Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 123

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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 123
‘I defeated a supreme master, but if I’m being honest, the matchup favored me. If he’d been a supreme master focused on speed and transformation instead, I would have lost.’
He was an opponent who didn’t fall short in inner strength, combat experience, or anything else.
Offering to let him make the first move wasn’t a suggestion born from carelessness—it was calculated.
From the way he recognized the Jegal Family’s Heavenly Foresight, it seemed he’d studied it beforehand.
But what he didn’t know was what kind of destructive power could be unleashed when the same martial art was applied differently.
My Taeul Danseonggeom couldn’t pierce through his Gokgol Hyeolma technique.
If Master had fought him, he would have shattered him in the first exchange and dissected this Hyeolma creature in the second for research materials.
Later, he might have severed the head to grant a merciful death.
Though knowing him, he’d probably still cut off an arm to examine the cross-section.
Demonic martial arts novels are full of madmen driven insane by dark techniques.
According to the lore, dark techniques corrupt the mind.
But what’s truly terrifying about dark techniques is that they don’t stop there—they transform the body as well.
Creatures with scales covering their skin or arms glowing red-hot from heat?
They appear occasionally.
But a state where the mind remains perfectly sane while only the body transforms?
That’s quite rare.
In that sense, the arm of Gokgol Hyeolma, who mastered the Gokgol dark technique, would be more than enough to ignite Master’s scholarly curiosity. Besides, villains in this era have no human rights.
It’s fortunate—or perhaps fate—that this creature didn’t fall into Master’s hands.
I didn’t intend it, but when I shattered his arm, I was able to see the cross-section.
It was bizarre—neither quite like a human arm nor like one forged from minerals.
Dark techniques allow one to grow stronger faster than conventional martial arts, but the side effects are equally severe.
‘More creatures like this will appear in the future, won’t they?’
The Demonic Sect—the birthplace of dark techniques.
The struggle between the minor sect lords. Once the Heavenly Demon Blood Path begins, far more demonic cultivators will emerge into the world.
Yeo Ha-ryun, being the protagonist, will probably remain relatively sane (?) and keep his handsome face intact, but I’m not sure about the other minor sect lords.
‘I need to grow stronger. As quickly as possible.’
The battle with Gokgol Hyeolma became a crucial turning point for me.
I examined each of my weapons one by one.
Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong.
Its specialty is accelerating thought to dismantle an opponent’s techniques through superior analysis.
As a bonus, this divine art enhances brain function itself—improving memory, sharpening judgment, and more.
‘It played a crucial role in defeating Gokgol Hyeolma this time as well.’
If I couldn’t break through the Gokgol dark technique with pure force, what if I applied the principle of thermal expansion?
That judgment itself came from the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong, and the speed at which I could generate such an idea was key to this victory.
Five Elements Divine Art.
By combining five elemental forces, I can create and manipulate all the energies under heaven.
True to the Jegal Family name, it demonstrates the power of infinite transformation.
Its versatility is remarkable—it can be applied to medicine and swordsmanship alike.
‘To test thermal expansion, I needed both ice and fire energy.’
Without the Five Elements Divine Art, execution itself would have been impossible.
The Five Elements Divine Art played a crucial role in pulling accelerated thoughts into reality.
Combined with bone restructuring and marrow cleansing, my entire meridian system could now rapidly accept, combine, and expel qi according to my will.
While ordinary cultivators’ inner strength flowed along country paths, my body could be compared to modern asphalt pavement.
With Heavenly Foresight added to this, I could protect my body while combining inner strength.
‘If I hadn’t laid a solid foundation starting with the Three Tribulations Protection Method, I would be dead.’
Stubbornly digging into fundamentals alone had been the right choice.
Had the Three Tribulations Protection Method been shoddy, the superior Heavenly Foresight would naturally have been flawed as well.
‘Certainly. The Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong, Five Elements Divine Art, and Heavenly Foresight—these three divine techniques are inseparable core martial arts of the Jegal Family.’
Even having suffered calamity, the Eight Great Families weren’t called that for nothing.
Their hidden strength was formidable.
Finally, the Taeul Danseonggeom.
This sword technique, containing the principles of swiftness, speed, and illusion, was no less worthy of being called a divine technique.
‘While evading, I continuously scratched and struck Gokgol Hyeolma’s arms. And then that final blow.’
It was a basic mid-level thrust, yet it unmistakably contained the subtleties of the Taeul Danseonggeom.
Though still lacking in refinement, my fundamentals were as solid as anyone’s.
From here on, I would have to temper myself through the countless unavoidable real battles ahead.
Like refining steel through repeated striking.
‘And there’s also poison mastery.’
Five Elements Mutual Destruction Poison.
A martial art meant less for poisoning others than for protecting oneself.
With just the immunity to hundred poisons gained through Five Elements Mutual Destruction Poison, I could avoid most schemes in the Gangho.
‘Master’s teachings truly are extraordinary. There’s not a single aspect left unplanned.’
I was taught systematically with nothing lacking.
Especially to answer this question: ‘How do you defeat someone stronger than yourself?’
Master transmitted all those tools to his disciple.
‘Hmm, I hope Master doesn’t find out about the fight with Gokgol Hyeolma. But rumors will spread soon enough, won’t they?’
Fortunately, I had fled by boat.
By the time rumors spread and they began searching for my location, I would already have flown far away like a mountain bird.
“Well then, how should I grow stronger from here?”
My thoughts progressed step by step forward.
‘First, consuming spirit pills to increase inner strength is the basics.’
For those in the Gangho, inner strength is rank and a measure of combat power.
In modern terms, it’s like the amount of fuel in a car’s tank.
It was strange that I won; usually, most battles were decided by the difference in inner strength.
Had this turned into a prolonged battle, I would have certainly lost.
‘Next would be martial arts or equipment advantages.’
Martial arts can be compared to a car’s engine.
No matter how much fuel you have, speed differs based on engine quality.
That’s how important martial arts are.
Equipment quality is like a car’s design.
A modern carbon fiber sports car engineered with aerodynamics in mind and a 1959 Volkswagen Beetle would have different speeds even with the same engine.
In this world where inner strength is the measure of combat power, equipment quality exerts tremendous influence as well.
It wasn’t for nothing that the people of Gangho went around proclaiming themselves as divine warriors.
‘The martial arts should be the Dual Thought Technique and the Vajra Diamond Spirit Technique. Those two should suffice.’
The Dual Thought Technique was a divine art that allowed one to split consciousness into two.
I had already mastered the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong.
In computer terms, it meant being able to run programs on dual cores.
‘The problem is the danger involved.’
Divine arts that touched the mind always carried the risk of mental illness.
‘The issue is how to reduce the risk and cherry-pick only what I want.’
It was a way of thinking only a modern person could have.
Next was the Vajra Diamond Spirit Technique.
‘This is the finest external martial art. If I master this, my body will become harder than the Gokgol Hyeolma who learned the Gokgol Demon Art, and without any side effects.’
Compared to the Dual Thought Technique, it offered abundant gains with minimal risk—truly a dog’s blessing.
‘My current external art isn’t bad, but evolving it one step further would be better. It would be a peerless external technique.’
Well then, let me see how these two martial arts were mentioned in the novel.
I used the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong to recall the contents from the novel.
Like searching an engine in my mind, I input various search terms and scattered my thoughts haphazardly. Then I filtered and organized them by relevance.
Having accomplished this in a short time, I reached a conclusion.
‘The Dual Thought Technique—the novel mentions where the remains of a master from the Mudang Sect’s predecessor’s predecessor, who went missing, are located.’
There was a mention of some demon lord in Gangho finding it and learning from it.
‘How do I learn the Vajra Diamond Spirit Technique? It must be from a
temple
in Gangho.’
But naturally, they wouldn’t teach such a peerless martial art to an outsider.
‘This will require reputation, favor, and opportunity.’
I was already building my reputation.
The remaining two weren’t within my power, so there was nothing to do but wait and see.
‘Well, I’ll think about the Vajra Diamond Spirit Technique later. If it doesn’t work out, I can find another external art.’
I deduced the strongest external art, but there’s no law saying I must only learn the first choice.
I postponed that part to the very end.
First, Cheonryeong. Then the Dual Thought Technique. And other spirit medicines.
That’s the order I should proceed in.
I organized my thoughts this way internally.
Woof! – Master, I smell earth.
“Hm? Already?”
I sharpened my vision and gazed toward the horizon.
In the distance, an island began to appear faintly.
Soon. We would arrive at the Zhoushan Archipelago.
* * *
The ship entered the Zhoushan Archipelago.
The Zhoushan Archipelago.
A sea dotted with over thirteen hundred islands.
Among them, only a handful bore names.
One of these islands held Botasan, and upon Botasan stood the Botasan Sect.
A sacred site of Buddhism, a magnificent place where mountain, sea, and island converged.
The islanders’ primary livelihood was, naturally, fishing.
Thanks to the abundance of archipelagos, fishing resources flourished here.
Thus, the people of this region could sustain themselves by harvesting clams and catching fish.
Moreover, the pearls extracted from the Zhoushan Archipelago were renowned for their unique coloring and beauty, earning them the favor of nobility.
But that was all. Small islands scattered like pebbles across the sea.
There was nothing as bustling as Hangzhou, and the largest port boasted merely a couple of inns.
With only a handful of islands easily accessible by boat, other sects rarely cast covetous eyes upon this region.
And now, I had arrived at Botasan and was searching for a small boat to purchase.
I had no particular business with the Botasan Sect, so I hadn’t ascended the mountain.
Moreover, with pilgrims regularly visiting Botasan, I as an outsider wouldn’t draw much attention.
That should have been the case.
Woof woof! – Master, that dried fish over there! Quick provisions!
If not for Hwang-gu.
For reasons I couldn’t fathom, Hwang-gu had grown to a size that could be called wolf-like.
Yet his face, with folded ears and gentle features, captured quite a bit of attention.
Combined with my own appearance, which had become even more refined after my transformation, the effect was considerable.
A beautiful youth one might never see again in a lifetime, carrying the medicine box characteristic of a wandering doctor on his back—it drew significant attention.
With a sword at my waist to complete the picture, I looked exactly like someone who had “I am a Gangho wanderer” written across my face.
“No one seems willing to sell a boat. What should we do, Hwang-gu?”
Woof woof! – Master, forget that. That dried fish over there!
I eventually bought something resembling dried cod and tossed it to Hwang-gu.
Munch munch. – Master. Loyalty! Loyalty!
Even today, Hwang-gu burned with loyalty before food.
“That’s right. Eat well. What do human worries matter to you? A furry friend is innocent.”
I needed a boat to explore the surrounding area in search of Cheonryeong.
Should combat arise, I might need to use a boat roughly, so purchasing was better than renting.
‘And there aren’t any fishermen willing to rent anyway. From their perspective, a boat is their livelihood, so it can’t be helped.’
Since this wasn’t a bustling place, merchant ships rarely passed through. And even if they did, these people would never sail to uninhabited islands, which posed another problem.
‘Ah, what a dilemma. Truly a dilemma.’
My brow furrowed.
Then someone approached me.
Yelp! – Master. A large human with an incense scent!

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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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