The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 161

Dan Ahk-seon’s composure earned him a scoff from Yeon Jeok-sim.

“Oh, so you’re a beggar I’ve never seen before. Your touch will be… novel.”

“Aren’t you going to use a weapon?”

“Is there a need?”

Dan Ahk-seon’s disappointed expression only widened Yeon Jeok-sim’s sneer.

“You can use a weapon. It won’t change anything anyway.”

“Still, I don’t want to be called a coward later.”

Dan Ahk-seon entrusted Mook-ryong to Woon Joong-san and stepped forward.

The two stood facing each other, a short distance apart, their gazes locked.

“Come on. I’ll even concede the first move.”

Yeon Jeok-sim gestured dismissively, and Dan Ahk-seon smiled faintly.

“I won’t refuse.”

No sooner had he spoken than Dan Ahk-seon’s figure blurred as he dashed towards Yeon Jeok-sim.

Yeon Jeok-sim was momentarily taken aback by Dan Ahk-seon’s rapid approach, the beggar closing the distance in an instant.

But quickly recovering, Yeon Jeok-sim’s robe fluttered wildly.

Simultaneously, a fierce force, generated by his punch, shot directly towards Dan Ahk-seon – a ‘Fist Wind’ [a technique where internal energy is projected outwards].

Woon Joong-san, who was watching the fight from afar, was startled and shouted.

“Fist Wind!”

He had guessed that Yeon Jeok-sim’s martial arts were considerable, given how easily he’d defeated Bang So-bang.

But to think he had reached the level of manipulating internal energy to harm others at a distance!

“Cowardly bastard!” Bang So-bang spat, criticizing Yeon Jeok-sim.

Clearly, he had offered the first move but failed to keep his word.

Yeon Jeok-sim’s face flushed slightly.

His body had instinctively reacted to Dan Ahk-seon’s unusual momentum.

However, regret quickly outweighed his immediate embarrassment.

Having unconsciously unleashed his best move, there was no way the beggar before him could properly handle it.

He had intended to prolong the experience and savor the sensation, but it seemed it would end far too quickly.

‘Well, does it matter?’

After all, there were still two opponents left.

But it didn’t take long for him to realize how mistaken he was.

Even when faced with the fierce force hurtling towards his chest, Dan Ahk-seon didn’t evade or retreat.

Instead, he stepped forward and thrust his fist directly into the center of the oncoming force.

Thud!

A deafening explosion shook the air.

Following it, intense energy rippled outwards.

Unable to withstand the impact, Yeon Jeok-sim staggered back three steps.

On the other hand, Dan Ahk-seon didn’t retreat at all; rather, he closed the distance even further, as if to pressure Yeon Jeok-sim.

“……!”

Yeon Jeok-sim’s heart sank.

To be overpowered in internal energy!

He couldn’t help but feel bewildered by a situation he had never experienced before.

But the real problem was elsewhere.

The clash had left him feeling nauseous and dizzy.

On the other hand, the beggar seemed perfectly fine, as if he hadn’t suffered any damage.

Only then did Yeon Jeok-sim abandon his contempt for Dan Ahk-seon and decide to use his ultimate technique. But even this wasn’t easy.

The opponent was already within striking distance.

It was then that he noticed a hand flying towards his chest.

Yeon Jeok-sim hurriedly waved his hand to deflect the attack.

But this was a fatal mistake.

In his disoriented state, his careless gesture exposed vulnerabilities.

And Dan Ahk-seon wasn’t one to miss them.

Thwack, thwack, thwack!

A strangely flickering hand struck Yeon Jeok-sim’s shoulder and chest in quick succession.

“Cough!”

Yeon Jeok-sim staggered back, reeling from the piercing impact that penetrated to his bones.

Dan Ahk-seon didn’t bother chasing Yeon Jeok-sim.

Instead, he merely glared at Yeon Jeok-sim with cold eyes.

Yeon Jeok-sim felt a chill run down his spine.

Although it was only for a moment, he couldn’t follow the opponent’s movements with his eyes.

The bewilderment soon turned into confusion, and then into fear.

“What kind of sorcery are you using!”

Otherwise, the current situation was incomprehensible.

Dan Ahk-seon cast a look of disdain at him.

“Is that all the skill you have, relying on it to bully those weaker than you?”

Yeon Jeok-sim’s face turned red.

“Shut up!”

Almost simultaneously, Yeon Jeok-sim took a step forward, and Dan Ahk-seon disappeared from his sight.

By the time Yeon Jeok-sim realized it, Dan Ahk-seon was already beneath his chin.

“……!”

Yeon Jeok-sim was horrified.

A moment of agitation.

That fleeting wavering had completely exposed the boundary between inhalation and exhalation [a critical vulnerability in martial arts stances].

This led to an irreversible outcome.

Crack!

With a shock that rattled his brain, Yeon Jeok-sim’s head snapped back.

Dan Ahk-seon, having accurately planted the base of his palm into Yeon Jeok-sim’s chin, closed the gap further and swung his arm like lightning.

Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack!

A barrage of strikes, like hail, erupted in succession.

Dan Ahk-seon’s right elbow slammed into Yeon Jeok-sim’s solar plexus.

Following it, his left elbow struck the left and right ribs in turn.

He continued his relentless assault without even giving him a chance to scream.

It was a terrifyingly persistent series of attacks.

“Ugh!”

Yeon Jeok-sim screamed and flailed his arms.

But his hands merely groped aimlessly.

Thump.

It was then that Dan Ahk-seon seized Yeon Jeok-sim’s pulse points.

Crack.

Using the Keumna hand technique [a technique that targets pressure points] he had learned from Cho Ahk-ryang, Dan Ahk-seon easily twisted and broke Yeon Jeok-sim’s arm before throwing him away.

Thud.

Yeon Jeok-sim, violently flung aside, lay on the ground, gasping for breath.

“Young Master!”

One of the bodyguards rushed over to support Yeon Jeok-sim and help him up.

At that moment, Yeon Jeok-sim reached out and grabbed the sword that was fastened to the bodyguard’s waist.

Clang.

With a cold sound, the azure Cheonggang Sword [Azure River Sword] revealed its form.

“I’ll kill you!”

Yeon Jeok-sim shouted, glaring at Dan Ahk-seon, clutching the Cheonggang Sword.

Woon Joong-san and Bang So-bang sneered at him.

“Empty wagons make the most noise,” Woon Joong-san said.

“Dogs that can’t bite bark the loudest,” Bang So-bang added.

Yeon Jeok-sim turned his head sharply, directing his murderous intent towards the two.

But the two calmly accepted the hostile gaze.

Having witnessed Dan Ahk-seon’s overwhelming martial prowess, even the slightest concern had vanished.

“Ahk-seon, catch!”

Dan Ahk-seon, catching the Mook-ryong thrown by Woon Joong-san, turned to the bodyguard who was supporting Yeon Jeok-sim.

“There wasn’t a clause that allowed third parties to interfere during the contest, was there?”

“Th, that’s…….”

Yeon Jeok-sim pushed away the flustered bodyguard.

“Get out of the way!”

“But Young Master!”

“I said get lost!”

At Yeon Jeok-sim’s glare, the bodyguard sighed and stepped back.

“Die!”

Yeon Jeok-sim swung his sword fiercely at Dan Ahk-seon.

Whirr, whirr, whirr, whirr!

The dirt floor in front of him split open lengthwise as sword energy rushed towards Dan Ahk-seon.

Having already been thoroughly humiliated at close range, Yeon Jeok-sim had decided to engage Dan Ahk-seon from a distance with sword energy.

At that moment, the Mook-ryong in Dan Ahk-seon’s hand writhed.

The pattern of waves, made clearer by the acceptance of Wihwa Divine Art [a martial arts technique], became visible.

Towards the sharp sword energy rushing towards him, Mook-ryong revealed its power.

Tear!

With a noise like silk tearing, the sword energy Yeon Jeok-sim had unleashed dissipated powerlessly into the air.

As Yeon Jeok-sim stared in disbelief at the sword energy collapsing in vain, shock took hold in his eyes.

Before he knew it, Dan Ahk-seon had closed the distance and was thrusting a black staff towards his solar plexus.

“No way!”

Yeon Jeok-sim couldn’t believe it.

It was as if the space between himself and Dan Ahk-seon had vanished in an instant.

Bang!

Yeon Jeok-sim’s figure soared into the air.

He hurriedly tried to strike down the incoming staff with his sword, but instead, the Cheonggang Sword shattered into pieces and scattered into the air.

At the same time, Yeon Jeok-sim spat out a mouthful of blood.

But Yeon Jeok-sim, the person in question, had neither the mental capacity to feel pain nor the ability to salvage the situation.

His wide-open eyes were filled only with terror.

Mook-ryong began to roam his defenseless body in mid-air.

Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack!

“Aaaagh!”

Yeon Jeok-sim screamed at the relentless pain of having his vital points struck all over his body.

It was a merciless beating that didn’t even allow him time to catch his breath.

Before it, Yeon Jeok-sim was helpless.

Blood gushed from his mouth repeatedly, and his face was turning purple, beyond pale.

“Stop! Stooop!”

A desperate scream erupted from Yeon Jeok-sim’s mouth. But all that returned was a chilling voice.

“It’s still a long way from an hour.”

“……!”

Dan Ahk-seon, who began to beat him again, was not the gentle person he usually was.

That appearance was unexpected even to the three watching from afar.

Among them, Han Seol-hwa sighed deeply, as if the sky had fallen.

“Hoo. He should have grown up seeing only good things at that age.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look at Dan Doctor’s eyes. See who he resembles.”

Beom Gye-wi glanced at Dan Ahk-seon, who was still wielding Mook-ryong, and replied.

“Why? He looks fine. He’s handsome as ever today.”

“He has the same look in his eyes as you and Brother Cho.”

“Huh? Is that why he’s handsome?”

Han Seol-hwa’s expression turned fierce at those words. Unable to bear it, Cho Ahk-ryang spoke up.

“Sister Han.”

Cho Ahk-ryang said, receiving Han Seol-hwa’s frosty gaze.

“Compared to Sister Han’s eyes, ours are those of Buddha.”

“What?”

Before Han Seol-hwa could retort, Cho Ahk-ryang and Beom Gye-wi turned their gaze to Dan Ahk-seon.

A desperate scream had caught their attention.

“Kuh-huh! Cough! Aaaaaagh!”

Yeon Jeok-sim had to curl up on the floor like a turtle, enduring the harsh beating that rained down like a storm with his whole body.

As the situation reached this point, the bodyguards couldn’t help but step forward.

They were Bopyo (保標) [security guards] hired with money to protect the manor.

They couldn’t just stand by and watch the employer’s son being beaten to death before their eyes.

But they couldn’t interfere in the contest between Dan Ahk-seon and Yeon Jeok-sim.

Woon Joong-san and Bang So-bang had already blocked them.

“You shouldn’t do that.”

Bang So-bang warned the warriors.

“Unless you want the rumor to spread that Cheongsim House is interfering in a Kanghoin’s [martial artist’s] contest and breaking a sacred promise, you sons of bitches.”

The warriors, belatedly recalling that Bang So-bang was a member of the Beggars’ Union, swallowed hard with hardened faces.

Unable to do anything, they remained stuck in the middle.

In the meantime.

Dan Ahk-seon, having tightly filled an hour, stepped back, withdrawing Mook-ryong.

It was an hour that had felt like an eternity to Yeon Jeok-sim.

“Is it my turn now?”

As Dan Ahk-seon returned to his side, this time Woon Joong-san approached Yeon Jeok-sim.

Thwack!

“Cough!”

Yeon Jeok-sim, who was staggering to his feet, clutched his chin and collapsed.

“Joong-san, still leave his teeth alone. They can’t regenerate there.”

“You’re still a doctor.”

Already severely beaten by Dan Ahk-seon, Yeon Jeok-sim was in a state where he couldn’t even resist.

Woon Joong-san began to carefully trample on him with sincerity. Leaving alone the bones that wouldn’t regenerate, as Dan Ahk-seon had advised.

Instead, he inflicted even more terrible pain.

“What kind of contest is this! Can’t you stop right now?”

Towards the bodyguards who were trying to step forward again, Dan Ahk-seon responded with a cold gaze.

“Who was it that said that once a contest starts, it can never be stopped?”

“Th, that’s…….”

The bodyguards felt an inexplicable sense of pressure from the boy’s gaze that silently stared at them.

“Don’t worry. Your young master won’t die. At least not as long as I’m here.”

It was an absurd confidence, but the warriors couldn’t recklessly interfere with the look and attitude that somehow inspired trust.

They could have inadvertently created a more dangerous situation.

The young master, being beaten defenselessly, was no different from a hostage in the current situation.

Woon Joong-san, having filled an hour by beating Yeon Jeok-sim, shouted towards Bang So-bang.

“So-bang! Switch!”

Bang So-bang grinned and approached Yeon Jeok-sim.

Slap!

Yeon Jeok-sim’s face snapped to the side.

Bang So-bang had slapped him across the cheek with his palm.

Slap! Slap!

With resounding sounds, Yeon Jeok-sim’s face swelled up red in an instant.

Although internal energy wasn’t infused, the hand was so skillful that it was very painful.

In fact, Bang So-bang couldn’t properly use martial arts yet because his injuries hadn’t healed.

And he thought this was more insulting to the opponent.

As expected.

“Eek!”

Yeon Jeok-sim was on the verge of going insane with shame and anger.

To think that the opponent he had been mocking just yesterday was slapping him across the face.

Yeon Jeok-sim, his reason gone, screamed.

“Kill! Kill all those bastards!”

Confusion appeared on the faces of the bodyguards at Yeon Jeok-sim’s command.

It was then.

A resounding voice shook the open space.

“What is the meaning of this!”

The gazes of Dan Ahk-seon, Woon Joong-san, and Bang So-bang turned towards the entrance.

An elderly man with white sideburns and a stern expression was sweeping his surroundings with angry eyes.

“Master!”

Exclamations of bewilderment erupted from the mouths of the bodyguards who discovered him.

He was none other than Yeon Dae-ya, the owner of Cheongsim House who had hired them.