Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 412

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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 412
Talent is like a mountain—the closer you draw to it, the more you grasp its true magnitude.
My Master is already a perfected master.
Though he released his attachment to martial arts when death approached, leaving a gap in his cultivation, even that alone places him within sight of the Three Elites at his age.
Because of this, it was difficult for me to truly comprehend my Master’s talent—he stood too far above me.
The same held true for Yeo Ha-ryun, the Cheonma.
In a different sense, his nature stood at the opposite extreme from mine as a doctor, and he grows genuinely stronger when he takes a life.
His qualities as a protagonist made it even harder to gauge his martial prowess.
‘Perhaps this stems from my unconditional faith in him.’
I knew that no matter how impossible the world deemed a task, Yeo Ha-ryun would accomplish it.
For me, this was as certain as the sun rising in the east and water flowing downhill.
It was the bond between a novel’s protagonist and its reader.
That bond seemed shallow at times, yet it could be surprisingly resilient, and the harder the trials became, the thicker that trust grew.
Dang-a, on the other hand, was the talent I could observe most closely.
She was the one who had pressured me so intensely—me, who had wrapped opportunities around myself through cheat-like exploits.
‘Of course, Dang-a also possessed an uncommon spirit compared to ordinary people.’
Though in a different direction from the Cheonma Yeo Ha-ryun, she too was far from ordinary.
Still. At that level. And so.
I increasingly felt the weight of Dang-a’s talent.
Even in that moment when she fought Gongseon Yeong, who possessed the finest physique in all of Gangho—a solar body.
Gongseon Yeong’s techniques were not poor.
No, they were actually excellent.
Only Gongseon Yeong could unfold the Gongseon sword technique to such a degree at that age.
Though slower than the younger siblings Dang-a and I had raised, reaching Hwagyeong at his age was far from slow.
Among his peers, there would be scarcely anyone capable of defeating Gongseon Yeong.
Yet “remarkable” and “genius” were entirely different things.
‘This is why the great masters of Gangho covet enlightenment and martial talent so desperately.’
You see only what you understand.
Had my own realm been shallow and my practical experience lacking, I would likely have spoken of physique as paramount.
‘No, nothing is truly certain. After all, Dang-a’s martial arts are ultimately contained within that body of hers.’
My Master possessed an extremely developed enlightenment.
His physique too—a towering frame of 190 centimeters with muscles like weapons—was innately exceptional.
Yet in the end, did he not face death before the wall of the Nine Yin Meridians?
Though Dang-a possessed considerable enlightenment, her physique was admittedly far inferior to Gongseon Yeong’s.
‘Hwagyeong, and the aptitude that lies beyond it?’
It was truly amusing.
For an ordinary martial artist, reaching Hwagyeong was something that might never happen in a lifetime.
Yet there was heaven above heaven.
And even in that heaven, talent continued to exert its influence.
“What are you thinking about?”
Wang Gak-yeon suddenly thrust her face close to Jin Cheon-hee’s.
Jin Cheon-hee answered calmly.
“Hmm… I was just reviewing the battle we had.”
“My sister was doing the same thing.”
With the two of them sitting silently in the carriage, it seemed rather dull.
She held Hwang-gu tightly and blew warm breath onto his forehead.
Pant!
Hwang-gu was simply delighted.
Earlier, Wang Gak-yeon had pulled Hwang-gu’s cheeks, and he had wagged his tail happily at that too.
Jin Cheon-hee asked.
“Normally, you would have asked me for a sparring match. Why did you stay quiet?”
“Ha ha ha. That’s right. That would have been the usual way.”
Wang Gak-yeon lifted Hwang-gu’s front paws and swayed them in rhythm with the carriage’s movement.
Pant, pant!
Hwang-gu stood on his hind legs and let her move his front paws however she wished.
She played silently with Hwang-gu before eventually speaking.
“How should I put it… I’ve been thinking about what I should do as an archer.”
“Hmm?”
“Defeating a martial artist in front of me is enjoyable, but I’ve started to realize that ultimately it comes down to whether I hit my target with a single arrow or not.”
“A different path from swordmasters?”
“Yes… not in a boastful sense. More like a fundamental concern? If I can’t hit my target, I die. I can’t allow the moment for my opponent to approach me. So… I can’t fully demonstrate my true abilities in a sparring match.”
I was somewhat surprised by those words.
‘Has she already reached the level of contemplation that Gungwi Elder pursues?’
Gungwi Elder rarely engages in sparring matches with martial artists.
Of course, he accepts if asked, but he has reduced the frequency of initiating fights himself.
Instead, he focuses his training on reaching the heart quickly and piercing through it.
Whether the arrow hits or misses.
He has gradually simplified his martial techniques, simplifying them further and further.
Strangely, the more he simplifies them, the higher his realm becomes.
I thought that ultimately, once one reaches a higher realm, the training of a swordmaster and that of an archer must differ fundamentally.
‘Thinking of it simply, in sparring you start with your opponent ten steps ahead, but as an archer, you can shoot and kill enemies from a hundred steps away, or even a thousand.’
As Jin Cheon-hee listened seriously, Wang Gak-yeon seemed slightly surprised.
“Huh? You’re not mocking me?”
“Why would I mock you?”
“I thought you’d say my spirit had died. Usually when people say things like this, they try to teach you. Especially young swordmasters.”
Indeed, the less knowledgeable tend to be more stubborn about their claims.
A man who has read one book is more dangerous than a man who has read ten.
Young martial artists are at precisely that stage.
However, I have access to the libraries of the Jegallga and even the imperial archives.
Having already encountered countless martial techniques, I understand how vast the world truly is to make such rash judgments.
“Well, well. But I do think your point has considerable merit,”
“You could easily boast about being clever, yet you listen to people so well.”
“Do I?”
“Yes. That’s probably why everyone finds you easy to be around. You’re taking my concerns seriously right now, after all.”
“No, I simply stated what seemed possible.”
“Ha ha ha, that’s the difficult part.”
Wang Gak-yeon spoke thus and smiled with a hint of sadness.
To establish herself as an independent warrior, she had distanced herself from her father and thrown herself into all manner of dangers on her own.
She must carry many unspoken sorrows.
“Still, it’s good to see you.”
“Me too.”
I withdrew a piece of jerky from my sleeve and placed it in Hwang-gu’s mouth.
Woof!
Hwang-gu expressed his approval as well.
* * *
Upon arriving at the Gongseon Estate, Gongseon Hyeon was already waiting.
She received me warmly as the Gaju.
Having inherited the position at a young age, she still carried the title of “Acting Gaju.”
Yet no one was unaware that she now effectively controlled the Gongseon Family.
True to her epithet of the Black Ice Poison Dragon, she wore pitch-black garments that appeared to be made of rare silk at first glance.
Coupled with black jade ornaments and a black outer robe.
Some remarked that seeing Gongseon Hyeon thus always seemed inauspicious, as if she wore mourning clothes perpetually.
‘She enjoys such evaluations.’
Unlike her younger brother Gongseon Yeong, Gongseon Hyeon was born with an inherently frail constitution.
She could not ride horses for extended periods, and prolonged sun exposure would leave her fevered and bedridden the following day.
‘Thus, even maintaining dignity as a martial family’s Gaju was not easy for her.’
To serve such a fragile person as Gaju required corresponding authority, and Gongseon Hyeon wielded fear and wariness as her tools.
‘Even now, she must desperately wish to pass the position to her younger brother Gongseon Yeong.’
No matter what was attempted, Gongseon Yeong lacked the qualities of a Gaju.
‘If we gave it to him, he’d run the Gongseon Family into the ground within a year.’
The day after the grand reception.
I was summoned to a meeting regarding the takeover of Unryongpyoguk and the expansion into Shandong Province.
I entered fully prepared to represent Baekrin Uiseon, but only Gongseon Hyeon and Gongseon Gang were present.
“Hmm? The other Gongseon Family members aren’t attending the meeting?”
At my question, Gongseon Hyeon merely smiled palely.
Beside her, Chief Manager Gongseon Gang spoke thus:
“The branch families and elders have stated they will follow the Acting Gaju’s orders.”
“….”
Those words meant that Gongseon Hyeon had seized control of the Gongseon Family far more swiftly than was known externally.
“The Southern Barbarian Dragon Well tea that arrived this time has a particularly clear fragrance. Would you care for a cup, Patriarch?”
Still, this was an official meeting. Gongseon Hyeon deliberately maintained formality in her approach to Jin Cheon-hee.
At her gesture, the Chief Manager poured the tea.
Trickle, trickle—
The opponent before me was too formidable to properly savor the deep, spreading fragrance of the brew.
Jin Cheon-hee held the cup in his cool hands, feeling its warmth as his thoughts wandered.
‘Is this a meeting between the Gaju’s proxy and the Soggakju? Faster than I expected.’
The woman before me was the Black Ice Poison Dragon, and fortunately, she would become an ally rather than an enemy.
Since both she and I carried our own burdens, we couldn’t afford to be as warm and familiar as we might otherwise be.
“First, allow me to present our proposal.”
She laid down a sheet of paper.
It contained the proposals that Jin Cheon-hee, Wang Gak-yeon, and Gongseon Yeong had roughly discussed together.
Examining the items, they were actually favorable to Baekrin Uiseon—or at least not unfavorable.
‘This is… sincerity.’
It was also a declaration of will to make this matter succeed by any means necessary.
Moreover, if Jin Cheon-hee refused to accept, she would suppress the bandits with her own power.
It would require considerable expenditure of money and blood.
She could only hope that the bloodshed would be sufficient to completely drain the bandits’ main base.
‘Similar yet different from the Cheonma.’
If it were the Cheonma, rather than this approach, she would immediately select expendable pawns from the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and have them become bandits. And within ten years, those bandits would become branches of the Demonic Cult.
That is the way of the Demonic.
The reason she doesn’t do this is because it’s wasteful to spend the labor costs to capture those bandits, and since those bandits are closer to the orthodox merchant houses nearby rather than the distant Ten Thousand Great Mountains, she simply leaves them alone.
Yet Gongseon Yeong walks the path of humanity.
Looking at this paper, I can feel her anguish.
“If there are any sections you wish to revise, please let me know.”
At her words, Jin Cheon-hee gave his prepared response.
“Baekrin Uiseon is grateful for the Gongseon Family’s welcome, and we hope to continue together in the future.”
Though it was a formal answer, Gongseon Hyeon nodded, understanding its weight.
She continued speaking.
“Speaking practically, bandits are surprisingly sensitive to information and possess keen judgment. All bounty hunters who have directly captured bandits know this. Only inexperienced fools who have never crossed blades would underestimate them.”
Jin Cheon-hee responded to her words.
“Because opportunities to face them are rare?”
“Yes. If they can win with certainty, they’ll attack. But if they judge otherwise, they retreat. Especially in water-based combat, which differs greatly from land-based fighting, many masters have suffered at their hands.”
At her words, Jin Cheon-hee nodded.

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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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