Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 309

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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 309
The Captain shouted.
“Now that the Baek-ui Sinryong has stepped forward, this is our chance. Everyone, seize the pirates’ ships!”
At that moment, the river’s surface surged violently before splitting open with a sharp crack.
Three martial artists burst forth like flying fish, landing before me.
“Indeed, the Baek-ui Sinryong! The rumors of your skill were no exaggeration. But let’s see how you fare against us—the Hwangha Samryong.”
‘The Hwangha Samryong?’
I immediately recalled who they were.
The three brothers who led the Eoryongchai.
Their combined technique was exceptionally renowned, and each of them individually was known as a supreme master.
According to rumors, the three of them could stand against a Hwagyeong expert together…
‘Let’s see if that’s true.’
Since I’ve already reached Hwagyeong, weren’t they quite a suitable test opponent?
This would be my first battle since reaching Hwagyeong.
If I could gather solid data from this fight, it would prove invaluable for the battles to come.
I wasn’t about to let such an opportunity slip away.
“Cheonwoo, you help the imperial soldiers!”
“Yes, brother!”
The Hwangha Samryong each wielded a sword, spear, and saber, searching for openings in my defense.
“Ho, you intend to face all three of us alone?”
“Surely you understand that even a master who has reached Hwagyeong cannot withstand our combined technique?”
“Baek-ui Sinryong, if you surrender now and offer no resistance, we’ll deliver you to our Master without a scratch. All you need do is cook along the way—hardly an unreasonable offer, wouldn’t you say?”
These fools, lurking in ambush all this time—did they catch a whiff of jjamppong while waiting for their chance?
Their eyes gleamed with such intensity that they seemed to mean it.
“I am a Doctor. Would you not desire treatment?”
“Ha! Trust our treatment to someone who might poison us? You’re a hostage!”
At those words, I was taken aback.
‘They don’t care that I could poison the food?’
Or do they have some of their underlings taste it first, and only eat if they survive?
The logic of these blackguards was utterly incomprehensible.
“Fine then, just come at me.”
“Hmph! I was prepared to kidnap you gracefully if you’d surrendered your weapons, but arrogance brings its own ruin!”
Sword, saber, spear.
Three different weapons surged toward me simultaneously.
Typically, martial artists from the great families trained primarily in one-on-one combat.
Fighting multiple opponents like the blackguards did was something usually learned gradually through years of wandering the martial world.
But I was somewhat different.
‘This feels familiar. This sight…’
If they were wooden dummies instead of people, it would have felt even more familiar.
‘Certainly far stronger than the wooden dummies Yoo Ho created, though.’
That was only natural, if anything.
I wielded the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong at its peak while simultaneously deploying the Dual Thought Technique.
In the vision created by these two abilities, the world now felt as though time itself had frozen.
However, what differed from before was that I could now perceive it myself.
Yet within this space, I alone could still move as I wished, at whatever speed I desired.
I approached the thick-bladed figure at the forefront.
Cheonma Divine Art.
Cheonma Supremacy Palm—modified form.
Five Elements Supremacy Palm!
쿠그그그—-!
The essence of the Five Elements spread forth intensely. As the five forces generated and suppressed one another in their spread, they began to shake the surroundings like a shockwave.
The three attackers were pushed back by the shockwave created by the Five Elements.
Kwaaang!
All three staggered backward, driven back more than fifty paces.
What was more astonishing was that the sword threads they had conjured from their weapons were scattered and dissipated by the Five Elements Supremacy Palm.
‘Hmm. If the Cheonma Supremacy Palm prioritizes overwhelming and suppressing, then the Five Elements Supremacy Palm prioritizes scattering the opponent’s sword energy. The fundamental martial technique is the same, but the effect varies depending on how one channels their inner force. My hypothesis worked perfectly.’
As my technique operated exactly as I had theorized, a sense of satisfaction swelled in my chest.
Meanwhile, Hwangha Samryong’s complexion turned ashen at the unfamiliar martial prowess I had displayed.
“What… what is that?”
“What sorcery have you employed!”
Martial artists sometimes labeled anything they couldn’t comprehend as sorcery.
Still, it was rather amusing that the black-bladed warrior was the one asking about sorcery.
Shuuung-
I drew the Bing Jeong Sword and unfurled my sword aura as I spoke.
“The Five Elements Supremacy Palm. Beneath the heaven and earth of yin and yang, the power of the Five Elements is absolute. All shall kneel before a single step graced by its essence.”
My apologies, Cheonma.
I simply cannot admit that I brought out and used the Cheonma Supremacy Palm.
This entire situation arose because you implanted the Cheonma Divine Art into me without my consent.
I inwardly cursed what Cheonma would have found hilarious enough to double over laughing about.
‘This is precisely why everyone is wary of the Jegallga.’
But surely I cannot refrain from applying what I was taught!
I absolutely cannot breathe a word that I mixed the Cheonma Supremacy Palm with the Five Elements Divine Art and the Kunlun School’s Soaring Dragon Eight Techniques!
I am a pragmatist commoner for whom nothing is more precious than life, regardless of sect or school, but the stubborn old masters of the martial world would never leave someone like me alone.
So for now, I had no choice but to speak with confidence.
In this martial arts world, appearing capable gets you halfway there.
“That level of clarity in sword aura… and the martial technique you just displayed… It’s Hwagyeong!”
At the mention of Hwagyeong, the complexions of the black-bladed warriors turned deathly pale.
“Hwagyeong?”
“Hwagyeong, you say?!”
“During the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, you hadn’t even reached the peak stage yet?”
The Black Saber disciples of Eoryongchai panicked. Kidnapping a supreme master was entirely different from abducting an expert at Hwagyeong.
Moreover, the fact that they had repelled Hwangha Samryong—arguably Eoryongchai’s greatest master—in a single step revealed just how profound their martial prowess truly was.
“Scatter!”
‘Wow, these bastards sure know how to make quick decisions when it comes to running away.’
The bandits I had encountered in the village last time had fled at full speed the moment they realized my martial skill.
They had only grown arrogant after summoning a demonic cult expert and preparing iron nets for warfare, but ultimately these vermin were all the same.
Weak against the strong, strong against the weak—that was the true nature of the Black Sabers.
That was simply who they were.
As expected, Hwangha Samryong fled without even glancing back.
“Everyone retreat! Withdraw immediately—gaahhhhh!”
I asked.
“Where are you going? Don’t leave him behind.”
Kuuuuung!
The Five Elements Sovereign Palm—its variant form manifested.
If one could push with it, then pulling was equally possible.
By reversing the sequence of mutual generation and mutual restraint, I pulled three of them toward me in one motion.
“Krraaagh! Baekui Gwangryong!!”
He desperately swung his weapon to block, but Hwangha Samryong saw it clearly.
‘His body moved before his blade?’
Normally, the blade moves first, and the body follows the sword path to evade.
Yet Baek-ui Sinryong twisted his shoulder as if he had foreseen their attack beforehand, dodging the sword strike. Then, in the second move, he seized the man’s arm and twisted it in a direction it should never bend, effortlessly dislocating the joint.
Crack—
“Gaaahhh!”
Thus I subdued one, then the next.
The last one shrieked in terror as if he were about to take his own life.
“Baekui Gwangryong! Who—who are you, you monster!”
‘Hmm? For someone engaging in banditry, his mental fortitude is rather weak.’
I couldn’t understand why this man was consumed by such terror.
Each time he swung his massive saber, I simply twisted my body before his weapon could move.
That bizarre sense of alienation was considerable terror for any warrior.
Yet I, who wielded it, merely thought, ‘How does someone with such a mindset even manage to live as a Black Saber?’
Clang!
A lightly flicked finger strike shattered his saber.
Before he could even register it.
Crack!
His vision spun in circles.
As the sky and ground inverted, he realized in which direction his limbs had been twisted.
“Krragh! Gaaaaaahhhhh!”
I spoke calmly.
“From now on, live righteously.”
The Captain shouted.
“Seize all the pirates’ ships!”
It was an order signaling the end of the battle.
* * *
We captured the pirates safely, but the ship sank.
Until we could find a new vessel, we were effectively stranded.
“At this rate, I’ll just have to go overland.”
The waterway was the fastest route, but if those pirates had punctured the hull, even a master at Hwagyeong would be helpless.
It wasn’t as though I possessed some martial art to reverse time, nor could I repair a ship with a hole through any conventional means.
Instead, we stopped by the magistrate’s office to collect the bounty and reward.
“Oh, quite substantial, isn’t it?”
“The어룡채 gang has quite a notorious reputation. Plus, since we caught the Yellow River Three Dragons, the bounty is pretty substantial.”
Jingle, jingle—
Part of it came as promissory notes, part as silver coins.
We borrowed horses and set out on our journey.
It was familiar work.
“Now that it’s just the two of us, I should mention—it seems people have begun targeting you, brother.”
“Do they still underestimate me as merely a Doctor? I even won the Yong Bong Tournament, and yet these fools—!”
“Well… there are certainly those types, but ultimately it’s because of the Eight Great Forbidden Techniques. The Patcheon Musang Divine Art makes people desperate enough to attempt such things.”
That was true enough.
“Still, wouldn’t things settle down once it’s known that you’ve reached Hwagyeong?”
“That would make sense.”
“But why are they targeting you in the first place?”
“What do you mean? Weren’t you the one who explained their plan?”
“How would I know? I just figured they must be mad, so I reasoned it out that way.”
Regardless of the reason, he’s the type who somehow manages to align with the truth—like when he guessed about heading to the imperial palace in the north.
His deductive process might be haphazard, but his conclusions are remarkably accurate.
“They’re planning to use me as a hostage against Master. No one in the martial world would dare disrespect our Medical Guild, and frankly, if the Guild were to distribute poison instead of medicine, it would be the end of them.”
And everyone in the martial world knows how much Master cherishes his disciples.
“That’s despicable.”
“Exactly why they’re black-hearted. They understand the position and credibility of Baek Rin Medical Guild. In truth… there are hardly any martial artists in the jianghu who would disrespect our Guild.”
“And no one would refuse medicine from Baek Rin Medical Guild either.”
“Right. At most, it would only be martial artists affiliated with Hwaju Medical Institute, wouldn’t it? Heukjeon Medical Guild operates in a different business sector anyway.”
Let me clarify here.
Heukjeon Medical Guild primarily conducts business in the western regions of the Fire Empire.
That’s where the Demon Cult’s Hundred Thousand Great Mountains are located, and numerous heterodox sects are heavily concentrated there.
Hwaju Medical Institute dominates the northeastern regions of the Fire Empire, while Baek Rin Medical Guild controls the southeastern regions.
‘Though calling it “dominance” has a subtle connotation…’
In a world where transportation and communication are underdeveloped, merchant guilds that trade with specific clans tend to move in similar ways to those clans.
It’s incomparable to modern concepts of academic or regional connections.
In this era, relationships become far more cohesive and intimate, lasting generations—some spanning dozens of generations in their dealings, creating family-like bonds between sects.
‘Though, even so, it’s not as if there are no branch divisions.’
While Baek Rin Medical Guild holds dominion, there are branch divisions of Hwaju Medical Institute within their sphere of influence, and vice versa as well.
Though smaller in scale than their respective main headquarters, they function adequately as branch divisions.
As we continued our journey exchanging such talk, Hwang-gu suddenly barked toward a certain direction and rushed ahead.
Woof!
Following Hwang-gu, I discovered someone collapsed on the ground.
“Ugh… please… save me…”
A long sword wound stretched from chest to abdomen, and the bleeding was severe, but fortunately the person remained conscious.
“Are you alright?”
I quickly applied pressure points to stop the bleeding and attempted emergency treatment.
‘There isn’t even a village in this area, let alone a branch division?’
It would take at least a full day’s journey to reach one.
If I don’t suture the wound here, the patient will die.
“Cheonwoo, let’s set up camp here.”
“Yes, hyung.”
Cheonwoo quickly prepared the camp. Meanwhile, I immediately began suturing the wound.

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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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