Chapter 2196: Medical Competition

The Physicians' Guild was extremely far from their residence. It took them over half an hour, flying on a divine beast, to reach it. Like the Master Teacher Hall they had visited before, the building was not grand or magnificent; it resembled a private clinic.

Upon entering, they saw the main hall was packed with people. All of them wore identical long robes and had hurried expressions.

“Physician Wang Qing, Physician Yue Quan, Physician Shen Zimu…”

Looking at the crowd in the hall, Qi Ling-er quickly recognized several individuals, her face filled with surprise.

“Are these people famous?” Zhang Xuan frowned.

“They're considered the most skilled physicians in the entire Ghostly Spirit Imperial City! Normally, they all have their own affairs and rarely interact, even though they live in the same city. Why are they all gathered here?” Qi Ling-er wondered, puzzled.

Physician Wang Qing was their Qi clan's exclusive physician, specializing in treating the clan's high-ranking members. Yue Quan was the exclusive physician for the Beitang clan. As for Shen Zimu, he was considered to be aligned with the Shentu clan.

Ostensibly, the three major clans coexisted peacefully, but behind the scenes, they competed intensely. Usually, even when the Physicians' Guild held an all-member meeting, they would avoid each other if possible and rarely meet. Seeing them together now, it was impossible not to be surprised.

“Let's just ask someone!”

Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, approached a physician, and casually handed him ten divine coins. “What's...what's going on here?” he asked.

It was a young man, appearing to be in his thirties. Seeing how generous Zhang Xuan was, he didn't hide anything. “It's a medical skills competition!” he said.

“A medical skills competition?” Zhang Xuan was puzzled. There were competitions for alchemy and artifact forging, but could medical skills also be competed? In alchemy, the winner was determined by who took less time, used fewer ingredients, and produced higher-quality pills. In forging, whoever created a superior weapon was deemed more skilled. But how would a medical competition work? They couldn't possibly be testing medicines on patients!

“It's normal for an outsider like you not to know,” the young physician explained. “A medical skills competition is the most direct way for physicians to exchange techniques. It involves several stages, such as diagnosis and treatment, to determine whose medical skills are superior...”

If other professions could distinguish between strong and weak practitioners, physicians naturally could too.

Simply waiting for someone to fail at treating a disease before stepping in would take forever.

Therefore, many physicians participate in these medical competitions to quickly gain fame. If one could stand out, everyone would acknowledge their superior medical skills.

“Diagnosis, treatment... there must be patients involved, right?” Zhang Xuan asked, puzzled. “Does this kind of competition require preparing patients with various difficult and complex illnesses in advance? And do they all have to wait together?”

As a physician himself, he understood what the other person was saying. But without patients, even the most skilled physician couldn't create something out of nothing!

And once patients were prepared for a competition, it would involve ethical issues, which was far from simple.

“That's not necessary,” the young physician replied. “Medical competitions have a specialized system. Some require specific patients, but others don't. After all, it's impossible to have so many patients, nor can patients wait around for the competition to start...”

Saving lives is like fighting a fire. If they waited for all contestants to arrive, then started a combined rescue, trying various medicines... the patient would probably die even if they weren't fatal!

A medical competition must be completely different from a normal competition.

“Then...” Zhang Xuan was about to ask for details on how it worked. Just then, the numerous physicians in front of him erupted in an uproar. He then saw a middle-aged man stride onto the high platform at the front of the room, his expression grave.

“It's Sun Xuan, the President of the Physicians' Guild...” Recognizing him, Qi Ling-er transmitted her voice.

Zhang Xuan stopped asking questions and looked over.

The president appeared to be around forty years old, his aura stable. Like Zhang Xuan, he had also reached the peak of High-tier Heavenly God.

“Everyone,” Sun Xuan, the middle-aged president, said, his voice filled with anger as he looked around. “Cloud Serpent Heaven has openly challenged our Ghostly Spirit Heaven, demanding a medical skills competition and signing a death-defying agreement. If we lose, the physicians of our Ghostly Spirit Heaven's Physicians' Guild must acknowledge their superiority, and even send ten of our top physicians to serve Cloud Serpent Heaven for free for a hundred years... I cannot tolerate this. What about all of you?”

“We definitely can't tolerate it!”

“Cloud Serpent Heaven just relies on their bloodline; what medical skills do they even have? How can they compare to us?”

“Serving them for free for a hundred years... if that happens, our Ghostly Spirit Heaven physicians will never be able to hold their heads high again...”

A commotion erupted, and everyone in the room looked grim.

“Since no one can tolerate it, then we fight! For Ghostly Spirit Heaven, we cannot lose.” Seeing everyone boiling with anger and their morale ignited, Sun Xuan nodded. “I now announce the list of participants for the competition. There will be a total of five, all chosen from Ghostly Spirit Heaven's most renowned physicians. If any of you have objections, you may voice them, but you must prove yourselves superior to those selected!”

Everyone nodded in unison.

It's difficult to determine who is first or second in medical skills, just as it is in scholarly pursuits. However, within the same circle, people still generally have an idea of who is superior.

“Thank you all for your support, allowing me to serve as the President of the Physicians' Guild,” said Sun Xuan. “With this challenge from the opposing side, if I don't step forward to face it, I will inevitably be criticized. Therefore, I will be one of the participants. Does anyone have an objection?”

“With the President taking action personally, we have no objections...” Everyone nodded simultaneously.

“Physicians Wang Qing, Yue Quan, and Shen Zimu serve the three major clans and can even treat ailments afflicting Conferred God Kings. Their medical skills are beyond doubt. They three can participate!” Sun Xuan continued.

Everyone nodded again.

The fact that these three could become the exclusive physicians for the three major clans and were highly esteemed was proof enough of their capabilities.

They were qualified to represent Ghostly Spirit Heaven in the competition.

“As for the last slot, I would like to ask you all to nominate someone and see if there's a suitable candidate!” Having quickly determined four participants, with only one spot remaining, Sun Xuan continued.

“For nominations, I recommend Physician Chen Chao! Eight years ago, when the Scourge Disease emerged, he single-handedly turned the tide, saving thousands of powerful cultivators. His contributions are outstanding, and his medical skills are superb!”

“I nominate Physician Zhao Chong. Everyone has seen his achievements over the years; he can easily treat all kinds of difficult and complex illnesses. In the past decade, he has saved hundreds of lives, and everyone calls him a divine physician... He is absolutely qualified to face Cloud Serpent Heaven!”

“I believe Physician Qian Hai is the most qualified. Although his reputation isn't as widespread, he is a practical person who gets things done, never being ostentatious...”

In a blink of an eye, seven or eight candidates were listed below.

Each of them was highly renowned in the Ghostly Spirit Imperial City, holding a prominent position and revered by countless people.

As the crowd discussed and couldn't make a decision quickly, Zhang Xuan turned to the girl beside him and asked, “If one becomes one of these five, do they gain the qualification to use the Grand Teleportation Formation?”

He had specifically come here to find a way to qualify for the Grand Teleportation. Given the current situation, it was likely no one would have the energy to conduct such an assessment. Since that was the case, he might as well try to compete for a spot.

“That's a tough one...” Qi Ling-er paused before saying, “Physicians Wang Qing, Yue Quan, Shen Zimu, and the others don't even have the qualification to use the Grand Teleportation Formation. In all of Ghostly Spirit Heaven, only President Sun Xuan possesses it. If you truly want to obtain it... you'd probably not only need to secure one of the five spots but also surpass the people from Cloud Serpent Heaven and ensure we win this medical competition...”

The first requirement for using the Grand Teleportation Formation was to be a God King... demonstrating its immense significance!

If merely being among the top five in a single profession in one city was enough, it wouldn't be as difficult as the legends claimed.

“That difficult?” Zhang Xuan was startled, his heart filled with curiosity. “If using such a grand teleportation array is so hard, doesn't that mean the Nine Heavens barely communicate?”

If the top five in a single profession couldn't use it, how many professions were there across all the Heavens?

By that logic, Ghostly Spirit Heaven couldn't access other Heavens, and other Heavens definitely couldn't enter Ghostly Spirit Heaven. How would business be conducted? How would communication happen?

Wouldn't that mean the God Realm would develop in isolation, like stagnant water?

“How could there be no contact!” Qi Ling-er shook her head with a wry smile. “What you need is the qualification to *use* the Grand Teleportation Formation... not permission to *enter* other Heavens! If you travel by flying divine beast, you can enter freely; no one restricts that... Many merchants and travelers who aren't concerned about time often travel by flying divine beasts!”

“Oh...” Zhang Xuan slapped his forehead and let out a wry laugh.

He had been overthinking it.

What she said was true. The Grand Teleportation Formation instantly transported people to the opposing side's imperial city or stronghold, which naturally led to restrictions. For ordinary people traveling slowly by flying divine beasts, even a nearby city would take ten days to half a month, so restrictions were irrelevant.

Ordinary deities might consider ten days to half a month a long time. But upon reaching the Heavenly God realm, one's lifespan easily exceeded a thousand years, and any single cultivation session could last months or even years, rendering such time frames meaningless.

As they conversed, Sun Xuan on the platform also made his decision, announcing, “Since everyone is having difficulty deciding, we'll use the simplest method: gather the nominated physicians and conduct a medical assessment. The one who comes in first will naturally be the most skilled and will represent Ghostly Spirit Heaven in the fight against Cloud Serpent Heaven!”

“Alright!” The audience nodded in unison.

Everyone had a skilled physician in mind, and a mere election certainly wouldn't pick out the truly most proficient ones. Rather than that, it was better to have an internal medical competition!

Whoever could distinguish themselves would undoubtedly be the strongest.

“Then, I invite all those selected to the high platform...” Seeing everyone's agreement, Sun Xuan said.

Soon, several physicians chosen by the crowd stepped forward. There were eight in total, all the most renowned physicians in the Ghostly Spirit Imperial City over the past decade, each with admirable achievements.

“Is there anyone else willing to challenge? As long as you can defeat these individuals, you will also have the opportunity to represent the Ghostly Spirit Imperial City in the competition!” Sun Xuan looked at the crowd again and said.

“Young Master Zhang, will you participate?” Qi Ling-er looked at him.

She had no idea about the extent of Zhang Xuan's medical skills. But given his Imperial Monarch bloodline, she didn't dare say more and could only ask for his stance.