As Li Zhengxi’s words fell, the audience erupted in shock.
The university students, in particular, put down their games and stopped whispering, all looking up.
“What, a life-or-death duel?”
“The loser has to commit suicide in public?”
“Bloody hell, that’s intense!”
Minister Qin, Zhang Jiuling, and others looked grim.
This competition was being broadcast globally, with countless media reporters and spectators present. Li Zhengxi’s words made it clear he wasn’t leaving Ye Qiu any way out.
Or rather, he wasn’t leaving Chinese medicine any way out.
Li Zhengxi continued, “To be honest, I’m very dissatisfied with this challenge.”
“I originally intended to challenge China’s four national medical sages, but they’ve all hidden like cowards, pushing a young man out to face me.”
“Their actions are utterly disgraceful.”
“I think they’re either afraid of death or insulting me.”
At this, Zhang Jiuling, Li Chunfeng, and Nie Xue Liang in the audience darkened their expressions.
Li Zhengxi went on, “I’m Korean, and as everyone knows, our people are the most courteous.”
“So, I respect the choice of those four.”
“But I must make it clear: after I defeat this young man, I’ll challenge you right here.”
“Xu Liu, Zhang Jiuling, Li Chunfeng, Nie Xue Liang, are you ready?”
Li Zhengxi called them out by name, openly challenging them.
The crowd erupted again.
“Damn, this Korean medical sage is fierce!”
“No mercy, calling them out by name, this is getting good!”
“This medical competition is way more exciting than the usual matches we watch!”
“I’ve got to say, I’m kind of impressed by this Korean sage. He’s old, but he’s got guts.”
Some whispered criticisms of the four national medical sages.
“The four sages don’t even dare face a foreigner, what a disgrace.”
“No wonder Chinese medicine is declining, it’s not without reason.”
“I’m embarrassed for them.”
…
On stage.
Li Zhengxi declared loudly, “That’s all I have to say.”
“Ye Qiu, come up!”
“I’ll send you to your death!”
With that, Li Zhengxi beckoned Ye Qiu from the stage, full of provocation.
Ye Qiu stood, striding quickly to the stage.
Dong Si handed him a microphone.
“Thank you,” Ye Qiu said to Dong Si, then faced the crowd with a smile, “Hello everyone, I’m Ye Qiu, a Chinese medicine practitioner.”
“Mr. Li Zhengxi was right, this is a life-or-death duel.”
“But Mr. Li got some things wrong, and I need to correct him.”
“The four national medical sages were ready to accept Mr. Li’s challenge, but I stopped them.”
“You must be wondering why I did that. The reason is simple, just one sentence, which I’ve told Mr. Li before.”
“To kill a chicken, why use a butcher’s knife?”
Ye Qiu’s implication was clear: Li Zhengxi wasn’t worthy of challenging the four sages.
Instantly, the audience felt their blood surge.
“This Ye Qiu is wild!”
“We thought Li Zhengxi was bold, but Ye Qiu’s hitting back just as hard!”
“The competition hasn’t even started, and it’s already this thrilling, it’s bound to get better!”
Li Zhengxi snorted coldly, “Kid, enough bravado, let’s see who’s better with real skills!”
“That’s exactly my plan,” Ye Qiu smiled at Dong Si, “Let’s begin!”
Dong Si nodded, “As per the procedure, I’ll now introduce the backgrounds of both contenders…”
“No need for introductions!” Li Zhengxi interrupted, “Why waste time? Let’s get started.”
“I agree with Mr. Li, let’s get on with it!” Ye Qiu was also eager to defeat Li Zhengxi.
Dong Si glanced at the audience. Originally, the final part was Minister Qin’s speech.
But now, the schedule was disrupted.
Minister Qin stood, microphone in hand, “Mr. Li is our guest, and we follow the host’s lead.”
“Since Mr. Li Zhengxi is eager to compete, let’s begin.”
“I declare the competition officially started!”
A wave of applause swept through the crowd.
Dong Si stepped aside, leaving the stage to Ye Qiu and Li Zhengxi.
“Mr. Li, what’s the first round?” Ye Qiu asked.
Per the rules, all competition topics were decided by Li Zhengxi.
“You’ll find out soon,” Li Zhengxi said, raising his right hand and snapping his fingers.
Snap!
Then, Li Minghan and another Korean carried a wooden mannequin, over a metre tall, onto the stage.
The mannequin was lifelike, marked with a dense map of human acupuncture points.
Each point had a small white dot.
The audience widened their eyes, watching the stage, curious about what they’d compete in.
Li Zhengxi asked Ye Qiu, “Kid, ever heard of blind needling?”
Ye Qiu paused, then countered, “So, this round is blind needling?”
“Exactly,” Li Zhengxi pointed at the mannequin, “This mannequin has 365 acupuncture points. We’ll both be blindfolded, then insert silver needles into the points.”
“The rules are: whoever identifies the points most accurately, in the shortest time, with the most insertions, wins.”
“So, kid, do you dare to compete?”
Dare to compete?
At those words, Ye Qiu laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Li Zhengxi said, “If you’re scared, you can concede now and save me the trouble.”
Scared?
Ye Qiu shook his head, “The word ‘scared’ doesn’t exist in my dictionary.”
“I was actually going to say, you’d better pick a different challenge.”
“Competing with me in blind needling? You’re asking for death.”
Li Zhengxi didn’t take Ye Qiu’s warning seriously, sneering, “Kid, don’t be too cocky. Truth is, I’ve never lost at blind needling.”
“You’ve never lost because you’ve never faced me,” Ye Qiu asked again, “Are you sure you won’t change the challenge?”
“No change, you’re done for this round!”
Li Zhengxi’s confidence stemmed from the fact that this mannequin had been with him for over thirty years.
For decades, he’d practised blind needling on it daily, knowing its points like the back of his hand. He could hit them accurately with his eyes closed.
He didn’t believe Ye Qiu could beat him.
Ye Qiu sighed, “Alright, since you’re set on digging your own grave, I’ll oblige.”
Li Zhengxi sneered, “Still talking big at this point? You won’t cry until you see the coffin. Who goes first?”
Ye Qiu replied, “You go first, you’re older.”
Damn, can’t you leave age out of it!
Li Zhengxi, inwardly fuming, walked straight to the mannequin.
