Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 93

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

Chapter 93
The sulfurous stench hung thick in the underground cave before me.
The Baekrin Uigak was also situated in volcanic terrain with hot springs, but this place radiated heat far more intense than the Baekrin Uiseon Headquarters.
I retrieved a towel I’d prepared in advance and soaked it in medicinal solution.
It would mask the distinctive rotten-egg odor of sulfur.
I wrapped the towel around my face like a mask and took a step forward when Hwang-gu barked sharply and positioned himself in front of me.
“Hwang-gu, no. It’s far too hot for you.”
Woof!
I stroked Hwang-gu’s head and squeezed my body into the narrow underground vent.
“Keep watch over the surroundings until I return.”
Woof, woof!
Hwang-gu licked the back of my hand and settled onto his haunches. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
How much further did I push my body downward?
My feet found nothing beneath them.
I steeled myself and jumped.
Thud.
My feet struck solid ground.
Looking up, I could barely make out light filtering through the ceiling from the surface above.
No wonder finding the exit would be difficult once night fell.
Woof!
“Right, Hwang-gu. Bark when I signal you.”
Woof, woof!
Fortunately, with Hwang-gu outside, I could follow his barking to find my way back.
Heat surged up from the ground beneath me.
‘Breathing is becoming difficult.’
I immediately circulated the Five Elements Divine Skill to resist the heat.
As I channeled the ice essence from my dantian, my body cooled rapidly and the dizziness subsided.
‘When I have time later, I should practice channeling fire and water essence in a place like this. It seems promising.’
Ordinary Medical Assistants would never attempt such a thing.
If the circulation broke midway, maintaining consciousness against the heat would become nearly impossible. But I believed such extreme conditions were precisely the opportunity to advance my inner strength through trial.
‘That’s right. I’m young. It would be wasteful to leave this youthful body idle.’
Young. Full of potential. I couldn’t afford to miss this time.
I could prevent bone disease through my medical arts, so continuous training without rest should be the priority.
Such thoughts were only possible because this was my second life.
‘Good. I’ll keep channeling ice essence until I find the underground pond.’
The ice essence of the Five Elements Divine Skill is created by combining water, metal, and earth.
It’s quite a complex attribute.
But perhaps because I’d undergone rebirth?
Without conscious effort, the five elemental energies moved of their own accord, combining and flowing through all three meridians of my body.
‘I never expected this.’
It was as if the Five Elements Divine Skill possessed consciousness, moving to protect my body.
I was inwardly astonished by this unexpected function.
Moreover, the Five Elements’ energy, which had already been pure, became far more refined. Even with minimal internal energy, I could resist the heat.
How much deeper did I descend?
A pond formed from hot spring water came into view.
It was bubbling vigorously—the temperature was such that an ordinary person would suffer severe burns across their entire body in less than a moment.
‘Just as it appeared in the novel.’
Periodically, these hot spring waters erupted outward through the Underground Vent.
The interior must be hot enough to rival the depths of hell itself.
I took a deep breath.
‘It’s fine. I can do this. I even consumed the Hyeonwon Five Elements Divine Pill to break through here.’
Had my Master seen this, he would have called it madness and dragged me out by striking the back of my head.
I closed my eyes and focused on my internal energy.
Following my dantian, I continued to circulate the icy energy through my meridians.
Normally, the cold energy would slow my heart, but here it could only barely withstand the heat.
‘It needs to be colder. And I need to push it into every corner.’
I concentrated on sending my internal energy through all the meridians of my body.
My body grew progressively colder and slower. It felt like descending into hypothermia.
A headache began to surge forward.
I grimaced as I plunged my hand into the Underground Hot Spring.
The bubbling hot spring water warmed my frozen body. But it was only temporary—the heat of the spring water and the icy energy of the Five Elements Divine Skill began to clash.
In response, I adjusted the Five Elements Divine Skill to achieve equilibrium.
Finally.
I submerged my entire body.
Splash!
“Hah!”
The moment I judged it manageable, I deployed the grappling technique I had learned from Jegal’s Library.
Ten Thousand Thousand Pound Weight.
My body became heavy as a thousand pounds, sinking deeper and deeper into the water.
The deeper I descended, the higher the temperature rose and the more violent the current became. I maintained the Ten Thousand Thousand Pound Weight.
Boom—
Finally, my feet touched the bottom of the water.
I retrieved a Night Pearl.
It was larger and brighter than an ordinary Night Pearl.
I never expected to use the one I obtained from the ceiling when I helped Hwang-gu in the past like this.
With the Night Pearl illuminating the surroundings, I could secure reasonable visibility.
I moved forward.
After traveling some distance, I discovered a creature resembling a crayfish.
Life existed even in this scorching heat.
I had known it intellectually from reading books, but seeing it directly was nothing short of wondrous.
I seized it and tied it up with my hair.
Lesser Summoning Command.
A technique for issuing simple commands to small animals.
The command I gave was as follows.
-Go to where the most terrifying one lives.
The crayfish-like creature shuddered once before beginning to crawl in a single direction.
I continued forward, following it.
How long had I walked? The crayfish stopped. We had arrived.
As I released the Ten-Thousand-Pound Weight, my body shot upward like a diver releasing their ballast.
“Gasp!”
Breaking the surface, a colossal underground lake revealed itself.
I felt my body cooling rapidly and withdrew my ice energy. Cold water slipped between my fingers.
‘It’s exactly as described in the novel. Only here is the water this cold.’
It matched perfectly with the description of the pond where Mannyeonhwari lived.
‘I never would have found this without reading the novel. No, I couldn’t have found it even with Hwang-gu.’
I withdrew a metal rod from my robes.
Assembling it at the seams transformed it into a spear.
‘I’ll catch it with this!’
Ten-Step Divine Spear!
Until now, fighting small fry with bare hands had been acceptable. But Mannyeonhwari was the real deal.
To face this creature, I would have to risk my life.
I secured the Night-Luminous Pearl more firmly at my waist.
‘I am the bait.’
In this underground lake, in absolute darkness, the only thing shining was the Night-Luminous Pearl.
It was obvious that Mannyeonhwari, sensing the light, would attack.
The problem was that this would be an underwater battle.
I unwound the Heukcheon Hyeolsa from the bracelet on my wrist and wrapped it tightly around the spear shaft. The Heukcheon Hyeolsa, twisted beforehand, resembled a rope.
‘Heavenly Demon brother, thank you!’
I never expected to use Yeo Ha-ryun’s gift like this.
Then I closed my eyes and floated in the water, concentrating on what lay beneath my feet.
How much time passed? Something slick brushed past beneath my toes.
I felt a hot, solid sensation.
It was Mannyeonhwari’s fin.
It had passed by me. The fact that it didn’t bite immediately suggested it was determining whether I was food or not.
And then, briefly.
The water churned.
Looking down, its gaping maw descended toward me. I hastily swung the spear shaft to pierce it.
In that instant, I couldn’t even see how it moved.
Its tail struck me.
Thwack!
My body shot up above the water’s surface.
From just a single blow, my internal organs vibrated as if I might lose consciousness.
‘I’ve seen orcas play with seals like this before!’
They’d smash the seal with their tail, sending it flying above the water, and once it was knocked unconscious, they’d devour it in that instant.
True to its nature as a mystical creature, this one possessed considerable intelligence.
My body, suspended in mid-air, crashed back down into the water. And waiting there was the Mannyeonhwari’s gaping maw.
Even a master of considerable skill would be finished the moment they entered that mouth.
I recalled the incantation for Miryeoreuchang—the Ten-Step Divine Spear—and thrust my weapon downward.
Miryeoreuchang—the Bewildering Thunder Spear.
Raejeonchulsu—Thunder and Lightning Unleashed!
Azure lightning surged from my dantian and coalesced at the spear’s tip.
Fortunately, the creature was caught off guard at this moment!
If it ever learned my true capabilities, the battle would be over.
No matter how skilled I was, I wasn’t a novel’s protagonist like Yeo Ha-ryun the Heavenly Demon—I couldn’t sustain a prolonged martial confrontation with a fish underwater.
So I had to end this in a single decisive strike.
The azure lightning at the spear’s tip grew thicker. But suddenly, the Mannyeonhwari tried to close its mouth again.
‘Damn! It’s quick to sense danger too.’
Before the lightning could accumulate sufficiently, I simply thrust the spear into its mouth.
Shrieeek!
The spear lodged in the roof of its mouth. The Mannyeonhwari thrashed in agony.
The entire lake roared.
I released the Heukcheon Hyeolsa and swam toward the lake’s edge.
The Heukcheon Hyeolsa unraveled rapidly in sync with the Mannyeonhwari’s movements.
The moment my feet touched ground, I seized the Heukcheon Hyeolsa.
Crack!
But the creature’s immense strength dragged my body backward across the earth.
‘Ten Thousand Thousand Pound Weight again!’
My body grew heavier, and both feet dug firmly into the ground.
The technique I would employ next was singular.
Taisangeolyeok—the Mighty Force of Great Mountains!
That’s right. A secret technique contained within the obscene manual I’d borrowed from the library.
An esoteric martial art left behind by an eccentric master who had cultivated external techniques to their extreme limit—for reasons unknown, someone had included it in this obscene text.
To master this technique, one had to disassemble the book and arrange its pages individually.
I recalled the incantation for Taisangeolyeok.
I moved my muscles according to the incantation.
I anchored my weight with Ten Thousand Thousand Pound Weight, then pulled with the force of Taisangeolyeok.
The iron spear lodged by Miryeoreuchang remained embedded in the creature’s throat, refusing to budge.
The Mannyeonhwari resisted.
Screeeech!
I remained unmoved.
The divine rope that Yeo Ha-ryun had gifted me—the Heukcheon Hyeolsa pulled with tremendous force, yet it did not snap.
As long as it didn’t break, there was hope.
I wrapped the Heukcheon Hyeolsa rope around my shoulder and secured it. I pulled with a shout, again and again.
“Heave, heave!”
From this point on, it was a battle of endurance.
If I could pull the creature even a single centimeter onto the shore, I would win.
I continued pulling, pulling without pause.
I maintained an endless flow of inner energy toward the Ten-Thousand-Ton Weight while continuously circulating the external force of Mount Tai’s Strength.
Several hours passed like this.
I felt my entire body growing sore and stiff.
Purple bruises spread across the arm wrapped around the rope.
I could no longer feel sensation. But the creature was suffering just the same.
I circulated the Five Elements Divine Skill.
It wasn’t a grand circulation—merely running once through the three meridians was enough to send vitality coursing through my body.
I dispelled the fatigue and pulled again.
“Heave, heave!”
It was nothing like the magnificent battle between human and spirit that Yeo Ha-ryun had once displayed. I was simply repeating through sheer determination.
Finally, the creature’s snout began to break the surface of the water.
Splash—
It began its final resistance.
At that moment, I summoned every last ounce of strength remaining.
‘Pull!’

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