Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 628

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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 628
“Jecheon Xiaosheng… that’s quite an unusual moniker.”
“He apparently likes it himself. Moreover, because of that nickname, he deliberately uses a staff as his main weapon. They say this staff is called the Segmented Staff.”
Sama Hyeon continued.
“It’s an exotic weapon that can be used as separate segments or combined into a single staff.”
“That would require both strength and technique. Even if he’s not among the top ten masters under heaven, he’d need to be at least at the Hwagyeong level to command such a massive bandit confederation.”
“Right. His origins are unclear. He’s been the Chongchaeju for quite some time now. But since he doesn’t appear in public, he’s far less famous than his power would suggest.”
I nodded in agreement at those words.
A considerable amount of time had passed since I became the Soggakju, and of course, not knowing his face was understandable in a world without phones or television.
But the information was suspiciously sparse.
‘Normally, there are cases where someone stays hidden because their martial strength is weak. But if his power were truly inadequate, he’d typically be killed by his own subordinates—that’s the nature of the Heterodox Faction. Yet he’s somehow managed to survive.’
This man had more than a few peculiar aspects.
Sama Hyeon continued.
“According to Hao-mun’s intelligence…”
To summarize his words:
1. Five of the upper-tier strongholds among the Eighteen Bandit Fortresses of the Green Forest have entered Fujian Province.
2. The numbers alone approach 6,000 men.
3. When the Five Rings Society directly intervened, the Chongchaeju mobilized all the mid-to-small scale strongholds.
4. That amounts to roughly 2,000 men.
5. In total, approximately 8,000 have entered the province.
“That’s an enormous number… and it could grow even more from here?”
Sama Hyeon answered my question.
“Exactly. If we combine all the Green Forest bandits, estimates suggest over 50,000 total.”
“What… how can there be that many bandits? The population here is around 100 million, and 50,000 of them are bandits? That’s a significant proportion, isn’t it? And there are also pirates on top of that.”
“Only you would calculate things that way~”
Saying so, Sama Hyeon stared intently at my actions.
He seemed to be trying to learn from me.
Regardless, I felt a headache coming on.
‘When you combine the Heterodox Faction members with all this, why are there so many criminals? This is why legitimate authority can’t reach everywhere, and martial sects proliferate as people try to protect themselves… good grief. It’s quite the variety, truly.’
This is a mad world.
America with its firearms laws is nothing compared to this.
Here, everyone carries personal machine guns, personal bazookas, personal laser cutters—one of each—which is why things have come to this state.
‘It’s remarkable that the Hua Empire hasn’t descended into complete anarchy.’
Try introducing communism here.
I imagined the Lenin of Hwagyeong raising a red flag, joining hands with Marx—one of the top ten masters under heaven—to overthurn class systems and marching toward the imperial palace. Good grief, my head.
‘But fundamentally, the martial artists themselves are the haves in this world, aren’t they?’
Even if they overthrew the imperial court, it would still split into three factions: Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic.
These three would ultimately divide because their ideologies are fundamentally different.
Those deep-rooted grudges are nothing compared to the red flavor of communism.
Pure blood demonic taste.
These young ones are at least Confucian believers, so they manage to live somehow with the principle of unity between teacher and student.
If things go wrong, burying a commoner without a trace is nothing to them.
In fact, there are quite a few like that among the heterodox factions.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“Somehow this turned into a bandit suppression campaign. You’re okay with this, right, Hyeong?”
“What’s not to be okay about? They’re the ones setting fires to commoners’ homes, committing murder, and trafficking people. We need to catch them all.”
“As expected. I knew you’d say something like that.”
Thus the two of us arrived in the northern region of Fujian Province.
* * *
A place that appeared to be a conference room.
Iron Martial Sect Leader was seated there. And one person wearing a Taoist crown and robes.
Besides that, a giant of a man who looked like a monkey was sitting there.
In the dark atmosphere of the conference room, Iron Martial Sect Leader opened his mouth.
“To capture the commanders, one must first shoot down the horse. To eliminate Hyeolrin Gwangssal, we must deal with Ilgwang. Gwireong Sannin, are you prepared?”
Gwireong Sannin!
A sub-leader of the Gwireong faction, the direct disciple of Sulgye. And known as a master of the left-handed path.
“This Swordsman is prepared. My faction’s Gwireong Corpses and disciples have completed their preparations. How are things with you, Chongchaeju?”
At those words, the man with a physique like Mount Tai shifted his body slightly.
Chongchaeju!
This man was the leader of tens of thousands of bandits.
Yeon Won-wang, the supreme leader of the Eighteen Bandit Chieftains.
A man with the peculiar name meaning “yearning for the Monkey King” was now present at this gathering.
Normally, this man would rarely appear before anyone, so his emergence here carried great significance.
A cunning old veteran of Gangho who became the supreme leader as an absolute master of Hwagyeong decades ago and has held the position ever since.
Yet his appearance seemed to be in his forties.
Those who came with him were inwardly shocked seeing Yeon Won-wang.
‘According to what’s known, his current age is said to be similar to Sulgye’s, but how can this be?’
For him to be counted among the ten greatest masters under heaven, he had shown very little.
However, it was certain that as the Bandit King, he had the strength to command people.
Finally, the giant man opened his mouth.
“I’ve already completed all preparations. The young ones are arriving in succession. Once they’re all gathered, I’d say we’d have around ten thousand. So, how about the Ilwol Singyeo?”
At those words, Iron Martial Sect Leader burst into laughter.
He appeared to be a member of Sadoren, but in fact he was a spy of the Demonic Sect.
He was one who had previously attempted to thwart the plans of Yeo Ha-ryun and Jin Cheon-hee at the North Sea Ice Palace.
The Bandit King was conducting joint training with him while knowing he was a Demonic Sect member.
Iron Martial Sect Leader spoke.
“Our sect is also prepared. Two of the six families of our sect’s demonic lineage will personally take action.”
At Iron Martial Sect Leader’s words, Supreme Leader Yeon Won-wang laughs.
“It seems the youngest Soegooju is pressing you quite hard, making you anxious. I didn’t know two families would step forward. Are more masters coming rather than numbers?”
“Yeo Ha-ryun. That Cheon Sal-seong—despite being Cheon Sal-seong, he doesn’t readily surrender his body to madness. Because of that, he’s quite troublesome.”
“With only Cheon Sal-seong’s talent to filter out the madness, it makes sense. From the Demonic Sect’s perspective, Ilgwang must be a thorn in their side.”
“Indeed. The Six Families of the Demonic Sect believe that it is Ilgwang, the elder brother, and Jin Cheon-hee who are suppressing Yeo Ha-ryun’s madness.”
“Hmm… Ilgwang seems to be entangled in everything.”
For some reason, this man named Jin Cheon-hee was involved in all the major pillars of the Gangho.
Did these fools understand what that meant?
Yeon Won-wang thought this and opened his mouth.
“Then so be it… Good. This time, we kill Ilgwang and those Olyunhoe bastards, and next comes Hyeolrin Gwangssal. That will help us control the Gangho. Krkrkrkuk.”
Iron Martial Sect Leader watched Yeon Won-wang and thought.
‘This mysterious Chongchaeju… what in the world is he thinking? I’ve confirmed he’s not from Hyeolseonggyo… but still… for now, I’ll need to join hands with him.’
Based on the martial arts revealed so far, he was a master who hadn’t quite reached the top ten of the realm—just about that level.
Yet seeing him confidently declare he would kill Ilgwang and stride out suggested he had something to rely on.
‘Either way, it doesn’t matter. As long as he’s not mixed up with Hyeolseonggyo, I’ll simply use him.’
In fact, there were those within the Six Families of the Demonic Sect who desired to cultivate together with Hyeolseonggyo.
If that resulted in becoming Cheonma…
Then afterward, one would simply sweep away Hyeolseonggyo.
However, in the past, when cultivation was attempted in such a manner, those involved were declared spies of Hyeolseonggyo and were brutally executed by Cheonma herself.
Not only those directly involved, but their children, cousins, servants, and every last limb were savagely crushed, and she wore an unbothered expression.
She commanded that such things never happen again.
Cheonma is heaven and truth.
If Cheonma declares someone a spy, then they are a spy.
Therefore, we never cultivate with Hyeolseonggyo.
Even the thoroughly mad ones from Bokma Hall refrain from it.
Iron Martial Sect Leader rose from his seat.
“Then I shall return according to the appointed time.”
With that, Iron Martial Sect Leader rose and left.
Whoosh—
Without even a farewell, the remaining two simply drank their tea.
Iron Martial Sect Leader, too, had no need for such pleasantries and closed the door, disappearing.
Tap—
Once all presence had completely vanished, Gwireong Sannin finally opened his mouth.
“…Wasn’t the Monkey Lord uninterested in the affairs of the human world?”
“I was uninterested. But this matter offers a clue to finding the Great King, or so they say.”
“Hyeolseonggyo?”
“Those bastards. So will you Cheon Gi-sunhaeng fellows teach us that? Anyway, he’s gone, right?”
At those words, Gwireong Sannin nodded.
“He is.”
Screech!—
The Monkey Man’s body transforms into something even more simian.
In other words, he became a true monkey.
“Phew, wearing a human form is torture. For spirits like us, this is cruel.”
“According to legend, there are those who maintain human form for decades or more.”
“Are you in your right mind? Even I, the beast closest to humanity, feel like dying every time I take human form. It’s like constantly tensing my abdomen to stay alive. Otherwise, I’d have to reach Hyeongyeong’s level. If that were the case, I’d become a Yoseon instead—why would I be doing this?”
It was true.
Yeon Won-wang, known as the King of Bandits, was actually a monkey spirit.
Such a spirit had been accumulating merit to transform into human form.
“Since I haven’t reached the Great King’s level, this transformation technique leaves my body feeling sluggish… So, you who belong to Cheon Gi-sunhaeng—why are you trying to kill that child Ilgwang? The Cheon Gi has already been in chaos for ages. That’s why I’m making my move.”
The Great King refers to Jecheon Xiaosheng Sun Wukong.
This creature’s name, Yeon Won-wang, also means yearning for the Monkey King.
Indeed.
Originally one of the subordinate monkeys under Jecheon Xiaosheng Sun Wukong, a spirit undergoing cultivation—a demon!
Spirits and demons are essentially separated by a sheet of paper. Fundamentally, they are the same.
“I am correcting that Cheon Gi. It is precisely because of creatures like you that the Cheon Gi scatters, allowing you to move about so freely, is it not?”
“Why? What’s wrong with me?”
“It is wrong. Wrong indeed. Beings like you cannot be tolerated in this world!”
At those words, Yeon Won-wang burst into laughter.
“When the Cheon Gi becomes clouded, causality fractures, and those who cannot emerge from the water can begin to act. Yet to protect such a Cheon Gi, countless people must die according to its flow. Which do you believe is right?”
Gwireong Sannin answered.
“When a person is born, death too is a natural occurrence. That is the principle. If one receives a life determined by the Cheon Gi, one must likewise accept the death it brings.”
“Right. That would be the opinion of you Cheon Gi-sunhaeng followers. But oo-kee-kee! To my eyes, it seems far too arrogant. If heaven determines life and death, must mortals simply say ‘yes’ and obey?”
“Otherwise, creatures like you will continue to appear.”
“Exactly. That’s why humans are so amusing. When was this world ever theirs alone? Hmm? We may have joined hands for now, but I, Yeon Won-wang, can strike you from behind whenever I please. Remember that. Oo-kee-kee-kee-kee!”
Gwireong Sannin sighed at him and rose to his feet.
Yeon Won-wang added one more thing to the departing Gwireong Sannin.
“By the way, this Cheon Gi… who exactly is creating it?”
“….”
Gwireong Sannin closed the door without answering and left.

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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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