicked Baek Gu across the snout.
A low growl rumbled from his throat—
“Stop making noise. I need to concentrate.”
Golden eyes glared at me fiercely, but he snorted derisively and shut his eyes once more.
The fact that no further snoring followed suggested this had been deliberate mischief all along.
I shrugged and gestured to Jang Chuchyeong to continue.
With a sigh, he began drawing power once more, and a tempestuous force erupted outward, accompanied by crushing pressure.
As he prepared to resume his snoring to cause further disruption, I pinched Baek Gu’s nose shut, keeping my gaze fixed upon him.
In that instant, Jang Chuchyeong’s form vanished.
“…!”
Blinding speed.
All I could perceive was a blur of movement.
Jang Chuchyeong materialized before the Iron Wall, drawing his fist back with tremendous force as he channeled every ounce of his strength and bellowed forth his technique.
“Celestial Star Crushing Strike—!”
The world erupted—!
As his blow detonated, the earth trembled and the wind surged violently.
It felt as though dozens of heavenly thunderclaps had detonated simultaneously. Wind and dust billowed outward in a chaotic maelstrom.
Was it due to that devastating blow?
Baek Gu, who had been resting with his eyes closed in apparent indifference, cracked open one eye to observe the spectacle unfolding before him.
“Extraordinary. There is room for improvement compared to before, but considering the timeframe, it borders on the impossible.”
Celestial Star Crushing Strike.
A brilliant strike that shattered the stars.
Originally, this was not a martial art that the Demon King of the Beast Palace learned, but rather one that Gu Gunbaek had created anew, tailored perfectly to his own strengths.
Thus, Chu Hyeongi was currently mastering two distinct martial arts.
One was the Savage Heavenly Soul Technique, which only the Demon King could learn, and the other was the Heaven-Breaking Star-Shattering Fist, which Gu Gunbaek had devised.
From the look of it, Gu Gunbaek seemed to be placing slightly more emphasis on the Heaven-Breaking Star-Shattering Fist than on the Savage Heavenly Soul Technique.
“Argh—! What is this thing? There’s not even a scratch on it?”
At that moment, Chu Hyeongi cried out while staring at the Iron Wall.
Despite gathering every ounce of strength and driving his fist forward with all his might, the Iron Wall remained pristine without even the smallest blemish.
Among martial arts that employed fists, the Heaven-Breaking Star-Shattering Fist possessed destructive power that could be called supreme, yet it seemed insufficient to leave a mark upon the Iron Wall.
“Well, there’s nothing to be done about it. That’s simply your current level.”
My words seemed to strike him quite hard, as Chu Hyeongi’s shoulders drooped and his expression and eyes openly revealed his disappointment.
Certainly, this was a disappointing result for him, but considering the time since he had begun learning martial arts, his growth had been impossibly swift.
Had he unleashed that Heaven-Breaking Star-Shattering Fist at Moyong Hyeok just moments ago?
I was certain every bone in his body would have shattered.
As I turned away with a smile, entertaining such thoughts.
Glimmer—
Something suddenly gleamed.
That peculiar glint captured my gaze, and I turned my head.
Above the center of the Iron Wall.
Upon closer examination of the spot where the fist mark of the Demon King, called the strongest of the Beast Palace, was clearly imprinted, something strange glinted, embedded in the wall.
I quietly heightened my perception to confirm what it was.
“…!”
What entered my vision was a violet-hued Jade Orb.
Slightly above where the fist had struck, the Jade Orb lay buried as though trapped within the Iron Wall, revealing its presence there.
In that instant, I found myself frowning involuntarily.
“Was that what you meant by it crawling out on its own?”
I shook my head with an exasperated laugh.
The claim that I didn’t know where it was had been a lie, and the assertion that it would emerge on its own stemmed from my belief that I would find and retrieve it myself.
In the end, there had been a reason for placing it here.
For Chu Hyeongi, it was experience; for me, I played a supporting role while also recovering the Jade Orb and eliminating those within.
For the meal I’ve eaten in this place, the price is far too steep.
It’s practically a loss—the situation leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
“What is it?”
“The object I was searching for.”
“Huh?”
I could not fathom why the Jade Orb was embedded in such a place.
Whether the Demon King who left the fist mark had driven it in, or whether striking the wall from within the iron had revealed it—I could not say.
But one thing was certain: it was right before my eyes.
I grasped my sword.
Crunch?
Baek Gu, who had been lying down as if asleep, glanced at me with eyes that seemed to ask what I was plotting. I suppressed a smile and steadied my breathing.
The timing of this was far too perfect.
Entering the Forbidden Land, facing various creatures, I couldn’t help but harbor lingering attachment to sword force. And here, I had finally succeeded in breaking through the wall.
Though incomplete, I had taken another step forward and managed to manifest a sword force capable of severing iron.
Had I not progressed, I would never have been able to retrieve it.
Could it be that Gu Gunbaek calculated even this and placed it here?
“…Impossible.”
I shook my head, rejecting the thought.
It was simply unbelievable that Gu Gunbaek—a man who knew nothing but drinking and laughing loudly—could have devised such a plan.
“Huu—.”
I drew in a breath and elevated my momentum.
The power drawn from my dantian flowed through my meridians, and in an instant, it was channeled into the blade.
The form of the sword aura transformed, deepening into a richer azure, until at last it shimmered like heat haze rising from the earth.
“Wh-what?! What is that?!”
“Don’t speak.”
I dismissed Jang Chuchyeong’s question and refocused my concentration.
What I needed to do was sever this iron.
To extract the Jade Orb embedded so deeply, mere scratches would not suffice.
I would unleash the strongest martial art I possessed.
Heavenly Stream Sword Intent.
I swing the blade imbued with the power of Cheonryu, transcending the turbulent rapids.
Rising in one fluid motion, I sweep away everything in my path.
The moment the sword touches the iron wall, power explodes outward, consuming all resistance.
Crash—!
One strike is not enough.
Penetrating merely two inches would be insufficient; extracting the Jade Orb embedded at such depth is impossible with such shallow cuts.
Thus, I swing again and again.
Clang—!
The deafening screech of iron scraping against steel pierces my ears, yet I pay it no mind, channeling all focus and consciousness toward the Jade Orb and the iron wall.
Crash—!
Successive strikes follow, burrowing ferociously into the iron wall.
From one inch to two, from two to three.
Feeling the blade penetrate ever deeper, I fix my gaze on a single point.
My target is the weakest section.
Concentrating all my will and strength toward that spot, I unleash everything.
Crash—!
In an instant, the embedded Jade Orb launches skyward.
As it tumbles to the ground and rolls to a stop, I finally retrieve my sword and settle down slowly.
“Wow! What was that!”
“The flow of Cheonryu.”
“I don’t understand it, but that was incredible. With that, you could even defeat your master, couldn’t you?”
Jang Chuchyeong’s gleaming eyes turned toward me with an intensity that felt burdensome. The expression and gaze—as if he valued me more highly than his own master—was not entirely unpleasant.
Turning my head as I received that reverent gaze, I finally beheld the violet Jade Orb, the very reason I had come to this Namman.
As if proving it was indeed a stone infused with divine power, it radiated an ethereal brilliance.
Merely looking upon it felt as though I might be drawn inside.
Was that the cause?
Jang Chuchyeong’s eyes changed.
A covetous gleam and expression.
As if he might dash toward the Jade Orb at any moment.
I casually reached out and struck the back of his head.
Smack—!
“Ugh!”
“Regain your senses and turn your gaze away. Once caught in demonic delusion, escape becomes impossible.”
Jang Chuchyeong, rubbing his throbbing head, nodded and averted his eyes. Only then did I exhale slowly and approach the Jade Orb.
Then.
Something extraordinary began to unfold.
Whoosh—!
The atmosphere suddenly shifts.
The twisted sensations that had saturated the Forbidden Land vanish in an instant, and gradually everything returns to its proper place.
As if the Formation of Truth itself had been shattered.
In the instant I widened my eyes in shock at the sudden turn of events.
Crash—!
Something hurtled toward us.
Tremendous speed and destructive force.
The moment I hastily grabbed Jang Chuchyeong and pulled us away from our position.
Boom—!
A massive crater opened where I had been standing.
“Well, well—so what I suspected was actually true.”
At the voice that followed, I held my breath.
Simultaneously, thick mist rolled in.
It formed a single mass that flew toward us, then halted before me and dispersed.
And with it, revealed were.
“Yeom Ji-hak….”
“Hehehehe—.”
Yeom Ji-hak appeared with a staff in hand, and the hunchbacked Chu Won with his bent back.
The worst scenario had unfolded—two Gakju of the Twelve Angles appearing simultaneously.
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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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