The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 94

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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 Nakhyang Jin Family — Chapter 94

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A gentle breeze swept through the air—
Before I knew it, the sun had set and the moon had risen.
The view outside the window had naturally transformed.
The voices of merchants hawking their wares grew quiet, and the figures of people moving through the marketplace gradually began to fade away.
Taking in the sight of the quieting streets, I slipped out of the annex and ventured onto the road.
I hadn’t stepped out for any particular reason.
I simply needed to clear my cluttered mind and breathe in the night air.
Walking aimlessly, I left the marketplace behind.
As I walked, I felt my tangled thoughts gradually untangle, and I was beginning to feel a lightness of spirit when—
A manor with tall, imposing walls and a dilapidated gate came into view.
An old, weathered plaque appeared before me, its faded characters reading “Namgung Family.”
“This place?”
An eyesore with no trace of its former glory.
The walls had nearly crumbled, and the interior bore the deep marks of time.
Moreover, despite the passage of years, signs of battle were visible throughout.
In particular, the walls of the half-collapsed manor were covered in sword scars, testament to how fierce the battles that had once raged here must have been.
Yet something peculiar stood out.
Despite considerable time having passed, the manor remained, preserving all the traces of that era intact.
Since Namgung Baek no longer lived here, it was presumed to have passed into another’s hands, yet it seemed strange that such an eyesore would be left as is.
As I pondered this, I brushed past the wall.
A peculiar mark caught my eye.
A sword scar carved deep into the wall—not from the Namgung, but from an attacker.
A decisive strike had been made, but had someone from the Namgung evaded it?
Judging by how deep and distinct the mark was compared to the others, I could infer that my opponent’s skill level was quite high.
“Interesting.”
I spoke these words as I 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 So of the Nakhyang Jin Family have the right to casually examine another’s home?”
“My apologies. But from what I can see, this doesn’t appear to be your home either?”
“It still belongs to us. We simply lack the funds to maintain it.”
A soft sound—
The woman spoke these words as her eyes gleamed sharply.
Slowly, deliberately, she drew her sword.
What I felt was unmistakable hostility.
Just from the way she spoke of this place as her own home, I could tell who the woman before me was.
Namgung Yeon.
The emergence of a sleeping dragon.
But this encounter carried an ill omen.
“So you draw your sword immediately just because you watched for a moment?”
“You beat people because you have money, then buy your way out of it—and you dare speak like that?”
“This is… not me.”
“Nonsense!”
Namgung Yeon refused to even listen.
She closed the distance in an instant.
A movement technique far swifter than Namgung Baek’s—incomparably faster.
Her elegant form flowed seamlessly into an extended blade that unmistakably wielded the Cheonggung Muwae technique of the Namgung Family.
The endless blue sky stretched forth in continuous waves, revealing no end.
It was truly exquisite.
My admiration was brief.
I drew my sword and swung it with speed.
Clang!
The moment our blades met, I felt it.
Namgung Baek, who had merely imitated the form, was not even in the same league.
This woman before me was executing the techniques of the Heavenly Sword Master with perfect mastery.
Moreover, her follow-up movements were flawless.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
On a moonlit night beneath the full moon.
Our blades collided frantically, creating brilliant sparks in their wake.
At first glance, the exchange appeared evenly matched, yet while I remained composed with abundant leisure, Namgung Yeon was visibly straining.
I evaded her blade as it extended with the subtlety of heavy sword technique, then lightly thrust my sword through the opening that appeared.
“Ah?!”
Startled, she cried out and hastily retreated.
A slight smile crossed my face.
“Your swordsmanship is excellent, but you lack experience. Strength does not come merely from swinging a blade.”
I took a step forward.
As the distance closed, I swung without hesitation.
Clang! Clang clang! Clang!
“Ugh!”
I continued my assault relentlessly.
As my attacks poured forth without giving her time to deploy her techniques, her once-bold sword became focused solely on defense.
Yet even that was full of gaps.
I extended my leg and swept hers from beneath her.
Thud!
“Eek!”
A smile bloomed on the fierce woman’s lips.
As she fell backward, landing hard on her rear, I seized the opening and swept my leg out again.
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
My foot drove deep 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 to expel the contents of her stomach.
“You live quite comfortably, it seems.”
“Kgh?!”
Was she provoked by those words?
Namgung Yeon gritted her teeth, enduring the pain.
Then she quickly rose 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 also to Jang Chuchyeong, who showed rapid growth.
Truly, she deserved the title of a sleeping dragon.
I smiled faintly and slung my sword over my shoulder.
Then, flicking my fingers to provoke her again, she ground her teeth with a sharp sound, her momentum becoming even more tempestuous.
“Die!”
Crash!
I tilted my neck slightly, evading the incoming sword thrust.
As if she had anticipated this, her blade changed trajectory 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 that struck her chest.
Boom!
“Aah!”
With a cry, Namgung Yeon’s body flew backward.
She tumbled across the rough ground several times before finally coming to a stop.
She writhed slightly, attempting to rise.
Slowly getting to her feet, she retrieved her fallen sword from the ground.
The light in her eyes remained undiminished.
Her killing intent—her determination to slay me—persisted still.
“If that’s all you have to show, the Namgung Family has no hope left.”
“….”
Her skill was indeed remarkable.
She was at a level comparable to Moryeong Hyeok right now.
With just a bit more experience, she could easily win a confrontation.
However, considering that she had defeated Moryeong Hyeok years later, she was still merely a fledgling at this moment.
Yet, she fell short of my expectations.
Impressive as she was, there was nothing particularly special about her.
Inexperience could be filled in through any number of means, but the Cheonggung Muwae swordplay she displayed before me was, regrettably, not quite up to my standards.
Was it incomplete? Or had it been lost, leaving her unable to master it?
In the moment I regarded her with that peculiar gaze.
Namgung Yeon’s eyes shifted.
The spiritual energy that had been radiating outward began to settle, as though a fever-heated mind and heart had been abruptly cooled.
In the instant I narrowed my brow to observe.
She vanished.
Fast.
Incomparably so compared to moments before.
Suddenly, I glimpsed her eyes gleaming with lethal brilliance before me.
Clang—!
I parried lightly.
The sensation of blade meeting blade felt distinctly different—so much so that she could no longer be considered the same person.
A laugh escaped me unbidden.
You can do it.
Then, a sword infused with sword energy was unleashed.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang—!
A rapid blade technique that rivaled even Moyong Hyeok’s swift swordplay.
It was not Cheonggung Muwae.
A sword technique bearing the subtle mysteries of an entirely different rapid blade art.
Then only one name came to mind.
Clang—!
I forcefully deflected the final blade strike and retreated with a sliding step.
Then, confirming the severed edge of my garment, I regarded her.
“The Thirteen Lightning Strikes of Thunder Flash…”
“…!”
Namgung Yeon’s eyes widened greatly.
Her gaze held the unmistakable question—how did you know?
Seeing that, laughter spilled from me.
To create martial arts, I had needed to hear countless stories of various clans and sects, and through that process, the Namgung Family was a place I could never overlook.
I slowly assumed a ready stance and regarded her.
“Try to block this.”
I channeled the flow of torrential rapids into my blade and elevated my momentum.
Namgung Yeon seemed to swallow a groan upon sensing it, but shaking off her fear, she shook her head and grasped her sword once more.
Had she then decided it was better to take the initiative?
Namgung Yeon, sword in hand, also infused her blade with spiritual energy and rushed forward.
I nodded as I watched her figure vanish in an instant.
Yes, sometimes one survives only by charging forward without fear.
Boom—!

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Tap-tap-tap—
Namgung Yeon felt her vision returning as a sound echoed from somewhere nearby.
Though her entire body ached and felt heavy, her consciousness grew increasingly sharp, pulling her swiftly back to reality.
She opened her eyes slowly.
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 kindled it?
As she carefully rose to her feet, something slipped away.
It was the garment Jin Cheon-u had been wearing.
The moment she wondered why such a thing would be there, she realized her upper garment was torn in places, exposing her bare skin beneath.
“Ah?!”
“You’re awake?”
“…You… why?”
“Why? I couldn’t simply leave a woman unconscious in such a state, could I?”
As Jin Cheon-u spoke, he offered something he held in his hand. She furrowed her brow, studying it carefully, and recognized it as dried meat.
“Will you eat?”
“…No, thank you.”
“It’s from the Yunlong Inn, so you needn’t worry about quality or price.”
Growl—
At those words, her stomach lurched 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 and quickly snatched the dried meat from his outstretched hand, placing it in her mouth.
Munch-munch—
“You eat well. Your brother had me buy him meals twice, yet he couldn’t finish either time.”
“…Why?”
“Something came up while he was trying to prepare food for you.”
As Jin Cheon-u spoke and turned back, his gaze felt unusually sharp and piercing.
It wasn’t a reproachful look.
Rather, the sting of that gaze came from something that struck a nerve within her. The thought that she had misunderstood something refused to leave her mind.
“Enough of that. You two are truly devoted siblings—your brother sacrifices himself for you, and you draw your blade for him. Seeing you today, I understand why your brother rejected my proposal.”
“What do you…”
“But do you truly believe that having skill alone will allow you to restore the Namgung Family?”
“I won’t know unless I try.”
Namgung Yeon understood the difficulty well enough.
Yet if she could achieve good results at the Martial Tournament in a few years and restore the Namgung name to prominence, she believed it would be entirely possible.
That was why she trained with such fervor.
But Jin Cheon-u merely laughed mockingly.
“Do you truly think Moyong and the Chohyeon Family will simply stand by and watch? They will crush you thoroughly. What your brother has endured so far will pale in comparison. They will trample you so completely that nothing will ever grow again.”
“…!”
She didn’t know exactly what humiliation Namgung Baek had endured.
She had never witnessed it directly.
Yet, having experienced the Black Crow Society incident herself, Namgung Yeon couldn’t help but wonder if she had witnessed something beyond her own imagination.
Her complexion gradually turned ashen.
“So don’t go around swinging your sword in anger. I’d rather not see you trampled before you’ve even sprouted.”
Jin Cheon-u rose from his seat as he spoke those words.
Before turning his back, he glanced once more at Namgung Yeon.
A faint smile played at the corner of his lips.
He began to leave.
Without a single backward glance, as though devoid of hesitation or even interest, he slowly vanished from sight.
Namgung Yeon could only watch him go.
Her heart aching with a dull, persistent pain.
Then suddenly, words that had surfaced in her mind refused to fade away.
“A proposal…?”

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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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