Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 411

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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 411
The young man read despair in Gongseon Yeong’s blade.
It was the trace of ten thousand sword strokes along the same path, yet never advancing beyond.
Reading that fleeting sword mark, the young man grasped her anguish.
Gongseon Yeong did not answer.
“….”
It was not because she envied one younger than herself achieving greater heights.
The martial world was vast enough not to rage over such things, and she understood that celebrating one’s own safety and her family’s safety mattered more than defeating someone.
Rather, it was because facing Jin Cheon-hee’s stone pipa, she felt a gossamer-thin sensation—as if just one more step forward would suffice.
In the past, she had achieved through the subtlety of striking after her opponent.
But now, that alone was insufficient.
Mad as it sounded, facing that dark, murky stone pipa, she could sense it.
This was the difference in skill between Jin Cheon-hee and herself.
Even if this became a teaching match, it mattered not.
Just one more step. Moving forward like an ox!
‘Huff!’
She swallowed her breath and prepared the finest technique she could display.
* * *
Jin Cheon-hee observed Gongseon Yeong.
‘The next exchange will be the last.’
Her stamina was ghostly.
If someone with my inner power was tiring to this degree facing her, that said everything.
Of course, there were gains.
I could coldly assess the condition of my arm.
‘This is excellent.’
This arm, strengthened by devouring Oh Dok-mun’s poison, showed no tremor even wielding the heavy stone pipa with one hand.
Seeing me swing the stone pipa monstrously with a single hand, all the martial artists could only click their tongues.
None of them noticed that my left arm was my weakness.
Rather, they assumed fighting with one hand was the composure of a master.
‘Well, that makes sense. Only a handful of people in that place knew of this pain.’
Everyone was simply astounded by the overwhelming power of my right arm.
‘So… is the performance test complete at this level?’
My left arm wasn’t at the level of being unusable.
I could produce the same power by enduring the pain, but there was no need to deliberately expose my weakness.
With my judgment made, I deliberately struck the stone pipa.
Ding-
An ordinary tone without inner power mixed in.
It was a signal to come at me.
At that moment, taking it as a signal, Gongseon Yeong moved.
Swift and rapid movement.
The Gongseon Family’s Gongseon Sword Technique clearly contained a footwork method called the Emperor’s Divine Step embedded within it.
‘Then… shall I give her a new experience?’
The world of Gangho is vast. Universally, people use swords, sabers, spears, or axes as weapons, and they all employ diverse martial arts techniques.
However.
In the end, those techniques never strayed from the ordinary.
Walking on the ground with two feet, transmitting that power through the waist to the arms and hands.
The universal martial arts were designed for close combat by bipedal humans.
Then.
As an adult, and as Jin Cheon-hee who had experienced much in Gangho.
Wouldn’t it be beneficial to let her experience something she had never encountered before?
‘From here on… shall I venture into true sound martial arts?’
When Jin Cheon-hee signaled, Noeji threw the Seven-Silver Zither.
Whoosh!
Jin Cheon-hee tossed aside the heavy stone pipa and instead caught the Seven-Silver Zither.
Twang—
Though smaller than a typical seven-string zither, as a weapon specialized in sound martial arts, merely strumming it once released formless energy ripples into the air.
‘Hmm. Both have their strengths and weaknesses.’
The Dark Fragrance Pipa with superior performance to an axe, the Seven-Silver Zither specialized in sound martial arts.
The Jegallim Family had always maintained the same perspective.
The superiority of a weapon wasn’t what mattered.
What truly mattered was which weapon to use in which situation.
Boom—
From the Seven-Silver Zither came a resonant tone incomparable to before, rippling outward like a shockwave.
Naturally, it was no ordinary sound.
The sound infused with inner energy possessed explosive force like a detonating bomb, causing the entire surroundings to vibrate and detonate.
“Ugh!?”
‘There was a martial arts film from before that dealt with sound martial arts.’
It was a story where sound martial arts destroyed the entire martial world.
Usually with martial arts, swords or fists take the lead, so sound martial arts rarely became the main focus.
That’s why I remember enjoying it all the more.
Jin Cheon-hee recalled a martial arts film from twenty years ago, now considered a classic, and plucked the strings.
Gongseon Yeong received the full force of the sound martial arts with her entire body as she charged forward.
As if she had plummeted from a towering cliff into the sea, the impact struck her entire body uniformly and sent her flying backward.
Just as a person gets knocked back by the shockwave of an explosion, Gongseon Yeong was sent flying.
“What… what is this?”
“This is true sound martial arts from a master. Sound itself is more powerful than a blade. Moreover, since this is an area attack rather than a point attack, it’s impossible to evade.”
Jin Cheon-hee primarily used the method of rupturing eardrums, but in truth, the Seven-Silver Zither’s greatest essence lay in channeling inner energy into sound and releasing it like this.
‘Hmm… if one’s instantaneous speed exceeded the speed of sound, evasion might be possible. But only someone like Master Tugoe could manage that.’
Thinking of Gong Ya-geon, whose speed no one could match and whom even Cheonma couldn’t catch, Jin Cheon-hee plucked the Seven-Silver Zither with a ding.
‘Well, if one reached the realm of the Formless Sword that could cut sound itself, it would be possible. Or if one’s martial spirit was specialized in that direction.’
That’s why it doesn’t work against a supreme master like my teacher.
However, it was effective against Gongseon Yeong in her current state.
“It’s certainly impressive to reach Hwagyeong at such a young age. But the world is vast, and there are many eccentric individuals. There are quite a few who attack through methods other than crossing blades and sabers. It’s good to keep that in mind. This sound technique is one such method.”
At those words, Gongseon Yeong felt a slight surge of emotion.
‘This brat, so much younger than me?’
Jin Cheon-hee had a habit of speaking like an old man so naturally at times.
Well, sounding like an elder was just one of Jin Cheon-hee’s eccentric traits, so I was somewhat accustomed to it.
“Huh… I didn’t know a master of sound technique could do something like this…”
“That was just a taste. Now then, let me show you the real thing!”
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The sound technique came flying.
Gongseon Yeong deployed the Latter Strike First technique as if she’d been waiting for it.
However, she found no answer for how to counter the formless sound, and that troubled her.
This time, Jin Cheon-hee didn’t scatter the sound in all directions but concentrated it on a single point to maximize destructive power.
The practical combat experience from those days fighting alongside Samjeolchuho against the Hyeolseonggyo disciples became nourishment, creating even higher application techniques.
Gongseon Yeong raised her sword force and activated the Latter Strike First.
‘How am I supposed to counter sound (音)…?’
Crack!
As her sword shattered, her body flew backward.
All the martial artists of the Gongseon Family watched this situation with shocked eyes.
“…”
No one could utter a single word in the face of such overwhelming strength.
Except for Wang Gak-yeon.
“Crazy bastard. He’s taking her pulse in the middle of all this.”
Indeed.
The moment Gongseon Yeong collapsed, Jin Cheon-hee immediately rushed over and began checking her pulse to see if she was injured.
Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
“She’s fine. She’s conscious!”
Whether to cheer, shout in admiration, or… what reaction should they even show? The martial artists were simply bewildered and bewildered again.
Perhaps if he’d won with a blade, the situation would feel more familiar.
The stone lute and seven-stringed zither.
In the midst of all this, Jin Cheon-hee was praising himself alone.
“Wow, I really am something. I launched it perfectly, avoiding only the vital points. Mmm… Sister Gongseon Yeong’s falling technique is solid too. If she’d had just a bit more inner energy left, I would’ve moved straight into the next move.”
“Hey, Cheon-hee.”
“Yes, Sister?”
Gongseon Yeong, lying on the ground, smiled with a grin.
“I think I understand something now.”
“Oh, did you have a realization?”
“Yes.”
Jin Cheon-hee extended his hand to help Gongseon Yeong up.
‘So that’s it. It’s not about constitution, but talent. And it’s not about talent, but experience.’
Gongseon Yeong possessed the Solar Body constitution, but after directly testing our strength, I could see she fell short compared to Dang-a.
When sparring with Dang-a, every bone in my body had screamed as if dying, but this time, even while wielding the stone pipa, the fight remained composed.
Of course, I had grown stronger through the battle at Oh Dok-mun, but even accounting for that, Dang-a’s talent was a step above.
Considering how Namgung Un of the Namgung Family currently remained blocked before Hwagyeong, searching for his answer.
Gongseon Yeong was absolutely not weak.
She too was one of the past champions of the Yongbong Conference.
It simply meant that something in Dang-a’s Oseng transcended constitution itself.
However, what Gongseon Yeong realized this time was that her senses, embodied through countless real combat experiences, had finally broken through the wall under my guidance.
That’s why I came to understand that talent matters more than constitution, and experience matters more than talent.
“I learned a great deal as well.”
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not human. You’re a monster, a monster. Why doesn’t your epithet include ‘strange’?”
“Well, ‘mad’ is already in there.”
“Hahaha, that’s just the basics.”
Gongseon Yeong stretched with an oddly refreshed expression.
She had finally obtained today the answer she couldn’t solve for so long.
It was an indescribable achievement.
* * *
‘Overall, everyone has grown much stronger. Or rather, since this person was dead in the original novel, measuring them is meaningless anyway?’
Even excluding Gongseon Yeong, the level of the late-stage masters in Gangho had risen considerably.
Dang-a who entered Hwagyeong, and Wang Gak-yeon who, though unspoken, had likewise entered Hwagyeong.
And Gongseon Yeong before my eyes.
My direct disciples and those with considerable seniority—it’s ambiguous to call them late-stage masters, but even Samjeolchuho.
Though Namgung Un dawdles searching for his answer, that’s only because he has the luxury of time to search leisurely.
When the time comes, he will ascend.
Only Namgung Yeon, his younger sister, is difficult to gauge since her martial prowess hasn’t been exposed, but still, since Dang-a fixed her most problematic social skills, it was clear her abilities would improve significantly afterward.
‘In fan terminology, they call this power creep.’
However, it was only natural.
‘No one dies. No one suffers permanent injuries. No family is annihilated.’
Of course, as martial artists, peace is not guaranteed.
Someone always dies.
But unlike the original Jicheon Cheonma, there are no burning family estates, no limbs torn off causing permanent disability, no deaths.
As a result, an environment was created where everyone could dedicate themselves to their martial arts amid appropriate stimulation.
Consequently, the development speed of the late-stage masters became incomparably faster than in the original work.
An environment I myself had created.
Just as bad things have chains of causation, so do good things.
Like nurturing a human body, I had cultivated the late-stage masters of Gangho as well.
‘But just how strong is Dang-a anyway? How is it possible she’s stronger than Gongseon Yeong who possesses the Solar Body? She should have less real combat experience than Gongseon Yeong who directly commands a martial force?’

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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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