Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 81

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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 81
Bang!
I transitioned into a low sweeping kick.
My hair billowed softly upward from the force.
“Master, I’m truly grateful that I managed to save Yeo Ha-ryun. It’s one of the two greatest things I’ve accomplished in my life. The other is becoming your disciple.”
“You have a kind heart, Cheon-hee.”
In other words, it translated to: ‘You’re being deceived because of your kindness.’
Suddenly, Master spoke.
“Cheon-hee, this time, will you take up a spear and demonstrate the Samjaebo Technique?”
“I’ve never used a spear before. Will that be alright?”
“Yes. You’ll be able to grasp the subtle principles.”
With those words, he extended his hand.
The wooden practice spear hanging on the wall flew toward Master’s hand as if being pulled, and he caught it effortlessly.
Capturing objects from thin air.
‘Just how many decades of inner power does Master possess?’
Due to the nature of the Five Elements Divine Skill, which divides inner force into five streams, it’s difficult to measure his exact cultivation level even through pulse diagnosis.
Master spun the spear as smoothly as flowing water and tossed it to me.
The perfect arc the spear traced was breathtaking.
Thunk.
The spear was lighter than expected, yet heavier than I thought.
It was light to simply pick up, but heavy to wield all day long.
Above all, its length made finding the center of gravity far more difficult than with a sword.
Jegalling spoke.
“There’s no need to worry. If you can’t do it, you keep practicing until you can. But since you’ve trained the Samjaebo Technique until it’s engraved in your bones, you’ll grasp it quickly.”
Grasp it? Grasp what?
Considering Master’s habitual way of speaking, the meaning of this statement was simple.
‘If I grasp it, I can move to the next stage immediately. And if I don’t grasp it, he won’t give me the answer and will just make me practice until I do.’
Thinking too deeply about what I’m supposed to realize only gives me a headache.
Let me just try it for now.
I spun the spear once in a smooth circle.
My body had been sufficiently developed through training.
My strength and endurance were beyond question, and though not quite as tall as Yeo Ha-ryun, I was growing properly.
I felt like I could do this.
I took up the spear and began executing the forms of the Samjaebo Technique.
Bang!
The spear tip struck the air.
‘Ah, isn’t this the feeling I’m looking for?’
A spear must be sharp. It was different from a fist.
‘What if I make it sharper, with the sensation of cutting through the air itself?’
Strangely, even though I was simply holding the spear and executing the Samjaebo Technique forms, there were no obstructions whatsoever.
Whoosh!
The sound of impact rang out.
Upper strike, middle strike, lower strike, block, deflect.
The movements flowed as if I had been doing this from the start.
It wasn’t intentional on my part. As if my body remembered, I moved as though I had trained in spear techniques my entire life.
‘I see now. Because it’s so simple, it’s easy to apply in different ways.’
If I compared it to a vessel, the Samjaebo Technique was like a large, unadorned earthenware jar.
Ungainly and devoid of any flourish, yet capable of holding so much.
This is exhilarating.
A smile bloomed across my lips.
Like a child holding a toy for the first time in my life, I began wielding the spear with complete absorption.
‘I want to trace the perfect lines my Master just showed me.’
Once, twice, ten times, twenty times.
I couldn’t tell how much time had passed. I simply continued, again and again.
Tang!
The spear shaft’s elasticity felt wonderful.
The weight against the spear blade felt wonderful.
The sensation of cutting through air was exhilarating.
As I thought this far, inner energy began flowing from my body.
Five strands of Five Elements true qi separated out, creating four characteristics. Then the four types of true qi—fire, wind, metal, water—merged into one, creating a true qi of entirely new properties.
Crackle—
Five Elements true qi: Lightning.
Electricity began dancing along the spear blade.
It was similar to sword energy yet distinctly different in form.
My spear continued moving. Lightning flowed along the path my spear traced.
Like a meteor. The light created by lightning scattered and gathered like stars.
Crackle!
Meanwhile, marks shaped like lightning began etching themselves into the training ground floor.
The Samjaebo Technique, which I had called the most humble and featureless, transformed into a brilliant spear art infused with lightning.
The lightning I had drawn bloomed across the training ground.
And that spear technique reached its crescendo.
Crackle-boom—!
The wooden spear planted itself into the granite floor.
Enlightenment surged through my entire body.
My breathing was ragged.
I rested my head against the planted spear shaft, breathing heavily for a long while. Eyes closed, I savored the enlightenment that had just come to me.
My consciousness sank inward for only a moment before I rapidly organized what I had realized.
‘Five Elements Divine Skill, Sixth Stage. Lightning! I’ve reached the Sixth Stage.’
But that wasn’t all.
Through the Samjaebo Technique, I had learned spear arts.
I had no idea what this spear technique was.
That’s when my Master spoke.
“It’s called the Mirage Lightning Spear. The way lightning gathers and disperses—that’s how they describe it. But in Gangho, it’s known by a different name: the Ten-Step Divine Spear.”
The moment I heard those words, a chill ran down my spine.
‘The Ten-Step Divine Spear? This was the Ten-Step Divine Spear?’
It was a spear technique mentioned several times in the novel.
A legendary spear technique named for the fact that no enemy could approach within ten paces of its wielder.
Whenever connoisseurs in the story mentioned spear techniques, they would say things like this.
‘Not quite the legendary Ten-Step Divine Spear, but still a formidable technique.’
‘Perhaps it could even surpass the Ten-Step Divine Spear.’
‘I have lived my entire life as a spearmaster. I am confident I could match the Ten-Step Divine Spear.’
Yet the Ten-Step Divine Spear itself never actually appeared.
I hadn’t found it particularly strange. The heart of martial arts has always been the sword.
The spear is hardly a panacea.
The spear plays a supporting role in martial arts.
When a martial arts novel depicts a tournament like the greatest martial competition under heaven, there might be at most one or two spear masters among the participants. Most are swordmasters.
Because of this, there wasn’t much reason to mention spears in the first place.
The protagonist, Cheonma, primarily wielded swords or fists anyway.
Thinking it through to that point, I suddenly understood why my Master had given me the spear.
‘A spear has good matchup compatibility against Yeo Ha-ryun.’
Weapon length matters quite a bit.
Even in battles between masters who have grasped the principles of heart-sword unity, weapon length is an important variable.
A spear is longer than a sword. It was also excellent for countering destructive sword techniques.
After all, if you couldn’t reach, there was no problem.
There was no better weapon for facing Yeo Ha-ryun.
My Master spoke.
“To master the Ten-Step Divine Spear, three conditions are necessary. First, you must diligently master the Samjaebo Technique—tedious and dull as it is. Second is the Samjaebo Footwork. For this too, you must have enough enlightenment to master Miribeo. And finally….”
“…you must master the Five Elements Divine Skill to at least the fifth star.”
“Yes. Beyond that, you need some talent. A special individual must master the most humble martial art to perfection, and without the Five Elements Divine Skill added to it, it cannot be called the Ten-Step Divine Spear.”
It was a technique that heavily depended on the person.
Not merely their physical constitution, but their five stars and personality played a significant role.
My Master spoke.
“Congratulations on entering the threshold of the Ten-Step Divine Spear, Cheon-hee. Throughout the entire Jegal Family, there is likely no one but you who has achieved this in a single attempt.”
At that moment, my Master coughed softly.
It was as quiet as a young child’s breathing, yet sharp as something tearing apart.
When my Master withdrew his hand, black blood stained it.
A second cough followed.
This time, fresh crimson blood flowed between his fingers.
My Master’s large frame swayed once before collapsing.
At the same moment, I threw down the spear and rushed toward my Master.
“Yoo Ho, Yoo Ho! Master! Master…!”
My Master’s unconscious body felt heavier than a mountain and colder than ice.
* * *
I moved Master to a warm sleeping chamber and administered treatment without pause.
Fortunately, Master regained consciousness quickly.
“Another seizure occurred.”
“….”
Instead of answering, I simply grasped Jegalling’s large hand with both of mine.
Jegalling sighed softly at the guilt-filled look in my eyes.
“Hee. I am fine.”
“….”
The scent of death emanated from Master’s voice.
What angered me even more was how unnaturally calm Master’s voice sounded.
“Search for the Miriboe Archive in the library that only the Bangju can enter. Since you are a minor Bangju, I have already made arrangements for you to access it.”
He had always prepared for the day he would disappear.
Even after he was worn away to nothing, so that I could live alone.
My face contorted with emotion.
“Master.”
“Do not look at me that way. This is merely the natural order of things, is it not?”
Master coughed lightly.
Thanks to my treatment, fortunately there was no blood this time.
Jegalling’s long silver hair hung damp with perspiration.
Despite heating the room so much, despite sweating so profusely, Master’s body remained so cold that my chest felt suffocated.
I channeled my inner energy into Master’s hand.
I had to raise his body temperature.
‘You overexerted yourself. Teaching me. Passing everything to me. You overexerted yourself.’
Every day felt as though it might be the last, the way Master taught.
Blood seeped from between my bitten lips. Master reached out and wiped away my blood.
“Master. Can I sleep beside you tonight?”
“If this is because of my condition….”
I shook my head.
“It is not that. It is just that when I grow older, I will not be able to act spoiled anymore, so I want to indulge myself while I can.”
Jegalling laughed softly at those words.
“You always put me in a difficult position.”
It was truly strange. The Master whom people whispered about as a monster became weak only before his disciple.
I spread my own bedding beside Master’s sleeping chamber.
I intended to pretend to sleep and watch over him through the night until Master became more stable.
‘It has improved greatly compared to the original, but that is not enough.’
I had to move on to the next treatment quickly.
As always, time would not wait for me.
* * *
After that, whenever Jegalling’s condition worsened, he would shut himself away in the inner quarters and refuse to come out.
Even when teaching me, the sound of his coughing had begun to accompany his words. What that signified was painfully obvious.
‘His condition deteriorates a little more each day.’
That is the nature of illness. In the early and middle stages, patients continue their daily lives, eat their meals, and carry on.
Many never realize they are truly sick until the condition becomes undeniable.
But when the terminal stage arrives, the deterioration becomes sudden and severe.
My Master had already lived longer than the time allotted to him in the novel.
The novel never provided exact dates.
Yet I knew that after Jegalling collapsed gravely at the Yongbong Assembly before the Gaebang Bangju incident, he would remain bedridden, persisting and enduring until he finally succumbed to death.
But now, things were different.

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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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