Through a bit of coercion, he had managed to secure a spar with the Demon Physician.
However, this was rely a proposal, contingent on the diation of the Beast Palace Lord and the Demon Physician’s agreent.
Fortunately, the Demon Physician accepted, and before long, a date was set, and they gathered at the training grounds.
“Pleasure to et you. So, you're the White Moon Sword Lord everyone's been talking about lately?”
“...?”
The mont he saw the Demon Physician standing opposite him, he realized sothing was off.
In his mory, the Demon Physician was clearly an old man—an elderly figure with snow-white hair, the very image of a master from a previous generation.
But the man before him now looked entirely different from the one in his mories.
The once-hunched back now stood tall, nearly eye level with him. The white hair had partly regained its black hue, and the beard that had once reached his chest was neatly trimd.
He no longer appeared emaciated—instead, muscles swelled under his robe, clearly a body honed through martial training.
He carefully examined him, wondering if this might be a different person altogether... but the facial features undeniably matched the Demon Physician.
Of course they did. He had personally helped subdue the man in his previous life. There was no way he wouldn’t recognize him.
Most telling of all was the peculiar energy radiating from him—the unique fusion of martial arts and dicine that defined the Demon Physician’s style. An aura so strange it was unforgettable after a single encounter.
“You’re... the Demon Physician?”
“Haha. Hearing that old nickna from a young martial artist like yourself brings back mories.”
The Demon Physician smiled warmly, nodding his head.
Only then did his mind finally start to process the situation.
A younger appearance than he rembered—but unchanged facial features. And above all, an aura so deep it was difficult to grasp fully, as if they were on similar footing.
He hadn’t beco youthful like Seo Mun-Hwarin, still appearing middle-aged, so it wasn’t full rejuvenation. More like he had undergone a transformation.
Which also ant—the Demon Physician had ascended past Sub-Perfection into the Flowering Stage.
“I heard you were a Sub-Perfection master.”
“Ah, that bothered you? I had a bit of a fortunate encounter in my later years. Thanks to that, I’ve lived a little longer and been able to treat many more patients.”
His benevolent smile could fool anyone into thinking he was a true healer. Not even a hint of madness remained.
A "fortunate encounter," was it?
Perhaps, like the Sword Demon, he had been forcibly elevated to the Flowering Stage by the Heavenly Demon.
In such cases, the advancent was often unstable, unworthy of being called true Flowering Stage.
But he felt none of the instability from the Demon Physician that he had from the Sword Demon.
Had he used a different thod? Or perhaps the technique had been perfected?
Though his thoughts tangled, there was a simple way to resolve these questions—
Cross swords.
Originally, he had only planned to coat his blade with a mild numbing poison like Chuhyang as preparation for later.
But no matter what was said, martial artists understood each other best through clashing martial arts.
“Sorry to arrange this so suddenly, but I’ve been aning to spar with you at least once.”
“Hm? Ah, you an the whole idea of determining who’s the better physician through a sword duel?”
The Demon Physician laughed, seemingly amused.
“Haha. I’m not young, but I’ve never heard anything like that in my life. It intrigued . Very well. I don’t know what has you so curious that you’d want to spar with this old man, but now that we’re here, I’ll give it my all. I, too, have things I’m curious about.”
“I’m glad we’re of the sa mind.”
He nodded and took his position, drawing his sword. The Demon Physician mirrored him, standing at a proper distance and assuming a stance.
One hand extended forward, fingers sharply pointed like a blade; the other pulled back into a fist at shoulder height.
It was a strange guard—both seemingly full of openings and highly aggressive. But it was definitely a fist-based technique.
However, having faced the Demon Physician once before in his past life, he knew—this was no ordinary fist art.
Seeing the two ready, the Beast Palace Lord, still wearing a baffled expression, finally spoke.
“Then, let the match to determine whether the Demon Physician or the Poison Phoenix is more suited to treat begin.”
Tang Sowol was not a physician, and she wasn’t the one standing here. Moreover, dical skill had nothing to do with martial prowess.
Everyone present—from the Palace Lord’s children to his own companions—wore faces that looked like they were dying to say as much.
But the Beast Palace Lord left his questions behind and stepped back with the help of the black panther.
“Then… begin.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he stomped down hard.
Boom!
Power exploded from his Yongcheon pressure point, propelling his body forward like a blast. In an instant, he was right in front of the Demon Physician.
He didn’t mix in any evasive steps or leave room for adjustnt—this was pure speed, the Thunderclap Step, ant solely to close distance in the shortest possible ti.
Yet the Demon Physician calmly followed his every movent with his eyes, not budging an inch.
Just as his sword, wreathed in white energy, ca down—
“Hm.”
With a quiet hum, the Demon Physician’s hand moved—not toward the sword, but toward his own body.
Tap, tap.
He rapidly struck various acupuncture points on his body, injecting energy as if activating ridians.
In that mont, defensive internal energy burst from his body like an explosion.
What should have remained a human form now began to ooze like molten clay.
It was a grotesque sight, but enough to push back the sword that was about to slash into his chest.
Clang!
The massive surge of energy forced him back a step.
Though his strike had prioritized speed over power, he hadn’t expected it to be blocked so cleanly.
But unlike the Heavenly Demon, the Demon Physician wasn’t soone who could recklessly inflate defensive energy—doing so would cost him heavily in willpower and inner energy.
It was regrettable that the opening move had failed, but if it had forced such a drain, then the exchange was in his favor.
This ti, he properly focused his willpower into his blade. The compressed energy turned the black steel sword white.
White Sword.
If it could cut even the Heavenly Demon’s aura, then this should slice through effortlessly.
He swung the sword toward the oozing, formless mass of energy.
Fwoosh!
Suddenly, the dispersed energy condensed into a single point.
From within that mist, the Demon Physician erged, cloaked in black energy like smoke.
Common sense dictated that once energy was released from the body, it would soon disperse.
But the Demon Physician was absorbing the energy back into his danjeon, then releasing it again in cycles.
His current form—shrouded in a mist-like aura—was the result of a continuous flow of energy.
“Impressively fast. Then allow to show sothing in return.”
His shadowed fingers swept toward his forearm.
A technique resembling a claw strike—but not one ant to tear flesh. He knew this move well from his past life.
It wasn’t ant to slash skin, but to shred the unseen acupuncture points beneath it.
Even if he had reached the Flowering Stage, the fundantal techniques hadn’t changed.
And unlike the external flow of energy, the trajectory of that technique was familiar—easy to respond to.
“Hmph!”
Twisting his body to evade, he widened the distance. His posture was broken in the process, and he would’ve been vulnerable to a follow-up attack...
If he were ordinary, that is.
The Demon Physician’s fist ca flying next—not toward his heart, but slightly beside it.
It wasn’t ant to break bones or rupture flesh, but to liquefy the organs inside—a kind of penetrative strike.
He recalled a forr companion who had coughed up blood from a single blow like this, and he grounded himself.
He countered with a direct stab.
Bang!
Sword t fist—but there was no deadlock. The blazing blade pierced through the Demon Physician’s aura and nicked his fingers.
A shockwave burst belatedly. The rising dust was blown away, revealing the Demon Physician’s stunned expression.
“That... isn’t that a secret technique of the Zhongnan Sect? And that sword—what on earth is it?”
“Tried it, and it worked. I held back, though… care to continue?”
“Of course. Since you’ve shown sothing good, I should respond in kind.”
“Suit yourself.”
He answered casually, widening the gap and swinging his sword into the air.
A forced slash tore through space, hurtling toward the still-unsteady Demon Physician. Not as powerful as a direct strike, but more than enough to keep him in check.
Yet instead of backing off, the Demon Physician closed in.
His energy, once circulating around his body, now focused entirely at the front and hardened like lted iron.
Slice!
His oddly soft energy split horizontally. In return, the airborne slash also scattered.
He had seen defensive energy techniques before—but never one like this.
And it didn’t stop there. The edges of the split aura bristled, launching what must’ve been dozens—no, hundreds—of black needles.
All aiming for his pressure points.
What’s more, the needles curved mid-air, guided by willpower.
He’d grown used to projectile weapons from his ti with the Tang Clan. He could tell—he couldn’t fully dodge or block this.
But that didn’t an he’d just take it.
“Haaaah!”
He unraveled the tightly compressed sword energy, extending it like a brushstroke.
A white wave painted the air, filling most of his vision.
A defensive wall ford from pure energy.
He had to expend a significant amount of willpower, but with his defensive aura being weak, there was no better option.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The black needles embedded into the wall—not bounced off, but stuck.
Then they began to spin and burrow in—before exploding.
Boom!
The explosions weren’t powerful enough to break the wall, but if they had hit his body, the damage would’ve been severe.
It was a technique of individually weak attacks that beca deadly if even one landed.
A chill ran down his spine—but he’d blocked it, so it was fine.
Just as he prepared for the next move—
Tap.
A soft footstep near his ear. His body reacted before his mind did, honed by countless brushes with death.
As expected, the Demon Physician had broken through the mist and was charging in with light footwork.
He struck several of his own pressure points again—a signal.
The swirling aura condensed into his fist, like all his energy was concentrated in that single blow.
It had to be blocked properly.
His senses expanded. From the hand gripping his sword, clarity spread through his body and out to the very edges of his energy.
The once-white sword now shimred with a hazy distortion—
Formless Sword.
An intangible insight gained from an incorporeal realm fused with his blade.
The overwhelming focus warped his surroundings—and then—
Slice.
The massive aura that had swelled to the size of a house was cleaved in two.
Half of it lted into the air, vanishing instead of returning to the Demon Physician.
Staring blankly at his dissipating energy, and at the sword once again resting on his bruised knuckles, the Demon Physician dropped his fist.
“I concede.”
“It was an excellent match.”
He sheathed his sword and offered a light bow.
Leaving behind the crestfallen Demon Physician, he descended from the training ground, where his companions and ng Yubaek waited with shining eyes.
Despite the victory, his thoughts were tangled.
Because—
No matter how many tis they clashed, he had sensed no madness or vengeance in the Demon Physician.
The man had… cast off his inner demons and reached the Flowering Stage.
Sothing had changed—too much.
So much that it felt like he had broken free of even the Heavenly Demon’s will.
User Comments
0 comments from readers