Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 98

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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 98
Flames
Seizing emptiness!
I already knew that seizing emptiness was possible. However, manipulating a sword before my eyes was entirely different from controlling a blade from such a distance.
The hall erupted in murmurs.
“Such a realm of mastery…”
“How extraordinary…”
Yet my Master’s next action left everyone, including me, even more astonished.
Another blade flew forth.
Then another, and yet another sword joined them.
Five blades in total hovered before my Master.
My Master, Jegalling, grasped one of them and danced a sword form in rhythm with the music.
Sword qi infused with the Five Elements gathered at the blade’s tip.
Jegalling spoke.
“They say lightning brings fortune.”
The essence of thunder crystallized in brilliant blue at the end of Jegalling’s sword.
As if depicting a state of selflessness, the thunder gathered and slowly scattered light in all directions.
It was miraculous.
The Acupuncture Guild Master watching let out a gasp.
“Thunder is certainly an energy containing the mysteries of swiftness and speed, yet how is it possible to cultivate it so slowly?”
I too could not comprehend it.
What was even more astonishing was that the remaining four blades each traced their own graceful arcs, following my Master’s movements.
Ding—
The music continued.
Everyone fell silent before such eerie genius.
When my Master finally finished the dance, an image had been carved into the stone floor.
By what realm of mastery could such a thing be created?
Was it truly possible to manipulate five blades at once while scattering thunder?
It was far beyond merely moving one’s left and right hands in different directions.
Could one move such things through understanding alone?
How was it possible to unfold the mysteries of weight and flow through thunder?
Jegalling casually posed countless questions and then spoke thus.
“Hee-ya. This is you.”
It was a dragon.
The dragon drawn with sword qi was so majestic it seemed ready to writhe and leap forth at any moment.
To carve one’s disciple’s epithet in sword qi before everyone’s eyes!
My face flushed with embarrassment.
“Master!”
“Hmm, do you not like the image?”
Indeed. My Master, already notorious for shameless doting on his disciples, had recovered his health and no longer concealed his affectionate nature.
I wanted to find a mouse hole and crawl into it.
The Acupuncture Hall Masters each made a fuss over the painting.
“What a magnificent dragon—it resembles Seo Baek-ryong perfectly.”
“Indeed, you are worthy of your position, Master. You painted it in one sweeping stroke.”
“Drawing with sword energy—this will become a legendary tale throughout the Gangho.”
“Congratulations on your advancement in cultivation!”
If one could die from embarrassment, I would have bitten my tongue and perished long ago.
‘Ugh. By next week, there won’t be a soul in the Gangho who doesn’t know of this.’
My prediction was wrong.
The very next day, a letter arrived from Ju Wang.
It was a letter insisting that he absolutely must, without fail, come visit to see that painting.
The trembling at the end of the brushstrokes made it clear he had written it while laughing.
016. Receiving a Guest (1)
Several days after the banquet ended.
Countless gifts poured into the Baekrin Uijak.
All of them were gifts congratulating the Medical Hall Master on his recovery.
My Master glanced through several letters with a lukewarm expression. I spoke with a bright face.
“Everyone is congratulating you, Master.”
My Master replied to my words.
“Hee. In the Gangho, there is nothing more terrifying than a tiger returning to health. Those who had made peace with the thought of limited time left will soon draw their blades.”
“Pardon?”
“They thought Heaven would kill me, but since it didn’t, they’ll have to do it with steel instead.”
My Master smiled coldly.
“Of course, some among them probably didn’t even believe I was ill in the first place.”
“Everyone in the Gangho has known since childhood that you suffered from the Nine Yin Meridian Defect.”
“That’s true. But you see, Hee, there are those who believe what they wish to believe.”
For a gift-opening ceremony, the conversation was remarkably grim.
I shook my head in disagreement.
Seeing such a disciple, Jegalling chuckled softly.
“Still, martial artists are martial artists. They wouldn’t be so crude as to mix something sinister into a recovery gift.”
“Besides, you’re not completely healed either. I merely prevented the crisis of sudden death and helped restore your strength—the congenital Nine Yin Meridian Defect remains….”
“Yes, Hee. In the Gangho, that is called recovery. If one can live with limbs intact, unleashing sword energy in torrents, then that is recovery.”
‘…I see.’
My Master’s function of cracking skulls is now working perfectly.
Just from the sword dance he demonstrated recently, it was a realm I hadn’t witnessed before.
“Gifts from benefactors and enemies are mixed together.”
“How do you distinguish them? By the price of the gift?”
“Hmm….”
My Master rubbed his temples.
“Fundamentally speaking, there is no need to distinguish them.”
“Why is that?”
My master simply laughed instead of answering. After a moment, he said something completely unexpected.
“Hee. In Gangho, strength is principle itself.”
I nodded at those words.
I had known this intellectually for some time, but now my body understood it as well.
Thanks to the bounty Haowen had placed, I had come to realize just how much strength determined everything in Gangho.
Jegalling spoke to me like this.
“When you draw your blade, I hope you do not carry emotion within it. A swordmaster must be impartial, and you think differently from other martial artists in some way. That troubles me.”
“Master.”
“No matter how precious something is, the moment it points a blade at you, it becomes something that must be cut down. Hee, we are warriors of Gangho before we are doctors.”
A doctor of Gangho.
Truly, it was a peculiar position.
They had never taken the Hippocratic Oath that existed on the Earth I came from.
The Medical Hall itself was a faction, and everything revolved around it.
As doctors, they upheld the bare minimum duty of saving lives.
Yet since they lived in Gangho, each Medical Hall had its own principles, and the law of the strongest still applied.
Doctors who walked between righteousness and pragmatism.
In some ways, they were beings so alien within the martial world that they could be counted on one hand.
‘Perhaps I am still too arrogant to find that answer.’
I had never seen the depths of what people in Gangho truly were.
My master spoke.
“Hee, promise me this. That you will prioritize your own life above all else, no matter what moment comes.”
“I will do so without you saying it.”
“Is that so? My thoughts are somewhat different.”
My master laughed softly. Somehow his laughter seemed to pierce through my skin and pierce straight into my chest.
Feeling oddly stung, I scratched my neck.
“Answer.”
“I will make my life my utmost priority. I promise.”
“Good. This master finds some small measure of peace in that.”
It was difficult to tell whether he was truly reassured or not.
Jegalling spoke.
“Now that it is known this Jegalling has escaped Heavenly Punishment, many will move. You must navigate cleverly among them.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
My master lowered his eyelashes and smiled.
A beautiful face. Enough to make one forget his menacing frame of 190 centimeters.
“Then choose a gift you wish to have.”
“Yes, what?”
“When a master gives a gift to his disciple, no one will say anything. That precious Heavenly Silkworm Master has come, and the Frost Sword sent from the Northern Ice Palace has also arrived.”
“The Frost Sword?”
“Your eyes light up at the mention of a sword.”
Jegalling seemed pleased as I showed a reaction.
“It’s a sword forged from Northern Sea Cold Iron. Despite being made of metal, it carries the essence of ice, so it radiates a biting chill. It’s also excellent when utilizing the Five Elements True Qi—specifically ice.”
I spoke.
“Can I learn to use a sword?”
“Spear techniques were merely prepared to protect you. In conclusion, the sword is the most versatile weapon of all. Of course you can learn it. Once you master the fundamental martial arts to perfection, you’ll be able to handle ten thousand different weapons, and even become the greatest martial artist under heaven.”
The phrase “greatest martial artist under heaven” was something most sects in martial arts novels claimed.
Martial arts accumulated over hundreds of years, or even thousands depending on the world’s history.
The pride built up over such time could not be exchanged for anything else.
‘The claim about handling ten thousand weapons is actually true.’
Even the Samjae Sword Technique alone transforms into ten thousand variations depending on the weapon you wield.
‘That’s why the disadvantage is the endless demand for tedious fundamentals. Well, if you’re thinking of learning carelessly from the start, becoming the greatest martial artist under heaven is impossible anyway.’
My master stopped moving his brush and pulled out the Ice Jade Sword through spatial manipulation, tossing it into my hands.
Thunk—
The handle felt cold to the touch. Even though it was wrapped with leather straps from some unnamed precious beast, the chill seeped into my palm.
“Master, you shouldn’t use this.”
“That’s right. Even though the inner core of Mannyeonhwari is functioning, it’s better to avoid cold qi.”
“Then why…?”
“A debt of gratitude.”
My master said only that much and offered no further explanation. Instead, he placed a glutinous rice cake into my mouth.
“….”
As I chewed the cake and furrowed my brow, my master laughed as if amused. Then he spoke like this.
“In the past, I killed the heir of the Northern Palace Lord. At the same time, I also treated the people of the Northern Palace. The Northern Palace Lord said this: my debt of gratitude reaches the heavens, so I will wait for heavenly punishment to end.”
“That means he’ll leave you alone since you’ll die from the Nine Yin Meridian Destruction anyway.”
“Treating the people of the Northern Palace was a favor, but it’s difficult to forget the resentment of losing a son. And that answer is contained in this sword.”
I drew the Ice Jade Sword from its scabbard.
Shing—
The blade, cold as if it held frozen ice, had beautiful snowflake patterns engraved upon it.
They could only be seen when light shone upon them and examined closely—normally, these snowflake patterns were invisible.
My master spoke.
“They become clear when stained with blood.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because it was the sword the Northern Palace Lord’s heir carried. At that time, I returned the sword along with his corpse to the lord.”
“….”
Heavy. This sword was far too heavy.
As my complexion grew pale, my master spoke calmly.
“It’s a peerless treasure sword. Northern Sea Cold Iron is said to be a peerless treasure material. It would be a waste to let it rot in storage.”
“This is a bit…”
“There’s nothing better than this to save your life.”
It had always been this way. My master possessed an unusual sensibility unlike others.
“I… apologize.”
“Hahaha, and that’s the thing. It’s hard to call it a grudge, really.”
“Why is that?”
“Back then, the Palace Lord told me he would pray for my Heavenly Punishment to end. He never said what he would do after it ended, did he?”
‘But he even sent his son’s sword, Master. Normally, wouldn’t he come to kill me…?’
Perhaps reading something in my expression, my Master spoke.
“I told you before—distinguishing between silver and gold through gifts is meaningless. If he were to push this matter forward with grudge as his motivation, then we would simply make him pay the price. Hahaha.”
It was something only the strong could say.

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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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