The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 156

Just then, Cho Ak-ryang subtly turned away.

Beom Gye-wi, noticing, gave him a questioning look.

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“I’m thinking of following those Gongdong Sect [a traditional martial arts sect] fellows we just saved.”

Beom Gye-wi frowned. He was somewhat okay with Hyeon-geom, his disciple, but he didn’t like Gong Hyeon-ja, who had been stiff and unfriendly.

“Do you really need to go that far?”

“Do you think I’m doing this because I like them?”

Cho Ak-ryang turned his gaze in the direction they had disappeared.

“I need to find the remaining *兇獸* [fierce beasts/monsters].”

“……?”

“If Sa Young-oui and the other one are nearby, they’ll surely target those two again.”

“Ah!”

Only then did Beom Gye-wi understand, and he grinned. “So, they’re bait?”

When Cho Ak-ryang nodded, Beom Gye-wi turned to Hong Dan-yeop. “Then I’ll leave that to you, Brother Cho. I have something to say to this one.”

Leaving behind Beom Gye-wi, who was radiating a murderous aura, and Hong Dan-yeop, who was trembling, Cho Ak-ryang soared into the air and sped away.

* * *

“Keugh!”

Hyeon-geom quickly supported his master’s shoulder as he staggered and groaned. “Are you alright?”

Gong Hyeon-ja nodded with a bitter smile. Although the San Gong poison had been completely removed, the aftereffects of suffering for ten days were unavoidable.

Gong Hyeon-ja looked back and forth between his own skinny arm and his disciple’s noticeably gaunt face, and let out a heavy sigh. “This is the most humiliating moment of my life.”

Not only was he captured by the Demonic Path [a group of evil martial artists] as a hostage, but he also had to endure all sorts of insults and humiliation.

However, what really tormented him was something else. “To think I would owe my life to those people…….”

Gong Hyeon-ja, recalling Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi, felt like he wanted to disappear. He was so embarrassed that he couldn’t even report the truth to the sect.

Hyeon-geom, however, couldn’t understand his master’s attitude. Even though they were villains, they were benefactors who had saved their lives in a moment of desperation.

He didn’t quite agree with his master’s continued hostility. He knew his master’s rigid character, but he still felt they should acknowledge their debt.

“However, I am concerned that I have not properly expressed our gratitude to them.”

Gong Hyeon-ja cast a dumbfounded look at Hyeon-geom’s words. “Do you know how many disciples of the Gongdong Sect have lost their lives at their hands?”

“However……”

Gong Hyeon-ja cut him off with a firm expression. “There’s a reason why they’re called the Ten Great Evils. There’s a reason why that ominous title follows them.”

“……”

“What’s the difference between them and the Seven Odd Freaks? The Demonic Path’s ugly nature is that they don’t hesitate to deceive and take lives to achieve their goals. Don’t ever judge them on the same level as us.”

Hyeon-geom sighed softly.

But at that moment, he felt a chill running down his spine.

Gong Hyeon-ja seemed to sense it too; he stopped walking and began to look around.

Then, two figures emerged from the thicket about ten yards away.

Gong Hyeon-ja groaned as he recognized one of them: a fiery red robe with elaborate patterns embroidered on it, and a woman with striking, sensual eyes. Her seductive figure was very alluring, but her seductiveness felt excessive and dangerous.

“The One-Eyed Rakshasa [a female demon]……”

Gong Hyeon-ja showed his bewilderment. He never expected that she, who had not been seen for a while, would be waiting for them here.

Sa Young-oui, meeting his gaze, gave him a strange look. “Shouldn’t we say our goodbyes before we go? We’ve built up some affection over the years.”

Gong Hyeon-ja frowned at her coquettish tone. Although she looked to be in her thirties, she was actually an old hag who was over seventy years old.

“Shut your seductive mouth!”

Sa Young-oui chuckled at Gong Hyeon-ja’s roar and slowly approached them, her white hair fluttering in the air. A thick murderous aura flowed from her single eye.

“It’s a shame. I wanted to properly share our farewells, but I don’t have time for that.”

The black-clad man who covered his face with a mask remained silent, standing there like a rock.

Gong Hyeon-ja and Hyeon-geom drew their swords at the same time.

Sa Young-oui soared towards them. A chaotic mix of dizzying sword shadows and red afterimages, and in between, a series of cold metallic sounds and impacts erupted.

“Keup!”

A suppressed groan escaped from Gong Hyeon-ja’s mouth. The situation was not good. The longer the confrontation, the more the cold air that had risen through the sword penetrated his heart.

Sa Young-oui’s famous martial art, the Ice Heart Piercing Palm [a martial art technique that freezes the opponent’s heart]. He tried to escape its influence, but he couldn’t shake her off.

‘How the hell!’

In the past, she was not even his match, but now she was on par with him. But the problem was that neither he nor Hyeon-geom were in normal condition.

Gradually, the odds were tilting towards the opponent, and Gong Hyeon-ja and Hyeon-geom were barely able to fend off the incoming palm strikes.

Sa Young-oui, on the other hand, was relaxed. “Don’t worry. I’ll send you back to the Gongdong Sect.”

Sa Young-oui gave a sinister smile. “I’ll leave your cumbersome bodies behind and just cut off your heads.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Sa Young-oui’s attacks intensified. Gong Hyeon-ja, realizing that the situation was unfavorable, gritted his teeth. “What’s your purpose?”

“Are you curious about that now?”

Sa Young-oui continued leisurely. “Well, fine. You need to have something to tell King Yama [the King of Hell].”

“……”

“Others need to know what happens if they ignore our advice. In short, it’s an example. You and your disciple. So now……”

Jjaeng!

With a sharp sound, the sword shadow that had been hanging in the air was torn like silk. Sa Young-oui pushed in her hand, which had frozen white.

“Die!”

Gong Hyeon-ja’s face turned pale. Sa Young-oui’s hand was pushing towards his chest. There was no way to stop it.

Then a miracle happened.

Kwang!

“Kyaak!”

Suddenly, an explosion seemed to erupt in front of him, and Sa Young-oui was thrown back with a shrill scream. She twisted her body in the air and landed on the ground, the relaxed smile gone, replaced by bewilderment.

“Blood Hand Venerable……”

Gong Hyeon-ja and Hyeon-geom turned their heads to where her gaze was directed: a rock about ten yards away. A man was standing next to it, as if he had been there all along. It was Cho Ak-ryang.

“I’m glad I followed you.”

Cho Ak-ryang walked over and stood in front of Gong Hyeon-ja and Hyeon-geom. “Step back.”

Gong Hyeon-ja’s face darkened. This was the second time he had owed his life to him. However, he was not a fool, even if he was stubborn. Soon, he nodded silently and took Hyeon-geom away.

“Your face has gotten better?”

Cho Ak-ryang stared intently at Sa Young-oui’s face. “Your martial arts must have improved since you recovered your eye technique?”

Sa Young-oui gave off a venomous look. “But it seems like the lost eye hasn’t grown back.”

Sa Young-oui, grinding her teeth, glanced back. Cho Ak-ryang frowned. “Is that guy your master?”

Cho Ak-ryang’s eyes turned to the man in black. All that was revealed above the mask was a pair of eyes, but the presence contained within them was far greater than Sa Young-oui or Hong Dan-yeop. Moreover, he was thoroughly managing his energy and not revealing it.

‘It’s him.’

If there was someone watching them, he couldn’t think of anyone else.

“Master!”

Sa Young-oui’s eyebrows twitched. “We are not in a master-servant relationship. He asked me for a favor, and I simply accepted it.”

Cho Ak-ryang smiled coldly. “Then why are you looking at his face?”

“……!”

“What else would you call such a relationship?”

Sa Young-oui’s face was contorted so badly that it was pitiful. Cho Ak-ryang looked at her and smiled slightly. “I guess you’ve already realized it yourself since you’re not denying it.”

Sa Young-oui’s murderous aura soared terribly at Cho Ak-ryang’s blatant mockery. “Shut up! You……”

Sa Young-oui couldn’t finish her words because a shock that seemed to crush her shoulder was suddenly applied.

“Wak!”

Sa Young-oui suddenly vomited a bowl of blood and sat down. Her right arm was limply drooping. She struggled to lift her head.

“How the hell……?”

Cho Ak-ryang answered by raising his hand and pointing at her. Sa Young-oui’s complexion turned pale. Suddenly, something seemed to ripple in front of her eyes, and then it rushed straight into her chest. She hurriedly crossed her arms to defend, but it was useless.

Kwang!

Sa Young-oui spat out blood and flew away, but she didn’t fall. Straightening her figure while staggering, she looked at Cho Ak-ryang with an unbelievable expression. “Distant Palm……!”

When inflicting damage on an enemy, gathering energy to increase its power is called energy release. But there was an even more advanced technique: palm wind, or fist wind [techniques to hurt people from a distance]. It was a method of attacking the opponent by pushing forward while maintaining the condensed energy.

However, the Distant Palm that Cho Ak-ryang had just used was a transcendent art that was on a different level. Energy explodes at an arbitrary point that cannot be specified. It was a divine power that could only be shown by those who had reached the realm of *心意運氣* [Xin Yi Yun Qi, a high level of martial arts mastery], where true energy naturally arises and follows the will.

In fact, she couldn’t feel anything until right before she was hit. Not even a hint of energy, not even a murderous aura. Only after being hit did she bitterly realize its power.

The gap in martial prowess was too overwhelming. There was no way to deal with it.

Cho Ak-ryang picked up a stone rolling on the floor. Even after seeing that, Sa Young-oui couldn’t even move a finger, as if she had become a stone statue. The grim aura that pierced her heart was not allowing it.

A difference that could not be filled. That is the level. And Cho Ak-ryang was the one who fully possessed that level.

Kung.

Cho Ak-ryang’s foot rolled on the floor. The moment that power traveled up his ankle, his body moved in a spiral. The rotational force, which had been added through his legs and waist, was transmitted to his hand as it was, and it was at the same time that the stone he was holding left his hand.

“……!”

Sa Young-oui turned pale with fear. Although she couldn’t see it, she could feel the shadow of death approaching to take her life. She closed her eyes tightly.

Peok.

“……?”

Sa Young-oui, realizing that she was still alive even after time had passed, opened her eyes slightly. The back of the man in black, who had blocked her path and raised his hand, came into view.

“Not bad.”

Cho Ak-ryang cast an interested look at the man in black, newly curious about the identity of the man who had caught the stone thrown with Explosive Force in one hand.