Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 998
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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 998
Screeeech!
That creature emitted a bizarre shriek. Then, unlike before, it began moving at an incredible velocity—swift as lightning and flint striking together.
With its subordinates slaughtered en masse, it seemed the creature had abandoned all restraint.
Waaaaahhh!
A deafening roar rivaling sonic force erupted as it plummeted vertically toward Dang-a in an instant!
Its massive snout thrust forward in a piercing strike!
Crash!
Yet Dang-a proved no easy opponent.
The qi flowing through her whip transformed into hardened force, and she lashed the creature’s snout directly.
“받아랏! 흑마혈편—!”
…The Sichuan Tang Family possessed no such technique by that name.
The Sichuan Tang Family belonged to the Righteous Faction.
They would never employ technique names containing the character for Demon.
Already facing suspicion due to their poison arts, adding such a character would cause their ancestors to foam at the mouth in fury.
Boom!
Yet the power behind it was absolute!
Both combatants were driven backward by the tremendous explosion.
The Bi soared upward while thrashing its tail, unleashing a barrage of venomous spines.
The speed was truly devastating.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Wherever the venomous spines struck, the ground charred black and melted, gouging deep crevices into the earth.
No matter how solid the rock, it crumbled beneath the creature’s relentless barrage of poison spines.
Yet Dang-a’s crimson robe billowed as she evaded the assault with mystical, flowing movements.
“Khahaha! Is that all you have, insignificant creature?”
However, in creating distance to evade, Dang-a’s own attacks fell short of connecting.
Dang-a spoke.
“Good. Come then, my worthy opponent! Your turn is next.”
“Ou!”
I responded with an unusual cry, then quietly pressed my palms together.
It resembled—
A Buddhist sage on the verge of enlightenment and liberation.
Yet appearances deceived. The transformations occurring within my body were violent beyond measure.
The qi of the Five Elements Divine Art cycled through mutual generation and restraint within me, shifting the nature of my vital force.
And that transformed energy merged instantaneously with the martial techniques I had learned from Namgung Un, the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong, the Yang-Yi Divine Art, and the diverse martial methods from the imperial archives.
Ordinarily, all these processes would require innate sensory talent to accomplish.
That is why bone structure and constitution matter so greatly.
I possessed neither, yet in exchange, I could accomplish what other martial artists could not.
‘Calculation’.
Following the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong, countless small versions of myself assisted in the computations.
The moment that calculation manifested, it emerged as technique.
Crack. Crackle!
Azure-white lightning writhed between my joined palms.
Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art.
Originally a sword technique requiring its own specialized internal cultivation method, I substituted and transformed it using the Five Elements Divine Art, then applied it as a palm strike.
‘I owe Namgung a debt of gratitude.’
Jin Cheon-hee’s Heavenly Thunder Emperor Palm Strike!
As I slowly separated my joined palms, lightning arced between them like the electrical discharge of a Tesla coil, crackling and coiling.
In that state, I thrust both palms forward.
Boom!
Qi force.
That supreme destructive power transformed into lightning and shot forth.
What could only be called lightning qi force!
Its speed approached near-light velocity, making evasion impossible!
Screech!
The lightning qi force struck one of Bi’s wings, tearing and incinerating it in one motion.
Dang-a gasped in astonishment.
“Heavens! Such lightning is possible?”
The lightning qi force advanced to the second wing, burning that one away as well.
“Kiiiiiii!”
A grotesque shriek erupted from the creature.
In that moment, Dang-a launched herself upward.
An abnormally tremendous leap!
She bent the Blood Dragon Whip like a spring, then released it for propulsion, launching herself skyward.
“Hahah! Wretched beast. The hour of judgment has arrived!”
The Blood Dragon Whip, wreathed in qi force, tore through Bi’s remaining wing.
Though the monster possessed a body as hard as its enormous frame, the wings remained a weakness.
Sword energy might have withstood it, but qi force was beyond what the wings alone could endure!
Bi plummeted with a hideous cry.
“하핫! 크하하핫! 죽어라아아앗—!”
Dang-a landed on the ground, bursting into delighted laughter.
Bi, stripped of all its wings, writhed on the ground and spewed forth its rage.
But what threat was a spirit creature that had lost its mobility?
I and Dang-a slowly advanced toward Bi.
Then it happened.
Screeeech!
A grotesque sound that shook both eardrums and soul simultaneously pierced the air.
Astonishingly, it was not a cry from Bi.
‘What is this!?’
I lifted my gaze to the sky.
Looking up at the sky.
A massive bird with green feathers and a black body was descending.
“What is that…?”
Dang-a asked.
In that moment, I recalled the Classic of Mountains and Seas that I had seen.
It was a different version than the one Sama-hye had read, but that was fine. I knew about this one.
“Chimjo!”
“!”
Dang-a turned to look at me.
However, I didn’t notice her gaze, my eyes fixed solely on Chimjo.
‘The Classic said it was only as large as a giant eagle… but that thing… its body spans dozens of zhang? It looks like nearly thirty zhang…?’
Chimjo descended vertically like a fired arrow, then seized Bi with its talons in a crushing grip.
Screeeee! Screeeeeee!
The massive Bi thrashed and shrieked, but Chimjo simply tore off its head.
Crunch!
Chewing as if savoring the taste, it then grabbed the creature’s body and soared back into the sky.
“No, this is insane… what in the…?”
It was truly a battle of monsters.
Dang-a and I stood dumbfounded, staring blankly.
Then, small voices erupted simultaneously in my mind.
‘Chimjo.’
‘Yeah, it’s Chimjo.’
‘Chimjo appeared already?’
Was this also because of the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong?
Why were the little versions of me in my head panicking…?
Then Dang-a came and spoke to me.
“My rival! Have you come to aid me! I have heard. You call yourself the Living Heavenly Demon? Truly, you are my worthy rival!”
My face flushed crimson.
The voices in my head all fell silent at once.
I felt like dying with my nose buried in a cup of water, but it was fine.
My opponent was Dang-a.
Whoever feels embarrassed loses.
Dang-a spoke.
“Hahahaha! Now I have obtained a title worthy of my epithet, Hyeolpyeon-wang.”
My legs went weak. Yes, that’s right. I now wanted to die about 2% more.
Let me accept it.
‘Accepting it makes things easier.’
That was when.
Sama-hye came rushing at tremendous speed from beyond the mountain, riding on Hwang-gu.
“Y-y-y-your majesty, Hyeolpyeon-wang!”
Coming toward me with a face flushed crimson?
Dang-a spoke without changing her expression at all.
“Hmm? Are you one of my followers?”
‘Could it be that this happens often?’
Now that I think about it, Sama Hyeon did mention once that products related to Dang-a sell incredibly well.
Just look at Sama-hye herself, for instance.
Sama-hye descended before Dang-a and gazed up with eyes sparkling brilliantly.
Those eyes conveyed a single message.
Admiration.
The person she had idolized during her most difficult childhood years stood before her eyes.
“F-f-f-fan! I’m a fan!”
“Fan?”
I looked at Sama-hye, uncertain of the meaning.
“Y-yes! That is, a devoted follower! I admire you deeply!”
She probably learned the word “fan” from Sama Hyeon.
‘Did I teach Hyeon that word too?’
Sama-hye stopped there and flapped her arms like a penguin, not knowing what to do with herself.
She had prepared so many words to say, but her mind had gone blank and nothing came out.
Finding her flustered state rather amusing….
“Ha-ha, Hyeolpyeon-wang. Since we’ve met after so long, shall we share a meal?”
At my playful words, Dang-a laughed as well.
“Excellent! Tonight, let’s drink until our noses go crooked.”
Now that I think about it, everyone in the Sichuan Tang Family is quite the heavy drinker.
Dang-a would be no exception.
As I arranged a place for us, color returned to Sama-hye’s face.
“!”
It meant she could spend more time with this person she cherished.
Sama-hye became happy at my subtle consideration.
‘Ah, truly, you are Eun Gong.’
This was the kind of person I was. That’s why, even in the Medical Guild, despite calling me difficult, everyone wanted to stay by my side.
At the prospect of camping with the person she had admired her entire life, Sama-hye’s eyes grew hot with tears.
Just as she turned her gaze away to secretly wipe her tears, that’s when it happened.
“Eh!? Eun Gong! That is….”
Sama-hye discovered something.
There lay something that resembled a bird’s feather, yet its size was enormous beyond measure.
Five feathers from Chimjo.
But the ground where those feathers had fallen had turned black, and an overwhelming toxic miasma was overflowing from it.
The small versions of me whispered information.
‘As expected, it’s Chimjo.’
‘The divine bird of toxins.’
‘Chimjo’s feather. A treasure beyond price.’
Was this feather truly such an extraordinary object?
And how did I even know about this?
Had I perhaps glimpsed it in some ancient text without realizing?
Or was it like the sorcery incident—some influence from the divine blood?
“Ohhh… Worthy adversary! Behold! The divine bird has left behind a feather!”
“Wait, Dang-a. No matter that you’re a Toxin Master, that could still be dangerous.”
How was I supposed to take it with me?
Jin Cheon-hee paused to think for a moment.
* * *
‘For a first meeting, curry would be perfect, wouldn’t it?’
It was easy to make, didn’t require particular tastes, and paired well with everything.
And with a soft-boiled egg on top, it would be a delicacy beyond compare.
Fortunately, Dang-a had raided a pheasant nest from somewhere, so we had pheasant eggs and pheasant meat for our meal.
Meanwhile, I had caught a rabbit, adding that to our provisions as well.
‘Yes, it’s remarkable how nature persists—even as toxins blanket the earth, all creatures continue their own existence.’
However, because they had accumulated poison, commoners could not eat them.
To eat them safely would require draining the blood and burying the meat in earth to neutralize the toxin, which took far too long. But since all three of us had mastered toxin cultivation, we could simply cook and eat them directly.
As for spiritual creatures like Hwang-gu, Noeji, and the Seven-Colored Envoy, they chewed through toxic flesh raw without a second thought.
‘Hye-a learned toxin cultivation from Sama Hyeon as well.’
Sama Hyeon had taught his younger sister the finest toxin cultivation he could provide, early on.
The fate of rising to become the next master of the Golden Blood Hall meant fighting against other successors.
He had been worried that someone might one day reach out to harm his younger sister.
Sama-hye didn’t particularly enjoy fighting—after all, she wasn’t even a martial artist, so she wouldn’t enjoy getting hurt—but she did enjoy researching martial techniques.
She had achieved mastery with astonishing speed.
Her accomplishments were so remarkable that one might wonder if that was truly her calling.
Yet despite mastering it, I had never actually seen her use it in practice.
In that sense.
‘A poisoned curry for our first meeting.’
I found myself smiling.
In a way, wasn’t this the perfect meal to serve when welcoming Hyeolpyeon-wang?
Since things had come to this, I decided to make the finest poisoned curry possible.
Jin Cheon-hee retrieved the solidified curry blocks he had prepared at Baekrin Uiseon.
He had deliberately shaped them like chocolate squares to give them an earthen feel, and the satisfying crack when they broke apart was quite pleasant.
‘Did I add too much butter when solidifying the curry powder?’
He recalled roasting it for a long time because he disliked the curry powder’s characteristic tartness.
The longer you stirred the powder, the more fragrant it became.
In short, this curry was thoroughly infused with Jin Cheon-hee’s personal preferences.
Somewhat childish in taste, really.
Into the curry went dried vegetables and rabbit and pheasant meat that had been well-seasoned at the base.
‘I can’t end things here.’
Ssssshhhhk—
Preservation sausage.
When the jerky threatens to drive me mad, sausage is a blessing in drought.
If I freeze it solid with Icy Palm, it’ll last several months without issue.
Of course, there’s the drawback that the flavor diminishes somewhat during thawing, but that’s easily resolved with the help of an expert in Icy Palm techniques.
‘This is why martial arts matter in cooking.’
What I made was venison sausage.
I added plenty of pepper and spicy seasonings to eliminate the gamey taste, but instead, it became the defining flavor.
‘I’ve already decided to inform the Tang Family about Chimjo’s feathers and have them recovered.’
With thousands of years of history, the Sichuan Tang Family would surely know how to handle the feathers of the divine beast Chimjo.
By now, night had grown deep, so our party was camping like this.
Of course, today’s chef was me.
“Oh, ohhhhh!”
Dang-a couldn’t tear her eyes away from my cooking.
Sama-hye was the same.
She’d even forgotten about the admirable figure beside her, her gaze fixed solely on my culinary work.
Flames even shot up over the sausage to add a charred flavor.
Whoooosh!
“Wooooow!”
Both of them let out exclamations without thinking.
They’d made the same sound earlier when I was stir-frying vegetables—it seemed cooking flames never got old, no matter how many times you watched.
“Done!”
Clang!
With that, I placed rice, curry, sausage, and a soft-boiled egg into each of their bowls.
I also didn’t forget to portion out pickled side dishes around the rice bowls.
Because I’m Korean, after all.
After distributing the portions, I shared everything with the spirit beasts as well.
Woof woof woof!
Squeeeak!
They eat even more than people do.
The spirit beasts didn’t even listen to my “wait” and immediately began devouring their food.
Even the Seven-Colored Envoy let out a delighted cry, eyes gleaming.
Shhhhiiiieeek!!
It was so pleased that its scales shimmered with radiant light.
Dang-a spoke.
“Wow, I’ve never seen the Seven-Colored Envoy enjoy something like this before.”
“It seems to suit its palate.”
“Indeed. My rival’s cooking is unparalleled under heaven, after all.”
Sama-hye said.
“Do you think Chimjo would enjoy this kind of cooking too?”
I couldn’t even imagine preparing a meal for something so enormous.
And with just five feathers, hadn’t the land itself been marinated in toxins?
A treasure of the martial world with mere feathers.
‘At that level, wouldn’t it be a deity rather than a spiritual being?’
After thinking that far, I spoke.
“Well, the Six-Horned Venomous Snake seemed to enjoy it too… in a similar way.”
The aroma of the curry I had made filled the night sky.
Dang-a pondered for a moment, then ladled some curry into another bowl and placed it atop a large rock.
“It’s a ritual the people of this region offer to the mountain deity. And by mountain deity here…”
“…you mean a mountain beast or spiritual entity.”
Sama-hye replied. Dang-a nodded.
“Since it contains toxins, ordinary beasts wouldn’t be able to eat it—only a spiritual being of that caliber could.”
I pondered this.
‘I can’t even imagine it. There’s no way something that massive would eat curry…!’
Could Chimjo possibly have the same palate?
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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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