Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 516

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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 516
“Medical treatment and qi healing as well. You certainly received a thorough service.”
“Well, since they were satisfied, that’s what matters. We haven’t even begun the subjugation yet, so there’s no need to create unnecessary friction.”
Several days later.
Five large warships were prepared, and the naval forces summoned by the Naval Commander began to arrive.
Additionally, the military forces of the Martial Arts Alliance had arrived.
Since subjugating the Hyeolseonggyo was equivalent to eliminating a major criminal of the Gangho, it was only natural.
Surprisingly, among them was Namgung Un.
“Oh, younger brother! It’s been a while.”
Wasn’t this Namgung Un, whose relationship with me had become somewhat awkward for some time?
We had maintained professional exchanges, but I thought the warmth we once shared had diminished. I never expected him to volunteer and come for this matter.
“I didn’t expect you to come.”
As I responded with a slightly complicated heart, he deliberately laughed with ease.
“Aren’t we catching the Hyeolseonggyo? I had to roll up my sleeves.”
Yes. This is the kind of man he is.
In the end, was it only I who harbored such feelings?
I nodded in acknowledgment.
“Your dedication remains unchanged.”
Samjeolchuho spoke, and Namgung Un replied.
“I’m grateful you say so. Samjeolchuho, your vigor remains as well. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, and it seems your achievements have deepened.”
“Your way with words is still as smooth as ever.”
Samjeolchuho broke into laughter, seemingly in good spirits.
“Still, our opponent is the Hyeolseonggyo. We could potentially face one of the Sip Cheon-gun, and I sent word that this is extremely dangerous. You came knowing this, correct?”
Namgung Un replied to Samjeolchuho’s words.
“How could I come without knowing that? I simply came to add my blade because my younger brother is here.”
With that, his cheerful laughter embodied the archetypal Imperial Swordsman that people envisioned.
The very face of the Namgung Family.
‘Yes. In the original work, he too risked his life for the greater cause.’
He died blocking Yeo Ha-ryun the Cheonma.
Of course, it wasn’t as though he went there without knowing that would be his place to die.
With complicated feelings, I shook my head.
‘Let it go. The Imperial Swordsman of the Namgung Family will surely be of great help.’
He desires to appear favorable to me regardless.
As long as medical skill, martial power, and influence exist in Baek Rin—whether called Baek Seon-gwang, Byeok-an-sin, or Ilgwang—the Namgung Family will maintain relations with Baekrin Uiseon.
Whether he truly sends friendship toward me and treats me with righteousness may ultimately be of little importance.
Namgung Un spoke.
“Not only those belonging to the Martial Arts Alliance, but warriors from each sect are also participating. Their numbers reach nearly four hundred. Moreover, quite a few veteran masters of the Gangho have stepped forward.”
When speaking of veteran masters of the Gangho, they are at least supreme experts, and among them there would surely be one or two who have reached the level of Hwagyeong.
If I were originally the Jicheon Cheonma, I would have to account for Yeo Ha-ryun, the Minor Sect Leaders of the Demon Sect, and countless direct and indirect blood assassins of the Hyeolseonggyo, but now I live well.
To think I could employ such individuals in this manner.
Is it truly the right path to live virtuously in this world?
“That’s quite impressive.”
“What do you think? Isn’t this enough to crush the Haesa Faction? And I heard from the family that five thousand garrison soldiers will be dispatched as well. There’s no doubt about it.”
Certainly, judging by words alone, it sounds formidable.
I even thought that no matter how powerful the Hyeolseonggyo was, they wouldn’t be able to withstand such numbers.
But then, why?
Why does a strange unease prickle at the back of my mind?
Perhaps because the opponent is far more formidable than they appear.
* * *
Namgung Un arrived carrying a great sword even larger than the one I’d seen before.
A dragon was carved in relief on the sword’s hilt, symbolizing the Thunder Dragon.
‘Has he already mastered Sword Lightning?’
The Namgung Family’s Emperor Sword Form and Spear Palace Unobstructed Sword Technique are martial arts that utilize formless qi.
Yet there exists another supreme technique that rivals it—the Heavenly Thunder Sword Form.
This martial art, based on lightning qi, is domineering and extraordinarily swift.
It possesses a nature opposite to the Emperor Sword Form, which embodies the principle of stillness within motion.
However.
From what I knew, the Heavenly Thunder Sword Form was an incomplete martial art.
Though it was a technique for wielding lightning qi, they had apparently failed to store it within the body.
This wasn’t knowledge I gained from reading about Jicheon Cheonma during my time on Earth, but rather one of countless pieces of information I’d learned while living in this martial world.
The reason the Heavenly Thunder Sword Form was incomplete was due to the extreme consumption of inner energy.
Because it required more than double the inner qi expenditure compared to the Emperor Sword Form, few in the Namgung Family had mastered this supreme technique.
Yet being incomplete didn’t mean it lacked value.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been evaluated as rivaling the Emperor Sword Form.
Naturally, this was a divine art that only a select few in the Namgung Family could master.
I turned my gaze away as if casting my thoughts into the sea while observing Namgung Un.
Then I sat at the bow, gazing blankly at the horizon when Namgung Un approached my side.
“Elder Brother. Have you been well?”
“Yes, quite well.”
“Well, the truth is, I came here to apologize for some matters from my past.”
“Yes?”
“About the affairs between the Jegallim Family and the Namgung Family.”
“Ah….”
My eyes widened, and Namgung Un let out a soft chuckle.
“Since that day, something has weighed on my heart, so I questioned the Elders and my father about various matters. Back then, the Eight Great Families of the Nine Schools believed the Jegallim Family would fall and committed such deeds. You understand what happens to the secret techniques of an extinguished family.”
“….”
I too had received the martial arts of an extinguished family from my Master.
Namgung Un continued.
“However, such things only occur after at least three generations have passed since the family’s destruction. I know it’s not something one should do while survivors still live openly. Baek Rin-ui-seon had to witness it with open eyes while still alive.”
Martial arts are ultimately the spirit that connects generation to generation, a history, and perhaps even a soul.
Is it not said to be no different from desecrating one’s ancestors’ tombs?
In this Confucian society that reveres the blade, it meant watching one’s entire family perish and the ancestral tablets torn to shreds.
“I see.”
“Moreover, since my younger brother now inherits the future of the Jegallim Family, that martial lineage will continue.”
“….”
“Of course, the family elders felt threatened merely by Baek Rin-ui-seon’s survival and pressured him behind the scenes. That is, until he mastered medicine. His acupuncture was needed even by the Elders themselves.”
It was widely known throughout Gangho that Jegalling had learned medicine to heal himself.
Is a genius truly a genius?
In less than a decade, he became known as one of the three greatest Doctors of Gangho—a remarkable feat. Yet even such a genius could not overcome his heavenly curse, which brought relief to many in Gangho.
Of course, now all those people are deeply uneasy.
“A Doctor is always needed, wherever one may be.”
“In truth, that he survived until meeting you and established the Medical Guild was nothing short of a miracle. Unable to repay his blood debt, his health deteriorated, and he watched himself bring shame upon his master. Yet despite all this, his calling remained to save lives. It is difficult even to fathom the Heart Demon he must have endured.”
He smiled bitterly.
The night air of Hangzhou was cold. White breath formed at his lips.
“I will not offer an apology on behalf of the Elders. As a junior, I have no right to do so, nor do I possess the authority. Furthermore, I understand that scattered secret techniques cannot simply be gathered again.”
“Then….”
“Today I have brought the Thunderdrake Sword from the family. It is a special blade used when wielding the Heavenly Thunder Sword Form, the supreme technique of our main house. I hope you will observe my Jeolcho carefully. I struggled considerably to perfect the Heavenly Thunder Sword Form, which was originally incomplete.”
The gazes of Namgung Un and Jin Cheon-hee briefly intertwine.
Hidden meaning lies between the lines.
Jin Cheon-hee grasped that meaning.
The Heavenly Thunder Sword Form had finally been perfected.
And in perfecting it, he had used the martial arts of the Jegallim Family.
That is what he means.
Therefore, he asks that I carefully ‘observe’ his martial arts.
In Gangho, one must not even spy upon another’s martial cultivation.
It is a grave sin worthy of death as atonement.
Yet he deliberately speaks of it this way.
Is he trying to wash away his sin by revealing his martial arts and allowing me to ‘observe’ them?
“Why would you do such a thing?”
Instead of answering Jin Cheon-hee’s question, he continued speaking.
“The Namgung Family’s sword uses Thunderyang Energy. It shares common ground with the Jegallim Family’s Five Elements Divine Art. This Heavenly Thunder Sword Form is the same. So, I hope you will observe it well going forward.”
Jin Cheon-hee pauses to look at Namgung Un.
His efforts are commendable, but can such actions truly wash away past wrongs?
Though many years have passed since coming to Gangho, Jin Cheon-hee cannot claim to know, for he is not the one directly wronged—his master Jegalling is.
What should he do?
[I know this alone cannot atone. Still, I beg you to accept it. Unobstructed means to advance without hindrance, and the path the sword reaches….]
At that moment, Namgung Un began transmitting the incantation of his martial art through sound transmission.
At this point, even Jin Cheon-hee is astonished.
A martial art’s incantation is, in a sense, everything.
A skilled warrior can continue cultivation with merely the incantation and even create counter-techniques, so this gesture carries immense weight.
This was information that should never be shared with anyone outside the family.
Yet Namgung Un conveyed it through sound transmission without the slightest hesitation.
After transmitting all the secrets, Namgung Un spoke as though relieved.
“Well then, how is it? Doesn’t this make us even?”
At those words, I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at the absurdity.
The Heavenly Thunder Sword Form was a divine technique, and there were few martial arts in the Namgung Family that could rival it.
To reveal its complete form and yet maintain such an attitude.
Even as a Minor Sect Leader, if this became known, the Namgung Family might punish Namgung Un and wage war against Baekrin Medical Guild.
‘Yes. This is the kind of man he is.’
Since that time, Namgung Un had wrestled with his own thoughts and found his own answer.
Of course, one couldn’t call it the right answer.
Yet he demonstrated the best he could manage within himself.
I asked him.
“Does the Namgung Family truly allow their secret martial arts to be taught to outsiders? With a place like the Hwangbo Sega, they would normally sever the meridians and destroy the dantian.”
“The Namgung Family does the same. We sever the limb meridians.”
“…Are you insane?”
“No matter how insane, I wouldn’t go as far as Ilgwang.”
With those words, he whistled and walked away into the distance.
Watching his retreating figure, I found myself at a loss for words.
‘Sigh… What a man.’
My heart was in turmoil, much like this very sea.
‘He’s not asking for forgiveness. He simply offers the best answer he can provide.’
Infinitely arrogant, never looking back, yet walking the best path available to him.
He surely understood that if I used this ruthlessly, his life would be forfeit, and it could bring calamity upon his entire family.
‘Even so, is this the makings of a Martial Arts Alliance Leader?’
Even now, a twinge of jealousy stirred within me.
Perhaps because I understood that the path I myself had walked could never be the same as Namgung Un’s.
I gazed at the pitch-black sea for a long time.
Even after everyone had fallen asleep, I remained motionless.
Simply staring at the dark currents.

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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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