Divine Level Witch Doctor

”He’s strong, he has great skills, and his stamina is off the charts... On the court, a guy like that is a walking cheat code. Anyone who goes up against him will get beaten so badly they’ll start questioning life itself!”

”Now that you say that, I kind of want to laugh too.”

”They’ll definitely be beaten to tears. He might even beat them so badly they never dare to play basketball again.”

”A moment of silence for any opponents we might face!”

The basketball team suddenly perked up, and everyone began to dream about their bright future.

Just then, Liu Zhu forced himself to his feet.

”What are you doing, Old Liu?” someone beside him asked in confusion.

”To train with Zhao Yuan, of course,” Liu Zhu answered, panting. ”I don’t want people saying I just got carried to victory. I need to train hard, too. Even if I can’t catch up to him, I refuse to be the one to drag him down!”

Hearing this, everyone froze for a moment before struggling to their feet, one by one.

”We want to win, but more than that, we want to contribute our own strength to the victory!”

”If Old Demon Zhao can keep on training, what’s our excuse?”

In that instant, the team’s fighting spirit ignited, burning away their physical fatigue and soreness. They fell in line behind Zhao Yuan, resuming their physical training. Though each one of them stumbled along, not a single person stopped to rest. Even as their chests ached with every gasp and their feet felt heavy as lead, they persisted! They kept going!

The power of a good role model was truly limitless!

Zhao Yuan glanced back at them, a smile returning to his lips as he murmured, ”Basketball... is actually pretty fun.”

A little over an hour later, training finally ended. Back in the dorm, Liu Zhu took a quick shower and collapsed onto his bed, feeling as if his body had completely fallen apart. He didn’t want to move a single muscle. Within minutes, snores filled the room. He was clearly exhausted.

After washing up, Zhao Yuan also got into bed. He closed his eyes, but he wasn’t trying to sleep. Instead, he summoned the Information Leaf.

His performance in today’s Medical Ancient Texts class had made him famous throughout the entire school, earning him a wave of Wish Power. Now, he needed to see if this Wish Power had brought him anything new.

He wasn’t disappointed. He soon discovered something new under the Cultivation Technique section.

’A new Cultivation Technique?’

Zhao Yuan’s breath hitched.

’Concentration Technique.’

Zhao Yuan read the name of the new Cultivation Technique. On its title page, he found a note that explained its effects in detail.

Unlike the Four Saints Technique, the Concentration Technique wasn’t a Cultivation Technique for training, nor was it a Combat Skill for fighting. It was a Secret Technique for tempering the mind, allowing for intense concentration to improve learning efficiency!

According to the notes, this Secret Technique was divided into three stages: Enlightenment, Penetration, and Peak Climbing. The higher the stage, the better the effect. The Enlightenment stage could roughly double one’s learning efficiency. The Penetration stage could increase it fivefold, and the Peak Climbing stage offered a tenfold increase!

’This is amazing! With the Concentration Technique, it’s like I have a time-warping cheat!’ After reading the description of its effects, Zhao Yuan’s eyes lit up.

This Secret Technique had come at the perfect time! With it, his efficiency at learning the knowledge from the Information Leaf would improve dramatically! Perhaps he could finish the foundational theories quickly and unlock the next stage of lessons.

’Wait, there’s another sentence here...’ Zhao Yuan noticed another line of text suddenly materialize after the note. Its content left him stunned. ’Holy shit, this Secret Technique has side effects?’

The note clearly stated that the Concentration Technique achieved its effect through intense mental concentration, which produced side effects on the brain. Mild cases would result in dizziness and mental fog, requiring a long rest to recover. In severe cases, the mental overexertion could cause cerebral hypoxia, leading to fainting or even threatening one’s life!

’You’ve got to be kidding me. With side effects that severe, who would ever dare use this Secret Technique?’ The joy in Zhao Yuan’s heart was instantly swept away.

If he used this Secret Technique, even if he didn’t faint, he’d be left dizzy and disoriented for a long time. Factoring that in, there was no improvement in efficiency at all. It might even be significantly lower!

’How completely useless!’ Zhao Yuan’s mood soured. He’d finally earned a new wave of Wish Power, only to get a Secret Technique so worthless it was practically unusable. His luck had hit rock bottom; he was the unluckiest of the unlucky!

Just as Zhao Yuan was complaining to himself, another line of text appeared in the note.

’Huh? There’s more? Can’t you just show everything at once?’ Zhao Yuan was speechless. He quickly focused his gaze on the new text.

Like the previous lines, this passage was written in an ancient script. Translated, it explained that while the Concentration Technique had side effects, there was a way to resolve them. At the Enlightenment stage, one simply needed to light a stick of Soul-Stabilizing Incense to completely nullify the negative effects.

The countermeasures for the Penetration and Peak Climbing stages were not mentioned. It seemed the content of the notes was linked to Zhao Yuan’s current level of strength. The solutions for the higher stages would only appear once he could actually use the Concentration Technique at those levels.

’So Soul-Stabilizing Incense can eliminate the side effects? Fantastic! This Secret Technique is useful after all.’ Zhao Yuan was happy once again, feeling like his emotions were on a roller coaster, soaring up and plunging down. At the same time, he couldn’t help but grumble, ’Is Master Wu Peng deliberately holding back information just to mess with me? What a troll! Hmm… wait, are the notes really finished this time? I hope more text doesn’t pop up later and get my hopes up for nothing again.’

Zhao Yuan immediately grew tense. He stared at the note for a good while, and only after he was certain it wasn’t going to change again did he let out a long sigh of relief.

After memorizing how to use the Concentration Technique, Zhao Yuan got up, took a stick of Soul-Stabilizing Incense from his desk drawer, and lit it. He lay back down on his bed, closed his eyes, and activated the Concentration Technique. His mind became intensely focused, and he began to study the foundational medical theories recorded on the Information Leaf at twice his normal speed.

The night passed quickly.

Zhao Yuan opened his eyes the next day before dawn.

Even though he hadn’t slept, having spent the entire night studying with the Concentration Technique at full power, Zhao Yuan didn’t feel the least bit tired. This was the power of the Soul-Stabilizing Incense! The medicinal aroma not only kept his mind sharp but also imperceptibly dispelled his fatigue, leaving him feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

For the next few days, Zhao Yuan followed a strict routine. At noon, he would go to his rented apartment to practice his Cultivation of the Four Saints Technique. In the afternoon, he went to the anatomy building to change the White Cat’s bandages. In the evening, he trained hard with Liu Zhu and the rest of the basketball team. And late at night, he would activate his ”cheat,” the Concentration Technique, and study like a madman.

「In the blink of an eye, it was Thursday.」