The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 79
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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 140
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As Hoyeon approached Jin Cheon-u slowly, he suddenly felt the air shift and stopped in his tracks.
The wind that blew was cold.
Not merely cold, but a chill that seemed to pierce through to the bone.
Without thinking, he furrowed his brow and gazed at Jin Cheon-u.
The one who had been dying moments before stirred and slowly rose to his feet.
Through the cracks of the mask that had remained unbroken even in the fierce battle, his eyes now gleamed with a killing intent distinctly different from before.
“Huu—.”
Then he exhaled.
Was it merely his imagination that the sound of his breath seemed unusually loud?
The moment his gaze met Jin Cheon-u’s eyes looking down at him.
Tingle, tingle—
An intense killing intent so powerful swept across his entire body that goosebumps rose.
Having experienced the martial world of the Sword Forest and felt the killing intent of countless warriors, he had never sensed anything quite as unsettling as this.
Look at Jin Cheon-u’s pupils before your eyes.
Unlike moments before when multiple emotions were intertwined, what appeared now was nothing but pure killing intent alone.
Nothing else could be found.
Yes, like a being that had shed everything and possessed only primal murderous will.
Hoyeon let out a slight scoff.
“Merely radiating killing intent doesn’t change the situation.”
With those words, he attempted provocation, but Jin Cheon-u remained silent.
Then, in an instant, Jin Cheon-u rushed forward.
“…!”
Fast.
This was not a speed someone covered in wounds should be capable of.
He closed the distance in a flash, and Jin Cheon-u’s blade swept through the air.
Clang—!
A sharp ring accompanied by tremendous force.
It was different from before.
As if he had accumulated his inner strength in a single moment.
The instant their blades clashed, their inner forces intermingling, Hoyeon immediately realized something was wrong.
‘…This bastard!’
Screech—!
Though he held his ground with all his might, he felt himself being pushed back, and Hoyeon’s heart began to race with urgency.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!
The blade that unfolded relentlessly felt like a gentle flowing valley stream, yet oddly, it was pulling him deeper and deeper into its depths.
“How dare you!”
Crash—!
Hoyeon roared fiercely, unleashing even greater momentum. As his sword cleaved through the air, the force radiating outward devastated everything around him.
Yet Jin Cheon-u was nowhere to be seen.
I heightened my senses to the maximum, trying to catch his presence, when suddenly a sharp sound pierced the air.
Clang—!
I twisted my sword to deflect it.
“A hidden projectile?!”
What came flying silently was none other than his hidden weapon.
Was he merely playing tricks?
Or perhaps he had decided to flee while seizing this opportunity.
I heightened my senses to their limit while scanning my surroundings with my eyes.
Whoosh—!
Then.
A shadow fell across my vision.
Startled, I retreated half a step and extended my fist. Since he had closed the distance far more than a sword’s length, there was no martial technique more efficient than bare-handed combat in such circumstances.
The Martial Artist’s fist technique shot forward, laden with power.
The fist wind that erupted toward Jin Cheon-u moved in an oddly unnatural manner.
As if he had anticipated it.
Boom—!
Jin Cheon-u’s sword moved deftly, deflecting the fist wind.
“…!”
The technique of grafting flowers displayed in such close quarters seemed to declare: I master this far better than you.
Moreover.
Whoosh—!
The nature of his sword had changed dramatically from before.
The manner of wielding it was so different I could not believe it came from the same person.
Not only the force infused in the blade, but the very momentum of each strike.
Despite a threatening move bearing down upon me, Jin Cheon-u pressed forward without regard.
As if his own safety meant nothing.
Like a monster possessed only by the will to kill, nothing more.
Whoosh!
Once more, my sword slashed past his ribs. Since I had struck the same spot already, it should have been a fatal wound, yet he charged forward like a beast, swinging his blade.
Clang clang clang clang!
The sword strikes erupted ferociously.
Jin Cheon-u’s sword, wielded as he burned his own body to kill me, imposed considerable pressure upon me who fought to survive.
“Dare you—!”
Finally, my anger erupted. I had never imagined losing ground in a battle I thought I had already won, so I judged that I could not be drawn further into his pace.
With a fierce shout, the force burst forth explosively.
The power contained in my sword was now different from before.
The blade, infused with the essence of extreme force, blazed with an even more piercing light.
It emanated an aura that suggested it could slice through steel as easily as tofu.
In that instant, Jin Cheon-u’s eyes narrowed, visible between the gaps of his mask.
The moment Hoyeon’s Cloud-Piercing Sword Technique unfolded with the momentum of a tempest.
Hoyeon realized something had gone terribly wrong.
Yet his realization came far too late.
Like a river embankment collapsing into silence, he felt Jin Cheon-u’s blade bearing down upon him with a speed and pressure that defied comprehension.
Shing!
Something felt amiss.
Though Jin Cheon-u’s strike appeared to have landed cleanly, mercifully, he felt no pain whatsoever.
Whether fortune had smiled upon him, or whether his unfamiliar swordsmanship had somehow averted the worst outcome, he could not say—but he had escaped the most catastrophic scenario.
Hoyeon grinned and seized his blade once more.
Brief though it was, Jin Cheon-u’s momentum had been severed.
This was his chance to reclaim the rhythm he had momentarily lost.
He needed to unleash a strike channeling every ounce of his power against that man.
“…?”
But it would not come.
Strangely, his blade would not swing.
His mind issued the command clearly, and his body should have obeyed, yet his arm refused to move—he felt nothing at all.
Hoyeon’s brow furrowed as he turned his gaze downward.
Only then did he understand the reason.
It was gone.
The blade he had held moments before, his right arm—neither existed any longer.
His forearm, severed at some point he could not recall, bled profusely, yet he felt no pain.
Shiver—
Hoyeon trembled as he slowly turned his gaze.
Only then did he hear Jin Cheon-u’s laughter before his eyes.
“…What… is this….”
Drip—!
It was not over.
Blood streamed from his head.
Hoyeon’s horrified gaze finally surveyed his own condition.
There was not a place left uncut.
Deep wounds, shallow wounds.
Blood flowed from countless lacerations across his body, yet Hoyeon still felt no pain—he had not even realized he had been cut.
His eyes began to tremble wildly.
Unable to accept this impossible reality.
He could only stare at Jin Cheon-u with eyes wide with horror.
* * *
A sickly pallor drained his face, his eyes devoid of belief.
An expression of utter disbelief.
Etching the image of him—as though struck by lightning from a clear sky—into my mind, I suppressed the murderous intent surging within me and smiled.
Slowly, I reached up and removed my mask.
“You don’t understand, do you?”
“I… what…?”
“Your body races steadily toward death, yet you feel nothing of it. How does that sensation feel?”
At those words, Hoyeon flinched.
Yes, he was dying.
Despite sustaining countless wounds throughout our fierce exchanges, he felt none of them, so he never grasped the severity of his condition.
Whether the wounds were small or shallow, a person should feel pain to recognize their situation. Yet no matter how many sword strikes I unleashed, he felt nothing—so he must have believed my blade simply missed him.
That’s why he never examined his own body.
“Having lived long as a martial artist, you should know of it? The Sincerity Pill.”
“…!”
“I was anxious because time was insufficient to perfect it, but it truly is a creation of the Chae clan. The effects are undeniable.”
I watched him tremble and allowed myself a moment of leisure.
I pressed acupoints along his waist and other lacerated areas to stem the bleeding, then tore strips from his garments and wrapped them around like bandages.
I knew well enough that this wasn’t something one could do with an enemy before them, but he remained frozen in shock, utterly motionless.
Each time he showed the slightest movement, the flow of blood would only increase.
“You’ve suffered considerably, but this time you won’t escape.”
“…What?”
At his bewildered question, I let out a soft laugh.
The reason I had specifically made and administered the Sincerity Pill was simple.
He desired to live.
Every time we crossed blades, whenever he found himself losing or in an unfavorable position, he unhesitatingly chose to flee.
I’d lost count of how many times he’d slipped away.
If such a man consumed the Sincerity Pill, he wouldn’t believe himself to be losing, and thus wouldn’t attempt escape—or so I calculated.
That judgment proved accurate.
Until his arm flew off, he had no idea of his true condition.
“The Sincerity Pill… when exactly…?”
“I knew you harbored an unseemly fondness for women, unbecoming of a Taoist. So I had So-ha captivate your attention. Thanks to that, you never noticed the tea tasted strange.”
“…!”
At my soft chuckle, Hoyeon stared at me with eyes full of disbelief. Only then did he seem to recall Chaeseoha, the maid who had brought the tea.
“This much was necessary to ensure you wouldn’t flee.”
“Ha… haha, so you provoked me from the start with this intention?”
“Provoke? I didn’t need to do such a thing. I already knew you’d come seeking me out. You’re not obsessed with merit, after all. With a suspicious figure present, you’re not the type to avoid investigating, are you?”
“….”
I gently flicked the blade in my hand.
The dried blood clinging to the blade flaked away, restoring its keen edge. I then observed the trembling figure before me, unable to comprehend the situation unfolding, and a cold smirk played across my lips.
“This tiresome connection ends here.”
“Noooooo-!”
In the moment he roared with veins bulging and unleashed his violent rage.
Hoyeon’s body convulsed, spewing blood even more violently.
In that instant, I launched myself forward.
The distance between him and me closed in a single breath.
With his remaining left hand, he attempted to gather tension or expel his qi, but unaware of the blood slowly draining from his body, he could scarcely muster any strength.
Rather, anemia overtook him, and Hoyeon’s body swayed unsteadily.
I did not hesitate as I watched this unfold.
Scraaape-!
My blade swept across, tearing violently through his neck.
Flesh and bone separated cleanly, and I watched his severed head arc through the air.
The headless corpse tumbled helplessly to the ground, and the remaining blood drenched the floor in a crimson pool.
I flicked the blood from my blade once more and retrieved my sword.
Shhhhk-
As the sharp metallic sound rang out and the blade slid into its sheath, it felt as though the murderous intent I had unleashed was being sealed away along with it.
I turned my gaze back to confirm the fallen Hoyeon.
“Three gains in one strike.”
I had successfully absorbed the spiritual essence I could scarcely claim as my own before.
And now, Hoyeon—Yeom Ji-hak’s left arm, so to speak.
Even with just this much, I had obtained far more than I desired, yet one thing still remained incomplete.
I approached Hoyeon’s corpse, which continued to bleed profusely.
Carefully searching his garments, I found a small wooden box, dyed a vivid crimson from the blood that had soaked into it.
Click-
As I carefully opened the lid and peered inside, a refreshing fragrance emerged, and the Jaseodan came into view.
Fortunately, it had not been stained by blood.
I gazed upon it and let out a quiet chuckle.
“Our wager… let’s say I won.”
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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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