The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 103

Divine Doctor of Primacy (103)

Cho Ak-ryang’s voice was neither loud nor particularly imposing. Yet, Qingmyeong Sanin felt the blood in his veins turn to ice.

Facing Cho Ak-ryang, who exuded an indescribable and formidable aura, Qingmyeong Sanin felt a sudden tightness in his chest.

A terrifying presence.

Beyond it lurked something profoundly dangerous.

Moreover, with each passing moment, the aura he emitted grew stronger.

Only then did Qingmyeong Sanin realize that something was terribly wrong.

Suddenly, a realization dawned on him.

While he had been growing stronger over the years, it wasn’t as if Cho Ak-ryang had been idle.

He had overlooked this fact.

Belatedly, he regretted not drawing his sword from the start. But regret, no matter how swift, always comes too late. At this rate, he would be overwhelmed and fall without even mounting a proper defense.

‘Damn it!’

Qingmyeong Sanin gritted his teeth until they nearly shattered.

There was nowhere left to retreat.

A fierce glint appeared in Qingmyeong Sanin’s eyes.

Now, he had no choice but to take a gamble.

“Fall!”

With a scream filled with desperation, Qingmyeong Sanin’s hand sliced through the air.

In an instant, the scenery before him distorted.

The materialized energy gathered in Qingmyeong Sanin’s hand. The eerie aura contained within was distinctly different from anything he had shown thus far.

It was then that Cho Ak-ryang’s shoulder twitched.

The rotational force, initiated from a large stride, was fully concentrated at his fingertips, drawing a spiral motion.

Kwa-reung.

A majestic thunderous sound.

From within it, a distinct hand emerged, drawing a chilling trajectory as it collided with Qingmyeong Sanin’s hand.

Kwaang!

With an explosion that shook the entire Sangcheong Palace, a figure went flying. It soared over thirty feet, crashing through a wall before collapsing.

“Ugh!”

Staggering to his feet, coughing up a mouthful of blood, was Qingmyeong Sanin.

Covered in dust, Qingmyeong Sanin’s face, now stained with blood, bore no trace of his earlier confidence.

Instead, fear and bewilderment had taken its place.

His right arm hung limply, and his fingers were twisted grotesquely, having lost their original form.

“Netherworld Hand…….”

In Qingmyeong Sanin’s voice, which was little more than a groan, there was an unmistakable terror.

Cho Ak-ryang nodded, his eyes indifferent.

“This is the true Starsea Hand that you all speak of.”

“Kuh…….”

Qingmyeong Sanin’s entire body trembled.

A single, brief clash.

That was all it took to make everything clear.

Qingmyeong Sanin, who had been contemplating seizing the title of one of the Five Supreme Masters, now bitterly realized how foolish that notion had been. From the very beginning, an insurmountable gap in martial prowess had existed between him and Cho Ak-ryang.

Casting a chilling gaze, Cho Ak-ryang approached Qingmyeong Sanin.

Creating a new martial art was no easy feat.

If simply stringing together techniques were enough, the world would be overflowing with divine arts and supreme techniques.

This was especially true for the Starsea Hand.

Without the foundational essence to properly support it, it was nothing more than a castle built on sand.

The Starsea Hand without Jeonsa Kyung [a specific internal energy cultivation method] was merely an imitation.

He hadn’t realized it when his mind was wavering, but now that he had regained his composure, it was clear.

Though he could mimic the forms of the techniques, he could not find the true essence and core that should have been contained within.

“Huk!”

Witnessing Cho Ak-ryang closing the distance in an instant, Qingmyeong Sanin hastily raised his left hand to guard his chest.

But against Cho Ak-ryang’s resolute hand, it was meaningless.

Ududeuk.

Qingmyeong Sanin’s fingers snapped like dry reeds.

Once again, Qingmyeong Sanin spat out blood as he was sent flying, and Cho Ak-ryang launched himself again.

He intended to end it here.

At that moment.

Jjajajajak!

Razor-sharp sword energies came pouring in from all directions.

Cho Ak-ryang twisted his hand, seizing the sword energies flying toward him.

Jjieeik.

Amidst the sword energies disintegrating in the air, the figures of the Qingcheng disciples rushing out from all over the palace came into view.

Having belatedly realized that a crisis had befallen Qingcheng Palace, the Qingcheng disciples were rushing to save their sect leader.

“Sword Formation! Deploy the Great Luo Sword Formation!”

Qingmyeong Sanin roared at the top of his lungs.

The Qingcheng disciples, swords in hand, instantly surrounded Cho Ak-ryang in layers. Cho Ak-ryang inwardly clicked his tongue at their orderly movements.

Every sect had a cooperative technique that was considered a treasure.

The Shaolin’s Arhat Formation and the Beggars’ Sect’s Dog-Beating Formation were representative examples, and Qingcheng Sect’s Great Luo Sword Formation, along with Wudang’s Seven Stars Sword Formation and Mount Hua’s Plum Blossom Sword Formation, was recognized as one of the Three Great Sword Formations of the world.

Although the individual martial prowess of the sword formation’s members was not comparable to his, once the sword formation was activated, even he could not be careless.

As expected.

Chachachang.

Dozens of swords were pointed at him.

The stern net of sword energy emanating from each one began to surround Cho Ak-ryang.

“…….”

Cho Ak-ryang’s gaze grew heavy.

It wasn’t his first time experiencing it, but the pressure of the sword formation was truly immense. Already, his blood and energy were surging due to the intangible aura created by the sword formation.

Chureut.

At the chilling sound of air being torn, Cho Ak-ryang turned his head.

A sword that had sprung from within the sword formation narrowly grazed his cheek.

Starting with this, numerous sword energies began to pour down like rain.

The movements were intricately coordinated, even feeling dazzling.

Jjeojeok!

The earth cracked deeply from the sword energies, and fragments of stone soared in all directions.

At the same time, the wildly dancing blue sword light engulfed Cho Ak-ryang.

Confirming this, Qingmyeong Sanin staggered to his feet. No matter how great the Five Supreme Masters were, they were still human in the end. Not made of steel bones and iron skin, but merely flesh and blood.

Eventually, they would tire.

At that moment.

Qingmyeong Sanin suddenly felt the hairs on his head stand on end.

It didn’t take long for him to realize the reason.

Within the countless sword shadows that filled his vision, something was shining coldly.

It was a pair of eyes.

He didn’t know what method he had used, but the sword formation before him wavered greatly. It was then that a person burst through the dense net of sword energy.

“You madman!”

Qingmyeong Sanin exclaimed.

It was because of Cho Ak-ryang, who was ignoring the wave of sword energy pouring down on his back and rushing toward him, staring only at Qingmyeong Sanin.

The near-mad will to kill only him, even if it meant taking the attacks of the sword formation head-on, was conveyed to him.

Qingmyeong Sanin hurriedly rolled across the floor.

Mud Loach Skill.

As befitting its name, which meant a mud loach stirring through murky rice paddies, it was as unimpressive a movement technique as Naryeotagon [another unimpressive movement technique].

However, in the current situation, it was his only means of survival.

At the same time, Cho Ak-ryang’s figure spun greatly.

Pieeing.

A stone fragment that had left Cho Ak-ryang’s hand hurtled toward Qingmyeong Sanin like a ray of light.

Ppagaak.

“Kuaaak!”

Qingmyeong Sanin, his knee shattered, screamed in agony as he tumbled.

Kwareureung!

Belatedly, a thunderous sound erupted from where Cho Ak-ryang had been. It was a phenomenon that occurred because the flying stone fragment was faster than the sound.

“……!”

Qingmyeong Sanin’s face froze in shock.

The chilling killing intent was felt right next to him!

Raising his head, he saw Cho Ak-ryang looking down at him like a grim reaper from the underworld.

“Kuh!”

Qingmyeong Sanin, drawing strength from somewhere, leaped backward as if bouncing. But by then, Cho Ak-ryang’s foot was already stomping on the ground.

Kung.

The moment the shock that started from the earth traveled up his ankle, Cho Ak-ryang’s body moved in a spiral.

The force, amplified by the rotation through his legs and waist, was transmitted directly to his hand.

Pak.

Cho Ak-ryang’s palm touched Qingmyeong Sanin’s chest.

A light sound, as if patting a cotton blanket. But the result was by no means light.

Qingmyeong Sanin, spewing a waterfall of blood from his mouth and nose, slumped down powerlessly.

There was no need to see more.

It was instant death.

Unless one was a legendary Vajra [a being with an indestructible body], no one could survive Cho Ak-ryang’s Jeonsa Kyung, delivered with full power.

“……!”

Silence descended upon the scene for a moment.

Their leader, the sect leader, had been brutally murdered before their eyes, barely half a month before his inauguration.

And that too, while his disciples were watching.

“Sect Leader!”

A belated cry of anguish erupted from behind Cho Ak-ryang.

The Qingcheng disciples’ shock and horror soon turned into a massive rage that engulfed Cho Ak-ryang.

A wall of sword energy, collapsing before his eyes like a giant tidal wave.

Before it, Cho Ak-ryang smiled quietly.

He no longer had the strength to even twitch a finger. He had poured all his strength into breaking through the sword formation the first time.

‘Still, it wasn’t a bad life, was it?’

As he repeated this to himself, Cho Ak-ryang smiled bitterly.

He had thought he would feel relieved after settling all his grudges, but unexpectedly, a sense of bitterness washed over him.

‘I hope Doctor Dan won’t be sad.’

Soon, his death would be known.

His heart ached at the thought of Dan Ak-seon, who would be more heartbroken than anyone else.

But…….

He was Blood Demon.

A man who had proudly made his name among the Five Supreme Masters.

“I am…….”

Cho Ak-ryang, squeezing out the last of his strength, prepared for a final mutual destruction.

“Cho Ak-ryang.”

The grudges of the Jianghu [the martial world] were cyclical.

Although he had resolved his own grudges, their grudges had only just begun.

There were no eternal secrets in the world.

Someday, his relationship with Dan Ak-seon would be revealed, and there was no guarantee that their anger would not be directed at Dan Ak-seon.

Even if he was going to die, he had to take as many of them with him as possible.

Enough to make them not dare to even think of touching Dan Ak-seon.

It was then.

“……?”

Cho Ak-ryang felt a strange sensation and raised his head. A massive figure falling like a shooting star came into view.

‘Why is that bastard?’

It was Beom Gye-wi.

Beom Gye-wi, falling with terrifying speed, crashed straight into the center of the sword formation.

Kwaaaang!

The Qingcheng disciples, swept away by the explosion that shook the heavens and the earth, screamed and tumbled.

While the Qingcheng disciples were unable to come to their senses from the unexpected disaster, Beom Gye-wi turned his head, made eye contact with Cho Ak-ryang, and smirked.

“Tsk, weakling.”

“……!”

Cho Ak-ryang’s face crumpled.

That hateful remark was more painful than the injuries that were screaming all over his body.

Regardless, Beom Gye-wi approached Cho Ak-ryang, puffing himself up.

“Just admit it already.”

“……?”

“You can’t do without me, after all.”

Cho Ak-ryang trembled.

He couldn’t regain his senses from the unbearable shame and humiliation, to the point where he thought he might fall into demonic possession.

Just as Beom Gye-wi was about to pick up Cho Ak-ryang, Cho Ak-ryang stopped him.

“Wait.”

Then, he took something from his chest and tossed it next to Qingmyeong Sanin’s corpse.

It was a wooden statue engraved with his younger self.

Beom Gye-wi frowned.

“I’m telling you, that’s morbid.”

“This is the last one.”

Beom Gye-wi asked Cho Ak-ryang with a strange look in his eyes.

“Is it all over now?”

Cho Ak-ryang nodded, answering with a faint smile.

“Then let’s go. Doctor Dan is waiting.”

Beom Gye-wi launched himself. And disappeared straight through the thick cloud of dust before him.

Much later.

When the dust cloud settled and the Qingcheng disciples regained their senses, the figures of the two men were nowhere to be found.