But as stifled as he was, as an old monster who had lived for nearly a thousand years, he swiftly recovered and began thinking of a solution to his current plight.
Since he was able to clear the Wall of Dilemma, it is unlikely that he would stumble on difficult illnesses!
Since he was able to overcome the Malady Platform, it means that he has a deep understanding of the newest illnesses!
Since he was able to make the predecessors' wills voluntarily destroy their own tombstones out of shame, it means that his understanding of the Way of Medicine has reached an incredible level…
…
The more You Xu pondered the matter, the more awful his complexion became.
No matter how he looked at the matter, he couldn't see himself winning at all.
Unless… Suddenly, a thought struck You Xi's mind, and a vicious glint flashed in the depths of his eyes.
Alright, it's decided then!
Just as he made his decision, Zhang Xuan suddenly raised his gaze and said, "Since Vice School Head You is so generous as to offer me the opportunity to decide on the format of the duel, I will graciously take you up on the offer. The duel format I propose is…"
"Hold it right there!" a voice abruptly interjected.
Without regard for all of the words he had said before, You Xu raised his hand and said, "Since you are the one who challenged me, naturally, I should be the one deciding the format of the duel!"
I would have to be a fool to allow you to decide the duel format!
"Is this the magnanimity that you all spoke about?" Zhang Xuan muttered with a wry smile.
Upon hearing those words, the students who had still been cheering in support for You Xu a moment ago abruptly fell silent. They felt a stinging pain on their cheeks, as if they had been sharply slapped on their faces.
Just a moment after they praised the other party for his magnanimity, the other party reneged on his words.
As a 6-star master teacher, can't you at least have a sense of shame and honor your words?
"Fine, speak then!" Zhang Xuan replied coldly.
It mattered not to him what the other party chose. There was only one thing he was here for, and that was to avenge Wei Changfeng! He would achieve this regardless of whatever stood in his path.
"Good. As physicians, in order to save the lives of our patients, we have to be skilled in all aspects."
Vice School Head You gazed at Zhang Xuan with a sharp glint in his eyes as he continued, "Naturally, this includes curing poison as well. This is an essential skill that all physicians must learn. The duel format I propose is very simple. Do you dare to participate in a Duel of Poison Curing with me?"
"Duel of Poison Curing?" Zhang Xuan raised his eyebrows.
Even though it wasn't as varied as the master teachers', a duel between physicians could come in many forms as well, and poison curing happened to be one of them.
Poison masters and physicians were nemeses of one another. If one wanted to progress further as a physician and earn the respect of others, one had to be skilled in the Art of Poison Curing. Otherwise, it would truly be shameful if a high-ranking member of the Physician Guild were to succumb to a secret attack by the poison masters.
Throughout history, there were simply far too many cases of physicians being poisoned to death.
"That's right. Not only must a physician be good at treating illnesses, he must also be capable of curing poison as well. Without comprehensive knowledge in all aspects of medicine, one cannot be considered a full-fledged physician!
"So, do you dare to take me on in a Duel of Poison Curing?" You Xu asked with a smirk on his face.
"Preposterous! That damned fellow!"
School Head Zhong Dingchun was already incensed when he saw You Xu suddenly reneging on his words. However, upon seeing the latter proposing a Duel of Poison Curing, he couldn't hold himself back any longer and cursed furiously.
"What's wrong?" School Head Mo asked.
"Poison curing is an extremely dangerous duel format. The lives of those involved will be put at risk!" Zhong Dingchun said.
"Put at risk? What do you mean by that?" School Head Zhao and the others were perplexed.
They had heard of the Duel of Poison Curing before, but as it was a less common form of dueling among physicians, they weren't too sure about the rules.
"In order to test a cure for a poison, we will need someone who is afflicted with the poison. In other words… a person must be afflicted with the poison to carry out this duel!" Zhong Dingchun said.
"A person must be afflicted with the poison?"
Since it was a duel, it was natural that an extremely potent poison would be used. It would still be fine if the physicians managed to cure the poison, but what if they were to fail?
Wouldn't the person afflicted end up being poisoned to death?
"Indeed. This duel is simply far too dangerous, so most physicians tend to avoid it. Yet, of all things, that fellow chose this one…" Zhong Dingchun gritted his teeth.
Curing poison was no joking matter.
Just wrong move could cause the poison to mutate, rendering the existing antidotes useless. A life could easily be lost due to it!
"Wait! I understand that someone has to be afflicted with the poison in order to assess the physician's poison curing skills accurately, but surely there's no need to use a human as a test subject here? It should be possible to use Pill Sample Beasts instead. After all, physicians carry the noble mission of treating the ill and supporting the wounded. How could they take a life so lightly?"
There were spirit beasts with similar constitutions to a human, so there should be no need to use a human for the duel.
"It's not like that…" Zhong Dingchun was just about to explain when Zhang Xuan's voice suddenly echoed through the surroundings.
"Sure, a Duel of Poison Curing it shall be then. What are the rules?"
"It's simple!" Upon seeing Zhang Xuan agree to the duel, You Xu heaved a sigh of relief. With a smirk, he said, "We will each take out a poison for the other to consume, and whoever succeeds in curing the poison within a given period of time will be deemed to be victorious!"
"We will be testing the poison with our bodies?" Zhang Xuan frowned.
"That's right. I have already told you the rules, so what do you say about it? Do you dare take up the challenge? If you don't… it will be considered your loss for this duel!" You Xu harrumphed coldly.
"They will each consume the poison of the other? If they fail to cure it, won't they die on the spot?"
"Indeed! Aren't the rules of this duel a little way too frightening?"
"Even though it's called the Life-and-Death Physician Duel, it's just a metaphor. To think that they would really end up pitting their lives against one another in this duel…"
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Upon hearing the rules, a huge commotion broke out amidst the crowd.
Even Wei Ranxue, School Head Zhao, and the others were stunned.
It was no wonder Zhong Dingchun was so furious upon hearing the name of the duel! Who would have thought that it was so vicious?
It would still be fine if they could cure it, but if they couldn't?
One must know that there were many kinds of mystical poisons in the world, and there were even some that could cause instantaneous death!
Just as everyone thought that Zhang Xuan would never agree to a duel with such ridiculous rules, the latter suddenly announced, "Fine, I agree to it!"
School Head Mo's face paled, and he hurriedly exclaimed, "You can't agree to it! That's too dangerous…"
He had heard about Yang shi's existence from Mo Gaoyuan. If Zhang shi were to be poisoned to death, there was no one in the Master Teacher Academy who could withstand Yang shi's wrath. The Master Teacher Academy could very well become a relic of the past due to this!
"Damn it, how can he be so shameless? He's a Saint realm expert, a different level of existence from Zhang shi. Even if Zhang shi has some formidable poison on him, it's unlikely to work against him!" Wei Ranxue's face also reddened in fury.
Naturally, the prowess of a poison was also correlated with a cultivator's cultivation realm. This was just like how a drop of water could drown an ant but was completely ineffective against an elephant.
As a higher level of existence, Saint realm experts could survive lethal doses of poison that would cause a Chrysalis realm expert to die many times over.
Considering the fundamental difference between their strength, Zhang Xuan was already at an overwhelming disadvantage before the duel had even started!
In the first place, it couldn't be said that the rules of the duel were fair to both sides!
Infuriated, Zhao Bingxu turned to School Head Zhong with a livid expression on his face. "Zhong Dingchun, is this the character of a vice head of your Physician School?"
You Xu reneging on his promise was a dishonorable and shameful action for a master teacher to make, but ultimately, the medicinal herb was still his. It was his freedom of choice to choose whether he wanted to sell it or not, and there was no way anyone could force him into it.
But at this very moment, You Xu was exploiting his inherent advantages as a Saint realm expert to challenge the other party to a Duel of Poison Curing, which would put their lives at stake. This was a clear attempt to corner the other party and kill him!
This reflected a fatal flaw in You Xu's character.
School Head Zhao didn't have much contact with You Xu, so he didn't know him well as a person. However, to go to the extent of having a student of the academy killed despite being a vice school head, was that person really a master teacher?
While there were master teachers who were selfish and lacked compassion, even they wouldn't do something as disgraceful and vicious as this!
"I…" Zhong Dingchun's face turned crimson in embarrassment upon hearing those words.
While You Xu didn't infringe on the rules of the Life-and-Death Physician duel, his actions lacked the righteousness and magnanimity a master teacher should have.
There was nothing to say about his actions but shameful, utterly shameful.
"You need not blame School Head Zhong. I have had some interactions with You Xu before, and he wasn't like that before. Perhaps it is due to his age encroaching on him and his fear of death growing, he becomes more willing to abandon his dignity and honor for his life." School Head Mo sighed.
It is often only when death approaches that one's desire to live kicks in. This desire to live gnaws at one, prompting one to do anything as long as one can push death further away from them.
School Head Mo continued, "The fear of death is never an easy hurdle to overcome. There are some who are able to uphold their morals and values even in the face of death, preserving their honor and dignity. But ultimately, most men are only mortals. They succumb to fear, clinging desperately to every additional day they can get. After all, honor and dignity mean nothing to a dead man.
"But as a master teacher and a vice school head of the Physician School, he isn't just anyone. In order to extend his longevity, he goes around hunting down spirit beasts to procure their blood. It is only because we are colleagues and the misfortune he encountered in that expedition with the old principal that I had turned a blind eye to his actions. And yet, he still doesn't know repentance!"
"Hunting down spirit beast?" This was the first Zhong Dingchun was hearing of this, so he couldn't help but turn to School Head Mo with a questioning gaze.
Those who trod on the Way of Medicine should possessed a deference for life in their soul. While it was impossible to expect them to save everyone that they met, they should never allow a life to slip away easily, and this included the lives of spirit beasts as well.
Yet, to go around hunting spirit beasts just to sustain his life… Was this truly the doing of a physician?
"Indeed. I learned of this coincidentally a few days ago while looking into the whereabouts of Senior Byzantium Helios. It's said that within the past year, just counting the number of Half-Saint realm beasts, You Xu has already killed more than twenty of them!" School Head Mo harrumphed.
"More than twenty? What is he killing so many Half-Saint beasts for?" School Head Zhong was astonished.
You Xu had done all of this discreetly behind his back, so despite being the head of the Physician School, Zhong Dingchun was completely unaware of this.
School Head Mo shook his head. "Regarding that, I am not too sure either."
He had also been bewildered when he first heard the news, but considering that You Xu hadn't done anything that would infringe on the interests of the Master Teacher Academy, he didn't have a good reason to investigate the matter either.
"Even on the Hongyuan Mountain Range, Half-Saint beasts can be considered a great power. You Xu might be a Saint 1-dan expert, but it wouldn't be easy for him to hunt them either. To kill over twenty of them in a single year…" Zhong Dingchun could hardly believe his ears.
Half-Saint realm beasts were able to stand their ground even against Saint realm cultivators. Even if they were no match for You Xu, they could have still fled easily.
How could so many of them be hunted in a single year?
Besides, it was not like there were Half-Saint beasts lying all over the Hongyuan Mountain Range. It might not be too difficult to find a single one, but finding twenty of them… Difficult!
"I am not too sure about it, but it seems like You Xu has some ties with the Cloudmist Ridge too. Regardless, I have verified the news regarding the twenty Half-Saint beasts, so there is no mistake about it. If you still harbor some doubts, you can question You Xu after the duel!" School Head Mo said.
"Un!" With many doubts still lingering in his head, Zhong Dingchun nodded slowly.
Most of the saint beasts in the Hongyuan Mountain Range resided in the Cloudmist Ridge. If the Cloudmist Ridge was involved in this matter as well, then there was a good chance that it was true.
"Put that aside for now. As the head of the Physician School, can't you stop the duel?" Seeing that the duo was still in the mood to discuss other matters, Wei Ranxue snapped at them.
The urgent matter at hand was to deal with the duel between You Xu and Zhang Xuan. Otherwise, a life might be lost just like that.
"The Life-and-Death Physician Duel is conducted with the approval of the Physician Guild. Once it has started, it can no longer be stopped. If we were to interfere in it, we would just end up complicating things…" Zhong Dingchun shook his head.
It was not that he was unwilling to interfere in the matter but that he couldn't!
The Life-and-Death Physician Duel was conducted with the approval of the Physician Guild headquarters, and attempting to interfere in it would mean challenging the authority of the entire Physician Guild. Even as one of the Ten Great Master Teachers, he didn't have the power to go against the Physician Guild.
This was the rules, and it mustn't be broken.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed You Xu to still stand proudly on the stage.
He would have already rushed forward to give him a good pummeling!