The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 121

The Divine Doctor of Mount Hua (121)

“What Senior Brother says isn’t entirely wrong.”

Jin Jo-woon turned his head to look at Yang Il-so.

“The Nine Great Sects and all that… they should have focused on substance before empty fame.”

Jin Jo-woon quietly looked down at the Won Gong Treasure Sword in his hand.

The other elders also simply looked at the Head Disciple with complicated gazes.

“Oh, don’t think too heavily about it.”

At that moment, Lee Rip clapped his hands with a sharp sound.

“With this, the Mount Hua Sect has found both its sacred artifact and its lost techniques, so isn’t this a joyous day?”

Lee Rip didn’t say it outright, but those words also indirectly expressed the merit of finding the traitor.

Jin Jo-woon looked at Yang Il-so and nodded.

“Let’s go, Senior Brother. We will escort you.”

Clang.

With those words, the elders drew their swords and aimed them at Yang Il-so.

Yang Il-so gave a hollow smile at the sight of his fellow disciples pointing their swords at him.

Then, he suddenly rushed towards the elders.

Exclamations of bewilderment burst from the elders’ mouths. However, the elders’ swords had already pierced Yang Il-so’s chest.

Thud.

The blood that flowed down the sword blade soaked the floor.

However, that blood was not flowing from Yang Il-so’s body.

Just as the sword was about to pierce Yang Il-so’s body, Jin Jo-woon reached out like lightning and grabbed the blade.

Yang Il-so, whose blood points were suddenly sealed [Acupuncture points used to stop blood flow], glared at Jin Jo-woon, unable to move.

“Senior Brother… don’t disappoint us until the very end.”

Jin Jo-woon added in a despairing voice.

“If you have even a shred of loyalty to Mount Hua, shouldn’t you take full responsibility for what you’ve done?”

Jin Jo-woon turned his head towards the other elders.

The elders were quite shocked by Yang Il-so’s act of throwing himself onto their swords. After all, he was someone they had lived with their entire lives.

“Escort Senior Brother.”

As Jin Jo-woon’s command fell, the elders quickly regained their senses.

Jin Jo-woon silently watched Yang Il-so being dragged to the prison by the elders.

Rip.

Soon, as Yang Il-so’s figure completely disappeared, Jin Jo-woon tore off a piece of his sleeve and roughly wrapped his deeply cut hand.

Then, he bowed deeply to the assembly.

“I have shown you an unsightly scene while hosting our honored guests. On behalf of the Mount Hua Sect, I sincerely apologize.”

Lee Rip waved his hand.

“Haha, no. Isn’t this something everyone experiences at least once in their lives? Don’t worry about this old beggar, and Head Disciple, please don’t be concerned.”

Jin Jo-woon bowed once more towards Dan Ak-seon.

“I have finally shaken off the inner demon that has tormented me for so long. All of this is thanks to Young Hero Dan.”

Dan Ak-seon was startled and bowed in return.

When Dan Ak-seon raised his head a moment later, Jin Jo-woon was giving him an incredibly gentle look.

“The weather is getting cloudy. Unlike other places, the mists of Mount Hua are very treacherous, making it easy to get lost, so please stay at our sect tonight.”

Due to Jin Jo-woon’s earnest request, Dan Ak-seon and his party stayed at the Mount Hua Sect for another day.

The next morning.

All the disciples of Mount Hua gathered in the huge training ground paved with bluestone slabs.

Dan Ak-seon and his party, who had been invited, also took their places on one side of the training ground.

After a while, the Head Disciple, Jin Jo-woon, stepped into the center of the training ground.

His face was haggard, as if he hadn’t slept all night, but in his hand, he held the Won Gong Treasure Sword, the sacred artifact of the Mount Hua Sect.

Jin Jo-woon, standing in the center of the training ground, silently raised his sword.

It was the starting stance of the Clear Breeze Swordplay that every Mount Hua disciple knew.

Soon, a dance began.

Each movement was imbued with discipline and elegance, but it was an extremely simple and plain sword dance.

At some point, the sword in his hand began to change.

The tip of the sword seemed to tremble slightly, and then a cold sword energy suddenly burst forth from the sword’s edge. The trembling sword gradually increased its amplitude, and then, as if exploding all at once, it unleashed countless sword shadows.

The atmosphere fluctuated rapidly, and violent sword energy engulfed the area.

Then, the overlapping sword energies became a huge mist, filling the training ground.

Hong Jeok-moon, staring at the blue afterimages flickering before his eyes, exclaimed.

“The divine skill that was bound by the forbidden arts has been released!”

The Mount Hua Sect’s divine skill, which had once shaken the martial world, had reappeared after a hundred years.

“Is that the Yeonhon Eight Swords?”

Lee Rip had a somewhat complicated expression.

“I never thought I would see the Wind Cloud Divine Sword’s techniques in person.”

Dan Ak-seon’s eyes sparkled.

“Are you talking about the greatest swordsman in the world from a hundred years ago? Was he that great?”

Lee Rip nodded.

“I didn’t see it myself, but according to the Beggars’ Union records, there was no one in the world who wielded a sword better than him.”

“He must have been amazing!”

Lee Rip chuckled at Dan Ak-seon’s exclamation.

“But he wasn’t the greatest expert in the world.”

“Yes? Why not?”

“There weren’t only great experts who dominated that era.”

Belatedly, Dan Ak-seon realized something.

“Was it because of a certain middle-aged woman?”

Lee Rip faintly nodded.

Hong Jeok-moon, who had been staring intently at Jin Jo-woon’s sword dance, also nodded.

“Is his achievement at the Third Star level?”

Lee Rip also nodded in agreement with Hong Jeok-moon’s words.

To think that the power of just the Third Star level was this great.

It was difficult to imagine how great it would be if he mastered the Yeonhon Eight Swords.

“Just by adding a new mental cultivation technique to the Clear Breeze Swordplay, it becomes such a different martial art.”

Lee Rip and Hong Jeok-moon turned their heads towards Dan Ak-seon.

“What do you mean by that?”

Dan Ak-seon answered Lee Rip’s question.

“Yesterday, I told the Head Disciple how to break through Elder Yang Il-so’s training chamber.”

Through this, Jin Jo-woon was able to restore the Wind Cloud United as One True Energy, which had been lost after the Clear Breeze Divine Sword.

“Does that mean you can also learn the Yeonhon Eight Swords?”

Hong Jeok-moon’s question was, in a way, natural.

Dan Ak-seon had broken through all the formations of Unjin Hermitage, so it didn’t seem impossible for him to master the Wind Cloud United as One True Energy as well.

However, Dan Ak-seon shook his head.

“It’s impossible for me. I don’t know the order and method of combining the five formations.”

“I see…”

A sense of regret filled Hong Jeok-moon’s face as he nodded.

“By the way, how is it possible to restore a lost technique of over a hundred years in just one night?”

“It’s because he’s been researching it for so long. You saw the effort the Head Disciple put into restoring the Won Gong Treasure Sword.”

Dan Ak-seon continued to explain.

“Restoring it from nothing is like finding a needle in a haystack, but the proper mental cultivation technique taught him where that needle was.”

“How do you know that so well?”

“I’ve been there too.”

Medicine was the same.

Dan Ak-seon was able to possess his current medical skills because of the medical books his parents had left him.

“He must have put in a tremendous amount of effort.”

The truth that only the prepared can seize opportunity is timeless.

It was the same even now.

The Yeonhon Eight Swords that Jin Jo-woon unfolded had been restored not long ago, so its power was somewhat lacking compared to the world’s greatest techniques. However, the spirit and mystery contained within it seemed to be worthy of being called a divine skill.

“By the way, he was a truly cruel person.”

Hong Jeok-moon gave an ambiguous look at Lee Rip’s sudden words.

“Who are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Hyuk Ryuk-seong, the Wind Cloud Divine Sword.”

“…?”

“Isn’t it like he gambled on the future of the sect?”

Hong Jeok-moon nodded.

It would have been difficult for someone who wasn’t incredibly bold to have such thoughts. Because of that, the Mount Hua Sect had to suffer for nearly a hundred years.

“It seems he has finally passed a test that lasted a hundred years.”

Originally, all the disciples of Mount Hua should have bowed down to Dan Ak-seon.

Because it would have been impossible to retrieve the Won Gong Treasure Sword and restore the lost techniques without Dan Ak-seon.

Perhaps the reason for this gathering was to rally the scattered hearts of Mount Hua and refresh the atmosphere.

Originally, outsiders were not allowed in such a place.

As such, inviting Dan Ak-seon and his party to this place had a special meaning. It meant that they were acknowledging them as close to the Mount Hua Sect, not as outsiders.

While Lee Rip was having these thoughts, the mist of sword energy that had filled the training ground disappeared as if washed away.

Then, Jin Jo-woon raised the Won Gong Treasure Sword.

“Suddenly enlightened with the sword in hand, wind and clouds together.”

Jin Jo-woon looked tired, but his voice was still resounding.

“With each step forward, there is no enemy in the world.”

집검맹오(執劍猛悟) [Suddenly enlightened with the sword in hand] 수풍수운(隨風隨雲) [wind and clouds together].

보보진전(步步進前) [With each step forward] 천하무적(天下無敵) [there is no enemy in the world].

The words engraved on the sword’s surface of the Won Gong Treasure Sword.

Jin Jo-woon gripped the Won Gong Treasure Sword upside down and thrust it straight down towards the floor.

As a sword forged from meteorite iron, the Won Gong Treasure Sword smoothly penetrated the hard bluestone slab.

Only 수풍수운 [wind and clouds together], 천하무적 [there is no enemy in the world] remained above the half-buried sword blade.

Wind and clouds together, there is no enemy in the world.

It was the teaching that would become the new foundation of the Mount Hua Sect.

“What has supported Mount Hua until now is neither the sacred artifact nor the divine skill.”

Jin Jo-woon continued, imbuing his words with profound inner strength.

“The power of the sect united as one is the true power that allows Mount Hua to exist today.”

Jin Jo-woon took in the appearance of each and every Mount Hua disciple.

“From today onwards, Mount Hua will be reborn!”

A flash of lightning-like light burst from Jin Jo-woon’s eyes.

“We are the wind and the clouds!”

No sooner had those words ended than cheers erupted from among the Mount Hua disciples.

“Southern Peak Mount Hua (南岳衡山)!”

“Looking Up to the World (仰視天下)!”

The entire Mount Hua seemed to be about to be torn apart by the voices of the united Mount Hua disciples. Leaving that seething heat behind, Jin Jo-woon walked towards Dan Ak-seon.

“I hope I haven’t tired you out from the morning.”

Dan Ak-seon smiled and shook his head.

“No, it was good to be able to broaden my horizons.”

Jin Jo-woon smiled gently.

“Looking at Young Hero Dan like this, I think the future of the martial world is very bright.”

With those words, Jin Jo-woon took something out of his pocket and handed it to Dan Ak-seon.

It was a signed alliance list.

“Thank you.”

Jin Jo-woon, who was looking at Dan Ak-seon, who was smiling brightly and bowing his head, gestured to the back.

After a while, several Mount Hua disciples brought a large box and placed it in front of Dan Ak-seon.

“I would like to show my sincerity, even if it is small.”

“What is this?”