The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 265

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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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The Heavenly Supreme Has Died – Episode 265
Wherever life exists, death inevitably walks alongside it.
And among countless deaths, there are always those who move to help others evade that fate.
The physicians in the world where I once lived were such people.
The Central Plains, being a place where people lived, naturally had physicians as well.
The difference, if I had to point one out, was that the medical arts practiced by physicians here differed somewhat.
This was only natural.
Unlike that world which relied on modern conveniences,
this place was where ordinary humans and martial artists—superhuman beings—lived together.
Since physicians had to treat these superhuman martial artists who possessed inner energy within their bodies, the era and methods bore an entirely different character.
‘To treat a martial artist, a physician must also wield inner energy.’
One could not treat a martial artist simply by studying medicine.
One had to understand the meridians through which inner energy flowed.
One had to study meticulously how the inner energy contained in the dantian circulated and affected the physical body.
Thus, physicians of this era were far more precious than in my time.
Yet among even these physicians, there existed one whom martial artists revered like a deity.
Physician Uiseon.
That was who.
Anyone still drawing breath could be saved without difficulty,
and there were legends that even the dead had been revived by him.
Moreover,
‘It was said he even treated those who had fallen into demonic cultivation or reversed cultivation.’
Conditions for which treatment was nearly nonexistent—things that required one to advance through enlightenment alone—Physician Uiseon had supposedly managed to cure.
‘…Does that even make sense?’
Reversed cultivation meant the meridians and inner energy were completely twisted, leaving one a vegetable.
To think he had cured such a condition here, in this era so unlike the modern world I knew.
It was a tale I had heard but could not believe.
‘Besides,’
the reason I could not easily believe this was simple.
‘…No one knows his true identity.’
Regarding Physician Uiseon’s existence, no one knew his true identity or whereabouts.
It was absurd.
‘How can no one know his identity?’
There were countless tales of his achievements and existence, yet no one knew who Physician Uiseon truly was.
The last mention of him had been over a decade ago.
Given that there had been no subsequent accounts of anyone receiving treatment from him or seeing him,
‘it seemed he had either died or vanished without a trace.’
Yet suddenly, Jegal Jin brought up the subject of Physician Uiseon to me.
That Physician Uiseon was on Mount Hwasan.
That I should persuade him and bring him back. Hearing those words, I could only be utterly bewildered.
“…Physician Uiseon is at Hwasan?”
Hwasan in Shaanxi.
One of the Gupaibang that oversees the mountain ranges comprising Shaanxi, and also renowned for its most beautiful swordsmanship.
Just like the Sowoldae of the Cheongwol Sect or the Taiji Sword Technique of the Shaman.
One of the powerful forces possessing the renowned Plum Blossom Sword Technique. That place is Hwasan in Shaanxi.
‘Physician Uiseon is there?’
Jegal Jin said Physician Uiseon was at such a place as Hwasan.
‘…Why would Physician Uiseon be there?’
How could the vanished Physician Uiseon be at Hwasan? Moreover, how does Jegal Jin even know about it?
There were many questions.
‘But what troubles me most is that he’s asking me to do it.’
He told me to bring that Physician Uiseon to him.
That part disturbed me the most.
‘Persuasion…’
He didn’t ask me to find her.
Since he knows the location, he’s asking me to persuade her and bring her back.
Persuasion. At that word, I frowned. This meant.
‘She doesn’t want to come?’
It meant Physician Uiseon would be reluctant to come to the clan.
And yet he’s telling me to bring her.
It was nothing but bewildering.
The problem was.
‘It means Shin Chang’s condition is dire enough that he can’t survive without her.’
Judging by Shin Chang’s state, it meant I’d concluded he couldn’t be saved without Physician Uiseon.
How desperate must things be…
Just how desperate for him to ask me of all people.
‘I understand the situation.’
The circumstances make sense.
The situation is what it is. With Patcheon Gung having scattered spies everywhere, there’s no one to trust right now.
In such circumstances, he must be relying on my eyes that can discern Patcheon Gung’s agents.
So then.
‘He’s using me to save Shin Chang.’
That must be why he’s sending me while going to see Physician Uiseon.
“I understand, but…”
Clack.
I set down the sword I’d been holding. My hands were trembling.
“후우우—”
I exhaled a quiet breath. I wiped away the sweat trickling down.
Looking out the window, night had already fallen.
Watching the moon rise, I surveyed my surroundings.
I was in the training hall prepared within the clan.
I had swung my sword briefly to organize my thoughts and assess my physical condition.
‘It’s certain now.’
The questions that had plagued me were largely resolved.
‘…My inner energy has increased.’
The amount of inner energy I possessed had risen dramatically.
By any measure, at least doubled.
Compared to what I had before, it was an overwhelming figure.
Moreover, it wasn’t just my inner energy that had grown.
‘My physical condition has changed too.’
I’m not even counting the white hair on my head.
‘The state of my muscles….’
Much more resilient and powerful, one might say?
Strength infused with greater flexibility. Though I couldn’t quite put it into words, I could sense I had grown stronger in terms of external martial power.
‘My realm must have advanced.’
A level far beyond simple mastery.
If I were to judge this….
‘Should I say I’ve approached the transcendent realm?’
A stage beyond mastery.
It seemed I hadn’t quite reached it, but it was fair to say I was on the verge of arrival.
‘How did this happen?’
I clenched my fist and contemplated the transformation.
‘If I trace the cause….’
Probably.
‘It must be because I consumed all those demons.’
The black ring that had floated in the sky.
I had consumed the demons that gathered there, those that were becoming calamity deities.
And.
‘I achieved enlightenment for them within myself.’
I had seized and guided all the demons within my body to enlightenment.
Coming here, I realized something.
‘When I achieve enlightenment for demons… or rather, to be precise.’
When I guide spirits to enlightenment, my inner energy seems to increase.
It was the same with Dokjon. The tale of Socheongeom was no different.
‘When I achieve enlightenment for ghosts, my inner energy increases.’
Whether it was a form of reward or something else, it certainly seemed to be the case.
Why had this happened? While I couldn’t comprehend it.
‘What’s even more puzzling.’
The existence I had witnessed in the process of guiding demons to enlightenment.
And.
‘A figure I’ve seen even in my dreams.’
The man with crimson eyes who looked down upon me.
He had purged all the demons from my body.
‘What is this?’
It wasn’t Yoo Cheon-gil.
Then what could it be? Just looking at him felt ominous.
Whoosh.
I clutched at my chest with my hand. Anxiety surged within me.
In that moment.
[What are you doing?]
Yoo Cheon-gil, who was watching me, spoke up.
[Does your chest hurt? Why are you grabbing at breasts that don’t even exist?]
“….”
I furrowed my brow. Breasts? It had been a while since I’d heard such a vulgar word. Of all the ways to express it, why choose that one?
I deliberately ignored it and brought up something else.
“…My body has changed quite a bit.”
When I mentioned the shift in my realm, Yoo Cheon-gil chuckled.
[Indeed. I was quite startled when I first saw it myself.]
“You weren’t aware of this?”
[It certainly wasn’t something I did. From what I can tell… it seems you’ve noticed as well, but that incident back then must have been the turning point.]
Swallowing the demon. It seemed Yoo Cheon-gil was aware of that part too.
[Fascinating. I didn’t expect such rapid growth.]
“There shouldn’t be any abnormalities in my body, right?”
[Normally, there should be. With such vast energy seeping into the flesh and causing transformation… there should be external damage as well—torn muscles, injuries.]
Yoo Cheon-gil scrutinized me with narrowed eyes.
[But from what I can see, there’s nothing particularly noticeable.]
“…That’s a relief.”
If Yoo Cheon-gil says there’s nothing, I can trust that.
However.
[But that’s only the external aspect.]
Yoo Cheon-gil was skeptical of my relief.
[The internal is different. Your body could rupture at any moment.]
“What?”
Rupture at any moment? My eyes widened at those words.
“What do you mean?”
[What do I mean? It’s obvious, isn’t it?]
Heh. Yoo Cheon-gil laughed before speaking. His expression was quite ominous.
[You’ve contained energy that’s doubled what you originally possessed. I don’t know why, but there seems to be no damage to your muscles externally, but that’s limited to the outside only.]
Ssshhhhh—!
“Kugh!?”
The moment the words left my lips, a sudden sharp pain struck through me.
The sensation radiating from my dantian brought me to my knees.
“Ugh…!?”
Why did it hurt so suddenly? My vision blurred, and my fingertips trembled uncontrollably.
[Hurt?]
At Yoo Cheon-gil’s words, I looked at him with reddened eyes.
Could this be Yoo Cheon-gil’s doing?
[Don’t look at me with such frightened eyes. Strictly speaking, I’m not causing the pain—I’m preventing it from hurting.]
“…What… do you mean?”
[Your vessel is still too small to contain a wager of that magnitude. So I’m holding back the wager that’s trying to burst out because it won’t fit. If I were to stop doing this…]
With a flourish, Yoo Cheon-gil spread both his hands together like opening flower petals.
[You’d burst and die on the spot.]
“….”
He spoke of bursting and dying as casually as discussing the weather.
As I gasped and wheezed, fortunately the pain subsided after a short while.
“Huff…. Gasp….”
[I was too busy earlier to mention it. Your condition is exactly like that.]
“…So… what should I do about this?”
I shouldn’t have been happy about the wager increasing. Facing reality, I asked Yoo Cheon-gil for a solution.
[What do you mean how? You need to gather the wandering energy and calmly push it into your dantian.]
“…But how exactly do I do that?”
I asked him to show me the way, and Yoo Cheon-gil chuckled softly.
[You can’t.]
“Pardon?”
[Neither you nor I can. If it were a manageable amount, I’d do it myself… but it exceeds that threshold.]
“Then you’re saying you must continue holding it back like this?”
[Even that has its limits for me. If I let it seep into your body gradually, it would take at least three years.]
“…Three years….”
[During that time, you must not increase your energy further. If you do, there’s no telling what might happen.]
“….”
If I increased my energy, I’d burst. At those words, I frowned deeply. And three years? I’d have to freeze the wager for three whole years?
That’s far too long. Such thoughts crossed my mind.
[But you can’t wait that long anyway. That’s why I consider this fortunate.]
“…Fortunate?”
[Yes. Neither you nor I can do it, but fortunately, there’s someone who can.]
“Someone who can…? Ah.”
Surely not.
“…Physician Uiseon?”
[Correct.]
Physician Uiseon. If it’s him, he could resolve the problem I’m facing now. That’s what Yoo Cheon-gil was saying.
“…Is Physician Uiseon truly capable of such a thing?”
Not merely treating the body, but adjusting one’s inner energy to stabilize it as well?
As I pondered whether this truly fell within a physician’s domain.
[An ordinary physician couldn’t manage it. But he’s different. After all, he’s a martial artist to begin with.]
“Physician Uiseon is a martial artist?”
At my question, Yoo Cheon-gil tilted his head instead.
[That’s right. Ah, you wouldn’t know this.]
“Pardon?”
[Do you know why he’s at Hwasan?]
“…I’m not certain…?”
Jegal Jin had mentioned that Physician Uiseon was at Hwasan.
Now that I thought about it, why was he there?
The moment curiosity seized me, Yoo Cheon-gil spoke to me.
[It’s because Physician Uiseon is the Sect Leader of the Hwasan Sect.]
“…What…?”
What did he just 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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