Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 693

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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 693
“What if we refrain from using sword energy, and both of us limit ourselves to using only half a jiapja of inner strength?”
At my suggestion, Namgung Jin responded with a look of surprise.
“What?! Is that really acceptable?”
Usually, when offering instruction, one might say they won’t use one hand, or that they’ll restrict their movements to a few steps.
But one rarely speaks of limiting inner strength.
That’s because in the Gangho, inner strength is absolute.
I answered him.
“It’s fine. I hope my inadequate teachings will be conveyed to you.”
At my words, Namgung Jin’s heart raced.
‘He truly is a great hero.’
Meanwhile, I thought to myself.
‘When will this Namgung Family meeting finally end? I need to either treat someone and leave, or just hand it over to the Hwaju Medical Institute and go.’
A twisted adult like me was withering away in the radiance these handsome and virtuous young masters were emanating.
Namgung Su decided to serve as the referee.
Since it was instructional sparring, there wasn’t really a need for a referee, but he seemed eager to do something, so I had him take the role.
“Begin the match!”
After declaring this, he happily wiggled his arms back and forth with enthusiasm.
His expression remained blank.
Stern, solemn, serious.
The moment young Namgung Su’s voice rang out, Namgung Jin closed the distance first.
“Forgive my presumption.”
Changung Muae Swordsmanship.
He began with the highest technique he could perform.
But I simply raised my hand and lightly struck his sword away.
Tang!
Without sword energy, using only half a jiapja of inner strength.
Yet strangely, there was no inner strength contained in my hand at all.
‘What?! How is this possible?’
It was an insight gained from the duel between the Abbot and Cheonwoo.
However, the Namgung Family children gathered here had no way of knowing this.
Instead, Namgung Jin’s competitive spirit was ignited.
The tip of his sword split into dozens of images.
Without sword energy, there was no thunderous sound, but it was an excellent display of Changung Muae Swordsmanship.
‘Brother Jin has worked so hard. Impressive.’
‘Wow! Brother Jin! You’ve become incredibly strong!’
‘A perfect sword form!’
Everyone marveled at his momentum.
Namgung Jin himself became somewhat pleased as his sword form exceeded his own expectations.
‘With this, even the Patriarch would draw his sword!’
Yet, curiously enough.
Thwack—
As my hand struck the wooden practice sword, Namgung Jin’s blade flew in a parabolic arc.
“How… how is this…?”
“Your swordsmanship is too straightforward. When you concentrate your power in one place, striking that exact point makes the blade fly away so easily.”
“…What do you mean…”
“Shall we try once more?”
An offer to give him another chance.
“Yes! I would appreciate that!”
Namgung Jin had no reason to refuse.
This time, I picked up a wooden sword so he could understand more clearly.
Thwack, tap-tap—
Blade met blade.
A sword devoid of any sword energy, purely for teaching purposes.
One blade overflowed with power and impatience—Namgung Jin’s.
I gently pressed down on what could be called a somewhat reckless strike, subduing it.
Each time Namgung Jin wielded his sword, I struck the weakest point and sent his blade flying again.
‘If this were real combat, I would be dead.’
Yet I simply asked casually once more.
“Again?”
“Please!”
I continued to receive his strikes until this young man with acne scars finally understood.
Thwack, tap-tap, thwack—
Namgung Su, Namgung Seon, and Namgung Yeon watched with rapt attention.
It was that beautiful an exchange.
I was neither stronger nor faster than others. After all, the main family had shown me countless swordsmen faster and more fierce than this.
Rather, I demonstrated less force and slower movements than the others.
Yet there was elegance in it.
It was powerful.
Finally…
Bang!
The blade flew away once more.
“Again?”
“…”
Namgung Jin couldn’t answer and collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.
Receiving a single strike from So Ui-seon before his eyes was far more exhausting than swinging a sword a thousand times in empty air.
Why was that?
Of course, he knew that actual combat was harder than practice.
But this opponent hadn’t even used sword energy, and moreover, they had moved slower and weaker than him, hadn’t they?
“…Do you perhaps know the counter-techniques that neutralize the Namgung Family’s martial arts?”
Wiping away the sweat trickling down his forehead with the back of his hand, Namgung Jin asked a question.
At those words, I laughed for quite some time.
Counter-technique.
Typically, martial techniques possess rules and unique patterns.
If one perfectly grasps those patterns, one can completely dismantle that technique and emerge victorious—in the Gangho, this is called a counter-technique.
‘Well, Namgung Un did transmit the secrets of his martial techniques to me, saying he would repay his debt to the Jegallim Family.’
Even if one were a Minor Sect Leader, revealing such knowledge would mean imprisonment.
However, even so, that was merely the realm of a Patriarch-level master, and I hadn’t even created a separate counter-technique myself.
With my current martial knowledge, this level of Spear Palace Unobstructed Sword Method was more than sufficient.
“The Jegallim Family is indeed famous for their counter-techniques.”
In the world, people believed the Jegallim Family could discern counter-techniques merely by crossing blades.
Perhaps only my Master could manage such a feat.
I myself couldn’t do it in a single encounter.
I would need either multiple clashes or time to analyze and comprehend.
“However, the rumors are exaggerated. I simply observe and understand—that is all.”
“…How…?”
I pointed to my blue eyes with my finger.
“The Jegallim Family’s martial techniques push the Five Senses to their ultimate limit. Therefore, when the Five Senses reach their peak, one exists within a different ‘flow of time’ than others.”
“A different flow of time?”
“Yes. Normally, one thought occurs with each blink of the eye, but the Jegallim Family’s Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong allows one to process three thoughts simultaneously.”
“…?!”
Namgung Jin stared at me with wide eyes of astonishment.
“In a battle of technique, this provides a significant advantage. That is why I perceived Namgung Sohyeop’s attacks as ‘slow,’ and why I could engage in technique-based combat without requiring great force.”
Namgung Jin spoke with startled eyes.
“Regarding the terror of the Jegallim Family’s martial techniques… I thought I had learned of it well. Yet only now do I feel its true essence pierce my very bones. Truly, it is a fearsome technique.”
“No, this is merely the result of accumulating experiences throughout the Gangho. If Namgung Sohyeop also gathers such experiences in the Gangho, he will reach the same point.”
Then Namgung Jin suddenly said something like this.
“But if one lives in a different flow of time from others… I find myself thinking it must be somewhat lonely.”
Having said this, he waved his hand as if he had made a mistake.
“No, no. I misspoke.”
It could have been interpreted as belittling the Jegallim Family’s techniques. That was why he seemed even more flustered.
I shook my head.
A sentiment befitting adolescence.
To an adult, such an expression seemed endearing.
Once one grows older, one wouldn’t understand. It’s only at this age that one can perceive such things.
“It’s fine. I only use it when necessary.”
When fighting or when work demands it.
Because of that, I rarely experience loneliness.
Rather, my Master always deploys the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong, so I thought he might experience more solitude than I do.
But as a disciple, even entertaining such thoughts could be disrespectful, so I shook my head and dismissed the notion.
As we were leisurely easing the atmosphere and exchanging pleasantries,
“Ilgwang is here!”
I turned my head at the powerful voice, and three elderly masters stood before us.
Two of them wielded the Twin Dragon Swords.
The elderly master standing before them was muscular throughout despite his advanced age, towering at eight feet tall.
‘Wow… the pressure emanating from him is absolutely overwhelming.’
Moreover, the aura radiating from him indicated this was no ordinary person.
Had someone of this caliber existed, rumors would surely have spread throughout the Gangho.
‘Who on earth is this?’
As I pondered this, Namgung Jin and Namgung Yeon immediately prostrated themselves in respectful greeting.
“Your grandchildren bow to greet Grandfather!”
Grandfather? Then this would be the current Gaju’s father?
From Namgung Un’s perspective, this was his grandfather.
Yet, he was someone so reclusive that even the Jicheon Cheonma made no mention of him.
He regarded me with keen interest.
“Oh? So you’re the young one who entered the ranks of the ten greatest masters under heaven… You’re quite the remarkable fellow, aren’t you?”
“Jin Cheon-hee of the Baekrin Medical Institute offers his respects.”
“Sharp-witted too. I am the grandfather of those rascals—the First Elder, Namgung Ban.”
At those words, I widened my eyes in astonishment.
The First Elder Namgung Ban!
While “First Elder” meant he was the foremost among the elders, his true identity was far more remarkable than that.
This elderly man was none other than the previous Gaju of the Namgung Family!
‘He’s still alive?’
Now that I had spent considerable time in the Gangho,
the information about the Gangho that I received from Hao-mun and Gaebang was meticulously etched into the neurons of my mind.
Thanks to the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong’s abilities, my memory had improved dramatically, and I retained information about Namgung Ban as well.
Namgung Ban!
Fifty years ago, he was an absolute master who ranked among the ten greatest masters under heaven!
As a master of the previous generation, he earned the epithet “Sword King” and dominated the heavens.
And I heard that twenty years ago, he relinquished the position of Gaju to the current leader and went into seclusion…
Since then, not only had the Jicheon Cheonma made no mention of him, but I too had heard nothing of his whereabouts.
‘Indeed… the Gangho is filled with eccentric masters and recluses. The depths of power possessed by sects and families with long histories are truly unfathomable.’
The maxims of the Gangho ring true.
This is the Gangho of the Dosan Sword Forest!
‘His aura is almost… comparable to Master Gwon Je’s?’
However, Master Gwon Je, despite being a martial master, was advanced in age with a smaller frame, yet this man remained eight feet tall even at his age.
In a way, he was the complete opposite of Master Gwon Je.
Of course, the unique atmosphere of an old veteran who had shared life and death countless times in the Gangho was similar.
“Well then, young one. Shall I take a look at your martial prowess?”
His expression was delighted.
‘Ah, so he’s planning to spar right away.’
Gwon Je was like this too, but those who had survived in Gangho for so long had a certain quality about them.
They pursued amusement more than face, money, or honor.
Perhaps it was because they had already experienced and enjoyed everything worth experiencing and enjoying.
‘That’s why amusement becomes more precious with age.’
I responded calmly.
“I apologize, but my duty is as a Doctor. How could I possibly spar with an Elder?”
“You’re the close friend of our eldest grandson? Don’t call me Senior—call me Elder.”
Namgung Un’s way of changing my title to “Brother Jin” the moment we met overlapped with this Elder’s manner.
‘This is… the grandfather version of Namgung Un. So bright. So incredibly bright. I feel like I’m withering away from this brightness.’
I deliberately played dumb and took a step back, creating distance.
“But you, boy. With such formidable martial prowess, you claim to be just a Doctor? Tsk… how disappointing…!”
Light exploded.
My instincts forced my senses to heighten through the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong.
My field of vision slowed, and the sensation arose as if all things in heaven and earth had frozen.
Yet within that stillness, Namgung Ban’s hands moved with impossible speed.
They seemed to be the only thing moving in this frozen world!
His sword was drawn from its sheath and thrust forward, while the energy released from its tip flew toward me like a missile.
I had never witnessed such a technique even from Jang Mun-in of the Jeolcho Sect, who was called a master of swift sword techniques.
Yet despite all this.
I moved with minimal motion, extending both hands forward with a sharp gesture.
Two palms.
As the dual palm strike advanced, I rotated by switching the positions of my hands, and the tangible and intangible energy burst forth in waves, creating a spinning vortex.
Boom!
The sword energy and palm force collided in mid-air and exploded.
The power was extraordinary—the objects around us trembled from the shockwave!
“Ho, you blocked that?”
“Oh my, Elder, please spare me!”
“Hahaha. Spare you? Let’s see the martial arts of the Jegallim Family!”
The elderly Namgung Ban, who had been attacking from afar with sword energy, suddenly leaped into the air and swung his blade again.
As Namgung Ban’s figure rose into the sky, a crushing pressure descended upon heaven and earth, and the stone floor of the sparring ground cracked with a sharp sound.
The momentum of an Imperial Sword Technique!
“Oh dear, Elder!”
I cried out in mock distress while extending my hands toward the fierce sword strike.
The supreme technique of the Wudang Sect began to sweep away the sword’s momentum!

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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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