The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 170

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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 170

Once the Imperial Regent and his subordinates vanished from sight, I found myself standing alone in that place.
As the tension drained away, pain flooded in from every direction.
From the Forbidden Land until now.
It felt as though I had reached the end of one chapter in a journey where nothing had come easily.
Though I had not obtained what I truly desired, the gains were far from negligible.
I had awakened Sword Force, and I had acquired Mu Heo’s final sword dance.
In truth, the latter mattered far more than the former.
I etched every detail of what had unfolded before my eyes into my memory once more, then exhaled slowly.
Soon after, I approached the lifeless form of Yeom Ji-hak.
I examined the sprawled corpse.
The first place I checked was the crown of his head.
“All it took was a single finger strike….”
A small hole pierced through the crown of Yeom Ji-hak’s skull.
Recalling how he had sprayed blood from every part of his body as he died, it seemed he had channeled some form of spiritual energy through that opening, rupturing not only his limbs and meridians but his very life channels as well.
In all my years, I had never heard of such a technique.
And that was not the only thing that troubled me.
Every member of Singyeo I had encountered thus far possessed no memories of their past.
Considering Singyeo’s movements up to now, it seemed highly likely that even the entity calling itself “The Divine” retained no memories of the past.
Yet how was it that only the Imperial Regent could accomplish such a thing?
That was the most perplexing aspect of all.
“In any case, this is troubling.”
I scratched my head and sighed.
Soon, I turned my gaze to the ground.
Both Singyeo and the Imperial Regent were problems, but what weighed most heavily on my mind at this moment was the broken sword.
A gift from my grandfather—a legendary blade forged by the greatest blacksmith of the age.
Now that he had passed from this world, it was impossible to craft another like it.
Though he had successors, they could not match his skill, and even if a new blade were forged, there was no guarantee it would possess the same strength and sharpness as this one.
It had been a battle where I gained much and lost much.
I sighed once more and gathered every fragment of the broken blade.
Then I tore a strip from my garment and wrapped them all carefully before departing.
I moved with urgency.
Given the caliber of my opponents, if the battle was still ongoing, I needed to lend whatever aid I could.
Thus I unleashed my lightness technique and propelled myself forward with terrible speed.
As the Forbidden Land where the fierce combat had raged drew ever closer, the sounds of collision ceased—the battle had ended.
The moment I descended into the interior.
I saw countless figures.
Most of them were warriors from the Namman Yasugun.
Covered in blood as proof of the fierce battle they had waged, they sat scattered about, catching their breath.
The ground around them was littered with corpses—torn, trampled, slashed, and severed.
As I turned my gaze from the evidence of how brutal the fighting had been, I spotted Baek Gu sitting alone in one corner.
It seemed the beast had also played a significant role in this battle, for his once snow-white fur was now stained a deep crimson.
He licked at himself as if grooming.
It resembled self-care, but given that he was a beast, I wondered if he was actually savoring the taste of blood.
As I turned my head with a bitter smile, a familiar figure caught my eye.
“Young Master!”
The first to rush toward me was none other than Jang Chuchyeong.
Like the others, he looked quite battered.
It was evidence that he had endured this battle well. The same was true of Namgung Yeon standing beside him—both bore clear signs of exhaustion in their eyes.
Yet it seemed there was something more urgent than rest.
The one who had rushed over with a pallid expression gasped for breath.
I greeted the two warmly.
“I’m relieved to see you both look well.”
“Ah—Lady Namgung helped me greatly. Thanks to her, I survived.”
“Jang Howei assisted me diligently. I received considerable aid from him.”
The words were similar, yet something felt different.
Jang Chuchyeong, who had spoken first, glared at Namgung Yeon with an expression full of displeasure, but she met his gaze without flinching.
It seemed another fight might break out if I let this continue.
I sighed and asked.
“So, what’s all this fuss about?”
“Ah, it’s not something else! My master has collapsed!”
The Demon King himself?
As Jang Chuchyeong pointed toward one side, I naturally turned my head to look in that direction.
Gu Gunbaek, with his massive frame, lay sprawled on the ground.
His entire body was drenched in blood, evidence of the intense battle he had fought.
From the way he lay motionless, one might have thought he was dead.
Fortunately, however, Chaeseoha was at his side.
The way she moved her hands about, applying medicinal herbs and brewing herbal decoctions, suggested that his breath had not yet ceased.
I slowly approached her.
The fragrance of medicinal herbs permeated my nostrils thickly.
“How is his condition?”
“He’s badly injured. There are places where flesh and bone have been torn away in chunks. I can’t fathom what kind of person he fought to end up like this….”
Chaeseoha, who had been murmuring while looking at Gu Gunbaek in response to my question, glanced at me and fell silent.
Soon after, she examined the wounds scattered across his body, pressed her fingers against her brow with a frown, and sighed.
“What on earth did you do to end up like this?”
“We fought. Brutally so.”
At my words, Chaeseoha’s face went pale as she drew in a sharp breath.
Soon after, she exhaled a long sigh and looked at me, asking again.
“…Is courting death your hobby?”
“It just happened to turn out this way. But since I’m alive and well, isn’t that what matters?”
“Sigh— First, take off your clothes and lie down.”
“You’re the elder here, not me.”
“I’ve treated it roughly, so don’t worry. You didn’t die, after all. Now, lie down.”
Faced with such resolute words, I had no choice but to nod.
One more refusal and she looked ready to use paralytic poison to force me down.
So I casually stripped off my upper garment and tossed it aside.
Despite being bare-chested, Chaeseoha nodded familiarly as she examined me, then began moving her hands deftly to apply medicinal herbs.
There were countless tears and cuts across my body.
In my haste to arrive, I hadn’t even properly stemmed the bleeding, so blood still flowed from many wounds—Chaeseoha couldn’t help but sigh.
“Whether it’s the Young Master or you, you’re all the same. Goodness… how can you treat your body so recklessly?”
“There were circumstances. I’m fortunate to have survived at all.”
“That’s exactly the kind of fight the Young Master would get into.”
Another sigh escaped her lips as Chaeseoha’s sharp gaze fixed upon me.
Unable to meet that reproachful look, I found my eyes drifting to Gu Gunbaek lying beside me.
He was like a towering ancient tree that seemed it would never fall, no matter what.
Yet seeing such a man now lying covered in blood felt strangely disconcerting.
He must have pushed himself to the limit.
Whatever enmity existed between him and Chu Won, the killing intent he displayed—the kind that meant they could not share the same sky—suggested he had thrown his fists with nothing but the will to destroy.
Which meant he had spared his body not at all.
Though Gu Gunbaek was fond of drink and crude speech, I knew that once battle commenced, he judged situations with cold clarity and moved with precision—so this was somewhat unexpected.
“You did something foolish.”
“What? Want to die?”
The moment the words left my mouth, a thick voice struck my ears as if he had been awake all along.
I understood at once.
Ah, so he had been feigning unconsciousness out of embarrassment.
I turned my head slightly to meet Gu Gunbaek’s gaze—it was lethal.
The gleam in his eyes seemed to extinguish a person’s spirit in an instant.
Though he lay there, the Demon King had not departed.
I met that gaze with a bitter smile.
“You weren’t unconscious?”
“I was just lying here. Do I look so weak that I’d lose consciousness?”
I shook my head.
I knew well enough that he was stronger than anyone and far removed from weakness.
But he was lying here receiving treatment all the same.
Against someone inferior to him, no less.
I was about to deliver a barbed remark when his eyes blazed even more fiercely, forcing me to swallow my words and offer something I didn’t mean.
“Of course I believed you would win. But it seems you took an unexpected blow.”
“Tch, what could that bastard do to me? I just kept pounding him and ended up like this.”
Gu Gunbaek furrowed his brow as he recalled those events from back then.
One could discern it simply from his expression.
Gu Gunbaek knew Chu Won’s nature better than anyone else.
The moment it seemed he might lose, he would resort to any means necessary to escape—that much was certain.
It appeared he had believed that the only way to kill him was to press forward with maximum speed and sever his lifeline in one decisive strike.
That was why he must have found himself in a situation where he had no choice but to overextend himself.
He grasped the essence of Chu Won’s character with remarkable precision.
Thinking thus, I naturally arrived at a conviction: it was highly likely that this clash between Gu Gunbaek and Chu Won was not their first encounter.
As I was organizing my thoughts in that brief moment—
Gu Gunbaek’s voice reached me once more.
“Setting that aside, how did you manage to survive?”
“Well, I find myself wondering the same thing. Should I call it destiny?”
This was the truth.
Had Gwanbaek not appeared at that moment, I would have undoubtedly become a corpse.
Calling it destiny would have been no exaggeration.
Did he sense such feelings within me?
Gu Gunbaek broke into a grin.
“So you’ve broken through a barrier?”
“I have not advanced beyond it.”
“Hehehehe, the fact that you’ve shattered a barrier at your age is remarkable in itself. If word of this reached the Central Plains, it would cause quite the uproar.”
“It is thanks to your guidance. Without it, I would never have attempted such a thing.”
At my words, Gu Gunbaek snorted derisively.
Yet his expression bore no malice—his lips were filled with an unmistakable smile.
“Simply surviving within that place would have yielded considerable gains. But you took one step further, so I cannot claim full credit. More importantly, what of that Dao?”
“It was taken from me.”
“What? By whom?!”
At the sudden question, I hesitated for a moment.
Whether I should answer or remain silent.
Even if I did speak, whether I should use the name Gwanbaek or Mu Heo.
Though they were the same person either way, the name most likely to strike Gu Gunbaek’s mind with force was none other than Mu Heo.
After a brief deliberation, I chose not to speak it aloud.
“It was taken by Cheon-un.”
At my words, Gu Gunbaek regarded me with exasperation and snorted. But soon, as if he had no interest in the Jade Orb whatsoever, he waved his hand dismissively like shooing away a fly.
“Never mind. It was never meant to be mine anyway. Though the Formation of Truth has been broken because of it, I suppose I should be satisfied that the lands I can traverse have expanded.”
Despite the Formation of Truth—the very symbol of the Namman Yasugun—being shattered, Gu Gunbaek spoke and laughed as if it were of little consequence.
From his gaze and expression, I could discern his true feelings.
He seemed to wish to savor the lingering satisfaction of having achieved his original purpose.
At that sight, I smiled softly and turned my head.
I could feel Chaeseoha’s careful touch upon me.
Each time her hand made contact with my skin, the mounting pain began to fade, and it felt like a lullaby.
My eyelids grew heavy, and my eyes slowly closed.
I was drawn deeper and deeper into the abyss of slumber.

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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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