Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 726

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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 726
I immediately sensed that the movement of air had come to a complete standstill.
‘Sorcery! This Hyeolbul-seung must be someone who practices Buddhist techniques! Or perhaps… someone from the Hyeolseonggyo…’
The moment that thought crossed my mind, the frozen Hyeolpungsa members began their charge.
The village lay behind me, and before me the Hyeolpungsa rushed forward like madmen.
I could not yield ground here. If I did, these bastards would immediately overrun the village, committing slaughter and plunder!
‘I must hold them back! Sound techniques would be ideal, but… I’ll move to the next stage.’
I slung the pipa across my back and brought my palms together in prayer position.
Concentrating my consciousness and drawing in my true energy, black mist began to flow from my left arm.
It gathered in my palms according to my will.
The paralytic poison that had once immobilized the Gaju of the Namgung Family now clung to my hands.
‘My second technique. How will you respond to this?’
My eyes gleamed blue beneath the blindfold.
Simultaneously, my palms opened wide and the poison mist erupted, spreading across the entire front.
An enormous volume of black fog engulfed the Hyeolpungsa.
A dark cloud that evoked visions of calamity and death!
There was no escape.
The Hyeolpungsa bandit horde was already driving their horses toward my position, so a rapid collision was inevitable!
But the result was terrifying.
“Gaaahhhhh!”
“Hyeeeee!”
Screams erupted as their bodies became paralyzed in multiple places.
The horses they rode were no exception—their formation collapsed and dozens of mounted warriors tumbled to the ground, unable to move from the paralysis.
At this rate, those following behind would collide as well, causing massive casualties.
But remarkably, the Hyeolpungsa bandit horde split left and right, galloping sideways to evade the poison mist, then wheeled around and retreated.
Extraordinary horsemanship!
As the poison mist dissipated…
They formed ranks in orderly fashion at a distance.
Meanwhile, the small versions of me within my mind each whispered their observations.
‘Impressive.’
‘Each and every one of them is a highly trained cavalry soldier. These are no mere bandits.’
‘Their horse tack all bears the marks of long use and careful maintenance.’
‘The riders are nearly unified with their mounts, and they’re not inferior even when compared to the elite of the Suksin Tribe.’
The Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong.
Its supreme secret technique, Heaven’s Dominion, surveys the world from above.
The widely dispersed energy brings me all the information of the surrounding area.
‘The air is dry. Rain doesn’t seem likely. The wind is calm. Moreover, their horses are a breed that can run well even in deserts. They have fur growing along their hooves, which makes that possible. All of them wield crescent blades, and none carry bows. And that mounted monk at the center… that must be Hyeolbul-seung.’
Information accumulates. Knowledge builds.
I observe my opponent and swiftly come to understand everything about them.
Then it happened.
A single bandit stepped forward from the assembled ranks.
My instinct, my gaze, my senses all conveyed the same message.
The small versions of myself gathered and began whispering among themselves.
‘Definitely a master.’
‘On par with Hwagyeong.’
‘I heard that when they stayed in the Dadu Kingdom, Hyeolpungsa was called the nightmare of the desert. They’re essentially equivalent to a Nok-rim Eighteen Clans organization.’
‘And from what I saw earlier, each of these bandits was at least at the peak level.’
‘They’re qualitatively different from the Hyeolpungsa members I encountered during the Dadu Kingdom days. These seem to be the main force….’
In the span of a single blink.
Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong grasped everything and whispered in my ear.
“We are Hyeolpungsa. The masters of this desert! Where do you hail from?”
I stepped forward astride Hwang-gu. Noeji continued to soar through the sky, surveying the ground below.
“Merely a wandering musician passing through. And what is your position within Hyeolpungsa?”
“I am Luoda, the Third Leader of Hyeolpungsa.”
He spoke thus while arrogantly tilting his chin upward.
“Your sorcery earlier was impressive. I thought you belonged to some faction, but you’re merely a wandering musician? Then I offer you this choice. Surrender peacefully and I’ll make you a slave, or resist and I’ll kill you to use as a sacrifice. Which is it? Choose!”
It was far more than a simple introduction.
An attempt to probe what faction I belonged to! But I remained unflustered.
“If you’ve come to plunder the village, then turn back.”
Judging from my manner of speech and appearance, the bandits inwardly relaxed, concluding I was no royal.
‘He looks like he’s hiding something, but there shouldn’t be any complications from killing him.’
“Hmph! A mere blind musician dares to block our path! Then prepare yourself to die and become a sacrifice!”
Luoda spoke thus and drew a crescent blade toward the sky.
Simultaneously, I could feel it through my skin.
All of Hyeolpungsa drawing their crescent blades toward the sky and swinging their arms.
At the same moment.
Wind stirring around their bodies and beginning to rotate.
Kwaaaaa!
A sandstorm erupted and began to blow outward from the bandit horde’s center.
It was a rather fierce whirlwind of sand.
While not quite powerful enough to inhale and scatter everything like a dragon’s whirlwind, the swirling sand was more than sufficient to obscure the surroundings completely.
“Within the blood wind, we become invincible! Attack!”
Luoda’s voice rang out from within the sandstorm.
His voice was barely audible beneath the roar of the sand tempest!
Only then did I understand why they were called Hyeolpungsa.
It was not sorcery.
Nor was it the martial arts of Gangho.
Foreign martial technique!
A group combat art that conjures sandstorms and merges with them to attack!
Magnificent!
I thought to myself.
‘Impressive! So that’s why they call him the nightmare of the desert…. But I can’t just leave him be!’
Hyeolpungsa charged forward, wielding martial techniques reminiscent of those from Serimskyoguk.
And my eyes blazed even brighter.
‘But it won’t work against me now.’
A cyan light streamed forth from my eyes beneath the blindfold, growing increasingly vivid.
Soon the entire sky shimmered with cyan radiance.
At the same moment, Hwang-gu surged forward.
Piercing through the sandstorm, two Hyeolpungsa suddenly appeared and swung their crescent blades horizontally.
Yet I showed no surprise or panic whatsoever.
The crescent blades swept from both sides in a horizontal arc. But I twisted my body with remarkable lightness between the two blades, evading the attack.
Slice!
A lock of my hair was sheared away.
The blade’s edge grazed past the bridge of my nose with a chilling sensation.
Yet I didn’t stop. My hands as a blind musician struck left and right like lightning.
‘What is this. Rather than fleeing, he’s turning it to his advantage…?!’
The Hyeolpungsa were suddenly seized with shock.
Thud!
Two Hyeolpungsa were sent flying and disappeared into the sandstorm.
It was an extraordinarily brief moment, and Hwang-gu charged forward even faster.
‘I see it all.’
Everything was according to my plan.
I hadn’t anticipated the sandstorm forming, but it made no difference.
Already, everything in this vicinity was within my perception. And I was anticipating all of it.
Hwang-gu raised his front paw and struck down one of the charging Hyeolpungsa.
My hands moved smoothly as I unleashed energy projectiles from a single finger joint of the Tanjigong technique.
Though the sandstorm diminished the projectiles’ power, even in this dizzying environment, I instantly marked the Hyeol-do of those approaching from all sides and struck them down.
A single point breakthrough.
Was this how Lü Bu of the Three Kingdoms era fought?
Riding Hwang-gu and charging forward, I split the approaching horde of Hyeolpungsa in half and broke through.
Dozens of Hyeolpungsa in that trajectory fell, rendered combat-ineffective once more.
Perceiving even the flow of the sandstorm itself, and able to ‘perceive’ all the movements of the Hyeolpungsa horde within it—such action was possible!
The sandstorm was no longer a weapon for Hyeolpungsa!
This was the realm of heavenly dominion displayed by one who had perfected the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong!
Boom!
With a thunderous explosion, I finally broke through their ranks completely and burst free.
And immediately, Hwang-gu leaped high into the sky and turned to take a stance.
I had seized the advantage behind Hyeolpungsa.
“M-Monster!”
“How is this possible!!”
Shock and terror spread through the ranks of the Hyeolpungsa.
In that moment, I shouted.
“Run, Hwang-gu!”
Woof! Woof!
Hwang-gu bolted forward.
Now it was the Hyeolpungsa who found themselves cornered!
“Kill that damned dog!”
Even under a barrage of attacks, Hwang-gu never slowed.
Woof!
No matter how thick their curved blades and whips were, they couldn’t pierce through Hwang-gu’s hide.
Grrrrrowl!
The dog charged forward.
He resembled an armored military wagon.
It would have been better if he were evading attacks, but charging straight ahead like this—I could see their panic written plainly on their faces.
They couldn’t reverse direction in a single instant like Hwang-gu could, which made their fear all the more evident.
“Damn! That ox-sized dog!”
Then.
Whoooosh!
Sand and earth from the ground swirled together, ensnaring Hwang-gu’s feet.
‘This is….’
My eyes caught sight of the Hyeolbul-seung within that sandstorm.
A gaunt monk clad in blood-red robes held aloft a bell that resembled a fusion of a vajra and a chime, chanting incantations.
This was a Geumgang Bell, used by the Buddhist sect of this region.
‘It’s similar to the Hoeryeong Temple technique Baekcheon-gun used!’
When Hwang-gu couldn’t budge, they laughed as if they’d been waiting for this moment.
“Kahahaha! How does that taste!”
But the moment Hwang-gu exerted force with a “Woof!”, the sand shackles snapped clean apart.
“In all the heavens, what kind of dog is this…!”
The rebirth hadn’t been for nothing.
No matter how formidable a bandit horde they were, stopping Hwang-gu was impossible.
However.
In that brief moment, the Hyeolpungsa scattered in all directions and began to flee.
“Sigh….”
I exhaled and came to a stop.
With them scattering in all directions, even with Hwang-gu’s speed, catching every last one of them was impossible.
‘Anyway, I had no intention of slaughtering those who’d already lost their will to fight. But these bastards really have no loyalty.’
The Hyeolpungsa abandoned their comrades and vanished into the distance.
“Hyeolpungsa… Could they have been created by the Hyeolseonggyo? Or perhaps….”
Watching the mass of sandstorm disappear into the distance, I fell into thought.
Woof, woof woof!
In the midst of it all, Hwang-gu caught eight of them bouncing off in different directions and dragged them back.
“Well done, Hwang-gu.”
Pant, pant, pant, pant!
Dogs are foolish creatures.
So powerful, yet so terrifying.
Having just saved all the villagers.
Yet with just one word of praise and a single pat, he wears the expression of someone who possesses the entire world.
When I tore off a piece of jerky and offered it to him, he eagerly stuffed it into his mouth as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
A joyful hunt.
In this moment, he was the happiest dog in the world.
* * *
“What exactly did we just witness?”
The villagers stood speechless before the mythical battle unfolding before their eyes.
Lightning and wolves. And riding atop them, conjuring black clouds—it resembled the celestial beings from ancient legends.
Especially since this region lay far from the Hwa Empire, the commoners rarely had the chance to witness martial arts.
The warriors of this region employed different martial techniques, making my display all the more astonishing to them.
“Is that something a human can accomplish?”
As I trudged back, I reflected on what had transpired.
‘Hmm, perhaps I overdid it.’
In the old days, it might have been necessary, but now that I’d attained enlightenment, there was no need to face those fools with such seriousness. Had I simply gotten carried away?
The small versions of myself in my mind began holding a hearing.
‘Was that martial technique truly necessary to employ?’
‘There appeared to be redundancy in the sword form—do you have a contingency plan?’
‘Answer us! Was there not a better approach?’

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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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