Top-tier Unruly Master

"Then let's use whoever cures this patient to determine the winner. If you cure him, then you'll be the one who wins," Ding Fan said indifferently.

If it weren't for the fact that the muscular man was associated with the Azure Flame Beast, Ding Fan wouldn't have agreed to compete with Song Guotao. Naturally, the test was to cure the patient's illness.

"Since we're having a competition, there obviously needs to be a wager," said Song Guotao as he glanced at Ding Fan. "If you lose today, then you'll stay in Zongfang Hall and work as an unpaid assistant for one year."

In Song Guotao's eyes, if it weren't for Ding Fan's bold challenges, he wouldn't have bothered with a medical duel against a youngster. Now, his plan was simple: to take this opportunity to let all the patients witness his divine skill with the needles, and then give this arrogant young man a good lesson.

As soon as Song Guotao finished speaking, the people around him erupted in a chorus of agreement and praise.

"Right, let this arrogant kid learn what Chinese medicine truly is by working at Zongfang Hall. Let's see if he still dares to be so full of himself afterward."

"Exactly, these young people today really need to be put in their place..."

...

Ding Fan had no objections to Song Guotao's proposal. If he couldn't even beat Song Guotao, Ding Fan might as well buy a block of tofu and kill himself by smashing it on his head.

"However, if I lose, I will naturally stay in Zongfang Hall and work as an assistant for one year. But what if you lose?" Ding Fan asked Song Guotao.

Before Song Guotao could respond, a round of snickers erupted from the crowd.

"Young man, don't even think about Doctor Song losing. How could a renowned traditional Chinese medicine doctor like him possibly lose to you?"

"How could Doctor Song possibly lose..."

...

Song Guotao gestured for silence, and the hubbub around him gradually subsided.

"If I lose, I am willing to stay in Zongfang Hall and treat everyone for free for one year... and moreover, I will acknowledge you as my master!" Song Guotao said assuredly.

Convinced of his victory, Song Guotao made a generous stake.

Ding Fan nodded. "Since that's the case, let's begin. We'll rely on the family to bear witness to our victory or defeat."

When the people on the first floor heard that Doctor Song Guotao on the second floor was going to engage in a medical duel with someone, they all crowded around, and the second floor became packed.

"I've already treated this patient halfway. If you take over now, it would be hard to determine who treated him. Let me go first," Song Guotao suggested.

The crowd found Song Guotao's reasoning sound and had no objections.

Ding Fan's brow furrowed slightly. He had already used True Qi to protect the muscular man's heart, which should be safe for a short while. If the poison really became uncontrollable and tried to invade the heart meridian, Ding Fan planned to intervene then.

Seeing Ding Fan fall silent, Song Guotao extended two fingers from his right hand and picked up a Silver Needle. Then, with a swift movement, he inserted the needle firmly into the Shenting Acupoint on the man's head.

At this point, many experienced practitioners in the crowd who had been immersed in Chinese medicine for years couldn't help but praise the performance when they saw Song Guotao's actions.

Such skill in locating acupoints, without several decades of practice, it wouldn't be possible to be as effortless as Song Guotao.

Song Guotao's hands moved swiftly, and in no time, more than ten needles had been inserted into the man's head. As Song Guotao performed the acupuncture, everyone present held their breath. Witnessing such a master at work was not something easy to come by.

"So cold... this ice cellar is so cold..." At this moment, the man's expression was confused, and he even began to speak nonsense.

Seeing this, Song Guotao's eyebrows furrowed slightly. According to the situation, the snake venom in the man's body should have been squeezed out by now.

However, the man's wound now looked frighteningly black, and Song Guotao's attempts to squeeze out the poison had not been successful.

After busying himself for a while longer, Song Guotao's face turned somewhat pale. No matter how he adjusted the needles, the muscular man showed no signs of improvement and even his eyes began to whiten...

Sputter... Just as Song Guotao was thinking of what healing method to use next, the man suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Whoosh...

The sight caused an uproar among the onlookers once again.

Song Guotao's face couldn't have looked worse. He stared at the blood on the ground—it was bright red, not the tainted blood one would expect to see from poison...

Frantically, Song Guotao checked the man's pulse. As he placed his index finger on the man's wrist, his eyes betrayed a flash of panic.

The man's heart was weak and could stop at any moment...

Song Guotao had intended to showcase his medical prowess before the crowd and give Ding Fan a stern lesson. But to his dismay, the situation had taken a turn for the worse—the patient's life was in jeopardy. If someone died today, his reputation as a master of acupuncture would be utterly ruined.

"Get out of the way!"

As Song Guotao was pondering how to make amends, Ding Fan walked over and kicked him aside with one foot.

The muscular man was merely suffering from unresolved poison. After that quack stuck him with silver needles, it worsened his internal vitality. If I don't intervene now, this man will surely die at his hands.

Song Guotao was kicked to the ground. Just as he was trying to stand up and argue with Ding Fan, he saw Ding Fan swiftly removing the silver needles from the muscular man's body.

Seeing this, Song Guotao felt a rush of schadenfreude.

The muscular man's pulse was unstable, and his life hung by a thread. Now that Ding Fan was taking over, if the muscular man were to die, the blame would undoubtedly fall on Ding Fan.

At this moment, Song Guotao coldly observed from the side.

Youth, blame your desire to show off, I suppose...

However, Ding Fan wasn't thinking about anything else; his primary focus was to save the muscular man. He had finally learned of clues to cultivation resources; how could he let that lead break here?

After removing the many silver needles from the muscular man's body, Ding Fan's right hand pressed against the man's back heart.

Ding Fan channeled a flow of True Qi directly into the muscular man's body. With the man's breath being faint, without the protection of this True Qi, he could die at any moment.

Only after injecting his True Qi did Ding Fan pick up a silver needle and raise the muscular man's arm to insert it into the Dabao Acupoint.

Watching Ding Fan's needle insertion, Song Guotao knitted his brows slightly. He had devoted his life to acupuncture, in which he had immense confidence.

The skill Ding Fan had shown just now made it clear to him that Ding Fan's technique was very proficient and might even rival his own.

This realization filled Song Guotao with surprise. He had been practicing acupuncture for over thirty years. Ding Fan looked to be barely into his twenties; how could he have such profound skills?

Now, Ding Fan's hands moved swiftly as he continued to insert silver needles into the muscular man's body.

At this point, the initially lopsided public opinion began to shift towards Ding Fan.

"No wonder he's so arrogant; he really has the skills to back it up."

"Unexpected, this kid is quite impressive"...

...

At this time, Lin Yanxi's eyes lit up seeing this scene. Although she had already witnessed Ding Fan saving Lin Zhanting, witnessing his divine skills again couldn't help but astonish her.

Song Guotao looked at the muscular man. Based on the pulse-checking he did earlier, the muscular man should have been unable to hold on and died by now. But contrary to expectations, instead of showing signs of dying, the originally pale face of the muscular man was now gaining a hint of color.

How... how is this possible?

Song Guotao clearly remembered the man's pulse being at death's door, yet why wasn't he dying...

"Bring over a basin," said Ding Fan indifferently to an employee of Zongfang Hall nearby.

The employee who was dumbfounded by Ding Fan's medical expertise hadn't even realized what he asked at first. It wasn't until Ding Fan repeated the request that the employee busied themselves in search of a basin.

Shortly, a basin was brought over, and Ding Fan placed it beside the muscular man's right leg.

Having finished setting the needles, Ding Fan pressed his right thumb against the Shenting Acupoint of the muscular man, then began to stimulate the True Qi.

With the influx of True Qi, a stream of tainted blood spurted from the muscular man's wound.

"Divine, absolutely divine!"

...

Seeing the poisoned blood shooting out from the muscular man's body, the surrounding crowd buzzed in amazement.

Everyone knew Song Guotao had been busy for a long time without being able to expel the poisoned blood, whereas it took Ding Fan merely ten minutes to force it out—such an incredible feat that naturally astonished everyone.

By now, Song Guotao's face had turned green.

He had truly not expected Ding Fan to be so remarkable. All the ways he had tried that failed to expel the foul blood, Ding Fan had easily accomplished. Moreover, the muscular man's complexion was getting better, and he even seemed to be regaining consciousness. Judging by the situation, he seemed to be on the road to recovery.

Song Guotao genuinely regretted it now. If he had known how formidable this young man was, why would he have challenged him in a medical competition? Recalling the promise he made about treating patients for free at Zongfang Hall for a year and the dire proposition of taking Ding Fan as his master, he felt a pounding headache.

If he truly became Ding Fan's disciple, he'd be the laughingstock of Honggang City!

What should I do... Song Guotao frowned as he searched for an out.

After the poisoned blood drained for a while, fresh blood began to flow from the wound. Seeing this, Ding Fan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The man was saved...