Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 172

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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 172
As I watched my Master Baekrin Uiseon Jegallim’s actions, I internally wept while gradually easing my tension.
Though I instinctively sensed the opponent’s strength and remained vigilant, I could tell he was certainly not an enemy.
Yet despite this, I continued circulating my inner energy while sharpening my senses even further.
It was the instinct of a martial artist who wished to properly measure the opponent’s strength.
My tension decreased while my senses grew ever sharper.
And so cold sweat began to trickle down my forehead.
It was as though Mount Tai itself pressed down upon me!
This meant the power of Gwon Je Myeong-gil Jingin was truly immense beyond measure.
‘Is this… even human?’
It was at that moment I gasped inwardly in shock.
“Hoo… look at this one. Quite the coveted talent, aren’t you?”
The Aged Taoist spoke thus and extended his hand toward me.
‘Gasp!?’
It was like mist.
His hand was so blurred I could not discern its proper outline.
Though I knew not the principle behind such a technique, I reacted instinctively and drew my blade.
It was an action etched into my body through nightly training with Yoo Ho.
Tap-tap-tap!
In the span of a single blink.
I swung my sword three times, lightly clashing with the Aged Taoist’s hand before bouncing back.
But thanks to that, the Aged Taoist’s hand returned to a state where its form could be clearly seen by the eye.
“Hahaha. Truly remarkable. Absolutely remarkable. To think a small thing like you could block my Taeching Mountain Water!”
Taeching Mountain Water!
It was one of the divine techniques of the Wudang School. Among the bare-handed ultimate techniques of Jeogsugongkwon, it was renowned as one of the five greatest martial arts in the jianghu.
However, it was also infamous for being extraordinarily difficult and troublesome to master.
And simultaneously, I felt myself becoming at ease.
Because I could sense nothing more from the opponent.
‘This is one of those who are estimated to have nearly reached Hyeongyeong. So this is the true skill of Gwon Je…’
A chill ran through one corner of my heart. Yet an odd thought crossed my mind.
‘My Master said himself that he possessed martial prowess at least comparable to this Jingin. So my Master is this formidable?’
Somehow my mood improved. Yet I revealed not the slightest expression on my face.
Perhaps it was because my unwavering reason suppressed my emotions.
However.
That iron countenance soon crumbled at the Aged Taoist’s next words.
“Remarkable. Truly remarkable. I’d like nothing more than to bring you into our Wudang School as a disciple. But then that Baek Rin fellow would raise hell, wouldn’t he? I heard he’s been in good health recently… if that rascal came looking for trouble, this old man would find it difficult to handle…”
The Elder stroked his beard and grumbled.
“…So tell me. How many stages has your Dual Thought Technique reached?”
‘Gasp!’
I swallowed hard.
I had kept my study of the Dual Thought Technique thoroughly concealed, but had he noticed it anyway?
My heart lurched, but I quickly composed my expression.
‘If I try to hide it, it will only seem more suspicious.’
There was no way a master of that caliber would have attacked me without reason.
The top ten masters of the realm were themselves like natural disasters. It was impossible to predict how they would act or what they would do.
Countless masters, demons, and hermits throughout the martial world failed to predict Hyeolsaeng’s next move and were captured and treated, were they not?
‘Our Master is at least reasonable. Yes.’
Having decided to steel myself for whatever came next, I immediately clasped my fists in salute.
I bowed respectfully.
“You are too kind.”
“Too kind? After seeing the martial technique you just displayed, I’m inclined to believe the rumors of the martial world are trustworthy. But then—won’t you answer? How far have you progressed with the Dual Thought Technique?”
He smiled with a slight smirk.
I realized it would be difficult to deceive the person before me.
“Well… I believe my current achievement is around the fourth stage.”
“Already at the fourth stage? Hehe… Without deep study of the Taoist path, it would not be easy to comprehend.”
“Myeongdeok Jingin left behind very detailed commentaries for me.”
At my words, Myeong-gil Jingin nodded.
“Yes. I heard you brought back Myeongdeok’s remains.”
At the mention of the departed’s Dharma name, I nodded.
“Yes, that is correct.”
“So Myeongdeok has returned. That foolish one finally comes home….”
Myeong-gil Jingin murmured softly, his voice tinged with regret, joy, and sorrow.
“But it is enough that he has returned. It is enough. Then it is done.”
The Aged Taoist closed his eyes, lost in memories.
“Had Myeongdeok lived, he would have become one of the top ten masters of the realm. Our Master taught him the Dual Thought Technique and the Supreme Polarity Sword Seal, while teaching me the Supreme Clarity Divine Art and the Supreme Polarity Mountain Water….”
Distant memories flowed from the Aged Taoist’s lips.
“That said, it is not as though I did not learn the Dual Thought Technique… but I lack depth in it. Therefore, since this is fate, I shall impart a small teaching.”
“Pardon?”
‘What? A teaching? Surely this isn’t one of those scenes from martial arts novels….’
In the moment I was startled, the old man’s two hands came toward me.
One moved very slowly, yet it glided forward as smoothly as a cloud.
The other was excessively fast and light, moving like an arrow in flight.
‘Oh!’
Though flustered, since I had been circulating my vital energy until just moments before, the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong activated of its own accord.
My thoughts accelerated, and I too abandoned my sword and raised both hands to meet his movements, countering his two hands with the techniques I knew.
“Ugh!”
But the fast hand became even faster, and the slow hand pressed forward like a bulldozer, making it difficult to defend.
In an instant my defense crumbled, and the Aged Taoist’s two hands reached my solar plexus.
“There. How is it? This is how the Dual Thought Technique is used.”
“Ah!”
A sharp bolt of lightning seemed to streak through my mind.
It could be called a fragment of enlightenment.
“It is not merely dividing thought into two. When one is swift, the other is slow. When one possesses strength, the other is gentle. Hard and soft exist together, yin and yang move as one, and thus they achieve harmony. Do you understand what that is?”
“The…Tai Chi.”
“Indeed. The Tai Chi is the very source of the Dual Thought Technique. You must engrave this upon your heart.”
The Dual Thought Technique.
I had thought I understood everything from reading the commentaries. But I was wrong.
Without deeply comprehending the Taoist philosophy of the Wudang School, one cannot grasp the entirety of the Dual Thought Technique.
In an instant, I was about to slip into unconsciousness. Enlightenment was within reach.
“Stop!”
That was the moment.
Someone’s voice pulled me from the realm of consciousness back to the outside world.
“Elder Uncle, that was too much. Teaching such secret techniques to an outsider!”
“Jeong Gwang, enough.”
“Sect Leader! This is….”
“Enough, I said!”
When I regained my senses, I saw two aged Taoists.
One wore a Taoist crown symbolizing the sect leader, while the other wore Taoist robes bearing the mark of an elder.
Jeong Hyeong, the sect leader of the Wudang School, and Jeong Gwang, the elder, had appeared.
Seeing them both, I felt an overwhelming sense of regret.
Jeong Gwang’s interference.
I understood his reasoning. He sought to prevent an outsider from obtaining the secrets of the Wudang School.
“Ugh. That Jeong Gwang really… I can’t stand him at all. If it weren’t for Elder Myeongsin, I really….”
Myeongsin was the master of Myeong-gil and Myeongdeok, and the teacher of Jeong Gwang.
“Since this bothersome fellow has appeared, I shall take my leave. Until we meet again!”
With those words, the Elder shot forth his form and vanished.
The sect leader pressed his forehead repeatedly.
‘The Elder Uncle has always… possessed such a free-spirited nature, but of all times….’
It was said that among the aged Taoists approaching Immortal Ascension, eccentrics were common, and the martial world treated this as an admirable tale.
However, the sect leaders who had to support such behavior had to contend with headaches.
Why of all things teach the Dual Thought Technique to Seo Baek-ryong outside, and in a situation where enlightenment was nearly achieved?
He would have been willing to turn a blind eye had it been done secretly in some mountain or cave.
But he had made the matter completely unavoidable.
‘Elder Uncle… how can you be like this? Is it because once you achieve Immortal Ascension, it’s all over for you?’
A sigh escaped him.
‘Though he is willful, he is not one to bring harm to the Wudang School. There must be some greater purpose….’
What greater purpose! An urge to grab him by the collar arose.
But that was impossible both by Confucian propriety and by physical means.
“I pay my respects to the sect leader.”
Cheonwoo and I performed the martial salute.
Jang Moon-in caught a glimpse of Cheon Gyeong sprawled on the ground along with his lackeys.
According to the witnesses, they had rushed at him simultaneously and lost.
‘What an embarrassment.’
My face burned with shame.
Jang Moon-in spoke respectfully toward Jin Cheon-hee.
“Sohyeop, I apologize for my rudeness. To challenge a guest to combat before they’ve even recovered from their travels…”
“No, please speak freely. I am considerably your junior in years.”
“For multiple men to rush a single martial artist…”
“I requested it. It’s fine.”
Even if he had requested it, it was something that should never have been accepted.
It meant abandoning a martial artist’s pride and dignity. My teeth ground together.
Meanwhile, Jin Cheon-hee remained composed, showing neither anger nor arrogance.
At an age brimming with youthful vigor as a martial artist, such composure was rare.
‘Baek Rin-ui-seon truly has reason to boast about his disciple.’
That monster of the martial world had become a different person since taking a disciple, going around bragging about him—it was rather unsettling.
Now he lived as a recluse, but he was not always such a man.
Especially for those who remembered the blood catastrophe he had unleashed.
What Baek Rin-ui-seon had wrought back then far transcended mere grudges and debts.
He had acted without even a fragment of emotion remaining, devoid of attachment to life itself.
One wondered if he even felt compassion, anger, or sorrow.
And now that monster had become a recluse for his disciple’s sake, bragging about him until blood poured from one’s ears.
‘Sohyeop is pitiful, yet it is fortunate.’
Though it was somewhat lamentable to have one’s life mortgaged to such a monster, there was no law that one must only meet normal masters.
It would have been better had he come to the Wudang Sect. As the sect leader, I felt the loss.
“I understand. Then let us speak at ease. Come inside. We cannot discuss matters of importance out here with our benefactor.”

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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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