Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 603

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 603
“The Heavenly Demon Divine Art! The… the Demonic Sect was here all along!?”
One of the surviving Sadoren warriors cries out.
The Iron Martial Sect Leader’s expression became as fierce as a malevolent spirit. However.
Yeo Ha-ryun paid them no mind.
“I, Yeo Ha-ryun, Young Lord of the Ilwol Singyeo, declare this here. The Hyeolseon Gyoju is an enemy of our sect, and I shall personally eliminate them. So stand aside.”
“Young Lord! What on earth are you doing here!?”
“Do I owe you an explanation?”
The Iron Martial Sect Leader and Yeo Ha-ryun’s gazes locked for a moment before breaking apart.
Yeo Ha-ryun ignored the Iron Martial Sect Leader and turned toward the Gungju.
[Ha-ryun, what are you thinking?]
[You’re remarkable, brother. From what I’ve observed, the path you walk is nothing short of benevolence and righteousness itself.]
Yeo Ha-ryun stands with his hands clasped behind his back, relaxed.
It appeared to be a casual stance, but Jin Cheon-hee knew it was actually the opening posture of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Yeo Ha-ryun sent another transmission of thought, his resolve crystallized.
[However, I too have a path I must walk. So allow me to show you the way of the Ilwol Singyeo.]
* * *
The rampaging Gungju was stronger than the Young Lord.
His body transformed rapidly, azure scales sprouting across his entire form, and horns growing from his forehead.
He had already abandoned his human shape.
Everything around the Gungju, now bearing the visage of a dragon-man, froze solid.
Yeo Ha-ryun walked forward calmly toward the Gungju.
The Gungju’s hand extended like the fangs of a dragon.
Infused with the formidable qi of the Ice Frost Divine Art, it gleamed like the pale hand of death itself.
Yet.
Something occurred that made everyone’s eyes widen in shock.
A hand stained completely black advanced and met that hand head-on!
Had it been only that, they would not have been astonished.
But the problem was that the blackened hand was devouring all the qi around it.
Like a black hole.
The moment Jin Cheon-hee thought this.
Yeo Ha-ryun’s hand crushed the Gungju’s scale-covered hand.
No—it was being consumed.
The Gungju’s hand was being sucked into Yeo Ha-ryun’s grasp.
Blood. Flesh. Bone.
And even the qi itself.
“Krraaaaaaagh!”
The Gungju shrieked and swung his other hand.
Yeo Ha-ryun extended his opposite hand as well.
That hand too was now stained with absolute darkness.
And so it repeats, exactly as before.
Darkness consumed the Gungju’s two hands.
“I offer your life to Ilwol Singyeo.”
Yeo Ha-ryun reverently pressed his two dark hands together.
And when he separated his palms.
His hands returned to normal, with only a single black sphere manifesting between his palms.
It advanced toward the Gungju.
What followed was an overwhelming explosion.
The black sphere expanded, unleashing a tremendous blast.
Boom—boom—boom—rumble!
‘Terrifying power! Yet even so, it could not overcome the Leader. Ha-ryun must grow stronger. And so must I.’
What path was Yeo Ha-ryun trying to show me?
‘If he’s merely displaying his strength to me….’
Then the end of this path is already determined.
The Hyeolseon Gyoju is already impossibly far ahead.
I observe his form and contemplate.
Yeo Ha-ryun mocks Sadoren.
More precisely, the Heterodox Faction spy masquerading as Sadoren.
Toward the Iron Martial Sect Leader.
“Dog of Sadoren. To think you’d attempt to handle the Hyeolseon with such meager skill is laughable. Know your place.”
From where the explosion occurred.
Yeo Ha-ryun’s voice echoed.
The smoke began to clear. And what stood there was.
Yeo Ha-ryun’s fist driven deep into the Gungju’s chest.
At this sight, Sadoren gasped involuntarily in astonishment.
“…How can a human possess such strength?!”
“It, it must be sorcery! Surely that must be sorcery!”
“….”
Yeo Ha-ryun withdrew his fist from the Gungju’s chest.
Blood gushed forth. Sacred blood.
Unlike before when it moved of its own accord and was absorbed into the Gungju’s body, this time I sense no will in the Gungju’s blood.
Unmistakable death.
Even if this blood carried a curse that would make him crave it, it hardly mattered.
Since Cheon Sal-seong already dwells within Yeo Ha-ryun, one additional curse would change nothing for the young man’s bloodline.
Yeo Ha-ryun, drenched in the enemy’s blood, fixes his gaze upon Sadoren—or rather, the spy, the Iron Martial Sect Leader.
“A, a Heterodox Faction member has interfered with the North Sea Ice Palace!”
“Yet surely the Gungju was transformed through the power of the Hyeolseon!”
At that moment, Yeo Ha-ryun answered calmly.
“The Hyeolseon? Perhaps it appeared that way. But all of this was orchestrated by me.”
At those words, my eyes widened.
The Holy Maiden cried out.
“No! This person has been helping us…!”
In that instant, Yeo Ha-ryun channeled his inner force and unleashed a palm strike toward the Holy Maiden.
However, he carefully controlled the power to ensure she would not die.
Instead, it was power that would require a full week of recovery!
BOOM!
“…Since you’ve come this far, there’s no helping it. To have seen through our sect’s true intentions. Impressive, Holy Maiden.”
Her body flew backward and crashed against the wall.
“A demonic cultist has launched a killing strike at the Holy Maiden!”
It was an outwardly devastating attack that left no room for anyone to interpret it as anything other than an assassination attempt.
‘Ha-ryun?’
[Brother. Please… from here on, this is my path.]
For Yeo Ha-ryun to speak in such a manner was extraordinarily unusual.
Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes widened.
My younger brother simply hoped that I would trust him. Yet I cannot know.
For my brother too must have his own path, and should I interfere with what comes next, that too would be unavoidable.
Yeo Ha-ryun, masked, clasped his hands behind his back.
Cheonma Divine Art—Cheonma Supremacy Palm–!
The earth trembled.
The ground itself began to resonate.
As Yeo Ha-ryun revealed the most iconic martial technique symbolizing the Cheonma Divine Art, the Iron Martial Sect Leader was taken aback.
“This is the Cheonma Divine Art?”
“…It wasn’t the Hyeolseon Sect?!”
Yeo Ha-ryun took a step forward.
“Sadoren are nothing but trash who cannot distinguish between the Hyeolseon Sect and the demonic cult. The Gungju conducted business with our sect. I merely collect the price of that transaction.”
‘Even with the Jicheon Cheonma, the demonic cult and Hyeolseon Sect are similar enough that they’re difficult to tell apart.’
But would Yeo Ha-ryun bear that karmic burden!
The Holy Maiden rose to her feet, coughing blood.
Her remaining single arm trembled.
“Ugh… N-no….”
In that moment, Yeo Ha-ryun sent a telepathic message.
[Stop, Holy Maiden. Was your resolve to protect the North Sea Ice Palace truly only this much?]
At Yeo Ha-ryun’s telepathic message, the Holy Maiden’s eyes widened.
[If you would abandon the people of the North Sea Ice Palace for your meager sense of righteousness, speak it now.]
“…!”
Step by step, another step forward.
With each stride Yeo Ha-ryun took, it was as though Mount Tai itself was moving.
Within that situation where the Cheonma Supremacy Palm rendered all movement impossible, only Yeo Ha-ryun could walk.
As Yeo Ha-ryun receded, the momentum of the Cheonma Divine Art seemed to finally dissipate.
The Iron Martial Sect Leader spoke.
“A Demonic Cult? Could it not be the Hyeolseon Gyoju?!”
In that moment, I desperately tried to grasp at the wind once more.
CRASH!
The Cheonma Divine Art’s Heaven-Rending First Flash struck the towering spire of the North Sea Ice Palace.
“This is… unmistakably the Cheonma Divine Art. Unmistakably…”
The Holy Maiden held back her tears.
Her world was crumbling.
Before her eyes lay the corpses of her father and brother.
Within the palace, every familiar face had returned as a corpse, staring back at her.
The palace servants who prepared meals, even the gatekeepers who idled away their time—all of them.
A flower in a greenhouse never knows how cold the outside world is.
Her garden had already burned away.
What did it mean to carry the North Sea Ice Palace through this hell?
Her hand trembled as it gripped the stone tablet.
The Iron Martial Sect Leader spoke.
“Speak the truth! Holy Maiden! Has the North Sea Ice Palace conspired with the Hyeolseon Gyoju?!”
Ah, the blade descended toward her neck.
Her own life mattered little.
Having lost everything, she couldn’t fathom what difference one more death would make.
In truth, she knew that would be the easier choice.
But…
-Was your resolve to protect the North Sea Ice Palace merely that shallow?
-If you would abandon the palace’s people for your meager goodwill, speak it now.
She looked toward Jin Cheon-hee.
Yet even he could offer no answer for this choice.
This was no longer a strategist’s domain.
It was the burden of one who must carry this place alone.
-What are you doing! Run! Quickly! We’re fine! Go!
Even now, the common people burned.
‘If I speak the truth. If I confess my father’s sins to the Heterodox Faction.’
Would the next war be against the Demonic Cult, or against the Heterodox Faction?
Or perhaps, it could even be against the Righteous Faction.
The North Sea Ice Palace’s trade would cease, and its people would starve further.
Would the flames of calamity sweep over the mountains once more after everything burned?
Could the North Sea Ice Palace endure two blood purges?
She understood that no choice held a right answer. There was only consequence.
‘Father. Why do you burden me with such karma?’
The Holy Maiden beheld hell.
She could not know what was right.
At the crossroads, she saw only hell.
An impulse surged through me—to drive this stone staff into my neck and end it all. It was a temptingly sweet escape.
In that moment, Jin Cheon-hee spoke through spiritual transmission.
[It’s alright, Holy Maiden.]
His blue eyes regard her with warmth.
[Whatever choice you make, you’ve done your best.]
‘Until the very end, this man…’
My vision blurs with tears.
I finally understood what the Doctor was trying to bear. It was a vast karma that ordinary people could never carry.
And realizing that if I tried to pass it to him, I truly would have no right to stand in this palace.
[By the Divine, I will commit sin. And I will continue to do so.]
If living with feet planted on the ground is the human way of life, how innocent must a Holy Maiden be.
Yearning for the heavens with a face that knows no sin.
But if that is what a Holy Maiden is, if a Holy Maiden must live opposite to humans…
“The Heterodox Faction murdered Father!!”
Seething resentment claws at her throat.
But she had to speak the lie.
“The Heterodox Faction murdered Father!!”
She rises, leaning on the stone staff.
Blood flows from her side, but she cannot fall.
“From this moment forth, the North Sea Ice Palace withdraws from the Sadoren and will not participate in the Great Righteous-Heterodox War!!”
Within the karma Father created, the daughter no longer knows what is good and what is evil.
But she knew that no common people could endure another war.
She shouts again, infusing her voice with inner strength.
“The Heterodox Faction murdered Father–!!”
Jin Cheon-hee thought to himself.
‘Yes. The Holy Maiden has chosen.’
A clean death or a life in filth.
I cannot know which is the right answer.
But if embracing the mire is her choice, then that too is righteous.
‘The Holy Maiden chose reality.’
Yet in the human world, are lies not commonplace?
And why reveal all truth for the sake of ‘outsiders’ who lurk, waiting for the moment a neighbor weakens to strike?
Then there is only one path remaining.
Prince Han-bing also cries out.
“The Heterodox Faction murdered the North Sea Ice Palace Master!!”
From the North Sea Ice Palace, the voices of the Holy Maiden, Prince Han-bing, and all the warriors grew louder.
And.
A smile bloomed at the corners of Yeo Ha-ryun’s lips as he receded into the distance.
“….”
The Bloodpath of All Under Heaven.
A path that could never overlap with my brother’s.
It was a path unique to Yeo Ha-ryun alone.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————