The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 84

Divine Doctor of Demonic Arts (84)

Cho Ak-ryang spoke to a flustered Dan Ak-seon.

“Seeing something once is better than hearing about it a hundred times. Experiencing it yourself is better than just watching. It’s okay to fail, so move with confidence. I’ll point out what you’re doing wrong.”

Encouraged by Cho Ak-ryang’s words, Dan Ak-seon stood in front of a nearby tree.

He stood there blankly for a moment, recalling Cho Ak-ryang’s movements.

Then, in a fleeting moment.

As a series of actions flashed through his mind, he took a breath and stepped forward.

The enhanced True Energy of the Wihwa Divine Art enveloped Dan Ak-seon’s entire body.

Boom!

With a rather loud explosion, Dan Ak-seon stepped back several paces.

The shock, starting from his wrist and traveling up to his shoulder, made his whole body tingle.

But the result was disappointing.

His palm was numb, but only the bark of the tree was slightly scratched.

Dan Ak-seon turned to Cho Ak-ryang, who also smiled awkwardly.

The posture was quite plausible, but the process of materializing the rotational force, which could be said to be the essence of Jeonsagyeong [a martial arts technique focusing on rotational force], at his fingertips seemed very distant.

It was a total mess overall.

‘Well.’

Cho Ak-ryang inwardly chuckled bitterly.

In fact, Jeonsagyeong was one of the core martial arts that formed the foundation of Cho Ak-ryang’s martial prowess.

If he could simply imitate it after seeing it a few times, Cho Ak-ryang would have been dumbfounded.

It took him quite a long time after starting his training to be able to properly handle Jeonsagyeong.

‘It would be impossible, no matter how talented he is.’

Cho Ak-ryang, reflecting on his own impatience, demonstrated Jeonsagyeong once again.

This time, it was a rock.

Crack!

Cho Ak-ryang simply touched it with his index finger.

Yet, deep cracks starting from his finger covered the entire rock like a spiderweb.

And before long, it collapsed with a crash.

Cho Ak-ryang said to Dan Ak-seon, whose eyes were wide with surprise.

“Have you ever heard the saying ‘A stone pierced by an arrow’?”

“Yes. It means that if you concentrate, you can exert an unbelievably great force, right?”

Dan Ak-seon was familiar with the anecdote from the Biography of Yi Guang in the Records of the Grand Historian [a famous historical text].

It was about General Yi Guang shooting an arrow at what he thought was a tiger, but it turned out to be a large tiger-shaped rock.

Cho Ak-ryang nodded.

“Like that example, a concentrated force exerts great power. Whether it’s mental or physical.”

Without stopping there, Cho Ak-ryang continued to explain, moving slowly once more.

“When a series of movements form a trajectory and connect into one force……”

Swoosh.

A light downward strike.

A rather thick rock revealed a clean cross-section and split in two.

“You can apply it in various ways like this.”

“Wow……”

“Try it again.”

Dan Ak-seon concentrated and moved like Cho Ak-ryang, reaching out, swinging, and grabbing.

But no matter how many times he repeated it, it was the same.

His posture was quite good, but the final result was still disappointing.

Han Seol-hwa, who had been watching, stepped forward, frustrated.

“The rotational force that starts from the foot must be amplified as it passes through the ankle and knee. That force must be added to the waist and shoulders, but each part is acting separately. Rather, that force is counteracting each other, canceling out the power.”

“Then what should I do?”

“You need to maintain a consistent flow in the direction of the force.”

Dan Ak-seon was lost in thought.

A vague feeling, as if he could almost grasp it, tickled his mind.

‘Come to think of it……’

He had a similar experience a long time ago.

It was when he was learning acupuncture.

The locations of the acupoints [specific points on the body used in acupuncture] were all in his head, but they varied subtly from person to person.

So, finding the exact effective acupoint was not as easy as he thought.

Still, he didn’t give up and kept trying.

Then, in a fleeting moment.

He had a strange experience.

He began to feel sensations through the needles.

It was as if nerves extending from his fingers were connected to the needles.

At that moment, as if by magic, the needles found the exact acupoints on their own.

So he repeated it over and over again until that sensation became ingrained in his body.

Recalling that time, Dan Ak-seon moved his body again.

As time passed, a faint metallic taste began to fill his mouth.

The sweat that had been pouring down had already evaporated, leaving behind only a dry, salty residue.

Nevertheless, Dan Ak-seon did not give up and devoted himself to training.

Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa spared no criticism and advice in between.

But there was no noticeable dramatic change.

About half an hour passed like that.

Dan Ak-seon’s movements, having exhausted his stamina, noticeably slowed down.

Cho Ak-ryang, considering it was reaching its limit, smiled bitterly.

“Let’s take a break.”

At this point, he had to admit it.

Even a born genius couldn’t do the impossible.

“Huff, huff. I’m okay. I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.”

But Dan Ak-seon shook his head, gasping for breath.

Cho Ak-ryang frowned at Dan Ak-seon’s stubbornness.

“Anything more than this is not training but abuse. Hasn’t your concentration already dropped? Your current movements are just meaningless dances.”

At this point, Beom Gye-wi suddenly interjected.

“Why? He looks fine to me?”

“What?”

Beom Gye-wi, who was munching on jerky he had bought instead of Geonryang [dried provisions], said to Dan Ak-seon.

“That’s not it, Doctor Dan. Brother Cho moved with a ‘Chara-ra-rak!’ But Doctor Dan is now doing ‘Cha-cha-chak.’”

Cho Ak-ryang wondered if he had heard correctly.

Looking at Han Seol-hwa, she also looked displeased.

In this situation, what help could such vague and clumsy advice be?

What was even more absurd was that it came from the mouth of Beom Gye-wi, who was supposedly a master.

But conversely, Dan Ak-seon’s eyes sparkled at Beom Gye-wi’s words.

“Ah! That’s right. The key was ‘Chara-ra-rak’!”

Cho Ak-ryang sighed.

“There’s no need to be impatient. It took me quite a while. If you practice steadily, you’ll be able to make it your own someday.”

Cho Ak-ryang smiled awkwardly at Dan Ak-seon, who was taking his stance again.

“‘Chara-ra-rak.’ There’s no way it’ll work with that……”

Cho Ak-ryang couldn’t finish his sentence.

The moment Dan Ak-seon’s hand, after a series of movements, touched the giant tree.

Thud.

A sound that was clearly different from before was heard.

Subsequently, the giant tree shook from its roots, and the snow piled on its branches poured down in a flurry.

“……!”

Cho Ak-ryang’s eyes widened.

The power was not comparable to his own, but it was definitely Jeonsagyeong.

“How on earth?”

Cho Ak-ryang turned his head towards Han Seol-hwa.

She, too, was blinking in disbelief, looking surprised.

At that moment, Dan Ak-seon asked Beom Gye-wi.

“Like this?”

“That’s right! Good job, Doctor Dan.”

Dan Ak-seon smiled brightly at Beom Gye-wi’s praise.

“I was so focused on the connection and speed of the movements that I couldn’t fully entrust myself to the flow.”

And at Dan Ak-seon’s next words, Cho Ak-ryang almost fell into demonic possession.

“Uncle Beom is really good at teaching. It’s so easy to understand.”

“Hahaha! I am a bit outstanding. Unlike some others.”

Beom Gye-wi then threw a triumphant smile at Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa.

Cho Ak-ryang was speechless, dumbfounded.

“He understands that?”

Han Seol-hwa felt the same way.

The two of them cast strong, distrustful glances at Beom Gye-wi.

They firmly believed that he had just gotten lucky at the crucial moment when Dan Ak-seon gained enlightenment.

Otherwise, their pride would not allow it.

After that, Dan Ak-seon continued to practice Jeonsagyeong.

It goes without saying that his movements improved noticeably.

Once he grasped the knack, he was quickly making it his own.

At first, he only succeeded two or three times out of ten attempts, but after about half an hour, he succeeded more than half the time.

At that moment, Cho Ak-ryang approached Dan Ak-seon.

“Let’s rest now.”

“Already?”

Cho Ak-ryang said firmly to Dan Ak-seon, who looked disappointed.

“Isn’t it absurd for you, a doctor, not to take care of your own body?”

“Ah!”

Dan Ak-seon belatedly realized that his stamina had already exceeded its limit and smiled sheepishly.

“Whew.”

Dan Ak-seon collapsed on the spot as if he had lost all strength.

As he withdrew his inner energy, his whole body felt heavy and he couldn’t move.

Cho Ak-ryang, newly impressed by Dan Ak-seon’s tenacity, gestured for Beom Gye-wi and Han Seol-hwa to come over.

The two people who approached used the Wihwa Divine Art to tap, massage, and stroke various parts of Dan Ak-seon’s body.

They washed away the accumulated internal impurities through the acupoints and replenished his depleted True Energy.

Dan Ak-seon also closed his eyes and used the Wihwa Divine Art.

Cho Ak-ryang suddenly realized something as he watched Dan Ak-seon accept the two people’s energy without resistance.

‘Come to think of it?’

He was always with him, so he was slow to notice, but now that he looked, Dan Ak-seon was clearly different from when he left the Sinma Valley.

The auspicious energy that filled the surroundings whenever he used the Wihwa Divine Art was much fainter than before.

Moreover, the range that encompassed the entire surroundings was only about one foot in radius.

This was proof that he was absorbing True Energy more efficiently.

The speed at which he absorbed it and melted it into his own internal energy must have also increased.

About half an hour passed like that.

The auspicious energy that had been swirling around Dan Ak-seon was quickly sucked into the pores of his entire body.

When Dan Ak-seon opened his eyes, Cho Ak-ryang pointed to a wide open space.

“Let’s exchange blows now.”

Dan Ak-seon smiled brightly at those words.

Standing face to face, the sparring began with Dan Ak-seon’s preemptive strike.

A chaotic array of hand shadows filled the space between the two, and explosions that tore through the air erupted one after another.

Cho Ak-ryang inwardly admired Dan Ak-seon’s movements, which were improving day by day.

It was definitely fun to teach him.

He absorbed everything he was taught like dry cotton absorbing water and made it his own, so his innate talent was frightening.

On the other hand, as the sparring continued, problems also became prominent.

“Let’s stop here for now. Catch your breath.”

As Cho Ak-ryang withdrew his hand and stepped back, Dan Ak-seon gasped for breath.

Even though his whole body was soaked in sweat, Dan Ak-seon smiled brightly.

It was only about half an hour of sparring, but he had poured out everything he had.

“Doctor Dan, you’ve worked hard! Your skills are improving every day.”

Han Seol-hwa nodded silently at Beom Gye-wi’s praise.

But Cho Ak-ryang smacked his lips with a displeased expression.

“It’s true that his overall martial prowess has improved, but there are still many problems. His reactions and movements are too honest. His means of responding to feints and variations are also too linear.”

His honest personality was revealed as it was.

“It’s also a problem that he trusts his sparring partner too much.”

Even if it was just sparring, an unexpected accident could happen, but he had no worries about this at all.

The martial arts of the three were too outstanding for an accident to occur.

“Then you can just spar according to the areas where he’s lacking.”

“Isn’t that something I can’t do?”

“Is there anything the Blood Demon Lord of the world can’t do?”

Cho Ak-ryang frowned.

“Then you do it.”

Beom Gye-wi shook his head.

“How can I harbor murderous intent against Doctor Dan? I don’t want to do anything underhanded either.”

Cho Ak-ryang turned his head towards Han Seol-hwa.

But Han Seol-hwa was already looking at the distant mountains.

Cho Ak-ryang sighed softly.

“I should have brought that guy……”

He was regretting leaving Neung So-mil in the Sinma Valley at times like this.

“Then what should we do? Anyway, to gain practical experience, we need a suitable opponent……”

In the end, the key was experience.

The problem was that finding a sparring partner who met the conditions was not easy.

A person who would not hesitate to use underhanded tactics and was good at improvisation to win.

If he also had decent martial arts skills, it would be the icing on the cake.

It was then.

“Ah!”

Beom Gye-wi exclaimed as if he had remembered something.

“This is Seomseo [a region in China].”

“So?”

“Aren’t there plenty of Hwasan [a famous martial arts sect] and Jongnam’s [another famous martial arts sect] secular sects? If you raid a nearby escort agency or martial arts hall and grab a suitable guy……”

“Doctor Dan would like that very much.”

Beom Gye-wi smacked his lips at Cho Ak-ryang’s rebuke.

A frustrating silence followed, but Cho Ak-ryang thought of someone.

“That’s right! There was that guy!”