The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 33

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Youngest Son of the Nakhyang Jin Family – Chapter 94

* * *

Whoosh—
Before I knew it, the sun had set and the moon had risen.
The landscape beyond the window naturally transformed.
The loud voices of merchants hawking their wares grew quiet, and the figures of people moving through the marketplace gradually began to disappear.
Taking in the sight of the quieting streets, I slipped out of the annex and stepped into the night air.
I hadn’t ventured out for any particular reason.
I simply wanted to clear my cluttered mind a bit and breathe in the cool night breeze.
I walked aimlessly, leaving the marketplace behind.
As I walked, I felt my tangled thoughts gradually becoming clearer, and I was beginning to feel a light change of mood when—
A tall, long wall and a dilapidated manor with a weathered gate caught my eye.
The worn plaque, apparently neglected for a long time, was barely legible, but the faded characters spelled out “Namgung Sega.”
“This place?”
An eyesore with no trace of its former glory.
The walls were nearly collapsed, and the interior was filled with the marks of time.
Moreover, despite the passage of years, signs of battle were visible throughout.
In particular, the walls of the half-destroyed manor were covered with sword scars, which seemed to testify to how fierce the battle that had taken place here long ago must have been.
But there was something peculiar.
Despite considerable time having passed, the manor remained intact, preserving all the traces of that time.
Since Namgung Baek no longer lived here, it was presumed to have passed into someone else’s hands, yet it was strange that such an eyesore had been left as is.
As I was thinking such thoughts and passing by the wall—
A peculiar mark caught my eye.
A sword scar cut deeply into the wall. Rather than Namgung’s work, it was the mark of an attacker.
A decisive strike had been made—had someone from Namgung evaded it?
Judging by how deep and distinct it was compared to the other marks, I could infer that the opponent’s level was quite high.
“Interesting.”
I spoke those words and turned my head.
In that instant, the figure of a woman standing behind me came into view.
Had she been following me?
“Does the Young Master of the Nakhyang Jin Family think he can freely examine other people’s homes?”
“My apologies. But it doesn’t seem like that’s your home either, does it?”
“It still belongs to us. We simply lack the funds to maintain it.”
Shing—
The woman’s eyes flashed sharply as she spoke.
Then, slowly, she drew her sword.
What I felt was unmistakable hostility.
The mere fact that she referred to this place as her home told me everything I needed to know about the woman standing before me.
Namgung Yeon.
The emergence of a hidden dragon.
But this encounter carried an unfavorable atmosphere.
“So you draw your blade the moment you witness something?”
“A man with a bit of coin who beats people and buys his way out of trouble—how dare you speak such words?”
“This is… not me.”
“Nonsense!”
Namgung Yeon refused to even listen.
She closed the distance in an instant.
A technique of movement incomparably faster than Namgung Baek’s.
Her elegant form flowed seamlessly as her blade extended—unmistakably the Namgung Clan’s Heavenly Sword Without Obstruction technique.
The endless succession of strikes painted an azure sky with no end in sight.
It was truly exquisite.
My admiration was fleeting.
I drew my blade and swung it with swift precision.
Clang!
The moment our blades met, I felt it.
She was incomparably beyond Namgung Baek, who had merely imitated the form.
The woman before me now was perfectly manifesting the Heavenly Sword Master’s technique in its entirety.
Moreover, her subsequent movements flowed with flawless grace.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
On a night when the full moon hung in the sky.
My blade and Namgung Yeon’s clashed frantically, creating brilliant sparks of light.
At first glance, the exchange appeared evenly matched, yet while I remained composed with abundant leisure, Namgung Yeon was visibly exerting herself with beads of perspiration.
I evaded as her blade, infused with the subtlety of heavy sword technique, extended toward me, then lightly thrust my blade through the opening that suddenly appeared.
“Ugh?!”
Startled, she cried out and hastily retreated backward.
A slight smile crossed my face.
“Your swordplay is excellent, but you lack experience. Mere technique does not make one strong.”
I advanced with a single step forward.
As the distance closed, I swung without hesitation.
Clang! Clang clang! Clang!
“Ugh!”
I continued moving my blade relentlessly.
As my onslaught gave her no time to unfold her technique, her once-bold strikes became focused solely on defense.
Yet even that was full of gaps.
I extended my leg and swept hers out from under her.
Thud!
“Kyak!”
A smile burst from the lips of the woman who had been radiating murderous intent.
As she fell forward after landing hard on her buttocks, I seized the opening and swept my foot again.
Thwack!
“Gasp!”
My foot dug deeply into her abdomen.
She doubled over with a sharp cry, and unable to withstand the impact, she retched violently.
Unlike Namgung Baek, who had been beaten by the Head of the Chohyeon Family and only vomited bile, she had eaten well enough that her stomach contents spilled out.
“Seems you’ve been living quite comfortably.”
“Hack?!”
Was she provoked by those words?
Namgung Yeon gritted her teeth, enduring the pain.
Then she quickly rose to her feet and resumed her stance.
Similar to before, yet her momentum was different.
Though her inner energy was faint, she wielded it with considerable skill.
Certainly, she was incomparable not only to Moryeong Hyeok but even to Jang Chuchyeong, who was showing rapid growth.
Indeed, she deserved to be called a sleeping dragon.
I smiled faintly and slung my sword over my shoulder.
Then, as I beckoned with my fingers to provoke her again, something clearly displeased her, for Namgung Yeon gnashed her teeth and unleashed an even more tempestuous momentum.
“Die!”
Crash!
I tilted my head slightly as her thrusting sword came at me.
Anticipating this, her blade changed course and swung vertically. For a second or third-rate martial artist, such a technique change would be impressive enough, but this was far from sufficient.
Before her sword could touch my body, I unleashed a palm strike faster, striking her chest.
Boom!
“Yelp!”
With a cry, Namgung Yeon’s body flew backward.
She tumbled across the rough ground several times before finally coming to a stop.
She was beginning to writhe and struggle to her feet.
Rising slowly, she grasped the sword that had fallen to the ground once more.
The light in her eyes as she looked at me had not dimmed.
Her killing intent to absolutely destroy me remained undiminished.
“If what you’ve shown me is all you have, the Namgung Family has no hope left.”
“….”
Her skill was certainly remarkable.
She was already at a level comparable to Moryeong Hyeok.
With just a bit more experience, she could even win in a direct confrontation.
However, considering the fact that she had defeated Moryeong Hyeok years later, she was still merely a fledgling at this moment.
Yet, she was not quite what I had anticipated.
Remarkable as she was, there was nothing particularly special about her.
Inexperience could be supplemented in any number of ways, but the Unobstructed Spear Sword Technique she displayed before me was, regrettably, not impressive enough to capture my full attention.
Was it incomplete? Or had it been lost and never mastered?
The moment I regarded her with that peculiar gaze.
Namgung Yeon’s eyes transformed.
The energy radiating outward in all directions subsided, as though a fevered mind and heart had been suddenly cooled to ice.
The instant I narrowed my brow to observe.
She vanished.
Fast.
Incomparably so compared to moments before.
Her eyes blazed with lethal brilliance as she materialized before me.
Clang!
I parried with ease.
The sensation of blade meeting blade had transformed so dramatically that she could no longer be considered the same opponent.
A laugh escaped me unbidden.
You can do it after all.
Then, my blade infused with sword energy swept forth.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
Swift swordplay that rivaled even Moryeong Hyeok’s rapid blade technique.
It was not the Heavenly Sword Without Obstruction.
A swordplay bearing an entirely different essence of swiftness.
Then only one technique came to mind.
Kaang!
I drove back her final sweeping blade with force and retreated step by step.
Then, examining the severed edge of my garment, I regarded her.
“The Thirteen Lightning Flashes of Thunder…”
“…!”
Namgung Yeon’s eyes widened considerably.
Her gaze held the question of how I could possibly know.
Seeing that, laughter spilled from me unbidden.
To create martial arts, I had needed to hear countless stories of various sects and schools, and in that process, the Namgung Clan was a place I could never have overlooked.
I slowly assumed a ready stance and regarded her.
“Try to stop me then.”
I infused the flow of rapids into my blade and raised my momentum.
Sensing this, I could see Namgung Yeon swallow a gasp, but she shook her head as if casting off fear and gripped her blade once more.
Had she judged it better to seize the initiative?
Namgung Yeon, blade in hand, infused her weapon with energy and rushed forward.
I nodded, confirming her form as she vanished in an instant.
Yes, sometimes one survives only by charging forward without fear.
Boom!

* * *

Crackle, crackle—
Namgung Yeon felt her vision returning along with the sound coming from somewhere nearby.
Her entire body ached and felt heavy, but her consciousness grew increasingly sharp, pulling her rapidly back to reality.
She slowly opened her eyes.
As her blurred vision gradually cleared, she could soon identify exactly what that sound was.
A campfire.
Could it be Jin Cheon-u who had started it?
As she carefully sat up, something slipped down from her shoulders.
It was the robe Jin Cheon-u had been wearing.
The moment she wondered why such a thing was there, she realized her upper garment was torn in places, exposing her bare skin.
“Ah?!”
“You’re awake?”
“…You… why?”
“Why? I couldn’t very well leave an unconscious woman in such a state.”
Jin Cheon-u spoke these words while handing her something he held in his hand. As she stared at it with a furrowed brow, she recognized it as dried meat.
“Will you eat?”
“…No, thank you.”
“It’s from the Unryong Inn, so you know the quality and price are beyond question.”
Growl—
At those words, her stomach churned as if it had been waiting for permission. Only then did Namgung Yeon realize she had vomited up everything she had eaten that day.
She carefully rose to her feet and quickly snatched the dried meat from his outstretched hand, putting it in her mouth.
Munch, munch—
“You eat well. Your brother couldn’t finish the meal I bought him twice.”
“…Why?”
“Something came up while he was trying to arrange food for someone else.”
As Jin Cheon-u spoke and turned back, his gaze felt unnaturally sharp and piercing.
It wasn’t a reproachful look.
The reason his gaze felt so piercing was simply because it struck at something within her. The thought that she had perhaps misunderstood something wouldn’t leave her mind.
“Enough of that. You two are truly devoted siblings. Your brother sacrifices himself for his sister, and his sister draws her blade for her brother. Seeing you today, I understand why your brother rejected my proposal.”
“What do you…”
“But do you really think that just because you have skill, you can immediately restore the Namgung Family?”
“I won’t know unless I try.”
Namgung Yeon was well aware of how difficult it would be.
But if she could achieve good results at the martial tournament a few years hence and restore the Namgung name to prominence, she believed it would be entirely possible.
She had been training like a madwoman for that purpose.
But Jin Cheon-u merely laughed mockingly.
“Do you truly believe Moyong and the Chohyeon Clan will simply stand by and watch? They will crush you thoroughly. It will be incomparable to the humiliation your brother has endured so far. They will trample you so completely that nothing will ever sprout again.”
“…!”
She did not know exactly what humiliation Namgung Baek had endured.
She had never witnessed it directly.
Yet, having experienced the incident at the Heukwoo Society, Namgung Yeon found herself wondering if he had witnessed something far beyond what she could imagine.
Her complexion gradually turned ashen.
“So don’t go around swinging your blade in anger. If you don’t want to be trampled before you even have a chance to take root.”
Jin Cheon-u rose from his seat as he spoke those words.
Before turning his back, he glanced at Namgung Yeon.
A faint smile played at the corners of his lips.
He began to leave.
As though he harbored neither regret nor even the slightest interest, he vanished slowly without once looking back.
Namgung Yeon could only watch him go.
Her heart aching with a dull pain.
Then, suddenly, words that had surfaced in her mind refused to fade away.
“A proposal…?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————