Divine Level Witch Doctor

A hint of surprise appeared on Zhao Yuan’s face.

This expression caught Zhao Chengliang’s eye, and he couldn’t help but smirk to himself. ’Brat, now you see how formidable I am, don’t you? Scared stiff, are you? These six hundred seventy-three secret formulas took me over forty years to collect, traveling the length and breadth of the country! Even if you do know a few secret formulas that aren’t in the Great Dictionary of Formulas, there’s no way you know more than me!’

Too bad Zhao Chengliang didn’t know that while Zhao Yuan’s surprise was indeed related to the secret formulas he was reciting, it wasn’t because he was intimidated.

As it turned out, the moment Zhao Chengliang recited the first Decoction Formula, a book had suddenly appeared under the medical arts section of the Information Leaf.

A closer look revealed it was a book of Decoction Formulas.

At Zhao Yuan’s thought, the book instantly opened. A quick glance revealed that the Decoction Formulas within were divided into three major sections: Common Formulas, Secret Formulas of Others, and Self-Created Formulas.

The Common Formulas section alone contained over a hundred thousand Decoction Formulas. The breadth of its scope and the sheer number of formulas were several times that of the Great Dictionary of Formulas!

The Secret Formulas of Others section recorded the masterworks Wu Peng had collected over millions of years—creations that other Medical Families had never allowed to be passed down. Without exception, every one of these was a Wonderful Formula with extraordinary effects! The Digestive Qi Tonic Decoction, which Zhao Chengliang treasured and which had so impressed Li Heping and the others, was but a single grain in a vast granary.

But what surprised Zhao Yuan the most was the Self-Created Formulas section.

It contained formulas created entirely by Wu Peng himself! Their efficacy and value were countless times greater than those in the previous two sections.

Although this was just a book of Decoction Formulas and not a formal textbook on Prescription Science, it was perfect for the current situation.

To be honest, Zhao Yuan had been a little worried when Zhao Chengliang started reciting. The case files he had studied only contained the ingredient compositions of the formulas, not the rhyming Decoction Formulas.

But now, he had no such concerns.

’With this book of Decoction Formulas, how could I not crush Zhao Chengliang?’

A mischievous thought even occurred to Zhao Yuan, and he secretly marked off the formulas Zhao Chengliang recited in his new book.

Now, it was Zhao Yuan’s turn to recite.

He gave a light cough, glanced at Zhao Chengliang, and a strange smile spread across his face.

Zhao Chengliang’s brow twitched. The look made him very uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Zhao Yuan didn’t stare. He looked away and began to recite the Decoction Formulas.

He was supposedly reciting, but he was actually just reading from the book. No one but Zhao Yuan would dare to cheat so blatantly.

”Huh?”

Everyone was stunned when they heard the first Decoction Formula Zhao Yuan recited.

It was the exact same one Zhao Chengliang had begun with.

’Did Zhao Yuan actually memorize it?’

Zhao Chengliang’s expression darkened, but he managed to hold his tongue. He just snorted inwardly, ’A cheap copycat! I’d like to see just how many of my Decoction Formulas you can manage to remember!’

Zhao Yuan recited at a blistering pace.

Ten formulas...

Fifty formulas...

One hundred formulas...

Zhao Chengliang finally couldn’t stand it anymore. ”Stop! Stop! Stop, right now!” he yelled.

Zhao Yuan stopped and turned to him, asking with a smile, ”What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

”A huge problem!” Zhao Chengliang practically roared. ”The Decoction Formulas you’re reciting are the exact ones I just went through! That’s plagiarism! You’re cheating!”

Li Heping frowned and came to Zhao Yuan’s defense. ”That’s a bit unreasonable. Who made a rule that you’re the only person allowed to know these Decoction Formulas? Why can’t Student Zhao Yuan know them as well?”

Unable to contain his rage, Zhao Chengliang shot back, ”He’s even reciting them in the exact same order as I did! What is that if not copying me?”

The crowd froze. It was only then that they realized the hundred-plus Decoction Formulas Zhao Yuan had recited were, indeed, identical in both content and order to Zhao Chengliang’s.

’Zhao Chengliang recited so quickly, and there was so much content... Did Zhao Yuan really memorize it all after hearing it just once? That memory is just monstrous!’

Zhao Yuan threw up his hands and admitted it freely. ”You’re right, I am copying you. But you only said we were competing on the number of secret formulas we could recite. You never said I couldn’t memorize them on the spot!”

He said it on purpose, just to provoke the shameless Zhao Chengliang.

As expected, Zhao Chengliang was so incensed that his vision went black, and he nearly fainted on the spot.

To make matters worse, after a moment of whispered discussion, Li Heping, Qiao Zhixue, and the others actually agreed with Zhao Yuan’s argument. ”The rules for this round do not forbid memorizing an opponent’s formulas on the spot. Student Zhao Yuan, please continue.”

”Alright!” Zhao Yuan nodded and resumed his recitation of the Decoction Formulas.

Zhao Chengliang finally caught his breath and glared at Zhao Yuan, thinking, ’Showing off your memory, are you? Fine! Let’s see just how many of my Decoction Formulas you can remember! I refuse to believe you can steal all six hundred seventy-three of the formulas I just recited!’

That was his thought, but as Zhao Yuan recited more and more Decoction Formulas, Zhao Chengliang’s expression grew increasingly grim.

When Zhao Yuan finally stopped, he had recited no more and no less than six hundred and seventy-three Decoction Formulas—exactly the same as Zhao Chengliang’s, identical in both content and order, without the slightest deviation.

The entire training ground fell deathly silent.

Everyone stared at Zhao Yuan as if he were an alien.

’Did this guy know all these Decoction Formulas beforehand, or did he really just memorize them on the spot? If it’s the latter, his memory is just monstrous!’

Zhao Chengliang clutched his chest, feeling sharp, twisting pains in his heart.

The secret formulas he had spent decades painstakingly collecting had all been stolen by Zhao Yuan in a mere forty minutes. The thought was simply too heart-wrenching!

To make it worse, Zhao Yuan then said, ”Oh, look at that. Seems we have the same number. Let me think... Ah, that’s right. I know one more.”

And then, Zhao Yuan finally recited a Decoction Formula that Zhao Chengliang had not.

After Li Heping, Qiao Zhixue, and the other judges conferred, they declared that Zhao Yuan had recited a total of six hundred and seventy-four formulas, winning by a narrow margin of one.

Hearing this result, Zhao Chengliang could no longer hold it in. He opened his mouth and—SPURT!—sprayed a mouthful of blood.

’A narrow margin?’

’Narrow my ass!’

’All those previous Decoction Formulas, the kid copied them from me! He only came up with one of his own, and with that one single formula, he beat me!’

’Despicable! Shameless! Unfair!’

Zhao Chengliang raised a trembling right hand and pointed at Zhao Yuan, desperate to spit out those words. But though his mouth hung open, not a single sound came out. His vision went black, and he collapsed, having passed out from pure rage.

Off to the side of the training ground, the reporters erupted in excitement, shutters clicking furiously as they snapped photos of both Zhao Chengliang and Zhao Yuan.

They absolutely loved this Zhao Yuan.

First, the guy had shocked Zhao Yangqiu into kneeling and begging for mercy. Now, he had angered Zhao Chengliang to the point of vomiting blood and fainting. Today’s medical competition was packed with drama and explosive moments!

Zhao Yuan swept his gaze over the agitated Jinling Zhao Clan Members and said in a cold voice, ”Judging by your expressions, you all think my victory was dishonorable, don’t you?”

”At least you know it! You clearly cheated in this competition!” Zhao Jingrou shouted, immediately backed by a chorus of agreement from the other Jinling Zhao Clan Members.

”Fine. Then I’ll convince you beyond a shadow of a doubt!”

Zhao Yuan nodded and once again began reciting Decoction Formulas.

One hundred!

Five hundred!

One thousand!

Every single formula he named was one that could not be found in the Great Dictionary of Formulas, and one that Zhao Chengliang had never collected.

The faces of the Jinling Zhao Clan Members paled.

Medical authorities like Li Heping and Qiao Zhixue were thunderstruck.

The contingent from West Hua Medical University, however, was ecstatic, their expressions full of the excitement of someone who had just discovered a priceless treasure.

By the time Zhao Yuan had recited two or three hundred formulas, Zhao Chengliang had already been revived by his clan members. After listening to Zhao Yuan recite a thousand Decoction Formulas, he seemed to age ten years in an instant, muttering dazedly, ”How is this possible? How is this possible?”

When his recitation was complete, Zhao Yuan turned to Zhao Chengliang and said coldly, ”In formulating prescriptions, you are my inferior! In the number of formulas you have memorized, you are also my inferior! The title of Medicine King... you are not worthy of it!”

”SPURT!” Zhao Chengliang sprayed another mouthful of blood and fainted once again.