The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 261

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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 261

I climbed Mount Taeак while continuously surveying my surroundings.
Gone was the desolation of the past—only majestic vistas greeted my eyes. Yet with each step along the path, memories of what had transpired lingered in every corner I beheld.
How many I had cut down in that place, or how perilous another location had been.
One spot in particular stood out—the very location where a figure had blocked my path as I fled from the Heaven’s Net Snare.
The place where I had faced Moryeong Hyeok.
I stood at that crossroads and steadied my breathing.
Moryeong Hyeok was unmistakably different now than he had been then.
He had grown under the radiance of the greatest clan in the realm and the Sword Emperor’s authority as leader of the Martial Arts Alliance, cultivating himself into the strongest existence of the late stages, advancing ever upward.
“He was far less clumsy back then.”
Had I left Moryeong Hyeok alone, he would have grown alongside such glory.
He would surely have stood before me and raised his blade, so I harbored no guilt whatsoever for what I had done to him.
I smiled faintly and turned my head.
Whoosh—!
What came flying was none other than Paeng Dohan’s saber.
Simultaneously, as if waiting for the moment, Eon Garyeo’s fist extended forward. I evaded it lightly and swept my sword guard, laying both of them low.
Thud!
“Ugh?!”
“Kugh!”
I clicked my tongue watching them tumble down so ungracefully.
A momentary pang of pity struck me at their wretched state, but I pressed the assault, swinging my sword guard once more.
Otherwise, they might perish.
Boom—!
The earth shattered as both their bodies flew skyward with the debris. They regained consciousness amid violent groans and barely managed to steady themselves, their feet touching ground with difficulty.
“Huff, huff….”
“Haah… haah….”
Their ragged breathing was heavier than before entering Mount Taeак.
Sweat poured down, and their wretched appearance was equally dire.
I had said I would take them in and kept them by my side, but that alone could not elevate their insufficient skills in one stroke.
They still lacked much and remained immature in many ways.
Thus, the best decision I could make.
To press them relentlessly and hammer real combat instincts into their bodies.
“You’re too simplistic. Faster and more intricate. You must read the situation one step ahead as I’ve told you.”
“That’s easier said than done… how can I do that in such a brief moment?”
“That’s precisely why I keep pressing you—to make it possible.”
I swung my sword guard once more.
The sharp sound of splitting wind accompanied the sword energy that shot forth. But to think it merely ordinary sword energy would be a grave mistake.
It possessed such keenness it could cleave through flesh and bone alike.
The two men, startled, leaped to either side.
Yet I had anticipated even that.
The small pebble I had already kicked flew in an instant, striking both men’s chests.
Thud-thud!
As they stumbled backward with sharp groans, their eyes clearly betrayed confusion—they couldn’t fathom what technique had caught them.
Moreover, they seemed utterly lost on how to engage an opponent who had read their moves from the very beginning.
From their expressions alone, I could discern just how naive the Changryong Dan had been in their endeavors.
“Predicting an opponent’s next move is fundamental to any martial artist. If you cannot manage even that, you should set down your swords and take up farming.”
“…You are no merchant, Young Master.”
“If merchants can do what warriors cannot, then what are we to do?”
As I regarded them with questioning eyes, they seemed at a loss for words, their mouths opening and closing like fish.
There was simply no excuse to be made.
I smiled faintly and turned my back once more, ascending the mountain.
“Ugh—but where exactly are we going like this? No matter how I look at it, we just keep going deeper and deeper. Four days have already passed.”
“We’ll need to go for another day and a half. That’s where the real test begins.”
“This isn’t the end?”
“No, that’s correct.”
Paeng Dohan and Eon Garyeo continued to check the gap ahead of me, their voices weary with questioning.
They had grown somewhat accustomed to being struck, yet they continued climbing the mountain despite their battered bodies.
No matter how much they elevated their physical state through cultivation, continuing like this left them with no choice but to tire.
Their grumbling complaints were undoubtedly born of this exhaustion.
“What could possibly be on this mountain…?”
“We’re going to find out.”
I recalled the black lines drawn in my mind.
The place those haphazardly drawn lines indicated.
As if fate itself were drawing us together, it appeared vividly in my thoughts.
I had considered visiting once, but I had not expected it to come so soon, nor had I anticipated circumstances would unfold in such a manner.
A bitter smile escaped me, and I shook my head.
I couldn’t yet grasp what Gwanbaek was searching for, but before those men began their true movements, I was eager to confirm the location of the Heavenly Mechanism Diagram.
If a fight broke out, unforeseen situations might arise.
Thus we continued onward for some time more.
The brilliant sunlight faded, and thick darkness descended.
Unable to see even a step ahead, Paeng Dohan and Eon Garyeo’s pace had slowed considerably.
Though their night vision was better than ordinary people, they had not yet reached the level to pierce through such darkness.
Of course, I did not stop.
“Huff, huff…!”
“I’m dying…”
Their ragged breathing reached my ears from behind, but there was no time to delay.
Only after forcing those on the verge of collapse forward for several more hours could we finally rest briefly, though even that consisted merely of chewing dried meat and cultivating our qi.
Was it the result of such a relentless pace?
In just a few days, both of them seemed to have lost considerable weight.
Though I had restored my physical condition somewhat through cultivation, it was insufficient to completely dispel the exhaustion accumulated over this time.
But as I always say, enemies grant no respite.
“They’re here.”
“What?!”
“Huh?”
Accompanying the sudden voice came the sound of air splitting.
Crack—!
Something faster than an arrow streaked toward Paeng Dohan.
A short blade.
The dagger hurtling at insane speed was identical to the one from before.
Clang—!
I swiftly extended my sword to deflect it, then kicked Paeng Dohan away again.
Thud!
As his massive frame was driven back, another dagger slipped through the gap, grazing past Paeng Dohan’s shoulder by mere inches.
“Wh-what is this…!”
“Did I not tell you—enemies. Move quickly.”
I narrowed my eyes, turning my gaze.
I sensed them.
Countless white-faced figures converged from all directions.
Whether searching for the location of the Heavenly Mechanism Blade, they scattered throughout the mountain, and several of their presences were now bearing down upon us.
“Jin Cheon-u—!”
Following that came the voice of a white-faced figure.
A voice brimming with fury.
Eyes blazing like flames burned with rage.
I looked at such a one and shouted again.
“Run, now!”
“Yes, understood!”
Seeing these ominous presences approaching, Paeng Dohan and Eon Garyeo began deploying their lightness technique with pallid expressions.
So swiftly they forgot their exhaustion.
Both sensed it instinctively.
That powerful experts incomparable to the martial world criminals they had seen before were densely arrayed all around them.
Their anxious eyes proved it.
Slap—!
Yet Paeng Dohan slapped his own cheek and regained his senses.
“They say if you keep your wits about you even inside a tiger’s den, you’ll survive! I don’t know who you are or what this is about, but don’t worry, Young Master. We’ll all make it back alive.”
“The reason one survives a tiger’s den is because there’s no tiger inside it.”
“…Why must you strike so directly at the heart of the matter?”
“Stop talking nonsense and run, will you!”
As their pointless exchange continued, Eon Garyeo, who had been running ahead, urged Paeng Dohan forward with a sharp voice.
Perhaps because he had regained his senses, that very moment when he moved faster to target my feet.
“I warned you that if you interfered with us again, I would not let it slide.”
A desolate voice accompanied the sudden shadow that fell across the ground.
I narrowed my eyes into a cold gaze as I looked at him.
Then I swung my sword.
Clang—!
The sound of a violent collision echoed loudly, and simultaneously the distance between me and the figure who was pushed back widened slightly. However, he was not the only one present in this place.
Screech—!
A spear flew in, cunningly targeting the gap.
The force contained in the incoming spear was heavy and swift.
Aimed directly at me, it perfectly read Baek Myeon-in’s movements as he pressed forward with his sword and exploited the gap between us flawlessly.
As if waiting for this moment, I twisted my body to evade Baek Myeon-in’s sword that was boring in, and created a sword wind that I unleashed toward the spear.
Slash—!
As the sharply fired sword wind twisted the trajectory of the incoming spear, its point, which had been aimed at me, now turned toward Baek Myeon-in.
“…!”
The man, alarmed by the sight, hastily extended his sword.
Boom—!
With a deafening sound that assaulted the ears, the spear shattered, and I could see the furrowed brow of the man who was pushed back by the tremendous force.
“It seems your lower body is not as solid as I thought.”
“Kugh?!”
I glanced at him with a sneer and launched myself forward with a powerful stomp. The distance was opening rapidly, but this was still not enough.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!
I swung my sword in all directions.
With flashing light, the large trees around me fell with an eerie sound, blocking the space between him and me.
This would widen the distance even further.
“Who, who are those people?”
“You need not know. Rather, look ahead.”
“…!?”
At my sudden words, Paeng Dohan checked ahead and widened his eyes. Baek Myeon-in, who had parted through the underbrush and revealed himself, looked at the two with emotionless eyes and extended his chain sickle.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!
The sickle, imbued with sharp sword energy, attempted to bind Eon Garyeo and Paeng Dohan’s bodies.
If it wrapped around them, there would be no escape.
Sensing such danger, did they react?
Eon Garyeo, who had been charging forward, lowered his body and slid away to evade, while Paeng Dohan sprang up and swung his saber.
Boom—!
Saber energy imbued with fierce force shot out and collided with the man’s sickle, but unable to overcome the difference in level, the saber energy scattered instead.
Simultaneously, the sickle wrapped around Paeng Dohan’s neck and began to tighten.
Slice—!
In that instant, I extended my sword and cut down the man.
As the man, his chest slashed open, revealed eyes of shock and collapsed, Paeng Dohan seized the opportunity and swung his saber once more.
Screech—!
As my blade, laden with tremendous force, cleaved through my opponent’s torso and sprayed blood, Paeng Dohan’s expression grew increasingly animated.
He clearly could not hide his exhilaration at having struck down someone stronger than himself.
“Older brother!”
Yet our coordination was truly flawless.
Eon Garyeo assessed Paeng Dohan’s state in an instant and shouted harshly. The sharp edge in that voice pierced my ears, snapping me back to focus as I composed my expression.
In circumstances like these, failing to suppress heightened emotions meant only death awaited.
Did Eon Garyeo instinctively understand this?
As a piercing gaze shot toward him in reproach, Paeng Dohan floundered awkwardly, his expression becoming strained.
Truly, we were a pair whose timing meshed perfectly.
Then.
A strange presence rapidly approached once more.
When I glanced to the side, I saw Baek Myeon-in closing the distance with terrifying speed, his feet driving hard against the ground.
And then.
Flash—!
The moment his blade gleamed with lethal sharpness.
Clang—!
My drawn sword intercepted it.
Clang—clang—
As our locked blades began a test of strength without separating, his murderous gaze remained fixed upon me without wavering.
“So you truly wish for death with such desperation.”
A mirthless laugh escaped me at the killing intent that seeped into my ears, and I clicked my tongue.
Then, pouring strength into my sword hand, I forcefully drove him back.
Whoosh—!

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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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