Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 479

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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 479
Soon after, Mukdal had the servants clear away the wine bottles scattered about and brought tea.
The pale green brew revealed itself to be premium tea, yet she continued to nibble on pastries without pause.
“Have you come to establish a faction here in Hangzhou?”
‘Oh, straight to the point then.’
This directness—as a modern person, I found it quite refreshing.
I had expected at least thirty minutes to an hour of idle chatter about the weather, pleasantries, and meaningless talk of the martial world, so this was fortunate.
‘And as expected, her insight is quite sharp.’
I answered honestly.
“I cannot say I lack interest, but I came here primarily for other reasons.”
“What reasons?”
“To fulfill my duty as a member of the Medical Guild. To save lives.”
“Wow, so the rumors are true—you really are mad, aren’t you? So, what’s the real reason you came?”
“I would like to be introduced to capable people. I believe around three hundred trustworthy individuals would suffice.”
“Three hundred? Not three, not thirty, but three hundred? Kahahaha!”
The Outlaw King laughed for quite some time.
Her unkempt hair swayed like a lion’s mane.
The Outlaw King spoke.
“You certainly think big, just as the rumors say? Fine. I’ll help you. Leave the matter of their abilities to me.”
“Thank you.”
“Is there anything else you need?”
“Well… I will provide soap for each person. I would appreciate it if they would wash their hands thoroughly before entering the Medical Guild tent.”
“How peculiar. Ilgwang. Is this why you’ve been scattering the heavenly secrets?”
“Pardon?”
At this sudden remark, my back stiffened, and Mukdal hastily shut the door while grumbling.
“No, Director. Please…! We’re supposed to be a secret organization!”
“Freeze to death. I follow the circulation of heavenly secrets.”
In that instant, tremendous killing intent erupted from her surroundings.
Clang—!
Cheonwoo and I quickly prepared for combat.
‘Wait, the circulation of heavenly secrets? Could she… be from the same group as Cheon I-mun?’
Only then did I understand.
The qi I had sensed from Mukdal felt strangely familiar because it shared similarities with Cheon I-mun’s.
The Outlaw King Mokdam-hwa spoke.
“I do enjoy a good fight. But I’d rather not have my business destroyed. How about we talk instead? We’ve just brought out some delicious pastries.”
She remained completely still, her massive frame unmoved.
She was clearly signaling her lack of intent to fight.
Cheonwoo spoke.
“This tea… it contains no poison, I trust?”
“Come now, would I do such a thing to a guest I’ve invited? Besides, Hermit Cheonwoo, we share a connection. I, the Outlaw King, am not petty enough to poison someone bound to me by fate.”
Yet Cheonwoo’s expression remained cold.
Did he feel betrayed?
“Brighten that face. Why does the future greatest beauty of the Heavenly Dao wear such a chill?”
Perhaps so.
By the standards of this era, Cheonwoo’s physique and bone structure possessed a beauty comparable to a grand halberd—striking and formidable.
“It’s a shame that a hermit’s face carries such an ominous air, but even that has its own charm.”
Ah, yes… Ju Wang is truly something else.
I exhaled a long breath and sat down first.
“Cheonwoo, sit with us.”
“….”
Cheonwoo followed my lead and sat, though his guard remained firmly in place.
Ju Wang slurped the tea like water and spoke.
“Let me be frank with you. We call ourselves the Heavenly Sequence, but we’re not a single sect. More like a loose coalition. Think of the Martial Arts Alliance or Sadoren, and you’ll understand.”
“I’ve heard the name before.”
“Oh? Where did you hear of us?”
“The Hyeolseonggyo mentioned it.”
At those words, Cheonwoo’s eyes narrowed sharply.
Meanwhile, Ju Wang burst into laughter.
“Those bastards… always quick on the draw. Well, since they’re doing this because they like you, they’d be fast about it. So what did the Hyeolseonggyo say?”
“Nonsense about becoming allies with them. Of course, I refused.”
“Hah… decisive. You’ve got resolve. Good, very good.”
Clink—
She set down the teacup.
Strangely, though she placed it so forcefully, not a single drop spilled.
Even in such a trivial motion, the realm of martial mastery was evident.
“Most who gather in our Heavenly Sequence are from single-lineage, non-transmissible sects. Well… there’s no particular reason for it. The martial arts we’ve learned are extraordinarily difficult to cultivate, and reaching the pinnacle requires genius-level talent paired with bone-grinding effort. Naturally, one’s temperament must align as well. So non-transmission becomes inevitable.”
I nodded at those words.
“So single-lineage transmission isn’t a rule but rather an unavoidable practical necessity.”
“Exactly, exactly. Finding even one person worthy of inheriting the martial arts is difficult, and teaching that one person is no easy task. No matter how extraordinary, time shows no favoritism, does it? All humans age. Unless one can perpetually shed their skin like a snake and be reborn eternally.”
Ju Wang then flicked a finger.
Instantly, a liquor bottle displayed far away flew through the air and landed perfectly in her hand.
The technique of seizing objects from the void.
Cheonwoo was startled that she used such a skill merely to fetch a bottle.
Yet both I and Mukdal observed calmly without reaction.
Not a single tremor of surprise.
Snap!
Ju Wang severed the bottle’s neck with just a finger, then gulped down the liquor greedily.
Then she spoke loudly, continuing her words.
“Ahhh… the Xiaohongjiu from Hongjufang truly is exquisite!”
The Xiaohongjiu, renowned as the finest liquor of Zhejiang Province.
And the Hongju Faction, as evident from their sect name Hongju (紅酒) meaning “red wine,” was a faction that profited from the sale of alcohol.
Watching the Outlaw King deliberately mention the Hongju Faction’s wine, Jin Cheon-hee waited for what came next.
“So. We’re a loose coalition, which means we’re not particularly cooperative. Moreover, our internal stance on that bastard Ilgwang hasn’t been settled either. Ah, for reference, I’m in the neutral faction. Honestly, I don’t care.”
“Stance… Hmm, it seems considerable dissatisfaction toward me has accumulated within the Heavenly Mandate Succession faction.”
“Ugh…”
The Outlaw King wiped his mouth with his sleeve and spoke.
“It’s funny to say this, but the sect founders of the factions belonging to the Heavenly Mandate Succession are almost all transcended. Even Waryong Seongsaeng, the sect founder of the Jegallim Family over there, didn’t transcend, did he? It sounds like a joke or a rumor, but it’s real? There’s evidence and all.”
Jin Cheon-hee answered to that.
“No… Well, if one serves as the sect founder of a single-lineage transmission faction and can transmit martial arts powerful enough to sustain that faction’s legacy, naturally they would have transcended.”
“Right. Even if not the sect founder himself, someone among his first or third generation disciples must have transcended. And didn’t Jang Sambon, the sect founder of Cheonwoo’s dojo, ultimately transcend as well?”
What the Outlaw King wanted to say was this.
That his own sect founder was no inferior to the sect founders of the Jegallim Family and the Wudang Faction.
‘Well, I understand.’
Don’t disparage single-lineage transmission, that’s what he meant.
But what needed focus was something else entirely.
Transcendence.
Could they perhaps be entities standing at the opposite pole from the Hyeolseon of the Hyeolseonggyo?
Honestly, I had no idea.
I had never heard Zhuge Liang’s voice.
Never received his revelation.
Never appeared in my dreams offering peach branches… Ah, that would be a prophetic dream.
In any case, nothing like that ever happened.
The same was true for my Master.
For those living in the present world, transcendence was akin to death.
Because there was no way to know if the world beyond actually existed.
Hyeolseon…
‘Their numbers were never specified even within the novel. But surely there must be those who oppose the Hyeolseon manipulating the human realm as they please. With Eungryong around, there’s no way the world after transcendence doesn’t exist. Does that mean I’m caught in the middle of all this?’
Jin Cheon-hee fell into thought.
Seeing the blue light spreading across his pupils, the Outlaw King seemed satisfied and continued speaking.
“That’s why so many are obsessed with the Heavenly Mandate. We masters of single-lineage transmission have nowhere to hide. The sect founders are the same. Different from Wudang? The moment I die prematurely, the martial lineage of the Outlaw King ends. But even if you die alone, Jang Sambon’s will would continue, wouldn’t it?”
‘Well, the Jegallim Family’s will nearly ended in my Master’s generation anyway.’
Even then, Waryong Seongsaeng never helped my Master with anything.
Didn’t my Master live alone bearing the name Hyeolrin Gwangssal?
The Outlaw King continued speaking.
“But from my perspective, I’m skeptical. And there are quite a few people like me. Mainly those who follow the teachings of Laozi.”
The philosophy of Laozi (老子).
In the world, it was one of the Daoist philosophies that developed human nature through non-action and naturalness (無爲自然).
And naturally, those who followed Laozi’s teachings had been passed down through generations.
Even the current Daoist factions were likely influenced by Laozi’s philosophy to some degree.
“The Heavenly Mandate is already nearly ruined. If you think of it as a net, more than half is torn, and as food, it’s been spoiled for quite some time. And all of this is thanks to you.”
“Me?”
She burst into laughter at those words.
“That’s right. The Hyeolseonggyo couldn’t accomplish what you did even by kidnapping men and women from the southeast and killing children one after another. You brought the Suksin Tribe and even fought a war, yet somehow your simple act of saving lives dealt a greater blow to the Heavenly Mandate than the war itself twisted it. That’s what’s remarkable.”
The potential of humanity.
“Saving lives creates far more possibilities than taking them.”
“How can you be so calm about it too? Anyway, congratulations. You’ve achieved something unprecedented and unrepeatable!”
Clap, clap, clap!
She even applauded, offering genuine congratulations.
Even hearing it like that, I couldn’t quite grasp the reality of it.
I asked her.
“What is the Hyeolseonggyo’s purpose?”
“Hmm, they also seem to have different opinions among themselves like us, but their primary goal appears to be the extinction of humanity.”
“The extinction of humanity?”
“Well… they believe that after humanity perishes, something better will come. In truth, even following the Heavenly Mandate, there will eventually come a time of destruction. However, some wish to wait until then while others don’t. That’s why whenever the Leader changes, it wavers back and forth as if they’ve developed dementia.”
I pondered this.
‘Can something as grave as the extinction of humanity really be handled so arbitrarily based on personal whim?’
At the same time, another thought occurred to me.
‘Come to think of it, weren’t the Heavenly Realm lacking in administrative, procedural, and human rights standards?’
The absurdity made sense when I recalled what a friend who worked at a pharmaceutical company once told me.
-Hey, Cheon Hee. Can you really just entrust something this grand and important to someone like me and tell me to handle it roughly?
It wasn’t even a domestic pharmaceutical company—it was a globally renowned one.
In fact, this kind of complaint came up everywhere, whether at private or public corporations.
It was a common thread among global enterprises, domestic conglomerates, small businesses, and hole-in-the-wall shops alike.
Yet discussing the extinction of humanity, I felt an odd sense of déjà vu.

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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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