Divine Level Witch Doctor

The members of the Jinling Zhao Family fell into a panic, swarming around Zhao Chengliang. They pinched his philtrum and pressed his Neiguan Acupoint, fussing over him for a long time before he finally opened his eyes again.

Although he had regained consciousness, Zhao Chengliang’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit had hit rock bottom after the successive blows.

Staring at Zhao Yuan, he opened his mouth, but in the end, the countless things he wanted to say were reduced to a single sigh. ”I’ve lost, and I wholeheartedly admit defeat. You’re right. I’m far inferior to you. I’m too ashamed to call myself the Jinling Medicine King anymore!”

Supported by his children and grandchildren, Zhao Chengliang struggled to his feet and said to Zhao Dezhu, ”I’m tired. Don’t bother me with the clan’s affairs from now on.”

Zhao Dezhu’s expression changed drastically. He scrambled to persuade him to stay, but Zhao Chengliang gave him no chance to speak, walking straight out of the training grounds and leaving the manor.

Meanwhile, Li Heping and the others gathered around Zhao Yuan, all talking at once as they asked where on earth he had learned so many uncirculated secret formulas.

Ma Guotao and the other professors from West Hua Medical University did not go forward to join the commotion.

They were all thinking to themselves, ’Zhao Yuan’s teacher is the famous ”Man Who Wants to Be a Witch Doctor.” That Great God even possesses the *Outer Canon of the Yellow Emperor*, so it’s not surprising that he’s collected these secret formulas. Still, for Zhao Yuan to be able to recite over a thousand Decoction Formulas at such a young age is quite remarkable!’

Ma Guotao and the others would never have guessed that Zhao Yuan hadn’t been reciting from memory at all. He had been reading directly from the book of Decoction Formulas! Forget one thousand—if he was willing and had enough time, he could have recited ten thousand, even one hundred thousand!

Fortunately, Zhao Yuan hadn’t done so, or he would have taken the showboating too far.

Li Heping and the others questioned him for a long time but couldn’t get an answer out of Zhao Yuan. However, they guessed that it was most likely related to the ”Man Who Wants to Be a Witch Doctor.”

Amid their admiration and amazement, someone suddenly thought of another question: ”By the way, how many of those Decoction Formulas Zhao Yuan recited did you manage to memorize?”

”I only managed to remember one,” someone said regretfully.

Unexpectedly, his comment drew the intense envy of several others.

”What? You actually managed to remember one? That’s so enviable! I was too stunned to remember a single one!”

”You remembered one, and you’re still not satisfied? We couldn’t even remember a single one!”

”I memorized one at the beginning, but as Zhao Yuan recited more and more, I ended up forgetting the one I’d just learned.”

It turned out there was an unwritten rule in the world of Traditional Chinese Medicine regarding uncirculated secret formulas. If you figured out the medicinal composition through pharmaceutical analysis, or if you happened to hear someone recite a Decoction Formula and memorized it, like today, then that was considered your own ability. It meant you were fated to learn it, and the formula’s owner wouldn’t cause you any trouble. But if you went and asked someone for the secret formula outright, you’d be in for a scolding!

The twenty-six renowned doctors on the training grounds were all aware of this rule. Thus, they only discussed it among themselves, and not one of them was shameless enough to ask Zhao Yuan to recite the Decoction Formulas again.

Seeing the renowned doctors so engrossed in their discussion of the Decoction Formulas that they had forgotten the main event, Zhao Yuan had no choice but to remind them with a wry smile, ”Elder Li, shouldn’t we be starting the third round?”

”Oh, right, I almost forgot the main event.” Li Heping slapped his forehead and quickly called a halt to the other doctors’ discussion. ”Everyone, let’s pause for a moment. There’s plenty of time to talk after the competition is over. We still have the third round, the acupuncture match, to conduct.”

Once everyone had quieted down, Li Heping announced, ”The third round, the acupuncture match, begins!” He turned to Zhao Dezhu and asked, ”Who are you sending out to compete this time?”

To be honest, after losing two consecutive rounds, Zhao Dezhu had lost all his confidence.

But in front of so many reporters and esteemed figures of the medical world, he couldn’t just back down. He could only bite the bullet and answer, ”It’s my Uncle Qi, Zhao Chengwen...”

”OUCH!”

Before Zhao Dezhu could finish speaking, a pained cry suddenly rang out.

Everyone whipped their heads around to see a middle-aged man in his fifties sprawled on the ground, a toppled chair beside him.

Zhao Dezhu jumped in alarm, hurriedly getting up and rushing over. ”Uncle Qi, are you all right?” he asked with concern.

What a coincidence—the man on the ground was none other than Zhao Chengwen, the person slated to compete in the acupuncture match.

His face was a mask of pain as he said in a trembling voice, ”I think I sprained my wrist. It hurts if I move it even a little. It looks like I won’t be able to compete against this kid in the Acupuncture Technique!” He then whipped his head around and yelled at several younger clan members standing behind him, ”Who pushed me? This is outrageous!”

Those younger clan members looked so aggrieved they were about to cry.

The clan members sitting on either side of Zhao Chengwen, however, wore looks of utter contempt.

Others might not have known what happened, but they had seen it crystal clear. Zhao Chengwen hadn’t been pushed at all; the bastard had thrown himself to the ground!

Zhao Dezhu was a sharp man. He took one look at his clan members’ expressions and immediately understood the truth—his Uncle Qi had been scared witless by Zhao Yuan and had resorted to this ruse of self-injury to get out of competing!

That’s right, self-injury!

Zhao Dezhu’s judgment was sharp; he could tell with a single glance that Zhao Chengwen’s hand was genuinely dislocated. While it wouldn’t be difficult to reset, it would certainly affect his performance in acupuncture.

Zhao Chengwen had really gone all out to avoid competing against Zhao Yuan!

Although he saw through the lie, Zhao Dezhu couldn’t expose it. With so many outsiders and reporters present, revealing the truth would only bring greater shame upon the Jinling Zhao Family.

After shooting Zhao Chengwen a fierce glare, Zhao Dezhu said, ”Since Uncle Qi is injured, go get some rest.”

”Okay, okay, okay.” Zhao Chengwen immediately stopped crying out in pain. He scrambled to his feet and took off running as if he were in a hundred-meter dash, disappearing in the blink of an eye. He left behind a stunned crowd and an utterly speechless Zhao Dezhu.

’Son of a bitch!’ Zhao Dezhu cursed inwardly. ’Couldn’t you have at least put on a better act and walked away slowly? Running that fast? You don’t look injured at all! Aren’t you just screaming to everyone that you’re scared, that you don’t dare compete against Zhao Yuan, and that you’re running away with a fake injury?’

After a moment of silence, a laugh suddenly erupted from the crowd.

It was followed by a second, then a third...

In just a few seconds, the scattered chuckles had grown into uproarious laughter.

Only the Jinling Zhao Clan Members couldn’t laugh. Their expressions were awkward to the extreme, and they all inwardly cursed Zhao Chengwen for deserting.

Zhao Dezhu’s fourth uncle, Zhao Chengshan, said with a grave expression, ”That guy, Old Seventh, has no sense of family honor. He’s an absolute coward! After this is over, I’m going to give him a harsh scolding!”

Zhao Dezhu nodded. Zhao Chengwen was his elder, so it wasn’t his place to reprimand him. It was for the best that his fourth uncle would be the one to do it.

He then said, ”Fourth Uncle, why don’t you compete in this match...”

Once again, he was cut off before he could finish.

Zhao Chengshan clutched his abdomen, his old face contorted. ”Ouch, ouch,” he cried, ”I don’t know if I ate something bad for lunch, but my stomach is killing me! Nope, can’t do it, I really can’t hold it! I have to go to the bathroom!”

He too strode off the training grounds and ran until he was out of sight.

Zhao Dezhu’s face turned livid with rage.

’Weren’t you just self-righteously denouncing Uncle Qi as a coward a second ago? How could you turn around and desert just like him? You’re supposed to be our elders! Renowned masters of medicine! Can’t you be a little more reliable? Have some goddamn backbone!’

Taking a deep breath to suppress his fury, Zhao Dezhu turned and surveyed his fellow clan members, trying to choose one to face Zhao Yuan.

But then, a scene he never would have expected unfolded before him.

Every clan member his gaze swept over immediately lowered their head, just like students in a classroom terrified of being called on by the teacher.

Without a doubt, after the first two rounds, the people of the Jinling Zhao Family had been so thoroughly terrified by Zhao Yuan’s monstrous performance that their courage was shattered. Not a single one of them dared to stand up and accept his challenge!