The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 258

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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 258

I gazed steadily at the gathered figures before me.
Though numbering just over a dozen, each one radiated an aura far from ordinary.
Their presence was not merely ominous—it verged on feral.
The eyes visible between their masks held no mercy, and the killing intent they directed toward me was so thick and viscous it felt tangible.
They had clearly been cultivated in preparation for the Twelve Corners, their prowess evident enough that engaging them with swords seemed to favor them.
In the end, I withdrew my blade and smiled.
“Did you all come out for a leisurely stroll together?”
“Stop spouting nonsense. We’re not here to trade barbs with you.”
The man who had just crossed swords with me.
His voice clearly belonged to the one leading this group.
The way he regarded me with sharp eyes, never wavering, suggested he recognized me as a threat requiring utmost caution.
It appeared a graceful acknowledgment of his opponent’s caliber, but in a one-against-many situation, feigning carelessness would serve better.
I clicked my tongue lightly and shrugged casually.
“Regardless, this situation makes one thing clear—your esteemed self seeks to obtain something.”
“…Step aside or die.”
With the man’s words, the killing intent grew even thicker.
His resolute demeanor suggested this situation would not be resolved easily.
I narrowed my eyes slightly and raised my sword.
Ready for blades to rain down at any moment, I tightened my grip and released my aura to match his.
The man’s energy and mine collided head-on.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
Pebbles and stones scattered, unable to withstand the violent force, and the wind from the clashing auras swept violently across the surroundings.
The tension was so taut that no one could speak a word.
Should even one person move, it seemed certain that blades would rain down like a signal flare.
Considering the man’s numerical advantage, the fight would clearly turn disadvantageous for me, yet I was certain they would not emerge unscathed either.
When the fighting ended, it was impossible to know who would remain standing—the tension was that precarious.
“Ugh… Uhhh….”
Was it because of that aura?
Hao Munzhu trembled and let out a whimper.
As if that sound were a signal, the man’s subordinates began to move.
The man’s hand rose, stopping those who tried to advance.
I watched the situation unfold and posed a question.
“What’s your game?”
“The one before you possesses what we need. Simply hand it over, and I’ll let you go.”
“Me? Or us?”
“Of course, that one is excluded. Few can survive after seeing us. You’re fortunate, Jin Cheon-u. You’ll live to return.”
The man’s words carried a weighty finality.
There were multiple meanings to letting me live.
First, they wouldn’t want the Divine Sect’s shield to disappear, and if a fight broke out here, the aftermath would surely weigh on their minds.
Could that even be called good fortune?
On the other hand, their attempt to kill Hao Munzhu was to prevent information from leaking.
Since she was the type to sell information and pocket money, they must be anxious about when and how their secrets might spill out.
From their perspective, it would be most comfortable to eliminate her while they had the chance, since they wouldn’t want her alive.
But I couldn’t simply hand her over either.
“I apologize, but I’m here at a friend’s request as well. I can’t go back on my word, so I’m afraid I must decline your proposal.”
“Even if it means death?”
“For whom? You?”
Whoooosh—
The wind grew increasingly violent.
Neither the man nor I gave an inch.
The tension hung suspended, ready to snap but not quite breaking.
Both of us were walking a razor’s edge, it seemed.
But such a stalemate couldn’t last forever. Either I’d find a way to break through, or I’d have to kill them all.
I narrowed my eyes further and opened my mouth.
“Munzhu, do you happen to know who they are?”
“…I don’t.”
“Would you be willing to find out in the future?”
“No! I know nothing! I just… want to go home.”
Hao Munzhu shook her head, trembling.
The relentless chase had exhausted her body and spirit, and the constant pressure and murderous intent seemed to have gnawed away at her very soul.
Even the Heavenly Secret Manual, which she’d desperately wanted to obtain before death, now seemed meaningless.
The situation was entirely different from when she’d escaped with the manual in hand.
If I stepped back, she would certainly die.
For Hao Munzhu, who lacked even the strength to flee, it made no difference whether she’d die with the manual stolen or beg for her life by surrendering it.
Tremble, tremble—
As expected.
With trembling hands, she barely managed to pull the Heavenly Secret Manual from her bosom and threw it toward the man with great effort.
“…Please, spare my life. I saw nothing and know nothing. Furthermore, I will not seek to learn who you are, nor will I speak of it.”
Her voice rang out desperately, begging for her life.
Had her body been in better condition, she would have prostrated herself on the ground.
The choices given to her were meager at best.
She could neither flee nor hide.
I watched the situation for a moment, then looked back at the man.
“So that’s how it is.”
“You believe her?”
The man who received the Heavenly Secret Manual checked its contents and let out a laugh of disbelief.
Then his eyes gleamed with a sharp, piercing light.
Even though I had achieved my objective, the sharp momentum didn’t dissipate—it seemed I intended to finish things cleanly by killing Hao Munzhu.
“Believe it or not, that’s your choice. Besides, with your level of skill, the moment you catch even the smallest rumor, you’d have the ability to kill without anyone knowing—wouldn’t you?”
No matter how exceptional Hao Munzhu’s lightness technique was or how well she concealed herself, she couldn’t escape the gaze of Gwanbaek, who reads the heavenly secrets.
Moreover, since he appeared to be preparing to face the Divine Cult, he would have already secured informants from places as valuable as Hao Omun for gathering intelligence.
Even if that weren’t the case, with their level of skill, they could reduce Hao Omun to ruins in a single breath, so I thought there was no need for us to shed blood here and now.
As expected, the man seemed to have reached the same conclusion as I had—the flickering light in his eyes gradually died away, and eventually a sigh escaped his lips.
The moment I thought he had given up.
The man’s sword suddenly swung through the air.
Crack!
Compressed energy shot forth like an arrow.
Seeing this, I likewise swung my sword.
Boom!
Tremendous destructive force surged through me as my body was pushed backward.
But that wasn’t the problem.
I tried to extend my sword again to block whatever was coming, but having already been pushed back by the energy, I couldn’t strike it down precisely.
Scrape!
My extended blade grazed past the flying dagger’s edge.
In that instant.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
The dagger, riding the wave of energy, struck precisely between Hao Munzhu’s brows.
Trembling—
Hao Munzhu’s eyes, which had been fixed on me while her body shook, rapidly lost their light, and eventually, as the fire dimmed, she slowly collapsed.
Without realizing it, I narrowed my brows and looked at the man, whose eyes curved like crescents.
As if he were smiling.
“You expect me to do such tedious work? If our positions were reversed, you would have chosen the same.”
I stared at him silently.
With nothing left to protect, my mind felt somewhat lighter.
If a fight breaks out, I intend to cut down everything with certainty.
Did he sense that feeling?
He looked at me intently, then lifted the container holding the heavenly secrets map and posed a question.
“Do you happen to know what this is?”
“My objective was always Hao Munzhu’s safe survival. But now, that promise has become something I cannot keep.”
“…I hope those words are true. If we meet again over this matter, then… I will kill you.”
“Can you?”
Smirk—
In that moment, a scoff escaped the man’s lips.
Just from that alone, I sensed that this man possessed abilities beyond what was visible to the eye.
Either the skills he had shown before weren’t his full extent, or there was a high probability he possessed the power of Gok Ok.
I leaned toward the latter.
The man said nothing more and turned his back.
His final gaze upon me was decidedly cold.
As the gathered white-faced men swiftly dispersed, I found myself alone and released a long sigh, turning my attention elsewhere.
“All that effort to keep him alive…”
What came into view was none other than Hao Munzhu, his breath already stilled.
His condition was so pitiful that I couldn’t help but think it absurd—one would need the annotations of Zijiao just to make him walk about in presentable form.
Yet I calmly extended my sword and tore open the corpse’s upper garment.
Bare flesh marked with countless cuts lay exposed, but the tattoo that should have been inscribed upon his chest was nowhere to be found.
“This one and that one—they all seek to use people for their own purposes.”
Therefore, this man was not Hao Munzhu.
The very absence of the chest tattoo that should have marked him as the sect leader made it clear—this was a shadow placed in the leader’s stead.
Now that I thought about it, I had observed many things unbecoming of a sect master.
His lightness technique was considerable, yet something was lacking.
That I could escape their pursuit was surely because fortune and circumstance aligned perfectly, nothing more.
The true Hao Munzhu had been issuing orders from elsewhere, and it was certain that this shadow had discovered the Heavenly Mechanism Blade.
Then was sending Baek Jin-hwa to me Hao Munzhu’s intention?
To guard the Heavenly Mechanism Blade, one would certainly need someone of exceptional skill.
I was displeased at being led about according to Ha Omun’s scheme, but since I had gained considerable benefit as well, I let it pass.
“Two things have become clear now.”
One was that Gwanbaek desired the Heavenly Mechanism Blade for reasons unknown, and the other was the Heavenly Mechanism Blade that Hao Munzhu’s shadow had discovered.
It was genuine beyond any shadow of doubt.
The white-faced man had taken it without the slightest hesitation.
Then what was it that Gwanbaek truly wanted?
I considered whether it might be the Gok Ok, but given that the Divine Sect’s movements remained quiet thus far, I concluded it was likely not that.
Still, I found myself curious.
The elder brother of one called ‘the Divine’—one who was once Geomcheon Muheo.
What an existence that transcends humanity itself desires.
Though I knew not what it was, I felt I could seize it before anyone else.
If the location that came to mind upon seeing countless threads was accurate, I had spared myself the trouble of searching.
“I never thought I’d return there.”
I smiled and turned my gaze.
Southwest.
Not visible from here, but certainly in Hubei.

Mount Taiyang.

That place where my breath once scattered for the last time, where the cliff wind colder than a sword’s edge cut through flesh, and crimson blood stained the rocks—that day.
There, I died.
And now, I have been reborn.
And now, to the place where death once claimed me, I shall set foot first.

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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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