Wu Zhaohui was so furious that he felt like vomiting blood. What the hell is this kid saying? How did I suddenly become an outsider here?
But Chen Xin didn’t hesitate at all. With a wave of her hand, she said, “Alright, we’ll listen to Mr. Jiang. Everyone, please leave.”
Soon, except for Chen Xin, Tang Linglong, and Chen Jishi, everyone else left the room. The ward suddenly felt much more spacious.
Jiang Tian glanced at Chen Jishi and said indifferently, “Dr. Chen, do you have any silver needles I could use?”
“Hmph!” Chen Jishi snorted disdainfully and handed over a leather needle pouch. This kid doesn’t even have his own acupuncture tools, yet he dares to act like a miracle doctor. How arrogant and ignorant.
Jiang Tian took the pouch, pulled out a sharp triangular needle, and without hesitation, sliced it across his fingertip. Blood immediately dripped down.
“What are you doing?” Everyone gasped in shock.
Chen Jishi’s face was full of confusion. “Jiang Tian, why are you cutting your own finger instead of treating Mr. Tang?”
Jiang Tian ignored him completely. He picked up a medical record from the bedside, tore off a clean sheet of paper, and began drawing on it with his bleeding finger. The crimson lines twisted and turned like earthworms, and in moments, a strange talisman took shape.
“A talisman? Good heavens! It’s the 21st century, and you’re trying to cure someone with witchcraft and superstition?” Chen Jishi was both amused and exasperated. This guy might not be crazy, but he’s definitely a fraud.
Chen Xin and Tang Linglong were equally stunned.
“Watch closely! Li Huo Shi Hun (Devouring Soul with Fire)! Activate!” Jiang Tian’s left hand formed a strange gesture as he muttered an incantation. Then, he slapped the talisman onto Mr. Tang’s forehead.
In that instant, everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief. What happened next was both incredible and dazzling.
The talisman burst into flames, transforming into a streak of red light that shot from Jiang Tian’s fingertip into Mr. Tang’s head. It was as if a beautiful woman had drawn a red line under her lover’s poem—light as a verse, graceful as a dream.
But as the red light passed, the air grew unbearably dry, and everyone felt as if they were standing in a furnace.
What happened next was even more shocking.
Thick, ink-black smoke began to rise from Mr. Tang’s head, swirling toward the ceiling. At the same time, a bone-chilling scream, like the cry of a crow in the night, echoed through the room.
The sound was so piercing that everyone swayed on their feet, almost collapsing.
“What is that?” Shouts of alarm filled the room.
The black smoke twisted and turned, forming a skull the size of a millstone. It was as solid as if it had been carved from black resin, its teeth grinding as it glared venomously at Jiang Tian.
“You’ve got some skill, kid. But today, you’ve met your match. I’ll take your miserable life!” The skull’s voice was filled with malice.
The room grew colder, the air thick with dark energy. It felt as if they had been plunged into an icy cavern, and everyone shivered uncontrollably.
Crack! A glass on the bedside table frosted over and then shattered.
“Is that… a ghost?” Chen Jishi’s face turned pale, and his body trembled violently.
“Tsk, tsk. A three-year-old ghost. It should taste pretty good. Perfect nourishment for my body-refining stage.” Jiang Tian, however, showed no fear. Instead, his eyes gleamed with greed, like a starving man seeing a feast or a miser spotting gold.
“Huh? Who are you? Why aren’t you afraid of me?” The ghost was both surprised and furious.
“Come here!” Jiang Tian didn’t waste any time. He activated the Chaos Creation Art, opened his mouth wide, and took a deep breath.
“Roar—! Let me go!” A powerful suction force engulfed the ghost, which howled and struggled desperately, twisting and contorting in an attempt to escape.
But it was useless.
Jiang Tian’s mouth was like a black hole that could even swallow light. The ghost had nowhere to run.
In the blink of an eye, the ghost was reduced to a wisp of black smoke and sucked into Jiang Tian’s mouth. It was as if Jiang Tian had devoured it whole, like a whale swallowing a minnow.
“Ah, so satisfying!” Jiang Tian patted his stomach, looking thoroughly pleased. A wisp of ghostly energy now resided in his dantian, waiting to be refined.
The world was filled with countless energies—yin energy, evil energy, spiritual energy, demonic energy, death energy, and righteous energy. The process of body refinement involved absorbing these energies to strengthen the body and improve one’s constitution.
Ordinary cultivation techniques could only absorb pure spiritual energy. But Jiang Tian was using the divine-level Chaos Creation Art, which could absorb all forms of energy and power!
Whether it was the power of the stars, spiritual energy, ghostly energy, or even demonic energy, the Chaos Creation Art could take it all in, refine it, and make it his own.
The room fell completely silent.
Chen Xin, Tang Linglong, and Chen Jishi were all dumbfounded, their mouths hanging open.
“Ah, that feels so good!” Just as everyone was still in shock, Mr. Tang suddenly sat up from the bed, his movements fluid and full of energy. He laughed heartily, “I was just seeing the King of Hell! The judge and his little minions were forcing me to sign my name in the Book of Life and Death. Then, out of nowhere, a big hand yanked me back. I wondered who it was, and when I opened my eyes, it was this miracle doctor, Jiang Tian!”
Everyone was stunned.
Mr. Tang had been bedridden for over a year, and now he was up and about like nothing had happened.
Was this even medicine anymore? It was more like divine magic!
“Grandpa, don’t get too excited. Lie down first. I’ll call the doctors to check on you!” Tang Linglong was crying tears of joy as she rushed to support Mr. Tang, but she was still a bit worried.
“No need for checks! I’m fine, completely fine. I can feel it!” Mr. Tang waved his hand dismissively. Then, he grabbed Jiang Tian’s hands and shook them vigorously. “Young man, you’ve given me back my life! Mr. Jiang, thank you! Thank you so much!”
“Mr. Tang, there’s no need for thanks,” Jiang Tian said modestly, letting go of Mr. Tang’s hands. He then turned to Chen Jishi with a smirk. “Dr. Chen, are you convinced now?”
Chen Jishi shuddered and immediately put on a humble smile. “I’m convinced! Completely convinced!”
“What was it you said earlier? If I cured Mr. Tang, you’d kneel and kowtow, treating me as your master?” Jiang Tian dug at his ear with his pinky finger, a mischievous grin on his face.
“Alright, I’ll kneel and admit defeat!” Chen Jishi’s face turned red with embarrassment. He lifted the hem of his robe and was about to kneel.
In the medical world, the capable were revered as masters. Chen Jishi had been outmatched and had repeatedly disrespected Jiang Tian. Kneeling was only right.
“Forget it. I wouldn’t take such a foolish disciple,” Jiang Tian said, helping Chen Jishi up. Then, with a swagger, he walked out of the room.
“Mr. Jiang, wait!” Mr. Tang, supported by Tang Linglong, hurried after him.
“Ah, what a true master. All these years, my medical skills have been for nothing.” Watching Jiang Tian’s tall and imposing figure disappear, Chen Jishi’s face turned ashen. He shook his head in despair.
He had started learning medicine at the age of eight, studying under the imperial physician Zhang Yanghao. By thirteen, he was practicing independently, traveling across the country with his master to solve countless difficult cases. By twenty, he had mastered the art of medicine, inheriting his master’s Nine Palaces and Eighteen Needles technique. At thirty-three, he left his master and established his own practice in Linzhou. By forty, he was known as the King of Silver Needles, renowned throughout the city. It was said that once his needles came out, even the King of Hell would worry.
But now, he had been defeated by a young upstart. He couldn’t help but feel like a hero past his prime.
“Dr. Chen…” Seeing Chen Jishi’s despondent expression, Chen Xin called out to him with concern.
“Mrs. Tang, from today onward, please don’t call me a miracle doctor. I don’t deserve the title.” Chen Jishi smiled bitterly, his face full of melancholy, before turning and leaving.