Chapter 347: Challenge the President? [Climax Climax]

Initially, they thought that as a teacher, he would surely possess some skill and uphold his status. But hearing his words, everything became clear—they had completely overestimated him! How could he possibly qualify when he didn't even know the steps required for a physician's assessment?

Suppressing his anger, the guard captain said, "Teacher Liu, since you don't even know the assessment steps for a physician, I think... perhaps it's best to give up..."

"Give up?" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "I don't particularly want to take it, but you just said that without being a physician, I can't buy those herbs! Fine, just tell me what's required for the physician's assessment; don't worry about anything else!"

Everyone scratched their heads in bewilderment. We don't want to worry about you, they thought... It just seems a bit much to try and qualify as a physician when you know nothing.

However, if you insist on embarrassing yourself, we won't stop you...

The guard captain’s face grew even more displeased as he scoffed inwardly. "A physician's assessment is similar to other professions; it requires both theoretical and practical examination... The Physicians' Guild has dedicated personnel for this. Once you enter, someone will guide you."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the young man walked off, quickly entering the Physicians' Guild hall.

"Physician Hu, who oversees the assessments at the Physicians' Guild, absolutely detests people who know nothing but try their luck. This guy is probably in for it!"

"I used to think that as an academy teacher, he'd at least care about his reputation, but it seems I was wrong... How could he possibly pass the assessment when he doesn't even know the basic steps?"

"Exactly. If becoming a physician were that easy, there wouldn't be fewer than thirty in the entire royal city!"

Seeing that the fellow understood nothing yet still walked into the Physicians' Guild hall, everyone shook their heads. The guard captain, who initially thought he might not be completely reckless, now revealed a look of disdain upon realizing the man truly knew nothing. They say academy teachers are steady, but after seeing this, he wondered if it was true at all! Had anyone ever seen someone dare to assess for a physician's license knowing nothing?

"Alright, Miss Yarou, we'll resume our patrol. You stay here..."

After a moment of contemplation, the guard captain dismissed the thought, cupped his fist, and was about to leave when he suddenly felt the ground vibrate, and a booming sound rang out. It was like a giant bell tolling, with aftershocks reverberating through the ground.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, but the sound seems to be coming from the Physicians' Guild hall!"

"The Physicians' Guild?"

"It really is..."

Hearing the sound, the crowd waiting to see a doctor burst into an uproar. Compared to the patients' confusion, the guard captain's body trembled, his face instantly turning ashen, almost causing him to faint on the spot. "That guy... he couldn't have gone into that place, could he?"

"The Wall of Dilemmas? What's that?" Yarou asked, looking confused. She was merely a receptionist and, while aware of some assessment rules for physicians, wasn't precisely clear about the actual examination process.

"The Wall of Dilemmas... is where the guild specifically records difficult and incurable diseases... It contains all the intractable cases the guild has faced over the past century!" The guard captain's expression was on the verge of tears.

"It contains intractable cases from the guild's past century? Cases that even Three-star Physician Mu Hong couldn't solve?" Yarou was stunned. Physician Mu Hong was the most skilled physician at their branch of the Apothecary Guild. If the place he mentioned truly recorded intractable dilemmas, did that mean even Physician Mu Hong couldn't solve them?

"Yes..." The guard captain nodded. "Not only could he not solve them, but no physician in our guild throughout the past century has been able to. That's precisely why it's called the Wall of Dilemmas..."

"It's just a place that records difficult cases. If he walked in, he walked in. There's no need to be so nervous!" Yarou found it strange. She had thought it was a big deal, but it was just walking into a place that records difficult cases? At worst, he couldn't understand it and would just come out. Why was he, a dignified guard captain, trembling all over and stammering when he spoke?

Not only her, but the other guards also looked at him strangely. Their captain had always been very steady; just now, despite being annoyed by that fellow's arrogance and recklessness, he remained composed, patiently explaining how to assess as a physician. How could such a composed person become so nervous just knowing that the other party had entered the Wall of Dilemmas?

"You just don't understand what that place signifies..." Seeing their indifferent expressions, the guard captain couldn't help but shake his head.

"Significance?"

"Yes! The Wall of Dilemmas is... something only successive guild masters are qualified to attempt. Entering it signifies challenging the current master for the right to inherit the position!" The guard captain explained, his lips pale.

"Challenge the Master... inherit the Master's position?" Everyone felt their vision dim. What was going on? How did walking into the Wall of Dilemmas become a challenge to the Master?

"The difficult cases on the Wall of Dilemmas are problems that have accumulated over time, problems that all the physicians in the entire guild have been unable to solve," the guard captain explained with a bitter smile, seeing their confusion. "To become the Guild Master, one's medical skill must naturally surpass everyone else's to command ultimate authority!"

Everyone nodded. Physicians, like other professionals, needed superior skills and capabilities to lead others. How could it be otherwise?

"Medical skill isn't something that can be quantified like a martial arts competition. If you can cure a patient, and I can cure them too, even if the treatment time differs, it's hard to measure whose medical skill is superior! After all, curing the illness is just one aspect; how well the body recovers, whether there are potential hidden dangers... these are all issues. It's possible that for the same illness, you cure it in two days, but it's only a temporary fix and quickly recurs, while someone else spends a month but cures it fundamentally..."

Everyone nodded again. In a martial arts competition, winning is winning, and losing is losing; it's clear at a glance. But medicine is different; some are skilled in one type of illness, others in another, and a quick cure doesn't necessarily mean a better outcome. It's even harder to judge, especially when medical skills are comparable.

"Since it's so hard to judge, how can one demonstrate outstanding medical skill, surpassing others? That's what the Wall of Dilemmas is for!" The guard captain continued. "The wall records the difficult cases that successive guild masters have been unable to solve. Only physicians who wish to become the Guild Master are qualified to enter and solve them. The more problems one solves, the more profound their medical skill is proven to be, and the more trust they will earn! If one cannot solve even a single case, it's considered causing trouble and challenging the Master's authority, which will inevitably lead to punishment!"

"This..." Everyone blinked, finally understanding. No wonder he was so nervous. That guy, knowing absolutely nothing, barged in, which amounted to challenging the Master—he was practically seeking death. And they, as the "informed" ones who told him how to assess, might also be implicated.

"But if they're difficult cases that no one in the guild can solve, even if he answers incorrectly... no one would know, right?" After a moment of silence, Yarou couldn't help but ask. They were called difficult cases, unsolvable cases, so if he answered incorrectly, no one would be able to tell! As long as that guy gave an answer, even a random one, no one should know, and he might even bluff his way through.

"If it were that simple, it would be easy..." The guard captain gave a bitter smile. "The Wall of Dilemmas is a special spiritual artifact that communicates with the main guild. Once someone answers, four-star or even five-star physicians will personally verify it. If correct, the wall emits an orange glow; if incorrect, a red glow!"

"Communicates with the main guild?"

"Emits a glow?"

Everyone was stunned. This meant faking it was impossible. Given Teacher Liu's apparent ignorance, he would likely trigger a red glow the moment he entered, and then... there would be no 'then'!

"Then that bell sound earlier was..." Yarou couldn't help but ask.

"That bell sound just now was the Wall of Dilemmas being triggered, effectively announcing to everyone in the Physicians' Guild that someone is challenging the Master..." The guard captain stopped there suddenly, pointing ahead. "It's over..."

Following his指, everyone's mouths twitched. Just as the bell chimed, everyone in the guild was startled, and a dozen or so people came rushing over, forming a dense crowd.

"Master Mu Hong, Three-star Physician Du Rao, Physician Cheng Feng..." Each name Yarou mumbled made her eyebrows twitch. These individuals represented the highest echelons of the entire guild, meaning the bell had summoned all the high-ranking officials! The Master himself came, with someone challenging his position... his expression was imaginable.

"What happened?" Indeed, without much delay, Master Mu Hong arrived in front of the Physicians' Guild hall and waved his hand.

"Reporting to the Master, someone just went in, seemingly to challenge... the Wall of Dilemmas!" An apprentice who had been tending to a patient walked over. He hadn't seen clearly himself but had heard the bell and the surrounding discussions.

"Challenge the Wall of Dilemmas?" Master Mu Hong's eyebrows twitched. This was a challenge to his position! "Who is it?"

"I... I didn't see clearly either, but he came from that direction. The reception desk surely knows!" The apprentice hesitated, then said.

"Reception desk? Call those people over!" Master Mu Hong looked up, and Yarou, the guard captain, and the others walked over, their faces crestfallen.

"Speak, what happened? Who went in?" The Master, though not angry, exuded authority.

"Reporting to the Master, a teacher named Liu from Tianwu Academy went in..." The guard captain stammered.

"A teacher named Liu?" Master Mu Hong blinked. "What would a teacher go in for?"

"He said he wanted to assess as a physician, so we told him to go to the Physicians' Guild hall to assess... We don't know how he ended up in the Wall of Dilemmas..." The guard captain's lips trembled.

"Assessing as a physician? What star level? To directly challenge the Wall of Dilemmas, could he be a Three-star? No, that's not right..." Master Mu Hong muttered, frowning deeply in thought. To dare challenge the Wall of Dilemmas and him, it implied at least a Three-star level. When did Tianwu Academy get such a formidable physician?

"Three-star?" The guard captain's vision blurred. "Reporting to the Master... he hasn't even been assessed for a rank; he's not a formal physician!"

"Not a formal physician? And he dares to challenge me?" Master Mu Hong's forehead bristled with dark lines. "Is his medical skill perhaps very profound?"

"Profound..." The guard captain almost cried: "Perhaps... perhaps... he knows nothing about medicine!"