Divine Level Witch Doctor

Xiao Xianlin immediately called Yan Shiyun, the editor-in-chief of the *Chinese Medicine* journal. They were old friends who had known each other for years and were on excellent terms. After a brief explanation of the situation, he began to sing the praises of Zhao Yuan’s exam paper without a hint of hesitation. His praise was so over-the-top that even Liu Mingzhang and Qiu Haogu couldn’t stand it anymore.

”Alright, alright, stop with the praise. Any more and you’ll just sound fake!” Liu Mingzhang stood up, snatched the phone from Xiao Xianlin’s hand, and said, ”Old Yan, it’s Liu Mingzhang. Old Xiao might not always be the most reliable guy, but his praise today is the real deal. I completely agree with him. Let me tell you, these arguments are absolutely brilliant! Every single one could be taken out and would deserve a prime spot in your journal! We’re sending you the exam paper right now. You can thank your lucky stars...”

Then, he too launched into a long-winded tirade of praise for Zhao Yuan’s exam, causing all the other teachers in the office to roll their eyes in unison.

’Damn,’ they thought, ’and you had the nerve to complain that Elder Xiao was being too over-the-top and fake? Your praise is even more excessive and fake than his!’

Fortunately, Qiu Haogu managed to keep a cool head. He grabbed the phone to get things back on track. ”Old Yan, we’re faxing the exam paper to you now. Take a look as soon as you get it and call us back right away, got it?”

”Okay, I got it,” Yan Shiyun agreed. He knew Xiao Xianlin and Liu Mingzhang well. He knew they were both steady, serious men who wouldn’t go around hyping someone up for no reason.

Besides, he was quite familiar with the name Zhao Yuan.

This first-year student had once published a new interpretation and translation of the *Treasure of Life and Form Theory* in their journal, sparking a huge debate within the Traditional Chinese Medicine community. Later, he had even defeated the ”pride of Japan,” Kobayashi Haruo, in an Acupuncture duel, effectively ”driving him out” of China. Not long ago, he had, by his own power, defeated the Jinling Zhao Family!

With all that as a precedent, Yan Shiyun had high expectations for Zhao Yuan’s exam paper. But at the same time, he was a little curious. ”Hey, Old Qiu,” he asked, ”how come you’re not praising Zhao Yuan’s paper? Don’t you think it’s good enough?”

”How could that be!” Qiu Haogu got flustered and hurriedly explained, ”I can swear on my life, Zhao Yuan’s exam is absolutely brilliant! If it’s not good enough, you can hold me personally responsible! The reason I’m not praising it is because those two, Old Xiao and Old Liu, have already said everything I wanted to say. They’ve left me speechless!”

”Oh, so that’s how it is.” Yan Shiyun couldn’t help but laugh out loud, his anticipation growing even stronger.

After the call, Xiao Xianlin immediately used the school’s fax machine to send the exam paper to Yan Shiyun. Once that was done, he turned to Qiu Haogu and said, ”The Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine department got things off to a great start this time. Now it’s your turn.”

”Don’t worry!” Qiu Haogu said with a solemn expression. ”We’re going back right now to write a new exam! I guarantee that the Medical Ancient Texts paper Zhao Yuan answers will be even more brilliant than this one for Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine! Just like his new interpretation and translation of the *Treasure of Life and Form Theory*.”

”Excellent, excellent, excellent,” Xiao Xianlin and Liu Mingzhang said, overjoyed. The teachers from the Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine department, however, were not pleased. ’Even more brilliant than our exam? What’s that supposed to mean? Are you looking down on the exam we wrote?’

The two sides immediately started bickering.

After some arguing, Qiu Haogu and the Medical Ancient Texts teachers prepared to leave.

”Wait,” the Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine teachers shouted. ”Didn’t you just say you look down on our exam? Why are you taking Zhao Yuan’s paper with you? Leave it here!”

”Fine, we’ll leave it. It’s no big deal.” Qiu Haogu was stubborn. He put the exam paper down, then whipped out his phone and started snapping a flurry of pictures of it. Immediately after, he puffed out his chest and led the Medical Ancient Texts teachers away with long strides.

The Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine teachers were collectively speechless... ’Holy shit, that’s shameless! And you’re supposed to be a renowned professor at our university!’

The following afternoon, the Medical Ancient Texts exam began.

Just like with the previous Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine exam, the moment the papers were handed out, Zhao Yuan was surrounded by the Medical Ancient Texts teachers.

Thankfully, Zhao Yuan had been through this once before. He was much calmer this time. With a wry smile, he accepted his fate and began to read the questions.

But one look at the exam, and he was stunned.

The Medical Ancient Texts exam was absurdly long—a full five pages! And every question on it was incredibly difficult and challenging.

Zhao Yuan was speechless. He couldn’t help but grumble to himself, ’I thought the Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine exam was too hard before. Now I realize how wrong I was. Compared to this Medical Ancient Texts exam, that paper was a gentle breeze! What is wrong with these teachers? It’s just a final exam. Do they really need to go this far? They’re practically forcing the vast majority of students to fail and retake the course!’

The Medical Ancient Texts teachers gathered around him saw his expression and looked a little awkward and embarrassed.

Qiu Haogu said, ”Uh, Zhao Yuan, don’t rush. Take your time. It doesn’t matter if the exam time runs out. The most important thing is to finish the paper.”

The Medical Ancient Texts teachers all chimed in to agree:

”Yes, yes, finishing the paper is what’s most important!”

”Don’t worry about the time, that doesn’t matter. You can take a day or two if you need to!”

”That’s right, as long as you finish all the questions, you don’t have to worry about anything else.”

Zhao Yuan was rather puzzled. ’This is the first time I’ve ever heard of an exam with no time limit, where you can take as long as you want...’

These final exams were truly bizarre.

He didn’t dwell on it. He just shook his head, calmed his mind, and began to answer the questions seriously.

The Medical Ancient Texts teachers all widened their eyes, staring at his paper, growing more amazed and shocked with each question he answered.

All the questions on this exam were difficult problems that had stumped them for years. They had discussed them with others and consulted experts but had never been able to find the answers. Yet when it came to Zhao Yuan, he didn’t even seem to need any extra time to think. The moment he finished reading a question, his pen would immediately fly across the page, writing out a beautiful answer that instantly resolved the doubts they had held for years.

This speed, this ability, was enough to completely frighten the Medical Ancient Texts teachers.

In that moment, the same thought rose in all their minds: ’In front of Zhao Yuan, I feel more like the student!’

Meanwhile, the students of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Class 3, were ecstatic. Just as they had during the Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine exam, they began to cheat with gusto.

They were working on the normal exam paper and, by looking through books and searching online, quickly finished all the answers. But none of them dared to turn in their papers early.

Cheating was one thing, but turning in the paper early on top of that? Wouldn’t that be a bit too arrogant?

Students from other classes, however, did turn in their papers early.

Just as Zhao Yuan was halfway through the third page of his exam, several figures appeared outside the classroom door.

One of them saw Zhao Yuan surrounded by a crowd of teachers, still writing furiously, and couldn’t help but sneer. He curled his lip and said, ”Such a simple paper, and he’s still not done? Hmph. And he’s supposed to be the pride of West Hua Medical University?”