The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 61

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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 122

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Jin Ga-muk, the Family Head of the Jin Family of Luoyang, was in better spirits than ever. It wasn’t simply because Jin Cheon-u’s name had set all of Hannam ablaze with talk.
Rather, it was because the return of his eldest and third sons had significantly reduced his workload.
He had been so overwhelmed managing even Jin Cheon-u’s duties—the youngest rarely touched administrative work—that he barely had time to sleep. Now he could easily rest for four hours a day.
Moreover, hadn’t he finally gained some free time?
With time enough to take walks and clear his mind, the perpetually dark expression had vanished from his face, and the shadows beneath his eyes and his pallid complexion were gradually returning to their natural hue.
As he strolled through the courtyard in this pleasant mood,
a familiar voice suddenly reached his ears.
“F-Family Head! Something terrible has happened!”
It was none other than Yu Hyeon, the chief steward.
He came rushing over, gasping for breath, and stopped before Jin Ga-muk, quickly catching his breath before looking up at him.
“What is it?”
“You must hurry and see for yourself!”
Yu Hyeon gestured urgently toward Jin Cheon-u’s annex. Though Jin Ga-muk frowned, unable to discern what had happened, he could not ignore the urgency written across Yu Hyeon’s face.
He rushed toward Jin Cheon-u’s quarters, asking as he ran,
“What in heaven’s name is going on?”
“I fear only you can stop this, Family Head.”
“What?”
At these cryptic words, Jin Ga-muk’s frown deepened.
Had someone caused an accident?
Or had assassins infiltrated to target Jin Cheon-u?
With so many incidents occurring of late, his mind raced through countless possibilities.
Thus, he entered Jin Cheon-u’s quarters and followed Yu Hyeon.
“This path leads to…?”
Following behind Yu Hyeon, Jin Ga-muk realized they were heading toward Jin Cheon-u’s training grounds.
He could not fathom what could possibly be happening there.
“Hack!”
“Cough!”
“Ahhhhh!”
Then,
sharp, agonized screams pierced the air from nearby.
Startled, Jin Ga-muk ran even faster.
Upon arriving at the scene, he was so shocked he could not close his mouth.
“W-What in the world…!”
Baek Ja-hyeon, the commander of the Imperial Guards, as well as Jang Chuchyeong and Namgung Yeon, who served as Jin Cheon-u’s guards and attendants,
and not stopping there, the renowned warrior Yang Jachun and several of the Sega’s finest martial artists—all lay sprawled on the ground, battered and bloodied.
Standing motionless in that place was none other than…
“Cheon-u… what on earth is this…?”
Jin Cheon-u.
He swung the wooden sword in his hand through the air as if confirming something, then turned his gaze away again, seemingly dissatisfied with what he found.
Then he opened his mouth, as if urging the writhing figures to rise.
“Get up. You’re still in one piece, aren’t you?”
At those words, everyone present shuddered and clenched their teeth.

* * *

Simply refining martial arts anew did not mean one could immediately put them into practice.
One had to demonstrate them in actual combat and wield them until hands and body grew accustomed to them before they could truly be called complete.
Moreover, through such a process, one could further refine or discard unnecessary elements and techniques that didn’t suit the body.
For that, one needed quite a number of test subjects.
Primarily those with considerable skill.
Those scattered about here were precisely such individuals.
Aside from Gu Gunbaek, they were among the handful of truly formidable experts within the Sega.
They were ideal opponents for martial training, and for them, sparring with me offered an opportunity to improve their skills—a win-win situation.
“…Young Master, I’m dying.”
“Ha, ha… how much longer must we do this?”
Jang Chuchyeong and Namgung Yeon staggered to their feet.
Simultaneously, the others who had been lying motionless like corpses also sensed the situation and pushed themselves up.
Without exception, their condition was dire.
They’d been doing this for nearly two hours already.
I scratched my head and offered a bitter smile.
“It seems like we’re almost done….”
“What in the world is this madness?!”
At that moment, I turned my gaze toward the suddenly heard voice.
There I saw Father approaching with an incredulous expression on his face.
He scanned me from head to toe as if assessing my condition, then turned his gaze to take in the sight of the others, who had become a complete mess.
“You did this?”
“Yes, Father. It was necessary.”
“It was… necessary?”
As I nodded, Father’s expression was remarkable.
Like someone witnessing something unbelievable.
Soon Father looked around again to confirm the situation, taking in each person with his eyes, then gazed at the sky and let out a hollow laugh.
“You… defeated so many opponents without sustaining a single wound? And in two hours at that?”
“Yes, Father.”
Now I understood where his astonishment lay.
Those here were among the select few within the Sega. In particular, Baek Ja-hyeon is the commander of the Imperial Guards and is called the strongest of the Jin Family of Nakhyang, and Yang Jachun is his second-in-command.
Along with Namgung Yeon from the family once called the greatest in the realm, and Chu Hyeongi, the favored disciple of Gu Gunbaek.
I had fought against such formidable opponents for two hours, yet the fact that I bore not a single wound was something I simply could not believe.
Father’s lips twitched oddly, and soon he turned away and spoke to me.
“Continue… what you were doing.”
“Family Head, sir—!”
Baek Ja-hyeon’s urgent cry pierced the air.
Though he seemed desperate to escape this situation by borrowing Father’s authority, I paid no heed to his shouts and left the training grounds with Yu Hyeon, ignoring him entirely.
Was it merely my imagination that my steps seemed somewhat light?
I paused, thinking such thoughts, and let out a quiet chuckle.
“Well, well? I’ve been having quite the entertaining time while I slept.”
At that moment, Gu Gunbaek stretched languidly and appeared before me.
His eyes gleamed with interest as he surveyed the surroundings, then he fixed me with a displeased expression.
“You should have fun when I’m around.”
“I would never do such a thing with you, sir. That wouldn’t be training—it would require fighting for one’s very life, would it not?”
“You foolish brat. That’s precisely how it becomes ingrained in your body, is it not, Chu Hyeongi?”
Creak… creak…
Chu Hyeongi, who had suffered the most from Gu Gunbaek’s fists, seemed to recall those times and nodded awkwardly with a sickly pale expression.
After all, there was no comparison between Gu Gunbaek’s fists and my sword.
It was while I was thinking such thoughts.
Gu Gunbaek settled himself in one spot and gazed at me intently.
“Did you gain something?”
“Rather than gain, I refined what I already had.”
“Is that so?”
The moment Gu Gunbaek finished speaking.
Suddenly, I saw his form blur.
Without thinking, I stepped back two paces and drew my sword, and at that same instant, Gu Gunbaek’s fist appeared before my eyes and came flying at me.
Clang—!
He struck my blade lightly away.
As if to verify what I possessed, his fists came flying with techniques woven in appropriately.
Clang, clang, clang, clang—!
Colliding and evading, I struggled to escape from Gu Gunbaek. Yet his techniques seemed to draw me in like a vortex, grasping and refusing to release me.
Moreover, each lightly-thrown strike was quite lethal.
Concentrating to not miss a single movement of Gu Gunbaek’s, I moved my body, and despite the brief duration, sweat poured down like rain.
Thud—!
In that moment, a fist I failed to anticipate struck my chest.
With terrible pain, my body was pushed backward.
“This brat’s quite capable? You’ve improved far more than before.”
“…Thank you.”
“Hehehehe, and you’ve stolen quite well and applied it skillfully. The others won’t recognize it even if they see it.”
Gu Gunbaek seemed to have discerned how my swordsmanship had been constructed, and with a glance at Namgung Yeon, a bitter smile played at his lips.
I could certainly feel that she had ground together her swordsmanship with Cheon Yul’s blade techniques.
I offered an awkward smile and scratched my head.
“Usually, it doesn’t matter if you overcharge someone as long as they don’t know about it.”
“Puhaha! That’s right, that’s right. But it seems there’s still much to refine.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“More importantly, when are you planning to leave?”
“Are you referring to Namman?”
“Wasn’t it urgent?”
“I’m planning to depart soon. There were some matters to attend to, weren’t there?”
It was true that I had reasons I had to go to Namman.
However, due to matters concerning the Hyang-un Sega, time had been somewhat delayed in resolving them. On top of that, having gone through the process of refining my martial arts anew, the time I should have departed had long since passed.
Gu Gunbaek didn’t seem to have any particular complaints.
After all, only he knew the location of the curved jade, and because of that, it appeared even those fellows hadn’t been able to find it until now.
Then there was no need to be anxious.
However, it remained unchanged that I had to recover it as quickly as possible.
“Whatever works, but the journey is long. You understand that, right?”
“Yes, I’m thinking it will take several months.”
“Several months? Once you go and return, it’ll be a full year.”
As Gu Gunbaek and I exchanged words, Chu Hyeongi and Namgung Yeon’s complexions gradually began to turn ashen.
They had heard talk of an unexpected destination.
“Um, Young Master… where exactly are we going?”
“Didn’t you hear? Namman.”
“That… if it’s Namman, that’s… what is it. Beyond Sinkang…?”
“Something like that. The Demonic Sect is right nearby. We could even take a look while we’re at it.”
“Gulp!”
“The… the Demonic Sect?!”
Chu Hyeongi opened his mouth in shock, while Namgung Yeon trembled with fright.
Whether one was a martial artist or not, there was no one in this Central Plains who didn’t harbor fear of the Demonic Sect.
Whether it was the Martial Alliance or Sa Do-cheon, they had absorbed numerous sects or organizations to become a single unified body, but the Demonic Sect was different.
Centered around a single supreme master who inherited the title of Heavenly Demon across generations, countless martial artists of the demonic path gathered together.
We call this the Hundred Thousand Demonic Path.
In some ways, they felt similar enough to those fellows to come to mind, but unlike those with religious faith, the difference was that they showed loyalty only to the strong.
“The Demonic Sect? Are you really going?”
“We’re a merchant family. Since we haven’t sided with either the righteous or the demonic, if there’s profit to be made, we could certainly visit. Moreover… unlike Shanxi, we have a branch there as well.”
“What exactly does the Jin Family of Luoyang do?”
Unable to quite believe that the Jin Family of Luoyang had a business location even in the Ten Thousand Demonic Mountains where the Demonic Sect existed, Namgung Yeon wore an incredulous expression.
Anyone would feel the same.
But if one knew that place, their thoughts would change.
While not inside Tianshan, which could be called the true Demonic Sect, the villages below it were quite suitable for trade, and many people gathered there.
Moreover, unlike Sa Do-cheon, who monopolized all of Shanxi as if it were his own land and prevented business itself if tribute wasn’t paid, such restrictions didn’t exist there.
“Of course, if something comes up, I’ll go. But I have no intention of leaving unnecessarily, so rest assured.”
“Ah… yes, that’s… that’s right.”
Namgung Yeon finally released a relieved sigh and nodded. Her sensitivity regarding the Demonic Cult was surely for a reason.
In the past, when the Demonic Cult had stirred multiple times and invaded the Central Plains, it was the Namgung Sega who had stood at the forefront and achieved the greatest victories.
The reputation of being the greatest swordsman under heaven was earned because of that, so from the Demonic Cult’s perspective, she was an enemy whose teeth they would gnash.
Even if the sect had fallen, wouldn’t they wish to tear apart a member of that clan if she stood before their eyes?
It was only natural that Namgung Yeon, who could not be unaware of such things, would feel fear.
“Then when do you plan to leave?”
At that moment, Gu Gunbaek, who had been listening to the conversation, asked bluntly. The sensation that he was slightly urging me was no illusion.
I regarded Gu Gunbaek with a peculiar expression.
He was not the type to urge such things.
“What’s with that look? It’s just that it’s been so long since I’ve been back, I wanted to show my face. And I’m wondering how Baek Ja-hyeon is doing.”
“Understood. I will depart once matters are settled.”
“What matters are there to settle, tsk.”
I steadied my breathing as I listened to Gu Gunbaek’s discontented voice.
I understood his desire to leave as soon as possible, but for now, I had to sharpen and polish my blade as much as I could.
Meeting Yeom Ji-hak in Anwhui, I had realized that my current level could not overcome him. And I did not know when I would encounter Yeom Ji-hak again, or someone of his caliber.
For that reason, I had to elevate my level even further.
If I remained as I was before, I could advance no further.
Therefore, I had to solidify and reinforce my foundation once more.
To cut off their breath, I could not afford to pause, even for a moment.
I grasped the wooden sword and turned my gaze.
I could see those who met my eyes flinch and tremble.
“What are you doing? If you’ve rested enough, come again.”

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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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