Chapter 496 - 496: Celebration and Desolation

Everyone on the Chinese side, from the long-established experts and professors to the young nurses helping with odd jobs, erupted in excited cheers and celebration.

"We won!" A few of the young nurses were jumping for joy, absolutely ecstatic.

"Holy shit, did we really win? Am I dreaming?!" At that moment, even some of the most refined and composed famous doctors couldn't stop themselves from swearing.

They pinched their own thighs hard, trying to see if they were dreaming. The sharp pain made them wince, but instead of crying out, they shouted with glee, "Haha, it's not a dream! It's real! Zhao Yuan really won!"

Kang Fengyu, the chairman of the Chinese Medical Exchange Forum, was grinning like an idiot, unable to close his mouth. "So many masters of Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine consulted together, and they still couldn't beat Zhao Yuan. This was a complete and undisputed victory for him. It's simply incredible! They hyped this duel up to the level of a national war, a struggle over our legacy, and in the end, they were crushed. Haha, this is so satisfying! Let's see if they still have the nerve to boast that their Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine is superior to our Chinese Medicine, or that they're the true inheritors of its essence."

Qiao Zhixue remarked with a sigh, "Before this, no one believed in Zhao Yuan. Everyone thought the best possible outcome would be securing a draw. I never imagined that he would withstand such immense pressure and actually forge a victory! His willpower, his medical skill… it's simply awe-inspiring!"

Several famous local doctors from Huashang added their heartfelt praise, "Zhao Yuan is absolutely a standout among the younger generation in the world of Chinese Medicine!"

However, the words had barely left their lips when a group of people countered, "Zhao Yuan isn't just a standout of the younger generation. Even we old-timers might not be his match! At the very least, none of us could cure Liu Lili, nor would we dare take on a hundred masters of Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine at once!"

The staff from West Hua Medical University were all beaming, but they didn't praise Zhao Yuan themselves. Instead, upon hearing the compliments from others, they waved their hands dismissively and tried their best to put on an air of nonchalance. "Oh, please, don't praise him so much. He's still young. What if it goes to his head?" they said. "You're too kind, too kind. The boy still has much to learn." "You're building him up too much, really. He isn't as good as you all say; he still has many shortcomings."

Their acting was awful. Despite their attempts to appear nonchalant, their proud expressions and smug tones completely betrayed their true feelings, earning them disdainful looks and a barrage of complaints from the crowd.

"Do you people from West Hua Medical University have to be so two-faced? You're all smiling so much your faces are about to crack, and you're still trying to act humble! Humble my ass!"

"You say not to praise him, but your faces are clearly screaming, 'Praise him more! Praise him more!' You're such hypocrites!"

"I never would've thought people from West Hua Medical University were like this. You're all unbelievably fake!"

Their act exposed, the West Hua Medical University staff didn't get angry at all. Instead, they just grinned and said, "You're all just envious and jealous. But it's no use being that way. Too bad for you that you don't have a student who brings you this much glory, like our Zhao Yuan."

Hearing these incredibly obnoxious words, everyone else was seething. If it weren't for the presence of their Japanese counterparts and the media, they probably would have surrounded the West Hua Medical University group and beaten them senseless.

There was no other reason for it—those guys were just that good at pissing people off!

In stark contrast to the cheers and celebrations on the Chinese side, the masters of Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine at the scene were left in stunned, pin-drop silence.

They lost?

The national war was lost?

The struggle for the legacy was lost?

Over a hundred masters of Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine had joined forces, and they still couldn't defeat Zhao Yuan…

What a disgrace!

All the masters of Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine on site were thinking the same regretful thought: 'Why did I have to get involved in this mess? If I hadn't participated in the consultation, if I hadn't come to Huashang, then even if this national war and this struggle for the legacy were lost, it wouldn't have affected me much. But now, as a participant, I'm doomed to be branded a disgrace to Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine, a disgrace to the entire Japanese medical world! My name will be forever nailed to the pillar of shame!'

But unfortunately, there's no medicine for regret in this world.

Besides, when they had arrived, every last one of them had been full of confidence, believing victory was certain. They thought that being a witness to it would be an immense honor! Even just last night, when they had eagerly volunteered to join the consultation, none of them had ever considered the possibility of defeat.

At the time, they were even fantasizing that their participation would lead to a cure for Kawashima Haruhiro, allowing them to win the duel! They imagined they would become the heroes who turned the tide, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, to be revered by their peers in Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine and the entire Japanese medical community!

They had no one to blame for their current predicament but themselves and their own greed.

While the masters of Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine at the scene were shrouded in a deathly silence, netizens back in Japan were tearing them to shreds online.

From the very beginning, thanks to the deliberate promotion by the practitioners of Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine, this duel had been framed as a battle against Chinese Medicine—a national war! The media and propaganda back in Japan had been constantly boasting about how incredible their medicine was, insisting that this victory would be easy and absolute.

And now that the duel was over, it had indeed been an easy, uncontested victory… but the winner wasn't Kawashima Haruhiro, and it wasn't Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine. It was Zhao Yuan and Chinese Medicine!

The slap in the face was simply deafening, and utterly brutal.

There was no way the netizens of Japan were going to accept this reality.

In an instant, the Japanese internet exploded with threads denouncing the masters of Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine who had gone to Huashang for the duel. The practitioners from the Genji School faced the most intense backlash of all.

Seeing this, the masters of Japanese Traditional Chinese Medicine who, for various reasons, hadn't gone or hadn't made it to Huashang in time couldn't help but secretly congratulate themselves. 'Thank God I didn't go. Otherwise, I'd be on that pillar of shame too, with no hope of recovery!'

Meanwhile, a few schemers saw an opportunity. They hired internet trolls to manipulate public opinion, aiming to completely destroy the reputations of the Genji School and all the masters who had participated in the consultation in Huashang, so that they could take their place.

This world has never been short on people willing to kick a man when he's down.

Tended to by his disciples, Genji Doju soon awoke from unconsciousness.

He looked incredibly aged in that moment, completely devoid of his former Grandmasterly bearing and commanding presence.

After a deep, mournful sigh, he uttered two words: "Let's go."

He simply didn't have the face to stay there any longer.