Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 47

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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 47
“You certainly have many questions.”
Sama Byeong responded to my words.
“One must learn what can be learned.”
His scholarly passion was remarkable.
I offered a faint smile and answered everyone’s questions.
Each of them burned with desire to learn even a fragment of my techniques.
It was something all the doctors yearned for.
Recognition for medical skill within the Medical Guild was no simple matter, which made it all the more coveted.
But I was different.
Beneath the smile I displayed lay a heavy heart.
Returning to my quarters, I changed clothes and released a deep sigh.
“Sigh…”
I scratched my head roughly and collapsed onto the floor.
“Still… I’m far from sufficient. Especially suction devices and antibiotics—I need them. Without proper visibility, I cannot perform surgical procedures at all. Martial artists capable of spatial manipulation are rare, so ultimately I cannot use such techniques on the majority of patients. And without antibiotics after surgery…”
As Yoo Ho, I had done my absolute best.
This was a level where nothing more could be desired.
Yet I was not omnipotent. Items that exist naturally in every hospital in the modern world simply do not exist here.
Unable to demonstrate even half my true capabilities, I felt utterly frustrated.
Anxiety gnawed at me relentlessly. There was a deeper reason for this.
‘Master’s condition is not good either. If I don’t prepare in advance, it will be dangerous. I cannot predict what variables might arise during surgery. A human life is not a game, and once the abdomen is opened, there is no turning back.’
At that thought, my throat went dry.
So I failed to notice someone entering my room very quietly.
“Words I’ve never heard before in all my life. So, you still find yourself lacking?”
“Ah! Master?”
“You were lost in thought so deeply that I did not wish to disturb you, yet curiosity got the better of me.”
Fortunately, I had not voiced my concerns about Master aloud.
“I was contemplating improvements to today’s surgical procedure.”
“The four great family heads were making a fuss as though celebrating a festival, yet you wear the expression of someone who has lived through everything.”
“Haha.”
“There you go smiling again. Do not strain yourself.”
Jegalling stroked my head.
I closed my eyes. The large, cool hand felt wonderful.
It carried the body temperature of a serpent.
If I could warm this hand, I felt I could accomplish anything.
‘Because Master’s life hangs in the balance.’
In truth, if this were merely about treating patients, I could have rejoiced today.
To save a patient who would have otherwise perished through my knowledge—what greater fulfillment could a physician ask for?
Yet I saw my limitations before I could feel that fulfillment.
‘It is not enough. This alone is far too insufficient.’
Then I must overcome it.
If I do nothing, Master will die.
“I want to create something new, Master.”
“There is no need to be impatient.”
“I have to treat you! If things continue like this, we’ll reach a limit!”
My lips formed a straight line.
Jegalling finally burst into quiet laughter at his disciple’s expression.
“How adorable. So it is my small disciple who will treat my body.”
He laughed for quite some time, seemingly delighted, before speaking.
“Then what shall I provide for you?”
“I’ll need to borrow Yoo Ho for an extended period.”
“Hmm?”
“I need to produce penicillin.”
Penicillin.
Humanity’s first antibiotic. I resolved to place him in the crucible of cultivation. I would create a cultivation chamber—a laboratory.
‘A cultivation chamber, I must create a cultivation chamber.’
The surgery at the Yunlong Courier Bureau. Gak-yeon’s surgery. And the appendectomy just moments ago.
Through performing these surgeries, I came to understand more clearly.
Qi, this energy called qi, was certainly a tremendous force, and spirit pills were likewise miraculous medicines from fantasy, yet they could never replace advanced medical devices including antibiotics.
Even if I could not create advanced medical devices, I had to produce antibiotics.
The reason was simple.
Antibiotics could be mass-produced, and their efficacy was absolute.
So I intended to make Yoo Ho the Martial Arts World’s first nurse and the fairy of the cultivation chamber.
‘Wow, my Yoo Ho has two jobs! How enviable. Hey! A nurse and a pharmaceutical development researcher and producer! Excellent!’
Master, unaware of the labor that awaited Yoo Ho, asked this.
“Penicillin? Understood. I will arrange matters at the Medical Hall so he can come whenever you command. But will that suffice?”
I nodded.
“Of course, Master! Yoo Ho is such an exceptional person. I’m grateful for his help.”
“In a way, I envy him. He can receive much living knowledge from your side. If only my body were well, I could do the same.”
Master, unaware of the truth, simply envied Yoo Ho.
“No, Master. Your priority should be preserving your position. You saw the appendectomy, didn’t you? Surgery is an extremely dangerous form of treatment. If an emergency arose during your operation, there would be nothing I could do.”
“So there is a time limit even during surgery.”
I laughed bitterly.
‘The time bomb during surgery is one problem, but daily life is another. That’s more like a landmine. I never know if it will detonate in a year or today.’
I could only hope that Master’s inner strength would endure.
I spoke.
“Please remain healthy until then, Master.”
“Yes. I promise. My little doctor.”
Neither of us asked Yoo Ho’s opinion.
The Martial Arts World’s first fairy of the cultivation chamber!
It was truly a beautiful name.
And so Yoo Ho found himself with yet another new profession.
The person involved would have wept tears of blood.
* * *
My daily schedule became extraordinarily hectic.
I had to disseminate knowledge of surgical techniques to the doctors of the Medical Guild, and deliver lectures on the book I had written with Yoo Ho’s assistance.
I conducted anatomical practice sessions on corpses, squeezed in martial arts training whenever possible, and most importantly of all.
I began developing penicillin.
Penicillin is a beta-lactam class antibiotic extracted from blue mold.
Up to this point, the information is readily available in any encyclopedia.
However, few people understand that the mold is sensitive to temperature, sensitive to light, sensitive to humidity, and even when all these conditions align perfectly, sometimes cultivation fails because something else is amiss.
‘Why won’t it grow? What’s the problem? The professor managed it in one go, so what exactly is wrong with mine?’
Biology is not mathematics. No matter how much I pray over the culture dish,
if it
refuses to grow, it simply won’t grow.
It was truly the heart of a mushroom farmer.
Especially blue mold is sensitive to air, and extraction and purification is absolute hell.
Even using hundreds of flasks, the accumulated yield amounts to only enough penicillin for one person to use.
And that’s difficult to administer orally, with a short half-life and limited efficacy.
The method I employed was deep tank fermentation using massive fermentation vessels—the technique discovered during World War II.
“I’ve prepared everything as you instructed, but is this the correct approach?”
Yoo Ho had brought ceramic tanks necessary for penicillin production at my request.
“Oh, this works nicely.”
Though made of ceramic rather than metal, it was quite adequate.
“So the Medical Assistants will be embracing the fermentation vessel below?”
“Yes. Using the Wind aspect of the Five Elements Spiritual Cultivation, they must continuously inject air from the bottom and stir.”
Thus was created, in the history of the Martial Arts World, the first cultivation slave. On Earth, a mechanical motor would have done this work, but I chose to use people instead.
‘Well, isn’t this all for the sake of saving lives? Besides, my Master mentioned that the Medical Assistants have been neglecting their inner energy cultivation lately, which has become problematic.’
Moreover, the vital energy in this world aids the growth of all things. So perhaps even blue mold might thrive better here, I thought hopefully.
Yoo Ho spoke with vacant eyes.
“I haven’t mastered the Five Elements Spiritual Cultivation, but I can manipulate wind energy. The master said that since I’m already involved, I should handle the initial cultivation phase as well.”
What on earth is this man’s true identity? I smiled brightly, wondering once again.
“Yes, since blue mold is so sensitive, I feel reassured with Director Yoo handling it.”
“So once fermentation is complete, a Medical Assistant skilled in the Ice aspect of the Five Elements Spiritual Cultivation will rapidly cool the fermentation liquid to begin purification, correct?”
Around three to five degrees would be ideal. The acidic water to use would be approximately pH 2.
But since there was no precise way to measure it, I decided to standardize the amount of inner energy to be used and the method of producing purified water with strict quantification.
After removing impurities this way, I would form it into pill form and store it in the coolest location of the Medical Hall.
That was the plan.
‘But there are far too many variables.’
Setting aside the matter of maintaining consistent penicillin quality, I couldn’t even know whether this world’s version would have the same effect on people as it does on Earth.
I had to proceed methodically, starting with experiments using rats.
I spoke.
“All of this is for Master, after all.”
“Hahaha, whenever I think of the workload, my murderous intent toward you skyrockets.”
Balancing my studies as a nurse, my labor as a culture slave, training junior staff, and handling miscellaneous tasks.
‘Maintaining oxygen levels inside the culture tank will be the critical factor.’
For the nutrient used during the bacteria’s growth phase—lactose.
I plan to use milk from cattle and sheep.
After that, once I reach the full-scale production stage, I’m thinking of testing things like rapeseed oil.
‘Master’s surgery absolutely requires antibiotics.’
Normally, I would have already forgotten the penicillin manufacturing method itself. However,
the
thanks to the Primordial Elemental Body Cultivation, even things I had studied in passing long ago were beginning to come back to me with vivid clarity.
“And here are the items you commissioned.”
Yoo Ho additionally retrieved the surgical instruments I had requested.
I paid the most attention to the injection needles among them.
After examining them for a while, I asked this.
“Could you make the needles any finer?”
“Pardon? Even finer than this? If you want them finer, it would be faster to commission the blacksmiths of the Dangmun Sega, who are said to be the true masters of metalwork.”
I let out a sigh.
“Then please commission them from those blacksmiths, no matter what it takes.”
“Is this also to save the Master’s life?”
“Yes.”
“Sigh, I can’t refuse you. Very well. I’ll have them made.”
“Thank you.”
I expressed my gratitude sincerely.
“I’ll die from overwork before you kill me. Truly.”
At those words, I grinned.
“You’re not going to teach me how to handle all those tasks at once, are you?”
“No, it’s a secret.”
Yoo Ho grumbled while diligently taking note of my additional requests.
The Medical Assistants watched this exchange with great curiosity.

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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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