Chapter 697: Chapter 697

"Ladies and gentlemen, after the first two rounds of competition, Mr. Ding Fan is currently in the lead," the beautiful emcee announced to the audience.

As the female emcee's words were settled, the crowd responded with enthusiastic applause.

Originally, everyone thought that Ding Fan, facing so many Korean physicians, would only be defeated, but unexpectedly, after two rounds of competition, Ding Fan maintained a streak of victories.

"Next, we will proceed with the third round of competition..." said the beautiful woman, scanning the surroundings before continuing.

"Due to a request we received earlier from the Korean physicians of Korea, and after consulting with Mr. Ding, we have made some adjustments to the third round of competition."

Upon hearing this, the audience suddenly burst into an uproar. The content of the competition had been predefined but now, the Korean physicians from Korea were asking for adjustments.

Some astute onlookers could tell that the Korean physicians from Korea clearly lacked confidence in themselves—it was obvious they were trying to change the competition's categories to seek victory in the third round.

"Please quiet down..." With the emcee's soothing words, the previously buzzing audience quieted down.

"Due to time constraints, I will announce the content of the third round of competition," the female emcee said, looking around.

"The third round of competition is acupoint identification! Let me explain to everyone what acupoint identification is. Put simply, it's recognizing acupoints and seeing who can quickly locate the acupoints with a Silver Needle... Now, let's welcome with warm applause the President of the Korean Medicine Association from Korea, Mr. Li Duohao!"

Upon hearing the name Li Duohao, the crowd couldn't help but burst into discussion again.

The reputation of Li Duohao was indeed too notorious. Few people didn't know about his feat of treating the President of The Stars and Stripes Country.

"The stakes the Korean physicians have raised are indeed high, even bringing Li Duohao here," Elder Wu commented with a furrowed brow upon seeing Li Duohao on stage.

Zhou Shixin's expression, however, remained very calm at this time.

"President Zhou, they even brought the President of the Korean Medicine Association, how can you not be anxious?" Elder Wu looked at Zhou Shixin next to him, asking perplexedly.

Zhou Shixin spoke indifferently, "Ding Fan is still young. If everything always goes too smoothly for him, it will be detrimental to his development later on. Now that he has at least remained unbeaten, letting him lose a round would also be a good experience for him."

Elder Wu nodded slightly after hearing Zhou Shixin's words.

With two wins out of four rounds, Ding Fan would at least draw even by now. Losing a round would indeed not be such a bad thing for him.

"However, this Li Duohao is too shameless. Everyone knows that Li Duohao is known as the 'King of Needles.' Now they're testing Silver Needle acupuncture, pitting a lifetime of expertise against a junior... Shameless!" Elder Wu despised, speaking from the side.

Zhou Shixin's eyes were now fixed on Li Duohao and Ding Fan on stage, without saying another word.

What kind of excitement would this round bring?

Ding Fan's splendid performance in the first two rounds had Zhou Shixin looking forward to Ding Fan's performance in this one. Although in Zhou Shixin's view, Ding Fan was unlikely to win over Li Duohao—after all, he was the President of the Korean Medical Association—he believed that Ding Fan wouldn't simply surrender.

At that moment, Li Duohao walked onto the stage with his hands behind his back, exuding an air of a recluse master.

And Ding Fan also approached Li Duohao.

"Young man, you are quite arrogant to think that you alone can contend with our Korean Medicine," Li Duohao said, pausing deliberately before continuing. "Let me teach you a saying from Huaxia Country."

Li Duohao's demeanor was incredibly haughty, which made Ding Fan quite uncomfortable. Ding Fan truly didn't understand where these Korean physicians got their pride from; they had clearly lost two rounds already, yet their arrogance remained unshaken.

"I hope you have the talent to teach me, otherwise, it's the frog in the well who is unaware of the great ocean... and that will just be a laughing stock everywhere," Ding Fan spoke sharply, not giving face to the President of the Korean Medical Association.

Li Duohao snorted lightly, then turned to the female emcee and said, "We can start the competition."

Ding Fan also gave the female emcee a gesture to proceed.

As both sides were ready, the female emcee declared the start of the third round of competition.

With the emcee's words coming to an end, staff members had already brought up two bronze statues to the stage.

These two bronze figures were almost like real people, just half the size of a normal person, and their bodies were covered in a thick layer of wax. Ding Fan recognized their purpose with just a glance.

There were certainly small holes in the exact location of acupoints on the bronze figures. When one uses a Silver Needle to pierce down, it would go into the hole, but if the acupoint isn't accurately identified, the Silver Needle wouldn't go in.

Ding Fan had seen these tools in the Cultivation World before but never actually worked with them. They were practice tools used by physicians to identify acupoints.

"This thing... could it be the mother-and-child Bronze Figures invented by the God of Medicine, Li Shizhen, from the Ming Dynasty of Huaxia Country!" At the sight of the bronze figures below, Zhou Shixin's eyes widened in disbelief.

"It really is that treasure! I have seen it in photos from the archives of The Forbidden City. I never thought that this treasure would actually appear here!" Elder Wu's expression grew solemn as well.

"Elder Wu, what is the mother-and-child Bronze Figures?" A young Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner beside Elder Wu asked at that moment.

Elder Wu explained, "This mother-and-child Bronze Figures is a national treasure of Huaxia, left by the famous physician of the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen, and for a long time, they were kept inside The Forbidden City. Later due to conflicts, the whereabouts of the mother-and-child Bronze Figures became unknown. I never expected this national treasure to end up in the hands of the Korean physicians from Korea."

"In the past, how many famous doctors in Huaxia practiced Silver Needle Acupuncture on these mother and son bronze figures, yet this treasure has actually fallen into the hands of Korea..." Zhou Shixin was also sighing at this moment.

It's uncomfortable for anyone to see their own treasure in the hands of others.

"Li Duohao... where did you acquire this treasure?" While Zhou Shixin was sighing, Elder Wu had already stood up.

Li Duohao glanced at Elder Wu. "Ah, it's Zhong Wu, a famous doctor from Huaxia."

After Li Duohao said this name, there was another round of murmurs in the venue. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✶𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲✶𝗻𝗲𝘁

Zhong Wu's fame in the world of traditional Chinese medicine was well-known. He was now an honorary lecturer at Huaxia Medical University.

"These mother and son bronze figures are a magnificent treasure of our Huaxia. Although I don't know how they ended up in your hands, let's do this, name your price, no matter how much, I will buy them!" Zhong Wu called out loudly to Li Duohao who was nearby.

"Not for sale. I put a lot of effort into acquiring these, no matter how much money you offer, I will not sell them." Li Duohao said firmly without any hesitation.

Ding Fan was watching from the side at this time.

Ding Fan was certain that Li Duohao bringing the mother and son bronze figures here had no good intent. Ding Fan knew that Huaxia Country, due to wars and a century of instability, had lost countless treasures overseas.

Now that Li Duohao brought this treasure here, it was obviously meant to hurt the national sentiment! Considering the significance of the bronze figures, carrying them this far definitely indicated an ulterior motive.

"You... you..." Zhong Wu, seeing that the other party was not selling, felt angry but did not know what to say.

With so many people watching, although Zhong Wu was anxious, he could not just go and rob them.

"I like these mother and son bronze figures. How about we add a wager to the third round of the competition?" Ding Fan stood up at this time and said to Li Duohao.

Li Duohao looked at Ding Fan. "A wager?"

Ding Fan nodded. "I'm willing to stake Huaxia Group Corporation. If I win, you give me the mother and son bronze figures; if I lose, Huaxia Group will be yours."

Ding Fan's words exploded like a depth charge, and the venue immediately erupted.

If half a year ago, Huaxia Group might not have meant much, but now, the group had already become very powerful.

The huge sales of Stabilizing Pills had caused a surge in the assets of Huaxia Group. Huaxia Group was not only listed domestically but also completed a listing in the Stars and Stripes Country. Huaxia Group's funds were now close to a hundred billion.

With such a significant asset, Ding Fan was willing to bet for a pair of bronze figures, causing everyone in the venue to be astonished.

Hu Jin was tightly furrowing her brows down below.

Although Hu Jin knew Ding Fan had some tricks up his sleeve, no one could guarantee that they would win every time. Using a company to bet for a pair of bronze figures was like using a big bet for a small one.

Did this Demon King of Chaos not even have the logic of a gambler?

While Hu Jin thought Ding Fan had gone mad, Zhou Shixin and Zhong Wu, down below, both cast him glances of admiration.

In Huaxia Country, there's no shortage of wealthy people or those with qualifications. Although there might not be another doctor as divinely talented as Ding Fan, it wasn't a great loss.

What Huaxia Country is lacking now is those who have a sense of responsibility and are willing to stand up for their nation.

"Mr. Ding..." At this moment, President Zhou called out to Ding Fan. "Although the mother and son bronze figures are national treasures, you have no reason to take on such a huge risk."

President Zhou, while admiring Ding Fan's sense of responsibility, didn't believe Ding Fan had the capacity to defeat the President of the Korean Medicine Association.

"Thank you for the reminder, President Zhou, but I am still very confident in winning against him," said Ding Fan indifferently.

Hearing this, Li Duohao snorted softly. "Boy, you're quite arrogant. Fine, since you're so confident of beating me, I'll give you this chance."

As Li Duohao spoke, he deliberately raised his voice. "I am willing to bet the mother and son bronze figures against Mr. Ding. If I win, I expect to be compensated with Huaxia Group; if I lose, I will hand over the mother and son bronze figures to Mr. Ding..."

Boom... the venue erupted once again with excitement.

After all, it was a bet involving over ten billion in assets.

"Li Duohao, you really have no shame, using two damaged bronze figures to win over someone's large company!" Zhong Wu said discontentedly from the side.

Li Duohao snorted. "Doesn't your Huaxia Country have a saying? When Zhou Yu fights Huang Gai, one is willing to strike, and the other is willing to endure!"

Li Duohao, saying this, looked toward Ding Fan. "Mr. Ding, if you're not scared and not backing out, let's write the agreement now."

Words spoken have no proof; naturally, there must be written evidence.

Since Ding Fan initiated the bet, of course, he had nothing to fear. "Alright, then let's draw up the document."