Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 454
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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 454
‘This is the turning point.’
‘That cannot be stopped.’
‘Yes. This seems to be the watershed moment of history.’
‘Perhaps a force even stronger than an explosion of inner strength is inherent within that saber.’
‘Here. The singular point that influences the people of this world.’
‘Then I must evade it. To avoid and thrust my blade through the gaps—how should I do it? I already know that.’
‘Thousands upon thousands of practice repetitions?’
‘It has become martial art itself.’
‘I understand. I know this enlightenment.’
‘Ah, come to think of it, haven’t the inflection points already been created?’
‘Xu Chu, and using the variable step. The speed is sufficient.’
‘That’s right. Three divine medicines have already been perfected.’
‘Surgical medicine has been transmitted.’
‘Soap has been distributed.’
‘The ondol heating system is spreading well too. We should be able to reduce illnesses caused by cold.’
‘The world has already changed.’
‘I saved my Master. I gave Cheonwoo a name. I saved Hye-a, helped Hyeon, and taught Ha-ryun up to the ‘Two People’ technique. Ju Wang-ya and the Prince now live happily. And Eun Wang-ya has come to know how delightful fine cuisine truly is.’
‘Things change one by one.’
The Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong and the Dual Thought
Technique,
and the mind that had mastered the Cheonma Divine Art whispered countless stories at once.
It was as though countless small Jin Cheon-hees within my mind were each chattering their own tales.
Time seemed to stretch infinitely and come to a halt.
That sensation.
From the movement of a single strand of hair to the smallest breath—I perceived it all.
At this branching point of history, the young man accepts all information and reflects upon his past deeds.
Strangely, even so, not a shred of delusion dwelt within this young man’s blade.
Within the clear sword energy, countless small Jin Cheon-hees chattered.
‘Was that last strike good?’
‘For the opening move, it was good.’
‘What should the derived sword path lead to next?’
‘Do not become intoxicated by the beauty of the sword path. Observing the enemy comes first.’
‘Establish your position.’
‘Establish position and step forward with footwork.’
Thud—
Dying soldiers surrounding us, martial artists, and Pungju-ha spitting blood and flying through the air, with Pung Ha-eun embracing her.
Emotion surges and the air vaporizes.
This place is the boiling point of humanity.
The heart of the battlefield and the turning point!
Within this chaos, several small Jin Cheon-hees in my mind scream and burst into tears.
Why must humans kill humans?
Is one span of earth worth the life of one human being?
If one desires the land beyond the horizon, must corpses be piled to reach that horizon?
‘Be careful.’
‘Guard against delusion.’
‘No tears. Without clear vision, I’ll be struck down.’
‘I just saw the face of someone I know.’
‘Our eyes met, and he died.’
‘It’s fine.’
‘You’re still fine.’
‘I’m still fine.’
And so.
Within the transcendent heartless state of human intent, my scattered thoughts coalesced as I gazed upon the incoming moon blade laden with the force of heaven-rending power, guiding my body forward.
‘Strike lightly once to disperse the force. Then use distance to shift the angle, letting the blade fall to the side. In that opening, thrust the sword through.’
‘The thrust doesn’t need to be grand. A simple mid-level thrust is enough.’
‘What matters is the speed of the sword path.’
‘I must be careful of the horse I’m riding.’
‘The war horse is strong. A spiritual beast.’
‘If things go wrong, I’ll use Hwang-gu.’
‘What if our fragile Hwang-gu gets hurt fighting that monstrous horse?’
‘I’d rather have my own ribs broken. Hwang-gu cannot be risked.’
Clang—!
Just like any household dog, Hwang-gu uncannily senses the moment his master’s attention brushes against him.
Does thought itself have a scent?
I flipped my hand in a circular motion.
The Finger Flick Through Heaven burst forth and struck the moon blade.
Through the collision of forces, I felt the power diminish and cancel out to some degree.
Simultaneously, I struck the side of the moon blade with the Icy Crystal Sword.
Weakened, the moon blade’s trajectory twisted, falling away to my side.
The margin was paper-thin!
Shhk—!
A few strands of hair were severed.
My skin also seemed to have sustained a slight wound. It was thanks to my external force.
With this level of destructive power, even a grazing blow would have torn the skin from my face.
I confirmed the opponent’s upper body collapsing.
‘Perfect!’
‘That Hwang-gu is adorable today too.’
‘Even grown, he’s adorable. No, he’s adorable because he’s grown. This rascal. Later I’ll stretch out his belly fur real good.’
I leap lightly forward and thrust my sword.
It was only possible because I corrected my trajectory using the rebound force from striking the crescent blade.
Strong qi had gathered on my sword, flickering with a cold light meant to cut through anything.
Shing!
The Frost Sword pierced precisely into my opponent’s collarbone.
Yet the blade could not sever flesh and bone—instead, the strong qi exploded, creating a shockwave.
I surrendered to that destructive force and retreated backward.
At the same moment, Tugoe Gongyageon rushed in and unleashed a barrage of attacks.
In an instant, I unleashed ten strikes of pure qi force, but Kahuray Khan endured them with his body and swung the crescent blade.
‘A body like the Indestructible Diamond. Is it an incomplete Hyeongyeong like the Odog-mun Sect Leader’s? But the fact that consciousness remains makes him far more troublesome.’
I retreated further while my thoughts continued.
Kahuray Khan.
Merely regaining his youth had brought his martial prowess to rival those at the pinnacle of Hwagyeong.
He was not at the level of deploying inner qi in combat, yet his superhuman strength and transcendent movements were like a walking natural disaster.
Beyond that, whether due to demonic spirit arts or the machinations of Hyeolseonggyo, he was nearly as formidable as the Odog-mun Sect Leader we had battled in Yunnan.
As I organized these thoughts.
The masters of Dongchang hastily seized Pungju-ha and Pung Ha-eun, beginning their retreat.
As Pung Ha-eun attempted to issue orders, Shadow swiftly suppressed the blood meridians and dragged his lord away.
‘Excellent judgment. But at this rate, we lose this war.’
Pungju-ha had suffered critical wounds, and though Pung Ha-eun’s abilities were formidable, they fell short of controlling this monstrous Kahuray Khan.
The fact that even language commands seemed ineffective against him suggested Hyeolseonggyo had done something to him.
That was not all.
“How dare mere barbarians—krraaagh!”
Those who underestimated him instantly became scattered flesh and collapsed.
Khan’s personal guard was certainly formidable.
Each one possessed strength ranging from first-rate warrior to peak master.
The special mobile unit composed of Gangho experts was strong as well, but they faced a well-trained army.
An army of peak masters attacking in perfectly unified formations.
Moreover, the Suksin Tribe commanders interspersed among them appeared to possess martial arts at the Hwagyeong level in Gangho terms.
Few in the special mobile unit could match opponents of this caliber.
One of them was Dang-a.
She was handling her opponents with the most ease.
She had severed the necks of two, yet over twenty commanders remained before her.
Over twenty Hwagyeong-level Suksin Tribe generals—living instruments of war!
Of course, the imperial army had generals capable of matching them, and their numbers were not significantly inferior.
However, the battle lines were now tangled.
Left flank and right flank. In this muddy chaos of battle formation, the number of generals we could deploy immediately was merely twelve?
‘Accurate?’
‘Yes. Accurate.’
The eyes of the young strategist from the Jegallim Family observed the current situation objectively.
The state of the battlefield perceived within the world of Transcendent Heartless Martial Arts—Benevolence and Righteousness—was this bleak.
‘So. What should I do?’
‘More people will die.’
‘Let’s decide.’
The countless versions of Jin Cheon-hee within my mind fell silent for a moment.
Then they moved forward toward a single thought.
‘Since coming to this world, the first time I decided to kill someone by my own will was against the Demonic Necromancer, wasn’t it?’
‘After that… it must have been the Odog-mun Sect Leader. I prioritized capturing Yo Cheon-gun alive, after all.’
‘But I never stained my hands with blood because of those around me.’
‘…’
‘To gain one thing, I must abandon another.’
‘Without sacrifice, I cannot move forward.’
Jin Cheon-hee maintained my sword path.
The sky was black with birds. They rejoiced at the feast before their eyes.
Below my ankles, blood of unknown origin was sticky.
The saying that blood becomes a river was not a metaphor.
The Doctor now understood the meaning of “corpse mountain, blood sea” not just in my head, but in my heart as well.
Countless people were dying within my field of vision.
Familiar faces were fading away.
If this land were taken, even more faces would die.
Knowing the warmth of blood, the young man made his choice.
‘Think of how to kill.’
I had already decided to abandon it, hadn’t I?
I had only endured without wounds thanks to the warm comfort of those around me.
If the opponent is such a bastard, perhaps I won’t have such nightmares in my later years.
The Doctor decided to stain my hands with blood.
‘Since I’ve never done it before.’
‘With sincerity. With all my strength. Let’s kill.’
Time began to stretch even more than before.
Splurt—
A droplet of blood sprayed upward.
What had been flying toward my face gradually slowed, then stopped in midair.
Jin Cheon-hee realized I had entered my own world.
In that quiet, still, and solitary world, I posed a question to my inner self.
It was.
Like picking up a stone while walking along a riverbank and tossing it once—a meaningless action.
‘So, who are you all that exist within me?’
Since the fight with Kahuray Khan began, Jin Cheon-hee’s thoughts had surfaced haphazardly, forming words.
They were all thoughts I myself would have, yet they carried a subtle sense of alienation.
And so I realized.
Something exists within Jin Cheon-hee’s own consciousness.
Was it because I had perfected the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong, and afterward used the Transcendent Heartless Technique despite not being in the Hyeongyeong state?
Now, I could understand it clearly.
‘You know, don’t you? Why are you asking?’
And in this moment of utmost peril, it spoke.
‘The Cheonma Singeong grew by consuming demonic nature—that is [me].’
The Heart Demon.
The Heart Demon had been creeping in since long ago.
Yet all these days, I had believed I analyzed it through the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong and separated it to one side, compressed like a program subroutine.
But now.
The result of that action appeared before my eyes, transformed into something slightly different.
‘It’s like an ostrich burying its head in sand. Or… perhaps this is what Nemesis from Greek mythology feels like.’
‘A sworn enemy?’
‘Rather, it would be more accurate to say you have been evading the inescapable.’
‘Can I not overcome it?’
‘It’s like a doppelgänger. You feared confronting it.’
‘Ah. There’s a better word for it. I just remembered.’
‘Karma.’
Then if I have lived righteously in my own way, righteous consequences should follow.
Jin Cheon-hee thought.
‘The Dual Thought Technique separates the will into two. The Cheonma Singeong plants the seed of demonic nature, which grows and merges with the original self. The Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong controls emotion and sentiment, establishing ultimate reason. Among all the martial techniques in Gangho history, searching through both past and present, only [I] have mastered these three supreme techniques.’
Like a surgeon placing a scalpel, I calmly drew the blade inward.
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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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