The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 352

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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 352

Time truly slipped away in the blink of an eye.
Three months had passed before I knew it, and now arrived the day of the grand festival known as the Martial Arts Tournament.
As the five-day celebration of martial artists commenced, the crowds erupted in cheers, their excitement impossible to conceal.
And at that very moment.
Boom-boom-boom-bang!
Small fireworks burst throughout the streets, performers danced in traditional masks, and acrobats displayed breathtaking feats that drew gasps of wonder.
Amid the cacophony of jubilant crowds and their gleaming eyes filled with delight.
Yet to partake in all of this.
“What did you say? Pay money?”
“Yes. To enter, you must pay ten copper coins.”
At the entrance to the festival grounds I had created.
The gathered crowds could not hide their bewilderment.
Traditionally, when the Martial Arts Alliance held festivals, the streets would always bustle with activity. Food and lodging were somewhat expensive, but admission fees had never been required to enjoy the festivities.
This time, however, was different.
While the streets remained lively enough, the festival grounds created by the Jin Family possessed something that overwhelmed them entirely.
Merely hearing the cheers echoing from afar stirred an irresistible desire to see it for oneself.
“Hmph! What’s so different about paying to enter?”
“The Jin Family has invited at least fifty carefully selected acrobats. There are food stalls and inns for eating and entertainment, and I assure you there will be twice as much to enjoy as in the streets.”
At the words of the Jin Family soldier guarding the entrance, people exchanged uncertain glances.
Yet their hesitation did not last long.
The gatekeeper’s final words proved decisive.
“Furthermore, we have prepared an arena where you can directly witness the Martial Arts Tournament matches.”
“I’ll pay! Come on, move aside!”
“Me too, me too!”
“We can watch martial artists compete? Then ten copper coins is nothing.”
People opened their purses without hesitation, handing over their coins. Such an opportunity to witness a martial competition firsthand was rare indeed.
But then.
“More money? You want us to pay again?”
“The preliminary rounds cost fifty copper coins, while the main tournament costs one silver tael per round.”
“What!?”
One silver tael for the main rounds, yet the price doubled with each subsequent round.
People gasped in shock, their mouths agape, yet those who had come determined to enjoy themselves had only one choice.
As those with means paid without hesitation and entered, those without scraped together whatever they could.
Thus the preliminary arena filled to bursting with spectators.
Over a thousand people crowded in at once, their roars so thunderous that the heat seemed to burn without any sign of cooling.
-Uuuuuuaaaaaah!
Someone fell, while another stood victorious.
The moment the victor became clear, the thunderous roar that erupted seemed to burst beyond the martial grounds and spread across the entire city of Jungzhou.
Because of this, even the people who had been enjoying the modest festivities in the streets were drawn by the sound and found themselves arriving at the venue.
I gazed upon this sight with a satisfied smile.
“What do you think?”
“I-is the response really this good?”
Chaeseoha wore an expression of disbelief.
While I had anticipated a certain degree of success, I had never imagined the festival grounds would be packed to bursting.
“I can hear the sound of money pouring in.”
“Will this be enough to cover everything?”
“The festival runs for five days. We won’t just cover it in that time—we need to earn several times more.”
The hastily constructed inns and stalls.
Though we were selling at prices higher than usual, they were still cheaper than what the street merchants charged.
To the people’s eyes, it would seem quite reasonable.
The profits from this alone would more than cover the cost of the land.
Additionally, there were modest admission fee revenues as well.
The greatest source was the martial grounds’ admission fee.
With so many wealthy people attending, extracting payment was effortless.
But even this wasn’t enough.
“Wait, we have to charge more? It’s just… a puppet show?”
“Ah… I apologize. Since these are performers who present the finest theatrical arts in the Central Plains, we cannot simply display them for free…”
“Everything here costs money!”
I had created a trap that forced those who brought children to open their purses, and around the martial grounds where the most people gathered, I had arranged for cheap wine to be served freely.
The pockets of those who drink wine always become lighter.
It felt as though money was rolling in so naturally that I could hear it from here.
As I raised the corners of my mouth with a deep, satisfied smile, Chaeseoha, watching me, shook her head with a look of exasperation.
Then it happened.
-Uwaaaaaaaa!
Another thunderous roar erupted.
Followed by a name that rang out loudly, assaulting the ears.
-Jang Chuchyeong! Jang Chuchyeong!
It seemed Jang Chuchyeong, who was competing in the preliminaries, had accomplished something remarkable. The cheers were on an entirely different scale than before, suggesting he had displayed an overwhelmingly dominant performance.
I glanced to the side, and there was Gu Gunbaek, who had somehow begun playing a wine bottle like a trumpet, wearing a pleased smile.
“Krhm- the wine tastes good.”
“Did you come to drink, or to watch your disciple?”
“I came to watch that bastard win. He won’t take first place. I’ll make sure of it.”
Gu Gunbaek tightened his grip on the wine bottle.
The bottle cracked as though it might shatter at any moment.
I shook my head slowly and moved forward at a leisurely pace.
I entered the martial grounds and took a seat at the most prominent position—the place of honor.
This was where the elite members of the Martial Arts Alliance would sit once the main tournament began. Thus, I had designed it to be wider and more ornate than other areas, while maintaining an air of authority.
The moment I took my seat, I caught sight of Yeon-un.
He accepted the sword Haryeon offered, steadied his breathing, and slowly ascended the martial platform.
Gu Gunbaek regarded him with a crooked gaze.
“Isn’t that the fellow from the infirmary?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Hehehehe. What possessed you to take in such people?”
Gu Gunbaek’s eyes, still nursing the wine bottle like a trumpet, turned toward me—as if he suspected I harbored some ulterior motive in bringing these two into the household.
Perhaps sensing this, Chaeseoha shook her head.
“It’s because of that child Haryeon. I wanted to help her recover her voice.”
“Pffft! You took them in for such a trivial reason?”
“Then should I have left her outside to sleep!?”
Chaeseoha glared at him with a sharp expression.
She was displeased with his indifference toward the patient’s wellbeing. Yet Gu Gunbaek merely laughed, unbothered.
“Do you think I don’t know that man? There’s something to him, which is why he was brought in. Otherwise, I would have given him some coin and sent him on his way.”
“That’s not it!”
Listening to Chaeseoha’s protest, I watched Yeon-un ascend the platform.
“Your words aren’t wrong, sir, nor are So-ha’s words wrong either.”
“See!”
“Huh!?”
It was too unsettling to simply overlook.
Yet the situation was too ambiguous to harbor suspicion.
Based solely on what had been revealed thus far, he was nothing more than an ordinary existence—and yet that inexplicably ominous sensation refused to dissipate.
As I continued observing Yeon-un, the match had already begun without my notice.
Clang—
With the sound echoing from somewhere, the two figures moved.
Blade crossed blade in frenzied succession, locking together.
The flashing sword light revealed no gap in their exchange.
Though both were nameless wanderers from the Central Plains, the offensive unfolding before my eyes demonstrated their skill was far from ordinary.
“Oho?”
Impressive enough to capture Gu Gunbaek’s interest, no less.
He ceased drinking and his eyes gleamed with intrigue.
It was Yeon-un who seized the initiative.
His blade flew sharply, and in an instant, his sword path transformed.
Whoosh—
His startled opponent failed to respond and hastily retreated, his chest grazed as he conceded a move.
Yeon-un did not miss that opening.
He unleashed a wave of sword energy to steal his balance, then extended his blade toward the opponent’s flank.
As his opponent twisted to evade—
The sword path shifted abruptly, streaking toward his neck.
“Yeon-un wins!”
-Uwaaaaaa!
A brief but intense match.
Though not a bloody clash, it was a martial exhibition that drew forth cheers without equal.
“Bandits, you say? Quite impressive.”
“Yes, I didn’t expect him to be this skilled.”
I stroked my chin and narrowed my gaze.
The swordsmanship he displayed was something I had never seen before.
A blade honed and refined by his own hands to survive in the harsh martial world.
Because of this, traces of his body responding with practiced familiarity during a real sword exchange were evident.
Gu Gunbaek’s praise stemmed from that very fact.
I scratched my head and let out a sigh.
Not only the footwork he employed, but the flow of his sword strikes as well.
There was no way he could be connected to the Demonic Cult or Gwanbaek.
Along with a hollow laugh, I began to strongly suspect whether my intuition about Yeon-un was misguided after all.
In the meantime, Yeon-un retrieved his sword and descended from the arena.
Soon after, he stopped before Haryeon, who stood at a distance.
And he offered the sword with both hands.
With a carefulness as if he were handing over not a mundane weapon, but a fragment of his own life.
Seeing this, Gu Gunbaek burst into hearty laughter.
“Puhaha! What an absurd fellow you are. Where do you keep finding such people?”
“I didn’t bring him—he came to me of his own accord.”
I exhaled a sigh and leaned back in my chair.
I had thought that by observing his martial prowess, I might grasp something, but instead, all these suspicions seemed to lead me deeper into a labyrinth.
I narrowed my eyes as I watched the two figures disappear.
“The more I think about it, the less I understand.”
“What is it? Are you really keeping him around because something seems odd?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I smiled and lightened the mood.
In a situation where nothing catches hold, overthinking only puts me at a disadvantage. Thus, I brushed aside my thoughts about Yeon-un and steadied my breath.
“She’s coming! Come out!”
“It’s that woman?”
“Yes, the Namgung Family.”
At that moment, the arena began to stir with murmurs.
Simultaneously, Namgung Yeon appeared.
As she ascended the arena slowly with an aloof expression, the noisy commotion grew louder, and soon the crowd gasped upon seeing her opponent.
“Isn’t that the Iron Fist Martial Artist!?”
“Indeed! The bandit who reached his peak!”
Among bandits, those with distinctive titles are special.
They are masters who created their own titles without the patronage of major sects or renowned families.
And among them, Ma Jinza was particularly famous.
He was a formidable warrior who would soon earn the epithet “Wave King” if rumors held true.
Gu Gunbaek’s eyes gleamed with intrigue at the matchup, and he turned to me with a smile.
“Care to wager on it?”
“Yeon-a will win.”
“Then there’s no bet, you brat!”
Gu Gunbaek cried out in displeasure.
The Iron Fist Martial Artist’s reputation and skill were undoubtedly formidable, yet Namgung Yeon possessed overwhelming talent and experience forged at the crossroads of life and death.
And beyond that, there was Chu Hyeongi.
From the roaring cheers alone, one could see how greatly his presence was celebrated, so from the perspective of following in his footsteps, I harbored not the slightest doubt of defeat.
Clang!
As expected, Namgung Yeon’s eyes blazed with fire.
“I am Namgung Yeon. I look forward to our match.”
“I am Ma Jinza! My fists know no mercy….”
“That will be mutual, then.”
Ma Jinza, who had been displaying confidence with a hearty expression, suddenly furrowed his brow menacingly. He was displeased by Namgung Yeon’s interruption.
His momentum grew savage as rage welled up within him.
As if he would crush everything in a single breath.
Ding!
The moment the starting bell rang, Ma Jinza closed the distance and his fist flew forward, brimming with fierce power.
Yet—
“!?”
Namgung Yeon’s blade moved first with gentle grace, seizing the initiative. Demonstrating the exquisite principle of striking first despite moving second, his sword extended forward.
Whoooosh!
In an instant, crimson petals scattered from Ma Jinza’s chest.
A red line was briefly drawn across the sky before vanishing.
Simultaneously, his massive body plummeted to the ground.
Thud!
—Uwaaaaaaaaa!
A deafening roar erupted, threatening to shatter eardrums.
The festival’s first day.
The most perfect match.

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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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