Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 302

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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 302
I groped along the bookshelves, my fingers trailing across the spines.
After a moment, I pulled out a couple of books and pushed my hand deep into the gap.
Using only the sensation in my fingertips, I felt around inside until something solid caught my touch.
“The Eight Trigrams?”
The Eight Trigrams were carved in relief, but their order was different.
‘Perhaps I need to arrange them in the order that was written?’
Heaven, Earth, Water, Fire.
The fact that such a cipher was hidden in such a place meant there had to be a reason for it.
The process of understanding the arrangement of the Eight Trigrams through touch alone, calculating the correct configuration, and manipulating them accordingly.
It bore some resemblance to modern sliding puzzles.
‘Why make it so complicated?’
Was this not simply a place where the imperial family could come and go as they pleased?
Regardless, assembling this mechanism itself was not particularly difficult for me.
In fact, the process of combining the corners of scattered books to create the cipher had been far more challenging.
Click—
As I assembled the final trigram in sequence, I felt something lock into place with perfect precision.
Whether correct or incorrect, something was about to happen.
I quickly withdrew my arm.
Grrrrk—
The bookshelf slid aside, revealing hidden stairs beneath.
“So there’s a secret vault hidden within the imperial vault itself?”
I had found the common thread between the imperial palace and the Demonic Cult.
They were all obsessed with hidden secrets and concealment.
In the Jicheon Cheonma, whenever something happened, Yeo Ha-ryun would discover some secret passage in the Demonic Cult, and this place was no different.
‘That’s right. People of high station all love their secrets.’
Even politicians of old would hide slush funds away like this.
‘These days they hide slush funds in ways suited to the fourth industrial revolution, but back then there were secret safes hidden away.’
There was even an incident where a neighborhood dog was digging frantically at the ground, so I dug along with it, and suddenly bundles of money appeared.
It sounds insane, but it’s true.
That era was entirely based on physical assets.
In any case, there was no internet, no stocks, no securities, and banking was partially handled by money changers and underground financial institutions in this age of tangible goods.
Whether it was the Demonic Cult ruling the Ten Thousand Great Mountains or the imperial family governing the Central Plains, they were all the same.
As I walked slowly down the long stone corridor, a chill ran down the back of my neck—I had the distinct feeling that arrows would soon come flying from mechanisms embedded in the walls.
Wasn’t that how such places typically worked? Mechanical traps installed to pierce and shoot intruders?
The protagonist would block them all with a magnificent stance.
‘The Yeo Ha-ryun in novels has the whispers of Cheon Sal-seong to guide him… but I only have one life.’
I briefly unleashed the vital energy within my body to illuminate my surroundings.
Yet strangely… nothing was visible.
It felt as though the darkness itself were a living creature, devouring the light.
At least I can make out the stairs below to some degree.
My azure eyes have discerned that there are no traps in this section.
I carefully place my foot forward.
‘Come to think of it, the Jicheon Cheonma records never mentioned anything about entering the imperial palace’s hidden chamber… This is completely uncharted territory.’
Whenever these hidden secret new staircases appear, there’s always something remarkable waiting at the end.
‘First, I’ll consume it. If it becomes problematic, I’ll expel it.’
A situation where I need even one more advantage.
If something appears in this hellish journey that could help me survive even a moment longer… I can do anything.
‘Then. Shall I go?’
A space I was never meant to enter.
For the sake of my future.
As I descend the stairs completely, a corridor comes into view.
A pitch-black area without a single light source, and even using the Vital Flame to attempt a counterfeit Samadhi Transformation limits what I can see.
‘From here on, there will definitely be traps.’
I know this much even without seeing.
Thump!
I step on the pressure point.
At the same moment, I place my hand on the ground and feel the vibrations.
The shockwave begins to spread throughout the stone chamber.
The Chilmakeum.
The genius with azure eyes discerns the structure of this corridor just as I had identified the mechanical mechanisms hidden in the bookshelf.
‘Hmm, compared to the Wind God’s Bow, the Nine Dragon Spear Method, the Thousand-Mile Divine Step, the Profound Extreme Grand Step, and so on… it seems I’ll need to use the sound technique Chilmakeum the most?’
If I were merely eating and going around fighting with swords, that would be one thing.
In terms of application, it’s on a different level entirely.
In the darkness, my azure eyes flicker faintly.
When I finally remove my hand, another quarter hour has passed.
‘I’ve grasped the general pattern.’
I brush off my hands once and take a deep breath standing before the corridor.
Like most mechanical traps in the martial world, one mistake here means death.
The poison coating the iron needles that fly like lightning is the kind that steals a person’s life with a single breath.
What’s even more vicious is that triggering even one trap causes the others to activate in sequence.
A combination technique executed through mechanical traps.
‘Which mechanical technique was used to create this? Surely it was the previous generation?’
I sense traces of the Jegallga, but since my Master didn’t give me any hints, this must be one of the lost pieces of information.
‘So this is what happens when a clan is annihilated.’
It’s not simply that the family library burned, wealth was lost, and martial techniques were destroyed.
The real problem is that the people who sustained it disappeared.
And my Master…
‘Still has no intention of rebuilding the Jegallga.’
That’s fine.
Whatever my Master chooses, it is my virtue to follow.
Just as my Master protects his disciples even in hell, I too shall fulfill my duty.
The cyan light of the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong shone more intensely.
‘Then. I will break through.’
In that moment, what I unleashed was not the Samjae Bobeop I always used, but the Cheongi Miribu.
For even a single misstep here meant death, and the Samjae Bobeop’s martial techniques could never break through such a place.
Within the dizzying movements of the stepping technique, my speed never faltered.
Thump!
At some point, I pressed myself against the wall and began to dash forward.
My robe billowed outward as I moved smoothly in zigzags, like a great fish swimming upstream against the current.
At some moment, as if I had forgotten gravity itself, my feet touched the ceiling.
And then.
Whistle—
Hundreds of arrows shot through the darkness from beneath my feet.
Simultaneously, mountain poison mist sprayed forth to kill all living things that breathed.
Yet my robe, moving across the ceiling, merely brushed past it.
Sizzle—
Even through all this, my garment hem never ceased its motion.
Forward, ever forward.
The moment I stop, that place becomes death.
Tap-tap!
Two arrows barely grazed past my cheek.
What was more terrifying was that throwing stars followed in succession.
The angle and timing were such that dodging the arrows meant taking the stars.
I twisted my body as if I had been waiting for this.
Thud!
Activating a protective technique within the Cheonjam-ui I wore beneath my clothes, it protected its master from death once more.
Though the Cheonjam-ui was not pierced, the impact remained.
“Cough, ugh… I can’t breathe.”
The pain was so intense that my internal organs trembled from the single blow.
‘Still, it’s fine. No injuries. At this rate, I can continue breaking through.’
Carefully assessing my condition, I evaded traps, pressed forward, and sometimes defended, until I reached the end.
The moment I felt relieved thinking it was over.
Whoooosh!
A massive axe blade fell behind my head.
This too was anticipated.
A single step, slightly faster than usual.
Crash!
Though the tips of my hair were cut, I survived—and that was enough.
The passage filled with traps had finally ended.
“Gasp, huff. Huff… Give me a moment to catch my breath.”
Perhaps it was because I had poured every ounce of my physical strength into that single moment.
I was gasping for air as though death itself were near.
Lying there prostrate, I steadied my breathing for a long while and gathered my thoughts anew.
‘I would have died if I weren’t a warrior of my particular type.’
Had I been the sort who simply charged forward with unbridled determination, I wouldn’t have made it three steps before joining my ancestors.
“Wow… really… who in the world created this thing? Phew…”
Looking around, I found myself facing a river of mist.
‘A formation array. It’s a formation array.’
What manner of secret could be so significant as to warrant such elaborate defenses?
If they merely wished to prevent intrusion, they could have simply sealed the passage with layers of thick iron doors and stationed the imperial guards throughout.
Yet they deliberately carved out a corridor, installed mechanical traps in succession, and still left a method to break through?
‘It’s almost as though someone were testing a person…’
After completing such a test.
What could possibly be waiting beyond?
Once I had steadied my breathing, I slowly rose to my feet.
‘Fortunately, it’s not the Yin-Yang Life-Death Soul-Severing Array that my Master mentioned. That one was designed as an absolute seal never to be broken, but this one… strangely enough, it’s constructed so that one can perceive a way through.’
While I couldn’t determine the exact nature of the formation array, traces were evident that it had been deliberately designed to allow an intruder to comprehend its rules.
My eyes glowed blue once more.
I wielded the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong at its peak, methodically deconstructing and reassembling everything I had learned.
The conclusions I reached were then reinterpreted through the lens of a modern person’s perspective.
I filtered out the martial world’s characteristic metaphors and allegories, condensing them down.
My pragmatism-hardened mind finally produced the answer.
“The pattern. I understand it.”
I immediately took a bold step forward.
My gait showed not the slightest hesitation.
One step forward, two steps back in retreat, then turning sideways for one step.
I rotated a full 360 degrees in place before moving forward again.
My movements resembled those of a madman.
Yet because my steps carried absolute conviction with no doubt or hesitation, the effect was all the more pronounced.
And finally.
The edge of the mist began to appear.
I suddenly turned my body around and walked backward.
Tap—
Five steps in all.
I felt the mist beginning to dissipate.
Once I confirmed that I had completely escaped the formation array, I finally turned my body to see what lay ahead.
“What is this place…?”
A vast chamber befitting an Emperor’s residence revealed itself.
In modern terms, it resembled a VVIP suite in a luxury hotel.
‘Half of a high school athletic field?’
I couldn’t believe this vast space existed beneath the underground.
Moreover, the entire area was densely packed with various treasures on display.
As merely a Doctor, I lacked the discerning eye for treasures that someone like Sama Hyeon possessed.
Yet even to someone like me, every single item here appeared extraordinarily precious.
‘Is this the Imperial Palace’s treasure vault?’
If so, that black sword thrust into the wall must be a divine blade, and that bow must be something occupying a section of the legendary Divine Armory. Even that chamber pot of unknown purpose must have some function.
‘I mustn’t touch even a single treasure with my fingertips.’
These are things that must be returned once borrowed.
Rather, it was the bookshelves.
Exactly one hundred and forty-two books were arranged there.
I stood before the bookshelf and murmured.
“I’ve heard that the truly important martial arts texts are kept separately… So this was the place? Your Majesty?”
Then does that mean Eun Wang-ya and Geum Wang-ya can both break through here?
Or does Ju Wang-ya bring them instead?
‘I’m not sure about the previous two emperors, but if it’s Ju Wang-ya, it would certainly be possible.’
He spends his days drinking, reciting poetry, playing instruments, and scattering money in all directions.
There exists no being in this world capable of wounding the God of War.
This is exactly like my Master.
Young officials and young members of the imperial family don’t remember when Ju Wang-ya actively commanded the battlefields.
But those who remember that era are grateful that Ju Wang-ya now lives enjoying the pleasures of refinement.
‘The character for crimson contains blood within it.’
Wasn’t the name changed from what should be called the Blood King to simply Ju Wang?
The ministers who experienced that era suspect as much, yet none speak of it aloud.
They merely hope he continues to live leisurely in refinement, embracing a Prince with nothing but exceptional beauty and no power whatsoever.
‘Ju Wang-ya keeps trying to involve me in things lately.’
On top of that, for some reason Princess Sobaek keeps sending letters, which is driving me mad.
Wondering if it might be some elaborate strategy of Ju Wang-ya’s, I’ve been drawing clear boundaries and responding as formally as possible.
…She took offense.
‘But what good comes from being close to the imperial family?!’
In the end, isn’t that just the path to becoming the Imperial Physician?
I have no interest in such an outcome.
I should continue responding formally while pretending ignorance.
‘Yet she doesn’t stop sending letters.’
It’s long past time she stopped, but seeing her continue to inquire about my well-being, it seems the imperial family finds martial artists fascinating after all.
‘Anyway, they say hardship leads to joy. I never expected something like this.’
I’ll use Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong to memorize all the martial arts techniques!
My determination surged forth.
‘Then… shall I give it a try?’
I began devouring the books at a terrifying speed.

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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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