The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 235

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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 235

A space where ten thousand years of ice jade lay imprisoned.
The splendid and elegant landscape held a beauty so captivating that once it entered one’s eyes, it would never be forgotten.
A chill utterly different from the howling northern winds and snow of the Northern Sea, yet unmistakably the cold of that very place.
Though not a breath of wind stirred, it felt as though it seized and shook the very soul.
Gang Cheonho and I were in such a place.
Facing each other across a table, a bottle of wine beside each of us.
With the enemy I should kill standing before me, I displayed composure, drinking wine without concern.
Neither of us expected the other to launch a sudden attack. Nor did either of us harbor such petty thoughts as poisoning the wine.
We simply drank, facing one another.
As if raising cups with an old friend.
“Krahaha— I suspected someone would come, but it was really you! Auk truly is fearsome, I’ll give him that. But what possessed you to show yourself? Do you wish to die?”
“Either way, no scheme would deceive you.”
“Krahahahah! This is a masterpiece, truly!”
Gang Cheonho burst into raucous laughter, raising the wine bottle like a trumpet. Since he had come forward himself, there was no point in concealment.
There was only one method he would employ regardless.
From a position where I must struggle to survive, desperate resistance would be necessary, and ultimately my true nature would be revealed.
So I made no attempt to hide it.
Then, the curious one’s voice cut through all context and was thrust forth abruptly.
“The Shadow Assassins?”
“As you know, I killed them all. They were attempting to attack the Jin Family.”
“Kh— they were quite useful to command. Nothing else?”
“I’m not certain whether there is or isn’t.”
I offered an evasive smile, but it seemed one could not deceive a beast’s instincts, for he bared his fangs in a grin and became certain of something.
“The Four Great Families of the East?”
“Thanks to them, I ate well.”
“Hehehehe— then perhaps you were present when Jixue died?”
“I was, but I did not kill him.”
“I know, I know. It would be impossible with your strength. Gwanbaek… it was him, wasn’t it?”
I did not answer directly.
Yet silence is but affirmation.
Gang Cheonho smacked his lips and drank again.
His pupils wavered slightly, as if recalling something about Gwanbaek. It was clear that he, too, harbored fear of Gwanbaek.
I watched as he quickly composed his expression.
Until now I had received questions and answered them. Now it was my turn.
“About the Gok Ok that Auk intended to give to the Sword Emperor. Was it truly destroyed?”
“Kyakakaka—! That’s right! It’s intact. I don’t know what happened, but it returned in perfect condition. Now it awaits its true master.”
“As I thought….”
“The one who got deceived is at fault. Wouldn’t you agree?”
I nodded readily at Gang Cheonho’s words.
In the martial world, the fool who falls for deception bears the blame.
I couldn’t discern what method Auk had employed, but it was certain that he had thoroughly destroyed everything before Mo Yong-cheon’s eyes, driving him to madness.
Yet considering the hidden depths of his abilities, I wondered if he could deceive everyone present through some means.
Gok Ok possessed that much extraordinary power, after all.
In any case, I was the one who suffered in that situation.
My brow furrowed, but I soon let it go with resignation.
Then I posed my next question.
“Why does Gwanbaek oppose you?”
“Kkhahaha! Well, nothing special. We fled with one of the Divine’s possessions. Though I never expected him to survive.”
From Gang Cheonho’s words alone, I grasped the situation.
Undoubtedly, they had absconded with Gok Ok.
And it belonged to the man called the Divine.
From his tone, it was clear as day that the Divine himself had taken action, and as a result, Gwanbaek had come to the brink of death.
Recalling Gwanbaek’s appearance from before, his survival was nothing short of a miracle. So it was hardly strange for the Divine Sect to harbor such doubts.
I added one more question to this.
“Who is the Divine?”
“…Do you wish to die?”
“Is it something I shouldn’t ask about?”
“Do not speak of that person with such irreverent lips. It makes me want to tear you apart.”
The atmosphere shifted in an instant.
The expression of the man who had been laughing hardened, and his eyes gleamed with lethal intent.
Zzzt—
Just from witnessing the ferocious aura of a beast constricting my entire body surge forth unrestrained, I knew that uttering another word would bring a fist crashing down upon me.
I cleanly abandoned that line of inquiry.
Then I posed my final remaining question.
“Then, what exactly is Gok Ok? I understand it possesses special power, but is it something worth killing so many people to obtain?”
“Kkhahaha! That is not something for lowly creatures like us to know. Only the Divine himself would understand such things.”
Gang Cheonho burst into loud laughter and shook his head.
It wasn’t that he refused to answer.
It was clear that he himself knew nothing of Gok Ok. He simply accepted and used the power bestowed by the Divine, as was natural.
With no choice, I nodded and took a long draught from the wine bottle.
Gang Cheonho, too, drained the remaining wine in one gulp before rising from his seat and pointing toward a location.
“What you seek lies there.”
“You desire it as well.”
“Kkhihi! That hardly matters. Only the living will carry anything away from here.”
I turned my gaze toward the place he indicated.
A single massive tree.
A tree that bloomed with glistening snow flowers, adding beauty to the space, caught my eye. It exuded grandeur, as if it had stood guard over this place for ages untold.
Narrowing my eyes to observe it carefully, I confirmed a single transparent Gok Ok embedded in the tree trunk.
Gazing upon it—something that seemed to symbolize the Binggung itself—I slowly drew my sword.
Gang Cheonho’s eyes gleamed as he watched.
“Are you confident?”
“Hard to say, but considering I’ve survived this long, I’ll find a way.”
“Hehehehe— I look forward to it, boy.”
“Come at me, beast.”
Flash—!
In that instant, Gang Cheonho’s gaze and momentum transformed.
Swelling outward.
A savage aura expanding beyond all restraint.
The moment I felt it and tightened my grip on the sword.
Boom—!
His swung blade and his fist collided, creating a violent shockwave.
The surroundings were instantly devastated.
The beautiful landscape was torn asunder, a massive crater carved into the earth, and debris scattered in all directions as a raging tempest swept through.
Whoosh—!
Simultaneously, my body was driven backward.
The difference in strength between us became unmistakably clear as I continued to be pushed back. Even as I swung my sword again, it met only empty air, cleaving through nothing.
He was fast.
“Krahaha! Slow!”
He had fully inherited the Mountain Lord’s power.
Moving with preternatural agility, he closed the distance in an instant, his claws raking toward me with ferocious speed.
I deflected it.
Clang—!
“…!?”
I redirected his greatest force toward his weakest point.
Surprise flickered across Gang Cheonho’s eyes—a technique he hadn’t anticipated.
As if I were reading his entire martial art completely.
Clang— Clang-clang— Clang— Bang-bang—!
A relentless barrage of sword strikes erupted in sparks, and his movements grew even more ferocious. With endless fists and claws raining down, his entire body a weapon, I focused every ounce of concentration.
“Insufficient—!”
A rough cry followed.
As if this level was nowhere near enough.
Whoosh—!
His claw raked across my chest and passed through.
Fast and sharp.
Though it was merely a graze, I felt my skin split distinctly, and his fist immediately followed, striking my face.
Boom—!
With tremendous impact, my body was violently driven backward.
The moment I barely regained my balance and turned my gaze away.
A sharp whistle pierced the air—!
A chill ran through me as a single image flashed across my mind.
I hurled my body upward into the void.
“Kuhah—! So that was it?!”
A tremendous crash—!
The fist that had come hurtling at me struck the ground with devastating force, carving out a massive crater, yet Gang Cheonho showed no concern as he fixed his gaze upon my rising form.
Then he charged forward.
Leaping high, he closed the distance between us in the air with a single bound.
His fist, ominous and terrible, was wrapped in fierce momentum as it swung toward me.
A deafening boom—!
The crushing force felt as though it would pulverize my entire body.
I drew upon my protective energy to the maximum, yet the pressure bearing down upon me was extraordinary.
My skin threatened to tear apart.
Gritting my teeth against that sensation, I swung my sword.
The blade met his force, and I soared even higher.
“Ugh! This is impossible!”
Astonishment flickered across Gang Cheonho’s expression, as though he could scarcely believe the situation. Witnessing that, I unleashed a shimmering sword energy like heat waves rising from the earth.
“…!?”
Shock blazed in Gang Cheonho’s eyes.
A torrential cascade of brilliant strikes—!
Explosions erupted—!
Countless bursts of energy poured down with terrifying force.
Dozens of energy blades struck his body relentlessly while simultaneously reducing the surrounding area to devastation.
“Puhah—! I nearly died there.”
Yet Gang Cheonho remained unshaken.
Having inherited everything from the Mountain Lord, his body was exceptionally resilient, and with protective energy wrapped around him as well, my incomplete sword energy could not easily pierce through.
I furrowed my brow and steadied my mind.
A sharp impact—!
In that instant, his fist suddenly arrived and struck my abdomen.
The blow was so powerful that all the breath in my lungs was expelled, and my vision shook violently as the shock reverberated through my head.
“Die!”
Then his hand moved.
I felt a sharp sensation so chilling it made my skin crawl. If I took that strike, I would be torn into four pieces.
I desperately extended my arm.
“…!”
Three poisoned needles erupted forth in an instant, flying toward Gang Cheonho. The distance was too close to evade easily, and blocking them would not be simple either.
Yet.
However.
“Don’t toy with me!”
Pap-pap-pat!
His reflexes transcended the realm of the ordinary.
Within this cramped distance, he extended his hand and swatted away all the poisoned darts, then swung his arm in a sweeping motion.
The Mountain Lord’s claws came slashing down.
A sound so piercingly sharp it sent chills down my spine, and in the moment my body was about to be torn asunder.
Saaaaaah!
A frigid sensation swept in from somewhere, cutting between me and Gang Cheonho, blocking the Mountain Lord’s claws.
Boom!
Though the force was weak, it was effective.
Moreover, I could see that the hand which had taken the blow was now frozen solid.
Was that the reason?
Gang Cheonho furrowed his brow and retreated sharply, gazing at his own hand before turning his gaze toward a woman, his eyes narrowing.
“What is this? I didn’t invite you.”
“Haa, haa, haa…”
Standing there was a woman.
The Junior Princess of the Northern Ice Palace.
This woman, whose name I did not even know, glared at Gang Cheonho with eyes burning with fury, drawing upon all her power as she unleashed waves of frigid energy.
“I will kill you…!”
Her voice carried the full weight of her rage, her gaze sharp and merciless.
There is a saying that when a woman harbors resentment, frost falls even in summer—and this moment was its perfect embodiment.
I offered a bitter smile as I regarded her.
Then, adjusting my grip on my sword, I steadied my breathing slowly.
“Shall we coordinate our attack?”
“…”
She said nothing.
Yet, as if she had instinctively realized that her strength alone was insufficient, she nodded and fixed her gaze solely upon Gang Cheonho.
The resolve to cut down this beast no matter what.
Along with her sharply honed sword energy, waves of freezing intent poured forth to freeze all things.
I, too, felt this and steeled my resolve.
Yet while I was grateful for the woman’s appearance, even if Cheon Yul, Jang Chuchyeong, and Namgung Yeon were to gather here, we could not prevail.
The gap between us and Gang Cheonho is of that magnitude.
Having inherited everything from the Mountain Lord, his agility is unquestionable, and the disparity in his five senses, his strength, and the realm upon which he stands is severe.
But could I retreat?
Impossible.
I cannot flee with this beast before my eyes.
For it is the nature of beasts to pursue fleeing prey.
I steadied my breathing once more.
My senses remained locked upon Gang Cheonho as I shifted my gaze to survey my surroundings.
Soon, the Gok Ok embedded within the strange tree caught my eye.
A method to overcome this predicament.
Though I couldn’t discern the full extent of his power, considering the myriad of abilities I had witnessed thus far, I was certain it would prove beneficial rather than become a hindrance.
I narrowed my eyes and allowed a faint smile to grace my lips.
Now the true test begins.

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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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