Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 1023

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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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Chapter 1023
The main tournament had begun.
My opponent was a robust elderly man with a long beard.
Despite his age, his posture remained perfectly straight, and his movements made an oddly quiet sound.
The moment I saw him, I realized my opponent was someone who had trained deeply in martial arts.
‘As expected, this tournament has a high caliber of competitors.’
Then someone in the audience shouted.
“It’s Seonsikeong Yeo Jin!”
“Isn’t he one of the Hundred Greatest Masters under Heaven!”
“That’s not all! Seonsikeong is one of the Ten Greatest Housekeepers under Heaven!”
Only then, hearing the crowd’s words, could I recognize my opponent.
Seonsikeong!
A master of fish cuisine, particularly famous for his fish congee.
However, my eyes narrowed.
‘It’s an immutable law that cold broths lack the flavor of hot ones. There’s no way he wouldn’t know this.’
It’s not for nothing that my mother used to scold me to put down my phone and eat the soup before it got cold.
To fully appreciate that flavor, you really must eat it before it cools.
I thought to myself.
‘What kind of dish could Seonsikeong possibly present?’
A master of his caliber wouldn’t have stepped into this arena without some strategy.
I assessed my opponent’s strength.
And then, at that moment….
“Begin cooking!”
Kiiiiiiing—!
The gong rang out at the judge’s call.
With that sound, a thunderous roar erupted from the audience.
Waaaaaaaaaaa!
From the main tournament onward, I competed without disguising my appearance, under the title of Baekrin Uiseon Sojakju.
At the news that the Sojakju was fighting, countless spectators erupted in cheers.
“Ilgwang! Ilgwang! Ilguaaaang!”
The chant was oddly strange, but I didn’t mind.
Conversely, Seonsikeong was also quite popular.
“Win, Seonsikeong!”
“Make your opponent into a dead fish!”
“일광을 아주 끝장내 버리시오오오오—!”
Even for someone as renowned as Seonsikeong, it wasn’t easy to receive such enthusiastic support in a distant land.
Those who had been cheering for me realized who the opposition was.
“Martial artists, they’re martial artists! The martial artists are cheering for Seonsikeong!”
“To be precise, they’re hoping Ilgwang falls.”
Ever since the prohibition on group combat—the Blood Prohibition Edict—was issued in Gangso Province, many martial artists harbored resentment.
Combat alone cannot resolve the seal, as it runs far too deep. Even if I wished to fight my opponent, if they refuse to leave Gangso Province, there is no solution.
Therefore, eliminating Ilgwang is the only way forward.
Yet I find myself at a complete loss on how to dispose of this monstrously powerful creature.
Messages sent to the Martial Arts Alliance yield no proper answers, nor do those sent to Sadoren.
In the end, everyone gathered here simply hoping to witness Ilgwang’s defeat in this culinary competition.
“Seonsikeong! You must achieve victory!”
The shout, infused with inner energy, resonates loudly.
In other places, cheering for the opponent of the sky-like Taesoo would be a death sentence, but in Gangso Province, it is acceptable.
As long as I don’t draw my blade, Jin Cheon-hee leaves them be. Besides, when martial artists are suppressed to this degree, they inevitably rebound like a spring.
‘Well, truthfully, even this is beginning to reach its limits.’
In Gangso Province, all forms of blood techniques, great and small, have been forbidden.
To modern people, this would naturally mean death, raising questions about why such practices continue. Yet for martial artists, this alone becomes oppression.
Heh—
Jin Cheon-hee’s spirit remains unbroken; I merely smile softly.
Then I begin preparing what I had readied beforehand.
First, I retrieve a pumpkin and cut it. Leaving the skin intact, I hollow out the inside and begin boiling it!
Then I gently add sugar. Next, I add pine nuts and jujubes, and this time I let it simmer gently until done.
The cooking method is truly simple!
What matters is the proportion of ingredients.
I carefully measure the quantities and create a clear, light broth, then remove the pot and submerge it in cold water.
Cooling it down!
The pot cools quite rapidly.
Next, I place the pumpkin soup into a bowl and set it in Yoo Ho’s ice box—finished!
Now I simply wait!
The host, Muhua, cried out.
“Oh? Has Housekeeper Jin already finished? It seems he’s waiting for something! Seonsikeong is deboning fish at an incredible speed!”
Having received favorable reviews when hosting last time, she was invited again, and this time her refined inner energy captivated everyone’s ears.
And everyone’s gaze follows where Muhua points.
“Hehehehe, these young people nowadays try to make cooking too easy. Housekeeper Jin appears no different, and I worry about his future prospects.”
So he criticized.
Seonsikeong debones the fish at tremendous speed and begins making broth from the bones.
The precision of his blade work is nothing short of exquisite!
And not stopping there, he begins trimming other ingredients at an extraordinary pace.
Tap tap tap tap tap!
Everyone’s eyes widen at the sight.
“Quite impressive.”
“To witness Seonsikeong’s true culinary skill like this.”
“In comparison, Ilgwang’s approach this time seems rather humble, doesn’t it?”
Ilgwang sits before Yoo Ho’s ice box, enjoying tea.
How much time had passed?
“There! Cooking complete!”
Clang!
Seonsikeong finished his dish first.
“Oh my, it looks like a cold soup with a reddish broth?”
Muhua spoke, and Seonsikeong replied.
“Cold Red Lotus Root Fish Soup. Please enjoy!”
In simpler terms, one might call it ‘chilled red lotus root fish broth.’
Each plate was set down before the spectators.
“Hmm, a soup dish then. Let me see what we have here…”
The first to speak was Gwak Jangja.
He was renowned throughout Gangso Province as a celebrated gourmet, and he was also the first to use Baekrin’s delivery service.
When word spread that he ate dumplings at Baekrin Inn every morning, didn’t the other merchants also begin ordering from them to enjoy such luxury?
If the Three Scholars were ‘those who follow the trend,’
then Gwak Jangja was ‘one who creates the trend.’
In a sense, he might even be a superior version of the Three Scholars.
He took a spoonful of the soup, and his eyes widened.
“This taste is…?!”
As he spoke, his words trailed off.
The judges’ voices resonated loudly throughout the venue through the mysterious martial technique.
I had once mentioned that rather than calling it a subtle martial technique of the jianghu, it was more like an opera house utilizing the natural kiiiii, but no one understood.
In any case, that’s why everyone could hear the commoner Gwak Jangja’s voice!
The spectators swallowed hard, watching Gwak Jangja intently.
However, before he could even speak, Gwak Jangja took another spoonful.
“….”
What on earth was this taste that kept him eating in silence?
The Eunuch General, watching this, chuckled and took a spoonful himself, then spoke.
“Hehehehe, one might say it’s a dish with a subtle spiciness while the rich flavor of the fish is beautifully preserved. This intense taste despite being cold!”
Gaebang’s Elder Tae-sang Il-geol also took a spoonful and ate it.
“Hmm! Normally one shouldn’t feed cold soup to the ill, but this is different. The medicinal ingredients within and the richly cooked fish meat—all of it insists on nourishing the patient’s vitality. Moreover, there’s no need to blow on it to cool it, so it can be served immediately.”
Wuying Touguai added a comment as well.
“This dish! It’s worthy of me stealing it!”
She declared she would commit theft without hesitation, yet the meaning was profound.
Ooooooh!
At those words, the commoners and elderly folk who were usually in poor health clenched their fists tightly.
“Truly, Seonsikeong!”
“Indeed. The essence of soup ultimately lies in nourishing the stomach!”
And then all eyes turned toward Prince Ju-wang.
Slurp—
She sat quietly at the head seat, eating Seonsikeong’s soup.
What kind of remarkable evaluation would she give?
Soon after, Prince Ju-wang spoke.
“Hmm…. I find it a bit dull, though…?”
Whaaaaaat?
The judges and everyone in the audience seats opened their mouths wide in shock.
Prince Ju-wang thought to himself.
‘What. Didn’t you tell me to speak honestly? Everyone else spoke honestly.’
Among those gathered, Prince Ju-wang could be said to be the youngest.
She, who was called the living God of War, rarely had the opportunity to eat Yakson soup like this.
In the first place, I was someone who almost never suffered from heartburn due to hangovers, so what could be done about it?
“The taste isn’t bad, but it feels a bit empty.”
Boom!
Seonsikeong’s eyes widened.
‘How, how could this be… Prince Ju-wang…?’
The one who immediately grasped this was, as expected, the Eunuch General.
The Eunuch General stroked his chin and spoke quickly.
“Well, it is a tonic dish, after all. Your Highness Prince Ju-wang is in good health, so how much need would there be to nourish your body?”
“Still, as I eat it, my body grows warm. It’s clearly a cool soup, yet my body heating up is quite strange.”
Still, it wasn’t a bad evaluation.
Moreover, it was a fact that all the other judges except Prince Ju-wang left very positive reviews!
Seonsikeong spoke.
“What say you, Jin Cheon-hee, the finest in all lands. Though you may be the direct descendant of the Jegallim Family and supreme in dumplings, you cannot surpass this elder Seonsikeong in other dishes!”
He glared at Jin Cheon-hee with triumphant momentum.
Then.
Thump—
Jin Cheon-hee passed by Seonsikeong in an instant.
He merely moved the dishes, yet that first footstep’s sound mysteriously embedded itself in Seonsikeong’s mind.
After that, he passed without leaving any footstep or presence whatsoever.
A silence as if the world had been cut and pasted together.
Within that silence, Seonsikeong realized.
‘His footwork has reached the realm of immortals!’
Simply holding and moving dishes, yet creating a sensation as if existing and not existing simultaneously.
Despite displaying such a level of mastery, everyone’s gaze remained fixed only on the dishes Jin Cheon-hee held.
They paid no attention to Jin Cheon-hee, who displayed such extraordinary martial skill.
‘Dammit. What kind of enlightenment did he achieve…! No, and he uses such martial prowess merely to emphasize the presence of a dish?’
For reference, Seonsikeong himself used sword energy to fillet fish.
A madman of the martial world never recalls the insane deeds he himself committed.
An eternity passing in an instant, Jin Cheon-hee set down the plate.
Tap.
As he gently swayed the tray, the dish spun through the air and settled into place at the judges’ table.
Whirrrr—
The bowl completed its rotation, yet the food inside neither sloshed nor spilled a single drop.
Seonsikeong was astonished once more by this display.
‘This is no mere ethereal manipulation of objects! He has simply woven exquisite martial technique into the flick of his wrist.’
He realized that every martial principle—speed, power, and fluidity—was contained within that single wrist motion.
Had he thrown a hidden blade with such mastery, he could have pacified the realm without anyone knowing.
‘Why is someone of this caliber merely cooking here?!’
For reference, Seonsikeong himself had heated his ingredients using a flame technique.
I spoke.
“Ou, my dish is also a broth-based creation—quite the coincidence. Here is my offering!”
Golden Fragrant Pumpkin Sweet Soup!
As I spoke the name, everyone’s heads tilted slightly in confusion.
They could not fathom what I was describing.
I addressed the judges.
“Please, do taste it.”

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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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