The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 472

신마의선 (472)

“Pardon?”

Bewilderment widened Bang So-bang’s eyes.

He never imagined the teaching would involve a sparring match.

Even if it was just a guided practice, facing Bum Gye-wi was enough to make anyone tremble.

In the world’s assessment, Bum Gye-wi was somewhat inferior to the other members of the Sinma Samjon [Three Divine Demons], Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa.

However, Bang So-bang knew well that Bum Gye-wi was a master comparable to the Tenha Ojeol [Five Grand Masters of the World].

And this was something all of the Tenha Ojeol had acknowledged.

Indeed, the formidable divine power he displayed in the Shinji [Divine Land, referring to a major conflict or event] against the Demonic Cult had been deeply imprinted on all the renowned figures present at the time.

But having already spoken, there was no turning back.

Bang So-bang gritted his teeth, steeling himself.

“Then… I’ll go.”

No sooner had he spoken than Bang So-bang’s figure hurtled towards Bum Gye-wi.

Thwack.

“Cough!”

However, belying his charging momentum, Bang So-bang slumped powerlessly to the ground.

A brutal hand had pierced his side!

There was no profound technique or dazzling skill to speak of.

Just a playful punch had left him breathless.

But that was only the beginning.

“……!”

Bang So-bang’s face paled as he spotted the brutal fist closing the distance, aiming to lift his chin.

He frantically tried to dodge by tilting his head back, but Bum Gye-wi’s fist was unlike those of other masters.

Bang!

Bang So-bang, unable to even scream, was sent flying, his eyes shaking violently.

The courage and desire to win that had filled his chest were long gone.

In their place were only shock and horror.

He had expected some consideration, given the difference in their martial arts levels, but how wrong he was.

Fortunately, nothing was broken, but the world was spinning before his eyes.

It was then.

“Do you know what’s most important in a fight?”

Bum Gye-wi, who had approached unnoticed, suddenly spoke.

“Uh…….”

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Bang So-bang answered as he had been taught.

“Distance, breath, and momentum.”

“And what else?”

“Pardon?”

Bang So-bang was at a loss for words.

As if expecting this, Bum Gye-wi chuckled.

Then, unexpectedly, he readily gave the answer.

“It’s guts.”

At Bum Gye-wi’s words, Bang So-bang nodded unconsciously.

“No matter how skilled you are in martial arts, if you’re timid, you can’t perform to your full potential. Just like you were a moment ago.”

“Ah!”

Bang So-bang’s face flushed as he recalled how he had momentarily shrunk back when exposed to the storm of killing intent as he charged at Bum Gye-wi.

But then.

Bum Gye-wi crossed his arms and tilted his head.

After a moment of frowning and groaning, Bum Gye-wi looked at Dan Ak-seon.

“Dan Doctor! What was that thing? The thing Cho Hyung always used to say.”

Frustrated that he couldn’t quite recall it, Bum Gye-wi pondered, even puffing out hot air.

“You know, that saying that’s similar. If there’s a guy hesitating on a cliff, knock him off with a stick…….”

“Ah!”

Dan Ak-seon, realizing what Bum Gye-wi was trying to say, smiled and replied.

“Are you referring to Baekcheokgandu Jinilbo (百尺竿頭進一步) [To advance a step further from the top of a hundred-foot pole]?”

A hundred-foot pole.

It meant taking another step even after reaching the top.

“That’s right! That’s it!”

Bum Gye-wi grinned and asked Bang So-bang.

“Do you know what it means?”

Bang So-bang nodded, looking dazed.

He could vaguely grasp the concept Bum Gye-wi was explaining.

So-called courage (膽).

Fear was ultimately something created by one’s own mind, and there was only one way to overcome it.

Continuously challenge and confront it, engraving it into your body so you don’t cower in any situation.

“Good. Shall we continue, then?”

The moment he faced Bum Gye-wi’s eerie smile, Bang So-bang’s heart sank.

He instinctively knew what that smile meant.

One thing was clear: a trial far beyond his imagination had begun.

As expected.

Bum Gye-wi raised his foot and swung it down.

His momentum suggested he would crush his head if he failed to dodge.

Clang.

Bang So-bang barely avoided Bum Gye-wi’s foot, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

But this was just the beginning.

Not allowing him a moment to catch his breath, Bum Gye-wi immediately pressed on, causing Bang So-bang to groan involuntarily.

However, even amidst this, he used the Chwipalseonbo [Drunken Immortal Steps] to create distance and attempted a counterattack with the Hyunryongjaejeon (見龍在田) [Appearing Dragon in the Field] stance of the Hangryong Sipbaljang [Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms].

‘Success!’

Bang So-bang was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief when Bum Gye-wi, his feet bound by his energy, stopped chasing him.

But at that moment, he should have reconsidered why the smile on Bum Gye-wi’s lips was growing even wider.

Clang!

Only after a deafening impact and a heavy recoil traveling up his wrist, numbing his shoulder, did Bang So-bang realize that Bum Gye-wi had deflected his energy.

Simultaneously, Bum Gye-wi snatched Bang So-bang’s staggering shoulder.

And then slammed Bang So-bang to the ground.

Thud.

“Cough!”

Bang So-bang, sprawled out in the cratered floor, having shattered the Blue Stone Slab, was utterly dumbfounded.

The relentless, merciless assault had completely overwhelmed him.

Facing Bum Gye-wi’s indifferent gaze, fear instinctively washed over him.

In that moment.

A strange light flickered in Bum Gye-wi’s eyes.

Bang So-bang, instead of begging for mercy or pleading to give up, had launched a counterattack using the Yongmitae [Dragon Tail Strike] technique.

For the first time, Bang So-bang saw Bum Gye-wi’s gaze of satisfaction.

Thwack.

Just as something flashed before his eyes, Bang So-bang was sent flying again in an unsightly manner.

“Aaaargh!”

But even this time, Bang So-bang charged back at Bum Gye-wi, letting out a desperate scream.

At the sight of Bang So-bang, the Hainan disciples couldn’t hide their expressions of dismay.

Having experienced sparring with Bum Gye-wi themselves, they understood the pain Bang So-bang was going through better than anyone.

Hong Jeok-mun, the current leader of the Beggars’ Union.

There was indeed a reason why Bang So-bang, the next leader to succeed him, who was not yet thirty, was mentioned so often.

Throughout the entire Central Plains, there were only a handful of people who could display such tenacity and persistence against the Bum Gye-wi of the world.

It was then that Dan Ak-seon murmured quietly.

“Bobojinjeon (步步進前), Cheonhamujeok (天下無敵) [Step by step forward, there is no enemy in the world].”

Step by step forward, there is no enemy in the world.

It was a phrase once engraved on the Wongeong Bo Sword, the sacred object of the Hyeongsan Sect.

Of course, even in the meantime, Bang So-bang was constantly getting beaten.

But each time, he kept charging at Bum Gye-wi like a madman.

Bang So-bang’s already tattered rags had long since turned into unrecognizable shreds.

His face, which was quite handsome, was no exception.

His face, covered in bruises, looked like a bloated dumpling.

Nevertheless, the light in his eyes, burning with fighting spirit, did not fade.

It was then.

Thud.

Bum Gye-wi, who had snatched the wrist of Bang So-bang as it flew towards his solar plexus, frowned.

“That’s not it. Instead of cutting it off with a ‘thak, thak, thak’ motion, you have to connect it all at once with a ‘ta-da-dak!'”

At those words, Bang So-bang’s footwork changed in an instant.

Deviating from the fixed flow of stances, the path became even more unpredictable.

Bum Gye-wi’s advice continued.

“It’s the same when reading your opponent’s breath and digging in. Squeeze in with a ‘seuseuseuk’ and cram your power in with a ‘bbaang!'”

No sooner had he spoken than Bang So-bang’s stance combinations became even sharper.

A surprising thing happened immediately after that.

With the much more concise transition between offense and defense, a subtle explosion began to erupt between the two of them.

The explosion, which grew louder over time, eventually became a majestic thunderous roar that engulfed the area.

“Is that even possible?”

One of the Hainan disciples, watching the scene with a blank expression, involuntarily exclaimed.

And someone responded to that.

“Was the problem not the teaching method, but our ability to learn?”

Boom!

It was then that Bang So-bang’s figure was pushed back with a ground-shaking explosion.

“That’s enough!”

Bang So-bang, who was about to charge again, paused at Bum Gye-wi’s resounding voice.

Belatedly regaining his senses, Bang So-bang blinked with a dazed expression.

He had been lost in a trance without even realizing it.

Still, he clearly remembered the tingling sensation remaining all over his body.

How much time had passed?

Wiping away the dripping nosebleed, Bang So-bang smiled more brightly than ever.

“Your teachings are truly the best in the world.”

“Hmph. Of course. Who do you think raised Dan Doctor?”

It was a statement that Cho Ak-ryang or Han Seol-hwa would have vehemently protested, but Bum Gye-wi nonchalantly claimed to be Dan Ak-seon’s teacher.

And in fact, he believed it to be so, so he didn’t care what anyone said.

“You have a knack for learning. Those guys over there have no sense and can’t understand.”

The Hainan disciples, receiving Bum Gye-wi’s gaze, lowered their heads with flushed faces.

They were truly speechless.

Having witnessed firsthand that this method of teaching was very effective, they couldn’t lift their heads in embarrassment.

“Take good care of Dan Doctor.”

At Bum Gye-wi’s permission, Bang So-bang nodded vigorously.

“I will protect her with my life!”

“Protect? Who’s protecting who?”

“Yes?”

“Just take good care of her. Make sure Dan Doctor is comfortable.”

“Ah, I understand.”

As if still displeased with parting with Dan Ak-seon, Bum Gye-wi lingered nearby for a while.

After a while.

Dan Ak-seon and Bang So-bang, having finished their preparations, left the Central Plains branch of the Hainan Sword Sect, receiving everyone’s farewells.

“Have you figured out where Kang Dae-hyeop [Great Hero Kang] is?”

At Dan Ak-seon’s question, Bang So-bang grinned.

“Of course.”

Dan Ak-seon wore a surprised expression.

No matter how outstanding the Beggars’ Union’s intelligence was, the opponent was Kang Wi-ryong.

One of the Tenha Ojeol [Five Grand Masters of the World].

It was by no means easy to find the whereabouts of such a master who had made up his mind to hide.

“It’s not for nothing that he’s called Jugwang Dogwi (酒狂賭鬼) [The Drunken Gambling Devil].”

Bang So-bang boasted, seizing the rare opportunity.

“I expected that he would continue to brew alcohol somewhere, gambling aside, right? And I guessed it right.”

“How?”

“The Dowonhyang [Peach Blossom Fragrance] he makes is, first of all, a Gyeomhyang-type [blended fragrance type] liquor close to Nonghyang-type [strong fragrance type].”

Naturally, the Gotae method (固態法) [solid-state fermentation method] is used in the fermentation process.

It is to promote the saccharification (糖化) [conversion to sugar] of grains, which are the raw materials, with solid-form yeast.

“To do that, you need an earthen pit to ferment the raw materials.”

There are various raw materials, but since most of them use sorghum, the soil of the old fermentation site was needed for the traditional mixed steaming and mixed burning (混烝混燒續) fermentation technique.

Bang So-bang took out a piece of paper from his sleeve.

“A few years ago, they newly expanded the brewery to increase the production of Dowonhyang, right? But the soil from the closed old fermentation site was moved somewhere entirely.”

“Ah! Then?”

At Dan Ak-seon’s question, Bang So-bang nodded with a confident expression.

“That’s right. He’s probably where those soils were delivered.”