Zhao Yuan's lecture lasted for over half an hour. He didn't just perfectly answer the questions raised by Qiu Haogu and the others; he also elaborated on some of Wu Peng's commentaries on the *Treasure of Life and Form Theory*.
This content was a bit too difficult for the students of Class Three. Many of them were completely lost, but Qiu Haogu and the other professors listened with extreme focus. They were utterly captivated, all feeling that Zhao Yuan's explanation of the *Treasure of Life and Form Theory* was far more profound and brilliant than their own understanding. It reached a point where the professors even forgot that Zhao Yuan was just a first-year student and truly began to see him as a teacher.
As Zhao Yuan finished his lecture and prepared to step down from the podium, Qiu Haogu took the lead. He and the other professors stood up, bowed in unison to Zhao Yuan, and said, "Thank you for clearing up our confusion, Teacher Zhao. We appreciate your efforts!"
Zhao Yuan hadn't expected anything like this to happen and was suddenly flustered. He hurriedly said, "Elder Qiu, Teacher Ma, and all you professors, you're the real teachers here! I'm not worthy of this. You're giving me too much credit."
"You are completely worthy!" Qiu Haogu said with a serious, earnest expression. "Confucius said, 'When three walk together, one is sure to be my teacher.' When it comes to the *Treasure of Life and Form Theory*, your understanding is deeper than that of us old fellows. What you've taught us has given us new insights and new gains. Therefore, you are our teacher—a teacher for this one lesson!"
Ma Hanqing smiled and chimed in, "Elder Qiu is right. At any other time, I am your teacher. But when it comes to the *Treasure of Life and Form Theory*, you, Zhao Yuan, are my teacher. You are all of our teachers!"
The professors' attitudes and words shocked the students of Class Three all over again.
"Zhao Yuan was actually seen as a teacher by Elder Qiu and the others!"
"A teacher for one lesson... that's so damn cool!"
"Just being one of their graduate students would be something to be proud of, but Zhao Yuan became their teacher. This is like a young cow taking a flight!"
"A young cow taking a flight? What do you mean?"
"You don't get it? It's a pun! It means he's so awesome he's reached the heavens!"
For a moment, the students whispered amongst themselves, their gazes toward Zhao Yuan filled with reverence and admiration. Beyond that, there was also a sense of excited pride, as if they shared in his glory.
Of course, Cao Han was the exception...
After chatting with Zhao Yuan for a bit and exchanging contact information, Qiu Haogu left with his contingent of professors. The lecture Zhao Yuan had just given had sparked many new insights for them. They needed to go back, hold a meeting to discuss and research, and then combine these ideas with the new punctuation and translation to write a paper.
Although the paper was still far from being written, both Qiu Haogu and the other Medical Ancient Texts professors were brimming with confidence about it.
This was definitely going to be an article that would blow a lot of people's minds and trigger a huge debate! To be able to participate in the creation of such an article was a matter of pride! It was also exhilarating!
"For the rest of the period, you can all have a study hall." After tossing out this sentence, Ma Hanqing left as well. Although the Medical Ancient Texts class wasn't over, he was in no mood to stay and teach. He was eager to join the discussion and creation of the paper.
Once the professors were gone, a strange silence fell over the classroom.
This silence lasted for several dozen seconds until it was shattered by a shriek from Wu Yan.
"Third Brother, you're just too amazing! Compared to you, Li Chouniu, Zhou Guogang, and the others are just pathetic! They may have been the top few in the department during the entrance exams, but they're nothing compared to a monster like you, who Elder Qiu and the professors treat as a teacher! You're the real study god! Come on, let me touch you, let some of that study god aura rub off on me. It'll protect me from failing my exams..."
Dark lines instantly appeared on Zhao Yuan's forehead. He said irritably, "Who are you calling a monster? Don't you know how to talk? And where do you think you're touching? Get your paws off my ass!"
"Fourth, you really don't know how to talk!" Liu Zhu criticized.
"Exactly, how could Third Brother be a monster!" Wang Rongfeng also chimed in, reprimanding with a serious face.
Zhao Yuan was touched and was just about to say that his other two brothers were the best, when he heard the two guys say in unison, "Third Brother is obviously a Demon!"
"Fair point." Wu Yan thought about it seriously and nodded. "If he weren't a Demon, how could he have studied the *Treasure of Life and Form Theory* so deeply? He even won over Elder Qiu and the other professors."
Zhao Yuan was so exasperated with the three of them he nearly coughed up blood. Just as he was about to retort, the other students swarmed over, surrounding him and all talking at once:
"Liu Zhu and the guys are right! You're not just a monster, you're a Demon! From now on, we're calling you Old Demon Zhao!"
"Old Demon Zhao, I just checked online. There's no precedent in our school's history of a student giving a lecture to professors. You just made history!"
"Old Demon Zhao, there were a few parts of your lecture I didn't understand. Can I ask you about them later?"
"Old Demon Zhao, can I have your autograph? And a picture together!"
Everyone's name for Zhao Yuan had unanimously become 'Old Demon Zhao'. After all, his earlier performance had been frighteningly prodigious. And since Zhao Yuan was quite satisfied with the nickname, he didn't correct them.
While everyone was crowding around Zhao Yuan, they didn't forget about Cao Han. A few of the girls who saw Zhao Yuan as their idol, in particular, immediately turned on Cao Han. "Cao," one said, "if I remember correctly, you said that if Zhao could punctuate and translate the *Treasure of Life and Form Theory*, you would twist your own head off and let him kick it like a ball. Isn't it about time you made good on your promise?"
Cao Han's face, already as black as the bottom of a pot, turned even uglier.
Another girl sneered, "Xiaoting, don't expect Cao to honor his promise. He'll definitely just say that Zhao's punctuation and translation aren't the same as what's in the textbook..."
A flash of shock and panic crossed Cao Han's face, because that was indeed what he had been thinking.
"Wow, how shameless can you be?" the girl called Xiaoting exclaimed with feigned exaggeration.
"For someone like Cao, 'face' is just a burden. He must have thrown it all away a long time ago!"
When these girls started roasting someone, even without using a single curse word, their power was extraordinary. Cao Han was already in a foul mood, and hearing these sarcastic taunts, he finally exploded.
"You stinking bitches, who the fuck are you calling shameless?"
His face contorted with rage, Cao Han roared as he charged toward the girls like a Wild Beast, swinging his hand for a slap.