Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 284

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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 284
I knew about Ilkana’s personality from the original work.
She usually acted like an extremely rational person, but when she entered combat, she showed what it truly meant to be drunk on blood.
‘Seeing it in reality, it’s no joke.’
Ilkana’s master, her “Father,” was never even named in the novel.
She herself had never called her “Father” by name.
Yet it was clear he had profoundly shaped her character.
‘Well, considering the educational process of raising assassins, there’s no human rights, no ethics.’
And this place was an assassination sect—a faction that split off from the Saerim Sect.
Even as she apostasized, the way she consistently called others “Brother” was likely an area embedded almost unconsciously in her mind.
It was peculiar.
She refused self-execution.
Even after killing her master named “Father,” she still called me “Brother.”
But that was her life, after all.
I finished treating Ilkana’s wounds and looked around the area.
Ilkana spoke.
“There’s no need to collect corpses or the wounded. The sect will send people to verify anyway.”
“….”
“Are you concerned about something?”
I shook my head.
“I’m not a good enough person to concern myself with enemies. I avoid killing people simply for my own mental health.”
That’s how a doctor draws the line.
Ilkana nodded.
“I didn’t think you were so rigid, Brother.”
After finishing emergency treatment, I brushed off my hands and stood up.
“We can just mount the horses and continue. Should we send new pursuers?”
“Do you think assassination sects grow like weeds whenever you water them? We’ve already taken damage from the Emperor’s old friends, and now we’ve taken more damage. We won’t have the resources to send more people for a while. Even maintaining the current situation is always tight.”
As expected.
I nodded and grasped the horse’s reins.
There was no need to bother collecting the tent.
I mounted the horse and lightly shot a fire-starting projectile with my internal energy.
Bang!
The fire that caught on the tent spread in an instant.
Ilkana seemed pleased by the warmth created by the bright orange light and laughed cheerfully.
“Well, to maintain wealth built on blood, you must continuously pour blood into it. That’s what assassination sects and the Saerim Sect are.”
She took the reins first and moved forward.
Clop clop clop—
I urged my horse to follow her.
“…It’s a difficult problem.”
“Difficult? It’s a common problem, isn’t it? The Demonic Sect would be the same.”
A mountain of one hundred thousand built upon blood.
Though the gold gleams brilliantly, gold nurtured by blood continually craves more blood.
She added a remark.
“Even without the Demonic Sect, isn’t that true? Even the great families of the righteous sects don’t earn money without staining their hands with blood, do they?”
That too was a fair point.
Warriors who wield the blade earn their coin through the blade itself.
The merchant caravans they operated, the Pyoguk, even the hidden family martial clans—none had escaped without spilling blood.
Ilkana spoke in a humming tone.
“In the end, that’s how it is. Few things love blood as much as gold, brother.”
“It’s not that gold loves blood. It’s that people love blood.”
“That’s not something a doctor like you should be saying.”
Sometimes he conducted himself with endless benevolence, yet at other times he was ruthlessly cynical.
I laughed bitterly.
“I know that Gangho and the martial world are built upon the blade. How could I not? I am a doctor, after all.”
Clop—
The horseshoes upon the sand created a leisurely rhythm.
Whatever magic the locals of this region had worked into their horseshoes, the horses never sank into the sand.
I touched the corners of my pale eyes.
“This matter will have no end. But that’s fine. For me.”
…
“I’m fine with it.”
I stopped speaking there and stroked Noeji perched upon my shoulder.
Chirp—
The warmth of my furry companions felt wonderful.
Even if gold grows fat on blood, and the Gangho has more blades than bamboo.
Still, with the warmth of these furry friends, I felt I could endure today.
That was enough, I thought.
‘Yes. Animal therapy is the best.’
Pondering grand matters yields no answers.
Knowing this, I decided to focus on what lay before me now.
Once we reached the inn later, I planned to embrace Hwang-gu and let the warm breeze blow across my forehead.
And.
“By the way, I’m curious about the operating principles of the Chakratant. From the battle earlier, it was clearly different from ordinary martial techniques.”
“Since I’m not a martial artist, I don’t quite understand what you mean by the principles of ordinary martial techniques… but it will certainly be different from what you use, brother.”
My eyes lit up.
“That’s what intrigues me. When you threw the chakram on your first move.”
…
The young man chattered incessantly, asking her questions.
* * *
Throughout our crossing of the desert, I began learning the theory behind the Chakratant from Ilkana in earnest.
‘It’s certainly different from martial arts.’
It resembles the operating principles of sorcery more than martial arts.
‘Chakra Tantra also involves inscribing tattoos on the body. This method uses them to gather chakra within the body.’
Ultimately, chakra is just another form of ‘qi’.
I had formed that hypothesis when giving her the Spirit Elixir, but hearing the explanation made it even clearer.
It’s a form of ‘qi’ that’s heavy and viscous, like sorcerous power.
I was curious whether it would harmonize with the qi I gather through breathing, which has a different nature than that of martial artists. But after giving her the Spirit Elixir and guiding her through the Heavenly Circulation, it became certain.
‘The difference is that unlike martial arts, which use the dantian and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, Chakra Tantra uses chakra throughout the entire body. Because of this, it’s less efficient compared to martial arts.’
Martial arts gather qi in the dantian and circulate it through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians as needed.
This means even with modest internal energy accumulated, one can achieve great efficiency.
You simply send what’s stored in the dantian to where it’s needed.
But Chakra Tantra cannot do this.
‘It’s something like external energy, yet also like internal energy. External energy works by spreading internal energy evenly throughout the entire body, so one could say the ultimate goal of external energy is Diamond Indestructibility… but that’s different from Chakra Tantra.’
But there are definite advantages to be gained.
‘First of all, there’s no risk of qi deviation at all.’
Qi deviation occurs when there’s a circulation accident while circulating internal energy through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
Since there’s no need to circulate it, there’s no risk of accidents.
‘Second, the speed of gathering chakra is as fast as demonic cultivation at a decent level.’
The problem is that if two people possessed the same amount of qi at the same level, a martial artist would have an overwhelming advantage over a Chakra Tantra practitioner.
However, the speed of accumulation is much faster with Chakra Tantra.
‘Being safe and fast is quite a strong advantage. It might be worth researching further.’
And there’s something else I discovered while helping her with the Heavenly Circulation.
When she consumed the spirit medicine, the internal energy didn’t go to her dantian but gathered toward the tattoos instead.
I considered forcibly redirecting it to find her dantian, but that seemed dangerous, so I let the flow proceed naturally. After she absorbed the power that way, I observed that her strength increased by at least twenty percent.
‘This is revolutionary.’
One more thing to add: once you master Chakra Tantra, your body becomes as flexible as a cat’s.
I’ll need to research further to understand the principle behind this.
At the master level, the body moves with fluid secret energy, allowing for attacks and postures that ordinary people cannot achieve.
Once I understood that much, I knew how to make her stronger.
“We win through sheer volume, don’t we?”
“Pardon?”
“If Chakra Tantra specializes in gathering chakra, then we simply reinforce it by pouring in formation flags and spirit medicines.”
It was a crude method.
But I’m not one to shy away from the fastest path.
“Brother…?”
“On top of that, I’ll teach you one external energy technique from the Divine Art Absolute Learning and a sword method. For the internal energy cultivation technique, we’ll use Chakra Tantra as the foundation.”
Ilkana asked with a skeptical expression.
“You’re saying that alone would make me several times stronger within five years?”
No, you’re underestimating the power of volume.
The reason the children of the Three Great Families can continuously dominate the landscape of Gangho is because of the Divine Art Absolute Learning that comes from abundant resources of internal energy.
Learning martial techniques without the internal energy to support them is utterly useless.
Conversely, with abundant internal energy, even the same Three Calamities Sword Technique displays different levels of power.
‘Everything begins with quantity, yet people tend to overlook this fact.’
Even those noble families who cultivate their children with spirit medicines tend to take pride in their martial techniques rather than admit that their strength came from consuming precious elixirs since childhood—a fact they find somewhat embarrassing.
‘Well, regardless. Once I become this powerful so rapidly, I should be able to survive even in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.’
Even if I meet Yeo Ha-ryun according to fate and embark on a turbulent adventure, I’ll be capable of protecting myself.
This was the price of the book I was giving to her.
Just as I once repaid the debt that Gungwi, as a character in a novel, had given me as a reader seeking solace, I was now repaying the same debt to Ilkana.
‘Sometimes, certain stories keep people alive.’
Humans are complex yet remarkably simple beings.
In a harsh life, merely waiting for tomorrow’s serialized chapter gives one the resolve to continue living.
A single episode that others would consume in less than ten minutes.
Some might ask what great meaning could be attached to such a thing, but when life becomes too difficult, it can become one’s only source of energy.
Novels were always easy to pause and resume whenever desired.
Compared to visual media, at least they didn’t strain the eyes as much.
In truth, beyond all these reasons, it was simply more enjoyable.
“I can begin transmitting external techniques from now on. You can learn sword techniques and archery techniques after arriving at Baekrin Uigak.”
“Anything too difficult… I’m afraid it might be challenging for me, brother. I’m not particularly quick to understand.”
“Haha. That’s fine.”
I answered with a light laugh.
“External techniques are… well… the basics themselves are easy to learn. The real challenge comes after. Once we arrive, I’ll have Yoo Ho transmit my training methods.”
Yoo Ho and the nine martial arts disciples would help.
‘Hmm, which external technique would be best.’
I recalled the various basic external techniques stored in Baekrin Uigak’s library.
The most respectable pure external technique would be the Geonkun Golden Strength Technique that I myself was cultivating, but this required abundant internal energy as its foundation.
‘Hmm… something similar in nature to chakra tantra…’
I reconsidered my approach.
‘Just… mix them.’
When it came to external techniques, there were only a handful in Gangho with more thorough theoretical knowledge than myself.
Moreover, the insights I’d gained from cultivating external techniques had reached a level not inferior to most renowned orthodox sects.
Hadn’t I continuously refined the external techniques I’d learned with the help of Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong?
‘I myself have already learned and applied numerous martial arts without discrimination.’
Perhaps because my roots lay in being a modern person, I lacked the stubbornness of a warrior.
Without such stubbornness, I prioritized immediate efficiency over pride in martial arts.
‘Not many warriors would understand this.’
It didn’t matter. What was important to me was survival.
And to survive, I would do whatever it took.
From atop the horse, I slowly reconstructed the external technique theory to match her chakra tantra.
Knowledge and experience.
Once these two interlocked, the rest was simply direction.
My thoughts, winding through layer upon layer, transformed further when encountering the pragmatism of a modern person.
Simpler. Easier to apply.
If the objective remained the same, there was no need to complicate matters unnecessarily.
Soon, I opened my mouth.
“Let us discuss the fundamentals of external cultivation.”
Metaphors and symbolism—I understood them poorly. The insights of martial arts would be resolved soon enough through interrogation and beatings from the martial arts disciples.

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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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