When Zhao Yuan and his group arrived, Li Heping, Qiao Zhixue, Professor Tu, and the others, who had been seated, all rose to greet them.
Although Zhao Yuan was the main competitor in today's medical contest, the group of medical experts didn't rise to greet him, but rather Ma Guotao, Qiu Haogu, and the others. After all, he was just an ordinary university student. Ma Guotao and the others were very considerate of Zhao Yuan, however, leading him forward and introducing him to each of them.
Li Heping, who was over eighty, looked no different from a kind old grandfather. He chuckled and said, "A newborn calf truly fears no tiger! When I was your age, I never would have dared to challenge the authorities. You're braver than I was."
As he said this, he deliberately glanced over at Zhao Dezhu, who was standing nearby.
Although Li Heping had been sitting in the training grounds the entire time, he had heard about what just happened outside the manor. He was thoroughly disdainful of the Jinling Zhao Family for resorting to such dirty tricks.
When Zhao Dezhu heard the word "authority," his old face flushed red.
It was true that the Jinling Zhao Family had a legacy stretching back several hundred years, but in front of people like Li Heping, Qiao Zhixue, and Professor Tu, they truly couldn't claim to be *the* authority. Zhao Dezhu knew Elder Li's words were a jab at him, but not only did he not dare to show his anger, he had to force a smile. Their status and influence were simply too great.
Zhao Yuan also caught the hidden meaning in Elder Li's words. He smiled and said, "Elder Li, you flatter me. I was forced to challenge the 'authority'—I had no other choice, and to be honest, I'm still nervous about it. It would be one thing if I lost this medical competition. But if I won? What a huge blow that would be to the 'authority,' don't you think? I wonder if someone might slap a label on me, something like 'disrespecting authority'?"
"Who would dare!" Qiao Zhixue's brow twitched as he snorted. "Zhao Yuan, you just focus on doing your best in this competition. Win or lose, no one will dare point fingers or gossip about you! Furthermore, I'll make this promise right here and now: if you win—even if you only win a single round—I will personally recruit you to Capital City Medical University as my graduate student!"
Ma Guotao's ears perked up at this, and he grew anxious. "Hey, hey, hey, Old Qiao, what do you think you're doing? Poaching my talent right in front of me? I'll have you know, Zhao Yuan is a student at our West Hua Medical University, and he's not going to Capital City Medical University with you!" He then whipped his head toward Zhao Yuan. "Right, Zhao Yuan?"
"Yes." Zhao Yuan smiled and nodded. "Elder Qiao, I appreciate the kind offer, but I want to stay at West Hua Medical University."
"Listening to you, it sounds like you're confident you'll win at least one round of this competition?" Professor Tu chimed in.
"I am confident, but in more than just winning one round." The competition was about to start, and the Jinling Zhao Clan Members were watching him like hungry tigers. Zhao Yuan couldn't be bothered to feign humility any longer and declared his goal outright: "I'm going to win all three rounds! If I'm going to win, I'm going for a clean sweep!"
The moment he spoke, the Jinling Zhao Clan Members on the training grounds erupted in fury. A deafening, chaotic wave of curses and reprimands washed over the area.
"Arrogant!"
"You think *you* can beat us? The absolute nerve!"
"He's talking a big game!"
"We'll see if you're still this arrogant after you lose all three rounds!"
Zhao Yuan ignored their insults, dismissing them as the barking of wild dogs.
Professor Tu and the others were also taken aback by Zhao Yuan's "declaration of war."
To be honest, they didn't think Zhao Yuan could win three rounds in a row. In fact, they thought his chances of winning even one round were slim; after all, the Jinling Zhao Family's prowess was undeniable. So, after hearing his confident, almost arrogant, declaration, they all felt a bit awkward and weren't sure what to say.
After exchanging a glance, they laughed awkwardly. "Right, right, right. It's good for young people to have fighting spirit."
Professor Tu quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Zhao Yuan, we have a question we were hoping you could answer for us."
Zhao Yuan replied politely, "Professor Tu, you're being too formal. Please, ask away."
Professor Tu asked, "We saw a post on your university's forum, made in your defense by a user named 'The Man Who Wants to be a Witch Doctor.' We were wondering, do you know this person?"
"I do." Zhao Yuan nodded.
'The post has already been made, and it clearly laid out the entire history of my conflict with the Jinling Zhao Family. It would be unbelievable if I said I didn't know him. It would just make them resent me.'
Li Heping, Qiao Zhixue, and the others excitedly grabbed onto Zhao Yuan, asking in a flurry, "Who is he? Where is he?"
Seeing this, the confusion in Zhao Dezhu's mind was finally cleared up. 'So that's it. Elder Li and the others didn't show up today out of respect for my family. They came for The Man Who Wants to be a Witch Doctor!'
Zhao Yuan replied, "He goes by the name Lingshan Doctor. I don't know his real name. He's the type of person who loves to travel, so I have no idea where he is right now."
Just like Ma Guotao's group, Li Heping and the others looked completely baffled when they heard the name Lingshan Doctor.
The name was completely unfamiliar. It held no prestige at all.
But fame didn't matter—not as long as he had real skill.
Elder Li asked again, "Then you must have his contact information, right? Could you give it to us? I want to invite him to join the Chinese Academy of Sciences! With his level of skill, I'm certain he could make breakthroughs that would greatly advance the entire medical field!"
"My apologies." Zhao Yuan shook his head. "I don't have his contact information. He's always the one to contact me, and he always uses a public phone."
Everyone knew this was just an excuse, but what could they do? It's not like they could torture the information out of him. They had to settle for the next best thing. "Zhao Yuan, next time the Lingshan Doctor contacts you, please convey a message for us: the Chinese Academy of Sciences is making a very sincere offer!"
Qiao Zhixue and the others also chimed in with their own invitations, all hoping to recruit the Lingshan Doctor to teach at their respective universities. The scene made Ma Guotao's group incredibly nervous, terrified that they might actually manage to persuade him...
After finally managing to placate the crowd of medical experts, Zhao Yuan turned to Zhao Dezhu. "My apologies for the delay."
Zhao Dezhu snorted. He was fuming to see how popular Zhao Yuan was, but he couldn't say anything about it. In a cold voice, he asked, "When does the medical competition start?"
"Let's start now," Zhao Yuan said. "The sooner we compete, the sooner this will be over. I'm hoping to get some of Jinling's famous duck blood vermicelli soup."
Zhao Dezhu's face turned absolutely foul, and Zhao Jingrou was so furious she was on the verge of cursing him out loud.
'From their perspective, Zhao Yuan's statement was a clear declaration: the Jinling Zhao Family was less important to him than a bowl of duck blood vermicelli soup!'
What was that, if not utter humiliation? That was it, right there!
Taking a deep breath to suppress his fury, Zhao Dezhu announced loudly, "The medical competition begins! The first round will be a contest of Pulse Diagnosis!" He immediately turned his head and ordered a nearby clansman, "Go and ask Third Grand-Uncle to come out!"
Zhao Yuan had no reaction to this, but the faces of Ma Guotao and the others fell in unison.
The hot-tempered Yang Jingbo immediately lashed out, "You people are shameless!"