Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 489

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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 489
The Abbot stood before Cheonwoo with his palms pressed together in a defensive stance, his sword still sheathed.
Was he truly intending to face three techniques in such a posture?
An ordinary warrior would have felt his pride wounded, his face flushing red.
Yet Cheonwoo remained composed.
I pondered this.
‘The Bota Clan is a Buddhist sect comprised solely of nuns. However, few in Gangho know the true origins of this sect.’
Avalokiteshvara, one of the Buddhas, is herself a female Buddha known for her boundless compassion and guidance of all sentient beings.
According to legend, Avalokiteshvara dwells upon Mount Potala, and the Bota Mountain in the Zhushan archipelago where the Bota Clan exists shares the same name as this legendary Mount Potala.
‘Of course, Avalokiteshvara doesn’t actually reside on Bota Mountain.’
Because of this, the Bota Clan reveres Avalokiteshvara, and most of their martial techniques are derived from her.
Particularly, the hand gesture the Abbot formed in her defensive stance resembled the appearance of Avalokiteshvara herself.
‘Well, in a world like this, such things might be possible… but regardless, it would be like a ghost.’
Without a voice to hear or a form to meet, it is no different from nonexistence.
Just as in martial arts, even if one attains enlightenment and ascends to immortality, what comes after remains unknown.
Yet her teachings were passed down through the Bota Clan.
“I shall begin.”
Cheonwoo moved.
“Ladder Cloud Leap. Ten Segment Brocade.”
Since this was a friendly sparring match, he announced the techniques he would use—moving like a cloud, soft yet striking, Cheonwoo advanced with an extraordinary grace.
Simultaneously, employing the Ten Segment Brocade, the supreme technique of the Mudang school, he extended his palm strike.
A movement that resembled a cloud, leisurely and slow.
Yet the tremendous force contained within that gesture was evident to all who witnessed it.
His sleeves billowed outward, and the air trembled.
This was the Ten Segment Brocade that could shatter stone with a single blow!
Mudang Gwon-je was a master of fist techniques, but the martial arts of the Mudang school were not limited to the fist alone.
A master who had perfected all hand techniques of the Mudang school—that was what a Gwon Je truly was.
Cheonwoo, nearly a direct disciple of such a Gwon Je, was likewise a master of the Mudang school’s hand techniques.
‘This sensation of slowness that conceals speed—it is the very essence of Mudang martial arts.’
It was like how those unfamiliar with the Mudang school’s techniques might say, “Why do they move so slowly and sluggishly?”
Yet the moment one blinks, it becomes devastatingly fast.
And against this formidable technique, the Abbot stood quietly, one hand pressed in a defensive stance while the other held her sword vertically.
“The principle of stillness within motion exists in Buddhism as well.”
And then.
The Abbot held her palm horizontally against the vertically positioned sword.
A deafening crash erupted!
A sound that threatened to rupture the eardrums. Yet the Abbot’s sword remained suspended in the void, utterly unmoved.
As if it were ‘fixed’ to that very spot!
“The Immovable Wisdom King.”
Cheonwoo could not have known, but this was one of the Bota Clan’s sword techniques, primarily focused on defense.
The essence of it was similar to the Thousand-Weight Pendulum, allowing me to temporarily ‘fix’ the sword in midair.
That fixation enabled absolute defense!
Cheonwoo’s eyes widened slightly—he hadn’t expected such flawless blocking. Yet he immediately attempted another attack.
“Taeching Sansoo.”
This time, another supreme technique—Taeching Sansoo!
A martial art that added speed to softness, with less destructive power than the Ten-Segment Prohibition but capable of delivering dozens of strikes in a single breath!
“Thousand-Armed Tathagata.”
Yet the Abbot’s sword in response multiplied into hundreds, as if the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara herself had descended, meeting each strike head-on.
It was truly a magnificent duel of divine techniques and supreme arts.
“Well then, only one final move remains.”
The Abbot stepped back and spoke.
Cheonwoo took a heavy stance.
“Then I shall use my greatest supreme technique. If you can block this, Abbot, your victory is assured. True Extreme Divine Fist—Shimmoo Supreme Art, Taiji Harmony Strike.”
Both hands became stained with the forces of yin and yang. And as they merged into one, they became the Taiji. It was not inner energy. Rather, fist energy composed of yin and yang forces.
Yet.
As they merged, a tremendous momentum erupted.
The Abbot, watching quietly, wrapped her sword in sword energy and responded calmly.
“Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara Guidance Sword Art. Shimmoo Supreme Art, Vajra Samadhi.”
Then the sword energy grew increasingly massive. Soon she herself became a single sword, standing as it blazed with sword energy.
What is Samadhi?
Can a human truly cast aside afflictions and concentrate wholly on a single thing?
And then the two finally collided.
Kwaaaang!!
Unable to withstand the tremendous collision, the unarmed floor was torn up and shattered.
Even amidst this, the Abbot’s sword remained thoughtless and impermanent, simply severing afflictions, severing, and severing again.
Cheonwoo sensed defeat as his fist failed to connect.
No—there was no one in Gangho who didn’t know from the start that this was a reckless challenge.
I too realized that my sword could not reach the Abbot’s Shimmoo supreme art.
Does the Bota Clan live there?
The ultimate realm that Arahan aspired toward—the mind that strives toward that place became Vajra, and finally manifested here as Shimmoo sword energy.
As Cheonwoo’s three moves ended, the Abbot’s sword drew a line.
A clean, straight line containing not a single deluded thought.
Shing!
The Abbot’s sword grazed Cheonwoo’s shoulder, cutting away a small piece of his robe.
“Amitabha Buddha.”
“…There was no need to teach me so thoroughly.”
Cheonwoo spoke with a moved expression.
The Abbot replied.
“I have repaid the debt of gratitude I received from Gwon Je in this manner, so it is settled.”
Shling—
I sheathed the sword gently.
Only then did Jin Cheon-hee realize that the Abbot’s blade had no edge.
With a sword that had never been sharpened, he had severed the fabric of my robe.
It was astonishing.
‘I couldn’t even sense the sword energy.’
He hadn’t used brute force either.
To create such cutting power without inner energy, using a blunt blade…?
Jin Cheon-hee stared at him with wide eyes.
“How is that even possible?”
Even as I spoke, I realized I had made a mistake.
In a way, wasn’t I asking to learn martial arts from someone when I wasn’t even his disciple?
Yet the Abbot answered without the slightest displeasure.
“You cut with your mind.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“What we commonly call sword energy, sword technique, and sword force are merely different names for summoning the heart. If you resolve in your mind to cut, you can sever even a wooden log. That is intention.”
“….”
Cheonwoo could not comprehend it.
It was an extraordinarily profound martial art.
Yet somehow, Jin Cheon-hee seemed to grasp it.
“Is such a thing possible?”
The Abbot answered his question.
“The Buddha Dharma teaches that even an ant, should it attain enlightenment, becomes a Buddha. Similarly, even a young child, should they reach the state of intention, can cleave a cliff in two.”
Then Jin Cheon-hee bowed deeply.
“Previously, the Sword King of the Namgung Clan and the Sword Marquis of the Bota Clan fought to determine the Sword Emperor. I had not known the outcome until now, but I understand it at last.”
“I understand that Soggakju does not concern yourself with martial competitions.”
“I offer my congratulations on becoming the Sword Emperor.”
The Abbot neither confirmed nor denied it.
Then, gazing intently at Jin Cheon-hee’s left arm, he spoke.
“Even should you awaken to intention, you must not use it, Soggakju.”
Sensing that gaze, Jin Cheon-hee replied.
“Not yet…. Yes. That is correct.”
Honestly, I envied Cheonwoo.
Cheonwoo must have gained much from this martial competition. In a way, I might reproach myself for being far weaker than my brother.
Yet he does not know what he possesses.
Most of all….
“Cheonwoo, your sense of distance has improved quite a bit.”
“You noticed, brother.”
“You used your fists to develop a better feel for distance, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve grown considerably, lad.”
I’m an incompetent older brother who envies his younger siblings.
Even as I felt a bit ashamed of myself, I praised Cheonwoo for his improved skills.
Cheonwoo nodded.
“It’s thanks to you, hyeong.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You did well.”
Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice.
‘I need to go back and do some spiritual cultivation. Soon.’
Why is the human heart so difficult to understand?
I comforted the inadequate part of myself diligently.
* * *
“Listen, you brats. Are you still going to say you’ll eliminate Jin Cheon-hee? I’m against it. Saving lives is what matters most, so what else could be more important?”
Nang-in Wang.
She sat before two figures with an irritated expression on her face.
Holding a cup in her hand, she poured Hangzhou’s pride, Xiaohongzhou wine, with the technique of void-grasping, splashing it generously.
“Do you not understand that the young one’s actions could bring even greater calamity?”
“The war with the Suksin Tribe—it wouldn’t have happened for at least several decades.”
“Nonsense. Then far more blood would have been spilled decades later, wouldn’t it? Isn’t that right?”
“That is beyond the thousand-li perspective.”
“The thousand-li perspective was thus.”
One wore a black martial robe and a black martial crown.
The other wore a white martial robe and a white martial crown.
Two middle-aged men with completely identical faces.
Masters of the previous generation, now forgotten even in Gangho!
“Heukbaek Goeseun. The heavenly opportunity you speak of no longer exists. I admit it. It’s already become like rotten tofu that’s been sitting out far too long, completely tasteless and spoiled.”
Heukbaek Goeseun.
Absolute masters who were known thirty years ago to be on par with the ten greatest experts—they now sat before Nang-in Wang.
“Then should we not set things right?”
“Yes. He must be eliminated. Before it becomes impossible to turn back.”
“I have made myself clear. I oppose it.”
“As long as you do not interfere, that is sufficient. So give us your word.”
“You need only swear that you will not interfere. Make an oath.”
“What? Are you coming at me now, you two?”
Goooooo.
The air grew hot.
The energy waves released by the three of them pressed down on their surroundings with unimaginable force.
“Very well. We shall not force an oath.”
“However. Your stubbornness may lead you to your own destruction.”
“You know as well as we do that our effort to preserve the heavenly opportunity is ultimately for the world and for people. There must be no division among us.”
“Do not actively interfere. Mere observation will suffice.”
The two middle-aged men rose from their seats.
“Then I shall take my leave. Please take care of yourself.”
“Farewell.”
With those words, the two figures dispersed like wisps of smoke and vanished.
Nang-in Wang gazed at the spot where they had disappeared, his brow furrowed in contemplation.

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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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