Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 248

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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 248
027. Returning to Daily Life
“Ahhhhh! Master, this is too much!”
“What do you mean too much, Cheon-hee? If you want to survive throwing yourself at the absolute masters of Hwagyeong, you need to endure at least this much.”
That’s right. The moment I returned, I began the hellish training regimen my Master had devised.
I was fiercely battling Yoo Ho’s specially crafted wooden dummy, Mark Two, within the supreme formation that Jegalling had personally created.
That bastard Yoo Ho hadn’t been doing his cultivation work in the lab since we parted ways—he’d been obsessively researching wooden dummies to beat me senseless, and it showed painfully well.
‘Tch, was the left jab a feint?’
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
In an instant, the swollen right fist turned me into pulp.
That’s right. Within the supreme formation my Master created, I was weakened while the wooden dummy was strengthened.
Moreover, these dummies, crafted with the intent to kill the young master, could even dislocate my left arm by employing the martial techniques of Dual Thought Technique within the formation despite being mere wood.
‘It’s not just fast and powerful strikes—each punch contains martial technique within it. Insane… is Yoo Ho actually inside that dummy?’
If I could unzip the back and have Yoo Ho pop out like some kind of toy, how much better would that be?
However, behind the wooden dummy I was locked in mortal combat with, other dummies stood in line waiting their turn.
If the dummy I was facing was a fist-fighting type.
Behind it stood others gripping spears, swords, bows, and blades—each armed with a weapon, waiting for their turn.
‘They’re like customers waiting at a popular restaurant.’
What I realized while being mercilessly beaten by these dummies was this:
Yoo Ho… he knows so many different martial techniques.
And he really, truly wanted to beat me.
The relationship between a professor and graduate student is ultimately a wrestling match that cannot be severed.
‘That’s fine. Yoo Ho, even if you beat me like this, if our research shows results, I can accept that. Just keep staying in the lab. Yoo Ho!’
In this era without doctoral degrees, if Yoo Ho went mad and flew away, there’d be no way for me to stop him.
Fortunately, Yoo Ho’s willingness to stay in the lab and work alongside me stemmed from his loyalty to my Master, and perhaps that 2% madness—the feeling that he couldn’t abandon what he’d already invested so much effort into.
And maybe… a 0.00000000…1% of affection for me.
‘Still, his loyalty to Master is probably the biggest reason.’
The motivation didn’t really matter.
While being beaten by these dummies, I would learn how to fight the masters of Hwagyeong, and Yoo Ho would relieve his stress.
When morning came, we would work together again toward the progress of humanity.
For the relationship between a professor and eternal graduate student in Gangho was that mad.
“Cheon-hee, you’re thinking of something else again. Didn’t this Master go to great lengths to obtain the Heavenly Demon Golden Strength Technique for you? Practice diligently.”
Indeed, my Master detected that I was using the Dual Thought Technique to think of something else while fighting the dummy—truly uncanny perception.
“I understand the Heavenly Demon Golden Strength Technique is a remarkable martial art, but… how long have I been learning it and you’re already putting me in real combat training, Master!”
“Haha, if you dislike it, how about being confined? Until you master each posture carefully, one by one.”
If I gave in to the immediate pain and agreed, at least three years of confinement was guaranteed.
The Heavenly Demon Golden Strength Technique.
The pinnacle of external martial arts is Shaolin Temple’s Diamond Arhat Divine Technique. That is considered the greatest.
I’ve heard that when cultivated to the extreme, one achieves Diamond Indestructibility, and the body becomes as hard as diamond, capable of blocking even sword energy and blade force.
The Heavenly Demon Golden Strength Technique was created by a reclusive hermit from a Taoist sect who had experienced such Diamond Arhat Divine Technique.
The Shangqing Sect—a true martial art of a Daoist school that has since been destroyed.
The Qiankun Diamond Technique trains the body using the Qiankun Dual Qi, which in modern terms simply means the vital energy of heaven and earth.
In other words, it represents the dual qi of heaven and earth, and this also signifies the Taiji itself.
‘Its very roots are profoundly Daoist. But its performance is undeniably certain.’
Three months have passed since the Dragon-Phoenix Convergence ended, and I’ve been training in this technique.
The moment my arm fully healed, I began earnest practical training in earnest.
Combined with the external techniques I had mastered in the past, I’ve now reached a level where I can withstand sword energy with relative ease.
Yet as with all martial arts in this world, there is no technique without drawbacks, and this one carries a significant flaw.
While training in this method, my inner energy does not increase at all.
Examining the core principle of this external technique that seems unparalleled on the surface, the fundamental concept is to pour the inner energy one would normally accumulate into external techniques, thereby strengthening the body.
Of course, the more inner energy poured into external techniques, the faster the external technique grows as well.
However, reaching perfection is impossible with inner energy alone.
Since it requires enlightenment regarding the martial art itself, my goal is to train to the ninth stage rather than perfection.
‘Completing training to the ninth stage within six months was the goal… Goodness, if others heard this, they’d call me insane.’
Training such a powerful technique in a mere six-month sprint.
This is absurdity of the highest order.
Yet Jin Cheon-hee was a Korean through and through, possessed of the impatient spirit.
In my blood ran the essence of a people who cannot tolerate 2G speeds.
To survive in a nation where StarCraft is a folk pastime, one simply cannot afford to be slow.
Heeding the call of that blood, one month had passed since I began serious training after my full recovery.
In just one month, I achieved the remarkable feat of reaching the fourth stage.
The compatibility with the external techniques I had previously learned was excellent, and I was astonished to discover I could now withstand sword energy.
‘Yoo Ho! Thank you! Thank you for hitting me with genuine force every day! Wahaha! In this world, a wooden dummy throws punches with the mysteries of the Unified Fist technique. Wahahahaha!!!!!’
The professor continued his mad musings as he threw himself into training once more.
* * *
After finishing my training, I washed lightly and headed toward my Master’s study.
My Master’s study was stacked with more books and letters than usual.
Yoo Ho stood beside him, sorting through what my Master wished to keep and what he wished to burn.
“Training must not be easy, yet you endure it well.”
“Hehehehe.”
“Tsk, do not laugh.”
As my disciple laughed brightly, my Master clicked his tongue softly.
He subjects the disciple to training so grueling that even the strongest would collapse.
Yet the disciple endures and achieves results regardless.
Watching this, my Master’s heart grew complicated.
“You have never given up, not even once.”
If the disciple showed even the slightest hesitation, he would use it as an excuse for confinement, but the disciple never stopped walking the path he had chosen, even knowing what kind of path it was.
That sight was both frustrating and pitiful.
Perhaps it was because their bond transcended mere friendship or family—it was that of master and disciple.
Jegalling thought thus as he gazed upon Jin Cheon-hee’s one arm.
The wounds from the Venom of the Four Corpses had nearly healed, leaving only faint discolorations.
Even those marks would disappear completely before long.
And then this foolish disciple of mine would throw himself into danger once more to save someone, as if nothing had ever happened.
“Children from Baekwanhoo seem quite interested in Gangho.”
I began Baekwanhoo while assisting Sama Hyeon.
In this world, adulthood comes earlier than in modern Earth, so this was actually a late start.
“They’ll become Warriors.”
“Though they sought refuge in Baekwanhoo without a place to rely on, they were all children from martial families with their own stories—they’ll become Warriors again.”
Jin Cheon-hee laughed bitterly.
“They won’t pursue other professions?”
“Hee. In Gangho, strength is absolute law. Once someone learns martial arts, they’ll almost certainly live by the sword.”
Sama Hyeon was the unusual one; this was the normal way of things.
“I did arrange work through Pyoguk for such Warriors.”
“Yes. Focusing on relatively safer tasks. But that alone isn’t enough.”
Many Warriors die in their first year venturing into Gangho.
Perhaps they were too tense, or guilt suddenly overwhelmed them, or they were too naive and fell for deception.
“Relatively safer” meant better compared to other work, not truly safe.
Jegalling chuckled softly.
“So we decided to take those with strong interest in Gangho directly under our wing. Not merely through Pyoguk arrangements, but direct employment.”
Master said he was expanding his forces. Perhaps this was part of that plan.
Jegalling carefully observed his disciple’s expression growing heavier.
After a moment, he added one more thing.
“Well, from here on, this isn’t charity work, Hee.”
At those words, Jin Cheon-hee nodded sharply.
“Yes. I understand.”
“Of course, you’ll receive support like medical treatment from the Doctor and emergency medicines, so it’ll be better than Pyoguk work. But having decided to take up the sword and become a Warrior, it won’t be safe either.”
Even after living off Gangho for so long.
My disciple still hadn’t adapted to Gangho.
That was likely because Jin Cheon-hee’s true nature was not that of a Warrior, but a Doctor.
The contradiction I carried as a Gangho Doctor—my disciple could hardly escape it.
“Gungwi will command them. Since they’ll also learn martial arts related to archery, you could call him a Master as well.”
“Gungwi Elder?”
“The bow is better martial art than one might think. The more archers there are, the more devastating they become. Moving swiftly through Lightness Technique and launching arrows—that alone would make it extremely difficult for ordinary Warriors to engage.”
At those words, a blue light flickered across Jin Cheon-hee’s retinas.
“But… what about Jiangshi?”
With that single question, my disciple had already identified the weakness of the unit I was trying to build.
Jiangshi feel no pain and don’t stop.
Whether arrows flew at them or not, they became moving walls, closing distance in an instant to attack—defeat would be inevitable.
“Based on the countermeasures you documented, I’ve adapted them to suit archery techniques. We’re also preparing special iron-fire arrows for this purpose.”
Indeed, Master. You’ve already arranged for that aspect as well.
I nodded, then a question occurred to me and I asked back.
“But isn’t iron flower stone quite expensive? Moreover, since it’s difficult to recycle, wouldn’t the actual cost burden be substantial?”
My Master seemed pleased that I had already verified the calculations myself.
He answered.
“Baekrin Uigak’s finances have increased roughly five-fold compared to before you arrived. A portion is being used for white pills, research, and maintenance costs, but more than half is being set aside.”
Five-fold?
As Patriarch of Buseol Hall, I was aware that the hall’s budget had increased significantly. But to think the entire institution had grown five-fold…!
“With the unit price of Baekrin Pills lowered and mass production now successful, our finances will leap even higher from here.”
My Qingyu Jade and Ondol were also generating considerable revenue.
Soap too was finally becoming known, and beyond merely its fragrance, it was beginning to be distributed gradually for its pure cleansing properties.
Slower than the previous two, but still growing steadily and surely.

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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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