The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 451

Dahn Ahk-seon sighed softly and approached the courtesan.

“Hey, kid.”

The man who had been brandishing the liquor bottle beckoned Dahn Ahk-seon with his finger.

“Come here.”

Dahn Ahk-seon’s cold gaze swept over the man and the group lined up behind him.

Not to be outdone, the brigands also glared at Dahn Ahk-seon with fierce energy.

But only for a moment.

Dahn Ahk-seon, having turned his gaze from them, began to examine the courtesan who had fallen to the floor.

The laceration on her scalp was a bit deep, but fortunately, it wasn’t a critical injury.

“Huh? Look at this?”

Thud.

The man kicked back his chair and stood up, curling his lips into a gruesome smile as he faced Dahn Ahk-seon.

“Dare you ignore this Song Gang’s orders?”

The man identified himself as Song Gang.

In his hand, he held a spiked club, with barbs already protruding menacingly.

However, Dahn Ahk-seon still didn’t give him a single glance, continuing his treatment.

“This bastard?”

The man twitched his eyebrows once and raised the spiked club.

It was then that a chilling voice echoed through the tavern.

“I saw you coming out of the Cheongsu Sect.”

It was Dahn Ahk-seon.

“So, you’re one of those who came looking for the Cheongsu Sect?”

Song Gang grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth.

“Those guys have long been fish food.”

The day he wiped out the Cheongsu Sect with blood.

He, who had led the bloody massacre, would occasionally revisit the place like today to recall the feeling when he got drunk and excited.

“When we actually fought them, they weren’t much, yet they boasted so much about succeeding in the Demon Sect subjugation. It was pathetic.”

“Did you attack the Cheongsu Sect?”

“Since they committed a deadly sin, it’s only natural that they pay the corresponding price, isn’t it?”

“What sin did they commit?”

Song Gang smirked.

“They didn’t understand their place.”

Dahn Ahk-seon began to cast a cold gaze.

Having once fought together risking their lives, they were no different from comrades to Dahn Ahk-seon.

That’s why he was angry.

No matter what, their sacrifice and noble will, which had been devoted to the Central Plains, should not be disparaged in this way.

“I’ll return those words to you as they are.”

“What?”

Toward Song Gang, who was puzzled, Dahn Ahk-seon unleashed his aura.

“Because you just committed the same sin.”

“……!”

Belatedly realizing the meaning of those words, Song Gang’s complexion had already turned ashen.

Song Gang realized that he had been greatly mistaken until now.

An overbearing aura that he had suddenly encountered.

Just by meeting his gaze, he felt as if his entire body was being cut away.

“Kuh!”

Song Gang, swallowing a groan, swung his spiked club wildly.

An instinctive sense of crisis made his body move regardless of his will.

The surging energy surrounding the spiked club.

This was proof that he was a considerable expert who had reached the realm of the Second-Rate Master.

Screech!

The spiked club, tearing through the air, rushed toward Dahn Ahk-seon’s eyes.

However, Dahn Ahk-seon didn’t dodge, nor did he even blink.

He simply reached out and touched the spiked club.

But the result was astonishing.

Thud!

Song Gang’s figure, who had swung the spiked club, flipped over in the air and crashed violently to the floor.

“……!”

Confusion filled Song Gang’s eyes, who had been thrown down without knowing why.

‘Four Ounces Deflects a Thousand Pounds?’

Or the essence of martial arts, also called Pear Blossom Transfer (梨花接木) [a technique that redirects an opponent’s force].

A supreme technique that redirects the direction and flow of power to subdue the enemy with their own strength.

However, apart from its basic principles, the number of people who could use it in actual combat was only a handful throughout the entire Murim [martial arts world].

‘An expert!’

Song Gang finally had to change his thinking.

He, too, was one who had roamed the Sword Forest of Mount Dosan.

He wasn’t so blind that he couldn’t recognize the monster before his eyes.

A chilling gaze looking down at him.

The formidable presence crouching within made his chest feel suffocated.

Above all, the atmosphere was unusual.

It was then that he saw the opponent holding the staff he had been carrying on his back.

Even though it was just that, an immense intangible pressure that could not be described in words pressed down on his entire body.

As the dark staff pointed at him, Song Gang’s complexion turned pale.

Suddenly, the energy and blood in his entire body began to boil, and his meridians began to twist.

The formidable intangible energy far surpassed the limits of all the martial arts he knew.

He felt a huge wall that he could never reach.

A Grandmaster.

No, it was a presence beyond that.

Only those who reached the summit could look down on the world.

He, who had just set foot on the steep ridge, couldn’t even guess the height of the summit.

But the young man before his eyes had already reached that place.

Otherwise, this kind of presence could not be explained.

“Captain!”

The brigands, astonished by Song Gang’s fall in a single move, all stood up at once.

In their hands, they held heavy nets.

They were iron nets made by weaving thin wires.

And some were holding crossbows.

Until now, countless experts had met a miserable end in front of these weapons without being able to put up a fight.

Each mesh had sharp, fishhook-shaped barbs, making it impossible to escape once caught.

The barbs that grew backward tore the flesh and dug deeper, so the more one struggled to escape, the more terrible the pain would be multiplied.

And the enemy, screaming in blood, would eventually have their breath cut off by the crossbows.

“W-wait!”

Song Gang shouted urgently.

He had witnessed the intense murderous intent swirling in Dahn Ahk-seon’s eyes.

However, Dahn Ahk-seon swung Mook-ryong resolutely without the slightest hesitation.

Song Gang hurriedly raised his spiked club to defend, but Dahn Ahk-seon’s skill was different from that of other experts.

Crack.

Song Gang, his chest bones shattered, couldn’t even scream and died on the spot.

“How dare you!”

The brigands who followed Song Gang exclaimed in astonishment with bewildered expressions.

A gruesome death that unfolded before their eyes.

It was a death they had become accustomed to, but it was a different story when it happened to their own group.

“Die!”

At the same time, the iron nets held in the men’s hands covered the sky.

“Kyaa!”

The courtesans, who were huddled behind Dahn Ahk-seon, screamed.

They had witnessed countless times how many people had lost their lives miserably under that technique.

At that moment.

Mook-ryong, held in Dahn Ahk-seon’s hand, seemed to wriggle once, and then several streaks of dazzling light were fired forward.

Ta-ta-ta-tang!

It was immediately after that that the strands of wire, shattered and scattered, were scattered in the air like sand.

No matter how strong the iron net was, it was useless from the beginning in front of condensed strong energy.

Even then, the dark light, with undiminished power, continued to move forward.

Large holes were pierced through the chests of the brigands.

They convulsed while standing for a moment.

Soon, they began to sprawl on the floor like rotten straw.

No one could survive with a burst heart.

Without exception, they all met an immediate death.

The blood gushing from their chests instantly created a large pool of blood.

The courtesans, belatedly recognizing the situation in the hall, screamed and ran out.

And following behind them, the waiter, his face pale, also hurriedly ran out.

The only people left were Dahn Ahk-seon and one surviving brigand.

The brigand, turning blue and trembling, threw down his crossbow and prostrated himself.

“P-please save me!”

After staring at him silently for a moment.

Dahn Ahk-seon slowly opened his mouth.

“Are there any survivors from the Cheongsu Sect?”

“Yes! Those guys… no, they fled to the Hengshan Sect!”

Dahn Ahk-seon, tilting his head for a moment, slowly sheathed Mook-ryong.

“Go and tell them.”

Dahn Ahk-seon said to the brigand, who was trembling with his head deeply buried on the floor.

“I will be coming soon.”

Whoever it was, they would have to pay the price for the current situation.

Dahn Ahk-seon was determined to hold those who had recklessly damaged the peace of the Central Plains, which he and everyone had built by risking their lives, accountable.

* * *

Hengshan County (衡山縣) [a county in Hunan, China], which embraces Mount Heng, has been a place with well-developed transportation due to its proximity to waterways and land routes since ancient times.

Because it was a distribution center where goods from the surrounding areas gathered, it was enjoying prosperity throughout the four seasons.

But now, none of the scenes that Dahn Ahk-seon remembered remained anywhere.

Perhaps because of the ominous atmosphere surrounding the entire village, all the shops in the market were tightly closed, and ordinary people were rarely seen.

On the other hand, those who were gathered in groups of three or five everywhere were clearly martial artists at a glance.

But their eyes and energy were unusual.

‘Are they occupying the village and staging a sit-in?’

It was not difficult to guess that their target was the Hengshan Sect.

Moreover, the scale was also considerable.

Even if he only counted the people who caught his eye, it easily exceeded several hundred.

Dahn Ahk-seon hid his presence as quietly as possible and buried himself in the darkness.

For now, it was important to properly understand the situation first.

Numerous martial artists were swarming throughout the village, but none of them noticed Dahn Ahk-seon’s presence.

Ga Du-dal, who prided himself on being the best thief in the world.

It was the moment when his stealth and lightness skills were properly shining.

* * *

The main hall located inside the Namyue Temple (南岳廟) [a Taoist temple in Hunan, China].

A meeting was in full swing inside.

Jin Jo-woon, who was presiding over the meeting as the sect leader of the Hengshan Sect, cast a look filled with mixed emotions at the news that had been heard one after another.

Because the situation was not good enough.

The Hengshan Sect had long been saturated with righteous people who had fled from various places.

As one of the Nine Great Sects.

Furthermore, as a righteous sect that valued consultation, they could not turn a blind eye to those who were asking for help.

The problem was that various supplies had recently become severely scarce.

Even the food that had been stockpiled had run out a long time ago.

The aftermath of the blocked stream of the Yangtze River was that serious.

“There is no point in holding out any longer.”

Jin Jo-woon opened his mouth with a pale face.

Ten years ago, during the final battle in Shinji, he was in a state of serious internal injury.

Although he had improved considerably through steady treatment, there was still not enough time to fully recover his past divine power.

“I think it’s time to make a decision now.”

At Jin Jo-woon’s words, sighs flowed from all over the conference hall.

After a while.

“What about the support we requested from other sects?”

At someone’s question, Jin Jo-woon smiled bitterly.

“I think it will be difficult to expect a positive answer.”

It wasn’t just the Hengshan Sect that had a fire on their feet [facing a crisis].

“There is no other way at the moment.”

Rather than dying of starvation like this, now was the only opportune time when their forces were still intact.

“I will lead everyone at the forefront.”

Complex emotions arose on the faces of the people filling the conference hall at Jin Jo-woon’s words.

This is because they knew very well that Jin Jo-woon had not yet fully overcome his injuries.

His willingness to take the lead by setting an example was worthy of respect, but it also meant that the situation was not good enough.

“I’m sorry. Because of us…….”

Jin Jo-woon smiled quietly at someone’s apology.

Since they had been respected as a prestigious righteous sect until now, it was only natural that they would be held accountable accordingly.

It was then.

“Sect leader!”

The door to the main hall burst open and someone rushed in.

It was Jo Cheol-san, the head of the reception hall who greeted outside guests, and the second disciple.

At his unusual appearance, Jin Jo-woon tensed up without realizing it.

“What’s going on?”

“We have a guest.”

“A guest?”

Jin Jo-woon frowned.

It was already overflowing with guests.

Who on earth had visited that he was making such a fuss when he was usually so calm?

But at the report that followed, Jin Jo-woon was also startled and jumped up from his seat.