Divine Level Witch Doctor

”He didn’t agree to join anyone,” Yang Jingbo said with a grin, his tone dripping with pride. ”The Chinese Medical Exchange Forum officially sent Zhao Yuan an invitation—a Level A invitation, at that!”

Bai Mei’s jaw dropped in shock. ”What? A Level A invitation? Are you serious?”

”Of course it’s true!” Yang Jingbo puffed out his chest, his face a mask of pride and smug satisfaction.

Zhao Yuan was a student in the Department of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, and Yang Jingbo was its director. When a student from his own department received such a prestigious honor, he felt a deep sense of shared pride.

Bai Mei was so stunned by the unbelievable news that she froze, completely dumbstruck.

Qiu Haogu and Director Ma, however, both rolled their eyes. If it weren’t for the crowd of students gathered inside and outside the dorm, they probably would have given Yang Jingbo the middle finger.

Though they refrained, they couldn’t help but curse him out in their minds. ’Damn it, this is Zhao Yuan’s achievement! What the hell are you so proud of? Look at you, strutting around like a peacock. Anyone who didn’t know better would think *you* were the one who received the Level A invitation from the Chinese Medical Exchange Forum!’

But beyond their complaints lay a deep well of envy and jealousy. ’Why did Zhao Yuan have to choose the Department of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine? If only he’d chosen our major! Then I’d be the one puffing out my chest and showing off right now. Sigh... that kid, Zhao Yuan, he’s just too earnest; he wouldn’t switch his major. Otherwise, I would’ve lied, cheated, and practically kidnapped him to get him into our program!’

After composing herself, Bai Mei still found it hard to believe. She asked again, ”Did Zhao Yuan really receive a Level A invitation from the Chinese Medical Exchange Forum? You’re not pulling my leg, are you?”

Being questioned repeatedly irritated Yang Jingbo. ”Director Bai,” he said, exasperated, ”why are you like a broken record, going on and on? Principal Ma himself just called to give us the news. If you don’t believe me, call Principal Ma and ask him yourself!”

Bai Mei immediately whipped out her phone to call Ma Guotao, but for some reason, his line was constantly busy. She couldn’t get through. His office landline was busy as well.

Finally, Director Ma spoke up, breaking the awkward silence. ”All right, don’t bother calling Principal Ma. He’s probably busy bragging to the other schools right now. Just check our university’s official website on your phone. They’ve already made the official announcement on the homepage!”

A student from the crowd gathered outside the dorm chimed in, ”It’s not just the website! The school’s official Weibo account just announced it, too.”

Bai Mei quickly logged into Weibo and, sure enough, saw the latest post from West Hua Medical University’s official account. It read: ”Congratulations to our first-year student, Zhao Yuan, on receiving a Level A invitation from the Chinese Medical Association.”

Now, Bai Mei no longer had any doubts.

Beyond her shock, all she felt was envy.

Meanwhile, in the principal’s office, Ma Guotao was juggling two calls at once, a cell phone in one hand and a landline receiver in the other. He’d say a few words into one, then switch to the other and launch into another speech.

”Hello, Principal Li! So, for this year’s Chinese Medical Exchange Forum, which student are you planning on recommending? Oh, you’ve gotta hear this. You know our Zhao Yuan, right? That’s the one! The kid whose exam paper was published in *Chinese Medicine*. We were originally going to recommend him for the conference, but we never expected the Forum would send him a Level A invitation directly! You heard me right, a Level A invitation! ...What? Me, showing off? How am I showing off? I’m just stating the facts! Hey, hey! Damn it, you actually hung up on me! How rude!”

He immediately switched to the other line. ”Principal Liu, where were we? Ah, yes! Our school’s Zhao Yuan received a Level A invitation! HAHAHA! Aren’t you envious? Aren’t you jealous? I’m telling you, it’s no use being envious and jealous. Too bad we have a Zhao Yuan and you don’t, huh? Damn it, he hung up on me too!”

Despite being hung up on twice in a row, Ma Guotao wasn’t the least bit angry. In fact, he was delighted.

In his eyes, their anger was proof of their envy and jealousy. And the more envious and jealous they were, the happier he felt.

He picked up his cell phone and landline again, started dialing, and gleefully repeated the same speech, savoring every moment.

The phrase Ma Guotao uttered most that day was: ”Too bad we have Zhao Yuan and you don’t! Eat your heart out!”

While Ma Guotao was busy bragging to everyone, the school’s forums and official Weibo account were completely flooded with comments and posts from the students and faculty of West Hua Medical University.

”Holy crap, is this for real? The Chinese Medical Exchange Forum gave Zhao Yuan a Level A invitation? As far as I know, only seven people had ever received a Level A invitation before him, right? Every single one of them is a top, world-renowned expert in the field! For a student like Zhao Yuan to stand among them... it’s just unbelievable!”

”Worthy of my idol! He’s just too incredible! I must bow down and worship him!”

”I’m a newbie and don’t get what’s so amazing about this. Can one of the Great Gods explain it to me?”

”To the newbie above: think of the Chinese Medical Exchange Forum as the Oscars of the national medical community, and the Level A invitation as the Best Actor award. That should give you an idea of just how freaking awesome our classmate Zhao Yuan is.”

”I give that explanation a perfect score. You’ve earned the right to be proud!”

The news of Zhao Yuan receiving a Level A invitation to the Chinese Medical Exchange Forum spread like wildfire throughout the university. Soon, even people at other medical schools had heard about it.

The consequences, aside from another wave of Wish Power surging into Zhao Yuan’s body, included a crowd of students gathering outside his dorm room to gawk at him...

This whole scene made Zhao Yuan feel like a gorilla in a zoo, being gawked at by tourists. It couldn’t have been more awkward.

Qiu Haogu, Director Ma, and Bai Mei left one after another. Yang Jingbo was the last to go.

Just before leaving, he didn’t forget to give Zhao Yuan a few instructions. ”The Chinese Medical Exchange Forum starts next Friday and will last for four days. As the only person to receive a Level A invitation this year, you’ll likely be asked to get on stage and give a speech. You should use the time until then to prepare a draft. I suggest you start with those two exam papers—talk about the questions, your thought process for solving them, that sort of thing. Of course, if you can come up with something even better and more innovative, that would be ideal!”

”It starts next Friday?” Zhao Yuan frowned. ”But the break starts the day after tomorrow. Does that mean I have to stay at school until next Friday?”

Yang Jingbo chuckled. ”No need. You just have to get to Lu City before next Friday to meet up with us. The school will be covering all your travel, accommodation, and food expenses. Just pick a flight and let me know, and I’ll have someone book it for you.”

”Oh, that’s good.” Zhao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. He really didn’t want to be stuck waiting around at school by himself until next Friday.