The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 167

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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 167

BOOM—!
The earth trembled as a tempest swept across the land.
The shaking was so violent that merely standing became a struggle, and the fierce wind forced even those locked in combat to exert every ounce of strength just to maintain their balance.
Indeed, the impact rippled outward even to the beasts.
Despite having already exploded and vanished, the lingering influence of Gu Gunbaek’s power seemed to reach them—the creatures wailed and cowered in terror.
These were beings with senses far more acute than humans.
They could not help but be affected most severely.
“AAAHHHHH!”
At the sound of that agonized cry, those who had been dazed snapped their heads toward its source.
It was Chu Won.
The hunchbacked old man was shrieking in agony.
His entire body was drenched in blood.
His upper garments had been completely torn away, and every inch of his skin had been flayed, blood streaming from the raw flesh beneath.
One might question whether he was even alive—the sight was that gruesome.
Yet he lived still.
“Hah… hah…”
Breathing heavily, he forced his turbulent spirit to calm, then glared at Gu Gunbaek with terrifying intensity, grinding his teeth.
Crack—!
“You wretch—!”
“Hahahaha! You survived that? Your life thread is remarkably stubborn.”
Gu Gunbaek laughed heartily at the sight of the grinding teeth.
Then, in the moment he clenched his fist.
Whoosh—!
His form scattered like mist.
Simultaneously, nothing could be sensed.
In that instant, even Gu Gunbaek’s acute senses could not detect him—the dispersed Chu Won had become mist itself.
Yet Chu Won failed to realize one crucial thing.
Standing before him was the Lord of the Southern Savage Palace.
Throughout the long history of the Southern Savage martial world, he was counted among the mightiest, alongside the First Mansion Lord.
Moreover, there were tales that he had shared his soul with the Demon Tiger, a spirit beast—a human who stood closest to the beasts themselves. That was Gu Gunbaek.
He turned his head.
A subtle scent mingled with the sensation of mist.
Feeling his nerves sharpen, he shifted his gaze in that instant.
CRASH—!
Chu Won’s palm strike erupted forth with terrifying force.
It shattered what seemed to be Gu Gunbaek’s unbreakable protective aura, and his fingers ground through flesh and bone as they drove into the man’s chest.
Yet the wound was shallow.
At most, his flesh was gouged.
At best, his bones were shattered.
A wounded beast pays no heed to such trivial matters—instead, it tears at its opponent’s throat with its own razor-sharp fangs.
Gu Gunbaek’s hand seized Chu Won’s arm.
“…!”
“Was it this hand? The one that tore my Elder Sister to death?!”
Crack—!
In the same breath, he wrenched the arm clean off.
But before a scream could escape, his extended hand clamped down on Chu Won’s jaw, squeezing with brutal force.
“Guh—ugh, ugh, ughhhh!”
Chu Won thrashed under pressure that threatened to shatter his jaw, desperately searching for any means of escape, yet the tide of battle had already turned irrevocably against him. There was nothing left he could do.
Gu Gunbaek’s eyes gleamed as his lips curled upward.
His gaze, steeped in a thick, viscous killing intent, blazed with fervor.
“I told you that day, didn’t I? That I would tear your limbs to shreds.”
Gu Gunbaek began to make good on his promise.
He seized the remaining arm and tore it away, then moved behind the hunchbacked figure and forcibly straightened his curved spine.
“It would be a shame to die as a hunchback. I was planning to straighten you out anyway.”
Crack—!
“Guhhhhhh—!”
With his mouth clamped shut, Chu Won could not even properly voice his agony, yet he convulsed wildly, his body wracked with pain. Unmoved, Gu Gunbaek, consumed by fury, tore away the remaining two legs.
Rip—!
“Gaaahhhhh—!”
“Tch, so noisy.”
Gu Gunbaek gazed upon Chu Won—now nothing but a torso—and let out a cold chuckle. The way he showed not the slightest concern for the blood dripping from his own body made it seem as though he had lived solely for this moment.
Trembling—
Chu Won’s state was beyond description.
Blood and saliva streamed from his mouth in a continuous flow.
His eyes had rolled back halfway, and from his severed arms and legs, blood poured ceaselessly, slowly dragging him toward death.
Yet was this not too merciful a death?
Gu Gunbaek turned his head.
Though fierce combat still raged, the Sect Members who had witnessed Chu Won’s fate moved with visibly broken morale.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say they were terrified?
Observing this, Gu Gunbaek let out a low chuckle and turned his gaze toward the growling wounded beasts gathered to one side.
Once he confirmed their presence, Gu Gunbaek tilted his chin slightly and opened his mouth.
“Chew him slowly into small pieces.”
Growwwl—
The beasts gathered nearby slowly advanced toward Chu Won.
“Kyahahaha—”
Confirming this, Gu Gunbaek stretched languidly.
In that moment, he noticed blood trickling from various places, and when he inserted a finger into the punctured wound in his ribs, his brow furrowed.
It was far more serious than I had anticipated.
Flesh and bone had been torn away wholesale, and even my organs bore grievous wounds.
The dizziness that had begun the moment my tension released was itself a testament to how much blood I had lost.
The instant I recognized this, Gu Gunbaek’s body collapsed helplessly to the ground.
Thud!
“Master—!”

* * *

Though distant, I felt the thunderous sounds that had testified to the fierce exchange of blows suddenly cease.
By that alone, it seemed the battle between Gu Gunbaek and Chu Won had already reached its conclusion.
Unable to directly confirm who had prevailed, my curiosity remained unsatisfied, yet my circumstances did not permit me to rush over immediately.
“Are you curious?”
“It doesn’t seem that way with you, does it?”
“Hehehehe, of course not. The Demon King is certainly formidable, but not enough to overcome Chu Won.”
Yeom Ji-hak spoke with absolute certainty.
The Twelve Elders were those who had inherited power from the Sect Leader—a being scarcely distinguishable from divinity itself.
Each individual possessed extraordinary ability, and armed with incomprehensible powers besides, even the Demon King could not prevail against them—such was the conviction evident in his words.
The reason I could not refute Yeom Ji-hak’s assertion stemmed from past events.
Gu Gunbaek, who had been instructing Jang Chuchyeong, had suddenly disappeared upon receiving some letter.
Considering what had unfolded now, Chu Won must have invaded Namman once more, and ultimately dissolved the Formation of Truth to claim the Jade Orb he desired.
In that process, there must have been a confrontation with Gu Gunbaek, and I retained memories of frequently crossing blades with Chu Won afterward.
Yet considering that no word of Gu Gunbaek had reached me since, it was only right to conclude he had been defeated.
Chu Won alone could never have managed it.
Among the Twelve Angles, though his medical skill was exceptional, his martial prowess was the weakest—in a one-on-one confrontation, he could never overcome Gu Gunbaek.
Naturally, as things stood now, it was far more likely that two Elders had fought him, or perhaps that such men as the Sword Emperor had fought alongside Chu Won.
But what if only Gu Gunbaek and Chu Won had clashed, the two of them alone?
Had Gu Gunbaek’s eyes not gone wild, I was certain the situation would have concluded without grievous injury.
He had even witnessed my piercing through the mist.
He was not one to fail to grasp its meaning.
I let out a soft chuckle.
“What’s so amusing?”
“The notion that someone as insignificant as Chu Won could actually defeat the Demon King.”
“Hehehehe—what significance does a mere martial artist from the Central Plains hold?”
“Then what business does the man who was beaten and fled from that very martial artist have speaking?”
Had that single remark struck a nerve?
Yeom Ji-hak’s brow furrowed sharply.
In the next instant, I saw his form flicker like an afterimage.
Screech—!
Feeling the alarm bells ringing in my mind, I twisted my body urgently and swung my sword.
Clang—!
The staff and sword collided in a sudden clash, creating a resonant metallic ring.
Yeom Ji-hak and I faced each other, pushing against one another as we began our test of strength.
“I felt it last time too, but do you perhaps read the future? Your reactions are far too swift for mere sensory awareness—that’s why I ask.”
“Only you read emotions.”
Clang—!
Yeom Ji-hak and I pushed away from each other simultaneously, channeling our full force.
The moment we separated, he drew a blade concealed within his staff.
As I observed it.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!
The sword stroke itself was invisible, yet a crescent-shaped sword aura descended with terrifying intent.
Clang—clang—!
I received it with my blade’s flat and redirected it smoothly.
His sword mastery was flawlessly superior beyond comparison, yet as long as I didn’t meet him head-on, I could manage some defense.
Was that why?
Yeom Ji-hak’s brow furrowed.
He rushed toward me with even greater speed.
As I settled into my stance.
Zing—!
The moment an image flashed through my mind, his blade thrust forward—like a serpent stalking prey, utterly instantaneous.
Simultaneously, I recognized it as the swordsmanship Hoyeon had wielded.
Clang—!
I twisted my blade to alter its trajectory.
The sword aimed at my throat grazed past my shoulder instead.
A burning sensation told me the flesh had been cut.
Yet it was far from over.
Yeom Ji-hak wielded his blade with even greater speed.
Whether to make it impossible to respond even if I saw the future, his relentless barrage allowed no moment to relax my guard.
Clang—! Clang—!
I swung my sword, deflecting the shimmering aura like heat waves, parrying in rhythm to break his momentum and seize an opening.
Then Yeom Ji-hak raised his blade high.
Zing—!
The instant he brought it down.
A precisely controlled yet devastating force compressed into the stroke, and as he swung, a line appeared as though a whip had lashed through the air.
In that moment, I rolled across the ground.
The sword aura, tearing through the wind in a straight line, cleaved through trees and boulders, carving a deep wound into the earth itself.
A single stroke delivered with apparent ease.
Yet the landscape around me bore witness to anything but ease.
As though tofu had been sliced clean through.
Despite the absence of any visible exertion, the destructive power transcended imagination.
Whoosh—
I steadied my breathing, feeling the cold sweat trickling down my face.
Then I caught sight of Yeom Ji-hak’s eyes, fixed upon me with an unwavering gaze.
“Why not surrender now? I’ll at least spare your life.”
“When two stand face to face like this, one of us must fall. Don’t you understand that yet?”
“You bastard….”
Yeom Ji-hak gnashed his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury.
As if to prove he had been holding back until now, his aura erupted with devastating force, surging violently around us.
The oppressive weight of his presence—as though I stood before the Demon King himself—was something no one could face without trembling.
Yet I centered myself, drawing in measured breaths to calm my mind.
How many times had I faced such moments?
Counting all the trials from my past and everything I had endured until now, even two hands and two feet would not suffice to number them.
Then there was only one path forward.
The single thought that had crystallized the moment I encountered him in this place.
I would cut him down.
Whoosh—!
I raised my sword with absolute certainty—not standing here to die, but to surpass him and survive.
I channeled the flow of the Heavenly Current into my blade and hurled myself forward.
“…!”
Shing—!

Form Shift, Position Exchange.

Deploying the Supreme Ascending Technique, I closed the distance to Yeom Ji-hak in the mere blink of an eye—a span so brief there was no time for hesitation.
As his gaze snapped back to me, I unleashed my blade.
Claaang—!
Boom—!
The instant our swords collided.
Yeom Ji-hak’s feet, planted firmly against the earth, carved deep furrows into the ground beneath him.
The speed and flow were formidable, but the force channeled through this strike exceeded his expectations.
His eyes widened in shock, proving it.
As I flowed my crossed blade like water, shifting and adapting, Yeom Ji-hak struggled desperately to break free using the Golden Serpent technique, unwilling to be drawn into my current.
Yet there was no escaping this technique.
Not in the past, and not now.
Watching Yeom Ji-hak gradually pulled deeper into my flow, I smirked—but in that instant, sensing something ominous, I shattered the technique and retreated urgently.
At the same moment, both our blades swept forth.
Screech—!
Yeom Ji-hak’s sword bit into my left forearm, while mine carved across his chest collar.
By any measure, his technique held a slight edge in this exchange—yet I could not simply smile at what unfolded before my eyes.
Pop—!
The Jade Orb I had concealed within my chest burst free and tumbled away.
The moment I witnessed his expression of shock, I moved faster still, hurling myself toward the Jade Orb.
“You bastard—!”
The voice that rang out with spine-chilling ferocity was no illusion—it perfectly overlapped with the anguished scream I had heard atop Mount Taeag.
At last, a new Jade Orb drew near.

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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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