Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 103

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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 103
Fire
Jin Cheon-hee instinctively sensed that Dang-a was a considerably formidable opponent.
This would be a battle on an entirely different level from those he had faced thus far.
The referee Gungwi announced the match.
“Dang-a of the Sichuan Dang Family! Weapons: iron whip and hidden projectiles. Jin Cheon-hee of Baekrin Uigak! Weapon: Frost Jade Sword! Begin!”
The moment Gungwi finished speaking, Jin Cheon-hee activated his inner energy.
It was as if the time around him had begun to slow.
Hyeonwon Jeodan Divine Art.
Thought acceleration.
The Hyeonwon Jeodan Divine Art, which abnormally developed the brain, accelerated the very speed of thought during combat.
This created the effect of making surrounding objects appear to move slowly in perception.
It was precisely this Hyeonwon Jeodan Divine Art that had allowed Jin Cheon-hee to evade so many punches from the wooden puppets.
‘If I can see it, I just need to find a way to dodge it.’
Of course, accelerated thought didn’t mean invincibility.
Among the wooden puppet’s attacks, there were scenarios that were difficult to respond to even when anticipated.
But aside from those cases, I could evade most attacks.
‘I won easily against Samsalchuseo with this.’
Though the three of them boasted they could defeat a master of the highest realm combined, the truth was that Jin Cheon-hee, superior in reading movements, held the advantage.
‘Hidden projectiles and whip. I’ve never experienced this style of martial arts before. So I’ll proceed cautiously at first.’
Jin Cheon-hee launched a light opening attack.
Taeul Danseon Sword.
First Form.
Seonun Zhiro!
Though clearly a thrust, the movement of the hand gripping the blade was as smooth as a cloud.
At first glance it appeared simple, but there were six hidden variations concealed within the sword.
The moment the blade touched the opponent’s weapon, the sword technique would shift into one of these six variations to attack. It wasn’t merely about variation—the speed was instantaneous.
“Impressive indeed.”
Namgung Un, who was watching, let out an exclamation.
‘Where should I test this jab?’
The instant the sword thrust forward, something shot out from Dang-a’s hand so quickly that even Jin Cheon-hee’s accelerated perception could barely track it.
‘A snake…?’
It was a whip that had been coiled around her arm beneath her sleeve.
Clang!
A heavy force made itself felt.
In that moment, the whip attempted to wrap around and constrict the blade.
The instant Jin Cheon-hee detected this, he quickly shifted his blade technique to withdraw the sword.
“Tsk! Usually this is settled in one exchange.”
Dang-a clicked her tongue.
Her whip whistled through the air, curling around her body as if embracing it.
Namgung Un spoke.
“Lady Dang, what a shame. To have a single exchange blocked by a young brother who’s only been training martial arts for two years.”
“Two years?”
I glared at Jin Cheon-hee in surprise. Namgung Yeon’s eyes widened as well upon hearing this.
“I heard that was the case, but is it true? Young brother, have you really only trained for two years?”
I didn’t answer.
Instead, cold sweat trickled down my skin.
‘That was just a brief collision, yet my wrist is ringing. So this is what it means to have trained martial arts since before you could walk.’
I hadn’t realized I would come to feel the power of a great family so vividly.
‘And that whip on top of it all. I had no chance to counter it. The unfamiliar is equally the formidable.’
The claim that it ended in a single exchange suddenly felt real.
Without the Hyeonwon Jeondan Divine Technique, I would have found it impossible to respond.
She grinned wickedly.
“The Dang family may be renowned for hidden weapons, but the other martial arts of the main branch are no trivial matter either? My black flame dragon, now that I’ve unsealed it today, will be drenched in blood. This should be entertaining. Kekekek!”
She covered one eye with her hand and laughed maniacally. Namgung Un watched her with a sorrowful expression, then muttered softly.
“Dang-a. Now that you’re growing up, why are you accumulating such karma? You’ll end up just like the other elders of the Dang family….”
“Kehah, kahahaha!”
She would thrash about in bed. Certainly, she would thrash about in bed.
Against the shame from childhood that would surge up sporadically, she would curse the Dang family’s martial arts and occasionally tear at her hair.
But that was a distant matter for Dang-a.
Her adolescent brain was currently dominated by hormones and the Dang family’s secret internal energy techniques.
Watching this spectacle, I remained composed.
‘She doesn’t seem to have lost her reason to demonic energy—could this be a side effect of the Dang family’s internal cultivation?’
I diagnosed Dang-a with surprising accuracy.
‘Back on Earth, children that age were the ones who wanted to quit pediatrics and begged to be sent to general surgery instead.’
Children with chronic illnesses receive outpatient care at pediatric clinics for extended periods.
When they’re young, they don’t think much of it, but as their minds mature, they eventually reach an age where waiting in the pediatric clinic among infants becomes embarrassing.
That age is typically around Dang-a’s current years.
The turbulent adolescence.
At that time, children would forcibly drag their parents’ hands to general surgery out of sheer embarrassment at being among babies.
‘Come to think of it, there was no character named Dang-a in the novel—could this be a childhood name or an alias?’
There had been an appearance of a master from the Dang family who wielded a whip. But since she was only mentioned by an alias, it was difficult to confirm if they were the same person.
The novel didn’t even have illustrations, and confirming identity within just a few lines was nearly impossible.
‘Let me change my line of thinking. How was the whip described in the novel?’
The whip.
In reality, it couldn’t be said to have higher lethality than swords or spears, but in the martial world, it was mentioned that one could manipulate a whip with internal energy as if it were alive.
In fact, among the ten greatest masters of Gangho, there existed a martial expert called Hyeolpyeon-wang.
A master of whip techniques and one of the ten strongest in all the land.
‘I can’t tell if this person is Dang-a.’
In any case, the whip was such a formidable weapon.
Moreover, if Dang-a was the Hyeolpyeon-wang, then I was facing one of the future’s ten greatest masters of the Gangho.
‘To begin with, I have little experience sparring with anyone through martial arts, but this is quite troublesome, isn’t it? The only thing I can rely on is the Hyeonwon Jeondan Divine Art.’
The second effect of the Hyeonwon Jeondan Divine Art.
It was overwhelming memory.
With it, I could quickly recall the contents of books and remember my opponent’s attack patterns, allowing me to improvise and block immediately.
This was also why the people of the Jegal Family throughout history could quickly create martial art countermeasures.
‘First, let me try to buy some time!’
I drew my sword and took a defensive stance.
“Won’t you come first? Then I will!”
Dang-a launched her attack.
I began blocking each of her attacks, parrying them one by one.
Hidden projectiles came through the gaps in Dang-a’s assault.
Clang!
Each time I blocked them, exclamations burst from the surrounding crowd.
And from her lips, poisonous mist sprayed forth.
It was paralysis poison.
‘This is a dilemma I can’t escape even knowing about it.’
I recalled the attacks of the wooden puppet figures.
If I dodge because of the iron flakes, I get hit by the hidden projectiles; if I block them, I get hit by the poisonous mist.
While circulating the Five Elements Divine Art to detoxify the poison, the renowned Dang Family’s toxin proved far more complex in composition than I had anticipated.
‘Then it must be offense.’
I switched the hand holding my sword. I changed from pure defense to offense instead.
Dang-a didn’t seem to expect this, as her eyes widened.
I succeeded in striking away her iron flakes and attempted to send my sword toward her throat.
If I thrust in like this, it would be over.
I thought my Master would step in before the fatal blow landed, but my Master simply watched with a faint smile, saying nothing.
‘Master…?’
In that moment, my arm wouldn’t move.
‘What?’
My body creaked. My nerves wouldn’t respond. And my stiffened body no longer obeyed my will and froze.
Feeling no sensation whatsoever, it was as if this body belonged to someone else.
Before me, Dang-a let out a dark chuckle.
“Has the darkness of the main text finally begun to consume Seo Baek-ryong? It took long enough.”
‘Poison? Was circulating my energy alone insufficient to detoxify it?’
As my body hardened like stone, I heard my Master’s voice.
“There’s nothing to regret. In just two years of training, you managed to draw out hundreds of seconds against a late-stage expert of the Dang Sect. And in your first martial match at that.”
Along with words of pride, Dang-a’s iron flakes struck me hard.
“Cry out, my Black Flame Dragon!”
Boom!
My body flew into the air.
Dang-a, victorious, cried out in fury.
“Krraaaah! Only two years?”
Jin Cheon-hee’s final sword strike made her heart sink.
If the Dang Clan’s paralysis poison had been any slower, she would have been the one defeated.
“Gasp, huff….”
Dang-a breathed heavily.
“It’s not two years, is it? Baek Rin-ui-seon.”
At those words, Jegalling smiled slyly.
“Two years is correct. As for actual combat experience, he’s only had about two instances. First was when he escaped through the black-clad assassins to save the previous Bangju of the Gaebang. Second was when he traveled through Gangho fighting against Haowen’s foot soldiers.”
When the truth came from Baek Rin-ui-seon’s mouth, everyone was astonished.
Even Namgung Un, who had mentioned two years first, opened his mouth in shock.
“I knew about it, but I didn’t expect it to be this extent. So this is essentially his first real duel?”
Jin Cheon-hee rose to his feet.
It seemed he had completely detoxified the paralysis poison in the meantime.
Seeing this, Dang-a was even more surprised.
“I used enough poison to fell an elephant—how did he detoxify it in that short time?”
Namgung Un spoke.
“It is remarkable. Even if we attribute his inner energy to the antidote, his sword technique and judgment don’t seem like those of someone fighting for the first time….”
Jin Cheon-hee said.
“I lost, Master.”
“Didn’t I tell you? It will be good experience. Hehehehe.”
Jin Cheon-hee scratched his head.
“That seems to be true. Though losing is regrettable.”
So he had intended to win.
Dang-a thought it was truly fortunate that she hadn’t gone easy on Jin Cheon-hee.
If she had lost here, it would have been so shameful that the Dang Clan would have summoned her directly for closed-door training.
Meanwhile, Jin Cheon-hee’s mind felt clear.
‘Ah, the wooden puppet! I’ve found the answer.’
How should one deal with something visible yet unavoidable?
Jin Cheon-hee repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists.
A brief enlightenment struck his spine with a tingle. Jin Cheon-hee committed this sensation flawlessly to memory using the Hyeonwon Jeondansinkong.
His master spoke to Jin Cheon-hee.
“You’ve found a breakthrough.”
“Yes!”
“Yoo Ho will have quite the ordeal refining your external martial arts.”
Jin Cheon-hee understood the meaning of those words.
‘Now I won’t get beaten by the wooden puppet like before!’
True to those words, Jin Cheon-hee was able to safely evade the wooden puppet’s strikes, and succeeded in shattering all three with a real sword.
Yoo Ho wore himself out repairing and improving the wooden puppet again.
External martial arts are refined through being struck.
This situation where I had to defeat Jin Cheon-hee aligned perfectly with my interests.

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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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